Calendar

9896
Dec
5
Tue
Oakland City Council Public Safety – #DeportICE Legislation @ Oakland City Hall, Hearing Room 1, Oscar Grant Plaza
Dec 5 @ 6:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Update: The SEIU/IPTE strike has caused the cancellation of the 12-5 Public Safety Committee. New date (12-12) is tentative and will be confirmed as soon as possible.

Deport ICE: The Resolution To End Cooperation With ICE

On December 5th, Oakland’s Public Safety Committee will debate a resolution from Desley Brooks and Rebecca Kaplan to end all Oakland Police Department cooperation with ICE, after assistance in an August 16 raid violated the city’s sanctuary policy.

Video Samples from the November 28 hearing on the ICE Raid
https://oaklandprivacy.org/2017/11/29/oakland-turns-out-for-long-delayed-ice-raid-hearing/

On August 16, HSI/ICE conducted an AM raid on the 700th block of 27th Street in West Oakland with OPD assistance. The raid was advertised (erroneously) as a search warrant for the sexual trafficking of juveniles, biut there were no actual allegations of sexual abuse, no juveniles were removed from the home and the solitary arrest was for being undocumented. The 25 year old arrestee is now in the deportation process. At an October 5th investigation and hearing that the OPD Chief did not attend, Oakland’s Privacy Commission concluded that the raid violated Oakland’s sanctuary city policy and several statements made by OPD chief Anne Kirkpatrick about the raid were false.

Video of the OPAC hearing is here. https://oaklandprivacy.org/2017/10/06/privacy-advisory-commission-investigation-of-oakland-ice-raid-concludes-violation-of-sanctuary-city-policy/

East Bay Express coverage is here:
https://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/oakland-police-chief-made-false-statements-about-ice-raid/Content?oid=9793923

City Council members Desley Brooks and Rebecca Kaplan have now initiated legislation to end the sanctuary loophole but need our help to get it through the full Council.

Oaklanders and other Bay Area residents who want sanctuary legislation taken seriously around the Bay should attend.

Much else also of interest on the agenda for activists keeping tabs on OPD, Urban Shield and ICE.

https://oakland.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=574689&GUID=4AFF07E1-1E60-4C10-8516-7C380353658B&Options=info&Search=

  • Bay Area Urban Area Security Initiative Program MOU
  • Fiscal Year 2017 Urban Area Security Initiative Program Grant Agreement
  • OPD Crime Analysis Software Contracts
  • Regarding The HSI/ICE Raid In West Oakland On August 16, 2017
  • Resolution Clarifying And Reaffirming Policy On Non-Cooperation With ICE
  • Overtime Expenditures In The Police And Fire Departments For FY 2017-18

 

NOTE: THERE IS SOME POSSIBILITY THIS MEETING WILL BE CANCELLED DUE TO OAKLAND CITY WORKERS GOING OUT ON STRIKE.

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Know Your Options Workshop: Opiate Overdose First Response @ Qilombo
Dec 5 @ 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm
“POLICING IS A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE”

Because policing fails to meet people’s needs, and puts people in danger of arrest, imprisonment, and/or even death, we must eliminate connections between policing and healthcare.

Critical Resistance Oakland and The Oakland Power Projects present: The “Know Your Options: Opiate Overdose First Response” workshop

This workshop is designed to increase people’s understanding of how policing, incarceration and gentrification drive health inequalities manifest as chronic illnesses and to empower folks who live with them to access the care they need with minimal contact with law enforcement. The workshop ends with the problem of substance use and specific training on responding to and reversing drug overdoses.

The “Know Your Options” workshop series aims to increase people’s access to the healthcare they need and to decrease people’s contact with law enforcement. Workshops are facilitated by healthcare workers and community organizers.

Please enable accessibility to the space and come fragrance free.

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No Coal in Richmond Meeting @ Bobby Bowens Progressive Center
Dec 5 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Only three ports in the state of California still export dirty coal, and one of them, the Levin-Richmond Coal Terminal, is right here in the Bay Area on the Richmond waterfront.  Our goal:  Take Richmond off that list.

Join the Sierra Club Bay Chapter, 350 Bay Area, Sunflower Alliance and community residents at a meeting to discuss ideas and strategies for stopping coal exports through the Bay Area.   We’ll have a few updates, then break into groups to start planning different paths forward.  Betsey Noth, a researcher at UC Berkeley who is setting up monitoring stations around Richmond, will be there to speak as well.   Help Move the Bay Area Beyond Coal!

 

63954
Dec
6
Wed
Reform BAAQMD (Air Quality) Permitting Rules @ First Floor Hearing Room
Dec 6 @ 9:30 am – 12:00 pm

This is a big one!  For the first time in many years, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) will be considering revisions to their permitting process.   The Air District’s past permitting record indicates a very bad habit of rubber stamping projects that endanger community health and destabilize the climate.  Can that behavior be reformed?

Unfortunately, the Air District is once again using AB 398—the recently passed cap and trade extension bill—to argue that it is prohibited from any direct regulation of CO2 emissions.  Although the bill specifically restricts Air Districts from taking actions that produce CO2reductions, BAAQMD legal staff insists that this also prohibits them from preventing future emission increases.

As a result, staff’s proposed improvements to current permitting rules, Rules 2-X,  intentionally do nothing to control future CO2 emissions.  The result is that dangerous projects—like the proposed expansion of crude-by-ship into the Phillips 66 marina at the Rodeo refinery—will continue to be rubber stamped.  The “improvements” fail to prevent the increased emissions that inevitably follow from changes to dirtier, more GHG- and toxics- emitting crude sources.

Staff is using the same interpretation of AB 398 to argue that Rule 12-16, the proposed refinery emissions cap, can no longer be considered.

Please join us on Wednesday, December 6th, to demand permitting rules and refinery emission caps that truly prevent increased future emission of carbon dioxide and toxic co-pollutants.  We must have Rule 12-16 back on the BAAQMD agenda where it  belongs. Talking points will be provided before the meeting.

 

 

Thanks to 350Bay Area and Jed Holtzman for this excellent analysis of the Proposed Changes to the Permits Regulations.  

63956
ELLA BAKER CENTER END OF YEAR CELEBRATION! @ Fruitvale San Antonio Senior Center’s Multi-Purpose Room
Dec 6 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Join our end of the year celebration! We will celebrate our 2017 victories and plan for our state level campaigns in the year ahead! Can’t wait to see you there.

64002
Fingerprints on a Hunger Strike: Launch For Tony Robles’ New Book on the Frisco 5 @ The Green Arcade
Dec 6 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
fingerprints.jpg
San Francisco Arts Commission award-winning poet Tony Robles focuses on the Frisco Five’s hunger strike held in April and May 2016 in front of the Valencia Street cop shop, protesting police killings.

Robles also speaks of incarceration with a unique eye within the lens that is Frisco. The continuing displacement and neglect of elderly and low-income residents in the face of property development build another topic of concern, emerging from the poet’s great love of San Francisco and all its inhabitants.

Kim Shuck, the current Poet Laureate of the City, maintains that “Robles does the work on the streets and on the pages” while he “speaks of the city as a relative with a life-threatening illness: with love and anger.” Tony’s first book is Cool Don’t Live Here Anymore.

Jackie Ramos — Poetess. Actress. Educator. Urban Health Researcher. Truth Liberator. Born and raised in Frisco.

Equipto — Frisco Five Hunger Striker. A member of Bored Stiff, a hip hop group from San Francisco. He has collaborated with other artists such as Andre Nickatina, Berner. Just completed the “California Harvest Tour” of the Midwest and South.

Ben Bac Sierra — Author of Barrio Bushido, English Professor at City College of San Francisco and a Renaissance Homeboy whose poetry and community work honors Frisco.

Tiny — Tiny (aka Lisa Gray–Garcia) is a poverty scholar, revolutionary journalist, PO’ Poet, spoken word artist, welfareQUEEN, lecturer, mixed race mama of Tiburcio and daughter of Dee and the co–founder and executive director of POOR Magazine/PoorNewsNetwork.

SaicoXskitS are members of a Tagalog English rap group called KASAMAS. Currently working together as a duo on an album that talks about Filipino Immigrants and migrants story and linking it back home. Saico and Skits are also community organizers in the South of Market whose work focuses on youth and tenants.

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On Being American: Khizr Khan in Conversation with May Elawar @ Glide Memorial Church ( Use Taylor Street entrance)
Dec 6 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
sm_khan-khzir-raw-fw17.jpg Last July, Khizr Khan captivated the nation with his speech at the Democratic National Convention in which he criticized Donald Trump for his stance against immigrants and Muslims.

He spoke as the father of a Muslim US soldier killed in combat about what it means to dedicate your life to the promise of the American dream, inspiring a renewed patriotism and pride in the hearts of many Americans. His six-minute speech became a powerful cultural touchstone when he pulled a pocket-size copy of the Constitution out of his suit jacket and asked Donald Trump directly “Let me ask you: have you even read the United States Constitution? I will gladly lend you my copy.”

In his memoir, An American Family: A Memoir of Hope and Sacrifice, he tells the story of his family’s pursuit of the American dream and why—especially in these tumultuous times—we must not be afraid to step forward for what we believe in when it matters most. An American Family is an intensely personal story about the nature of true patriotism in which Khzir traces his remarkable journey from humble beginnings on a poultry farm in Pakistan, to obtaining a degree from Harvard Law School, and raising a family in America. He shows what it means to leave the limitations of one’s country behind for the best values and promises of another. He also tells the story of his middle child, US Army Captain Humayun Khan, who was killed while protecting his base camp in Iraq, and the ways in which undying pride in their son and his sacrifice have helped him and his wife endure the deepest despair a parent can know.

CIIS Public Programs and GLIDE Center for Social Justice invite you to this important and inspiring discussion with Khizr Khan and May Elawar about what an American looks like, what being a nation of immigrants really means, and what it is to live, rather than simply to pay lip service to, our ideals.

We have a Buy One Get One Free Sale when you reserve two seats and two copies of Khizr Khan’s memoir to help make this event more accessible and encourage book sales. Sale ends Monday Dec 4th at 12PM.

63993
Sudo Room (Hackerspace) Weekly PARTY! – Potluck! @ Sudo Room, Omni Commons
Dec 6 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Our weekly PARTY to get this hackerspace together, to provide a venue for those things that otherwise cannot be worked out through day-to-day practice.

Potluck! – bring your own tasty dish!

63963
Dec
7
Thu
CANCELLED: Protest outside Verizon store against the rollback of net neutrality protections Emeryville. @ Emeryville’s Verizon store.
Dec 7 @ 10:00 am – 11:30 am

THIS EVENT HAS APPARENTLY BEEN CANCELLED.

Protest outside Verizon store against the rollback of net neutrality protections.

Host:
Joseph Liesner

Protest outside Verizon store against the rollback of net neutrality protections.

Join other Team Internet members at the protest. Internet users outraged by top Verizon lawyer turned FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s plan to gut net neutrality are planning to protest at Verizon retail stores across the country on Thursday, December 7th, one week before an expected vote at the FCC. Protesters will make it clear to members of Congress that the time is now to stand for net neutrality, not Verizon’s bottom line. And please remember, this event is about protesting actions of Verizon executives, lobbyists and their supporters in Washington, not the employees at these stores.

63999
Protest the Ongoing Attempted Murder of Net Neutrality @ Verizon
Dec 7 @ 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm

The new chairman of the FCC was a top guy at Verizon, and he just called a vote to kill net neutrality. On December 7, one week before the vote, we’ll protest at retail stores across the U.S. and demand that Congress stop Verizon’s FCC from destroying the Internet as we know it.

And please remember, this event is about protesting actions of Verizon executives, lobbyists and their supporters in Washington, not the employees at these stores. Please treat them with nothing but the utmost respect.

RSVP

63964
Bay Area Rally Against the Libyan Slave Trade! @ Oscar Grant Plaza
Dec 7 @ 5:30 pm – 6:30 pm

64016
Protest against the rollback of net neutrality protections – Berkeley @ Verizon Store
Dec 7 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Join other Team Internet members at the protest. Internet users outraged by top Verizon lawyer turned FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s plan to gut net neutrality are planning to protest across the country on Thursday, December 7th, one week before an expected vote at the FCC. Protesters will make it clear to members of Congress that the time is now to stand for net neutrality, not Verizon’s bottom line. And please remember, this event is about protesting actions of Verizon executives, lobbyists and their supporters in Washington, not the employees at these stores.

64000
Vigil / Town Hall for SFPD Shooting Victim Keita O’Neil @ True Hope of God in Christ Church
Dec 7 @ 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

We were just informed that SFPD changed their townhall on the police killing of Keita O’Neill to 6:00 pm. (was formerly scheduled for 1 pm). Please join us at the townhall, instead of the vigil, to demand justice. Keita O’Neil was a young Black man who was shot and killed by #SFPD on December 1 after a police chase at Griffith St and Fitzgerald Ave.

He was unarmed.

We offer our deep sympathy to his family and loved ones.

We are still trying to reach out to both his family and to witnesses of the events leading to his death. If you have information, please contact APTP either by direct message to our Facebook page or by email to aptpinfo atgmail.com

64017
Film Screening: ‘Growing Up Trans’ @ Ellen Driscoll Playhouse
Dec 7 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Dec 7@ 7pm in Piedmont, and Dec 9@ 3pm at The New Parkway,474 24th Street, Oakland

In the opening scene of the film 9-year-old Lia Hegarty is on a surfboard splashing in the ocean. From the sun,sea and her gleeful little-girl calls as she catches a wave, the sound and images move to her bedroom, where she declares,”I am transgender. I was born male, and I identify female. But I like to say I’m a girl stuck in a boy’s body.”

In taking a look at transgender children, Filmmakers Miri Navasky and Karen O’Connor go deep inside the lives of these children, their families and friends, tracing their path toward gender identity. Told from the perspective of parents, doctors, and the kids themselves, the documentary takes a powerful look at this new generation, exploring the medical possibilities, struggles and choices transgender kids and their families face today. The film gives viewers a chance to observe not only how amazingly self aware the youngsters are, but also how easily accepted they appear to be by their young friends. The experiences of these real people provide a striking contrast with the media obsession with celebrity, abuse or bathrooms.

Chief among the decisions facing these families is whether to take “puberty blockers” that delay an individual’s maturation to give them more time before making more permanent decisions about hormone therapies, and then, whether to take hormone therapy.

“The triumph of Growing Up Trans is that it makes viewers feel the struggle, suffering and some of the victories for the children and their parents even as it provides a world of information on coming-of-age transgender.” – David Zuriwak, Baltimore Sun

The screenings will be followed by a panel discussion of transgender children and their parents.

Free; no need to RSVP.

64019
Leading the Fight for Voting Rights: Jason Kander at the Berkeley Forum @ UC Berkeley, C230 Cheit Hall, Haas School of Business
Dec 7 @ 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm

LEADING THE FIGHT FOR VOTING RIGHTS: JASON KANDER AT THE BERKELEY FORUM

After narrowly losing the 2016 U.S. Senate election, Jason Kander founded Let America Vote, a campaign dedicated to ending voter suppression and gerrymandering. Through online and grassroots organizing, an aggressive media strategy, and advertising, Let America Vote seeks to lead the way against policies and practices that it deems harmful to eligible voters and their right to cast a ballot. Join the Berkeley Forum on Thursday, December 7 for an urgent discussion about electoral politics, political activism, and the future of voting in America.

Admission

This event is open to the public. Entry to the event will be open to ticketholders and, space-permitting, a limited number of walk-ins. Ticketholders are encouraged to arrive early to maximize their chances of getting in. Having a ticket does not guarantee access to the event but does give the ticketholder priority over walk-ins until 6:50 p.m., at which point walk-ins and ticketholders will have equal access to remaining seats. Our standard event policies apply. What follows is an overview of the admissions timeline. It may be subject to revisions as the event approaches. Seating in the venue is first-come, first served.

6:00 p.m. Event Admission Opens for Ticket Holders

6:50 p.m. Event Admission No Longer Guaranteed for Ticket Holders

6:50 p.m. Admission Opens for Walk-Ins (Limited Seating)

6:55 p.m. Admission Closed (No Late Seating)

7:00 p.m. Event Begins

More details will be shared very soon here and on our Facebook page. We encourage that you “Like” our Facebook page, The Berkeley Forum, to keep up to date on Forum events.

Note on Tickets

Tickets are non-transferable. While you may purchase a ticket on someone’s behalf, their name must be listed on the ticket. All attendees will be asked to present a Valid ID at the venue that matches the name on the ticket.

All tickets sales are final. Tickets are non-transferable and non-refundable.

To secure a seat for more than one person, simply fill out the form once again for each subsequent person with his or her information.

If you require an accommodation to fully participate in this event, please email accessibility@forum.berkeley.edu.

64018
Dec
8
Fri
Film Screening: OCCUPATION OF THE AMERICAN MIND @ Omni Commons ballroom
Dec 8 @ 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm

 

Film Screening, Followed by Moderated Discussion led by Dennis Bernstein of Flashpoints Radio, KPFA


Film
synopsis: Israel’s ongoing military occupation of Palestinian territory and repeated invasions of Gaza have triggered a fierce backlash against Israeli policies virtually everywhere in the world — except the US. Narrated by Roger Waters and featuring leading observers, the film explores the U.S.-based public relations campaigns that emerged in the 1980s to today, to provide a sweeping analysis of Israel’s decades-long battle for the hearts, minds, and tax dollars of the American people in the face of widening international condemnation. The effects and reverberations of this are felt not only in right wing media, but also in ‘liberal’ educational institutions media as well.

“I wish every American would watch this powerful documentary. Not only every person of conscience, but every taxpayer, must see it — and then ask themselves if the status quo is acceptable and can continue deep into the 21st century.”
– Gideon Levy | Columnist for Haaretz

“One of the most compelling and important documentaries in recent years, because it helps us make sense of the lies, mayhem, and injustice in the heart of the Middle East: Palestine. Never has propaganda, or ‘public relations’, been such a lethal weapon as it is in the hands of Israel, its apologists, and manipulators. To reach behind the facade that is ‘news’, watch this film.”
– John Pilger | Journalist and filmmaker

Sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County and Middle East Children’s Alliance.

Facebook event

Please share widely.

63948
Dec
9
Sat
California Solidarity Conference
Dec 9 – Dec 10 all-day

What is the California Solidarity Conference?

DECEMBER 9-10  |  OAKLAND CONVENTION CENTER

Saturday 9AM-5:45PM  | Sunday 10AM-5:30PM

The 2017 California Solidarity Conference is a resource for our movement.

This weekend-long “unconference” is an opportunity for movement organizers, legislative advocates, policy experts, and issue campaigners to build solidarity across issue areas and discuss how to lay the groundwork for long-term systemic change in California and beyond.

In the past year since the election, the progressive movement across the country has been engaged in all-out resistance – with California leading the charge. The Solidarity Conference is a chance for us to come together from across the state to share struggles, lessons, and victories so that we can move forward into 2018 united and ready to win.

This is an unconference – that means YOU set the agenda and choose how best to spend your time. We’ll come together every day for plenary sessions and panel discussions, and for the rest of the time you will choose from dozens of participant-led discussions and workshops – maybe you’ll lead one yourself!

Areas of Focus

  • Stopping the Trump agenda and defending targeted communities
  • Developing political power and organizing for long-term change
  • Working towards a bold progressive vision of the future

You set the agenda

This is an unconference. That means that when you arrive on Saturday morning, only the first block of sessions will be filled in. Participants (that’s you!) will be able to submit sessions online before the event and also on-site once you arrive.

Once you submit your sessions, our volunteer team of dedicated agenda-makers* will work to ensure that the highest level of diversity, variety, and impact is represented in the schedule. If multiple people submit similar sessions, we might encourage you to work together!

There will always be multiple sessions happening at every session block, and the evolving agenda will be located in an easy-to-find public space for when you are looking for your next session.

Any sessions that don’t make it into the schedule on Saturday can be re-submitted on Sunday, and it’s common for Sunday sessions to grow out of conversations that happen on Saturday.

All you need to submit a session is:

  • A title for your session
  • A very brief description
  • A list of session organizers (you and whoever is convening the session with you)
  • What kind of session is it (workshop, discussion, etc)

The biggest rule of an unconference: If you aren’t learning or contributing, go somewhere else. You are encouraged to vote with your feet and switch sessions whenever you want!

Conference Agenda

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Free admission for volunteers*

63996
SURJ Difficult Dialogues Workshop @ Sierra Club
Dec 9 @ 10:00 am – 1:00 pm

How do we approach the challenging conversations in our lives, whether its 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. Well try out what feels challenging, in a relatively low-stakes and supportive environment, allowing ourselves time to debrief, reflect, and learn from each other.

ACCESS NEEDS: This event is wheelchair accessible. We ask that guests do their best to be as scent free as possible. Please refer to this resource from the EastBay Meditation Center for more information on what that means: https://eastbaymeditation.org/accessibility/PDF/How-to-Be-Fragrance-Free-.pdf

63929
East Bay Alternative Book and Zine Fest @ Omni Commons
Dec 9 @ 11:00 am – 5:00 pm

From the sparkling zine community of The Bay Area, the 8th Annual East Bay Alternative Book and Zine Fest (EBABZ) invites you to immerse yourself within a ballroom of zine mania! EBABZ will feature over 60 vendors selling zines, comics, books, art, and workshops led by local artists and zinesters.

The East Bay Alternative Book and Zine Fest is an all-volunteer run and not-for-profit event dedicated to supporting, promoting, and educating the public about the zine, self-publishing, and DIY community of the Bay Area.

63962
IWOC Oakland’s Taco Pop-Up Benefit @ Enter on Hickory Street between Van Ness and Franklin
Dec 9 @ 11:00 am – 2:00 pm

Grab some tasty tacos from Chef Antonio Ramos, hang with us in the beautiful Cala Restaurant (which generally employs ~50% ex-incarcerated folks), and help fund our work to support California prisoner’s efforts to self-organize and fight back against the carceral state!

Tacos:
Duck ‘Carnitas’
Carne Asada
King-Trumpet Mushroom
Pumpkin Garlic

With choice of:
Salsa Verde
Salsa San Marzano
Pickled veggies

Add-ons:
Slow Poached Egg

Drinks:
Horchata (optionally boozy)
Persimmon agua fresca (optionally boozy)

Incarcerated Worker’s Organizing Committee is an organization which provides material support to inmates in California Prisons who are organizing together to end incarceration. We believe human beings don’t belong in cages.

IWOC is an all-volunteer organization, all proceed go toward covering costs associated with corresponding with inmates and providing material support.

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