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    Another world is possible

    • Bringing Flood Wall Street to Boston

    October 16th, 2014 · · Events One comment

    (from act-ma)

    As part of a beautiful group of folks who worked together at the Flood Wall Street event in NYC the day following the People’s Climate March, we are trying to facilitate a climate direct action network around boston. We have two events planned, with the aim is to bring together some of the different folks who have participated in past actions (XL Dissent, KXL pledge, Brayton Point, Salem, transcanada, pipelines) and who might want to participate in more. We are also trying to reach folks who may not have participated in direct action but who would like to (and there are many many non-arrestable roles and non-civil disobedience actions we could take). We all know we have tremendous power in Boston. We hope to work with others to create a culture of empowerment, where folks are empowered to step up, plan, and carry out empowering, effective, and principled actions. We believe in the power of decentralized but coordinated actions, so here’s to getting that going locally, and to seeing you all!

    Sunday Oct. 19th, 1:00-3:30PM, MIT building 56 room 154. facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/510626222406808

    Wed. Oct. 22 6:30-9:00 PM, Lucy Parsons Center, 358A Centre St., Boston. facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1554563841440012

    Halloween Party @ Dewey Square

    October 13th, 2014 · · Events Comments Off on Halloween Party @ Dewey Square

    What’s October 31st? Halloween, of course! More specifically, it’s the third Halloween since a group of activists occupied Dewey Square, insisting that “Another World is Possible”.

    Let’s have a Halloween party. Federal Reserve Plaza/Dewey Square, Friday Oct 31st, 3-5pm, or until otherwise evicted. Costumes and coordinated die-ins optional, willingness to stand up for the 99% required.

    Throw Open The Borders

    October 12th, 2014 · · Speak Out Comments Off on Throw Open The Borders

    It is useless to try to hold back the tide of weary, desperate people seeking a better life. Let’s get real: no one is going to stop a hungry child from jumping on the top of a train and looking for higher ground. Why not just let them in? All of them ? Yes, all of them.

     

    A Problem Correctly Defined is Half Solved

     

    We don’t have an immigration problem, we have a poverty problem. And the problem is not that we as a country don’t have enough money to solve poverty. It’s that we put our money into the wrong pocketsAllowing anyone who wants to enter the country to enter is feasible if it is one several radical changes to how the government regulates economic fundamentals: labor, property and taxes.

     

    Replace the all entitlements with a Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) and health care.

    Shred Title 26: A New Tax Code for a New Economy. *

    Triple Decker Housing Trust Fund

    Throw Open the Borders.

     

    You’re Going to GIVE Immigrants Money?

     

    After paying taxes for 7 years, everyone residing in the US should be eligible for a BIG of $21,000/year. For most “Born Heres” that means starting with an after-school job while in high school. On the other hand, if you started living off your trust fund at 16, you might never qualify.  Poor baby.

     

    How will you pay for that?

     

    Replacing all entitlements with a basic income guarantee doesn’t just mean eliminating programs like unemployment insurance, food stamps, fuel assistance, and Section 8, it means eliminating the bureaucracy that administers those programs. If no one has to apply for “social security”—because you already receive it (after paying taxes for 7 years)—checking eligibility is a piece of cake.  Ditto for hundreds of other government programs that now soak up millions of dollars in administrative expenses. If on top of it you radically streamline Title 26, suddenly the money appears.

     

    Current Immigration Policy

     

    Besides militarizing the entire southern half of the country, protecting our border also prevents employers from hiring the best person for the job and within a capitalist system the best person for the job is the person that will work for the lowest wage. The economy and employers are better off paying Manuel Labor, father of ten who has three other jobs, than they are employing someone who thinks s/he is too good to wash dishes.

     

    The Slacker Problem

     

    The “immigration problem” highlights something that no one, liberal or conservative has adequately addressed: some people won’t work.  Ask conservatives about the shortage of “Born Here” dishwashers and they’ll start babbling about whatever it is they babble about. Ask liberals about unionized deadwood and they’ll claim it’s not a problem.  But it is and there is no better description of it than this classic New Yorker article about teachers being paid not to teach:

     

    http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/08/31/the-rubber-room

     

    Liberals don’t want to talk about this or the other ways that entitlements make it more sensible to game the system than to look for work. This is because at the heart of liberalism is a kind of paternalism that assumes that poor people don’t know how to run their own lives.  A better conclusion is that the government doesn’t know how to run peoples lives.

     

    (For the record, this editorialist doesn’t believe in laziness. People who don’t want to work usually have a good reason for not working, one that no one else can really understand or change.)

     

    Mom and Pop

     

    Gov: “You spent all your allowance?  Too bad, you’ll do better next week.”

    Gov: “What, spent it again? Talk to your mother.”

     

    Replacing all entitlements with a BIG doesn’t mean the end of charity, it means cutting out the middleman. No matter what “The Dad” government does or does not do, there will always be people with large soft hearts who will give anyone another chance. G-d bless them.  Everyone needs and deserves a mother.

     

    Increasing the tax break for private charitable donations; eliminating the need for charities to apply for government contracts and having all donations go directly to the charity chosen by the donor will make private charitable organizations more effective.  Let’s retire the Nanny state and let Mom do her job.

     

    It’s the Economy Stupid

     

    Putting enough money to live on, albeit not well, into the hands of people who then are free to make economic choices is a better way to help people and a better way run an economy than putting it into the pockets of government employees. Since there are no strings or income limitations on the BIG, people can slack when they can’t work and make as much money as is humanly possible when they can (corporations are not people and thus not eligible for the BIG). Whether those people are Born Here or Born Somewhere Else is irrelevant to the economy and should be to everyone else.

     

    Throw open the borders. In the age of globalization we are all citizens of the world. It’s time to start acting like it.

     

    For the Earth,

     

    Aria Littlhous

     

    *For more on these initiatives go to: http://arialittlhous.blogspot.com/search?q=dissenting+opinion

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Direct Action @ People’s Climate March 9/21/14, NYC

    September 14th, 2014 · · News and Announcements Comments Off on Direct Action @ People’s Climate March 9/21/14, NYC
    Chris Hedges writes, “Our only hope comes from radical groups descending on New York to carry out direct action, including Global Climate Convergence and Popular Resistance. March if you want. But it should be the warmup. The real fight will come once people disperse on 11th Avenue.
     

    “The march is symbolic,” said Kevin Zeese of Popular Resistance when I reached him by phone, “but we are past the time of symbolism. What we need is direct action against the United Nations during the meeting. This should include blockades and disruption of the meeting itself. We need to highlight the fact that the United Nations has sold out to corporate interests. At U.N. meetings on climate change you see corporate logos on display. During the last meeting on climate change in Poland, the U.N. held a simultaneous conference to promote coal as a clean energy source. These U.N. meetings have become corporate trade shows where discussions on climate are hijacked to promote corporate interests. Barack Obama has announced he will continue the U.S. stance of only calling for voluntary climate goals in advance of the upcoming climate summit in Paris next year.”

    http://www.alternet.org/activism/climate-march-will-it-be-call-arms-earth-or-are-more-radical-actions-needed?page=0%2C3&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
    For information on how to attend the People’s Climate March, please see the previous post.
    A.

    People’s Climate March 9/21/14

    September 11th, 2014 · · News and Announcements Comments Off on People’s Climate March 9/21/14

     

    Upcoming Events

    Statewide

    Lobster Boat Trial 
    Mon, September 8 and Tue, September 9
    Fall River District Court, 186 S Main Street, Fall River
    RSVP here

    People’s Climate March 
    Sun, September 21, 11:30 am
    Columbus Circle, New York City, NY
    Buy tickets here

    Rally for a Koch-Free WGBH
    Wed, October 1
    Time and location TBD

    Berkshires area:

    Free Showing of Gasland II
    Sun, August 31, 11:00 am
    Triplex Cinema,  70 Railroad Street, Great Barrington

    350MA Node Meeting
    Wed, September 17, 6:30pm – 8:00pm
    Unitarian Universalist Church, 175 Wendell Avenue, Pittsfield

    Boston area

    350MA Node Meeting
    Tue, September 2, 7:00pm – 9:00pm
    Nate Smith House, 155 Lamartine Street, Jamaica Plain

    Boston Street Medics Protester Health & Safety Training
    Sun, September 7, 2:00-4:00pm
    Bikes Not Bombs Hub, 284 Amory St. in the Brewery Complex, Jamaica Plain

    FERC Hearing on Spectra Pipeline Expansion
    Mon, September 8, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
    Holiday Inn Dedham, 55 Ariadne Road, Dedham

    Cambridge area:

    350MA Node Meeting
    Tue, September 9, 6:00pm – 8:30pm
    First Church Cambridge, 11 Garden Street, Cambridge

    Lecture by Michael Klare on “Hot War, Climate Change & Sustainability”
    Thu, September 11, 7:00pm – 8:30pm
    MIT Campus, Room 35-225, Cambridge

    People’s Climate March Art Build
    Sat, September 13, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
    Community Center at Follen Community Church, 755 Massachusetts Ave., Lexington

    Get Up Stand Up Reggae Concert to Build Buzz for People’s Climate March
    Fri, September 19, 7:30pm – 10:00pm
    Regent Theatre, 7 Medford St., Arlington

    Central MA area:

    350MA Node Meeting
    Wed, September 3, 7:00pm – 9:00pm
    Ghosh Science and Technology Room #402B, Worcester State University, 486 Chandler Street, Worcester
    NOTE NEW ROOM

    Climate Change 101 Presentation
    Sat, September 6, 2014.10:30am – 12:00pm
    Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem Street, Worcester

    Lowell area:

    Kinder Morgan Presentation in Dunstable
    Wed, September 3, 7:00pm – 9:00pm
    Upstairs Meeting Room, Town Hall, 511 Main Street, Dunstable, MA
    (NOTE DATE CHANGE – WAS RESCHEDULED)

    350MA Node Meeting
    Thur, September 4, 8:30-9:30am
    Brewed Awakening, 61 Market Street, Lowell

    Metro West area 

    350MA Node Meeting
    Thur, September 4th, 7:00-9:00pm
    Peace Lutheran Church, 107 Concord Rd, Wayland

    South Shore area:

    350MA Node Meeting 
    Tue, September 2, 6:30pm – 9:00pm
    Old Ship Church Parish House, 107 Main Street, Hingham
    (NOTE DATE CHANGE)

    Pioneer Valley area:

    Bird Puppet-Making for People’s Climate March
    Sat, September 13, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
    Heritage Park, 221 Appleton St, Holyoke

    Tabling for the People’s Climate March at the Co-Op Power Sustainability Summit
    Sat, September 13
    Heritage Park, 221 Appleton St, Holyoke

    Bird Puppet-Making for People’s Climate March
    Sun, September 14, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
    Yurt in the Woods Studio, Haydenville

     

     

     

    This Week’s News and Updates

    Hi all,

    Every day, I hear about another crazy wonderful thing that someone is doing to prepare for the People’s Climate March. The variety is astounding — from bird puppets in the Pioneer Valley to reggae concerts in Cambridge to street medic trainings in Boston. Each morning I find my inspiration renewed by the latest video about the march or another amazing selection of posters.

    Three weeks to go. I can’t wait to see you all in New York!

    With love and hope,

    Emily

    Just 18 Days, 23 Hours and 48 Minutes Until the People’s Climate March

    Less than three weeks until the People’s Climate March in NYC! Have you purchased your bus tickets yet? All the logistical details are on the ticket purchase page, so be sure to read carefully! Now is the moment to invite friends, family, co-workers and neighbors to the march. Let’s fill as many buses as we can!

    Save the Date – Fight for a Koch-Free WGBH

    WGBH Boston, one of the country’s leading PBS stations, says that its mission is to “foster an informed and active citizenry” through radio and TV programs like NOVA. And yet David Koch (yes, thatDavid Koch) sits on WGBH’s Board of Trustees and its “Science Visiting Council”. This is the same David Koch who spends millions of dollars each year trying to convince the public that climate change isn’t real. The Kochs’ efforts to deny climate change and undermine climate science should be unacceptable at a place like WGBH. On October 1st, concerned climate activists will rally outside the station’s annual board meeting to call for a Koch-free WGBH! Save the date — details to follow.

    Volunteers Needed for the People’s Climate March

    The People’s Climate March on September 21 will be the largest climate mobilization in history. We’re looking for volunteers to serve as bus captains and help us bring hundreds of people to New York from Massachusetts for the march!

    Are you interested in helping with outreach and recruitment leading up the march, and then checking people in on the day of? Sign up to volunteer here! We’re especially in need of bus captains in Worcester, Boston, Cambridge, and Amherst.

    Stay Connected to 350MA During the People’s Climate March

    We’ve created a mass text messaging system to help everyone stay connected to 350MA before and during the People’s Climate March. To join, text @PCM350MA to 23559. We are also sending periodic email updates to all bus registrants. If you’re planning to make your own way to the march, but you want to stay updated on 350MA’s plans, please fill out this form to recieve the updates.

    Climate Legacy Campaign Update

    The 350MA Climate Legacy campaign platform is nearly realized! Coal will be effectively phased out within the next three years, fracking within Massachusetts is effectively prohibited, the Patrick administration is moving forward with preparations for a carbon tax study, and we’re holding the line against new fossil fuel infrastructure. To finish the job, we will now focus on (1) keeping out more tar sands and fracked gas by pushing for “clean fuel” and “clean energy” standards, and (2) fighting in the trenches against the advance of new or expanded gas infrastructure.

    Over the next few weeks, we’ll continue our postcard drive outreach effort and prepare for drop-off events at the State House.  And mark your calendars: FERC Chair LaFleur, ISO-NE CEO van Welie, and EPA Administrator McCarthy (!) will be in Boston on Friday, September 19for a special energy industry event, a fantastic opportunity for 350MA to voice its concerns. Stay tuned for details!

    FERC Hearing on Spectra Pipeline Expansion

    Spectra Energy is trying to expand the Algonquin Pipeline, which runs across four states from New York to Massachusetts, in order to transport more gas. They want to construct six new loud, dirty and potentially explosive compressor stations and many new metering stations, including one across the street from an active quarry in Boston. Hearings with federal regulators are an important opportunity to express our views on this unnecessary and polluting new project! The upcoming hearing in Dedham is the only hearing scheduled for Massachusetts.
    WHAT: FERC Hearing on Spectra Pipeline Expansion
    WHEN: Monday, September 8, 6:30pm – 8:30pm
    WHERE: Holiday Inn Dedham, 55 Ariadne Road, Dedham

    Worcester Node Is Now Central MA Node!

    The Worcester node of 350MA just voted to change its name to the “Central MA” node to reflect its geographic range. Congrats on the new name! If you’ve got questions about the Central MA node, you can email Errica Saunders, erricas@gmail.com.

    Climate Change 101 with 350MA Central MA

    Santa and a polar bear cartoon

    Confused by all the info about climate change? Get the straight scoop from an expert at Climate 101 with Allison Dunn, Ph.D. atmospheric scientist at Worcester State University. This is a great opportunity to learn more about climate science!
    WHAT: Climate Change 101 sponsored by the 350MA Central MA Node
    WHEN: Saturday, September 6, 10:30am – 12:00pm
    WHERE: Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem Street, Worcester

    Help Create Art for the People’s Climate March

    The first People’s Climate March art build in Cambridge was a huge success! Join us at the next art build to create posters, banners, wearable art, noise makers, and more.

    What to bring: (whatever you can from this list): arts and crafts supplies of all kinds, old umbrellas, scissors, large markers, paints & paint brushes, latex wall, poster paint, bed sheets, hats, tin pie plates, stapler & staples, poster board, mat board, cardboard, dowels, bambou garden stakes, cardboard tubing, straight pins, ribbon, string, rope, twine, tape, sponges, rags, drop clothes, tarps, plastic buckets, aprons, razor cutters.

    Art Build 2 (Hosted by Follen UU Church Environmental Justice Task Force – will be family friendly)
    WHEN: Saturday, September 13, 10:00 am – 4:00 pm
    WHERE: Community Center at Follen Community Church, 755 Massachusetts Ave., Lexington

    Art Build 3 (Hosted by Mass Art – exact times and location to be determined)
    WHEN: Saturday, September 13
    WHERE: Mass Art, Boston

    Help Make Bird Puppets for the People’s Climate March

    Make hand-held bird puppets from cardboard for the People’s Climate March with theatre artist and activist Beth Fairservis. We hope to fill the streets with flocks of birds handmade by groups in Western MA. RSVP to Beth Fairservis:bethbirth@crocker.com.

    Bird Puppet-Making Session 2
    WHEN: Saturday, September 13, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
    WHERE: Heritage Park, 221 Appleton St, Holyoke

    Bird Puppet-Making Session 3
    WHEN: Sunday, September 14, 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
    WHERE: Yurt in the Woods Studio, Haydenville

    Protester Health & Safety Training

    Major mobilizations are an important tool in political movements, but they can also be hectic and stressful. In preparation for the People’s Climate March, the Boston Street Medics will hold a Protester Health and Safety training on Sunday, September 7. The space is mobility accessible, near Stony Brook Station on the Orange Line, and there is on- and off-street parking. This session will cover the basics of buddy and affinity group safety, weather-related illness, police/arrest safety and advocacy, special needs and chronic illness awareness, and post-action emotional self-care. The focus of this training is on injury and illness prevention, staying safe in the streets, and knowing what to do when you don’t know what to do. There is no cost to attend the session, but please RSVP by Thursday, September 4th at http://tinyurl.com/PCMBosHS. Please emailbostonstreetmedics@riseup.net with any questions.
    WHAT: Boston Street Medics Protester Health & Safety Training
    WHEN: Sunday, September 7, 2:00-4:00pm
    WHERE: Bikes Not Bombs Hub, 284 Amory St. in the Brewery Complex, Jamaica Plain.

    Hot War, Climate Change, and Sustainability

    How are conflicts from Iraq to the Ukraine connected to climate change and fossil fuels? On September 11, Michael Klare, director of the Five College Program in Peace and World Security Studies (PAWSS), will give a talk at MIT titled “Hot War, Climate Change, & Sustainability”. The talk will cover the connections between global warming, scarce energy resources, and intensifying conflict worldwide. The event will help to build awareness for the People’s Climate March on September 21 in New York City. Sponsored by United for Justice with Peace.
    WHAT: Lecture by Michael Klare on “Hot War, Climate Change & Sustainability”
    WHEN: Thursday, September 11, 7:00pm – 8:30pm
    WHERE: MIT Campus, Room 35-225, Cambridge

    “Get Up, Stand Up” People’s Climate March Reggae Show
    get up stand up poster

    Matt Jenson, a local musician and professor at Berklee College of Music, is hosting a multimedia reggae experience on September 19that will help to build excitement for the People’s Climate March in New York City. The concert will feature a powerful set of Marley’s music followed by an equally powerful set of contemporary reggae. There is a $5 discount for the show if you purchase a bus ticket to attend the march! Purchase your show ticket here.
    WHAT: “Get Up, Stand Up” reggae show to build buzz for the People’s Climate March
    WHEN: Friday, September 19 at 7:30pm
    WHERE: Regent Theatre, 7 Medford Street, Arlington

    Tabling for the PCM at the Co-Op Power Sustainability Summit

    The Co-Op Power Sustainability Summit will be held on September 13 in Holyoke. Climate Action Now / 350 MA in the Pioneer Valley will be tabling to spread the word about the People’s Climate March! Register here, then email or call Dave Roitman (droitman@verizon.net; cell is(413) 535-7173) to get all the information and materials you’ll need for tabling!
    WHAT: Tabling for the People’s Climate March at the Co-Op Power Sustainability Summit
    WHEN: Saturday, September 13
    WHERE: Heritage Park, 221 Appleton Street in Holyoke

    Wear Armbands to Promote the People’s Climate March!

    We have green armbands/wristbands! Wear one proudly to show that you are going to the People’s Climate March or supporting it. It’s a great way to get people asking about the march and a great tool for recruitment. Whenever someone asks about the armband / wristband, tell them about the march, ask them to join in, and hand them a band along with our quarter page flyer explaining the march and how to get to it. Emailjimrecht@gmail.com to have a box of bands and flyers mailed to you or to arrange a pick up at the next Cambridge Node meeting!

    Become an Ongoing Contributor!
    Ongoing contributions are so important!

    Well, that basically sums it up. We depend on grassroots funding —sign up now as an ongoing contributor for Better Future Project / 350 Massachusetts!

    About Better Future Project

    BFP logo

    Better Future Project (BFP) builds a powerful grassroots movement to confront the fossil fuel industry and meet our energy needs without contributing to climate change, oppression, or human suffering.

    350 Massachusetts (350MA)is Better Future Project’s volunteer-led climate action network. Although closely aligned with the mission and values of 350.org, 350 Massachusetts is not part of 350.org.

    Climate Summer is Better Future Project’s flagship leadership development program for young adults. Participants learn organizing skills including story-telling, relationship-building, social media, traditional media, event planning, campaign planning, and more, all while living their values and traveling exclusively by bicycle. Graduates go on to become leaders in the national climate justice movement.

    If you have questions, email Emily Kirkland, Better Future Project Communications Coordinator, at emily@betterfutureproject.org. If you’ve received this email through a friend and you’d like to subscribe, click here.

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