Calendar

Join the Reclaim Our Power coalition at a  press conference and hearing where San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan will lead a resolution calling on Governor Newsom to #CancelPGE and initiate Golden State Energy, “a democratic alternative to California’s utility nightmare!”

Newsom has approved a plan to give PG&E permission to continue operating as it emerges from bankruptcy court. Environmental justice groups say this would be a “License to Burn.” They point out that a federal judge found PG&E responsible for causing “at least 31 wildfires, burning nearly 1.5 million acres, destroying nearly 24,000  structures and killing 113 Californians.”

Chan’s resolution calls on Newsom not to issue the planned certificate allowing PG&E to continue operating, and instead, to follow the process put in place by the bankruptcy court: to declare PG&E a failure and begin plans to create a new public benefit corporation, Golden State Energy, to take its place.

Reclaim Our Power writes:

“We need a new energy future, beyond PG&E, one that centers the lives of the Black, brown, disabled, low income, and other communities punished the most by this deadly, dirty, extractive, expensive energy utility.

“San Francisco Supervisors are joining with Reclaim Our Power to lead the way toward a safe, reliable, affordable,

Info/RSVP

Please click the link below to join the webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85817209915

Relevant Agenda:

5. Surveillance Equipment Ordinance – OPD – Annual Report (Automated License Plate Readers)
a. Review and take possible action on the annual report
6. Document Submission Proposal – Vice Chair Katz – Proposed policy regarding submission of documents to PAC by staff
a. Review and take possible action on proposed policy
7. Surveillance Equipment Ordinance – OPD – Crime Lab DNA Instrumentation Policy
a. Review and take possible action on the proposed use policy
8. Surveillance Equipment Ordinance – DVP – Apricot 360 database
a. Review and take possible action on Impact Report and proposed Use Policy
9. Surveillance Equipment Ordinance – DOT – Mobile Parking Payment System
a. Review and take possible action on Impact Report and proposed Use Policy

People’s Park, UC & Privatization
On Zoom, July 7 — 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm PDT

The ongoing battle to prevent the development of People’s Park in Berkeley by the millionaire UC Regents continues unabated. This Zoom panel will talk about how the corporatization and privatization of UC is pushing the monetization of the public assets of the University and how this process has become a national trend. Strategies to prevent the imminent destruction of People’s Park by the UC Berkeley will be discussed, particularly in light of its recent listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

Speakers:
Harvey Smith, People’s Park Historic District Advocacy Group
Charles Wollenberg, former Chair of Social Sciences and Professor of History, Berkeley City College
Lesley Emmington, Make UC A Good Neighbor
Joe Liesner, Food Not Bombs

Please register here:  https://laborfest.net/event/peoples-park-uc-privatization/

Art build for Abortion Rights Saturday 1PM at Parker! pic.twitter.com/iFMVyihQ6G

— Parker For The People (@saveparker510) July 7, 2022

ICSS Sunday Mornings at the Marxist Library.

Even the corporate press pronounced Biden’s recent Summit of the Americas meeting in Los Angeles as a flop, while the balance between red states (and we don’t mean Republican) and blue states south of the Rio Grande is tipping to the left. Most recently, Colombia elected its first left leaning president, following similar victories in Chile, Peru, and Honduras, which in turn followed Bolivia, Argentina, and Mexico.  And the frontrunner in Brazil’s presidential contest slated for October is a leftist. Meanwhile Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, countries led by explicitly socialist parties, remain in in the crosshairs of US imperialism, suffering from severe sanctions also known as unilateral coercive measures. What does this mean for US hegemony?

Speaking will be Roger Harris who is with the Task Force on the Americas, on the executive committee of the US Peace Council, and active with the #FreeAlex Saab and Sanctions Kill campaigns. Roger recently returned from the Workers Summit on the Americas in Tijuana, which was organized as an alternative to Biden’s summit as a place where countries besieged by and barred from the US could participate and meet with militants from workers, peace, human rights, and solidarity organizations (see https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/06/17/summit-of-the-americas-flops-while-workers-summit-exposes-cracks-in-the-imperial-facade/).

While there are undoubtably cracks in the façade of the US empire, the situation for its victims is critical. We highly recommend reading this article prior to the Sunday program:

https://www.resumen-english.org/2022/07/cuba-putting-on-the-boots/

LOGIN INFORMATION

Our Zoom room will be opened up, as usual, at 10:15 for anyone to join and discuss technical matters, catch up with each other, say Hi, etc.. The program (and recording) will begin as close to 10:30 am as possible and will end at 12:30, but the Waiting Room will remain open until about 1 pm for informal discussion.

ZOOM LINK

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/2591082607?pwd=QmZ1dzdXcWlEZUdwL1FCMXdhYWtZZz09

Meeting ID: 259 108 2607
Passcode: ICSS2710rs
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Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89559844652
Meeting ID: 895 5984 4652

Despite the top-two primary and all the other moves to suppress us, the Alameda and San Francisco Green Parties have developed clout in local elections because so many people rely on our voter guides. That includes people who never think of voting Green because they wouldn’t want to “waste” their vote on a quixotic candidate tilting at windmills, and even people who resent our participation in presidential elections. Many of them nevertheless rely on our analysis of candidates, albeit often corporate, and on our yes-and-no recommendations on ballot measures — and several of our endorsed candidates did win impressive victories last month.

In federal elections, our presidential slates serve the important mission of articulating a social vision beyond war and austerity, even in the face of condemnation from the Democratic Party faithful.

But will we ever get beyond that to electing Green candidates to office outside the occasional city councilor, school board member, or board of supervisors, in a non-partisan race? At this point, neither the Alameda nor San Francisco Greens can claim any officials even at those levels.

In the June primary, Greens and Peace and Freedom Party members formed a “Left Unity Slate” of 4 statewide candidates from each party and pledged to support each other’s candidates. No one of course won, but 3 candidates each from both of the two parties polled enough votes to secure our respective ballot lines until 2026. What lessons were learned from this historic undertaking?

And moving forward, what should be our strategy in the November elections, and beyond?  Join us for Green Sunday, July 10, with Cheryl Davila, Meghann Adams, and Laura Wells, to consider these questions.

Cheryl Davila was elected to the Berkeley City Council in 2016, beating a twelve year incumbent. She was a bastion of progressive agendas, worked tirelessly to find solutions to homelessness, convening a Regional Task Force, and helped to end the Berkeley Police Department’s participation in the Urban Shield wargames training program. Councilmember Davila took a strong stance for equity and built community through unity and respect. Prior to Council, she gained national attention while serving on the City of Berkeley’s Human Welfare and Community Action Commission when she called for the protection of Palestinian human rights. She’s the Founder and Steering Committee Chair of the Climate Emergency Mobilization Task Force, which addresses inequities and causes of the climate emergency. She is a mother and has a Business Economics degree from Mills College, where she received an academic award, Omicron Delta Epsilon, an international honor society in economics.

Meghann Adams has been a tireless organizer of anti-war and anti-racist actions in the San Francisco area for fifteen years.  She has been a school bus driver for 7 years, active in SMART 1741, the union representing school bus drivers in San Francisco and San Mateo Counties.  She was elected president of the union last year.  Active in many community organizations over the years, she has served as treasurer of campaigns, and this year ran for California Treasurer to represent working people.  Her campaign slogan, “End Poverty in California,” hearkens back to the Upton Sinclair campaign of 1934.  Sadly, the slogan is as appropriate today as it was 88 years ago, with more Californians lacking housing today than at the height of the Great Depression.  A socialist, Meghann Adams considers capitalism the reason why poverty is still so common today.

Laura Wells is a political activist in California and in solidarity with Latin America. She lives in Oakland. She has been a Green Party organizer and candidate, and ran again for Controller in June 2022 as a member of the Left Unity Slate. She also ran for Congress in 2018, and for Governor after the global financial meltdown in 2010. A former financial systems analyst, Laura focuses her platform on public banking, taxing the rich, and saving money and lives by shifting California’s financial priorities away from destructive uses like the prison and war industries, and toward meaningful work including an improved Medicare for All healthcare system, tuition-free high-quality schools and universities, and restoration of our environment.

Green Sundays are a series of free public programs & discussions on topics “du jour” sponsored by the Green Party of Alameda County and held on the 2nd Sunday of each month. The monthly business meeting of the County Council of the Green Party follows at 7:00 pm, after a 30-minute break. Council meetings are open to anyone who is interested.

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Meeting ID: 895 5984 4652

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To achieve economic equity, we must prioritize investing our money into the wealth and health of local communities and the environment. Public banking is a promising strategy with a century-old history that can help us align how we spend our tax and fee dollars with the values and needs of our communities. A public bank is owned and controlled by the people of the city, state, or region it serves. Profits earned are recycled back into the local government, helping to support social services and economic development activities. It is capitalized by local public funds; providing financing for local businesses, housing, and infrastructure; and reinvesting profits back into the community.

The first and only functioning public bank in this country started in 1919 in North Dakota. In October 2019, California passed AB 857 signing public banks into law and providing another avenue for equitable investment in affordable housing, small business sustainability, greening communities, and more. An effort is now underway to open California’s first public bank, Public Bank East Bay, by 2023.  Northern California Grantmakers, San Francisco Foundation, and East Bay Community Foundation are pleased to invite you to an informational session on public banking and to share details of the Public Bank East Bay that will serve our region.

The session will center on an expert panel made up of David Chiu, San Francisco City Attorney and author of the 2019 California Public Banking Act; Eric Hardmeyer, retired CEO of the public Bank of North Dakota; Henry (Hank) Levy, Alameda County Treasurer; Fred Blackwell, CEO of the San Francisco Foundation; Valerie Red-Horse Mohl, CFO of the East Bay Community Foundation; David Cobb, Humboldt County, and George Syrop, Board Member of Friends of the Public Bank East Bay.

Speakers

ACLU People Power is hosting a new series of Abortion Activist Training sessions throughout this summer – so you can join the fight, no matter where you are.

We’re kicking this series off  with our first session, Know Your Rights: Digital Privacy and Abortion Access. Because with the fall of Roe and the loss of federal protections for abortion, our digital privacy matters more than ever.

RSVP today and get ready to join fellow activists to mobilize for our rights and safety in this critical first training:
RSVP Today

James, in this virtual session, we’ll hear from reproductive freedom and speech, privacy, and technology experts on law enforcement’s long history of weaponizing technology to track, surveil, and arrest us – and what we can do to digitally protect ourselves and our loved ones when seeking abortion care.

Most importantly, we’ll learn how we can protect our constitutional right to privacy by supporting the 4th Amendment is Not for Sale Act. This critical piece of legislation will ensure that the government is not able to purchase our data (including our location and browsing history) from third-party brokers and make it harder for states to persecute anyone seeking an abortion by weaponizing their personal information.

Privacy, online and off, goes hand-in-hand with reproductive freedom. We must fight like hell to keep these civil liberties as safe as possible in this critical moment and for decades to come.

Claim your spot at this first Abortion Activist Training session.

Catch you there,

The ACLU Team

P.S. When you sign up for this first session with People Power – you’ll also have the option to select any and all future sessions you’d like attend this summer, too. So RSVP today and together, let’s fight back with everything we’ve got.

Join us for a CA Prison Closure Campaign Info Session – “Building Power Across Walls to #CloseCAPrisons”!

Why are Californians United for a Responsible Budget (CURB) and Critical Resistance (CR) fighting to close 10 prisons by 2025?  What are we doing to ensure that we win and that resources are being invested in the life-affirming infrastructure all of our communities need for true safety and sustainability? Want to know how to get involved?

Join us for Building Power Across Walls to #CloseCAPrisons, an online information session about the CA Prison Closure Campaign. We will share an overview of the campaign, share recent updates, and discuss in-depth how to get involved in the fight to close prisons in California, and build vibrant communities across the state.
Register for the event here and read more about the campaign on our website.

If you have access needs, such as language interpretation, please email courtney@womenprisoners.org by Thursday, July 7, so we can do our best to accommodate!

The California Prison Closure campaign invites you to an info session & discussion on Thursday, July 14th 6-7:30 PM PST! Come learn why we’re fighting to close 10 prisons by 2025, how we'll win and ensure resources go back to our communities, and how you can get involved pic.twitter.com/2OeVGwbOEQ

— Critical Resistance (@C_Resistance) July 11, 2022

Join the Bay Area Climate Emergency Mobilization Task Force for the first in its third summit series, Climate, Equity, and Race, United Actions.  The topic is Ecological Protection.

Facebook page

Register here

Summit Schedule:

9:00 – 9:15 AM

Land Acknowledgement

Corrina Gould, Tribal spokesperson for the Confederated Villages of Lisjan & Co-Founder, Sogorea Te’ Land Trust

Welcome

Cheryl Davila, Chair of CEMTF/ Former Councilmember, City of Berkeley

Keynote speaker

Marcy Winograd, Code Pink, speaking about the military and climate

10– 11:00 AM Petrochemicals. Plastics and Climate

• Ben Schleifer and Sarah Packer or Andrea Braswell. Center for Environmental Health
• Carol Kiatkowski, Green Science Policy Institute

11:05 – 11:50 AM Deforestation and the Threat of Wildfire

• Maya Khosla—Wildlife Biologist and Filmmaker
• Greg Simon–Author of Flame and Fortune in the American West, about the 1991 Oakland fire

11:50 Announcements about coming summit events

“Michael Goldstein is a genuine love warrior and justice seeker. His heart, mind, soul and voice empower us all in these turbulent times.” — Cornel West

Are you tired of trying to make those beholden to the wrong people do the right thing?

Decades of electoral work and activism have failed to bring us sustainability, peace, or a just society. Blessed Disillusionment: Letting Go of What Cannot Save Us, Turning to What Can shows that there is a reason: the political system operates to absorb discontent while averting the fundamental change we urgently need.

Blessed Disillusionment also explains why the crises and upheaval we see in the U.S. will inevitably increase. The question is whether our country will fall to neofascism or ascend to true democracy and, in time, the beloved community.

Finally, the book offers a path towards building a massive, nonviolent, but truly revolutionary movement — one based on love melded with clear-eyed realism — that will allow us to pass on to our children a society where they truly govern themselves, in the interests of all.

Michael Goldstein worked until recently as an appellate lawyer, handling death-penalty and other indigent cases. He is a graduate of Princeton’s School of Public and International Affairs and Stanford Law School. His previous book was Return of the Light: A Political Fable in Which the American People Retake Their Country. He most recently worked in the movement against police violence, spent nearly three weeks with Water Protectors at Standing Rock, and ran for Nancy Pelosi’s House seat under the slogan, “New faces in Congress cannot stop the rise of fascism or bring us a caring society. Michael will use the office to help build the movement that can.”

Event website: https://www.bookpassage.com/event/michael-goldstein-blessed-disillusionment-corte-madera-store

Email strike.debt.bay.area@gmail.com a few days beforehand for the the online invite.

For July, 2022 we’re reading The Red Deal: Indigenous Action to Save Our Earth,
by The Red Nation, Amazon, Common Notions.

All are welcome!

When the Red Nation released their call for a Red Deal, it generated coverage in places from Teen Vogue to Jacobin to the New Republic, was endorsed by the DSA, and has galvanized organizing and action. Now, in response to popular demand, the Red Nation expands their original statement filling in the histories and ideas that formed it and forwarding an even more powerful case for the actions it demands. 

One-part visionary platform, one-part practical toolkit, the Red Deal is a platform that encompasses everyone, including non-Indigenous comrades and relatives who live on Indigenous land. We—Indigenous, Black and people of color, women and trans folks, migrants, and working people—did not create this disaster, but we have inherited it. We have barely a decade to turn back the tide of climate disaster. It is time to reclaim the life and destiny that has been stolen from us and rise up together to confront this challenge and build a world where all life can thrive. Only mass movements can do what the moment demands. Politicians may or may not follow–it is up to them–but we will design, build, and lead this movement with or without them.

The Red Deal is a call for action beyond the scope of the US colonial state. It’s a program for Indigenous liberation, life, and land—an affirmation that colonialism and capitalism must be overturned for this planet to be habitable for human and other-than-human relatives to live dignified lives. The Red Deal is not a response to the Green New Deal, or a “bargain” with the elite and powerful. It’s a deal with the humble people of the earth; a pact that we shall strive for peace and justice and a declaration that movements for justice must come from below and to the left. 

Strike Debt Bay Area hosts this non-technical book group discussion monthly on new and radical economic thinking. Previous readings have included Doughnut Economics, Limits, Banking on the People, Capital and Its Discontents, How to Be an Anti-Capitalist in the 21st Century, The Deficit Myth,  Revenge Capitalism, the Edge of Chaos blog symposium , Re-enchanting the World: Feminism and the Politics of the Commons, The Optimist’s Telescope, Mission Economy: A Moonshot Guide to Changing Capitalism, Exploring Degrowth, The Origin of Wealth, Mine!, The Dawn of Everything and A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things.

NOTE: DUE TO CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOUND OUR CONTROL, VLADIMIR KOZIN WILL NOT BE WITH US. WE ARE SUBSTITUING ANOTHER PROGRAM COVERING THE SAME MATERIAL, AS FOLLOWS:

Jul 17, 2022. 9:45am-11:30am Pacific

…with its “Special Military Operation?

In his presentation Dr. Kozin will provide his background and military studies experience. He will cover why Putin is not authoritarian. He will give a brief description of Russia’s legal system, especially when it comes to the military. And he will explain why the measure Russia took in Ukraine had to be a military action as opposed to a diplomatic one.

Dr. Vladimir Kozin is a member of the Russian Academy of Military Sciences, a member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences, Vice President of the Russian National Institute for Global Security Research, leading Expert for the Center for Military-Political Studies at Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), Ph.D, and Senior Researcher. He is the founder of the Analytical Agency “Strategic Stability,” a Russian NGO that deals with arms control. He is the author of 18 monographs on arms control and strategic stability, and he has been issuing reports almost on a daily basis on Russia’s special military operation since it began.

LOGIN INFORMATION

Our Zoom room will be opened up early thiis week at 9:45 for anyone to join and discuss technical matters, catch up with each other, say Hi, etc.. The program (and recording) will begin as close to 10:00 am as possible and will end at 11:30, but the Waiting Room may remain open later for informal discussion.

ZOOM LINK

GOOD FOR SUNDAY, July 17, 2022 ONLY

Time: Jul 17, 2022 09:45 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 259 108 2607
Passcode: ICSS2717rs
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Dial by your location
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