"Report Back" thread, from "live GAs"...seems appropriate, since I'm about to...

I'm reporting back to let this group know that, while at this time,I do not speak for "Occupy NOLA", only myself...we approved by consensus that any one "officially" representing the group would have to be accompanied by 2 witnesses(this should give you an idea of the "in the trenches" stuff we kinda dodge on here)...So...I can tell you this; we had a couple that were down from Occupy Philly that had worked with the Education working group up there and had some ideas regarding Setting up goals and many of the issues we're discussing online...I have his contact info, and will be getting together to see what we can offer each other, I've also established a working relationship with our Direct action working group, which consists of Emerick, and I guess me, now....I'm also forming an "Objectives" working group, to develop some more long term strategies to affect the changes that are possible at our Local, State, and National levels(I'd like to establish at least a couple of objectives for each level that can be achieved ASAP)..Interesting thing I noticed and brought up during my "soapbox' time...There's a few distinct groups forming here, and I'm pretty excited to see how this plays out.There's the live-in Occupiers, and a smaller but faster growing part-time activists/protesting/supporters, and then this online "occupation"...Makes me wish I hadn't let myself get bored after my "Commodore 64"... There's no GA tommorow, it's going to be movie night...So I'll give you the next "Report back" on probably fri./sat...We are doing a March again through New Orleans, Sat. 2p..Don't miss it...I'll be posting my vids on my FB, their FB, when I fig out which one hasn't been hijacked(unlike and report as scam"occupy nola"fb pg), and know that, one guy"Joe" has hijacked that one and "occupynola.org" and is improperly accepting donations.. will let y'all know more when I do..

I'm just bumping,really...I think, that if we're going to make this(National Assem.) work, by July 4 2012..we need to be as interactive with Live Occupations, as much, and as sonn as possible, The cold is not the worst enemy...It's very exhausting to be among those trying to facilitate, GAs, and organize efforts, I'm not sure how it'll all come together, but I believe that pretty much, each day that goes by, without an established Liason with the live occupations, reduces not just the odds for success, but the legitimacy, as well..They can use the support..I'm both curious and sensitive to how the "resident occupiers", are going to embrace the input/influence of those not "residing"..our efforts hopefully will not be seen an attempt to "co-opt", or takeover, It's something I'm gonna stew on, and try to envision a reasonable transition, to the most beneficial interactive relationship possible...Imagine if you will.....OK...that's all I've got for now....see y'all tonight for the late show...

This is a very good point not only between those of us working on the internet (I'm over 150 miles from the nearest Occupy and cannot get out to it), but even between different cities. I think it's also worth considering trying to get the different occupy movements talking to each other. I'm not sure how much they are, but Oakland has been brutalized the last couple days and could probably use some kind of assistance. Even something like more cameras on the ground.

This is will be especially important when people start coming up with formal proposals that a local could print off and give to his GA for them to look at and give feedback. It'll spread ideas a lot further a lot faster, and give much more broad-based feedback.

If this issue gets knocked back down or takes much longer to get a response, you might want to email it to a central communication figure like Michael Pollok or one of the admins so they can send the word out.

Moving this to the Outreach/Occupy Topic...

I was planning on asking to have some soapbox time tomorrow for the Occupy Raleigh (NC capital) group. I'm going to be down there for a working group so thought I'd say something. I was thinking of just letting them know who we are and what we are doing in general and ask for any feedback from those that have heard of us. I'll report back anything I hear.

I think it is important to liaison with the OWS movements. Although we're not officially part of OWS, there is so much overlap those relationships are important.

It's great to hear Philly seems to be looking at regional and national organization. This is the direction I hope this thing goes and we can help with.

Here's my report from the Occupy Monterey group.

We have an agreement with the city to occupy Veteran's city park in Monterey, and have about 50 campers now. Most are houseless, and many are carless. We are getting organized and growing, and are fortunate to have good park rangers and city officials to work with.

We are at the top of the tallest hill in Monterey, and it's over a mile climb to the camp from City Hall, so we are getting a lot of exercise. Lol

Like most occupy camps, we have to deal with the undesirable aspects of the homeless population who have intoxication, criminal, and health problems. I see this as a major obstacle that needs to be addressed before we can achieve mass public support for the movement.

I'm one of the camp "watchdogs" that look for potential problems so we can deal with them earlier, but it keeps me in camp most of the time. We will be setting up a camp wireless hub however, so hopefully I'll be able to spend more time online soon.

Glad to see you back, Ray!
Sound like you're doing good work.
Johanna

Yeah,. we just got our wireless set up in camp! Finally! Maybe I can catch up on my email now. Its a slow connection but it's much better than having to go down/up that hill to the library for one hour.

It's amazing how unaware some people are of the root causes we face, even in the occupy camp. Overall however, its appears that most people in Monterey support the movement to some degree.

Glad to see you around Ray! Much support for you and your group!

-Paul

Thanks Paul.

The Monterey Occupy is very different from other protest groups, mainly because we separated the camp from the protest site at city hall. This has minimized the problems with camp and the city.

The city manager, police chief, and head of the park system have visited the camp, and all of them have commented on how well things are being handled.

I believe we are setting a new example of how to organize ourselves better, and I urge all of you to spread the word to your local groups and ask them to separate the camp from the protest site.

We have a lot of musicians here too, and we are trying to keep a musical presence at city hall, which makes it more pleasant for everyone. I will be playing again this afternoon.

Ray

Thanks for the update Ray. The Occupy Philly movement is currently in the process of transitioning to a site across the street from City Hall. The Mayor is now skeptical of whether or not the group can maintain it in a safe and sanitary way.

What instrument do you play?

From what I have heard about other occupy groups Paul, the problems are getting worse. Lots of infighting, sanitation issues, growing violence, loss of city support, and groups getting removed from the protest camps by police.

In my opinion, if we don't solve these problems soon, the federal government will eventually step in to help the state and city governments deal with the problems. Not to mention the possibility of losing the support of the population we have now.

We are getting a lot of new people from the Santa Cruz, San Francisco, and Oakland groups here in Monterey, especially young folks who have been living in/with the chaos of other groups. It's a continual reeducation process to maintain the peace here, and it's getting harder to do as our population grows.

Right now, I'm thanking God that we have a 100 person limit in our campsite. Thus far, we don't know what we are going to do when we reach our population limit in a few more days.

I play bass and sing along with a computer that plays the rest of the parts Paul. You can watch a few of my music videos on UTube.

https://www.youtube.com/user/arrowoody

I actually think the feds have already stepped in. I believe the evictions of the last week were coordinated by the federal government. Michael Moore on Keith Olbermann last week spoke to this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mfQ2W6doZs

The movement maybe can go indoors to a certain degree and continue to organize, but a physical encampment, albeit small, should still be maintained. Group actions, marches, sit-ins, get a lot of media attention and need to continue and strengthen. There is a story out today that OWS still has $500,000. Possibly this money can be used to strengthen other aspects, such as media, internet, office space. Their success at raising money maybe should be a lesson that can be shared by other locales (I don't know how others feel about the money issue).

I play the guitar and bass too and am writing songs again, inspired by the movement. Maybe I'll send you a rough demo.

-Paul

Thanks for posting that video link Paul.

I have suspected that the feds have orchestrated this protest from the start, and now I am sure of it. It appears that the 1% are attempting to form a one world government ruled by the wealthy.

We cannot let this happen my friend, or we will doom the human race to economic slavery and ecological extinction. :-(