Good Morning from Occupy Boston!

Stories of the Day: You are what you eat: Why You Should Be Worried About the California Mad Cow Case. In summary, meat and bone meal produced from  “downed cows,” who are too sick or injured to stand, is used as a protein and energy supplement in poultry and swine feed. Then “poultry litter”—poultry feces mixed with bedding, spilled feed, and chicken carcasses—is fed to cows. Then the result is fed to us. For more, click here. Farm Aid has a group called Occupy the Food System, their Facebook page is here: http://www.facebook.com/OccupyTheFoodSystem. And, is the US Army Preparing for Martial Law Scenario in US? Why is the Army Having Civil Disturbance and Mock Riot Drills In Washington? For the story, click here.  On a more local front, Is there a secret plan to evacuate some residents of Chicago in the event of protests during the NATO summit next month? CBS 2 News Chicago has uncovered some evidence that there is. It comes from the Milwaukee area branch of the American Red Cross. For the story, click here, and for information on the planned NATO protests, see the Occupy Chicago Facebook event page, http://www.facebook.com/events/327661850618904/. And several filmmakers and Occupy Wall Street supporters are criticizing the Tribeca Film Festival for its inclusion of Brookfield Properties, the owner of Zuccotti Park, as a sponsor for this year’s events. For more, click here. And check out this amusing and brief video guide to nonviolent revolution from Occupy the Movie – find your role in the revolution!

Other Occupies/Protests: From Occupy SF: Over the past year over 380 workers from 19 unions have been in tense negotiations with the Golden Gate Bridge Highway and Transportation District. The coalition of unions includes workers from the Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Bus service as well as the Golden Gate Ferry. When the workers’ current contract expired in July of 2011 the District gave all the non-union employees a raise, thereby punishing union members for exercising their right to collectively bargain. Negotiations have stalled because the Bridge Board of Directors is currently taking an ideological position against providing quality affordable healthcare for workers with families. The Board is also trying to reduce the vested healthcare benefits for current retirees. Over the last few months the unions have been escalating their actions in order to push the Bridge Board to do the right thing by providing affordable healthcare for their employees. They have thus far refused to budge. These employees were assured, when they came to work for the Bridge, that if they worked until retirement age, they would receive a livable retirement and decent health coverage for the last part of their life. Right now we see the Golden Gate Bridge turning its back on their employees who have worked hard (many for decades) and contributed their talents, their energy, and their lives to make sure the bridge, and the public are safe. Therefore on May 1st, International Workers Day, The Golden Gate Bridge Labor Coalition is calling for a mass rally at the Golden Gate Bridge in order to unite with community members, other unions and the Occupy movement to show the Bridge Board that we are willing to stand up for our families, our healthcare and our jobs.

Occupy SF has a full day of events planned for May 1. For more information, see their website, http://occupysf.org/.

Good Morning from Occupy Boston!

Stories of the Day: Anonymous responds to CISPA by calling for specific protests throughout May and June. For the video message, click here. And, from The Portland Occupier: In a grandstand maneuver, our president stands tall with Elie Wiesel at the national Holocaust museum to speak out against the governments of Syria and Iran and the way they control their citizens’ internet and phone access. Meanwhile, the NSA security arm of our government monitors the internet and phone usage of its citizens, while police forces across the country conspire to limit the free speech rights of American patriots. For the story, click here. For more on the ironic contrast of the statements our government makes in support of protests in other countries and the way police are treating American protesters,  and a timeline of the protests all over the world, watch this short video from the Vancouver-based filmmakers creating Occupy the Movie (who were filming us at our Media discussion on Wednesday!): I Am Not Moving. And, the House of Representatives advanced a bill Friday that funds cheaper student loans by cutting a preventive health care program, the Prevention and Public Health Fund created in President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act. For more, click here. And, are you aware that in many cities, laws are being passed to criminalize feeding the homeless? For more, see A War on Homelessness or A War on the Homeless? And, here’s a creative idea: students suspended for walking out of class at Detroit’s Western International High School earlier this week to protest school closures and demand a better education, created a “freedom school.” Classes at the freedom school will be held with help from community volunteers for the duration of the students’ suspensions, including over the weekend.

Other Occupies/Protests: From Occupy Wall Street: The Free University is a collective educational experiment that will be held on May 1, 2012, from 10am-3pm. In solidarity with the general strike, the Free University offers a public space for the 99% to disengage from an unequal system and imagine a model for alternative education. Those gathered in Madison Square Park, and those meeting in other spaces in solidarity, will create a university that is open to all, without debt or tuition for students, without pre-requisites, age limits or any other disqualifying requirements. Learning can only happen through interaction, exchange, and dialogue. To create a living future together, all must be included and welcome. The Free University is an open invitation to educators around New York City to participate in May Day 2012. During the day, lectures, workshops, skill-shares, and discussions will be held — all open to the public. If you are in solidarity with the general strike but cannot cancel your class, bring it here! We also invite all educators interested in volunteering special sessions and classes for the day. We will have designated spaces for the quieter and more intimate classes. No single day, park, or effort can contain our vision; instead, we propose and will struggle to make all our universities places of free education, inquiry, and access to knowledge for all. We demand that our society put forward the necessary resources to provide such an education for all. For the full schedule of actions Occupy Wall Street has planned for the May 1 General Strike, click here.