Good Morning from Occupy Boston!

Stories of the Day: Documents released by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in response to a FOIA request filed by the Partnership for Civil Justice Fund, filmmaker Michael Moore and the National Lawyers Guild Mass Defense Committee reveal that federal law enforcement agencies began their coordinated intelligence gathering and operations on the Occupy movement even before the first tent went up in Zuccotti Park on September 17, 2011: See How Homeland Security Is Hiding the Feds’ Role in Occupy Crackdown. California lawmakers vote to overturn Citizens United. And peep this: the Washington Post Peep Diorama Contest winning entry was OccuPeep D.C.!

Other Occupies/Protests: For info on the plans for protests at the G8/NATO summits, click here.

“An army of principles can penetrate where an army of soldiers cannot.” Thomas Paine

Volunteer Opportunities/Announcements: 

• Did you know? Working groups are teams of people within the Occupation, each focused on a particular area or task. These groups are like organs supporting the body of the Occupation. Within them you will find resources, discussions, and courses of action in every field.Working groups are open, which means anyone can help out, including you! Like the Occupation as a whole, each working group is a horizontal democracy, with decision-making by consensus, and publicly accessible meetings. For more information about Occupy Boston’s many different working groups, click here!
• Have you entered the Occupier’s Haiku Contest yet? I did! Send submissions to submit@occupier.com by April 7, no more than 3 haikus per person. Prizes!

Sunday, April 1, 12 noon-11 pm, Take Back Dewey, Dewey Square, at South Station, Boston

• 12:00pm – Lunch (Bring some to share).
• 1:00pm – April’s Fools March – The theme is to sarcastically invoke the ideas and thoughts that Occupy Boston are fighting against.
• 3:00pm – Livestream training (meet by Gandhi)
• 3:00pm – Clothing Swap (Got stuff you don’t wear anymore? Bring your clothes, and trade with friends! Surplus clothes will be going to a worthy cause).
• 4:30pm – Open Mic/Stack
• 5:30pm – Occupy Boston’s General Assembly
• 8:00pm – Direct Action Planning Meeting: On the agenda: How to institute anti-oppression? How can we organize without endangering others? Creating a decentralized model(spokes, affinities, etc)

Monday, April 2, 6 pm-8:30 pm (doors open 5:30), Occupy Boston Open House at St. Paul’s Cathedral, 138 Tremont St., Boston. All WGs are welcome to attend, the idea is to make it like a job fair so that people can learn about what the working groups do. Please bring fliers/literature relevant to your group if you have it, and please make a sign with your group’s name on it. Please tell us in advance if your group plans to attend, you can contact me at AnnaC@OccupyBoston.org.

Wednesday, April 4, 3pm-11:30pm Occupy Boston – National Day of Action for Public Transportation, Massachusetts State House

Public transportation is a right and must be accessible to all. Service cuts and fare hikes will have a devastating and disproportionate impact on low-income communities, communities of color, students, workers, seniors and the environment. We say NO TO PRIVATIZATION of our common resources and NO MORE EXCUSES! We will not accept any funding strategies that attempt to divide the 99% against each other or shift the burden onto the backs of the 99%: the poor and working classes. End the wars and tax the rich! On April 4th, we will stand together to demand public transportation for the 99%. If our call is not answered and the necessary funds redirected, it will only add to the growing body of evidence that our government no longer represents us.

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Event Highlight:

3pm-6pm, Ocupemos el Barrio Forum on the new Anti-Immigrant Law that the Massachusetts Senate is currently discussing. East Boston Social Center, 68 Central Square, East Boston. Contact: 781-656-5632 or Ocupemoselbarrio@gmail.com

Calendar for Saturday, March 31, 2012

1pm-2pm Peace Vigil, at Park Street T Station

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

5:30pm-8:30pm 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 Community Church of Boston, 565 Boylston St. Tonight’s GA will feature: Presentation from the Medics Working Group and discussion hosted by Safer Spaces on our collective values and practices in the spaces we Occupy (after Announcements and through the end of General Assembly)