wiki.occupyboston.org - User contributions [en]

Charlie and the MTA

2012-02-08T15:53:59Z

Tysonhawk: fix typo

====Bechtel and the MBTA====
{|
|valign="top"|
<pre>
G
Let me tell you the story
C
Of a man named Charlie
G D
On a tragic and fateful day
G
He put his card in his pocket,
C
Kissed his wife and family
G D G
Went to ride on the MTA

Chorus 1:
G
Did he ever return,
C
No he never returned
G D
And his fate is still unlearn'd
G
He may ride forever
C
'neath the streets of Boston
G D G
He's the man who never returned.

Charlie swiped his card
At the Kendall Square Station
And he changed for Jamaica Plain
When he got there they said,
"There's been a fare hike."
and he could not get off that train.

Chorus 1:

Now all night long
Charlie rides through the tunnels
Saying, "What will become of me?
Crying
How can I afford to see
My sister in Chelsea
Or my cousin in Roxbury?"

Chorus 1:

</pre>
|valign="top"|
<pre>
Now I'll tell you a story
about the Big Dig Tunnel
And the tragic and fateful way
How a crooked highway project
Came to rob every family
Who rides on the MBTA

It was money motivation
No one watched the corporations
The costs grew day by day
In the state house they had meetings
With the banksters they were scheming
How to get rich 'n have their way

Chorus:
The people got burned
The banks stole what we earned
But we won't let 'em steal the T!
We will ride forever
'neath the streets of Boston
Public trains, they oughta be free.

Bechtel did the job
While the poor working slob
Paid for all their mistakes
The highway its leaking
The people be freakin
Since they billed the MBTA

Chorus:

Enough is enough
The people are saying
Don't you take the busses away
Your games aint a-working
And we aint a-takin
No more cuts to the MBTA

Chorus:

Now you citizens of Boston
Don't you think its a scandal
That people have to pay and pay
While the banks get bailed out
The riders get sold out
No more cuts to the MBTA
</pre>
|}

Charlie and the MTA

2012-02-08T15:53:08Z

Tysonhawk: Tweaks to lyrics

====Bechtel and the MBTA====
{|
|valign="top"|
<pre>
G
Let me tell you the story
C
Of a man named Charlie
G D
On a tragic and fateful day
G
He put his card in his pocket,
C
Kissed his wife and family
G D G
Went to ride on the MTA

Chorus 1:
G
Did he ever return,
C
No he never returned
G D
And his fate is still unlearn'd
G
He may ride forever
C
'neath the streets of Boston
G D G
He's the man who never returned.

Charlie swiped his card
At the Kendall Square Station
And he changed for Jamaica Plain
When he got there they said,
"There's been a fare hike."
and he could not get off that train.

Chorus 1:

Now all night long
Charlie rides through the tunnels
Saying, "What will become of me?
Crying
How can I afford to see
My sister in Chelsea
Or my cousin in Roxbury?"

Chorus 1:

</pre>
|valign="top"|
<pre>
Now I'll tell you a story
about the Big Dig Tunnel
And the tragic and fateful way
How a crooked highway project
Came to rob every family
Who rides on the MBTA

It was money motivation
No one watched the corporations
The costs grew day by day
In the state house they had meetings
With the banksteres they were scheming
How to get rich 'n have their way

Chorus:
The people got burned
The banks stole what we earned
But we won't let 'em steal the T!
We will ride forever
'neath the streets of Boston
Public trains they oughta be free.

Bechtel did the job
While the poor working slob
Paid for all their mistakes
The highway its leaking
The people be freakin
Since they billed the MBTA

Chorus:

Enough is enough
The people are saying
Don't you take the busses away
Your games aint a-working
And we aint a-takin
No more cuts to the MBTA

Chorus:

Now you citizens of Boston
Don't you think its a scandal
That people have to pay and pay
While the banks get bailed out
The riders get sold out
No more cuts to the MBTA
</pre>
|}

Ideas

2012-01-05T18:11:26Z

Tysonhawk: Adding my concerns

== Working Group Meeting Times ==

Ideas Working Group meets at 6pm on Wednesdays at the Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, 38 Ash St., Chinatown.
We also meet at 2:30 pm on Saturdays at E5, which is on the 5th floor of Unite Here, 33 Harrison Ave, Chinatown. The Saturday location is subject to change.
To sign up for text updates of meeting locations and times, text "@OBideas" to 23559.

Cooming Soon: The ideas working group will be holding topic-focused open political discussions at 7pm on non-GA nights - Monday, Wednesday, and possibly Friday. We need indoor space for these discussions! If you know of any, let us know by emailing ideas@lists.occupyboston.org

*[[Ideas working group meeting notes]]

'''Stay Connected and join the conversation '''

[[Join the Ideas email list]] - email your ideas, join the online conversation, and view the archive of discussions

[[index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&type=signup&returnto=Main_Page|Join the wiki]]. Have some ideas you are developing? Consider putting a link to them in the group workspace: [[User:user:WG-ideas|User:WG-ideas]] You can also create your own user page by clicking on your name in the upper right.

== Upcoming Public Discussions ==

*Held in the GA area, unless otherwise specified
*Topics set based on suggestions collected online [http://wiki.occupyboston.org/index.php?title=Vote_here&action=edit vote here] and on the whiteboard outside Media tent

Want to set the agenda for future Public Discussions? [[Vote here]]

We want your input! Click here: [[Click here!|Subpage]] to fill out the "How Values Become Action" table.  You do need to log in/register. After clicking on "subpage" click "edit" in the upper right corner and then when you get the dialogue box make sure  you hit "rich text" so you're not dealing with code. 

Thanks!

== Concerns Data ==

The Ideas Group has begun the process of surveying occupiers from all over Massachusetts to get answers to the question, "What are the concerns/problems that brought you to the Occupy Movement?" This is a preliminary outline of the data we have collected so far. If you share a concern on the outline, please add an X next to it. If you have a concern not listed on the outline, please add it. The Ideas Group would like to begin to prioritize these concerns based on your responses so that we can start holding concerns-based open discussions. It is our hope that working groups will form out of these discussions, and that from there we can start to build solutions.

=== Government Concerns ===

*Tax Reforms
**Progressive Reforms xxxxx
*Small vs. Big Government
*Campaign Finance Reform/Get Money Out of Politics xxxxx xxxxx xxxx
**Corporate Personhood xxx
**Publicly Funded Elections xxx
**Lobby Reforms xxxx
*Horizontal Participatory Democracy xx
*Criminal Justice/Prison Reforms xx
*Disfunction b/w Branches xx
*American Ideology x
*Military Reforms
**Diplomacy vs War
**Spending xxx
*Infrastructure Spending x
*Social Programs xxxx
*Justice and Equality xxxxx

=== Economic Concerns ===

*Capitalism xxx
**Hyper-Capitalism/Greed xxxx
*Sustainability xx
*Privitization xxx
*Wall Street/Financial Regulation xxxxx xxxx
**Housing Crisis x
**Debt Crisis x
**Bank of America/Too big to Fail xxxx
**Criminal Activity/Unethical Behavior xxxxx xx
*Unemployment x
**Outsourcing
*Wealth Inequality xxxxx xxxxx x

=== Socialization & Behavioral Concerns ===

*Value Based Accounting x
*Violence
*Anti-Oppression xx
*American Exceptionalism xx
*Wasteful Consumer Behavior xx

=== Environmental Concerns ===

*Air x
*Water xxx
*Degradation x
*Global Warming/Climate Change xxx
*Sustainability xx
*Waste xx
*Food Supply xxx

=== Education Concerns ===

*K-12 x
*College xx

=== Healthcare Concerns ===

*Healthcare Reforms xxxxx
*Universal xxxx

=== Workers Rights Concerns ===

*Unions xx

== ==

== PROPOSAL PASSED at GA 11/29/11 ==

Proposal for the General Assembly at Occupy Boston from the Statement of Purpose Working Group November 29, 2011

=== Declaration of Occupation ===

We, the people of Occupy Boston, have occupied Dewey Square in the heart of the financial district, in order to express dissent over the state of our political and financial systems. We are practicing a form of horizontal participatory democracy in the shadows of anti-democratic institutions that dominate our government and our lives. Through our occupation, we are creating an exemplar society in which no one's human needs go unmet.

The Occupy Movement has started a nationwide conversation about the realities of economic inequality and the meaning of Constitutional rights. We are committed to living the values of transparency, equality, accountability, awareness, sustainability, and compassion as we struggle against corporate predation, injustice, and oppression. We are actively seeking to include the diverse voices of the 99%. Together, we set a precedent and provide a foothold for people to demand a truer, more horizontal democracy, in which greed has no influence.

Regardless of media spin, police brutality, or sub-zero temperatures, we will continue to peacefully exercise our first amendment rights by occupying, holding general assemblies, and planning for the American Spring. Our goal is a society that prioritizes the needs of all before the profits of the few. We are the 99%.

== developing ideas ==

=== [[100 great political objectives]] ===

=== [[Occupy Boston Summit Notes]] ===

[[Occupy Boston Summit Notes - Overflow Room]]

== Public Discussion Minutes & Notes ==

=== Friday, 18 November ===

*Went through the new process for GA meetings put forth by the facilitators group. The mock topic was a proposal to add a values statement to the Statement of Purpose.
*Here is the feedback from the procedure:
**Facilitators need to be the ones writing on the whiteboard
**Process needs to keep going and sometimes be changed in order to figure out how to move forward.
**It may be that the best model for GA is not for people to propose a document that should be ratified, rather to propose the discussion of a document.
**Some people were lost during the discussion due to the new nature of the process.
**There is confusion in the new process of what happens after amendments had been made. This seems like a delicate point in the process.
**We still do not have a way for the GA to create a proposal.
**It may be beneficial for the facilitator, in the fly, to guide the synthesis of what GA is saying, and change the process as it needs to happen. This is tricky because the facilitators cannot help being biased. Another way is to have a very polished process that can handle many scenarios, but how to find that process?
**The new method does activate people's minds more - it tapped into the "creative capitol" of the GA better.
**we found that at one point the process did not fit the need of what we needed to do anymore at one point.
**There was a desire from many to keep the procedure fluid and adaptable somehow. Hopefully that fluidity can be written into the process (catch-22?)
**the facilitators need to have and be trusted with an extensive toolbox of process that will allow the fluidity of the discussion.
**It was noted that you are always giving your freedom up to the process, or a facilitator, or the loudest voice in GA. We are picking.

=== Wednesday, 16 November ===

*Announcement/Get the word out about Occupy Declaration: [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99_Percent_Declaration http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99_Percent_Declaration]
*Proposal to create an information card for how to discuss the Occupy movement with families on Thanksgiving.  The information card could give suggestions on how to talk about Occupy, but also remind to collect ideas from family members which can then be brought back to the camp for discussion.
*Discussion of possibly wording statements so that they are not as inclusive, by using words like "most of us", etc.  Debated whether this is a good strategy, no position was taken.
*Discussion on the purpose of statements of purpose, and how it can guide its development. Mention that it can act as a guide to how we live responsibly with each other in the camp (internal purpose), and how we may bring people into solidarity with the movement (external), or how it will guide our actions as we move forward (intermal/external).
**Also it is noted that most of the good work that is done within Occupy Boston needs no Statement to happen, and that a multitude of different occupy movements have a wide range of different statement sizes, breadth, meaning, or do not have any statements at all.  No position was taken, however it was consented on that if we did draft a potential proposed Values statement, it might mention the internal and external purposes. (Note: google doc of all Occupy statement's movements here: [https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RsPuWV2D8UjB-N5WrmxZM7QxGJIABHON-ya3YtGawx0/edit https://docs.google.com/document/d/1RsPuWV2D8UjB-N5WrmxZM7QxGJIABHON-ya3YtGawx0/edit])
*Discussion of what the proposal that we will raise at the facilitation testing of the new GA process on Friday.  We decided that it will be to propose that a values statement to be added to the Statement of Purpose.
*Discussion of what values to start off the discussion will be (Tess has the list, i forgot to write it down)
*Decision to set the date of the GA for the real proposal is Tuesday Nov 22.
*Decision to table the discussion of the whitehouse.gov/petition discussion of what petition to create until Sunday's Ideas meeting.
*Decision for a topic of discussion for an Ideas Public Discussion sometime after the Summit:
*Discussion of all of the Authors that have drafted Mission Statements, Declarations of Occupation, etc. to offer their ideas to the public and garner feedback in a discussion format.

=== Friday, 11 November ===

VALUES that came out of the meeting:

*knowledge
**education
**awareness
**information
**transparency
*unity
*change x2
*respect
**diversity
*making "freedom" bigger
*non-violence x2
*peaceful
*consensus
*horizontal democracy x2
*solidarity
*equality
*fairness
*concern for others x2
*freedom
*positivity
*generosity
*compassion
*sustainability
*honesty
*unity
*cooperation
*mutual aid
*resistance to oppresion
*kindness
*empathy
*dialogue
*civility

 SENTENCES that came out of the meeting:

*In an effort to create a more just and sustainable socitey, we will strive to embody the values of: inclusivity, honesty, non-violence, comapssion, cooperation, and ecological integrity.
*We seek to foster a cuture of inclusivity, a practice of sustainability, and a spirit of compassion.
*We beleive that in working towards change, we need to pread knowledge while maintainin a unity based on respect

[[File:Ideas values raw.png|300x358px|RTENOTITLE]]\

Original word cloud that was used to start the evening's discussion (word coud data collected from surveying the camp to answer the question "What values do we, as Occupy Boston, all share?"

 see all [[Ideas working group values data]].

=== Friday, November 4 ===

Facilitator: Marty Facilitator: Forest Minutes: Mallory Stack Taker: None

The discussion followed this format:

*Introduction (10 minutes)
*Breakout Group Formation (individuals on stack) (20 minutes)
*Group Discussions (45 minutes)
*Group Stack/Presentations (10 minutes per group x 3 groups = 30 minutes)
*Conclusion/Summary

Breakout groups were formed after an opening discussion about what people wanted to talk about. The three breakout groups were:

*Local Issues
*Occupy as Paradigm Shift
*Functional divisions in the movement and occupy boston (i.e. offline/online, onsite/offsite)

Some noted questions/comments that resulted at the end of discussion:

*How does occupy reach into rural areas? Also, what about occupy gardens/farms?
*How to include people whose time is filled with work obligations (i.e. how to occupy time the same way we are currently occupying space)?
*"laboratory space" to describe our ideas discussions.

Two functional issues with discussion format identified by facilitator (Forest) were:

*Breakout groups for the most part lacked facilitation, stack taker, timekeepers, or minute recorders. In the future groups should ideally follow an established process for discussion.

*People who tended to agree seemed to clump together in the smaller groups. Maybe experimenting with starting groups with members randomly assigned and *then* applying law of two feet would be worthwhile? Also, instructing group initiators to make sure their group has someone taking stack?

[[Category:Working groups]]

GA/Proposals

2011-12-21T22:56:14Z

Tysonhawk:

This page hosts concrete proposals made by members of the Occupy Boston movement.

[Note to contributors: Both the issues addressed and the solutions proposed must possess utmost clarity, because a proposal may be presented to the GA by a common representative, and not by the author of the proposal. Determining the existence and definitions of an issue is a very difficult first step, so please take your time in writing your proposal(s).]

You may be alternatively seeking the [[Strategies, Proposals, Positions]] working group, who is dedicated to the reform of global societal functions. For more broad perspectives, check out [[Optimistic visions|Optimistic Visions]]

== Instructions ==

In order to keep a functional log of suggestions, we must follow a basic structure.

#Please keep all notes dated (mm/dd/yy) for posterity. Place the date tag at the beginning of each note to denote its head.
#'''Use 'Edit' to add a proposal at the bottom of the list.'''
#Each proposal should have a '''concise''' description on this page, '''plus''' a link to an external page where details are presented and discussed.
#*Detail pages should be entitled '''Prop # - Title''' for ease of reference.
#When a proposal has been discussed,
##In the event of '''Denial:'''
##*change the font color of the proposal to '''red''' (color code #cc0000), and
##*add notes, in '''dark grey''' (color code #808080), summarizing the '''reason(s) for denial.'''
##In the event of '''Implementation:**'''
##*change the font color of the proposal to '''green''' (color code #00cc00), and
##*add notes, in '''blue''' (color code #000ff), summarizing '''how the proposal is being implemented'''

== Suggestions ==

#(pre 10/10/11) Develop a Comfort Committee (a la our NYC comrades - one of the first committees; allowed for the rapid expansion of members.) (October 06, 2011) - Responsibilities include receiving, inventorying and distributing bedding, clothing, etc. on an as needed basis. (vital to winter success)
#(pre 10/10/11) Form a fundraising committee.
#(pre 10/10/11) Reach out to mayors in neighboring cities for letters of support (re: Menino's statement)
#(pre 10/10/11) Set up a public workstation in Tent City for Occupiers to update the wiki.
#(pre 10/10/11) The 100%: in positions, plans, strategies, always address ''the behavior'' of the 1%, ''not the personal character''. We want the 1% to wake up and realize the horror they are causing, and then join the 99% so humanity can become Whole. (10/11/11) This proposal is vague; it appears to be a statement, not a suggestion. Please revise.
#(pre 10/10/11) Find someone to make an iPhone/iPod APP for Occupy Boston.
#(pre 10/10/11) Move the Wiki link to a more prominent location on [http://occupyboston.com/ occupyboston.com](October 06, 2011) Rapidly increase connections to people in the working groups in tent city. We need to get minutes of meetings, tell people they can update announcements, etc. (October 6, 2011) (pre 10/10/11) Implemented
#(10/10/11) Create a "Town Crier" system for communicating at the camp.
#(10/10/11) Devote the morning GA to maintenance/housekeeping issues and reserve the PM GA for messages, actions, allies, and the like.
#(10/12/10) The nature of the Movement indicates that we are aiming for Revolution producing a Global Society. We should therefore '''[[Prop - Forum Hierarchy|Create a Global Forum]]'''addressing the implications of Global Society. This will lead to the establishment of Global Working Groups. The parent of those groups - the Global Government itself - must establish a Foundational Agreement of Sovereignty and Solidarity to which Sovereign Entities may Ally.
#(10/13/10) Upgrade our [[Video Streaming Proposal|Video Streaming]] capabilities.
#(10/13/11) Start gathering submissions for the official [[Statement of purpose|statement of purposeof]] Occupy Boston and get them on the wiki.
#(10/14/11) Define [[Health Care|Health Care]] as a right.
#(10/14/11) Define [[Clean Water as a Right|Clean Water]] as a right.
#(10/??/11) Have a public debate regarding issues and demands at a GA on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Publicize the event. Gather individuals from different points of view to argue the pro's and con's of issues and establish a facilitation process that would enable participants to speak freely and efficiently. List topics to be discussed ahead of time.
#(10/17/11) OWS, OccupyBoston and ALL Movements around the country should have the same STATEMENT OF PURPOSE; I propose that OWS and OB Lead this effort; "The 99% demand an end to business as usual in our working lives and politics as usual in our civic live. We want REAL change. If each movement has its own 'Declaration' it dilutes the message and gives one more reason to the Media to poke fun at this movement.
#(10/18/11) The GA on Monday, 10/24 be devoted entirely to Message, including the "no message Message" option, no decisions, no other topics. City Life/Vita Urbana will be asked to attend to address the issue of inclusivity. [[http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/Prop-17 Details]]''(Let me know if I need to ask them. [<--who are you, and how do we contact you?])''
#(10/19/11) Establish a new process for creating a statement of demands. [[http://wiki.occupyboston.org/wiki/Prop-18 Details]](This dovetails with the spirit of proposals #15 & #17 above.)
#(11/23/11) Consider endorsing Occupy Oakland 12/12 West Coast Port Closing Proposal
#(11/23/11) Consider endorsing UC Davis 10/28 Student Strike Proposal
#(12/21/11) Require all proposals to be circulated in advance. Text of draft proposal [http://docs.google.com/document/d/1zyO8V58Bb-8FLzsh43q4b2r1Da6rS-7EomdfMFTJlgM/edit?hl=en_US here].
#(12/21/11) Determine quorum based on average attendance at previous GAs. Text of draft proposal [http://docs.google.com/document/d/1BZFrpnCc2A3Ag2x1CRZuXLZkyo_V2O6JMSXufZGNZPo/edit?hl=en_US here].

GA/Proposals

2011-12-21T22:37:13Z

Tysonhawk: