Repost. Spread the word.
-------------------------------->
National Day of Protest Against the Israeli Bombings in Gaza
Saturday, January 10, 2009
11:00am - 6:00pm
Civic Center
San Francisco, CA
The Israeli government has escalated its constant attacks on Gaza into a ground invasion. Hundreds of Palestinians have been murdered and thousands wounded. The bombs are being dropped on schools, homes, ambulances, tunnels, places of worship and more.
Millions of people around the world are demonstrating to stop the attacks on Gaza and in solidarity with the Palestinian people. The ANSWER Coalition, Free Palestine Alliance, Muslim American Society Freedom Foundation, National Council of Arab Americans, and Al-Awda-International Palestine Right to Return Coalition call on people across the country and around the world to take to the streets to show solidarity with the Palestinian People in Gaza and demand an immediate end to the murderous attacks carried out by the U.S.-backed Israeli military.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Copwatch Meeting - Strategic Responses to the Shooting of Oscar Grant - Jan. 12, 8pm
Repost. Spread the word.
---------------------------------------->
Dear friends of Copwatch,
By now you have seen the video-
It is New Year's Eve at the Fruitvale Bart station and the Bart cops have taken
several young men of color off the train. The cops seem to escalate the
situation at every turn. They make the young men sit on the floor. Then they
make them kneel. Then they make them lie down on their stomachs. Then an
officer takes out his gun and clear as day, shoots the prone, unarmed man.
WE MUST ACT NOW!!!
We are talking about spontaneous, public execution. If this incident is not met
with widespread, militant response, we can surely EXPECT MORE OF THE SAME! If
you have been watching from the sidelines, this might be a good time to unleash
your OUTRAGE!
This is a time when we need to unite to win some victories for the people. We
can not bring Oscar back or end the suffering of his grieving family. But we
can take action to bring about some justice.
Let's talk about our response. Ban Bart police? Disarm them? A public art
campaign that keeps this atrocity in the public eye?
Let's strategize:
What: Copwatch meeting
When January 12 8pm
Where: Grassroots House 2022 Blake Street in Berkeley (near Shattuck)
Contact: 510.548.0425
Berkeleycopwatch@yahoo.com
---------------------------------------->
Dear friends of Copwatch,
By now you have seen the video-
It is New Year's Eve at the Fruitvale Bart station and the Bart cops have taken
several young men of color off the train. The cops seem to escalate the
situation at every turn. They make the young men sit on the floor. Then they
make them kneel. Then they make them lie down on their stomachs. Then an
officer takes out his gun and clear as day, shoots the prone, unarmed man.
WE MUST ACT NOW!!!
We are talking about spontaneous, public execution. If this incident is not met
with widespread, militant response, we can surely EXPECT MORE OF THE SAME! If
you have been watching from the sidelines, this might be a good time to unleash
your OUTRAGE!
This is a time when we need to unite to win some victories for the people. We
can not bring Oscar back or end the suffering of his grieving family. But we
can take action to bring about some justice.
Let's talk about our response. Ban Bart police? Disarm them? A public art
campaign that keeps this atrocity in the public eye?
Let's strategize:
What: Copwatch meeting
When January 12 8pm
Where: Grassroots House 2022 Blake Street in Berkeley (near Shattuck)
Contact: 510.548.0425
Berkeleycopwatch@yahoo.com
Another Article About the Murder of Oscar Grant
You can read another article about the shooting in the San Jose Mercury News here.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Oscar Grant Murdered on New Years Day by Oakland BART Police!
Around 2 a.m. on New Year's Day, 22 year old Oscar Grant was shot and killed by BART police in the Fruitvale, Oakland BART station. Grant was on the floor with his hands up, and witnesses have stated that he was not resisting when the officer fired the single shot that killed him.
A home video taken by another passenger caught the scene on tape, and is being circulated to TV stations and on the internet. Below is some information about the shooting I received from a MySpace bulletin, and a clip of the video aired on ABC7 (this was one of the clearest edits of the video made from the raw footage that I've found so far).
The police need to be held accountable for this murder and injustice! There is no excuse for shooting an unarmed person laying on the ground - a finger on the trigger is not an accident! This is bullshit.
Karina Vargas told CBS 5 that she was making the tape available so the public would know what transpired shortly after 2 a.m. Thursday at BART's Fruitvale station when Oscar Grant was shot.
The video, that Vargas said she shot on a brand new camera she received for Christmas, would seem to support previous witnesses accounts that Grant was laying on his stomach with his hands behind him on the train platform when a single shot was fired by a BART officer.
According to Vargas, Grant was not resisting when the gunshot was fired. Vargas said she was standing only about 5 feet away from the shooting scene. She also said she resisted an officer's attempt to confiscate her camera.
Vargas, who said she was on her way home from a New Year's celebration along the Embarcadero in San Francisco when she witnessed the shooting, contended that Grant's "rights were definitely violated" by police.
BART officials have said Grant was unarmed and implied the shooting was an accident, saying the officer's gun discharged while he and four other officers responded to reports that two groups of young men were fighting on a train that had come from San Francisco and was en route to the Dublin/Pleasanton station.
Grant's family in Hayward has formally hired attorney John Burris to look into the circumstances surrounding his death.
The Oakland attorney, who has filed numerous lawsuits against police departments on behalf of family members of people who have been shot and killed by officers, scheduled a Sunday morning news conference to discuss developments in the case.
"It's an outrageous set of facts. My sense is clear that this was an unjustifiable shooting," Burris said based on witness statements, but prior to the videotape being made public. "There were no movements and he was not trying to overrun the police officer. A gun cannot discharge accidentally, you have to have your finger on the trigger.
"When conduct like this occurs, there is a price to pay," he added. "Police have to be held accountable when they engage in this kind of unlawful conduct.
BART officials have not released the name of the officer who shot Grant. They said the officer has worked for BART for nearly two years and was placed on administrative leave following the shooting.
The Alameda County District Attorney's office is handling the official investigation into the shooting. The D.A.'s office has not commented on the case.
A home video taken by another passenger caught the scene on tape, and is being circulated to TV stations and on the internet. Below is some information about the shooting I received from a MySpace bulletin, and a clip of the video aired on ABC7 (this was one of the clearest edits of the video made from the raw footage that I've found so far).
The police need to be held accountable for this murder and injustice! There is no excuse for shooting an unarmed person laying on the ground - a finger on the trigger is not an accident! This is bullshit.
Karina Vargas told CBS 5 that she was making the tape available so the public would know what transpired shortly after 2 a.m. Thursday at BART's Fruitvale station when Oscar Grant was shot.
The video, that Vargas said she shot on a brand new camera she received for Christmas, would seem to support previous witnesses accounts that Grant was laying on his stomach with his hands behind him on the train platform when a single shot was fired by a BART officer.
According to Vargas, Grant was not resisting when the gunshot was fired. Vargas said she was standing only about 5 feet away from the shooting scene. She also said she resisted an officer's attempt to confiscate her camera.
Vargas, who said she was on her way home from a New Year's celebration along the Embarcadero in San Francisco when she witnessed the shooting, contended that Grant's "rights were definitely violated" by police.
BART officials have said Grant was unarmed and implied the shooting was an accident, saying the officer's gun discharged while he and four other officers responded to reports that two groups of young men were fighting on a train that had come from San Francisco and was en route to the Dublin/Pleasanton station.
Grant's family in Hayward has formally hired attorney John Burris to look into the circumstances surrounding his death.
The Oakland attorney, who has filed numerous lawsuits against police departments on behalf of family members of people who have been shot and killed by officers, scheduled a Sunday morning news conference to discuss developments in the case.
"It's an outrageous set of facts. My sense is clear that this was an unjustifiable shooting," Burris said based on witness statements, but prior to the videotape being made public. "There were no movements and he was not trying to overrun the police officer. A gun cannot discharge accidentally, you have to have your finger on the trigger.
"When conduct like this occurs, there is a price to pay," he added. "Police have to be held accountable when they engage in this kind of unlawful conduct.
BART officials have not released the name of the officer who shot Grant. They said the officer has worked for BART for nearly two years and was placed on administrative leave following the shooting.
The Alameda County District Attorney's office is handling the official investigation into the shooting. The D.A.'s office has not commented on the case.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
6th Annual International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers
Please spread the word far and wide!
6th Annual International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers
Candlelit Vigil
850 Bryant St. (Hall of Justice)
San Francisco
5pm, December 17th, 2008
We will process together to a Memorial hosted by Annie Sprinkle
For our sister and brother sex workers lost to violence
6:30pm, Center for Sex and Culture
1519 Mission Street (at 11th)
www.sexandculture. org
Vigil Co-sponsored by St. James Infirmary (stjamesinfirmary. org)
and Sex Workers' Outreach Project (swopusa.org)
Bring a Red Umbrella in Solidarity
with Sex Workers & Our Human Rights
6th Annual International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers
Candlelit Vigil
850 Bryant St. (Hall of Justice)
San Francisco
5pm, December 17th, 2008
We will process together to a Memorial hosted by Annie Sprinkle
For our sister and brother sex workers lost to violence
6:30pm, Center for Sex and Culture
1519 Mission Street (at 11th)
www.sexandculture. org
Vigil Co-sponsored by St. James Infirmary (stjamesinfirmary. org)
and Sex Workers' Outreach Project (swopusa.org)
Bring a Red Umbrella in Solidarity
with Sex Workers & Our Human Rights
Tenderloin Webcams and the Growing Threat of Surveillance Culture in San Francisco
Recently, there has been a buzz in San Francisco about the guy who set up his two video cameras to film a span of Tenderloin street downstairs from his apartment. Complete with microphone to record the audio of "street sounds", Adam Jackson created a website, adamsblock.com, which aired the 24 hour live streams of Taylor St. captured from these cameras, as well as message boards where people could discuss what they saw.
Due to the controversy and harassment that Jackson faced as a result, he has since stepped away from this little project, but a fire has been set under Big Brother's ass.
You can read about it here.
So, this white guy moves into the Tenderloin - a neighborhood historically notorious for its seedy reputation and high population of homeless - and decides that he will use his video camera and computer to create a website with the intention of making "his" neighborhood quieter and safer. He, and all the other self-appointed "guardians of the streets", use the footage to narc on other people in the neighborhood with a self-righteous vengeance.
This strategy of neighborhood watch is dangerously divisive (not to mention rude and invasive), especially in a volatile neighborhood such as the Tenderloin, where poverty and crime are magnified due to a more visible presence of poor people on the streets. The fact that the police are in support of Adam Jackson and his idea should be of great concern to anyone who is against the invasive techniques of surveillance culture.
The conditions of the Tenderloin itself are a striking testimony to the oppressive, ineffective ways that many urban cities deals with issues rooted in poverty, such as homelessness, substance use, and sex work. Similar to the situation I observed in Skid Row when I lived in downtown Los Angeles, the Tenderloin is where San Francisco's
'undesirables' are given just a little bit more wiggle room to get away with certain crimes of survival. It is the city's way of keeping above-ground poverty in a more centralized location, so that the rest of the city (the nicer neighborhoods) will be less burdened with its eye-sore. It is a consequence of criminalizing and perpetuating poverty, and only addressing the needs of the poor through band-aid, quick-fix legislations while funding for vital social services continue to get hacked.
The arguments in support of these neighborhood cameras are the same arguments that our government uses to justify this war on terror. And even if this surveillance system is initially in the hands of independent citizens, you can bet that the city, state, even federal government, will unfailingly stick its dirty paws into it when they decide the time is right.
According to the article in the SF Gate, "Jackson said at least three other sites have sprung up independently, and there has been interest in linking all of them together through ourblock.com. It is possible that neighborhoods all over the city will have 24-hour cameras. That was Jackson's idea all along."
With the continued demonization of homeless people, "thugs" (which, to white people, often translates to: black or brown person wearing baggy pants and a hoodie. and if there's more than one of them walking together at night, you can bet this white person is about to shit themselves), sex workers, people who buy/sell/use substances, etc., the privilege of using and accessing surveillance cameras in the Tenderloin will only increase the race and class divide. The possibility of 24 hour cameras in neighborhoods all over the city hits too close to Orwellian to bode well.
Since Jackson stepped back and adamsblock.com was taken down, this url now takes you to what may soon be ourblock.tv. Their goal is to serve as the hub for a global network of neighborhood watch webcams, stating, "We are running this in an effort to make a difference in the world." I will leave you with a disturbing excerpt from its message boards:
11:45 jen__luv: I am sorry to hear about everthing you went through.People are pathetic.
3:42 towahead: keep in going and the losers off the streets
3:45 towahead: why did you wimp out dudet
3:46 towahead: too many losers of color on there
Scary.
Due to the controversy and harassment that Jackson faced as a result, he has since stepped away from this little project, but a fire has been set under Big Brother's ass.
You can read about it here.
So, this white guy moves into the Tenderloin - a neighborhood historically notorious for its seedy reputation and high population of homeless - and decides that he will use his video camera and computer to create a website with the intention of making "his" neighborhood quieter and safer. He, and all the other self-appointed "guardians of the streets", use the footage to narc on other people in the neighborhood with a self-righteous vengeance.
This strategy of neighborhood watch is dangerously divisive (not to mention rude and invasive), especially in a volatile neighborhood such as the Tenderloin, where poverty and crime are magnified due to a more visible presence of poor people on the streets. The fact that the police are in support of Adam Jackson and his idea should be of great concern to anyone who is against the invasive techniques of surveillance culture.
The conditions of the Tenderloin itself are a striking testimony to the oppressive, ineffective ways that many urban cities deals with issues rooted in poverty, such as homelessness, substance use, and sex work. Similar to the situation I observed in Skid Row when I lived in downtown Los Angeles, the Tenderloin is where San Francisco's
'undesirables' are given just a little bit more wiggle room to get away with certain crimes of survival. It is the city's way of keeping above-ground poverty in a more centralized location, so that the rest of the city (the nicer neighborhoods) will be less burdened with its eye-sore. It is a consequence of criminalizing and perpetuating poverty, and only addressing the needs of the poor through band-aid, quick-fix legislations while funding for vital social services continue to get hacked.
The arguments in support of these neighborhood cameras are the same arguments that our government uses to justify this war on terror. And even if this surveillance system is initially in the hands of independent citizens, you can bet that the city, state, even federal government, will unfailingly stick its dirty paws into it when they decide the time is right.
According to the article in the SF Gate, "Jackson said at least three other sites have sprung up independently, and there has been interest in linking all of them together through ourblock.com. It is possible that neighborhoods all over the city will have 24-hour cameras. That was Jackson's idea all along."
With the continued demonization of homeless people, "thugs" (which, to white people, often translates to: black or brown person wearing baggy pants and a hoodie. and if there's more than one of them walking together at night, you can bet this white person is about to shit themselves), sex workers, people who buy/sell/use substances, etc., the privilege of using and accessing surveillance cameras in the Tenderloin will only increase the race and class divide. The possibility of 24 hour cameras in neighborhoods all over the city hits too close to Orwellian to bode well.
Since Jackson stepped back and adamsblock.com was taken down, this url now takes you to what may soon be ourblock.tv. Their goal is to serve as the hub for a global network of neighborhood watch webcams, stating, "We are running this in an effort to make a difference in the world." I will leave you with a disturbing excerpt from its message boards:
11:45 jen__luv: I am sorry to hear about everthing you went through.People are pathetic.
3:42 towahead: keep in going and the losers off the streets
3:45 towahead: why did you wimp out dudet
3:46 towahead: too many losers of color on there
Scary.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Tools for White Guys Working for Social Change (and other people socialized in a society based on domination)
Here is one more reading where Chris Crass outlines some practical strategies for minimizing everyday patterns of domination. And while these exercises are especially important for white guys, these are useful practices we all can utilize in our daily lives towards undermining hierarchies of domination which create and perpetuate cycles of oppression!
And yes, I've been both busy and lazy lately, hence the cutnpaste posts of late. This is the last one of these for now though, so expect less lists, and more rambling ranting coming soon!
Enjoy!
---------------------------------------------------->
1. Practice noticing who's in the room at meetings - how many men, how many women, how many white people, how many people of color, is it majority heterosexual, are there out queers, what are people's class backgrounds. Don't assume to know people, but also work at being more aware.
2a. Count how many times you speak and keep track of how long you speak.
2b. Count how many times other people speak and keep track of how long they speak.
3. Be conscious of how often you are actively listening to what other people are saying as opposed to just waiting your turn and/or thinking about what you'll say next.
4. Practice going to meetings focused on listening and learning; go to some meetings and do not speak at all.
5a. Count how many times you put ideas out to the group.
5b. Count how many times you support other people's ideas for the group.
6. Practice supporting people by asking them to expand on ideas and get more in-depth, before you decide to support the idea or not.
7a. Think about whose work and contribution to the group gets recognized.
7b. Practice recognizing more people for the work they do and try to do it more often.
8. Practice asking more people what they think about meetings, ideas, actions, strategy and vision. White guys tend to talk amongst themselves and develop strong bonds that manifest in organizing. This creates an internal organizing culture that is alienating for most people. Developing respect and solidarity across race, class, gender and sexuality is complex and difficult, but absolutely critical - and liberating.
9. Be aware of how often you ask people to do something as opposed to asking other people "what needs to be done".
10. Think about and struggle with the saying, "you will be needed in the movement when you realize that you are not needed in the movement".
11. Struggle with and work with the model of group leadership that says that the responsibility of leaders is to help develop more leaders, and think about what this means to you.
12. Remember that social change is a process, and that our individual transformation and individual liberation is intimately interconnected with social transformation and social liberation. Life is profoundly complex and there are many contradictions. Remember that the path we travel is guided by love, dignity and respect - even when it is bumpy and difficult to navigate.
13. This list is not limited to white guys, nor is it intended to reduce all white guys into one category. This list is intended to disrupt patterns of domination which hurt our movement and hurt each other. White guys have a lot of work to do, but it is the kind of work that makes life worth living.
14. Day-to-day patterns of domination are the glue that maintain systems of domination. The struggle against capitalism, white supremacy, patriarchy, heterosexism and the state, is also the struggle towards collective liberation.
15. No one is free until all of us are free.
Thanks and love to my comrades in the Bay Area gender privileged men's group of the Ruckus Society and the men's group (biological and transgendered men) of the Challenging White Supremacy Collective.
And yes, I've been both busy and lazy lately, hence the cutnpaste posts of late. This is the last one of these for now though, so expect less lists, and more rambling ranting coming soon!
Enjoy!
---------------------------------------------------->
1. Practice noticing who's in the room at meetings - how many men, how many women, how many white people, how many people of color, is it majority heterosexual, are there out queers, what are people's class backgrounds. Don't assume to know people, but also work at being more aware.
2a. Count how many times you speak and keep track of how long you speak.
2b. Count how many times other people speak and keep track of how long they speak.
3. Be conscious of how often you are actively listening to what other people are saying as opposed to just waiting your turn and/or thinking about what you'll say next.
4. Practice going to meetings focused on listening and learning; go to some meetings and do not speak at all.
5a. Count how many times you put ideas out to the group.
5b. Count how many times you support other people's ideas for the group.
6. Practice supporting people by asking them to expand on ideas and get more in-depth, before you decide to support the idea or not.
7a. Think about whose work and contribution to the group gets recognized.
7b. Practice recognizing more people for the work they do and try to do it more often.
8. Practice asking more people what they think about meetings, ideas, actions, strategy and vision. White guys tend to talk amongst themselves and develop strong bonds that manifest in organizing. This creates an internal organizing culture that is alienating for most people. Developing respect and solidarity across race, class, gender and sexuality is complex and difficult, but absolutely critical - and liberating.
9. Be aware of how often you ask people to do something as opposed to asking other people "what needs to be done".
10. Think about and struggle with the saying, "you will be needed in the movement when you realize that you are not needed in the movement".
11. Struggle with and work with the model of group leadership that says that the responsibility of leaders is to help develop more leaders, and think about what this means to you.
12. Remember that social change is a process, and that our individual transformation and individual liberation is intimately interconnected with social transformation and social liberation. Life is profoundly complex and there are many contradictions. Remember that the path we travel is guided by love, dignity and respect - even when it is bumpy and difficult to navigate.
13. This list is not limited to white guys, nor is it intended to reduce all white guys into one category. This list is intended to disrupt patterns of domination which hurt our movement and hurt each other. White guys have a lot of work to do, but it is the kind of work that makes life worth living.
14. Day-to-day patterns of domination are the glue that maintain systems of domination. The struggle against capitalism, white supremacy, patriarchy, heterosexism and the state, is also the struggle towards collective liberation.
15. No one is free until all of us are free.
Thanks and love to my comrades in the Bay Area gender privileged men's group of the Ruckus Society and the men's group (biological and transgendered men) of the Challenging White Supremacy Collective.
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