Join us for a teach-in about natural gas drilling – hydraulic fracturing, also called fracking – what it is, the risks it poses to our land, air, and water, and the grassroots organizing taking place against it.   It’s not just an East Coast issue — fracking is currently happening in the Los Alamos and Santa Barbara regions of California.

The teach-in will be facilitated by Alex Lotorto, who is a field organizer with the Energy Justice Network.  He works with impacted communities living in the drilling fields.  He is also part of Occupy Scranton. One of his goals is to build relationships between urban and rural groups around the country, so they can be in solidarity to support one another.

Alex says yes, it’s true — gas drilling has made water so toxic it can be lit on fire , straight from the tap.

Sunday, February 12, 7-9pm

Berkeley Federation of Unitarian Universalists (BFUU)

There’s no wheelchair access for the OB fracking event tonight 7-9 pm w/ Alex Lotoro. The fracking event is next door at 1606 Bonita, thru the gate and to the left upstairs, our apologies for anyone who cannot climb the stairs (you are invited to hear David Cobb instead in the Hall at 1924 Cedar.)

$5 donation requested; no one turned away for lack of funds. Map, directions, and public transportation options can be found here: www.bfuu.org/contact

The same workshop will be offered at Occupy Oakland at 11 am preceding the general assembly, at 19^th and Telegraph.   Call Alex for details or to set up another workshop:  570-269-9589.  He will be in California until February 13.

The Occupy Berkeley General Assembly of Thursday, Feb. 2nd, will take place at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists (BFUU). If you go through the gate on Bonita, the meeting will be downstairs in the back building. Hope to see you there!

BFUU location:

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We will be having GA at Chase bank on Shattuck and Center.  Come join us at 6 PM! Tell your opinion for the next steps. Changes to support a more active and efficient GA process shall be voted on. Come and speak your voice.

This is a reminder that Jan 23rd we are having GA at a special location. Rather than having it at MLK park, we will be having it at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists 1606 Bonita Street.  Come join us at 6 PM!

In the RE Bldg next door to the BFUU Hall through the gate at 1606 Bonita Street just south of Cedar, a bock east of MKL Jr Way up the stairs to the left if stairs are ok for all attendees. Otherwise, in the courtyard under the porch

On Saturday (tomorrow) the 5 Ideas! Bay Area Convergence will take place at Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists (read: inside and out of the rain!) from 10 AM to 6 PM. They are located 1924 Ceder Street in Berkeley.

Occupy Berkeley’s Saturday GA is being cancelled tomorrow as we expect to have many members attending the 5 Ideas convergence. Hope to see you there!

This is just a reminder that tonight we are having GA at a special location. Rather than having it at MLK park, we will be having it at Chase bank on Shattuck and Center.  Come join us at 5 PM for outreach for the ‘Occupy the Courts’ action (which is on Friday) or for the GA at 6 PM!

The following was sent in by Max, a member of Occupy Berkeley, who has been one of the main drivers of the Knit-in series of events. In what follows, she describes the progress they’ve made on that front and the feedback that they’ve received thusfar.

Right about the time I was appreciating the wool hats my kids and I had made and were wearing at camp and in our tent on the chilly nights hitting us in October, I thought that a Knit-in for justice for all at Occupy Berkeley would be a grand idea. 2,500 hundred fliers and a port shutdown later, November 3rd turned out to be a soggy day so the Knit-in was rescheduled for 11/26 and has taken place every Saturday since, right by the farmers market, at the site of the camp, now the dismantled camp site.

We have sent off 3 big boxes of lovely hand-knitted and crocheted hats, scarves, neck cowels and such to Occupy Wall Street in NYC, Tahrir Square, in Cairo, and Fukushima moms who walked days from Fukushima to Tokyo to Occupy in front of Tokyo Electric (TEPCO) with over 5,000 others. They wore our gifts at their end-of-year protest at TEPCO! With so many millions around the world, we are weaving a web of love across land and oceans.

We continue to knit Saturdays with nearly enough, including knitted socks, mittens, and a baby dress, for another box to be sent to another U.S. occupation and we’ll be putting together a box for Syrian protesters, too. People have been touched by this act of solidarity, and we have had lovely times Saturdays getting more people started knitting or crocheting with donated needles and yarn. This is an addiction Occupy Berkeley can support!

People who want to send their handmade items to be added to the boxes can look at the flyer for info on where to send, and in case of inclement weather on a Saturday, you can see if there is an update at 510-895-2312 about another meeting place for that day.

Some responses:

From Ms. Ruiko Muto in Fukushima (the woman who made this speech (press ‘CC’ at the bottom right of the clip if you don’t see the English subtitles at first).

We’d love to receive your warm gifts and thank you for your solidarity. Please make sure to tell our warmest thanks to the people who knitted at the Occupy Berkeley for us and support our action from Berkeley.

And from the person in Cairo who will receive and distribute the things we’ve knitted:

Dear Maxina, I have no words to express my deep appreciation and respect for your amazing initiative. When I first got Crystal’s mail, I just cried; I remember people who lost their eyes, their legs, or their lives, what a wonderful support they would get from your lovely gifts. I’m thinking to distribute them to: -Journalists, at least 2 or 3. -Some of the injured youth, particularly the dentist who lost his eyes. -To young students who will wear them in universities and talk about it. Finally, I will write in my 2-weekly column about such a great project and the honest meaning of solidarity. Of course, the no. of pieces will be the main factor in distributing them, but I will try very hard to send them to the right people. I’m not sure if we can mention it on TV, but I will send it also to my friend who has a weekly column in the Guardian in Britain. I wish the best to the American protesters who are sleeping in very cold weather; I wish the best for each person saying NO against oppression.

You cannot evict an idea whose time has come.

Occupy Berkeley is alive and well, a vibrant community which never has been based only at the park, a rich mix of students, families, longtime activists, folks newly becoming aware and active, those with housing, and those without.

On December 22, police cleared the remaining tents in our encampment after many campers voluntarily left. The reactions within the Occupy Berkeley community cover nearly the whole range of the spectrum.  Some of us have welcomed the eviction, some of us are concerned about the absence of City Council’s input into the decision, and some of us strongly condemn unnecessary brutality of the police during the evictions, including seizing possessions of vulnerable people and arresting a nonviolent medic. We believe that the Occupy movement is big enough to embrace people with such a wide diversity of viewpoints and consider our diversity to be a strength.

We have reached out to Parks and Recreation because we want to help restore the park to its prior condition. The Knit-In at the Sit-In continues Saturdays at noon on the Center Street side of the park. The schedule for Occupy Berkeley General Assemblies is changing – please keep checking here and on Facebook for updates regarding times and locations.  Some protesters are maintaining tents at the park from 10am to 6pm.

We want to thank the many Occupy Berkeley supporters who have donated funds, food, time, goods, and services.  With or without a physical encampment, Occupy Berkeley continues to work toward economic justice and democracy in solidarity with protesters around the world. 

Tomorrow the Occupy movement will perform its largest coordinated strike to date against the 1% – the West Coast Port Shutdown. Occupy movements all along the west coast of the U.S. will be shutting down their respective ports, Occupy movements in Texas will be collectively demonstrating at the Port of Houston, Occupy Denver will shut down a Wal-Mart distribution center, and Japanese rail workers will be protesting Itochu, a Japanese firm which is a partner with EGT, which has been in a longstanding dispute with the Longshoremen in Longview, WA. Negotiations between the Longshoremen and EGT broke down when EGT demanded that the Longshoremen work 12-hour shifts without overtime pay.

The Dec. 12th action is not simply an action in solidarity with the struggle for workers to negotiate for fair pay for a hard day’s work. It’s also a strike back at the attacks on Occupy and peaceful protesters around the country. It shows the 1% that the 99% are serious about social, economic, and political change. The 1% would prefer that this contest be decided purely at the ballot box, because there they have a distinct advantage. It has been shown that electoral contests are decided (with between 85-94% probability, depending on the office) by the candidate which raises the most money.  The Citizens United Supreme Court decision opens the flood gates and allows money to dominate the political process. Instead of counting votes, it’s about about counting dollars. Direct actions like the Port Shutdown sidestep this issue and take the struggle to the streets, largely bypassing the advantages of concentrated wealth. The disruption of economic activity, of ‘business as usual’,  reduces the profits of the 1%. At some level of profit loss, they will be forced to conclude that it is simply cheaper to pay their fair share of taxes.

See below and the West Coast Port Shutdown site for more details on the historic events of tomorrow. Hope to see you in the streets! (Spoiler: It’s going to be hella fun).

Occupied Oakland Tribune: occupiedoaktrib.org/2011/12/08/12-reasons-to-shut-down-the-port-of-oakland-on-december-12/
Salon article: www.salon.com/2011/12/09/occupy_vs_big_labor/

Join us this weekend for Knit-In at the Sit-In #4! This week we’ll be sorting through all the donated items and prepare them to be shipped to the receiving Occupations!

Also, the World Harmony Chorus will be doing a free performance at the Berkeley Farmer’s Market (right next to the encampment) from 1-1:30 PM. Around 1:30 they will stroll over to the encampment and will sing We are the Many by Makana (see song here). They will then sing If you Knew (lyrics). Please come and sing along!