LOCAL OCCUPY WALL STREET ACTIONS Week of January 30

Wednesday, February 1, 3:30 PM to dark
Main Street Meets Wall Street/Occupy Walnut Creek
Main Street and Mt Diablo Blvd (Bank of America), Walnut Creek 

The Occupy Wall Street movement continues in Walnut Creek "Main Street Meets Wall Street" demonstrations at the corner of Main Street and Mt. Diablo Blvd (Bank of America). There will be some signs available or you can bring your own.  We will be collecting canned food for the Food Bank.

Contact:

Kathy Klein                                     Jeremy Wolff
kathyrklein@hotmail.com           jlwolff@sbcglobal.net

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Other Bay Area Events

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Thursdays, January 26 - March 1, 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
How can history inform our movement today? A 6-Week Study Course
F.A.C.E.S. of the East Bay - East Bay Church of Religious Science, 4130 Telegraph Avenue, Oakland
[41st and Telegraph- 2 blocks from MacArthur BART]
Each session we will watch a segment of the film, A FORCE MORE POWERFUL (www.aforcemorepowerful.org), which tells the story of six popular movements for democracy which used strategies of nonviolent conflict in the twenty-first century to overturn injustice and entrenched military regimes.
We will watch the film segments and discuss how it can inform work we are engaging in today.
Sessions will be led by Rev. Phil Lawson, a veteran of the US Civil Rights movement who serves on the Organizing Committee for the National Council of Elders of the Civil Rights and Justice movements of the last 60 years.

There is no cost to attend the study group. Please feel free to bring your own lunch. Location is wheelchair accessible. Spanish language subtitles/translation available (please RSVP).
For more information, contact, Rev. Deborah Lee, dlee@clueca.org, 415-297-8222.
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Wednesday, February 1, 7:30 - 9:30 PM
Screening of Inside Job
Humanist Hall, 390 27th Street, Oakland
Wheelchair accessible around the corner at 411 28th Street
Film evenings begin with potluck refreshments & social hour at 6:30 pm,
followed by the film at 7:30 pm, followed by a discussion after the film.
This documentary exposes the shocking truth behind the economic crisis of 2008. The global financial meltdown, at a cost of $20 trillion, resulted in 30 million people losing their jobs, their homes, and/or their savings. The film traces the rise of the rogue financial industry and unveils the corrosive relationships which have corrupted politics, regulation, and academia. It presents a devastating expose of the staggering Wall Street swindle that caused the economic meltdown of 2008.
$5 donations are accepted
Contact Florence at humanisthall@yahoo.com or 510-681-8699
http://www.HumanistHall.org
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Thursday, February 2, 7:00 - 9:00 PM
The Economics of Happiness Film Showing and Discussion
Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave, near Dwight Way, Berkeley
The film describes a world moving simultaneously in two opposing directions. On the one hand, an unholy alliance of governments and big business continues to promote globalization and the consolidation of corporate power. At the same time, people all over the world are resisting those policies, demanding a re-regulation of trade and finance and, far from the old institutions of power, they're starting to forge a very different future. Communities are coming together to re-build more human scale, ecological economies based on a new paradigm - an economics of localization.
http://www.ecologycenter.org
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Saturday, February 4, 4:00 - 6:30 PM
An Afternoon of Film & Interactive Theatre on the Legacy of Slavery
Laney College Theatre, 900 Fallon Street, Oakland
In Traces of the Trade: A Story from the Deep North, first-time European American filmmaker Katrina Browne makes a troubling discovery - her New England ancestors were the largest slave-trading family in U.S. history. She and nine fellow descendants set out to retrace the Triangle Trade: from their ancestors' hometown in Rhode Island to slave forts in Ghana, and to sugar plantation ruins in Cuba. Step by step, they uncover the vast extent of Northern complicity in slavery while also  stumbling through the minefield of contemporary race relations. Traces of the Trade offers powerful new perspectives on the black/white divide.
We invite people of all backgrounds to join us for an afternoon of thoughtful interactive theatre, dialogue, and reflection on our collective legacy of slavery.
General Admission: $15/ Seniors 62+ & Students with ID $12
Group Rates Available for 10 or more.
We encourage advance purchase and will pay the service charge. 
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/104562
Brown Paper Tickets Hotline: 1-800-838-3006.   Remaining tickets sold at box office starting at 3:15 p.m. Cash or check only, payable to Living Arts.
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Wednesday, February 8, 7:30 - 9:30 PM
Screening of Capitalism Hits the Fan by Richard Wolff
Humanist Hall, 390 27th Street, between Telegraph and Broadway, Oakland
Wheelchair accessible around the corner at 411 28th Street
Film evenings begin with potluck refreshments and social hour at 6:30 pm,
followed by the film at 7:30 pm, followed by a discussion after the film.
Richard Wolff breaks down the root causes of today's economic crisis in the clearest terms that everyone can understand. He shows how the crisis has been decades in the making and in fact reflects seismic failures within the structures of American-style capitalism itself. He traces the source of the economic crisis to the 1970s when wages began to stagnate and American workers were forced into a dysfunctional spiral of borrowing and debt that ultimately exploded in the mortgage meltdown. By placing the crisis within this larger historical and systemic frame, Richard argues convincingly that the proposed government bailouts, stimulus packages, and calls for increased market regulation will not be enough to address the real causes of the crisis, in the end suggesting that far more fundamental change will be necessary to avoid future catastrophes.
$5 donations are accepted
Contact Florence at humanisthall@yahoo.com or 510-681-8699
http://www.HumanistHall.org
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Thursday, February 9, 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Understanding Population Growth: How Slowing Growth Leads to Prosperity
Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, Fellowship Hall, 1924 Cedar St., Berkeley
HowMany.org welcomes Dr. Malcolm Potts and Dr. Martha Campbell of UC Berkeley's Bixby Center for Population, Health and Sustainability to its Speaker Series stage. Drs. Potts and Campbell will engage the audience on the topic of "How to help people understand how to slow population growth." This is central to ameliorating global issues of economic hardship, threats to basic reproductive health care and fragile ecosystems disappearing at record rates - as well as local issues of carbon emissions and possible resource shortages.
http://www.howmany.org/
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Saturday, February 11, 4:00 - 7:00 PM
Have a Heart for Bradley Manning Fundraiser
East Bay home in Montclair (Oakland)
THERAPISTS FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE is pleased to invite you to a FUNDRAISER DINNER & TALK for the BRADLEY MANNING DEFENSE FUND
Minimum Donation: $40 per person; $75 per couple
DINNER & REFRESHMENTS INCLUDED

Bradley Manning, US Army soldier, was arrested in May 2010 in Iraq on suspicion of having passed restricted material to the website WikiLeaks. If convicted, he faces up to life imprisonment. Please join us in supporting this brave young whistleblower who has endured horrendous conditions while in prison, and now faces a fierce legal battle. His fate, and our open society values, depends greatly on the quality of his legal representation.

The program includes a speaker from the BRADLEY MANNING DEFENSE FUND - COURAGE TO RESIST campaign, and a short video, and dinner.

RSVP to: info@therapistsforpeaceandjustice.com. Event address will be sent when you RSVP. We must receive your check before your reservation is confirmed. Checks should be made out to: COURAGE TO RESIST and mailed to: Darlene Pratt, 2434 Milvia St., #B, Berkeley, CA 94704 Note: Please put “MANNING DEFENSE” on the memo line of the check. Please indicate if you are donating but cannot attend the event.
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Saturday, February 11, 7:00 PM
The Death Penalty and the Framing of Kevin Cooper
Fellowship Hall, Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St., Berkeley
Guest speaker, J. Patrick O'Connor, is the author of the new book, SCAPEGOAT: The Chino Hills Murders and the Framing of Kevin Cooper. Cooper was convicted of the brutal murders of a Chino Hills, California family and a young houseguest in 1985 and has been on death row at San Quentin since then. SCAPEGOAT shows how the sheriff's office and the district attorney's office of San Bernardino County framed Cooper for these horrific murders and how the justice system has failed him at almost every turn in his long, drawn-out appeal process. If it were not for a court-ordered moratorium on executions in California over the lethal injection controversy, Cooper - with no appeals remaining - would have been executed by now. It is expected the moratorium will be lifted in early 2012.

SCAPEGOAT provides a rare direct examination of the broken justice system in the United States where homicide detectives and district attorneys all too often become blinded by their goal of winning convictions rather than searching for justice for both the victims and the accused.

O'Connor is also the author of The Framing of Mumia Abu-Jamal. This will be part of a 12-stop-tour to focus on the death penalty. Co-sponsored by The Mobilization to Free Mumia & United National Anti-War Coalition.

Suggested Donation is $5 - 10. No one turned away for lack of funds.
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Sunday, February 12, 4:00 - 6:00 PM
Photographer Michael Collopy: Founder of Architects of Peace Foundation
Lafayette Library, 3491 Mt. Diablo Boulevard, Lafayette 94549
On Sunday February 12th the Library Foundation will welcome Michael Collopy, one of the preeminent portrait photographers of our time, to a special event showcasing his work and storied career. Michael has gained worldwide recognition for his commissioned portraits of hundreds of public figures. His portfolio includes a vast array of intimate portraits of notable figures, from world leaders such as Pope John Paul II, and Margaret Thatcher, to entertainers such as Ella Fitzgerald, Luciano Pavarotti and Frank Sinatra.
In the fall of 2001 Collopy released his second book, "Architects of Peace." Inspired by children rights activist Marian Wright Edelman, Michael photographed 75 of the world's greatest peacemakers, movers and shakers and asked each one to write a personal statement on the issue of peace. After tragedy of 9-11, Collopy combined with TheCommunity.com to create a website profiling the living Nobel Peace laureates reaction entitled: The Peacemakers Speak.
To learn about the Architects of Peace Foundation and view Michael's portraiture work, visit his website at www.architectsofpeace.org.
4:00pm - 4:30pm No-host Reception
4:30pm - 5:30pm Michael Collopy's "Architects of Peace" portraits & stories
5:30pm - 6:00pm No-host Reception Reprise
Reserve in advance by email: reserve@LLLCF.org or phone: 925.283.6513.
Fee $10
http://www.lafayettelib.org/collopy.html
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Sunday, February 12, 7:00 -9:00 PM
Move to Amend: Creating Democracy & Challenging Corporate Rule
Fellowship Hall, Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists, 1924 Cedar St., Berkeley
The recent U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Citizens United v. FEC opened the floodgates to unlimited corporate spending on elections. David Cobb, an attorney and organizer for the Move to Amend coalition, is touring California to help local residents understand the history behind the recent decision and how they can work to abolish "Corporate Personhood" and establish a government of, by, and for the people by joining the Move to Amend campaign.

David is fiery speaker, and his talk is part history lesson and part heart-felt call-to-action!
Move to Amend is a coalition of over 155,000 people and organizations whose goal is to amend the United States Constitution to end corporate rule and legalize democracy.

Suggested Donation is $5 - 10. No one turned away for lack of funds.
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Wednesday, February 15, 7:00 PM
Climate Change: Scientific Progress, Global Politics
Ygnacio Valley Library, 2661 Oak Grove Rd, Walnut Creek
The Diablo Valley Democratic Club will host a presentation by Sam Chapman, State & Community Relations Manager for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Mr. Chapman will highlight the Lab's team approach to climate change challenges. Justin Gerdes, a journalist, who reports on global climate and energy issues, will discuss the international politics around global climate negotiations at Kyoto, Durban and after.
Please see www.dvdems.org; contact Pat VonBehren at 925-946-0469 pat.vonbehren@gmail.com.
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Friday, February 17, 7:00 - 8:30 PM
FREE BRADLEY MANNING Panel Discussion
UC Berkeley's International House, 2299 Piedmont Ave, Berkeley, California
The campaign to save Army Private Bradley Manning, accused WikiLeaks whistle-blower
Bradley Manning, a 24-year-old Army intelligence analyst, faces life in prison for allegedly sharing the "Collateral Murder" video of a US helicopter attack that killed 11 civilians and wounded two children in Baghdad, Iraq with the WikiLeaks website. Bradley has also been charged with blowing the whistle on the "Iraq War Logs", the "Afghan Diaries", the "Gitmo Files", and embarrassing US State Department cables. All of the documents released have added significantly to public knowledge of war crimes, civilian casualties, government corruption, and the over-classification of information. No one has been harmed and the information has helped fuel pro-democratic protests globally. For this, Bradley faces life in prison at a military court martial this spring.
Panelists:
*Daniel Ellsberg Pentagon Papers whistle-blower who helped end the Vietnam War
*US Army Colonel Ann Wright (ret), Diplomat who resigned in protest of the Iraq War
*Ray McGovern, Former CIA analyst
*Jeff Paterson, Bradley Manning Support Network organizer

Suggested donation $10 (no one turned away). A fund pitch for the Bradley Manning Defense Fund will be made during the program by Reverend Billy Talen.

For more information regarding this panel, contact Courage to Resist at 510-488-3559 or courage@riseup.net
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Sunday, April 29, 12:00 Noon - 4:00 PM
Bay Area Walk Against Genocide
Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA
Noon--4pm: Music and Tabling
1--2pm: Program
2--3 pm: Walk
April is Genocide Awareness and Prevention month. Taking part in the 2nd Annual Bay Area Walk Against Genocide is a way for the community to raise awareness about social issues worldwide. The Walk is a way for us to publicly show our concern as well as our support for the victims of genocide. Together, we walk in solidarity and and learn how to initiate effective action to prevent further violence from taking place. This Walk is a way for our voice to be heard, to strengthen our community, to show that we care and to and demonstrate to local, national and international leaders of our committment to social justice.
For more information please visit this website: www.walkagainstgenocide.org

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Ongoing Events