[Sosfbay-discuss] [Fwd: [G-C-F] Settlement for Seattle WTO Arrestees]

Tue Aug 14 10:59:35 PDT 2007

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [G-C-F] Settlement for Seattle WTO Arrestees
Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2007 10:29:00 -0700
From: Mudge <curmudgeon999 at riseup.net>
To: California Greens <cal-forum at marla.cagreens.org>

I hope this isn't a hoax, but haven't
independently verified it.

--GJ
---------------------------------------
Posted by: "Erica Kay" can at drizzle.com
Mon Aug 13, 2007 8:11 pm (PST)
Hello friends and allies,

I need help to get the word out quickly, so please
forward this as appropriate.

We need to find ~ 175 individuals who were in Seattle
during the WTO protests in 1999. We won an important
lawsuit against the city of Seattle which violated our
rights and these folks need to contact the attorneys by
AUGUST 28, 2007 if they want their portion of the
settlement $$ (see below to download claim forms.)

Sooo.... WHO DO YOU KNOW who was in Seattle at the
WTO protests in 1999? Please pass this along to them
and to others who might have some connections to those
events.

We're specifically trying to be sure all 175 people
who were arrested at Westlake on December 1, 1999 get
this info IMMEDIATELY since they have only two weeks
left to return their claim (due August 28th, 2007.)

We settled with the city of Seattle for $1,000,000
and each person arrested at that location is entitled
to a portion of those funds. (Hopefully it's clear that
ONLY folks arrested at this particular time and place
are part of this suit and eligible to make these
claims.)

A jury found that our 4th amendment rights were
violated. See press release about the case:
http://www.witheylaw.com/TLPJ-WTOVerdictNewsRelease.pdf
and some news about the settlement:
www.witheylaw.com/WTO%20Trial.htm and
www.witheylaw.com/news.htm.

The problem is that after nearly 8 years (and not
knowing who was actually arrested there), almost
everyone has moved or gotten a new phone or email. We
need to use our networks to reach folks so PLEASE HELP
get this to them by forwarding on to reduce those
degrees of separation.

Again, apologies to folks who may not understand why
I'm sending this to this list or who get this multiple
times. Mostly I tried to think of communities that
might have some connection to the region or to the
issues and the tactics that brought people to Seattle
in 1999. The hope is that you will know how to reach
folks that were involved so we can use our networks to
reach these ~175 people.

As an aside, let me note that many of the 175 folks
we've already found are still committed to their
activism and are planning to put the funds they receive
BACK INTO their respective MOVEMENTS. Many of us
recognize that though ~175 of us will receive a portion
of this settlement, the victory of this case is a
victory for us all. The work happening in the streets
in 1999 is ongoing...and I personally hope to support
that work by funneling my portion of the settlement
money into groups still doing that work. Though these
arrests violated our rights, many of us of are people
of relative privilege which is another reason to give
collectively with these funds. That said, most
activists I know rarely have large financial means so
this will be a rare opportunity for some of us to
support financially the causes we work so hard on with
our other resources. (My personal view of the money
I'll be receiving is that it isn't really mine...it
belongs to all the people (~50,000) who were in the
streets in 1999 opposing the WTO and, even more, to all
the people affected by the WTO's policies. In 1999, I
was arrested (wrongly, the jury decided) speaking out
for what I believed in and trying to create change. In
2007, I hope to see the funds I'll be getting used to
continue that work.)

Thanks and solidarity,
Erica K
Jane WTO #890
can at drizzle.com
206-568-7110
(still in Seattle)

P.S. You may have heard that director Stuart Townsend
has made a movie about the protests called "The Battle
in Seattle." It's supposed to be based on true
events...but we'll see how true it really is...

I just saw that it will premiere at the Toronto
International Film Festival (Sept. 6-15) and I've heard
that it will be released broadly around....November
30th, 2007. Many folks recognize that this means our
little piece of history will be spotlighted again for a
brief moment in time, depending on how well the film
does. I've heard of some great plans to reclaim the
voices of those actually here to tell the true history
of those days and to bring the multitude of
globalization issues back into our discussions.
Hopefully the arrestees will be announcing our
collective donations at about the same time. Stay tuned
for events related to all this, especially in Seattle
and other places on the West Coast.

----------------------------------------------------------

INFO for ARRESTEES
(those arrested mid-morning on December 1, 1999 at Seattle's
Westlake Park)

If you are one of the 175 arrested in this situation and
you haven't already turned in your forms, please
download the two files below and send the claim form in
by AUGUST 28th, 2007.

Notice of the lawsuit: www.zoopla.net/viewFile.php?fid=4044

Claim form: www.zoopla.net/viewFile.php?fid=4045

DO NOT DELAY!

----------------------------------------------------------

ALSO, let me make a pitch to Westlake arrestees:
Let's join together and put some or all of our settlement
money back into our movements.

A small group of arrestees has put together a preliminary
proposal that we'd like you to consider about how we
can magnify the impact of our giving (including hooking
up some matching funds.) From conversations with other
arrestees, I know many of us do plan to donate most or
all of our settlement money (after taxes) to our
communities and to further the work we that brought us
to Seattle in the first place in 1999. This proposal
provides a forum for us to figure out how to
collaborate on that. I invite those who receive
settlement funds to consider participating.

We'll try to send the proposal to anyone who makes a
valid claim to the settlement dough but, in case we
miss you, please email me (can at drizzle.com) or
wtosettlement at gmail.com if you are interested in this
initiative. Look for this in your email soon. (If you
got this first email from someone besides me, we
probably don't have your email so be sure to drop us
your current email address so we can include you.)

Again, let's use these funds to continue the work we
began in 1999! Even if you don't plan to pool your
funds with us, we'd love to know what other initiatives
you use the settlement to support.

In solidarity,
Erica
Jane WTO #890
can at drizzle.com
206-568-7110

PS. WESTLAKE ARRESTEES: DON'T FORGET to DOWNLOAD and
FILL OUT the PAPERWORK by August 28th!!!!

FYI:
Sent by attorney Tyler Weaver on May 30, 2007 to a listserve
of arrestees (but only a few folks are still on it
after 8 years):

Only Westlake arrestees have access to this list. If
forwarding this to others in the community, please make
sure the message contains no sensitive legal
communications.

----------------------------------------------------------

Attention all --

I am pleased to finally be able to send you the official,
court-approved notice of the settlement and the claim
form for the recent settlement on behalf of those
arrested on December 1, 1999, in Westlake Park. These
documents are being sent to every person for whom we
have a street address, and are also attached in .pdf
format. [see download links above]

The notice describes in detail the settlement, the
process for any objections and submitting claims, and
the various deadlines. Hopefully all of your questions
are answered there. If not, there are several avenues,
as listed in the notice of the settlement, for you to
ask questions and receive answers. If you were arrested
at Westlake Park on December 1, 1999, the deadline for
returning your claim form is August 28, 2007. There's
no reason to wait that long, however.

I should also note that the settlement does not provide
for any funding of non-profits or future protest or
educational activities. However, if anyone wants to
pool all or a portion of their settlement funds for a
collective action, you can email either
wtosettlement at gmail.com, or can at drizzle.net for more
information, and to express your interest and/or
participate in the planning process. This is completely
and totally voluntary and is not part of the
settlement, nor a condition to anyone's participation
in the settlement. I merely include this information in
the event anyone is interested in banding together.

If you know of anyone else who was arrested at Westlake
Park, please forward this message and the attachments
to them as soon as possible.

Tyler Weaver
Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP.
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-- 
Tian
http://tian.greens.org
Yesterday I saw a bar that was selling hits of Oxygen.