Calendar

1. Call to Order, determination of quorum 2. Review and approval of the draft December 7 meeting minutes 3. Open Forum/Public Comment for non-agenda items 4. Federal Task Force Ordinance – OPD – Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) a. Review draft MOU and take possible action Each person wishing to speak on items must fill out a speaker’s card. Persons addressing the Privacy Advisory Commission shall state their names and the organization they are representing, if any. Members of the public can view the … Continued

Please register in advance at https://bit.ly/MiddleEast-24-01-06 to receive your personal link to participate in this event online The Israeli Government responded to the October 7 attack by Hamas with collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza. The slaughter and destruction continues as the war expands in the region. American activists protesting Israel’s escalation and its support by the U.S. government are subjected to accusations of anti-semitism and repression of dissent. Join our panelists to discuss the roots of the conflict and current developments in the Middle East and in the U.S. … Continued

https://twitter.com/AROCBayArea/status/174341630843444863777603

Transparency for Our Community: Sheriff Oversight in Alameda CountyJoin the Alameda County Sheriff Oversight Coalition on Wednesday, January 10 from 6 to 8 p.m. to learn more about how you can get involved in advocacy to establish Sheriff oversight in Alameda County. Independent and community-driven oversight makes us safer, increases transparency, and provides a critical avenue for accountability. We invite you to join us either in-person or via Zoom videoconference. Spanish interpretation and closed captioning will be provided to attendees joining via Zoom videoconference. This event will be hybrid. If you’re joining virtually, you will … Continued

Email strike.debt.bay.area@gmail.com a few days beforehand for the online invite. For our December meeting we are reading the first half (through chapter 2) of The Feminist Subversion of the Economy. (Common Notions Press, Amazon). For our January, 2024 meeting we will read the remainder. The political response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the pressures on the global capitalist economies has, once again, imposed the priority of markets over life. Add to this the climate crisis and, undoubtedly, the task of sustaining life continues to be privatized, made invisible, and feminized.We must … Continued

Speaker: Immanuel Ness For more than a century, a trend within Western Marxism has been to retreat from endorsing actually existing socialist projects such as the Soviet Union and retheorizing their significance in relation to capitalism. In this context, these scholars have begun to, in effect, reject imperialism as a driving force of capitalism, while obscuring the central regressive role of the US in particular. Such re-theorization downplays the historical significance of actually existing socialism and especially socialist projects in the Global South, often by reframing them as part of … Continued

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88083342274 The USA’s corporate oligarchy made the fateful decision to go for global empire during World War II. This led the US to rescue and repurpose Axis fascists so that the US could consolidate and rebrand the Anticommintern under US management. From this decision to go for global dominance flowed other fateful choices like the dropping of the atom bombs, the launching of the Cold War, the creation of the CIA, alliances with organized crime, the clandestine overthrow of foreign governments, and political assassinations. The deep state … Continued

Hybrid event: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/immigration-what-are-borders-really-ogp-townhall-discussion-series-tickets-753471161527?aff=ebdsoporgprofile How do you define “the border” when it comes to the migration of people? What comes to mind when the term immigrant/immigration is used? Do you start at colonization or at the natural borders defined by a people’s existence with the land? Join the Oakland Greens & special surprise guests, Monday, January 15 2024. Discussion starts at 6:30 PM PST and will end no later than 9:30 PM PST. The Oakland Greens Townhall Discussion Series is a hybrid community discussion event. These hybrid community engagement events are … Continued

  Please join our coalition of Bay Area Healthcare Workers for a Solidarity Gathering and Vigil for Palestine, a collective space to mourn the loss of countless colleagues and innocent civilians, and bring our voices together for peace. We’ll have speakers, readings and songs, as well as opportunities for action. White coats/scrubs 🩺🕊️suggested. BYO light 💡. Please mask. More info: https://www.instagram.com/p/C1-L_8gPFZy/77675

We are hosting a community-based maker fair at Omni Commons!!! There will be artists/vendors, musical performances, and workshops taking place all day throughout the Omni. Please sign up and share with other creatives in your community! Sign Up to Participate! EBABZ (East Bay Alternative Book and Zine Fest) is an annual festival for writers, artists, makers, and everyone who creates or appreciates zines and alternative books. We strive to make EBABZ reflect the diversity, vibrance, and sense of community of the East Bay. Each year over 100 zinesters gather at … Continued

Speaker: Jack Rasmus As we head into election 2024, the Biden administration, Democratic Party politicians, and media pundits have has launched an aggressive campaign touting the “accomplishments of Bidenomics.” Yet according to an AP News poll, only 34 percent of Americans say they approve of Biden’s handling of the economy. Democratic Party politicians and pundits echo the theme that the economy is doing great, decry unfounded pessimism, and insist that expressions of discontent are reflections of misinformation and MAGA propaganda. This Sunday, Economist Dr. Jack Rasmus will set the record … Continued

Hardware and SoftWEAR Hack Nights are better than ever! Each Tuesday we welcome all to bring their hardware (and software and firmware) projects to Omni Commons, or simply come by to learn and tinker! All welcome, 7pm til ∞ …whomever’s left standing! ○ Projects: can range from building course materials for teaching local kids electronics to a robotic arm that draws, to light projection art, to people building their own microchip boards! We provide the space, tools and peer learning – you bring your project and enthusiasm! ○ Group Sewing: Learn to do simple mending … Continued

Staying True to Your Roots 2024 — Register Now to get Early Bird Rates! The San Francisco National Lawyers Guild’s 10th annual Staying True to Your Roots program is approaching and we’d love to have you in attendance! The day of CLE’s will be held remotely on Friday, January 26, 2024. Sign up by January 16, 2024 to take advantage of our early bird rates and save 20 percent! You can register here. Early Bird Rates: NLG and co-sponsoring organization members:  $200/day or $50/hour Non-members:  $325/day or $60/hour We have these … Continued

On January 26, 2024, the federal court will hear a lawsuit filed by Palestinian plaintiffs charging President Biden, Secretary of State Blinken, and Secretary of Defense Austin with complicity in Israel’s genocide. The lawsuit seeks an emergency federal court order to halt U.S. support for these actions. The court holds the authority to compel the U.S. to cease its support, making this an urgent and pivotal case for the millions affected by genocide. Meeting Location: Contrary to previous communications, the meeting will not take place at Oscar Grant. Instead, all … Continued

Join Zoom Meeting https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85175860127?pwd=bfZRQOSMuhX9Pfm4qhPMOZMrmE9Ohm.1 Speaker: Gabriel Rockhill According to the dominant ideology, fascism constitutes an exceptional break with the protocols of liberal democracy, which has only happened at rare moments in the history of the West, such as in Mussolini’s Italy and Nazi Germany. Liberalism is thereby postulated as a bulwark against fascism, an idea that’s been consolidated through the massive perpetuation of a historical narrative regarding the supposed democratic defeat of Nazism in WWII. This presentation will critically interrogate these assumptions by re-examining the historical relationship between liberal democracy … Continued

Richmond was once an industrial powerhouse, building automobiles and battleships.  It’s still home to a sprawling oil refinery owned by global fossil fuel colossus, Chevron.  But it’s also well on its way to becoming a cutting-edge laboratory for progressive policy experimentation. Join us to hear some of the prominent Richmond environmental justice leaders working on the climate challenges facing Richmond: planning for a just transition, tackling the impacts of sea-level rise, and dealing with the financial impact of closing the Chevron refinery.  We’ll also take a look at the plan … Continued

Hardware and SoftWEAR Hack Nights are better than ever! Each Tuesday we welcome all to bring their hardware (and software and firmware) projects to Omni Commons, or simply come by to learn and tinker! All welcome, 7pm til ∞ …whomever’s left standing! ○ Projects: can range from building course materials for teaching local kids electronics to a robotic arm that draws, to light projection art, to people building their own microchip boards! We provide the space, tools and peer learning – you bring your project and enthusiasm! ○ Group Sewing: Learn to do simple mending … Continued

photo: Thomas Good In last year’s historic strike against the Big Three automakers, climate activists rallied to support union workers fighting for better pay and working conditions—including protections for workers during the transition to electric vehicles. Leaders of the strike made it clear that their aim was not just to win their immediate demands but to build working class power for progressive change. What can we learn from the strike about how to build worker power for a just transition to a green economy? Find out in a discussion with … Continued