Occupy Wall Street Protest

[Guest dolfinguy]

OK--Some civil disobedience is good for the political soul & for national media PR....but... Are We the 99% Voters ready to take the REAL next step?

 

Here is the more proactive solution as the Necessary Next Step

 

http://www.getmoneyout.com/ --& tell a friend--tell everyone...because this ones gonna be the hardest next step to take.

 

Election Reform Now

 

One person , one vote ,$100 limit to voters only! Also--how many tent-toting' Occupiers are Registered Voters & ready to Organize Re-call Elections, or run for office, or propose local, state or federal referendums, initiatives or propositions?

 

These "99% Votes" would threaten & shock our current politicians to change their tunes --Recall one corporate-suckling congress person in every (or a few) states & see how the rest of elected officials will respond to the Power of the Organized Voters!!

 

Join & support -- GetMoneyOut.com -- Reform Elections first--tax reform will follow... Don't waste time & money on jail-bail. Keep it peaceful, keep it legal, & the 99% wins. Use your American Rights & Freedoms to Organize Votes & Fix America Now.

 

Read Jeffery Sachs--the "Price of Civilization: Renewing America's Values". or listen to:

http://www.commonwealthclub.org/events/archive/podcast/dr-jeffrey-sachs-101011

[Guest American4Progress]

On Friday, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) was scheduled to make a speech on income inequality at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Yet after learning that the event would be taking place in a forum open to the public and that hundreds of protesters from Occupy Philly and other allied groups planned to protest his presence, Cantor canceled his appearance. Cantor’s retreat from his speech in Philadelphia was a watershed moment for the 99 Percent Movement — which takes its name from the slogan “We Are The 99 Percent,” referring to the economic struggle between 99 percent of Americans and the richest one percent who hold the economic and political systems of the country hostage. It proved that even one of the country’s most powerful public officials was afraid to face off with the increasingly broad movement calling for economic justice and a more equitable distribution of national income and wealth. Indeed, since Occupy Wall Street began on September 17, the 99 Percent Movement has rapidly expanded, changing the media narrative and winning establishment support. It is a movement that shows no signs of slowing down, and as Ahmed Maher, one of the leading Egyptian student revolutionaries, told ThinkProgress, if it continues to persist it will win in achieving a more equitable and just America.

 

RAPIDLY EXPANDING: Since the original occupation began in Zuccotti Park in New York City, the 99 Percent Movement has spread across the country and globally. There are large occupations in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Atlanta, Denver, Chicago, Seattle, Boston, and other major cities. On Oct. 15, the movement earned global solidarity as hundreds of thousands of people rallied for social justice worldwide, with “99 Percent” signs showing up in countries as far apart as Canada and South Korea. By last week, the number of Facebook “Likes” on the more than 500 Occupy Facebook groups reach upwards of 1,233,000. The occupations across the country are persisting despite very aggressive action by city officials and police to try to restrict overnight protests in public parks. Well over a thousand Americans have been arrested for misdemeanors related to sleeping overnight in parks or obstructing traffic — a number that is in stark contrast to the almost no senior executives at major banks who have been arrested for fraud related to the global recession. The movement’s greatest victory in resisting impending arrests happened on October 14, when police and Brookfield Properties, the owners of Zuccotti Park, backed down on their original intent to clear the area and set up new rules that would’ve effectively ended the occupation.

 

SHAKING UP THE POLITICAL SYSTEM: Although the protesters in the 99 Percent Movement have mostly strayed away from endorsing political candidates or parties, American politicians seem eager to endorse them. As progressive blogger Digby notes, this recalls the old Ronald Reagan phrase, “I don’t endorse anyone, they endorse me.” Among those who have voiced at least some support for the movement include President Obama, Vice President Biden, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). Republican public officials, too, have shown some sympathy for the movement. A long list of GOP presidential hopefuls, ranging from Mitt Romney to Herman Cain at first attacked the movement but then later backtracked to say that they have some sympathy for their frustrations. Polling from Time Magazine and United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection found that the majority of the American public sympathizes with the movement and that this includes a majority of blue collar whites.

 

CHANGING THE NARRATIVE: Many of the movement’s early critics complained that it lacked a clear focus or set of goals or that it wasn’t accomplishing anything. Yet the movement has already scored one major victory: completely changing the mainstream corporate media narrative. In the last week of July, the three major cable networks — CNN, MSNBC, and Fox — mentioned the word “debt” 7,583 times and the word “unemployed” only 75 times. Yet with the debt ceiling debates behind us and the protests gearing up across the country, news coverage between October 10 and October 16 was completely different. The word “debt” was only mentioned 398 times on those networks, while the word “Jobs” got 2,738 mentions with the words “Occupy” and “Wall Street” trailing slightly behind. Meanwhile, the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism released an analysis of 52 different major media outlets and found that coverage of Occupy Wall Street dominated news coverage the week of October 10th, as stories related to the 99 Percent Movement filled 10 percent of the total “newshole.”

[Guest Greenzen]

Greed divides the humans race and perpetuates the primitive notion of survival of the fittest. Right now greed motivates powerful interest groups to purchase politicians and create laws that serve their own agenda and weaken Our personal liberty. I personally look at the Occupy movement as a selfless agenda to make a better society.

[Luke_Wilbur]

Do you think the world is at the right mental state for this? It seems to NWO apocalyptic.

http://press.catholi...10.2011&lang=it

PRESS CONFERENCE PRESENTATION OF THE NOTE Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace: "FOR A REFORM OF THE INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL SYSTEM IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF A PUBLIC AUTHORITY universal jurisdiction", 24.10.2011

PRESS CONFERENCE PRESENTATION OF THE NOTE Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace: "FOR A REFORM OF THE INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL SYSTEM IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF A PUBLIC AUTHORITY universal jurisdiction"

At 11.30 am this morning, in the 'John Paul II Hall of the Vatican press office, is presented with the Note of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace: "To reform the international financial system from the perspective of a public authority with jurisdiction universal ".

Speakers at the press conference: the Em. Kodwo Peter Cardinal Appiah Turkson, Chairman of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, Archbishop Mario Toso, secretary of the Pontifical Council, Prof. Leonardo Becchetti, Professor of Political Economy, University of Rome "Tor Vergata".

On 3 and 4 November next, in Cannes, France, will be the sixth meeting of Heads of Government of the G-20, which will meet to discuss major issues concerning the economy and world finance.

The Holy Father and the Holy See follow these issues with great attention and constantly exhorting and encouraging not only "the action together," but an action based on a "clear vision of all the economic, social, cultural and spiritual "(Preface).

In this spirit of discernment, the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, through a note, and shares offer a contribution that can be helpful for the deliberations of the G-20, called for a reform of international financial and monetary system in perspective a public authority to global competence.

In the encyclical Pacem in Terris, 1963, Pope John XXIII, had somehow predicted the current globalization in the sense of gradual unification of the world. And in this regard, he felt the need to harmonize policies to progressively larger power needs of the human community (cf. Pacem in Terris, 70).

As a result of this understanding, John XXIII called for the formation "world public authority" (ibid., 71-74), which was able - without harming the legitimate sovereignty - always to give priority to political and legal dialogue of reason over violence , given in terms of conflict or social injustice, both in terms of war waged.

It is known that the Church, when it intervenes to speak on the social question, it moves on the floor of his expertise in ethics and religion. Therefore, if it addresses the current crisis in the monetary and financial system does not intend to go into purely technical issues, while not ignoring them.

In particular, in the reflections of the Pontifical Council is offering a reinterpretation of the serious economic and financial crisis in which we are still immersed, indicating, among other causes, not just ethical, but more specifically ideological ones.

This is neo-liberal ideologies, which neoutilitariste and technocratic, while flattening the common good of economic, financial and technical exaggerated, jeopardizing the future of democratic institutions themselves. 3

It should be noted that the considerations presented by the Pontifical Council does not demonize all the money and capital markets, but consider them a "public good": 6 fundamental good then, but not good or ultimate end. For this, they must be functional and ministerial to the realization of the universal common good of the human family, thanks to guidance offered by the various subjects of social policy and civil society, both nationally and internationally.

the G20 does not respond fully to the logic of what should be the United Nations. The countries that make up the G20 can not be considered representative of all peoples. Although expanded, the G20, as is well known is not the UN, is always limited and that an informal forum, among other things, shows the loss of efficiency is more expanded. At the present state of things, the G20 lacks legitimacy and a political mandate from the international community. To this we must add that, not changing the situation threatens to delegitimize or to replace the de facto international institutions - such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank - which, although in need of deep reforms, are able to represent in an institutional manner all countries and not their small number.

What, therefore, should be done as soon as possible, the second also say the same G20 leaders, in the Final Declaration of Pittsburgh in 2009, is that you have to have a political thought more appropriate and, finally, put his hand to the reform of ' "global architecture" can not be postponed to meet the needs of the common good of the 21 st century. And that, following "creative and realistic ways that tend to enhance the positive aspects of existing institutions and fora," 11 best, so take that structure and mode of a typical universal jurisdiction, according to the principles of solidarity and subsidiarity, as well as representation.

It is therefore necessary to reflect changes on existing systems and on the possibility of achieving one or more institutions that perform "functions of a sort of" global central bank, "to regulate the flow and the system of monetary exchange, like the national central banks rediscovering the underlying logic - the logic of peace, coordination and common prosperity - which led to the Bretton Woods Agreements...

STATEMENT BY PROF. LEONARDO BECCHETTI

The good thing about crisis is that they are both moments of great opportunity. The global financial crisis is an opportunity to reform the architecture of the global financial system, strengthen the European Union in terms of harmonization of fiscal policies is progressing more quickly towards the goal of political unity, increase discipline policies national tax.

The Vatican document focuses on two key issues:

i) build a framework of rules of global governance that if you make a frame for the action of global institutions;

ii) reform the international financial system with a series of specific proposals.

On the first point, the global governance is urgently needed to overcome the asymmetry of the globalization of markets and global institutions and rules that remain predominantly national.

Globalization makes us increasingly interdependent and makes it virtually impossible to ignore the problems of other countries once far: stabunt simul simul cadent.

Only a few examples, there are six fundamental elements of interdependence between economic and financial systems: i) the U.S. debt crisis is a problem that concerns not only that country but savers around the world who invest in it and among the first large countries like China which has invested in Treasury securities a substantial portion of their reserves, ii) the debt crisis and the likely reduction of Greek nominal value of government securities in the country (between 20 and 60 percent) will result in serious losses survey of French and German banks that had invested more in that financial asset; iii) the presence of a huge mass of poor and underprivileged in the world, willing to work at wages much lower than those of our employees equal qualifications, protected and unionized, represents a formidable threat to the maintenance of the welfare levels of high-income countries, iv) exit the euro would have serious consequences not only for developing countries but also for Germany itself, which for years has enjoyed the advantage to export their goods to market without the cost of the eurozone countries the appreciation of its exchange rate, and v) the coordination of central banks is now increasingly important in a globally integrated world and developing countries have complained several times recently expansive monetary policy that the American and European central banks (quantitative easing) exported inflation in their countries, vi) for some time in the meetings of the G-20 is trying to coordinate the policies of the countries in deficit and surplus of those trying to encourage the latter to adopt more expansionary policies to boost demand in the world...


And 'return key finance the real economy. To do this you must:

i) reduce the leverage of banks too big to fail (30 to 1 leverage and mismatch between current liabilities and long academic activities are among the main causes of spread of the subprime mortgage crisis in the world).

ii) to adopt the so-called Volckerrule that prevent banks from doing proprietary trading with customer deposits.

iii) more strictly regulate the derivatives market as insurance instruments that arise. In the real insurance policies you buy if you are in possession of the underlying financial markets and to ensure this happens in no more than 5 percent of cases. There exists here an EU proposal to achieve this goal with respect to credit default swaps on the bonds.

A fourth proposal concerns the establishment of a tax on financial transactions for the reasons explained in the paragraph that follows.

It 'should ask why the position of economists and civil society (a majority in favor of the EU) against the tax on financial transactions has changed dramatically in recent years. Last year, 130 Italian economists have signed an appeal on his behalf that have been gathered together in the same appeal in 1000 of 53 countries the economists delivered to the finance ministers of the countries of G20in Summit held in Washington on 14 and 15 April 2011 (figures are among the signatories of the first order such as Dani Rodrik, Tony Atkinson, Joseph Stiglitz and Jeffrey Sachs) (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/apr/13/robin-hood-tax-economists-letter).

There are two reasons for this change of opinion: the events of the global financial crisis and more evidence on that has helped to overcome some prejudices. With the global financial crisis on public finances of some major Western countries have been severely weakened to save the banks and subsequently became the new target of speculative attacks. A part of the financial world has so privatized profits, socialized losses and then used the public funds used for their rescue against them saviors. And 'therefore understandable that the majority of public opinion is of the opinion that those who work in the financial markets should help pay the costs of this crisis, for now sheltered on the most vulnerable. From this point of view the FTT responds to an elementary requirement of justice is indeed urgent and seen the most recent events to maintain social cohesion in the Community.

The second reason for the increased fee was established by the passing of an injury. Until recently it was considered that it was not applicable if the global pain of capital flight from the country who decided to put it into force. This bias is unfounded because there are today, as documented in a research project of the International Monetary Fund, with 23 countries that unilaterally apply the fee (no more than a contract note) without there having been no capital flight (T. Matheson , Taxing Financial Transactions. Issues and Evidence, IMF WorkingPaper No 11/54, March 2011, 8). The country with the highest fee that applies is the UK StampTax the Duty of a single type of asset (tax of 5 per thousand holders of shares listed on the London Stock Exchange). The fee allows you to raise about 5 billion pounds a year. This evidence because of the introduction of the tax proposal Barroso at EU speaks of "harmonization" at European level of taxes on financial transactions and not of their introduction. London has its own tax generated an interesting example of avoidance: the fee for not paying some of the workers left the stock market to build new OTC derivatives (contracts for differences) consisting of bets on changes in share price. Interesting to note, therefore, that the tax has separated into two different markets really interested to invest in equity securities of companies and operators who play variations on short prices. This type of avoidance is already implicitly considered in the proposed Barroso extending the taxation of derivatives (and thus also to contracts for differences). They can also be countered by banning the contract for differences as it does on a secondary market like the United States.

The scientific level, there are numerous works that measure the elasticity of the volume of transactions similar to the introduction of taxes rather than highlighting factors such content and do not support the hypothesis of capital flight. Another reason for which the flight can not happen is that the very high frequency operations to benefit from an advantage of proximity to the physical location of the bag from which the information via the internet (New York Times (2009): Stock Traders FindSpeedPays, in Milliseconds). Move away from the main markets operations would involve the loss of this advantage.

Another objection is unfounded is the impact of the tax cost of capital. To set the rate proposed by Barroso calculations based on models of the capitalization of expected future asset values ​​show that this cost is almost zero (see again Matheson 2011). The other objection that the tax decrease the liquidity of markets is also questionable. How much cash do we need? Dean Baker in his commentary on the subject says that the tax would bring us back to transaction costs and liquidity than ten years ago, that a most flourishing period of what we are experiencing The truth is that there is no firm evidence on the effects of tax on cash but only a series of different models that are opposite results depending on the type of microstructure of financial markets and the assumed model of competition between intermediaries.

Summing up the four main objections to the institution of the fee (if it can not be imposed on a global level, there would be no revenue for capital flight, tax increases significantly the cost of capital, the tax reduces market liquidity) are false or unsubstantiated or anecdotal evidence (the first two) or for lack of evidence (the latter two).

For the above transaction tax (although not of course the panacea for all ills) may represent an important step in that rebalancing of the relationship between financial institutions and other reforms that can help to prevent new financial crises advocated by law-Dodd Frank Vickers or the Board in the United Kingdom (Volckerrule, deleveraging of intermediaries too big to fail, penalizing capital requirements for riskier than ordinary credit) and the restoration of confidence on the part of civil society in the institutions Financial we urgently need.

[Guest Question]

The best way to rob a bank is from the inside.

 

[Guest Otherside]

The difference between Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party is pretty obvious.

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDMh8kQCwJw

[Guest We Are The 99%]

Tear Gas, Flash Grenades, and Rubber Bullets. What is going on?

 

The United States constitution explicitly provides for 'the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances'" in the First Amendment.

 

Police are protecting the criminals.

 

[Guest demcapitalist]

The police are having their pockets picked by wall street just like the rest of us. How's their pension fund looking theses days?

[Guest Not Going Anywhere]

Rapes at Occupy Wall Street Protests;

 

http://www.wkyc.com/news/article/211304/45/Cleveland-Rape-alleged-at-Occupy-Cleveland

 

http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2011/10/24/accusations-of-teen-runaway-sexual-activity-at-occupy-dallas/

 

http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=131812759149188600

[Guest We Are The 99%]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYpQiXj-19w

Two extremely wealthy white American comedians, both who “earn” in excess of $10 million a year, gaggled last night CBS’s The Late Show with David Letterman about the “two or three percent of the people [who] have all the money” in this country, while expressing their solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement.

[Guest Not Going Anywhere]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-city/bs-md-ci-occupy-baltimore-rape-20111019,0,3542147.story

 

By Peter Hermann, The Baltimore Sun

 

9:09 p.m. EDT, October 19, 2011

Efforts by the Occupy Baltimore protest group to evolve into a self-contained, self-governing community have erupted into controversy with the distribution of a pamphlet that victim advocates and health workers fear discourages victims of sexual assaults from contacting police.

 

The pamphlet says that members of the protest group who believe they are victims or who suspect sexual abuse "are encouraged to immediately report the incident to the Security Committee," which will investigate and "supply the abuser with counseling resources."The directive also says, in part, "Though we do not encourage the involvement of the police in our community, the survivor has every right, and the support of Occupy Baltimore, to report the abuse to the appropriate authorities."

 

Despite this caveat, the heads of three rape crisis centers and a nurse who runs the forensic division at Mercy Medical Center called the message about not involving police dangerous. They said it contains erroneous information that could undermine efforts to convince victims to properly report crimes and get the counseling they need.

 

"It might actually passively prevent someone from seeking justice," said Jacqueline Robarge, the executive director of Power Inside, a nonprofit support group that helps women who have been victimized.

 

The hodgepodge of anti-establishment activists who have erected a tent city at the Inner Harbor as part of the broader Occupy Wall Street movement are trying to develop their own rules of conduct, developed through committees and approved by a general assembly.

 

"I understand that they want to transform themselves," Robarge said. "But they have to do that in the context of our culture and community. … We're talking about people's lives here."

 

The "security statement" appears to be one of several attempts to govern what the memo calls "our newly forming, delicate yet strong community."

 

A spokeswoman, Jessica Lewis, a 31-year-old publicist, said the statement "in no way discourages people to contact the police." But she said Occupy Baltimore, now entering its third week, is "trying to be a self-contained community and deal with conflicts internally as much as possible."

 

Police in Cleveland said a 19-year-old woman was raped at an Occupy protest there, and authorities in Oakland and in Seattle have reported sexual assaults and incidents of indecent exposure.

 

Lewis said there have been no reports of sexual assaults or rapes at the Baltimore protest site. But she said that members of the "security committee" have mediated several disputes involving allegations of sexual harassment.

 

City police have reported no arrests of protesters, or any crime involving members of the group. A spokesman declined to criticize the group's pamphlet. "The Baltimore Police Department is committed to the utmost level of service and encourages all victims of all crimes to report them," said Det.Kevin Brown.

 

The memo was approved by the security committee and put before the general assembly. No vote was taken, but Lewis said it was essentially approved for distribution when no objections were raised. It was first posted publicly by a conservative blogger on biggovernment.com; a Baltimore Sun reporter picked up a copy from the protest site on Wednesday afternoon.

 

The author of the memo, 26-year-old Melissa "Koala" Largess, said she only wanted to let victims know that there are alternative ways of dealing with an attacker, though she said she had once been involved in an abusive relationship and needed the police's help.

 

Largess said she wanted "the person who harmed me to work on issues and get the help needed to be a functioning member of society."

 

"There are a lot of ways people can deal with assault and conflict," she said. "The way we all know is to make someone wrong and punish them instead of work with them to correct their behavior."

 

Largess said that as a victim, she found support groups "confining" but, she stressed, "I'm not against people taking the steps they feel they need to stay safe. … From my own perspective and experience, I understand the necessity of calling police."

 

But rape crisis counselors say the tone of Largess' memo undermines her own statements. While the directive does say the movement supports involving police if the victim wants, it also says the "security committee" will investigate allegations and will "work to supply the abuser with counseling resources to deal with their issues."

 

The memorandum notes that if a victim wants to contact police, they must do so within 72 hours to preserve evidence.

 

That advice is wrong, said Debra S. Holbrook, a nurse who directs the forensic lab at Mercy, the city's premier hospital for dealing with victims of sexual assault. She said evidence can be preserved for 120 hours after an attack.

 

Holbrook noted that Mercy allows victims to get help without involving police. People can seek treatment at the hospital and request that staff not contact law enforcement. The hospital preserves files and forensic evidence for up to a year, allowing the victim a chance to reconsider and still pursue a criminal case.

 

The Occupy memo comes just as city police and crisis centers have forged new partnerships in an effort to convince reluctant victims to come forward — steps taken after The Baltimore Sun reported that police had for years dismissed many rape complaints as "unfounded."

 

The centers, such as Power Inside and TurnAround Inc., have professional counselors who can contact police on behalf of victims and even conduct interviews if victims are afraid of detectives. The heads of those centers expressed concern that Occupy Baltimore lacks those resources.

 

"This is not their area of expertise," said Rosalyn Branson, the executive director of TurnAround Inc. She said that the Occupy Baltimore flier contains no phone numbers for counselors or police hotlines set up to help victims.

 

"We've been working for the last two years to encourage reporting and for victims to use our services," Branson said. Referring to the protest memo, she said, "This does neither."

 

Branson and Robarge said there are models of so-called "restorative justice," which offers mediation and other ways to resolve criminal cases without involving the justice system. But they said outcomes are subject to debate and rarely have been successful when dealing with sex crimes.

 

"Attackers are most exclusively serial," Branson said. "I do not know how you deal with that without the involvement of law enforcement."

[card51short]

Occupy Wall Street is long overdue. The big banks think they own everything, and it’s up to us to show them who has control of our money. Bank Transfer Day is on Saturday and everyone is encouraged to move their money from a big bank to a credit union. learnmore.asmarterchoice.org has videos showing just how the 1% views the 99%. Also, great info on credit unions, if you’re thinking of making the switch, even if not on Saturday.

[Guest Lynn P.]

I will look into that. Is it difficult to move my money?

[Guest Not Going Anywhere]

Violence is the Name of the game for the leftwing.

 

http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2011/10/it-begins-occupy-denver-thugs-knock-police-officer-off-his-motorcycle-kick-cops/

 

 

 

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/11/police_arrest_man_who_allegedl.html

 

Though this evening's Occupy Portland march through downtown and Southeast Portland was relatively peaceful, police said they arrested one man who allegedly shoved a sergeant into a moving TriMet bus during the march.

 

David Anthony Burgess, 30, shoved the sergeant and ran back into the crowd, said Sgt. Pete Simpson of the Portland Police Bureau. Officers found Burgess after the march and arrested him on charges of assaulting an officer, interfering with an officer, disorderly conduct and harassment.

[Luke_Wilbur]

Occupy DC needs to stand down with using children as shields.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CguFPFJAqlA

[Guest karol olesiak]

We are having a call for submissions and a call for support for an online magazine featuring the works of veterans in support of occupy. Thanks for your time. Essays and articles by veterans in support of the occupation: http://soldiersforthecause.blogspot.com/