General Assembly Full Notes for 10-19-2011

We are publishing the full notes.

PDF and Text versions can be found here. Please refer to the Live Stream for specific information that may not have been captured in the notes. Note-taking is a best-effort undertaking. Please direct all discussion to  the new forums.

Wed. October 19, 2011 7pm General Assembly notes:

Facilitators: Justin and Ani
Notetaker: Sarabel

We begin with review of our consensus process, seeking to foster solidarity, and balance our needs for collective agreement with autonomous action. We strive for 100% agreement, with a modified consensus of 90% agreement.
Review of hand signals and process.

COMMITTEE REPORTS
PROPOSAL ANNOUNCEMENTS
PROPOSAL
GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Committee Reports:
*EVANGELINA, LATINO COMMITTEE: Thanks for your support; we are a small community among this larger group of Anglos. Glad and very committed to be here, representing. We’re a point of contact for ALL TRANSLATORS. If you speak ANY LANGUAGE and could help translate to get the message out to all peoples, stop in; we NEED TRANSLATORS.

NW corner of ALPHA PARK to talk to Evangelina or Kate/
contact David at calorlatinos@hotmail.com/ join OCUPAPORTLAND group on facebook.

Also, each day we’ve been here, our tent has gotten knocked down and stolen from, so our small group has had to spend each day rebuilding. Please, let’s keep an eye out for each other. In a system that succeeds by dividing us, we succeed by supporting each other!

*TAD, CONFLICT RESOLUTION TEAM is forming… Everyone welcome; no training necessary; trainings will be set up, coming soon.

Meeting FRIDAY @2pm in tent near the LIBRARY.

 

*GINA, PEACE ‘N SAFETY: The issues of homelessness, poverty, and humanization have been arising as controversy in camp. This need for our generosity is a symptom of a larger failed system.

March for Portland Poverty Awareness, October 21st, 11:30am meet @BETA Camp to march to Pioneer Square.

*RANDY, LEGAL DEFENSE: Team of attorneys, wearing green, available 27/7 for any and all legal matters, working in conjunction with Safety Committee. Civil rights and criminal, and also bankruptcy, housing issues. Ask at Info or at Saftey.

4 PROPOSAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:
ideas that will be brought to GAs in the next few days… Here we have opportunity for preliminary clarifying ?’s and concerns, what you want the crafters of the proposals to keep in mind in creating the proposal…

1) COMMUNITY GARDENS, Jordan: We the people of Occupy Portland support and advocate community gardens. Propose to form a working group, advocate and create more community gardens.
Action item will be that library cards may reserve garden plots.

, 

?: will you be looking at downtown sites in particular? Small amt. of green space, and most densely populated area.
A: Yes, any and all potential spaces are fair game.

2) ENDING CORPORATE PERSONHOOD, Zack: We do not see corporations as people (!) and are forming a working group.

 for Zack, or  for Jordan

?: are you working in conjunction with Paul Cienfuegos?
A: No… not yet…
Info: Paul Cienfuegos, who works extensively on issues of dismantling Corporate Personhood, is leading a workshop Thursday, 2-4pm

3) Mark Sherman: Have friends who want to participate in this movement? looking for simple, off-camp ways to make a difference: Occupy Portland to endorse a resolution: REFRAIN FROM USING CREDIT CARDS. An action with immediate results! USE DEBIT CARDS or, better yet, WRITE CHECKS (which cost banks the most $) Aside from/in addition to Nov. 5th Bank Transfer Day, this action (of refraining from credit card use) is immediate and simple, and widely accessible.

4) November 12th, International March (will be posted in Proposal section on website)

…these items will go back to working groups to be crafted into proposals, to be brought to upcoming GAs as proposals.

PROPOSAL: process:
1) hear proposal
2) clarifying questions
3) concerns
4) out of these concerns, PROPOSAL EVOLUTION: process of seeking to weave in language that addresses those concerns
5) seek agreement to consent to the proposal evolutions
6) finally, seek agreement to consent to PROPOSAL, including new evolution (amendments/friendly amendments/”afriendments”

Proposal, as presented by David, reads:
Occupy Portland movement will hold 2 daily General Assemblies, one at NOON for CAMP ISSUES, and one at 7pm for GLOBAL/POLITICAL ACTIONS

Clarifying ?s:
?: does this include the proposal to hold 7pm GA’s in Pioneer Square?
A: no, that proposal is on hold. This one is simply about the timing and allotment of subject matter; not location…

Concerns: taken from several rounds of PROGRESSIVE STACK
(DR= Direct Response)
MY CONCERN IS:
*I see camp as a political act, and that our concerns in camp reflect global political issues.
*Yes, issues at camp are political, ex: the question of occupying the street around the elk, the good neighbor policy, and fundraising for eventual repair of the park.
*People who live at camp and work during the day will not be able to attend CAMP GA.
*I don’t see the difference between the All-Committee meeting (currently meets daily @5pm) and this proposed Camp GA.
*Do we have enough facilitators to support this proposal? We’d need to bring in and train more facilitators, to build our capacity…
DR: there are ongoing Saturday and Wednesday facilitation team meetings. (see General Announcements, below)
*Bring in community professional facilitation trainers?
*Host facilitation skillshares, as is happening at Occupy Oakland.

~~~TEMPERATURE CHECK~~~ reveals nearly 50/50% to move proposal along in this conversation. 

Facilitators suggest that there has been energy in this discussion/concerns, and so on we go.

Another Progressive Stack of concerns:
*”Camp is dying for Direct Action, and we are being way too wonky. Are we policy wonks, or are we about Direct Action?”
*Would decisions made in morning/CAMP GA be announced in evening GA?
DR: YES.
*We are being dragged to motionless inertia! Need to be able to move.
*A large evening GA in Pioneer Square could be a major step towards creating meetings that are strong on Direct Action and large-scale involvement. Separating CAMP issues from POLITICAL would be a step that could allow a powerful evening GA towards energized global decisions like that to emerge.
*Concern of separating camp from political meetings: decrease in cross-pollination. Local is global.

PROPOSAL EVOLUTION: (Friendly Amendments…)
*Include a SUNSET CLAUSE: implement this proposal, to be re-assessed in 1 to 2 weeks to determine how we like it!
~1 week or 2? What about 10 days?

We seek agreement on this amendment: *90%* favor including a 2-WEEK SUNSET CLAUSE. CONSENT!

proposed evolution:
*Keep (only) 1 daily GA, at 7pm, and designate 1-2 nights per week for GLOBAL/POLITICAL agenda, and non-camp.
There is little energy or support for this at this time. (sorry, didn’t catch the breakdown of the TEMP CHECK on this one.)

proposed evolution:
*Roll all-committee meetings and CAMP GA into one meeting, so committees can help guide the focus of camp (AND so that there are not many redundant meetings)
~currently All Committee Meeting is at 5pm.
~we pursue this proposed evolution, knowing that there is not representation from the Committees present at this GA! …knowing that the timing of proposed combined meeting will have to, for now, remain TBD (yet to be determined.)

We seek agreement on this amendment: *90%* favor combining CAMP GA and ALL-COMMITTEE MEETINGS. CONSENT!
(49 yea, 5 nay, ? stand-asides)

Alright, now we need an IMPLEMENTATION PLAN (As consented upon in a previous GA, all agreements passed must include IMPLEMENTATION LANGUAGE to be pass-able.)

progressive stack:
*Delay implementation until ALL COMMITTEE MEETING meets to discuss this, and determine a meeting time that works, and bring it back to GA.
*Reminded that we can already always discuss GLOBAL issues in evening GA, AND could call CAMP meetings at ANY time throughout the daywithout it being proposed and consented to in any GA.
*Let the IMPLEMENTATION PLAN simply be that ALL COMMITTEE MEETING (ACM) at 5pm will determine the appropriate timing for the  ACM/CAMP GA.

NOW we SEEK AGREEMENT on this whole Proposal:
*2 daily General Assemblies:
~ 1 at 7pm, to discuss global/political
~ 1, combined with All Committee Meeting, to discuss camp matters
~ Sunset clause to re-assess this decision in 2 weeks’ time.
~ Implementation Plan that timing of ‘morning’ CAMP GA will be determined at All Committee Meeting

We seek agreement on this PROPOSAL:
38 in favor
11 no
3 stand-asides

THIS PROPOSAL DOES NOT PASS.

Clearly, in tonight’s process, we identified where the questions are, and what concerns there are around Occupy Portland’s ability to address camp issues and global/political action, and best use meeting time and resources (facilitators)

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS:
*SUNDAY, 2pm, behind library: PIONEER SQUARE GENERAL ASSEMBLY DESIGN COMMITTEE, to be convened by Paul Cienfuegos

*Meeting to work out our consensus process to include a “common sense clause,” a 5-minute discussion period, and to convene mock GENERAL ASSEMBLY SIMULATIONS in order to process problems. Interested? contact: 

*RADICAL MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT GROUP meet 2pm Saturday in Terry Shrunk park.

*NOV. 4th FUNDRAISER/FOOD DRIVE: Undefeated Sports Bar (ages 21+) 6618 SE Powell Blvd, 8pm
~hip hop show
~bring 3 cans of food

*** OCCUPY PORTLAND FACILITATION MEETINGS AND TRAININGS***
12-1pm MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, SATURDAY, meeting/discussion
2-4pm SATURDAYS in the YURT: TRAININGS
PLEASE COME, spread the word, spread the love!

THANK YOU awesome, patient, dedicated FACILITATORS Justin and Ani, and STACK-KEEPER (whose name I do not know!)
THANK YOU to ALL in ASSEMBLY.

 

 

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