(Note: Right before the GA, the APD were violent towards 2 people at Winning’s. Plainclothes cops wearing black balaclava masks showing only their eyes, drew pistols on 2 people sitting outside Winning’s. One cop put his pistol to the head of a man and the other threw down a woman on the sidewalk threatening to taze her. Cops blocked off the road between Winnings and Yale Park while the 2 were arrested.Two bystanders took out their cellphones and started filming, very close to the cops but neither one caught the initial police violence. They said they were so stunned to see men in masks with pistols—they thought they were about to witness a massacre.)
In attendance: 7
(Two Vets for Peace members came at 6pm and missed the GA entirely due to time mixup).
Announcements
Friday Aug 31st, 5pm Protest Pat Rogers for his racist statements outside his office on 4th & Roma. Rogers reacted to Gov Martinez’s mandatory meeting with the tribal & pueblo leaders: “The state is going to hell. Col. [Allen] Weh would not have dishonored Col. Custer in this manner.”
We would have preferred to protest before the close of business day on the Friday before a holiday, but its not planned by us. We agreed we will try to arrive early and go into the office to leave a message with his secretary that we are disgusted by his racist statements. In this way, we make it known we came even if he’s left for the day.
Monday Sept 3, 11am-2pm Labor Day Celebration in Tiguex Park
Let’s show our support for unions, one of the few groups to resist corporate control. Most of the state’s unions will be there. Free lunch of burgers/hot dogs y drinks. We agreed we want participants of (un)Occupy ABQ to go and talk to union activists, find out local labor struggles, campaigns and ways to help, and introduce ourselves as being from (un)Occupy ABQ when we can.
Thursday Sept 6, 11:30am Free Bradley Manning protest at Obama Headquarters
National Day of Action with Veterans for Peace to demand the release of Bradley Manning. The date was chosen because it’s the first day of the Dem Natl Convention. Meet at Obama HQ on Montclaire SE and Central. Then caravan to the Romney HQ at 2420 Comanche NE. Help get signatures on petition, which will be delivered to Obama HQ. Planned by the Abq Vets for Peace who welcome our solidarity.
Thursday September 6 & 7 Natl “Security” Symposium at UNM
Protest recruitment of students by the “intelligence community”. 11:30 (Thursday?) at SUB and possibly other times. Ask Summer.
Saturday September 22nd 1pm: Global Frackdown Flash-mob
On Sept. 22nd, people all around the world will be hosting events to ban fracking. Join Food & Water Watch & friends in Albuquerque to flash mob at an undisclosed public location to the tune of a “No Frack Rap” created specifically for this global day of action.
Rehearsal: Saturday September 15th 2pm at the FWW office:
7804 Pan American Frwy NE #2 – ABQ
Call the Eleanor for details: 505-633-7366
Working Group Report-Backs
Anniversary Working Group
It met Tuesday and had a lot of ideas to share!
Maria, Sean, and Aztatl offered these recommendations:
Monday Oct 1st: we will work with Pam Lipper to support her in the hearing at 10am.
Sat Sept 29th: fiesta from 4:30-7:30pm at Yale Park. The time was chosen based on the Friends of Sabeel conference ending at 4:15pm. Plans for a cake, piñata, live music, speakers, and film. Sayrah offered to work with others to make a powerpoint showing photos of all the years activities, actions, etc. Contact her to give photos or help create the photo history.
Groups we’ve worked with in the last year and could invite to talk about their “year of resistance” in 99 sec- 2 minutes:
ANSWER, SOAP, SJP, Vets for Peace, La Raza Unida, Jericho, Food not Bombs, Trinity House & Trinity Nuclear Abolition, AFT (teachers union), Cop Watch-MLK Institute, Nuke Free Now, Healthcare for the Homeless, Occupy Santa Fe, Los Lunas, Farmington, etc, IWW, Dreamers in Action, El Centro de Raza, Endorphin Power Co, Quaker Mtg, SEIU, La Plazita Institute, United South Broadway, Student Action Alliance, CWA (comm. Union), AFSCME.
Please add to list.
We talked about also wanting to do an action. Ellen said the group protesting the Israeli occupation still protests Sat 12pm in Nob Hill. Would a night march or protest in Nob Hill work or try to link up with the noon group? Message could be against war profiteering by 1%.
Permit: we discussed the pros and cons of getting a permit to use Yale Park for the anniversary. The positive would be that the police could not disrupt and end the event. The negative is that we would be abiding by rules we don’t agree with. Everyone at today’s GA thought a permit was fine but we deferred it to another discussion at Sunday’s GA to discuss it further. Sean will contact SOAP to see if they would be willing to get the permit.
We agreed there is so much to do to have a successful event that we will have this as a standing agenda item at all GAs leading up to Sept 29th.
Foreclosure Working Group
Santhosh is finishing up petition for Pam is finishing up and will go on Occupy Our Homes website. A link to the petition will be sent out on the unoccupy listserve. Everyone asked to sign and forward to their lists. Larry and Sayrah are trying to help find legal support for Pam as well. Pam attended GA Sunday and feels eviction will not happen before Oct 1st, the date of her next hearing. (Un)Occupy Abq plans to show support that day. Details still need to be figured out.
Next General Assembly: Sunday Sept 2nd, 1pm at Yale Park.
I went to the Labor Day picnic and the unions really liked talking to people from (Un)Occupy.
Michelle Lujan Grisham, a Dem running for Congress, stopped to talk with us and I asked her specifically about what she would do in Congress to hold Wall St accountable. I talked about how my dad lost half his retirement in 2008 when Wall St gambled with it.
She didn’t have an answer for what she would actually do, but talked about the need to regulate rather than the Republicans view of more deregulation.
I think its good ask politicians about the systemic problems of corporations who leech off of the rest of us. Her staff member filmed me saying it was a moving story and wanted my name for the film. I did not give her my name nor permission to use me questioning Michelle for PR.