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Tue Apr 30 2013 (Updated 05/04/13)
May Day Demonstrations Across Northern California Demand Justice for Workers & Immigrants
On May Day 2013, the fight for a $15 'Livable Wage' is coming to Oakland. A rally at Oscar Grant Plaza will be followed by a noise demonstration through the streets of Oakland at 5pm to raise awareness. Organizers hope to enable the struggle of low-wage workers to challenge their bosses for a livable wage. The City of Oakland's minimum wage is just $8.00/hr. The noise demo will focus on companies like McDonalds, Walgreens, Rite-Aid, Taco Bell and a host of other chains in the downtown area. The noise march in Oakland follows a Sin Fronteras march from Fruitvale BART station earlier in the day. Immigrant rights and labor actions will be taking place in many Bay Area and Northern California cities on May Day including San Francisco, San Jose, Salinas, Watsonville, and Santa Cruz. On May 3, protest continue at La Playa Carmel.
Mon Apr 22 2013 (Updated 04/23/13)
Yolanda Smith Informed that Son Was Shot Eight Times in the Back of the Head by UCPD
The family, friends, co-workers, and congregation of Amos G. Smith gathered in Union City on April 13 for a candlelight vigil to honor the 26-year-old man who was shot and killed on March 2 by officers with the Union City Police Department. Yolanda Smith, Amos' mother, stood with a sign that read "Union City Police Dept. Murders." She said that officers with the Union City Police Department told her very little about what had occurred that night, only that her son pointed a gun at them and that the two officers involved wound up shooting him eight times in the back of the head.
Thu Mar 21 2013 (Updated 03/24/13)
After Being Brutalized, Tased, and Arrested on May 1st, 2012, Prince Re-Arrested & Jailed
Last year on May Day, a boisterous but mostly peaceful demonstration promoted by Occupy Oakland and other groups, was attacked by an OPD assault force. In the ensuing confusion, Oakland police targeted several individuals. Like so many arrested during actions of civil disobedience and protest, the district attorney has stacked charges on top of the initial ones, and failed to notify the accused of his arraignments. On March 19th, the Oakland Police Department sent ten officers to Prince’s home to make good on their warrant. Prince was being held at Santa Rita jail on $25,000 bail, but all charges were dropped except for one on March 21 and supporters were able to pay the bond for his release.
Sun Mar 17 2013 (Updated 03/18/13)
Fourth Anniversary of IDF Shooting of Tristan Anderson Marked with Global Resistance Day
Four years ago, Tristan Anderson, an Oakland-based human rights activist, was shot in the head with a tear gas canister by Israeli military police. On March 13th, on the anniversary of Tristan's injury, dozens gathered in Oscar Grant Plaza to celebrate Global Resistance Day. Global Resistance Day honors Tristan and all who have transcended borders and risked their lives to resist tyranny. Friends and family of Tristan Anderson announced that they will soon go to Israel to press charges against the Israeli police on Tristan's behalf.
Sun Mar 17 2013 (Updated 03/18/13)
March Calls Attention to Lack of Accountability for In-Custody Death of Kayla Moore
On February 12, Berkeley Police murdered Kayla Moore. Kayla Moore lived with "mental illness" and has been described by friends and family as a Transgender person who "passed as a woman." One month later and the Berkeley Police still have not released information as to the cause of Kayla's death, leaving most questions unanswered. On March 12, while police and corporate media were largely silent about the death, a nighttime march was held to call attention to the lack of accountability for the in-custody murder in Berkeley.
Sat Mar 16 2013 (Updated 03/18/13)
Supporters Say Community Activist Ghetto Prophet Target of Political Attack by Police
On March 5, Michael Walker, aka Ghetto Prophet (GP), co-chair of the ONYX Organizing Committee, was arrested at his home by the California Highway Patrol. Police claimed he was in violation of his parole, but GP has been off of parole since August 2012. Supporters believe this is a political attack because earlier that same day, GP participated in the Justice for Alan Blueford (JAB) Coalition rally. As of March 16, Ghetto Prophet is still being held at Santa Rita jail and supporters are asking for donations to help support his family.
Tue Feb 12 2013 (Updated 02/18/13)
Alameda County Board of Supes and Berkeley Police Review Commission to Hold Drone Hearings
On Wednesday, February 13th at 7pm, the Berkeley Police Review Commission will hold a hearing to discuss a possible drone policy for the city of Berkeley. On Thursday, February 14th at 1pm, the Alameda County Board of Supervisors' Public Protection Committee will hold a hearing on the Alameda County Sheriff's plan to purchase and deploy a drone. The Sheriff's office has stated it wanted to use the drone for "suspicious persons" and "large crowd control disturbances."
Tue Feb 12 2013 (Updated 02/17/13)
Autonomous Spaces Fight Against Property Developers in Oakland
Two squats located in Oakland are facing eviction in the coming weeks. The Stayaway, located in the Highland neighborhood of East Oakland, received a "Notice to Vacate" for this Wednesday, February 13th. The RCA/Hot Mess compound, located in North Oakland, has been fighting eviction through court proceedings, but organizers believe eviction orders will be coming in the next week. Many of those organizing defense for the squats believe that "both spaces could face raids on or before Valentine's Day."
Read more on Indybay's Health, Housing, and Public Services or Global Justice and Anti-Capitalism pages
On January 10th, IWW members and community allies staged an informational picket and rally to build energy towards what organizers think will be a protracted contract negotiation with Berkeley's Ecology Center. Management at the non-profit recycling center is looking to offer minor wage increases over the next two years, impose a wage freeze for the remaining three years of the new contract, and remove any employer-related benefit contributions. Workers have vowed to continue fighting against any and all concessions proposed by management of the company.
Tue Jan 15 2013 (Updated 01/16/13)
Community Groups Organize Against the Hiring of William Bratton as OPD Consultant
On Tuesday, January 15th, hundreds of community activists from groups including Stop the Injunctions Coalition and Justice for Alan Blueford gathered at Oakland's City Council Public Safety Committee meeting to protest Oakland's plans to hire former NYPD and LAPD police chief William Bratton as a consultant to the OPD. Bratton is well known for the implementation of aggressive policing tactics known as "zero tolerance" policy which applies aggressive policing tactics such as New York's infamous "stop and frisk" to target minor infractions within the city. Even though the public safety meeting was well attended by those opposed to the contract, the committee voted unanimously to recommend that the city council vote on the proposal.
Read more on Indybay's Racial Justice page
Mon Jan 14 2013 (Updated 01/15/13)
Oakland Courthouse Blows Up After FTP March Arrestee Taken into Custody
Four people were arrested and one was tased by sheriff's deputies after protesters became boisterous in an Alameda County Wiley Manuel courtroom on January 8th. Of the courthouse disruption, Bay of Rage writes: nearly 100 people gathered at Oscar Grant Plaza to say goodbye to Jack. Jack was arrested on January 7, 2012 during the very first FTP march in downtown Oakland.... Together with our comrade and his family leading the way we walked quietly in the street some eight blocks to the court house. About 50 of us somberly filed into the courtroom.
Read more on Indybay's Global Justice and Anti-Capitalism page
Sat Jan 5 2013 (Updated 01/06/13)
In Protest of Prison Industrial Complex, Barrage of Fireworks Aimed at North County Jail
For the second New Year's Eve in a row, nearly two hundred people chose to forgo traditional evening indoor parties and instead demonstrated in the streets of Oakland against the racist prison industrial complex. After a noisy march with a sound system, a symbolic attack was made against the North County jail by a barrage of fireworks shot high into the air towards the jailhouse walls. Participants marched back to the plaza in time for the midnight count down to 2013, right in the middle of the intersection of 14th & Broadway.
Read more on Indybay's Racial Justice page
Thu Jan 3 2013 (Updated 01/04/13)
Family, Friends, and Community Activists Gather for 4th Annual Vigil for Oscar Grant
Family and friends remembered Oscar Grant during a January 1st, 2013 vigil at the Fruitvale BART Station where his life was taken New Year's Day 2009. Four years after his murder by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle, Oakland has not forgotten Grant. Over 150 people came out in Grant's memory.
Read more on Indybay's Racial Justice page
Sat Dec 15 2012 (Updated 12/25/12)
"We Witness": A Panel on Digital Video, Social Media, & Political Protest at UC Berkeley
A forum on the UC Berkeley campus called “We Witness: A Panel on Digital Video, Social Media, & Political Protest,” was held on Monday, December 10, and presented by the CITRIS Data and Democracy Initiative. It featured Witness, an NGO documenting human rights violations, The New Media Advocacy Project, and Ustream, a commercial service for live video streaming.
Sun Nov 25 2012 (Updated 11/28/12)
Richmond and San Leandro Walmart Workers Protest in National Action on Black Friday 2012
On November 22nd & 23rd, Walmart workers and supporters demonstrated at the Richmond and San Leandro Walmarts as part of the national Black Friday protests against the nation's largest retailer. In San Leandro on November 22nd, Walmart threatened the use of the police to remove the protesters, including their own workers. On November 23rd, demonstrations were held in San Leandro and Richmond. Walmart workers spoke about the intimidation and terrorism on the job to silence them from speaking out and organizing.
Sat Nov 24 2012 (Updated 11/28/12)
Occupy the Farm Remains Committed to Protecting Albany Farmland in Perpetuity
Occupy the Farm writes: "On Friday November 16, 2012, the University of California (UC) razed all of the publicly planted crops on the Gill Tract. Occupy the Farm is disappointed that the UC has unnecessarily destroyed the hard work of the community and food that could have fed it. The weekly distribution and harvest events could have continued that, over the course of the summer and early fall, have yielded over one ton of food from the crops planted during the occupation last Spring.
Thu Nov 22 2012 (Updated 11/26/12)
Lawyer Demands Indybay Remove "Information Pertaining to Public Safety Officers"
Attorney David E. Mastagni of the Sacramento law firm Mastagni, Holstedt, Amick, Miller & Johnsen has demanded that the San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center (Indybay) remove a post by Vallejo Copwatch. It is unclear on whose behalf the overly broad demand was made as it requests that Indybay "remove any and all information pertaining to public safety officers employed by the City of Vallejo." The specific Vallejo Copwatch post listed in the demand letter, though, identifies Vallejo police officer Dustin B. Joseph as the killer of Mario Romero on September 2nd of this year. The Indybay Collective has no intention of removing the post.
Read more on Indybay's Central Valley page
Tue Nov 13 2012 (Updated 11/14/12)
Memorial for Soldiers Killed in Iraq and Afghanistan Continues to Grow
On a small hill next to Deer Hill Road in the City of Lafayette, over 6,000 crosses have been erected and displayed as an on-going tribute, and to memorialize the soldiers, who have been killed in Iraq or Afghanistan. The hillside has been marked with controversy, and has sparked anger and even attracted counter protests to its existence.
Occupy Oakland Anti-Repression Committee writes: "Over the past year, we have experienced many forms of overt police repression, from the camp eviction and night of tear gas on October 25th, to raids on the vigil, to snatch and grab squads on May Day. We have come to expect the riot-clad police, with their batons and chemical weapons, although repression comes in other forms as well. As a community, we have not been sufficiently attuned to these other faces of repression."
Read more on Indybay's Global Justice and Anti-Capitalism page
Mon Oct 22 2012
Now is the Time to Take Security Very Seriously
BayOfRage writes: "The spectre of state repression has been growing over Bay Area radical milieus. Grand juries in the Pacific Northwest and in Santa Cruz, threats by police of using gang enhancements against activists, the recent string of mass arrests, the profusion of political divisions and threats, abundant conspiracy theories, surveillance of our social spaces, FOIA paperwork that references a confidential informer--The list goes on and on and on. Even though everything we hear cannot be entirely proven or disproven, recent events underscore the importance of preparing for a possible crackdown."
Wed Oct 10 2012 (Updated 11/23/12)
Looking Back and Forward, Occupy Oakland Marks Anniversary with Gathering at Snow Park
Following the lead of Occupy Wall Street, Occupy San Francisco, and other cities across the U.S., Occupy Oakland established itself on October 10th, 2011, with a large rally of thousands in the Frank Ogawa plaza in front of City Hall. Regular rallies, marches, workshops, and skillshares began to emanate from within the encampment. A second smaller camp was established in nearby Snow Park. Despite the encampments having been destroyed by police, and throughout numerous dramatic ups and downs, large and small, Occupy Oakland in various forms has persisted. Occupy Oakland celebrates its one-year anniversary at Snow Park on Lake Merritt at 5pm on Wednesday, October 10th.
Thu Sep 20 2012 (Updated 10/03/12)
The Shooting of Alan Blueford: Searching for Answers to a Police Killing
Darwin Bond-Graham writes: "All summer long the slaying of teenager Alan Blueford by a police officer festered in the city of Oakland, a metropolis already stained by its troubled police department which for nearly ten years has been spiraling toward federal receivership due to its institutionalized culture of brutality and misconduct. It was no surprise then that the first meeting of the City Council [September 18], in its new session after the Summer recess, was met by over one hundred outraged protesters and the family of the young man whose death at the hands of OPD frustratingly remains a mystery, with all known facts indicating an unjustifiable murder."
Read more on Indybay's Racial Justice page
Sat Aug 18 2012 (Updated 08/19/12)
Hundreds Rally at Obama Campaign Offices for PFC Bradley Manning, Vets Arrested
On August 16th, six veterans and activists in Oakland, CA, and six more in Portland, OR, were arrested at Obama campaign offices for occupying the spaces in solidarity with accused WikiLeaks whistle-blower PFC Bradley Manning. Dozens of veterans and anti-war demonstrators coordinated a West Coast set of actions that also included protests in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Seattle.
Mon Aug 13 2012 (Updated 08/22/12)
OPD Raids Abandoned East Oakland Library Reclaimed as Biblioteca Popular Victor Martinez
An abandoned historic building in Oakland was unveiled on the morning of August 13th as the Victor Martinez Community Library. The building was one of seven library branch casualties of budget cuts in the late seventies, and since then it has mostly sat empty. On the first day of the re-opening, donations of books poured in and area children helped to start a community garden in a side lot. In less than 15 hours, however, OPD raided the Community Library. The next morning, activists re-opened the library on the sidewalk in front of the building and it has been growing since.
Read more on Indybay's California page
Sun Aug 12 2012 (Updated 08/13/12)
Richmond Residents Say Chevron Responsible for Fire, Toxic Release, & Food Contamination
Richmond, California residents have long battled with the massive oil company Chevron which maintains a large refinery on the city's western edge. On August 6th, a fire at the Chevron refinery in Richmond sent huge plumes of smoke and toxic chemicals into the air and hundreds of residents to local hospitals. The next day, Urban Tilth held a press conference and protest at the Richmond Civic Center to hold Chevron accountable for the release of dangerous contaminants into the air, as well as the potential loss of thousands of pounds of food.
Read more on Indybay's Environment & Forest Defense page
Mon Aug 6 2012 (Updated 08/07/12)
Local Activist Anna Karewicz on ICE Hold and Fighting Deportation
UPDATE 8/7: Ankah was bonded out of jail just before 6pm. Her friends report that she will still need continued support.
Anna Karewicz, who is known to her friends as Ankah, is a puppeteer, artist, and avid community gardener who lives in Oakland. On Thursday, August 2nd, the group with which she was bicycle touring in Northern California mistakenly rode on the wrong side of the street on a city block in Arcata. The group was stopped by police. The other riders received traffic infraction citations and were allowed to go on their way. Ankah, however, was taken into custody with an ICE hold, and she could be deported at any time. Ankah's friends are requesting that people sign an online petition and contact the Humboldt County Sheriff's department and other officials to demand that she be set free.
On August 4th, a roving dance party with a large banner that read “Fuck The Permits, F.T.P., Fuck The Police” marched in solidarity with the vendors of Art Murmur. On July 6th, uniformed security officers had informed Art Murmur vendors that anyone without a permit would be ticketed, starting in August. Many vendors and artists ignored the threat of being ticketed, and set their tables in illegal spaces.
Read more on Indybay's Labor & Workers page
The Alameda County Board of Supervisors proclaimed Palestinian Cultural Day at its regular meeting in the Alameda County Administration Building in Oakland on Tuesday, July 24th, 2012. Board President Nate Miley and Supervisor Wilma Chan awarded the Proclamation to representatives of the Palestinian community: Fouad Atieh, Sandra Nasser, Nabil Wahbeh, and Loubna Qutami. The proclamation is a victory for Palestinian residents who have long sought recognition as a community despite sometimes fierce opposition.
Mon Jul 30 2012 (Updated 07/31/12)
Solidarity Actions Nationwide After Anaheim Police Kill Two and Attack Protesters
On Saturday, July 21st, Anaheim police shot and killed 25-year-old Manuel Diaz by shooting him in the back and head. Police then opened fire on protestors with beanbags and pepper spray, and also released a dog which attacked demonstrators. The next day, Anaheim police shot and killed Joel Acevedo. On July 26th and July 27th, marches were held in San Francisco and Oakland in solidarity with the people of Anaheim. In Oakland, protesters marched to OPD headquarters and windows were smashed at the Warehouse Bar & Grill, a local bar frequented by Oakland police.
From the Calendar:
7:30PM Wednesday May 15
The New Rulers of the World
7PM Thursday May 16
Screening of: 41st & Central: The Untold Story of the...
7PM Thursday May 16
Elder Freeman & film on LA Black Panthers
7PM Thursday May 16
Film Screening: Enemies of The People
6:30PM Friday May 17
Guantanamo North: Muslim Prisoners in America
12PM Saturday May 18
Weekly Silent Vigil
4PM Sunday May 19
Environment and Labor Unite!
7:30PM Monday May 20
Eve Ensler: In The Body Of The World: A Memoir
6:30PM Tuesday May 21
The End of Intelligence with Peter Coyote
7:30PM Tuesday May 21
Eduardo Galeano: 'Children of the Days: A Calendar of...
7:30PM Tuesday May 21
An Evening with EDUARDO GALEANO: “Children of the...
7:30PM Wednesday May 22
The Coconut Revolution
11:30AM Friday May 24
Judi Bari Day Memorial
12PM Friday May 24
Take off your Blindfolds and take out your ear plugs
12PM Saturday May 25
Weekly Silent Vigil
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Radio Autonomía:Zapatismo in the Bay MAY SHOW:Strike Debt & Resistance to Prisons and PIC
Sunday May 12th 9:53 PM
Mayor Jean Quan's Husband Identified in Second Altercation on First Friday by New Witness
Friday May 10th 2:08 PM
May Day: A Perfect Day for a March. A Perfect Beginning For The Fight For $15
Saturday May 4th 4:38 PM
Oakland Bakery BTCGM 125 Immigrant Workers Protest ICE I-9 Audit & Firing 125 Workers
More Local News...
Tuesday Apr 30th 4:16 PM
Pentagon Loses Court Case over Refusal to Release Names of SOA/ WHINSEC Graduates Oakland!
Friday Apr 26th 9:50 AM
US Sailors & Families In Japan Contaminated By Fukushima Meltdown While DOD Stops Registry
More Global News...
Saturday Feb 9th 7:17 PM
Closing Guantanamo—Why it’s Symbolically, Spiritually and Materially Important.
Sunday May 5th 1:33 PM
Setting the Standard Presents:Interview with FMLN Youth Bay Area, and about Event May 4th
Sunday Apr 28th 10:37 PM
"Save KPFA" Flack And Former KQED Producer Tina Bachemin Now Joining Save KPFA Brian ET
Friday Apr 12th 7:52 AM
Rosie says:No Double Standard! Richmond Speakout April 2-No Justice No Peace
Open Newswire...
Wednesday Mar 27th 6:51 AM |