WikiLeaks founder's hearing set to boost supreme court audience

Case of Julian Assange likely to provide useful insight into impact of televising high-profile court hearings

As the only court to broadcast proceedings live on television, the supreme court is anticipating a substantial boost to its global audience when Julian Assange appears this week.

Click here to watch it live!

1 & 2 February 2012: Solidarity with Julian Assange at the Supreme Court

And from Sidney

On Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 February 2012, the Supreme Court in the UK will hear WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange’s last appeal against extradition to Sweden. If unsuccessful, Assange could be extradited to Sweden within 10 days and from there quickly and secretly sent on to the US under a legal device known as “temporary surrender”.

In the US he would face prosecution by a hostile government for publishing information which should be freely available to all, including evidence of war crimes and corruption in governments around the world. Numerous high profile US politicians and commentators have called for Assange’s assassination and US financial services companies have blocked donations to WikiLeaks.

According to official sources the Australian Government has done nothing to protect Assange beyond seeking assurances from Sweden and that he will be “accorded due process”. This is woefully inadequate given the political forces mobilised against him and is tantamount to support for the US position.

The attacks on Julian’s rights are an attack on the human rights of all Australians and the right of people around the world to speak the truth. It’s up to us to show the Gillard government that we will not stand back while a fellow Australian is persecuted by the corrupt forces he helped expose.

Join us in a vigil for Julian in Sydney during his Supreme Court hearing: Town Hall Steps, 5 pm, 1 and 2nd February.

Please bring placards and gags to represent the attempts to silence Julian and WikiLeaks.

Contact: Anne Picot 0404 090 710
Email: ianrose3@gmail.com

WHEN
 Wednesday, 1 Feb 2012
5:00 PM - 6:00 PM

WHERE
Sydney Town Hall

Roadmap to Redressing Economic Terrorism in America

Roadmap to Redressing Economic Terrorism in America

We Weren’t Going to Stay Stupid Forever

  … by  Gordon Duff,  Senior Editor

Iran, Gold and Oil - The Next Banksters War

Remember the real reason why Moammar Gadhafi is dead. He dared to propose and started creating an alternative currency to the world reserve U.S. Dollar.

 The lesson learned in Libya is now ready for teaching in Iran. Forget all the noise about going nuclear, the true message is that the banksters rule and nation states serve their ultimate masters. The hype and disinformation that surrounds the push for war is best understood by examining the viewpoint of Iranian MP Kazem Jalali. The Tehran Times quotes him in saying,

"The European Union must be aware that it can never compel the Islamic Republic to succumb to their will and undermine the Iranian nation’s determination to achieve glory and independence, access modern technologies, and safeguard its rights, through the intensification of the pressure."

"The European Union is seeking to politicize the atmosphere ahead of nuclear talks with Iran and is aware that sanctions on Iran’s oil exports cannot be implemented since the world is not limited to a number of European countries"

Many political commentators warn that an embargo is an act or war. Chris Floyd provides this observation of the recent oil embargo against Iran.

"This week, the warlords of the West took yet another step toward their long-desired war against Iran. (Open war, that is; their covert war has been going on for decades -- via subversion, terrorism, and proxies like Saddam Hussein.) On Monday, the European Union obediently followed the dictates of its Washington masters by agreeing to impose an embargo on Iranian oil.

"War is always about achieving a political end. Even holy wars seek to impose a secular control over the vanquished. At the root of every political conflict, lies the MONEY component. On the scale of greed or fear, international discords can slide up or down. Depending on the circumstances or demands, governments rally domestic populations to accept their foreign interventionist goals. Claims of altruistic liberation are fictitious, when the rhetoric is stripped away and the real substance is exposed. Notwithstanding, variances of emphasis; the motive of money underpins the movements of all military confrontations."

7 Signs the Corporatocracy is Losing its Legitimacy--and 7 Tools to Help Shut it Down

You may remember that there was a time when apartheid in South Africa seemed unstoppable.

 “Be patient,” activists were told. “Don’t expect too much against powerful interests with a lot of money invested in the status quo.”

With hindsight, though, apartheid’s fall appears inevitable: the legitimacy of the system had already crumbled. It was harming too many for the benefit of too few.

In the same way, the legitimacy of rule by giant corporations and Wall Street banks is crumbling. This system of corporate rule also benefits few and harms many, affecting nearly every major issue in public life. Some examples  ...

Occupy DC defies Monday noon eviction deadline

Occupy protesters have defied a noon police deadline to remove their camps or face arrest in Washington DC.

They have erected a "tent of dreams" around a statue in McPherson Square as part of their protest against eviction.

The camps at McPherson Square and Freedom Plaza have been Occupy's most visible sites since the one in New York was cleared out in November.

The deadline follows mass arrests and clashes with police at anti-Wall Street protests in Oakland, California.

No arrests had been made by late Monday afternoon.

Madrid (Spain) #J29 2012

Bank of Ideas eviction, Occupy London protestors and media assaulted by bailiffs, Police fail to act and uphold duty of care

Early this morning a number of concerning incidents happened affecting Occupy London supporters and media which raise questions about the police’s duty of care and failure to act on it, as well as the actions of the bailiffs – Rossendales – who were employed by investment bank UBS to evict peaceful protesters.

These incidents, which follow a number of previous incidents in the past week during which Occupy London supporters have seen illegal evictions happening, police aggression and violence, raise great concerns for Occupy London as it begins a week in which its Occupy London Stock Exchange occupation by St Paul’s faces eviction.

Here is a video of the final incident involving one of the bailiffs driving his car straight into the media and protesters, having already once driven into people and assaulted a photographer:

Shortly after assualting 2 journalists the Bayliff makes a hasty getaway in his vehicle narrowly missing a female pedestrian, he proceeds in haste up a dead end road and is surrounded by passerby and the Police. Watch as the Crazy Bayliff makes his getaway with a concerned citizen hanging on to the bonnet of the vehicle and is driven down the road.

Detailed below is a snapshot of the incidents that occurred – further videos and photographs will be posted shortly.  See link at top of post.

Eviction of Occupy London’s the Bank of Ideas

Just after midnight the Bank of Ideas on Sun Street, the multimillion pound abandoned building owned by Swiss investment bank UBS which Occupy London liberated in an act of public repossession and have been running as a free community and arts space for the public, was evicted. Since the High Court Possession Order came into place at 2pm Wednesday 24 January, the Bank of Ideas has been closed to the public and a team of volunteers have been cleaning.

See the photos and the rest of the story from the link at the top of this post!

Bank of Ideas Eviction RAW

Bank of Ideas Eviction RAW from fil kaler on Vimeo.

Police move in to evict Occupy supporters from an empty UBS building early on sunday morning known as the 'Bank of Ideas; a project which combined an open community space with educational and cultural events.

This is the bailiff that just punched a journalist & drove his car straight at photographers

Solidarity Sunday – Wear Black Fight Back

One from yesterday Sunday 29th January 2012

 Yesterday, Occupy Oakland moved to convert a vacant building into a community center to provide education, medical, and housing services for the 99%. Police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets, beanbag rounds and mass arrests. The state has compounded its policy of callous indifference with a ruthless display of violent repression. The Occupy movement will respond, as we have always reponded: with an overwhelming show of collective resistance. Today, we take to the streets. Across the country, we will demonstrate our resolve to overcome repression and continue to build a better world grounded in love and solidarity for one another. All eyes on all Occupies.

Austin Indymedia 2011 Year in Review

Has Vulture Capitalism broken Lady Liberty's heart?

Has Vulture Capitalism broken Lady Liberty's heart?

Absorb this statement and allow it to fully digest in your mind. The statement "I believe in America, America has made my fortune" is the "mojo" (magical spell) that motivated poor and not-so-poor people who lived thousands of miles away to completely abandon all hope of ever reconciling their differences / disappointments with their native country and without fear or hesitation, sell all that they owned and book steerage aboard a steamer heading west to a "magical land" where hard work and sacrifice could transform a peasant from Austria-Hungary into a millionaire.

Now, let's fast forward to living in America in the year 2012...Sadly, it appears that unless you are the one in 50 million that will hit the mega-buck lotto or can be become a winning star contestant on "American Idol" or be born with some phenomenal athletic ability, most working Americans will live their life trying not to drown in debt that they've obtained from buying into an economic / banking system that glamorized using credit cards as a vehicle to fulfill American materialistic fantasies.

Today the descendants of 19th and 20th century immigrants from Europe are more at threat of being homeless than their great grandmother and great grandfather.

No matter how you slice it, when it comes to income and wealth in America the rich has become richer and the poor and rapidly evaporating middle class has become poorer.

...

In closing, while political movements like Occupy Wall Street are fighting "the good fight" to end the crony capitalism (disguised as the "Free Market") that is sucking the life out of America's remaining 99%, corporate vultures that resemble Edgar Allen Poe's "Raven" are circling high in the sky over New York's Ellis Island and it appears that "Lady Liberty" the ageless American iconic symbol of "hope and prosperity", is weeping.

City of Oakland’s Increasing Hostility Toward the Occupy Movement

Over 300 people were arrested in Oakland after police ordered a march of Occupy Oakland protesters to “submit” to an arrest because they were engaged in an unlawful assembly.

Occupy Oakland Media reacted to the use of force by Oakland police:

Yesterday, the Oakland Police deployed hundreds of officers in riot gear so as to prevent Occupy Oakland from putting a building, vacant for 6 years with no plans for use, from being occupied and “re-purposed” as a community center.

The Occupy Oakland GA passed a proposal calling for the space to be turned into a social center, convergence center and headquarters of the Occupy Oakland movement.

The police actions tonight cost the city of Oakland hundreds of thousands of dollars, and they repeatedly violated their own crowd control guidelines and protesters civil rights.

With all the problems in our city, should preventing activists from putting a vacant building to better use be their highest priority? Was it worth the hundreds of thousands of dollars they spent?

Mass Arrest of Occupy Oakland Protesters After Police Fire Various Weapons

Saturday January 28, 2012 8:42 pm




More than 300 were arrested in Oakland on Saturday. Most of the arrests took place in front of a YMCA.
Gavin Aronsen, a journalist with Mother Jones, was arrested.

This whole action began early in the afternoon as Occupy Oakland moved to convert a vacant building into a community center. The protesters were never able to get to the building. And, throughout the rest of Saturday, police chased protesters around firing off weapons and ultimately corralling them in one location where they had nowhere to go and could be arrested.

Egyptian - World Revolution - The most inspiring 7 minutes you will ever watch #Egypt #Jan25

This is a little 7 minute video that I put together on the Egyptian revolution going on right now. In case you missed it, January 25th, 2011 the people of Egypt finally had enough.

Enough with hunger... Enough with corruption... Enough with the current state of humanity... They are fighting for their lives and rights, while standing up for what they believe needs to be done. This fight doesn't involve religion, it doesn't involve power... It only involves people helping people working for a better future for generations to come.

Please take the 7 minutes to watch this video and I believe the ending pays off. I used many sources to put this together and it should show a pretty complete picture of what has happened since the fateful day, January 25th, 2011.

Please share this video with as many people as you can, because together, we have power in numbers. If we do not unite and come together under common terms, we as humans will not be able to advance farther into the future. We face many challenges and obstacles through the course of this thing we call life, but without challenges, there will never be anything to push us into farther greatness.

If you feel one of your images or videos has been used and I have not given you credit, please just send me a message and I will gladly add you to the list.

PLEASE PLEASE spread this to your friends and ultimately the world...

Politics in the 21st Century

The Leaderless Revolution

LEAKED MEMO: Wall Street Lobbyist's Secret Plan To Squash The 99% Movement

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

We’re outraged! Share now to make sure the Wall Street 1% does NOT get their way!

ACTA Anger: Polish protests grow into anti-govt rage

Protests are raging on in Warsaw against the signing of a new treaty, which enforces intellectual property rights on the internet. Opponents say the international ACTA document is pure censorship, and a violation of human rights.

On Friday, the European Parliament's rapporteur for the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement resigned in protest. Kader Arif said drafting of the controversial anti-piracy treaty was accompanied by "never-before-seen manoeuvres" by officials.

In Warsaw, extremely cold weather was definitely not an excuse for demonstrators. Friday's protest culminated a week of mass rallies in Poland. Thursday's signing of the deal by Warsaw drew tens of thousands onto the streets across the country to protest internet censorship.

How Swedes and Norwegians Broke the Power of the ‘1 Percent’

Sweden and Norway, for example, both experienced a major power shift in the 1930s after prolonged nonviolent struggle. They “fired” the top 1 percent of people who set the direction for society and created the basis for something different.
 ...

Although Norwegians may not tell you about this the first time you meet them, the fact remains that their society’s high level of freedom and broadly-shared prosperity began when workers and farmers, along with middle class allies, waged a nonviolent struggle that empowered the people to govern for the common good.

Oakland today 29th January 2012

Mass Arrest of Occupy Oakland Protesters After Police Fire Various Weapons

Photo from MSNBC

Solidarity Oakland USA

It was "Move-In Day" for Occupy Oakland today, and as we type protesters have once again met with riot-cop resistance in the form of barricades, smoke bombs, and tear gas as they were attempting to occupy the historic but long underused Henry J. Kaiser Convention Center on Lake Merritt.

Oakland North reports via Twitter that a crowd of at least 300 had gathered at noon at Frank Ogawa Plaza — including people with children — and began a march toward the undisclosed location, which Occupy Oakland organizers had previously said would be a building they would occupy as their political hub and "social center."

The march started peacefully enough, with protesters chanting "Solidarity forever. The movement makes us strong," and "We are people. We are not illegal," and playing Tupac's "California Love" on some mobile speakers.

But as the crowd moved toward the intended occupation target, the convention center, on 10th Street not far from the Oakland Museum, the standoff began. Some Twitterers allege that ABC 7's aerial feed went black before the smoke bombs and tear gas started being deployed, and of course people are alarmed because of the number of children in the crowd.

The convention center has been, for the past decade, the site of one of the city's most visible homeless encampments. The homeless only relocated recently after construction crews moved in to remove the 12th Street Dam connecting Lake Merritt to the Estuary, and an improvement project began in the adjacent park.
We'll update you as we learn more.

Message from the Invisible: scrap the Welfare Reform Bill!

On Saturday 28th January in central London, a brave group of disabled, sick and elderly people engaged in a daring and disruptive act of civil disobedience.

Shutting down regent street

 

The Bill will take vital lifelines from the most vulnerable people in society. Right now, 500,000 families stand to lose their homes. Others will become imprisoned in them. Half a million will lose their disability allowance, including disabled children. People with terminal illnesses will be forced into work, and 3.2 million will be put through cruel tests that are pushing some to take their own lives. Millions of people – pensioners, low waged workers, the disabled, sick and unemployed – will fall deeper into poverty.

The government’s excuse for all this? The deficit, of course. Yet it continues to turn a blind eye to the £25 billion in tax dodged by corporations and rich individuals every year, a sum greater than the projected savings of the entire Welfare Reform Bill. Vodafone’s brand new £2bn tax dodge alone could pay for all of the cuts to Disability Living Allowance, which affects 500,000 people.

Cameron, Osborne, Clegg and Co. are choosing to inflict suffering on sick and disabled people rather than tackle rich tax dodgers, because they think the poor and vulnerable are invisible – that they won’t or can’t make a fuss – and the rest of us don’t care.

Activists take off on 5-week Occupy road trip

Activists say two dozen protesters boarded a bus in Brooklyn on Wednesday for a five-week trip through 16 cities in the Northeast.

The first stop was Providence, R.I., and the bus is expected to reach Boston on Friday.

Other cities on the tour include Buffalo, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

Protester Austin Guest says occupiers "will share skills and knowledge with each other" at each stop along the way.

Demonstration Against Monsanto Week

American activists have called for a week of direct action against Monsanto – the largest company pushing GM technology onto the world.

This week has been selected because this is the main meeting for shareholders in the biotech industry.

UK update… The well renowned Indian activist Vandana Shiva states that “The whole world is watching what is happening in the UK”.

It’s thanks to a handful of passionate anti GM activists that we don’t have GM crops currently grown commercially in the UK, BUT…

This year it’s make or break time. Evidence is rife on the internet that GM crops are failing left right and centre (see short film on the web). GM is a one trick pony. Repeated use of the same herbicide – Monsanto’s’ roundup is often failing, even with five spraying’s per year, four of which go straight onto the crop itself and thereby straight into the food chain (Monsanto claimed that one be enough) and even fails when mixing it with Atrazine 2-4D (both banned in Europe)

Super weeds are the result, with many farmers now employing cheap Mexican labour to physically pull the weeds by hand in 1000+ acre fields.

The GM gene will cross-pollinate/contaminate conventionally grown crops which overwhelmingly are still rejected by markets when they get a choice.

SAFETY to humans… a major/ethical consideration you may have thought. THERE HAS BEEN NO LONG TERM INDEPENDENT SAFETY TESTING done to date (and none planned).

We are NOT anti-science. The wonders of science have helped humanity enormously. We are against the totally unregulated bulldozing of GM food into our shops purely to service the profits and growth of some of the worlds largest corporations – OUR FOOD NOT YOUR BUSINESS.

Monsanto made agent orange and aspartame, and we’re expected to trust them with our food…?
It is our sacred right to choose the food we eat. GM deprives us of that.

Photo Essay: Schools Not Jails Occupation - Occupy Baltimore City

On Monday, January 16th, in honor of Martin Luther King Day, Schools Not Jails, in collaboration with Occupy Baltimore and the Baltimore Algebra Project, began a 5 day occupation at the site of a proposed youth detection center.  

Demonstrators took to the streets of East Baltimore in an effort to raise awareness on the struggle against the State of Maryland's plan to build the 104 million dollar facility, the budget for which could easily supplement and expand the City of Baltimore’s education funding, and prevent the city's recreation centers from being closed or privatized.

Mike McGuire, of Occupy Baltimore, builds a roof on the symbolic schoolhouse.

Day 6: January 21, Mayor's Budget Meeting

Schools Not Jails activists planned to attend the Mayor's Budget hearing and engage in a public dialogue with city officials on budget cuts, but the hearing was canceled due to inclement weather.  The hearing has been rescheduled for February 4th at 10am at Cylburn Arboretum.

MD$ on the Take: My Career-Ending Expose - Novartis

"There is a pathologically intimate relationship between corporations and the U.S. government- their collusion is expressed in the revolving door. "

In the year 2003, I discovered CafePharma.  CafePharma is basically an online venting board for pharmaceutical representatives.  Such representatives who post on this board often do so with overt anger and disgust. 

My uneasiness about bribing doctors was validated by what  representatives from many pharmaceutical companies wrote on this board.  The money we paid targeted doctors are kickbacks.  By paying such doctors, we as sales representatives are violating the federal anti-kickback statute.

With Novartis, they took things a step further:  They sent instructions to their sales force to remind doctors paid by representatives that they are obligated to prescribe Novartis pharmaceuticals whenever possible.  This, of course, potentially clouds the clinical judgments of such doctors, and as a result, adversely affects the restoration of health obligated by the health care provider.

In the Spring of 2009, my whistle blower lawsuit was unsealed by the D.O.J., and, even though the evidence I presented was overwhelming, the government did not intervene in the case that I filed.

I suspect that Novartis bribed the D.O.J. not to intervene. There is a pathologically intimate relationship between corporations and the U.S. government- their collusion is expressed in the revolving door.

Supreme Court Building Covered in Giant Dollar Signs

To mark the second Citizens United anniversary, we lit up the Supreme Court with giant dollar signs to send a message: rights are for PEOPLE, not corporate "persons."

One World One Revolution

This is from last July 2011 but shows some of the horrific violence by police towards innocent protestors.

A doctor was emotionally telling of how the police threw asphyxiating gas into a first aid station. He says even during war time they cease fire for medics to treat the wounded. What situation is going on here?!

Occupy protesters at new building in City of London

Occupy London said the eight-floor building belonged to Rafidain Bank.

A spokesman said the group decided to occupy the new site as protesters have to move out of another empty bank building in central London - a building on Sun Street belonging to UBS.

And from the Guardian ...

Everyone has now moved to another vacant office block in Leadenhall Street, in the heart of the financial district and adjacent to the Lloyd's building.

The Leadenhall Street building was home to the UK arm of Iraq's Rafidain Bank, which went into liquidation in 2008.

"We're hoping that the police will recognise our legal rights and leave us in place," Colvin said. "If that happens, the hope is to reopen the Bank of Ideas at Leadenhall Street."

Irish Move Into Empty Offices Escalates Bust Legacy Battle

A new front in the battle for Ireland’s empty properties has opened up.

Before dawn on Christmas Day, activists took control of an unfinished six-story glass-fronted building in the city of Cork called Stapleton House. Instead of using the 25,000 square feet (2,300 square meters) for offices and stores, they plan to create a cafe, creche, library and music school for community groups.

“We are taking it back for the people of Cork,” Liam Mullaney, a 35-year-old spokesman for the group of about a dozen protesters that seized the government-controlled building, said in an interview at the site. “It belongs to the taxpayers.”

Mullaney and his group are putting an Irish twist on the Occupy Wall Street movement, which began in New York and has spread to cities around the world, and highlighting Ireland’s record number of empty properties, or so-called ghost estates and orphan sites. About 20 percent of Ireland’s office space is vacant, double the European average, according to estimates from CBRE Group Inc. (CBG)

Ireland’s landscape is dotted with empty and unfinished buildings, started during the decade-long real estate boom that ground to a halt in 2008.

The activists say the building has been lying idle since about 2008.

The occupation of Stapleton House is an escalation of a campaign which has seen activists camp in the streets of Cork and in Dublin outside the country’s central bank. Mullaney said he wants his move to set a precedent.

The Occupy Dublin movement says it may seek to follow the lead of their Cork colleagues, while activists in Belfast took over an empty building this week that used to house a Bank of Ireland Plc office in the city.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dara Doyle at ddoyle1@bloomberg.net.

Occupy Finsbury Square

OccupyLFS Finsbury Square

They are right now constructing a geo-dome as step 1 of their EcoVillage

Occupy protestors in bid to shape housing policy UK

Housing looks set to be the next battleground for a protest group which has camped outside St Paul’s Cathedral in London since October last year.

Occupy London has set up a think tank to look at problems facing the sector with a view to creating its own proposals which would be presented to the government later this year. Protestors said they were trying to organise a seminar with housing providers and professional bodies to gather more information on the problems facing the sector.

They hope their ideas around housing supply, house prices and homelessness will influence national housing policy.

Occupy protestors in Leeds are also ramping up their campaigns on housing. One member said the group planned to spend the night outside the town hall in February, if agreed at a general assembly, to highlight homelessness. The group also said it had considered taking over empty homes, but protestors’ welfare concerns made it difficult.

Thousands of vacant buildings across city could house homeless, new report based on volunteer count claims

Picture the Homeless says 2,400 vacant lots could be gardens

There are more than 3,500 vacant buildings in neighborhoods across the five boroughs with enough space to house the city's entire homeless population - and then some, a new report claims.

 Picture the Homeless and the Center for Community Planning & Development at Hunter College will release findings Thursday from a count conducted last year by 295 volunteers in 20 community districts hit hard by homelessness and gentrification.

The buildings could accommodate hundreds of thousands of residents, while more than 2,400 vacant lots could become community gardens, the report argues.

 There are about 40,000 people in the homeless shelter system.

 "We can shut down the Department of Homeless Services," said Kendall Jackman of Picture the Homeless, a Bronx advocacy group. "We don't need people to be in the shelter system. We don't need people to double up."

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer called the results proof “there are thousands of vacant buildings...that could and should be transformed into affordable housing.”

The Media

Occupy Edinburgh

Occupy Edinburgh

Occupy Auckland

Occupy Auckland

Occupy Austin

Occupy Austin

Occupy Los Angeles

Occupy Los Angeles

Occupy Jacksonville

Occupy Jacksonville

Occupy Chicago

Occupy Chicago

Join the pages, join in!

U.K. Acts to Stop Occupy-Style Protests at London Olympic Venues

The U.K. government told the organizers of this year’s London Olympic Games to prevent people from taking camping equipment into venues to avert Occupy-style protests.

 The new policy includes screening for camping equipment being taken to venues, encouraging an immediate response from the Games organizers and rapid action by police to use “all available powers” to remove any protest camps that might be set up, May said.

Bill Gates: I don't pay enough tax

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates says he does not think he pays enough tax, and says wealthy Americans should contribute more in order to solve the deficit problem.

Speaking on BBC World, Mr Gates said taxing the rich, was "just justice".

Iceland Declares Independence from International Banks

By Bill Wilson – Iceland is free.  And it will remain so, so long as her people wish to remain autonomous of the foreign domination of her would-be masters — in this case, international bankers.

On April 9, the fiercely independent people of island-nation defeated a referendum that would have bailed out the UK and the Netherlands who had covered the deposits of British and Dutch investors who had lost funds in Icesave bank in 2008.

At the time of the bank’s failure, Iceland refused to cover the losses.  But the UK and Netherlands nonetheless have demanded that Iceland repay them for the “loan” as a condition for admission into the European Union.

In response, the Icelandic people have told Europe to go pound sand. The final vote was 103,207 to 69,462, or 58.9 percent to 39.7 percent.   “Taxpayers should not be responsible for paying the debts of a private institution,” said Sigriur Andersen, a spokeswoman for the Advice group that opposed the bailout.

The lesson here is instructive across the pond, but it is a chilling one.  If the U.S. — or any sovereign for that matter — attempts to restructure their debts, or to force private investors to take a haircut on their own foolish gambles, these international institutions have promised the equivalent of economic war in response.

However, the alternative is for representative governments to sacrifice their independence to a cadre of faceless bankers who share no allegiance to any nation.

It is the conflict that has already defined the beginning of the 21^st Century.  The question is whether free peoples will choose to remain free, as Iceland has, or to submit.

Occupy’s Influence on Obama’s State of the Union Address

Income inequality was a major theme in President Obama's State Of The Union address last night. 

 As I wrote yesterday, the fact that politicians are now openly talking about class in America, a country almost absurdly proud of the fact that its citizens don't discuss class relations, is a major triumph of Occupy Wall Street and other economic disparity-focused groups.

That message of fairness has been at the heart of OWS since day one, and the widespread uprisings provided a framework in which the president could finally get specific about his proposal for a "Buffett Rule": 

a requirement that anyone making more than $1 million a year pay no less than 30 percent in taxes. And, he added, anyone making less than $250,000 a year – the case for 98 percent of American families – should not see a tax increase.

The president threw around the "C" word fearlessly, a telling strategy that indicates a populist tide change.

In the past, Democratic politicians ran from accusations of class warfare, but in his address last night, Obama confronted those allegations head on. 

“Now, you can call this class warfare all you want,” Obama said, anticipating the Republican rebuttal. “But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense.”

Last night's speech marked the moment the president finally fell into step with the majority of American people who want higher taxes on the wealthy. 

Billionaires Occupy Davos as 0.01% Bemoan Income Inequality

Ukrainian billionaire Victor Pinchuk wants to talk about income inequality. So does Irish billionaire Denis O’Brien and Indian billionaire Vikas Oberoi.

The three are among a contingent of at least 70 billionaires who are joining more than 2,500 business and political leaders at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, this week, according to a list of attendees and promotional materials obtained by Bloomberg News. A half-dozen of the richest participants, interviewed in advance of the conference, say economic disparity needs to be addressed.

The best way to address tensions over income inequality, Pinchuk said, is for conference-goers and complainers to chat.

“The Davos men are ready for such a dialog, even more than the occupiers,” he said ...

Egypt's Tahrir Square protesters tell their stories

Thousands of Egyptians are holding a rally in Cairo's Tahrir Square marking the first anniversary of the uprising which toppled President Hosni Mubarak.

 

 Egypt 2 hours ago

Here, protesters who are taking part in the anniversary protests tell us about their experiences in Tahrir Square, its significance to the Egyptian Revolution and how the protest movement has changed since 25 January 2011 ...

Government is caught misleading voters over bonuses

RBS is not 'constrained' to pay chief's bonus

The Corporate State Will Be Broken

I spent Friday morning sitting on a wooden bench in a fourth-floor courtroom in the New York Criminal Court in Manhattan. I was waiting to be sentenced for “disturbing the peace” and “refusing to obey a lawful order” during an Occupy demonstration in front of Goldman Sachs in November.

Those sentenced before me constituted the usual fare of the court. They were poor people of color accused of mostly petty crimes—drug possession, thefts, shoplifting, trespassing because they were homeless and needed a place to sleep, inappropriate touching, grand larceny and violation of probation.

The country’s most egregious criminals, the ones who had stripped some of those being sentenced of their homes, their right to a decent education and health care, their jobs, their dignity and their hope, those wallowing in tens and hundreds of millions of dollars, those who had gamed the system to enrich themselves at our expense, were doing the dirty business of speculation in the tall office towers a few blocks away. They were making money ...

Corporate Control of People with Disabilities

This post was written for the December issue of the Disability Blog Carnival, taking place at my personal blog, After Gadget.

This is such a huge topic that I will only be able to touch on some of the points that are most glaringly obvious to me in the moment. Suffice it to say that corporate control of people with disabilities is deep and wide, and I encourage others who are intimately familiar with this topic to post additional examples in the comments.

I hope that those who are nondisabled and active in the Occupy movement will read and take this information to heart. We, people with disabilities (PWDs), are essential to the Occupy movement. 

We have been at the bottom of the barrel of the 99 throughout history, and this perspective gives us a keen understanding of the stakes. We also, for better and for worse, know a great deal about interdependence, and you would do well to learn from us on this topic, which I hear bandied about by occupiers, but which I have yet to hear “click” in its understanding of a disability rights perspective ... 

Exclusive TV series hosted by Julian Assange to premiere on RT in March

Cyberspace's most famous activist, Julian Assange, is launching his own talkshow, to be broadcast exclusively on RT. The program, written and hosted by the founder of whistle-blowing site Wikileaks, will focus on his favorite topic: controversy. 

The show, arguably the most anticipated news series of 2012, will feature ten "iconoclasts, visionaries and power insiders" – people Assange can clearly identify with, being a rather controversial figure himself. The 40-year-old Australian media and internet entrepreneur will get to talk about the issues of the day with those he believes will shape "the world tomorrow."

Poised to leave RI park, Occupy declares victory

Poised to leave RI park, Occupy declares victory

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Occupy Providence is poised to voluntarily leave the public park downtown where it has been encamped for 100 days, but participants said Tuesday that they're committed to continuing to protest and reserve the right to set up their tents again.

The local offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street movement declared victory on the steps of City hall after city officials helped facilitate the opening of a homeless day center that the group made a condition of its departure from Burnside Park. The temporary shelter at Emmanuel House in south Providence will be run by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, which operates a night-time shelter there already.

In a statement read Tuesday on the steps of City Hall, protesters said they agreed to "temporarily" suspend their occupation of the park.

"Occupy Providence is energized and committed to continue organizing, defending the right to protest and bringing awareness to economic injustices in our country," protester Sarah Quenon said.

She said later that the movement reserved the right to set up another encampment elsewhere or even to reoccupy the park.

Occupy Providence narrowly approved a proposal in December to leave the park if the city opened a homeless day center. City officials, protesters and the diocese have spent weeks discussing the possibilities and logistics of making that happen.

A spokesman for the diocese, Michael Guilfoyle, said the shelter is slated to open no later than week's end. Occupy Providence is expected to leave the park soon after that, though no timetable has been set.

Would Romney’s tax haven activity be an issue of some of us hadn’t made it so?

Would Romney’s tax haven activity be an issue of some of us hadn’t made it so?

Benefit cap - and attack on the poor? Lindsey German

Benefits cap – an attack on the poor by cabinet of millionaires
Lindsey German debates the Conservative benefit cap plans with a representative of the right-wing Institute of Economic Affairs on the Jeremy Vine show.

Occupy Foreclosures

Okay, here is our opportunity!!

OUR WA has worked very hard and have been successful in getting a hearing for two bills aimed at halting illegal foreclosures in our state.

SB6199 makes it a felony to procede with a foreclosure (judicial or non-judicial) with out standing to do so. Nv passed such a law in Octover 2011 and foreclosures in Noveber 2011 dropped by 97%.

The second bill, SB6070 restores transparency to our title records by requiring all transfers and assignments to be filed with the country recorder's office. 

BOTH actions are vital to stopping illegal foreclosurse and working toward restoring the integrity of our system. You can support these actions by :

1. Joining us at the hearing next Tuesday January 31 at 10:00 in Olympia or
2. Calling your district representative to voice your support for the bills or
3. Emailing your district representative in support of the bills and
4. Talking with friends about the importance of this issue and asking for support of these two bills.

This is our opportunity to make a difference. Fraudclosure affects every person in this state (and nation). With out addressing this issue effectively, we will not see recovery in our economy. Thank you for your support in if you have questions or wouldlike to get involved further come to our meeting on thurs (see events) or email occupynw@gmail.com

Clashes in Brazil eviction raid

About 2,000 Brazilian police officers in riot gear have forcefully evicted 7,000 residents of a community in Sao Jose dos Campos, about 100km from the city of Sao Paulo.

The site, known as 'Pinheirinho,' had been occupied since 2004, and settlers had built homes there. The police were executing a court order to remove the residents.

Police deployed about 2,000 men, 40 dogs and 100 police on horseback as well as helicopters and armoured vehicles in Sunday's raid.

Officers used tear gas and rubber bullets, according to a preliminary report on the incident. Hundreds of residents spent the night in emergency accommodation.

The occupied site belonged to a firm that went bankrupt and whose assets are to serve to pay creditors.

Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo went to Sao Jose dos Campos to visit some of those left homeless.

Protesters 'Occupy Davos' —in Igloos

The Occupy movement has hit Davos ahead of the World Economic Forum, and this time protesters aren't pitching mere tents in the frigid weather. Instead, they're building an igloo village near where the WEF is set to convene, the New York Times reports. The igloos are half as big as a small car and hold two people each; about 50 Occupiers are expected to show.

"Every year, self-proclaimed 'global leaders' allegedly committed to improving the state of the world meet up for the World Economic Forum in the Swiss mountains to propagate their own businesses and network amongst the so-called global economic elite," the group says on its website. "This year, we will not let them exclude us, the 99%! We say: occupy WEF!"

Tahrir Square Now... it's almost 3 am Cairo time. Jan. 25th, 2012

From Occupy Mainstream Media

Tahrir Square Now... it's almost 3 am Cairo time. Jan. 25th, 2012

Wall Street Fraternity Mocks OWS and Laughs About Job Creation

From Daily Kos

Kappa Beta Phi is a secret honor society, mentioned in a Wall Street Journal article that appeared on January 16, 2009, for Wall Street financial executives.

The purpose of the organization is largely social and honorific. The current honor society meets once a year at a black-tie dinner held at the St. Regis Hotel to induct new members. [ ... ]

The organization was founded in 1929 prior to the stock market crash.[1] Its stated purpose is to "keep alive the spirit of the 'good old days of 1928-29.'"[1] Prior to the St. Regis, the annual dinner was held at the Downtown Athletic Club.

It's all a big joke to them -- the obliterating of pensions, millions of families losing homes, crushing unemployment, lives destroyed.  In 2009, just a few months after the devastating crash, they sang a parody song titled "We've All Lost Dough Together".  This year, the current "Grand Swipe", Wilbur L. Ross Jr., who the New York Times called "a dean of vulture investing", made this joke for the bankster crowd:

“We have members from every firm that has failed, as well as members from those that will fail in the future,” he said to loud laughter.

Utah Doctors Join the Occupy Movement

Taking inspiration from the Occupy movement, in late December a group of doctors and environmental groups in Salt Lake City, Utah, announced a lawsuit against the third-largest mining corporation in the world, Rio Tinto, for violating the Clean Air Act in Utah.

This is likely the first time ever that physicians have sued industry for harming public health.

Air pollution causes between 1,000 and 2,000 premature deaths every year in Utah.

 

 Open pit copper mine run by London-based mining conglomerate Rio Tinto/Kennecott in Bingham Canyon, Utah.  It is the world's largest open-pit mine and has created the world's largest mining-related water pollution problem. (Photo: arbyreed)

Would WAR take our minds off OCCUPY?!

Tensions in the Gulf could reach a breaking point as a senior Iranian official said Iran would “definitely” close the Strait of Hormuz if an EU oil embargo disrupted the export of crude oil. 

Mohammad Kossari, deputy head of parliament's foreign affairs and national security committee, issued the warning in respone to a decision by the European Union on Monday  to impose an oil embargo on Iran over the country’s alleged nuclear weapons program. 

“The pressure of sanctions is designed to try and make sure that Iran takes seriously our request to come to the table,” EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said.

However, with Washington’s decision to deploy a second carrier strike group in the Gulf, the EU’s attempt to pressure Iran economically could greatly increase the likelihood of all-out war in the region.

Occupy Mainstream Media

Occupy Mainstream Media  Join this facebook group for 'real' news.

Spain's "Indignados" and the Globalization of Dissent

The Occupy Movement has taken much of its inspiration from Spain's "Outraged" Movement: what lessons does Spain have for Occupy now? 

An aboriginal uprising is inevitable’ if Harper doesn’t listen, chief threatens

Canada could face an Arab Spring-style “uprising” if Prime Minister Stephen Harper doesn’t give a clear indication in his meeting with aboriginal leaders here Tuesday that he’s prepared to take their concerns seriously, a B.C. native leader warned Monday.

An estimated 400 chiefs from across Canada, including 47 from British Columbia and 22 from Alberta, have gathered here for their first face-to-face meeting with Harper since the Conservatives formed government in 2006.

That legislation, enacted in 1999, allows reserves to opt out of land-related sections of the Indian Act to have greater control over their land and natural resources.

The announcements underscore the Harper government’s messaging that the best route out of aboriginal poverty is economic and resource development instead of social program spending.

But Stanley, the AFN’s Alberta chief, said First Nations on the Prairies have little interest moving away from the Indian Act.

“We’re not ready to go in that direction,” he said.

“The chiefs are saying, ‘What are we going to replace it with? We’ve already lost everything.’

“This is the reason we’re here, to protect” those rights, he said.

How an Ex-Wall-Street Power Player Embraced the Occupy Movement

Warren Langley ran the Pacific Exchange through 1999. On Friday, he'll be marching on the banks. 

As president of the Pacific Exchange in the late 1990s, Warren Langley oversaw the West Coast's biggest financial center, a trading floor where some 17 million shares of stock changed hands daily. Though he served at the pleasure of traders and investment banks such as Morgan Stanley, he is no longer interested in pleasing them.

Yesterday, he stood on a hillside in San Francisco's Financial District in front Morgan Stanley's and Goldman Sachs' regional headquarters to declare his support for Occupy Wall Street West, a coalition of 50 groups planning a slew of anti-bank protests Friday.

"From the inside, I watched Goldman Sachs, the big banks, the hedge funds bet our money and then get bailed out when they lost," said Langley, surrounded by protesters holding images of a devious-looking Mr. Moneybags (Monopoly) character.

"I saw corporations and the 1 percent buy our congressmen and senators and then pay no taxes, get subsidies, and move jobs overseas. This is our last chance to level the playing field and let you and our kids and grandkids have the opportunities that I started with."

Hrant Dink: Thousands March in Istanbul After Controversial Verdict

People are fighting back!

Fifty thousand people marched in Istanbul on Thursday in commemoration of Hrant Dink, the Armenian journalist who was assassinated exactly five years earlier. Holding up photos of Dink and signs reading "We are all Hrant, we are all Armenian," they walked to the location in the Turkish city where the reporter was killed in 2007.

Justice for Julian Assange

Update on Roman House occupation; Teach out: the City’s secret finances & lobbying activitiesUpdate on Roman House occupation; Teach out: the City’s secret finances & lobbying activities

Having yesterday occupied Roman House, owned by Berkeley Homes -  in turn part-owned by Lloyds TSB and the Egerton Capital hedge fund – Occupy London was contacted by individual workers employed by Berkeley Homes who were concerned for their job security as it transpired they were recently employed to help renovate the building.

In light of these discussions, yesterday evening it was decided to leave the building.

We trust that Berkeley Homes will ensure that their redevelopment of the site will make adequate provision for affordable housing. According to Shelter, the City only provides 6% of the affordable housing it needs, leaving it near the bottom of theLondonleague table.

In the past 24 hours, the occupation of Roman House in the Barbican in the City of London focused attention, once again, on the refusal of the City ofLondonCorporation to open its accounts to full public scrutiny, a basic duty accepted by every other public authority in the country.

Response from local residents was tremendous with some coming up to occupiers to wish them support and find out more.

This Monday – Teach out examining the City’s secret finances and lobbying activities

As such, we have decided to hold our promised teach out at 11am on Monday in the open areas of the Barbican centre itself, reinvigorating that public space and enabling residents – who are outvoted by corporations in their own local council – to join in the debate about how they are governed.

We look forwards to exploring these, and related, issues on Monday at 11am. We will be announcing our teach-out panel shortly.

The Global Elite Are Hiding 18 Trillion Dollars In Offshore Banks

In recent days, the fact that Mitt Romney has millions of dollars parked down in the Cayman Islands has made headlines all over the world.  But when it comes to offshore banking, what Mitt Romney is doing is small potatoes.

According to shocking research done by the IMF, the global elite are holding a total of 18 trillion dollars in offshore banks.  And that figure does not even count any money being held in Switzerland.  

That is a staggering amount of money.  Keep in mind that U.S. GDP in 2010 was only 14.58 trillion dollars.  So why do the global elite go to such trouble to hide their money in offshore banks? 

Well, there are two main reasons.  One is privacy and the other is low taxation.  Privacy is a big issue for those that are involved in illegal enterprises such as drug running, but the biggest reason why people move money into offshore banks is in order to avoid taxes. 

Some set up bank accounts in foreign nations because they want to legally minimize their taxes and others set up bank accounts in foreign nations because they want to illegally avoid taxes.  You would be absolutely amazed at what some large corporations and wealthy individuals do to get out of paying taxes.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of the rest of us don't have the resources or the knowledge to play these games, so we get taxed into oblivion ...