DENVER — The simmering tension near the Colorado Capitol escalated dramatically Saturday with more than a dozen arrests, reports of skirmishes between police and protesters and police firing rounds of pellets filled with pepper spray at supporters of the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Officers in riot gear moved into a park late in the day where protesters were attempting to establish an encampment, hauling off demonstrators just hours after a standoff at the Capitol steps degenerated into a fight that ended in a cloud of Mace and pepper spray.
Earlier in the day about 2,000 protesters rallying against what they see as economic inequality and corporate greed marched downtown toward the Capitol, setting up the most intense moments of the Denver movement, which has lasted weeks.
A group of the marchers advanced toward the building and some tried to make their way up the steps. About eight officers scuffled with a group of protesters and police confirmed that they used Mace and fired pepper balls — hollow projectiles filled with the chemical irritant — to break up the crowd. Protesters told the paper at the time that they believed police used rubber bullets.
Chantrell Smiley, 21, of Denver, said she has been protesting downtown for more than a week, sleeping on the ground in the park. She said she didn't see the officer get knocked from his motorcycle and didn't see any reason for the afternoon confrontation.
"It was just chaos. This wasn't necessary. My friend got hit with rubber bullets in the face. He was screaming and bleeding, then they Maced him. We're being peaceful. We don't want to be harmed. They came through and took everything down — our food, our blankets, everything's gone."
Mike Korzen, 25, told the Denver Post that he was among the group that police dispersed with rubber bullets and pepper spray and suggested that the police force was excessive.
"I was standing there with my hands behind my back," Korzen said, using a water bottle to rinse pepper spray from his eyes.
About 100 protesters milled about, most coughing and sneezing from the haze of pepper spray and Mace that still hovered in the air. Some laid out tarps on the ground, preparing to spend another night outside. Throughout the evening vehicles pulled up, dropping off blankets and food with cheering protesters.
Social Justice: Current Affairs, Business, Politics, and all the reasons in the world to Thrive on Creative Discontent!
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
Occupy Wall Streeters' offer to buy CEO of Morgan Stanley lunch!!!
On Friday, Occupy Wall Street marched north. Long before the marchers arrived, knots of New York City police could be seen in front of just about any financial office in midtown; the big banks also had barricades and security checks. The protesters were orderly (they even waited for traffic lights to turn before crossing, which is rare for anyone in the city), carrying signs such as "you got bailed out, we got locked out" and "Billionaire Pigs" with pictures of Jamie Dimon and other bank CEOs wearing snouts.
Once in place, they took to chanting ("modify loans, keep us in our homes") and reading from letters sent by OWS supporters to bank executives. The big difference uptown was that there are a lot more bona fide bankers. If you want to yell at big banks, don't go to Wall Street -- go to Park Avenue. That's where JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup have their headquarters; the Bank of America Tower is a few blocks away. As demonstrators dressed as "bank pirates" rode up in pirate ship/bikes, curious Chase employees snapped pictures and watched from the windows above. (According to a tweet from @TheOther99, while at the Morgan Stanley building, demonstrators invited CEO James Gorman to lunch: "We'll pick up the tab..we've been doing it for five years!")
Once in place, they took to chanting ("modify loans, keep us in our homes") and reading from letters sent by OWS supporters to bank executives. The big difference uptown was that there are a lot more bona fide bankers. If you want to yell at big banks, don't go to Wall Street -- go to Park Avenue. That's where JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup have their headquarters; the Bank of America Tower is a few blocks away. As demonstrators dressed as "bank pirates" rode up in pirate ship/bikes, curious Chase employees snapped pictures and watched from the windows above. (According to a tweet from @TheOther99, while at the Morgan Stanley building, demonstrators invited CEO James Gorman to lunch: "We'll pick up the tab..we've been doing it for five years!")
American Jobs Act
The American Jobs Act Could Prevent Hundreds of Thousands of Layoffs, and Allow Schools to Rehire Thousands More:
•Nearly 300,000 Educator Jobs Have Been Lost Since 2008, 54 Percent of all Job Losses in Local Government: Local governments shed nearly 300,000 education jobs between August 2008 and August 2011. By another measure, employment of teachers fell by 7.2 percent between 2007-08 and 2010-11.
•Local Governments Have Lost Nearly 200,000 Education Jobs Over the Past Year: Over just the past 12 months, local government education employment has fallen by 194,000 jobs.
•State and Local Funding Cuts Put as Many as 280,000 Teacher Jobs at Risk Next Year: In the four largest states, budget reductions threaten teacher jobs and key funding for schools. In New York City alone, nearly 780 employees were expected to lose their jobs by October. In California, budget triggers may shorten the school year. And in Texas and Florida, tens of thousands of teachers could be laid off.
•The American Jobs Act Will Support Nearly 400,000 Education Jobs—Preventing Layoffs and Allowing Thousands More to Be Hired or Rehired: The President’s plan will more than offset projected layoffs, providing support for nearly 400,000 education jobs—enough for states to avoid harmful layoffs and rehire tens of thousands of teachers who lost their jobs over the past three years.
•Nearly 300,000 Educator Jobs Have Been Lost Since 2008, 54 Percent of all Job Losses in Local Government: Local governments shed nearly 300,000 education jobs between August 2008 and August 2011. By another measure, employment of teachers fell by 7.2 percent between 2007-08 and 2010-11.
•Local Governments Have Lost Nearly 200,000 Education Jobs Over the Past Year: Over just the past 12 months, local government education employment has fallen by 194,000 jobs.
•State and Local Funding Cuts Put as Many as 280,000 Teacher Jobs at Risk Next Year: In the four largest states, budget reductions threaten teacher jobs and key funding for schools. In New York City alone, nearly 780 employees were expected to lose their jobs by October. In California, budget triggers may shorten the school year. And in Texas and Florida, tens of thousands of teachers could be laid off.
•The American Jobs Act Will Support Nearly 400,000 Education Jobs—Preventing Layoffs and Allowing Thousands More to Be Hired or Rehired: The President’s plan will more than offset projected layoffs, providing support for nearly 400,000 education jobs—enough for states to avoid harmful layoffs and rehire tens of thousands of teachers who lost their jobs over the past three years.
Oakland: US Marine (Iraq War Veteran) skull fractured by Police in Oakland while exercising civil liberties...
Anti-Wall Street demonstrators held vigils for an Iraq War veteran seriously injured during a protest clash with police in California as some occupy encampments held out against orders from authorities to abandon sites in parks and plazas.
A crowd of at least 1,000 people, many holding candles, gathered Thursday night in Oakland in honor of 24-year-old Scott Olsen who is hospitalized with a fractured skull.
Protesters also held a vigil in In Las Vegas, which drew a handful of police officers. Afterward, protesters invited them back for a potluck dinner.
"We renewed our vow of nonviolence," organizer Sebring Frehner said.
The Marine veteran, who won medals in Iraq, has become a rallying cry for the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators across the nation, with Twitter users and protest websites declaring, "We are all Scott Olsen."
Joshua Shepherd, 27, a Navy veteran who was standing nearby when Olsen got struck, called it a cruel irony that Olsen is fighting an injury in the country that he fought to protect.
Despite the financial underpinnings of the protests, Olsen himself wasn't taking part out of economic need.
His friends say he makes a good living as a network engineer and has a nice apartment overlooking San Francisco Bay. Still, he felt so strongly about economic inequality in the United States that he fought for overseas that he slept at a protest camp after work.
"He felt you shouldn't wait until something is affecting you to get out and do something about it," said friend and roommate Keith Shannon, who served with Olsen in Iraq.
It was that feeling that drew him to Oakland on Tuesday night, when the clashes broke out and Olsen's skull was fractured. Fellow veterans said Olsen was struck in the head by a projectile fired by police.
A crowd of at least 1,000 people, many holding candles, gathered Thursday night in Oakland in honor of 24-year-old Scott Olsen who is hospitalized with a fractured skull.
Protesters also held a vigil in In Las Vegas, which drew a handful of police officers. Afterward, protesters invited them back for a potluck dinner.
"We renewed our vow of nonviolence," organizer Sebring Frehner said.
The Marine veteran, who won medals in Iraq, has become a rallying cry for the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators across the nation, with Twitter users and protest websites declaring, "We are all Scott Olsen."
Joshua Shepherd, 27, a Navy veteran who was standing nearby when Olsen got struck, called it a cruel irony that Olsen is fighting an injury in the country that he fought to protect.
Despite the financial underpinnings of the protests, Olsen himself wasn't taking part out of economic need.
His friends say he makes a good living as a network engineer and has a nice apartment overlooking San Francisco Bay. Still, he felt so strongly about economic inequality in the United States that he fought for overseas that he slept at a protest camp after work.
"He felt you shouldn't wait until something is affecting you to get out and do something about it," said friend and roommate Keith Shannon, who served with Olsen in Iraq.
It was that feeling that drew him to Oakland on Tuesday night, when the clashes broke out and Olsen's skull was fractured. Fellow veterans said Olsen was struck in the head by a projectile fired by police.
No minimum wage; no representative democracy; no environmental regulation = Koch Brothers Utopia
Charles and David Koch are each worth about $25bn, which makes them the fourth richest Americans. When you combine their fortunes, they are the third wealthiest people in the world. Radical libertarians who use their money to oppose government and virtually all regulation as interference with the free market, the Kochs are in a class of their own as players on the American political stage. Their web of influence in the US stretches from state capitals to the halls of congress in Washington DC.
The Koch brothers fueled the conservative Tea Party movement that vigorously opposes Barack Obama, the US president. They fund efforts to derail action on global warming, and support politicians who object to raising taxes on corporations or the wealthy to help fix America’s fiscal problems. According to New Yorker writer Jane Mayer, who wrote a groundbreaking exposé of the Kochs in 2010, they have built a top to bottom operation to shape public policy that has been "incredibly effective. They are so rich that their pockets are almost bottomless, and they can keep pouring money into this whole process".
Koch industries, the second largest privately-held company in the US, is an oil refining, chemical, paper products and financial services company with revenues of a $100bn a year. Virtually every American household has some Koch product - from paper towels and lumber, to Stainmaster carpet and Lycra in sports clothes, to gasoline for cars. The Koch’s political philosophy of rolling back environmental and financial regulations is also beneficial to their business interests.
The Kochs rarely talk to the press, and conduct their affairs behind closed doors. But at a secret meeting of conservative activists and funders the Kochs held in Vail, Colorado this past summer, someone made undercover recordings. One caught Charles Koch urging participants to dig deep into their pockets to defeat Obama. "This is the mother of all wars we've got in the next 18 months," he says, "for the life or death of this country." He called out the names of 31 people at the Vail meeting who each contributed more than $1m over the past 12 months.
In the 2010 congressional elections, the Kochs and their partners spent at least $40m, helping to swing the balance of power in the US House of Representatives towards right-wing Tea Party Republicans. It has been reported that the Kochs are planning to raise and spend more than $200m to defeat Obama in 2012. But the brothers could easily kick in more without anyone knowing due to loopholes in US law.
The Koch brothers fueled the conservative Tea Party movement that vigorously opposes Barack Obama, the US president. They fund efforts to derail action on global warming, and support politicians who object to raising taxes on corporations or the wealthy to help fix America’s fiscal problems. According to New Yorker writer Jane Mayer, who wrote a groundbreaking exposé of the Kochs in 2010, they have built a top to bottom operation to shape public policy that has been "incredibly effective. They are so rich that their pockets are almost bottomless, and they can keep pouring money into this whole process".
Koch industries, the second largest privately-held company in the US, is an oil refining, chemical, paper products and financial services company with revenues of a $100bn a year. Virtually every American household has some Koch product - from paper towels and lumber, to Stainmaster carpet and Lycra in sports clothes, to gasoline for cars. The Koch’s political philosophy of rolling back environmental and financial regulations is also beneficial to their business interests.
The Kochs rarely talk to the press, and conduct their affairs behind closed doors. But at a secret meeting of conservative activists and funders the Kochs held in Vail, Colorado this past summer, someone made undercover recordings. One caught Charles Koch urging participants to dig deep into their pockets to defeat Obama. "This is the mother of all wars we've got in the next 18 months," he says, "for the life or death of this country." He called out the names of 31 people at the Vail meeting who each contributed more than $1m over the past 12 months.
In the 2010 congressional elections, the Kochs and their partners spent at least $40m, helping to swing the balance of power in the US House of Representatives towards right-wing Tea Party Republicans. It has been reported that the Kochs are planning to raise and spend more than $200m to defeat Obama in 2012. But the brothers could easily kick in more without anyone knowing due to loopholes in US law.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
USA arms sale to Bahrain!!!
The U.S. State Department is coming under fire for considering a $53 million arms sale.
Why? Because since February of this year, the military, security and police forces of the prospective buyer -- Bahrain -- have used such weapons and military equipment to inflict deaths and injuries on protestors demanding greater political freedom.
Moving forward with this arms sale would provide more weapons and equipment to the very Bahraini security forces who have already shot protestors. It would also cross a clear line of U.S. responsibility to protect human rights.
That's why right now members of Congress, led by Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Jim McGovern, are drawing a sharp line with a resolution aimed at blocking this arms sale.
Urge your Senators and Representatives to join the call to stop the U.S. arms sale to Bahrain!
Bahrain's horrible record on human rights continues to this day. At the peak of the crackdown, President Obama condemned the "mass arrests and brute force" used by the Bahraini government.
So why is the State Department even considering selling Bahrain more weapons?
Fortunately, the U.S. State Department is showing some signs of responsiveness. Just last week, it agreed to delay the weapons sale until a commission in Bahrain finishes investigating the government's human rights abuses.
Why? Because since February of this year, the military, security and police forces of the prospective buyer -- Bahrain -- have used such weapons and military equipment to inflict deaths and injuries on protestors demanding greater political freedom.
Moving forward with this arms sale would provide more weapons and equipment to the very Bahraini security forces who have already shot protestors. It would also cross a clear line of U.S. responsibility to protect human rights.
That's why right now members of Congress, led by Senator Ron Wyden and Representative Jim McGovern, are drawing a sharp line with a resolution aimed at blocking this arms sale.
Urge your Senators and Representatives to join the call to stop the U.S. arms sale to Bahrain!
Bahrain's horrible record on human rights continues to this day. At the peak of the crackdown, President Obama condemned the "mass arrests and brute force" used by the Bahraini government.
So why is the State Department even considering selling Bahrain more weapons?
Fortunately, the U.S. State Department is showing some signs of responsiveness. Just last week, it agreed to delay the weapons sale until a commission in Bahrain finishes investigating the government's human rights abuses.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Keystone Pipeline offers nothing to the USA
U.S. President Barack Obama said Wednesday his administration would address concerns about a proposed Canada-to-Texas oil sands pipeline and no decision on it had been made.
Three environmental groups sued the U.S. government on Tuesday, challenging claims in a State Department report that the controversial pipeline posed little risk to endangered species because spills on the line were unlikely.
Protesters have dogged Obama about the issue in Washington and throughout the country.
During an event with young people in Denver, one activist interrupted Obama's remarks, urging the president to reject the project.
"We're looking at it right now, all right?" Obama replied. "No decision's been made and I know your deep concern about it, so we will address it."
Protesters who held up a banner reading: "Stop the Keystone Pipeline Project" were asked to leave.
Nebraska Governor Dave said on Monday he will call a special session of the state legislature over TransCanada Corp's proposed $7 billion oil sands pipeline that would cross ecologically sensitive areas.
Heineman wants TransCanada to change the route of the Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL pipeline away from Nebraska's Sand Hills region, which sits atop the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the largest sources of water for farms in the central United States. He does not oppose the pipeline outright.
"I believe Nebraskans are expecting our best efforts to determine if alternatives exist," Heineman said in a statement. He has urged President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to deny a presidential permit for the line until the route is changed.
If Nebraska succeeds in changing the route for the pipeline, it could delay the project.
The session in Nebraska's only legislative chamber will determine whether the state can determine the siting of pipelines within its borders. It will start on November 1.
The pipeline would take oil sands crude from Alberta to Gulf Coast refineries, and potentially to its ports for export.
Supporters say the line would provide thousands of jobs and increase oil imports from a friendly neighbor. Opponents say oil sands crude causes more greenhouse gas emissions and that the petroleum is more corrosive to pipelines than average crude oil.
Last week, Mike Flood, speaker of the state legislature, advised against a measure that would force TransCanada to move the right-of-way from the Sand Hills, saying such a move would unlikely hold up in court.
Heineman worked with Flood to set the starting date for the session.
TransCanada has said it is too late in the federal approval process to move the proposed path for the line. "The pipeline takes the safest route -- physically and environmentally," said Shawn Howard, a spokesman for TransCanada.
The U.S. State Department hopes to decide whether to greenlight the 700,000-barrels-per-day or more pipeline by the end of this year.
Three environmental groups sued the U.S. government on Tuesday, challenging claims in a State Department report that the controversial pipeline posed little risk to endangered species because spills on the line were unlikely.
Protesters have dogged Obama about the issue in Washington and throughout the country.
During an event with young people in Denver, one activist interrupted Obama's remarks, urging the president to reject the project.
"We're looking at it right now, all right?" Obama replied. "No decision's been made and I know your deep concern about it, so we will address it."
Protesters who held up a banner reading: "Stop the Keystone Pipeline Project" were asked to leave.
Nebraska Governor Dave said on Monday he will call a special session of the state legislature over TransCanada Corp's proposed $7 billion oil sands pipeline that would cross ecologically sensitive areas.
Heineman wants TransCanada to change the route of the Canada-to-Texas Keystone XL pipeline away from Nebraska's Sand Hills region, which sits atop the Ogallala Aquifer, one of the largest sources of water for farms in the central United States. He does not oppose the pipeline outright.
"I believe Nebraskans are expecting our best efforts to determine if alternatives exist," Heineman said in a statement. He has urged President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to deny a presidential permit for the line until the route is changed.
If Nebraska succeeds in changing the route for the pipeline, it could delay the project.
The session in Nebraska's only legislative chamber will determine whether the state can determine the siting of pipelines within its borders. It will start on November 1.
The pipeline would take oil sands crude from Alberta to Gulf Coast refineries, and potentially to its ports for export.
Supporters say the line would provide thousands of jobs and increase oil imports from a friendly neighbor. Opponents say oil sands crude causes more greenhouse gas emissions and that the petroleum is more corrosive to pipelines than average crude oil.
Last week, Mike Flood, speaker of the state legislature, advised against a measure that would force TransCanada to move the right-of-way from the Sand Hills, saying such a move would unlikely hold up in court.
Heineman worked with Flood to set the starting date for the session.
TransCanada has said it is too late in the federal approval process to move the proposed path for the line. "The pipeline takes the safest route -- physically and environmentally," said Shawn Howard, a spokesman for TransCanada.
The U.S. State Department hopes to decide whether to greenlight the 700,000-barrels-per-day or more pipeline by the end of this year.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Might just be a bull market....
Oil rose to the highest in almost three months in New York before European leaders meet to agree on a blueprint to tackle the region’s sovereign debt crisis.
Prices climbed as much as 0.4 percent, gaining for a fourth day. European government heads will hold a summit today to agree on a plan to rein in a crisis that threatens to curb economic growth and slow demand for commodities. December futures traded at a premium to the January contract, a so-called backwardation that typically signals an increase in demand or decline in supply in the near term.
“The market has run up quite a lot in advance” of the summit, said Ric Spooner, a chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney. “The market has been re-pricing a view that we might be looking at a low-growth environment, rather than a recessionary environment.”
Crude oil for December delivery was at $93.49 a barrel, up 32 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 3:33 p.m. Sydney time. The contract yesterday increased 2.1 percent to $93.17, the highest settlement since Aug. 2. Prices are up 2.3 percent this year.
December futures were at a 19-cent premium to January, compared with 24 cents at yesterday’s close. The front-month contract on Oct. 24 settled higher than the next month for the first time since Nov. 20, 2008, after U.S. stockpiles shrank.
Prices climbed as much as 0.4 percent, gaining for a fourth day. European government heads will hold a summit today to agree on a plan to rein in a crisis that threatens to curb economic growth and slow demand for commodities. December futures traded at a premium to the January contract, a so-called backwardation that typically signals an increase in demand or decline in supply in the near term.
“The market has run up quite a lot in advance” of the summit, said Ric Spooner, a chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney. “The market has been re-pricing a view that we might be looking at a low-growth environment, rather than a recessionary environment.”
Crude oil for December delivery was at $93.49 a barrel, up 32 cents, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange at 3:33 p.m. Sydney time. The contract yesterday increased 2.1 percent to $93.17, the highest settlement since Aug. 2. Prices are up 2.3 percent this year.
December futures were at a 19-cent premium to January, compared with 24 cents at yesterday’s close. The front-month contract on Oct. 24 settled higher than the next month for the first time since Nov. 20, 2008, after U.S. stockpiles shrank.
Monday, October 24, 2011
What do the Titanic and Bank of America have in common.....Occupy Wall Streeters would have a view!!!
Bank of America is a behemoth beyond control. The destruction of shareholder value in its recent history is shocking. The Wall Street Journal reported on Oct. 19 that the bank has spent $148 billion on acquisitions since 1998 and today its market value is only about $65 billion.
Bank of America is also a badly managed bank. In 2008, Ken Lewis, then the chief executive officer, agreed to pay about $4 billion to buy Countrywide, a disastrous foray into mortgage origination and distribution that will probably end up costing shareholders more than $60 billion. Eric Schneiderman, the New York state attorney general, is calling for a full investigation of mortgage abuses; egregious and allegedly illegal behavior at Countrywide must be very much in his sights.
Lewis bought Countrywide after a year’s worth of due diligence -- what was he thinking? -- and then grabbed Merrill Lynch over a weekend in September 2008, apparently without much thought. Significant additional losses were the result.
Bloomberg News reported on Oct. 18 that regulators have allowed Bank of America to move highly risky derivatives contracts -- and the associated downside risk -- from Merrill Lynch into the insured retail deposit-taking part of the bank.
Bank of America is also a badly managed bank. In 2008, Ken Lewis, then the chief executive officer, agreed to pay about $4 billion to buy Countrywide, a disastrous foray into mortgage origination and distribution that will probably end up costing shareholders more than $60 billion. Eric Schneiderman, the New York state attorney general, is calling for a full investigation of mortgage abuses; egregious and allegedly illegal behavior at Countrywide must be very much in his sights.
Lewis bought Countrywide after a year’s worth of due diligence -- what was he thinking? -- and then grabbed Merrill Lynch over a weekend in September 2008, apparently without much thought. Significant additional losses were the result.
Bloomberg News reported on Oct. 18 that regulators have allowed Bank of America to move highly risky derivatives contracts -- and the associated downside risk -- from Merrill Lynch into the insured retail deposit-taking part of the bank.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Fed likely to stimulate Q4
The Federal Reserve is likely to increase monetary stimulus, including an expansion of its balance sheet, according to Pacific Investment Management Co., which oversees the world’s largest bond fund.
Growth in the U.S. will be constrained next year amid an “unprecedented amount” of fiscal contraction, Scott Mather, Pimco’s head of global portfolio management, said at a briefing today in Sydney. The Fed will start by changing its language before taking steps to bolster the economy including efforts to stabilize the housing market, he said.
“You’ll see the language change first and then probably some of these other things,” Mather said. “They’re not done. They’ve told us that there’s more that they’re thinking about, that they can and will do.”
Fed Vice Chairman Janet Yellen said Oct. 21 that a third round of large-scale securities purchases might become warranted to boost an economy challenged by an unemployment rate of 9.1 percent and financial turmoil.
Growth in the U.S. will be constrained next year amid an “unprecedented amount” of fiscal contraction, Scott Mather, Pimco’s head of global portfolio management, said at a briefing today in Sydney. The Fed will start by changing its language before taking steps to bolster the economy including efforts to stabilize the housing market, he said.
“You’ll see the language change first and then probably some of these other things,” Mather said. “They’re not done. They’ve told us that there’s more that they’re thinking about, that they can and will do.”
Fed Vice Chairman Janet Yellen said Oct. 21 that a third round of large-scale securities purchases might become warranted to boost an economy challenged by an unemployment rate of 9.1 percent and financial turmoil.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)