Check out the caravan happening to the national gathering!
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Occupy National Gathering!
From June 30th to July 4th, the Occupy movement will convene the Occupy National Gathering in the vicinity of Philadelphia’s Independence Mall for a week of direct actions, movement building and the creation of a vision for a democratic future. The National Gathering will kick off with a massive march with Healthcare-Now! in solidarity with their fight for the right to health. On July 5th we will conclude by joining Guitarmy for a 99 mile march from Philadelphia to Wall Street in Lower Manhattan.
See the National Gathering website for more information: http://www.
Occupying the Heart and Mind 50th Gathering
Friday’s silent meditation/prayer circle will take place as usual 11:45 – 1 pm at OE V. Saturday’s meditation/prayer circle will Not take place in anticipation of Sunday’s 50th!
Sunday June 17th join us at the federal building at 7th and Pearl for the 50th gathering of Occupying the Heart and Mind
1:00-1:20 Communion Ceremony, with Reverand Brent Was
1:20-1:50 Sufi Dancing facilitated by Hafiz?
1:55-2:20 Qi gong, led by Solala
2:25-3:35 Meditation/Prayer Circle, led by all
3:45-4:30Native Pipe Ceremony, conducted by Jerry Hall
The center of this event is the interfaith meditation/prayer circle. We sincerely hope that you will be able to come sit with us and invite others to do so as well. We exceeded our goal of 25 individuals holding the circle on the 25th gathering. The intention is for 50 on the 50th. Please help spread the word!
See our facebook event here
Our mission is the social transformation through inner peace. By bringing togther Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Agnostics, and those of many other traditions (or lack thereof), who share the desire to cultivate greater peace and compassion amidst the chaos and confusion of the shifting paradigm, providing a strong base for the difficult conversations ahead.
IWW April Movie and Discussion: “Taken For A Ride How a corporate conspiracy destroyed the U.S. trolley system.”
Tuesday April 24th 8:00 pm Cozmic Pizza
Come Learn how a corporate conspiracy destroyed the U.S. trolley system
With short “The True Cost of Oil”-Alberta Tar Sands Mining
Discussion to follow
The film reveals a story of an auto & oil industry campaign to buy & dismantle streetcar lines. The highway lobby then pushed through Congress a network of urban freeways that fueled suburbia, increased auto dependence & elicited passionate opposition.
Sponsored by Lane branch-Industrial Workers of the World, Occupy Eugene, We The People-Eugene, ESSN & AFSME 3214
Max Rameau Visits Occupy Eugene!
Housing is a Human Right
Author and Noted Housing Rights Activist, Max Rameau will be in Eugene for several events starting Wednesday, April 18. Rameau is the author of “Take Back the Land” and director of the national movement of the same name, which specializes in “liberating” vacant government land and foreclosed homes by moving homeless families into them.
Schedule of Events
April 18th – Activist training session 6:30p – 8:30p at Occupy V (1274 W. 7th Ave.)
Learn to utilize Positive Action (a form of Direct Action) campaigns to advance organizational objectives and build a movement for social justice. The training will focus on land, housing rights, and the fight against foreclosures. Desert and drinks afterwards.
April 19th – Benefit for “Take Back the Land” and Max Rameau 6p – 9p at Reality Kitchen (245 Van Buren)
Hour presentation, preceded by a social with food and music by David Rogers, tickets are $10/$12 day-of, but no one will be turned away for inability to pay. Get info at realitykitchen.org.
April 20th – Kesey Square Revival ~2 – 2:30p (Willamette St. & Broadway)
Brief speech and comments to media.
April 20th – Bank of America Protest ~4:45p – 5:15p (11th Ave. & Pearl St.)
Brief speech and comments to media.
April 20th – Lane Peace Symposium 6p – 8:30p (Lane Community College, 4000 East 30th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97405)
Plenary Panel: “The State of the Global and U.S. Democracy Movement.
April 21st – Lane Peace Symposium 3:30 – 5 p (Lane Community College, 4000 East 30th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97405)
Keynote address
Rameau’s Eugene visit is co-sponsored by Reality Kitchen, Occupy Eugene, Civil Liberties Defense Center, Lane Peace Symposium, and A Community Together – Lane County (ACT). Visit co-coordinated by Majeska Seese-Green (ACT) and Jim Evangelista (Reality Kitchen).
Sacred Economics and the Divine Commons
Collective Visioning welcomes Benjamin Crandall talking about Kindista, the online giving network which his group is about to launch. We’ll be discussing the work of Charles Eisenstein, author of Sacred Economics with others working to bring the vision of sacred economics and the gift economy home to Eugene.
When: Saturday, April 28th, 2-4pm
Where: OE V, 1274 W. 7th
Tax Day Action- Fund Human Needs-Not War or Wall St.
Tax Day, April 17th join us for:
1. Rally-Downtown Post Office, 520 Willamette
11-12pm Penny Poll & Literature Distribution
Will provide taxpayers the opportunity to decide where their tax dollars go, by inviting them to participate in a penny poll. The poll participants will be given 10 pennies to put in jars representing a 6-category breakdown of the Federal budget.
12-1pm Rally with Music and Speakers including…
· Taxes for Peace, Occupy Eugene, IWW, CALC, ESSN, SEIU and WAND with tables
· Mark Ross and Scott Fife of IWW singing labor songs
· Plaedo Wellman performing spoken word.
*War tax resisters who object to over half of their federal taxes going to the military, will redirect their “war” taxes to local organizations. Some of these organizations will be on hand to receive their donations.
2-3pm Casket Procession to the New Federal Bldg
There will be a procession mourning the human costs of war from the Post Office to the New Federal Bldg. The center of the procession will be a casket led by a single drumbeat. The mourners in the front of the march will be dressed in black and those in back will be displaying a more proactive message with rainbow peace flags and signs that proclaim “I’d rather pay for________ than war. Either Congressional staff from the offices of Senator Merkley, Wyden and Rep. DeFazio will be asked to come speak to the group and outline what they’re doing to curtail war spending.
2. Stand Up For Tax Fairness Rally
5pm Main Post Office, 3148 Gateway
More information contact SEIU: 541- 342-1055.
3. Whirled Pies for World Peace Benefit
11am-10pm Whirled Pies Pizzeria, 1123 Monroe,
Percent of sales goes to CALC
Tax Day Sponsors: Community Alliance of Lane County, (CALC), Occupy Eugene, Eugene Springfield Solidarity Network-Jobs With Justice (ESSN), Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Women’s Action for New Directions (WAND), Taxes for Peace Not War, Industrial Workers of the World (IWW).
For more information contact: Michael Carrigan at calcpeace[at]efn.org
News update: Murder charge brought in Trayvon Martin case
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Amid furious public pressure to make an arrest in the killing of Trayvon Martin, the special prosecutor on the case went for the maximum Wednesday, bringing a second-degree murder charge against the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot the unarmed black teenager.
George Zimmerman, 28, was jailed in Sanford — the site of the shooting Feb. 26 that set off a nationwide debate over racial profiling and self-defense — on a charge that carries a minimum of 25 years in prison and a maximum sentence that could put him in prison for life.
In announcing the arrest, prosecutor Angela Corey would not discuss how she reconciled the conflicting accounts of what happened or explain how she arrived at the charges, saying too much information had been made public already. But she made it clear she was not influenced by the uproar over the past six weeks.
“We do not prosecute by public pressure or by petition. We prosecute based on the facts on any given case as well as the laws of the state of Florida,” Corey said.
Martin’s parents, who were in Washington when the announcement came, expressed relief over the decision to prosecute the killer of their 17-year-old son.
“The question I would really like to ask him is, if he could look into Trayvon’s eyes and see how innocent he was, would he have then pulled the trigger? Or would he have just let him go on home?” said his father, Tracy Martin.
Many legal experts had expected the prosecutor to opt for the lesser charge of manslaughter, which usually carries 15 years behind bars and covers reckless or negligent killings, rather than second-degree murder, which involves a killing that results from a “depraved” disregard for human life.
The most severe homicide charge, first-degree murder, is subject to the death penalty in Florida and requires premeditation — something that all sides agreed was not present in this case.
“I predicted manslaughter, so I’m a little surprised,” said Michael Seigel, a former federal prosecutor who now teaches law at the University of Florida. “But she has more facts than I do.”
Zimmerman’s new attorney, Mark O’Mara, said Zimmerman will plead not guilty and will invoke Florida’s powerful “stand your ground” law, which gives people wide leeway to use deadly force without having to retreat in the face of danger.
The lawyer asked that people not jump to conclusions about his client’s guilt and said he is “hoping that the community will calm down” now that charges have been filed.
“I’m expecting a lot of work and hopefully justice in the end,” O’Mara said.
Zimmerman, whose father is white and whose mother Hispanic, turned himself in earlier in the day and will make a court appearance as early as Thursday, when his lawyer plans to ask for bail.
Corey’s decision followed an extraordinary 45-day campaign by Martin’s parents to have Zimmerman arrested despite his claim that he shot in self-defense. They were joined by civil rights activists such as Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, as well as many politicians and supporters in Sanford and cities across the nation.
Protesters wore hooded sweatshirts like the one Martin had on. And the debate reached all the way to the White House, where President Barack Obama observed last month: “If I had a son, he’d look like Trayvon.”
The confrontation took place in a gated community where Martin was staying with his father and his father’s fiancée. Martin was walking back in the rain from a convenience store when Zimmerman spotted him and called 911. He followed Martin despite being told not to by a police dispatcher, and the two got into a struggle.
Zimmerman told police Martin punched him in the nose, knocking him down, and then began banging Zimmerman’s head on the sidewalk. Zimmerman claimed he shot Martin in fear for his life.
A judge could dismiss the charge based on “stand your ground,” legal experts said. But not if prosecutors can show Zimmerman was to blame.
“If you’re the aggressor, you’re not protected by this law,” said Carey Haughwout, public defender in Palm Beach County.
Zimmerman’s brother Robert Zimmerman told CNN on Wednesday night: “Our brother literally had to save his life by taking a life. And that’s a situation nobody wants to be in, ever.”
On Tuesday, Zimmerman’s former lawyers portrayed him as erratic and in precarious mental condition. O’Mara, who signed on after Zimmerman’s previous attorneys withdrew, said that Zimmerman seemed to be in a good state of mind but that the pressure had weighed mightily on him.
“He is troubled by everything that has happened. I cannot imagine living in George Zimmerman’s shoes for the past number of weeks. Because he has been at the focus of a lot of anger, and maybe confusion and maybe some hatred, and that has to be difficult,” the attorney said.
O’Mara also said the difficult case is compounded by the heavy media attention, which might make it hard to seat an impartial jury. Corey, similarly, complained: “So much information got released on this case that never should have been released. We have to protect this prosecution and this investigation for Trayvon, for George Zimmerman.”
Corey, the prosecutor in Jacksonville, was appointed to handle the case by Republican Gov. Rick Scott after the local prosecutor disqualified himself. She has tried hundreds of homicide cases and is known for tough tactics aimed at locking up criminals for a long time and making it difficult to negotiate light plea bargains.
The U.S. Justice Department’s civil rights division is conducting its own investigation. But federal authorities typically wait until a state prosecution is complete before deciding how to proceed.
Tensions had risen in recent days in Sanford, a town of 50,000 outside Orlando. Someone shot up an unoccupied police car Tuesday as it sat outside the neighborhood where Martin was killed. But as the hour of the prosecutor’s announcement neared, the Martin family and their lawyer pleaded for calm.
Outside Sanford City Hall, Stacy Davis, a black woman, said she was glad to see Zimmerman under arrest.
“It’s not a black or white thing for me. It’s a right or wrong thing. He needed to be arrested,” she said. “I’m happy because maybe that boy can get some rest.”
OEV Work Party!
Work Party!
Saturday April 7th
1 p.m. to 8 p.m.
OE V (Old Cat and Dog Rescue-1274 W 7th Ave Eugene,OR 97402)
Step 1 in getting OE ready to move out of the warehouse by May 1st. We’ll be sorting the stuff stashed upstairs, hauling away trash & recycling and more. Treasures to find, food, fun and special prizes :)
Press Release-Invitation to Walk with Trayvon Martin
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: press@occupyeugenemedia.org
occupyeugenemedia.org, @OccupyEugene
Invitation to Walk with Trayvon Martin
Occupy Eugene in collaboration with the ACLU, Civil Liberties Defense Center, NAACP, Eugene Springfield Solidarity Network and CALC (the Community Alliance of Lane County), invites the public to a Walk with Trayvon on Monday, April 2, beginning at 5 p.m. at the Campbell Center, 2nd and High streets.
After gathering at the Campbell Center, the group will walk to the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza for a vigil and rally featuring Mayor Piercy.
Organizers have chosen to start the march in the area of Eugene that was home to Eugene’s first black neighborhood. The community was demolished in 1949.
Fergus Mclean of OE says, “Walking the streets of Sanford, Florida cost Trayvon Martin his life. This is not the America we want to live in. America, Wake Up!”
Trayvon Martin was a 17-year-old African-American who was shot and killed by a 28-year-old Neighborhood Watch volunteer who claimed Martin looked suspicious. The shooter, George Zimmerman, has yet to be charged with any crime, and the incident has sparked national outrage touching issues of racism and politics, particularly with the “Stand Your Ground” law, which critics call the “shoot first” law.
Everyone is encouraged to wear a hoody and to come Walk with Trayvon.
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