Good Morning from Occupy Boston!

Stories of the Day: Even death isn’t an excuse not to pay your student loans: when Christopher Bryski, a Rutgers University undergraduate student, died from a traumatic brain injury in 2006, his family wasn’t thinking about his student loans. That is, not until KeyBank, a Cleveland-based institution with nearly $90 billion in assets, asked his parents to assume responsibility for his debt. For more, click here. And in another example of aggressive debt collector tactics, an Illinois woman found herelf jailed over a bill she didn’t even owe in the first place. Breast cancer survivor Lisa Lindsay of Herrin, Illinois was put in debtors’ prison over a $280 medical bill that was sent to her by accident. And here I thought Debtor’s Prison was only continued to exist in Dickens novels… See story here. And in protest news: a group of older and disabled public transportation riders interrupted the Massachusetts House’s budget deliberations Tuesday, leading court officers to temporarily shut down the public’s access to the House chambers. The protesters were escorted out of the public gallery on the fourth floor of the Massachusetts Statehouse while chanting “the riders united will never be defeated” and “they say cut back, we say fight back.” For the story, click here. And an Occupy Wall Street protester describes her first arrest.

Other Occupies/Protests: UC police used a megaphone late Tuesday to tell the several dozen urban-farm activists who’ve been occupying the UC-owned Gill Tract in Albany for three days that they are trespassing and face arrest and fines if they don’t leave. The group hopes to create an ongoing, sustainable farm at the site that can serve as both an educational resource and source of “fresh, healthy food” and to protest plans to pave over the land for a parking lot and a Whole Foods. UC cut off the water supply Monday. In a related development, UC officials at the last minute pulled their proposal for a Whole Foods market and senior housing at University Village (the UC student housing complex next to the Gill Tract) from the Tuesday night agenda of the Albany Planning & Zoning Commission, Albany Patch reported. For more, click here. Later that night, the Dean of Natural Resources paid a second visit to the Albany lot where protesters have set up tents and begun cultivating vegetables. A university spokesperson says Cal hopes to reach a peaceful resolution to the protest. For more, click here. Hundreds of protesters affiliated with the “99 Percent Spring” movement disrupted the start of General Electric Co’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Detroit on Wednesday, in an attack on the largest U.S. conglomerate’s low tax rate. For the story, click here.

Upcoming Events:

• MA Unite Against the War on Women Rally, April 28, 10am-2pm, at City Hall Plaza. Help defend women’s rights and pursuit of equality. Join Americans all across the United States as we come together as one to tell members of Congress in Washington DC and legislators in all 50 states, “Enough is enough!” All Americans have the right to make decisions about their own bodies, including contraception, without interference from government, business or religious institutions. Please join us as we gather together and show both state and federal legislative bodies that we won’t stand silently by as they propose and pass laws that will impact women’s choices, health, and wellbeing. We need everyone’s voice! These decisions affect all genders, races, and socio-economic statuses! Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/206965382738915/
• On April 28, 2012 from 5pm to 10pm, artists from Occupy Boston will host a gathering with artist and cultural provocateur Steve Lambert. Taking place at Samsøn (450 Harrison Avenue), this event will be an opportunity for Lambert and the greater Occupy community to connect over questions of messaging, humor, culture jamming, and creative activism as the movement heads into the coming seasons. Following the discussion, we will screen the film The Yes Men Fix the World.
• Rally for the Guards at “Art in Bloom”
  SATURDAY, April 28, 11:30AM-2PM
  In front of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Huntington side)
  465 Huntington Ave, Boston MA
  (Green Line E to Museum of Fine Arts; Orange Line to Ruggles)
  RSVP on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/275860625840007/ The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is seriously considering OUTSOURCING their guard union. Some have been working there for as many as 30 years. They would lose their status as museum employees and would be forced to apply for their jobs to an outside contractor with a bad reputation withtheir workers. (IF they get re-hired) The museum would have non-union workers doing their union jobs! Let’s give the top 1% our 100% effort in stopping these attacks!  ****This is “THE ART IN BLOOM RALLY” and is a big event for the MFA. Many galleries are fitted with flower arrangements to complement a specific piece of art. This draws thousands in three days. Their next very important negotiations are the first week of May.**** GET INVOLVED WITH THE SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE: Next meeting Sunday, April 29, 5:30pm, Food Court at the Marino Center, Northeastern University, Forsyth St & Huntington Ave, Boston MA. (Green Line E to Northeastern; Orange Line to Ruggles). For more information about any of these events, email misu-solidarity-owner@yahoogroups.com.
• May 1st Training with Occupy Boston: Sunday, April 29, 12pm-3pm, location TBA (see Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/396045130426024/). Gearing up for May 1st? Want to feel more prepared? Join Occupy Boston as we get ready for the General Strike! Direct Action and the Medics will be providing basic training this Sunday in preparation for Tuesday’s General Strike! There will be plenty of fun activities as well as training in basic safety procedures. Join us!
• Boston New Sanctuary Movement Presents A Return to A Faithful Understanding, An Interfaith Conference: Toward a More Compassionate National Debate on Immigration, Sunday, April 29, 2012, 12:30 – 5 p.m.  (12-1, lunch provided by Brazilian Immigrant Center), Church of the Covenant, 67 Newbury St., Boston, MAWorship leader:  Rev. Rob Mark, Pastor, Church of the Covenant, Boston, Presbyterian/UCCSpeakers, Reflection leaders:  Members of the Boston New Sanctuary Movement. Schedule: 12:30  Registration; 1:00 Welcome, opening reflection; 1:15  Current Immigration issues in Boston, and the Boston New Sanctuary Movement; 1:40 Workshops, period I; 3:10 Workshops, period II; 4:40 Closing reflection; 5:00    Networking. 
• Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day, Sunday, April 29, 10am – Monday, April 30, 12am. Where: Lots, medians, privatized public land, unpleasant public land. May 1 is International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day — people all over the world will be sowing seeds of optimism and planting sunflower seeds. It’s about occupying our city and promoting gardening, public space, food and habitats for all the human and non-humans who share the Boston ecosystem. Let’s plant 1,000 seeds!
• May 1 General Strike! A Day Without the 99%. NO WORK – NO SCHOOL – NO SHOPPING – NO BANKING – NO TRADING. GENERAL STRIKE AND BOYCOTT CALLED! 7am-11am: Financial District Block Party! (corner of Federal and Franklin Streets). Bring a friend and let’s party! Bring whistles, drums, noise makers. Bring street theater ! 12:00pm: Boston City Hall Rally. Can’t make it to Boston City Hall at Noon? Well how about: The Chelsea City Hall? – Gather at Noon – March at 2pm (For More information please contact La Colaborativa (617) 889-6097). 2pm: LoPresti Park Rally/March (Blue Line: Maverick Square) (For more information contact Dominic at City life/Vida Urbana (617) 710-7176). 4pm: Everett – Glendale Park (For more information please contact La Comunidad (617) 387-9996). 7pm: Death of Capitalism Boston Funeral March (Copley Square). We invite people to participate in this piece of street theater which includes puppets, a marching band, and other creative surprises. People will begin gathering at 7pm at Copley Square Park (by the steps of Trinity Church) to put on costumes, puppets and face-paint and get info on their respective role in the funeral procession. We ask that people participate as: mourners (dressed in black), celebrators (wearing neon/bright colors/glow stuff), skeleton block (bring your own skeleton costume). The funeral procession will leave Copley Square Park at 8pm and will travel through areas of wealth and commerce.   Continue reading “Occupy Boston Daily Digest for 4-27-12” »

Good Morning from Occupy Boston!

Stories of the Day:  If I were a cow on a factory farm, I’d be mad too: Mad Cow Disease confirmed in California. In related news, check out this story on how Big Pharma dominates meat science and how public universities have given up the pretense of serving the public interest and have instead have lapsed into research and marketing arms of large corporations. For the story, click here. For more information on factory farms, check out this informative animated short video, The Meatrix. And for a video of the Occupy the Farm action in Albany, CA,  click here. And, a weak labor market already has left half of young college graduates either jobless or underemployed in positions that don’t fully use their skills and knowledge. For more, click here. The Connecticut state Senate approved a bill Thursday that would allow citizens to sue police officers who arrest them for recording in public, apparently the first of its kind in the nation. And, some more good news: imagine… a world where the metric that guides our decisions is not money, but happiness. That is the future that 650 political, academic, and civic leaders from around the world came together to promote on April 2, 2012. Encouraged by the government of Bhutan, the United Nations held a High Level Meeting for Wellbeing and Happiness: Defining a New Economic Paradigm. For more, click here. Finally: check out Occupy humorist Lee Camp’s video message on the May 1st General Strike and why you should participate! (“You won’t be lying if you call in sick to work, because our way of life is sick.”)

Other Occupies/Protests: In calling for a general strike on May 1, Occupy LA stated: “In protest against the corruption of the worldwide marketplace, which has led to illegal foreclosures, mass unemployment, low wages, high taxes and a penalization of all those who do not own the ‘99%’ of the world’s resources, and in solidarity with the immigrant movements of May 1st … we are calling upon the people of the world to take this day away from school and the workplace, so that their absence makes their displeasure with this corrupt system be known.” Occupy LA has posted an elaborate plan to try to shut down business as usual in the city on May Day, including four “car and bike caravans through the urban sprawl of Los Angeles that will culminate in direct action in and around the Financial District of downtown L.A. People from all sectors of the city will have a chance to plug in to the routes from any corner of the city, helping to shut down the flow of capital while addressing the 99%’s major grievances.” Organizers say participants will include Occupiers, union members and community organizations, among others, who will approach the financial district via the cars and bikes from four directions in a “slow, city-paralyzing, carnival-esque descent into the center of the city.”

“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” George Orwell

• What is Occupy Wall Street? A film screening. Occupy HCC (Holyoke Community College) is hosting a film screening of short films produced by Occupy Wall Street in the Forum at HCC, April 27, 3pm-5pm. Come and find out about the Occupy Movement that started on Wall St. and has spread across the globe! There will be a Q&A session following the films with activists from different Occupy groups across the Northeast. This event is sponsored by the Holyoke Community College Student Senate.
• Occupied Critical Mass! April 27, 5:30pm – 8:00pm, meet at Copley Square (Boylston between Clarendon and Dartmouth). Occupy joins forces with Critical mass to bring awareness to climate change and Earth Day. Bring your bikes/wheeled things and meet at Copley for Occupied Critical Mass!
• MA Unite Against the War on Women Rally, April 28, 10am-2pm, at City Hall Plaza. Help defend women’s rights and pursuit of equality. Join Americans all across the United States as we come together as one to tell members of Congress in Washington DC and legislators in all 50 states, “Enough is enough!” All Americans have the right to make decisions about their own bodies, including contraception, without interference from government, business or religious institutions. Please join us as we gather together and show both state and federal legislative bodies that we won’t stand silently by as they propose and pass laws that will impact women’s choices, health, and wellbeing. We need everyone’s voice! These decisions affect all genders, races, and socio-economic statuses! Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/206965382738915/
• On April 28, 2012 from 5pm to 10pm, artists from Occupy Boston will host a gathering with artist and cultural provocateur Steve Lambert. Taking place at Samsøn (450 Harrison Avenue), this event will be an opportunity for Lambert and the greater Occupy community to connect over questions of messaging, humor, culture jamming, and creative activism as the movement heads into the coming seasons. Following the discussion, we will screen the film The Yes Men Fix the World.
• Rally for the Guards at “Art in Bloom”
  SATURDAY, April 28, 11:30AM-2PM
  In front of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Huntington side)
  465 Huntington Ave, Boston MA
  (Green Line E to Museum of Fine Arts; Orange Line to Ruggles)
  RSVP on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/events/275860625840007/ The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is seriously considering OUTSOURCING their guard union. Some have been working there for as many as 30 years. They would lose their status as museum employees and would be forced to apply for their jobs to an outside contractor with a bad reputation withtheir workers. (IF they get re-hired) The museum would have non-union workers doing their union jobs! Let’s give the top 1% our 100% effort in stopping these attacks!  ****This is “THE ART IN BLOOM RALLY” and is a big event for the MFA. Many galleries are fitted with flower arrangements to complement a specific piece of art. This draws thousands in three days. Their next very important negotiations are the first week of May.**** GET INVOLVED WITH THE SOLIDARITY COMMITTEE: Next meeting Sunday, April 29, 5:30pm, Food Court at the Marino Center, Northeastern University, Forsyth St & Huntington Ave, Boston MA. (Green Line E to Northeastern; Orange Line to Ruggles). For more information about any of these events, email misu-solidarity-owner@yahoogroups.com.
• May 1st Training with Occupy Boston: Sunday, April 29, 12pm-3pm, location TBA (see Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/396045130426024/). Gearing up for May 1st? Want to feel more prepared? Join Occupy Boston as we get ready for the General Strike! Direct Action and the Medics will be providing basic training this Sunday in preparation for Tuesday’s General Strike! There will be plenty of fun activities as well as training in basic safety procedures. Join us!
• Boston New Sanctuary Movement Presents A Return to A Faithful Understanding, An Interfaith Conference: Toward a More Compassionate National Debate on Immigration, Sunday, April 29, 2012, 12:30 – 5 p.m.  (12-1, lunch provided by Brazilian Immigrant Center), Church of the Covenant, 67 Newbury St., Boston, MAWorship leader:  Rev. Rob Mark, Pastor, Church of the Covenant, Boston, Presbyterian/UCCSpeakers, Reflection leaders:  Members of the Boston New Sanctuary Movement. Schedule: 12:30  Registration; 1:00 Welcome, opening reflection; 1:15  Current Immigration issues in Boston, and the Boston New Sanctuary Movement; 1:40 Workshops, period I; 3:10 Workshops, period II; 4:40 Closing reflection; 5:00    Networking. 
• Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day, Sunday, April 29, 10am – Monday, April 30, 12am. Where: Lots, medians, privatized public land, unpleasant public land. May 1 is International Sunflower Guerrilla Gardening Day — people all over the world will be sowing seeds of optimism and planting sunflower seeds. It’s about occupying our city and promoting gardening, public space, food and habitats for all the human and non-humans who share the Boston ecosystem. Let’s plant 1,000 seeds!
• May 1 General Strike! A Day Without the 99%. NO WORK – NO SCHOOL – NO SHOPPING – NO BANKING – NO TRADING. GENERAL STRIKE AND BOYCOTT CALLED! 7am-11am: Financial District Block Party! (corner of Federal and Franklin Streets). Bring a friend and let’s party! Bring whistles, drums, noise makers. Bring street theater ! 12:00pm: Boston City Hall Rally. Can’t make it to Boston City Hall at Noon? Well how about: The Chelsea City Hall? – Gather at Noon – March at 2pm (For More information please contact La Colaborativa (617) 889-6097). 2pm: LoPresti Park Rally/March (Blue Line: Maverick Square) (For more information contact Dominic at City life/Vida Urbana (617) 710-7176). 4pm: Everett – Glendale Park (For more information please contact La Comunidad (617) 387-9996). 7pm: Death of Capitalism Boston Funeral March (Copley Square). We invite people to participate in this piece of street theater which includes puppets, a marching band, and other creative surprises. People will begin gathering at 7pm at Copley Square Park (by the steps of Trinity Church) to put on costumes, puppets and face-paint and get info on their respective role in the funeral procession. We ask that people participate as: mourners (dressed in black), celebrators (wearing neon/bright colors/glow stuff), skeleton block (bring your own skeleton costume). The funeral procession will leave Copley Square Park at 8pm and will travel through areas of wealth and commerce.  Continue reading “Occupy Boston Daily Digest for 4-26-12” »

Good Morning from Occupy Boston!

Stories of the Day: Will Vermont’s governor stand with 90 percent of his constituents who favor labeling genetically engineered foods, or cave to Monsanto? And: Conflict of Interest: Private Water Companies Partner With Fracking Lobby. Selling water to drillers, two of the nation’s biggest private water utilities may soon profit from treating the wastewater. For more, click here. And, in November 2001, the National Security Agency began illegally intercepting Americans’ phone calls and emails without warrants or suspicion of wrongdoing. In 2008, Congress amended the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), rubber-stamping this warrantless wiretapping program and giving the NSA power to conduct dragnet surveillance of Americans’ international communications. For more information, check out this infographic, NSA Unchained.  And sweatshop labor is back with a vengeance. Nearly a million prisoners are working in call centers, working in slaughterhouses, or manufacturing textiles while getting paid somewhere between 93 cents and $4.73 a day. For more, click here. Are you a visionary? Check out this competition called POST+CAPITALIST City with four themed contests that invite participants to re-imagine cities in a post-capitalist context.

Other Occupies/Protests: From the Debt Working Group of Occupy Wall Street: April 25th is 1TDay–when student debt passes the trillion dollar mark. The Occupy Student Debt Campaign has organized a National Day Of Action, with solidarity events all across the country. In NYC, we will stage a mock celebration of this great American milestone, and we will declare a Debt Jubilee! Union Square at 4pm, followed by March to Wall Street. Reverend Billy and the Stop Shopping Choir, Billionaires for Debt, The Master of Degrees, Aaron Burr Society, Debt Monsters, the Rude Mechanical Orchestra, and other OWS performers will be there. Join us on Wednesday! For more info, see http://www.1tday.org or http://www.occupystudentdebtcampaign.org.

“The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace, and brotherhood.” Martin Luther King, Jr.

• What is Occupy Wall Street? A film screening. Occupy HCC (Holyoke Community College) is hosting a film screening of short films produced by Occupy Wall Street in the Forum at HCC, April 27, 3pm-5pm. Come and find out about the Occupy Movement that started on Wall St. and has spread across the globe! There will be a Q&A session following the films with activists from different Occupy groups across the Northeast. This event is sponsored by the Holyoke Community College Student Senate.
• On April 28, 2012 from 5pm to 10pm, artists from Occupy Boston will host a gathering with artist and cultural provocateur Steve Lambert. Taking place at Samsøn (450 Harrison Avenue), this event will be an opportunity for Lambert and the greater Occupy community to connect over questions of messaging, humor, culture jamming, and creative activism as the movement heads into the coming seasons. Following the discussion, we will screen the film The Yes Men Fix the World.
• MA Unite Against the War on Women Rally, April 28, 10am-2pm, at City Hall Plaza. Help defend women’s rights and pursuit of equality. Join Americans all across the United States as we come together as one to tell members of Congress in Washington DC and legislators in all 50 states, “Enough is enough!” All Americans have the right to make decisions about their own bodies, including contraception, without interference from government, business or religious institutions. Please join us as we gather together and show both state and federal legislative bodies that we won’t stand silently by as they propose and pass laws that will impact women’s choices, health, and wellbeing. We need everyone’s voice! These decisions affect all genders, races, and socio-economic statuses! Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/206965382738915/
• May 1st Training with Occupy Boston: Sunday, April 29, 12pm-3pm, location TBA (see Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/396045130426024/). Gearing up for May 1st? Want to feel more prepared? Join Occupy Boston as we get ready for the General Strike! Direct Action and the Medics will be providing basic training this Sunday in preparation for Tuesday’s General Strike! There will be plenty of fun activities as well as training in basic safety procedures. Join us!
• Boston New Sanctuary Movement Presents A Return to A Faithful Understanding, An Interfaith Conference: Toward a More Compassionate National Debate on Immigration, Sunday, April 29, 2012, 12:30 – 5 p.m.  (12-1, lunch provided by Brazilian Immigrant Center), Church of the Covenant, 67 Newbury St., Boston, MAWorship leader:  Rev. Rob Mark, Pastor, Church of the Covenant, Boston, Presbyterian/UCCSpeakers, Reflection leaders:  Members of the Boston New Sanctuary Movement. Schedule: 12:30  Registration; 1:00 Welcome, opening reflection; 1:15  Current Immigration issues in Boston, and the Boston New Sanctuary Movement; 1:40 Workshops, period I; 3:10 Workshops, period II; 4:40 Closing reflection; 5:00    Networking. 
• May 1 General Strike! A Day Without the 99%. NO WORK – NO SCHOOL – NO SHOPPING – NO BANKING – NO TRADING. GENERAL STRIKE AND BOYCOTT CALLED! 7am-11am: Financial District Block Party! (corner of Federal and Franklin Streets). Bring a friend and let’s party! Bring whistles, drums, noise makers. Bring street theater ! 12:00pm: Boston City Hall Rally. Can’t make it to Boston City Hall at Noon? Well how about: The Chelsea City Hall? – Gather at Noon – March at 2pm (For More information please contact La Colaborativa (617) 889-6097). 2pm: LoPresti Park Rally/March (Blue Line: Maverick Square) (For more information contact Dominic at City life/Vida Urbana (617) 710-7176). 4pm: Everett – Glendale Park (For more information please contact La Comunidad (617) 387-9996). 7pm: Death of Capitalism Boston Funeral March (Copley Square). We invite people to participate in this piece of street theater which includes puppets, a marching band, and other creative surprises. People will begin gathering at 7pm at Copley Square Park (by the steps of Trinity Church) to put on costumes, puppets and face-paint and get info on their respective role in the funeral procession. We ask that people participate as: mourners (dressed in black), celebrators (wearing neon/bright colors/glow stuff), skeleton block (bring your own skeleton costume). The funeral procession will leave Copley Square Park at 8pm and will travel through areas of wealth and commerce.
• Keep Immigrant Families Together! Stop the Raids and Deportations! Prayer Vigil for Immigrant Detainees, Sunday, May 6th, 2 p.m.Suffolk County House of Correction, 20 Bradston St., BostonFor more information about the vigil, contact our Facebook page, or email SocialAction@ascboston.org. www.bostonnewsanctuary.org.
  
  1. Immigration through Faith: Faith through Immigration – Personal experiences of immigration as a moral and religious issue.
     A facilitated panel discussion exploring personal experiences of faith and immigration. This session is designed to help participants articulate and claim religious language and relevancy in a conversation dominated by secular and political messages. The panel discussion will be followed by an open period for questions and reflections.
  2. U.S. Immigration History and Your Faith:  We will look at who came and why?  What laws were enacted as barriers?  What role have people of faith played in this history?  We will also ask where we find ourselves in the story, and who belongs here?
  3. Immigrant Stories in the Struggle for Workers Rights

  To register, go to www.bostonnewsanctuary.org, or call Newell Hendricks at 617 876-5038. $10 suggested donation

  Continue reading “Occupy Boston Daily Digest for 4-25-12” »

Good Morning from Occupy Boston!

Stories of the Day: Occupy has been organizing something extraordinary: the first truly nationwide General Strike in U.S. history. Building on the international celebration of May Day, past General Strikes in U.S. cities like Seattle and Oakland, the recent May 1st Day Without An Immigrant demonstrations, the national general strikes in Spain this year, and the on-going student strike in Quebec, the Occupy Movement has called for A Day Without the 99% on May 1st, 2012. For Occupy Wall Street’s page of cities where Occupy May Day events are being planned, as well as other resources, click here. Note: This is a living document. Check back for updates! For historical background on May 1 and creative posters Occupy has produced in their effort to agitate for a General Strike on May 1st, with some observations and historical notes, click here. And: An Occupy Wall Street protester has lost his bid to quash a subpoena seeking his Twitter records from last fall, when he was arrested during a mass protest on the Brooklyn Bridge. And the time to fight back against the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) is now. CISPA effectively allows the federal government and corporations to “spy” on citizens. Information shared under CISPA could be used for almost any purpose. CISPA could put your data in the hands of the military — and out of reach of public oversight.  If a company mishandles your data, it is nearly impossible to sue them and win. For more info, click here.  And: The Yes Lab claims credit for satirical Bank of America website in collaboration with Rainforest Action Network, New Bottom Line and Occupy Wall Street.

Other Occupies/Protests: April 28-29. The peace group CodePink, the civil liberties organization Center for Constitutional Rights, and Reprieve, the United Kingdom-based legal advocacy organization that represents drone victims, are sponsoring a Washington, D.C., conclave that they are billing as “the first international drone summit.” Speakers and participants will include human rights advocates, robotics technology experts, lawyers, privacy advocates, journalists and activists. Organizers say the purpose of the conference is “to inform the American public about the widespread and rapidly expanding deployment of both lethal and surveillance drones, including drone use in the United States.” The conference was slated to feature the personal stories of Pakistani drone-strike victims, but the State Department refused to grant a visa to prominent Pakistani human rights lawyer Shahzad Akbar, whose organization represents families of drone victims. Akbar had previously had no trouble geting a visa until, in 2010, he took on a case for two families of drone victims, according to Medea Benjamin, cofounder of CodePink and Global Exchange. He was subsequently denied a visa to speak at Columbia University’s law school in May 2011 at a human rights symposium. Benjamin and other organizers charge that the Obama administration, which “will not even acknowledge the existence of the covert drone program, much less account for those who are maimed and killed,” is trying to silence Akbar, who has facts and stories to “contradict the convenient narrative that drone strikes only kill ‘militants’.”

“I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented.” Elie Wiesel 

• Media Meeting: To try to help us explore how the entire community can be empowered to create its own media, we invite /urge you, the community, to participate in a conversation about the future of media work at Occupy Boston next Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 7pm at Encuentro 5 (5th floor, 33 Harrison Ave, Boston). We will discuss the best way to reallocate existing resources in a way that is equitable and consistent with OB’s values. People who want to help copy/edit, write stories, make videos, etc. should come. I’ll be there, hope to see you too!
• April 25, 5:30pm-7:30pm, Cohen Auditorium, Tufts Campus, Medford. Karl Rove Un-Welcoming Committee: Karl Rove, war criminal and torture apologist, will be speaking at Tufts campus. See event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/336321973087555/ Let’s make it clear that Rove is not welcomed here! And that Tufts students, the Somerville/Medford community, and the Boston community finds it unacceptable that Tufts University spends university money to promote “dialogue” with someone who has normalized and promoted state-sanctioned torture. Un-Welcoming Committee event page is http://www.facebook.com/events/329629033769092/
• What is Occupy Wall Street? A film screening. Occupy HCC (Holyoke Community College) is hosting a film screening of short films produced by Occupy Wall Street in the Forum at HCC, April 27, 3pm-5pm. Come and find out about the Occupy Movement that started on Wall St. and has spread across the globe! There will be a Q&A session following the films with activists from different Occupy groups across the Northeast. This event is sponsored by the Holyoke Community College Student Senate.
• On April 28, 2012 from 5pm to 10pm, artists from Occupy Boston will host a gathering with artist and cultural provocateur Steve Lambert. Taking place at Samsøn (450 Harrison Avenue), this event will be an opportunity for Lambert and the greater Occupy community to connect over questions of messaging, humor, culture jamming, and creative activism as the movement heads into the coming seasons. Following the discussion, we will screen the film The Yes Men Fix the World.
• MA Unite Against the War on Women Rally, April 28, 10am-2pm, at City Hall Plaza. Help defend women’s rights and pursuit of equality. Join Americans all across the United States as we come together as one to tell members of Congress in Washington DC and legislators in all 50 states, “Enough is enough!” All Americans have the right to make decisions about their own bodies, including contraception, without interference from government, business or religious institutions. Please join us as we gather together and show both state and federal legislative bodies that we won’t stand silently by as they propose and pass laws that will impact women’s choices, health, and wellbeing. We need everyone’s voice! These decisions affect all genders, races, and socio-economic statuses!
• May 1st Training with Occupy Boston: Sunday, April 29, 12pm-3pm, location TBA (see Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/396045130426024/). Gearing up for May 1st? Want to feel more prepared? Join Occupy Boston as we get ready for the General Strike! Direct Action and the Medics will be providing basic training this Sunday in preparation for Tuesday’s General Strike! There will be plenty of fun activities as well as training in basic safety procedures. Join us!
• Boston New Sanctuary Movement Presents A Return to A Faithful Understanding, An Interfaith Conference: Toward a More Compassionate National Debate on Immigration, Sunday, April 29, 2012, 12:30 – 5 p.m.  (12-1, lunch provided by Brazilian Immigrant Center), Church of the Covenant, 67 Newbury St., Boston, MAWorship leader:  Rev. Rob Mark, Pastor, Church of the Covenant, Boston, Presbyterian/UCCSpeakers, Reflection leaders:  Members of the Boston New Sanctuary Movement. Schedule: 12:30  Registration; 1:00 Welcome, opening reflection; 1:15  Current Immigration issues in Boston, and the Boston New Sanctuary Movement; 1:40 Workshops, period I; 3:10 Workshops, period II; 4:40 Closing reflection; 5:00    Networking. 
• May 1 General Strike! A Day Without the 99%. NO WORK – NO SCHOOL – NO SHOPPING – NO BANKING – NO TRADING. GENERAL STRIKE AND BOYCOTT CALLED! 7am-11am: Financial District Block Party! (corner of Federal and Franklin Streets). Bring a friend and let’s party! Bring whistles, drums, noise makers. Bring street theater ! 12:00pm: Boston City Hall Rally. Can’t make it to Boston City Hall at Noon? Well how about: The Chelsea City Hall? – Gather at Noon – March at 2pm (For More information please contact La Colaborativa (617) 889-6097). 2pm: LoPresti Park Rally/March (Blue Line: Maverick Square) (For more information contact Dominic at City life/Vida Urbana (617) 710-7176). 4pm: Everett – Glendale Park (For more information please contact La Comunidad (617) 387-9996). 7pm: Death of Capitalism Boston Funeral March (Copley Square). We invite people to participate in this piece of street theater which includes puppets, a marching band, and other creative surprises. People will begin gathering at 7pm at Copley Square Park (by the steps of Trinity Church) to put on costumes, puppets and face-paint and get info on their respective role in the funeral procession. We ask that people participate as: mourners (dressed in black), celebrators (wearing neon/bright colors/glow stuff), skeleton block (bring your own skeleton costume). The funeral procession will leave Copley Square Park at 8pm and will travel through areas of wealth and commerce.  Continue reading “Occupy Boston Daily Digest for 4-24-12” »

Good Morning from Occupy Boston!

Stories of the Day: UC Davis campus police chief resigns after Occupy protest pepper spray incident. UC Davis spokesman Barry Shiller said the police chief, Annette Spicuzza, had told the school she was retiring immediately.UC Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi, who also faced heavy criticism has refused to step down. And more California news: Armed with placards reading “Please Raise Our Taxes” and colorful budget charts, about 75 well-dressed middle-aged folks assembled on the steps of San Francisco City Hall at noon on Tuesday, Tax Day. For more, click here. And: the Happiest Place on Earth? Click here to read about homeless children living on the road to Disney World. And for an infographic detailing how much money a woman loses every year for not being a man ($10,784!), click here. And one of the projects at the upcoming Burning Man event is “Burn Wall Street.” And this documentary on how to start a nonviolent revolution looks amazing, no release date yet, but for the trailer, click here (you can save it on Netflix FYI).

Other Occupies/Protests: Support for Pfc. Bradley Manning, who is charged with leaking diplomatic and Iraq and Afghan war-related classified materials to Wikileaks, will be one of the subjects of an April 23 civil disobedience protest at the Justice Department in downtown D.C. The rally also will call for an end to the death penalty, an end to solitary confinement and other brutal practices in the nation’s prisons, an end to prison privatization, the release of radical journalist and long-time prisoner (and until recently death-row inmate) Mumia Abu-Jamal, and a call to spend federal money on jobs, education and health care – and not on jails. Among the expected prominent participants in the event is actor Danny Glover.

“The more you can increase fear of drugs and crime, welfare mothers, immigrants and aliens, the more you control all the people.” Noam Chomsky

Upcoming Events:

• Tuesday, April 24, 10am-8pm, Occupy Brandeis is hosting The Great Teach-In on the Great Lawn. For the schedule of events, click here.
• The Occupy Boston Media Working Group has dissolved. To try to help us explore how the entire community can be empowered to create its own media, we invite /urge you, the community, to participate in a conversation about the future of media work at Occupy Boston next Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at 7pm at Encuentro 5 (5th floor, 33 Harrison Ave, Boston). We will discuss the best way to reallocate existing resources in a way that is equitable and consistent with OB’s values. People who want to help copy/edit, write stories, make videos, etc. should come. I’ll be there, hope to see you too!
• What is Occupy Wall Street? A film screening. Occupy HCC (Holyoke Community College) is hosting a film screening of short films produced by Occupy Wall Street in the Forum at HCC, April 27, 3pm-5pm. Come and find out about the Occupy Movement that started on Wall St. and has spread across the globe! There will be a Q&A session following the films with activists from different Occupy groups across the Northeast. This event is sponsored by the Holyoke Community College Student Senate.
• On April 28, 2012 from 5pm to 10pm, artists from Occupy Boston will host a gathering with artist and cultural provocateur Steve Lambert. Taking place at Samsøn (450 Harrison Avenue), this event will be an opportunity for Lambert and the greater Occupy community to connect over questions of messaging, humor, culture jamming, and creative activism as the movement heads into the coming seasons. Following the discussion, we will screen the film The Yes Men Fix the World.
• MA Unite Against the War on Women Rally, April 28, 10am-2pm, at City Hall Plaza. Help defend women’s rights and pursuit of equality. Join Americans all across the United States as we come together as one to tell members of Congress in Washington DC and legislators in all 50 states, “Enough is enough!” All Americans have the right to make decisions about their own bodies, including contraception, without interference from government, business or religious institutions. Please join us as we gather together and show both state and federal legislative bodies that we won’t stand silently by as they propose and pass laws that will impact women’s choices, health, and wellbeing. We need everyone’s voice! These decisions affect all genders, races, and socio-economic statuses!
• Boston New Sanctuary Movement Presents A Return to A Faithful UnderstandingAn Interfaith Conference: Toward a More Compassionate National Debate on Immigration, Sunday, April 29, 2012, 12:30 – 5 p.m.  (12-1, lunch provided by Brazilian Immigrant Center), Church of the Covenant, 67 Newbury St., Boston, MAWorship leader:  Rev. Rob Mark, Pastor, Church of the Covenant, Boston, Presbyterian/UCCSpeakers, Reflection leaders:  Members of the Boston New Sanctuary Movement. Schedule: 12:30  Registration; 1:00 Welcome, opening reflection; 1:15  Current Immigration issues in Boston, and the Boston New Sanctuary Movement; 1:40 Workshops, period I; 3:10 Workshops, period II; 4:40 Closing reflection; 5:00    Networking.  Continue reading “Occupy Boston Daily Digest for 4-23-12” »