Calendar
According to the Contra Costa Times, “Recommendations from the meeting ((The #BlackLivesMatter City Council forum held on January 24th)) will be considered ((at the February 3rd City Council meeting)) .”
A woma, Yvette Henderson, was killed by Emeryville police today (February 3rd, 2015). A meetup/vigil has been called.
7:30pm TONIGHT rally at 34th and Hollis for Yvette Henderson who was shot and killed by Emeryville Police today while fleeing HomeDepo secur
— Occupy Oakland (@OccupyOakland) February 4, 2015
Vigil tonight 7:30pm at 34th and Hollis
— The Specter of Scott (@OakScott) February 4, 2015
Meetup tonight 7:30 at 34th & Hollis, where #Emeryville police shot&killed a woman today #Oakland #FTP @DaveId @OccupyOakland @violentfanon
— gjsgjstreje (@smoketinged) February 4, 2015
Don't Miss: Wed 8:15a-Defend #blackfriday14! BF14 will speak @ rally b4 court. http://t.co/cOzyMTGdXb #blacklivesmatter #dropthecharges
— Bay Solidarity (@BaySolidarity) February 3, 2015
Always check Antirepression website and facebook for last minute changes.
Meet and greet starting at 6:30, please bring light and local snacks to share if you can. The film starts at 7:00 and will be followed by small group discussions.
In The Economics of Happiness filmmaker Helena Norberg-Hodge examines how—in resistance to globalization—communities are successfully relocalizing their economies and treasuring the rich uniqueness of each local place.
Discover how communities around the world are coming together to re-build on a more human scale with respect for the environment and the rights and needs of people. We’ll hear from voices from six continents, including Vandana Shiva, Bill McKibben, David Korten, Samdhong Rinpoche, Helena Norberg-Hodge, Michael Shuman, Zac Goldsmith and Keibo Oiwa. They tell us that climate change and peak oil give us little choice: we need to localize, to bring the economy home. The good news is that as we move in this direction we will begin not only to heal the earth but also to restore our own sense of well-being.
For more info: info [at] transitionberkeley.com
website: http://www.transitionberkeley.com
This event is cosponsored by Transition Berkeley and BFUU’s Social Justice Ctee.
Animal Defense League – San Francisco will be organizing events for the week of action against Skanska USA. Skanska USA is being targeted nationally for its decision to accept a contract to build a new, underground animal testing facility for the University of Washington.
The University of Washington (UW) has a long history of animal neglect that has resulted in the institution being cited, fined, and even placed on probation by the USDA. If the construction of this new animal research facility goes forward the numbers of animals at the mercy of the UW will increase significantly. It estimated that the number of primates used could increase by 280, the number of pigs used could double, and the number of rodents could go up by 10 – 20%. Additionally, the UW’s capacity to house animals kept in pens could double in capacity.
We have a rare opportunity to stop this lab from being constructed. Please join us as we put the pressure on Skanska to cut their contract with the University of Washington!
More info:
http://www.facebook.com/ADLSanFrancisco?ref=ts&fref=ts
http://nonewanimallab.com/about/
http://www.facebook.com/dontexpanduwprimatetesting?ref=ts&fref=ts
*Please leave your companion animals at home.
The planting was a few weeks ago. The gardening work continues. Join us!
More information on the Berkeley Post Office Defense against the sale and privatization here.
Pictures and videos of the soil preparation and planting here.
On February 7th thousands of Californians from across the state are gathering in Governor Jerry Brown’s longtime home of Oakland to say that we need real climate leadership. Across the state wells are drying up, more than a dozen cities are in real danger of running out of water, & there’s no question it’s being made worse by climate change.
But instead of reigning in the oil and gas industry & putting an end to incredibly dangerous and water-intensive practices like fracking, Governor Brown has been letting companies continue with business as usual. Join people from all corners of California this February in telling Governor Brown that if he won’t be a real climate leader, that if he won’t stand up to the fossil fuel industry, then we will. Because this is about our water, our health, & our California.
For more information: http://marchforclimateleadership.org/
The Communist Party USA, Political Discussion Group, invites you to this discussion.
Financial wars, trade wars, media wars, cyber wars and proxy wars are already underwasy on a world scale. Is the escalation of small scale military engagements (e.g. Ukraine) into a global conflagration the next step?
(Documentary – 2013) 90 minutes – UC Berkeley professor Robert Reich discusses economic inequality in the United States.
Discussion can follow if folks at the movie like.
OccupyForum Presents…
The Square
Tahrir Square film with Ahmed Salah
We have all heard of and even followed news of the Egyptian revolution when it kicked back in 2011. On this event we shall be watching The Square together, with commentary of Ahmed Salah, the Egyptian revolutionary living in SF. We will see the journey of the revolution in Egypt, and learn what happened to the revolution, and whether it is over or is it still an ongoing matter.
The Square is an intimate observational documentary that tells the real story of the ongoing struggle of the Egyptian Revolution through the eyes of six very different protesters. Starting in the tents of Tahrir in the days leading up to the fall of Mubarak, we follow our characters on a life-changing journey through the euphoria of victory into the uncertainties and dangers of the current “transitional period†under military rule, where everything they fought for is now under threat or in balance.
Ahmed Salah, an Egyptian Revolutionary. Salah was one of the co-founders of the Kifaya Movement (the Egyptian Movement for Change) in 2004 and remained a member of the Coordinators Council of Kifaya until mid-2008. He led the first, and only, youth movement in Egypt during the years 2005-2006, called Youth For Change. In addition, he was also the co-founder, strategist, and foreign affairs representative of the April 6 Youth Movement. In these capacities, Salah served as a principle organizer for the January 25th revolution.
Donations accepted for OccupyForum; no one turned away.
Q& A and Announcements after the film.
Tue 2/10 at 9:00 am, Anti Police-Terror Project is gathering at 34th & Hollis, to carry on the struggle for justice for #YvetteHenderson
— هدهد (@thehoopoe) February 10, 2015
From that point, we will disperse to deliver demands to Home Depot, Sports Authority, Extra Storage and the Police Department. Pls join us
— هدهد (@thehoopoe) February 10, 2015
Turn Up for Taja
Taja was stabbed to death on the streets of San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood on February 1, 2015.
Taja is the fourth known trans* woman of color to be violently murdered in California in the last four months and the fifth in the United States in 2015.
We recognize this epidemic of violence as being deeply rooted in systemic racism, trans* misogyny, class inequity, and lack of access to affordable housing for trans* communities.
This is a national crisis in which the most vulnerable members of our community are fighting for their lives. In Taja’s memory, we will not relent in demanding justice.
A call to action has been issued for: Trans* Liberation Tuesday on Tuesday, February 10th 2015 to demand an end to the systemic violence targeting trans* communities.
RSVP on the facebook event here.
The agenda for the action is:
1:30pm: Gather at SF City Hall for a Die In and Press Conference (Polk St)
3:00pm: Board of Supervisors Meeting Public Comment Perio
TAJA’s Coalition has issued the following demands in advance of Tuesday’s action:
- We demand that cisgender people end violence against trans* communities, and particularly transgender women of color. Transphobia and violence against trans* people is not a trans* problem. It is a problem rooted in and created by cisgender people, and there is a call to see active support of and participation in local and national efforts to create resources, access and justice for our trans* communities.
- Trans* communities need safety and access to resources, not jails. We demand that all plans for a new jail in San Francisco be ceased, and that no new jail construction is included in any City planning or budget with funds being routed instead to trans* community programming, especially re-entry support and anti-violence work, with respect for the depth of work not the quantity.
- We demand safe, affordable, and accessible housing for trans people. The rising cost of living in San Francisco, fueled by municipal protections for corporate interests at the expense of our most vulnerable residents, has forced countless trans* people into unsafe living situations. Additionally, the massive gentrification of the Mission, Tenderloin, and SOMA neighborhoods in the past two years has displaced countless residents. San Francisco must shift its priorities away from protecting corporations and toward providing affordable housing for all who need it and particularly creating affordable housing services, safe housing programs and more safe spaces for trans* people.
The City Council’s Public Safety Committee will consider proposals from the Ad Hoc Privacy Committee (agenda item #5) on
- the DAC privacy policy the Ad Hoc Committee was constituted to create
- a standing committee to create and monitor a city-wide privacy policy
- a surveillance equipment acquisition ordinance.
The Oakland Privacy Working Group invites you to come and support these recommendations IN THEIR ORIGINAL FORM, WITH NO WATERING DOWN.
The following items, postponed twice, are scheduled for early consideration.
D. Berkeley Police Department Use of Police Vehicle In-Vehicle and Body-Worn Cameras
Recommendation: Refer to the City Manager to develop a plan to implement the use of dash cameras and body-worn cameras for the Berkeley Police Department. The report should be presented to the City Council within 3 months.
Contact: Darryl Moore, Councilmember, District 2, 981-7120
E. Support the National Demands by Ferguson Action
Recommendation: 1. Adopt a motion endorsing the National Demands from Ferguson. 2. Advocate for changes to the Alameda County District Attorney policy to include investigations to all in-custody deaths. 3. Issue a statement of concern and support for people of color and their families who have been affected by injury or death by law enforcement agencies.
Contact: Jesse Arreguin, Councilmember, District 4, 981-7140
F. Amendments to BPD General Orders C-64 (Crowd Control), M-2 (Mutual Aid) and U-2 (Use of Force) (Continued from January 20, 2015 – Item includes revised recommendation.)
Recommendation:
1. Refer to the Police Review Commission (PRC) and City Manager the attached changes to BPD General Orders C-64, M-2, U-2, and request that they return to the City Council with recommended revisions to the General Orders. The proposed changes are modeled after the Oakland Police Department’s recent amendments to their Crowd Control Policy and address issues raised with the police response to the December 6, 2014 Ferguson protests.
2. Adopt a motion declaring as a temporary City of Berkeley policy that the use of chemical agents (tear gas etc.), Specialty Impact Less-Lethal Weapons (“projectiles” or rubber bullets, wooden dowels, stinger grenades, rubber bullets) and over the shoulder baton strikes, are prohibited uses of force in responding to crowd situations, until such time as an investigation is conducted as to the Police response to the December 6, 2014 protests, and a review of General Orders C-64, M-2, and U-2 is completed.
Contact: Jesse Arreguin, Councilmember, District 4, 981-7140
G. Independent Investigation of Police Response to December 6, 2014 Protests
Recommendation: Direct the City Manager to initiate an independent investigation into the police response to protests on December 6, 2014 and to return to Council as soon as possible, but no later than 60 days with a contract to hire a qualified independent investigator. In considering who to select to conduct the investigation, the City Manager should give preference to former police chiefs or law enforcement officials with experience conducting internal investigations. To avoid the appearance of or possibility of conflicts of interests, the City Manager should avoid selecting an individual or firm who previously worked for the Berkeley Police Department or who previously or currently worked for any law enforcement agency in the San Francisco Bay Area. The City Manager shall ensure that the selected individual or firm has no apparent conflicts of interest.
The Council also refers the questions attached to the report for the City Manager and outside investigator to consider in conducting their investigation.
Contact: Jesse Arreguin, Councilmember, District 4, 981-7140
The BART Board will consider the following resolution proposed by BART Board member Rebecca Salztman:
The General Manager is directed to notify the Alameda County District Attorney that the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District urges her office to forgo the prosecution (including seeking restitution and/or community service) of the Black Friday 14 for their November 28th actions at the West Oakland BART Station.
The BART Board of Directors are meeting again – time to turn up and show them that we haven’t forgotten: it’s time for them to “PASS THE RESOLUTION: DROP THE CHARGES & RESTITUTION!”
Meeting starts at 9am; arrive early to grab a seat in the Board room and sign up for public comments to ask the BART Board.
