Notes of Democafe meeting, 2-4pm on Sat 6th February 2016
at The Forge, Delancey Street, Camden NW1 7NL

Present: Janos, Michael, Mary (notes)
Apologies: Denise, Eamonn (hospital), Eddie, Sara.

1. MINUTES of the last meeting held on Saturday 30th January 2016.

2.  MATTERS ARISING from the MINUTES other than on the agenda – none.

 

3.  UPDATES

3.1 38 DEGREES: Current Campaigns: https://home.38degrees.org.uk

3.2 ICUK (Constitutionalists): Disputed Draft Notes of January meeting – are available here: http://globaltable.org.uk/wp/venue/notes-13th-jan-2016 – next formal meeting to be held on Wednesday 10th February, same venue as LGOT.

3.3 LGOT: London Global Open Table: “Matters in the Air” are circulated in advance, providing background information for the weekly open meetings on Wednesdays 12noon to 2pm: http://globaltable.org.uk/wp/

3.4 RUNNYMEDE GAZETTE:
January 2016 edition now available. Backnumbers of the Runnymede Gazette, produced by Frank Taylor and now in its seventh year, have been added to the Global Table archive:  http://globaltable.org.uk/wp/links/newsletters/runnymede-gazette.  In conversation, Frank Taylor also pointed us to a the website “Towards an Agreement of the People for the 21st Century”, which is a fascinating store of campaign information:  http://agreementofthepeople.org

3.5 FREE CRITICAL THINKING:  Daily Pickings, edited by Clive Menzies: Thu 28th Jan: Should You Bet Against Goldman-Sachs?, Fri 29th Jan: Zika Virus – GMO mosquitos? Vaccines?, Sat 30th Jan: If you control food you control the population,  Sat 31st January: Pop Goes the Weasel! – Mon 1st Feb: Mythology of the Modern Era, Tue 2nd Feb: Breaking Resistance to the New World Order, Wed 3rd Feb: Doubters are Nut Jobs, Thu 4th Feb: Looking in the Rear View Mirror as we Drive over the Cliff, Fri 5th Feb: Beyond Abstract Rationality – all links go to pages on: www.freecriticalthinking.org

3.6 GREG PALAST: Previous of new film The Greatest Democracy Money can Buy – see latest newsletter: Who Hatched Rubio: http://us4.campaign-archive1.com/?u=33e4ec877eed6a43863a4a92e&id=be1dcacb0d&e=69f91a05f1

 

3.7 LABOUR PARTY:
• Momentum Camden: Momentum Camden – Third Meeting – next meeting Monday 8th February (general meeting, including electing a Chair, Secretary and Campaigns Officer), 7pm at Crossroads Women’s Centre, 25 Wolsey Mews, Kentish Town NW5 2DX: http://www.crossroadswomen.net – map link.

• Momentum: JC4PM Tour in progress: http://www.peoplesmomentum.com/

• Amanda Sebastyen writes: There will be a fundraising quiz to be held jointly with St Pancras & Somerstown Branch Labour Party at 7 pm on Monday 21st March 2016 at the Constitution pub in St Pancras Way (a few minutes walk from Camden Road Overground station). Further details will follow but please think about bringing friends along to this and getting a team together. Tickets will cost £10.00 (£5.00 concessions).

• London Mayoral Campaign – request for volunteers to support Sadiq Khan’s campaign: www.sadiq.london/volunteer

 

4.  EVENTS LISTINGS:

4.1 DemoCafe Events Listings: to update: http://www.democafe.uk/events/

4.2 Global Table:  http://globaltable.org.uk/wp/forthcoming-events

4.3 Occupy Economics Working Group: events listing http://occupylondon.org.uk/events/

4.4 DRUK – Debt Resistance UK: https://www.facebook.com/DebtResistanceUK – http://debtresistance.uk

 

5.  DISCUSSION ITEMS: 

5.1 Housing Event 20th February 2016:
Michael and Janos had been working on document in preparation for DCC’s participation for this event: A5 booker “Current Thinking on Housing”, A5 booklet on Democafe-Camden, including Michael’s paper “Towards a Shared Vision of Democracy.  Peter might be able to produce an introductory handout on on ICUK.  Janos and Eddie would create some Cardboard Houses:  http://www.quaker.org.uk/events/housing-and-inequality-what-canst-thou-do

Meanwhile it was noted that a group of Hampstead Residents have set up a Community Land Trust in a bid to purchase a block of flats that is being sold to the higher bidder: http://www.camdennewjournal.com/wells-court-hampstead

5.2 Clarification of the relationship between ICUK and Democafe:  In considering the status of this project in relation to the Independent Constitutionalists (ICUK) – http://www.constitutionalists.uk we recalled that the first meeting (predating this website) held in February 2015 was a collaboration between ICUK and 38Degrees which specialises in web-based campaigns: https://home.38degrees.org.uk.  Although members of both organisations are included on our nascent circulation list, there has been no organisational input from either organisation since then, and it was agreed that DemoCafe is, in effect, an independent “brand”.

5.3 “Meet where you are”  –  Recruiting new Democafeteers.
Consideration of the idea, which originated from the Runnymede Project’s idea about setting up local “lodges”, that we should seek to collaborate directly with Frank Taylor in extending the DemoCafe project to other areas of the country, by linking to his Runnymede Gazette, and other sources of information, which might form a backdrop to consideration of local concerns. Linking out to other organisations might encourage them to propagate details of a common “agenda” to their own organisations. Discussion of this was deferred to next week.

5.4 Venue:  Given the problem of noisy background, especially on third Saturdays of the month at The Forge, Camden, we discussed the idea of a quieter venue for DCC’s Saturday meetings.  Michael had enquired about Chalk Farm Library @ £8 per hour and would look into this further.

 

6.  NEXT MEETING to be held on Sat 13th February 2016 – we aim to produce a draft agenda in advance and invite all readers to suggest additional items by email and/or let us know about local meetings they have held and/or to send apologies for the Camden meeting to group@democafe.uk.

JA/mf