Mayor Michael Bloomberg is talking tough again, darkly hinting that he may have to take action to shut down Occupy Wall Street.
So it appears that his honour has found a new pretext to send the police in to clear the park. He has already sent his cops to arrest alleged law breakers in the encampment, accompanied by headlines urging "get tough".
As for homeless people, Occupy Wall Street security has reported that city correctional officials and some welfare officers have actively encouraged homeless people to go to a park where they will be fed and can sleep.
Occupy Wall Street has strict rules against drug use and alcohol use. But they can't always enforce them against people who have been encouraged to go to the park to, among other things, cause trouble.
In other words, city officials, who are expressing so much agitation are actually exacerbating the problems, and then pointing to them as a reason the occupation must be forced to end. The cops also have spies in the park and are monitoring developments closely. They had repeatedly refused to protect the park from the presence of predators - who they now blame on the protest.
Unfortunately, many media outlets are not interested in probing for the causes of problems and just focus on the effects.
Politics is what is driving the increasingly hard-line opposition, not pride in civic improvement.
A day before the mayor indicated that he may just have to "take action", he criticised the protesters for focusing on Wall Street. Congress is to blame, he insisted, politicians not financiers. Few media outlets noted that Bloomberg made his fortune on Wall Street and his news company serves its customers. This conflict of interest is blatant, but rarely noted.
The NY Daily News reported him saying: "I do believe in punishment." Koch then went on to blast the SEC for only fining Wall Street titans such as Goldman Sachs and Citigroup for their financial misconduct. "What the hell do they care? That's the cost of doing business," Koch said of the banks. "I want to see somebody - some CEO, some CFO - punished criminally."
The reason Bloomberg doesn't like Occupy Wall Street is because he likes Wall Street (especially while his police are occupying the place).
Musician Boots Riley who is part of the organising effort said: "We're ushering in a new phase in organising. It's a one-day general strike. It's a warning shot. It's beyond saying that 'we are the 99 per cent'. This is showing that the 99 per cent can be organised, that we won't be limited to the rules and regulations that unions have confined themselves to in the last 60 years."
To date, this movement has survived snowstorms and police attacks. Its tougher challenges may have just begun.
Social Justice: Current Affairs, Business, Politics, and all the reasons in the world to Thrive on Creative Discontent!
Friday, November 4, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Three of the five metropolitan areas with the highest percentage of very poor people in 2010 were in Texas.
On Monday, December 12, 2011, the USA celebrates the 220th Anniversary of the Bill of Rights and the highest concentration of extreme poverty since the Great Depression!!! How’s that for progress?
US taxpayers (Citizens not corporate taxes) help pay for $10 billion in government subsidies to the oil, coal and natural gas industries each year.
The number of Americans living in neighborhoods beset by extreme poverty surged in the last decade with the poorest areas growing more than twice as fast in suburbs as in cities.
At least 2.2 million more Americans, a 33 percent jump since 2000, live in neighborhoods where the poverty rate is 40 percent or higher, according to a study released today by the Washington-based Brookings Institution.
When people are concentrated in very poor neighborhoods, they face a host of additional problems from worse schools and fewer job opportunities to poor health, she said.
The report follows the release of data by the Census Bureau in September that showed the number of people living in poverty was the highest in the 52 years since the agency began gathering the statistic. U.S. household income fell to its lowest level in more than a decade in 2010 and poverty rose to a 17-year high.
Extreme poverty doubled in Midwestern metropolitan areas from 2000 to the period of 2005-2009 and rose by a third in the South, according to the report.
In another reflection of the impact of the slump, those living in extremely poor neighborhoods in the latter half of the decade were increasingly likely to be white with a college or high school education, homeowners, and not receiving public assistance, the Brookings report said.
Three of the five metropolitan areas with the highest percentage of very poor people in 2010 were in Texas. The College Station-Bryan metro area, home to Texas A&M University, had the greatest concentration of very poor people in the nation, with 16.4 percent of its residents earning less than half the federal poverty rate.
It was trailed by the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro area, where 16.2 percent of people live on less than half the poverty level; Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, with 15.7 percent; and Brownsville-Harlingen, with 15.6 percent.
US taxpayers (Citizens not corporate taxes) help pay for $10 billion in government subsidies to the oil, coal and natural gas industries each year.
The number of Americans living in neighborhoods beset by extreme poverty surged in the last decade with the poorest areas growing more than twice as fast in suburbs as in cities.
At least 2.2 million more Americans, a 33 percent jump since 2000, live in neighborhoods where the poverty rate is 40 percent or higher, according to a study released today by the Washington-based Brookings Institution.
When people are concentrated in very poor neighborhoods, they face a host of additional problems from worse schools and fewer job opportunities to poor health, she said.
The report follows the release of data by the Census Bureau in September that showed the number of people living in poverty was the highest in the 52 years since the agency began gathering the statistic. U.S. household income fell to its lowest level in more than a decade in 2010 and poverty rose to a 17-year high.
Extreme poverty doubled in Midwestern metropolitan areas from 2000 to the period of 2005-2009 and rose by a third in the South, according to the report.
In another reflection of the impact of the slump, those living in extremely poor neighborhoods in the latter half of the decade were increasingly likely to be white with a college or high school education, homeowners, and not receiving public assistance, the Brookings report said.
Three of the five metropolitan areas with the highest percentage of very poor people in 2010 were in Texas. The College Station-Bryan metro area, home to Texas A&M University, had the greatest concentration of very poor people in the nation, with 16.4 percent of its residents earning less than half the federal poverty rate.
It was trailed by the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission metro area, where 16.2 percent of people live on less than half the poverty level; Athens-Clarke County, Georgia, with 15.7 percent; and Brownsville-Harlingen, with 15.6 percent.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
US Veterans Unite under Occupy Wall Street Flag to take back America
Today on Wall Street, the New York City chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War and dozens of other uniformed veterans known as "Veterans of the 99%" began massing at 11:15 a.m. near Wall Street, where Occupy began Sept. 17. They marched through the financial district to the Occupy Wall Street encampment about a half mile away.
Several wearing their service uniforms, paused outside the New York Stock Exchange, chanting; "We are veterans. We are the 99%," and "corporate profits on the rise/soldiers have to bleed and die.
Several wearing their service uniforms, paused outside the New York Stock Exchange, chanting; "We are veterans. We are the 99%," and "corporate profits on the rise/soldiers have to bleed and die.
Operation: American Democracy Reborn!!!
Thousands of protesters in Oakland, California, have shut down the city's port, the fifth busiest cargo facility in the United States, as they continued calls for a general strike to protest economic conditions and police brutality.
"At this time, maritime operations are effectively shut down at the Port of Oakland. Maritime area operations will resume when it is safe and secure to do so," a spokesman for the port said in a statement on Wednesday.
The mostly peaceful events had been marred by sporadic "scuffles and fistfights" between protesters. Some young, black-clad protesters had tried to break windows and spray graffiti on banks and markets, while other groups tried to prevent them from doing so.
"What been really striking is the almost complete absence of police presence. We have seen very, very few policemen and there were no policemen there when demonstrators were throwing rocks and breaking windows."
"It's almost like the police have withdrawn from the streets."
Teacher walkout
Local labour leaders, while generally sympathetic to the protesters, said their contracts prohibited them from proclaiming an official strike.
Craig Merrilees, a spokesman for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, said about 40 out of 325 unionized port workers had stayed off the job.
"There was no call for a strike by the union," he said. City officials also said schools and government offices were remaining open.
Oakland school officials said about 360 teachers didn't show up for work, roughly 18 per cent of the district's teaching staff.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan said in a statement that she supported the goals of the protest movement but the city has a duty to ensure public safety.
The protesters are part of the "Occupy" movement against corporate greed which, inspired initially by anti-Wall Street demonstrations in a New York park, has spread to other US and worldwide cities.
Activists in Oakland have been camping in a central plaza the northern Californian city since October 9.
But tensions in the city have been heightened since police used tear gas, batons and concussion grenades to clear the plaza on October 25, making 85 arrests and removing facilities set up by protesters including a kitchen, a library, medical supplies and bicycle-powered computers.
In response, supporters marched through the streets, and were confronted by police who used numerous rounds of tear gas, pepper spray, concussion grenades and rubber bullets, according to witnesses.
"They wanted to show that they could stomp out the Occupy movement," Boots Riley, a local musician and an activist with Occupy Oakland. "They wanted to use Oakland as an example."
In the melee, Scott Olsen, a 24-year-old former US Marine who served two tours of duty in Iraq, was hit in the forehead by a projectile, causing a skull fracture and brain swelling.
Olsen remains in a critical condition and has been placed in a medically-induced coma. Doctors say they expect him to recover fully, according to a friend who served with Olsen in Iraq.
Quan has since apologised for the harsh action, visited Olsen in the hospital, and allowed protesters to re-establish their camp.
"I can't change what happened, but I'm committed to making sure that we have an open dialogue and that we change what happens in the future," she said.
The day after the police crackdown, Occupy activists decided to call for Wednesday's general strike, calling on workers and students to stay out of work and school and spend their day protesting against what they describe as economic inequality and police brutality.
"At this time, maritime operations are effectively shut down at the Port of Oakland. Maritime area operations will resume when it is safe and secure to do so," a spokesman for the port said in a statement on Wednesday.
The mostly peaceful events had been marred by sporadic "scuffles and fistfights" between protesters. Some young, black-clad protesters had tried to break windows and spray graffiti on banks and markets, while other groups tried to prevent them from doing so.
"What been really striking is the almost complete absence of police presence. We have seen very, very few policemen and there were no policemen there when demonstrators were throwing rocks and breaking windows."
"It's almost like the police have withdrawn from the streets."
Teacher walkout
Local labour leaders, while generally sympathetic to the protesters, said their contracts prohibited them from proclaiming an official strike.
Craig Merrilees, a spokesman for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, said about 40 out of 325 unionized port workers had stayed off the job.
"There was no call for a strike by the union," he said. City officials also said schools and government offices were remaining open.
Oakland school officials said about 360 teachers didn't show up for work, roughly 18 per cent of the district's teaching staff.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan said in a statement that she supported the goals of the protest movement but the city has a duty to ensure public safety.
The protesters are part of the "Occupy" movement against corporate greed which, inspired initially by anti-Wall Street demonstrations in a New York park, has spread to other US and worldwide cities.
Activists in Oakland have been camping in a central plaza the northern Californian city since October 9.
But tensions in the city have been heightened since police used tear gas, batons and concussion grenades to clear the plaza on October 25, making 85 arrests and removing facilities set up by protesters including a kitchen, a library, medical supplies and bicycle-powered computers.
In response, supporters marched through the streets, and were confronted by police who used numerous rounds of tear gas, pepper spray, concussion grenades and rubber bullets, according to witnesses.
"They wanted to show that they could stomp out the Occupy movement," Boots Riley, a local musician and an activist with Occupy Oakland. "They wanted to use Oakland as an example."
In the melee, Scott Olsen, a 24-year-old former US Marine who served two tours of duty in Iraq, was hit in the forehead by a projectile, causing a skull fracture and brain swelling.
Olsen remains in a critical condition and has been placed in a medically-induced coma. Doctors say they expect him to recover fully, according to a friend who served with Olsen in Iraq.
Quan has since apologised for the harsh action, visited Olsen in the hospital, and allowed protesters to re-establish their camp.
"I can't change what happened, but I'm committed to making sure that we have an open dialogue and that we change what happens in the future," she said.
The day after the police crackdown, Occupy activists decided to call for Wednesday's general strike, calling on workers and students to stay out of work and school and spend their day protesting against what they describe as economic inequality and police brutality.
Whose your Daddy??
Federal Reserve officials are probably engineering a third round of large-scale asset purchases, while they are unlikely to announce a decision today, according to economists in a Bloomberg News survey.
Sixty-nine percent of those surveyed say Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will embark on a third round of quantitative easing, or QE3, with a plurality of 36 percent predicting the move in the first quarter of next year, according to the poll of 42 economists from Oct. 26-31.
“We are becoming increasingly persuaded that QE3 is coming, this time focused on purchases of mortgage-backed securities,” said Dana Saporta, U.S. economist at Credit Suisse in New York. “The best guess is at this meeting they’ll try to build some consensus around the idea and lay the groundwork for eventual purchases.”
Fed officials are weighing further easing even after economic growth last quarter accelerated to the fastest pace in a year. Vice Chairman Janet Yellen and Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said in speeches last month that more action may be needed to reduce an unemployment rate stuck around 9 percent or higher for 30 months. Governor Daniel Tarullo said the Fed should consider buying housing debt to lower mortgage rates and spur growth.
Sixty-nine percent of those surveyed say Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will embark on a third round of quantitative easing, or QE3, with a plurality of 36 percent predicting the move in the first quarter of next year, according to the poll of 42 economists from Oct. 26-31.
“We are becoming increasingly persuaded that QE3 is coming, this time focused on purchases of mortgage-backed securities,” said Dana Saporta, U.S. economist at Credit Suisse in New York. “The best guess is at this meeting they’ll try to build some consensus around the idea and lay the groundwork for eventual purchases.”
Fed officials are weighing further easing even after economic growth last quarter accelerated to the fastest pace in a year. Vice Chairman Janet Yellen and Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said in speeches last month that more action may be needed to reduce an unemployment rate stuck around 9 percent or higher for 30 months. Governor Daniel Tarullo said the Fed should consider buying housing debt to lower mortgage rates and spur growth.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Occupy Oakland Regroups, Calling for a Strike = American Revolutionary Spirit at its Finest!!!
OAKLAND, Calif. — A week after police in riot gear rousted and then tear-gassed Occupy Oakland protesters, supporters of the movement have rebuilt their encampment in front of City Hall and are calling for a general strike on Wednesday that will include an attempt to shut down the nation’s fifth-busiest shipping port.
“We call for a general strike around the country, and around the world, because we know that the wealth of the 1 percent is produced by the work of the 99 percent,” said Louise Michel, one of the protest organizers, at a news conference.
The plaza where the encampment is located is once again covered in brightly colored tents and tarps. Protesters estimate that several hundred people are sleeping at the camp nightly.
During the strike, protesters intend to march from downtown to the Port of Oakland and will try to close it down. Protesters also said they would picket banks, businesses, schools, libraries and any employer who tries to discipline striking workers.
Several major labor groups, including local units of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represents port workers, have voiced support for the Occupy Oakland protests and the strike, though union officials have not authorized union members to strike.
While police officials have drastically scaled back the number of officers at the Occupy Oakland camp since the violent clashes last week, police officials say all officers have been asked to report for work on Wednesday.
“We call for a general strike around the country, and around the world, because we know that the wealth of the 1 percent is produced by the work of the 99 percent,” said Louise Michel, one of the protest organizers, at a news conference.
The plaza where the encampment is located is once again covered in brightly colored tents and tarps. Protesters estimate that several hundred people are sleeping at the camp nightly.
During the strike, protesters intend to march from downtown to the Port of Oakland and will try to close it down. Protesters also said they would picket banks, businesses, schools, libraries and any employer who tries to discipline striking workers.
Several major labor groups, including local units of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union, which represents port workers, have voiced support for the Occupy Oakland protests and the strike, though union officials have not authorized union members to strike.
While police officials have drastically scaled back the number of officers at the Occupy Oakland camp since the violent clashes last week, police officials say all officers have been asked to report for work on Wednesday.
The Republican Party has declared war on the American middle class!!!
Jeffrey Hart, a founder of the conservative "Dartmouth Review" newspaper, said he supported Obama more than ever.
"The Republican Party has declared war on the American middle class," he said in an email. "While refusing to raise taxes on the upper 2 percent, the Republicans are trying to dismantle Medicare."
Hart was a speechwriter for Reagan and Nixon. "But this is not that Republican Party," he said.
"The Republican Party has declared war on the American middle class," he said in an email. "While refusing to raise taxes on the upper 2 percent, the Republicans are trying to dismantle Medicare."
Hart was a speechwriter for Reagan and Nixon. "But this is not that Republican Party," he said.
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