Calendar

NOTE: During the Plague Year of 2020 GA will be held every week or two on Zoom. To find out the exact time a date get on the Occupy Oakland email list my sending an email to:

occupyoakland-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 4 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 4:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland. (Note: we tend to meet at 3:00 PM during the cooler months from November to early March after Daylights Savings Time.)

On every ‘last Sunday’ we meet a little earlier at 3 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.

OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over six years, since October 2011! 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

Speak out against an unnecessary war with Russia which could possibly lead to the use of nuclear weapons.
If the war starts before Feb. 1, this action will still take place, to voice our opposition.

Emergency Action to say  “Negotiate, Don’t Escalate: No War With Russia”
February 1, 2022 at 11:30- 1:30pm (PST)
Ferry Bldg., San Francisco
https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2022/01/26/18847610.php

There will be banners, flyers asking people to call the White House and their member of Congress, and an info table.  Capitol Hill: 800-826-3688
We are on the brink of a massive war between the US and Russia�two nucclear-armed states. The time to speak out is now!

Biden just ordered 8,500 US troops to be on heightened alert for possible deployment to Eastern Europe, as the dangerous escalation at the Russian/Ukrainian border standoff intensifies. Biden is also considering sending more warships and aircraft, and has already delivered more “lethal aid” to Ukraine. The $500 million Congress is set to pass through a fast-track vote, could and should be used on communities and climate. The Pentagon has said that there is the possibility of sending as many as 50,000 troops!

Join the Feb 1 emergency action to say “Negotiate, Don’t Escalate: No War With Russia.”
Sponsored by CODEPINK
Endorsers:  Green Party of Alameda County, Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Committee

CODEPINK’s recent webinar with Medea Benjamin and Larry Wilkerson: “Is the U.S. going to war with Russia over Ukraine?”

    http://www.GP.org
PLANET PEOPLE PEACE
before profit!

WORK WITH PUBLIC BANK EAST BAY:

If you would like to get involved, we have lots for you to do, including advocacy with local organizations, educational events like this one, social media, and more.

We are devastated to report the untimely death of our Board member, activist and engineer Jake Varghese. Read our tribute to Jake here. Our Revolution East Bay is planning a memorial for Sunday, January 9 at 4:00 pm – we’ll post details on our website when we have them.

Donate to Public Bank East Bay!

We’ve worked closely with Hank Levy, Alameda County Treasurer and Tax Collector, since he was first elected in 2018. He’s running again in 2022, and (even though his website hasn’t fully caught up), he’s including “Developing a public bank to provide access to much-needed funds for those without such access” on his campaign materials. This public acknowledgment of his intentions is a big boost for our goals; being aligned with the County Treasurer is invaluable.

Our viability study, a report mandated by the California Public Banking Act, is in revision stage and will be released soon for approval by the founding members’ governing bodies.

We expect to submit our business plan and charter application to the regulatory agencies in the middle of 2022. That is the last major step in the process of opening the bank doors!

RECOMMENDED VIDEO

Six minutes on “The Big Picture: How We Got Into this Mess and How We Get Out of It” with former United States Secretary of Labor Robert Reich.

WHAT IS A PUBLIC BANK?

A public bank is owned and controlled by the people of the city, state, or region it serves. It takes revenue deposits from the governments in its region (and can take deposits from semi-governmental organizations such as EBMUD or BART). Because it is a public entity, rather than a completely profit-driven corporation, it is in a position to both save money and make money for its depositors and — much more important — for the people who live in the cities, states, and regions using the Bank.

Instead of being a retail bank, our Bank will work with local community banks and credit unions to make better, more favorable loans to local businesses, and local individuals. Public banking has several strongholds around the world, including Germany — where public banking profits are largely responsible for the green energy surge — Costa Rica, and Vietnam. Public banks currently hold about ⅓ of the money in circulation in the world.

Learn More: http://www.publicbankinginstitute.org/

The California Public Banking Alliance has published a comprehensive resource booklet highlighting the ideas behind public banking and statewide efforts of the California public banking movement. It neatly organizes many of the overall intentions and purposes of imminent public banks, along with frequently asked questions. Some key points include:

• Statewide list of emergent public banks
• What is a Public Bank? A government owned nonprofit lending and depository institution by/for localized infrastructure and community investments
• Benefits of Public Banks
• 2019 Legislative support for Public Banks via AB 857
• Why Public Banks?
• How Public Banks will work
• We need Public Banks now
• 2021 Legislative support for the California Public Banking Option s via AB 1177
• Frequently Asked Questions … and answers

📣 It's not too late to join us! Click https://t.co/dUZC7675EC to join the discussion as we talk about Black Future Month, current updates, and the ongoing fight for Black liberation at our monthly member meeting! OPEN TO ALL! pic.twitter.com/RETUY4syE8

— Ella Baker Center (@ellabakercenter) February 3, 2022

A monthly meetings for new members, prospective members, and anyone else who would like to learn about how DSA SF works. We review
– Chapter structure and organization!
– What are our chapter priorities for the next year?
– What is socialism and why do we keep talking about it?

Register

The U.S. and Russia have 90% of the world’s nuclear weapons. Call on Congress, the White House and the media to listen to the people of Ukraine, Russia and the U.S. who Don’t Want War, don’t want NATO expansion, don’t want to further enrich the war industry or risk nuclear annihilation.
Instead, we want universal healthcare, quality education, eco sustainability, housing for all. green jobs!

Bring signs or borrow Code Pink’s. Hold a sign and/or pass out flyers urging people to email and call the White House and Congress.
Cheryl Davila and a few others will speak briefly at a short rally on the grass just west of the peace wall fountain in the park.
Then we’ll spread out along MLK Jr Wy with signs, banners, informational action flyers, also outside the Farmers Market entrance.

Click below for more info or to please RSVP:
Berkeley, CA: No War with Russia Rally 

 
Stephen Gowans investigates why, when all the tools to avert a catastrophe were available, the world failed to prevent the Covid-19 disaster. He examines the business opportunities and pressures that helped shape the world’s failed response. His conclusion:  the novel coronavirus, a killer, had a helper in bringing about the calamity: capitalism, the killer’s henchman.

Exposing the role profit-making played in creating the disaster, Gowans shows how capitalism, its incentives, and its power to dominate the political process, impeded the protection of public health and prevented humanity from using the tools available to solve one of its most pressing problems.

Bio:

Our speaker, Stephen Gowans, is an independent political analyst and writer whose principal interest is how public and foreign policy is formulated, particularly in the United States. His writings, which appear on his What’s Left blog, have been reproduced widely in online and print media in many languages and have been cited in academic journals and other scholarly works. He is the author of three acclaimed books Washington’s Long War on Syria (2017), Patriots, Traitors and Empires, The Story of Korea’s Struggle for Freedom (2018), and Israel, A Beachhead in the Middle East (2019) all published by Baraka Books. He lives in Ottawa, Canada

We highly recommend his blog post: The pandemic is done. Except for the burials.  His new book on Covid is coming out in June:

The Killer’s Henchman, Capitalism and the Covid-19 Disaster

LOGIN INFORMATION

We Intend to start the presentation as close to 10:30 am as possible, but the Zoom room will be opened up, as usual, at 10:15 for anyone to join and discuss technical matters, catch up with each other, say Hi, etc.. The program (and recording) will end at 12:30, but the Waiting Room will remain open until about 1 pm for informal discussion.

ZOOM LINK

Raj is inviting you to an ICSS Sunday scheduled Zoom meeting
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2591082607?pwd=QnpGYXAzNlNQblZOck9lWUZMQTNIQT09

Meeting ID: 259 108 2607
Passcode: ICSS0206rs
One tap mobile
+16699006833,,2591082607#,,,,*6940540785# US (San Jose)
+13462487799,,2591082607#,,,,*6940540785# US (Houston)

Dial by your location
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
Meeting ID: 259 108 2607
Passcode: 6940540785
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kc4RrpvAiQ

NOTE: During the Plague Year of 2020 GA will be held every week or two on Zoom. To find out the exact time a date get on the Occupy Oakland email list my sending an email to:

occupyoakland-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 4 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 4:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland. (Note: we tend to meet at 3:00 PM during the cooler months from November to early March after Daylights Savings Time.)

On every ‘last Sunday’ we meet a little earlier at 3 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.

OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over six years, since October 2011! 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

oscargrantcommittee-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

In alliance with the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) we organized the October 23, 2010 labor and community rally for Justice for Oscar Grant. On that day the ILWU shut down the Bay Area ports in solidarity. Our mission is to educate, organize and mobilize people against police and state repression. Sisters and brothers! The Oscar Grant Committee invites you to join us in this vital struggle.

We meet on the 1^st Monday of each month
You can join our discussion list by sending a blank (doesn’t even need a subject) email to

oscargrantcommittee-subscribe@lists.riseup.net

Email bayareadebtorsunion@gmail.com for Zoom link.

Twice monthly meetings, 2nd and 4th Wednesdays.

An online webinar on the way forward for policy and practices for sex worker rights in LA and California.

Register

The Stop the Raids Committee (https://stoptheraids.org/) formed to address the onslaught of raids and arrests of members of our sex work community – including our clients. We fully expect that those raids will ramp up in the run up to Super Bowl LVI, which will be held Sunday February 13th, 2022 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

** Large sporting events like the Super Bowl see a huge increase in raids and arrests of sex workers, our clients, houseless people and others. Poverty and survival are being criminalized.

** Research shows that anti trafficking raids result in the devastation of everyone’s lives, and that actual victims don’t get help. See the IHRC report – https://humanrightsclinic.usc.edu/2021/11/15/over-policing-sex-trafficking-how-u-s-law-enforcement-should-reform-operations/.

Free COVID-19 Vaccine Fair happening this weekend! No appointment or ID needed. Please help spread the message, and stay safe! pic.twitter.com/wrEUQIx4Yd

— The Unity Council (@TheUnityCouncil) February 8, 2022

Email strike.debt.bay.area@gmail.com a few days beforehand for the the online invite.

For February, 2022 we’re reading the first three chapters of The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by the late David Graber and co-author David Wengrow.

For March, we’re reading the next four chapters, 4-7.

For April, we are finishing the book.

All are welcome!

“A dramatically new understanding of human history, challenging our most fundamental assumptions about social evolution―from the development of agriculture and cities to the origins of the state, democracy, and inequality―and revealing new possibilities for human emancipation…”

Strike Debt Bay Area hosts this non-technical book group discussion monthly on new and radical economic thinking. Previous readings have included Doughnut Economics, Limits, Banking on the People, Capital and Its Discontents, How to Be an Anti-Capitalist in the 21st Century, The Deficit Myth,  Revenge Capitalism, the Edge of Chaos blog symposium , Re-enchanting the World: Feminism and the Politics of the Commons, The Optimist’s Telescope, Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism, Exploring Degrowth, The Origin of Wealth and Mine!.

Free COVID-19 Vaccine Fair happening this weekend! No appointment or ID needed. Please help spread the message, and stay safe! pic.twitter.com/wrEUQIx4Yd

— The Unity Council (@TheUnityCouncil) February 8, 2022

Bourgeois ideologists have been successful in obscuring the class basis of various international conflicts. Too few on the Left actively counter those narratives.  We will discuss the consequences of this failure for the struggle for working class power, using Ukraine  as a kind of case study.  Attendees are invited and urged to bring their insights and knowledge to the discussion.  Richard Fallenbaum, a member of ICSS will make a brief introduction..

LOGIN INFORMATION

Our Zoom room will be opened up, as usual, at 10:15 for anyone to join and discuss technical matters, catch up with each other, say Hi, etc.. The program (and recording) will begin as close to 10:30 am as possible and will end at 12:30, but the Waiting Room will remain open until about 1 pm for informal discussion.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2591082607?pwd=OGJrSW85ZzgrMnBUUCtnemlKMk5pdz09

Meeting ID: 259 108 2607
Passcode: ICSS0213rs
One tap mobile
+16699006833,,2591082607#,,,,*6227939265# US (San Jose)
+13462487799,,2591082607#,,,,*6227939265# US (Houston)

Dial by your location
+1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
+1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
+1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
+1 929 205 6099 US (New York)
+1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
+1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
Meeting ID: 259 108 2607
Passcode: 6227939265
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kc4RrpvAiQ

As you’re all aware, for the last several years I’ve been intimately involved in our MH “system”. It’s horrid and dysfunctional. In fact the WHO refers to the good old USof A, as being the worst place on the planet to be seriously mentally ill. Although it’s hard to, I believe them.

For three years now I’ve been helping to organize a very grassroots family organization – Families Advocating for the Seriously Mentally Ill (FASMI). We have lobbied, advocated, found allies, spoken up and educated and organized ourselves. Now we’re just plain fed-up and are taking our issues public as best we can.

On February 13th, Sunday, at 1:00 we will be rallying on the steps of the Board of Supervisors and some of us will stay and sleep there till their meeting Tuesday afternoon. Pamela Price and Loni Hancock will be speaking (briefly) among others – most importantly, families telling their stories (again briefly).

We’ll have art and music. Please join us and spread the word to whomever you think would be interested. I’m attaching our press release and flier.

HOSPITALS AND HOMES NOT JAILS AND STREETS

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE January 28,2022
Event:  Rally for HOSPITALS AND HOMES, NOT JAILS AND STREETS
for our Community Members with Serious Mental Illness

Alameda County Behavioral Health Department ignores State funds earmarked for
improving and expanding mental health infrastructure, while Supervisors vote to pour
money into Santa Rita Jail, which will conOnue to be the default warehouse of people
with mental illness.

Organized by Families Advoca.ng for the Seriously Mentally Ill (FASMI)

On Sunday, February 13, the day before Valen’ne’s Day, beginning at 1:00 p.m., a broad-based
group of family ac’vists will gather on the plaza in front of the Board of Supervisors office
building at 1221 Oak Street in downtown Oakland to demand that Alameda County redirect
resources away from incarcera’on and into desperately needed community-based facilities
and services for those with Serious Mental Illness. There will be music and speakers, including
Alameda County District AQorney candidate Pamela Price, and former State Senator Loni
Hancock, throughout the aUernoon.

Participants will remain in the plaza un’l Tuesday, when the Supervisors meet, to demand a
public mee’ng to discuss recent funding decisions taken by the BOS and Alameda County
Behavior Health.

At a ‘me when the State of California is flush with tax revenue, and when the governor has
signaled that he intends to release funds to tackle the related problems of homelessness and
untreated mental illness, it is essen’al that elected officials listen to those who live with the
consequences of untreated mental illness. Families demand that all available resources are
sought and that they are allocated in a way that will make a difference in the lives of their
loved ones.
The State Legislature has already enacted the Behavioral Health ConOnuum Infrastructure
Program (BHCIP), which makes $2.2 billion in grants available to coun’es who apply for them
to “construct, acquire, and expand proper’es” that serve individuals with Mental Illness. These
funds can be used for much needed acute and/or sub-acute facili’es and suppor’ve housing.
Yet, to date, Alameda County Behavioral Health has declined to apply during the first rounds of
grants. These funds are once in a genera’on opportuni’es to create a decent con’nuum of
mental health care in the community. There are also other grants that can be used to subsidize
staffing and other needs.

At the same ‘me that the County is ignoring the opportunity to build more and beQer
community-based treatment centers, the Board of Supervisors has voted to allocate $300
Million to Sheriff Ahern for mental health facili’es at Santa Rita Jail, which has been sued for
its inhumane treatment of mentally ill prisoners. Ac’vists agree that jail condi’ons for those
with mental illness are deplorable, but they reject the idea that jail remain the default for
dealing with untreated mental illness. Public Defender Brian Bloom, who has been a fellow
advocate along with many others calling for “Care First, Jail Last” policies, said of the recent
seQlement, “Of course I want mentally ill individuals to be treated well in jail. But there’s only
so much money (and so many clinicians!) to go around: every penny that is spent in jail is a
penny not spent on keeping someone out of jail. “ Individuals frequently wind up in jail for
minor infrac’ons or innocuous behaviors simply because there is no other place to take them:
our hospitals and outpa’ent agencies are over-burdened. Jails are the beds that never say no.
Elected officials must step up and for’fy our Mental Health System so that it delivers for the
most vulnerable and overlooked members of our society: those with serious mental illness.
The demonstra’on is sponsored by Families Advoca.ng for the Seriously Mentally Ill (FASMI), a
coali’on of family members, caregivers and supporters of those with severe neurobiological
disorders (aka SMI) such as schizophrenia, schizoaffec’ve disorder and bipolar disorder. FASMI
advocates for changes to public health funding, laws, policies and prac’ces that fail to
adequately help those with these illnesses. Families are the frontline of care and sustenance
for the mentally ill, but without the support of our ins’tu’ons and laws we are helpless to
protect our loved ones, and our family members become society’s problems.