Bay Area Landless Peoples Alliance:
Regional meeting of landless activists of the San Francisco Bay Area
Doughnut Economics: 7 ways to think like a 21st century economist
By Kate Raworth Chelsea Green Publishing (2017)
The capitalist economic system defines every aspect of our lives: the schooling and medical care we get, where we live, and how we sustain ourselves. The system works for a lucky few and exploits everyone else. And it’s a real threat to the survival of our species (and many others) on this planet.
We know the system needs to change—but we can’t change what we don’t understand. We have to know what we’re talking about.
Kate Raworth’s Doughnut Economics lays out traditional economic theory—still taught as gospel at all the major temples of capitalism—with clarity, authority, lots of graphics, and quite a bit of humor. She exposes the flawed models and persistent myths that keep the system in place. Even more importantly, she presents seven big, basic ideas with which to begin creating the world we want to see. We can indeed build an economy in the “doughnut”—meeting the needs of all while maintaining the biospheres that support us.
All of us need to read this book. We’ve all grown up in this deeply unfair and absurd system; seeing it clearly and getting free of it require a group effort.
So we at Strike Debt Bay Area are sponsoring a group discussion of Doughnut Economics. We’re thinking of seven meetings so we can talk about one chapter per meeting. Please join us!
First meeting:
4:00 – 5:15pm, Saturday, November 10th
Omni Commons, 4799 Shattuck Avenue, Oakland
Bring the book (available at your favorite online bookseller and in select local bookstores) and/or your thoughts on the first chapter (available online – http://tinyurl.com/ycysqtde ‘Look Inside’).
https://www.kateraworth.com/doughnut/
East Bay DSA’s general meetings (GMs) are held on the second Sunday of each month. These meetings are the highest governing body of our organization and include deliberation and voting on member-submitted resolutions, member announcements, reports from our committees, and more.
Volunteering at the GM is lively, easy, and low-commitment, and hugely benefits the meetings and thus our internal democracy. If you intend to come and would like to volunteer (!), let us know. Use this form, too, if you have child supervision or accessibility needs, including the need for an ASL interpreter.
With our new regular schedule, member-submitted resolutions will be accepted on a rolling basis. Please email them to resolutions@eastbaydsa.org. The submissions deadline for each meeting is two days after the previous one.
General meetings are run by the Meetings Committee. For questions or comments, or if you are interested in joining the committee, write us at meetings@eastbaydsa.org!
Accessibility: The Omni Commons ballroom is wheelchair-accessible via a lift and has wheelchair-accessible restrooms, and we provide child supervision and wireless microphones with runners. It is also accessible by BART (1/2 mile walk from MacArthur Station) and by AC Transit bus lines 18, 88, and 12. See more information on Omni accessibility.
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 tend 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
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
The next Green Sunday forum will come less than a week after election day in what has proven to be one of the most contentious and emotional electoral cycles (and related political turmoil) in recent memory. Come participate in an evaluation of not only the results, but of the implications for our ongoing fight for independent politics and for a range of policies and struggles which might follow in their wake. This discussion will examine our local electoral efforts, as well as what occurred on a regional, state and national level, “Blue Wave” or not.
Please invite friends whether Greens or not, including those who may have voted for the corporate parties. We can anticipate a lively discussion.
Ashby BART is approximately 7 blocks away.
SPONSOR: Green Sundays are a series of free programs & discussions sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County. They are usually held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party of Alameda County follows at 6:45 pm. Council meetings are always open to anyone who is interested.
OTU’s Mission
The Oakland Tenants Union is an organization of housing activists dedicated to protecting tenant rights and interests. OTU does this by working directly with tenants in their struggle with landlords, impacting legislation and public policy about housing, community education, and working with other organizations committed to furthering renters’ rights. The Oakland Tenants Union is open to anyone who shares our core values and who believes that tenants themselves have the primary responsibility to work on their own behalf.
Monthly Meetings
The Oakland Tenants Union meets regularly at 7:00 pm on the second Monday evening of each month. Our monthly meetings are held in the Community Room of the Madison Park Apartments, 100 – 9th Street (at Oak Street, across from the Lake Merritt BART Station). To enter, gently knock on the window of the room to the right of the main entrance to the building. At the meetings, first we focus on general issues affecting renters city-wide and then second we offer advice to renters regarding their individual concerns.
If you have an issue, a question, or need advice about a tenant/landlord issue, please call us at (510) 704-5276. Leave a message with your name and phone number and someone will get back to you.
Building on the strong labor contingent in the September 8 march for climate, jobs, and justice, Bay Area labor activists and allies are continuing to meet to talk about next steps. The next meeting will discuss whether to establish a Bay Area chapter of Labor Network for Sustainability and how to best go forward to shape labor’s response to climate change.
Food will be provided. Pot luck contributions are welcome but not required. PLEASE RSVP to make sure there’s enough food for everyone.
Join Oakland Privacy to organize against the surveillance state, police militarization and ICE, and to advocate for surveillance regulation around the Bay.
We fight against “pre-crime” and “thought-crime,” spy drones, facial recognition, police body cameras and requirements for “backdoors” to cellphones, to list just a few invasions of our privacy by all levels of Government.
We draft and push for privacy legislation for City Councils, at the County level, and in Sacramento. We advocate in op-eds and in the streets. We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and believe no one is illegal.
Oakland Privacy originally came together in 2013 to fight against the Domain Awareness Center, Oakland’s citywide networked mass surveillance hub. OP was instrumental in stopping the DAC from becoming a city-wide spying network.
Our major projects currently include local legislation to regulate state surveillance (we got the strongest surveillance regulation ordinance in the country passed in Oakland!), opposing Urban Shield (now gone!) and pushing back against ICE with local legislation.
If you are interested in joining the Oakland Privacy email listserv, coming to a meeting, or have questions, send an email to:
Check out our website: http://oaklandprivacy.org/ Follow us on twitter: @oaklandprivacy
Check out our sister site DeportICE.
Oakland Privacy works regionally to defend the right to privacy and enhance public transparency and oversight regarding the use of surveillance techniques and equipment. Oakland Privacy drove the passage of surveillance regulation and transparency ordinances in Oakland and Berkeley and is kicking off new processes in Richmond and Alameda County. To help slow down the encroaching police state all over the Bay Area, join us at the Omni.
Photo: KPIX News
Join Richmond community activists to discuss initiatives to stop the export of coal from Richmond’s Levin Terminal. Get updated on the various connected efforts to make Richmond coal-free: implementing air monitoring under AB 617, maintaining momentum with the Richmond City Council, and developing a bulletproof anti-coal ordinance. Learn how you can help monitor the coal trains that are leaking their toxic load throughout Richmond’s residential neighborhoods, and find out how activists in Oakland, Richmond and Vallejo are coming together to just say no to coal.
Bay Area Landless Peoples Alliance:
Regional meeting of landless activists of the San Francisco Bay Area
Are you thinking about going solar – tapping the sun for your energy needs? But you have so many questions, you don’t know where to start? Solar Simplified will provide a strong foundation for your decision-making. Solar is more accessible and affordable than ever, and the industry is rapidly changing. Solar expert Doug McKenzie will discuss the latest solar products, rebates, and technologies, plus the factors that are advancing or limiting the future of solar in the US. Presentation followed by Q&A, so bring your questions!
Topics include:
Why: The environmental and financial benefits of solar
What: How a PV system works, and the latest technology
Solar Financing: Owning versus leasing, low-income options, rebates
Other Considerations: Contractors, home selling, policies, Community Choice energy
Getting Off Gas: Batteries, electric cars, electric appliances
Jobs: The growth of solar in CA, US, the world, and how to get a foot in the door
Doug McKenzie retired early from HP after almost 20 years in software development and customer support. Before HP, he received a degree in Applied Math from UC Berkeley. After HP, he is living his dreams as a solar educator and consultant and as a career coach helping people through career transitions. He’s the East Bay development manager for non-profit solar installer SunWork.org and is on the Board of NorCal Solar. Doug lives in Berkeley and drives an electric car powered by rooftop solar.
We are disappointed to relay that dangerous air quality in the Bay Area has compelled us to cancel the People Get Ready II Conference, which was scheduled to take place tomorrow, Saturday November 17th.#climatechange #californiafires pic.twitter.com/qUfeAkaskK
— CPE (@Center4PE) November 17, 2018
PEOPLE GET READY IS NEXT WEEK! PRE-REGISTER NOW!
The People Get Ready II planning committee has been hard at work to make November 17 a powerful gathering for learning and discussion. This one day conference is aimed at assessing the post-midterm terrain and charting a path forward to building powerful movements and the radical left. People Get Ready II will include two powerful keynotes, nine discussion sessions, and a workshop featuring dozens of visionary organizers from the Bay and beyond.
At last year’s conference, our comrade Linda Burnham urged us to take up the often-difficult task of balancing our revolutionary imagination with the brutal realities we face. Amid war, right-wing terror, racist state policy, environmental devastation, and capitalist barbarism, it seems that the fate of our peoples and the planet requires the utmost from our imaginations and our energies on the ground. And times aren’t without hope. A growing tide of people all over the world are mobilizing, strategizing, and building the liberatory politics and movements necessary for us to live in humane and sustainable societies.
Our goal is to create a space where people in struggle can converge to understand where we are, what we’re up against, how to fight back, build strength, and shift power—now and into the future. Join us for People Get Ready II.
Details are still being worked out but we are proud to share what we’ve got so far!
People Get Ready II will feature the following sessions:
Speakers will include:
Aimee Allison (She the People)
Brace Belden (DSA)
Calvin Cheung-Miaw (Left Inside/Outside Project)
Cathi Tactaquin (National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights)
Clare Bayard (Catalyst Project)
Claude Marks (Freedom Archives)
Donté Clark
Ellen Choy (Hella Organized Bay Area Koreans)
Elsadig Elsheik (Haas Institute)
Francesca Fiorentini
Isaac Ontiveros (Center for Political Education)
Kimi Lee (Bay Rising)
Kung Feng (Jobs with Justice—San Francisco)
Lara Kiswani (Arab Resource & Organizing Center)
Leila Sayed-Taha (Arab Resource & Organizing Center)
Linda Evans (co-founder and former staff, All of Us or None)
Maria Poblet (LeftRoots)
Max Elbaum (Organizing Upgrade)
N’Tanya Lee (LeftRoots)
Rebecca Gordon
Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz
Saba Waheed (UCLA Labor Center)
Sara Kershnar (International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network)
Tony Samara (Urban Habitat/Right to the City)
Tur-Ha Ak (Community Defense Corps)
Vanessa Moses (Causa Justa :: Just Cause)
Walter Turner (Africa Today)
As we put the finishing touches on our program, we will share news about more of our exciting guests!
We are excited to have People Get Ready II endorsed by the following organizations:
Alliance of South Asians Taking Action (ASATA), Arab Resource & Organizing Center (AROC), Ambedkar King Study Circle, Asians 4 Black Lives, Bay Resistance, California Coalition for Women Prisoners, Causa Justa :: Just Cause, Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism, Communities United for Restorative Youth Justice, Dignidad Rebelde, East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy(EBASE), Freedom Archives, Freedom Road Socialist Organization, GABRIELA–SF, Generative Somatics, Haiti Action Committee, Hella Organized Bay Area Koreans (HOBAK), International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, Jobs with Justice San Francisco, Labor and Community Studies–City College of San Francisco, LeftRoots, Movement Generation, National Lawyers Guild–SF, National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, Organizing Upgrade, Palestinian Youth Movement, PODER, Race and Resistance Studies—SFSU, Teachers for Social Justice, Underground Scholars Initiative, Viet Unity.
To pre-register or sign up to volunteer at the conference, click here.
Help us spread the word!
Align your money with your values– stop funding war and fossil fuels!
Free Workshop to help you align your money with your values, break up with your Wall Street bank (Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citibank, Chase, etc.), and divest from investments in fossil fuels and weapons. Join the growing movement for a “Peace Economy” and withdraw financial support from the War Economy.
Optional: Bring your laptop or other wi-fi-enabled device for a hands-on experience.
Learn to:
Identify local banks and credit unions where you can move your money with confidence. Break up with your Wall Street bank and keep your money local and used for community needs.
Use tools such as the online “As You Sow” program to discover if you’re invested in weapons and fossil fuels, plus identify socially responsible funds that perform as well as funds invested in weapons and fossil fuels.
Form support groups for continued mutual assistance on how to move your money.
Presenters include Cynthia Papermaster of CODEPINK, Sandy Emerson of Fossil Free California, Dave Peattie and Steve Murphy of Indivisible Berkeley Economic Justice Team.
Handouts, refreshments, hands-on workshop.
Exploring the difficult conversations in our lives around race and power. How do we approach the challenging conversations, whether it’s about confederate flags, Donald Trump, cultural appropriation, Palestine/Israel, or even just racism and racial justice in general?
Members of the White Noise Collective will facilitate a workshop exploring the difficult conversations in our lives around race and power. How do we approach the challenging conversations, whether it’s about confederate flags, Donald Trump, cultural appropriation, Palestine/Israel, or even just racism and racial justice in general?
This workshop is an opportunity to dive in much deeper with structured time to practice a range of difficult conversations around highly-charged racial issues. We will be sharing some basic skill-building tools in how to approach conversations, and then explore scenarios relevant to the lives of participants. This will include examination of some of the ways that internalized sexism can impact our courageous speaking capacities.
Small group work, role-plays, and Theater of the Oppressed techniques will support seeing tough communication blocks in a new light. We’ll try out what feels challenging, in a relatively low-stakes and supportive environment, allowing ourselves time to debrief, reflect, and learn from each other.
Contact basebuilding@surjbayarea.org with ticket requests or questions.
ACCESSIBILITY INFORMATION The space is wheelchair accessible. We ask that you do your best to arrive at the event scent/fragrance free to keep the space as low-scent as possible to support people with chemical and scent sensitivities – please see https://eastbaymeditation.org/resources/fragrance-free-at-ebmc/ for helpful information.
Please join us for our regular biweekly meeting of the Sunflower Alliance. We’ll discuss ongoing eco-campaigns and plans for the future. Newcomers and old friends welcome — we need your participation and your voice. Come early to hang out and share a potluck lunch.
Potluck lunch: 12:30 PM
PARADISE is coming to Oakland! One particle at a time. Because we don’t trust air we can’t see or feel, & on the orders of Chicken Little we will be meeting at the Omni Commons today, same bat time (3PM) until the sky stops falling. Personally, I prefer the Little Red Hen, she never let the exploiters to extract her surplus labor.
The Little Red Hen persuades Chicken Little to call for expropriating the means of production.
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 tend 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
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
Meeting of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors’ Ad Hoc Committee on Urban Area Security Initiative, charged with reconstituting and rethinking Urban Shield.
The committee was established by the Board of Supervisors in March 2018 in response to sustained community concerns about Urban Shield, which is funded in part by UASI grants from the Department of Homeland Security, and coordinated by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.
The Board of Supervisors decided in March, 2018 that 2018 would be the last year the county would approve Urban Shield, as currently constituted, and asked the Ad Hoc Committee to make recommendations to the Board on the UASI-funded emergency preparedness training and exercise in 2019 and beyond.
The agenda will include a presentation and Q/A with county emergency preparedness officials (from ACSO, Public Health, and Social Services); a discussion of criteria for weighing recommendations; and a presentation about community-based emergency preparedness initiatives.
Agendas and materials for each meeting are posted at http://www.acgov.org/board/calendarcom.htm
After forays to Fremont and Castro Valley, the task force charged with implementing the transition from the “last Urban Shield as we know it” to a different kind of emergency preparedness training, will be meeting in Berkeley in the City Council chambers on the 19th.
The task force is countywide, so any Alameda resident is welcome, although the intent of meeting in each supervisor’s district is to make it easier for local constituents.
For more on the task force’s work, the meetings to date and the long process to transform the police militarization expo: https://www.afsc.org/story/alameda-county-emergency-preparedness-uasi-and-post-urban-shield-resources
The task force has to deal with a funding cycle in process, Alameda’s desires to both retain the funding and to transform the event, and the Department of Homeland Security, so the challenge is not small.
Oakland Privacy, a regional citizens group that protects privacy and works on surveillance and overpolicing issues, made some recommendations to the task force here: https://oaklandprivacy.org/2018/10/25/rebooting-alameda-county-emergency-preparedness/
A report back from the 2018 event from MA director Tracy Rosenberg, who attended the last urban Shield as we knew it.
https://medium.com/p/67bfeaaeeaba
The recent UN report on climate change is sobering. Urgent action is required to avert environmental disaster. We need a bold vision of a good and livable future — and a political program to match. For starters, that means insisting on a publicly funded clean energy transition on a rapid timeline and a major green jobs program. The main obstacle to achieving this vision should be obvious. Corporations spent millions of dollars to defeat clean energy initiatives in the elections earlier this month.
Please join the Night School for a discussion on how democratic socialists can organize for climate justice and help build the mass movement that will be needed to take on the corporations.
Accessibility: East Bay Community Space has a wheelchair-accessible entrance and bathrooms.
Required Readings
See the readings that we’ll be discussing after a brief introduction from our members.
Hello we are here to Save the Internet!
Join us every Tuesday in the Omni Commons mezzanine to help build a community-owned and -operated wireless mesh network in the East Bay!
Every Tuesday night, we meet to discuss on-going projects, technical bugs, community and media outreach, finances and budgeting, and upcoming events, such as node mounts, office hours, and workshops. Newcomers are encouraged to come on the last Tuesdays of the month for general orientation, but are welcome at any meeting.
A wireless mesh network is a network where each computer acts as a relay to other computers, such that a network can stretch to cover entire cities.
Our goal is to create a wireless mesh network that is owned and operated by the community.
Want to help create an alternate means of digital communication that isn’t governed by for-profit internet service providers? Join us for the mesh hacknight! We need people of all backgrounds to help with everything from community involvement and grant writing to mounting antennas on buildings and developing software!
Learn more at https://peoplesopen.net and http://sudomesh.org/
Waffles & Zapatismo is a free space for learning about and discussing the history, ideas, values and practices of the Zapatista National Liberation Army, EZLN or Zapatistas. We serve waffles at the start of the class to those who want them.