CALL TO ACTION from PHSS Committee to End Sleep Deprivation
9:00am: RALLY & PRESS CONFERENCE outside the Courthouse
10:00am: COURTROOM SOLIDARITY (Crtrm 2, 17th Floor) with the prisoners who brought these cases

3:14-cv-02767-VC – Lipsey v. Norum et al
3:15-cv-05756-VC – Suarez v. Beard et al

On Feb 8, 2018, in the Federal Courthouse in San Francisco, the California Department of Corrections and rehabilitation (CDCr) will argue for the court to dismiss civil rights cases brought by Christopher Lipsey and Maher Suarez, who are imprisoned in California. The men’s cases challenge the constitutionality of the loud “security/welfare checks” that are done every 30 minutes in CA solitary units, causing serious sleep deprivation and other harms for the people in those units, and, as the lawsuits claim, constitute cruel and unusual punishment. (The guards do no checking on top of that). The lawyers for Christopher and Maher will argue that the case against CDCr administrators, guards, and wardens, must move forward. (HERE is a link to Christopher and Maher’s Opposition to CDCR’s motions to dismiss)

We are mobilizing support for the prisoners’ cases. Please be in the courtroom on Feb 8, and also outside, before court, for a Rally and Press Conference.

artwork by R.T. 2016

We have received many letters over the past two+ years from people in 14 different CA prisons describing the loud, disruptive “checks,” every 30 minutes/24 hours a day (now every 60 minutes at night in Pelican Bay SHU), and the mental and physical health problems the “checks” are causing or exacerbating. The courthouse is one place where we can amplify the voices of prisoners, expose the torture of the “checks” to society at large, and apply pressure for the “checks” to cease.

Christopher Lipsey started his case in 2014. He has been enduring the “checks” for over 3 years.

Let’s come together at the SF Federal Courthouse on Feb 8th in strong solidarity with all those who are suffering from the “checks,” and who cannot be in the courtroom or outside rallying and speaking about their experience. Let’s make a powerful showing against torture at the SF Federal Courthouse!

Our Committee has a number of purple t-shirts which will be available to wear at the rally and in the courthouse to show our solidarity with the prisoners. Please wear purple if possible!

Read more about the so-called “security/welfare “checks” at the Sleep Deprivation tab on the Prisoner Hunger Strike Solidarity Coalition’s website.

Recent article: The Policy of the Cruel and Absurd: Sleep Deprivation in California’s Prisons

If you have questions or want to give or get a ride to the SF Courthouse, please call Verbena at 707.267.4757.

See you on Thursday in San Francisco!

The Muslims I Know (2008) 58 minutes

The events of 9/11 have created much interest in Islam and Muslims. Mainstream media have responded to this demand for information with generalizations and stereotypes. America’s community of Muslims longs to be a part of the discourse. THE MUSLIMS I KNOW is a documentary that gives them a chance to be heard and understood through dialogue with non-Muslim Americans.

The underlying idea is to highlight similarities between Islam and other Abrahamic faiths and to celebrate the cultural richness and diversity brought into the American mix by Muslim communities. It is also a much needed platform for moderate Muslims to express their views about what’s happening in the world. By being both American and Muslim they have a unique insight into the complex inner workings of American foreign policy and the role of the media.

Doors Open 6:15pm
Film 6:30pm

Film Screening will be followed by Q & A with Mara Ahmed

East Bay DSA is thrilled to present a talk and Q&A with veteran Marxist organizer and founding member of PSOL in Brazil: Pedro Fuentes.

Recommended reading:

Brief notes on the world situation:
http://portaldelaizquierda.com/en/2017/01/brief-notes-on-the-world-situation/

Notes on Latin America:
http://portaldelaizquierda.com/en/2016/08/notes-on-latin-america-the-end-of-a-stage-and-cycle-and-the-beginning-of-another-and-also-a-cycle/

Pedro’s Bio:
Pedro Fuentes was born in Pergamino, Argentina and began his activism there as a teenager, when he and his brother joined a high-school student movement to reform the schools called Movimiento de Accion Reformista. Later, in the 1960s, he joined Palabro Obrera, led by the Argentine Trotskyist Nahuel Moreno, and organized in the factories in his city. In 1971, his older brother, Luis Enrique Pujals, was one of the first to be “disappeared” by Argentina’s dictatorship for his activity in the Partido Revolucionario de los Trabajadores (PRT). Soon after, Pedro was forced to flee Argentina and lived in exile for the duration of the dictatorship and beyond, traveling across Latin America and Europe and embedding himself in socialist movements wherever he went.

Eventually he moved to Brazil and in 2000 began organizing with Movimento Esquerda Socialista (MES), then a tendency in the Workers Party (PT). In 2003, the PT introduced anti-worker pension reforms supported by Brazil’s right wing parties. A number of dissenting PT deputies, including MES leader Luciana Genro, voted against the reforms and were subsequently expelled from the PT. Pedro joined these expelled leaders in founding PSOL as a left alternative to the PT. For many years he served as PSOL’s secretary of international relations, though he has recently stepped back to enjoy his old age

1st Session: 10:15 – 1:00 PM

2nd Session: 1:15 PM – 4:00 PM

We’ve all been there. Someone in a public place says or does something to another person that makes us feel uncomfortable or even scared for that other person. Learn how to intervene in those situations, including tactics from de-escalation strategies to some basic self-defense.

We’ll meet in a dojo, where you’ll have an opportunity to talk about and practice different intervention tactics, including practicing different strategies in different scenarios.
This training is also being offered in the afternoon.

Accessibility Information

The training will be held on the ground floor, and will be accessible to folks who are mobility impaired, but the bathroom is old and tight and so is not accessible to folks with wheelchairs. Scent-free soap will be provided in the bathroom.

Golden Gate Branch is hosting a pop-up exhibit and film screening of original Black Panther Party (BPP) memorabilia, put together by  historian Billy X Jennings, from the archives of ‘It’s About Time.’

After the film “Lords of the Revolution,” former Panthers will join us for a panel discussion of their experiences in the BPP. Delive into the history of this influential group with first-hand accounts of Party activities and programs.

Dr. Larry Shoup will speak and lead a discussion on:

“California’s Plutocratic Politics: Time for a Dialogue on Green Party Strategy and Tactics”
What time is it in terms of the earth’s ecologies? What time is it politically, in terms of activism for the people and the earth and against the threats posed by reactionary plutocratic Republicans and mainstream plutocratic Democrats? What are the implications for elections as the main focus of Green Party activism? What are the alternatives? The case for varied local Green Party campaigns to promote municipal grass roots democracy and community based economics. The goal of this Green Sunday is both educational and developmental in the sense of beginning a dialogue
on what should be our strategy and tactics for the immediate future and longer term.

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Larry Shoup was the Green Party candidate for California Secretary of State in 2002. He is the author of five books, including Wall Street’s Think Tank: the Council on Foreign Relations and the Empire of Neoliberal Geopolitics (Monthly Review Press 2015).
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No Ban No Wall: Confronting the Militarization of Our Borders

A panel discussion entitled No Ban, No Wall: Confronting the Militarization of Our Borders and Communities

The Trump presidency has increased attacks on immigrant and marginalized communities through targeting sanctuary cities, instituting the Muslim ban, and revoking temporary protected status for thousands. But, these actions are based on a long-standing foundation of xenophobia and criminalization. Such repression manifests not only at borders, but also in our backyards in the form of militarized policing, state surveillance, and collusion between local and federal law enforcement.

Join us for a panel discussion to analyze these intersections with some of the individuals working to defend the health and rights of immigrant communities.

� Ofelia Ortiz Cuevas, Assistant Professor of Chicana/o Studies at UC Davis

� Lara Kiswani, Executive Directoor of the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC)

� Pierre Labossiere, Co-Founder oof the Haiti Action Committee

� Abraham Vela M.D., Clinica Marttin-Baro volunteer

This event is part of the “Social Medicine for Our Times” event series organized by BCSM and CNA/NNU.

West Oakland/Uptown/Adams Point Social

Join the picket line with SEIU Service Employees Union EVERY FRIDAY.
STOP DEPORTATIONS and harassment of immigrants and refugees.

​Also…​

SF Labor Council Calls for a Clean Dream Act Now,
No Compromises;
Urges Labor Movement to Take Action!

[Resolution Adopted Unanimously by the Feb. 12, 2018, Delegates Assembly of the San Francisco Labor Council]

� For a Clean Dream Act Now and a Path to Citizenship for all Undocumented Youth!

� Not One More Deportatioon!

� No Funding for the Wall of Shame!

� No More Funding for Immigration Enforcement!

• Stop the I-9 Audits!

� No Workplace Raids!

� Defend Our Sanctuary Cities!

� Maintain TPS!

Whereas, on Feb. 9, 2018, both houses of the U.S. Congress adopted a budget for the upcoming fiscal year that does not include any protections for the close to 800,000 undocumented youth (Dreamers) brought to this country when they were children;

Whereas, United We Dream and thousands of undocumented youth organized actions and lobbied Congress in support of a Clean Dream Act — that is, continued protections and a path to citizenship for the 800,000 undocumented youth, WITHOUT any funding for the Wall of Shame and WITHOUT any further funding for ICE immigration enforcement;

Whereas, March 5, 2018, has been set as the deadline by the Trump administration for the adoption of any legislation that would extend DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals);

Whereas, House Speaker Paul Ryan — taking his lead from the Trump administration — has stated that any protection for undocumented youth, would require, in exchange, millions of dollars more to build the Wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and millions of dollars more for immigration enforcement;

Whereas, Sanctuary Cities — particularly in California — are under increased attack by the Trump administration;

Whereas, on Nov. 20, 2017, Trump’s Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke cut off Temporary Protective Status (TPS) for 60,000 Haitians and for more than 240,000 other immigrants from 10 nations (mainly from Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua);

Whereas, the San Francisco Chronicle reported that 77 I-9 audits took place in Northern California at the end of January 2018 — audits that are expected to increase and become workplace raids and deportations if and when a deal is struck on protections for undocumented youth in exchange for increased immigration enforcement and funding for the Wall; and

Whereas, undocumented youth — just like all 11 million undocumented immigrants, and just like all hundreds of thousands of TPS recipients — are part of the U.S. working class and deserve protections and a path to citizenship through a just immigration reform; in particular, they deserve the labor movement’s protection and support.

Therefore be it resolved, that the San Francisco Labor Council reaffirms its stance in support of the following demands: “For a Clean Dream Act and a Path to Citizenship for all Undocumented Youth! Not one More Deportation, No Funding for the Wall of Shame, No More Funding for Immigration Enforcement! Stop the I-9 Audits! No Workplace Raids! Defend Our Sanctuary Cities! Maintain TPS!”

Be it further resolved, that the San Francisco Labor Council will work closely with our community partners to call on our elected representatives to take a firm and unwavering stand for a Clean Dream Act Now; and

Be it finally resolved, that the San Francisco Labor Council calls on the California Federation of Labor and the national AFL-CIO to issue statements in support of a Clean Dream Act Now and to call for mobilizations, where possible, in alliance with our immigrant sisters and brothers and their organizations, to promote the above-stated demands.

Respectfully submitted by:

Olga Miranda, SEIU Local 87; member SF Labor Council Executive Committee; Rudy Gonzalez, IBT 856, member SF Labor Council Executive Committee; Susan Solomon, UESF, member SF Labor Council Executive Committee; Alan Benjamin, OPEIU Local 29.

We’re taking the repeal of the Costa Hawkins Rental Housing Act to the ballot!!!

Strong Rent Control and Just Cause Eviction laws are the way to keep people in their homes now, while we work to get more (truly) affordable housing built.  In order to have strong Rent Control laws, we need to repeal the Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, a state law which ties the hands of local government. Costa-Hawkins prevents\ cities and counties from applying rent control to apartments built after 1995 or to single-family rental units.  It also allows landlords to raise the rent as much as they want when a unit becomes vacant.

Our signature goal is 585,000 by the end of April, and well over 25% have been collected so far.  We can do this, but we need all hands on deck!!!

• Come out for a community kick-off event & signature gathering, followed by lunch.
• Endorse the Affordable Housing Act & get your petitions for your organization to help repeal Costa Hawkins & allow the expansion of strong rent control.

Chairman Omali Yeshitela, leader of the Uhuru Movement and African People’s Socialist Party returns to Oakland to discuss his lifelong work organizing for the liberation of Africa and African people everywhere, the state of today’s crisis of imperialism under Trump and the struggle for black socialism.

The event will take place in a relaxed setting with time for questions and discussion from the floor.

Bakari Olatunji, Market Manager for Uhuru Foods and Pies will also participate along with Penny Hess, chair of the African People’s Solidarity Committee

Food will be served.

In honor of #BlackSolidarityWeek, and in light of the recent released FBI report on so-called “Black Identity Extremists,” CRC will host a political education panel on the repression of Black dissidents.

Join leaders from the Anti Police-Terror Project and special guests Mama Akua Njeri and Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. for an evening of radical truth telling, solidarity building, and self defense.

On March 4, 1968 (exactly one month before King was assassinated), FBI Director Edgar Hoover issued this directive:

Prevent the Coalition of militant black nationalist groups. In unity there is strength, a truism that is no less valid for all its triteness. An effective coalition…might be the first step toward a real “Mau Mau” in America, the beginning of a true black revolution.

Prevent the rise of a “messiah” who could unify, and electrify, the militant black nationalist movement.

The assassination of 21 year old Chicago Black Panther Party Chairman Fred Hampton Sr. about 18 months later was a very clearly documented case of the U.S. government killing an African-American leader on American soil. The historic significance of this brutal act of repression cannot be overstated, and at this event, we will have opportunity to hear the testimony of survivors of the attack.

In August of 2017, the FBI released another internal memo: “Black Identity Extremists Likely to Target Law Enforcement Officers” conflating the upsurge in organized, political resistance to police terror with a violent and criminal threat.

In this historical moment, it is clear that Black leaders are being targeted for repression and neutralization. As a community, how can we defend the rights of Black people to organize and defend their communities from State violence?

We call on all who want to be in solidarity with Black people to attend this event and to help us spread the word. SHOW UP and show the State that your eyes are open to the repression of Black people by the U.S. government.

This is a fundraiser for the Black Solidarity Fund. Ticket sales will benefit Black-led organizations.

This is a Black Solidarity Week Self Defense Event.