Good Morning from Occupy Boston!
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Stories of the Day: University of California police arrested nine people Monday morning in a raid designed to end the occupation of the Gill Tract (Occupy the Farm) and allow the university to begin research preparations this week, officials said. One young man, who appears to be in his late teens or early 20s, remained on the property as of 9:44 a.m. about 15 feet up in a tree, said University of California spokesman Dan Mogulof. Authorities were in communication with him, and he didn’t appear to have any gear or supplies. Urban farming activists took over the university-owned field three weeks ago to plant crops and advocate for a publicly-accessible community farm on the land. The Gill Tract has historically been used for scientific research, but has long been eyed by urban farming advocates as a prime location for a community farm. For the story, see Nine Arrested After Early-Morning Raid. And Indonesia became the first country to suspend imports of U.S. beef following the discovery of an American dairy cow infected with mad cow disease. “We will lift the ban as soon as the U.S. can assure us its dairy cows are free of mad cow disease,” said Indonesia’s Vice Agriculture Minister Rusman Heriawan. For more, see Indonesia Halts U.S. Beef Imports Over Mad Cow Concern. And Several Minnesota moms who facilitate access to local farm food are planning to act despite the risk of criminal charges laid out in warnings from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA). The MDA has threatened several of them, and has already conducted investigations against them. The letters warn that if they continue helping provide fresh food to their friends and neighbors, the MDA will press criminal charges and prosecute. The MDA holds that the mothers are violating food-handling regulations. Here, Melinda Olsen discusses the ordeal in detail – she only helps the farmer for free by storing goods in her garage for others. No commerce. Yet, she is ominously threatened by MDA for food crimes. For more, see Fresh Food Moms Threatened with Criminal Charges Scheduled to Disobey. And genetic engineering is a threat to food security, especially in a changing climate. The introduction of genetically manipulated organisms by choice or by accident grossly undermines sustainable agriculture and in so doing, severely limits the choice of food we can eat. Once GE/GMO plants are released into the environment, they are out of control. If anything goes wrong – they are impossible to recall. GE contamination threatens biodiversity respected as the global heritage of humankind, and one of our world’s fundamental keys to survival. For a short informative video from Greenpeace on the risks of GE/GMO foods, click here. In other news, the FBI is quietly pushing its plan to force surveillance backdoors on social networks, VoIP, and Web e-mail providers, and that the bureau is asking Internet companies not to oppose a law making those backdoors mandatory. For more, see Backdoors for Government Surveillance. And here’s an ugly story: Gun range targets meant to resemble dead Florida teen Trayvon Martin are offensive enough. But what’s more disturbing is that the Florida entrepreneur’s distributor reportedly sold out his entire stock in two days. The seller says he ‘wanted to make money’ off of Martin’s controversial shooting by George Zimmerman. For more, see Man Sells Out of Trayvon Martin Targets. After that, here’s a bit of inspiration: my friend Venus Cumara performing her powerful poem Occupy Your Heart, Reclaim Love for Occupy London. For the video, click here.
Other Occupies/Protests: From Occupy Wall Street: Anti ACTA, SOPA, PIPA, CCI, CISPA, MPAA, RIAA, MPA, ARAA, internet ID, censorship protest June 9, 2012. Occupy Wall Street, Liberty Plaza, New York, NY 10006. NATIONWIDE, CALLING ALL OCCUPIERS!!!! Knowledge should be free. This is a serious threat to education of people lower on the caste system. It will damage opportunity for all greatly. It also promotes monopoly and greed within governance as well as control of the people. This protest is to take place on the same date as a similar protest taking place in Paris France. MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD. SUPPORT FAIR USE AND EDUCATION! Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/287232521354857.
- Ideas WG Discussion – OB in 3 – 6 months, Wednesday, May 16, 7pm-9pm, in Copley Square. Across the street from Community Church of Boston. Tonight’s Ideas meeting will be another edition in our series of difficult conversations about difficult topics. We’ll tackle the question “Where would you like to see Occupy Boston go in the next three to six months, and how can we get there?” This will be a continuation of the discussion started here: http://wiki.occupyboston.org/w
iki/Ideas_Working_Group_-_OB_i n_3–6_Months_-_2_May_2012 - Join the Green Justice Coalition as we launch our new statewide campaign! Public Transit–Public Good: Riders, Workers, and Communities United for Transit Justice. Join us to protect transit systems across the state.WHAT: Press Conference & Speak Out to announce launch of the GJC Transit Justice CampaignWHEN: Wednesday, May 16th @ 11 AMWHERE: Statehouse Steps, BostonOur public transit system is in crisis. The current funding scheme fails the system. Transit agencies plan to raise fares and cut service. Riders, workers, and communities are under attack. Stand up! Fight back! Tell the Legislature, the Governor and MassDOT it’s time to fix it, fund it, and make it fair.Riders and workers from across the State — Boston, Springfield, Fall River, and New Bedford — will gather to launch the Green Justice Coalition’s campaign, Public Transit/Public Good. Leaders will speak out FOR fair short-term fixes and meaningful long-term solutions and AGAINST regressive proposals across the state to hike fares and cut transit service. Street theater will highlight the impacts of inadequate transit funding and service on our communities.Alliance to Develop Power • Alternatives for Community and Environment/T Riders Union • Amalgamated Transit Union Locals 174, 448, 589 (Carmen’s), 1037 • Bus Riders Union • Coalition Against Poverty/Coalition for Social Justice • Community Labor United • Greater Four Corners Action Coalition • Massachusetts Senior Action Council • On the Move* Massachusetts Communities Action Network
- May 17 – nationally recognized transgender activist and member of Occupy Boston Gunner Scott will be honored with The Theater Offensive’s Out on the Edge award. As Executive Director of the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition, Scott led the battle for passage of the Massachusetts Transgender Equal Rights Bill in November. The Transgender Equal Rights Bill, also known as An Act Relative to Gender Identity, makes it illegal to discriminate on the basis of gender identity in the areas of employment, housing, public education and credit & lending.Who: Transgender activist Gunner Scott. What: The Theater Offensive honors Scott with Out on the Edge award. When: Thursday, May 17 @ 6:30 pm. Where: Hibernian Hall (184 Dudley St, Roxbury). Open to the Public: Yes (with ticket purchase)
- Please join the “Decolonize to Liberate” Working Group of Occupy Boston for a special screening and discussion of a newly-released groundbreaking film, “2012: La Palabra Maya (the Mayan Word).” Hear the voices of the Mayan people as they share their perspectives on the prophecies of their ancestors and their fight to defend Mother Earth and their culture from destruction. Friday, May 18th, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
First Parish (UU) Church in Harvard Sq.
3 Church Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
As with all Decolonize/Occupy events, this is FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC! “2012: The Mayan Word” is both a message of hope and a call to action. Featuring testimonies from contemporary Mayans throughout Mesoamerica, from spiritual guides to activists, community leaders, farmers, artists, teachers, and children, this film is an extraordinary journey into the heart of Mayan struggle and spirituality.Watch the Trailer, here http://youtu.be/11KdG4z5FuY
You can also watch the entire film for free, here http://youtu.be/UwvpsVsawMg The film (64 Minutes) will be followed by discussion with special guests, including Carlos Aceves (via Skype), author of “Nine Seasons: Beyond 2012” and other in-person guests To Be Announced. Attendees will also learn how they can join with Cambridge-based non-profit Cultural Survival (cs.org) to help legalize community radio in Guatemala. Organizers are performing outreach to invite members from local Mayan and Mexican/Guatemalan communities, and are planning to arrange for adequate translation. If you can help with either of these efforts, please contact decolonizeboston@gmail.com. - Information on Occupy the G8 May 18-19: October2011/OccupyWashingtonDC.org has organized an Occupy G8 People’s Summit that will examine how to build a sustainable, democratized economy from the bottom up; the impact of the wealth divide on people’s well-being and on policy creation; and alternative economic structures that create a more democratic, sustainable economy. The event, which will be held in the Frederick Public Library from 10 to 2 on Friday, May 18th will feature the voices of the 99% along with experts on the Robin Hood Tax, food, water and energy issues, trade agreements, the wealth divide and a democratized economy. You can see the full schedule and details on the website of our partner organization, Its Our Economy. Occupy Frederick is organizing events in Frederick, Maryland, fifteen minutes from Camp David. After the Summit people will march through downtown Frederick and will hold a “Counter-G8 Community Bloc Party” on Saturday, May 19th from 11 AM to 9 PM in Baker Park (band shell side) near 2nd and N. Bentz. The event is inclusive of all ages for radicals and residents alike and will include live music, workshops, speakers, face painting and a truly free market. You can see the details here. Occupy Baltimore is organizing legal, non-violent protests on the public sidewalks in Thurmont, MD, on Friday and Saturday (May 18th and 19th) from 8 AM until sundown on both days. People are urged to bring signs, banners, folding chairs, food and drink. Overnight camping is available nearby. Thurmont is located just a few minutes from Camp David off of Route 15. You can get details here. For more information, see Occupy the G8.
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OCCUPY CONSCIOUSNESS
Mészáros’s Toolbox
10am, Saturday, May 19
The Community Room at the Harvest Co-operative
(in the very back and up the stairs to the left)
581 Mass Avenue
Central Square
Cambridge, MASpeakers:
Irv Kurki, coordinator for essential discussions of advanced theory, on “Capital’s (Dis)organizing Systems and the Socialist Alternatives”Doug Enaa Greene, member of the Kasama Project and an activist at Occupy Boston, on “Critiquing Capital from Capital’s Viewpoint: Meszaros’s Critique of Sartre and the Occupy Movement”
Sponsored by Monthly Review. RSVP at 1-617-731-8725 or ikurki2@verizon.net. http://monthlyreview.org/
press/news/public-lecture-on- istvan-meszaros-boston-may-19/ - Shut Down Pilgrim Now! May 20, 1pm-2pm. Groups of concerned citizens from across New England will gather in Plymouth to demand that the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Reactor 40 year license expire. The General Electric Mark 1 Boiling Water Reactor is the same design that failed in Japan. Loss of electricity was an activating factor and, according to NRC officials, could happen here. The nuclear waste spent fuel pool was designed to hold 880 highly radioactive rods and currently holds 3,270. The aging reactor is susceptible to embrittlement with inherent problems. The terrible disaster of Fukushima has mobilized citizens to come out in the streets to demand the shut down of Pilgrim. We will march to Entergy Co. and deliver a citizen’s petition to cease and desist putting our lives and our beautiful environment at risk and call for the shut down of Pilgrim now.
- Sponsored by the Howard Zinn Memorial Lecture Series: Book launch for Truth and Revolution by Michael Staudenmaier. May 22 at 6 pm at Encuentro 5, 33 Harrison Ave, Boston. Michael Staudenmaier speaks on the Sojourner Truth Organization/STO. STO was Founded in Chicago in 1969 from the rubble of the recently crumbled SDS, the Sojourner Truth Organization (STO) brought working-class consciousness to the forefront of New Left discourse, sending radicals back into the factories and thinking through the integration of radical politics into everyday realities. Through the influence of founding members like Noel Ignatiev and Don Hamerquist, STO took a Marxist approach to the question of race and revolution, exploring the notion of “white skin privilege,” and helping to lay the groundwork for the discipline of critical race studies. Michael Staudenmaier is a doctoral candidate in history at the University of Illinois.
- Planning the Next Occupation: June 1, 7pm-11pm, Parkman Bandstand on the Boston Common. We call on every supporter (past and present) to come to this popular assembly. We ask that you help be the change we all want to see in this world. We ask you to come ,and share YOUR VOICE as occupy begins it’s next step towards SOCIAL JUSTICE! Oh and bring a tent 😉 (who knows what we all will together decide!)
- June 2, 2012: Occupy the Judge Rotenberg Center Peaceful Protest. Occupy the JRC is a coalition of cross disability activists and allies who are determined to get the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, Massachusetts closed down, or at the very least force them to stop using electric shocks, restraints, and aversives on the students who are sent there. For those who may not know, the Judge Rotenberg Center (JRC) is a “school of last resort” for children with developmental disabilities (many of their students are Autistic) or other difficulties which eschews the use of psychiatric medications in favor of physical restraints and aversives, including the use of two-second skin shocks. Speakers: Senator Brian A. Joyce, Kat Whitehead (Community Alliance for the Ethical Treatment of Youth), Dan Fisher (National Empowerment Center), Ari Ne’eman (Autistic Self Advocacy Network), Laurie Ahern (Disability Rights International), Daniel Hazen (Voices of the Heart), Joseph Sitinbull (Helping Others to Promote Equality) and more! For more information, contact: Daniel@ (518) 932-3137. info@occupyjrc.org and see http://www.occupyjrc.org.
- Anti ACTA, SOPA, PIPA, CCI, CISPA, MPAA, RIAA, MPA, ARAA, internet ID, censorship protest June 9, 2012.
Occupy Wall StreetLiberty Plaza, New York, NY 10006
NATIONWIDE, CALLING ALL OCCUPIERS!!!! Knowledge should be free. This is a serious threat to education of people lower on the caste system. It will damage opportunity for all greatly. It also promotes monopoly and greed within governance as well as control of the people. This protest is to take place on the same date as a similar protest taking place in Paris France. MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD. SUPPORT FAIR USE AND EDUCATION! Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/287232521354857
- From Occupy Wall Street: September 17, 2012, The People’s Picket on Wall Street, 7am-10am. We will form a massive moving picket line on our one-year anniversary, and continue the conversation we started One year prior with boots on the ground. People from all over the world get ready to shut it down.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Event Highlight:
4pm – 5:30pm, Nonviolence WG meeting, at Clear Conscience Cafe (3C), Central Square, 581 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139
Calendar for Tuesday, May 15, 2012
1pm – 2pm Occupy Harvard Think Tank, Dudley House Cafe (no ID required), Harvard Yard, Cambridge, Cafeteria entrance is at the TOP of the stairs.
Please note! Meetings and their locations are subject to change. We encourage you to check the Occupy Boston Calendar for the most up-to-date information. There are events scheduled all day for the May 1 General Strike and regularly scheduled events may not be held.
Volunteer Opportunities/Announcements:
1) FREE BUS TRIP TO CHICAGO FOR NATO SUMMIT: 99% Solidarity, a Working Group of Occupy Wall Street, is excited to participate in nonviolent direct actions in Chicago from May 18 to 22, 2012. We have secured buses to bring people to these actions from several U.S cities. So far, there are buses leaving from the following cities: New York City; Washington, D.C.; Boston, MA; Providence, RI; Burlington, VT; Salem, NH; Philadelphia, PA; Atlanta, GA; Oakland, CA; Los Angeles, CA; San Francisco, CA; Portland, OR.
– The Bus trip is free
– 50 people from each city must sign up and board the bus for the trip take place. If a city has less then 50 sign ups, then we may have to cancel the bus for that city.
– Meals will be provided on board the bus to and from Chicago
– We are working on housing and meals while in Chicago
There are several direct actions and events that we will participate in while in Chicago including:
– May 18 – The People’s Summit
– May 19 – the 99% Solidarity People’s Convention
– May 20 – CANG8 rally and march.
Please visit 99solidarity.net often to get the most up to date information and be sure to invite your friends and fellow occupiers to join you on this exciting, historic trip. In addition, please follow us on Facebook and Twitter: @99solidarity. http://
2) WANTED – PHOTOS AND SHORT VIDEOS OF OCCUPY BOSTON FOR EXHIBITION IN GERMANY! DEADLINE MAY 19. During late June and July, 2012, the German-American cultural institution in Freiburg, Germany (Carl-Schurz-Haus, deutsch-amerikanisches institut Freiburg) will be sponsoring a group exhibition of photos and short videos entitled Occupy Wall Street/Occupy Boston. It will focus on events in Boston. Anyone with good photos or short videos is encouraged to send their work in digital form. Exhibition space will be limited; the goal will be to present a collection of visuals that give a wide range of positive viewpoints about Occupy Boston. Photos will be printed and framed in Germany. An exhibition catalogue will be produced to accompany the show.
PLEASE SEND to Boston P.O. Box listed below:
Digital files of up to 10 photos (color or b&w) sent on disc or stick.
Digital files of short videos (5 minutes or less) on disc or stick.
ALSO PLEASE SEND as text file:
1) Your name, contact info, and email address.
2) A short bio or a note about your Occupy participation, 50 words or less.
3) A photo title or sentence in English to appear as caption next to the photo. The caption will be shown in English, and also will be translated into German.
4) Any copyright info that should appear in the catalogue
It is hoped that this exhibition concept and catalogue design might easily be used for other Occupy exhibitions about other cities, by other people.
Photos can show any aspects of Occupy Boston.
Short videos can be interviews of people at Occupy, visuals of poets reading their Haiku poems, videos of speakers at Occupy, assembly meetings, or any other documentation that would round out a presentation about Occupy Boston.
Send visuals directly to this address:
Woods c/o Evans
Occupy Boston Exhibition
PO Box 505718Chelsea Mass 02150If you want the disc sent back to you afterwards, please include a self-addressed, stamped mailer. (Sorry. There are no funds for return mail.)Firm deadline for receipt of materials: May 19, 2012.
Any questions, please contact curator, Bonnie Woods at woods_bonnie@hotmail.comPlease do not send any visuals to the email address or to address in Germany! Use PO Box only.
3) Issue 7 of the Boston Occupier is out now, and we need your help distributing!!
We rely exclusively on YOU, the broader Occupy community, to get our papers out there to the 99%. So…
** We would love for you to join one of our planned outreach/distribution efforts on the T.
** ANYTIME you’re going to a progressive or Occupy-related event, try to pass out papers. These are the most effective occasions to connect sympathetic readers to our paper. Copies of the issue are stored in the OB cubicle at E5, so PLEASE remember to grab a stack.
** Get them to readers in your community. We recommend small stacks in small stacks in cafes, libraries, bookshops, laundr0mats, community centers, waiting rooms, campuses, etc. Be creative!! But we’ve found that the BEST way to get papers to readers is to hand them out face to face, combining outreach and distribution.
** If you are a part of another local-area Occupy movement, a union, or a community organization that is willing to distribute papers — let’s make it happen! You can just come by E5 (between 9 am and 7 pm most days) and grab a stack, or coordinate with us if you’re not able to do so. Send questions or suggestions about distribution to Julie O (juliettejulianna@gmail.com).
** We’re also trying to raise funds so that we can continue printing the stories of the 99%! To that end, we’ve started a subscription service. Read about it online here. I hope you’ll encourage those you know to subscribe to the paper as well!!
As always, we welcome questions, suggestions, and distribution ideas — send to juliettejulianna@gmail.com.
4) GA locations:
The following proposal passed the General Assembly of Occupy Boston on April 17, 2012:
Facilitation Working Group proposes the following changes to the current General Assembly schedule:
- Tuesdays: We propose that, effective May 1st, all Tuesday GAs be held outside. We propose the Boston Common as a temporary location with the idea that location may change in the future. We will give Arlington Street Church notice that our last night using ASC space will be April 24, 2012.
- Thursdays: We have ended our relationship with Emmanuel Church and therefore propose that all Thursday GAs be held outside effective April 19, 2012, at the Boston Common as a temporary location with the idea that location may change in the future.
- Saturday: We propose to continue to hold GA at Community Church of Boston on Saturdays in order to ensure that at least one GA per week is held indoors. FWG is in the process of asking CCB whether it would have space available on Tuesdays. If so we would ask the GA to decide whether that one GA indoors should be on Tuesday or Saturday.
- Community Gatherings will remain on Mondays and effective May 14, 2012, will be held at CCB.
This schedule is subject to review by the GA at any time.
Amendments:
- FWG will seek access to the web banner and text service to ensure that any change in GA location or time will be widely communicated.
To join the Occupy Boston Community Forum email list, a general discussion list, click here! For a partial listing of Working Groups looking for volunteers, please click here! For a list of Working Groups with contact info, click here! For more information on Occupy Boston’s General Assembly, including passed resolutions, click here! And if you’re interested in learning more about Occupy Boston and how you can participate, click here! For contact info for other Occupies in the area, click here!
Contact Us: Want to subscribe to the Daily Digest? Click here to have it sent to your email inbox every morning! All Working Groups or Occupy Boston events that need placement in the Daily Digest, please email AnnaC@OccupyBoston.org. To request that something be added to the Occupy Boston calendar, use the form on the website https://www.occupyboston.org/