Calendar
January 31st is Ahed Tamimi’s 17th Birthday.
She is sitting in an Israeli military prison for slapping Israeli soldiers. Her cousin had been shot in the head by a rubber coated steel bullet!
Release her now! Drop all charges!
For too long, the San Francisco Police Officers Association (the police union) has taken hardline stances and used inflammatory tactics that destroy trust between residents and police. It has blocked or delayed common-sense reforms—like the city’s improved use-of-force policy—and has publicly attacked police accountability champions—including elected officials, prominent athletes like Colin Kaepernick, and its own police members. Unlike other unions focused on wages and benefits and reasonable working conditions for their employees, the SFPOA has used labor law to exert an enormous influence on public policy and public safety.
Right now, the SFPOA is negotiating a new labor agreement with the city. The city must not approve a new contract increasing police officer pay and benefits unless the SFPOA agrees to respect our values and increase public safety. The SFPOA shouldn’t be allowed to use its bargaining power to make San Francisco less safe.
We are a growing and diverse coalition of San Franciscans who care deeply about police accountability and community safety. We want to ensure the present negotiations of the SFPOA’s new labor contract reflects our values and our community’s need for safety. To influence these negotiations, we must act now before the contract is finalized by June 2018.
Join us for a community town hall. We’ll share information about the campaign and get feedback on community demands.
When: Wednesday, January 31, 6pm
Where: St. John’s (corner of Julian and 15th Streets, two blocks from 16th Street BART)
Whether an Observer Corps volunteer or regular LWVO member, you’ll enjoy an evening presentation on the nuts and bolts of how the City works.
Guest speaker Tracy Rosenberg, executive director of Media Alliance, will provide an overview of the city structure––from elected officials to city manager to committees and commissions––as well as the legislation flow. Who can introduce legislation and how does a member of public use the “bully pulpit” to get the assistance from a Council member to do so? Also covered will be a review of good governance regulations such as the Brown Act, how procedural committees such as the Rules Committee operate, and what tools are available to make public meetings transparent and more productive. Did you know that Staff Reports provide context for understanding seemingly obtuse committee meetings?
This is a must-attend meeting if you want to roll up your sleeves and get more involved in local government!
To RSVP and get more information contact Gen Katz at gen@metron.com
More information can be found here:
http://
The Budget Legislative Analyst and the Treasurer will be making presentations on a report about public banking and the status of the municipal banking task force.
We need people to pack the hearing and make public comment on how SF needs a public bank that actually serves the people of San Francisco, not Wall Street.
Meeting Agenda
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2. 5:05pm: Review and approval of November and January meeting minutes
3. 5:10pm: Open Forum
4. 5:15pm: Presentation by Oakland Police Department – Annual Report on Cellular Site Simulator Use
5. 5:35pm: Presentation by Oakland Police Department – Private Video Camera Registry
6. 5:55pm: Annual election of Chair, Vice-Chair
CALL of the FOREST
6:30 pm Potluck Dinner
7:15 pm: Film
Transition Berkeley invites you a potluck dinner and film marking our seventh anniversary! Come help us celebrate and bring your visions for Transition Berkeley’s future. How can we best inspire our community to action?
The beautiful film CALL of the FOREST – The Forgotten Wisdom of Trees, features scientist and author Diana Beresford-Kroeger a renowned world visionary. She takes us on a journey from the sacred sugi and cedar forests of Japan to the great boreal forest of Canada explaining the legacy of old growth forests and their role in protecting and feeding the planet. She shows us that when we improve our profound connection to woodlands we can restore our spirit, our health and our planet.
Please bring a vegetarian plastic free dish to share for the potluck dinner at 6:30.
This event is sponsored by Transition Berkeley, and the Social Justice Committee (Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists). The film is provided courtesy of Alisa Rose Seidlitz and Stephanie Thomas.
KPFA Radio 94.1FM presents
Advance tickets: $12 : brownpapertickets.com :: T: 800-838-3006
Books Inc/Berkeley, Pegasus (3 sites), Moe’s, Walden Pond Bookstore, Mrs. Dalloway’s. East Bay Books
From the legendary whistle-blower who revealed the Pentagon Papers, an eyewitness exposé of the dangers of America’s Top Secret, seventy-year-long nuclear policy that lingers to this day.
Shortlisted for the 2018 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction.
Here, for the first time, former high level defense analyst Daniel Ellsberg reveals his shocking firsthand account of America’s nuclear program in the 1960s. From the most remote air bases in the Pacific Command – where he discovered that the authority to initiate use of nuclear weapons was widely delegated – to the secret plans for general nuclear war under Eisenhower (which, if executed, would cause the near-extinction of humanity) – Ellsberg shows that the legacy of this most dangerous arms buildup in the history of civilization – and its proposed renewal under the Trump administration – threatens our very survival. No other insider with high level access has written so candidly of the nuclear strategy of the late Eisenhower and early Kennedy years, and nothing has fundamentally changed since that era.
The Doomsday Machine is a real-life Dr. Strangelove story and an ultimately hopeful, powerfully important book about not simply our country, but the future of our world. It is being published at an alarmingly relevant moment, as North Korea is seeking the capability to target the United States with nuclear missiles, and an unpredictable president, Donald Trump, has countered with threats of “fire and fury.” Experts on North Korea say that the risk of a nuclear exchange is higher than it has been in recent memory. Ellsberg, as one of the few living members of the generation of theorists who devised our nuclear strike doctrines, has been grappling with such possibilities for much of his life. “It is kind of astonishing,” he says, “that people will put up with a non-zero chance of this happening. Even after many disarmament treaties, Russia and the United States still possess enough weaponry to destroy the world many times over. “There is no essential difference between having 1,500 weapons, each side, on a hair trigger, pointed at each other, and having five or ten thousand,” he says. For this reason, Ellsberg is happy that Trump has shown a deferential stance toward Russia. On the other hand, facing North Korea, Trump has been willing to make explicit nuclear threats. But even if their missiles can’t reach us quite yet, Ellsberg the game theorist believes that Kim Jong-un has probably devised some sort of strategy to assure that he isn’t destroyed alone. He says that the world’s survival, so far, has been “something like a miracle.”
LARRY BENSKY is the former National Affairs Correspondent for Pacifica Radio (KPFA). He teaches Political Science at California State University East Bay. In 1987 he received a George Polk Award for his coverage of the Iran-Contra Hearings in Washington, D.C.
KPFA benefit
- Richard Rothstein, Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy Senior Fellow; Economic Policy Institute Research Associate; Author of The Color of Law
- Ian Haney-López, Earl Warren Professor of Public Law at Berkeley; Haas Institute Racial Politics Project Director; Author of Dog Whistle Politics
- Eva Paterson, Equal Justice Society President and Co-Founder
- Melissa Colon, moderator, East Bay Community Law Center Disrupting Displacement Project Manager
- Rachel Gottfired-Clancy, Defend Aunti Frances Campaign Organizer
- Hillary Ronen, San Francisco City Supervisor
- Leti Volpp, moderator, Robert D. and Leslie Kay Raven Professor of Law at Berkeley; UC Berkeley Center for Race and Gender Director
- Zahra Billoo, Council on American Islamic Relations Executive Director
- Prerna Lal, East Bay Community Law Center Staff Immigration Staff Attorney, Clinical Supervisor; UC Berkeley Undocumented Student Program Staff Attorney
- Paul Chavez, Centro Legal de la Raza Executive Director
- Andrea Roth, moderator, Assistant Professor of Law at Berkeley
- Jonathan Simon, Adrian A. Kragen Professor of Law at Berkeley; Center for the Study of Law and Society Director
- Sajid Khan, Santa Clara County Office of the Public Defender Deputy Public Defender
- Dorsey Nunn, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children Executive Director
- David Oppenheimer, moderator, Clinical Professor of Law at Berkeley; Thelton E. Henderson Center Co-Faculty Director
- Thelton Henderson, US District Court for the Northern District of California Senior United States District Judge
- Nancy Leong, Professor of Law at Sturm College of Law
- Angela Onwauchi-Willig, Chancellor’s Professor of Law at Berkeley
- 8:30 – 9:00 AM: Registration and Breakfast
- 9:00 – 10:00 AM: Welcome & Opening Keynote: Richard Rothstein (1 CLE credit)
- 10:15 – 11:15 AM: Panel: Combating the Bay Area’s Housing Crisis (1 CLE credit)
- 11:30 – 12:30 PM: Panel: Immigration, Race, and Mass Deportation (1 CLE credit)
- 12:30 – 2:00 PM: Lunch & Keynote – Professor Ian Haney-López (1 CLE credit)
- 2:15 – 3:15 PM: Panel: Challenging The New Jim Crow and Mass Incarceration (1 CLE credit)
- 3:30 – 4:30 PM: Panel: The Changing Role of Race in Affirmative Action (1 CLE credit)
- 4:30 – 5:15 PM: Closing Keynote: Eva Paterson (0.75 CLE credit)
- 5:30 – 6:00 PM: Reception
Gather your Books, Clothing and Crops for the next monthly Swap! You can also bring plants, seeds or something homemade to share. Clothing and books should be in good condition. Meet old friends and new, help create a strong sustainable community. Heavy rain will cancel.
Cost: FREE
Questions or to volunteer: click here
Pizza will be provided
Thank you Gio’s Pizza and Bocce
As you may know, Sutter Health intends to close Alta Bates Hospital as early as 2019. This will deprive our community of critical health services including an emergency room, labor and delivery and intensive care.
Please join us on February 3 for this important forum, hosted by The California Nurses Association in partnership with our office, Mayor Arreguin, Mayors and Councilmembers from throughout the East Bay, and numerous community organizations. Full details can be found above.
Fighting the closure of Alta Bates will require sustained community pressure. Please sign up with Save Alta Bates to learn about letter writing campaigns, rallies, community meetings and more. We also have lawn signs, and can deliver them to your door – please indicate in your email if you would like a lawn sign.
Thank you for standing up for Alta Bates!
The Peace and Freedom Party presents
BLACK LIBERATION: Is There an Electoral Path?
From Frederick Douglass to Barack Obama, an old question. Our speakers: Gerald Smith, Oscar Grant Committee; Phil Hutchings, Last Chair of SNCC; and brando king, Cooperation Jackson, will address an old question needing fresh answers, is there a path toward Black Liberation in the 2018 Elections?
As Malcolm X asked, “Ballots or Bullets?”
This is part of our on-going Socialist Forum Series on the first Saturday of every month from 2-4:30 pm. The featured panel starts promptly at 2:30 pm and the forum ends by 4:30 pm, but folks can stay and talk as long as they like. Speaker’s affiliations are listed for identification only. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the positions of the organizations listed nor official views of the Peace and Freedom Party.
Strike Debt is building a debt resistance movement. We believe that most individual debt is illegitimate and unjust. Most of us fall into debt because we are increasingly deprived of the means to acquire the basic necessities of life: health care, education, and housing. Because we are forced to go into debt simply in order to live, we think it is right and moral to resist it.
- Presenting debt and inequality related topics at forums, workshops and in radio productions
- Promoting single-payer / Medicare for All to end the plague of medical debt
- money bail reform and fighting modern day debtors’ prisons and exploitative ticketing and fining schemes
- Tiny Homes and other solutions for the homeless.
- Student debt resistance. Check out the Debt Collective, our sister organization
- helping out America’s only non-profit check-cashing organization and fighting against usurious for-profit pay-day lenders and their ilk
- Working on debarring US Banks that have been convicted of felonies from municipal contracts, and divesting from the Wall St. banks
- Promoting the concept of Basic Income
- Advocating for Postal banking
- Organizing for public banking in Oakland! We made the first steps happen… now there’s a spinoff group
- Bring your own debt-related project!
If you are new to Strike Debt and want to come early, meet one or two of us and get a briefing on our projects before we dive into our agenda, email us at strike.debt.bay.area@gmail.com .
Strike Debt – Principles of Solidarity
Strike Debt is building a debt resistance movement. We believe that most individual debt is illegitimate and unjust. Most of us fall into debt because we are increasingly deprived of the means to acquire the basic necessities of life: health care, education, and housing. Because we are forced to go into debt simply in order to live, we think it is right and moral to resist it.
We also oppose debt because it is an instrument of exploitation and political domination. Debt is used to discipline us, deepen existing inequalities, and reinforce racial, gendered, and other social hierarchies. Every Strike Debt action is designed to weaken the institutions that seek to divide us and benefit from our division. As an alternative to this predatory system, Strike Debt advocates a just and sustainable economy, based on mutual aid, common goods, and public affluence.
Strike Debt is committed to the principles and tactics of political autonomy, direct democracy, direct action, creative openness, a culture of solidarity, and commitment to anti-oppressive language and conduct. We struggle for a world without racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, and all forms of oppression.
Strike Debt holds that we are all debtors, whether or not we have personal loan agreements. Through the manipulation of sovereign and municipal debt, the costs of speculator-driven crises are passed on to all of us. Though different kinds of debt can affect the same household, they are all interconnected, and so all household debtors have a common interest in resisting.
Strike Debt engages in public education about the debt-system to counteract the self-serving myth that finance is too complicated for laypersons to understand. In particular, it urges direct action as a way of stopping the damage caused by the creditor class and their enablers among elected government officials. Direct action empowers those who participate in challenging the debt-system.
Strike Debt holds that we owe the financial institutions nothing, whereas, to our friends, families and communities, we owe everything. In pursuing a long-term strategy for national organizing around this principle, we pledge international solidarity with the growing global movement against debt and austerity.
DJs (New Parish): Ships resident DJ DURT, DJ Mommy Issues, DJ Jiggles and DJ Lady Ryan!!!
DJs (TEENAGE DREAMS takeover @ The Rock Steady): 8ulentina, Piano Rain. The Rock Steady is right next door to the New Parish, which means even more music and space for queers to party. More details about the takeover coming soon xoxo
Performer: CHHOTI MAA, a hip-hop artist with bruja swag, hits the stage at midnite! can’t wait? preview her music here
Go go dancers: Cinnamon, OG, and em jay mercury. bring that tip money $$$ and please use your words to ask for consent to take video/photo of go go dancers. You need to pay go gos AT LEAST $25 for videos. *** work is REAL WORK. Pay what you owe.
Benefit for: Feed The People – Oakland
“We are an group of unhoused & housed residents of Oakland. We provide services, advocacy & temporary housing to Oakland’s unsheltered population during this housing & homelessness crisis. We center the voices, experiences, wisdom, needs & ideas of those who are currently homeless to get homes and services for unhoused residents. We build our power by bringing together the people, pooling our skills & resources, & being a unified force. We provide Hot meals. provisions, advocacy, and support to Oakland’s unhoused. We are actively working towards building villages of homes & services for unhoused folks. We advocate for land & resources from the city and work with private property owners to utilize their lands. We collect & distribute provisions unhoused residents may be in need of. We advocate for policies that are humane, and effective for the homeless. We urge the city to seek effective & humane solutions. We encourage the city to allow the community to create & implement autonomous, neighborhood led solutions to this crisis.”
Vendors in the courtyard:
delicious waffles by our friends at QTVietCafe
& sassy handmade jewelry and accessories for flagging and beyond, brought to you by Voula O’Clock & Lex Non Scripta of Wild Fancy Design
&& Glam Jam, an all-natural glitter lotion stick hand-made by RedBone.
Vendors out front:
Scotch Bonnet will be outside selling oxtails, patties, and other Jamaican delicacies you can’t help but drool over
Photographer TBA!!
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instagram: @ships_in_the_night_oakland
Ships In The Night is a RADICAL ***** dance party – always a benefit. We prioritize and strive to make the space accessible to queers, women, trans* people, and people of color and highlight their talent as DJ’s and performers. Since 2006, Ships has served as a community fundraiser and place for activist and social justice minded queers of all genders to sweat out the worries of the day
**Event is family friendly (kids of all ages welcome to attend with their parent(s) or guardian).
**Coffee/tea and continental breakfast will be served for volunteers.
**Venue is wheelchair and disability accessible.
LOGISTICS: Meeting at 7 AM to assemble the lunches/hygiene kits. Will form into teams. Head out by 9:30 AM in caravans lead by trained ambassadors to distribute the lunches/hygiene kits to the encampments, vulnerable/persons in need across Oakland. We will conclude by 11 AM.
For questions, concerns and large donation opportunities email The East Oakland Collective’s Community Engagement Officer, Nick Houston at nick@eastoaklandcollective.com.
RSVP: bit.ly/feedthehood4
The people have spoken. The need is great. Join us for another opportunity to Feed the Hood! We are excited to host #FeedTheHood4 in collaboration with Fam 1st Family Foundation.
***
DONATION OPTIONS: We’re asking that everyone contribute in one of the below ways to meet the goal of distributing to 2,000 homeless, unsheltered and needy across Oakland.
<<FOOD>>
Note: we encourage purchases to be as organic, nitrate free, non-GMO, etc. as feasibly possible.
We encourage participants to bring a “full lunch package.” A FULL lunch package consists of all of the items and quantities below and costs no more than $20-25 (max recommended spending). We encourage cost effective shopping at FoodMaxx, Foods Co, Grocery Outlet, Pak ‘n Save; Bimbo Bread in San Leandro (for wholesale bread); or if you are feeling generous and want to purchase bulk items, Costco.
2 loaves of bread
2 packages of lunch/deli meat
1 bag of sandwich lettuce
1 package of cheese
1 case of water
1 package of boxed drinks
1 bag of fruit
1 box of granola bars
1 bag of variety chips
* Special items needed in bulk: mustard, mayo
* For the pets: dry dog food (portions pre-bagged in sandwich or quart sized plastic bags)
AND/OR
<<HYGIENE KITS>>
Toothbrushes
Toothpaste (travel/mini size)
Mouthwash (travel/mini size)
Socks
Soap
Lotion (travel/mini size)
Deodorant
Feminine Hygiene Products (especially tampons)
Hand sanitizer (mini/small bottles)
Bandaids
Condoms
Dry Laundry Detergent (1 cup portions pre-bagged in sandwich or quart sized bags)
Toilet Tissue Rolls (individual rolls)
Baby Wipes (travel size or divided/pre-bagged in sandwich bags)
Bleach/disinfectant wipes
New underwear (men/women)
* Additional items in high request by homeless populations: trash bags, hand warmers
OR
<<MONETARY DONATION>>
Make a monetary donation so we can purchase food/hygiene kit supplies.
– Tax deductible donation to bit.ly/supportEOC (put “feed the hood” in the memo line)
– Paypal to kandace.e@gmail.com (not tax deductible)
For questions, volunteer and partnership opportunities, please email The East Oakland Collective’s Community Engagement Officer, Nick Houston at nick@eastoaklandcollective
Kali Akuno of Cooperation Jackson, in conversation with Majari Smith of Cooperation Richmond, and Jackie Byers of Black Organizing Project.
Sponsored by Center for Political Education, Ebase and Santa Cruz DSA.
Don’t want to watch millionaires bash each other’s heads in between billiionaires trying to convince you to buy their overpriced and tasteless beer?
Want to discuss some of the local activist and political goings on in the East Bay instead?
Come to the Occupy Oakland General Assembly instead!
…come and hear all the organizing being done! Occupy Oakland encourages political activity that is decentralized and welcomes diverse voices and actions into the movement…
The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 3 PM at Oscar Grant Plaza amphitheater at 14th Street & Broadway near the steps of City Hall. If for some reason the amphitheater is being used otherwise and/or OGP itself is inaccessible, we will meet at Kaiser Park, right next to the statues, on 19th St. between San Pablo and Telegraph. If it is raining (as in RAINING, not just misting) at 3:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland. (Note: we meet at 3:00 PM during the cooler months, once Daylight Savings Time springs forward we t
end to assemble at 4 PM).
On every ‘last Sunday’ we meet a little earlier at 2 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.
OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over five years! Our General Assembly is a participatory gathering of Oakland community members and beyond, where everyone who shows up is treated equally. Our Assembly and the process we have collectively cultivated strives to reach agreement while building community.
At the GA committees, caucuses, and loosely associated groups whose representatives come voluntarily report on past and future actions, with discussion. We encourage everyone participating in the Occupy Oakland GA to be part of at least one associated group, but it is by no means a requirement. If you like, just come and hear all the organizing being done! Occupy Oakland encourages political activity that is decentralized and welcomes diverse voices and actions into the movement.
General Assembly Standard Agenda
- Welcome & Introductions
- Reports from Committees, Caucuses, & Independent Organizations
- Announcements
- (Optional) Discussion Topic
Occupy Oakland activities and contact info for some Bay Area Groups with past or present Occupy Oakland members.
Occupy Oakland Web Committee: (web@occupyoakland.org)
Strike Debt Bay Area : strikedebtbayarea.tumblr.com
Berkeley
Post Office Defenders:http://berkeleypostofficedefenders.wordpress.com/
Alan Blueford Center 4 Justice:https://www.facebook.com/ABC4JUSTICE
Oakland Privacy Working Group:https://oaklandprivacy.wordpress.com
Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity: prisonerhungerstrikesolidarity.wordpress.com/
Bay Area AntiRepression: antirepression@occupyoakland.org
Biblioteca Popular: http://tinyurl.com/mdlzshy
Interfaith Tent: www.facebook.com/InterfaithTent
Port Truckers Solidarity: oaklandporttruckers.wordpress.com
Bay Area Intifada: bayareaintifada.wordpress.com
Transport Workers Solidarity: www.transportworkers.org
Fresh Juice Party (aka Chalkupy) freshjuiceparty.com/chalkupy-gallery
Sudo Room: https://sudoroom.org
Omni Collective: https://omnicommons.org/
First They Came for the Homeless: https://www.facebook.com/pages/First-they-came-for-the-homeless/253882908111999
Sunflower Alliance: http://www.sunflower-alliance.org/
Bay Area Public School: http://thepublicschool.org/bay-area
San Francisco based groups:
Occupy Bay Area United: www.obau.org
Occupy Forum: (see OBAU above)
San Francisco Projection Department: http://tinyurl.com/kpvb3rv
**Join Jews and interfaith partners for noontime vigils in front of the San Francisco Immigration & Customs Enforcement offices (ICE) to stand with the immigrant community and stand for the urgency of a clean Dream Act.***
The interfaith vigils will include singing and chanting and the opportunity to take an action (e.g. make a phone call to a decisionmaker) and learn about ongoing actions to take in support of the Dream Act and immigrant justice.
In mid-January, Jews from across the country gathered in Washington, DC for Let My People Stay, a historic Jewish civil disobedience in support of a clean #DreamActNow. Inspired by this powerful action, hundreds of Bay Area Jews and allies gathered on Friday January 26 to rally in support of immigrant communities. Across the country, immigrant communities are leading a powerful movement demanding a solution for Dreamers, dignity and permanent protections – for Dreamers and all undocumented people.
Rumors that ICE is planning a large-scale immigration sweep to punish California for its statewide protections are increasing the climate of fear and isolation for many, with people reporting missing school, medical appointments, and participation in public life. As Jews, we have seen what happens when those in power scapegoat vulnerable communities, and we refuse to be silent.
February 8 is the current deadline to demonstrate the urgency of a solution for Dreamers as part of the Continuing Resolution to fund the federal government.
Join us as we say #LetMyPeopleStay.
Sponsored by: Bend the Arc Jewish Action, Faith in Action Bay Area, Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity
STOP DEPORTATION DEMONSTRATIONS
at ICE immigration holding center (deportations)
Mondays and Wednesdays 4 – 6 pm
Let’s build a permanent presence at I.C.E. to stop the deportations.
Bring signs, Spread widely.