The minutes for our Saturday, October 15 evening General Assembly (GA) can be found here. The minutes for other GAs are on our wikispaces page, to which post minutes for most of our GAs.
Archive: 2011
The entire Occupy Chicago camp and a contingent of Occupy Wall Street protesters who are currently occupying Washington Square Park are both facing imminent eviction by police. Please check out their livestreams here and here and their Twitter feeds here and here. We stand in solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Chicago and New York, as they have stood with us. We are the 99%, united.
On October 15th, 2011, Occupy Boston’s General Assembly reached consensus on the following proposal :
Each Working Group (WG) may request up to $100 a week (defined as Monday through Sunday) from the Finance Accountability Work Group (FAWG) for purchases of items not available through in-kind donations without going through the General Assembly. For amounts over $100, an Individual or a Working Group must make a proposal directly to GA.
Working Groups need to first register with FAWG in order to receive funds. The WG fills out a form identifying two or three point people who are selected by that workgroup to make requests for funds on the workgroups’ behalf.
To request funds from FAWG, the requesting WG obtains the request for funds form at the Logistics tent. This form requires details on the items requested, planned place of purchase, and cost of each item. (This advance research of the items to be purchased helps ensure that the $100 limit is not exceeded.) FAWG is open to disburse funds, onsite, daily, from 12:00 to 3:00 PM.
The WG first submits a request form is to Logistics WG, which will try to provide the items requested from its existing stock. If not immediately available, Logistics WG will endeavor to get the same items or reasonable substitutes donated in the next day or two.
If Logistics WG has signed off on items they cannot get donated and must be purchased, the WG brings the form to a FAWG representative during disbursement hours. Initially disbursement will take place each day from noon to 3:00, currently at the Logistics tent
Receipts and change must be returned to the disbursement representative the next day or that workgroup representative loses their ability to receive disbursements.
Governor Deval Patrick stopped by the Dewey Sq. Occupy Boston site this morning for a tour, during which he spoke with occupiers and protesters. He was met with hugs, cheers and handshakes as he wandered the tent city, although his visit wasn’t without what the Boston Globe called “jeers” and shouts.
According to WCVB Channel 5, “The governor said he wasn’t trying to convey a message with the appearance at the Dewey Square protest location on Saturday, just have better understand of what’s happening.”
Occupiers said it seemed like the governor learned a lot and seemed impressed with the camp’s logistical setup. “There are people here representing the hard left, the hard right, and everything in between,” Patrick said.
The Boston Phoenix and the Boston Globe have more pictures of Gov. Patrick, dressed casually and drinking a cup of coffee.
This statement was ratified and accepted by the Boston General Assembly on Oct. 13 2011.
On 15th October 2011, united in our diversity, united for global change, we demand global democracy: global governance by the people, for the people. Inspired by our sisters and brothers in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Bahrain, New York, Palestine-Israel, Spain and Greece, we too call for a regime change: a global regime change. In the words of Vandana Shiva, the Indian activist, today we demand replacing the G8 with the whole of humanity – the G 7,000,000,000.
Undemocratic international institutions are our global Mubarak, our global Assad, our global Gaddafi. These include: the IMF, the WTO, global markets, multinational banks, the G8G20, the European Central Bank and the UN Security Council. Like Mubarak and Assad, these institutions must not be allowed to run people’s lives without their consent. We are all born equal, rich or poor, woman or man. Every African and Asian is equal to every European and American. Our global institutions must reflect this, or be overturned.
Today, more than ever before, global forces shape people’s lives. Our jobs, health, housing, education and pensions are controlled by global banks, markets, tax-havens, corporations and financial crises. Our environment is being destroyed by pollution in other continents. Our safety is determined by international wars and international trade in arms, drugs and natural resources. We are losing control over our lives. This must stop. This will stop. The citizens of the world must get control over the decisions that influence them in all levels – from global to local. That is global democracy. That is what we demand today.
Today, like the Mexican Zapatistas, we say “¡Ya basta! Aquí el pueblo manda y el gobierno obedece”: Enough! Here the people command and global institutions obey! Like the Spanish Tomalaplaza we say “Democracia Real Ya”: True global democracy now!” Today we call the citizens of the world: let us globalise Tahrir Square! Let us globalise Puerta del Sol!
Follow it on Facebook from October 14th: http://www.facebook.com/pages/United-for-Global-Democracy/281998261825102
Discuss it on Twitter with the hashtag #globaldemocracy
Endorsements
Noam Chomsky
Vandana Shiva
Eduardo Galeano
Michael Hardt
Naomi Klein
Tim Gee
Nicola Vallinoto- Council member of the World Federalist Movement
ATTAC Spain
ATTAC France
Egality London
Egality Berlin
War on Want – London
Globalise Resistance – London
Uncut UK
Uncut Italy
DRY International
Gaia Foundation
Democracia Real – Argentina
General Assembly Puerta del Sol – Madrid
General Assembly London
General Assembly Buenos Aires
General Assembly Sao Paulo
General Assembly Manchester