look like poor people win some victory.

Fight for the right to housing
and know that rights are gains that are won
and are kept only through vigorous defense.

Victory to the brothers and sisters in Ohizumi Park!

Jack.

From: "$BN9O2?M(B/JILL" <rebel_jill@...>


*2002.8.26, a collective bargaining in Ohizumi park

this report written by rebel_JILL(Association of Poor
people in Nagai park)

*Comrades;

we are a "Executive committee for thinking
Unemployness and
Homelessness,
Osaka".
  FIRST OF ALL, WE MUST SAY THANKS TO OUR COMRADES IN
NORTH AMERICA & IN
JAPAN ISLANDS THAT SEND A LOT OF PROTEST E-MAILS TO
OSAKA PREF.GOV, AND
SEND
A  LOT OF SOLIDARITY MESSAGES TO US. "THANK YOU FOR
YOUR GREAT SUPPORTS
&
SOLIDARITY
MESSAGES!!"
  2002.8.26, 9:00am, we held a collective bargaining at
"osaka
pref.government's bureau of public works in charge of
parks
office-south
district park office" in Ohizumi park(sakai-city).

  this time, we got following limited
successes.(Thanx!) they
agree...however, we
must watch THEIR promising. for, THEY are so FOXY as
we have learned in
days
of Nagai park struggle. WE HEARD THAT 3RD SEPTEMBER
2002, THEY WILL
TRASH
SOME TRASHES THAT THESE ARE NOT NEED FOR OUR HOMELESS
COMRADES. so, we
still
must watch foxy officers!! La batalo kontinuos...(our
struggle
continue...)
No pasaran!

  1) osaka prefecture government does not forced our
homeless comrades
to
evict or forced our homeless comrades to remove.
  2) park office's stickers for warning is fulled of
prejudice and no
respect
for our homeless comrades. so, you must convert &
regret your political
action, and you don't put your sticker for warning on
our homeless
comrades'
tents or huts.
  3) Pref.GOV. and park office must try to hold a
meeting for talking
about
this matter with our homeless comrades & our
committee, park user, and
people
who live around the park.
  4) If Pref.GOV. and park office try to decide or
judge about our
homeless
comrades or anything, you must try to talk with our
homeless comrades &
our
committee.

  again, we thank our comrades that SEND A LOT OF
PROTEST E-MAILS TO
OSAKA
PREF.GOV, AND SEND A  LOT OF SOLIDARITY MESSAGES FOR
US. "THANK YOU FOR
YOUR
GREAT SUPPORTS & SOLIDARITY MESSAGES!!"

*GREAT Thanx to;

  Jack, DignityVillage, oregon
  Jennifer, jpn
  John, OCAP, toronto
  Lee, oregon
  Nicholas, a citizen of the earth
  Ruben, WHU, california
  ...and others of jpn islands.

PS) We send a tiny solidarity message for  Pope Squat
& TentCity in
toronto,
Dignity Village in portland, Camp Paradise in santa
cruz...and others
we
have not known.
LEVELING THE LAND!!




=====
"No one should question the faith of others, for no human being can judge the
ways of God."

                              H.I.M. Emperor Haile Selassie I

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Finance - Get real-time stock quotes
http://finance.yahoo.com

Note: forwarded message attached.


=====
"No one should question the faith of others, for no human being can judge the
ways of God."

                              H.I.M. Emperor Haile Selassie I

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Finance - Get real-time stock quotes
http://finance.yahoo.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Palamarek" <mikashy@...>
To: <flyingsquads@...>
Sent: Saturday, August 31, 2002 9:24 AM
Subject: good Village Voice piece on squatting situation in NYC


> just came across this - "Better Homes and Squatters" by Sarah Ferguson.
> it's a good piece on the current squatting situation and conversion of
> squats into affordable housing in new york, as well as gives some
> historical background to various squatting initiatives occurring there.
>
> http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0235/ferguson.php
>

[The crackdown on civil disobendience has a vastly negative effect on our
most vibrant forms of activism... penalities for acts of civil disobedience
have escalated signifanctly in recent years, resulting in months long jail
sentences, etc. which is a huge deterrent to anyone with personal
obligations to family and work, etc. Martyrdom as a lifestyle has a limited
appeal. -Thomas]

Just Dissent: The Political Expression Protection Act

HERE'S SOME GREAT NEWS: August 27, 2002: An amazing California state bill
has passed the legislature and is going to Governor Gray Davis' desk: We
must
act soon to get his support!  Why?

SB 1796 provides grounds to limit penalties for peaceful civil disobedience
to
no more than $100 and/or two days, even though the charges may be
misdemeanors
punishable by a year in jail and/or thousands of dollars in fines!

We need to encourage his signature with voices from all political walks of
life.   Call Davis Now!  See below for contact numbers.

For more information go to http://www.justdissent.org/

Promote this to all your right-wing, republican and conservative friends
too,
it appeals to all freedom-loving people!  Get everyone  to call upon Davis!
We
need bipartisan support!

If Gov. Davis signs SB 1796, it will protect increased political activity
and
civil disobedience against the rising tide of intolerance, repression and
militarism!

If he doesn't sign it...

It's important to you outside of California as well, because if it becomes
law
in California, you can make it happen in your state too!
IF YOU DO NOTHING ELSE THIS WEEK,
TELL GRAY DAVIS TO SIGN THIS BILL:

SPREAD THE WORD, AND ACT ON IT!
writing is best,
BUT DO IT ANY WAY, AND DO IT NOW:
Governor Gray Davis
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, California 95814
or
phone: 916-445-2841
fax: 916-445-4633
email: governor@...

###




--
Thomas Leavitt -- thomasleavitt@..., Sr. Systems Admin For Hire
Resume at http://www.internetmanifesto.org/resume/

Wired since 1981. Internet-enabled since 1990. Web-enabled since 1993.
Older, wiser, and poorer, post-crash. :)

Thomas Leavitt For Santa Cruz City Council
http://www.thomasleavitt.org/cc/

Stop the Stupidity of Michael Savage:
http://www.savagestupidity.com/


_________________________________________________________________
Join the world’s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail.
http://www.hotmail.com

Nice report, Lee, great work and I forward it along
Ital ("pure") to our brothers and sisters in the
tentcities up and down the West Coast and to
Tabirounen in Osaka and to Tent City in Toronto,
Ontario, as well.

I note that you say, perhaps elsewhere, that "street
sleepers" was the preferred Japanese term to our term
"houseless" here in Portland and point out that in New
Delhi when I lived there the term was "street
dwellers."

I'd also like to comment on the state of manners here
inna 'merika and say that I've noticed that in older
cultures like Europe and Asia where the demography is
denser than here and where "rugged individualism"
isn't the dominant ideology, the art of living
together seems to be more highly developed.

Look forward to Monday when I can post a lot of the
Japanese photos and material on our Web site!

Jah guide and protect.
Jack.

--- LKLarson1@... wrote:
>
>

> ATTACHMENT part 2 message/rfc822
> Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2002 11:09:58 GMT
> To: LKlarson1@...
> CC:
> Subject:
> From: rayna07r@...
>
> Hey Lee,
>   i was thrilled to get your “report,” it’s the
> first comparative evaluation ive seen yet on
> homeless populations in the us and japan(besides the
> one in my head) and i believe youre right on with a
> lot of (dare i say all) your interpretive free
> thinking. the inexplicable degree to which homeless
> persons are marginalized and criminalized through
> “vagrancy” laws in particular and legal, political,
> and social policies as a whole in amerika never
> ceases to astound me- case in point, im still trying
> to get my head around the no “leaning against walls”
> and “hugging each other” thing going on in
> Portland(if you have the time, id really appreciate
> a bit summary)
>  so i will pass this letter on to folks here in
> Tokyo, nojiren and others…if youre planning to post
> this i do have a couple corrections(i know we rushed
> through the whole affair, so there no real need to
> sweat the details-i can just tend to be a stickler
> at times)
> 1-  Ryosampaku is LOCATED at the center of Miyashita
> park and as far as its meaning, uh, i dunno. Its
> based on some sorta robin hood story that took place
> in a mountain called ryousan (and paku means, uh,
> “villa” loosely translated) but maybe im wrong,
> never was all that good at cultural history.
> Miyashita houses the 80 or so tents but in
> ryousampaku proper there are about only 15.
> 2-  Yamamotosan was the informative guide and,
> furthermore, HES the one fluent in Japanese(not moi)
> whereas im simply his right hand man
>
> You guys really got your work cut out for you(i was,
> yes, once again reminded just how much so through
> your letter)…im looking forward to my first amerikan
> community study on my next return to portland…say
> hey to linda and all the folks fer me!!…rayna
>
> August17, 2002
>
> Dear Villagers,
>
>     I had a most enjoyable and enlightening trip to
> Japan which included visiting five homeless camps
> (four organized) in Tokyo and Osaka, and observing
> several others from a distance in Kyoto and
> Hiroshima (small in number).   I’m including most of
> the photos—not entirely great photos—but some good
> memories.   If I can find my notes, I do have names
> for some of them, Jack—but here they are in the
> meantime—everyone in Japan will be looking to find
> themselves!  The photos are:
>
>     a)  My visit to Ougimachi Park Tent Village in
> Osaka (August 6th)—having about 30-50 tents.
>
>     b)  My visit, the same day, to Nagai Park Tent
> Village in Osaka, now down to about 15-20 tents.
>
>     c)  My visit to two tent villages in Tokyo, the
> first of which is located at Shibuya Miyashita Park
> and the village there was called Ryosampaku which
> means “center of the park.”  It had about 100 people
> and 75-100 tents.  We then went to another tent
> village called “Yoyogi Park” (which was at this
> park) which has about 300 tents.  It is a large park
> and is very popular with the young people on the
> weekends (and summer holidays, like when we were
> there—street bands, many vendors along the
> sidewalks, lots of life and activity nearby the park
> or along side the park).
>
>     My guide for Osaka was a long time supporter
> called Tabirounan and another supporter who served
> as the translator at Ougimachi and I have mislaid
> his name right now.   There are only two organized
> tent cities in Osaka, but many many small scattered
> tent groups in various parks there, mostly
> unorganized and without formal methods of
> communicating with one another (although I’m sure
> they do communicate).  Both Ougimachi and Nagai have
> separate supporter groups that assist these tent
> communities.
>
>     My guide in Tokyo was Rayna Rusenko, an American
> working in Tokyo who is fluent in Japanese and a
> member of Nojiren, which is a sort of private name
> for what really is the “Shibuya Free Association for
> the Right to Housing and Well-Being of the
> Homeless”.  Initially, from the use of Nojiren I had
> thought it a person’s name and, indeed, some
> articles appear to be written by “Nojiren”.
>
>     The situations in Osaka and Tokyo seem to be
> quite different.   First of all, let me mention that
> my impressions of homelessness in Japan may be very
> inaccurate, obtained from some web sites and
> information that I read while there and from talking
> with the supporters and homeless.  Sometimes there
> were challenges involved with the translations and I
> have lost or mislaid a whole bunch of my notes, so
> everything I am writing here is from memory.   So,
> am apologizing in advance for inaccuracies.
>
>     From an article in late July in the “Japan
> Times”, it said there were (only) some 20,000
> homeless in Japan (and I read other “official”
> figures that state there are 30,000 homeless), with
> most of the homeless located in Tokyo and Osaka,
> which the article said had some 8,000 homeless.
> This article mentioned that each governmental unit
> (prefectures) are responsible for their homeless
> policies (shelters, payments to homeless, etc.) and
> that such policies vary considerably, being far more
> “generous” in the Tokyo area and being more
> restrictive in the area with the greatest number of
> homeless—Osaka.  Tokyo has some 25 million people in
> the area and about 13 million in the city proper.  I
> believe Osaka, the second largest city, has about
> nine million in the area.  If you go strictly by the
> “city” definition, then Tokyo has about 13 million,
> and Yokohama, at the foot of Tokyo Bay, is next in
> population at around 4 million or so (normally it is
> clumped in with Tokyo, and Osaka then is the third
> largest city with only about three million proper!
> I suppose statistics do with homeless populations
> much as they do with cities’ population numbers—that
> it depends on what is included and a little of what
> you’re trying to illustrate.
>
>     The same article mentioned that there was some
> limited financial support for homeless individuals,
> which seemed to be in the range of about $300 per
> month (quite a bit higher in Tokyo) but that
> depended on the local governmental policies and that
> the payments were limited in the time frame you
> could get the payments.  As more shelters are being
> built (especially in Osaka), I was told that such
> payments are being eliminated entirely.
>
>     Yet, the homeless supporters in Osaka said there
> are about 20,000 homeless alone in Osaka, so my
> guess is that the governmental and “official”
> figures are way, way low.   Homelessness is growing
> rapidly in Japan, especially since the country is
> still in the midst of a 13 year recession, and
> companies are increasingly adopting what I think of
> as American techniques—layoffs, especially with
> their more costly “senior” employees.  It used to
> be, of course, that you had a strong loyalty between
> a company and its employees—sort of like a family,
> really—and lifetime employment.   This has changed.
> Further, the family dynamics are changing which is
> creating all sorts of new stress in this society—an
> epidemic of sorts.   So, the US (and other
> countries) is succeeding in exporting its business
> philosophy and some of its values or lack thereof,
> no doubt increased by the WTO accords.   Bottom
> line—the homeless situation is rapidly becoming
> worse in Japan.
>
>     The official average age of homeless people is
> about age 50 there and these people have little
> likelihood of regaining any permanent
> employment—there are not the jobs and training for
> new jobs is inadequate, which leaves these people
> homeless or showing up for “day labor” situations.
> These people are shamed, for they have the work
> ethic, want to work and now are in a homeless
> situation, so they stay somewhat out of sight and
> try not to be highly visible.  Yet, as here, in my
> opinion, the reasons for homelessness are often
> structural and not the particular individual’s
> “fault”, but rather are the “system’s.”  And, given
> the changes in the family, I would expect in the
> future that more youth there will fall into homeless
> situations.
>
>     In spite of the growing homeless numbers and
> situation in Japan, it is very obvious that
> homelessness is far more severe and cruel in the
> United States, with an estimate of around 1,000,000
> homeless (the lowest figure I’ve ever read is some
> 300,000) and possibly several million more “on the
> fringe” in a country of around 300 million people,
> compared to Japan’s 125 million people and the
> governmental claims of only some 20,000 homeless.
>
>     Even Mother Teresa noted, when she visited New
> York City, that she had never seen greater suffering
> than there, which is amazing considering the
> conditions in Calcutta and Bombay.   We have a sort
> of go-it-alone culture and homelessness involves
> shame in a country that has a strong work ethic and
> an emphasis on materialism in all aspects of living,
> so homeless conditions (given our lack of a sense of
> “community”) results in far more misery and
> challenges here than in other countries where there
> might even be worse conditions, but where there is
> greater support from one homeless person to another
> or
=== message truncated ===


=====
"No one should question the faith of others, for no human being can judge the
ways of God."

                              H.I.M. Emperor Haile Selassie I

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
HotJobs - Search Thousands of New Jobs
http://www.hotjobs.com

AFTER 9/11:

A FORUM ON CIVIL LIBERTIES & SOCIAL JUSTICE


Are you concerned about the erosion of civil liberties
in the aftermath of 911? Join us in examining the
implications of national and local “homeland security”
measures on communities and organizations working on
behalf of peace and social justice, including:



·civil rights · immigrant rights · labor · police
accountability ·

· local and global economic justice · the environment
·



Citizens from a variety of organizations will address
concerns regarding the erosion of civil liberties in
the wake of the USA Patriot Act and the renewal and
expansion of the Portland Joint Terrorism Task Force.
The forum will be held at the Community Hall of St.
Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 330 S.E. 11th,
Saturday, August 24, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.



    The event will include presentations by, among
others, Cecil Prescod, Peace Organizing Director of
the Portland office of the American Friends Service
Committee; Andrea Meyer, Legislative Director, ACLU of
Oregon; a representative of Portland's city
government; Laurie Mercier, Associate Professor of
History at Washington State University Vancouver;
Gulzar Ahmed, President of the Oregon Chapter of the
American Muslim Alliance; and Chris Preucil, Founding
Board Member of the Alliance for Sustainable Jobs and
the Environment.  These presentations will be followed
by breakout sessions in which representatives of local
groups working for social and environmental justice
will be on hand to share their own concerns and
experiences and to facilitate discussion of activist
responses to the current political climate.



Snacks will be available * Suggested donation up to $5
* No one will be turned away



Coordinated by: The Center for Social and
Environmental Justice at Washington State University *
Multnomah Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of
Friends (Quakers) * Portland Copwatch * St. Francis of
Assisi Catholic Church * Co-sponsors include: *
Ainsworth United Church of Christ * The American
Friends Service Committee * Americans United for
Palestinian Human Rights * Cascadia Forest Alliance *
Dignity Village * East Timor Action Network *
Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon * KBOO * Jobs with
Justice * Liberty Hall * Love Makes a Family * The
National Lawyer's Guild * Physicians for Social
Responsibility * Peace and Justice Works * the Police
Accountability Campaign * The Portland Alliance *
Portland State University Faculty Association *
Reedwood Friends Church * Southminster Presbyterian
Church * St. Andrew's Catholic Church * street roots *
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom







“One tip a day per person, and within a year, the
whole country will be turned in, and we can put a big
fence around the country,

and we’ll all be safe.” --Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D.
Ohio


=====
"No one should question the faith of others, for no human being can judge the
ways of God."

                              H.I.M. Emperor Haile Selassie I

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
HotJobs - Search Thousands of New Jobs
http://www.hotjobs.com

Note: forwarded message attached.


=====
"No one should question the faith of others, for no human being can judge the
ways of God."

                              H.I.M. Emperor Haile Selassie I

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Health - Feel better, live better
http://health.yahoo.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Neil Braganza" <braganza@...>
To: <spt-l@...>; <3903flyignsquad@...>;
<flyingsquads@...>; <newsoclist-l@...>
Sent: Monday, August 05, 2002 2:44 PM
Subject: The Weekend Pope Squat Report, August 3-4, 2002 (fwd)


>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> Date: Mon, 5 Aug 2002 03:06:55 -0600
> From: mike ma <mikema2@...>
> Subject: The Weekend Pope Squat Report, August 3-4, 2002
>
> The Weekend Pope Squat Report, August 3-4, 2002
>
> Saturday and Sunday were fairly uneventful, in fact, when most volunteers
> were asked "how's the squat going today?", most people would say: "nothing
> much has been happening... its been kinda boring." I suppose the initial
> pressure, elation and intense energy of the first week has finally settled
> down or caught up to people. People were mellow.
>
> The cleaning, repair, and assessment has also slowed down because many
OCAP
> members are waiting on the status of the building's ownership and on the
> upcoming meeting with the city. It seems that Olivia Chow has brokered a
> deal where Chris Korwin Kuczynski, councillor of Ward 14, will meet with
an
> OCAP delegation on Wednesday. It has been tentatively agreed that the
> delegation with be made up of homeless volunteers/squatters, Steve Watson
> (CAW), John Cartright (Labour Council), and David McNally (OCAP ally). But
> this delegation is tentative and subject to change. There is also a
planned
> demonstration/gathering scheduled for Tuesday at City Hall, but the venue
> may be changed to Queen's Park since the city has tentatively granted a
> meeting. Keep checking to see where it is to be.
>
> Saturday afternoon was filled with the sounds of Caribana as the squat
> overlooks the parade route and the Gardner expressway. Sound-systems and
> steel drums echoed through the air. As many Caribana revelers disbanded at
> the end of the afternoon, they were caught in the bumper-to- bumper
traffic
> directly in front of the building. As they rolled by, they took in the
sight
> of the squatted building and its many flags and banners; many people
looked
> quizzical and others waved 'hello'. In terms of work, the backyard and the
> food area was completely cleaned up and re-ordered. A new bike rack was
> installed, and the donated composter was rearranged and serviced.
>
> Sunday was also a quiet day of conversation, planning, relaxation, and
> gardening. As the afternoon came to an end, a group of volunteers gathered
> at the front of the building to play boardgames (...actually the game was
> "Risk: A Game of World Domination"). Many neighbourhood night-time
strollers
> came by and chatted with the gamers. They congratulated people on their
> efforts. Some picked up the free literature, signed the petition, and
wished
> people luck. One person dropped off a filled OCAP petition sheet that he
had
> brought to work and told us that most everyone at his work place (Long &
> McQuade Music) fully support the efforts of the volunteers and squatters.
> There were many pleasant conversations; too many to describe here.
>
> As it got dark, the boardgame was awkwardly played with flashlights, but
by
> 11pm no one had conquered the world and the game was packed up. And so
goes
> the fight for housing; no one has conquered homelessness and so the game
> keeps moving on...
>
> mellowing-out at the squat,
> mike
>

Note: forwarded message attached.


=====
"No one should question the faith of others, for no human being can judge the
ways of God."

                              H.I.M. Emperor Haile Selassie I

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Health - Feel better, live better
http://health.yahoo.com

Hear you loud and clear, Boni of Toronto, some of us
here are very aware that we're freedom fighters and if
you don't believe me, ask JP Cupp, Dignity's vice
chairman.

Chris Omer down at Tee Pee Village in Isla Vista, CA,
asks if tentcities are merely about the safety of our
members or about changing up the system we live under.
Tee Pee Village (AKA Camp Home Sweet Home) was founded
after the brutal murders of two members of our poor
peoples' community there.

We responsibles take that responsibility to fight to
win and maintain freedom.

Wonder what Comrade Tabirounin (Rebel Jill) in Osaka
has to say on the topic of systemic change? Wonder
what Michelle or Anitra of Seattle's Tent City III
have to say or Larry Templeton, John Earth, or Tom
Shaver of Camp Paradise in Santa Cruz, CA?

Keep the lines of communication open, y'all.

Ever forward,
Jack.


--- thecrane@... wrote:
> Absolutely true Tarfari--although I would add one
> comment:
>
> One must also take the responsibility to fight (not
> necessarily with violence)
> to maintain that freedom.
>
> > Tafari of Dignity Village wrote (regarding a
> question
> > on a grant):
> >
> > > I've been thinking about question 3) that I
> typed
> > out
> > > in full once before, the part about systemic
> change
> > > rather than merely educating or elucidating.
> > >
> > > I believe the fact of our existence as a
> community
> > is
> > > bringing about systemic change, if we can do for
> > > ourselves and somehow escape the system that
> > maintains
> > > and regulates homelessness and uses us as fodder
> or
> > a
> > > resource or a raw material that maintains and
> keeps
> > > housed a parasitic, bureaucratic layer, then our
> > very
> > > existence brings about systemic change.
> > >
> > > Don't think this argument would very popular
> with
> > the
> > > Bureaucracy of Care, though, who have their own
> > > ideology to maintain to get themselves through
> their
> > > nights.
> > >
> >
> > Boni of Toronto Tent City replied:
> >
> > Right on the money, cousin. Squatter's rights
> > precludes paid care. Some
> > people
> > require a system because they cannot function at a
> > level whereby their
> > needs
> > get met--most people don't require anywhere near
> that
> > level of care.
> >
> > My fav saying came from Lech Welensa, "Act as if
> the
> > revolution ALREADY
> > HAPPENED and they haven't caught on yet." Hey--we
> ARE
> > the loop--it's
> > everyone
> > else that's out of it *grin*
> >
> > Input or comment?
> > Jack.
> >
> > =====
> > "No one should question the faith of others, for
> no human being can judge
> the
> > ways of God."
> >
> >                              H.I.M. Emperor Haile
> Selassie I
> >
> > __________________________________________________
> > Do You Yahoo!?
> > Yahoo! Health - Feel better, live better
> > http://health.yahoo.com
> >
>
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=====
"No one should question the faith of others, for no human being can judge the
ways of God."

                              H.I.M. Emperor Haile Selassie I

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Health - Feel better, live better
http://health.yahoo.com

Note: forwarded message attached.


=====
"No one should question the faith of others, for no human being can judge the
ways of God."

                              H.I.M. Emperor Haile Selassie I

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Health - Feel better, live better
http://health.yahoo.com

For Immediate Release

  POPE SQUAT MUST BECOME SOCIAL HOUSING!

  CAW President, Buzz Hargrove and Elementary Teachers' Martin Long to
speak at Press Conference:

  WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 11.00 AM, AT SQUAT SITE, 1510 KING WEST


  Since July 25, the Pope Squat on King Street West has stood as a
symbol of community opposition to homelessness, underhousing and the
political neglect that fuels these social problems.  Now the City and
Province must take the political action needed to ensure the boards are
taken off this building for good by creating a self managed social
housing project at the site.

  On Wednesday, the squatters will be joined by some key allies who
will support their struggle to win housing.  These will include Buzz
Hargrove, National President of the CAW, who will outline decisive
measures of support his union is providing to the Pope Squat.  Martin
Long, President of the Elementary Teachers of Toronto will also be on
hand to pledge his organization's backing.  Other speakers will address
the desperate need for housing in Parkdale and the means by which it can

  be attained at this location.

  For more information call OCAP organizers, Sue Collis or John Clarke,
at (416) 925-6939

Note: forwarded message attached.


=====
"No one should question the faith of others, for no human being can judge the
ways of God."

                              H.I.M. Emperor Haile Selassie I

__________________________________________________
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Sent: Friday, July 26, 2002 9:29 PM
Subject: Fw: Pope Squat Delegation to visit Lastman Mon 12PM


Now that the building has been successfully taken, we begin negotiations
over its future...

From: Ontario Coalition Against Poverty <ocap@...>
To: mayor_lastman@... Also sent by fax.
  Subject: Pope Squat Delegation to visit Lastman Mon 12PM

Mayor Lastman:


  As I'm sure you are aware by now, our Coalition has opened the abandoned
  building located at 1510 King Street West.   We have enjoyed tremendous
> support for our action and there is no shortage of individuals eager to
> begin renovations of the property.  We believe this support is, in part,
> generated by the well-known fact that the building had been operated as
> rooming house until the recent past.
>
> 1510 King St. West: History and Status
>
> Investigations into the buildings status and history have brought some
> very interesting information to light.  It would appear that the
> corporation that owned the building has been defunct since 1994.  Since
> that time there has been no application to revive the corporation and
> there is considerable question as to just who owns the building with the
> City and Province both coming up as prime candidates.  In October 2000,
> the tenants of 1510 King St. W. were evicted by city officials.
>
> We believe the eviction was motivated by the citys desire to gentrify
> Parkdale as part of its campaign to shut down the last vestiges of cheap
> affordable housing.  Two years later, as the housing crisis has only
> worsened, 1510 King St. W. sits empty.
>
> Given the property's unique legal situation, OCAP puts the following point
> to you:   Regardless of whether ownership presently lies with the City or
> the Province, you have the legal authority and moral obligation to restore
> 1510 King to low-income housing.
>
> Municipal resources must be made available for renovations and repairs and
> that those renovations must begin immediately.
>
> The housing project must be self-managed by those people needing housing
> who want to live there.
>
> We are currently investigating the legal situations of other dormant
> properties in the neighbourhood.  We call upon you to do the same and to
> enter into negotiations regarding all properties in a similar situation.
>
> Finally, we are asking for a meeting that will begin to address these
> issues to take place at your earliest convenience.  Please be advised that
> should we not hear from you, we will take the liberty of carving such a
> meeting into your agenda at 12:00 noon on Monday, July 29th, 2002 at your
> office.  A delegation of concerned individuals and organizations will
> attend.  If you discover that the province has a role to play in this
> property, please take the liberty of bringing them to the table.
>
> Yours truly,
>
>
>
> Sue Collis, organizer
> Ontario Coalition Against Poverty
>
> Cc:
> Erick Gam, Commissioner of Community and Neighbourhood Services
> Phil Brown,  General Manager, Shelther Housing and supporty
  Mark Guflitf, Lets Build Program
Chris Hodsgon,  Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing
Ernie Eves, Premier
Jean Chretien, PM
>
>
>
>        **
>    NEW ADDRESS!
>    Ontario Coalition Against Poverty
> 517 College Street, Suite 234  Toronto, Ontario  M5G 4A2
>      416-925-6939   ocap@...   www.ocap.ca
>        **
>
>
>
>
>
>

Nice one, Cathy, Dri, all TDRC! This is great news!

I pass word of this action on to the Crossroads
Gathering who are working hard presently to fight
against Title 14, a "sit/lie" anti-loitering and "city
beautification" piece of legislation that the business
community tried to sneak past the public right after
Christmas and that would make Portland beautiful in
their eyes, also to activists and other tent cities up
and down the West Coast. Squatting buildings as winter
approaches is something definitely needed on the
agenda of Portland's homeless community.

Know that we watch with great interest as events
unfold in Toronto and wish you victory in your heroic
struggle!

In strong solidarity,
Jack Tafari.
Chairman, Dignity Village.
Portland, Oregon.

--- Cathy Crowe <cathy.crowe@...> wrote:
> It's estimated that over 1,000 people met at Masaryk
> Cowan Park for a rally
> and joined a march that led to 1510 King St. West -
> now known as the Pope
> Squat. TDRC had a press conference there over a year
> ago when the landlord
> had kicked people out and had not paid taxes, etc.
> It's a perfect building
> for conversion and it is possible. OCAP's choice of
> a building and their
> logistical work tonight is to be applauded.
> Outstanding.
>
> When I left around 11 pm. folks were set for the
> night and we will hear more
> updates shortly. Police spokespeople on the news say
> they have no timetable
> and need to find out who owns the building. Should
> we tell them? Check
> OCAP's web site www.OCAP.ca for events over the next
> few days or just visit.
> Supplies of ALL sort are needed.  Cathy Crowe
>
>
>
>


=====
"No one should question the faith of others, for no human being can judge the
ways of God."

                              H.I.M. Emperor Haile Selassie I

__________________________________________________
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SANTA CRUZ — A minor city law has started a major controversy over what constitutes defacing public property and what constitutes free speech.

In the past month, at least three people have been arrested on vandalism charges for writing in chalk on the Pacific Avenue sidewalk. Police say they are not trying to hassle people, but that their warnings and citations are being ignored.

"We give lots and lots of warnings," police Chief Steve Belcher said "Most people stop but some keep going."

A city ordinance, MC 9.20.010, makes it an infraction to deface public sidewalks.

Nathan Kennedy said late last month that he set out to protest the law by writing in chalk on the sidewalk in front of Borders bookstore at Pacific and Soquel avenues. Police warned him not to do it again and washed the chalk away, Kennedy said.

But Kennedy did it again and received a citation, then did it again and received another, and another, until he had been cited for chalking on the sidewalk four times in 24 hours. At that point, police arrested him on suspicion of misdemeanor vandalism. He has pleaded innocent.

Last week, Becky Johnson, an activist for the homeless, said she and artist Tim Rinker were getting signatures for a petition in front of the O’Neill surf shop on Pacific Avenue when Rinker began writing "Vandals don’t use chalk" on the sidewalk.

Johnson drew a peace symbol along with the words, "Sleeping is not a crime." Johnson said the two were later cited by police. When they expressed their right to be immediately heard by a magistrate, they were arrested and brought before Judge Kathleen Akao, who ruled they should face charges.

At a hearing Wednesday, Johnson said, Court Commissioner Irwin Joseph said he thought what Johnson and Rinker were doing was an act of civil disobedience, and he scheduled a Sept. 13 hearing to determine if the police citations for violating the city ordinance violated their First Amendment right to free speech.

Johnson said the city asked the court to issue an injunction stopping her from writing on the sidewalk in chalk, but Joseph declined.

Johnson said as far as she is concerned, it was not even an act of civil disobedience, and she was committing a lawful act. She said she doesn’t understand how writing on a sidewalk in chalk, which washes away, can be considered defacing public property.

Belcher said it is not that simple. He said it costs the city about $150 to clean up Kennedy’s chalking because a power washer was used to clean the whole area. He said the concrete on the sidewalk is porous, making it difficult to clean.

"It becomes a real eyesore," he said.

Lt. Patty Sapone said Johnson and Rinker’s chalk work covered most of the sidewalk in the area around the surf shop, and was difficult to clean. She said what they wrote was not offensive and would have been protected speech if they had said it or distributed their comments on a flier. But because somebody has to clean the sidewalks, it changes the situation.

Belcher said that it is not up to him to interpret the law, just to enforce it.

"If a law is on the books, I’ve taken an oath to enforce it," Belcher said. "They want to cry ‘free speech,’ but they can write anything they want on a piece of paper. They are making a conscious decision to violate the law."

Belcher said the chalkers and other people downtown who have been clashing with merchants who want them away from their stores are following a pattern. He said the activists are protesting simple warnings and citations from police, creating confrontations with officers.

Johnson called that police spin, saying officers are harassing homeless and young people in an effort to run them off the block.

Stacy McIntyre, manager of O’Neill surf shop, said, her store spent $275 to clean the sidewalk the morning before the Johnson chalking incident. She said normally the store does not mind having people hang out in front, but in the past month the chalkings have escalated.

"Lately it’s been a problem," she said, theorizing that recent City Council meetings aimed at ending downtown tensions between aggressive panhandlers and merchants is actually stirring things up. On Friday morning, the phrase "Chalk Crime Scene" could be seen in front of the store.

Borders manager Dave Sauley said he knew nothing about the chalking incidents, and it didn’t bother him if people wrote on the sidewalk. But another store employee, who asked that his name not be used, said he saw the Kennedy incident and thought police exercised great patience before arresting the man. He said officers washed the chalk away, and that Kennedy was back in less than an hour writing on the sidewalk again.

"Sure they have a right to free speech, but what about the tourists?" the employee said. "Don’t they have a right to shop in a clean environment? It comes down to my rights vs. your rights, and who is right."

Contact Jason Schultz at jschultz@....

Couldn't download your pics, Linda, but we always
intrested in photos for we one Web site
http://dignityvillage.org and so Iman ask you fe
please retransmit. Love and respect to all Santa Cruz
crew.

Jah guide,
Jack Tafari.

--- Linda Lemaster <lindashearth@...> wrote:
> Trying to send the pictures again, make sure you try
> downloading them to
> your computer and looking at them with a .jpg
> capable viewer before you give
> up.
>
>
_________________________________________________________________
> Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device:
> http://mobile.msn.com
>

> ATTACHMENT part 2 image/pjpeg name=Bob.jpg


> ATTACHMENT part 3 image/pjpeg name=Circle.jpg


> ATTACHMENT part 4 image/pjpeg name=Dignitygals.jpg


> ATTACHMENT part 5 image/pjpeg name=Edwina.jpg


> ATTACHMENT part 6 image/pjpeg name=Nicholaspeaks.jpg


> ATTACHMENT part 7 image/pjpeg name=Sign.jpg


> ATTACHMENT part 8 image/pjpeg name=Sleepshop.jpg


> ATTACHMENT part 9 image/pjpeg
name=StreetrootsPatty.jpg


> ATTACHMENT part 10 image/pjpeg name=Wolfies.jpg


> ATTACHMENT part 11 image/pjpeg name=Workshop.jpg



=====
"No one should question the faith of others, for no human being can judge the
ways of God."

                              H.I.M. Emperor Haile Selassie I

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup
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Trying to send the pictures again, make sure you try downloading them to
your computer and looking at them with a .jpg capable viewer before you give
up.

_________________________________________________________________
Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com

sorry to be so long getting these onto the 'net

special thanks to my son Deon for superb cropping
and coaching beyond the call of felial duty!

feel free to publish  or distribute and if you do,
note: "©Housing NOW! in Santa Cruz"

cheers,
Linda Lemaster

_________________________________________________________________
Chat with friends online, try MSN Messenger: http://messenger.msn.com

A complete copy of all the registration data gathered has been
uploaded to the "Database" section of the Yahoo Group. This can be
exported into a file format compatible with your own software, or
just used on-line. Please look at it, and send me any corrections,
additions, etc.

Regards,
Thomas Leavitt

Portapotties: $161
Button printing:  $33.26
Musician: $10
Childcare workers: $20 apiece ($40)
PA system rental: $42.50 plus possible late fee ($45 cash given to Chris B.
to cover this cost + dump run)
Dump run: $2.50
Replacements for misc. Household goods and food consumed from Leavitt family
stock, plus $20 for

inkjet printouts @ $0.50 apiece: $44.00
Misc. office supplies for summit: $12.83
Kinkos: $25.53
Kinkos: $50.00 cash (no receipt, this is the "Press" tag lady from Portland,
Robert, do you know who

might have it?)
Costco: $124.30
Costco: $105.97
Misc. office supplies for downtown protest: $21.21

$673.10 spent and accounted for

$750 anonymous donor
$50 Mumia Coalition
$50 anonymous pledge
$50 Green Party SC
$20 anonymous
$9 anonymous ($5,2,2)

$929.00 raised and/or committed prior to summit
$167 (Fri) + $77 (Sat): $244 raised at summit from donations in small bills
$1173.00 raised and committed in toto
- $250.00 due to be collected via COH
- $50 due to be collected from SC Green Party
- $50.00 not collected from anonymous donor as unneeded
= $823.00
- $673 accounted for as spent so far

$150.00 balance
- $113.00 cash remaining (includes $35.00 in two checks made out directly to
me for some reason,

which have been exchanged for $35.00 cash from my wallet)
leaving ~$37.00 accounted for, which seems remarkably close to $40 which I
might've handed out
without recording for one purpose or another though I tried to be careful
about that and did ask for

receipts in all cases

A/P: Button printing costs of ~$120.00
A/P: $50.00 to be returned to Mumia Coalition as requested due to surplus
A/R: $300 as mentioned above
Amazingly, everything just about balances out, and we'll have a ~$250.00
surplus, which we'll use to

support further efforts to network tent cities, educate people about the
summit, etc. Possibly pay for conference calls, etc.

Remaining unaccounted for anticipated expenses include final dump run and
late fees on audio equipment rental.

Regards,
Thomas Leavitt

_________________________________________________________________
Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com

All,

Another $77.00 was raised, 66 people attended dinner, many cries of praise
and demands for seconds were raised at lunch -- it appears that Gunilla
outdid herself.

Terry gave a great keynote speech, many follow up speakers made telling
points about the system, lots of networking was done. We had some great
music from Mark Levy and other folks. We had two large workshops on the
Necessity Defense and on Networking, plus another large workshop on the
porch in the afternoon, along with ongoing video viewing, an open mic, etc.

Videos, photographers roamed the premises and recorded all key events in
detail.

Among them was Santa Cruz Indymedia's Van Dempsey, which should mean quite a
bit of material up on santacruz.indymedia.org in a few days.

We ended the day with a circle, where people resolved to create a network of
contacts (see the database portion of the
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/righttosleep for contact info, will be updated
with more info tommorrow) to enable all the cities to keep in contact, and
then twenty people hit the streets and occupied the Town Clock for a couple
of hours with the Leavitt family tent. No arrests were made.

Dinner was somewhat delayed by our use of food bank rice, which appears to
have been sitting around far too long, as 2.5 hour of sustained cooking
rendered it only barely edible. A lesson for the activist side of the
contingent. :)

Future protest activities are rumored to include a tar and feather party
with the infamous Robert Norse as the center of attention. :)

Breakfast will be served to CCROP tommorrow, and that will wrap up all
activities.

Regards,
Thomas Leavitt


>From: "Robert Norse" <rnorse@...>
>Reply-To: righttosleep@yahoogroups.com
>To: righttosleep@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [righttosleep] Kudos to Thomas and An Article
>Date: Sat, 04 May 2002 07:59:01 -0700
>
>
>And thanks to Thomas for putting out this update, for doing the lion's
>share
>of the work yesterday, and for letting all of us make merry on his
>homeground.
>
>I enclose the following rough draft of an article which I'm intending to
>polish and send off to the Green Party as well as put out as a flyer.
>
>See you at the Summit.
>
>Robert
>
>As this issue goes to deadline (5-4), activists from up and down the Coast
>gathered at  the
>House of  Santa Cruz Green Party insurgent Thomas Leavitt for a Santa Cruz
>Right to
>Sleep Summit. Their objective: to end Sleeping Bans in three states and
>support protective
>encampments like Santa Cruz’s Camp Paradise, Portland, OR’s Dignity
>Village,
>Seattle’s
>Tent City III, and Isla Vista’s Camp Home Sweet Home 		 Nancy
>McCradie of Santa Barbara’s Homes on Wheels reported that Mayor Marty Bloom
>has
>joined their Board to actively a first-of-its-kind RV park which will serve
>hundreds (about
>half that City’s “rubber tramp” population).  “The ground-huggers [those
>without
>vehicles] are next, “ promised McCardie.
> Pioneered by former Santa Barbara Public Defender head Glen Mowrer has
>effectively busted the City’s sleeping ban and its broader camping ban for
>those in vehicles
>using the Necessity defense, ratified at the appellete level in the
>Ridley-Cooper cases and
>at the state level in the Eichorn decision .  Offering twelve-hours in a
>church with a forced
>sermon just simply isn’t good enough pretext to roust those whose only
>affordable
>housing is their vehicle.  Coming up next is to challenge local
>anti-homeless “thou shalt
>not sleep” by arguing state law takes precedence.
> And the state “anti-lodging” law 647j is under attack in Sacramento and
>Berkeley.
>In Sacramento, SHOC (Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee) firebrand
>Clifford
>Crooks called for a Sleep-In at the Sacramento State House with homeless
>families.  “The
>Sleeping Ban is a Hate Crime” shouted “Protest” Bob Hansen.  “In an
>election
>year, Davis
>will not risk the shame of enforcing this law if he is effectively
>challenged,” said Crooks.,
> Berkeley, B.O.S.S. (Better Opportunities Through Self-Sufficiency)
>activist
>Michael Diehl is organizing protests and a prospective Rainbow encampment
>in
>the wake
>of last year’s City Council victory.  There, when more than a hundred
>supporters showed
>up at two successive meetings, the Council required City police to have one
>complaint and
>give two warnings before moving on those sleeping outside.
> J.C. Orton of  Knight on the Streets Catholic Worker in Berkeley reported
>on the
>struggle to serve free food to the homeless and hungry in Oakland.  There,
>turncoat
>“progressives” Oakland Mayor “Brown-Out” Jerry Brown and Council woman
>Nancy
>Nadel allowed the West Oakland Neighborhood Association to drive away Jim
>and Joyce
>Parkhurst’s 2 1/2 year old Peralta Catholic Worker daily 7:30 a.m.
>food-serving operation.
>East Bay Food Not Bombs is moving in to take up the slack, according to
>Street Spirit, a
>monthly homeless paper.  FNB has been serving “illegally” in San Francisco
>and Santa
>Cruz for the last decade or longer and kept the meals coming because of its
>willingness to
>go to jail if necessary in the face of city refusal to grant permits.
> North of  Santa Barbara in Isla Vista, the newest “Camp Paradise”-style
>encampment--Camp Home Sweet Home (aka Teepee Village) stands strong against
>new
>threats of “hide out or get out” .  Formed after bureaucrats ignored
>homeless deaths, it has
>uncovered a law enforcement scandal--where police have been ticketing
>homeless for
>years using a non-existent law.   When the Parks and Rec District hastily
>convened to
>cover the gap with a new law, Guitar Dave, Jenny Jett and others mobilized
>massive
>community support, the District nearly passed a law that would have
>explicitly allowed
>sleeping in a park.  That proposal was narrowly defeated 3-2; the new law
>prescribes
>warnings rather than tickets and mandates a 12-hour stay-away.
> In San Francisco, the Coalition on Homelessness is giving workshops on how
>to
>fight 647j, taking police to small claims court, and mobilizing against an
>election-year
>“trash the homeless” plan to gut General Assistance floated by Supervisors
>“Gruesome”
>Gavin Newsom.  San Jose Food Not Bombs has turned back another
>gentrification assault
>on St. James Park and continues to serve food there every Saturday.
> A dozen residents of Portland, Oregon’s Dignity Village [DV] have come
>down
>to
>powwow with its “sister city” encampment Camp Paradise in hopes of  forming
>stronger
>bonds and helping others to join hands and circle tents.   DV, now a year
>and a half old,
>got “legalized” after “illegally” refusing to disperse, but is still
>struggling to get back into a
>more accessible location.  Courts there ruled the entire City Camping Ban
>unconstitutional, but, reports Street Roots reporter traveling with DV, the
>City’s
>anti-homeless are coming up with a series of twenty-first century
>anti-loitering laws--Title
>14.
> Seattle’s Tent City III, the oldest of all the self-run clean-and-sober
>encampments,
>has six representatives.  They recently beat back a City attempt to stop
>churches from
>hosting their tents with massive fines.
> Meanwhile in Santa Cruz, Camp Paradise is still waiting to hear back from
>Parks
>and Recreation Czar Jim Lang on a proposal for a two-week
>conservation-and-camping
>project in the San Lorenzo Benchlands.  Instead of  decriminalizing sleep
>for Santa Cruz’s
>1000-2000 homeless or carrying through on a commitment to find an alternate
>legal site
>for Camp Paradise, City Council passed a face-saving unusable proposal. It
>would allow
>15 people to do a 2-week project if they jump nine separate insurance and
>security
>requirements--hurdles not required by state campgrounds.
> Paradise’s Templeton is still struggling with charges stemming in part
>from
>his
>unreconstructed authoritarian style with dissident camp members. He and two
>others  are
>still appealing their “camping” convictions from a police spoiling
>operation
>of August 3
>when “Homeless Service Officer” Seiley spread tickets and fear through Camp
>Paradise,
>though there was no legal shelter anywhere else.  Commissioner Irwin Joseph
>rubberstamped the police department’s harassment policy by striking down
>the
>“necessity”
>defense.  Irwin claimed the homeless had alternatives but failed to mention
>any.
> Santa Cruz HUFF [Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom] organizer,
>Bernard Klitzner hoped to see a revitalized summer campaign against the
>Sleeping Ban in
>Santa Cruz emerge from the conference--a movement that would spark action
>in
>other
>cities.  Thomas Leavitt announced his intention to return to the Green
>Party
>to demand a
>process for holding Green Party-endorsed Councilmembers like Fitzmaurice
>and
>Porter
>accountable for betraying their commitments.
> And locally,1000-2000 homeless faced another night of  shelter space for
>less than
>40 of their number after the April 15th closing of the Armory roused no
>response from a
>City Council more intent on arresting homeless activists than generating
>solutions.  “They
>can pick us off one by one,”  commented one Summiteer, “but they’ll have a
>real hard time
>getting all of us, if we all come to town.”   Hope and indignation may be
>the road to
>dignity and security for homeless communities in three states.
> For more info contact HUFF at 831-423-4833, HUFF-UCSC at 831-427-0270 or
>Green Party activist Thomas Leavitt at 831-425-3646.  Or go to
>www.huffsantacruz.org .
>
>
> >From: "Thomas Leavitt" <thomasleavitt@...>
> >Reply-To: righttosleep@yahoogroups.com
> >To: righttosleep@yahoogroups.com
> >Subject: [righttosleep] Friday night update
> >Date: Fri, 03 May 2002 22:23:44 -0700
> >
> >We had a great evening, good food, great music, interesting speakers,
>lots
> >of informal networking and conversations going on... it is great to see
>so
> >many faces to attach to the names that have been flying about.
> >
> >By my count, we had representatives from tent cities and organizations in
> >
> >Seattle
> >Portland
> >Santa Barbara
> >Isla Vista
> >Sacramento
> >San Francisco
> >Berkeley
> >Santa Cruz
> >and I probably missed a few
> >
> >Some acknowledgements:
> >
> >The Berkeley based Catholic Worker house, for contributing substantial
> >amounts of food
> >Second Harvest Food Back via Santa Cruz Service Corps for donating food
> >(especially the chocolate bars, which disappeared quite rapidly) which
>will
> >be used for breakfast and lunch tommorrow
> >Erik's Deli for donating meat and veggie wraps (they disappeared rapidly)
> >Kelly's bakery through Jeff and Scott for donating rolls of various sorts
> >(which will be used for breakfast)
> >All the participants, who together donated $167 in additional funds just
> >today.
> >
> >Joe Schultz, for supplying the awesome cooking camper and helping get
> >everything set up and started.
> >
> >Chris Bryant, for his heroic efforts cleaning up the back yard on
>Thursday,
> >and running around all day doing errands.
> >
> >All the other folk who helped clean up, set up, and make things happen.
> >
> >Gunilla Leavitt (my wife) and Babs Millard for cooking up a very yummy
> >dinner.
> >
> >Robert, for being the copy czar
> >
> >Mark True, for showing up as promised, and playing for quite a while.
> >
> >If I missed someone, it is only because I'm too tired to think.
> >
> >And this is only the first day!
> >
> >--
> >Thomas Leavitt -- thomasleavitt@...; ICQ #16455919
> >http://www.internetmanifesto.org/
> >http://www.sczenkarate.org/
> >http://www.space.org/
> >http://www.gnosis.org/
> >
> >Wired since 1981. Internet enabled since 1990. Web enabled since 1993.
> >
> >
> >_________________________________________________________________
> >MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos:
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> >
>
>
>_________________________________________________________________
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>
>
>To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
>righttosleep-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
>
>
>
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--
Thomas Leavitt -- thomasleavitt@...; ICQ #16455919
http://www.internetmanifesto.org/
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http://www.gnosis.org/

Wired since 1981. Internet enabled since 1990. Web enabled since 1993.


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And thanks to Thomas for putting out this update, for doing the lion's share
of the work yesterday, and for letting all of us make merry on his
homeground.

I enclose the following rough draft of an article which I'm intending to
polish and send off to the Green Party as well as put out as a flyer.

See you at the Summit.

Robert

As this issue goes to deadline (5-4), activists from up and down the Coast
gathered at  the
House of  Santa Cruz Green Party insurgent Thomas Leavitt for a Santa Cruz
Right to
Sleep Summit. Their objective: to end Sleeping Bans in three states and
support protective
encampments like Santa Cruz’s Camp Paradise, Portland, OR’s Dignity Village,
Seattle’s
Tent City III, and Isla Vista’s Camp Home Sweet Home 		 Nancy
McCradie of Santa Barbara’s Homes on Wheels reported that Mayor Marty Bloom
has
joined their Board to actively a first-of-its-kind RV park which will serve
hundreds (about
half that City’s “rubber tramp” population).  “The ground-huggers [those
without
vehicles] are next, “ promised McCardie.
	 Pioneered by former Santa Barbara Public Defender head Glen Mowrer has
effectively busted the City’s sleeping ban and its broader camping ban for
those in vehicles
using the Necessity defense, ratified at the appellete level in the
Ridley-Cooper cases and
at the state level in the Eichorn decision .  Offering twelve-hours in a
church with a forced
sermon just simply isn’t good enough pretext to roust those whose only
affordable
housing is their vehicle.  Coming up next is to challenge local
anti-homeless “thou shalt
not sleep” by arguing state law takes precedence.
	 And the state “anti-lodging” law 647j is under attack in Sacramento and
Berkeley.
In Sacramento, SHOC (Sacramento Homeless Organizing Committee) firebrand
Clifford
Crooks called for a Sleep-In at the Sacramento State House with homeless
families.  “The
Sleeping Ban is a Hate Crime” shouted “Protest” Bob Hansen.  “In an election
year, Davis
will not risk the shame of enforcing this law if he is effectively
challenged,” said Crooks.,
	 Berkeley, B.O.S.S. (Better Opportunities Through Self-Sufficiency) activist
Michael Diehl is organizing protests and a prospective Rainbow encampment in
the wake
of last year’s City Council victory.  There, when more than a hundred
supporters showed
up at two successive meetings, the Council required City police to have one
complaint and
give two warnings before moving on those sleeping outside.
	 J.C. Orton of  Knight on the Streets Catholic Worker in Berkeley reported
on the
struggle to serve free food to the homeless and hungry in Oakland.  There,
turncoat
“progressives” Oakland Mayor “Brown-Out” Jerry Brown and Council woman Nancy
Nadel allowed the West Oakland Neighborhood Association to drive away Jim
and Joyce
Parkhurst’s 2 1/2 year old Peralta Catholic Worker daily 7:30 a.m.
food-serving operation.
East Bay Food Not Bombs is moving in to take up the slack, according to
Street Spirit, a
monthly homeless paper.  FNB has been serving “illegally” in San Francisco
and Santa
Cruz for the last decade or longer and kept the meals coming because of its
willingness to
go to jail if necessary in the face of city refusal to grant permits.
	 North of  Santa Barbara in Isla Vista, the newest “Camp Paradise”-style
encampment--Camp Home Sweet Home (aka Teepee Village) stands strong against
new
threats of “hide out or get out” .  Formed after bureaucrats ignored
homeless deaths, it has
uncovered a law enforcement scandal--where police have been ticketing
homeless for
years using a non-existent law.   When the Parks and Rec District hastily
convened to
cover the gap with a new law, Guitar Dave, Jenny Jett and others mobilized
massive
community support, the District nearly passed a law that would have
explicitly allowed
sleeping in a park.  That proposal was narrowly defeated 3-2; the new law
prescribes
warnings rather than tickets and mandates a 12-hour stay-away.
	 In San Francisco, the Coalition on Homelessness is giving workshops on how
to
fight 647j, taking police to small claims court, and mobilizing against an
election-year
“trash the homeless” plan to gut General Assistance floated by Supervisors
“Gruesome”
Gavin Newsom.  San Jose Food Not Bombs has turned back another
gentrification assault
on St. James Park and continues to serve food there every Saturday.
	 A dozen residents of Portland, Oregon’s Dignity Village [DV] have come down
to
powwow with its “sister city” encampment Camp Paradise in hopes of  forming
stronger
bonds and helping others to join hands and circle tents.   DV, now a year
and a half old,
got “legalized” after “illegally” refusing to disperse, but is still
struggling to get back into a
more accessible location.  Courts there ruled the entire City Camping Ban
unconstitutional, but, reports Street Roots reporter traveling with DV, the
City’s
anti-homeless are coming up with a series of twenty-first century
anti-loitering laws--Title
14.
	 Seattle’s Tent City III, the oldest of all the self-run clean-and-sober
encampments,
has six representatives.  They recently beat back a City attempt to stop
churches from
hosting their tents with massive fines.
	 Meanwhile in Santa Cruz, Camp Paradise is still waiting to hear back from
Parks
and Recreation Czar Jim Lang on a proposal for a two-week
conservation-and-camping
project in the San Lorenzo Benchlands.  Instead of  decriminalizing sleep
for Santa Cruz’s
1000-2000 homeless or carrying through on a commitment to find an alternate
legal site
for Camp Paradise, City Council passed a face-saving unusable proposal. It
would allow
15 people to do a 2-week project if they jump nine separate insurance and
security
requirements--hurdles not required by state campgrounds.
	 Paradise’s Templeton is still struggling with charges stemming in part from
his
unreconstructed authoritarian style with dissident camp members. He and two
others  are
still appealing their “camping” convictions from a police spoiling operation
of August 3
when “Homeless Service Officer” Seiley spread tickets and fear through Camp
Paradise,
though there was no legal shelter anywhere else.  Commissioner Irwin Joseph
rubberstamped the police department’s harassment policy by striking down the
“necessity”
defense.  Irwin claimed the homeless had alternatives but failed to mention
any.
	 Santa Cruz HUFF [Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom] organizer,
Bernard Klitzner hoped to see a revitalized summer campaign against the
Sleeping Ban in
Santa Cruz emerge from the conference--a movement that would spark action in
other
cities.  Thomas Leavitt announced his intention to return to the Green Party
to demand a
process for holding Green Party-endorsed Councilmembers like Fitzmaurice and
Porter
accountable for betraying their commitments.
	 And locally,1000-2000 homeless faced another night of  shelter space for
less than
40 of their number after the April 15th closing of the Armory roused no
response from a
City Council more intent on arresting homeless activists than generating
solutions.  “They
can pick us off one by one,”  commented one Summiteer, “but they’ll have a
real hard time
getting all of us, if we all come to town.”   Hope and indignation may be
the road to
dignity and security for homeless communities in three states.
	 For more info contact HUFF at 831-423-4833, HUFF-UCSC at 831-427-0270 or
Green Party activist Thomas Leavitt at 831-425-3646.  Or go to
www.huffsantacruz.org .


>From: "Thomas Leavitt" <thomasleavitt@...>
>Reply-To: righttosleep@yahoogroups.com
>To: righttosleep@yahoogroups.com
>Subject: [righttosleep] Friday night update
>Date: Fri, 03 May 2002 22:23:44 -0700
>
>We had a great evening, good food, great music, interesting speakers, lots
>of informal networking and conversations going on... it is great to see so
>many faces to attach to the names that have been flying about.
>
>By my count, we had representatives from tent cities and organizations in
>
>Seattle
>Portland
>Santa Barbara
>Isla Vista
>Sacramento
>San Francisco
>Berkeley
>Santa Cruz
>and I probably missed a few
>
>Some acknowledgements:
>
>The Berkeley based Catholic Worker house, for contributing substantial
>amounts of food
>Second Harvest Food Back via Santa Cruz Service Corps for donating food
>(especially the chocolate bars, which disappeared quite rapidly) which will
>be used for breakfast and lunch tommorrow
>Erik's Deli for donating meat and veggie wraps (they disappeared rapidly)
>Kelly's bakery through Jeff and Scott for donating rolls of various sorts
>(which will be used for breakfast)
>All the participants, who together donated $167 in additional funds just
>today.
>
>Joe Schultz, for supplying the awesome cooking camper and helping get
>everything set up and started.
>
>Chris Bryant, for his heroic efforts cleaning up the back yard on Thursday,
>and running around all day doing errands.
>
>All the other folk who helped clean up, set up, and make things happen.
>
>Gunilla Leavitt (my wife) and Babs Millard for cooking up a very yummy
>dinner.
>
>Robert, for being the copy czar
>
>Mark True, for showing up as promised, and playing for quite a while.
>
>If I missed someone, it is only because I'm too tired to think.
>
>And this is only the first day!
>
>--
>Thomas Leavitt -- thomasleavitt@...; ICQ #16455919
>http://www.internetmanifesto.org/
>http://www.sczenkarate.org/
>http://www.space.org/
>http://www.gnosis.org/
>
>Wired since 1981. Internet enabled since 1990. Web enabled since 1993.
>
>
>_________________________________________________________________
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We had a great evening, good food, great music, interesting speakers, lots
of informal networking and conversations going on... it is great to see so
many faces to attach to the names that have been flying about.

By my count, we had representatives from tent cities and organizations in

Seattle
Portland
Santa Barbara
Isla Vista
Sacramento
San Francisco
Berkeley
Santa Cruz
and I probably missed a few

Some acknowledgements:

The Berkeley based Catholic Worker house, for contributing substantial
amounts of food
Second Harvest Food Back via Santa Cruz Service Corps for donating food
(especially the chocolate bars, which disappeared quite rapidly) which will
be used for breakfast and lunch tommorrow
Erik's Deli for donating meat and veggie wraps (they disappeared rapidly)
Kelly's bakery through Jeff and Scott for donating rolls of various sorts
(which will be used for breakfast)
All the participants, who together donated $167 in additional funds just
today.

Joe Schultz, for supplying the awesome cooking camper and helping get
everything set up and started.

Chris Bryant, for his heroic efforts cleaning up the back yard on Thursday,
and running around all day doing errands.

All the other folk who helped clean up, set up, and make things happen.

Gunilla Leavitt (my wife) and Babs Millard for cooking up a very yummy
dinner.

Robert, for being the copy czar

Mark True, for showing up as promised, and playing for quite a while.

If I missed someone, it is only because I'm too tired to think.

And this is only the first day!

--
Thomas Leavitt -- thomasleavitt@...; ICQ #16455919
http://www.internetmanifesto.org/
http://www.sczenkarate.org/
http://www.space.org/
http://www.gnosis.org/

Wired since 1981. Internet enabled since 1990. Web enabled since 1993.


_________________________________________________________________
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We've received $302 in late donations, courtesy of a major anonymous
donor and the Santa Cruz based Free Mumia Abu-Jamal and All
Political Prisoners coalition and other donors. We've also arranged
a major donation of food from the 2nd Harvest Food bank via the
Santa Cruz Service Corps.

Things are looking good! We should have plenty to cover anticipated
and unexpected expenses.

Confirmations are coming in from all over the place.

Check out the "Database" section of this web site for contact info
for major participants and some prospective participants.

Regards,
Thomas Leavitt

--- In righttosleep@y..., "Thomas_Leavitt" <thomasleavitt@h...>
wrote:
> The shape of the summit is now becoming finalized; we appreciate
> very much the confirmations we've gotten from our many out of town
> visitors, as well as the many local volunteers who've committed
> their time and energy to making this happen.
>
> Our budget is now at $627 due to a new donor, plus, we have
> unlimited printing available to us through another donor, which
> eliminates a significant budget line item.
>
> We should be circulating a finalized agenda shortly.
>
> Regards,
> Thomas Leavitt

Thank you, Thomas, for sending out this message.

It is mostly my fault that we haven't gotten the 'Calendar of Events' out
and online by this past weekend.  Finally late today (Monday), outstanding
phonecalls and confirmations have come in, so the timetable is nailed down
(so to speak) and it appears I've got all but one (important) detail before
the overall schedule is ready.

It is heartening to read about the folks coming. I know people will find all
this prep work we're doing will yield a very worthwhile event.

To locals: we don't have to wait until Wednesday morning to toss out other
ideas for a location for the closing dinner. Three sites have been suggested
but we need more ideas.

in solidarity, see y'all Friday May 3,
Linda Lemaster
Housing NOW! in Santa Cruz, for
RIGHT TO SLEEP Summit

(831)423-4663 - leave message if you
call - when home I screen while getting
off my back injury for talking



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The shape of the summit is now becoming finalized; we appreciate
very much the confirmations we've gotten from our many out of town
visitors, as well as the many local volunteers who've committed
their time and energy to making this happen.

Our budget is now at $627 due to a new donor, plus, we have
unlimited printing available to us through another donor, which
eliminates a significant budget line item.

We should be circulating a finalized agenda shortly.

Regards,
Thomas Leavitt

Hello,

This email message is a notification to let you know that
a file has been uploaded to the Files area of the righttosleep
group.

   File        : /canewspaperemails.txt
   Uploaded by : Thomas_Leavitt <thomasleavitt@...>
   Description : List of Email Addresses and other contact info for CA Newspapers

You can access this file at the URL

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/righttosleep/files/canewspaperemails.txt

To learn more about file sharing for your group, please visit

http://help.yahoo.com/help/us/groups/files

Regards,

Thomas_Leavitt <thomasleavitt@...>

Received:

$500 via anonymous donor through COH, delivered to me as
treasurer via Robert Norse in two payments of $300 and $200 each
$20 cash
$5 and $2 cash

$50 due from Green Party for camping assistance, check to be made out to
Linda Lemaster

Budgeted:

$190 for two portapotties for the weekend
$30-50 for stipends for musicians
$40 for childcare stipends (more will be collected
via donation can)
$50 for housing assistance during summit
$50 for printing (estimated 100 packets)
$75 contingencies

~$450 allocated, leaving ~$125 for food and other consumables. Joe Schultz
has volunteered to cook for all
five days, so that may be manageable.

However, further donations of cash or printing (copies), etc. are likely to
be needed.

Regards,
Thomas Leavitt





--
Thomas Leavitt -- thomasleavitt@...; ICQ #16455919
http://www.internetmanifesto.org/
http://www.sczenkarate.org/
http://www.space.org/
http://www.gnosis.org/

Wired since 1981. Internet enabled since 1990. Web enabled since 1993.


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