Saturday, 31 December 2011
Obama Makes It Official: Suspected Terrorists Can Be Indefinitely Detained Without a Trial
Obama Makes It Official: Suspected Terrorists Can Be Indefinitely Detained Without a Trial
The decision will inevitably become fodder for criticism as Obama ramps up his 2012 reelection campaign. This is the same bill that Ron Paul recently compared to the Patriot Act but with more dire implications. "When the bar is low enough to include political enemies, our descent into totalitarianism is virtually assured," Paul said earlier this week. "The recently passed National Defense Authorization Act continues that slip into tyranny, and in fact, accelerates it significantly." Happy New Year?
The decision will inevitably become fodder for criticism as Obama ramps up his 2012 reelection campaign. This is the same bill that Ron Paul recently compared to the Patriot Act but with more dire implications. "When the bar is low enough to include political enemies, our descent into totalitarianism is virtually assured," Paul said earlier this week. "The recently passed National Defense Authorization Act continues that slip into tyranny, and in fact, accelerates it significantly." Happy New Year?
3.5 Million Homeless and 18.5 Million Vacant Homes in the US
3.5 Million Homeless and 18.5 Million Vacant Homes in the US
Housing is a basic human need and a fundamental human right. Yet every day in the United States, banks are foreclosing on more than 10,000 mortgages and ordering evictions of individuals and families residing in foreclosed homes. The U.S. government’s steps to address the foreclosure crisis to date have been partial at best.
Housing is a basic human need and a fundamental human right. Yet every day in the United States, banks are foreclosing on more than 10,000 mortgages and ordering evictions of individuals and families residing in foreclosed homes. The U.S. government’s steps to address the foreclosure crisis to date have been partial at best.
As the cuts bleed harder, the cruel Tory truth will emerge
As the cuts bleed harder, the cruel Tory truth will emerge
Occupy Must Never Give Up!
The OECD's latest report on rising inequality finds the bottom 30% with just 3% of UK wealth, while the top third commands 75%. With money comes the power to sway governments to protect tax privileges and loopholes. The IFS predicts another 600,000 poor children in the next two years but shamelessly Cameron and Clegg still promise social mobility, knowing the IFS says it is already reversing. As Warren Buffet says of the class war: "My class has won."
Occupy Must Never Give Up!
The OECD's latest report on rising inequality finds the bottom 30% with just 3% of UK wealth, while the top third commands 75%. With money comes the power to sway governments to protect tax privileges and loopholes. The IFS predicts another 600,000 poor children in the next two years but shamelessly Cameron and Clegg still promise social mobility, knowing the IFS says it is already reversing. As Warren Buffet says of the class war: "My class has won."
New Year’s Eve Weekend at Occupy London – Make it count!
New Year’s Eve Weekend at Occupy London – Make it count!
Highlights include: an adaptation of Dicken’s A Christmas Carol by Timberlake Wertenbaker on steps of St Paul’s, introduced by John Cooper QC and a stellar cast line up including Tim Pigott-Smith (aka Creedy in V for Vendetta).
Plus the Trials and Tribulations cabaret at the newly occupied courthouse – Occupy Justice
New Year’s Eve at St Paul’s sees international speakers from protest movements in Iran, Congo and Syria, plus cabaret & music from some of the UK’s best DJs including Engine-Earz Experiment, RouT (Enter Shikari), Dan Le Sac, The Last Skeptik and Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.
And lots more!!
Highlights include: an adaptation of Dicken’s A Christmas Carol by Timberlake Wertenbaker on steps of St Paul’s, introduced by John Cooper QC and a stellar cast line up including Tim Pigott-Smith (aka Creedy in V for Vendetta).
Plus the Trials and Tribulations cabaret at the newly occupied courthouse – Occupy Justice
New Year’s Eve at St Paul’s sees international speakers from protest movements in Iran, Congo and Syria, plus cabaret & music from some of the UK’s best DJs including Engine-Earz Experiment, RouT (Enter Shikari), Dan Le Sac, The Last Skeptik and Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly.
And lots more!!
A list of 115 dead scientists - Assassinated ? 1994 to 2011
A list of 115 dead scientists - Assassinated ? 1994 to 2011
First one
Zachary Greene Warfield, 35, died July 4 in a boating accident on the Potomac River. Zack was a co-founder and a member of the Board of Directors for Omnis, Inc., a McLean, VA-based strategic consulting firm for the intelligence, defense and national security communities. He spearheaded major research initiatives and, in addition to helping steer the company, was directly involved in numerous projects, including analytic training and technology consulting. Prior to founding Omnis, Zack was an engineer and analyst for the U.S. Government and private industry.
As a science and technology analyst, he assessed missile and space systems, managed technical contracts, and investigated Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) program as a member of the Iraq Survey Group, serving in Baghdad on two separate occasions.
Last one
Jose Trias, Died: May 19, 1994. Trias and his wife were murdered in their Chevy Chase, Maryland home. They met with a friend of theirs, a journalist, before the day of their murder and told him of their plan to expose HHMI (Howard Hughes Medical Institute) funding of “special ops” research. Grant money that goes to HHMI is actually diverted to special black ops research projects.
First one
Zachary Greene Warfield, 35, died July 4 in a boating accident on the Potomac River. Zack was a co-founder and a member of the Board of Directors for Omnis, Inc., a McLean, VA-based strategic consulting firm for the intelligence, defense and national security communities. He spearheaded major research initiatives and, in addition to helping steer the company, was directly involved in numerous projects, including analytic training and technology consulting. Prior to founding Omnis, Zack was an engineer and analyst for the U.S. Government and private industry.
As a science and technology analyst, he assessed missile and space systems, managed technical contracts, and investigated Iraq’s Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) program as a member of the Iraq Survey Group, serving in Baghdad on two separate occasions.
Last one
Jose Trias, Died: May 19, 1994. Trias and his wife were murdered in their Chevy Chase, Maryland home. They met with a friend of theirs, a journalist, before the day of their murder and told him of their plan to expose HHMI (Howard Hughes Medical Institute) funding of “special ops” research. Grant money that goes to HHMI is actually diverted to special black ops research projects.
New Years Eve Noise Demo - London - Holloway Prison
NYE NOISE DEMONSTRATION -SOLIDARITY WITH IMPRISONED PROTESTERS
HMP Holloway Prison, Parkhurst Road, N7 0NU, closest tube station Holloway Rd.
Since student protests last year, when thousands took to the streets to demand an education accessible for all, and the large scale riots this summer in response to the police murder of Mark Duggan, hundreds of our youth have been targeted and many were given long custodial sentences.
This means many will be spending new year’s eve and the festive period in prisons up and down the country, away from their families, because they stood up to injustice.
Come along to this demonstration on New Year’s Eve outside Holloway women’s prison to show solidarity to some of those in prison. We are going to make lots of noise to make sure they hear us and know that we do not forget them. So bring instrument, pots and pans, banners or just yourself!
*poetry, spoken word, hip hop and music from different artists on the day coming to show their support*
HMP Holloway Prison, Parkhurst Road, N7 0NU, closest tube station Holloway Rd.
Since student protests last year, when thousands took to the streets to demand an education accessible for all, and the large scale riots this summer in response to the police murder of Mark Duggan, hundreds of our youth have been targeted and many were given long custodial sentences.
This means many will be spending new year’s eve and the festive period in prisons up and down the country, away from their families, because they stood up to injustice.
Come along to this demonstration on New Year’s Eve outside Holloway women’s prison to show solidarity to some of those in prison. We are going to make lots of noise to make sure they hear us and know that we do not forget them. So bring instrument, pots and pans, banners or just yourself!
*poetry, spoken word, hip hop and music from different artists on the day coming to show their support*
Shout Out for Un-Settling Occupation
This Occupy event has passed, but I added it here to give a shout out for Un-Settling Occupation and to hope that this event was well attended and useful for the cause. Solidarity - Keep Going - We can Win!
Please join Occupy Wall St. to connect the colonial occupation of Manhattan to Occupy Wall Street— an occupation of already occupied land.
We are taking action on this day, on the 121st anniversary of the massacre at Wounded Knee, in order to initiate an open dialogue with indigenous Americans, to raise local and national awareness of ongoing Native struggles, and to recognize that the injustices and inequalities we all currently confront are the bricks and mortar of conquest and settler colonialism.
Conditions of capitalist exploitation are predicated upon the acquisition of territory and the dispossession and dehumanization of indigenous peoples. The American political economy of greed is forever implicated in settler nationalism.
Standing as allies with indigenous Americans, we seek to un-settle our consciousness.
Un-settling “occupation” calls us to remain cognizant that our movement unfolds on land seized by force, and compels us to take action in support of indigenous peoples—peoples for whom occupation has not been a choice, but a lived experience of oppression.
January 20, 2012 – Move to Amend Occupies the Courts!
January 20, 2012 – Move to Amend Occupies the Courts!
Move To Amend is planning bold action to mark the second anniversary of the infamous Citizens United v. FEC decision!
Occupy the Courts will be a one day occupation of Federal courthouses across the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Friday January 20, 2012.
Move to Amend volunteers across the USA will lead the charge on the judiciary which created — and continues to expand — corporate personhood rights.
Americans across the country are on the march, and they are marching OUR way. They carry signs that say, “Corporations are NOT people! Money is NOT Speech!” And they are chanting those truths at the top of their lungs! The time has come to make these truths evident to the courts.
➤➤ Join us Friday, January 20, 2012 at a Federal Court building near you! Click here to sign up.
Move To Amend is planning bold action to mark the second anniversary of the infamous Citizens United v. FEC decision!
Occupy the Courts will be a one day occupation of Federal courthouses across the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Friday January 20, 2012.
Move to Amend volunteers across the USA will lead the charge on the judiciary which created — and continues to expand — corporate personhood rights.
Americans across the country are on the march, and they are marching OUR way. They carry signs that say, “Corporations are NOT people! Money is NOT Speech!” And they are chanting those truths at the top of their lungs! The time has come to make these truths evident to the courts.
➤➤ Join us Friday, January 20, 2012 at a Federal Court building near you! Click here to sign up.
Occupy Congress - January 17 - 2012
Los Angeles to DC to join the Occupy Congress Action on January 17, 2012. It has become evident that our United States Congress can no longer govern effectively. We will converge on our nation's Capitol to let Congress know that both parties need to put aside their petty bickering and urgently search for common ground. Americans cannot wait another year. Plan ahead to share rides & caravans for a cross country road trip. or Book your flights now! Bring a tent!
Tuesday, 17 January 2012 at 10:00 until Saturday, 31 March 2012 at 10:00
No Transport? Get there on the Occupy Bus
Occupy Bus is dedicated to the logistics of the Occupation movement
- Reserve a seat on the bus from your town to the camp
- Once we've received enough reservations along a route, we confirm the bus
- Prepare and load the Occupy Bus on the day of the deployment
- Get to the camp, unload, and become part of the Occupation movement
- Choose to Occupy or come home at the end of the day
Friday, 30 December 2011
Martin Luther King and links to Occupy
Watching a documentary on Martin Luther King right now. Most people know about King's involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. But most people don't know that near the end of his life, he was fighting for the rights of poor people. Unfortunately he was murdered before he could see this through, it reminds me a lot of occupy
New Report: "Recording Everything" Details How Governments Can Shape the Dynamics of Dissent
New Report: "Recording Everything" Details How Governments Can Shape the Dynamics of Dissent
A recent Brookings Institution report has now confirmed what many have suspected for some time – that the United States government (and virtually every other government in the world) has the capability to monitor and record nearly every interaction that occurs within its national borders.
This new report, however, shatters the delusional rationalities of the uninformed into a million pieces
The Brookings Institution report entitled, “Recording Everything: Digital Storage as an Enabler of Authoritarian Governments" (.pdf) discusses the increasing capacities for surveillance due to the improvement in technology and the sinking costs of its procurement, along with the implications for human rights and authoritarianism that come along with it.
Although the study suggests that governments will make use of this technology “once it becomes available,” anyone who has done even cursory research into the technological and intelligence capabilities of major governments is aware that, when technologies are announced to the general public, the actual capabilities of these governments to harness that technology are light years ahead of what is being announced. Indeed, the technology itself is almost always already obsolete before it’s theoretical presentation is even offered up for digestion by the mass population.
A recent Brookings Institution report has now confirmed what many have suspected for some time – that the United States government (and virtually every other government in the world) has the capability to monitor and record nearly every interaction that occurs within its national borders.
This new report, however, shatters the delusional rationalities of the uninformed into a million pieces
The Brookings Institution report entitled, “Recording Everything: Digital Storage as an Enabler of Authoritarian Governments" (.pdf) discusses the increasing capacities for surveillance due to the improvement in technology and the sinking costs of its procurement, along with the implications for human rights and authoritarianism that come along with it.
Although the study suggests that governments will make use of this technology “once it becomes available,” anyone who has done even cursory research into the technological and intelligence capabilities of major governments is aware that, when technologies are announced to the general public, the actual capabilities of these governments to harness that technology are light years ahead of what is being announced. Indeed, the technology itself is almost always already obsolete before it’s theoretical presentation is even offered up for digestion by the mass population.
U.S. Income Inequality Higher Than Roman Empire’s Levels
U.S. Income Inequality Higher Than Roman Empire’s Levels
Many tout the U.S. as the Roman empire of the modern world. But as it turns out, that comparison may not be all good.
Income inequality in America is at levels even higher than those in ancient Rome, according to a recent study from two historians, Walter Schiedel and Steven Friesen, cited by Per Square Mile.
The findings add to the growing chorus of studies and criticisms indicating that the wealth gap is hitting truly remarkable levels. The top one percent saw their incomes rise by 275 percent between 1979 and 2007, according to the Congressional Budget Office, while the bottom fifth of earners only saw their incomes grow by 20 percent during that same period ...
Many tout the U.S. as the Roman empire of the modern world. But as it turns out, that comparison may not be all good.
Income inequality in America is at levels even higher than those in ancient Rome, according to a recent study from two historians, Walter Schiedel and Steven Friesen, cited by Per Square Mile.
The findings add to the growing chorus of studies and criticisms indicating that the wealth gap is hitting truly remarkable levels. The top one percent saw their incomes rise by 275 percent between 1979 and 2007, according to the Congressional Budget Office, while the bottom fifth of earners only saw their incomes grow by 20 percent during that same period ...
Take Back the Land Rochester
Take Back the Land Rochester Moves a Homeless Family Into a Vacant Bank Owned Home
Since September of 2008, Take Back the Land Rochester has been defending homes against foreclosure and liberating empty bank owned homes by moving homeless families into them. Recently they moved in another family into a home, taking them off the streets and giving their family and health a chance to survive.
Since September of 2008, Take Back the Land Rochester has been defending homes against foreclosure and liberating empty bank owned homes by moving homeless families into them. Recently they moved in another family into a home, taking them off the streets and giving their family and health a chance to survive.
Homeowners Rebellion - Help is at Hand
Homeowners Rebellion
Since the beginning of the Great Recession, millions of familes have lost their homes to foreclosure. Millions more remain at risk in the coming years. Foreclosure is – for most people – a devastatingly lonely experience, filled with anxiety, shame, and loss.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Believe it or not, you may not owe one cent to the bankers who claim to own your mortgage!. The operative word in the previous sentence is “claim”. But if you’re currently in foreclosure you have to act quickly! ...
Since the beginning of the Great Recession, millions of familes have lost their homes to foreclosure. Millions more remain at risk in the coming years. Foreclosure is – for most people – a devastatingly lonely experience, filled with anxiety, shame, and loss.
It doesn’t have to be this way. Believe it or not, you may not owe one cent to the bankers who claim to own your mortgage!. The operative word in the previous sentence is “claim”. But if you’re currently in foreclosure you have to act quickly! ...
Thursday, 29 December 2011
2012 could be just as volatile as 2011 if not worse.
2012 could be just as volatile as 2011 if not worse.
The ancient Mayans attached special significance to 2012, possibly the end of time. That has spawned a rush of apocalyptic literature for the holiday season.
But you don't have to believe the world is about to end to realize that next year contains perhaps the widest range of political risks to the global economy in recent history.
With elections and leadership changes in the most powerful countries, Europe in crisis, ferment in the Middle East and worsening economic hardship driving unrest and discontent everywhere, 2012 could be just as volatile as 2011 if not worse ...
The ancient Mayans attached special significance to 2012, possibly the end of time. That has spawned a rush of apocalyptic literature for the holiday season.
But you don't have to believe the world is about to end to realize that next year contains perhaps the widest range of political risks to the global economy in recent history.
With elections and leadership changes in the most powerful countries, Europe in crisis, ferment in the Middle East and worsening economic hardship driving unrest and discontent everywhere, 2012 could be just as volatile as 2011 if not worse ...
Sheffield - The Citadel of Hope
The Citadel of Hope
Occupy Sheffield has taken possession of the former Salvation Army Citadel (at Cross Burgess Street, Sheffield) on the basis of a so-called ‘Section 6′ notice [1]. The building has lain idle since 1999, and has been open and unsecured for over two months. Occupy Sheffield will make the building safe and secure and will then open it for public use. Occupy Sheffield will be inviting any community groups that have lost the ability to pay for a space due to funding cuts to come and make use of the building. The building has been renamed ‘The Citadel of Hope’.
Occupy Sheffield would like to make clear that it is protesting against the casino capitalism that has laid the real economy low; it is protesting that those who created this crisis have so far got away without legal sanction and continue to do so; it is protesting that this same tiny minority (‘the 1%’) are continuing to enrich themselves while the rest of the population (‘the 99%’) are made to suffer their failures.
Occupy Sheffield would like to make clear, that it is not protesting against any Church or Church group.
Occupy Sheffield has taken possession of the former Salvation Army Citadel (at Cross Burgess Street, Sheffield) on the basis of a so-called ‘Section 6′ notice [1]. The building has lain idle since 1999, and has been open and unsecured for over two months. Occupy Sheffield will make the building safe and secure and will then open it for public use. Occupy Sheffield will be inviting any community groups that have lost the ability to pay for a space due to funding cuts to come and make use of the building. The building has been renamed ‘The Citadel of Hope’.
Occupy Sheffield would like to make clear that it is protesting against the casino capitalism that has laid the real economy low; it is protesting that those who created this crisis have so far got away without legal sanction and continue to do so; it is protesting that this same tiny minority (‘the 1%’) are continuing to enrich themselves while the rest of the population (‘the 99%’) are made to suffer their failures.
Occupy Sheffield would like to make clear, that it is not protesting against any Church or Church group.
Homeless 'occupy' abandoned US homes
Homeless 'occupy' abandoned US homes
More than 700,000 homes owned by banks are empty in the US. Millions more properties risk falling to the same fate due to a foreclosure crisis.
Fuelled by popular anger at banks and financial institutions, the Occupy Wall Street movement recently promoted "home occupations" in 20 cities across the country.
And the number of organisations facilitating these actions is growing.
More than 700,000 homes owned by banks are empty in the US. Millions more properties risk falling to the same fate due to a foreclosure crisis.
Fuelled by popular anger at banks and financial institutions, the Occupy Wall Street movement recently promoted "home occupations" in 20 cities across the country.
And the number of organisations facilitating these actions is growing.
The $600 Billion Ripoff
The $600 Billion Ripoff
European Central Bank president Mario Draghi is either a liar or a fool. Either way, he should be canned immediately before he dumps more money into an EU banking system sinkhole.
What’s all the fuss about? Here’s a clip from Bloomberg that explains what’s going on:
“The European Central Bank said overnight deposits from the region’s financial institutions increased to an all-time high. Euro-area banks parked 452 billion euros ($591 billion) with the Frankfurt-based ECB yesterday, the most since the euro’s introduction in 1999 and up from the previous record of 412 billion euros a day earlier.
The ECB last week lent 523 banks a record 489 billion euros for three years to keep credit flowing to the 17-nation euro economy during the sovereign debt crisis. It lent the money at its benchmark rate of 1 percent. Banks are depositing excess cash back with the ECB at the overnight rate of 0.25 percent, incurring a loss rather than lending it at a better rate.
Barclays Capital estimates the three-year loans injected 193 billion euros of new money into the system, with 296 billion euros accounted for by maturing loans. Since the three-year loans started on Dec. 22, overnight deposits have jumped by 187 billion euros, suggesting banks are parking almost all the additional liquidity back with the ECB.” (“ECB Says Banks Increased Overnight Deposits to All-Time High”, Bloomberg)
...
European Central Bank president Mario Draghi is either a liar or a fool. Either way, he should be canned immediately before he dumps more money into an EU banking system sinkhole.
What’s all the fuss about? Here’s a clip from Bloomberg that explains what’s going on:
“The European Central Bank said overnight deposits from the region’s financial institutions increased to an all-time high. Euro-area banks parked 452 billion euros ($591 billion) with the Frankfurt-based ECB yesterday, the most since the euro’s introduction in 1999 and up from the previous record of 412 billion euros a day earlier.
The ECB last week lent 523 banks a record 489 billion euros for three years to keep credit flowing to the 17-nation euro economy during the sovereign debt crisis. It lent the money at its benchmark rate of 1 percent. Banks are depositing excess cash back with the ECB at the overnight rate of 0.25 percent, incurring a loss rather than lending it at a better rate.
Barclays Capital estimates the three-year loans injected 193 billion euros of new money into the system, with 296 billion euros accounted for by maturing loans. Since the three-year loans started on Dec. 22, overnight deposits have jumped by 187 billion euros, suggesting banks are parking almost all the additional liquidity back with the ECB.” (“ECB Says Banks Increased Overnight Deposits to All-Time High”, Bloomberg)
...
This is what we’re up against; a small group of obscenely rich people who have totally rigged the system and who are grabbing more and more of the wealth for themselves while they preach austerity to everyone else.
Even so, it’s pretty amazing when people get ripped-off for $600B and it doesn’t even make the headlines.
You Won't Believe How Corrupt, Lazy And Stinking Rich Our Congress Critters Have Become
You Won't Believe How Corrupt, Lazy And Stinking Rich Our Congress Critters Have Become
If our founding fathers could see the cesspool that the U.S. Congress has become today, they would roll over in their graves. Most Americans don't realize this, but we already have a "part-time Congress". Members of Congress only "work" a little over a third of the days on the calendar. The rest of the time they have off. It is no wonder why so many members of Congress are involved in so much corruption
-Today, there are 250 members of Congress that are millionaires.
-According to the Wall Street Journal, the median net worth of members of Congress is now $913,000.
-The collective net worth of all of the members of Congress increased by 25 percent between 2008 and 2010.
Meanwhile, the standard of living in the United States has fallen farther over the past three years than at any other time that has ever been recorded in U.S. history.
If our founding fathers could see the cesspool that the U.S. Congress has become today, they would roll over in their graves. Most Americans don't realize this, but we already have a "part-time Congress". Members of Congress only "work" a little over a third of the days on the calendar. The rest of the time they have off. It is no wonder why so many members of Congress are involved in so much corruption
-Today, there are 250 members of Congress that are millionaires.
-According to the Wall Street Journal, the median net worth of members of Congress is now $913,000.
-The collective net worth of all of the members of Congress increased by 25 percent between 2008 and 2010.
Meanwhile, the standard of living in the United States has fallen farther over the past three years than at any other time that has ever been recorded in U.S. history.
It is also amazing how deeply corrupt Congress has become. In a previous article, I detailed how a number of Congress critters used confidential information about the coming financial crisis that they received from U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke in September 2008 to make beneficial stock market moves before the stock market crashed later that fall....
Wednesday, 28 December 2011
The Top Ten Revolutionary Videos of 2011
The Top Ten Revolutionary Videos of 2011
At the end of the year, news agencies around the world, including the BBC, report the ten most popular YouTube videos of the past year. The lists inevitably contain some of the most banal, irritating, or mildly amusing videos of the past year, but rarely do we see the BBC and their ilk reminding us of the startlingly powerful images of resistance and revolution.
So, in honour of those who were maimed or killed in 2011 in service of a better world, here are ten of the most memorable moments of revolt in 2011 ...
At the end of the year, news agencies around the world, including the BBC, report the ten most popular YouTube videos of the past year. The lists inevitably contain some of the most banal, irritating, or mildly amusing videos of the past year, but rarely do we see the BBC and their ilk reminding us of the startlingly powerful images of resistance and revolution.
So, in honour of those who were maimed or killed in 2011 in service of a better world, here are ten of the most memorable moments of revolt in 2011 ...
Assange to appear before the supreme court
Assange to appear before the supreme court
If Assange looses his case, he will be extradited to Sweden where he will be imprisoned until the end of the trial. This will make it impossible for him to escape in the event that the US issues an order for an extraordinary rendition to the United states where he will face no trial and be imprisoned as a terrorists for his activities with Wikileaks.
Women against Rape have stated concerns at the unusual zeal in which the case is being pursued.
The full link can be found here on the women against rape website.
If Assange looses his case, he will be extradited to Sweden where he will be imprisoned until the end of the trial. This will make it impossible for him to escape in the event that the US issues an order for an extraordinary rendition to the United states where he will face no trial and be imprisoned as a terrorists for his activities with Wikileaks.
Women against Rape have stated concerns at the unusual zeal in which the case is being pursued.
The full link can be found here on the women against rape website.
7 of the Nastiest Scams, Rip-Offs and Tricks From Wall Street Crooks
7 of the Nastiest Scams, Rip-Offs and Tricks From Wall Street Crooks
How many high-level Wall Street players have been put in jail for the crimes that led to the financial crisis? Not. Even. One.
Last week several executives from the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, known as “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,”were sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for civil fraud. They were charged with misleading investors about the quality of the loans they were buying. But this is a civil suit, not a criminal prosecution, so they face no possibility of jail time. And the SEC is notoriously ready to settle these cases, accepting fines without admission of guilt.
Meanwhile, last month Bloomberg News revealed that the Federal Reserve secretly loaned $1.2 trillion to banks on Dec. 5, 2008, their neediest day, even as some of their CEOs were assuring investors their banks were healthy.
These stories barely even reveal the tip of the iceberg of financial malfeasance ...
How many high-level Wall Street players have been put in jail for the crimes that led to the financial crisis? Not. Even. One.
Last week several executives from the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, known as “Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,”were sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for civil fraud. They were charged with misleading investors about the quality of the loans they were buying. But this is a civil suit, not a criminal prosecution, so they face no possibility of jail time. And the SEC is notoriously ready to settle these cases, accepting fines without admission of guilt.
Meanwhile, last month Bloomberg News revealed that the Federal Reserve secretly loaned $1.2 trillion to banks on Dec. 5, 2008, their neediest day, even as some of their CEOs were assuring investors their banks were healthy.
Are these CEOs facing prosecution or even civil fraud suits for doing the very same thing? Not so much.
European Parliament Official Document Admits HAARP is a Weapon
European Parliament Official Document Admits HAARP is a Weapon
I can tell you that HAARP does exist and that the American Government does not deny its existence as the facility in Alaska has a website. It is deemed as a research project but many have proposed that this is a cover for a much more sinister purpose. Many researchers have proposed that HAARP is in fact used as a weather weapon. Manipulating weather along with other natural phenomena such as earthquakes, tsunamis etc.
HAARP is projected energy weaponry that can affect the ionosphere or be bounced off the ionosphere to any part of the earth in order to affect specific areas of the earth's crust. It is also a research project but what are ionosphere affects are they researching and can we confidently say (unless we blindly ignore all evidence to the contrary) HAARP is not a threat to human life?
Here is the EU Parliament Document
I can tell you that HAARP does exist and that the American Government does not deny its existence as the facility in Alaska has a website. It is deemed as a research project but many have proposed that this is a cover for a much more sinister purpose. Many researchers have proposed that HAARP is in fact used as a weather weapon. Manipulating weather along with other natural phenomena such as earthquakes, tsunamis etc.
HAARP is projected energy weaponry that can affect the ionosphere or be bounced off the ionosphere to any part of the earth in order to affect specific areas of the earth's crust. It is also a research project but what are ionosphere affects are they researching and can we confidently say (unless we blindly ignore all evidence to the contrary) HAARP is not a threat to human life?
Here is the EU Parliament Document
Occupy Geeks Are Building a Facebook for the 99%
Occupy Geeks Are Building a Facebook for the 99%
The impetus is understandable. Social media helped pull together protesters around the globe in 2010 and 2011. Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak so feared Twitter and Facebook that he shut down Egypt’s internet service. A YouTube video posted in the name of Anonymous propelled Occupy Wall Street from an insider meme to national news. And top-trending Twitter hashtags turned Occupy from a ho-hum rally on Sept. 17 into a national and even international movement.
Now it’s time for activists to move beyond other people’s social networks and build their own, according to Knutson.
“We don’t want to trust Facebook with private messages among activists,” he said.
The impetus is understandable. Social media helped pull together protesters around the globe in 2010 and 2011. Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak so feared Twitter and Facebook that he shut down Egypt’s internet service. A YouTube video posted in the name of Anonymous propelled Occupy Wall Street from an insider meme to national news. And top-trending Twitter hashtags turned Occupy from a ho-hum rally on Sept. 17 into a national and even international movement.
Now it’s time for activists to move beyond other people’s social networks and build their own, according to Knutson.
“We don’t want to trust Facebook with private messages among activists,” he said.
Tuesday, 27 December 2011
Please Donate to UK Uncut - Landmark Case against Goldman Sachs
UK Uncut - quids in!
Are you angry that HMRC lets big business avoid huge sums on their tax bills? Are you concerned about the impact the cuts will have on our public services? There is something you can do! Help us take HMRC to court over the deal that allowed Goldman Sachs – the global banking giant- to get away with avoiding millions in unpaid tax.
We are taking HMRC to court because we believe that their secret deal was unlawful. HMRC and Goldman Sachs can afford the best lawyers in town, so we need your help to take them on. It’s the people’s court case.
Please Donate
Our fantastic lawyers are taking the case on a no-win, no-fee basis, but if we do lose our legal case we are likely to be liable for HMRC and Goldman Sachs legal costs, and we can’t imagine the bill is going to come cheap! Without this money we can’t continue with the legal challenge.
Quids-in!
Are you angry that HMRC lets big business avoid huge sums on their tax bills? Are you concerned about the impact the cuts will have on our public services? There is something you can do! Help us take HMRC to court over the deal that allowed Goldman Sachs – the global banking giant- to get away with avoiding millions in unpaid tax.
We are taking HMRC to court because we believe that their secret deal was unlawful. HMRC and Goldman Sachs can afford the best lawyers in town, so we need your help to take them on. It’s the people’s court case.
Our fantastic lawyers are taking the case on a no-win, no-fee basis, but if we do lose our legal case we are likely to be liable for HMRC and Goldman Sachs legal costs, and we can’t imagine the bill is going to come cheap! Without this money we can’t continue with the legal challenge.
Quids-in!
We are asking individuals to make a donation of just £1. We want this to be a court case on behalf of the people, so we want a pound from thousands of people to show the level of support for this legal case.
Please donate what you can!
Monday, 26 December 2011
Support War Resister Julian Assange
Support War Resister Julian Assange
On February 1st 2012 Julian Assange will appear before the Supreme Court in a final attempt to stop his extradition to Sweden.
Julian has not been charged with any offence in the UK or Sweden.
Our governments would rather people didn’t know about the murder, torture and destruction that is carried by their armed forces. Julian Assange is responsible for the publication of The Iraq War Logs, The Afghan War Diaries, Cablegate and Collateral Murder. The information contained within these publications showed the public the true nature of war.
Join us at The Supreme Court 01/02/2012 at 0900 hrs and show your support for Julian Assange, a war resister facing persecution.
On February 1st 2012 Julian Assange will appear before the Supreme Court in a final attempt to stop his extradition to Sweden.
Julian has not been charged with any offence in the UK or Sweden.
Our governments would rather people didn’t know about the murder, torture and destruction that is carried by their armed forces. Julian Assange is responsible for the publication of The Iraq War Logs, The Afghan War Diaries, Cablegate and Collateral Murder. The information contained within these publications showed the public the true nature of war.
Join us at The Supreme Court 01/02/2012 at 0900 hrs and show your support for Julian Assange, a war resister facing persecution.
How to Infiltrate and Destroy a Political Movement
Why would CIA, FBI, etc. want to destroy OWS? Most would answer that OWS is a powerful movement that has the power to cause systemic change in government and challenge corporate power. However, that’s exactly why government wouldn’t necessarily be inclined to end the movement. We live in America, the land in which a price tag hangs from everything, including our souls. Political movements that gain popular support have political power, and political power has monetary value, just like everything else. The expenditure of labor by millions of people around the globe has, like any expenditure of labor directed toward a desired end, produced a commodity with market value.
The goal of the Corporate Government complex isn’t to erase that value, it is rather to capture that value. But the question is “How could government or the private sector Captain the ship of OWS?”
By buying it ...
Keep Wall Street Occupied (Part 1)
A fast, easy, free, and non-violent way to drive the big banks out of their greedy little minds is sitting in your mailbox right now. You just don't know it yet.
This takes literally minutes and is another way of getting our message across, making them listen, making them pay, setting up dialogue .. keep occupying!
Sunday, 25 December 2011
DA Conley's office subpoenas Occupy Boston Twitter account information
DA Conley's office subpoenas Occupy Boston Twitter account information
All available subscriber information, for the account or accounts associated with the following information, including IP address logs for account creation and for the period December 8, 2011 to December 13, 2011.
Saturday, 24 December 2011
Moscow protest draws tens of thousands
Moscow protest draws tens of thousands
Tens of thousands of demonstrators on Saturday cheered opposition leaders and jeered the Kremlin in the biggest show of outrage yet against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's 12-year rule.
The Moscow demonstration was even bigger than a similar rally two weeks ago, signaling that the protest movement ignited by the fraud-tainted Dec. 4 parliamentary election may be growing. Protest were also held in dozens of other cities and towns across Russia.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators on Saturday cheered opposition leaders and jeered the Kremlin in the biggest show of outrage yet against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's 12-year rule.
The Moscow demonstration was even bigger than a similar rally two weeks ago, signaling that the protest movement ignited by the fraud-tainted Dec. 4 parliamentary election may be growing. Protest were also held in dozens of other cities and towns across Russia.
Rally participants densely packed a broad avenue, which has room for nearly 100,000 people, about some 1.5 miles from the Kremlin, as the temperature dipped well below freezing. They chanted "Russia without Putin!"
A stage at the end of the 0.43 mile avenue featured placards reading "Russia will be free" and "This election Is a farce." Heavy police cordons encircled the participants, who stood within metal barriers, and a police helicopter hovered overhead.
Occupy London gets Festive
With the postponement until next year of the court cases for OccupyLSX camp outside St. Paul's Cathedral and the Bank of Ideas, Occupy London camps enjoy a Christmas reprieve. UK. 24th December 2011
Loads of great festive photos here.
Loads of great festive photos here.
Friday, 23 December 2011
Taser Drone Launched in Texas
A Department of Homeland Security-funded surveillance drone deployed against insurgents in Afghanistan that can also be used to tase suspects from above has been unveiled by the Montgomery County Sheriff's office and will be operational within a month. "At $500,000 a pop, Montgomery county spent $250,000 to get the UAV.
The rest was covered by a Department of Homeland Security grant," reports KBTX.com. Although its initial role will be limited to surveillance, the ShadowHawk Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, previously used against suspected terrorists in Afghanistan and East Africa, has the ability to tase suspects from above as well as carrying 12-gauge shotguns and grenade launchers.
US Government Accuses Bradley Manning of Aiding Al Qaeda
US Government Accuses Bradley Manning of Aiding Al Qaeda
The pre-trial hearing for Pfc. Bradley Manning, accused of releasing classified information to WikiLeaks, concluded with the government revealing in its closing argument for the first time the enemy, which they believe Manning’s actions aided: the terrorists.
Calling what Manning did a “six month-long enterprise of indiscriminately harvesting information,” Cpt. Ashden Fein stated in the prosecution’s closing argument that Manning had actual knowledge that what he gave to WikiLeaks would end up in the hands of the enemy and that enemy was Al Qaeda, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and similar enemies ...
The pre-trial hearing for Pfc. Bradley Manning, accused of releasing classified information to WikiLeaks, concluded with the government revealing in its closing argument for the first time the enemy, which they believe Manning’s actions aided: the terrorists.
Calling what Manning did a “six month-long enterprise of indiscriminately harvesting information,” Cpt. Ashden Fein stated in the prosecution’s closing argument that Manning had actual knowledge that what he gave to WikiLeaks would end up in the hands of the enemy and that enemy was Al Qaeda, Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) and similar enemies ...
The 99% Versus Wall Street: Stephen Lerner on How We Can Mobilize To Be the Greedy 1%'s Worst Nightmare
The 99% Versus Wall Street: Stephen Lerner on How We Can Mobilize To Be the Greedy 1%'s Worst Nightmare
Earlier this year, long before Occupy Wall Street turned Zuccotti Park into Liberty Plaza, Stephen Lerner, a longtime labor organizer with SEIU and mastermind of the Justice for Janitors campaign, wrote in New Labor Forum of “large-scale sit-ins, occupations, and other forms of nonviolent civil disobedience that must inevitably overcome court injunctions and political pressures.”
SJ: What do you see coming up this year? We talked about debt strikes, foreclosures, but is there anywhere else you see some forward motion that we haven't discussed?
SL: I don't think anybody should view a sort of holiday or winter lull in activity as a sign of anything. As people have said, movements ebb and flow, and whenever we look back, spring is the time that things take off again. It's really important that people not say “Oh, everything was front page news and now it's not.”
People instead should be stepping back, saying, “In three months we did more than anybody imagined we could do, now it's time to step back and figure out the next stage.”
Earlier this year, long before Occupy Wall Street turned Zuccotti Park into Liberty Plaza, Stephen Lerner, a longtime labor organizer with SEIU and mastermind of the Justice for Janitors campaign, wrote in New Labor Forum of “large-scale sit-ins, occupations, and other forms of nonviolent civil disobedience that must inevitably overcome court injunctions and political pressures.”
SJ: What do you see coming up this year? We talked about debt strikes, foreclosures, but is there anywhere else you see some forward motion that we haven't discussed?
SL: I don't think anybody should view a sort of holiday or winter lull in activity as a sign of anything. As people have said, movements ebb and flow, and whenever we look back, spring is the time that things take off again. It's really important that people not say “Oh, everything was front page news and now it's not.”
People instead should be stepping back, saying, “In three months we did more than anybody imagined we could do, now it's time to step back and figure out the next stage.”
Cities that broke up Occupy camps now face lawsuits over free speech, use of force
Cities that broke up Occupy camps now face lawsuits over free speech, use of force
Most major Occupy encampments have been dispersed, but they live on in a flurry of lawsuits in which protesters are asserting their constitutional rights to free speech and assembly and challenging authorities’ mass arrests and use of force to break up tent cities.
Lawyers representing protesters have filed lawsuits — or are planning them — in state and federal courts from coast to coast, challenging eviction orders and what they call heavy-handed police tactics and the banning of demonstrators from public properties.
Lawyers representing protesters have filed lawsuits — or are planning them — in state and federal courts from coast to coast, challenging eviction orders and what they call heavy-handed police tactics and the banning of demonstrators from public properties.
And so the laws keep coming!
A group of protestors lined a sidewalk in Downtown Anchorage on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2011 to express their dissatisfaction at a new ordinance making it illegal to sit or recline on downtown sidewalks from 6 a.m. to midnight weekdays and until 2:30 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights.
Anchorage protestors against sidewalk ordinance from anchoragedailynews on Vimeo.
Anchorage protestors against sidewalk ordinance from anchoragedailynews on Vimeo.
OccupyLSX Initial Statement
This initial statement was collectively agreed by over 500 people on the steps of St Paul’s on 26 October 2011. Like all forms of direct democracy, the statement will always be a work in progress and is used as a basis for further discussion and debate.
1 The current system is unsustainable. It is undemocratic and unjust. We need alternatives; this is where we work towards them.
2 We are of all ethnicities, backgrounds, genders, generations, sexualities dis/abilities and faiths. We stand together with occupations all over the world.
3 We refuse to pay for the banks’ crisis.
4 We do not accept the cuts as either necessary or inevitable. We demand an end to global tax injustice and our democracy representing corporations instead of the people.
5 We want regulators to be genuinely independent of the industries they regulate.
6 We support the strike on the 30th November and the student action on the 9th November, and actions to defend our health services, welfare, education and employment, and to stop wars and arms dealing.
7 We want structural change towards authentic global equality. The world’s resources must go towards caring for people and the planet, not the military, corporate profits or the rich.
8 The present economic system pollutes land, sea and air, is causing massive loss of natural species and environments, and is accelerating humanity towards irreversible climate change. We call for a positive, sustainable economic system that benefits present and future generations.
9 We stand in solidarity with the global oppressed and we call for an end to the actions of our government and others in causing this oppression.
10 This is what democracy looks like. Come and join us!
23/12/11: City of London Corporation Cleaners say “OCCUPY GUILDHALL!”
23/12/11: City of London Corporation Cleaners say “OCCUPY GUILDHALL!”
Cleaners are staging a sit-in at the Corporation of London’s Guildhall in protest at the inadequate response of their employer, the contractor Sodexo over the abusive treatment of women employees.
The cleaners say the last straw was an incident involving a manager and one of the union representatives on Monday 21 November. The rep Isabel Martin was followed to a room in the basement of Guildhall, where she was blocked from leaving with the door closed, then it is alleged a male supervisor subjected her to an outburst of aggression and intimidating behaviour, the terrified women felt was under threat of real physical violence.
Cleaners are staging a sit-in at the Corporation of London’s Guildhall in protest at the inadequate response of their employer, the contractor Sodexo over the abusive treatment of women employees.
The cleaners say the last straw was an incident involving a manager and one of the union representatives on Monday 21 November. The rep Isabel Martin was followed to a room in the basement of Guildhall, where she was blocked from leaving with the door closed, then it is alleged a male supervisor subjected her to an outburst of aggression and intimidating behaviour, the terrified women felt was under threat of real physical violence.
Reclaim the City
Reclaim the City
Fr. William Taylor was a Common Councillor in the City of London Corporation from 2001 to 2003 and again from 2005 to 2008. As such he had access to the City's private 'City's Cash' accounts. He has this morning published the accounts from 2007 on his blog 'Hackney preacher'. This action is the result of Taylor's concern that a public body is spending millions of its 'private money' lobbying for the interests of finance.
The City Cash
Attached at the end of this blog entry are excerpts from the minutes of the City Corporation full council meeting from Nov 08, Dec 08, Jan 09. The excerpts relate to the matter of the City’s Cash. As a councillor, I had been asking questions in Common Council that relate to its ownership and the City’s accountability.
What is the City’s Cash used for? ...
Fr. William Taylor was a Common Councillor in the City of London Corporation from 2001 to 2003 and again from 2005 to 2008. As such he had access to the City's private 'City's Cash' accounts. He has this morning published the accounts from 2007 on his blog 'Hackney preacher'. This action is the result of Taylor's concern that a public body is spending millions of its 'private money' lobbying for the interests of finance.
The City Cash
Attached at the end of this blog entry are excerpts from the minutes of the City Corporation full council meeting from Nov 08, Dec 08, Jan 09. The excerpts relate to the matter of the City’s Cash. As a councillor, I had been asking questions in Common Council that relate to its ownership and the City’s accountability.
What is the City’s Cash used for? ...
Government Blocks Access to Bradley Manning’s Hearing
Government Blocks Access to Bradley Manning’s Hearing
The WikiLeaks saga is centered on issues of government transparency and accountability, but the public is being strategically denied access to the Manning hearing, one of the most important court cases in our lifetime.
Twenty-four year old Private First Class Bradley Manning is facing life in prison or even the death penalty for leaking hundreds of thousands of documents about US wars and diplomacy to the whistle-blower website WikiLeaks. Some of the documents in question are now posted online and have been the fodder for news articles and public discussion about world politics for well over a year.
This case will show much about the United States’ tolerance for whistle-blowers who show the country in an unflattering light. Are we a nation that tolerates criticism and values transparency? Or are we willing to crack down on whistleblowers of conscience? Unfortunately, the military is taking steps to block access by the media and the public to portions of the trial, robbing the world of details of this critically important trial.
Among those thrown out of the courtroom during the closed portions of the hearing were attorneys for the whistleblower website WikiLeaks. WikiLeaks had petitioned for guaranteed access to the hearing, and had sent in an attorney who had the highest level of secret security clearance.
The WikiLeaks saga is centered on issues of government transparency and accountability, but the public is being strategically denied access to the Manning hearing, one of the most important court cases in our lifetime.
Twenty-four year old Private First Class Bradley Manning is facing life in prison or even the death penalty for leaking hundreds of thousands of documents about US wars and diplomacy to the whistle-blower website WikiLeaks. Some of the documents in question are now posted online and have been the fodder for news articles and public discussion about world politics for well over a year.
This case will show much about the United States’ tolerance for whistle-blowers who show the country in an unflattering light. Are we a nation that tolerates criticism and values transparency? Or are we willing to crack down on whistleblowers of conscience? Unfortunately, the military is taking steps to block access by the media and the public to portions of the trial, robbing the world of details of this critically important trial.
No full transcript available
Computers and recording devices denied
Media access denied or rescinded
Access denied
Wikileaks Thrown Out
Among those thrown out of the courtroom during the closed portions of the hearing were attorneys for the whistleblower website WikiLeaks. WikiLeaks had petitioned for guaranteed access to the hearing, and had sent in an attorney who had the highest level of secret security clearance.
Occupy the Mainstream Media
Occupy the Mainstream Media
In October, when two public radio producers weresacked in separate incidents for participating in the Occupy Movement, I was dismayed, but not surprised. NPR is often accused of liberal bias. But I can testify, as a former NPR freelancer, that the network's real slant lies neither to the right nor to the left, but to the spineless center, that is to say toward championing the views of mostly middle-aged white guys with money, power and influence, who are disproportionately represented on its airwaves, according to a recent study by FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting).
For me the most enduring images of the Occupation before Bloomberg raided Zuccotti Park was the computer bank from which the activists were live-streaming the event around the world. I found out about the occupation, not from the press, but from friends who emailed me links to these websites more than a week before the mass arrests on the Brooklyn Bridge catapulted the protest into the media spotlight.
A bunch of bloggers with handheld cameras had scooped the world on what may turn out to be the leading political story of 2011. Equally important, they were bypassing the gate-keepers in the press and telling their own story in their own terms -- arguably the first populist movement in history to do so.
Well, not quite the first. The Arab Spring has that distinction.
In October, when two public radio producers were
For me the most enduring images of the Occupation before Bloomberg raided Zuccotti Park was the computer bank from which the activists were live-streaming the event around the world. I found out about the occupation, not from the press, but from friends who emailed me links to these websites more than a week before the mass arrests on the Brooklyn Bridge catapulted the protest into the media spotlight.
A bunch of bloggers with handheld cameras had scooped the world on what may turn out to be the leading political story of 2011. Equally important, they were bypassing the gate-keepers in the press and telling their own story in their own terms -- arguably the first populist movement in history to do so.
Well, not quite the first. The Arab Spring has that distinction.
That the Occupy Movement sprang up hot on the heels of this historic uprising, and indeed resembles it in so many ways, tells us that the worldwide contagion of events, rather than the pronouncements of the self-anointed opinion-makers, is the driving force in the digital age, and the social media rather than the mainstream press is now in the driver's seat.
That may be the biggest news of all to come out of the Occupy Movement.
That may be the biggest news of all to come out of the Occupy Movement.
GMO Crops Continually Banned Around the World in Display of Health Freedom
GMO Crops Continually Banned Around the World in Display of Health Freedom
Colorado’s Boulder County was the latest health freedom hotspot to stand up against Monsanto and genetically modified produce, with Boulder County advisory committees announcing plans to phase out GMO crops on open space in pursuit of sustainable and ethical farming practices.
The county joins a long list of other political bodies that have banned, condemned, and even uprooted GMO crops across the globe.
Colorado’s Boulder County was the latest health freedom hotspot to stand up against Monsanto and genetically modified produce, with Boulder County advisory committees announcing plans to phase out GMO crops on open space in pursuit of sustainable and ethical farming practices.
The county joins a long list of other political bodies that have banned, condemned, and even uprooted GMO crops across the globe.
Thursday, 22 December 2011
The Most Dangerous Bank In America?
The Most Dangerous Bank In America?
In 2008-2009, BofA publicly took $45 billion in TARP bailout funds and secretly took another $91 billion in emergency Federal Reserve loans. According to Bloomberg News, it made $1.5 billion in profits off of those loans.
Yet, several analysts predict that BofA is woefully short of capital reserves.
A recent study by NYU's Stern School of Business ranks BofA as the most systemically risky firm in the United States.
In 2008-2009, BofA publicly took $45 billion in TARP bailout funds and secretly took another $91 billion in emergency Federal Reserve loans. According to Bloomberg News, it made $1.5 billion in profits off of those loans.
Yet, several analysts predict that BofA is woefully short of capital reserves.
A recent study by NYU's Stern School of Business ranks BofA as the most systemically risky firm in the United States.
UK Uncut - quids in!
UK Uncut - quids in!
Are you angry that HMRC lets big business avoid huge sums on their tax bills? Are you concerned about the impact the cuts will have on our public services? There is something you can do! Help us take HMRC to court over the deal that allowed Goldman Sachs – the global banking giant- to get away with avoiding millions in unpaid tax.
We are taking HMRC to court because we believe that their secret deal was unlawful. HMRC and Goldman Sachs can afford the best lawyers in town, so we need your help to take them on. It’s the people’s court case.
Please Donate
Our fantastic lawyers are taking the case on a no-win, no-fee basis, but if we do lose our legal case we are likely to be liable for HMRC and Goldman Sachs legal costs, and we can’t imagine the bill is going to come cheap! Without this money we can’t continue with the legal challenge.
Quids-in!
Are you angry that HMRC lets big business avoid huge sums on their tax bills? Are you concerned about the impact the cuts will have on our public services? There is something you can do! Help us take HMRC to court over the deal that allowed Goldman Sachs – the global banking giant- to get away with avoiding millions in unpaid tax.
We are taking HMRC to court because we believe that their secret deal was unlawful. HMRC and Goldman Sachs can afford the best lawyers in town, so we need your help to take them on. It’s the people’s court case.
Our fantastic lawyers are taking the case on a no-win, no-fee basis, but if we do lose our legal case we are likely to be liable for HMRC and Goldman Sachs legal costs, and we can’t imagine the bill is going to come cheap! Without this money we can’t continue with the legal challenge.
Quids-in!
We are asking individuals to make a donation of just £1. We want this to be a court case on behalf of the people, so we want a pound from thousands of people to show the level of support for this legal case.
Please donate what you can!
UK Uncut starts legal action against tax office over Goldman Sachs deal
UK Uncut starts legal action against tax office over Goldman Sachs deal
Tim Street, director of UK Uncut Legal Action said: "There is overwhelming public support from unions, NGOs, MPs and thousands of ordinary people who want to see this dodgy tax deal challenged in the courts.
"It shows the deep level of outrage that people feel over state-sanctioned tax dodging by big business, while government destroys public services that ordinary people rely on, saying that there is no money."
Street accused the government of "making a political choice to turn a blind eye" to what he views as a wider tax issue that costs the public purse £25bn a year and of "slashing public services and the support for the poorest instead of clamping down".
Tim Street, director of UK Uncut Legal Action said: "There is overwhelming public support from unions, NGOs, MPs and thousands of ordinary people who want to see this dodgy tax deal challenged in the courts.
"It shows the deep level of outrage that people feel over state-sanctioned tax dodging by big business, while government destroys public services that ordinary people rely on, saying that there is no money."
Street accused the government of "making a political choice to turn a blind eye" to what he views as a wider tax issue that costs the public purse £25bn a year and of "slashing public services and the support for the poorest instead of clamping down".
The Struggle For The Occupy Wall Street Archives
The story of the Occupy Wall Street Archive starts with Jeremy Bold, so we might as well too.
But—and this he says he took from Derrida too, who wrote a book called Archive Fever—he thought it was essential, if the movement wanted to have some degree of control over how it was recorded and interpreted by historians, to collect their own documents. “So I was like, we have to have our own house, and if we’re going to talk about creating our own history, doing all this stuff ourselves, we have to have our own archives. So I was like, all right, let’s do it.”
But—and this he says he took from Derrida too, who wrote a book called Archive Fever—he thought it was essential, if the movement wanted to have some degree of control over how it was recorded and interpreted by historians, to collect their own documents. “So I was like, we have to have our own house, and if we’re going to talk about creating our own history, doing all this stuff ourselves, we have to have our own archives. So I was like, all right, let’s do it.”
Occupy Ever Growing
Occupy Ever Growing
It can be all too easy to see the Occupy Movement as a Western phenomenon, centred on Wall Street and London. However, as the weeks have rolled on, the movement has become a truly global conversation; now with over 2000 occupations, in every populated continent on the planet. Today’s article brings you stories from the Occupations all over the world, from camps you may not have seen in the news or the papers.
Loads of stories and photos from Occupations all over the world.
It can be all too easy to see the Occupy Movement as a Western phenomenon, centred on Wall Street and London. However, as the weeks have rolled on, the movement has become a truly global conversation; now with over 2000 occupations, in every populated continent on the planet. Today’s article brings you stories from the Occupations all over the world, from camps you may not have seen in the news or the papers.
Loads of stories and photos from Occupations all over the world.
Wednesday, 21 December 2011
Calls for Dave Hartnett to Resign
The country's most senior tax collector Dave Hartnett has been condemned by MPs for "scandalising” mistakes as pressure grew for him to resign immediately and it emerged he could walk away with a bonus and £1.7 million pension pot.
Mr Hartnett, the permanent secretary at HM Revenue and Customs was yesterday heavily criticised by MPs for being “unduly cosy” with big business.
In a damning report, the Public Accounts Committee found that tax officials have not collected up to £25 billion from big businesses.
On top of that, the tax authority was found to have made a series of “sweetheart” deals with major companies, including a decision to waive a £10 million bill for giant US investment bank Goldman Sachs.
The controversy yesterday divided the Coalition, as the Prime Minister backed the taxman and Liberal Democrats expressed their concern at the revelations.
Mr Hartnett, the permanent secretary at HM Revenue and Customs was yesterday heavily criticised by MPs for being “unduly cosy” with big business.
In a damning report, the Public Accounts Committee found that tax officials have not collected up to £25 billion from big businesses.
On top of that, the tax authority was found to have made a series of “sweetheart” deals with major companies, including a decision to waive a £10 million bill for giant US investment bank Goldman Sachs.
The controversy yesterday divided the Coalition, as the Prime Minister backed the taxman and Liberal Democrats expressed their concern at the revelations.
Tuesday, 20 December 2011
There Goes the Neighborhood!
There Goes the Neighborhood
December 18, 2011 1:38 PM
Bank foreclosures and abandonment are causing high home vacancy levels in neighborhoods across the country. Scott Pelley travels to Cleveland, a city that's fighting back against blight.
The story can also be read here
“Goldman Sachs rules the world.”
American and Japanese conglomerates have waded into the war between Occupy London activists and the City.
After quietly filing court papers, Paternoster Square Management Limited was granted a year-long injunction last week.
It is now a criminal offence to set up a protest camp in the streets surrounding Goldman Sachs offices.
Paternoster Square Management Limited is owned by Mitsubishi Estate Company - part of the Japanese corporation.
It argued in court Goldman Sachs offices in Italy and New York had been targeted by protesters.
The same could happen here the company reckons.
Goldman Sachs refused to comment on its involvement. So let’s leave the last word to self-styled trader Alessio Rastani in his now famous BBC interview from September.
“Governments don’t rule the world,” he said. “Goldman Sachs rules the world.”
After quietly filing court papers, Paternoster Square Management Limited was granted a year-long injunction last week.
It is now a criminal offence to set up a protest camp in the streets surrounding Goldman Sachs offices.
Paternoster Square Management Limited is owned by Mitsubishi Estate Company - part of the Japanese corporation.
It argued in court Goldman Sachs offices in Italy and New York had been targeted by protesters.
The same could happen here the company reckons.
Goldman Sachs refused to comment on its involvement. So let’s leave the last word to self-styled trader Alessio Rastani in his now famous BBC interview from September.
“Governments don’t rule the world,” he said. “Goldman Sachs rules the world.”
Meltdown: The Secret History of Global Financial Collapse
Meltdown: The Secret History of Global Financial Collapse
Meltdown also tells the stories of desperate foreclosed homeowners in California, disillusioned autoworkers at the end of the line in Ontario and furious workers in France who shocked the world by kidnapping their own bosses.
Since the financial meltdown began, trillions of dollars have been spent rescuing banks and jumpstarting economies, yet recovery remains fragile. Fears abound of a “double-dip” return to recession.
The millions around the world who lost homes and jobs are demanding answers: How did it all go so wrong? Who is to blame? They are angry because to date, only a few smalltime players have been held to account.
No major banking, regulatory or government figures have yet been convicted of any wrongdoing.
Meltdown is the first comprehensive documentary portrait of the worst economic crisis of a generation.
Meltdown also tells the stories of desperate foreclosed homeowners in California, disillusioned autoworkers at the end of the line in Ontario and furious workers in France who shocked the world by kidnapping their own bosses.
Since the financial meltdown began, trillions of dollars have been spent rescuing banks and jumpstarting economies, yet recovery remains fragile. Fears abound of a “double-dip” return to recession.
The millions around the world who lost homes and jobs are demanding answers: How did it all go so wrong? Who is to blame? They are angry because to date, only a few smalltime players have been held to account.
No major banking, regulatory or government figures have yet been convicted of any wrongdoing.
Meltdown is the first comprehensive documentary portrait of the worst economic crisis of a generation.
Japan uses tsunami victims' cash to shield whalers from activists - £19m
Japan uses tsunami victims' cash to shield whalers from activists £19m from fund set up to rebuild coast stricken by triple disaster is diverted to help fishing fleet
Japan caused outrage yesterday as authorities confirmed it is diverting millions of pounds tagged for the reconstruction of its tsunami-devastated coast to protect its annual Antarctic whale-hunt.
Roughly 2.28bn yen (£19m) from a reconstruction fund for areas badly hit by the crippling 11 March earthquake, tsunami and ensuing nuclear disaster will be used to beef up security for the Japanese whaling fleet, which left port under heavy guard this week.
Japan caused outrage yesterday as authorities confirmed it is diverting millions of pounds tagged for the reconstruction of its tsunami-devastated coast to protect its annual Antarctic whale-hunt.
Roughly 2.28bn yen (£19m) from a reconstruction fund for areas badly hit by the crippling 11 March earthquake, tsunami and ensuing nuclear disaster will be used to beef up security for the Japanese whaling fleet, which left port under heavy guard this week.
Mass of Floating Rubbish on it's way to West Coast of USA from Japanese Tsunami
Massive floating rubbish islands of houses, cars and bodies almost 70 miles in length from the Japanese tsunami are causing chaos in the shipping lanes of the Pacific Ocean as it heads for the west coast of the United States. Articla dated April 11th 2011
Cars, tractors, boats and the occasional entire house have been spotted floating on the surface of the Pacific Ocean in the aftermath of the March 11 Japanese tsunami triggered by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake.
A graphic depicts the predicted location of the Japan debris field as it swirls towards the U.S. West Coast
The largest "island" of debris stretches 60 nautical miles (69 miles) in length and covers an expanse of more than 2.2 million square feet, according to the US Navy's 7th Fleet, which is closely monitoring the floating rubbish.
"It is very large and it's a maritime hazard," Lieutenant Anthony Falvo, deputy public affairs officer for the US Navy's 7th Fleet, told the Daily Telegraph.
"The damage it can cause is anything from piercing the hull of a ship to leaving dents or getting wrapped up in propulsion systems."
Experts have reportedly estimated that it could take up to two years for the floating tsunami debris to hit Hawaii and three years for the West Coast.
NOAM CHOMSKY - TOP 10 MEDIA MANIPULATION STRATEGIES
NOAM CHOMSKY - TOP 10 MEDIA MANIPULATION STRATEGIES
Noam Chomsky, the distinguished American philosopher, political activist and professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has compiled a list of the ten most powerful and effective strategies resorted to by the agendas “hidden” to establish a manipulation of the population through the media.
Thanks to the media paraphernalia and propaganda, have been created or destroyed social movements, justified wars, tempered financial crisis, spurred on some other ideological currents, and even given the phenomenon of media as producers of reality within the collective psyche.
1 - THE STRATEGY OF DISTRACTION
2 - CREATE PROBLEMS, THEN OFFER SOLUTIONS
3 - THE GRADUAL STRATEGY
4 - THE STRATEGY OF DEFERRING
5 - GO TO THE PUBLIC AS A LITTLE CHILD
6 - USE THE EMOTIONAL SIDE MORE THAN THE REFLECTION
7 - KEEP THE PUBLIC IN IGNORANCE AND MEDIOCRITY
8 - TO ENCOURAGE THE PUBLIC TO BE COMPLACENT WITH MEDIOCRITY
9 - SELF-BLAME STRENGTHEN
10 - GETTING TO KNOW THE INDIVIDUALS BETTER THAN THEY KNOW THEMSELVES
Brilliant read
Noam Chomsky, the distinguished American philosopher, political activist and professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has compiled a list of the ten most powerful and effective strategies resorted to by the agendas “hidden” to establish a manipulation of the population through the media.
Thanks to the media paraphernalia and propaganda, have been created or destroyed social movements, justified wars, tempered financial crisis, spurred on some other ideological currents, and even given the phenomenon of media as producers of reality within the collective psyche.
1 - THE STRATEGY OF DISTRACTION
2 - CREATE PROBLEMS, THEN OFFER SOLUTIONS
3 - THE GRADUAL STRATEGY
4 - THE STRATEGY OF DEFERRING
5 - GO TO THE PUBLIC AS A LITTLE CHILD
6 - USE THE EMOTIONAL SIDE MORE THAN THE REFLECTION
7 - KEEP THE PUBLIC IN IGNORANCE AND MEDIOCRITY
8 - TO ENCOURAGE THE PUBLIC TO BE COMPLACENT WITH MEDIOCRITY
9 - SELF-BLAME STRENGTHEN
10 - GETTING TO KNOW THE INDIVIDUALS BETTER THAN THEY KNOW THEMSELVES
Brilliant read
Voices from the Occupation - The City of London is the World's Greatest Money Launderer
Voices from the Occupation - The City of London is the World's Greatest Money Launderer
The Occupy Movement’s successful slogan of the 99%-1% equality gap may well need to be revised, as the 1% begins feasting on its own members. The story which has yet to hit headline news around the world, yet independent media sources have been covering extensively, is the collapse of MF Global – the 8th biggest bankruptcy case in US history and the biggest banking collapse since Lehman Brothers. Today’s article takes a look at the seditious acts of corporate greed, and the role of the City of London as the world’s largest money launderer, which make this story top of the news agenda for anyone interested in economic justice.
This is really worth a read, it explains so much about how and why the banks failed, and explains that it's still going on, and how nothing more than sheer greed has led us to this place .. where we all suffer for their stuff ups .. what happens to them? Nothing, apart from bigger bonuses!!
The Occupy Movement’s successful slogan of the 99%-1% equality gap may well need to be revised, as the 1% begins feasting on its own members. The story which has yet to hit headline news around the world, yet independent media sources have been covering extensively, is the collapse of MF Global – the 8th biggest bankruptcy case in US history and the biggest banking collapse since Lehman Brothers. Today’s article takes a look at the seditious acts of corporate greed, and the role of the City of London as the world’s largest money launderer, which make this story top of the news agenda for anyone interested in economic justice.
This is really worth a read, it explains so much about how and why the banks failed, and explains that it's still going on, and how nothing more than sheer greed has led us to this place .. where we all suffer for their stuff ups .. what happens to them? Nothing, apart from bigger bonuses!!
Putting the 1% on Trial
Voices from the Occupation: Putting the 1% on Trial Voices from the Occupation Putting the 1% on Trial
This morning, members of Occupy London in collaboration with a Veterans group called Occupy Veterans, took occupation of The Old Street Magistrates Court building in London, UK. In their initial statement, the occupiers state their intention to hold trials of the 1% responsible for the global economic crisis. Today’s article reports from the Old Street occupation, and sets the occupation in context – Occupy is no longer waiting for the broken wheels of justice to turn in its favour, it has seized the wagon.
This is an excellent blog, please read and/or follow .. the author explains money, banking, the crisis, what happened etc .. all in very easy to understand language.
This morning, members of Occupy London in collaboration with a Veterans group called Occupy Veterans, took occupation of The Old Street Magistrates Court building in London, UK. In their initial statement, the occupiers state their intention to hold trials of the 1% responsible for the global economic crisis. Today’s article reports from the Old Street occupation, and sets the occupation in context – Occupy is no longer waiting for the broken wheels of justice to turn in its favour, it has seized the wagon.
This is an excellent blog, please read and/or follow .. the author explains money, banking, the crisis, what happened etc .. all in very easy to understand language.
Occupylsx have Fourth Site
Anti-capitalist protesters camped outside St Paul's Cathedral have occupied a fourth site, it emerged today.
Occupy London demonstrators have taken over an old courthouse where they plan to hold mock trials in protest at bankers' greed.
Activists drove to their latest site - Old Street Magistrates' Court - in a tank.
"The opening of Occupy London's fourth occupation, will see the movement conducting 'trials of the one per cent' in the abandoned magistrate's court building which has lain empty since 1996, despite its prime location and grade II listing."
As well as the "tent city" by St Paul's, the activists are also occupying Finsbury Square just outside the City, and an empty office building owned by Swiss investment bank UBS.
Occupy London demonstrators have taken over an old courthouse where they plan to hold mock trials in protest at bankers' greed.
Activists drove to their latest site - Old Street Magistrates' Court - in a tank.
"The opening of Occupy London's fourth occupation, will see the movement conducting 'trials of the one per cent' in the abandoned magistrate's court building which has lain empty since 1996, despite its prime location and grade II listing."
As well as the "tent city" by St Paul's, the activists are also occupying Finsbury Square just outside the City, and an empty office building owned by Swiss investment bank UBS.
Friday, 16 December 2011
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