Good Morning from Occupy Boston!
Stories of the Day: While many all over the world celebrated Easter or Passover, for others, it was just another day trying to survive on the streets. No population has their human and civil rights so casually and routinely trampled as do homeless Americans. Check out “The 10 Unbelievably Sh**ty Things America Does to Homeless People.” And this was news to me: In 2009, former President Jimmy Carter quit the Southern Baptist Church over their treatment of women, see story here. Said Carter: “The truth is that male religious leaders have had — and still have — an option to interpret holy teachings either to exalt or subjugate women. They have, for their own selfish ends, overwhelmingly chosen the latter. Their continuing choice provides the foundation or justification for much of the pervasive persecution and abuse of women throughout the world.” And for those who traveled over the holiday, here’s one for you: After 10 years and $60 billion the Transportation Security Administration can only stop 30% of potential threats? Check out this “TSA Grope and Pillage” infographic. And on a lighter note, a follow-up to a story previously mentioned: check out this very short video about the creation of the winning entry in the Washington Post’s Peep Diorama contest, OccuPeep DC! And — shades of Chairman Meow? Hank the Cat runs for Senate in Virginia.
Other Occupies/Protests: Occupy Chicago’s Chicago Spring on April 7 was a day of action across the city as the movement prepares to protest the NATO summit. And Russian police let hundreds of activists roam Moscow’s Red Square freely on Sunday in the first anti-government protest held next to the Kremlin, though they detained three activists who were attempting to set up a tent.
“America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” Abraham Lincoln
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. Everyone is welcome to attend today’s working group meeting (see below)!
Help support Camp Charlie! Protesters need healthy food, water, hand warmers, sweaters, blankets, duct tape, and you! Also musicians needed, acoustic only. Bring friends/bands/instruments…sorry, no power. And if anyone has time to come by for any amount of time and help out by sitting at the Info table to talk to people that would be great!
For a partial listing of Working Groups looking for volunteers, please click here!
Upcoming Events:
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Justice for Farmworkers! Picket, Delegation and Theater at Stop & Shop Headquarters, Thursday, April 12 at 12pm, Stop & Shop Corporate Office Headquarters, 1385 Hancock St., Quincy.
Just days before the Ahold (parent company of Stop & Shop) Shareholder Meeting, please join farmworkers and Fair Food allies in calling on Stop and Shop to join the Fair Food Program!
For decades, Florida’s farmworkers faced poverty wages and daily violations of their basic rights — including physical abuse, sexual harassment, and in the most extreme cases, modern-day slavery — in order to harvest the food on our plates. Today, however, a new day is dawning in the fields. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) — an internationally-recognized farmworker organization — has reached groundbreaking agreements with ten of the world’s leading food retailers, including McDonald’s, Subway and Trader Joe’s. Hailed by the New York Times as “possibly the most successful labor action in the US in twenty years,” the Fair Food Program establishes a worker-designed code of conduct in the fields and requires retailers to pay one more penny per pound for the tomatoes they buy to go directly to the workers who picked them—all of which is monitored and enforced by the independent Fair Food Standards Council. Supermarkets like Ahold leverage their high-volume purchasing power to demand the ever-lower prices that result in farmworker exploitation. By refusing to partner with the CIW, the steps the company has taken fall far short of the substantive, verifiable and enforceable standards that the situation requires, consumers expect, and others within the industry have embraced.
- 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 the bandstand in the Commons. Things to bring: yourself (most important), signs, noise-making stuff (pots, pans, kazoos, whatever)
Monday, April 9, 2012
Event Highlights:
Please note that new events may have been added to the website; check https://www.occupyboston.org for the latest information!
- At 10am in Hearing Room B1, the Joint Committee on Transportation will meet for the first time since the MassDOT board approved massive fare increases for next year and since Occupy MBTA launched its occupation on the steps of the State House. Occupy MBTA will be testifying, and we need a big presence at the hearing to ensure our voices are heard. Please join us! We’ll be meeting at Camp Charlie at 9:30 AM (steps in front of State House on Beacon Street) before heading to the hearing.
- [Ongoing] Occupation of State House Steps for Public Transportation, April 5 – 14, 2012, Camp Charlie at the State House. On April 4, Occupy the MBTA, a working group of Occupy Boston, launched Camp Charlie, a ten-day occupation of the Massachusetts State House steps to protest fare-hikes and service cutbacks on the MBTA. Having survived the depths of the recession, the 99% now faces additional taxes in the form of escalating T fares and the loss of essential transport routes. This is a further transfer of public wealth to the banks. These are the same institutions that were bailed out by the American taxpayer after being rendered insolvent by their own, criminal recklessness. The only debt in need of servicing is their debt to us. In a country that lavishes four billion dollars in subsidies on the oil companies, the relentless assault on public transport could not make less sense – ethically, environmentally, or otherwise. Camp Charlie will be a place for public debate, conversation, and outreach – a living testament to the refusal of the people to be further abused by a clutch of corporate interests, multinational banking cartels and consolidated oil interests.
Calendar for Monday, April 9, 2012
5pm-6pm Food WG Meeting, at Cathedral Church of St. Paul, 138 Tremont St., Boston
6pm Queer Trans DA WG Meeting at Camp Charlie
6pm – 8:30pm Community Gathering – Free School University, Peace and Economic Justice at The Cathedral Church of St. Paul (138 Tremont)
7pm – 8:30pm Climate Action, Sustainability and Environmental Justice WG Meeting, Old West Church (United Methodist) at 131 Cambridge St.
7pm – 9pm Radio WG Meeting, Encuentro 5, 33 Harrison Avenue, 5th Floor
8:30pm – 10:30pm MetaSpokes WG Meeting. City Place Food Court in the Transportation Building, This working group is exploring Spokescouncil models and how this might be another good organizing tool for Occupy Boston.
Please note! Due to the increasingly warm weather and the Occupation at Camp Charlie, meeting locations may 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.
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.
