Progressive Calendar 05.01.12 /2 | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: David Shove (shove001umn.edu) | |
Date: Tue, 1 May 2012 10:39:21 -0700 (PDT) |
*P R O G R E S S I V E C A L E N D A R 05.01.12* *May Day!* 1. General Strike/MayDay 5.01 10am+ 2. Worker rights march 5.01 3:30pm 3. Stop FBI/CTV 5.01 5pm 4. Salon 5.01 6:30pm 5. Palestine events 5.01-06 6. Dave Bicking - General update on Occupy 7. ed - May Day (haiku) --------1 of 7-------- Dave Bicking dave [at] colorstudy.com General Strike/MayDay 5.01 10am+ >From the major media, you would think that the Occupy movement has faded away. It's true that we haven't been able to maintain as visible a public presence. But the movement has been very active over the winter and it remains a powerful force. The Minneapolis Occupy has been working on many fronts, more than any one person could keep up with. I'm sorry I haven't been passing along the information for the last few months. The next [2] days are particularly important. Below is a quick calendar, followed by [see item 6 below] a summary of what Occupy is doing, and background on each of the upcoming events. Please join us! ***** Tuesday, May 1, all day: May Day General Strike! No work, no school, no shopping. Gather with Occupy and others to build our power. Solidarity with similar actions around the country and around the world. Activities in Loring Park, Minneapolis, starting at 10am. "A Day Without the 99%" meaning, they need us, we don't need the 1%. Actions at, or starting at, Loring Park on May 1: 10am: Opening action and Welcome 11am: SEIU Action 12:30pm Occupy Homes action - I believe it's a march to the nearby house of Richard Davis, CEO of US Bank. 2pm: Minnesota Immigrant Freedom Network teach-in and action 6:30pm: Dinner and Performances 10pm: Noise demo and march, in solidarity with prisoners and ICE detainees. ** Tuesday, May 1, 3:30pm Immigrant Rights march, starting at Lake & Nicollet Aves., Mpls. This is a large and important march every May Day, and is national in scope. ** Tuesday, May 1, 5:30pm Food and Retail Workers United March, starting from Powderhorn Park, 15th Ave. S. & 34th St., Mpls. (I think this is the same location as the end of the Immigrant Rights march.) *** Wednesday, May 2, 1:30pm Hearing on Concil member Barbara Johnson's Resolution that would restrict activities and free speech at city plazas. Hearing held in Council Chambers, Room 317 City Hall, Mpls, at the meeting of the Public Safety Committee. This resolution is a direct reaction to the "Re-Occupation" at Peavey Plaza, April 7, and to the police repression and arrests that followed. We need a large crowd, to protect our rights, and also the rights of the homeless who would also be impacted. I guarantee this will be a very interesting hearing. ** Wednesday, May 2, 6 - 8pm, and every Wednesday: Occupy Minneapolis All- Committee meeting, basement of Walker Church, 3104 16th Ave. S., Mpls. A great opportunity to find out what is happening with many aspects of Occupy, and plug in to the work. Pick a committee to work with! *** Friday, May 4, 6 - 9pm Foreclosure-Free BBQ and potluck, at the Cruz house, 4044 Cedar Ave., Mpls. Meet the family, the neighbors, and the community who are working to keep this family in their home. *** Saturday, May 5, 2pm Occupy Homes general meeting, at Minnehaha Free Space, 3458 Minnehaha Ave., Mpls. This normally meets every Sunday, but moved to Saturday this week to not conflict with the May Day Parade. Your help is needed! This is a growing and surprisingly successful campaign! [for the rest of the post, see item 6 below -ed] --------2 of 7-------- From: "Michelle Gross" mgresist [at] visi.com CUAPB Worker rights march 5.01 3:30pm MARCH FOR IMMIGRANT AND WORKER'S RIGHTS on International Workers Day May 1 at 3:30 p.m. Lake Street & Nicollet Avenue, Minneapolis Join with MIRAc and many others for the annual march for immigrant & workers rights on International Workers Day. Gather for this year’s march at 3:30 pm at Lake Street & Nicollet Ave in Minneapolis. C WE NEED YOUR HELP: We [CUABP] are not only sponsoring the event but are providing copwatchers to keep people secure. We need at least 12-14 people to do copwatch at the event. If you can help with copwatch, meet us on May 1 at 2:45 p.m. at Walker Church, 3100 16th Ave S, Minneapolis to carpool together to the intersection. We will do a copwatch/know your rights training at 3 p.m. at the site of the launch of the march. CONTACT: "Michelle Gross" mgresist [at] visi.com --------3 of 7-------- From: Eric Angell Stop FBI/CTV 5.01 5pm Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR) Benefit Concert - part 2" the 2nd of a 3-parter. the RUNNING RIOT performs original and cover songs. spoken words from Twin Cities' activist Misty Rowan, a little dance done by an "FBI" puppet, and, lastly, several offerings by the talented William Within. (recorded mid-feb, mpls) online at our new web site (check it!): http://ourworldindepth.org/episodes/2012/04/csfr-benefit-concert-running-riot SPNN 15 viewers: "Our World In Depth" cablecasts on St. Paul Neighborhood Network (SPNN) Channel 15 on Tuesdays at 5pm, midnight and Wednesday mornings at 10am, after DemocracyNow! Households with basic cable may watch. ** Tues, 5/1, @ 5pm & midnight + Wed, 5/2, 10am "Committee to Stop FBI Repression (CSFR) Benefit Concert - part 2" "Our World In Depth" features analysis of public affairs with consideration of and participation from Twin Cities area activists. "Our World In Depth" is locally produced and not corporately influenced. Order a dvd copy or contact us at ourworldindepth [at] gmail.com. --------4 of 7-------- From: patty pattypax [at] earthlink.net via justcomm.org Salon 5.01 6:30pm HI , Well, after a hiatus of 2 months, the salons will start again next Tuesday, May 1. The topic will just be Open Conversation and we can all tell each other what we did for the past 8 Tuesday nights. (or something a bit more interesting and important) . Hope to see you. Pax Salons ( http://justcomm.org/pax-salon ) are held (unless otherwise noted in advance): Tuesdays, 6:30 to 8:30 pm. Mad Hatter's Tea House, 943 W 7th, St Paul, MN Salons are free but donations encouraged for program and treats. Call 651-227-3228 or 651-227-2511 for information. --------5 of 7-------- Charles & Hertha Lutz chlutz1 [at] comcast.net Palestine events 5.01-06 May 1-6, Palestinian Art Festival in Mpls: features Pr. Mitri Raheb from Christmas Lutheran in Bethlehem, Diyar Dance Theater Group, “Room for Hope” art exhibition, new Palestinian music, short-film festival. Daily schedule— • Tuesday 1st, 7-9:30pm. Pastor Raheb speaks at Bethlehem Lutheran, 4100 Lyndale Av. S. Free. • Thursday 3rd, 12noon, “Playing for Peace” by Patrick McGrann, developer (currently in Gaza) of play-events for youth living amid violence, at Town Hall Forum, Westminster Presbyterian, 1200 Marquette Av. S. Preceded by half hour of Palestinian music at 11:30am. Free. • Thursday 3rd, 7:30pm. Diyar Dance Theater at Woman’s Club, 410 Oak Grove St. Tickets $10. Dessert reception follows performance. Woman’s Club welcomes visitors for dinner prior to show, from 5pm on—call 612-813-5300. • Friday 4th, 6-7:30pm. “Room for Hope” art exhibition opening reception, at Westminster Presbyterian. Exhibition created via call for art expressing hope, from artists in Gaza, West Bank, abroad. Also: Palestinian music/poetry. Free. • Saturday 5th, 11am, at Dittman Center Dance Studio 1, St. Olaf College, Northfield: Diyar Dance Theater will perform. Event will begin with comments by Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, pastor of Christmas Lutheran Church and president of Diyar Consortium. Free. More info: Gordon Olson at 507-301-3130. • Saturday 5th, 1-4pm. Festival of Palestinian short films at Westminster Presbyterian. Many of the films were created by students at the Lutherans’ Dar-al-Kalima College and International Center of Bethlehem. Free. • Saturday 5th, 5:30pm. Pastor Raheb preaches at worship, Central Lutheran, 333 12th St. S. Reception and book-signing follow. • Sunday 6th, 10:30am. Pastor Raheb preaches at worship, Westminster Presbyterian. Service also features world premiere of commissioned music. • Friday, May 4 (and every Friday), 4:15-5:30pm, weekly vigil for liberation of Palestine continues at St. Paul’s Snelling/Summit intersection. Saturday, May 12, at Southdale Library, 7001 York Av. S., Edina: Middle East Peace Now offers “The Special Relationship,” a presentation by Alex Vella. It looks at how Israeli leaders, past and present, manipulate this relationship to the detriment of U.S. interest and standing in the world. It explores a one-sided relationship and how Israel uses its influence, money and military might – provided by U.S. taxpayers – to do as it pleases, regardless of cost to U.S. Refreshments 9:30am, program at 10. More info: Dixie Vella, 952-941-1341 CMEP-MN coordinator is Dr. Brad Holt, holtb [at] augsburg.edu. This newsletter is edited by Chuck Lutz, assoc. coordinator. To add or remove an address, contact Chuck at 612-861-6648, chlutz1 [at] comcast.net --------6 of 7-------- Dave Bicking dave [at] colorstudy.com GENERAL UPDATE ON OCCUPY This week may be a particularly busy week for Occupy Minneapolis, but it gives a fair impression of the work that is being done. Occupy is more than just a visible encampment. It is a general challenge to a system that is rigged against the 99%. We may still work for change within that system. But we know that the 1% hold the real power in that system, and they will change the rules, or ignore the rules, whenever we start to challenge them effectively. So we need to also be in the streets and in the plazas. We need to disrupt "business as usual". We need to engage in civil disobedience and direct action. We need to be the sand in the gears, we need to stop the smooth workings of a machine that is designed to exploit us, steal from us, deny us economic security, housing, ediucation, medical care, and other needs. We need to demand to be heard; we need to make our government serve us, not the other way around. The physical occupations of public space were very important for the growth and effectiveness of Occupy. The strength and broad appeal of the movement could neither be denied nor ignored. It was a chance for us to meet and discuss and discover common ground among people. There are many people I work with now who I would have never met otherwise. For years the movement had been criticized as ineffective for having occasional large demonstrations and then going home. But when we Occupied and did not go home, we were criticized for that. The reaction of the government was inevitable. When challenged, the first response is repression. Occupy Minneapolis was based on the Hennepin County plaza downtown. The county came up with increasingly strict rules to keep us from staying. The space we could use was restricted, many of our belongings were confiscated, and eventually they even reneged on their commitment to let us have signs. With the coming of winter and the inability to use any shelter, our presence became untenable. Starting on April 7, we have attempted to "re-Occupy" at Peavey Plaza and Loring Park, under the jurisdictions of the city and of the Park Board, respectively. The city responded with force immediately. Despite a statement from police ahead of time that tents would be legal as long as we did not sleep in them, police forced us to remove them that evening. The police made a show of overwhelming force - dozens of squad cars, command vehicles, a bus for arrestees, and more. All showing up to confiscate a half dozen tents and a canopy. A dozen arrests were made as we left the plaza with the tents. This was a pre-planned attempt at intimidation. The crackdown on Occupy is clearly coordinated across the country, following a similar model in most cities. Only a few cities have been able to continue a round-the-clock physical presence. But hundreds of cities have kept up a thriving Occupy movement. We continue to oppose the rule of money in politics, the bank bailouts, the corrupt financial system, the wars, the burden of student debt, and much more. Occupiers have been at our State Capitol, working for a moratorium on foreclosures, for more progressive taxation, against cuts in social services, and against the Vikings stadium. We have protested against the NDAA, sitting in at the Obama campaign headquarters. Like most movements that challenge the system, we have had to spend too much time just defending our right to exist, to speak out, to gather, and to act. But it has to be done. This Wednesday's hearing is important. After the arrests on April 7, the City Council president, Barb Johnson, tried to quickly push through a change to the rules for use of the city's plazas. We showed up in large numbers at the Council meeting on short notice, and the Council voted to refer it to the Public Safety Committee for a public hearing. We really need a large presence on Wednesday at 1:30pm to keep the pressure on. You will have the opportunity to comment for 2 minutes if you like. For the text of the resolution and some good arguments against it, see Cam Gordon's blog at: http://secondward.blogspot.com/2012/04/resolution-targeting-occupy-use-of. html and a follow up at: http://secondward.blogspot.com/2012/04/plaza-resolution-sent-to-committee. html There has been continued police harrassment of people gathered at Peavey Plaza. Please help us stop this. OCCUPY HOMES Perhaps the biggest thing that has come out of Occupy locally, and the most successful, is the Occupy Homes movement. This is aimed at the fraudulent practices of the banks that are foreclosing on home owners, evicting them, and tearing apart our neighborhoods. With our support, individual homeowners are standing up to the banks. And they are winning! Monique White in north Mpls was expecting to be evicted in December. Occupiers stayed at her house, set up tents on the lawn, canvassed the neighborhood, and held neighborhood meetings. The goal has been to get the bank to negotiate with her. She is still in her house! Recently, with Occupy help, she confronted the CEO of US bank at the annual shareholder meeting and forced him to meet with her personally. Bank officers are finally talking to her, and she feels confident she will save her house. Bobby Hull in south Mpls heard about Occupy Homes as we canvassed his neighborhood. He was in foreclosure and the bank was refusing to work with him for a feasible payment schedule. He signed up with Occupy Homes to resist eviction. He was well-known in the neighborhood and received a lot of support. He was supposed to be evicted on February 17. The bank backed down and he is still in his home. John Vinge in Bloomington had a sherriff's sale of his house scheduled for April 9. About 50 of us showed up at City Hall for the sale. It was clear that any buyer would have to deal with us if they wanted to take possession of the house. The sale was "postponed" for 9 weeks, and is unlikely to occur. The bank is suddenly more reasonable and willing to negotiate. We can't solve the foreclosure crisis one house at a time. What we can do is call attention to the problem and the practices of the banks, to create pressure for changes in the system. In San Francisco, a recent audit found that over 80% of foreclosures were fraudulent, and most of the rest lacked essential documentation. The city unanimously passed a resolution for a foreclosure moratorium. We are creating the pressure for reform, and we in Minneapolis have been an inspiration for similar programs in many other cities. As we fight for systemic change, in the meantime we have the satisfaction of concrete successes in inividual cases. This is hugely beneficial to the families and neighborhoods involved, and over 100 other homeowners have indicated a desire to resist foreclosure. To keep up, we desperately need more volunteers for outreach in neighborhoods, for eviction defense, for coming to sherriff sales, etc. Please come to one of the events this week, or come to one of the weekly general meetings on Sundays at 2pm (except this week, on Saturday). We also have lawn signs for Occupy Homes, saying Stop Foreclosures, Stop Evictions. Many are up in the neighborhoods around the homeowners we have been working with. For visibility, we need them everywhere! If you have a lawn or other visible spot for a sign, please contact me to get one. THE CRUZ HOME This is our most urgent situation: they could be evicted by the police at any time. Here is what has been written about their case and what can be done: Friends and neighbors, Today an eviction notice was posted at the home of the Cruz family, meaning the sheriff or police could come to attempt to evict the home starting Monday. But this time, when the sheriff shows up, Occupy Homes MN will be there standing with the Cruz family. If the bank thinks they are going to evict the Cruz family this week, they have another thing coming. However, for us to be successful in defending the Cruz home, we need you! Please join us for an emergency rally and kick off of the physical occupation of the home. We will begin to further develop a plan to defend the home and fill roles following the rally, then we will hold a vigil at the home that night. Monday, April 30th: Rally 2:00 - 4:00pm Home Defense Planning 5:30 - 8:00pm Candle Light Vigil for the Cruz Family: 8:30pm - 10:00pm 4044 Cedar Ave. S Please take three actions right now to help save the Cruz family's home: 1) Text @OccupyHomes to 23559 to receive a text message the instant police come to evict, so you know the exact moment that we need to rally to defend the home. [For those of you who don't text, email your contact phone number and/or email to Chris Gray at gray0005 [at] gmail.com] 2) Call Brad German, PR executive for Freddie Mac at 703-903-2437 today to tell them to halt the eviction of the Cruz family so that PNC Bank can negotiate a real solution to keep them in their home as owners. Call and email Tony Morante (anthony.morante [at] pncmortgage.com) - AVP, Market Sales Manager PNC Bank at 412-858-4075 to demand they work out a settlement with the Cruz family immediately. 3) Call and email Mayor Rybak (mayor [at] ci.minneapolis.mn.us) at (612) 673-2100 and tell him not to use his police to carry out the dirty work of the banks, evicting community members who can afford to pay a mortgage, while the bank refuses to negotiate a reasonable solution with them. Background: Alejandra, David, and their family have lived in their South Minneapolis home for the past 7 years. Alejandra and David have fought for years to support the Dream Act which would help undocumented students to gain access to higher education, now they are leading the fight to save their parents' home. Drawing inspiration from the sacrifices their parents made for them, Alejandra and her brother David became tireless advocates for immigrant rights and equal access to education for all youth. Her family has fought hard for equality, and they are unfortunately not able to stop fighting, as they have seen the housing crisis disproportionally affect people of color, immigrants, and other marginalized groups. Alejandra, her brother David, and their parents made their monthly mortgage payments regularly for 7 years via online withdrawal from a checking account. One month last year, their lender, PNC Bank, failed to withdraw the monthly mortgage payment after the family sent it in. When the family noticed that the money hadn´t been withdrawn, they called the bank to make the payment. Although it wasn´t their fault the payment was technically late, the bank still demanded 2 months' payments as punishment for being late. Unable to pay more than the current month's payment, which is all that should have been owed at the time, the family home went into foreclosure. The foreclosure crisis has had devastating effects on the Latino community, and until now, many families have been afraid to stand up when they are being mistreated by the banks that have been fraudulently foreclosing on families across the country. The banks have used this fear and manipulation of a complicated legal system to profit from honest, hard working people. Today we are saying enough is enough. We will not leave our homes until PNC and Bank of America come to the table to negotiate a solution to keep our families in their homes. The Cruz family wants to keep their home and wants the bank to negotiate in good faith a reasonable settlement for their mortgage. Together with Occupy Homes we will defend their home from foreclosure and force the bank to do what is right instead of trying to silence them. They know that if more people stand up for their rights like Alejandra and her family the banks will be forced to do the right thing for all home owners across the country. Thank you for your support, Occupy Homes MN MORE INFORMATION For local information and events calendar, go to http://www.occupyminneapolis.mn/ and/or http://www.occupymn.org/ There is a lot of inspiring action all over the country, and even around the world. I like to follow the frequent posts at: http://occupywallst.org/ The coverage concentrates on New York City, but there is news from other major cities as well. - Dave Bicking -------7 of 7-------- May Day Show your love! Gesture at the One PerCent with the finger of your choice! [Even ruder gestures etc etc are stongly encouraged!] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shove Trove
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