By Adrienne Fong
Not back posting on a regular basis
Please hold the following people in your thoughts:
Victor Picazo, dealing with health complications
Jackie Barshak, battling stage 4 metastatic lung cancer, as she continues chemo therapy.
Melvin Starks
– Still needs housing!
Rodger Scott as he gains strength. Open site to see telephone number Meal Train for Rodger Scott
He welcomes noon time visits
Good visiting time is early afternoon around 1pm to 2pm, please see calendar to choose a day. Also, Rodger has a meal service and bringing meals is not necessary.
Please include Accessibility and ASL info in your events! And if your action is ‘child friendly’ This is a JUSTICE issue!!
*** ASL interpretation – Let me know if your event needs this service .***
Please post your actions on Indybay: https://www.indybay.org/calendar/?page_id=12
See Indybay for other listings of events
ARTICLES
A. Noelle Hanrahan on Mumia Abu-Jamal Update – October 28k 2022
Noelle Hanrahan on Mumia Abu-Jamal Update – FAIR
B. Worthless US Progressives Retract Mild Peace Advocacy – October 26, 2022
C. Fired Anti-Mandate Professor Now VINDICATED! – October 26, 2022 (Jimmy Dore)
Fired Anti-Mandate Professor Now VINDICATED! – YouTube
D. Scott Ritter: Russia’s ‘Dirty Bomb’ Scare – October 25, 2022
E. Update 2: “Israeli Soldiers Kill Five Palestinians, Injure 21 In Nablus” –October 25, 2022
Update 2: “Israeli Soldiers Kill Five Palestinians, Injure 21 In Nablus” – – IMEMC News
F. Corrupt SF City Attorney Chiu Covered Up LHH Settlement – October 25, 2022
Corrupt SF City Attorney Chiu Covered Up LHH Settlement : Indybay
G. Bosses and managers are using court restraining orders to shut Workers Up – October 23, 2022
Bosses & Managers in SF Using Restraining Orders to Shut Workers Up : Indybay
H. Mississippi city of Greenwood unveils Emmett Till memorial statue – October 21, 2022
I. DA Jenkins leaves SFSU debate after activists take over event – October 21, 2022
DA Jenkins leaves SFSU debate after activists take over event – Mission Local
J. Families of Men Killed by Police Accuse DA of Playing Politics With Trial Delays – October 21, 2022
Families of Men Killed by Police Accuse DA of Playing Politics (sfstandard.com)
See Event # 1
3 PETITIONS:
SIGN: Corporate Accountability (actionnetwork.org)
2. Urge President Biden: Commute the Row, Demolish the Death Chamber & Abolish the Death Penalty
3. Tell T-Mobile to Cancel All Contracts in Guantanamo
SIGN: Tell T-Mobile to Cancel All Contracts in Guantanamo | New Mode
T-Mobile profits from the continued existence of Guantánamo Bay Base, a global “symbol of racial and religious injustice, abuse, and disregard for the rule of law.”
January 2023 marks 21 years since George W. Bush opened Guantánamo prison. Since then, 779 Muslim men and boys have been held there. All have suffered from the physical and psychological effects of indefinite detention.
Today, 36 men remain detained, despite the fact that both Presidents Obama and Biden pledged to shut down the prison. But it remains open. This is why it is crucial for all corporations to end their existing contracts with the base, as a step towards actually shutting down the prison.
FEW EVENTS
Friday, October 28
1. Friday, 1:00pm-2:00pm, Justice NOT Jenkins
In person
Interim DA Brooke Jenkins office
350 Rhode Island
SF
MUNI # 19 & #22
Stand up for REAL JUSTICE NOT Brooke Jenkins! With Mothers On The March and the Community at interim Brooke Jenkins office.
We need to RESIST and expose her agenda:
– For not holding police accountable for abusing and executing people in our communities. She fired most of the lawyers who were working on cases involved in holding sfpd accountable.
– Two of the cases were in various stages of court hearings for trial
– For deceiving San Franciscans from the time the Guido trial didn’t go her way and she quit the DA’s office to work on the Recall Boudin campaign. Her campaign is based on many lies.
– For contributing more to AAPI hate and divisions between the Asian, Black and Brown communities.
– Her election has been supported by funds from the SF Police Officers Association.
All are welcomed.
Info: Justice, NOT Jenkins! : Indybay
Saturday, October 29
2. Saturday, 11:00am (Pt); 2:00pm (ET), Poetry book celebration with Palestinian women poets Maya Abu Al-Hayyat and Deema K. Shehabi
Virtual registration: Poetry Book Celebration! “You Can Be the Last Leaf” by Maya Abu Al-Hayyat Tickets, Sat, Oct 29, 2022 at 11:00 AM | Eventbrite
$10.00
Maya directs the Palestine Writing Workshop and will share stories from her work and activism, in addition to her poems. Her work is grounded in the belief that art and literature can change lives; she aims to improve Palestinian children’s literacy and encourage their imaginations. Maya also runs writing courses for former prisoners, helping them transform trauma into art
Her new book: iYou Can Be The Last Leaf: Selected Poems
Host: Middle East Children’s Alliance
Sunday, October 30
3. Sunday, 1:00pm – 2:30pm, A Marxist Look at Capitalism’s Meltdown
In person or Zoom
In person:
747 Polk St. (@ Elliss)
SF
Online registration: Meeting Registration – Zoom
Learn about the origins of today’s world financial crises, why foreclosures, bailouts and budget cuts only deepen the crisis. How can working people take on Wall Street and win? What is a planned economy and what does socialism have to do with it all? All are welcome to share in this analysis and contribute to a rich discussion.
Host: Freedom Socialist Party
Info: A Marxist Look at Capitalism’s Meltdown : Indybay
Monday, October 31
4. Monday, 10:00am, Continued Discussion of: – Funding, Acquisition, and Use of Certain Police Department Equipment (Militarized equipment!)
In person and online
In person
San Francisco City Hall
Room 250 (Legislative Chamber)
1 Dr. Carleton B. Goodlett Place
SF
Please attend in-person if you can
REMOTE ACCESS WATCH SF Cable Channel 26, 28, 78 or 99 (depending on provider)
WATCH www.sfgovtv.org
PUBLIC COMMENT CALL-IN 1 (415) 655-0001 / Meeting ID: 2492 770 5750 # #
(Press *3 to enter the speaker line)
AGENDA: https://sfbos.org/sites/default/files/rls103122_agenda.pdf (Item # 2 on Agenda
2. 220641 [Administrative Code – Funding, Acquisition, and Use of Certain Police Department Equipment]
Sponsor: Mayor
Ordinance amending the Administrative Code to require Board of Supervisors approval of a policy governing the funding, acquisition, and use of certain law enforcement equipment consistent with the criteria set forth in state law, and approving the Police Department’s use of Equipment Policy.
Supervisors on Rules Committee
Aaron Peskin
Email: Aaron.Peskin@sfgov.org
Voice: (415) 554-7450
Rafael Mandelman
Email: MandelmanStaff@sfgov.org
Voice: (415) 554-6968
Connie Chan
Email: ChanStaff@sfgov.org
Voice: (415) 554-7410
ALERT from AFSC Healing Justice:
Will you join us by calling or emailing your Supervisor to make 3 changes that would improve transparency and accountability?
- Fully define authorized use for all weapons
- Align receipt of annual report with budget process
- Require transparency in restocking
These three changes are described below, but if you’d like more details please refer to our
1. Fully define authorized use for all weapons
SFPD’s proposed policy leaves many of its weapons with very loosely defined authorized use. These could allow weapons that have a non-escalatory or non-lethal purpose be authorized for use outside that purpose. We recommend the following:
- The use policy approved by Berkeley’s Police Accountability Board includes the statement: “uses of military equipment for purposes, in a manner, or by a person not authorized in this policy are prohibited.” San Francisco should narrowly define use in this way.
- Clearly identify which weapons may be used for Use of Force (including lethal force). If SFPD desires an exception under exigent circumstances, define what those circumstances should be. For example, if a robot may be authorized for remote-controlled lethal force, what are the circumstances that could lead to that?
- Limit broad definitions of authorized use. SFPD owns 15 submachine guns, 608 assault rifles, and 64 machine guns. These may all be used to “effectively control a scene” or “where there may be a need to defeat body armor” or “large critical incidents”. There needs to be much more stringent requirements for when these deadly weapons can be deployed. What stops SFPD from assuming everyone has body armor? Why was an assault rifle used to kill two unhoused men in the Mission who were grappling on the ground? What protects bystanders from getting shot by SFPD firing automatic weapons?
2. Align receipt of annual report with budget process
The state law’s requirements for annual reports from law enforcement agencies are thorough, requiring inclusion of costs not just for acquisition, but also for personnel, training, transportation, maintenance, and more. A few examples of questions that will need to be answered by the annual report:
- How many personnel devoted how many hours toward training on each weapon? What was the cost of that personnel time?
- How many hours were devoted by all personnel towards cleaning rifles? Towards cleaning or maintenance on each weapon?
- Were any of the above at an overtime rate?
To support SFPD in meeting this requirement, San Francisco should follow neighboring cities Berkeley and Oakland in setting a specific delivery date of its annual report (which the state law only requires to be delivered “within one year of approval”). Oakland requires the first annual report be delivered by March 15. By setting a similar March deadline, SFPD will not only be able to avoid a rush before the last minute, it will also be able to deliver a smaller initial report, confirm earlier in the process whether it is tracking all the information required by law, and provide context for its requested budget for the next fiscal year.
3. Require transparency in restocking
SFPD’s proposed policy would allow SFPD to acquire equipment without prior Board of Supervisor approval if it has an unanticipated reduced in any of its stock. If this happens, this is exactly the situation in which more oversight is needed, not less. The public has a right to know why that supply was unexpectedly depleted, how it was used, and whether to expect similar levels of use in the future. As the law states: “The public has a right to know about any funding, acquisition, or use of military equipment by state or local government officials, as well as a right to participate in any government agency’s decision to fund, acquire, or use such equipment.”
Unrestricted restocking moves counter to the public transparency provided by the law.
While there are, these three changes would have the greatest impact on transparency and accountability.
Thursday, November 3
