'Occupy' to hold national conference in Philly

[ellisonz]

By PATRICK WALTERS | Associated Press – 1 hr 54 mins ago

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A group of protesters affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement plans to elect 876 "delegates" from around the country and hold a national "general assembly" in Philadelphia over the Fourth of July as part of ongoing protests over corporate excess and economic inequality.

The group, dubbed the 99% Declaration Working Group, said Wednesday delegates would be selected during a secure online election in early June from all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories.

In a nod to their First Amendment rights, delegates will meet in Philadelphia to draft and ratify a "petition for a redress of grievances," convening during the week of July 2 and holding a news conference in front of Independence Hall on the Fourth of July.

Any U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident who is 18 years of age or older may run as a nonpartisan candidate for delegate, according to Michael S. Pollok, an attorney who advised Occupy Wall Street protesters arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge last year and co-founded the working group.

More: http://news.yahoo.com/occupy-hold-national-conference-philly-151936603.html

Cross-posted to Occupy Group: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1252156

[sabrina 1]

1. They planned this a while ago and I wondered what had happened to those plans.

Thank you for the post, I am glad they are following up on that idea.

[itsrobert]

2. Electronic Internet voting is secure?

I didn't know that.

[lunatica]

14. Yes. It can be

My union just conducted an online vote to ratify a contract with UC.

It's basically the same method used when you register online and get an email telling you what your temporary password is after you register and it can only be used once. Only members will get this password through their email and it can only be used once.

There are plenty of things on the internet that are secure. Paypal, banking, bill paying, shopping, and even voting. The election voting is done on computers with closed system which are not connected to the wide world and which have 'special' software which happens to be privately owned and supposedly 'not available' for scrutiny.

[U4ikLefty]

4. They are NOT Occupy.

They have not recieved the consent of any major Occupy. nor did they ask for it.

Look here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=320955

[mike_c]

6. neither was the continental congress a genuine legislative body representing anyone...

...until the rest of the nation accepted and embraced their revolution. Occupy will have to evaluate and discuss whatever comes out of the national meeting, if it chooses to do so, and to embrace or reject it's conclusions. I hope they call for bold, transformative reforms.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

8. Huh?

The participants in the first continental congress were statesmen elected or appointed by the colonial assemblies of all of the colonies except Georgia and of course those colonies that would become Canada.

I'm thinking this will be considerably less stately.

[mike_c]

12. yeah, I didn't make that point very well....

What I meant was that the Declaration was distributed and read to the public, who had to decide whether to embrace it or not. Probably not the best analogy to pick, but it was the one that came to mind. That's my story and I'm stickin' with it!

[U4ikLefty]

13. Occupy has not consented to any of this.

This is a working grouop that has not yet thought it important to gain consensus at any major Occupy (that I can find). They can do what they please, but this not an official Occupy action.

This "national meeting" is not represening Occupy becasue it is working outside of Occupy.

[mike_c]

16. I see nothing wrong with that....

In fact, I think it's likely an advantage, but that's beside the point. They will presumably produce some outcome-- a list of principles, a manifesto, calls for action, or perhaps even chaos and failure. In any event, that outcome will be available for general assemblies to discuss and consider, maybe to adopt, adapt, or reject. It's hard to see how MORE discussion and consensus harms anyone or distracts from Occupy's goals. If every town in the U.S. started it's own independent general assembly they would be equally "unofficial" and "outside" of the main urban occupy assemblies, but the movement would blossom. And quite likely change. Consensus requires some raw material to work with.

[U4ikLefty]

19. Have you read post #11?

They are not trying to work with Occupy.

I don't give a shit if they want to pick up trash on the street, but that doesn't make them Greepeace.

[MadrasT]

18. Even Occupy Philadelphia refuses to have anything to do with it and is not endorsing this.

See post #11: http://www.democraticunderground.com/101458323#post11

[snooper2]

17. LOL, this cracks me up

[kgnu_fan]

5. I want to be a delegate nt

[Vincardog]

7. I want to be a delegate nt

[CTyankee]

9. And where are the women?

Are they there? Are they represented?

I want to see a fully representative group...

[Odin2005]

10. K&R

[pinboy3niner]

11. 99% Declaration Receives a Vote of “No Support” from Occupy Philly

99% Declaration Receives a Vote of “No Support” from OP GA

by LaInteligentsia
Occupy Philly Media
12/15/2011


Representatives from the 99% Declaration group were hoping to have a discussion which would lead to an endorsement from Occupy Philly for plans to hold a National General Assembly in Philadelphia on July 4th of 2012. Instead, in an unusual display of collective assertiveness, the GA voted to unaffiliate themselves with the group and any of its future events.


On Tuesday’s General Assembly, representatives from the group, the 99% Declaration presented plans to organize a National General Assembly in Philadelphia and hold an online election of 890 delegates from all over the US who would vote on a list of grievances the current government would be asked to redress. During the questions and concerns part of the conversation, OP members presented information detailing the backgrounds and comments of three board members of the organization. In addition to these concerns, OP General Assembly attendees raised issues surrounding the selection of delegates and the current efforts to plan the national gathering. OP quickly weighed the evidence, and as a result of the overwhelming concerns raised by the group, the GA voted “We do not support the 99% Declaration, its group, its website, its National GA and anything else associated with it.”

Who exactly is the 99Percent Declaration?
The 99% Declaration is a national working group led by NY criminal defense attorney, Michael Pollok. The story on their website says that Mr. Pollok was contacted for legal representation after the arrests of 700 OWS protesters on the Brooklyn Bridge in NYC. Of the protesters, 20 or so are students from a small liberal arts college in upstate NY where Pollok resides. After meeting with them, he agreed to represent them pro bono. He then began drafting a list of grievances developed during conversations with them. The document he subsequently posted online is now known as the 99% Declaration. The website further states he later distributed about 400 copies of the declaration to Occupy Wall Street in Zuccotti Park. While there he gathered some people to form a working group at OWS. However, organizers from there have not acknowledged the group’s legitimacy, as noted in heated discussions posted on the NYC GA website.


Two days after his visit to Zuccotti Park, the story was picked up by the Huffington Post and the Global Grind after locating the draft document online. Immediately, the story drew national attention. The news reached Philly immediately, as OP was contacted by reporters for comments on the matter. It seemed mysterious that an event like this was being coordinated without first consulting any of the key organizers at Occupy Philly. Similarly, the large scale media attention given to a presumed OWS group amid reports of a National General Assembly in Philly raised a lot of concerns from key organizers at OWS, especially from those working in the Demands Working Group. A dispute ensued about the group’s authority to use the OWS name for a proposal that had not been passed in their GA. Shortly after, the 99% Declaration was deemed by OWS, not an official working group. This caused their leader, Pollok, to make the following statement,

“OWS is a failure and there is no backup plan. it is antidemocratic and censors people outside of the narrow agenda of the small elite oligarchy that runs it; I have been down there and I saw them in action; they are a star chamber made up of anarchists and other antidemocratic movements who want everything and nothing. it cannot succeed; it has consumed it’s own oxygen and now the flame is out what a waste. we will press on with the nationwide election of delegates to a National General Assembly”

“this is an anti-democratic movement and we withdraw our support.”

Despite their tumultuous relationship with OWS, the group continued to develop its plans and formed its own nonprofit, The 99% Declaration Working Group, Ltd. The board members include founder Michael Pollok, a former white collar crimes criminal defense attorney who ran for Congress in 2009; Nancy Marcus Newman, whose father Steve Newman was involved in a bribery scandal with Vince Fumo; Adeline Malone, a former VP at Goldman Sachs; and an unknown Kevin Archambault. The comments made by Mr. Pollok, coupled with the background of the board members were enough to set off red flags in the beginning of the GA discussion.

...


More at link:
http://news.infoshop.org/article.php?story=20111217130645347

[ananda]

15. I credit OWS for much of whatever passes for economic recovery...

... in this country.

Keep up the good work Occupy!

[kgnu_fan]

20. currently suggested list of grievances and solutions

All makes sense to me

http://www.the99declaration.org/

Elimination of the Corporate State.
Overturning the “Citizens United” Case.
Elimination of All Private Benefits to Public Servants.
Term Limits.
A Fair Tax Code.
Health Care for All.
Protection of the Planet.
Debt Reduction.
Jobs for All Americans.
Student Loan Debt Refinancing.
Ending Perpetual War for Profit.
Emergency Reform of Public Education.
End Outsourcing and Currency Manipulation.
Banking and Securities Reform.
Foreclosure Moratorium, Mortgage Refinancing and Principle Write Downs.
Review and Reform of the Federal Reserve Banking System.
Ending the Electoral College and Enactment of Uniform Federal Election Rules.
Ending the War in Afghanistan and Care of Veterans.
No Censorship of the Internet.
Reinstitution of Civil Rights Including the Repeal of the NDAA.
Curtailing the Private Prison Industrial Complex.

[Gringostan]

21. This may or may not be the right group

This may or may not be the right group for a national conference; but I believe we must start somewhere in order to bring "party cohesion" to this movement. The support is out there, it's just disorganized because the needs for reform are so many. A viable group that can define the primary needs of the people/movement can help give focus that others can coalesce around and perhaps become a true progressive party.