Calendar
The Postal Service has put the Berkeley Post Office up for sale!!
The Postal Service has started to outsource Post Office services to Staples, replacing union jobs with low-paying, low benefit work.
And we’re fighting against both!
Come help us plan our next steps.
On July 29th, at our invite, Ralph Nader spoke on the steps of the Berkeley Post Office against privatization and corporatism. Watch and listen to his talk here.
We’ve began the “Don’t Shop at Staples” campaign with some awesome… what else? … postcards to send to Staples management! Here’s the front of the postcard. The campaign has been adopted by Postal Unions, the San Francisco Labor Council and has been endorsed by the AFL-CIO, and has gone national!
All four Postal Unions have joined together to support maintaining full service, public Post Offices in every community, with expansion to include postal banking, and to oppose subcontracting and privatization of services. The California Federation of Teachers passed a resolution in support of opposition to Staples. Just recently the American Federation of Teachers, AFCSME and UNITE HERE did too.
Check out our correspondence with the President of the American Postal Workers Union, Mark Dimondstein. The APWU has been leading the charge against Staples.
For most of July the sidewalk in front of Staples was ‘occupied’ 24/7 by an intrepid band of San Francisco occupiers with solidarity and support from BPOD members distributing literature and convincing people not to shop at Staples.
And we need to be prepared if the Post Office announces a sale! The Advisory Commission on Historical Preservation came out with its report, recommending that sales of Historic Post offices be halted until the USPS conforms with historical preservation law. Here is our response. Also the Office of Inspector General’s report on the sale of Historic Post Offices came out recently – anything could happen now since Congress’ “request” that no historic Post Offices be sold until it had come out has been honored and no further Congressional request or mandate has come down. Come help us plan our response.
We have joined with other activists in Berkeley to put a ballot initiative on the ballot to rezone the Berkeley Post Office and other areas in the Historic District to prevent privatization, and also to insure a better Downtown Berkeley. We succeeded in getting the necessary signatures; it will be voted on in November, but Tom Bates and the City Council have nefarious plans to undermine our coalition.
Encouraging articles are still coming out about using Post Offices as banking facilities for the unbanked. The National Conference of Mayors recently endorsed Postal Banking. Pew Research held a day-long seminar on Postal Banking.
We are planning our next event, ‘Jam the Sale.’ Spread the work and come help us out!
THINGS ARE HAPPENING!
Planning meeting. Everyone welcome! Please forward widely!
Join us on Tuesday, August 12, 7 pm, Niebly Proctor Library 6501 Telegraph Ave, Oakland, to plan the…
WEST COAST
PEOPLE’S CLIMATE RALLY
in solidarity with the historic September 21 NYC event called by 350.org and hundreds of local and national environmental, trade union and social justice organizations across the country.
All Out for Sun., September 21, 12 Noon – 5 pm
Oakland’s Lake Merritt Park Amphitheater
The Amphitheater is at the end of Lake Merritt near 12th Street &, Lake Merritt Blvd,
Laney College, and the Lake Merritt BART Station.
|
This historic Sept. 21 NYC protest will lead up to the UN Climate Summit of world leaders. Tragically, more inaction or inadequate action can be expected. We want to show the world that the climate crisis can no longer be ignored, that the planet earth is burning, that massive & unprecedented measures must be taken now to assure humanity’s future. The People’s Climate March is shaping up to be one of the largest climate justice mobilizations in history, with organizers of the march setting a goal of getting a half million people to demonstrate in NYC. For additional information: http://peoplesclimatemarch.org
While people all over the country are mobilizing for New York, a multitude of activists will undoubtedly be available to join us in Oakland. Let’s make the West Coast Solidarity action a great success.. • For a world with an economy that works for people and the planet • For a world safe from the ravages of climate change • For a world with good jobs, clean air, water and healthy communities |
Bay Area September 21 Coalition: Co-sponsors (Very initial list! Add your organization now!): 350 Bay Area; System Change Not Climate Change; KPFA; United National Antiwar Coalition; Democratic Socialists East Bay; Alameda County Peace and Freedom Party; No. Calif. Committees of Correspondence for Democracy and Socialism; Socialist Action; Mobilization to Free Mumia Abu-Jamal; Oakland Socialist Group; Bay Area Solidarity; Dr. Jack Rasmus, Host, Alternative Visions Radio Show/Progressive Radio Network; International Socialist Organization
Send your endorsement to: endorse@BayAreaSept21.org
With discussion led by Richard Becker, author of “Palestine, Israel and the U.S. Empire.”
Made in 1973, this film includes an excellent chronology of the events leading to the establishment of the state of Israel by the Zionist forces utilizing rare historical footage. It explains the role of Britain and the U.S. in establishing and supporting the Israeli state, and documents the long history of resistance by the indigenous Palestinian people to colonial settlement and expulsion. Beginning with the rise of political Zionism, the film goes on to describe the Arab rebellion against Turkish rule during World War I, the general strike and armed rebellion against British control of Palestine in the 1930’s, the dispossession of the Palestinians in 1948 and afterwards, as well as the development of the Palestinian liberation movement following the 1967 Six Day War.
Produced by CineNews, 1973, 55 min.
Wheelchair accessible. Refreshments provided.
Meeting of the City of Oakland’s “Privacy and Data Retention Ad Hoc Advisory Committee” – open to the public.
When:
2nd & 4th Thursdays
6:00pm – 8:00pm
Where:
Council Chambers
Oakland City Hall
14th & Broadway
Read the announcement from the City of Oakland City Administrator’s Weekly Report (April 25, 2014):
This committee was created by City Council action during the discussions earlier in the year about the Port Domain Awareness Center (DAC). The goal of the DAC is to improve readiness to prevent, respond to and recover from major emergencies in the Oakland region and ensure better multi-agency coordination across the larger San Francisco Bay Area. The goal of the Privacy and Data Retention Policy is to ensure there are safeguards to protect against potential misuse of the data or violations of individuals’ privacy rights and civil liberties. The meeting is open to the public. For questions about the Ad Hoc Committee, please contact Joe DeVries, Assistant to the City
We need to show up to these meetings and pressure the City to adopt a privacy policy that makes privacy a priority, not only “security” or administrative convenience.
*To identify each other and show solidarity, wear a red ribbon/cloth/bandana on your right arm at the vigils.*
On Thursday, August 14, 2014 at 4pm people around the country will gather in small vigils to protest and observe a moment of silence @ 4:00pm to show solidarity against recent police brutality (Mike Brown, John Crawford, Eric Garner).
Participating cities include NYC, Chicago, Philadelphia, DC, and more.
Join us in San Francisco, CA at Civic Center Plaza. If you can, bring posters with the names of people who’ve been killed by the police in the last 15-20 years.
Please share this event with anyone in San Francisco or the Bay Area who might be interested in attending.
People around the country will gather in small vigils to show solidarity against recent police brutality and observe a moment of silence @ 4:20pm for the victims (Eric Garner, Mike Brown, John Crawford, and others).
Participating cities include NYC, Chicago, Philadelphia, DC, and more.
Join us in Oakland, CA. If you can, bring posters with the names of the fatal victims of police shootings and brutality. No bullhorns or violent messages. Feel free to bring candles for the vigil. This is a peaceful event in memory of the victims.
Please share this event with anyone in the Bay Area who might be interested in attending. Follow #NMOS14 on Twitter for updates.
https://www.facebook.com/
Yes, its time for another Taser meeting! Come and get some literature and STICKERS! to distribute. We have a lot so please help us spread the word!
We have a kick-ass line up for the September forum and now we need a flyer and publicity to make sure that the place is packed! We can also strategize about other ways to make the debate happen.
I also encourage people to check out TruthNotTasers.blogspot.org
They claim that the number of taser related deaths is closer to 800. See what you think.
New endorsements include: Alameda County Green Party .
AGENDA
1. Forum- publicity/flyer/interviews in advance
2. Tabling opportunities
3. Paul’s taser video preview
4. Pressuring the candidates…how?
Conscientious Projector’s Film Series for the 99% presents The Day after Trinity: Oppenheimer and the Atomic Bomb. “I have become Death” declared nuclear scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer upon first witnessing the terrible power of the Atomic Bomb.
This Oscar -nominated film for best documentary uses newsreel footage and recently declassified government film to trace the Manhattan project under Oppenheimer’s guidance. The New Mexico A-Bomb tests are shown as well as the aftermath of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. The final part traces Oppenheimer’s journey as the “Father of the A-Bomb” to a tireless opponent of nuclear power and ironically a “national security threat.”
We will have a speaker discussing Abolition 2000 discussing the solutions, the moral issues and the long term effects of living in the nuclear age which has affected “everything save our way of thinking.”
Sponsored by the BFUU Social Justice Ctee as part of our Conscientious Projector Series for the 99%
Wheelchair accessible.
-
Oakland California, to Ferguson, Missouri
-
FUCK THE POLICE MARCH
-
8/15/2014
-
Meet @ 14 and Broadway in Oakland
-
6:00pm
-
Bring Marshmallows
-
18-year-old Michael Brown was killed by police and they left him for dead in the streets of Ferguson, Missouri.
-
To the good people of Ferguson, take heart – and take your streets. You are not alone, we will take the streets here in Oakland.
-
The time has come for more than simple justice for these atrocities. The time has come to draw a line in the sand and say “no more dead kids”, no more police killings and beatings. Anonymous is drawing a line in the sand, and that line runs right down the middle of Main Street Ferguson, Missouri. Police impunity ends with the barbaric death of Mike Brown.
-
Occupy every square inch of your city. Open your homes and help in any way you can the protesters who will come to your city from every part of Missouri and the USA. Businesses and householders that are near protest rallies, open your WiFi routers so that live streamers and other independent journalists can use the Internet connections. Feed each other, keep each other safe – and stay in the streets until we are totally victorious in all our demands.
-
Oakland California to Ferguson, Missouri
-
FUCK THE POLICE MARCH
-
Wear All Black
ALERT! ALERT! TIME CHANGE TO 3:00 PM. (ORIGINALLY 5:00 AM)
Stop Israel at the Port!
Zionism isn’t welcome in our town!
Block the Israeli Zim Ship at the Port of Oakland
Saturday, August 16th
3:00 PM – meet at West Oakland Bart and march to Berth 57
STOP THE SIEGE ON GAZA!
END THE COLONIAL OCCUPATION OF PALESTINE!
RIGHT OF RETURN FOR ALL PALESTINIAN REFUGEES!
FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS!
BOYCOTT, DIVEST, SANCTION!
- organizing for public banking in Oakland
- securing funding from the City of Vallejo for nonprofit check cashing and public finance study initiatives through the participatory budgeting process
- saving the Berkeley Post Office and stopping the Staples non-union takeover of good Post Office jobs
- working with the City of Richmond and other municipalities for eminent domain seizure of underwater mortgages from the banksters
- participating in Occupy San Francisco’s third anniversary convergence
- ongoing study group
- distribution of Debt Resisters’ Operations Manual
- and much more.
Come join in the activities as First They Came for the Homeless and Berkeley Post Office Defenders peeps protest the privatization of the Post Office by Staples and Post Office Management.
It’s going to be a pot-luck and radio show as well as a protest. Come hang out at the once-again-up-and-going 24-hour a day table outside of Staples in Berkeley.
The 9th annual Urban Shield – the SWAT team training and weapons expo that brings together local, regional and global police-military units – will be held in Oakland this coming September 4-8. Oakland is gearing up to stop it! Building on growing resistance to police militarization in the US, Bay Area community organizations and the Facing Tear Gas campaign have come together to call for Oakland’s non-participation in Urban Shield, community self-determination, and solidarity with global movements. Urban Shield is connected to national police militarization programs such as 1033, 1122, Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) and DHS Fusion Centers. Stopping Urban Shield is one step to roll back police militarization. Stay tuned for ways to get involved!
Sign on to our demands using our form here and join us for a Community Education Forum where you can learn about Urban Shield, how it impacts our communities and find out how you can plug into the Week of Education & Action, August 30 – September 5.
Arab Resource & Organizing Center (AROC)
Critical Resistance
International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network (IJAN)
Alliance of South Asians Taking Action (ASATA)
War Resisters League – Facing Tear Gas
Join us The Art on the Bulb was painted over grey We must organize to save our ART.
Print out and sign our petition and get your friends to sign, you do not have to be a Albany city resident.
For more info call Orion (510) 541-3835
For more info on the Bulb go to public facebook.com/sharethebulb You don’t need to be a Faceplant member
To Albany City council & City Mananger P. Leach and East Bay Regional Park District:
We, the working people of the Bay Area, demand that the City of Albany and East Bay Regional Parks District not touch or remove any tiny or large sculptures, paintings on rocks, shoes on trees, Castles made of cement, images of deities, driftwood dragons, huge Rubik’s cubes, stencils, graffiti, tagging etc., under the guise of “Graffiti Removal” or “abatement of unauthorized artistic expression”.
In short we say HANDS OFF! of all of the people’s art that we have loved for the last 30 years and the art that will surely come tomorrow.
send completed petitions to
- Orion Edmonson
- 8 Admiral Drive, Apt.424
- Emeryville, CA, 94608
emeryville ca 94608
Celebrate the 21st anniversary of the Infoshop opening at Long Haul.
Modest Party with free vegan chocolate cake and free raffle
See artifacts and fliers from the last 21 years and hear zany stories about the infoshop’s formation and adventures since then.
The long haul infoshop opened August 13, 1993.
Khalid was arrested during the FTP march Friday evening, August 15th, while helping another person. His charges are Obstructing police and Battery on Police.
He is scheduled to be arraigned Monday morning.
A perspective on recent events.
URGENT Autonomous call to action: Meet Port of Oakland SSA berth 57-59WE’RE BLOCKING THE BOAT AT 5:30 #BlockTheBoat https://t.co/WMC9p6GXWf
— Alyssa (@alyssa011968) August 18, 2014
COME DOWN TO PORT! Autonomous continuation of #BlockTheBoat! Get to port by 5. Some rides leaving from W Oak BART around 430. SELF ORGANIZE!
— Occupy Oakland (@OccupyOakland) August 18, 2014
#BlockTheBoat Protester organized picketline @ 5:00AM & 5:00PM at Oakland Port Berth 57-59 STILL block unloading boat #Anonymous #OpIsrael
— OccupySF (@sf99er) August 18, 2014
If you cant #BlockTheBoat at 5, consider driving with some food/ warmth for activists (tired) & dock workers (who go home with no pay) #Gaza
— Occupy Oakland (@OccupyOakland) August 18, 2014
In the Bay Area? Get out, and help #BlockTheBoat https://t.co/EAkuRtg0St
— Imraan Siddiqi (@imraansiddiqi) August 18, 2014
#BlockTheBoat TONIGHT! 5:30 PM SSA Berth 57! 1717 Middle Harbor Way. Shuttles from West Oakland BART as well. Let’s do this again!!!
— Not Frantz Fanon (@violentfanon) August 18, 2014
Information, discussion & community! Monday Night Forum!!
Occupy Forum is an opportunity for open and respectful dialogue
on all sides of these critically important issues!
Ryan Rising & Zaigham Kabir
Creating the World We Want to See
This Forum picks up where we left off in Ryan’s and Zaigham’s recent OccupyForums. Subjects up for discussion are building momentum through direct actions, thinking beyond left and right, creating coalitions across political spectrums.
We’ll also discuss building local food and energy independent systems for our communities through local organizing such as advocating and creating urban agriculture and community choice energy, while also connecting discussion to the ‘national security state’ and ‘war on terror’ as these apparatuses of power seek to stifle dissent and continue economies based on extracting resources, perpetual growth and destroying the Earth.
We will discuss the “Block the Boat” action that is happening on Saturday as that will be fresh in people’s minds and connects directly to all these issues as well.
Ryan Rising is a permaculture designer, community organizer, and direct action advocate living in the San Francisco Bay Area. Ryan recently returned from the first grade of the Zapatista Little School in Chiapas, Mexico where he learned about the power of the connection to the landbase.
Zaigham Kabir recently addressed OccupyForum on the surveillance state and OccupyGoogle. “With our basic liberties, such as right to assembly, freedom of speech, freedom of Privacy and the right to a jury trial all under a concerted attack by the government, it should be of increasing concern that the companies we depend on for communicating and accessing information are also dependent on Defense establishment contracts and ties to appease their shareholders and continue their monopolies.”
Q&A and Announcements will follow.
The Postal Service has put the Berkeley Post Office up for sale!!
The Postal Service outsourced Post Office services to Staples, replacing union jobs with low-paying, low benefit work.
And we’re fighting against both!
Come help us plan our next steps.
On July 29th, at our invite, Ralph Nader spoke on the steps of the Berkeley Post Office against privatization and corporatism. Watch and listen to his talk here.
We’ve began the “Don’t Shop at Staples” campaign with some awesome… what else? … postcards to send to Staples management! Here’s the front of the postcard. The campaign has been adopted by Postal Unions, the San Francisco Labor Council and has been endorsed by the AFL-CIO, and has gone national!
All four Postal Unions have joined together to support maintaining full service, public Post Offices in every community, with expansion to include postal banking, and to oppose subcontracting and privatization of services. The California Federation of Teachers passed a resolution in support of opposition to Staples. Just recently the American Federation of Teachers, AFCSME and UNITE HERE did too.
Check out our correspondence with the President of the American Postal Workers Union, Mark Dimondstein. The APWU has been leading the charge against Staples.
For most of July the sidewalk in front of Staples was ‘occupied’ 24/7 by an intrepid band of San Francisco occupiers with solidarity and support from BPOD members distributing literature and convincing people not to shop at Staples.
And we need to be prepared if the Post Office announces a sale! The Advisory Commission on Historical Preservation came out with its report, recommending that sales of Historic Post offices be halted until the USPS conforms with historical preservation law. Here is our response. Also the Office of Inspector General’s report on the sale of Historic Post Offices came out recently – anything could happen now since Congress’ “request” that no historic Post Offices be sold until it had come out has been honored and no further Congressional request or mandate has come down. Come help us plan our response.
We have joined with other activists in Berkeley to put a ballot initiative on the ballot to rezone the Berkeley Post Office and other areas in the Historic District to prevent privatization, and also to insure a better Downtown Berkeley. We succeeded in getting the necessary signatures; it will be voted on in November, but Tom Bates and the City Council have nefarious plans to undermine our coalition.
Encouraging articles are still coming out about using Post Offices as banking facilities for the unbanked. The National Conference of Mayors recently endorsed Postal Banking. Pew Research held a day-long seminar on Postal Banking.
We are planning our next event, ‘Jam the Sale.’ Spread the work and come help us out!