Good Morning from Occupy Boston!
Stories of the Day: Chicago police are preparing to use Long Range Acoustic Devices (LRAD) on protesters during the G-8/NATO Summit. LRAD devices send sounds, warnings and tones that are painful to the human ear. According to the ACLU of Pennsylvania, a bystander during the Pittsburgh protests in 2009 has sued the city of Pittsburgh for hearing loss and pain resulting from the use of LRAD. Read more here. And one of the more extreme government abuses of the post-9/11 era targets U.S. citizens re-entering their own country. With no oversight or legal framework whatsoever, the Department of Homeland Security routinely singles out individuals who are suspected of no crimes, detains them and questions them at the airport, often for hours, when they return to the U.S. after an international trip, and then copies and even seizes their electronic devices. For the story of a documentary filmmaker who is trying to produce a trilogy of War on Terror films and has repeatedly been subject to this treatment, click here. And Occupy Returns to its Roots with “Sleepful Protests.” And Occupy Wall Street Finally Occupies Wall Street!
Other Occupies/Protests: A press release from Occupy Chicago states: Mental Health Clinic Facing Closure Occupied by Patients and Advocates. Dozens of people who use Chicago’s mental health clinics along with other advocates have barricaded themselves into the Woodlawn Clinic at 6337 S. Woodlawn, one of 6 clinics facing closure. They intend to remain there until Mayor Emanuel agrees to keep all of Chicago’s public clinics open, fully funded and fully staffed. For more, click here.
“There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to accept what is true.” Søren Kierkegaard
Upcoming Events:
- On April 16th, students will once again stand up and protest against egregious tuition increases and their ever growing student loan debt. Occupy Colleges encourages students across the nation to voice their opinions on our Nation’s Tax day by either marching to their administration buildings on campus, demonstrating before their respective student unions or simply moving their money from a large bank to their local credit union. Occupy Colleges also asks that students, parents and alumni take the time to sign our “No Cuts, No Compromise” petition to maintain affordable higher-education and legislative budget cuts throughout the country. For more, see this website: http://occupycolleges.org/sign-up-for-april-16th-event/
- Raise Taxes on the 1% Tax Day Rally and March, Tuesday, April 17, 5:30PM, Dewey Square (South Station). Occupy JP and Occupy Boston will participate, along with many other groups, in a protest against the unfairness of the current tax regime, where people such as Mitt Romney pay at rates far lower than those earning far less, and Warren Buffet’s now-famous secretary pays at a higher rate than Warren Buffet. The Rally and March will begin at 5:30pm at Dewey Square (South Station) and the march will begin at 6pm and proceed through the city streets, pass by several notorious corporate tax dodgers, and end at Post Office Square. Things to bring: yourself (most important), signs, noise-making stuff (pots, pans, kazoos, whatever). For a list of co-sponsoring organizations visit http://www.taxdayboston.org.
- 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 1 General Strike! A Day Without the 99%. NO WORK – NO SCHOOL – NO SHOPPING – NO BANKING – NO TRADING. GENERAL STRIKE AND BOYCOTT CALLED!
FOR IM/MIGRANT RIGHTS
FOR AN END TO ALL WARS
FOR ECONOMIC, SOCIAL, AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND LABOR RIGHTS
FOR PEACE WITH JUSTICE
FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES AND AN END TO THE POLICE STATE
FOR HOUSING, EDUCATION, AND HEALTH CARE AS HUMAN RIGHTS
FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS AND GENDER EQUITY7:00am-11:00am: 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 RallyCan’t make it to Boston City Hall at Noon? Well how about: The Chelsea City Hall? – Gather at Noon – March at 2:pm (For More information please contact La Colaborativa (617) 889-6097)2:00pm: LoPresti Park Rally/March (Blue Line: Maverick Square) (For more information contact [redacted])
4:00pm: Everett – Glendale Park (For more information please contact La Comunidad (617) 387-9996)
7:00pm: 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 7:00 PM 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 8:00pm and will travel through areas of wealth and commerce.
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Please note events are subject to change; check https://www.occupyboston.org for the latest information!
Event Highlights:
Memorial for Andrews Claude, at The Center for Arts at the Armory, 191 Highland Avenue, Suite 1-A, Somerville, from 4:30 pm to 9:30pm. Please come to the Armory in Somerville to celebrate Andy Claude’s life. It’s hard to even describe how important Andy was to our Dewey Square encampment. He kept people safe. He untangled disputes with generous peaceful wisdom. He led from within. No one felt less than wonderful around Andy. I thank the universe that I got to know him. If you knew him at all, or enjoyed the safety or joy of the camp at Dewey, please join us for a celebration of Andy’s life. If you want to help with the procession, or with Sinkerella, or if you can play music or make some food, please contact Terra Friedrichs, terraf@compuserve.com, or Cailin. If you can read some poetry or share some thoughts or a song, there will be an open mike as well as an on-going jam session. Please join us… And please pass this on to all connected to Occupy and the Boston Music Scene. Andy was an important part of the Boston music scene. The folks from all walks of life who call their home the Middle East Club in Cambridge will be joining us Saturday.
Camp Charlie Closing March and Rally: Uniting the 99 percent!
12:15 pm at Converse Hall, 88 Tremont Street
Meet at Camp Charlie at 11:30
To celebrate the final day of the occupation, Occupy MBTA will join hundreds of members of SEIU Local 615 and community allies to honor the centennial of the famous Bread and Roses Lawrence Textile Strike. Join us as we take our message to the streets. We are ready to stand for the 99%!
Benefit for E5 at Spontaneous Celebrations!
8 pm at Spontaneous
45 Danforth Street, Jamaica Plain
Dance Prequel to E5′s Dance-a-thon with rockin’ DJs, cool art and great food. Latin Meets Rock N Roll, Boogaloo, chicha, salsa, latin garage, plena, and biguine music, kuduro, kwaito, hipco, soca, baile, cumbia, Spanish dancehall, reggae, reggaetón, ska, merengue, salsa kid, blend of Soul/House/Latin/Hip Hop/Afro-Beat, soul/funk/afrobeat/hip-hop, electrópica, cumbia digital, latin house, moombahton…There is a $20 – $5 (sliding scale) admission (which covers the registration cost of the Dance-a-thon in Sept.) Join us and move your body for the movement!
Calendar for Saturday, April 14, 2012
2pm-4pm Safer Spaces Cluster Meeting, at Encuentro 5, 33 Harrison Avenue, 5th Floor, Boston, MA 02111
3pm-4:45pm Facilitation WG meeting, at City Place Food Court in the Transportation Building
3pm-5pm Media WG Meeting, at Encuentro 5, 33 Harrison Avenue, 5th Floor, Boston, MA 02111
4:30pm-6:30pm Anti-Oppression WG Meeting, at Arlington St. Church (1st floor) 351 Arlington St. (corner of Arlington and Boylston Sts.)
5pm-8:30 pm General Assembly, at the State House
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.
These are just some of the many events at Occupy Boston. Check out our Daily Calendar for more information.
Volunteer Opportunities/Announcements:
Occupy Boston’s newspaper, The Boston Occupier, is looking for new staff members, including writers, editors, photographers, and those willing to help with fund-raising and distribution of the newspaper.
For a partial listing of Working Groups looking for volunteers, please 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!
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. And subscribe to the Occupy Boston Media Rundown, a daily listing of Occupy-related news, by contacting JohnM@OccupyBoston.org.