Next General Assembly, Saturday, Oct. 15 at Noon – EVERYONE is welcome

By

Jonathan Woolson

– October 12, 2011Posted in: Events, Media, Photos

Click image to download hi-res PDF of this poster and put one up in YOUR local school, coffeehouse, street corner.

The next General Assembly (GA) meeting of Occupy Buffalo is Saturday, October 15th at Noon, at Niagara Square in downtown Buffalo.

General Assembly is used for group discussion and proposals (from anyone!) about Occupy Buffalo’s goals, civil resistance, and for non-violent protest. Occupy Buffalo uses a process of democratic consensus for its decision-making and EVERYONE’S voice is welcome at the General Assembly.

EVERYONE is welcome to join us this Saturday, Oct. 15 at noon!

The weather forecast for Saturday in Buffalo calls for a high of 52°F, with 40% chance of rain, and wind gusts to 22 mph, so please dress accordingly.
See: http://www.weather.com/weather/5-day/USNY0181

We are the 99% of Buffalo NY.

Occupy Buffalo is a local response to the 1% that owns 50% of everything. We are the ‘other 99%’ and we will not be intimidated and silent anymore with our civil resistance and street protests. We, the ‘other 99%’, will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%. We represent people of many colors, genders, and MANY political persuasions. Many of us have lost our jobs, houses, our future …while Wall Street gets richer.

Occupy Buffalo’s General Assemblies (GA) are currently scheduled every Saturday at noon in Niagara Square for group discussion and proposals (from anyone!) about Occupy Buffalo’s goals, civil resistance, and for non-violent protest.

EVERYONE is welcome to join Occupy Buffalo’s presence in Niagara Square at ANY time, day or night.

• Share this:
• Email
• Print
• Facebook
• Share

• StumbleUpon
• Reddit
• Digg

About Jonathan Woolson

Phone: 716-672-9777 LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/jonathanwoolson Twitter: http://twitter.com/jwoolson Facebook: http://facebook.com/jwoolson Google Plus: google.com/profiles/jwoolson YouTube: http://youtube.com/jwoolson

27 Comments

1. Log in to Reply

   anno

   Posted October 12, 2011 at 8:43 AM

   http://takethesquare.net/
   this site is deffently something that people need to read an possibly learn from

   • Log in to Reply

     James

     Posted October 13, 2011 at 11:20 PM

     You need to get an education and learn how to spell definitely you dolt.

     • Log in to Reply

       NicBick

       Posted October 14, 2011 at 1:53 PM

       Hey James, I think you forgot a comma, you dolt.

     • Log in to Reply

       frances

       Posted October 14, 2011 at 5:31 PM

       Come on guys…let us drop the pettiness over grammatical errors. Much bigger fish to fry out there.

2. Log in to Reply

   administrator

   Posted October 12, 2011 at 9:00 AM

   Excellent post, thanks!

3. Log in to Reply

   Michael

   Posted October 12, 2011 at 9:51 AM

   It came up at Niagara Square that it may be useful to have field guide of sorts for people to learn the process of General Assembly.

   Here’s a link to pdf guide published by Occupy Wall St, give people an understanding of the hand signals.

   http://ge.tt/#!/9LfzQO8/v/0

   • Log in to Reply

     BrienH

     Posted October 12, 2011 at 4:46 PM

     great idea? anyone of a place for low cost, large format, quick PRINTING?

     • Log in to Reply

       sawicki

       Posted October 13, 2011 at 4:49 PM

       Niagara boces does graphics arts class, since they use your orders as class projects. You only pay for the materials which they use. Very cheap flyers and pamplets.

   • Log in to Reply

     EG

     Posted October 14, 2011 at 2:49 PM

     Thanks this is what I have been looking for. I would like to participate in background but constant ways and this will help me understand the process better and to contribute more.

4. Log in to Reply

   ronnie alexander

   Posted October 12, 2011 at 4:19 PM

   i really hope and pray things get much better for the poor and the working class because the goverment does not give a damn if you live or die. so keep fighting for the people and stay strong because we are’nt going no place. all power to the people.

5. Log in to Reply

   deborah

   Posted October 13, 2011 at 7:23 AM

   The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says that our Government has handed out $16 trillion to the banks.
   Let me repeat that, in case you didn’t hear me the first time. The GAO says that our Government HAS HANDED OUT $16 TRILLION TO THE BANKS.
   That little gem appears on Page 131 of GAO Report No. GAO-11-696. A report issued two months ago. A report that somehow seems to have eluded the attention of virtually every network, every major newspaper, and every news show.

   • Log in to Reply

     Jonathan Woolson

     Posted October 13, 2011 at 8:14 AM

     WOW! – thank you, Deborah, for posting that.
     I did a little digging to locate the report and the source of your post… and just, WOW.
     Alan Grayson’s letter is a *must read* for EVERY American of ANY political stripe.

     I also double-checked Mr. Grayon’s math and yes, it does work out to the equivalent of $52,321.42 for every man, woman and child currently living in the United States of America[*].

     GAO Report No. GAO-11-696
     source PDF: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d11696.pdf

     From a letter by Alan Grayson:
     —————————————-
     “The Government Accountability Office (GAO) says that our Government has handed out $16 trillion to the banks.

     Let me repeat that, in case you didn’t hear me the first time. The GAO says that our Government HAS HANDED OUT $16 TRILLION TO THE BANKS.

     That little gem appears on Page 131 of GAO Report No. GAO-11-696. A report issued two months ago. A report that somehow seems to have eluded the attention of virtually every network, every major newspaper, and every news show.

     How much is $16 trillion? That is an amount equal to more than $50,000 for every man, woman and child in America[*]. That’s more than every penny that every American earns in a year. That’s an amount equal to almost a third of our national net worth — the value of every home, car, personal belonging, business, bank account, stock, bond, piece of land, book, tree, chandelier, and everything else anyone owns in America. That’s an amount greater than our entire national debt, accumulated over the course of two centuries.

     Think about it. Think about what that means.

     Courage,
     Alan Grayson”
     —————————————-
     [*] current U.S. population is about 309M people.
     Source: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/00000.html

   • Log in to Reply

     Jonathan Woolson

     Posted October 13, 2011 at 11:05 AM

     …to put it another way:

     The recent U.S. bank bailout proved, unequivocally, that the U.S. federal government has the financial resources to lend the equivalent of $2,302.42 to EVERY LIVING PERSON IN THE ENTIRE PLANET — an amount which is the equivalent to MORE than an ENTIRE YEAR’S salary for MORE than half of the 6.9 billion people living in the world right now[*].

     [*] “…only US$2,161 annual income was needed in order to belong to the top half of the world wealth distribution [~3.5 billion people], …but to be a member of the top 10 per cent required at least $61,000 and membership of the top 1 per cent required more than $500,000 per adult.” (Davies et al. 2006, p. 25)
     James B. Davies, Susanna Sandstrom, Anthony Shorrocks and Edward N. Wolff (2006). “The World Distribution of Household Wealth”.
     http://www.wider.unu.edu/research/

     Other sources:
     http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2001/12/wade.htm

     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_inequality

     • Log in to Reply

       Denny Crane

       Posted October 13, 2011 at 1:03 PM

       The U.S. federal government did NOT have the financial resources to give out that money. Have you paid attention to the annual deficit and the growing national debt? We borrowed and printed that money, and as a result, grew more dependent upon loans from China and Saudi Arabia, and caused a growth in inflation from printing money with no backing.
       The Obama administration and congress is spending far more money than it is taking in. Writing checks to the people would mean borrowing and printing more money and making all the current problems worse.
       This is called “generational debt” because we’re increasing the debt now to the point that unborn grandchildren will come into this world owing tens of thousands of dollars.

   • Log in to Reply

     Denny Crane

     Posted October 13, 2011 at 2:43 PM

     The problem here is a lack of understanding of table 8 in that PDF and a lack of basic understanding of how the federal reserve loans money. That table simply documented how much the Fed loaned out. LOANED OUT. Banks have always and will always make interbank transfers and use temporary loans from the fed over the period of days. It is paid back with interest. Table 8 does not in any way show a handout, it shows the total amount of loans over a year. In fact, if you read that report, it shows that banks have paid back the TARP money with interest.
     I would recommend doing a little research on the federal reserve and it’s role in short term loans to banks, and how that maintains liquidity.

     • Log in to Reply

       Jonathan Woolson

       Posted October 14, 2011 at 7:34 AM

       @Denny:

       I believe that you may have missed my intention — the comparisons of US$16 trillion are illustrative, not literal.

       My intention in posting that comment was to help people to visualize the *scale* (and to gain a more concrete understanding) of how much US$16 trillion dollars really is, in relative terms, compared to the national and global economic environment.

       While I cannot speak to Mr. Grayon’s intentions, I can see how his phrase “…our government has handed out $16 trillion to the banks.” might be misunderstood as an literal hand-out, not a federal LOAN program (TARP, etc), if someone was unaware of the recent U.S. history of the past 4 years. Please note the use of the word “lend” in my own illustration: “…the U.S. federal government has the financial resources to ‘lend’ the equivalent of…”.

       I concede that “…the U.S. federal government has the financial resources to lend the equivalent of $2,302.42…” is an inaccurate use of the word “has” as in “holds within its own, immediate domain”. It could be rephrased more accurately as, “…the U.S. federal government possesses a material agency sufficient to marshal vast global financial resources and then lend the equivalent of $2,302.42…”.

       I have a rudimentary understanding of the Federal Reserve System of interbank transfers. Here is what the Fed itself says about the role of interbank transfers:

       “The Federal Reserve implements U.S. monetary policy by affecting conditions in the market for balances that depository institutions hold at the Federal Reserve Banks…By conducting open market operations, imposing reserve requirements, permitting depository institutions to hold contractual clearing balances, and extending credit through its discount window facility, the Federal Reserve exercises considerable control over the demand for and supply of Federal Reserve balances and the federal funds rate. Through its control of the federal funds rate, the Federal Reserve is able to foster financial and monetary conditions consistent with its monetary policy objectives.”
       – http://www.federalreserve.gov/pf/pf.htm

       Lastly, I do make an earnest attempt at paying attention to my immediate environment and my society.

       If I were NOT paying attention at all, I probably would not be posting items and comments on http://www.occupybuffalo.org. And recently, Artvoice published a photo* of the people who attended Occupy Buffalo’s inaugural General Assembly (GA) on Oct. 1, myself included, standing in a circle in a chilly Niagara Square, a few weeks ago.

       I’m doing what I can to “pay attention” and then act according to those observations.

       (* Perhaps Artvoice staff overlooked a step in their editorial process before going to press? That photo is captioned with a single word “caption” underneath the Occupy Buffalo GA group portrait. I’m not picking on Geoff, Buck or Cory — I thought it was cute.

6. Log in to Reply

   Denny Crane

   Posted October 13, 2011 at 11:13 AM

   I won’t be able to make the general assembly, since I’ll be working all day. So, I’ll suggest a few things here… but coming up with ideas on why you’re there a week after you showed up seems to indicate poor planning.

   Look at the core values of the tea party movement and consider emulating them-

   a) Smaller government- we’re adding over a trillion dollars in debt every year. We’re growing government while unemployment stays high.
   b) Opposing stimulus spending that aids companies that do not produce, like Solyndra. Keep government and businesses apart. Stop filling the white house administrations with huge corporate donors like Immelt from GE.
   c) Less government intrusion in everyday people’s lives.

7. Log in to Reply

   John W Chunco

   Posted October 14, 2011 at 11:23 AM

   This is great information!! For so long the 99% have been sheep. The time has come for us all to stand and march against the greed and corruption of the 1%.

   The issues are many! We have been screwed over by every level of our government from the local levels to the feds and even the school boards that are gutting our education system.

   Lets take back our country !!! I love this country USA USA USA

   “First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”
   Mahatma Gandhi

8. Log in to Reply

   Lou

   Posted October 14, 2011 at 11:32 AM

   I attended the march on Chase on Thursday. Everything was going well until we entered the lobby. A few people( you know who you are) seemed to take it upon themselves to provoke a police responce. I believe this situation did not warrent such a action. And I’m not alone. We should not be instigating violence. It goes against everything this movement stands for. We need to respond with confrontation ONLY when the police instigate Us/violence. If we are the instigaters, this will only turn the general population against us. I believe this should be brought up in ageneral assembly.

   • Log in to Reply

     Jonathan Woolson

     Posted October 14, 2011 at 12:22 PM

     Lou:
     I’m pretty positive we should certainly address the goals and methods of Occupy Buffalo at the General Assembly (GA) tomorrow (Oct 15 at noon in Niagara Square).

     If you’re able to attend, please raise your hand and say what you like about instigating incidents to the assembly. If you’re not able to attend tomorrow, I’m sure that we address it and vote on a specific proposal to avoid future incidents.

     It is my VERY strong opinion that we are not ‘here’ to create new problems. We’re here –TOGETHER– to figure out how to solve the existing problems we already have.

9. Log in to Reply

   bflocalling2011

   Posted October 14, 2011 at 12:31 PM

   I have to say that I have read the posts here and they are very informative to say the least, I read a post about how much money was given to the banks in the bailout and, I think any amount was too much, I see the usual rhetoric about the current admins spending and no mention of the financial burden of the wars we have been spending money on started by the previous admin nor any mention that we had money in the economy before the previous admin took over. I think all of that doesnt matter anymore we have to move forward. One reason I love this Occupy movement is that it is not associated and does not link itself nor support any politicians nor political parties, we know they are all liars and thieves and will never be honest with the people so I think we are beyond their spending plans. The way I understand it the Ocuppy mvement is against the Wall St Banks and Big Business exploitation of the general population…the 1% exploiting the 99%. I have seen this happening for many years. I watched the deregulation policies of the administration in the 1980s and through the 90s destroy our country. I watched the prices the general population pays for goods and services begin to climb. I watched as little by little manufacturing moved overseas to Asia. We had a brief dotcom buzz in the economy fool us into thinking all was good. We watched then as more and more businesses closed and/or simply moved the jobs overseas. We were expected to become a service oriented economy and we all knew it wouldnt work. We then went to wars we couldnt afford to fight morally or financially. The deregulation of the banks and the markets and the attitude that somehow it is ok to have a dog eat dog society that starts at the top of the class structure, which also began to get very popular in the 1980s, led us to dishonest mortgage and banking policies that hurt the common people who were simply taken advantage of and this showed us that the money guys have no conscience, which we always knew anyway. We saw mergers of major corps and companies go bankrupt. We then had the bailouts of banks,mortgage companies, insurance companies, auto makers, that were determined to be too big to fail, but isn’t the notion that if you run your company the wrong way, then you do not stay in business real capitalism? Which is why the bailouts, to me, never should have happened. I know workers would have been out of work but other smaller companies would have filled the voids and hired the workers. Instead we gave bailout money to the guys who exploited the system and the people and made many people go bankrupt and lose their homes and everything they had through trusting lenders and signing the bad mortgages, and companies that forced workers to take layoffs and paycuts and pension reductions or lose them completely or loss of 401K money. With the bailout money , I thought these banks and corps were suppose to use the money to create jobs with small business support and mortgage repair but they gave themselves bonus money and raises instead. Of course the companies that then had their employees take paycuts, pensions and 401K reductions or removals and benefits reductions never regained what they lost. We watch the prices of everything we buy go up at an unusually fast rate, gas prices that are out of control, oil companies abandoning their own oilspills clean up efforts without any punishment or calling out by our leaders. Our job market is not there any longer and the jobs that are available are low paying jobs. We need manufacturing brought back to the US with fair decent wages then the economy will grow but why should the upper 1% care they got theirs and that is all that matters to them they have proven that with all they did to create the mess we are in now. The Occupy movement has been a long time coming and I hope it continues until it achieves the goals, the only things that can stop it are losing focus, trusting any politicians or big business moneymen, and it must remain non-violent, the antidraft protestors in the 60s lost alot of support when they became violent. Remember no matter how tired you get and no matter what the other side throws in the wind, violence is NOT the answer. Keep fighting this fight. The 1% will never give up the power unless they are forced too, but remember peacefully, and watch out for each other. My view on the whole thing may be simple and it may be right and it may be wrong but its the way I see it and its why I support the Occupy cause. I believe that the other side doesn’t want the people to see how simple it all really is because then the people might figure out how to take it apart. Thanks for letting me express my view. I hope I do not offend anyone with my ideas. (there may be typos or I may have gone too fast and missed a word or too so I apologize for that)

   • Log in to Reply

     John

     Posted October 15, 2011 at 6:35 AM

     Well said.

   • Log in to Reply

     bflocalling2011

     Posted October 15, 2011 at 7:00 PM

     sorry, a bit of a ramble and a lack of punctuation I was little tired and typing fast, but I hope the meaning came across well enough. thanks for the forum!

10. Log in to Reply

    Jonathan Woolson

    Posted October 14, 2011 at 1:32 PM

    “I AM NOT MOVING – Short Film – Occupy Wall Street”
    VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGRXCgMdz9A

    “What is absolutely clear, it that we are witnessing history unfold. It’s a moment of transformation, that’s taking place because the people of Egypt are calling for change. They have turned out in extraordinary numbers, representing all ages, and all walks of life, but, it is young people who have been at the forefront. A new generation, your generation, who want THEIR VOICES to be heard.”
    – U.S. President, Barack Obama

    “The people of the Middle East, like people EVERYWHERE, are seeking a chance to contribute and to have a role in the decisions that will shape their lives. Leaders need to respond to these aspirations, and to help build that better future for all. They need to view civil society as their partner, not as a THREAT.”
    – U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton

    “We call for the immediate release of all that have been unjustly retained. I am confident that history will be on the side of those that seek justice.”
    – U.S. President, Barack Obama

    “Hypocrisy has its own elegant symmetry.”
    ― Julie Metz, “Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal”

    More at: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/10/12/1025488/-Powerful-Vid-Going-Viral-OWS-Middle-East-policy-juxtaposition-I-AM-NOT-MOVING

    • Log in to Reply

      Denny Crane

      Posted October 14, 2011 at 7:56 PM

      Your quotes are ironic after the recent start of attacking Christians in this new Egypt.

11. Log in to Reply

    Buffalo working class mother

    Posted October 14, 2011 at 7:24 PM

    Thank you everyone for standing up against greed and corruption. My belief is that 99 % of politicians are corrupt. Just recently The Buffalo News ran a story on how Collins the County Executive allowed a politically connected law frim Harris & Beach to excessively bill the County of Erie. Collins ran on the platform of proper business practice but now he just like any old politician. You scratch my back – I let you bill the County.
    Wall Street greed comes from politicians. Our great County – USA has got a 99 % corrupt govt.

12. Log in to Reply

    Jessica

    Posted October 15, 2011 at 12:02 PM

    We really need to dig deep into this issue over our economy and all the heartless jerks who are driving it down to hell. We are responsible for how we spend our money just as they are. Are we supporting them by continuing to buy their products that are made overseas? I think we are. Also, we are getting too wrapped up in media entertainment, and other costly forms of spending. Don’t get me wrong, technology is excellent and nice things are nice to have, but should we be using them so much to fulfill our amusement and fulfillment? ABSOLUTELY NOT! We hardly can get along with each other, because we ourselves are too consumed with ensuring we get the money we need to live comfortable lives. I’m so glad to hear of this revolution that’s arising, and I really hope we make the most of it. We-have-to-band-together!Meaning, we need to be able to depend on each other for developing information on what’s going on in our country, and forming ways to stay ahead of our government and the big businesses( who we know only care about making profit off of us). We also need to pull together with our resources to keep each other strong. Otherwise we are no better than THEY are! GO PEOPLE OF USA!