Good Morning from Occupy Boston!
Stories of the Day: Activists from Occupy Wall Street, the environmental movement and labor unions, along with victims of home foreclosures, had massive demonstrations at Bank of America’s shareholder meeting in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday morning. Occupiers have characterized the event as a test run for activism ahead of September’s Democratic National Convention … For those gathered, Bank of America has become the quintessential culprit for the Great Recession — a bailed-out bank with a bad record on foreclosures and the environment. For more, see Bank of America Protests and Thousands Turn Out to Protest Bank of America Shareholders’ Meeting. In more bank news: Retired Citigroup CEO Sanford Weill will receive an honorary doctorate, as will his wife, Joan, from Sonoma State University in Northern California, on May 12. Since the university made the announcement, students, faculty and staff have voiced outrage, describing the degree as a “dishonor” to their graduating class and a shame on the school’s ethics and reputation. They even set up a website, www.shameonssu.org to register the flood of complaints that poured in. And here’s why. After retiring as the CEO of Citigroup, the largest “too-big-to-fail” bank that got bailed out by taxpayers several years back, Weill gave $12 million for SSU’s new Green Music Center. How Weill made his money, and what strings were attached to his donation to SSU, are questions many feel still need answering – if the answers aren’t clear enough already. For more, see Amid Outcry, a Mega-Banker Gets His Degree. And did you know that banks gamble on hunger? Speculating on food prices causes spikes in the cost of staple foods, meaning poor people around the world go hungry and poverty worsens. For an infographic, see How Banks Cause Hunger. And Frankfurt’s Municipal Department for Public Order has announced a ban on all actions planned by the Blockupy Frankfurt alliance for the European Days of Action scheduled for May 16 to 19 in Germany’s financial capital. According to the Blockupy Frankfurt website, the ban is an attempt to curb any form of protest against European Union financial and political leaders whose decisions have cut deeply into the lives of millions of Europeans. For the Days of Action, more than a dozen members of the alliance have been preparing protests against the austerity policies forwarded by European governments and the Troika, composed of the European Central Bank (ECB), the European Union and the IMF. Blockupy Frankfurt had filed various requests for its protests, in the forms of demonstrations, rallies, vigils and meetings (asambleas). On the coalition’s website, Blockupiers wrote, “This ban is a scandalous incident quite unique in the history of the Federal Republic and an open insult on the right to demonstrate guaranteed by the constitution.” For more, see Blockupy Frankfurt Banned. In more news from Germany, check out this cool protest called “Wall Street to Your Street”: On May 10, 25 life-size figures appeared in front of a Deutsche Bank branch in Berlin’s Alexanderplatz. The cut-out figures were, in fact, cardboard “clones” of Occupy activists from around the world. In October 2011 two designers from Berlin visited Occupy Wall Street, Occupy DC and Occupy London to meet Occupiers and take their photos. “The protests of the Occupy movement address global issues,” said Paul. “We wanted to give protesters the opportunity to make their voice heard in other countries.” For the story and a brief video, see Deutsche Bank Protest in Berlin.
Other Occupies/Protests: MassUniting upcoming protest at State Street Bank: Tax Dodging. Prison Profiteering. Misleading Investors. Defrauding Pensions. Job Killing. For years, State Street Bank has managed to avoid accountability for their crimes against the 99% — but you can be a witness at their “trial”. Help us bring State Street to justice May 16, as their executives gather to preside over the company’s annual shareholder meeting. WHEN: Wednesday, May 16 @ 9:30 AM, WHERE: Meet at Dewey Square (across from South Station).
“In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Occupy New England – M12 Day of Action and Regional Gathering. 9am-5:30pm, May 12: Come join Occupy groups from all around New England as we converge in Worcester for a day of action and networking! The day will have four core key components to it: getting as many Occupy groups and participants in one centralized location at the same time for a day of networking and planning, direct actions and public visibility, continued actions against corporations backing ALEC, and finally the flared up “War on Women” – discussion on women’s issues (rights, health care, etc…) Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/
events/330778876980716/ This is a non-violent protest, but just be aware the Worcester PD has a reputation of conducting political related intimidation tactics and may be tempted to arrest people as a result the second they perceive people step out of line. Occupy New England has answered the call of the global day of action by various groups in Spain, the anniversary of last year’s 15M protests in that country. More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011%E2%80%932012_Spanish_protests or http://www.may12.net
Preliminary timeline of events: (Please note times/actions are subject to change.)
9 am: Begin gathering at Worcester Common
10 am: Second New England Solidarity March. We will take to the streets (or sidewalks, since we don’t have permits) and join our comrades around the world in protest against corrupt government, corrupt banks, austerity measures, and other related issues of the Indignants. March will include protests outside various bank branches (notably Sovereign/Santander and Bank of America) with corrupt and greed driven leadership. Any CD will be considered autonomous actions, or the result of Worcester PD intimidation and hostilities.
Midday: Occupy New England gathering. Come meet your fellow Occupiers from around the region, plan out regional strategies, discuss what your local Occupy group has done and has planned coming up. Some food will be provided for lunch, it is also encouraged those who can please assist Worcester Food Not Bombs with the lunch efforts.
1 pm: Occupy Worcester’s Women and Queer Caucus presents: Women’s Health Matters! Held at the YWCA of Central Mass. (a block from the Common down Franklin St.), Workshops include: Men as Allies, Supported Pregnancy and Empowered Birth, Healthy Families, Slut Shaming, Women over 50, and Lies and Truths about Abortion. Bring your knitting supplies and come learn about the Snatchel Project.
Facebook event page: http://www.facebook.com/events/333705343363009/
The regional gathering and the Women’s Health Matters events will likely run concurrently, at least for parts of the early afternoon.
Late afternoon: Neighborhood cleanup around the Common and Downtown Worcester (if enough interest).
If anyone is interested in providing musical entertainment for the march and other parts of the day, please reply to Occupy New England or Occupy Worcester on Facebook. Continue reading “Occupy Boston Daily Digest for 5-11-12” »
