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	== Proposals ==		== Proposals ==

	pdf copies of some proposals:		pdf copies of some proposals: [[Media:GA-proposals-20130709.pdf]]

	=== Summary ===		=== Summary ===

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 attending.  Given the group's size, we agree that the facilitator
 can participate in discussions.
 == Announcements and Report Backs ==

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Proposal Discussion

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	We have $1592 already allocated to direct action. Should we give $1500 of		We have $1592 already allocated to direct action. Should we give $1500 of
	direct action money to PR puppet collective (David and Dey's		direct action money to PR puppet collective (David and Dey's
	proposal)? Yes, consented		proposal)? '''Yes, consented'''

	Rich. I'd support saying "whatever money is left over, we'd apportion		Rich. I'd support saying "whatever money is left over, we'd apportion

Srevilak: initial version

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initial version

New page

= Minutes for 9 July 2013 =
== Details ==

Location: Community Church of Boston 
Time: 19:10 -- 21:45 
Facilitator: Carolyn 
Stack: David 
Notes: Steve 

14 attending. Given the group's size, we agree that the facilitator
can participate in discussions.

== Announcements and Report Backs ==

'''Ruby'''. Tomorrow at state house, there's a Budget for All
hearing. Rally at 10:00 (outside the State house), hearing at 11:00 in
room A2.

'''Linda'''. FAWG was going to meet with Brian Miller of UFE a week
from Wednesday night, about fiscal sponsorship. The meeting is at 2
Milk Street, Boston. 4:00pm on July 17th.

'''Linda'''. In NYC, they're preparing for the third anniversary of
Occupy Wall Street.

'''Linda'''. I was arrested at Obama/Markey rally in Roxbury. We did a
code pink kind of action. I was attacked by a police officer, and
charged with assault and battery of a police officer. Around 3,000
people were there, and it was a good action. We chanted
"whistleblowing is not a crime", and people started blowing whistles.

Several of us went to Ft. Mead to support Bradley Manning. Went to
Manning's trial for a day, and a die-in protest at Langley.

'''Rich'''. Strike debt is chugging along, meeting regularly. We're
working on a video about student debt.

'''Aria'''. I'm in the interoccupy strategy working group. We're
working on a set of 12 tactics to bring to National Gathering in
Kalamazoo. I'd like Occupy Boston to endorse Natgat 2013. I might
request money for plane tickets.

'''Matt'''. Anarchist black cross is having a pancake fundraiser here
(at Community Church), Saturday at 11:00.

'''Ruby'''. The medic collective has half-possession of a bus in
Peabody. We're planning to make it into a mobile clinic and
library. We're getting people's commitment for licensing, etc. Once we
get a mission statement, it will take $3000 to get the bus out of
hock. Very exciting. People are stepping up on various levels to get
this mobile health empowerment clinic going.

'''Carlos'''. We're starting a new group. Occupy II.

== Proposals ==

pdf copies of some proposals:

=== Summary ===

'''Dana'''. http://www.curiousart.org/GA_proposal.txt This is my first
proposal, and it's a financial proposal. GA attendance has been
falling off, similar to what happened with SAAs. Eventually, SAA
dwindled to one person (Bil); as the sole remaining participant, he
decided to disband SAA. Facing a potential loss of quorum, I wanted to
propose doing something with the money. We have around $14k, and there
are progressive activists doing good work that could use it. A few
months ago, there was concern about people stacking GAs, and raiding
the remaining funds. To prevent that, we passed proposal so that for
anything over $500, there'd be a one-GA cooling off period. If we
wanted to pass my proposal, we'd have to decide to suspend the waiting
period. There's another proposal to suspend GAs, which means there's
no GA after the waiting period. We'd decide through discussion which
groups are doing worthy positive progressive political work. We could
retain a portion of funds for future use. My goals is to see money
donated to Occupy Boston go towards progressive social
change. Otherwise, the money languishes away in a credit union.

'''Rich'''. My proposal is to suspend GA, to be reconvened at a future
time, with three weeks notice and publicity. To count as a GA, it must
be attended by at least 35 people, 25 of whom have been past members
of Occupy Boston.

'''David & Dey'''. 50th anniversary of Bread and Puppets. There's
people flying from PR for the event, but we need to rent a van for two
weeks. Asking for $1500. (Note taker: David and Dey are with a puppet
collective group, but I didn't get the group's name.)

'''Carlos'''. I propose a grant to help people return the money being
stolen by the Chinese and other people. No raising taxes. I want $10k,
or whatever you can afford.

'''Carlos'''. I propose to endorse the economic inequality working
group. Stop violence against Puerto Rican people. We only support
black and brown people. We don't support white people. They're
criminal.

'''Aria'''. I'd like Occupy Boston to endorse Natgat 2013. If you'd
like to say more in the endorsement, that's fine. It's also fine to
keep it simple. The Kalamzaoo people are very fired up. There's an
oil pipeline going through Kalamazoo. One of the occupiers there
climbed into the pipeline and wouldn't come out for 30 hours. We just
got a camping space. If folks can help spread the word, Natgat 2013 is
Aug 21-25th in Kalamazoo, MI.

'''Passes in the consent bucket.'''

'''Matt'''. We passed $240 reimbursement to Anarchist black
cross. We'd like the money. (This wasn't a new proposal; it was more
of a reminder that we needed to follow-through on a past commitment).

'''Linda'''. I'm requesting $253 reimbursement for bail, lawyer fees,
and some travel expenses.

'''Aria'''. I'm requesting funds for round trip plane tickets, so that
Terra and I can go to Natgat.

How much?

We'll ask for the cheapest tickets possible. Terra is definitely
going. I'll only go if I have something to present. It's a fluid
proposal, and I hope that proposal will allow for some fluidity around
the discussion.

The Natgat endorsement proposal passed in the consent bucket. The
other proposals came out for discussion.

=== Proposal Discussion ===

Carolyn summarizes our two processes for discussing proposals.

Dana would like to have a 15-minute discussion about all of these proposals, since they're all related.

The group agrees to do this.

Ruby. Question about Rich's proposal - would we need a commitment from people?
No. We'd find out when the meeting occurred.
Most of our discussions are about process and money. If we don't feel there are enough of us to
make decisions about money, then we should wait around until something else comes along.

Kendra. Time is a resource, and some of us would like to move on to
other things. I think it would make sense to announce GAs, and see who
shows up.

Sebla. I feel the same way. Seems like GA is a place where people come
to ask for money. It's hopeless. Haven't been here for a long time,
but I come back when I can. We spend so much time talking about money.

Aria. I want to hand it to all of you for hanging in there. I'm
shocked to have walked in to this. Seems like the general idea is to
disburse a lot of the money and suspend GA until further notice; or,
to simply suspend GA until further notice.

Dana. During the last two GAs, we've had two money proposals from
Carlos, and they were demoralizing. Carolyn has been organizing GAs
for the last few months, and she says that her term is ending. I'm
also concerned that leaving money in a credit union keeps the FAWG
people on the hook. If we can liberate the money, then we don't have
that problem.

Linda. Bil did not dissolve SAA by himself. There were a handful of
people there, and they took a vote. Also, I think Dana's report
doesn't reflect the proposal. Rich and Carolyn, it's amazing you've
hung in for so long. I feel uncomfortable about making these decisions
tonight. I don't want to see GAs end, but people should step back when
it's time for them to step back. That's part of what I feel. I have a
problem with us trying to dictate how the name or the money can be
used. But I also think I understand the concerns about that. During
the first few months, we had that incident with Paul Carnes, and there
was a court case over it.

Joe. Overall, a good starting point would be a more accurate
understanding of what we have left. If we consider money earmarked,
there's a smaller amount left. If we followed Dana's proposal, we'd be
undoing our proposal about large expenditures. Some of the earmarked
proposals are probably moot, but we should figure out what we're going
to do with them. Although the burn rate is low, I'd like to make sure
we can keep sleepwalking for a while.

Carolyn. What individuals decide to do, and what the group decides to
do are different. I thought it was sad that media decided to close
down. I'd like to not be the person who organizes GAs anymore. That
doesn't mean I wouldn't want someone else to do it, or that I wouldn't
come. But I've been doing it for a long time. I think people are doing
things. Strike Debt is going really strong. Other people are doing
other things. I think reason Rich and Dana had these proposals in the
same spirit - we've been hanging in there for a while, and we'd like
to see the money handled in a responsible way. To me, Carlos is the
limiting case of our model. He makes same proposal every time, and we
have to go through it. I'd like to have a group discussion to resolve
the money issue, talking elements from all of these ideas. If that
means another meeting, then I'd commit to coming. I'd like to be
responsible about handling the money.

Linda. I'll volunteer, if someone else steps up.

Rich. I agree with a lot of what Kendra said. I'm about down to our
last meeting. I've heard all the discussions 12 times; I don't need
13. If we give money away responsibly, fine. If we don't, that's fine
too. I've said that I don't want to be one of the last two people;
it's getting close to that and I'm scared. Do we feel that we want to
give away all the money now? I'm not willing to come to this same
meeting again.

Aria. I've popped in and out, but you guys have been hanging in
there. I've afraid that if we advertise, then you may be deluged to be
opportunists. That's not fair to you all. You have the right to make
these decisions, and to make them tonight if necessary. I wouldn't
complain about that, and I'd defend you on it. I'd be much happier
with a responsible giving away of the money.

Ruby. I know that people have been coming to GA, but I haven't been
able to. I think it's an important way for people to tap into the
network that is Occupy Boston. I think it's important to keep it
going. I'd like to see it keep going. About the money, really
important to me that whatever date is set, that date is it. We need to
know how much it is; that's step one. Step two is an announcement. We
need all proposals for money, however much it is, side by side. Then
we can figure out which carries through the values, and is more
connected to Occupy Boston. With $3000 we (the medic collective) have
a bus. With $5000 we have a clinic and a writing circle. This comes
straight from the medic tent. To me, it's about the mission value, and
it's connectedness to Occupy Boston.

Matt. I'm a fan of horizontal democracy, but I feel that people are
more invested should have a little extra say. I also feel there's been
stagnation. Disbursing the finds might be best thing to do. I think
post-Dewey GA has involved some of the most bashing I've ever
seen. Having a potluck might be a more effective organizing
environment. If there's no money to fight about, we might behave more
honestly, if this were a lower stakes environment.

Dana. Whatever we've do at GA, people on twitter will trash us. If we
do this, we'll get trashed. If we do nothing we'll get trashed. I
don't think there's been a diminishing of political activity. But it
hasn't been happening at Occupy Boston. If we can enable people with
resources, I'd feel good about that. I don't have bad feelings about
any of the people here. The political activism is still going, we're
just not spearheading it.

David. I feel like Matt feels; we've been having this conversation for
a long time. I feel better giving some of the money to the medics. And
E5, and City Life. People who've been here all along are stepping
back. I think this group could make the decision.

Linda. The group that David and Dey are supporting helped a lot with
the funeral for capitalism. I've been seeing Occupy Boston people all
over the place. But GAs have always been like a thing unto
itself. It's been a lot about money. It's also a chance to see folks
you don't see in other places, and to hear about what they're
doing. I'd like to see money go to the medics. Medics and Strike debt
are still active and meeting, went to Occupy Sandy. I've seen people
at Budget for All, and Anti-drone demonstrations. When we see each
other, I feel like we're family. I think if there are people that want
to continue to show up, then I hope that other people would feel okay
with that. Vote with your feet. Maybe it will go the way of SAA. In
the past, we've reallocated money that was originally allocated for
other purposes, and I feel that we need to do that. If we divide it up
between medics and strike debt ... if we could clear up the books that
way. Money still comes in drips and drabs, so we have to deal with
it. Unless we vote not take any more money in. I'd like to take care
of the mechanics of taking care of the money.

Carolyn. One thing that hasn't been discussed, is that we had a
two-meeting rule on money. We agreed that we'd have a second meeting
for any large funding proposal.

Rich. I agree with Dana. No matter what, we'll get trashed on the
twitter sphere. Last time we announced a GA about money, it was one of
the most vicious interactions I've ever seen (Rich was referring to
the NLG donation proposal). I don't want to advertise that again.

Joe. I wanted to ask a few questions that might tie up some loose
ends. How much to get the bus out of hock?

$3000. Plus money to get it in good mechanical condition. A donor put
up money; before we can get the bus, that money needs to be repaid.

Also seems to me there are two categories of proposals: for specific
amounts, and every one of those proposals is okay with me. For Dana
and Rich's, I think it would be half-assed if we ran it through
tonight. I'd be okay with passing something tonight, and finishing up
at a next meeting. With burn rate being so low, we really don't need
the money.

Matt. If we're giving money to groups, I'll put in a plug for the National Lawyer's guild. They've
earned it. If money is still trickling in, we can work out a formula for how to deal with it. That
seems more transparent to me.

Carolyn. A lot of people want to talk, but I don't think we've reached
a decision yet. Kendra. It seems like people have been voting with
their feet. Ideas are worth a nickel until you do something with
them. The enthusiasm we've had in the past is not there. I think
that's part of the frustration. If UFE arrangement goes through, then
those who stay around will have more leverage to raise money in the
future.

Aria. I'm hearing that we need to make a decision about whether we
give away money tonight. We could do it tonight and expose ourselves
from backlash. Could to it later, without some people, and expose
ourselves to the possibility of opportunists.

Dana. I feel like we're closing in on a conclusion, if we could go for
a few more minutes. We have IT budget down to $200 year, and I'll
commit to paying for it. What if we had spent tonight talking about
political organizing, rather than money. Money is the root of all
evil.

Ruby. I'm thinking there are competing concerns: a flood of
opportunists, or two people. Setting out criteria might prevent the
deck from getting stacked. I can't speak to too few people. I hear the
concern about four people making that decision, but we can say that a
meeting has a minimum number of people. What's quorum, and can we set
something that's reasonable?

Linda. I'm comfortable with dividing the money proportionally. We had
an earlier GA with Radio and the Occupier, with 30-40 people, and it
was a wonderful interaction. I'm uncomfortable with rescinding the two
meeting rule and giving the money away tonight. I've been to a lot of
GAs and SAAs, and I'm not comfortable doing that.

Joe. I knew this was going to come up tonight, by reading over minutes
from last GA. I think we're closing in on consensus. I think we should
say "yes" to everything that's on the table, including Rich and Dana's
proposal. We can start by saying we'll have the discussion at the next
meeting, and we do that.

Now discussing giving $253 to Linda's legal expenses. '''Consented'''

We have $1592 already allocated to direct action. Should we give $1500 of
direct action money to PR puppet collective (David and Dey's
proposal)? Yes, consented

Rich. I'd support saying "whatever money is left over, we'd apportion
it between ....", and then finalizing it at the next meeting.

(missed a bit here)

=== Proposal Conclusions ===

There's support for Encuentro 5.

There's support for groups related to Occupy Boston.

There's support for a percentage based decision, and going towards
occupy-related activity.

There's support for the street medics.

There's support for Occupy-derived things, like Strike Debt NYC,
Strike Debt Oakland, Occupy Salem, Occupy Arlington.

$500 as a donation to Natgat. '''Consented'''.

After some more back and fourth, we agree do the following with Occupy
Boston's remaining funds:

* Hold $500 in reserve for future expenses
* Future income will be put towards future operating expenses
* 50% of funds will go to the street medics for their bus/mobile clinic.
* 30% of funds will go to E5
* 10% of funds will go to food not bombs
* 10% of funds will go to strike debt

Next GA, September 3rd 7pm. Linda, Steve, and Joe will organize.

[[Category:GA Minutes]]

GA Minutes Tue July 09 2013 - Revision history

Srevilak: /* Proposals */ link to pdf

Srevilak: Added Summary

Srevilak: /* Proposal Discussion */

Srevilak: initial version