Occupy Wall Street: Not on major media but worth watching!

[strawbrrygirl]

We are all the 99% and I support change! This movement I understand totally!! And it is needed but it will get worse!!Far worse!!All I can do is support Occupy with propane tanks,tarps and hand warmers!! I work for the 1% and I can not be there to protest but when I get a call for backup for OWS!! I am there!! No one likes violence but I am prepared for the worse!! YOU WILL NOT TREAD ON ME ANYMORE!!! And for those of you that dont get this movement Educate yourselves PLEASE! OCCUPY is our only HOPE!!!!

 

[dagnabit]

Fuck those evil 1%!!!!!
quit that evil job they provide!
get out there with your comrades. You dont need a job. We the 99% will take care of you. Go ahead see how it works out for you..

 

[juicepuddle]

Money doesn't move, people do. It seems we forget this when getting caught up in the love of money, the root of all evil.

 

[onegreenday]

The rich won't give up their power until we increase their 'cost of doing business'

In other words we have to start clogging their system;
which 'occupy' has tried with closing bank accounts and such but it

will have to become more radical for the rich to wake up.

Money doesn't move, people do. It seems we forget this when getting caught up in the love of money, the root of all evil.

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Amazing how much shorter this thread is... now that DB and O-boy are on vacation. (Ignore list is soo nice)

Anyone interested in just how far off the track our country has gone? Here's a good primer video to get you started.

THIS is the type of information you need to keep in your head when you look at what's going on today.

"Atlas Shrugged" by Ann Rynd. O-boy should read that one. A bit over dramatic in the end, but then it's a fictional novel.... scarily paralleling what's happening to our country today.

Other good reads...
"1984" by George Orwell.

"A Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley.

Both novels that portray a future amerika.... like the one we live in today.

Bang a little logic on belief systems into your head...
"Prometheous Rising" by Robert Anton Wilson.... if you can find a copy.

The point in life is to constantly make each day an improvement on the last.... Value sovereignty, family, truth, ethics and education. Set worthwhile, reachable goals and reach them. You will be rewarded accordingly.

Above all...

Stay Safe!

and buy your ammo in small lots. DHS & now the military... can make you go poof in the night, without any accountability to anyone.... whatsoever.

 

[guest121295]

Thank god I'm in the .01%.

 

[rasputin]

Hydro Soil, if you think Obama or this gov't is socialist you don't know what socialism is. At best, we're getting half-assed socialism... public losses, private gains. El Presidente is a corporatist and this country is a plutocracy. Been that way for a loooong time, why all the fuss now?

Ayn Rand? C'mon man... you can do better than that.

 

[onegreenday]

"Unified" by G. Love


It could be so nice but the world is not ready, yeah

It could be so nice but the world is not ready yo


Weather you're a black man

Or you're a white man

Or your from england or from japan

Or you're from chili or you're and american

You're from the middle east or you're and african


Well it could be so nice but the world is not ready, yeah

It could be so nice but the world is not ready yo


Now come on everyone on this place come together

Wouldn't it be nice if we could all live together forever

Finding our peach in unity

Destroying the noting of foolish vanities

Pull to rise

Lift the blinds

The funky dope is here in 1999

And we're praising so we're raising out of this oblivion

And on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on


You can't stop this with your mind tricks

Like neo in the matrix I'm chosen

Uplift with the gift

Like gandolf the wizard

I conjure a blizzard of magic to ride it high

Unified unified unified

Unified unified unified


It could be so nice but the world is not ready, yeah

It could be so nice but the world is not ready yo


They don't want it in their government

They don't want it with their politricks

They don't want it with their brainwash

They don't want it with their money fix

Unified unified unified

Unified unified unified

I want it want it want it want it


It could be so nice but the world is not ready, yeah

It could be so nice but the world is not ready yo


http://www.jukebo.de/g-love/videoclip,unified,lm50v.html

Oh yah, these are alternate lyrics from G. Love...

 

[Hydro-Soil]

Thank god I'm in the .01%.

ROTFLMAO!!

You got that right!

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Amazing how much shorter this thread is... now that DB and O-boy are on vacation. (Ignore list is soo nice)

Anyone interested in just how far off the track our country has gone? Here's a good primer video to get you started.

THIS is the type of information you need to keep in your head when you look at what's going on today.

"Atlas Shrugged" by Ann Rynd. O-boy should read that one. A bit over dramatic in the end, but then it's a fictional novel.... scarily paralleling what's happening to our country today.

Other good reads...
"1984" by George Orwell.

"A Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley.

Both novels that portray a future amerika.... like the one we live in today.

Bang a little logic on belief systems into your head...
"Prometheous Rising" by Robert Anton Wilson.... if you can find a copy.

The point in life is to constantly make each day an improvement on the last.... Value sovereignty, family, truth, ethics and education. Set worthwhile, reachable goals and reach them. You will be rewarded accordingly.

Above all...

Stay Safe!

and buy your ammo in small lots. DHS & now the military... can make you go poof in the night, without any accountability to anyone.... whatsoever.

A whore, a bore and 1984.

aren't you missing cartoons?

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Fuck those evil 1%!!!!!
quit that evil job they provide!

What you really mean is those who haven't created a net job in 30 years. Fortune 1000 companies' work forces have shrunk.

get out there with your comrades.

Educating the redneck is more fun.

You dont need a job. We the 99% will take care of you. Go ahead see how it works out for you..

lol

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Fanning the fears of communism is funnier than Hydro's assigned reading lessons.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Financial Executives Likely Won't Face Criminal Charges For Role In Financial Crisis: Former Investigator

First Posted: 12/ 6/11 12:27 PM ET Updated: 12/ 6/11 12:27 PM ET

Though often blamed with making the calls that led the country to the brink of collapse, financial executives likely won't face criminal charges for their practices during the financial crisis, according to a former top U.S. investigator.

The Justice Department has decided that prosecution of financial executives is "better left to regulators" to take civil-enforcement actions, David Cardona, who was a deputy assistant director at the Federal Bureau of Investigation until last month, told the Wall Street Journal.

"There's been a realization and a more deliberate targeting by the Department of Justice before we launch criminally on some of these cases," Cardona told the WSJ.

Cardona's comments come nearly eight months after Senator Carl Levin released a report on Goldman Sachs' role in the financial crisis, which found the investment bank profited off purposefully deceiving its own clients at the height of the financial crisis. Levin then said he would recommend some of the investment bank's executives for possible criminal prosecution.

Government officials haven't successfully prosecuted a single Wall Street executive or financial firm since the meltdown, despite many Americans and experts blaming them for the decisions that led to the housing crisis and subsequent financial panic, according to CBS News.

In fact, Wall Street executives have offered a litany of others to blame for the crisis: consumers who took out mortgages they couldn't afford, investors who demanded the opportunity to buy risky securities, policymakers who didn't anticipate the housing crash -- even regulators, according to The New York Times.

One of the ways Wall Street firms have escaped criminal punishment is through a Justice Department directive issued in the summer of 2008. The new process, known as deferred prosecution, allows for some leniency if firms investigate and admit their own wrongdoing, the NYT reports. But many have derided the guidelines, saying that they're allowing perpetrators to get off too easily.

One outspoken critic, Judge Jed Rakoff, made a decision last month that may force the SEC to step up its enforcement of financial crimes, but likely won't lead to more criminal prosecutions. Rakoff rejected a proposed settlement between the SEC and Citigroup, saying the settlement didn't go far enough to punish the bank because Citi didn't have to admit wrongdoing.

Though the most egregious examples of financial regulators' softness may be related to the financial crisis, the pattern has been apparent for years. Federal prosecution of financial fraud is on track to fall to a 20-year low, according a recent report from Syracuse University. The number of these types of prosecutions has gotten smaller and smaller since 1999, the report found.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/06/criminal-prosecution-financial-crimes_n_1131639.html

More news about the sad state of American Government. But I get it - intent, the part we can't prove is 9/10ths of the criminal aspect. So civil fines and penalties are the only recourse.

Regulators just tried to serve up another 'deal' with CitiGroup. CG wouldn't have to plead guilty of wrongdoing and would only be fined a fraction of their fraudulent gains.

The judge overruled, saying that not having to admit wrongdoing goes against the foundations of banking itself.

Here's a tip, judge. Tell regulators that fining a fraction of fraudulent gains doesn't work as good as fining all fraudulent gains - plus.

 

[dagnabit]

What you really mean is those who haven't created a net job in 30 years. Fortune 1000 companies' work forces have shrunk.



Educating the redneck is more fun.



lol

Sure your right...
Its the 99% employing all the workers left here.
You know the few that haven't been chased overseas.

I notice you said elswhere "we are a consumption based economy"



thats the problem in a nutshell right there!

well that and we have people whi have been convinced that increasing the cost of production somehow does not increase the cost of goods and services.

My response was ti the person who enjoys the benefits. Of a job provided by the 1%(they said it not me) growling at the hand that feeds.

I belive this is where you chastise others for gloming on no?



anyhooo
did ya hear the big O on tv?
can you believe he has the nerve to even remark on monetary influence?!?!?
FFS goldman,citi,and BOA were #'s 1,2and3 on the trail!

 

[SpasticGramps]

So civil fines and penalties are the only recourse.

And that's why the thievery will continue. If you can make billions and billions off stealing from people and only pay a few million in fines the incentive is to do it again.

Nothing more proves that there are two legal systems more than this tragedy.

They won't even try to prove intent. Why? Because the same goons who robbed everyone own the government and the regulators. They are untouchable. This will only be resolved when the middle class becomes completely impoverished and is left with nothing. When they have nothing else to lose then the tide will begin to change. Looks like we may getting there quicker than most would like to believe.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

Sure your right...
Its the 99% employing all the workers left here.
You know the few that haven't been chased overseas.

According to statistics, small business represents as much as 90% of the domestic workforce, generating as much as 70% of domestic commerce. These figures are restricted in less than sound economies. They're significantly less in recessions with high unemployment.

I notice you said elswhere "we are a consumption based economy"

Statistics show that consumers generate as much as 70% GDP through consumption. This is but one aspect that renders the phrase, consumer-based or consumption-based economy. Consumer goods include capital expenses like homes and automobiles [and] durable goods like stoves, washing machines and refrigerators.

thats the problem in a nutshell right there!

The problem is that too many policies funnel money to the top, shrinking economies, increasing unemployment, reducing demand - and the top budges less with slack demand. They have a profit motivation that managed tax money doesn't. When policy is directed toward more consumption through increased jobs (and the public benefits these jobs produce,) demand rises. When demand rises, capitalists recognize and once again risk their equity for increased profits. Their risks are far lower in sound economies.

well that and we have people whi have been convinced that increasing the cost of production somehow does not increase the cost of goods and services.

Only if you're talking to children.

My response was ti the person who enjoys the benefits. Of a job provided by the 1%(they said it not me) growling at the hand that feeds.

Yeah, when executive compensation rates overwhelm others' opportunity for upward mobility, it's a reasonable beef.

I belive this is where you chastise others for gloming on no?

I wouldn't suggest your relevance depends on defending the reality of starve-the-beast policy. Unfortunately, your rebuttals are irrelevant.

anyhooo
did ya hear the big O on tv?
can you believe he has the nerve to even remark on monetary influence?!?!?
FFS goldman,citi,and BOA were #'s 1,2and3 on the trail!

I consider it irrelevant to suggest somebody not play the game that SCOTUS imposed, rendering all non-players into irrelevance.

I would expect irrelevance to ignore the idea that reform will force all players accordingly.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

And that's why the thievery will continue. If you can make billions and billions off stealing from people and only pay a few million in fines the incentive is to do it again.

Nothing more proves that there are two legal systems more than this tragedy.

They won't even try to prove intent. Why? Because the same goons who robbed everyone own the government and the regulators. They are untouchable. This will only be resolved when the middle class becomes completely impoverished and is left with nothing. When they have nothing else to lose then the tide will begin to change. Looks like we may getting there quicker than most would like to believe.

I hope we'll collectively pay more attention to national policy.

 

[SpasticGramps]

Pardon the cynicism, but if we can't prosecute anyone after the largest systemic fraud in history then there is no hope for us.

 

[DiscoBiscuit]

I also feel cynicism for the status quot. Wall Street prosecutions are at a 20 year low. This suggests there were more Wall Street prosecutions after 1991, only to sink back to the levels we see today.

Over the last few decades, we've eliminated laws that define respective crimes. In the vacuum, we've received further transgressions along with the narrative that discourages government regulatory action. Even with proper market management, intent is often the hardest aspect to prove.

IMO, a system that sets civil damages high enough will mitigate some criminal transgressions. But reforms will have to include criminal penalties to reap criminal prosecutions. These potential crimes require reinserting language, defining crimes and their subsequent punishment the same way it applies to the 99%.

 

[onegreenday]

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2011/dec2011/lapd-d06.shtml

World Socialist Web Site
wsws.org
Los Angeles police infiltrate Occupy LA
By our reporter
6 December 2011

As part of the crackdown on protests against social inequality in the United States, nearly a dozen Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers infiltrated the Occupy Los Angeles camp over the course of a few weeks prior to the police assault and dispersal of the camp on November 30.

The ostensible goal of the infiltrators was to gather information on any plans among the protesters to violently resist eviction. However, their more practical purpose was to violate the democratic rights of the protesters and provide justification for the militarization of the police response. It is part of a growing effort by police agencies to monitor and spy on oppositional groups.

LAPD Commander Andrew Smith told a reporter that the undercover officers were important for understanding the protesters before the raid. He downplayed the significance of the infiltration saying that “the camp was accessible to everyone.”

The undercover officers cited the absurd story that some protesters were making bamboo spears to fight off the police. When 1,400 officers cleared out the encampment of a few hundred, it was the police who acted violently.

Multiple eyewitnesses have claimed that the police attacked peaceful protesters and journalists with their batons to drive them from the park. Out of the 291 protesters arrested, 187 were released without being charged with any crime, and 46 were charged with the misdemeanor of “failure to disperse.”

Overall, the LAPD attempted to enforce strict restrictions on the media covering the eviction. They declared that only media given LAPD-issued press passes would be allowed to cover the event from a limited area on the City Hall steps. Further, only reporters who attended a meeting at 7 pm on November 28, which was only announced an hour and 15 minutes before, would be eligible for the press pass. Any press without a pass inside an undefined distance from the park would be arrested with the protesters if they did not disperse.

The only person who was charged with assault and battery of a peace officer was a photojournalist, Tyson Heder, for allegedly spitting on an officer. The video of Heder’s arrest, captured by CBS, shows him being thrown to the ground for no apparent reason and being tackled by several police after demanding the name of the officer who assaulted him.

This is not the first time that the police have gone undercover within the Occupy movement as part of preparations to disperse an encampment. In late October, members of the Tennessee Highway Patrol infiltrated Occupy Nashville prior to police raids resulting in 55 arrests.

In both instances, law enforcement began surveillance on the basis of political dissent and not credible suspicion of illegal activity. Antonio Villaraigosa, the Democratic Party mayor of Los Angeles, and Bill Haslam, the Republican Governor of Tennessee, both justified the police surveillance and assault on protesters as necessary for public safety.

This preemptive surveillance of political opposition is part and parcel of the Democrats’ and Republicans’ steady assault on democratic rights. Concurrent with the politically motivated infiltration of the Occupy movement has been the Obama administration’s arguments before the Supreme Court defending unlimited, warrantless GPS surveillance, and the passage in the Senate of the National Defense Authorization Act, which legalizes the unlimited military detention without trial or judicial oversight of US citizens.

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