Who’s speaking at the next “Green Sunday“?  Find out here

What’s in the newest Voter Guide?  Read it here.

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Dr. Helen Caldicott in Berkeley (6/27)

SuperBOLD (Berkeleyans Organizing for Library Defense) will hold a benefit with Dr. Helen Caldicott, internationally acclaimed anti-nuclear activist.

The event will be held on Saturday June 27th, 7:30pm at Redwood Gardens Community Room, 2951 Derby Street, Berkeley.

Dr. Caldicott will speak on the relevance of Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear Power to International Relations and the Green Revolution.

Lynda Williams, a physics chanteuse, will provide rollicking entertainment and Michael Lozeau, SuperBOLD’s attorney will speak on our legal challenge of the City of Berkeley’s waiver of the Nuclear Free Berkeley Act. Tickets $12 in advance available at independent bookstores and $15 at the door.

For information call (510) 843-2152

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BIG PEACE RALLY March 21 —

LET IT BE KNOWN!

The Green Party of Alameda County urges you to attend this rally and march and forwards the following message to you from our Green Party State Controller “Candidate until she wins”, Laura Wells!

LET THE NEW ADMINISTRATION KNOW:
WE DO WANT PEACE!

Rally on SATURDAY, MARCH 21, 11:00 am
at Embarcadero, San Francisco
then march to Civic Center

HERE’S AN UNABASHED PITCH for going to peace rallies!

At the best rallies, it’s like you’ve thrown a big party without having to set up or clean up!

And you get to:
….walk and talk with a bunch of friends from different circles
….meet new people
….ignore or listen to passionate (angry?) people
….admire clever signs on adults, children and dogs
….hear some great music, especially drums
….take part in the type of nonviolent movements that have worked over the ages, and that are still working (as in Latin America, where the truth behind the news stories is that Latin America is moving toward real democracies and stable sovereignties.)

It’s been SIX years since the Iraq occupation started. Collectively, let’s tell our new administration in Washington what we want. Again!

P.S. Here’s to hoping that many many folks will be at the rally — even if they agree more with other peace organizations than they do with A.N.S.W.E.R.!

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Celebrate Black History Month:

Come to the ILWU rally!

Racism, Repression and Rebellion:  The Lessons of Labor Defense

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 12 noon
ILWU Local 10 Hall
(400 North Point Street, corner of Mason St.
near Fisherman’s Wharf)
Flyer [PDF]

ILWU was born out of the militant 1934 Big Strike in which police killed two strikers in San Francisco, shooting them in the back.  Still today, police are banned from membership in Local 10. The union has a legacy of defending those under attack by the government, in particular reds and blacks, from Harry Bridges to Paul Robeson to Angela Davis to Mumia Abu-Jamal and Troy Davis.

For Black History Month Local 10 is organizing this rally to teach the lessons of the need for unity of action to defend against government repression and racist profiling. These lessons are never more necessary than today as evidenced by the brutal murder by BART police of Oscar Grant.

Speakers:

Angela Davis
U.C. Professor, former Black
Panther, witchhunted by FBI

Martina Correia
sister of Troy Davis on
Georgia’s death row

Rev. Cecil Williams
Glide Memorial Church

Robert R. Bryan
lead attorney for Mumia Abu-
Jamal on Pa.’s death row

Gerald Smith
Labor Action Committee to
Free Mumia Abu-Jamal

Pierre LaBossiere
founding member, Haiti
Action Committee

JR
Prisoners of Conscience
Cmte. Minister of Information Mumia
Abu-Jamal

Richard Brown
former Black Panther,
San Francisco Eight

Entertainment by Jack Hirschman, S.F. Poet Laureate; Tayo Aluko, Nigerian Actor portraying Paul Robeson; Upsurge Jazz/Poetry Music

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March for Justice & Reparations

For the Family of Oscar Grant III

We invite you attend the “March for Justice & Reparations for Family of Oscar Grant III” in Oakland this Monday, January 19th.

The gathering will begin at 11:30 am at West Oakland BART.  The march will start at 12 noon and go through the historic sites of the Marcus Garvey and Black Power Movement, ending back at the West Oakland BART with a rally from 2 to 3pm.

On the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr., join the struggle for justice and reparations to the family of Oscar Grant III.

For more information, please see:
http://www.indybay. org/newsitems/ 2009/01/09/ 18560170. php
Flyer:
http://bapd. org/n0719. pdf

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Rally for Justice for Oscar Grant

Wednesday, January 14, 2009
4:00pm – 7:00pm
Oakland City Hall
1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza
Oakland, CA

For more info on this event, see:

“Coalition Against Police Execution” on www.Facebook.com

For background, see:

Rally and Rage Over BART Police Murder of Oscar Grant

Emergency Town Hall Meeting Regarding Murder of Oscar Grant, 1/10/09: Photos and Notes

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Peter Camejo Memorial

(1939 – 2008)

Peter’s Memorial will be on –

Sunday, November 23, 2:00 PM

at

The International House in Berkeley

The International House (I-House) is at the top of the UC Berkeley campus, 2299 Piedmont Avenue, Berkeley, California.

Ralph Nader will be speaking at the Memorial.  Also other friends of Peter from different aspects of his life. Details to follow.

Socializing

A number of people have asked us about the possibilities of socializing after the memorial. We have to be out of I-House by 5 PM. We are looking into finding a place where people who wanted to could gather afterwards.

We are still asking for photos of Peter — we haven’t received any yet!

As part of the memorial meeting we are soliciting two things:

1) Photographs of Peter and

2) hard-copy reminiscences (brief is fine!)

to be put in a memory book for the family, which will also be available at the memorial and eventually perhaps be put online. Physical photographs will be scanned and returned.

Both the photographs and the reminiscences should be sent to
Peter’s brother Dan Ratner at –

Dan Ratner
1350 Broadstone Pkwy
Apt 4413
Folsom, CA 95630

If you’d be willing to have these photos appear on the blog, please also send them to –

achis [at] igc.org

Please visit the blog where we have links to interviews with Peter and the picture of the Abdul Ghaffar Khan Peace Award he just won.

http://petercamejoupdates.blogspot.com/

The blog also has all the previous messages we sent out, as well as many comments from friends of Peter.

Claudette Begin & Alex Chis
P.O. Box 2944
Fremont, CA 94536
510-489-8554
achis@igc.org

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ACTION ALERT!! (for Wed. Nov 12, 2008)

No rest for the weary. Measure VV has just passed and Van Hool can’t wait to get a return on their investment.  The ABC Company that sponsored Measure VV is the agent for Van Hool buses. (I wonder if it would have passed if people knew that!) So with indecent haste, the General Manager is asking the board to approve more Van Hools at this Wednesday’s Board Meeting!! Here is the agenda:
http://www2. actransit. org/aboutac/ bod/memos/ 754da8.pdf

The Board Meeting is in the 2nd Floor Board Room at their headquarters, 1600 Franklin St., in downtown Oakland and begins at 5:00 pm.

The first item on the Regular Calendar, #4, is the after-the-fact passenger survey of the new 2-door 40-ft Van Hools that are already being manufactured and, surprise!, it got a good review They did not allow a comparison with an American-made low floor bus so it is a meaningless survey.
#4:  http://www2. actransit. org/aboutac/ bod/memos/ 42e8f5.pdf

The next item is #5: Consider authorizing the General Manager to negotiate a contract for 45-ft Van Hool “suburban style commuter buses.”  Except they aren’t, they are over-the-road buses like the MCI, inappropriate particularly when you consider most of them begin and end on hilly, winding roads. AND, in May the board asked for a competitive process for these buses and they had not settled on 45-ft buses. Here is the link to the memo:
http://www2. actransit. org/aboutac/ bod/memos/ 4842c9.pdf

Then to #6 which is a re-play of the General Manager’s request in May which was nixed by the board to purchase 19 more of the Van Hool 60-ft articulated buses.  They do not need them anymore now than they did in May and the board asked them to verify the need for them. The memo:
http://www2. actransit. org/aboutac/ bod/memos/ 8479ff.pdf

NOW HERE IS THE WAY I PROPOSE TO DEAL WITH THIS:

That we form a group called AC Transit Activists for Change (actac) (unless one of you can come up with a better name) and that we have representatives at every board meeting identifying themselves with stickers, which we can make. And write letters or send emails to the board and the press.  We owe that to the 113,003 voters who voted for change. And here is the proposed Platform (also attached) that we will publicize and hand every board member:

PLATFORM

AC Transit Activists for Change (actac)

Representing 113,003 thinking voters— bus riders and operators, union members, environmentalists, the elderly and disabled, and advocates for responsible government.

Replace current management that puts the interests of a foreign bus manufacturer with which it has a “special partnership” above that of its riders, particularly ignoring its most vulnerable passengers, the elderly and disabled.  Put in its place management that actively listens and responds to riders and its bus operators and mechanics.

Procurement of buses thru a competitive process like every other American bus agency. Stop sole source procurement that uses taxpayer’s money to send good manufacturing jobs overseas.  Buy union-made American, low-floor, air-conditioned buses that are a pleasure to ride instead of a pain.

Buy-in of new buses by riders, bus operators and mechanics.  In fact, the riders that should determine if buses pass the test are the elderly and disabled. If they find them easy to navigate and comfortable, everyone will!

Fiscal responsibility. No more “creative fund swaps” that dip into operating funds to purchase no-bid, untested by a third party, imported buses that are not eligible for federal funds, the usual source for capital expenses.  And which cost more than American buses. (The latest Van Hool 40-ft bus they are buying costs $400,000 while a superior true low-floor American bus costs about $328,000!)
No more throwing public money at failed experiments. While most bus agencies with hydrogen fuel cell programs are questioning the program because it is very expensive and ineffective, AC Transit is expanding theirs by purchasing 8 more Van Hool fuel cell buses at $2.25 million each! With that money they could have bought 36 low-floor, air-conditioned, diesel electric hybrid buses made by American union labor!

Encourage Vision. Presently the board lacks imagination, has no vision. They simply take their cues from management.  Rather than being active, they are merely reactive. It may be difficult to be anything else with a management that takes its cues from a bus manufacturer. New management that encourages visionary thinking could move AC Transit in a new direction.
*     *     *     *     * This platform is not carved in stone, suggestions welcome.

Now, how many of you want to participate?
This means having some real bodies at each meeting and, at least a few staying until the end when there are Board/Staff Comments which can be revealing. Meetings are normally on 2nd & 4th Wed. and begin at 5:00 pm.

And when one cannot come, communicating with the board via email or letters. Here are their emails:

Rebecca Kaplan rebeccak@igc. org
Greg Harper gharper@harperlaw. net
Joe Wallace jwallace@actransit. org
Chris Peeples chris_peeples@ yahoo.com
Elsa Ortiz ortizelsa@comcast. net
Ryan Fernandez rocky.fernandez@ gmail.com
Jeff Davis fremontkoan@ comcast.net

And any letters can be sent to them via AC Transit, 1600 Franklin St., Oakland, 94612.

So, how many of you want to participate?

Joyce Roy
Home: 510-655-7508
Work: 415-434-4300

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HEY!  This is exciting!

Matt Gonzalez, vice-presidential running mate of Ralph Nader, is speaking this Friday night in Berkeley. This is no ordinary event.

To further escalate the excitement, he will be joined by Jello Biafra!

.

Friday, October 24th, 8:30 pm

University of California at Berkeley Campus
2060 Valley Life Sciences Building
University of California Berkeley

Don’t know much about Matt Gonzalez?

He is the one who turned San Francisco politics on its ear by running for the Board of Supervisors, winning, then being elected by his fellow supervisors to be President of the Board, (all despite the fact that he was the only member of the Green Party among a passel of Democrats) THEN running for mayor and losing by a hair to the candidate who had the support of Democratic Party establishment and all their money. Matt was such a threat that Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and Jesse Jackson all came to town to stump against him. Yet, while he was President of the Board of Supervisors he made great strides by raising the minimum wage to the highest in the nation, working to institute Instant Runoff Voting and to allow neighborhoods to ban big box stores and much more.

To learn more about this remarkable Mexican American who grew up in a Texas border town, graduated from Columbia University and Stanford Law School, worked as a San Francisco public defender go to www.votenader. org.

While you’re there, read about the campaign that opposes the war in Iraq and elsewhere, opposes the death penalty, supports single payer national health care, active pursuit of corporate criminals, as well as a living wage for all workers.

For more information call Kate Tanaka 510-914-8355 or email her at: katetanaka – at -aol.com

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Protest the exclusion of Ralph Nader and other third party candidates from the Presidential Debates!

WHERE: Downtown San Francisco, at Market and Powell
WHEN: Wednesday, October 15th at 4pm
WHO: You, Me, Ralph Nader supporters, third party candidate supporters, anti-war advocates, clean energy advocates, single-payer healthcare advocates, and anyone/everyone that believes the presidential debates should be open to all presidential candidates of 2008.

WHY: On Wednesday, October the 15th at 6pm (pacific time), the third and final presidential debate sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) will be held at Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY. This debate will be including Barack Obama and John McCain and will be viewed by millions across the nation and around the globe.

If you want to speak out and protest the exclusion of Ralph Nader and other third party candidates from the debate, join us on Wednesday, October 15th, 4pm, at Market and Powell, downtown San Francisco.

Contact:

Rusty Stephens

909 225 2484

www.votenader. org
www.facebook. com/ralphnader
http://www.myspace. com/votenader08
www.thirdpartyticke t.com

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The Nov. 2008 Voter Guide is now available on our Voter Guides page.

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RALPH NADER & MATT GONZALES

Will Be In SF & Oakland

On Tuesday, September 30th, 2008!

[Update: Reportback here]

Do you really believe that the people who have tanked our economy are giving you a clear perspective on what’s really happening? No? We didn’t think so.

The warrior most known for fighting these corporations is coming to deconstruct the spin. No one is more qualified to give us an articulate and accessible analysis of our imploding
economy.

Two opportunities, donation if you can but no one will be turned away:

Tuesday, September 30th, 2:30pm — San Francisco Rally

Ralph Nader, Matt Gonzalez and Cindy Sheehan
SF State, McKenna Theater/ Fine Arts Building
Suggested Contribution: $10/ $5 students
More Info: (510) 705-8864 or events@votenader.org

Tuesday, September 30th, 7:00 pm — Oakland Rally

Ralph Nader, Matt Gonzalez and Cindy Sheehan
Grand Lake Theater
3200 Grand Ave. Oakland, CA 94610
Suggested Contribution: $10/ $5 students
More Info: (510) 705-8864 or events@votenader.org

Monday September 15th 2008 at 7.30pm, Anna’s Jazz Island in Berkeley
A co-presentation with Death Penalty Focus!

The Death Penalty: 3 Perspectives Victim, Conviction, Defense

Featured Speakers:
Judy Kerr: sister of murder victim; spokesperson for California Crime Victimes for Alternatives to the Death Penalty
Aaron Owens: falsely convicted of murder charges
Elizabeth Zitrin: attorney; advocate for Amnesty International, World Coalition Against The Death Penalty

Anna’s Jazz Island:
2120 ALLSTON WAY BERKELEY CA 94704
(just east of Shattuck Avenue &
downtown Berkeley BART)
Click for Map

People of all political stripes are encouraged to attend. Admission is free

TOPIC
The Death Penalty: 3 Perspectives- Victim, Conviction, Defense
Berkeley Green Mondays presents an insightful and stimulating
discussion of the death penalty. 3 outstanding speakers will discuss
their unique perspectives on the overall impact of the death penalty
on society. Topics will include the personal stories of the
presenters, the application , the racial disparities, the history,
and much more.

Speakers Bios:
Aaron Owens (Exonerated Prisoner)
Aaron Owens was convicted of 2 counts of 1st degree murder in Alameda
County in 1973. He received a life sentence and served for almost 10
years until his release in 1982.
One of Aaron Owens’ best friends is John Taylor, the prosecutor who
convinced the jury that Owens was guilty -the man who sent him to
prison for two life sentences for a double murder he did not commit.
And Taylor is also the man who is responsible for Aaron now being
free. Though Aaron’s conviction was for a capital offense, it came at
a time when California had a moratorium on the death penalty as a
result of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Furman v. Georgia. That
stroke of luck meant he was sentenced to life instead. “If not for
the moratorium, I would have been dead in ‘76 because that’s when
they affirmed my conviction,” Owens said.
Aaron’s conviction was simply a case of mistaken eyewitness
identification. Thanks to John Taylor, Aaron received a full pardon
and was released in 1982 after 10 years in prison. But that’s all he
got. He never received any compensation at all. The conviction still
appears on his record, which has made life after prison even more
difficult. Aaron now works for John, doing investigation and legal
work. Both fan’s of the Oakland A’s, you will often find them sitting
at the ballpark together, friends with a unique bond.

Elizabeth Zitrin (Death Penalty Focus Speaker)
Elizabeth Zitrin is an attorney and currently serves as the California
Death Penalty Abolition Coordinator for Amnesty International. She
serves on the Board of Directors of Death Penalty Focus, the ACLU of
Northern California and the Advisory Board of the Northern California
Innocence Project. She represents Death Penalty Focus on the Steering
Committee of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, where she
chairs the USA Working Group. She is a frequent speaker on the death
penalty. Elizabeth holds a B.A. from Oberlin College and a J.D. from
Northeastern University School of Law.

Judy Kerr (Victim Speaker)
Judy Kerr’s brother, Robert James Kerr, was found lifeless, shirtless,
barefoot and without identification on July 12, 2003 in Everett,
Washington. She is still waiting for a suspect to be named and for
justice to take its course. But she is absolute in her conviction
that justice through execution is not the justice needed. She does not
support the death penalty and instead honors her brother’s life by
standing against the death penalty and working as the Victim Outreach
Liaison/Spokesperso n for California Crime Victims for Alternatives to
the Death Penalty.

Evening Schedule
7:30pm to 8:45pm Brief speeches from the speaker followed by forum
questions and discussion with the audience.

8:45pm to 10:30pm Relaxed discussion (nobody on stage) drink, eat,
chat

10.30pm Finish

For more details please visit www.berkeleygreens. org or email
berkeleygreenmonday s@gmail.com