Good Morning from Occupy Boston!
Stories of the Day: Two Fullerton, Calif., police officers will be tried in the death of a mentally ill homeless man, who had not even broken any laws, and whose apparent beating by six police officers was captured on a security camera video, a judge ruled May 9. The victim suffered from schizophrenia and was not fluent in English. The apparent beating lasted nine minutes and 40 seconds and ended with Thomas’ limp body in handcuffs. The officers had responded to the Fullerton Transportation Center after receiving a call that a homeless man was seen looking into car windows and pulling on door handles. For more, see Cops to Be Tried in Alleged Fatal Beating of Homeless Man Caught on Video. And thanks to police officer Enoch Clark, Beaumont, California resident Monique Hernandez will never see her ten-year-old daughter again. On February 21, Clark conducted a traffic stop involving Hernandez, who was suspected of drunk driving. When Clark attempted to handcuff her, Hernandez resisted. The officer responded by using a JPX device at point-blank range — a weapon that uses a gunpowder charge to fire a stream of pepper spray at roughly 400 miles an hour. The payload of weaponized OC spray is propelled over the prescribed distance at less than three one-hundredths of a second, making it “too fast to avoid…. The effect is immediate; there is no chance to resist.” For the story, see Beaumont, California Woman Blinded for “Contempt of Cop.” And if you’re going to the NATO protests, please be careful. Police in Chicago have spent $1 million on riot-control equipment in the last few months ahead of next month’s Nato summit, which is expected to attract thousands of anti-war protesters. Officers are also preparing to use the controversial long-range acoustic device, or LRAD, a sonic weapon which can cause permanent hearing loss, during the operation. For more, see Chicago police bulk up with $1m in riot gear for peaceful NATO summit protests. Let’s take a look at some of the new weapons of the police state: The American military have presented the world with a new weapon, informally named the heat ray or microwave cannon. The “Active Denial System” is a non-lethal weapon primarily designed for crowd control. The Active Denial System (ADS) beams a high-frequency, man-sized electromagnetic wave 1,000 meters. ADS fires a high-powered beam of high-frequency millimeter waves at 95 GHz (a wavelength of 3.2 mm). Similar to the same way that a microwave oven heats food at 2.45GHz, the millimeter waves excite the water and fat molecules in the body, instantly heating them via dielectric heating and causing intense pain. While microwaves will penetrate into human tissue about 17mm (0.67″), the millimeter waves used in ADS only penetrate the top layers of skin, with most of the energy being absorbed within 0.4 mm (1/64″). For more, see Microwave Goodbye Weapon: Heat-Ray Crowd Dispersal Cannon Unveiled. And according to British paper The Telegraph, police are currently testing a shoulder-mounted laser cannon that can project a virtual wall of blinding light from nearly 500 meters away. Originally developed to help cargo ships repel pirate attacks, the device temporarily blinds incoming attackers with a band of light that’s 10 meters wide. While the United Nations has banned laser weapons that cause permanent blindness, lasers that only cause temporary vision impairment, or blindness by accident, are still acceptable. Police would not be deploying the weapon on the British public unless it could be confirmed that it does not cause permanent blindness, the paper said. Police were also testing a long-range electronic device, similar to a Taser, that can incapacitate targets from a distance. Another less-lethal weapon category, “long-range chemical irritant projectiles,” was also being examined, The Telegraph noted. For more, see Shoulder-Mounted Lasers, Long-Range Tasers Among New U.K. Riot Gear. And here’s a weapon that can literally silence protesters: a silence gun. A strange and unsettling new gun being developed by Japanese researchers shoots sound waves in an effort to disrupt and silence anyone who dares speak out of turn. The gun operates based on the concept of delayed auditory feedback. An attached microphone picks up the sound being made by the target and plays it back 0.2 seconds later. The effect is incredibly confusing to the human brain, making it all but impossible to talk or hold a conversation. The device doesn’t cause the person it’s being used on any physical harm — it simply messes with their head. For more, see Silence Gun: Strange Weapon of the Future Immediately Quiets You, Whether You Like it or Not. And for some dark comedy: you may have heard people in Occupy Boston singing “I Really Like the Cops.” This song was written by the activist Brad Will, who was killed by police in Mexico during a protest. Click here for a video of him singing the song.
- Restoring the Dream of Democracy – Reversing Citizens United. A forum with State Senator Jamie Eldridge and attorney Jeffrey Clements. Arlington Center for the Arts, 41 Foster Street Arlington. May 14, 6:30 – 8:30pm. Sponsored by Progressive Democrats of America and co-sponsored by Occupy Arlington. This will be an education session talking about what people can do from a grassroots perspective.
- Nonviolence WG will be meeting on May 15 4-5:30 and May 30 3-4:30 at the Clear Conscience Cafe, Central Square, Cambridge. Agenda items include follow-up on support to opposition to the potential BU biolab for level 3/4 hazardous substances; planning for 2 upcoming trainings: one in conjunction with other local community organizations and one for trainers. Contact: Linda Jenkins, Linda Jenkins, lindajenkins177@yahoo.com.
- 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. - 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!)
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Event Highlights:
- May 13, 12pm-2pm, Cape Exit of the Sagamore Bridge. No Escape from the Cape: Cape Codders will mobilize to call attention to the serious dangers of the continued operation of the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Reactor in Plymouth and the fact that the Cape Cod bridges will be closed in the event of a radiological accident. The Emergency Planning Zone plans call for both Cape bridges to be closed (with one lane open only to emergency vehicles only). There is no escape from the Cape and the population will be at great risk. In Japan, the NRC recommended evacuation within 50 miles of Fukushima. Cape Cod is 12 miles from the Pilgrim reactor. We call upon the NRC to deny the re-licensing of the reactor and for Entergy Corporation to put people before profits and close down the Pilgrim reactor. We will gather at the Christmas Tree Shops parking lot adjacent to the Mid-Cape exit to the Sagamore Bridge. We will hold signs, hand out leaflets to passing automobiles and if we have enough people and energy, we will consider other peaceful forms of political protest. We hope to symbolically demonstrate and dramatize the fact that if there is an accident at the nuclear facility in Plymouth and a subsequent release of radiation, there will be no way to escape from Cape Cod. Both bridges will be closed. We hope to have newspaper reporters and photographers to document the event and help to publicize the dangers we face. The Fukushima accidents were caused by a loss of offsite power. It doesn’t take a tsunami; an ice storm, hurricane or human error can do it.
- Occupy Boston’s People of Color, Anti-Oppression, and Decolonize to Liberate Working Groups all endorse the participation of Occupy Boston in the annual Mothers’ Day Walk for Peace, Sunday, May 13th. Registration starts at 7AM and the walk begins at 8:30AM from Townfield Park in Fields Corner, Dorchester. The walk is nearly 4 miles long and is generally completed by 10AM.This is the 16th annual Mothers’ Day Walk for Peace, organized by the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute in Dorchester. The Peace Institute is a small grassroots, survivor-led agency that serves over 90% of the families of homicide victims in the Greater Boston area. The Peace Institute is renowned for its crisis management services as well as empowerment of parents and siblings in the aftermath of homicide through court education and political advocacy (such as testimony given before Boston City Councilors and the Governor). The Peace Institute is also known for their peace curriculum used in local Boston public schools, and they are beginning to become known for their new healing center using art therapy and other alternative holistic modalities such as massage and acupuncture.Working groups are encouraged to register teams for this walk and raise some funds and/or provide volunteers as needed. Go to www.ldbpeaceinstitute.org to register (note that info on the walk is currently still from last year, so use the above info). Please also remember that this is not an Occupy Boston event but one in which we are continuing humbly to build relationships with marginalized communities impacted by structural oppressions and legacies of colonialism. Any signage used that day should be small and respectful. The walk is open to the public and many join in from all segments, but the leaders are the families who have lost their loved ones to street violence and who have their own chants that they use as they lead the march. Please join in with humility and respect.
Calendar for Sunday, May 13, 2012
1pm – 3pm The Icarus Project WG Meeting, Gazebo on Boston Common (City Place Food Court in the Transportation Building if raining) Radical mental health support and activism.
1pm – 3pm People of Color WG Meeting, First Church of Roxbury – 10 Putnam Street, Roxbury
4pm – 5pm Socialist Caucus Meeting, Encuentro 5, 33 Harrison Ave 5th Floor
5pm – 8:30pm, Action Assembly, Community Church of Boston, 565 Boylston Street (across from Copley)
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/