Community Assembly Call Out in Response to Oakland Fire and Housing Crisis

The Post Salon Community Assembly, community organizations and individuals throughout the city will come together after the first of the year to build a unified response to the displacement that is occurring in the wake of the Ghost Ship fire, homelessness, eviction of non-profits from downtown Oakland and the crisis of affordable housing that the city is facing.

The assembly will take place in City Hall chambers at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 4. Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan has agreed to host the meeting for the community.

Organizations and individuals are being contacted to participate in and co-sponsor this community forum.  For information call (510) 287-8200.

Join the Oakland Privacy Working Group to organize against the surveillance state,  against Urban Shield, and to advocate for privacy and surveillance regulation ordinances to be passed around the Bay Area, including the Alameda and San Francisco County Boards of Supervisors, the BART Board of Directors, and by the Oakland and Berkeley City Councils.

We are also engaged in the fight against Predictive Policing and other “pre-crime” and “thought-crime” abominations, drones, improper use of police body cameras, ALPRs, requirements for “backdoors” to your cellphone and against other invasions of privacy by our benighted City, County, State and Federal Governments.

OPWG originally came together to fight against the Domain Awareness Center (DAC), Oakland’s citywide networked mass surveillance hub. OPWG was instrumental in stopping the DAC from becoming a city-wide spying network; its members helped draft the Privacy Policy that puts further restrictions on the now Port-restricted DAC, and made Oakland’s new Privacy Advisory Commission to the City Council happen.  We were also the lead in having Alameda County pass the most comprehensive privacy and usage policy in the country for deployment of “Stingray” technology (cell phone interceptors).

We have presented our work at RightsCon in San Francisco and at Left Forum and HOPE in New York City.

If you would like to attend our meeting and would like a quick introduction to what we’re doing before we dive right into the thick of our agenda, send email to contact@oaklandprivacy.org and one of us will show up twenty minutes early to give you some background on our work.

Stop by and learn how you can help guard our right not to be spied on by the government.

If you are interested in joining the Oakland Privacy Working Group email listserv, send an email to:

oaklandprivacyworkinggroup-subscribe AT lists.riseup.net

or send a request to contact@oaklandprivacy.org

Check out our website.

For more information on the DAC check out

• DAC FAQ
• Oakland Wiki Domain Awareness Page
• Oakland Privacy WordPress

The Oakland Privacy Advisory Commission will be conducting a public hearing on the draft Surveillance Technology Ordinance. Here is the draft which has been recently modified and approved to form for submission.

Oakland-Ordinance-12-16-16

Please share this information widely to encourage public comment as the Commission prepares to submit this draft to the Oakland City Council.

Comments can be submitted ahead of time  directly to jdevries@oaklandnet.com. For more information about the Commission, visit the website: http://www2.oaklandnet.com/OAK057463

Schedule:

5:10pm: Presentation on Surveillance Equipment Ordinance by Nuala O’Connor, President and CEO
of Center for Democracy and Technology; Question and Answer session.
5:20pm: Presentation on Surveillance Equipment Ordinance by Professor Catherine Crump, Co-
Director Berkeley Center for Law & Technology; Question and Answer session.
5:30pm: Discuss and take possible action on a Surveillance Equipment Ordinance.

Please note that the disco room at the Omni is upstairs and is not accessible for folks with physical disabilities who cannot get up a flight of stairs.

All Out for Oscar! 

Oscar has been imprisoned for almost 36 years for the charge of seditious conspiracy. The only legal remedy left is a presidential pardon
or commutation.
All sectors of Puerto Rican society, Nobel laureates, Latin American leaders, Former President Carter and Senator Bernie Sanders
have all called for his release. Let’s celebrate Oscar’s 74th birthday on January 6 by joining the hundred thousand who petitioned the White House and demand: FREE OSCAR LOPEZ RIVERA NOW!
You can also CONTACT The White House on JAN 6 and 13
For more info, go to: http://boricuahumanrights.org/

11 Years Ago, in the city of Oakland…

A collective of art gallery owners now known as Art Murmur, created a free once-a-month art gallery walk. The event became so successful, that galleries became overwhelmed with the amount of attendees who began overflowing into city streets.

To protect pedestrians and provide greater accessibility to the non-gallery community, participating collective Rock Paper Scissors (RPS), filed for a monthly permit to block the streets from auto-traffic under an event dubbed “The 23rd St. Fair.”  This event turned into what is now Oakland First Fridays: the most renowned art, music, food and cultural community event in the Bay Area.

Oakland First Fridays’ 11th Anniversary Event Dedicated in Tribute to the Ghostship Collective

Our hearts go out to Oakland’s creative community and those who have been heavily impacted by the Oakland Fire. The collective loss of life, shelter, and livelihood is an unimaginable tragedy.

In light of this very challenging time, we would like to pay tribute to Oakland’s Creative Community, by dedicating our 11th Anniversary Event to celebrating the life and art of the vibrant creatives, survivors and victims of the Ghostship tragedy.

On Luis’s 9th month commemoration, SAT. JANUARY 7th 10am-1pm, we will celebrate the Mexican tradition of sharing Rosca de Reyes by breaking bread and drinking hot chocolate, and expressing generosity towards our homeless encampment neighbors by bringing a few basic material gifts for them (e.g. socks.)

For our Coalition, this is also the critical start to the next three months of organizing leading up to the 1 year anniversary of Luis’s killing. Let’s get there together with his family in San Francisco and Yucatán! We’ll announce the first court date in the civil case on Jan 7th too.

For this event we are teaming up with individuals and associations who already work on anti-police brutality, indigenous rights, immigrant rights and unhoused/homeless outreach to collaborate with us.

If you would like to help out, please write to justice4luis@gmail.com

Come out to the first ARC General Meeting of the new year! At this meeting, members will:

– Hear from and vote on a new President for ARC!
– Preview a draft of the organization’s new bylaws
– Meet the new tenant organizers who are starting in January
– Discuss and vote on top policy changes for Ordinance 3148

Let’s organize and fight back to get the protections we need. See you on January 7! Location TBA — stay tuned.

This year, Oakland’s Anti Police-Terror Project is calling on our Bay Area community to up the resistance level, as we reclaim the radical legacy of Martin Luther King and resist the fascist Trump agenda. This year the Reclaiming King’s Radical Legacy March on Monday (1/16) will launch 120 hours of direct action, culminating on #HellNawGuration Day (1/20). This year we are focused on immigrant rights, protection of our Muslim brothers and sisters, womens reproductive rights, loving our LGBTQ sisters, brothers and siblings, and the defense of Black life.

As is our custom, we will host a Spokescouncil meeting to plan and coordinate actions in the SF Bay Area. PLEASE SAVE THE FOLLOWING DATES in your calendar.

Tues Jan 3 – 6-9pm – Omni Commons**
Sat Jan 7 – 2-5pm – First AME Church
Tues Jan 10 – 6-9pm – Omni Commons**
Sat Jan 14 – 2-5pm – First AME Church
Tues Jan 17 – 6-9pm – Omni Commons**
Thurs Jan 19 – 6-9pm – 955 7th St.

* If it”s your first meeting, please make sure to show up early to attend the orientation!
** The OMNI Commons meeting space is wheelchair accessible, and has a wheelchair accessible bathroom however the bathroom is not fully ADA compliant.

What is a spokescouncil?

A spokescouncil is a collective framework for direct action mobilizations, where large masses of people organize themselves into smaller teams called “affinity groups”. Affinity groups plan their actions independently with the intention of advancing the larger goal of the spokescouncil. Affinity groups are represented by at least one person (“a spoke”) at the meetings, where they are able to share resources and coordinate their actions with other groups.

Why a spokescouncil?

We propose the spokescouncil as a solution to many of the shortcomings of unstructured mass assemblies. We intend to provide a highly structured organizing space with clear tactical and messaging guidelines, that empowers participants to organize independently and in parallel. We intend to inspire a multitude of diverse actions and awaken the massive potential we have as a community engaging in direct action.

** for questions or more information about the spokescouncil please contact aptpspokescouncil@gmail.com

Starline is hosting a benefit gig for the Immediate Oakland Fire Relief Fund, featuring Rituals of Mine, Wax Idols, Anticon artist JEL, Kool A.D. with Cult Days, and more.

More info: http://www.eastbayexpress.com/oakland/rituals-of-mine-ghost-ship-benefit/Content?oid=5072561

The Occupy Oakland General Assembly meets every Sunday at 3 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 3:00 PM we meet in the basement of the Omni Collective, 4799 Shattuck Ave., Oakland.  (In prior years we have agreed to meet at 4:00 PM during summer hours, that is, once Daylight Savings Time goes back into effect).

On every last Sunday we meet a little earlier at 2 PM to have a community potluck to which all are welcome.

OO General Assembly has met on a continuous basis for over five years! 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

1. Welcome & Introductions
2. Reports from Committees, Caucuses, & Independent Organizations
3. Announcements
4. (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

The Community Democracy Project is your connection to direct democracy in Oakland! Convened out of Occupy Oakland in Fall 2011, we’re gathering steam on a campaign to bring the people back in touch with the city’s resources through participatory budgeting.

Picture this: Across Oakland, Neighborhood Assemblies are regularly
held in every community. People come together to tackle the important issues of their neighborhoods and of the city. At these assemblies, people don’t just have discussions–they learn from one another, from city staff, and they make fundamental decisions about how the city should run. They decide the city budget.

Democratic, community budgeting is a powerful step toward building strong communities, real democracy, and economic justice–and it’s being done all over the world.

The budget of the City Oakland totals more than $1 billion per year. Although part of the budget must be used for specific purposes, still over half of the budget–over $500 billion per year–consists of general purpose funds paid by the taxes, fees, and fines of the people of Oakland. The Mayor and the City Council decide the city budget, with minimal input from the community.

Working together, we will not only get a seat at the table–we will REBUILD the table itself. Participatory democracy is real democracy–join us to say: Local People, Local Resources, Local Power!

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.

Join AROC in Taking Action to Stop Urban Shield!

On Tuesday, January 10th, the Stop Urban Shield Coalition will be rallying to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors meeting, where the Sheriff is set to present on the militarized policing program and weapons expo Urban Shield. At the last meeting, the Sheriff’s department flat out lied to both the Supervisors and the general public, claiming that they were not applying for the federal funding that they use to hold Urban Shield. We knew otherwise, and a public records request proved us right.

With a Trump presidency right around the corner, stopping Urban Shield in Alameda County is a key local step to resisting the threats posed by him and his administration. Alameda County must stop sponsoring the racist, xenophobic, and lethal strategies, tactics, and technologies being spread by Urban Shield. We hope that you will join us in this fight, as it is now more important than ever.

• Come out on Tuesday, January 10th for our rally and press conference at the Alameda County Board of Supervisors Meeting. We want to pack the room to show that our communities reject Urban Shield and everything it represents. 10am, Alameda County Administration Building, 1221 Oak St, Oakland, CA 94612. [Facebook]

• Call the Board of Supervisors on Monday, January 9th. Click here for contact info and a script that you can use.

• Are you an Alameda County Resident? Sign our petition, and share it with your networks.