Revive Eugene’s Kesey Square

YouTube Video Here

Occupy Eugene – Kesey Square Action from Reid Bryant Kimball on Vimeo.

“You don’t lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case.”
– Ken Kesey

Reclaim Kesey Square as a place for street artists, entertainers, friends and activists to gather as a community. Join in every Friday, noonish to dusk-ish.

Since the breakup of the Washington Jefferson Park occupation site, many of the displaced homeless have been harassed by some within the Eugene Police Department.

They have been unfairly targeted, charged with small crimes, and then told they can’t return to a 20 block area surrounding Kesey Square.

This “Downtown Public Safety Zone” is being used to discriminate against the homeless. Alley Valkyrie demonstrates how easy it is to break these laws, and not get arrested because she doesn’t look homeless.

Join in every Friday, noonish to dusk-ish.

March in Solidarity with Political Prisoners Everywhere!

This is the anniversary of the conviction of five of the Chicago Seven for intent to incite a riot while crossing state lines, they were sentenced to $5,000 fines and five years in prison each…and this was AFTER the conspiracy charges were dropped. The case was appealed to the Seventh Circuit Court on the grounds of unfair proceedings but that court decided not to retry the case. It is widely believed that the social pressure of the times and the activists that took a stand in those times are the reason why the Chicago Seven’s charges were eventually overturned. Take a stand with us to help those whose voices have been unfairly silenced while we celebrate what unity and solidarity can do when, together, we put the Justice System’s feet to the fire!

Many activist are sitting in jail on unjust charges just so they will be silenced! THEY CAN’T SILENCE ALL OF US! Please join us as we march in solidarity with all political prisoners across the world who have faced imprisonment and worse because they fight for what they believe in.

We will be marching to the jail and courthouse calling for the release of everyone tried unfairly and imprisoned because of their political beliefs and actions. We will take the streets to show our comrades we will always support their freedom from this injustice that put them behind bars &/or  continue to illegally keep them behind bars. Here’s the idea…..it’s a march, be responsible and respectful.

We are working on Speakers…….

When: Saturday, February 18, 12 -3pm

Where: Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza, 8th & Oak, Eugene

flyer image http://i41.tinypic.com/29lztc1.jpg

Press Conference at Kesey Square

Street theater, games, a surprise prank or two, interviews with the homeless and harassed as well as speakers from Occupy, the ACLU, CALC, and the CLDC will highlight the absurdities of the Downtown Public Safety (Exclusion) Zone will all begin at noon in Kesey Square. (Also, keep your eyes peeled and cameras aimed all day, before and after the press event!),

The zone, also known as the Confusion Zone for the warren of legal paths the accused person has to follow to escape exclusion, allows people to be banished from the downtown for 30 days even without conviction of any offense. To escape exclusion, the accused must pursue two separate legal paths for as mild an offense as leaning against a building while standing on the sidewalk -and, of course, more serious offenses such as noise disturbance or having LESS than an ounce of marijuana in your pocket. Most accused are unaware that they must fight their exclusion along a whole different legal path than the one through which they can plead innocent to the actual offense. Therefore, they are unlikely to show up to protest the exclusion and so it becomes imposed based on the testimony of a policeman or witness affidavit.

Perhaps most aptly dubbed the Downtown “Exclusivity Zone”, the law was ostensibly passed to alleviate the pressure on jails ….but with a clever turn of events, the offenses for which people are being excluded are lowered to violations precisely to deprive the accused of a free public defender and therefore they are offenses that do not lead to jail terms! Police reports on the Zone have done nothing to prove that making the zone so exclusive has reduced crime.
This law violates the due process clause as well as the equal protection clause by permitting law enforcement to target people based upon their appearance — if you look poor, you are cited and excluded; if you look like a shopper or of a higher class, you are not cited. This police discretion has permitted vast abuse among our unhoused community members.

Perhaps rather than excluding people from the commons, the city of Eugene should once again take action to alleviate the plight of the poor by providing alternatives such as community spaces, non-religious housing options, and access to services.

The city should be addressing the plight of the poor – not treating them like a blight.

The events at noon at Kesey Square (where we are reclaiming public space every Friday afternoon will provide much needed insights into why the Downtown Exclusivity Zone can not be extended. Armed with these insights and lots of information, Eugenians are encouraged to show up and speak out at the city’s Public Hearing on the Downtown Public Safety Zone on Tuesday the 21st of February. Sign up at 7:00 pm to speak at 7:30 pm.

Didn’t anyone ever tell the council that a busy downtown is an INTERESTING, FLAVORFUL downtown, not some antiseptic version of a homogenous society. Ask the vendors at Kesey Square how their business is doing on Friday Afternoons while we are occupying Kesey Square….they sold out of food!
For information, call Jean Stacey, 541-870-2580 or Michael Carrigan, CALC, 541-485-1755

Women Amplified: International Women’s Day March

Cascadia Action Lab Presents: Women Amplified—IWD Solidarity March and Pot Luck 3/8/2012
Women’s Day International : Uniting Girls, Inspiring Futures

When: Thursday, March 8, 4 – 11 pm.

Where: Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza
http://www.internationalwomensday.com/

Nearly 50% of the worlds population is comprised of the generation about to come of age. Our youth stand to be most impacted by our political and social decisions – empower them now. What kind of future do you want to see for your sisters, daughters, granddaughters, cousins and friends? What do you want for the world we live in to become?

A few things from the news:
*Planned Parenthood is a hot topic and likely to remain that way through the presidential elections.
http://www.womensmediacenter.com/feature/entry/komen-vs.-planned-parenthoodwhats-going-on

*Girls not brides…Global campaign to end child marriages!
http://www.womensmediacenter.com/feature/entry/letting-girls-be-girls-a-global-campaign

*LGBT equality ‘waters down marriage.’ ~Santorum strikes again
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/02/14/santorum-lgbt-equality-waters-down-marriage/

Given the frequency of oppression in this world, and the amount of people about to come of age, rallying to connect and empower our youth (especially our daughters—bringers of life) as their guardians seems past due to say the least…

Join us in the streets, bring your demands, prepare to be empowered.

Rally at 4, March at 4:30 (route TBA), and a dinner/potluck event afterward (location TBA). Costume and street theater details developing organically, stay tuned.

Facilitation Training

The Occupy Eugene Facilitation Team is holding a facilitation training Sunday, March 11 from 12- 3pm at 454 Willamette @ the Growers Round table. Please come to learn how to facilitate consensus based meetings. We will focus on honing skills for facilitating General Assemblies. Handouts and practice provided. Please come!

When: Sunday, March 11, 12 – 3pm

Where: Growers’ Market, 454 Willamette

Occupy Oregon Statewide Assembly Planning Meeting

Come help us plan the Occupy Oregon Statewide Assembly!

When: Thursday, February 16, 11:45 – 1pm

Where: Growers’ Market, office #211, 454 Willamette, Eugene

Contact: Jennefer Harper , 541.514.9487,  jenneferharper@yahoo.com

Free Class: GMO Free Eugene and The Commons

This is in regard to the weekly free class we’ve been having each Sunday. It has been listed as “Understanding the Constitution,” however we will be having guest speakers each week that will change the focus of the class. This coming week we will have a woman named Sabrina from GMO Free Eugene speaking about the work that they are doing in our area and current and upcoming battles that the Eugene-Springfield area faces regarding our food systems and what we can do about them. Following that discussion we will be showing a documentary about the Commons and Common Space with a discussion/presentation afterward.

Where: Growers’ Market, 454 Willamette

When: Sunday, March 4, 12 -3 pm.

event contact: Elizabeth Yandel
plantacara [at] gmail [dot] com

Today! Gather at Old Federal Building 4-6 pm for Trayvon Martin

Trayvon Martin Action TODAY, March 26, 4-6 p.m.

Gather at the old Federal Building in memory of the 17-year-old high school student who was shot and killed last month by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman has not been charged with any crime at this time.

Wear your hoody, bring a sign, come stand together in solidarity for true justice.

Derail ALEC!

Cascadia Action Lab Presents – Derail ALEC!When: Wednesday, February 29, 9 am – 5:30 pm.We will be meeting at the Growers Market (454 Willamette St.). From there we will carpool to the target!We will be participating in Occupy Portland’s call for a national day of action against the Corporations who are members of the ( American Legislative Exchange Council ) or ALEC for short. This will be a day of Direct Action and Civil Disobedience! For the latest information Check out http://www.facebook.com/events/238565372897613/ and http://occupyeugenemedia.org/for details.

We will release the time and location of the rally closer to the event date!

In order to be effective you need to be informed so here are some helpful links and PDF’s you should probably check out!

Civilian’s Guide to Direct Action
http://crimethinc.com/tools/downloads/pdfs/direct_action_guide.pdf

Affinity Groups
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affinity_group

Know Your Rights Materials http://www.midnightspecial.net/materials/kyr.html

Blockading For Beginners http://occupywallst.org/media/pdf/blockadingforbegineers.pdf

Creative Direct Action Visuals Manual
http://ruckus.org/article.php?id=305

Ruckus Scouting Manual
http://ruckus.org/article.php?id=676

Security Culture for Activists
http://ruckus.org/article.php?id=789

Ruckus Media Manual
http://bit.ly/q4pNLv

Balloon Banner Manual
http://ruckus.org/article.php?id=364

Occupy Portland calls for a national day of non-violent civil disobedience targeting corporations who are members of ALEC, one of the most successful mechanisms that the 1% uses to control legislation. We are asking people around the country to choose members of ALEC in their home towns and SHUT DOWN BUSINESS AS USUAL.

Occupy Portland calls for a day of non-violent direct action to reclaim our voices and challenge our society’s obsession with profit and greed by shutting down the corporations. We are rejecting a society that does not allow us control of our future. We will reclaim our ability to shape our world in a democratic, cooperative, just and sustainable direction.

We call on the Occupy Movement and everyone seeking freedom and justice to join us in this day of action.

There has been a theft by the 1% of our democratic ability to shape and form the society in which we live and our society is steered toward the destructive pursuit of consumption, profit and greed at the expense of all else.

We call on people to target corporations that are part of the American Legislative Exchange Council which is a prime example of the way corporations buy off legislators and craft legislation that serves the interests of corporations and not people. They used it to create the anti-labor legislation in Wisconsin and the racist bill SB 1070 in Arizona among so many others. They use ALEC to spread these corporate laws around the country.

In doing this we begin to recreate our democracy. In doing this we begin to create a society that is organized to meet human needs and sustain life.

On February 29th, we will reclaim our future from the 1%. We will shut down the corporations and recreate our democracy.

Join Us! Leap into action! Reclaim our future! Shut down the corporations!

Occupy Portland calls for a day of non-violent direct action to reclaim our voices and challenge our society’s obsession with profit and greed by shutting down the corporations. We are rejecting a society that does not allow us control of our future. We will reclaim our ability to shape our world in a democratic, cooperative, just and sustainable direction.

We call on the Occupy Movement and everyone seeking freedom and justice to join us in this day of action.

There has been a theft by the 1% of our democratic ability to shape and form the society in which we live and our society is steered toward the destructive pursuit of consumption, profit and greed at the expense of all else.

We call on people to target corporations that are part of the American Legislative Exchange Council which is a prime example of the way corporations buy off legislators and craft legislation that serves the interests of corporations and not people. They used it to create the anti-labor legislation in Wisconsin and the racist bill SB 1070 in Arizona among so many others. They use ALEC to spread these corporate laws around the country.

In doing this we begin to recreate our democracy. In doing this we begin to create a society that is organized to meet human needs and sustain life.

On February 29th, we will reclaim our future from the 1%. We will shut down the corporations and recreate our democracy.

Join Us! Leap into action! Reclaim our future! Shut down the corporations!

http://www.facebook.com/events/238565372897613/

Occupying the Heart and Mind

Silent Meditation/Prayer Circle (A bell will be rung at 15 minute intervals signifying an opportunity to enter or exit the space without disturbing others)

Please bring cushions/mats/chairs to share, dress warm and bring a Friend!

Where: Occupy V, 7th & Polk

When: Fridays, 11:45 – 12:30  &/or Saturdays, 2:15 – 3:30

Also available in : Spanish