Fly Your Own Spy Drone ... For $300
For example, protesters in Warsaw used a spy drone last month to see what police were doing. As diydrones.com notes:
People tend to assume that UAVs will be used by the police to keep watch on us, but as … video, taken by a RoboKopter of riots in Warsaw, shows, they can equally be used by citizens to keep tabs on the police. No need to wait for the local news to send a helicopter to get the aerial scene of a demonstration, just Do It Yourself!
EPIC Sues DHS Over Covert Surveillance of Facebook and Twitter
"The agency plans to create fictitious user accounts and scan posts of users for key terms. User data will be stored for five years and shared with other government agencies.The legal authority for the DHS program remains unclear. EPIC filed the lawsuit after the DHS failed to reply to an April 2011 FOIA request.
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23 and 1/2 hours: What is the single best thing we can do for our health? - YouTube
Great 9 minute video about your health!
thanks to Smo for the link
thanks to Smo for the link
A whole new meaning for thinking on your feet: Brains of small spiders overflow into legs
AMAZING!
"The smaller the animal, the more it has to invest in its brain, which means even very tiny spiders are able to weave a web and perform other fairly complex behaviors," said William Wcislo, staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama. "We discovered that the central nervous systems of the smallest spiders fill up almost 80 percent of their total body cavity, including about 25 percent of their legs."
MIT Scientists Create Camera That Allows Photons To Be Seen Moving In Slow Motion
the researchers were able to create slow-motion movies, showing what appears to be a bullet of light that moves from one end of the bottle to the other.
Thousands Sterilized, North Carolina Weighs Restitution
More about the NC sterilization program.
The reports begin when he was barely a teenager, fighting at school and masturbating openly. A social worker wrote that he and his parents were of “rather low mentality.” Mr. Holt was sent to a state home for people with mental and emotional problems. In 1968, when he was ready to get out and start life as an adult, the Eugenics Board of North Carolina ruled that he should first have a vasectomy.
Author Schweizer: Pelosi Made Killing Off of Most In-Demand IPO in History
I realize this is from Newsmax but this quotation is striking.
Los Angeles votes to end corporate personhood
"The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to support a resolution calling for a constitutional amendment that would assert that corporations are not entitled to constitutional rights, and that money is not the same as free speech.
The resolution was backed by Move to Amend, a national coalition working to abolish corporate personhood and overturn U.S. Supreme Court’s controversial Citizens United ruling. The decision gave corporations and unions the ability to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections, so long as their actions are not coordinated with a candidate’s campaign."
Senate Considers Bill AUTHORIZING More Torture
“So a Middle East dictatorship has more democratic accountability for abuse of power, including torture, than the US under Obama.”
Merck Pays a Pittance for Mass Deaths
Q: Who killed more Americans —al Qaeda crashing airplanes into the World Trade Center, or Merck pushing Vioxx?
A: Merck, by a factor of 18.
Iranian students storm British Embassy in Tehran
"Smoke rose from some areas of the embassy grounds and the British flag was replaced with a banner in the name of 7th century Shiite saint, Imam Hussein. Occupiers also tore down picture of Queen Elizabeth II."
Wes Clark and the neocon dream
Six weeks later, I saw the same officer, and asked: “Why haven’t we attacked Iraq? Are we still going to attack Iraq?”
He said: “Sir, it’s worse than that. He said – he pulled up a piece of paper off his desk – he said: “I just got this memo from the Secretary of Defense’s office. It says we’re going to attack anddestroy the governments in 7 countries in five years – we’re going to start with Iraq, and then we’re going to move to Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Iran.”
Secret Fed Loans Helped Banks Net $13B
The Fed didn’t tell anyone which banks were in trouble so deep they required a combined $1.2 trillion on Dec. 5, 2008, their single neediest day. Bankers didn’t mention that they took tens of billions of dollars in emergency loans at the same time they were assuring investors their firms were healthy. And no one calculated until now that banks reaped an estimated $13 billion of income by taking advantage of the Fed’s below-market rates, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its January issue.
Two Scandals, One Connection: The FBI link between Penn State and UC Davis
"The names Spanier and Katehi are now synonymous with the worst abuses of institutional power. But their connection didn’t begin there. In 2010, Spanier chose Katehi to join an elite team of twenty college presidents on what’s called the National Security Higher Education Advisory Board, which “promotes discussion and outreach between research universities and the FBI."
Occupy Wall Street Librarians Address Bloomberg for Destroying Books | OccupyWallSt.org
Over 4,000 Books, Documents, Were Trashed by NYPD & Dept. of Sanitation in Raid
OWS Library Staff Recovers Books and Supplies, Less Than One-Fifth is Usable
What: Press conference to address the destruction of the OWS People's Library by Mayor Michael Bloomberg during the 11/15 raid.
Magnificent Visions
After Spruce’s identification in the 19th century, it was Richard Evans Schultes who did much of the excellent taxonomic detective work in the 1940s and early 1950s. Schultes established that, in addition to Banisteriopsis caapi, ayahuasca tea contained admixture plants. Two of those identified by Schultes, Psychotria viridis (Chacruna) and Diplopterys cabrerana (Chaliponga), were found to contain a potent short-acting hallucinogen: N,N-Dimethyltryptamine, or DMT. As the active alkaloids in the ayahuasca vine—the beta-carbolines harmine, tetrahydroharmine, and harmaline—were known to be only mildly psychoactive on their own, Schultes and his students speculated that ayahuasca’s dramatic effects were the result of a synergistic interaction between the alkaloids in the vine and the DMT in admixture plants. This would prove to be the case.
The beta-carboline alkaloids in ayahuasca were found to be powerful reversible inhibitors of monoamine oxidase, or MAO, an enzyme that normally deactivates DMT. MAO’s being inhibited by beta-carbolines allows DMT to pass the gut, enter the circulatory system, and ultimately cross the blood-brain barrier, where it produces the visions associated with ayahuasca. Unlike his great Victorian predecessor Spruce, Schultes tried ayahuasca many times, though he never allowed such visions as he experienced to carry him to any hyperbolic height. When William Burroughs, a fellow Harvard man, described his ayahuasca visions in florid, apocalyptic terms, Schultes famously replied, “That’s funny, Bill, all I saw was colors.”
Are big banks really changing their ways?
"The nation's 10 biggest banks could stand to lose as much as $185 billion in deposits in the next year due to customer defections,"
FBI declined to pursue NYC bomb plot
Federal authorities declined to pursue a case against an "al-Qaida sympathizer" accused of wanting to bomb police stations and post offices in New York City because they believed he was mentally unstable and incapable of pulling off the alleged plot, two law enforcement officials said Monday.
The roots of the UC-Davis pepper-spraying - Salon.com
The intent and effect of such abuse is that it renders those guaranteed freedoms meaningless. If a population becomes bullied or intimidated out of exercising rights offered on paper, those rights effectively cease to exist.
One in Three Americans in Poverty, or Just Above It
All told, that places 100 million people — one in three Americans — either in poverty or in the fretful zone just above it.
Thousands Occupy Wall Street: All Entry Points to New York Stock Exchange Blockaded
"At least 200 people have been arrested so far for peaceful assembly and nonviolent civil disobedience, including retired Philadelphia Police Captain Ray Lewis. "All the cops are just workers for the one percent, and they don't even realize they're being exploited," Mr. Lewis said. "As soon as I'm let out of jail, I'll be right back here and they'll have to arrest me again."
"Our political system should serve all of us — not just the very rich and powerful. Right now Wall Street owns Washington," said participant Beka Economopoulos. "We are the 99% and we are here to reclaim our democracy.""
"Our political system should serve all of us — not just the very rich and powerful. Right now Wall Street owns Washington," said participant Beka Economopoulos. "We are the 99% and we are here to reclaim our democracy.""
OWS-inspired activism
"But the same factors that rendered this police crackdown inevitable will also ensure that this protest movement endures: the roots of the anger are real, profound and impassioned. Just as American bombs ostensibly aimed at reducing Terrorism have the exact opposite effect — by fueling the anti-American sentiments that cause Terrorism in the first place — so, too, will excessive police force further fuel the Occupy movement. Nothing highlights the validity of the movement’s core grievances more than watching a piggish billionaire Wall Street Mayor — who bought and clung to his political power using his personal fortune — deploy force against marginalized citizens peacefully and lawfully protesting joblessness, foreclosures and economic suffering. If Michael Bloomberg didn’t exist, the Occupy protesters would have to invent him."
New technology improves both energy capacity and charge rate in rechargeable batteries
Imagine a cellphone battery that stayed charged for more than a week and recharged in just 15 minutes. That dream battery could be closer to reality thanks to Northwestern University research.
A police raid suffused with symbolism
"A military style raid on peaceful protesters camped out in the shadow of Wall Street, ordered by a cold ruthless billionaire who bought his way into the mayor’s office."
more from Glenn
more from Glenn
UPDATE II: To justify his raid, Mayor Bloomberg said: ”We must never be afraid to insist on compliance with our laws.” Leaving aside the fact that torturers, illegal eavesdroppers, wagers of aggressive war, Wall Streets defrauders, and mortgage thieves are some of his best friends who thrive and profit rather than sit in a jail cell, this is the same Mayor Bloomberg who, now beyond all dispute, is knowingly and deliberately breaking the law by violating a Court Order of which he is well aware. He’d be arrested for that if he weren’t a billionaire Mayor (and indeed, having seen that bevvy of political and financial elites break the law in the most egregious ways with total impunity over the last decade, why would Bloomberg be afraid of simply ignoring the law?). Today really is the most vivid expression seen in quite some time of the two-tiered justice system I wrote my new book to highlight; the real criminals are not only shielded from the law’s mandates, but affirmatively use it as an instrument to entrench themselves in power and protect their ill-gotten gains.
NYPD IS RAIDING OCCUPY WALL STREET
- 3:36 a.m. Kitchen tent reported teargassed. Police moving in with zip cuffs.
- 3:33 a.m. Bulldozers moving in
- 3:16 a.m. Occupiers linking arms around riot police
- 3:15 a.m. NYPD destroying personal items. Occupiers prevented from leaving with their possessions.
- 3:13 a.m. NYPD deploying sound cannon
- 3:08 a.m. heard on livestream: "they're bringing in the hoses."
- 3:05 a.m. NYPD cutting down trees in Liberty Square
- 2:55 a.m. NYC council-member Ydanis Rodríguez arrested and bleeding from head.
- 2:44 a.m. Defiant occupiers barricaded Liberty Square kitchen
- 2:44 a.m. NYPD destroys OWS Library. 5,000 donated books in dumpster.
- 2:42 a.m. Brooklyn Bridge confirmed closed
- 2:38 a.m. 400-500 marching north to Foley Square
- 2:32 a.m. All subways but R shut down
- 2:29 a.m. Press helicopters evicted from airspace. NYTimes reporter arrested.
- 2:22 a.m. Frontpage coverage from New York Times
- 2:15 a.m. Occupiers who have been dispersed are regrouping at Foley Square
- 2:10 a.m. Press barred from entering Liberty Square
- 2:07 a.m. Pepper spray deployed -- reports of at least one reporter sprayed
- 2:03 a.m. Massive Police Presence at Canal and Broadway
- 1:43 a.m. Helicopters overhead.
- 1:38 a.m. Unconfirmed reports of snipers on rooftops.
- 1:34 a.m. CBS News Helicopter Livestream
- 1:27 a.m. Unconfirmed reports that police are planning to sweep everyone.
- 1:20 a.m. Subway stops are closed.
- 1:20 a.m. Brooklyn bridge is closed.
- 1:20 a.m. Occupiers chanting "This is what a police state looks like."
- 1:20 a.m. Police are in riot gear.
- 1:20 a.m. Police are bringing in bulldozers.
Congress Must IMMEDIATELY Pass HR 1148: The "Stop Trading On Congressional Knowledge" Act
"To prohibit securities and commodities trading based on nonpublic information relating to Congress, and to require additional reporting by Members and employees of Congress of securities transaction, and for other purposes." Wonder why you have never heard of HR 682, aside from the obvious: that Congress would never vote in a law to cut off this massive illegal form of funding for itself: "This bill never became law." Well, duh.
Questioning Pelosi: Steve Kroft heads to D.C.
it's about fricking time someone looked into this!
It turns out that it is not illegal for member of Congress to make stock trades using inside information they learn while working on legislation, and Steve had some questions about some specific stock trades.
Since nobody involved would give him an interview, Steve had to find other ways to get some answers. As you'll see on Overtime this week, Steve looked for some lawmakers at their homes, attempted to track others down in their offices, and finally ended up asking questions at press conferences held by Nancy Pelosi and John Boehner."
Ron Paul and Occupy Protests Join Forces In Demanding an End to Crony Capitalism
more from Washington's Blog...
How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the OWS Protests
I have a confession to make. At first, I misunderstood Occupy Wall Street.
The first few times I went down to Zuccotti Park, I came away with mixed feelings. I loved the energy and was amazed by the obvious organic appeal of the movement, the way it was growing on its own. But my initial impression was that it would not be taken very seriously by the Citibanks and Goldman Sachs of the world. You could put 50,000 angry protesters on Wall Street, 100,000 even, and Lloyd Blankfein is probably not going to break a sweat. He knows he's not going to wake up tomorrow and see Cornel West or Richard Trumka running the Federal Reserve. He knows modern finance is a giant mechanical parasite that only an expert surgeon can remove. Yell and scream all you want, but he and his fellow financial Frankensteins are the only ones who know how to turn the machine off.
OCCUPY DENVER ELECTS LEADER
Brilliant!
In response to Denver Mayor Michael Hancock’s insistence that Occupy Denver choose leadership to deal with City and State officials, and drawing inspiration from the notion that corporations are people, Occupy Denver’s General Assembly has elected a leader: Shelby, a three year old Border Collie. “Shelby is closer to a person than any corporation: She can bleed, she can breed, and she can show emotion. Either Shelby is a person, or corporations aren’t people,” said a Shelby supporter at the time of her election.
LifeStraw Brings Clean Water To Almost One Million In Kenya (video) | Singularity Hub
LifeStraw, a portable water filter that you sip from, was donated to nearly a million households in Kenya last April. The water filter is easy to use, cheap to make, and adds to the growing number of technologies developed by wealthy countries to improve the lives of the people living in impoverished ones.
City's Homeless Count Tops 40,000
The number of people in New York City's homeless-shelter population exceeded 40,000 last week for the first time, capping a rapid rise in homeless children and families since the spring when the city eliminated a rent subsidy program, according to a report to be released Wednesday.
Big Banks Plead with Customers Not to Move Their Money
“You’ll be back. Credit unions can’t provide the services you need.” We’ll see about that. She withdrew over $200k from Wells Fargo.
Private investigator working for Murdoch tabloid spied on Prince William, other celebs - The Washington Post
wonder what the fallout of this will be...
Victims speak out about North Carolina sterilization program, which targeted women, young girls and blacks
unbelievable this kind of crap went down.
Occupy The Highway: The 99% March to Washington
On November 23rd, the Congressional Deficit Reduction Super-Committee will meet to decide on whether or not to keep Obama's extension to the Bush tax-cuts - which only benefit the richest 1% of Americans in any kind of significant way. Luckily, a group of OWS'ers are embarking on a two-week march from Liberty Plaza to the Whitehouse to let the committee know what the 99% think about these cuts. Join the march to make sure these tax cuts for the richest 1% of Americans are allowed to die!
Camera Man Shot with a Rubber Bullet Simply for Filming Police at Occupy Oakland
these cops in Oakland are unreal.
Most of the unemployed no longer receive benefits
The jobs crisis has left so many people out of work for so long that most of America's unemployed are no longer receiving unemployment benefits.
Early last year, 75 percent were receiving checks. The figure is now 48 percent — a shift that points to a growing crisis of long-term unemployment. Nearly one-third of America's 14 million unemployed have had no job for a year or more."
Early last year, 75 percent were receiving checks. The figure is now 48 percent — a shift that points to a growing crisis of long-term unemployment. Nearly one-third of America's 14 million unemployed have had no job for a year or more."
Foxconn Wants to Build “Intelligent Robotics Kingdom” to Replace Human Workers with Robots
"I love how they mention that this facility will create jobs! Yeah, 2000 jobs for people who are tasked with figuring out how to eliminate millions of other people’s jobs."
Bank Transfer: 650,000 Answer the Call
As the social media-sparked Bank Transfer Day approaches, the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) reports that over 650,000 people have joined credit unions in the last four weeks.
REAL Capitalists Move Their Money from Big Banks to Credit Unions
Conservative free market entrepreneurial capitalist Karl Denninger notes:
If you have an account at a BANK, go move it to a CREDIT UNION.
You know, a place that you own and is a mutual association of people?
Yes. One that you own. Where the fees assessed go to provide services to…. you, not to feather the nests of bank executives and stockholders.
Flex your rights: The top 3 things to do in every police encounter
Pro tip: If an officer asks you to empty your pockets, respectfully decline and reiterate that you do not consent to any search. Emptying your pockets is the same as saying you consent. The officer may still reach into your pockets if they claim to have felt something that may be a weapon, but by refusing you retain constitutional protections later on.
Fabled Viking 'sunstone' shown to really work
"These sunstones are mentioned in several contemporary texts, and were said to work even when the sky was completely overcast or the sun was below the horizon - as it is for long periods at such northern latitudes.
"The weather was thick and stormy... The king looked about and saw no blue sky," reads the 13th-century Hrafns Saga. "Then the king took the sunstone and held it up, and then he saw where [the sun] beamed from the stone.""
"The weather was thick and stormy... The king looked about and saw no blue sky," reads the 13th-century Hrafns Saga. "Then the king took the sunstone and held it up, and then he saw where [the sun] beamed from the stone.""
Fukushima residents' urine now radioactive
More than 3 millisieverts of radiation has been measured in the urine of 15 Fukushima residents of the village of Iitate and the town of Kawamata, confirming internal radiation exposure, it was learned Sunday."
Catholic Church faces hardcore porn shame
as Kevin at cryptogon pointed out, this is not from the Onion
"Germany's biggest Catholic-owned publishing house has been rocked by disclosures that it has been selling thousands of pornographic novels with titles such as Sluts Boarding School and Lawyer's Whore with the full assent of the country's leading bishops."
What They Don't Tell You: Tired of banks charging you unnecessary fees? Here's how to get 'em back!
I've been doing this for some time, on the advice of my aunt.
Occupy Wall Street to Obama: Don't Be Big Banks' Puppet; No Immunity Deal for Crooks
President Obama is on the brink of cutting a backroom deal that would give bankers broad immunity for illegally throwing tens of thousands of Americans out of their homes. The Administration is pressuring state attorneys general to abandon an ongoing investigation into the massive "robo-signing" fraud, in exchange for a relatively small payoff by the banks.
Census: 1 in 15 Americans Among the Poorest of the Poor | PBS NewsHour
It's a stark portrait of America, its haves and especially its have-nots. New census data out today showed one in 15 Americans now lives in extreme poverty, the poorest of the poor, defined as earning less than 50 percent of the official poverty line. In 2010, that meant an income of around $5,500 for an individual and just over $11,000 for a family of four.
There was also a new analysis of poverty in the last decade today from the Brookings Institution, among its findings, a rise in the concentration of poverty, particularly in the Midwest and Sunbelt, and increasingly in the suburbs, and a jump in the population living in extremely poor neighborhoods, where at least 40 percent of individuals live below the poverty line.
Protesters sit in at Mitch McConnell’s office
About 30 protesters have occupied a waiting area in an office belonging to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), saying they are speaking up for unemployed and under-employed people in the District.
The protesters, all said to be District residents, were organized by a new nonprofit group, OurDC. They arrived about 10:30 a.m. at McConnell’s third-floor office in the Russell Senate Office Building, an organizer said. A staffer offered to meet with the group, but the group insisted on meeting with McConnell himself.
“The Senator needs to see their pain, hear their stories, and really needs to look them in the eye,” said James Adams, one of the group’s organizers. The protesters said they wanted to lobby McConnell to support some of President Obama’s jobs proposals, because they include millions of dollars in funding for projects in the District.
Wherever You Go, Cameras Are Watching You | Singularity Hub
The modern digital camera is small enough to fit on a phone, powerful enough to record in high definition, and popular enough to be almost everywhere. With the rise of camera technology have come two dueling trends: the popularity of sharing videos and pictures online, and the fear that we’re losing privacy to security surveillance. Which force is more powerful: Big Brother or Big Social Sharing? And where is all this camera technology leading us in the years ahead? Our friends at Mezzmer Eyeglasses have created another compelling infographic to give you the details about digital recording in the 21st Century. Delve into the exclusive Singularity Hub image below. Wherever you go, cameras are watching you. It’s about time to figure out what’s going on behind those electronic eyes.
Handful of Violent Rioters Don't Represent "Occupy" Protests
An agent provocateur may be a police officer or a secret agent of police who encourages suspects to carry out a crime ….
A political organization or government may use agents provocateurs against political opponents. The provocateurs try to incite the opponent to do counter-productive or ineffective acts to foster public disdain—or provide a pretext for aggression against the opponent (see Red-baiting).
Historically, labor spies, hired to infiltrate, monitor, disrupt, or subvert union activities, have used agent provocateur tactics.
There are numerous, documented cases from around the world of government provocateurs acting violently at peaceful protests in order to discredit the peaceful movements.
Occupy Wall Street | NYC Protest for American Revolution
“Bloomberg lied yesterday when he claimed that a sexual assault suspect was merely kicked out of the park, when in fact OWS security personnel forcibly removed the individual and handed him directly to the NYPD,” said Andrew Smith, a member of OWS’s overnight Community Watch. “The Mayor should get his facts straight before he calls responsible citizens protecting our community ‘despicable.’”
NY mayor lashes out at Occupy Wall Street protesters
oh, he of the change the rules so that I can have a third term...Bloomberg can bite me!
We fabricated drug charges against innocent people to meet arrest quotas, former detective testifies
Anderson, testifying under a cooperation agreement with prosecutors, was busted for planting cocaine, a practice known as "flaking," on four men in a Queens bar in 2008 to help out fellow cop Henry Tavarez, whose buy-and-bust activity had been low.
System D: The Shadow Superpower
System D is a slang phrase pirated from French-speaking Africa and the Caribbean. The French have a word that they often use to describe particularly effective and motivated people. They call them débrouillards. To say a man is a débrouillard is to tell people how resourceful and ingenious he is. The former French colonies have sculpted this word to their own social and economic reality. They say that inventive, self-starting, entrepreneurial merchants who are doing business on their own, without registering or being regulated by the bureaucracy and, for the most part, without paying taxes, are part of “l’economie de la débrouillardise.” Or, sweetened for street use, “Systeme D.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders: The Veil of Secrecy at the Fed Has Been Lifted, Now It's Time for Change
Over two years ago, I asked Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, a few simple questions that I thought the American people had a right to know: Who got money through the Fed bailout? How much did they receive? What were the terms of this assistance?
Incredibly, the chairman of the Fed refused to answer these fundamental questions about how trillions of taxpayer dollars were being spent.
The American people are finally getting answers to these questions thanks to an amendment I included in the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill which required the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to audit and investigate conflicts of interest at the Fed. Those answers raise grave questions about the Federal Reserve and how it operates -- and whose interests it serves.
The People vs. Goldman Sachs - Trial and March! | OccupyWallSt.org
On November 3rd, the People, the 99 percent, will hold A People’s Hearing of Goldman Sachs in Liberty Square Park and march on Goldman Sachs! The people will bring to justice perhaps the single most egregious perpetrator of economic fraud and corruption in the United States. The Hearing will include testimonials from individuals directly affected by Goldman’s fraudulent manipulation of financial markets, including victims of housing foreclosures, pension losses, public lay-offs and untenable student debt.
Thirty companies paid no U.S. income tax 2008-2010: report
"Corporations will say rightly that the loopholes that let them slash their taxes were perfectly legal, the report said.
"But that does not mean that low-tax corporations bear no responsibility ... The laws were not enacted in a vacuum; they were adopted in response to relentless corporate lobbying, threats and campaign support," the report said.
Some of the 30 companies disputed the report's findings."
"But that does not mean that low-tax corporations bear no responsibility ... The laws were not enacted in a vacuum; they were adopted in response to relentless corporate lobbying, threats and campaign support," the report said.
Some of the 30 companies disputed the report's findings."
The human toll of the U.S. drone campaign
more death and destruction, aka, your tax dollars at work.
US Food Stamp Usage Hits New Record
in August, a new all time record number of Americans, or 45.8 million, relied on food stamps for sustenance. So for those who are looking for those up and coming states where the population has decided that slowly but surely work of any kind is an anachronism we suggest you move to Alabama, Delaware, Utah, or Washington: all states that have seen at least a 3% sequential increase in food stamp usage.
Sage words from the Mahatma
I think it would be a good idea.
Mahatma Gandhi, when asked what he thought of Western civilization
Indian political and spiritual leader (1869 - 1948)
Front-Page ABC News: "Occupy Veterans Movement Growing Across U.S."
Since Occupy Wall Street protests have broken out in cities across the U.S. and abroad, support has come from what might seem like an unlikely corner: war veterans.
***
“We are a collection of prior service Marines intent on protecting American citizens and their ability to exercise their First Amendment rights,” a spokesperson for the group said.
“These riot squads deploy unlawful excessive force against Americans all service members swore to protect, and many veterans have sacrificed their lives in that honor. We at OMC will not stand idly by as these cowards continue to abuse the Constitution, hurting American citizens. We will use any nonviolent means to convince law enforcement agencies to understand that brutality will only strengthen our resolve,” the spokesperson said ….
Astronomers discover complex organic matter exists throughout the universe
Astronomers report in the journal Nature that organic compounds of unexpected complexity exist throughout the Universe. The results suggest that complex organic compounds are not the sole domain of life but can be made naturally by stars.
Middle East propaganda 101
When it comes to American propaganda about the Middle East, this New York Times article — detailing U.S. plans to bolster its influence in the region after it “withdraws” from Iraq — is a masterpiece. Here’s the crux of the new American strategy and its ostensible rationale:
With an eye on the threat of a belligerent Iran, the administration is also seeking to expand military ties with the six nations in the Gulf Cooperation Council — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. While the United States has close bilateral military relationships with each, the administration and the military are trying to foster a new “security architecture” for the Persian Gulf that would integrate air and naval patrols and missile defense.
Concerns Raised about Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes
what could possibly go wrong!
These mosquitoes are genetically engineered to kill — their own children.
Researchers on Sunday reported initial signs of success from the first release into the environment of mosquitoes engineered to pass a lethal gene to their offspring, killing them before they reach adulthood.
The results, and other work elsewhere, could herald an age in which genetically modified insects will be used to help control agricultural pests and insect-borne diseases like dengue fever and malaria.
Met police using surveillance system to monitor mobile phones | UK news | The Guardian
"Britain's largest police force is operating covert surveillance technology that can masquerade as a mobile phone network, transmitting a signal that allows authorities to shut off phones remotely, intercept communications and gather data about thousands of users in a targeted area.
The surveillance system has been procured by the Metropolitan police from Leeds-based company Datong plc, which counts the US Secret Service, the Ministry of Defence and regimes in the Middle East among its customers. Strictly classified under government protocol as "Listed X", it can emit a signal over an area of up to an estimated 10 sq km, forcing hundreds of mobile phones per minute to release their unique IMSI and IMEI identity codes, which can be used to track a person's movements in real time."
'via Blog this'
The surveillance system has been procured by the Metropolitan police from Leeds-based company Datong plc, which counts the US Secret Service, the Ministry of Defence and regimes in the Middle East among its customers. Strictly classified under government protocol as "Listed X", it can emit a signal over an area of up to an estimated 10 sq km, forcing hundreds of mobile phones per minute to release their unique IMSI and IMEI identity codes, which can be used to track a person's movements in real time."
'via Blog this'
The importance of protests
In its depth and suddenness, the U.S. economic and financial crisis is shockingly reminiscent of moments we have recently seen in emerging markets (and only in emerging markets) . . . .But there’s a deeper and more disturbing similarity: elite business interests—financiers, in the case of the U.S.—played a central role in creating the crisis, making ever-larger gambles, with the implicit backing of the government, until the inevitable collapse. More alarming, they are now using their influence to prevent precisely the sorts of reforms that are needed, and fast, to pull the economy out of its nosedive. The government seems helpless, or unwilling, to act against them.
Enacting the Impossible (On Consensus Decision Making)
"The direct democratic process adopted by Occupy Wall Street has deep roots in American radical history. It was widely employed in the civil rights movement and by the Students for a Democratic Society. But its current form has developed from within movements like feminism and even spiritual traditions (both Quaker and Native American) as much as from within anarchism itself. The reason direct, consensus-based democracy has been so firmly embraced by and identified with anarchism is because it embodies what is perhaps anarchism’s most fundamental principle: that in the same way human beings treated like children will tend to act like children, the way to encourage human beings to act like mature and responsible adults is to treat them as if they already are."
Urgent: Winter Donation Needs | OccupyWallSt.org
"With the NYPD and FDNY confiscating six generators on Friday and this unprecedented October snow, those occupying Liberty Plaza in downtown NYC are in need of emergency supplies crucial for cold weather survival (and occupation)."
Wells Fargo is not your amigo
Wells Fargo has a history of targeting vulnerable communities for risky financial products. At the height of the subprime lending mania in 2006, the bank was more likely to loan subprime mortgages to Latinos and African-Americans than whites, according to a September 2009 report by the Center for American Progress, a process known as “reverse red-lining.” For financially stable borrowers, the targeting was even starker: Middle-class blacks were four times more likely than middle-class whites to get a dangerous mortgage. Middle-class Latinos were nearly three times more likely.
This allegedly illegal, race-based lending led the city of Baltimore to file suit against Wells Fargo in 2009, claiming it had robbed the city of tax revenue by mounting a systematic campaign to push risky mortgages on African-Americans through the targeting of black churches and neighborhoods. The suit was dismissed and reintroduced many times as lawyers from both sides battled, and is still unresolved.
Marine Veteran Whose Skull Was Fractured In Oakland Protests Was Peacefully Standing When Attacked by Police
Unbelievable what the cops did to this kid!
With Liberty and Justice for Some
new book from Glenn Greenwald
The book focuses on what I began realizing several years ago is the crucial theme tying together most of the topics I write about: America’s two-tiered justice system – specifically, the way political and financial elites are now vested with virtually absolute immunity from the rule of law even when they are caught committing egregious crimes, while ordinary Americans are subjected to the world’s largest and one of its harshest and most merciless penal states even for trivial offenses. As a result, law has been completely perverted from what it was intended to be – the guarantor of an equal playing field which would legitimize outcome inequalities – into its precise antithesis: a weapon used by the most powerful to protect their ill-gotten gains, strengthen their unearned prerogatives, and ensure ever-expanding opportunity inequality. This is how I described that development in the book:
The law itself wields tremendous power. The legal system’s reach is unparalleled: it can deprive a person of property, liberty, even life. It may compel people to transfer their material goods to others, block them from engaging in planned actions, destroy their reputations, consign them to cages, or even inject lethal chemicals into their veins. Unequal application of the law is thus not merely unjust in theory but devastating in practice. When the law is wielded only against the powerless, it ceases to be a safeguard against injustice and becomes the primary tool of oppression.
Senior S&L Prosecutor: Bank of America Pulling a Decades-Old Scam
"The scam is always the same when it comes to abusive deals with affiliates – they transfer bad (or overpriced) assets or liabilities to the insured institution. As S&L regulators, we recurrently faced this problem."
GAO Finds Serious Conflicts at the Fed
"The GAO detailed instance after instance of top executives of corporations and financial institutions using their influence as Federal Reserve directors to financially benefit their firms, and, in at least one instance, themselves. "Clearly it is unacceptable for so few people to wield so much unchecked power," Sanders said. "Not only do they run the banks, they run the institutions that regulate the banks.""
'via Blog this'
'via Blog this'
The killing of Awlaki’s 16-year-old son
unbelievable!
"It is unknown whether the U.S. targeted the teenager or whether he was merely “collateral damage.” The reason that’s unknown is because the Obama administration refuses to tell us. Said the Post: “The officials would not discuss the attack in any detail, including who the target was.” So here we have yet again one of the most consequential acts a government can take — killing one of its own citizens, in this case a teenage boy — and the government refuses even to talk about what it did, why it did it, what its justification is, what evidence it possesses, or what principles it has embraced in general for such actions. Indeed, it refuses even to admit it did this, since it refuses even to admit that it has a drone program at all and that it is engaged in military action in Yemen. It’s just all shrouded in total secrecy."
How hemp got high: Canadian scientists map the cannabis genome
A team of Canadian researchers has sequenced the genome of Cannabis sativa, the plant that produces both industrial hemp and marijuana, and in the process revealed the genetic changes that led to the plant's drug-producing properties.
Jon Page is a plant biochemist and adjunct professor of biology at the University of Saskatchewan. He explains that a simple genetic switch is likely responsible for the production of THCA, or tetrahydrocannabinolic acid, the precursor of the active ingredient in marijuana.
"The transcriptome analysis showed that the THCA synthase gene, an essential enzyme in THCA production, is turned on in marijuana, but switched off in hemp," Page says.
Federal Reserve Now Backstopping $75 Trillion Of Bank Of America’s Derivatives Trades
unfreakingbelievable!
Spain: Catholic Church Child Trafficking Network
Spain is reeling from an avalanche of allegations of baby theft and baby trafficking. The trade began at the end of the Spanish civil war and continued for 50 years – hundreds of thousands of babies are thought to have been traded by nuns, priests and doctors up to the 1990s. This World reveals the impact of Spain’s stolen baby scandal through the eyes of the children and parents who were separated at birth, and who are now desperate to find their relatives.
Exhumations of the supposed graves of babies and positive DNA tests are proof that baby theft has happened. Across Spain, people are queuing up to take a DNA test and thousands of Spaniards are asking ‘Who am I?’
Katya Adler has been meeting the heartbroken mothers who are searching for the children whom they were told died at birth, as well as the stolen and trafficked babies who are now grown up and searching for their biological relatives and their true identities.
U.S. Troops Will Soon Get Tiny Kamikaze Drone
AeroVironment, manufacturer of many tiny drones, is offering a different paradigm. Instead of carrying a missile, the drone is the missile. Unfolded from a size small enough to fit in a soldier’s rucksack — like a Switchblade; get it? — and launched from a tube, the spy cameras on board the drone scout an enemy position before the soldier controlling it sends it barreling into the target. It’s a strictly one-way mission.
Darpa Wants to Master the Science of Propaganda
Mark Twain once tried to distinguish between the storyteller’s art and tales that a machine could generate. He observed that stringing “incongruities and absurdities together in a wandering and sometimes purposeless way, and seem innocently unaware that they are absurdities,” was the province of the American storyteller. A machine might imitate simple formulas behind yarns, but never quite master them.
Occupy Protests’ Seismic Effect
"Today’s Wall Street protests represent the left’s decoupling from Obama and the Democratic Party, something that the global nature of the movement will only reinforce. That doesn’t mean the movement has a clear critique of unregulated capitalism yet, let alone a concrete agenda for reform, but it means that the left finally is forcing those questions onto the public agenda. By confronting Wall Street, it is creating the populist energy that Obama himself has not."
thanks to Mr. C for the tip
'via Blog this'
thanks to Mr. C for the tip
'via Blog this'
NYPD Chief Joseph Esposito intervenes between thug cops & OWS protesters at Times Square
well worth the viewing. shows what a good cop can do and restores a bit of faith in humanity.
Chief of the Department Joseph Esposito, the highest ranking uniformed member of the NYPD, pulled his officers back with one hand and pushed protesters away with the other. He signaled to the protesters for calm, then patted his cops on the chests and shoulders. It wasn't the first time. Two weeks ago during the large march on the Brooklyn Bridge, when a policeman tried to yank a mask from a protester's face, Esposito grabbed the cop by the back of the belt and pulled him back from the police skirmish line. He visibly scolded the policeman, and when a scuffle broke out, Esposito was in the center to end the tension. More than 700 marchers were arrested that day, but overall there was little violence. Perhaps the protesters in Times Square remembered this. They started screaming, "Esposito! Esposito!" The chief gave an acknowledging smile and a little wave. Then a chant of, "Overworked and underpaid! We do this for you." After another 20 minutes, Esposito returned to the barricade, where protesters yelled that their only demand was to cross the intersection. Esposito yelled "Mike check"—the signal the protesters shout when they want to speak— and smiled as the crowd erupted. When the cheering subsided, Esposito asked if they would cross the street peacefully should the barricades be opened. After receiving an affirmative cheer, the chief nodded at one of his captains.
Marine Sergeant Stands Up to Protect Wall Street Protesters from NYPD
Last night at Occupy Wall Street in Times Square, Marine Sergeant Shamar Thomas boldly defended the occupiers. Sergeant Thomas calmly asked the NYPD why they aren’t protecting the peaceful protestors. The NYPD ignored his questions and continued telling protestors to leave the sidewalk otherwise “they’d get hurt.”
Then, in an epic scene, Thomas approached the line of NYPD officers who held their batons.
While many Occupy Wall Street demonstrators had been arrested for merely crossing the street, he exclaimed, “These are U.S. citizens peacefully protesting! These are the people you are supposed to protect!” The 10-15 NYPD officers he addressed dared not to touch him.
Sergeant Thomas continued denouncing the NYPD’s actions shouting, “This isn’t a war zone! I’ve served overseas, that’s a war zone! Get rid of your batons and helmets!”
After five minutes of severely and loudly criticizing the NYPD, the Sergeant walked away leaving the scorned officers behind. The few people who were there applauded and cheered.
Occupy Wall Street assault: lawyer demands action on policeman's punch | World news | The Guardian
"A lawyer acting on behalf of an Occupy Wall Street protester who was allegedly assaulted by a New York police officer on Friday has called for an investigation into the behaviour of the deputy inspector involved after video evidence appeared to show the same officer engaging in the rough handling of a woman protester in an earlier incident.
Ron Kuby, a Manhattan-based criminal defence lawyer who specialises in cases of alleged police brutality, has written to the New York district attorney Cyrus Vance calling for a "full, complete and lengthy investigation" into Friday's incident. He said that his client, Felix Rivera Pitre, would co-operate fully with any such investigation."
'via Blog this'
Ron Kuby, a Manhattan-based criminal defence lawyer who specialises in cases of alleged police brutality, has written to the New York district attorney Cyrus Vance calling for a "full, complete and lengthy investigation" into Friday's incident. He said that his client, Felix Rivera Pitre, would co-operate fully with any such investigation."
'via Blog this'
Meet the Guy Who Snitched on Occupy Wall Street to the FBI and NYPD
"Since the Occupy Wall Street protest began on September 17, New York security consultant Thomas Ryan has been waging a campaign to infiltrate and discredit the movement. Ryan says he's done contract work for the U.S. Army and he brags on his blog that he leads "a team called Black Cell, a team of the most-highly trained and capable physical, threat and cyber security professionals in the world." But over the past few weeks, he and his computer security buddies have been spending time covertly attending Occupy Wall Street meetings, monitoring organizers' social media accounts, and hanging out with protesters in Lower Manhattan."
'via Blog this'
'via Blog this'
US to Play 'Very Major Role' In Helping Europe: Geithner - CNBC
someone should just punch Geithner in the face...
[Video Updates] 24 Occupy Wall Street Protesters Arrested At CitiBank Sit-In: Gothamist
UNFREAKINGBELIEVABLE!
Update 4:45 p.m.: The NYPD has announced that 24 people altogether were arrested at the Citibank incident earlier today. They were all charged with criminal trespass, while one was also charged with resisting arrest. Many of those protesters had gone to the bank to close their accounts.
Update 5:00 p.m.: Marchers are still walking slowly to Times Square mostly without incident. But according to witnesses, the NYPD just confiscated the press pass of an Italian journalist "with Italian TV, covering the march. Accused of failing to remain on sidewalk." Reporter Allison Kilkenny described an NYPD white shirt ashaving "ripped the press pass off Italian camerman's neck."
Update 5:20 p.m.: Below, you can see video of some of the protesters in the bank trying to close their accounts who are then arrested by police. That includes one woman who argues she is a customer, and allowed to be in the bank—and then she is picked up by a policeman and taken away.
October 15th - Global Day Of Action | OccupyWallSt.org
- 6:35 p.m. A horse just went down. Crowd is going wild. NYPD says anyone near barricade is going to jail. This is is inexcusable. (Source)
- 6:22 p.m. Police on horseback arrive. Police pulling people out of crowd and attacking them. Protesters are rushing barricades.
- 6:10 p.m. Police in riot gear retreat.
- 6:05 p.m. Police are in riot gear.
- 6:00 p.m. Backup has arrived. Estimated 15,000 in Times Square
- 5:49 p.m. Orange nets along Broadway.
- 5:45 p.m. Five thousand more on their way from Liberty Square and other locations.
- 5:30 p.m. Thousands arrive in Time Square. Now livestreaming:http://www.livestream.com/occupywallstnyc
115 year old electric car gets same 40 miles to the charge as Chevy Volt!
"If you didn’t know there are electric cars as old as the Roberts, you aren’t alone. Prior to today’s electric v. gas skirmishes, there was another battle: electric v. gas v. steam. This contest was fought in the market place, and history shows gas gave electric and steam an even more thorough whooping than Coca-Cola gave Moxie.
But while the Roberts electric car clearly lacked GPS, power steering and, yes, air bags, the distance it could achieve on a charge, when compared with its modern equivalent, provides a telling example of the slow pace of the electric car."
'via Blog this'
But while the Roberts electric car clearly lacked GPS, power steering and, yes, air bags, the distance it could achieve on a charge, when compared with its modern equivalent, provides a telling example of the slow pace of the electric car."
'via Blog this'
Cops Run Over a Protester's Leg, Punch a Guy at Occupy Wall Street
Video of the NYPD running over a National Lawyer's Guild legal observer's leg with a scooter is above. He reportedly broke his leg, and was arrested after kicking the scooter over to free himself, since, you know, the cop just parked it there and walked away.
And then another angle of the cop punching the protester...
Move On Tries to Take Over Occupy Wall Street Protests
David DeGraw – one of the primary Wall Street protest organizers – just send me the following email:
Top MoveOn leaders / executives are all over national television speaking for the movement. fully appreciate the help and support of MoveOn, but the MSM is clearly using them as the spokespeople for OWS. This is an blatant attempt to fracture the 99% into a Democratic Party organization. The leadership of MoveON are Democratic Party operatives. they are divide and conquer pawns. For years they ignored Wall Street protests to keep complete focus on the Republicans, in favor of Goldman’s Obama and Wall Street’s Democratic leadership.
NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg orders Occupy Wall Street protesters out to clean up 'unsanitary' park
Love that they went to the restaurant where he was.
Protesters surrounded downtown's Cipriani restaurant as the mayor attended a dinner in an attempt to hand him a petition with 310,000 signatures supporting their right to remain in nearby Zuccotti Par.
Their anger was triggered by the mayor's endorsement of a planned clean-up of the 'unsanitary' Occupy Wall Street encampment which was postponed at the last minute today."
Occupy Wall Street protester hit with pepper spray demand arrest of NYPD Deputy Inspector Bologna
“It is now 17 days since D.I. Bologna discharged the spray felt ’round the world,” Kuby wrote Vance. “While there are published accounts that you are conducting an investigation, you have not attempted to interview my client or obtain her medial records.”
Kuby said there was enough evidence in a YouTube video for an immediate arrest warrant on misdemeanor charges.
"
Kuby said there was enough evidence in a YouTube video for an immediate arrest warrant on misdemeanor charges.
"
AFP: Anti-war protesters disrupt US defense budget hearing
"Anti-war protesters repeatedly disrupted a congressional hearing Thursday on US defense spending, with one demonstrator shouting "You are murdering people!" as police dragged him out of the room.
One by one, protesters clad in pink shirts stood up and voiced their opposition to US military action, forcing a grim-faced chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Buck McKeon, to repeatedly bang his gavel to suspend the proceedings.
"How many lives?" said an elderly woman clad in a pink shirt, as a police officer pulled her out of the hall. "How many lives?"
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta had to halt his opening statement several times as protesters interrupted him."
'via Blog this'
One by one, protesters clad in pink shirts stood up and voiced their opposition to US military action, forcing a grim-faced chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Buck McKeon, to repeatedly bang his gavel to suspend the proceedings.
"How many lives?" said an elderly woman clad in a pink shirt, as a police officer pulled her out of the hall. "How many lives?"
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta had to halt his opening statement several times as protesters interrupted him."
'via Blog this'
My Advice to the Occupy Wall Street Protesters | Politics News | Rolling Stone
Tax hedge-fund gamblers. For starters, we need an immediate repeal of the preposterous and indefensible carried-interest tax break, which allows hedge-fund titans like Stevie Cohen and John Paulson to pay taxes of only 15 percent on their billions in gambling income, while ordinary Americans pay twice that for teaching kids and putting out fires. I defy any politician to stand up and defend that loophole during an election year."
'via Blog this'
'via Blog this'
In Less than a Minute Alan Grayson Explains Occupy Wall Street to the 1%
Watch Alan Grayson OWN P.J. O'Rourke. Less than 2 minute video. Well worth it.
O’Rourke joked that Occupy Wall Street has found their spokesman, then Grayson continued, “Listen, if I am spokesman for all the people who think that we should not have 24 million people in this country who can’t find a full time job, that we should not have 50 million people in this country who can’t see a doctor when they’re sick, that we shouldn’t have 47 million people in this country who need government help to feed themselves, and we shouldn’t have 15 million families who owe more on their mortgage than the value of their home, okay, I’ll be that spokesman.”
A99 Operation Empire State Rebellion - Communication #1
- We are a decentralized non-violent resistance movement, which seeks to restore the rule of law and fight back against the organized criminal class.
- One-tenth of one percent of the population has consolidated wealth in unprecedented fashion and launched an all-out economic war against 99.9% of the population.
- We are not affiliated with either wing of the two-party oligarchy. We seek an end to the corrupted two-party system by ending the campaign finance and lobbying racket.
- Above all, we aim to break up the global banking cartel centered at the Federal Reserve, International Monetary Fund, Bank of International Settlement and World Bank.
- We demand that the primary dealers within the Federal Reserve banking system be broken up and held accountable for rigging markets and destroying the global economy, effective immediately.
- As a first sign of good faith we demand Ben Bernanke step down as Federal Reserve chairman.
- Until our demands are met and a rule of law is restored, we will engage in a relentless campaign of non-violent, peaceful, civil disobedience.
- In our next communication we will announce Operation Empire State Rebellion.
Ex-CIA warns US 'dangerously wrong' on Iran
"The former intelligence analyst, Robert Baer, joins The World Today and warns the Obama adminstration to step back from blaming Iran for the foiled assasination plot against the Saudi ambassador in Washington. The former CIA case agent says the attack doesn't appear to have been planned by Iran, and that the US may have got its assessment dangerously wrong. He says the US must open a direct diplomatic channel with the Iranian regime .. or risk igniting an uncontrollable war."
Financial Giants Put New York City Cops On Their Payroll
"The corporations pay an average of $37 an hour (no medical, no pension benefit, no overtime pay) for a member of the NYPD, with gun, handcuffs and the ability to arrest. The officer is indemnified by the taxpayer, not the corporation.
New York City gets a 10 percent administrative fee on top of the $37 per hour paid to the police. The City’s 2011 budget called for $1,184,000 in Paid Detail fees, meaning private corporations were paying wages of $11.8 million to police participating in the Paid Detail Unit. The program has more than doubled in revenue to the city since 2002."
New York City gets a 10 percent administrative fee on top of the $37 per hour paid to the police. The City’s 2011 budget called for $1,184,000 in Paid Detail fees, meaning private corporations were paying wages of $11.8 million to police participating in the Paid Detail Unit. The program has more than doubled in revenue to the city since 2002."
#OWS Stands In Solidarity With 100 Arrested At Occupy Boston | OccupyWallSt.org
"Occupy Wall Street would like to express our support and solidarity with both the people of Boston and the 100+ arrested at Occupy Boston last night. We commend them for their bravery in standing their ground at great personal cost to assert the right of the people to peaceful assembly in public spaces.
http://occupyboston.com/2011/10/11/boston-police-brutally-assault-occupy-boston/
We condemn the Boston Police Department for their brutality in ordering their officers to descend upon the Occupy Boston tent city in full riot gear to assault, mass arrest, and destroy the possessions of these peaceful women and men. We condemn them for ordering this attack in the middle of the night. These people were not simply protesters holding a rally, it was their home, it was their community and it was violated in the worst possible way by the brutal actions of the BPD. Furthermore:
The Boston Police Department made no distinction between protesters, medics, or legal observers, arresting legal observer Urszula Masny-Latos, who serves as the Executive Director for the National Lawyers Guild, as well as four medics attempting to care for the injured. [emphasis mine]"
http://occupyboston.com/2011/10/11/boston-police-brutally-assault-occupy-boston/
We condemn the Boston Police Department for their brutality in ordering their officers to descend upon the Occupy Boston tent city in full riot gear to assault, mass arrest, and destroy the possessions of these peaceful women and men. We condemn them for ordering this attack in the middle of the night. These people were not simply protesters holding a rally, it was their home, it was their community and it was violated in the worst possible way by the brutal actions of the BPD. Furthermore:
The Boston Police Department made no distinction between protesters, medics, or legal observers, arresting legal observer Urszula Masny-Latos, who serves as the Executive Director for the National Lawyers Guild, as well as four medics attempting to care for the injured. [emphasis mine]"
Occupy Wall Street: Coming to a mansion near you
The march begins a very short walk from my old apartment in the Upper East Side. Madoff's former penthouse apartment is not far either.
The millionaires and billionaires are being targeted for what event organizers called a "willingness to hoard wealth at the expense of the 99%."
"
Fraught with conflicts...
"Joseph Stiglitz – former head economist at the World Bank and a nobel-prize winner – said yesterday that the very structure of the Federal Reserve system is so fraught with conflicts that it is “corrupt” and undermines democracy.
Stiglitz said:
If we [i.e. the World Bank] had seen a governance structure that corresponds to our Federal Reserve system, we would have been yelling and screaming and saying that country does not deserve any assistance, this is a corrupt governing structure.
Stiglitz pointed out that – if another country had presented a plan to reform its financial system, and included a regulatory regime that copied the makeup of the Federal Reserve system – “it would have been a big signal that something is wrong.”"
'via Blog this'
Stiglitz said:
If we [i.e. the World Bank] had seen a governance structure that corresponds to our Federal Reserve system, we would have been yelling and screaming and saying that country does not deserve any assistance, this is a corrupt governing structure.
Stiglitz pointed out that – if another country had presented a plan to reform its financial system, and included a regulatory regime that copied the makeup of the Federal Reserve system – “it would have been a big signal that something is wrong.”"
'via Blog this'
Occupy Wall Street Protests Rankle the Rich - Yahoo! News
"If a joke, it was one many protesters didn't get. "I thought [the sign] was extremely disrespectful," a special education teacher named Corey, 35, told TimeOut Chicago. Mike Polski, 53, from Joliet, disagreed, telling TimeOut, "These people wish they were the 1 percent! The 1 percent are billionaires."
He's wrong. According to IRS tax data, anybody earning $380,354 or more qualifies for membership in the top 1 percent. That would include some of the better-paid traders at the Board of Trade. (IRS data shows, too, that the top 1 percent holds 35.6 percent of the nation's wealth, not the 50 percent claimed by Occupiers.)"
'via Blog this'
He's wrong. According to IRS tax data, anybody earning $380,354 or more qualifies for membership in the top 1 percent. That would include some of the better-paid traders at the Board of Trade. (IRS data shows, too, that the top 1 percent holds 35.6 percent of the nation's wealth, not the 50 percent claimed by Occupiers.)"
'via Blog this'
Why Did the New York Times Change Their Brooklyn Bridge Arrests Story?
more details in the Brooklyn Bridge arrests:
"It's worth noting that one of their reporters at the scene, freelancer Natasha Lennard, was among the over 700 arrested. The original City Room report that Lennard contributed to says that police did in fact allow protesters onto the bridge:
After allowing marchers from the Occupy Wall Street protests to claim the Brooklyn-bound car lanes of the Brooklyn Bridge and get partway across, the police cut the marchers off and plunged into the crowd and began making arrests around 4:15 p.m. Saturday.
That paragraph is now nowhere in the story. Currently, the only mentions in the piece of police telling protesters they were allowed onto the bridge are in the words of the protesters themselves."
'via Blog this'
After allowing marchers from the Occupy Wall Street protests to claim the Brooklyn-bound car lanes of the Brooklyn Bridge and get partway across, the police cut the marchers off and plunged into the crowd and began making arrests around 4:15 p.m. Saturday.
That paragraph is now nowhere in the story. Currently, the only mentions in the piece of police telling protesters they were allowed onto the bridge are in the words of the protesters themselves."
'via Blog this'
Well, There’s Your Problem Right There … Insider Trading Rules Don’t Apply To Congress - Washington's Blog
"The chairman of the Department of Economics at George Mason University (Donald J. Boudreaux) says that it is inaccurate to call politicians prostitutes. Specifically, he says that they are more correct to call them “pimps”, since they are pimping out the American people to the financial giants:
Real whores, after all, personally supply the services their customers seek. Prostitutes do not steal; their customers pay them voluntarily. And their customers pay only with money belonging to these customers.
In contrast, members of Congress routinely truck and barter with other people’s property…
Members of Congress are less like whores than they are like pimps for persons unwillingly conscripted to perform unpleasant services."
Real whores, after all, personally supply the services their customers seek. Prostitutes do not steal; their customers pay them voluntarily. And their customers pay only with money belonging to these customers.
In contrast, members of Congress routinely truck and barter with other people’s property…
Members of Congress are less like whores than they are like pimps for persons unwillingly conscripted to perform unpleasant services."
Dream of homeownership has felt its biggest drop since the Great Depression
News from The Associated Press: "WASHINGTON (AP) -- The American dream of homeownership has felt its biggest drop since the Great Depression, according to new 2010 census figures released Thursday.
The analysis by the Census Bureau found the homeownership rate fell to 65.1 percent last year. While that level remains the second highest decennial rate, analysts say the U.S. may never return to its mid-decade housing boom peak in which nearly 70 percent of occupied households were owned by their residents."
The analysis by the Census Bureau found the homeownership rate fell to 65.1 percent last year. While that level remains the second highest decennial rate, analysts say the U.S. may never return to its mid-decade housing boom peak in which nearly 70 percent of occupied households were owned by their residents."
Mayan documentary to show 'evidence' of alien contact in ancient Mexico
I knew it!
note the comments for the mistaken switch in Presidents...
note the comments for the mistaken switch in Presidents...
The documentary is believed to focus in part on previously unexplored sections of a Mayan site at Calakmul, Mexico, as well as a number of sites in Guatemala, where officials are also backing the documentary.
"Guatemala, like Mexico, home to the ancient-yet-advanced Mayan civilisation … has also kept certain provocative archeological discoveries classified, and now believes that it is time to bring forth this information in the new documentary," Guatemala's minister of tourism, Guillermo Novielli Quezada, said in a statement."
'via Blog this'
World facing worst financial crisis in history, Bank of England Governor says - Telegraph
“This is the most serious financial crisis we’ve seen, at least since the 1930s, if not ever. We’re having to deal with very unusual circumstances, but to act calmly to this and to do the right thing.”
Against the Institution: A Warning for ‘Occupy Wall Street’ « Andrew Gavin Marshall
Interesting thoughts.
Mayor Bloomberg Says Occupy Wall Street Poses "Societal Concerns," We Should "Help the Banks" | AlterNet
Really???
"The protesters are protesting against people who make $40-50,000 a year and are struggling to make ends meet. That's the bottom line," Bloomberg said, presumably meaning service workers on Wall Street, adding that "we all" share blame for taking on too much risk, not just the financial industry.
"And people in this day and age need support for their employers. If the banks don't go out and make loans we will not come out of our economic problems, we will not have jobs so anything we can do that's responsible to help the banks do that is what we need.""
'via Blog this'
Marines Headed to Occupy Wall Street to Protect Peaceful New York City Protesters? | Muncie Free Press
"The Marines are coming to Wall St...(to PROTECT the protestors)
"I'm heading up there tonight in my dress blues. So far, 15 of my fellow marine buddies are meeting me there, also in Uniform.
I want to send the following message to Wall St and Congress:
I didn't fight for Wall St. I fought for America. Now it's Congress' turn."
'via Blog this'
"I'm heading up there tonight in my dress blues. So far, 15 of my fellow marine buddies are meeting me there, also in Uniform.
I want to send the following message to Wall St and Congress:
I didn't fight for Wall St. I fought for America. Now it's Congress' turn."
'via Blog this'
Hyperthymesia – A Newly Discovered Memory In Which People Remember Every Day Of Their Lives
Very interesting!
And it reminds of me of this book:
http://tinyurl.com/qxwys
Wall Street protest spreading worldwide ... Major unions and United Airline pilots join in Wall Street protests ... Police brutality turns public in favor of protesters.
More on the Occupy Wall Street business. Seems to be growing and growing. I am thinking to move our bank accounts to a community based bank or credit union. If I can find a decent one.
Bisexual Fruit Flies Show New Role For Neurochemical
from a 2007...
"When we mutate the protein, we get less ambient extracellular glutamate, more glutamate receptors, and so a stronger transfer of messages at synapses," Featherstone said.
The gene mutation also made the flies bisexual, leading him to name the gene "genderblind."
"The mutants are completely bisexual, but fertile. It's the first gene that really specifically affects homosexual behavior without affecting heterosexual behavior," he said."
"When we mutate the protein, we get less ambient extracellular glutamate, more glutamate receptors, and so a stronger transfer of messages at synapses," Featherstone said.
The gene mutation also made the flies bisexual, leading him to name the gene "genderblind."
"The mutants are completely bisexual, but fertile. It's the first gene that really specifically affects homosexual behavior without affecting heterosexual behavior," he said."
APOD: 2011 September 28 - Violent Sunspot Group AR 1302 Unleashes a Flare
another Coronal Mass Ejection!
Two-dimensional learning: Viewing computer images causes long-term changes in nerve cell connections
Computer and TV compete with learning in school
"School teachers, particularly at the junior school level have become increasingly concerned at their observations that each generation of school children exhibits shorter attention spans and poorer retention abilities than the previous generation," states Manahan-Vaughan. "One explanation for this is the ever increasing use of the digital media by school children. Our results indeed show that mammals can learn equally well when they passively view information on a computer screen compared to actively exploring the environment for this information. Television or computer games after school may compete with the information learned in school."
I love this last part:
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Americans Express Historic Negativity Toward U.S. Government
Ya think?
- 82% of Americans disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job.
- 69% say they have little or no confidence in the legislative branch of government, an all-time high and up from 63% in 2010.
- 57% have little or no confidence in the federal government to solve domestic problems, exceeding the previous high of 53% recorded in 2010 and well exceeding the 43% who have little or no confidence in the government to solve international problems.
- 53% have little or no confidence in the men and women who seek or hold elected office.
- Americans believe, on average, that the federal government wastes 51 cents of every tax dollar, similar to a year ago, but up significantly from 46 cents a decade ago and from an average 43 cents three decades ago.
- 49% of Americans believe the federal government has become so large and powerful that it poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens. In 2003, less than a third (30%) believed this.
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