Calendar

Please join us for our regular biweekly meeting of the Sunflower Alliance. We’ll discuss ongoing campaigns and plans for the future. Newcomers and old friends welcome — we need your participation and your voice.

It’s Election Night 2018 and Bob swears she’ll never vote again. A lifetime of fading fortunes made this former Obama voter take a chance on the new guy promising change-Donald J. Trump. But it’s two years into his presidency and Bob’s still waiting to start winning. Tonight she’s telling everyone in her small-town bar that all politicians are liars, the system is rigged, and nothing’s ever gonna change.

Along comes a mysterious stranger with an intriguing offer. He’ll show her an America where working people come together to demand a brighter future, where socialism isn’t a dirty word. He’ll take her all the way … to 1912.

Bob soon finds herself traveling back to a time when the Socialist Party was winning millions of American votes; uncovering a hidden history and realizing that she may have more in common with those pesky progressives on the coasts. She begins to ask: what will it take to get people to stop voting against their interests? How do we overcome the divide-and-conquer tactics that keep us all down? When did our electoral choices get so limited? And isn’t it time to get off the swinging pendulum that’s left us at our current impasse?

The Village (homeless intentional community) will be having an open pizza party. If you attend feel free to bring food and snacks or / and toppings for the pizzas to share. Folks and organizations that support will be coming through. Miguel who built the cob oven and the cob house on wheels will also be present. This is a good opportunity to touch base with volunteers and groups.

Dinner: 6:30 PM

Movie: 7:30 PM

Dara’a is an epicenter of the Putin-Trump led march toward global fascism. Dara’a is the southern Syrian region that initiated the 2011 Arab Spring inspired, democratic, peaceful revolution against the fascist (“national socialist”) Assad regime. Once again Russian bombs rain down and, with the help of Assad’s army and Iranian militia, usher in a total reign of terror on the civilian population. This human catastrophe created additional 300,000 refugees after over 400,000 Syrians have been killed. The cabal creates these refugees only to designate them as a less-than-human “infestation.”

Not since WWII have we faced such an abyss. How can one retain one’s humanity in these times?

From Yassin al-Haj Saleh’s Impossible Revolution:

My impression about this curious situation is that they simply do not see us; it is not about us at all. Syria is only an additional occasion for their old anti-imperialist tirades, never the living subject of the debate … We, rank-and-file Syrians, refugees, women, students, intellectuals, human rights activists, political prisoners … do not exist … But honestly I’ve failed to discern who is right and who is left in the West from a leftist Syrian point of view … Before helping Syrians or showing solidarity with Syrians, the mainstream Western left need to help themselves.

Documentary, 97 minutes, Rated NR

This depressing documentary, focusing mostly on matters in the state of Montana, shows the effect of untraceable corporate money on the American political system. It tries to be hopeful, but hope is hard to come by.

We document current events, make films together, steward an editing suite and share a film equipment library. We also host film screenings, often with local directors, and put on an annual short film festival for independent Bay Area filmmakers. Our goal is to make the digital filmmaking accessible – no overpriced college degree or certificate program required!

We are also a good group to reach out to if you’d like to screen a film at the Omni. We can be reached at liberatedlens@lists.riseup.net

We usually meet in the basement, unless otherwise noted.

onspire against the vicious housing market over drinks and/or food. Break bread, drink beer, and be merry with your neighbors. Meet some new friends. All ages friendly.

It’s Election Night 2018 and Bob swears she’ll never vote again. A lifetime of fading fortunes made this former Obama voter take a chance on the new guy promising change-Donald J. Trump. But it’s two years into his presidency and Bob’s still waiting to start winning. Tonight she’s telling everyone in her small-town bar that all politicians are liars, the system is rigged, and nothing’s ever gonna change.

Along comes a mysterious stranger with an intriguing offer. He’ll show her an America where working people come together to demand a brighter future, where socialism isn’t a dirty word. He’ll take her all the way … to 1912.

Bob soon finds herself traveling back to a time when the Socialist Party was winning millions of American votes; uncovering a hidden history and realizing that she may have more in common with those pesky progressives on the coasts. She begins to ask: what will it take to get people to stop voting against their interests? How do we overcome the divide-and-conquer tactics that keep us all down? When did our electoral choices get so limited? And isn’t it time to get off the swinging pendulum that’s left us at our current impasse?

It’s Election Night 2018 and Bob swears she’ll never vote again. A lifetime of fading fortunes made this former Obama voter take a chance on the new guy promising change-Donald J. Trump. But it’s two years into his presidency and Bob’s still waiting to start winning. Tonight she’s telling everyone in her small-town bar that all politicians are liars, the system is rigged, and nothing’s ever gonna change.

Along comes a mysterious stranger with an intriguing offer. He’ll show her an America where working people come together to demand a brighter future, where socialism isn’t a dirty word. He’ll take her all the way … to 1912.

Bob soon finds herself traveling back to a time when the Socialist Party was winning millions of American votes; uncovering a hidden history and realizing that she may have more in common with those pesky progressives on the coasts. She begins to ask: what will it take to get people to stop voting against their interests? How do we overcome the divide-and-conquer tactics that keep us all down? When did our electoral choices get so limited? And isn’t it time to get off the swinging pendulum that’s left us at our current impasse?

Wilson along with her sister, 26-year-old Lahtifa Wilson, were traveling home from a family function Sunday night on BART.

BART spokesman Jim Allison says 27-year-old John Lee Cowel attacked the sisters at random as they exited a train at the MacArthur station in Oakland.

Wilson died soon after police arrived, and her sister was taken to a hospital.

Family and friends say Wilson had a loving spirit and hoped to pursue a career in criminal justice.

Her brutal murder sent shock waves across the nation sparking a discussion on race relations and violence against women of color.

https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/funeral-service-planned-for-18-year-old-nia-wilson/1329191045

Sweep Out the Fascists: A Festival of Resilience

Endorsed by:
SURJ Bay Area
SURJ S.F.
National Lawyer Guild S.F. Bay Area Chapter
Solidarity Against Fascism East Bay (SAFEBay)
John Brown Anti-Klan Committee
Bay Area Queer Antifascist Network
International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network
Critical Resistance Oakland
International Socialist Organization
East Bay DSA
Socialist Feminist Caucus

Last August (2017), groups of white supremacists, aided by police and politicians, attempted to take over Berkeley’s Martin Luther King Jr. Park in order to build a base in the Bay. A crowd of thousands—including students, unionists, faith-based activists, teachers, and other everyday people—was there to confront them. We worked together to shut down the fascists and send them packing. Nationally, we sent a message that hate will not be welcome in the Bay. (Photo essay of 8/27 here: https://www.facebook.com/pg/kellyjohnsonrevelationaryphotography/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1371548832961154)

Once again, a group of white supremacists, Trump supporters, and fascists has announced a rally in downtown Berkeley for August 5, 2018. This event is part of a week-long nationwide “commemoration” of the hateful acts that took place nearly a year ago in Charlottesville, in which DeAndre Harris was beaten and Heather Heyer murdered. It is our duty to loudly and publicly reject their hate and to redouble our efforts in building a truly just and liberatory world.

We are calling on all members of our community to assemble together to stop white supremacist and state violence from growing. As history demonstrates, regular maintenance is required by people of heart and conscience to shut down white supremacy and fascism, which are foundational violences of this settler-colonial state. We’ve got to tend to the relationships and values that fuel, nourish, and inspire us to build a vision of collective liberation.

On August 5, we will gather to maintain a Bay Area free of fascism and white supremacy, sweeping out those that seek to deport, cage, harm, or extinguish members of our communities. Attacks on immigrants, Black and Indigenous people and other people of color, Muslims, the un-housed, queer and trans folks, disabled people, and/or women are becoming more prevalent as fascism reasserts itself in governments, state agencies, and increasingly organized groups across the globe. In the US, law enforcement, ICE and other deportation agents, and the jails and prisons work to remind people that this country was built on Indigenous land, on the backs of enslaved people, and that the prison industrial complex currently functions to maintain racial capitalism. We are reminded of this every time police kill another Black, Brown, and/or trans person in the streets. This country was founded on white supremacy and we must rise up with others around the world in an international movement to resist the fascism of both government and vigilantes. It’s time to take out the trash.

This is a community-wide call for each of us to perform critical community maintenance by removing fascists and white supremacists from our community. This will be a festival of resilience starting in Ohlone Park at 2pm going to MLK park for August 5, 2018. Featuring local artists, activists, musicians, comedians and everyday people. Our rally will send a clear message: “No hate in the Bay.”
#TrashtheFash #FashFreeBayArea

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

We document current events, make films together, steward an editing suite and share a film equipment library. We also host film screenings, often with local directors, and put on an annual short film festival for independent Bay Area filmmakers. Our goal is to make the digital filmmaking accessible – no overpriced college degree or certificate program required!

We are also a good group to reach out to if you’d like to screen a film at the Omni. We can be reached at liberatedlens@lists.riseup.net

We usually meet in the basement, unless otherwise noted.

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

We are a group of Bay Area tenants who are fed up with rising rents, evictions, and harassment at the hands of landlords. We are fed up with our neighbors having no option but to live unsheltered and at constant risk of police harassment. We want to stop landlords, developers, and cops from looting our communities.

Capitalism is what connects all of these housing issues. Profit has been prioritized over our quality of life. There is only one way to push against a system that exploits our need for housing: we have to get organized. Together we can take collective action, and begin to force overdue rent reductions across the Bay Area.

Because since 2004 the Alameda County jail population has decreased by half, yet the sheriff’s budget has since increased by 105%.

Because in the past 5 years 33 people have died while in jail custody.

Because in June, two men died in the span of just three days, both while in custody in the Santa Rita Jail.

August 7th is the last board meeting before the County Supervisors go on recess — let’s show up to demand that our elected officials do their job and hold the Sheriff accountable by allowing for a strong independent audit.

Ella Baker Center for Human Rights | www.ellabakercenter.org | 510.428.3939