NLG Fundraiser – Friday March 15th

Dear NLG Friends,

I hope you all will be able to join us this coming Friday for a game of billiard and a reception to raise funds for the NLG Mass Defense Committee. For decades, the Committee has been providing essential services to Massachusetts activists – training in civil disobedience and legal observing, serving as Legal Observers, and representing those arrested at protests – and in order to maintain these services we need to obtain proper funding.

Friday, March 15, 2013
6:00 – 9:00 pm
Jillian’s, 145 Ipswich St. Boston

If you are interested in sponsoring the event ($99 or more) please contact me at 617-227-7335. We appreciate all support you can offer.

All the best.
Urszula

Video From 11 March Keystone XL Pipeline Protest

Solidarity!

Boston Occupier Open House 5pm Sunday

by Kendra

Dear Activists, Friends, and Occupiers,

You are invited to a gathering with the staff of the Boston Occupier in order to meet the Occupier staff, eat some food, and learn how you can get involved in our alternative media project. All people are welcome and all possible contributions of time and effort are greatly appreciated.

This meeting will occur on Sunday, March 10th, starting at 5:00 PM and will be held at The Democracy Center in Harvard Square (for directions, see democracycenter.org).

Facebook Event Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/374733569301253

The staff of the Boston Occupier look forward to meeting you and, if you would like, working with you in the future. In addition to marking this event in your calendar, we would like to ask you to forward this invitation to other politically involved friends so that they may join us this weekend.

Sincerely, The Staff of the Boston Occupier: a free press

St. Patrick’s Peace Parade – Sunday, March 17

Third Annual St. Patrick’s Peace Parade, Sunday, March 17
Parade participants will assemble at: 2:00 PM
D Street off of West Broadway (Look for Blimp and Flags)
Parade will begin at 3:00 PM, one mile behind 1st parade

SOUTH BOSTON – For the third year in a row the 200 member Smedley Butler Brigade, Chapter 9 of Veterans For Peace will lead the St. Patrick’s Peace Parade through the streets of South Boston on Sunday, March 17, one mile behind the 1st parade. Once again Veterans For Peace are organizing a parade that is welcoming and inclusive on the streets of South Boston. This is in direct conflict with the policies of the organizers of the first parade that exclude veterans who have dutifully served their country, many in war, but who now work for peace and members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender (LGBT community).

Veterans For Peace were denied to walk in the 1st parade in 2011 because the organizers of the first parade “did not want to have the word peace associated with the word veteran”. Being aware of the longtime exclusionary and discriminatory practices of the organizers of the 1st parade towards the LGBT community the veterans decided to have their own welcoming and inclusive parade. The first group they reached out to was the LGBT community saying to them, “you were denied to walk in their parade eighteen years ago, how would you like to walk in our parade”. The LGBT group Join the Impact immediately accepted the offer.

In 2011 with only three to four weeks to organize the Peace Parade they had one band, a duck boat and 500 participants. In 2012 there were seven divisions, two bands, a duck boat, two trollies, one float, bag-pipers, a drumming group and 2,000 participants. In 2013, there are eight divisions (Veterans, Peace, Religious, LGBT, Climate Justice, Political, Labor-Jobs and Economic and Social Justice), six bands, Bread and Puppet Theatre from Vermont, a duck boat, two trollies, one float and the expectations of many many more participants. The peace, environment, LGBT groups and organizations are heavily promoting the parade this year. “I believe the Saint Patrick’s Peace Parade could be huge this year”, said Pat Scanlon the coordinator of Veterans For Peace and organizer of the Peace Parade. “Groups such as MoveOn.org, the Green Party, Sierra Club, 350.org, the LGBT community, peace groups and churches are mobilizing to join the parade. Musical groups from as far away as Rhode Island and New York are joining our parade, this is exciting”

“There is one big difference from previous years” added Scanlon. “For the past two years the Boston DPW had crews breaking down the barriers and cleaning the streets with street sweepers right behind the 1st parade. What did that signal to parade watchers; the party is over, go home. This year the DPW crews and the street sweepers will be behind our parade”. Lawyers from the ACLUM and LeClair Ryan negotiated with the city to guarantee fair treatment for the Peace Parade. This means that potentially tens of thousands more people will see and enjoy the Saint Patricks’ Peace Parade. The party is not over until the street sweepers sweep, please stay, enjoy and celebrate.

The website of the Smedley D. Butler Brigade of Veterans For Peace is www.SmedleyVFP.org

Contact: Pat Scanlon, Office: 978-475-1776, Cell: 978-590-4248, email PatScanlonMusic@yahoo.com

GA Summary – 5 March 2013

Reschedule March 17th GA

Our Next GA is scheduled for Sunday March 17th, which is the same day as the St. Patrick’s day parade. I propose we reschedule the GA, so that we can march with Veteran’s for Peace.

GA rescheduled for Tuesday March 19th, 7pm, Location TBD

Proposed by Steve. Passed in the consent bucket.

Donate Cots to the Harvard Homeless Shelter

Donate all the cots in storage to the Harvard Homeless Shelter

Proposed by Bil. Passed in the consent bucket.

Discussion of Occupy Boston Accomplishments

We had a discussion about Occupy Boston’s Accomplishments.

Minutes:
wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/GA_Minutes_Tue_Mar_05_2013