♥ Shout out to all the parents and children – especially single parent households that are “Sheltering in Place” ♥
Sorry for the delay – computer has been down for over a day.
NOT back posting on a regular basis.
– Please post events on Indybay even if event is digital: https://www.indybay.org/calendar/?page_id=12
Thank you to all who are – See Indybay for other events.
ARTICLES
A. ‘Beyond Predatory’: Trump Treasury Department Gives Banks Green Light to Seize $1,200 Stimulus Checks to Pay Off Debts – April 14, 2020
B. Fallout From a Navy Captain’s Heroism: The Possible Emergence of a New Idea of ‘National Security’
C. ASSANGE EXTRADITION: Spread of Coronavirus in Belmarsh Prison Brings Death Sentence to Free Speech – April 13, 2020
D. The Impending Mass Grave Across the Border From Texas – April 12, 2020
E. Settler attacks rise by 78 percent amid pandemic – April 11, 2020
F. Farmworker Appreciation Caravan in Watsonville – April 11, 2020
G. Terrified Atomic Workers Warn That the COVID-19 Pandemic May Threaten Nuclear Reactor Disaster – April 10, 2020
H. Snowden Warns Governments Are Using Coronavirus to Build ‘the Architecture of Oppression’ – April 9, 2020
I. Under Cover of Covid-19, Donald Trump Ramps Up His War on Truth-Tellers – April 9, 2020
https://theintercept.com/2020/04/09/coronavirus-trump-firings/
J. John Pilger: On Coronavirus Propaganda, Imperialism, and Human Rights – April 9, 2020
K. Social Distancing Enforcement Drones Arrive in the U.S.
https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/04/social-distancing-enforcement-drones-arrive-in-the-u-s.html
L. COVID -19: Devastated Saudi Royal Family Seeks to End Yemen War – April 8, 2020
M. Wall Street Wins Again – April 7, 2020
N. The Dangers of Wall Street Water – April 7, 2020
https://medium.com/breaking-down-the-system/the-dangers-of-wall-street-water-61f77630562d
7 – ACTIONS:
1. Open Letter to the Government of the United States and the United Nations
SIGN: https://uspeacecouncil.org/4724-2/
2. TO: The CEOs of Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, and all hotel chains in the US provide shelter to domestic abuse survivors
3. Stop Water Shutoffs During Covid-19 Pandemic and Restore Water Access Immediately
4. “Don’t undermine millions of low-income families by re-defining people out of ‘poverty’.”
5.Tell Congress: During This Pandemic, Support Our Public Postal Service
6. EXPAND Social Security, don’t defund it.
7. California’s COVID-19 Budget Must Support Decarceration!
https://campaigns.organizefor.org/petitions/california-s-covid-19-budget-must-support-decarceration
EVENTS
Wednesday, April 15 – Sunday, April 19
Wednesday, April 15
1. Wednesday, 9:00am – 5:00pm, Shut Down 850 Bryant (SF Jail) Digital Day of Action
Now is a pivotal moment in the fight against jails in the Bay Area. We need your help to pressure City Hall to pass an ordinance to close 850 Bryant, which would shut down County Jail 4 (CJ4) permanently.
Tues, April 14, SF Supervisor Sandra Fewer introduced legislation to close the dangerous and decrepit 850 Bryant jail in 2020, and to promote alternatives to incarceration, so no jail replacement will be necessary. This would avoid transferring inmates to Alameda’s Santa Rita jail where so many have died, jail cells in a “Justice Campus”, or taking a Bruno jail out of mothballs
As you likely already know, 850 Bryant has been condemned for over 20 years due to being seismically unfit. Despite a 1996 demolition order, and despite all of City Hall agreeing that CJ4 should be closed, the jail has remained open. For years, people imprisoned at CJ4 have reported noxious fumes, flooding, and overflowing sewage covering cells, along with the inherently dehumanizing conditions of being imprisoned, with no impactful action from the city.
Phone/ Email ,
Rafael Mandelman, MandelmanStaff@sfgov.org, (415) 554-6968;
Norman Yee, Norman.Yee@sfgov.org, (415) 554-6516; ,
Catherine Stefani, (415) 554-7752, Catherine.Stefani@sfgov.org;
Ahsha Safai, (415) 554-6975, ahsha.safai@sfgov.org
UPDATE: Supervisors Mar and Peskin just signed on
Suggested script:
“Hi Supervisor __________. My name is __________ and I am a __[student/worker/resident]__ in San Francisco’s ________ neighborhood. I urge you to support Fewer’s ordinance to close 850 Bryant. This ordinance is an essential step in caring for and protecting all SF residents, especially the poor, the houseless, LGBTQI people, immigrants, and people of color and especially in this grave time of the COVID crisis. As a city leader, you have an opportunity to close down seismically unsafe 850 Bryant, and invest in the vital community resources we need like housing, re-entry, and mental and medical health programs, for all of the residents of our city. Please vote yes on Supervisor Fewer’s ordinance to shut down 850 Bryant now. Thank you.”
Info: No New Jail Coalition
2. Wednesday, 9:00am – 5:00pm (EDT), Phone Zap & Twitter Storm for Mumia
Send emails to the Target Contacts, using the phone script and demands for the basis of your email.
Target names & contact info:
PA Governor Tom Wolf – @GovernorTomWolf ; 717-787-2500 ;
https://www.governor.pa.gov/contact/#Mail
PA DOC Secretary John Wetzel – @CorrectionsPA; 717-728-4109 https://expressforms.pa.gov/apps/pa/cor/contact-us
SCI Mahanoy Superintendent Bernadette Mason: 570-773-2158
Philadelphia DA Larry Krasner; @PhilaDAO; 215-686-8000; justice@phila.gov
Suggested message once a staff person answers, tell them:
“Hello, my name is _____. I’m calling because given this pandemic, I am deeply concerned for Mumia Abu Jamal, all other political prisoners, and all aging and immune-compromised prisoners.
Prisoners are human beings and all their lives matter! Incarceration during a global pandemic is like a death sentence for many.
I ask for immediate reprieves for Mumia and all political prisoners! Immediate compassionate release for all the aging, vulnerable, and immune-compromised prisoners!
I also ask that all prisoners are provided with personal protective equipment (PPE) and COVID-19 tests on demand and an end to solitary confinement lockdown now! You must move those who are symptomatic to off-site medical facilities now!”
Hosts: Mobilization4Mumia, The Campaign to Bring Mumia Home, The Free Mumia Abu-Jamal Coalition Bay Area
Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/213122459990699/
3. Wednesday, 2:00pm – 4:00pm, Bayview Hunters Point Environmental Justice Response Task Force Meeting
If using a computer or smartphone and you don’t have an account or the zoom app:
– Click on this link:https
://us02web.zoom.us/j/3533840023
– Then press open zoom meeting
– If asked, then enter the meeting i.d: 353 384 0023
Call in using your phone and dial: +1 (669) 900-9128. If asked, enter the meeting i.d: 353 384 0023.
***No password is required to join the meeting by any option.
Host: Greenaction for Health & Environmental Justice
4. Wednesday, 4:30pm – 6:00pm, Structural Responses to Covid-19
Part 1 of a webinar discussion series:
Basic Needs and First Response
Register at https://structuralcompetency.org/
Jennifer Carroll Katayoun Madani, Sam Haynor, Nicole Roxas, Michelle Mahón, Kim Hooper, Megan Smith, Juliana E. Morris, Emma Lo, Keris Myrick, & Jack Saul will discuss structural responses to supply chain, protecting healthcare workers, housing rights, harm reduction, and mental health
Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/553831408601207/
Thursday, April 16
5. Thursday, 12Noon – 1:30pm, Webinar | Amazonian Women on Pandemics & Defending the Amazon
REGISTER AT THIS LINK: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/v5UtdOGqrDMtQEg3deO-5WBEBfI_I4qx4A
Indigenous Women of Brazil and Ecuador on the Frontlines: COVID-19 and Defending Communities and the Amazon
Thursday, April 16, 2020
12:00pm PT/3:00pm ET USA Time
**Please check your own time zones to participate**
The call will be held over Zoom and streamed live to Facebook. Please join us on Zoom to participate in the discussion. To ensure the safety and security of our participants and speakers we ask that you register for this webinar. If you need support registering or have any questions, please be welcome to reach out to katherine@wecaninternational.org
This is part of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN) ongoing Advocacy and Solutions Series:
A Just and Healthy World is Possible. https://www.wecaninternational.org/online-trainings-network-calls
During this webinar, Indigenous women leaders of the Ecuadorian and Brazilian Amazon will unite to discuss how the devastating coronavirus pandemic is impacting their communities, while they face ongoing deforestation, oil extraction, and Indigenous rights violations in their territories. Indigenous peoples are at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 due to a lack of resources and health disparities brought on by centuries of colonial policies and environmental racism.
Indigenous women leaders from the Amazon will share their stories, analysis, wisdom, and advocacy for Indigenous rights, protection of forests, water, communities, and the global climate. They will also address the ongoing political and economic struggles affecting their Amazonian territories.
Speakers include:
Patricia Gualinga, Kichwa leader from Sarayaku, Ecuador, Spokeswoman for Mujeres Amazónicas Defensoras de la Selva (Amazon Women in Defense of the Jungle)
Sônia Bone Guajajara, Indigenous leader from Brazil, Executive Coordinator for the Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) with translation by Maria Paula, Founder of the NGO “A Drop in the Ocean”
Daiara Tukano, Indigenous activist from Brazil, independent communicator and coordinator of Radio Yandê
Helena Siren Gualinga is a 17 year old social activist, of Kichwa-indigenous and Swedish origin from Sarayaku, Ecuador.
Moderation and comments by Osprey Orielle Lake, Executive Director of the Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN).
Host: Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network
Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/518819662326775/
6. Thursday, 4:00pm, the racist, for-profit U.S. healthcare system kills. We Need Socialism
Register to participate via
Webinar: Zoom Video conference
Thursday, 5:00pm (PT), COVID-19 & The Justice System — A Conversation
COVID-19 is already a public health emergency in America’s jails, prisons, and immigration detention facilities. These places are among the worst possible environments for treating the virus. By failing to dramatically reduce prison populations, public officials are by default sentencing people to death.
This recklessness is putting everyone at risk and it needs to be addressed urgently. People need to be let out of jail. Our government needs to step in and help those who are at risk, including those who are incarcerated.
Host: Demand Justice
7. Thursday, 5:00pm, Our Civil Liberties in the Age of COVID-19
Registration: https://rightsanddissent.org/event/our-civil-liberties-in-the-age-of-covid-19/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=51ed9108-f435-4f12-8321-5f7d6ce04d89
” During this important national conversation, we will explore what these measures mean for you, your rights, and our collective future – and what you can do right now to remain vigilant even in the face of an unprecedented crisis. Among the topics to be discussed will be: surveillance, policing, and immigrant detention.
This moment we’re living in can present challenging questions for civil libertarians and those who are concerned about over-policing. Hopefully, we can provide you with some much-needed answers.
Host: Defending Rights and Dissent
Friday, April 17
8. Friday, 10:00am – 11:00am (PT), Zoom Rally to Free Prisoners from Rikers Island to Palestine
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/98777917794
9. Friday 5:00pm (PT) Friday Night Forums
Webinar registration:
https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_W1uTlqEFQn2qCAYIWhmIjQ?fbclid=IwAR0QDtsgrkkZPdRd7DYrM8T3Y-AeLNp0a4k7BbTmd0UpBoScUVtTcys7Sp0
The Arab Resource & Organizing Center (AROC) in partnership with The Red Nation and the Center for Political Education is hosting a series of critical conversations on settler colonialism, US imperialism, and decolonization. The COVID-19 pandemic is global, and so our response to it must also be global. Friday Night Forums feature anti-imperialist perspectives and lessons on organizing from around the world, with an eye toward decolonizing Turtle Island.
Friday Night Forums are one-hour panels with two presenters and a moderator live streamed on Zoom. Each panelist will present for 20 minutes followed by a 10-15 minute Q & A with the moderator and the audience.
Host: Red Nations
Info: https://www.facebook.com/events/1553642318117753/?event_time_id=1553642324784419
10. Saturday, 12 Noon (PT), Webinar: El Salvador’s Water in the Time of COVID-19
Registration: http://org2.salsalabs.com/o/6099/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=89601
Sunday, April 19
11. Sunday, 1:00pm – 3:30pm, Covid-19: Capitalist Crisis & Socialist Solutions
Advance Registration: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJYof-mhqjwsjeCVfc5xIsy7Yuf-wngN4g
Join Marxist scholar and retired New York City public hospital doctor Susan Williams for this interactive online forum (via Zoom). She will analyze the coronavirus emergency and the economic meltdown, offering concrete proposals to address both crises. Share your thoughts in the discussion that follows.
Host: Freedom Socialist Party – Bay Area and New Valencia Hall
