#OccupyCal UCB Chancellor Birgeneau resigns! Let's win all our demands - BAMN mtg Thursday

From: Ronald Cruz
Date: Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Subject: VICTORY: UCB Chancellor Birgeneau resigns! Let's win all our demands - BAMN mtg Thursday
To: Ronald Cruz


Victory for the Movement—Birgeneau Resigns!

Keep Fighting to Win All Our Demands!

BAMN Meeting Thursday (3/15) 7:00 pm, Room 141 Giannini Hall, UCB

 

In a major victory for the new student movement, UC-Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau announced today that he will resign at the end of the year. (BAMN press release below.) This has been one of the top demands of the movement. What we now need to do is fight to realize the other demands of the movement: doubling underrepresented minority student enrollment at UCB, dropping the charges against protesters, and reversing the fee hikes, cuts, and privatization at UCB.

Come to BAMN’s meeting this Thursday. Our proposed agenda is to plan two major initiatives this spring:

A. Direct Action on April 6 to demand (1) the end to the political witch-hunt and that UCB and the District Attorney drop the criminal charges against November 9 protesters and (2) immediate doubling of underrepresented minority student enrollment at UCB for this year’s incoming class.

B. Coordinating a slate for UC-Berkeley student government: the Defend Affirmative Action Party (DAAP). We need leaders in the ASUC who will be the voice of the movement to defend public education and who are committed to building the movement.  Come to Thursday’s meeting and learn more about running and supporting the DAAP slate.

- Yvette Felarca, Northern California coordinator of BAMN (Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, Integration, and Immigrant Rights and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary)

BAMN PRESS RELEASE:

Movement celebrates victory today: UC-Berkeley chancellor forced to resign

Students also demand that Birgeneau withdraw the criminal charges filed against Nov. 9 protesters before he leaves
 
BAMN and other movement activists are celebrating the movement’s victory today forcing the resignation of UCB Chancellor Robert Birgeneau.

At the press conference will be YVETTE FELARCA, the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit brought against UC-Berkeley for police brutality from November 9, BAMN’s Northern California coordinator, and now a defendant facing criminal charges from Birgeneau and the Alameda County District Attorney for being at the November 9 protest.

“The new student movement demanding the preservation of public education and the restoration of affirmative action has won a major victory today,” Felarca said. “Chancellor Birgeneau’s resignation has been one of the top demands of the movement ever since he authorized police to beat me and countless other protesters who were standing up for public education on November 9, 2011. Birgeneau had to go. No chancellor can survive after doing what he did to his own students.”

“Birgeneau’s resignation is a confession that his policies of privatization, police brutality, and prosecutions have been a disaster,” said Monica Smith, BAMN attorney representing many protesters from November 9. “Before he leaves, he needs to withdraw the criminal charges he has brought against November 9 protesters and bring this political witch hunt to an end.”

“This victory is the result of the increased social power that students now have to determine the character of our education and the policies of this society,” said Matt Williams, UC-Berkeley senior and BAMN organizer. “On April 6, 2012, students will take direct action to double underrepresented minority student enrollment for the fall class and demand that all charges stemming from the November 9 protest be withdrawn and dropped—UC-Berkeley is a public university and must be democratically run and opened up to all of California.” 

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this came from the BAMN email announcements list.

#OccupyTheMail #NationalSolidarityCall from #OWS

So we were brainstorming because the United States Postal Service union came up to ask for support and solidarity on March 17th. As you know, March 17th is the 6th anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, so we said that we would stand in solidarity with them but it'll be a busy day...

A few of us got to brainstorming...
What could we do to show solidarity to a huge union that stands in support of us?

The idea:
Get an #Occupy Pen pal!  (Or 2 or 3)
Write a letter!
Send it! 
Write #OccupyWallStreet or #OccupyOakland or #OWS or #OO on the back!

Ideas that we are working on:
Create some kind of preparation kit to give to people who are interested
Include:
Postage stamps (Custom Occupy Stamps, or maybe have a stamp drive to get stamps for interested parties)
Post Cards (Have a postcard drive or custom made Occupy postcards)
A pen + Paper
Possibly an address that we can give to a potential pen pal!
As long as the USPS can tell that it's from Occupy, we feel that it will build great support and community with this particular Union, and since they seem to be very involved with a lot of the communities that they deliver mail to could prove to be a good form of outreach as well. They'll see the occupy name on every letter that is being sent (and we can even add a message like #OO Stand in Solidarity with the USPS or something on the back) So that they know we are doing what we can to support them. 

Imagine if everyone #Occupier was to send out at least one letter per week (or even two to three!) to another #Occupier. What kind of message would that send to the United States Postal Service as a message of solidarity from us to them? 

Launch Date: March 17th

Final Comments on #OOMedia - Bottom Line. SO WHAT?!

Ok fine. I see I have to write a response to this #OOMedia shit even if I don't want to.

Here it is. First of all, I don't even care that much. I'm autonomous media and from an outside perspective it just looks like a bunch of people who stopped getting along had a power struggle and this is what came of it. However, let me touch on a couple more points because after this I'm done and don't want to hear anything else about it. I would RATHER FOCUS ON THE POLITICAL PRISONERS THAT NEED TO BE FREED!

1) The media committee was. Legitimized by the consensus process of GA. That means a group of people came together to ask permission to do shit they could be doing on their own anyway.

2) the GA approved the group and they colaborated to build a site. That site is official because it was put together by the legitimized media group.

3) SOME writers came together and wrote an article weak in the facts department and heavy in the pointing fingers at an individual within the movement. That was wrong. With the gravity of this situation and the accusations being INDIRECTLY made, more research should have been put in AND when the facts were FOUND (more than 1 confirmation of this) those facts that were in opposition of the article were denied/rejected/not published and it was pursued anyway.

Now comes the issue of accountability

Should the individuals who signed it be held accountable? Well if that were an option it might have been employed, however, because some wish to remain anonymous we have no clue who that is.

Why are people defending them rather than saying it was wrong? There has still been no apology. Everyone is attacked who think this was childish and foolish by not the individuals who are known to have written and publish it, but others in the media group. This makes me wonder if you are the anonymous ones.

Also, for all the talk of abuse. It constantly seems that the self proclaimed pacifists are the ones constantly waging rhetorical war on those they do not agree with which is both hypocritical and decidedly more dangerous to the sustainability and growth of the movement. This is people breaking up the movement on their own.

With the "transparency" and openness of Occupy, or at least what Occupy is supposed to be there are several infiltrators, undercover agents etc in our midsts. Guess what? You probably don't know who the hell they are! Stop all this constant fear mongering and fighting.

Imagine what we could be accomplishing if we weren't all biting each others heads off over articles on the Internet while vicious lies are printed all the time anyway.

Did the Bill Of Rights Ever Mean Anything?

There is freedom of speech and right in there is freedom of the press. The press are supposed to be able to film and/or be close enough to record the names of individuals when they are arrested. This being said, I am curious about the individuals wearing press badges, who have self identified as press and been recognized as such and have been arrested covering Occupy Oakland protests. Is this legal when the Constitution protects them being close enough to adequately document the events taking place?

Is it only my opinion that the highest law in the land is the Constitution? The reason I ask this question is because the press is supposed to be able to document so why is it that journalists get charged for things like CA penal code 647c (malicious obstruction of a sidewalk) when standing on the sidewalk filming police activity? Not just journalist but being that the freedom of the press is under the First Amendment granting freedom of speech to the citizens, are they not granted those same rights when documenting even if for their own purposes? This article is particularly disturbing Arresting someone for loitering is trivial and doesn't trump the freedoms granted by the First Amendment. So how is it these laws are being enforced and upheld by the judicial system in the form of stay away orders?

For those of you who think these Constitutional violations have only been occurring with the Occupy Movement, know that they have been happening in the past as well in many other places aside from Oakland. In New York a woman was arrested for filming an officer from her home. That article can be read here Something has to be done before even the facade of a democracy and Civil Liberties fades away. Let's stand up as a people and do what needs to be done to save our rights from our government.

Obama breaks FDA ties with Monsanto - Occupy Goals pursued in Politics?

President Obama appointed former Monsanto vice president and lobbyist Michael Taylor as senior advisor to the Food and Drug Administration commissioner.

This is a classic example of the fox guarding the henhouse. President Obama should isolate the FDA from corporate influence by asking Taylor to step down immediately.

That's why I created a petition to President Obama on SignOn.org. Click here to add your name, and then pass it along to your friends:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=269891&id=35461-20617662-Ou1E0Cx&t=2

The petition says:

President Obama, I oppose your appointment of Michael Taylor, a former VP and lobbyist for Monsanto, the widely criticized genetically modified (GM) food multinational, as senior advisor to the commissioner at the FDA. Taylor is the same person who as a high ranking official at the FDA in the 1990s promoted allowing genetically modified organisms into the U.S. food supply without undergoing a single test to determine their safety or risks. This is a travesty. 

Taylor was in charge of policy for Monsanto's now-discredited GM bovine growth hormone (rBGH), which is opposed by many medical and hospital organizations. It was Michael Taylor who pursued a policy that milk from rBGH-treated cows should not be labeled with disclosures. Michael Taylor and Monsanto do not belong in our government. 

President Obama, Monsanto has been seen as a foe to family-based agriculture, the backbone of America, by introducing dangerous changes to plants and animals and by using strong-arm legal tactics against farmers for decades. Naturally occurring plant and animal species are permanently threatened by the introduction of DNA and hormonal modification, Monsanto's core businesses. 

FDA scientists once regarded genetic modification of the food supply as the single most radical and potentially dangerous threat to public health in history. As early as the 1991, a body of scientific research began to form which now includes articles in over 600 journals. As a whole, these offer scientific evidence that GM foods, hormones, and related pesticides are the root cause for the increase of many serious diseases in the U.S. Since GM foods were introduced, diagnosis of multiple chronic illnesses in the U.S. has skyrocketed. These illnesses include changes in major organs and in hormonal, immune, digestive, and reproductive systems. These modifications to foods and food production may also be contributors to colon, breast, lymphatic, and prostate cancers. 

Experts are discouraged that regulators and GM companies systematically overlook potential side effects of GM. Monsanto's objective to use biotechnology to change the world's food supply is the opposite policy direction your administration should pursue. Your legacy of supporting Monsanto to have free rein in U.S. food policy is a nightmare scenario that is against the interest of all Americans and world citizens.

Will you sign the petition? Click here to add your name, and then pass it along to your friends:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=269891&id=35461-20617662-Ou1E0Cx&t=3

Thanks!

–Frederick Ravid

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@OakTownMike Gives His Position of Streaming Protests!

Our Position on Livestreaming Protest Depends on Our Theory of Social Change
By Michael Siegel (@OaktownMike)
 
I have recently found myself in an online discussion with various people involved in publishing live video footage of Occupy Oakland protests.  At issue is whether it is fair to call a person a police informant or “snitch” if they broadcast footage of protesters committing unlawful acts.
 
Of course, because we are having this conversation over Twitter, and not across a table, the tone of our conversation is regrettably hostile, and probably not productive.  I thank @BellaEiko for inviting us to publish commentary via her blog.
 
Stepping back from our back and forth, and looking at the bigger picture of law enforcement, electronic surveillance, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the prison industrial complex, I realize that the dispute within Occupy Oakland regarding livestreaming is really a proxy for the political divisions that are increasingly emerging within our movement.
 
I would characterize this division as a split between liberals and radicals.
 
The radical position here is a belief that the law is illegitimate, in whole or in part, and that our movement has no interest in exposing our people to police investigation or incarceration.
 
The liberal position requires a certain amount of faith in the law, and a belief that certain lawbreakers within Occupy Oakland (i.e., property vandals or bottle throwers) are properly subject to criminal sanctions.
 
Thus, whereas a radical videographer would decline to film certain conduct by protesters, and would change focus if inadvertent filming occurred, the liberal videographer would continue filming.  The former would believe that there is no good reason to expose anyone to police prosecution.  The latter would assert that each of us chooses whether or not to commit criminal acts, and to the extent that we do so, we are rightly exposed to incarceration.
 
The radical position is founded in a belief the law in the United States is illegitimate, in whole or in part.  From this view, the system is founded upon selective law enforcement, designed to benefit the 1% and a white supremacist ruling class.  The law is corrupt because it began with the genocide of sovereign peoples, because it justified chattel slavery and indentured servitude, and because it applies post-Civil War civil rights laws to provide increasing power for corporations and their elite backers.  The prison system – the ultimate destination for those subject to police enforcement – is a gulag of political prisoners and victims of race and class-based oppression.
 
The liberal position, on the other hand, must begin with a faith in our ability to manipulate the current economic, legal, and political system in a way that is fair.  In this vision, we are a few reforms away from an equitable society; the police are largely performing necessary functions on behalf of the community; and the prison system is largely populated by people who deserve to be there.  The liberal argues that, to the extent that a protester injures an innocent party, the law will give them a just consequence.
 
Now, I say all of this, while favoring a more radical position, but also acknowledging that we have a real issue within the Occupy movement, in the sense that there is not accountability for people who violate community agreements or expose other participants to unwanted criminal sanctions.
 
But to develop accountability as a movement, we need to nurture the bonds of solidarity.  We need to develop common agreements and processes of restorative justice.  We need to develop an organization, or multiple organizations, where we provide each other with mutual aid and support, and also criticism and accountability.
 
Accountability does not involve exposing our people to incarceration or even deoprtation.  The prison-industrial complex rehabilitates almost no one, and instead perpetuates an unjust social order that we, as a movement, have committed to resist.
 
I hope that livestreamers within the Occupy movements will balance ideals of “freedom” and “transparency” with a real appreciation for the consequences of their documentation.  The police agents that watch these streams are directed to pursue a particular agenda – one that has failed to create a safe or equitable society.

A New Perception on #FTP & #BlackBloc within #OccupyOakland

Well, I've been sitting here thinking about the events on Saturday Jan 28th and I can't help but see how there may have been a perception shift within Occupy Oakland and the BlackBloc tactics that have been so controversial in the past. Before we can get into the shift, lets first talk about the original perception.

From what I gather talking with Occupiers and sitting at some general assembilies, there were mixed emotions. Some people were adamantly against the blackbloc tactics while others thought it was a little cool even though they wouldn't do it themselves and of course there were the outright supporters. After the start of FTP (Fuck the Police march held every Saturday night)in response to the violence the Oakland Police Department has subjected the Occupy supporters to during the course of the almost 6 month old protest; the divide in opinions about blackbloc tactics deepened. This happened because of the bottle throwing that made many marchers be kettles by police and then chased several blocks by riot police. I think this divide is organically dissipating.

On Saturday many peaceful protesters who were not necessarily supporters of the blackbloc tactics seem to be more grateful for the shields, vinegar, malox and other defensive supplies that come from the blackbloc tactics as well. I saw the march to move in turn into a FTP march because of the violence that the protesters encountered. I almost think it helped merge the people who were previously split because now some people who have been against some tactics are aware of the fact that they are not against them all. Here may be the organic beginning of a warmer embrace to the diversity of tactics :)

Not that I'm for violence. I'm not, but I'm not a pacifist I do think I have the right to defend myself in the event of severe violence. Especially if it is unjust, like I didn't commit a violent crime deserving of a violent response. I'm sure most feel that exact same way, and the way the march turned into FTP hours before it was scheduled because of what was happening was pretty telling in my opinion. I think this push into acceptance will allow for more a more open minded approach to the decisions made within the movement from this point on.

A good example of preemptive decision making, it seems equally fortunate that the General Assembly decided to move to 19th & Telegraph because there was a statement that almost 100 protesters that were arrested on Saturday are also under a threat of a stay away order. Well. Unfortunately the stay away could be from the entire area of Downtown Oakland. That s a new blog post altogether though so I'm going to move on.

The point that I wanted to make with this blog is that Occupy is a truly inclusive movement. There is room for all types of different autonomous action as long as it has the same goal. When the militarization of the police department is successfully dealt with Occupy Oakland is going to probably look more like Occupy Wall Street, but may be forced to approach it differently than other occupations. There needs to be a discussion about what property damage is, what violence is, and what self defense is.

Once these different conversations get started, I can imagine that many people would start to see how their viewpoints may actually be more similar than they all believe. Making it to where the infighting about FTP and blackbloc tactics will quiet down. They might quiet down because the understanding that self defense is necessary will be understood. Those who are more responsible will understand that there isn't much that you can do about people who want to throw bottles and fruit randomly after being tear gassed or having smoke grenades thrown at them. People will start to understand that the political movement that has corporate greed as a target, might break a window at Bently or Starbucks. Spray paint the City Hall where abusive orders come out of from the Mayors office with obscene messages that are sure to be seen since the heartfelt cries of concerned citizens & Occupiers are ignored at City Council meetings, and through the form of emails and complaints to representatives and the Internal Affairs department of the Oakland Police Department.

Although I understand these tactics, I don't partake in them. I just can understand and without criminalizing those who feel strongly enough for that to be their desired way of protesting. I can understand that some may also feel as if picket signs get ignored because the world is so well adjusted to injustice. Maybe that is a part of the "imagine a new world" scenario. The one in which instead of sitting there like sheep, people are fighting back in any way they can to secure economic justice. To address police misconduct all the way to the abusive department policies and the way rights are infringed upon while protesting against governmental corruption and corporate greed.

Chabot Student Kicked Off Campus for Passing out Flyers - Can't Be Anonymous

Many of you within Occupy Oakland may know Josh who is a student from Chabot College who has been a blessing to Occupy Oakland in many ways over the past few months, from bringing food and clothes to helping many events work and facilitating many rides, and more. Well today, January 19th, Josh was at school in Hayward, CA passing out flyers for an Occupy Oakland action on Jan. 28th.

While passing out the flyers he was approached by campus security (one named Nathan Moore) and told that he could not pass out the flyers without registering with the Office of Student Life first. Upon that time Josh protested having to register because he was already a student at the school who actually pays for classes and he feels as if the 1st Amendment is his right to pass out flyers to those who are interested. When I spoke with Josh he told me he didn't want to pay a fee to hang the flyers up, because to hang flyers that are not associated with a club on campus costs money even if you are a student. Upon doing a little more research with the Office of Student Life I found out that there is no fee to pass out flyers. The interesting part is that they need a copy of my photo ID and the material I'm passing out. I find that disturbing because Occupy is a political movement. Not everyone wants their name and face documented with the movement for fear of the police showing up at their door. At that point, I not only understand but also respect a persons desire to remain anonymous at their discretion.

Knowing that this was very popular on twitter soon after Josh called me, I went to speak with the Director of campus Security at Chabot College, Keith W. Stiver and he said that Josh was told that he could not come back to the campus because of the dispute that he was having with the officers and the fact that he was refusing to go register with the Office of Student Life. I should take the time to say that Josh was standing outside the campus radio station (where he works) and was just passing out the flyers, he wasn't yelling but he was passing them out to people. Mr. Stiver says he welcomes any questions or comments and left me his contact information : 510-723-6663 or you can email him at kstiver@chabotcollege.edu Anyway after being escorted off of campus Josh was then made aware of the fact that he would be contacted by Dean Gerald Shimada (which in my experience he has been a very reasonable man in the past) and he would be arrested by Hayward Police if he returns before that phone call. This is excessive, and didn't happen to me when I was suspended for almost having a more serious event on campus in the past.

Now, while I am not a fan of the way this situation was handled at all, and I do not agree that a student should have to leave a copy of their photo ID to pass out flyers when faculty does not have to. If it is going to be approved to pass out the flyers just tell me the appropriate time and place, this is something Mr. Stiver discussed with me. My thought on this was this is true, because the Supreme Court did give authority to authorize time and place for free speech, but I don't remember any stipulations about recording my identity to access that right. How is it that I can even afford to protest this as a student who is very close to graduating and cant afford to be kicked off of campus or suspended while trying to access my Constitutionally protected rights? This seems really similar to the systematic oppression that Occupy Oakland has been experiencing like the stay away orders from Frank Ogawa Plaza, in front of City Hall where they cannot access their own elected representatives. I'm not blaming the law enforcement here, I am blaming the system that has hired them to protect abusive processes on college campuses.

Do we need tents? I've never put up a tent even though I've spent countless hours every day at Occupy. So I'm not the one to ask that, but every time that conversation comes up there are some who will and some who won't agree with it. So I'm not going to answer that question, I'm going to let my viewers answer that for themselves. However, when asked the question should we reevaluate and protest this process my answer is yes. Hell yes even. Sorry, but my inner activist can't help but declare that I feel like this is some bullshit, and as a people we need to rise up against systematic oppression. However, I also embrace diversity of tactics. There are many ways to protest and reach a goal, and putting tents up in Hayward could solidify more of a working relationship between the Oakland Police Department and Hayward Police Department, which Occupy really does not want to happen. With Berkeley Police Department declaring no more mutual aid to Oakland, and Richmond Police Department seemingly following suit (a little slower but they are on their way) we don't need to make the Oakland Police Department be solidified in any of their now deemed wasteful and abusive practices. I just ask for this to be thought of for whomever is planning actions for Chabot because I know that they are coming and I don't oppose them.

Infighting - Occupy Obstacles

So I have been thinking of what could be a good blog topic this time around and I landed on the idea that the perceived "infighting" is something that needs to be addressed, especially since Occupy Oakland is very much in the public eye.

Much of the communication between people who support Occupy tends to happen in person, over the phone and... yeah you guessed it online. Twitter, Facebook, various blogs (including mine) as well as many other social networking sites like Ustream, Tumbler etc. provide ways to get messages across. One thing that seems to be forgotten from time to time is the fact that the limited space for expressing yourself accurately through the medium of online forums is not always the most effective to get the full scoop. I say this leading up to the fact that misunderstandings and small disagreements can get blown out of proportion. This does not mean that the people who are talking online harbor resentment for each other or any other negative feelings. This is the dialogue that people are continuing to work towards a solution.

It's the same thing as misinterpreting a text message or anything else where a person is not able to assess the tone that is accompanying the message being read. Interpretation on behalf of readers can change the context of what is being said. It is especially true for people who are just following the publicized conversation and aren't aware of contributing circumstances and motivating factors pertaining to the conversation. Many of you who follow my blog also follow my Twitter and YouTube, some of you may even be my personal friends on FaceBook or family members know that this has happened with me as well as many others. However, what is not often publicized is the way everyone comes back together to still work on the same projects to reach their common goals. Just like with any family (Occupy family included) there are going to be misunderstandings coupled with many ups and downs, this will probably continue to be something that happens when protesting against an abusive and oppressive government (it's very stressful work you know). The bond that is constantly being built by the community is only strengthened when people can have disagreements and come back together. This is the bond that also keeps Occupy alive.

Occupy is a very strong and alive movement across the globe, and the bonds that are forged during these hard (and admittedly sometime joyful) times are the bonds that will keep the movement alive in the face of all types of opposition. In my own personal experience, I have developed friendships that have motivated me to not go home when I saw them unjustly arrested. More motivated for fight for them as my friends now than random people in my community. I am more willing to hear their concerns and my wanting to work with them to resolve problems is intensified. I'm sure that this is happening with more than just me and at many more places than just Occupy Oakland. So much so that I now have people in various states and countries that I now communicate with on a consistent basis. We don't agree on everything and sometimes we need to have a debate over core beliefs so that we can work towards a solution. How else are so many people with so many different perspectives and personalities supposed to work things out if they can't first go through the very difficult challenge of overcoming their differences?

This is the reason why I say the infighting shouldn't have so much of a negative response from the people who see it. The only thing that needs to be done is people coming together to mediate, not help blame and take sides and point fingers. This is counter productive. Nobody is perfect, I've been guilty of the very same actions. This is something that we all not only need to be aware of but also actively work towards employing the mediating tactic instead of allowing ourselves to become the house divided. Remember, we are people united and we will not be defeated. Period. The chant doesn't say that we are people united and when I disagree with you we're going to fight and divide.

At the end of the day, fueling the infighting just sabotages the efforts of people who are trying to help the movement sustain, and as long as this is a movement for the people against an abusive, oppressive and corrupt government and corporate greed spread around like a well traveled flu virus we should all do what we can to make the movement not only sustainable but productive and working towards fixing the problems of the community. Since Occupy is not about the top down approach, it makes sense that cities like Oakland are fighting against major issues, but it has to focus on the local structural inherencies that are blocking access to the issues at the "top" that are actively being used to perpetuate the abuses of the current government.

So the fighting about focusing on certain issues needs to stop, saying that Occupy Oakland and Occupy Wall Street are separate needs to stop (Oaklanders came out in support of OWS originally but were met by the militarization of the police department, thus a local issue needs to be fixed before the two can totally merge, but they are a part of each other), diversity of tactics being a problem needs to stop and the conversation about the diversity of tactics being the solution needs to be the more popular one. I'm hoping this blog can help change the perspective of some as my perspective on this has changed, thus the reason for this blog. Like I said to the Oakland City Council last night: Let's all let go of our own personal agendas and truly work towards a solution (paraphrase).