Street Mechanics under attack in Oakland

Individual Freedom in a Democratic Society -
The following is an example of individual acts of economic activity which point to a social contradiction.
Notice how Autozone is not hiring these mechanics, as there is no incentive to do so. The mechanics are of a community with up to 35% unemployment among men within Oakland. They have an incentive to work.
The difference faced by a customer between permitted economic activity and un-permitted economic activity is that with the permits, there is the privilege of trust that the work will be guaranteed and in accordance with the regulations governing the work, while with un-permitted work, there is no guarantee, legal recourse, or regulations. It is the individual choice of the customer to decide who they would employ (in accordance with Human Rights regarding worker's freedoms).

"Illicit auto shop in Oakland parking lot has fans, critics"
2014-05-28 from "San Francisco Chronicle" [http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Illicit-auto-shop-in-Oakland-parking-lot-has-5511454.php]:
A mechanic named Solo Bolo (left) talks with a customer named Rene Roche about her air conditioning problem Wednesday April 30, 2014 in Oakland, Calif. His tools are in the foreground. A group of automobile mechanics work in the parking lot of the AutoZone at Bancroft and 73rd Avenue are doing various repairs for a fraction of the cost of a real-live certified mechanic. Photo: Brant Ward, The Chronicle

It's a sweltering day in East Oakland, and Rene Roche pulls her '99 Chrysler Concorde sedan into the parking lot of an auto parts store at Eastmont Town Center.
Her air conditioner has conked out, and she doesn't have the hundreds of dollars she fears it would cost to pay an auto mechanic to replace a tube and reload the Freon. So she turns to a stranger in the parking lot who's fixing cars outside the AutoZone store.
"Can you help me?" says Roche to the man, gesturing at the $60 bottle of Freon she has just bought.
The man - who calls himself Solo Bolo, street slang for a lone wolf - grabs his rolling attache bag of wrenches, spark plugs and screwdrivers, walks over to her car, pops the hood, and starts working. The cost for labor? $20.
On almost any day but Sunday, either Bolo or a crew of three or four other men are working under the hoods of cars, vans and trucks in the parking lot at 73rd and Bancroft avenues. Drivers buy the parts at the AutoZone, and for a few bucks get their oil tank topped off, fuses changed or taillight replaced.
For a few more bucks, a motorist can get a new water pump, a timing belt or an oil change. If things get really serious, motorists drive to a secluded spot where their cars can be jacked up for brake replacements or transmission work.
"I can do anything," says George, a man in his 40s who said he has been fixing cars on the black market for 14 years. "Change out heads, your alternator, fuel tanks."
The men consider themselves entrepreneurs, hustling to make ends meet in a part of Oakland where the unemployment rate for young people is roughly 35 percent.
But the city and neighbors see them as a nuisance.
Desley Brooks, the city councilwoman who represents the area, said she is working with police, AutoZone and the owners of the Eastmont Town Center to put an end to the parking lot repairs.
"There is no quality control with respect to the services they are providing," Brooks said. "And I would venture to say that we are not getting any tax revenues from what they are providing."
Almost since the AutoZone opened in 2005, mechanics have been hustling in the area, Brooks said.
"It appears that this activity isn't taking place at any other AutoZone in the city," Brooks said. "It looks like a hangout spot as opposed to a place that welcomes members of the community."
State law requires that mechanics doing commercial work have licenses - and while it isn't uncommon for car owners to get friends and acquaintances to fix their cars in garages or outside homes, it's unusual for a black market to be so out in the open. Violation of the law carries a $5,000 administrative fine or up to six months in jail.
In March, the City Council voted to paint the curbs near the store red, so the men couldn't jack up cars on the street.
Bolo, George and the others moved to the parking lot.
Now, spots in the parking lot are grimy with grease. A few empty oil bottles sit in the bushes. When there aren't cars to work on, the group hangs out, jabbering and smoking cigarettes.
Ray Pohlman, a spokesman for AutoZone, said store employees cannot stop people from working on cars in the parking lot.
"We have complied with all of the regulations that the city of Oakland asked us to do," Pohlman said.
Bolo, 31, said he learned to fix cars at WyoTech, a mechanic school. Sometimes his day starts around 8:00 a.m., when the store opens, and ends around 9:30 p.m., a little before the store closes. On good days, Bolo said, he makes $500.
Ken Hoskins, 49, of East Oakland, has brought a couple of his cars by the parking lot for repairs
"They take care of their car like it was theirs," Hoskins said as Bolo replaced a burned-out taillight bulb. "The mechanics at the shop, they'll be jacking you, making you spend more and more money. I'd rather come help these brothers, they're trying to feed their family, doing what they gotta do to survive."

Monsanto Lock Down! at Davis, CA

View photos and video of 2013 Occupy Monsanto! [link]

Friday, at 6:00am, a group of pro-life protesters locked down Monsanto!








Jenn Rogar and Steven Payan sing truth to power


A conservative "Patriot" wearing a Confederate Battle Flag was observed haunting the gathering, and even approaching a member of the Brown Berets of SacrAztlan. (Photos by Andy Conn):

May 22nd NBU News

Tune in Thursdays 4 to 5pm (PST), with our online webstream [link], and in the San Pablo Bay Area at 89.5FM KZCT [link]. Hosted by Dr.G., Minister of Information of the Northbay Movement for a Democratic Society, with a California-wide network of journalists, organizers, and entertainers, breaking the blockade of censorship, with research archives and verified sources! View past headlines [link]. Join the Community Journalist program, send news & info to [NorthbayMDS@gmail.com]. Know more with the Community Journalist's Notebook [link]!

The managers of 89.5FM KZCT, their associates, and sponsors, are not to be held liable for the information and commentary provided by the Northbay Uprising Radio News, produced by the Northbay Movement for a Democratic Society, as a non-partisan research and education project.

ACTION HEADLINES!
Stories are reviewed and provided by Northbay MDS Committees.

"Participatory Budgeting means a lot to the People of Vallejo" by Ravi Shankar [ibvallejo.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1932&Itemid=1]
Facebook: [https://www.facebook.com/pages/Save-PB-Vallejo-For-the-Duration-of-Measure-B/843102615704662]
Petition: [http://www.change.org/petitions/osby-davis-save-pb-vallejo-and-fund-it-for-the-duration-of-measure-b-as-unanimously-recommended-by-the-2013-vallejo-city-council]
 

from Student Power! solidarity committee:

* Black Recent Grads Hardest Hit by the Great Recession [link]

from "Occupy Vallejo!" and the General Assembly for the 99% -
* Report from Occupy Chico! [facebook.com/groups/OccupyChico]: 5 of us showed up. The same 5. We had consensus about giving up the loot donated to Occupy and that had been sitting. We are gifting the bulk to our out-growth, the Chico Housing Action Team for their critical work finding solutions to housing for our community members on the streets. We are giving some to the Chico Peace and Justice Center which has given Occupy so much support. A small chunk to 100th Monkey Cafe which was also an outgrowth of Occupy and still gives back to the community in ways that cont. to evolve. We also will donate a small amount to the National Occupy gathering in July. The plan is to have a film, maybe pot-luck and G.A. right after the National Occupy and see what energy is available then.
* Occupy National Gathering 2014 will be held July 31 - Aug. 3 in Sacramento, CA.
[facebook.com/OccupyNationalGathering]


from Committee to Defend Workers' Rights! [link]:
* Labor Victory at Mills College! [link]
* Abused workers at Walmart's Prima brand organize a National Day of Action for Human Rights [link]

from Bay Area Solidarity Committee [link]:
* Hands Off Yasiin Bey! (formerly Mos Def) [link]
* Activists forced to attend re-education classes as punishment have an opportunity to organize! [link]
* Hands Off Fly Benzo! [link]

from Committee for the Investigation of Civil & Human Rights abuse:
* "Questions Surround Surge in Vallejo Police Shootings" [link]
Personal Prejudice is motivating local police to terrorize and break-up families of medicinal cannabis users -
* "Does medical marijuana equal bad parenting?" by Stephanie Smith from CNN [link]
Cannabis use is safer than alcohol...
* "Is marijuana as safe as -- or safer than -- alcohol" by Jen Christensen and Jacque Wilson, CNN [link]
Cannabis de-criminalization does not lead to more crime...
* Study shows Cannabis usage does not lead to higher incidents of criminal behavior [link]
Incarcerating cannabis users makes the USA look alot like North Korea...
* Texas man incarcerated for life over making some pot brownies [link]


ACTION CALENDER!

Global Event Against Monsanto with Occupy Sonoma County
Monday, May 26, 3:00 to 8:00 p.m.
GMO Film: GMO Tipping Point Discussion; Potluck
Hootenanny (yes, we are having a square dance!)
Pay-what-you-can plant sale
Donations requested
Sebastopol Grange, 6000 Sebastopol Rd. (Hwy. 12), Sebastopol


Memorial Day Field of Crosses for the Victims of Law Enforcement Violence
Monday, May 26, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m.
Come view the field of crosses bearing the names of those who have been killed by Sonoma County law enforcement or in their custody since 2000. Their names will be recited. A potluck will follow. Please bring something to share.
Sponsored by Andy's Youth and the Emergency Response Committee of JCAL
Andy Lopez Memorial Park, Moorland Ave. and West Robles, Santa Rosa


Gray Panthers celebrate the working class
Wednesday, May 28 at 1:30
North Berkeley Senior Center
1901 Hearst, corner of MLK
Berkeley, CA.
Wheelchair Accessible, All welcome.
CELEBRATING LABOR-- The Eight Hour Day and May Day with the Rockin' Solidarity Labor Heritage Chorus. and students, workers, and retirees from all over the Bay Area.
Led by Pat Wynne and Bernie Gilbert, singer/ songwriters of parodies and performance pieces
The Rockin' Solidarity Labor Heritage Chorus.was formed in 1999 from members of the Labor Studies Department of City College of San Francisco and Laney College in Oakland.  Members are students, workers, and retirees from all over the Bay Area.  Pat Wynne and her spouse Bernie Gilbert are singer/ songwriters who write parodies and performance pieces for Pat to direct with accompaniment from Bernie.  The chorus went to Washington DC in 2004 to sing at the Great Labor Arts Exchange, to the Highlander Center in Tennessee in 2007 to sing at the 75th anniversary of its founding, and to Boulder CO. in 2010 to sing on May Day at the Boulder Peace Center.





Celebrate the Life of Andy Lopez on his 14th Birthday!
Saturday, June 7, 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Join us in a community march to celebrate Andy's life and call attention to the law enforcement brutality which ended his life. We will begin with music and speeches in the Dollar Tree parking lot on Sebastopol Rd., followed by a march beginning at noon to Courthouse Square in Santa Rosa with a rally to begin at 1:00 p.m.
A community party will be held 5pm at Andy Lopez Memorial Park, Moorland and West Robles, in Santa Rosa.

Black Recent Grads Hardest Hit by the Great Recession

2014-05-20 from "Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR)" [www.cepr.net]:
WASHINGTON - May 20 - As millions of new graduates prepare to enter the workforce, a new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) demonstrates that the Great Recession has been hard on recent  graduates, especially black recent college graduates.
Download the report [www.cepr.net/documents/black-coll-grads-2014-05.pdf].
The authors write that while young black workers with college degrees have fared better than their less-educated peers, they have a higher unemployment rate and are more likely to find themselves in a job that does not require a degree than other recent college graduates.
The report, “A College Degree is no Guarantee,” examines labor-market outcomes for black recent college graduates (ages 22 to 27) from as far back as 1970 through the most recent available data.

The main findings include:
* In 2013, 12.4 percent of black college graduates between the ages of 22 and 27 were unemployed. For all college graduates in the same age range, the unemployment rate was 5.6 percent.
* Between 2007 (immediately before the Great Recession) and 2013, the unemployment rate for black recent college graduates nearly tripled (up 7.8 percentage points from 4.6 percent in 2007).
* In 2013, more than half (55.9 percent) of employed black recent college graduates were “underemployed” –defined as working in an occupation that typically does not require a four-year college degree. Even before the Great Recession, almost half of black recent graduates were underemployed (45.0 percent in 2007).
* Black recent college graduates in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors have fared somewhat better, but still suffer from high unemployment and underemployment rates. For example, for the years 2010 to 2012, among black recent graduates with degrees in engineering, the average unemployment rate was 10 percent and the underemployment rate was 32 percent.

“These outcomes reflect the strong negative effect of economic downturns on young workers in general, but, in part, these results also  reflect ongoing racial discrimination in the labor market,” said Janelle Jones, an author of the report and a research associate at CEPR. “Earning a college degree blunts the effects of the economic downturn and racial discrimination, , but college is not a guarantee against either set of challenges for young black workers.”

Hands Off Fly Benzo!

"Hands Off!" campaign page [link]
2014-05-19 message from Fly Benzo, community organizer of San Francisco's Hunter's Point:

I was convicted of three misdemeanors in 2011, however, I was placed on felony probation for what many would consider "contempt of cop" charges. The only misdemeanors that require felony probation conditions are sexual assault charges, domestic violence charges and DUI charges...
#HeightenTheContradiction  #StillNotFREE
Justice for Kenneth Harding Jr.,
Justice for Pralith Pralourng,
Justice for Alejandro Nieto,
Justice for Idris Stelley
#OutWithTheChief who is a cops cop and has been complacent with police corruption and encourages and rewards the targeting of police critics.

Hands Off Yasiin Bey! (formerly Mos Def)

2014-05-19 from the "Malcolm Shabazz Memorial page"
[https://www.facebook.com/pages/Malcolm-Shabazz-Memorial-PAGE/241029499373323]:

WILL YASIIN BEY (FORMERLY KNOWN AS "MOS DEF") BE THE NEXT MALCOLM SHABAZZ, WHO THE US GOVT UNJUSTLY DETAINED JUST MONTHS PRIOR TO HIS ASSASSINATION IN MEXICO ??

VIRTUALLY ON THE EVE OF THE BIRTHDAY OF MALCOLM X AND AFTER THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE BLACK STAR REUNION TOUR, YASIIN BEY HAS BEEN DENIED ENTRY BACK INTO AMERICA! HERE IS A MAN BORN IN BROOKLYN, NY! A MOVIE ACTOR AND RAPPER TREATED LIKE A TERRORIST ON THE FBI WATCH LIST!

COULD IT BE BECAUSE YASIIN BEY EXPOSED THE INHUMANE FORCE FEEDING TACTICS AT GUANTANAMO BAY IN 2013 ?? IN THE CAPTIVITY OF US FORCES, MUSLIMS WERE DENIED THE RIGHT TO OBSERVE RAMADAN, A HOLY MONTH OF FASTING BY BEING STRAPPED AGAINST THEIR WILL AND HAVE TUBES SHOVED INTO THEM WITH TERRIFYING FORCE !
COULD IT BE BECAUSE YASIIN BEY HAS SPOKEN OPENLY ABOUT HIS DISPLEASURE OF SOME OF OBAMA'S POLICIES? YASIIN BEY HAS RECENTLY RELOCATED TO SOUTH AFRICA BUT IT HAS BECOME CLEAR THE GOVT NOW SEES HIM AS A THREAT! A YOUNG BLACK MAN WHO CAN COMMUNICATE WITH A SLEEPING GENERATION JUST AS MALCOLM SHABAZZ WAS ABLE TO DO BUT WAS SLAIN ON FOREIGN SOIL IN A OBVIOUS TORTURE AND ASSASSINATION.

ON THIS DAY, THE BIRTHDATE OF MALCOLM X, HISTORY IS REPEATING ITSELF ONCE AGAIN. I'M WARNING YOU OF THIS, IF SOMETHING SUDDENLY HAPPENS TO OUR BROTHER DO NOT ACT SHOCKED! NOW IS THE TIME TO GALVANIZE AND UPSET THE SET UP. THERE IS NO JUST REASON FOR THE GOVT TO DENY YASIIN BEY ENTRY INTO THE COUNTRY OF HIS BIRTH AND DENY HIM TO MAKE A LIVING..THEY ARE PLANNING TO KILL THIS BROTHER BUT WE CANNOT ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN..BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY!

Labor Victory at Mills College

"Adjunct Professors at Mills College Vote to Join SEIU Local 1021!"
2014-05-19 by J. Smith Camejo [http://www.seiu1021.org/2014/05/19/adjunct-professors-at-mills-college-vote-to-join-seiu-local-1021/]:
For more background and information on the Adjunct Action campaign in the Bay Area, visit [www.adjunctactionbayarea.org].
(Photo showing adjuncts Ben Brown & Kate Robinson celebrating their labor victory)

This historic victory for adjunct professors at Mills College is just the first success in the Bay Area of a nationwide campaign through SEIU to empower adjunct professors, who now represent a solid majority of college faculty in the US, to advocate for better conditions for their students and themselves.
Adjuncts represent over 64% of faculty at Mills College. Like their counterparts at so many other colleges across the country, they hold advanced degrees and bring a wealth of academic knowledge, research and experience to their classrooms; also like their counterparts across the country, their superior levels of education and experience do not afford them professional working conditions. Paid by the course, they typically bring home less than $30,000 a year, even shuttling from campus to campus to teach courses at different institutions in an effort to make the rent. They generally have no benefits and have no guarantee or even reasonable expectation of continued employment from semester to semester. Courses can be assigned or dropped at the last minute, leaving them scrambling to prepare a new course or find alternative employment to compensate for the lost income.
Their conditions have been documented at length recently in the national news media by The New York Times, PBS NewsHour, Slate.com, and Al Jazeera America, among others. While adjuncts are dedicated to their students and their mission of providing high-quality education, they feel that having more stability, job security and a living wage would allow them to provide better support and advocacy for their students.
“Forming a union will give adjuncts at Mills the ability to advocate for students, education and ourselves. We will all benefit from a supported and empowered faculty at all levels, and Mills will be able to maintain its standards of academic excellence as well as live up to its social justice mission,” explains David Buuck, adjunct professor of English at Mills.
Adjuncts at Mills filed a petition to join SEIU Local 1021 on March 24, and voted by secret mail ballot between April 28 and May 12. The votes were counted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)  May 14. Eligible adjunct faculty voted by a 78% margin to support unionizing with SEIU in hopes of making substantial improvements at Mills College. They are just the latest group of adjuncts to join SEIU through the nationwide Adjunct Action campaign. In late April, adjunct faculty at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and Howard University voted to join SEIU. Here in the Bay, adjuncts at San Francisco Art Institute are currently voting in their union election to join SEIU 1021; their vote count will take place on May 30. “This is an exciting moment,” says Dale Carrico, an adjunct writing teacher at SFAI. “The problems that beset us are clear. The promises of this moment are exhilarating.”

Activists forced to attend re-education classes as punishment have an opportunity to organize!

Andy Conn, a community organizer in Sacramento, was part of a "Black Friday" civil disobedience action with a dozen others, all of whom were arrested and charged with "inciting a riot". Their action was to simply sit down with a few signs denouncing the ideology of consumerism. Their punishment, in exchange for pleading "guilty", is to attend anger-management classes (and having a threat-risk attached to their permanent records), paid out of the "guilty" person's pocket. Those who are lower-income that cannot afford the class fees are screwed. If they don't complete the class they go to jail, and they will have an incarceration status on their permanent record.
So, if this happens to you, "Frag the system!"
Give them hell, they deserve it! You are paying for it, so don't make it easy! Instead...
Educate the class!

Andy C., one of the "Black Friday 15" of Davis, CA, writes, "Today I must attend a 6 hour anger management and life skills class as a part of my guilty plea for inciting to riot. I can't wait for the instructors to ask me why I'm angry. I'm bringing flyers, a bad attitude and an itch to recruit. 25 people have flyers and we have discussed class wars and police brutality. I like this opportunity. Blocked the four way street entrance to all the stores but mainly Walmart with 14 close friends. The people that were really angry were the people that could not buy crap on BLACK FRIDAY....hahhaahahahhaah! There are 15 of us going to these classes that gives us 30 opportunities to organize."

Joaquin Chavez, Campaign Co-Founder and Policy Research Director at Raise the Wage Davis, also had to attend an anger management class. He recounts, "The May 10th class was much the same, and we had a great teacher who facilitated discussion of social movements, activism, etc. Now I'm actually looking forward to my second session."
Sean R. of Davis adds, "When I go on the 24th I'm going to use it as an organizing opportunity!"
Friends of the "riot" inciters had their own stories to add.
Gabriel M. says, "They gave me anger management for throwing red paint at the BART Board meeting in Oakland over the Oscar Grant shooting. It was the worst part of my sentence, worse than my 30 days in jail. They had given me excessive amount of hours. Guys who hit their spouses didn't even get as many hours as me. Not to also mention, the class was run by a former high school football coach who yelled a lot and made anti- semitic remarks."
Cathy C. recollects, "My sister and I staged a sit down strike back in high school to support teacher pay raises. We were suspended for "inciting a riot". I laugh to this day... a sit down strike is a "riot"... thankfully it was my first taste of how f*cked the system is, and I haven't looked back!"

Abused workers at Walmart's Prima brand organize a National Day of Action for Human Rights

Read Hector's story and then join him & other Prima workers in a National Day of Action at Walmart
We've come to you before about Walmart, which is one of the largest buyers of Prima brand plums, peaches, nectarines and grapes produced by Gerawan Farming. In its posted "Standards for Suppliers", Walmart claims it holds its suppliers accountable to a certain level of conduct [https://web.archive.org/web/20140209144932/http://corporate.walmart.com/global-responsibility/ethical-sourcing/standards-for-suppliers]. Unfortunately, in the case of Prima these appear to be empty claims. So Prima farm workers have started a campaign where they go to their local stores and hand a flyer to the manager that calls on Walmart to live up to its promises. This Thursday, workers are escalating their campaign to a new level. Prima workers will be out at local Walmart stores in the San Joaquin Valley handing out flyers, joined by hundreds of farm workers at other stores up and down the state of California. Supporters throughout the nation have already committed to join them in a National Day of Action. Won't you help them?

Hector's Story -

This week I will be returning to Walmart to ask it to talk to the Prima owners. We want Walmart to follow the policy it posts on the internet about how it requires their suppliers to follow the law. We want Walmart to tell Prima they have to follow the law by returning me and my coworkers to our jobs.
I believe I have not been rehired to work this year because I support the Union. I’ve been out of work and have not had any money for food or diapers for my 6 month old daughter and much less for the rent. It’s been hard to go to other areas and look for work since I don’t have money for gas. I can’t even provide the basics for my family. It’s difficult being in this situation and that is why I’m going to ask Walmart to please speak with the Prima owners to tell them to respect the law and to follow our union contract. I ask that you help us by taking a flyer to the manager of your local Walmart. We fought for a contract, but now that we legally should have it, we cannot enjoy its protections and benefits because Prima won't follow the law. Won't you please do this for us?

Click here to download a flyer and give it to the manager at your local Walmart.
[action.ufw.org/walmartflyer]

After you take action, please ask your friends and family to take action too. You can send them and Tweet by going to [http://action.ufw.org/walmartdayofaction] & you can share it on Facebook at: [https://www.facebook.com/unitedfarmworkers]

May 15th, 2014 NBU Radio

Tune in Thursdays 4 to 5pm (PST), with our online webstream [link], and in the San Pablo Bay Area at 89.5FM KZCT [link]. Hosted by Dr.G., Minister of Information of the Northbay Movement for a Democratic Society, with a California-wide network of journalists, organizers, and entertainers, breaking the blockade of censorship, with research archives and verified sources! View past headlines [link]. Join the Community Journalist program, send news & info to [NorthbayMDS@gmail.com]. Know more with the Community Journalist's Notebook [link]!

The managers of 89.5FM KZCT, their associates, and sponsors, are not to be held liable for the information and commentary provided by the Northbay Uprising Radio News, produced by the Northbay Movement for a Democratic Society, as a non-partisan research and education project.

Join us as we learn about Pan-African Solidarity with Bro. Akubundu, of the All-African People's Revolutionary Party (A-APRP) [www.facebook.com/AAPRP] [www.aaprp-intl.org], in honor of...
African Liberation Day, May 25th, 2014 [www.africanliberationday.net] [www.facebook.com/pages/African-Liberation-Day/168255935370]!
African Liberation Day came out of the 1st Conference of Independent African States hosted by Pres. Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana, where April 15 was declared Africa Freedom Day. During 1963, thirty-one African Heads of State convened a summit meeting to found the Organization of African Unity (OAU). They renamed Africa Freedom Day "African Liberation Day" and changed its date to May 25th.
Pan-African solidarity is a necessity to counteract the captivity of African communities across the USA, "Latin" America, and across the mother continent of Africa, especially during the ongoing imperialist invasion of Africa by the USA and European Union, beginning during the genocidal war of 2011 against the Jamahiriya of Libya, a revolutionary democratic government which provided unlimited support for Pan-African unity and the struggle to free Africa from the grips of imperialism, while providing the people of Libya the best standard of living of any African jurisdiction, and cooperating with the African Union to uplift the standard of living for all nations of Africa with an independent bank and satellite communications free from European monopoly. Since 2011, the USA and European Union have installed brutal and repressive dictatorships over Libya and other jurisdictions, with millions being killed through slow starvation and death-squad activities against so-called "minority" nations, while economically dominated African-American communities across the USA are being brutally attacked with no regard for human rights.
African Liberation Day is the time to show solidarity for all African nations, everywhere!
Start the New African Peace Movement!
[NewAfricaPeace.blogspot.com], with information about the new imperialist wars across the continent of Africa!


ACTION HEADLINES!
Stories are reviewed and provided by Northbay MDS Committees.

Hands off the Black Riders' Mecca & Etana Shakur!
(All text adapted from May 12th message by BRLP founder Gen. TACO) Defend Mecca & Etana Shakur and their human right to self defense against police abuse and political repression! They stood up for you -- stand up for them! They defended themselves and the human right to self-defense against a racist police assault -- defend them against racist political repression!
Keep these two revolutionary Black moms, community leaders and freedom fighters Mecca & Etana Shakur FREE! You can donate on a new GoFundMe page set up for their defense and community education efforts: [http://www.gofundme.com/939rw0]. All donations will go to the BRLP to help keep Mecca & Etana free or to deal with the consequences if these two revolutionary Black moms are imprisoned. For more information, go to [facebook.com/BlackRidersLiberationParty], or contact the BRLP of LA at [323-289-4457] [blackriders1996@gmail.com].

A NATION CAN RISE NO HIGHER THEN IT'S WOMEN!
COME OUT AND SUPPORT THESE SISTERS IN THE STRUGGLE!
HELP US STOP THIS LEGAL LYNCHING!
On the day after Mother's Day (May 12th), the Ingleside KKKourt trial continues as the Jury is still trying to figure out if the LAPD "officer" had notified Etana of her arrest before he assaulted her, and whether Mecca allegedly "jumped in" with intent to harm the "officer". What will be the verdict?! Will the criminal "injustice" system slap Black People in the face again like in the cases of Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis?! On May 6th, the original trespassing charge was dropped by the judge. If the probable cause for the initial arrest was proven false, then logically one would think all the charges would be dropped! But the racist law of the dominant nation is insane, crazy, and illogical. It would exterminate all Black People! Other Black Riders in L.A. and Oakland are also facing political trials in the coming weeks. Drop all charges!! Not guilty!!!
According to a recent report from Women’s Justice Center of Sonoma, racist police officers in the U.S.A. commit routine violence against women of color without proper reporting, accountability, or consequences.
Late 2013, just a few days after the Black Riders Liberation Party were honored by Kathleen Cleaver and other elders of the original Black Panther Party for service and dedication to revolutionary struggle [link], Etana and Mecca Shakur were physically assaulted by a (single) Inglewood male pig Roger Zeller as they attempted to leave a grocery store while carrying copies of the BRLP newspaper. Etana and Mecca Shakur successfully defended themselves against the assault by saying "NO!", and bringing attention from community members in the vicinity to act as witnesses to an illegal kidnapping. Both were arrested and suffered three days of jail time for nothing, and were released...
Now, during their KKKourt trial stemming from the incident, both women are facing further incarceration, isolation from their community, and separation from their children, all for their political belief that women have the right to stand up and say NO to physical attack.
These strong Black Women are high-ranking members of the BRLP leadership, and highly respected in the community. Etana Shakur is Minister of Community Programs; Mecca Shakur is Minister of Information and a member of the local station board of KPFK Pacifica free speech community radio. These mothers helped to create the George Jackson Freedom School, which provides self-defense and African cultural awareness classes to young Black Children in South Central LA.
Both Mecca and Etana are mothers facing separation from their children if this state attack succeeds.
We're calling on all revolutionary and progressive people to come out to support these two strong sisters!
All Power to the People who don't fear freedom!!! We will be free by any means necessary!
(2013 photo showing Gen. TACO, Etana Shakur and Mecca Shakur  leading a march for community liberation!)


"Judge Says State Unconstitutionally Stripped Tens of Thousands of Californians of Their Right to Vote" [link]

Political Prisoner spotlight:
* Bomani Shakur (Keith LaMar) [link]

Last Stand for the Albany Bulb?! [link]
Share The Bulb - Light Brigade Action in Support of the Homeless in Albany, California (2014-03-16) [vimeo.com/89669807]:
To learn more please visit: ShareTheBulb.org
The Albany Bulb: The Albany landfill is an undeveloped spit of land, densely carpeted with vegetation, that pokes a little over a mile into San Francisco Bay from its east shore. Shaped like a tree that has fallen in the water, it begins as a broad elevated plateau, thins to a narrow neck, then widens out at the end to form what is known as “The Bulb.” Looking out from the Bulb on a clear day the eye can sweep in a wide arc from the Bay Bridge and the skyline of San Francisco in the south, to Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge and the headlands of Marin. Overhead a huge sky. Far behind the freeway clogged with cars, and the cities of Albany, Richmond, and Berkeley.
The landfill opened for business in 1963 when the City of Albany signed a contract with the Sante Fe Railroad Company “for the purpose of creating usable land.” Prior to 1975, the operators of the landfill accepted garbage and refuse. But the landfill was intended for “demolition debris” and over time the garbage was buried under tons of concrete rubble, rebar, wire mesh, corrugated tin, steel, iron, coke, slag, asphalt, glass, plastic and excavated dirt. The first years of dumping created the plateau. When the mesa of rubble reached its peak the trucks began dumping their loads further out into the Bay. The finger of fill narrowed to create the neck, then widened at its tip and kept widening until December 1983 when the landfill was closed. In 20 years over 60 acres of new land had been created by the dumping of approximately 2 million cubic yards of waste to an average depth of 40 feet.
Over the past three decades, Nature and a particularly resourceful group of homeless people have reclaimed the Bulb as a wild space and a community space. The combination of reclaimed nature, community, and outsider art have made this former dump one of the most beautiful peninsulas into the San Francisco Bay, and has attracted daily dog-walkers, day-strollers, curious wanderers, picnickers, and others to an amazing place that reminds us of the many ways humans need the wild."
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Albany Bulb Update (2014-05-15):
Come out to the Albany Bulb for camping, good time, and defending this beautiful free space. Today there was a lockdown, which ended in no arrest
and cops and bulldozers leaving. We are going to need to build power in the coming days to win. Come out anytime. There are about half a dozen present campers who have diverse schedules. Contact Amber at 510.978.8850 if you are going to come out and need to know what's going on. We could also use food, tents, blankets flashlights, first aid stuff, and water to sustain this occupation. Thank you. Spread the word!
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Albany Bulb Update (2014-05-16):
Elliot locked down to a backhoe and negotiated -
Today, Elliot Hughes locked down to a backhoe and negotiated with Albany police that the Amber's house and the two barricaded roads leading to it would not be demolished for the day after hearing cops threaten to demolish her house early in the morning. We need support to stop the eviction of the Albany Bulb ASAP!. Read the declaration of the Bulb Autonomous Zone! [https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/05/15/18755809.php]
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BULB AUTONOMOUS ZONE (B.A.Z.) UPDATE (2014-05-18):

Amber and Phyl, were just given 3 days notice to be evicted (7 days is the legal minimum for their case and they were refused appropriate benefits for their disabilities).
* Musicians!
* Nature Lovers!
* Organizers and Rebels!
* Cop watchers!
* Ragamuffins!
The last stand of the Bulb is on Tuesday morning . So we need people to converge to plan an all out defense and help the 8 year residents that are still there!
***3 PM sharp Monday *** or as soon as possible. Bring food, tents, and anything that will empower us to resist effectively.
* Let's have a sick generator show!
* A dance party!
* A feast of a potluck!
* Starry sleep overs!
* Big bonfires!
* Golden gate sunsets!
* A giant game of capture the flag!
You name it let's do it!
The last remaining residents of the Albany Bulb, Amber and Phyl, were just given 3 days notice to be evicted (7 days is the legal minimum for their case and they were refused appropriate benefits for their disabilities).
In response we call on all free thinking people to take some time off to join us at the Bulb Autonomous Zone to defend the the last house standing! We need as many people as possible to reclaim and blockade the space for creative use.
Come whenever, bring whatever.
The Bulb is our playground!
Love and Solidarity, [signed] The B.A.Z.


The People stand against fascism:
In the mainstream news, you may have heard about how "Obama touts green energy at Walmart in Mountain View" (2014-05-09 San Francisco Chronicle) [link], and Wal*Mart's controversial corporate policy of supporting anti-environmental (and fascist) policies in the USA and around the world... what the news left out was that the President was being protested by people for his administration's policies at another function.
During May 8th, the People protested President Obama's fundraiser in San Jose, where they gathered at el Plaza de Cesar Chavez. Local community members spoke out for peace and justice, calling on those attending the fundraiser to convince the president to Stop Killer Drones and Stop NSA Spying, and to say NO to the Keystone Pipeline and keep his promises on climate! The protest was initiated by CODEPINK San Jose, and 350 Silicon Valley.
They were met by a man who appeared to give support for NSA surveillance...

The following week, Wednesday, May 14th, the People protested at a "Google don't fund evil" rally at the Google Headquarters in Mountain View. As explained by the San Jose Peace and Justice Center [www.sanjosepeace.org], "Google claims that climate action is a central component of its work and operations, but shovels undisclosed amounts of money to enemies of climate legislation, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). On Wednesday, May 14th, corporate top brass gathered for Google's annual shareholder meeting, where a group of shareholders called on the company to disclose its lobbying spending and the amount of funding it provides to anti-clean energy groups like ALEC and the Chamber of Commerce. Can Google explain its funding of conflicting agendas?" The protest was organized by the Action League Raging Grannies in a coalition with organizers for "Forecast the Facts", "Common Cause", "Public Citizen", "SierraRise", "Sierra Club SF Bay Chapter", "Sunflower Alliance", and "350 Silicon Valley"!

Justice for Captive Nations!
* Garifuna Nation [link]
* Yukpas [link]

ACTION CALENDER!

On International Conscientious Objectors’ Day, Celebrate the
8th Annual Berkeley C.O. and War Resisters’ Day
11:30 A.M. Thursday, May 15, 2014
Peace Flag raising ceremony, first at Civic Center flagpole at 2180 Milvia Street, corner of Allston Way and then at the flagpole at MLK, Jr. Civic Center Park, 2151 MLK, Jr. Way (between Center Street and Allston Way, across from Old City Hall), Berkeley
With Conscientious Objectors and War Resisters from World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars:
* Toby Blome, Code Pink Activist, speaking on Conscientious Objection to Drone Wars
* Emma Cape, Chelsea Manning Support Network [www.chelseamanning.org], Courage to Resist
* Bob Meola, Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission, War Resisters League, Courage to Resist
Sing along “Ain’t fest” ["I Ain't Marching Anymore,” “Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around,” “Down By the Riverside (Ain’t Gonna Study War No More)” with Max Ventura, Nancy Schimmel, and Vic Sadot.
Sponsored by City of Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission [www.cityofberkeley.info/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=13054], and endorsed by War Resisters League-West [www.warresisters.org] and Courage to Resist [www.couragetoresist.org].
In 2007, on recommendation of the Berkeley Peace and Justice Commission, the Berkeley City Council unanimously passed a resolution and the mayor issued a proclamation which recognized that May 15th is International Conscientious Objectors' Day and stated, "that the Council of the City of Berkeley declares that May 15th of each year be publicly designated and recognized as the day on which Berkeley honors, acknowledges, and celebrates conscientious objectors and war resisters, civilian and military, past, present, and future." We have been celebrating and raising peace flags on Berkeley city flag poles ever since. The Peace Flag raising ceremony was held at two locations: Civic Center flagpole at 2180 Milvia Street, and then at the flagpole at Civic Center Park, Berkeley.
Peace Flag flies near City Hall (photo by Jeff Paterson of Courage to Resist)

* Berkeley Peace Flag Raising 2012 Photos [link]
* Read the 2007 Berkeley Resolution marking May 15th for Conscientious Objectors' and War Resisters' Day [www.warresisters.org/berkeleycoresolution], to honor war resisters, both military and civilian, of the past, present and future who have sacrificed their freedom.
* "Ten years on: US COs from illegal wars and their reception" by Bob meola [wri-irg.org/node/21782].
Currently, COs around the world are imprisoned, some on a repeated basis, when they are released and repeatedly refuse to participate in military service. In the United States, U.S. Army PFC. Kimberly Rivera, a pregnant mother of four, was sentenced on April 29th, 2013, during a court-martial hearing at Fort Carson, Colorado, to 14 months in military prison and a dishonorable discharge after publicly expressing her conscientious objection to the Iraq War while in Canada. She was made to give birth in military custody last November, rather than be released to give birth as a civilian and be with her baby. The Army has issued the harshest sentences to COs and war resisters who have publicly expressed their feelings about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.In recent years, there has been a need, felt globally, to have the right of selective conscientious objection recognized by nations. The U.S. wars of aggression, of the last decade, have caused many U.S. soldiers to wake to the fact that even if they would defend their country militarily, they refuse to fight what they see as illegal and immoral U.S. wars.


A Walk to Peace: To Resist Global Militarization and Drone Warfare
May 17-27, San Francisco to Beale Air Force Base
[facebook.com/events/1380107975587685]
* Day 1:  Saturday, May 17th, 10 am: San Francisco to Vallejo.
* Day 2:  Sunday, May 18th: Vallejo to Rockville Hills Park (West end of Fairfield).
* Day 3:  Monday, May 19th: Rockville Hills Park to Pena Adobe Park (near Vacaville).
* Day 4:  Tuesday, May 20th: Pena Adobe Park to Vineyard RV Park (Vacaville).
* Day 5:  Wed., May 21st: Vacaville to Dixon, CA.
* Day 6:  Thursday, May 22nd: Dixon, CA to Davis, CA. Occupy Davis is planning to have a welcoming rally/potluck at Central Park.
* Day 7:  Friday, May 23rd:  Davis, CA to Sacramento, CA. Friday morning, before heading to Sacramento, we will walk to the Monsanto Davis Lock Downhappening that day at their Corporate office.  Event: [www.facebook.com/events/394542770690715/]. Monsanto manufactured Agent Orange among many other atrocities. Also on this day, when we reach the Sacramento River we will have a moment of silence for Guantanamo Bay Prisoners as well as all prisoners being unjustly held around the world. We will stay near the Capitol, camping at 5 Rivers Art Collective, 315 V St., Sacramento.
* Day 8:  Saturday, May 24th: Sacramento to 15 North. We will walk to the March against Monsanto action happening at the Capitol Building at 11 am. Event: [www.facebook.com/events/427960777291632/]
* Day 9:  Sunday, May 25th:  15 Miles North of Sac. to 30 Miles North of Sac.
* Day 10:  Monday, May 26th: 30 Miles North of Sac. to Beale Air Force Base, Main Gate. We will arrive at the Main Gate to camp the final night at 3 pm. We will hold our protest at the gate, and a copy of "A People's History of the United States" by Howard Zinn will be offered to the Base Commander.


Connect the Dots Refinery Corridor Healing Walks
Saturday, May 17 (All day) (see also June 14 and July 12)
Martinez to Benicia
Opening Rally in Martinez - morning
* Native American prayer by Idle No More SF Bay
* Local speakers
Ending Rally in Benicia - Afternoon
* Process of Imagining: The future of our community
* Art Projects
* Picnic
Our purpose:
* Walk in prayer with each step we take on Mother Earth
* Bring people together who are concerned about the effects of the fossil fuel industry on our communities
* Learn from one another
* Bring attention to the refinery corridor in the northeast San Francisco Bay
* To walk by the refineries: Shell & Tesoro (Martinez), Valero (Benicia), Phillips 66 (Rodeo), Chevron (Richmond)
* Imagine our communities beyond fossil fuel
There is a long history of healing walks and runs in Native America, as well as the  history of pilgrimages in different religious traditions.  The Connect the Dots healing  walks were inspired by these traditions.
Contact: 510-619-3279





African Liberation Day
[www.facebook.com/pages/African-Liberation-Day/168255935370]
African Liberation Day has a history. It came out of the 1st Conference of Independent African States hosted by Pres. Kwame Nkrumah in Ghana, where April 15 was declared Africa Freedom Day.In 1963, thirty-one African Heads of State convened a summit meeting to found the Organization of African Unity (OAU). They renamed Africa Freedom Day "African Liberation Day" and changed its date to May 25th.
[www.africanliberationday.net] [www.facebook.com/AAPRP] [www.aaprp-intl.org]

Last Stand for the Albany Bulb?!

2014-05-12 by Amber Whitson, posted at [https://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2014/05/12/18755690.php]:
(Intro by Northbay MDS) After being harassed with illegal citations by police, nearly all Albany Bulb residents have accepted a settlement payment which comes with an agreement to vacate their residences. Amber is among the few remaining residents, and long-time caretaker of the Bulb with her partner.
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If you have ever wondered what it would be like, if the time came, when the people had to make one final stand for the freedom of the Bulb... Well, that time is now...
As some of you may know (and others may not) the recent developments in the City of Albany's economic cleansing are outright inhumane.
The City had Police Officers posted at the entrance to the Albany Bulb, every night (for weeks), issuing curfew violation citations to Bulb residents after 10:00pm, as they came and went between town and their homes on the Bulb.
Albany Municipal Code 1-9 b. states that:
"Unless otherwise provided, any person, firm, corporation or organization violating any provision of the Albany City Code, whether or not previously convicted, three (3) or more times in any twelve (12) month period may be charged with a misdemeanor and upon conviction by a court of competent jurisdiction thereof shall be punishable by a fine of, not more than five hundred ($500.00) dollars, or by imprisonment for a term not exceeding six (6) months, or by both such a fine and imprisonment."
This is the process that Albany Police were supposed to use on violators of the Curfew Ordinance, but: for residents of the Bulb, along with their misdemeanor conviction was to be a stay-away order from the Albany Bulb.

At a case management conference for the recent civil rights lawsuit (filed in federal court on behalf of Albany Bulb residents, challenging the City of Albany's discriminatory treatment of disabled homeless individuals), it was made clear by the magistrate that (with Judge Bryer presiding) we had little to no chance of winning in court. At this point the City had us at their mercy and they drew up some really weak terms for a settlement. However, being at their mercy, our lawyers and most of the plaintiffs (along with some other people whom the City had done wrong) were left with little choice but to accept the settlement.
The terms of the settlement were: The City of Albany would give people $3000 each and work with the courts to drop/dismiss the citations that they had each received up to then... if each person would agree to move out of their homes on the Albany Bulb in less than a week and sign an agreement to stay away from: the Albany Bulb, the Neck of the Bulb, the wooded part of Albany Hill and Pierce Street Park, for a period of no less than 12 months.
28 people accepted the "buyout".
My partner and I requested that the judge dismiss our claims without prejudice. And he did.
We could never have lived with the knowledge that we had sold out. Not now. Not ever. And definitely not in this situation.
We refuse to let the City sweep us under the rug. If we have to leave our home, we will just have to sleep on a main thoroughfare. We would prefer to stay here at the Bulb. But, if not here, then somewhere else here in Albany where we can maintain a stable home. We refuse to just disappear.
In our time here my partner and I have experienced healing that can best be described as spiritual in nature.
Our physical and mental health (although still far from what anyone would describe as "ideal") has vastly improved. And our understanding of our greater purpose in life has taken shape and flourished beyond what either of us could ever have previously imagined.
We have become: Hermits.
In the truest sense of the word.
Seven and a half years living here, watching the crowds (big and small) of people (young and old) who come to the Albany Bulb, enjoying and appreciating this place for what it is, has been an incredibly uplifting experience.
We are the late-night cleanup crew, the unpaid gardeners and "Landfillscapers", the callers of 9-1-1 when no one else is around to do so... In essence, we are the stewards of the Landfill.
Being a steward to land is like being its parent. It's about taking care of the land by protecting its resources, including wildlife, timber, soil, water and natural beauty. Stewardship is about making a commitment to the land that helps preserve it for today and tomorrow.
One incredibly important resource, provided by the Albany Bulb is the ability for people to express themselves freely here. Be it with Bagpipes, paint, driftwood or construction debris... The Bulb has always been a place of freedom and acceptance.
Now, the world stands to lose the great value that the Albany Bulb has held for so many, for so long.
As Albany's economic cleansing nears completion, the City Manager and Council are proud to be on their way towards handing over the Albany Bulb to the East Bay Regional Parks District (EBRPD).
What they know better than to be proud of, is the conditions that their heartless and hasty actions have pushed the now truly homeless former Bulb residents into.
Since there is no affordable housing in Albany (and since all disabled Bulb residents filed Requests for Reasonable Accommodations, in order for them to be able to use the shelter, which were all denied) the resulting refugees have settled underneath the Gilman Street overpass for I-80, in Berkeley.
If you can, I encourage everyone to go see for themselves these allegedly "better" accommodations that our community is relegated to existing in. Park at either the soccer fields or on Eastshore Highway or 2nd St. then walk on the sidewalks that run under the freeway. This cannot be seen merely by driving by! As most of the beds are up against the wall that is closest to traffic. The people there are human beings, former Albany neighbors... and they are living in conditions so deplorable that words cannot adequately illustrate the slum-like environment that the people there (some of whom had homes, with kitchens and beds, on the Albany Bulb, not even a month ago) have been forced to live in.
And, contrary to what the City of Albany would have people believe, most of the former Bulb residents would love nothing more than to have somewhere to live indoors. But, the reality of the situation is that the City of Albany does not care about the people enough to even try to support them with housing and was barely willing to spend a mere fraction of the money that was mostly spent on destroying people's homes and throwing away their belongings, on actually getting people into housing.
So, those of us who can (myself and my partner), along with those who must (the other two current Bulb residents) are taking a stand.
The City of Albany wants to give the Bulb over to EBRPD, for as little money as possible, as quickly as possible... at all costs, human or otherwise.
Now, there is a total of 4 people, living on the Albany Bulb.
We are all aware that we are one of the last obstacles that stands in the way of Albany giving away this most treasured cultural resource, thereby sealing its fate as yet another part of the State Parks system.
And, what is wrong with that?...

The following quote is from the Eastshore State Park General Plan:
"The practice and products associated with unauthorized artistic expression (e.g. installations, structures, paintings, etc) on the Albany Bulb will be removed."
If you take a moment to read that sentence over, you will understand what we are protecting, with all of our strength.
Freedom. Freedom for people to express themselves (artistically, or otherwise) without fear of being deemed "unauthorized".
And, for those of us who feel that this place holds nothing short of a deep, religious significance: the freedom to worship as we do (in a way that is not only sustainable, but that also benefits mankind and nature in an immediate and tangible way).
We have all known that this time was coming...
We have watched it coming like a storm, closing in around us like dark clouds.

This is the time to rally all the people who love this unique place AS IT IS AND HAS BEEN!!!
Whether you have only been here once (and vowed to return to this magical land(fill))...
Or if you have lived here before and know the healing power that this place holds.
Whether you have attended a funeral or a wake here, in memory of a fallen friend who knew and loved the Bulb...
Or if you have attended a wedding ceremony here, to celebrate the union of friends.
Whether you walk your dog here every day, rain or shine...
Or if you have only been here once, at night, to a party at Mad Marc's Castle.
Whether you are only able to view this place from afar, yet you understand the spirit of the Bulb and the spiritual power that this place holds...
Or if you haven't been here, yourself, but you know people who lived/visited here, heard them talking about the Albany Bulb and said to yourself "I have got to go see that place for myself, someday."...
This call goes out to you.

Last Thursday, we were told that our days, living on the Bulb, are numbered.
Friday, I received my first camping citation and my partner received his second. (He got his first one in the middle of the day on his birthday, last Wednesday.)
As soon as the last person is flushed off of the Bulb, the rest of the Bulb as we know it is in danger of extinction!
Please, come down to the Albany Bulb and join us in our final attempt to save more than just our only shelter, but the last place of truly free expression.
Before this last bastion of freedom gets regulated into history. And the land of the free becomes the land of the restricted.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

Save the art treasure at the Albany Bulb!

The value of these priceless treasures is the testament of the democratic effort of the Bulb residents and visitors who spent years creating the pieces of art using found items.

Photos showing art at the Albany Bulb, 2014-05-16 by Dana Lindström -
So here's the story. There is a landfill in Albany called the Bulb that for years has been a place for homeless people to live and for anyone to make art and hang out. People built pretty extravagant houses out of materials they found within the area and had a pretty cool thing going on. Now the city wants to turn this area over to the state in the name of stamping it a "state park." Charging for parking etc... But the state won't take the land if people are living there and there is art around. So the city has already kicked out everyone living there and the next thing to go is all of this really awesome art. People have been gathering at the bulb to create a presence and protest, but as you can probably guess, it hasn't done much. Here are pics of the few pieces of art that are left and are about to be gone. The bulb is at the end of Buchanan St next to Golden Gate Fields in Albany. If you find time, show up and show support for one of the last places to hang out without being micro managed by the law.

"Teacher Workforce Lacks Diversity, Damaging Student Achievement"

2014-05-11 from "Post News Group" [http://postnewsgroup.com/blog/2014/05/11/teacher-workforce-lacks-diversity-damaging-student-achievement/]:
While America’s public schools are becoming increasingly more diverse, a new report released by the Center for American Progress finds that nearly every state is experiencing a large and growing teacher diversity gap, or a significant difference between the number of students of color and teachers of color.
“Thousands of Black and Latino adults would love to be teachers, but there are all sorts of barriers which make it difficult to get into the profession,” said teacher educator Kitty Kelly Epstein, a professor at Holy Names University in Oakland.
“If the country truly wants a diverse teaching force there needs to be policy change,” she said. “Choose adults who are committed and effective with youngsters; end the multiple, irrelevant standardized tests; value the languages and wisdom which diverse people bring to the profession, and stop expecting folks to work for free for a year as a student teacher.”
The report released Monday revisits a similar Center for American Progress study from 2011. When the original report was released, students of color made up more than 40 percent of the school age-population, while teachers of color were only 17 percent of the teaching force. The report shows that since 2011, the gap between teachers and students of color has continued to grow.
Over the past three years, the demographic divide between teachers and students of color has increased by 3 percentage points, and today, students of color make up almost half of the public school population.
“The student population of America’s schools may look like a melting pot, but our teacher workforce looks like it wandered out of the 1950s. It’s overwhelmingly white,” said Ulrich Boser, Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and author of the report ”We know from research that students of color do better academically if they are taught by teachers of color.”
The report, “Teacher Diversity Revisited,” includes state-by-state data documenting the teacher diversity gap across the nation. An analysis of the data reveals the following key findings:
* Almost every state has a significant diversity gap. In California, 73 percent of students are kids of color, but only about 29 percent are teachers of color. Maryland has the same problem, although the numbers are a bit better – more than 55 percent of students are kids of color, while just around 17 percent are teachers of color.
* The Hispanic teacher population has larger demographic gaps relative to students. In Nevada, for instance, just 9 percent of teachers were Hispanic. In contrast, the state’s student body was 39 percent Hispanic.
* Diversity gaps are large within districts. For the first time, the researchers examined district-level data in California, Florida, and Massachusetts. These three states account for 20 percent of all students in the United States, and it turns out that the gaps within districts are often larger than those within states.
A companion report also released by CAP and Progress 2050, describes how the shortcomings of today’s education system and the underachievement of many of today’s students of color shrink the future supply of the teachers of color. The report, “America’s Leaky Pipeline for Teachers of Color,” finds that fundamental constraints limit the potential supply of highly effective teachers of color. Students of color have significantly lower college enrollment rates than do white students. In addition, a relatively small number of students of color enroll in teacher education programs each year.
Finally, teacher trainees who are members of communities of color often score lower on licensure exams that serve as passports to teaching careers. Furthermore, the report reveals that teachers of color leave the profession at a much higher rate than their non-Hispanic white peers. Those who leave mention a perceived lack of respect for teaching as a profession, lagging salary levels, and difficult working conditions.

May 8th, 2014 NBU Radio

Tune in Thursdays 4 to 5pm (PST), with our online webstream [link], and in the San Pablo Bay Area at 89.5FM KZCT [link]. Hosted by Dr.G., Minister of Information of the Northbay Movement for a Democratic Society, with a California-wide network of journalists, organizers, and entertainers, breaking the blockade of censorship, with research archives and verified sources! View past headlines [link]. Join the Community Journalist program, send news & info to [NorthbayMDS@gmail.com]. Know more with the Community Journalist's Notebook [link]!

The managers of 89.5FM KZCT, their associates, and sponsors, are not to be held liable for the information and commentary provided by the Northbay Uprising Radio News, produced by the Northbay Movement for a Democratic Society, as a non-partisan research and education project.

ACTION HEADLINES!
Stories are reviewed and provided by Northbay MDS Committees.

Bay View newspaper is now available for the community of Vallejo, courtesy of 1st Amendment Distributions [link].
Some headlines from the Bay View:
* The National Afrikan-Amerikan Family Reunion Association: NAAFRA Time [link]
* PG&E vs. the people and the planet: John Avalos to the rescue [link]
* SF public housing privatization threatens tenants and union workers [link]
* Racism sin vergüenza in the Venezuelan counter-revolution [link]
* I am the US economy – from prison to the streets [link]
* Retaliation against hunger strikers at Menard – windows blocked, strikers beaten [link]
* Degentrification Zones, a poor people-led plan to take back this stolen and gentrified land using a twist on ‘the man’s’ killer plans [link].

from the liaison group to the San Pablo Bay Ecological Preservation Association [link]:
* "Waste from oil and gas operations tied to Oklahoma earthquakes" [link]

Free the "FNB 2" of San Francisco!
Food Not Bombs (FNB) of San Francisco attacked and organizers kidnapped by Police [link]

Hands Off Robert Norse, People's Journalist of Santa Cruz, targeted for silence by repressive city council [link]

Free Ramon Cairo! [link]
Update, at the top of the hour! Ramon Cairo is Free! The Santa Rosa Police Department could not prove any of it's charges against Ramon, and the court hearing ended in a mistrial! From a May 9th statement by the "Justice Coalition for Andy Lopez":
"Friday morning May 9th at 8:30 am in courtroom #8 in Sonoma County – the DA declined to refile criminal charges against Lopez protest leader Ramon Cairo. The DA’s decision followed three days of deliberations in which the vast majority of jurors found the State’s star witness – a Sergeant on the Santa Rosa Police Department – to be not credible. Caught on the stand mouthing three versions of the alleged assault on his forehead – the jury rejected his tangled web of misstatements and outright lies. The judge was left with no choice but to dismiss the charges and declare Ramon Cairo a free man, upholding the First Amendment rights of Lopez protesters."
---
Statement from the "Brown Berets De Sonoma County" (2014-05-07), before the verdict was announced: "Today, we wait for the verdict on comrade Ramón's trial(one of our Beret members), from being arrested at the December 10th Andy Lopez march when we went through a Santa Rosa city council meeting (who completely avoided us). We still openly maintain that this [Amerikkkan just-us] system continues to uphold its systemic institutionalized oppression while in advancement of its national interests, and then as usual turn around (and acknowledge us the disenfranchised) and tell us they (the privileged) are completely free of committing injustices because (as the Amerikkkan way is) they where acting 'in their right, in self defence (although a provoked situation) and legally.' In institutionalized oppression, the institution is the tool used for the self preservation of the privileged."
---
Ramon Cairo writes concerning the trial: "I chose to take on the Amerikkkan JustUs System, because 1) I am not guilty of said allegations. I have a Right (not 'privilege') to voice my Political Dissent and Opposing Views concerning how my local government is run, and its Incompetent Leadership and 2) All 5 Officers who testified against me Outright Lied, Slandered My Name, and work for an entity that has proactively and systematically murdered Our Gente, and brought this Genocidal Attitude to Our Communities. The same Attitudes that have led to hundreds of Our People to be Slaughtered in Our Streets, while these Murderers with Badges continue to Kill Us with Impunity. Fuck That! This Shit Stops Now, y Ya Basta! NO JUSTICE, NO PEACE. FUCK ALL POLICE".
Ramon Cairo, with daughter Mayra Canto, awaiting the court verdict, May 6th.

Hands off Jose!
Justice for Andy Lopez Supporters Held At Gun Point By Santa Rosa Police Dept. [link]

Hands Off Andy's Youth! Cook Middle School in Santa Rosa retaliates against students seeking justice for Andy Lopez (2014-04) [link]

Justice for Cecily! [JusticeForCecily.com]
Cecily was found guilty. We are devastated by the Jury’s verdict today. It has been clear from day one that Cecily has not received a fair and open trial. The job of a judge during a jury trial isn’t to guide the verdict to fit his opinion. Judge Zweibel, who consistently suppressed evidence, has demonstrated his clear bias by consistently siding with the prosecution. In addition to suppressing evidence, he imposed a gag order on Cecily’s lawyers, which is a clear violation of their 1st Amendment Rights, and placed the burden of proof on the defense, not the prosecution. He is rightly known as ‘a prosecutor in robes’.

More info about what happened to Cecily: [link] [link].
Observation from David J. Smith III, 2014-05-06, at Broadway and Liberty Street, Lower Manhattan:
I am back at Zuccotti and the camera on my shoulder is once again pointed at protestors.
It seems that two years and two months ago on this very spot, a Police Officer was engaged in crowd control on a similar group of peaceful protestors. They had gathered at the park to commemorate the six month anniversary of their original Occupation. While in the course of performing his duties, this Officer grabbed a 25 year old girl's breast from behind. He had his tactical jacket on inside out and failed to identify himself as a Law Enforcement Officer.
While her breast was being squeezed so hard that there would be a handprint bruise on it for days to come, the girl, known as Cecily, turned to confront her assailant. In doing so, this politically active young lady's elbow happened to knock this member of New York's Finest on his nose. He then began to use excessive force on the young girl, at which time Cecily fell to the ground in the throes of a grand mal seizure.
This is neither hearsay nor is it conjecture, as the entire event was well documented by several witnesses, in photographs and on video.
Emergency Medical Technicians tried to attend to this unfortunate victim, but despite their best efforts to reach a young woman in such obvious need of attention, the EMTs were held at bay by the NYPD to ensure that the continued arrest protocol and procedure could be properly performed on a convulsing Cecily.
Hours ago, she finally had her day in court. Cecily was convicted of assaulting that Police Officer. She was handed a felony conviction that carries with it a mandatory minimum 2 to 7 year sentence in a Federal Detention Facility.
On the six month anniversary of the initial September 17th Occupation of Wall Street, a member of the New York City Police Department sexually violated and grievously injured Ms. Cecily McMillan.
On St. Patrick's Day.
And now she is going to Federal Prison.
Although I am a member of the press, supposedly impartial and objective, I can't help but be sickened by this entire series of events.

Truth and Justice Committee for Malcolm Shabazz [link]



ACTION CALENDER!

Truth & Justice Luminaries Pass the Torch...
Remembering John Judge & Michael Ruppert
Thursday, May 8 at 7:00pm
at the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar Street (at Bonita Ave.), Berkeley, California 94709
Wheel-chair accessible via the ramp on Bonita Avenue
Suggested Donation $5-10 goes to support the work of the SJC.
[www.bfuu.org]
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Thursday, May 8 at 7 pm “Remembering John Judge”.
The Conscientious Projector Film Series for the 99% of the BFUU Social Justice Committee presents! Truth & Justice Luminaries Pass the Torch: Remembering John Judge 5/8 & Michael Ruppert 5/23. Bonnie Faulkner recently devoted her April 21 'Guns & Butter' Radio Show to John Judge and Michael Ruppert, who both recently passed. The show is now archived on KPFA here:[http://www.kpfa.org/archive/id/102200].
Films: John Judge in 1994: "The Hidden History of the United States: Who Really Runs America? - Part One" from The Eclectic Point of View (1:59:39). After a brief intermission, we will show the short (38:23) “Closing Remarks” by John Judge to the 50th Anniversary Conference on President Kennedy's Murder , which was presented on November 24, 2013 in Dallas, Texas. The theme was “Fifty Years in Denial is Enough: Free the Files! Find the Truth!” John Judge was the Director of the Coalition on Political Assassinations and one of the founders of 9/11 Citizens Watch.
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Friday, May 23 at 7 pm “Remembering Michael Ruppert”. Featuring the film titled "THE GREAT AWAKENING" (1:17:43) - The Great Awakening Speech empowers and invites humanity to change the way it thinks and perceives reality. On 9-11-2011 Mike Ruppert, the 'tracker of truth' , spoke in Seattle. He evoked a powerful, inspiring, selfless message of incorruptible truth and awareness; shining a bright light in an age of darkness and deceit. He said that the generation under 30 years old is the generation most screwed by the system in place because it has no concern for the future, only current bottom-line corporate profits and the corporate privatization of all commonwealth inheritance world resources. He promotes Collapse Net, the Zeitgeist movement, Transition Towns, and those working on alternative banking systems. He talks about the ongoing nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan.
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The Northern California 9/11 Truth Alliance meets on the “First & Third Thursdays” in the Fireside Room, 1606 Bonita Ave, next to Fellowship Hall. Mark your calendar for May 1 & 15 at 7 pm.
www.sf911truth.org
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SOCIAL JUSTICE IN THE HEART OF BERKELEY -
* Social Justice Committee meetings are on the “First & Third Sundays” normally at 12:30 pm in the Fireside Room in the RE Building on 1606 Bonita Ave. Mark your calendar for SJC meetings May 4 & 18.
[www.bfuu.org/events/social-justice]
* Join us for BFUU Sunday Service at 10:30 am in the Fellowship Hall Sanctuary!
HAL CARLSTAD SOCIAL JUSTICE CENTER - Visit “THE HAL” and browse the Cynthia Jean Johnson Justice Library! Open Monday-Friday 1:30 – 5 pm [www.bfuu.org/events/social-justice].
* Subscribe to the BFUU Social Justice Committee's “Rise Up List”! Send an email to: [bfuusjev-subscribe@lists.riseup.net].
* Show your Support for Social Justice! SJC T-Shirts Now Available! $20 in Purple or Black, 100% Cotton, American-Made, Union Bug from Alliance Graphics in Berkeley, CA.
* Please visit and share our new YouTube Channel! Explore our playlists! [https://www.youtube.com/bfuusocialjustice/playlists].


Film Screening & Discussion: Fascism IncSaturday May 10, 7:00 PM
Bay Area Antifa, 45th & Adeline, Oakland
Film screening of new Greek documentary, Fascism Inc, about the connections between the rise of fascism (both then and now) and the economic elites.
The film will be followed by a discussion about anti-fascism in the Bay Area.
[http://bayareaantifa.noblogs.org]

MOTHER'S DAY MARCH FOR PEACE

      CODEPINK Monthly Golden Gate Bridge Walk 

                  Sunday, May 12, 2013, NOON

Mother's Day, 2013, Golden Gate Bridge

Reclaim the original meaning of the day: "We Will Not Raise Our Children to Kill the Children of Other Mothers!"  

11:45 am:  Gather at the SF or Marin end of the eastern walkway of the Golden Gate Bridge. Parking available on all 4 "corners",  just remember to take the last exit on hwy 101 as you approach the bridge, or the first exit after you leave the bridge.

Noon: Walk on the eastern walkway from the north or south ends, to converge in the middle.  

1:30pm: Rally on SF side after the bridge walk with a Mike Check Reading of Julia Howe's MOTHER'S DAY PROCLAMATION

Bring your children, your mothers, friends, relatives and your LOVE!

BE GREEN AND CARPOOL

Join us to reclaim the original meaning behind Mother's Day:

From the Civil War era, Mother's Day was created to unite women of the world to organize and promote peaceful solutions to conflict. This Mother's Day please join us on the Golden Gate Bridge.  Bring your mothers and daughters, your sons and fathers, your grandchildren, friends and neighbors to honor our history, and celebrate our passion for PEACE! Wear pink or come as you are, but come in the spirit of unity for nonviolence.

In response to the carnage of the Civil War, Julia Ward Howe's 1870 Mother's Day Proclamation declared: 

"Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn

All that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience.

We, the women of one country, will be too tender of those of another country

To allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs........Disarm, Disarm!"

Howe called for women of all nations to work together for a more peaceful world.

For creative readings of the full Mother's Day Proclamation:

        [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdI1mx9Q3sA]

        [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnwEK_8YxTw]

In honor of Julia Ward Howe, and in solidarity with all the mothers of the world who are suffering today from the carnage of wars in Afghanistan, Palestine, Pakistan, Yemen, Somalia and elsewhere in the world, we invite mothers and their loved ones to join us this Mother's Day to walk united against war. 

Let us not forget: Wedding Party Victims, Yemen, December 12, 2014

We will read Howe's Mother's Day Proclamation, and sing and rally for peace following the march.
We will distribute flyers to educate the public about the history of Mother's Day. 

Wear pink or come as you are, but come in the spirit of unity for nonviolence.

Bring signs ( 2x3 ft. or smaller)......wooden sticks/poles are now permitted.

Some Suggested Messages:  

-Mother's Day:  A Day for Peace 

-ABOLISH WAR

-Mothers Say No War

-DRONES KILL CHILDREN

-Mothers for Peace