Calendar

Speaker: Nadya Williams

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Huge parades in Ho Chi Minh City this spring marked the 50th anniversary of April 30, 1975, when a North Viet Namese army tank crashed through the iron gates of the U.S. Embassy in Sai Gon. The military took the lead in the parade, but it soon changed to beautiful peace floats, music, doves, flowers, and thousands of workers and children, along with colorful cultural costumes.

Our speaker, Nadya Williams, observed the celebrations and traveled throughout the country. She says, “Although Viet Nam is looking to the future, the past is always present . During the so-called “Indochina War,” Viet Nam, along with Laos and Cambodia, received more explosive power than World War I and II combined. It remains the largest aerial bombardment in human history.” She will share what she learned from encounters with many people of Viet Nam’s transformation since the war’s end and the still long road ahead.

Freelance journalist Nadya Williams has been an active Associate Member of Veterans For Peace since 2003. She is on the board of the Viet Nam Chapter 160 of VFP and Director of Communication for the San Francisco Chapter 69.

A satirical take on the mundane absurdities of life in modern-day Iran, these nine vignettes illuminate the lighter side of enduring under authoritarian rule. Whether choosing a name for a newborn, graduating from grade school, getting a driver’s license, applying for a job, or seeking approval for a film script, if you live in Iran, you best come fluent in Orwellian discourse. Progressing along a rough timeline from birth to death, each story is shot in a static camera angle as a single petitioner negotiates with an authority figure hovering just outside of frame, who is practiced in the language of doublespeak.

Includes a post-film Q&A and discussion.

John Carpenter’s legendary sci-fi action film is now regarded and revered more like a prescient documentary. If you really want to know what’s going on behind the scenes of our authoritarian Government and all the complicit corporations, keep those glasses on, man. Also, chew bubble gum and kick ass.‬

‪John Carpenter’s legendary sci-fi action film is now regarded and revered more like a prescient documentary. If you really want to know what’s going on behind the scenes of our authoritarian Government and all the complicit corporations, keep those glasses on, man. Also, chew bubble gum and kick ass.‬

As COVID cases once again rise across the Bay Area, access to testing and protective resources has become more difficult for our communities—especially for Black, Brown, unhoused, and working-class residents. Many of the free testing sites that once served our neighborhoods have closed, and store-bought tests are unaffordable or unavailable for many.

In response, the Anti Police-Terror Project and The People’s House are stepping up to meet the need. We believe public health is a collective responsibility, and we remain committed to providing tools that help keep our communities safe and resourced.

We are now offering free COVID testing multiple days a week at The People’s House in Oakland (893 Willow St).

Testing Schedule

• Tuesdays from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM
• Mondays from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM
  • Offered during The People’s Detox, which also includes free ear acupuncture, Narcan distribution, fentanyl test strips, and peer support for addiction and mental health
• 1st and 3rd Fridays from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM
  • Offered during The People’s Clinic, which includes massage therapy, acupuncture, healing circles, and other community-based wellness services

What to Expect

• Rapid antigen COVID tests are available on-site
• In most cases, individuals will be able to leave with a box of take-home tests (while supplies last)
• K/N95 masks are available to anyone who needs them
• No insurance, ID, or pre-registration is required
• All services are free of charge

1. Call to Order, determination of quorum

2. Open Forum/Public Comment on Non-Agenda matters

3. Action Items:

a. Annual Reports 1. CrimeTracer Forensic Logic 2024 (OPD)

b. Use Policies 1. OPD Community Safety Camera Systems (OPD)

To observe and participate in the meeting via Zoom, go to: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85817209915 Or One tap mobile: 1 669 444 9171 To participate in the meeting virtually, you must log on via Zoom. If you have a question, please raise your hand in Zoom during open forum and public comment. For those attending in person, you can complete a speaker card and submit to staff.

Members of the public can view the meeting live on KTOP or on the City’s website at https://www.oaklandca.gov/topics/ktop-tv-10. Comment in advance. To send your comment directly to the Privacy Commission and staff BEFORE the meeting starts, please send your comment, along with your full name and agenda item number you are commenting on, to Felicia Verdin at fverdin@oaklandca.gov. Please note that eComment submissions close one (1) hour before posted meeting time. All submitted public comment will be provided to the Privacy Commission prior to the meeting. 1 of 89

As COVID cases once again rise across the Bay Area, access to testing and protective resources has become more difficult for our communities—especially for Black, Brown, unhoused, and working-class residents. Many of the free testing sites that once served our neighborhoods have closed, and store-bought tests are unaffordable or unavailable for many.

In response, the Anti Police-Terror Project and The People’s House are stepping up to meet the need. We believe public health is a collective responsibility, and we remain committed to providing tools that help keep our communities safe and resourced.

We are now offering free COVID testing multiple days a week at The People’s House in Oakland (893 Willow St).

Testing Schedule

• Tuesdays from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM
• Mondays from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM
  • Offered during The People’s Detox, which also includes free ear acupuncture, Narcan distribution, fentanyl test strips, and peer support for addiction and mental health
• 1st and 3rd Fridays from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM
  • Offered during The People’s Clinic, which includes massage therapy, acupuncture, healing circles, and other community-based wellness services

What to Expect

• Rapid antigen COVID tests are available on-site
• In most cases, individuals will be able to leave with a box of take-home tests (while supplies last)
• K/N95 masks are available to anyone who needs them
• No insurance, ID, or pre-registration is required
• All services are free of charge

After it’s planned release through a major theater chain was canceled at the last minute, online satire website The Onion’s mockumentary about Jeffrey Epstein and his relationship to figures in the White House and elsewhere is making its way to independent theaters, along with their parody of dating reality shows in a double feature that, apparently some people don’t want you to see.

Thu: 4:00 
Thu: 7:55 

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

For our October, 2025 meeting we will be reading and discussing the first three chapters of The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart (The CBC Massey Lectures) by Astra Taylor (Amazon) (Verso Books).  For our November meeting we will finish the book.

Finalist, 2024 Governor General’s Literary Award for Nonfiction
Finalist, 2024 Writers’ Trust Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing

These days, everyone feels insecure. We are financially stressed and emotionally overwhelmed. The status quo isn’t working for anyone, even those who appear to have it all. What is going on?

In this urgent cultural diagnosis, author and activist Astra Taylor exposes how seemingly disparate crises―rising inequality and declining mental health, the ecological emergency, and the threat of authoritarianism―originate from a social order built on insecurity. From home ownership and education to the wellness industry and policing, many of the institutions and systems that promise to make us more secure actually undermine us.

Mixing social critique, memoir, history, political analysis, and philosophy, this genre-bending book rethinks both insecurity and security from the ground up. By facing our existential insecurity and embracing our vulnerability, Taylor argues, we can begin to develop more caring, inclusive, and sustainable forms of security to help us better weather the challenges ahead. The Age of Insecurity will transform how you understand yourself and society―while illuminating a path toward meaningful change.

Strike Debt Bay Area hosts this non-technical book group discussion monthly on new and radical economic thinking. Our first book was  Doughnut Economics, and our most recent book was Elinor Ostrom’s Rules for Radicals”. For the rest of our reading list see here.

DEMOCRACY NOIR at the Elmwood Theater, Berkeley

As Viktor Orban dismantles Hungary’s democratic institutions, three women – a journalist, a politician, and a nurse – work tirelessly to fight for their country’s soul.   A rousing portrait of resistance and a chilling mirror image of the current crisis of democracy in the US. Revered by Donald Trump and the Heritage Foundation, Orban’s influence helped shape Project 2025 and the current policies of the Republic Party. The film is a timely lesson on how the rise of autocratic politicians around the world, and an increasingly emboldened far right politic, pose dire consequences for us all.

Fact award Nominee CPH:DOX, Tim Hetherington Award Nominee, Sheffield,

Best Documentary and Impact Award, Boston Film Festival;

Jury Award, One World Festival Prague; Best Documentary, Sebastopol Film Festival;

Best Human Rights Film, Chicago International women’s Film Festival

Democracy Noir provides a sweeping account of one of the most consequential regimes of this century. It paints an incisive portrait of how Viktor Orban used a free and democratic election to install authoritarian rule in Hungary, enjoying widespread approval from Hungarian nationalists as well as global conservative neighbors inclined to his illiberal views. He changed the constitution, took over the courts, dismantled the rule of law, and took over the media. Revered by Donald Trump and the Heritage Foundation, Orban’s influence helped shape Project 2025 and the current policies of the Republic Party. The film is a timely lesson on how the rise of autocratic politicians around the world, and an increasingly emboldened far right politic, pose dire consequences for us all.

Democracy Noir tells this story through the activism of its three subjects, – opposition politician Timea Szabo, journalist Babett Oroszi, and nurse Nikoletta (Niko) Antal� detailing how unchecked power can quickly remove rights that were once taken for granted. It shows the women fighting their country’s unravelling social and cultural landscape.

Democracy Noir’s inspiring protagonists offer lessons in resistance against long odds that can serve to arouse increased resistance by Americans to the dismantling of democracy and the rule of law in our own country. By 2019, the Hungarian opposition to Orban, that began nearly a decade earlier with street protests, unified and won the mayoral race in Budapest where 20% of the nation’s citizens reside. It was this Mayor who led the courageous Pride march in defiance of Orban’s ban in 2025.   In 2020, a new party, Tisza, was formed and gained prominence when a former member of Orban’s party, Peter Madgar, became its leader in 2024.  Tisza is an actual threat to Orban’s power, making the elections of 2026 important dates for Hungary and the United States.

DEMOCRACY NOIR at the Elmwood Theater, Berkeley

As Viktor Orban dismantles Hungary’s democratic institutions, three women – a journalist, a politician, and a nurse – work tirelessly to fight for their country’s soul.   A rousing portrait of resistance and a chilling mirror image of the current crisis of democracy in the US. Revered by Donald Trump and the Heritage Foundation, Orban’s influence helped shape Project 2025 and the current policies of the Republic Party. The film is a timely lesson on how the rise of autocratic politicians around the world, and an increasingly emboldened far right politic, pose dire consequences for us all.

Fact award Nominee CPH:DOX, Tim Hetherington Award Nominee, Sheffield,

Best Documentary and Impact Award, Boston Film Festival;

Jury Award, One World Festival Prague; Best Documentary, Sebastopol Film Festival;

Best Human Rights Film, Chicago International women’s Film Festival

Democracy Noir provides a sweeping account of one of the most consequential regimes of this century. It paints an incisive portrait of how Viktor Orban used a free and democratic election to install authoritarian rule in Hungary, enjoying widespread approval from Hungarian nationalists as well as global conservative neighbors inclined to his illiberal views. He changed the constitution, took over the courts, dismantled the rule of law, and took over the media. Revered by Donald Trump and the Heritage Foundation, Orban’s influence helped shape Project 2025 and the current policies of the Republic Party. The film is a timely lesson on how the rise of autocratic politicians around the world, and an increasingly emboldened far right politic, pose dire consequences for us all.

Democracy Noir tells this story through the activism of its three subjects, – opposition politician Timea Szabo, journalist Babett Oroszi, and nurse Nikoletta (Niko) Antal� detailing how unchecked power can quickly remove rights that were once taken for granted. It shows the women fighting their country’s unravelling social and cultural landscape.

Democracy Noir’s inspiring protagonists offer lessons in resistance against long odds that can serve to arouse increased resistance by Americans to the dismantling of democracy and the rule of law in our own country. By 2019, the Hungarian opposition to Orban, that began nearly a decade earlier with street protests, unified and won the mayoral race in Budapest where 20% of the nation’s citizens reside. It was this Mayor who led the courageous Pride march in defiance of Orban’s ban in 2025.   In 2020, a new party, Tisza, was formed and gained prominence when a former member of Orban’s party, Peter Madgar, became its leader in 2024.  Tisza is an actual threat to Orban’s power, making the elections of 2026 important dates for Hungary and the United States.

DEMOCRACY NOIR at the Elmwood Theater, Berkeley

As Viktor Orban dismantles Hungary’s democratic institutions, three women – a journalist, a politician, and a nurse – work tirelessly to fight for their country’s soul.   A rousing portrait of resistance and a chilling mirror image of the current crisis of democracy in the US. Revered by Donald Trump and the Heritage Foundation, Orban’s influence helped shape Project 2025 and the current policies of the Republic Party. The film is a timely lesson on how the rise of autocratic politicians around the world, and an increasingly emboldened far right politic, pose dire consequences for us all.

Fact award Nominee CPH:DOX, Tim Hetherington Award Nominee, Sheffield,

Best Documentary and Impact Award, Boston Film Festival;

Jury Award, One World Festival Prague; Best Documentary, Sebastopol Film Festival;

Best Human Rights Film, Chicago International women’s Film Festival

Democracy Noir provides a sweeping account of one of the most consequential regimes of this century. It paints an incisive portrait of how Viktor Orban used a free and democratic election to install authoritarian rule in Hungary, enjoying widespread approval from Hungarian nationalists as well as global conservative neighbors inclined to his illiberal views. He changed the constitution, took over the courts, dismantled the rule of law, and took over the media. Revered by Donald Trump and the Heritage Foundation, Orban’s influence helped shape Project 2025 and the current policies of the Republic Party. The film is a timely lesson on how the rise of autocratic politicians around the world, and an increasingly emboldened far right politic, pose dire consequences for us all.

Democracy Noir tells this story through the activism of its three subjects, – opposition politician Timea Szabo, journalist Babett Oroszi, and nurse Nikoletta (Niko) Antal� detailing how unchecked power can quickly remove rights that were once taken for granted. It shows the women fighting their country’s unravelling social and cultural landscape.

Democracy Noir’s inspiring protagonists offer lessons in resistance against long odds that can serve to arouse increased resistance by Americans to the dismantling of democracy and the rule of law in our own country. By 2019, the Hungarian opposition to Orban, that began nearly a decade earlier with street protests, unified and won the mayoral race in Budapest where 20% of the nation’s citizens reside. It was this Mayor who led the courageous Pride march in defiance of Orban’s ban in 2025.   In 2020, a new party, Tisza, was formed and gained prominence when a former member of Orban’s party, Peter Madgar, became its leader in 2024.  Tisza is an actual threat to Orban’s power, making the elections of 2026 important dates for Hungary and the United States.

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

For our October, 2025 meeting we will be reading and discussing the first three chapters of The Age of Insecurity: Coming Together as Things Fall Apart (The CBC Massey Lectures) by Astra Taylor (Amazon) (Verso Books).  For our November meeting we will finish the book.

Finalist, 2024 Governor General’s Literary Award for Nonfiction
Finalist, 2024 Writers’ Trust Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing

These days, everyone feels insecure. We are financially stressed and emotionally overwhelmed. The status quo isn’t working for anyone, even those who appear to have it all. What is going on?

In this urgent cultural diagnosis, author and activist Astra Taylor exposes how seemingly disparate crises―rising inequality and declining mental health, the ecological emergency, and the threat of authoritarianism―originate from a social order built on insecurity. From home ownership and education to the wellness industry and policing, many of the institutions and systems that promise to make us more secure actually undermine us.

Mixing social critique, memoir, history, political analysis, and philosophy, this genre-bending book rethinks both insecurity and security from the ground up. By facing our existential insecurity and embracing our vulnerability, Taylor argues, we can begin to develop more caring, inclusive, and sustainable forms of security to help us better weather the challenges ahead. The Age of Insecurity will transform how you understand yourself and society―while illuminating a path toward meaningful change.

Strike Debt Bay Area hosts this non-technical book group discussion monthly on new and radical economic thinking. Our first book was  Doughnut Economics, and our most recent book was Elinor Ostrom’s Rules for Radicals”. For the rest of our reading list see here.