We hit our five year anniversary this past weekend and it's been a nice run here.
Now we'll be blogging at a new home. Be sure to bookmark and update any links if you've been so kind to link us in the past.
A feed is available here as well as a new Twitter link.
This site will still live on but all new content will be at the new place, where we'll have feature posts, blog items, headlines and links to other sites around the blogosphere.
Thanks to John E. for helping to get things up and running and thanks to everyone who's visited and linked since we started up back in November 2006.
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Monday, November 07, 2011
Sunday, November 06, 2011
OWS Animals Getting Free Healthcare
No, not the two-legged animals.
Dogged supporters of Occupy Wall Street are getting some free medical care — thanks to volunteer veterinarians at Zuccotti Park.They may want to also deworm and delouse the protesters.
Protesters’ pets - including pooches, cats and rats - can receive check-ups once a week from a ragtag band of animal caretakers doling out shots and deworming and flea treatments.
A supporter of the Occupy movement, Barksy said he started volunteering when he saw a need man’s best friends were among the 99% protesting at the park.
"I supported OWS right from the beginning," he said. "On the second night I realized there were a lot of animals here. I figured the best way I could participate would be giving my skills."
New York Democrat Yanks Nude Photos Off His Website: 'How Do You Trust Someone Who Posts Naked Pictures of Himself on the Internet?'
What's the deal with these weirdo Democrats who feel they need to post lewd photos of themselves? OK, this guy says they're art photos, but really, who wants to look at this stuff? Didn't he at least pause to think after the Anthony Weiner fiasco?
Update: Also posted at the new and improved JWF.
Monroe County Legislator Stephen Eckel abruptly removed two nude photos of himself from a personal website on Friday after being questioned about them by a television reporter.The New York Post has one of the shots here.
Eckel, 46, a Democrat from Rochester in the midst of a re-election campaign, said in a phone interview that he took the photos of himself in 2000 as a student at the Visual Studies Workshop while working on a master of fine arts degree at The College at Brockport. He received the degree a year later.
The sepia-toned photos, taken with a wide lens at an elevated angle, were full frontal nude shots of Eckel, but were not sexual in nature. He described them as art.
They were part of a portfolio of Eckel's from that time that he said he showcased on the Internet to find photography work and jobs teaching photography. He has periodically taught photography at local colleges since then.
Eckel said he had never been questioned about the appropriateness of the photos until today, when he was contacted by a reporter from 13WHAM-TV, who had learned of the photos from the Monroe County Republican Committee.
"This is nothing more than a Republican stooping to a new low in order to distract the public from the real issues facing Monroe County taxpayers," Eckel said. "These were taken 10 years ago as part of a portfolio that helped me earn a master's of fine arts. Clearly, they have nothing to do with my service in my district."
Eckel said he removed the photos because they would "deflect attention from the true issues of the campaign." Asked if he would post them again after the campaign, he said that would be something he would have to consider.
Tony Micciche, who is challenging Eckel for the seat in the 26th District — which covers parts of Rochester, Gates and Greece — said such photos, even as artistic works, show poor judgment.
"How do you trust someone who posts naked pictures of himself on the Internet?" Micciche asked. "He's an elected official. He should be held to a higher standard."
Update: Also posted at the new and improved JWF.
'I’m Like a Celebrity Back Home'
Like most of the Occupy Wall Street freaks, this guy is completely delusional.
Henry Perkins is giving Occupy Wall Street the old college try.His folks impress easily. Imagine how they'll feel if this tool ever manages to get a job.
The 21-year-old University of Alabama junior has been earning college credits while living in the open-air, crime-riddled frat house of Zuccotti Park.
“I asked my professors and they said to go for it,” Perkins told the Daily News. “They’re living vicariously through me.”
“I learned a lot here,” added Perkins, who arrived in New York by train carrying only a computer, toothbrush, cell phone, some books and a tarp. “I realized that I never want to be in any system, and you can make it work.”
Since joining the protest against corporate excess three weeks ago, Perkins said he’s become the big man on Alabama’s campus while camping out 900 miles away.
He Skypes into class twice a week, listening to lectures and giving students colorful updates from the epicenter of the global movement. And he regularly checks in with his professors.
“I’m like a celebrity back home,” Perkins said.
Even his parents support his odd curriculum. Perkins’ proud mom said she has no problem with her son’s $8,600 in-state tuition being devoted to his immersive research project on Occupy Wall Street.
“I’m sure he’ll learn more in two weeks in New York than in two years in college,” said Danielle Juzan, of Mobile, Ala., who acknowledged that she’s still “worried sick” about her son.
“What impressed us the most was the fact that he was able to negotiate this with his professors.”
'If This Had Completely Gone South, He Was in a Position to Disavow'
Isn't it great being able to have it both ways?
More here.
Maybe it’s the fog of war.Just imagine how quickly he'd have thrown these guys under the bus. Instead he goes around using bin Laden's death as a campaign tool.
Chuck Pfarrer, a former SEAL Team Six assault-element commander, raises serious questions about the official story of Osama bin Laden’s takedown in his new book, “Seal Target Geronimo.”
“The further I got away from the Beltway, the more accurate information I got,” he said.
Pfarrer says it only took the SEALs 90 to 120 seconds -- from landing to the firing the final shot -- to take out bin Laden, far shorter than other accounts have claimed.
He says the forces entered the compound on the third floor via the roof, not from the ground as the official version has said.
And the SEALs never said, “For God and country,” when they shot bin Laden dead.
President Obama’s role, too, was largely inflated.
He was out playing golf only 20 minutes before the raid began.
“If this had completely gone south, he was in a position to disavow,” Pfarrer claimed.
More here.
Saturday, November 05, 2011
Occupy Fort Collins Arsonist a Ron Paulian
We noted this arson earlier today. Turns out the guy is a registered Republican and a Ron Paul supporter. Well, I guess the media can start passing judgment on the occupiers now that a Republican caused some damage.
"I never heard him say anything violent," said Eric Eisen of Fort Collins, an Occupy activist. "He was all about converting money."H/T Eric.
In an online video featured on http://tri1025.com, Gilmore said he was frustrated by the income disparity between executives and workers, and told people they should turn in their paper money for gold and other metals.
Eisen said Occupy supporters include people from across the political spectrum unified by a nonviolent message. The movement began on Wall Street in New York City, peacefully protesting the power of the financial and political sectors.
Crisafi said it's not unusual for activists to have views that don't parallel each other.
"There's tons of drama," she said, adding activists present at the site since Oct. 10 have worked to keep it positive. "Anyone we got negative vibes off of was asked to leave."
She said Benjamin Gilmore, who was part of the movement "since Day One," is a Ron Paul supporter. There has been friction between Paul supporters and other Occupy activists, whose views are "a little bit more extreme," she said.
Eventually, the Paul supporters moved their demonstration to Mulberry Street and College Avenue. But Crisafi said Benjamin Gilmore stayed at Maple and College.
The Occupy Fort Collins activists say they have had an amicable relationship with law enforcement, and there have been no reports of violence.
She said Benjamin Gilmore played music from his car radio to help get people motivated.
"He totally helped bring people together," Crisafi said.
Activists said they kept Benjamin Gilmore's flag flying at the site because taking it down could send a message they think he's guilty.
"If he is guilty, I will be very upset and I will stop liking Ben," Eisen said. "It's too early to call."
Peaceful Occupier Charged in $10M Blaze
Let's look at the bright side. At least this arson was peaceful.
Police have arrested an Occupy Fort Collins protester in connection with a $10 million arson fire that damaged dozens of condominiums and businesses in Fort Collins.It's times like these when organizers like to steer clear of the mess they've created. Sorry, too late.
Benjamin David Gilmore, 29, was arrested on Thursday night on suspicion of arson, burglary and criminal mischief.
On Oct. 24, a fire started at 3:30 a.m. in a four-story apartment complex under construction. The fire spread to the occupied Penny Flats condominium and retail building next door.
The fire at Penny Flats caused heavy fire damage to the fourth floor and roof, and heavy smoke and water damage to the first, second and third floors, according to Poudre Fire Authority spokesman Patrick Love.
Damage was estimated at $10 million.
After the hearing, several Occupy Fort Collins protesters distanced the movement from Gilmore.
"He may have stopped by the protest, but he is in no way a direct relation to our movement," said protester Julia Crisafi. "We are peaceful protesters."
"One person's actions do not represent this group as a whole," said protester Andrew Stover. "Non-violence is the way to change."
Gilmore joined the Occupy Fort Collins movement in mid-October.
“He showed up on the 3rd or 4th day,” said Rich Crisler, who identified himself as the media coordinator for Occupy Fort Collins.
Crisler said he doesn't believe Gilmore started the fire.
“He had no reason to do this,” Crisler said. “They’re [investigators] just looking for a scapegoat.”
Crisler said Gilmore owns a honey business. Crisler said Gilmore is very kind, soft-spoken and wants to help people.
“He’s not an arsonist. I’ve dealt with people like this,” said Crisler, who said he was trained as a psychologist. “Nothing would make me think of him doing something like this.”
Peaceful Crack Dealers Busted at Occupy Boston
Let's look at the upside. At least there's finally some diversity at this mostly white liberal movement.
More here.
Three people were arrested Thursday night after allegedly dealing drugs to undercover police at the Occupy Boston camp.H/T Lauren.
Atu Austin, 31, of Boston, Lamont Daughtery, 21, of Hyde Park, and Thomas E. McLaughlin, 29, of Hyde Park, were arrested Thursday evening and charged with distribution of a Class B substance, Boston police said in a statement.
McLaughlin was also charged with a second or subsequent distribution of a Class B substance.
After receiving information that there were individuals in the Occupy Boston camp involved with drug dealing, undercover officers were deployed to locate the individuals, the statement said.
More here.
City officials are vowing to keep the heat on derelict protest-crashers at Occupy Boston, while some demonstrators are calling for drug dealers and lawbreakers to hit the road.Organizers are urging the criminal mob to be responsible or something.
“We are looking to get our act together,” said Mike Ippolito, an Occupier who has lived in the makeshift camp since its first day. “Actions are being taken to tighten up. ... I believe weapons, drugs and alcohol have no place here.”
Just this week, cops have made two drug busts, including one yesterday in which three men were nabbed for allegedly peddling crack cocaine.
“When you are occupying here at Dewey Square, your actions, whether or not you intend them to be, are reflective on the community at Dewey Square,” he added. “You have a responsibility to be on your best behavior, or beyond your best behavior, not to do something that’s going to hurt the movement.”
Good News: Female Only Tents Erected at Zuccotti Park
Maybe this will help cut back on all those women being occupied against their will at this very peaceful movement.
It’s a safe house from the sex fiends.
Zuccotti Park has become so overrun by sexual predators attacking women in the night that organizers felt compelled to set up a female-only sleeping tent yesterday to keep the sickos away.
The large, metal-framed “safety tent” -- which will be guarded by an all-female patrol -- can accommodate as many as 18 people and will be used during the day for women-only meetings, said Occupy Wall Street organizers.
“This is all about safety in numbers,” said Becky Wartell, 24, a protester from Portland, Maine.
“When you’re in a large group of people sleeping, you will, of course, feel a lot safer than if you were by yourself,” she added.
“It will also keep away people that might feel more inclined to prey on two- and three-people tents.”
The safety measure comes amid a terrifying spree of sexual assaults -- including an alleged rape -- in the Zuccotti Park camp.
Kitchen worker Tonye Iketubosin, 26, was arrested Wednesday for allegedly groping an 18-year-old woman after offering to help set up her tent. He is also a suspect in a rape at the park.
The grope victims include Kara Demetropoulos, who told The Post she was fondled in a tent last Saturday night after accepting a man’s offer of a place to sleep.
Most protesters have not been reporting all the incidents to police -- instead preferring to settle things on their own.
The tent and its all-female security detail is the latest crime-fighting measure, and it is already garnering much interest.
“I’m gonna be staying here,” said Olivia Chitayat, 23, who was helping to put up the tent. “It’s partially because of the recent attacks that have been happening.
“I think that this will help bring more women to the movement as well. I think a lot of women have been hesitant and especially for those that are new and don’t know a lot of people it’s hard to find a safe place to stay.”
Demetropoulos thought the safety tent was a good idea, though she doesn’t plan on using it even after her own unhappy experience.
“I feel safe in my tent, but I bet this will help a lot of other women feel a lot safer than they have been,” said the 20-year-old native of Alabama.
Some of the male OWS protesters remained in denial over the growing number of sex attacks.
“Sexual harassment gets called rape, and it’s not,” one scoffed when told of the women’s tent.
“There’s no way that it’s happening as much as people are saying it has. It’s just word spreading and getting misunderstood.”
One woman was also against the structure, saying the protesters who put it up took her tent down without notice to make room.
“I’m pissed! I pretty much just got evicted,” fumed Angelina Isfreed, 32, after returning to find her tent taken down. “I won’t be staying there.”
More people may have to move. The protest organizers plan to put up seven more large tents, including ones for gay and transgender people, co-ed tents and a medical tent.
Friday, November 04, 2011
Fearing Koch Brothers Black Ops Movement, Tech-Savvy OWS Geniuses Fork Over $8K to Buy Domain Name
Obviously they were planning ahead.
By the way, at the WSJ link you'll notice these folks are swimming in cash. It'll be fun seeing them divvy it up after Bloomberg finally clears Zuccotti Park.
Occupy Wall Street, seeking a more formal Web presence for the coterie of protesters who have set up camp in downtown Manhattan, is acquiring the domain name occupywallstreet.net for $8,000, according to parties on both sides of the transaction.Amazing how these deep thinkers forgot to go and register a domain for $9 a year. Instead they pay $8000. Fucking idiots. The guy who sold it to them is a real gem.
“The unincorporated association known as Occupy Wall Street” will take possession of the domain, said the protester who negotiated the deal, Jake DeGroot, 26 years old. It will become the most official online home of the leaderless movement, which has spread its message through a loosely organized network of websites, Twitter accounts, text-message alerts, email lists, Tumblrs and livestreams.
To some of those occupying Zuccotti Park, the domain purchase is a strategic move.
“We would hesitate to use the term branding, necessarily, because of the corporate connotations to that,” said DeGroot, a theatrical-lighting designer who lives in Queens, “but there are advantages to the identity of the movement. It’s important that we have a full, robust Web presence and strategy.”
The domain is being sold by Mark R. Ellis, 53, of Sarasota, Florida, who makes a living buying and selling domain names. He registered occupywallstreet.net on Sept. 23, six days after the occupation of Zuccotti Park, and listed it on at least two domain resale markets for $10,000.The paranoid lunatic occupiers, after six weeks of this nonsense, finally made use of their 847 committees and figured out the evil Koch Brothers might plunk down $9 out of their ill-gotten billions to surreptitiously hijack the movement that the whole world is watching.
Ellis said he owns “thousands” of domain names, paying about $9 a year for each. Some are famous names like johnnydepp.com, and others are devoted to his beliefs, which include that 9/11 was an inside job.
In a wide-ranging phone interview, Ellis also volunteered alternative scenarios for the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and John Lennon, claimed to have written Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” and predicted Israel will attack Iran next year on Purim. “Everyone, as soon as they talk to me, are like, ‘what ship did the aliens give you?’” he said.
Ellis described himself as sympathetic to Occupy Wall Street, calling capitalism “extinction-causing software,” but said he has no plans to join the protests. Regarding the sale of occupywallstreet.net, he said, “It’s not about the money for me.” Asked why he didn’t hand over the domain name for free, Ellis said, “Because I’m a businessman.”
The protesters hope to have a working version of occupywallstreet.net ready in two or three weeks with plans to add a blogging platform and news aggregator over time. But purchasing the domain name was seen as an urgent matter.Clearly the Koch Brothers didn't think the $9 was worth it. Here's how they discovered the urgency of foiling Big Koch:
“One of the things hanging over our heads through this negotiation,” DeGroot said, “was what’s to stop the Koch brothers — or News Corp., for that matter — from getting it themselves?”
Mic Check! Im Drew from internet. We would like to propose tonight the purchase of occupywallstreet.net for the use of all of us. It is time sensitive because the person who owns it desperately wants to sell it and will sell it to anybody but we have put a stop on that for the day. I realize that this is a weird situation, but we would rather that you own it than say the Koch brotherss. The amount is $8,000. Just so everyone knows, we are about to take a temp check, not on the proposal, but on having it being addressed now based on the time situation.Dude should've held out for $100K and told these retards the Koch Brothers are willing to match any offer.
By the way, at the WSJ link you'll notice these folks are swimming in cash. It'll be fun seeing them divvy it up after Bloomberg finally clears Zuccotti Park.
Oakland Mayor Threatens Anarchists With a Timeout
This woman makes David Dinkins look like a pillar of granite when it comes to placating mindless thuggery. Heck, Mikey Bloomberg could give her tips on how to at least rattle the sabers. But being this nincompoop Jean Quan already surrendered her city to the mob, her next best hope is for the lawless to, ahem, take some responsibility.
Oakland Mayor Jean Quan says the Occupy Oakland protesters camped outside City Hall need to move to a "less disruptive" location if they can't learn to behave themselves.What a card. She's a national laughingstock and she's cracking jokes.
"They have to take some responsibility, they have to step up," she told KCBS-AM in an interview. "If they can't abide by not camping at night and they can't control the violence, they need to work with the city to move the camp to a place that will be less disruptive."
Quan told KCBS she didn't know where that new location could be, but jokingly suggested San Francisco.
Quan's administration has gone back and forth on what to do with the camp in Frank Ogawa Plaza at 14th Street and Broadway, where there are now about 165 tents. First she supported protesters, then approved a police sweep to clear the encampment Oct. 25, then allowed the tents to return.She knows how to play her cards, doesn't she? Such bold, decisive leadership clearly shows she's on the fast track to a top law enforcement post in a future Democrat administration.
At a lengthy meeting Thursday night, several members of the City Council hinted that they would like the camp to go away.
That might be easier said than done, Quan told KCBS.
Faces of Zuccotti Park: Halloween Edition
The Observer took a trip to Zuccotti Park for Halloween. It's hard to tell if these people are in costume or not. This fellow above is named Blackfeather. The reporter asks these folks what would make them end their so-called occupation.
Then this poor bastard, who must suffer tremendous discrimination for his name alone.
Then this guy:
How long have you been occupying for? Since the start. What would stop your occupation? The governments can surrender to our humanitarian will. The government is not humanitarian. They force you to pay to feed yourself. You hold onto money and Wall Street holds onto you.Now who said these people had an incoherent message?
Then this poor bastard, who must suffer tremendous discrimination for his name alone.
Ezekiel Coyote Heater-WegscheiderHey, at least he's happy. I think.
From Massachusetts How long have you been occupying for? Today is our first day, we just got down and set up the tent. What would stop your occupation? The thing that I like the most about this whole thing is this community being built here. I don’t think that anybody should stop, I think that we should just keep growing what is here right now, regardless of demands or trying to change the government, this is already working to some degree. I wouldn’t want to demand anything to stop this. I’m just happy to see being sharing more and smiling more.
Then this guy:
Mickey CrispI suspect Mickey was born well after the factory age and doesn't quite understand how a global economy works. And shit.
From Albany How long have you been occupying for? I'm staying here but I'm making some visits. I've been at occupy Albany and wanting to come down here again and see how it's going. What would stop your occupation? They need to bring back all the factories that we’ve shipped overseas. During the 60’s and 70’s, everything was American made and shit, now everything is overseas. Ever since then everything has gone downhill job-wise. People have lost jobs because factories have closed down. I also don’t understand why Obama bailed the banks out with 60 billion dollars. People should be furious. That could’ve been pumped into creating jobs, doing something productive with it. Don’t give it to the banks.
Fun Times and Merriment at Occupy LA
Our friend Ringo sends along his latest dispatch from the Occupy Los Angeles circus. A zillion photos and narration at the link. Here's some choice video.
These people really have their act together. Now they fight over who gets to speak. Hilarity ensues.
Several more videos follow at the link over who gets to speak. Hilarious stuff.
Another amusing aspect is despite they all claim to represent the "99%" they still manage to separate the classes.
A bearded man with a long ponytail had become violently agitated by, among other things, the constant marijuana smoking around his tent. A girl in her mid twenties who was camped near him explained to me later that this guy didn’t understand that marijuana is their "medicine". "Everybody around here has medical marijuana cards" she told me, "We need to smoke it". But apparently this guy was not sympathetic to their medicinal needs. He was in a complete rage as he waved his arms, cursing and calling other protesters "fakes". "I’m about to fuckin’ hurt somebody!" he shouted. A moment later he saw me filming him and came straight for me. Needless to say I ran fast, which is why my video ends so abruptly.Good times. He later leaves in a huff.
A few minutes later, I went back and recorded him again as he was dismantling his tent. You can see him here telling other campers that he’s leaving. "I’m going to carry guns when I get out of here…the way I used to do", he says.Just like your average tea partier, obviously.
These people really have their act together. Now they fight over who gets to speak. Hilarity ensues.
Several more videos follow at the link over who gets to speak. Hilarious stuff.
Another amusing aspect is despite they all claim to represent the "99%" they still manage to separate the classes.
There was a tidy gated community up on the hill beside the stage where the people who "control the microphone" live.Be sure to read on. The part about the "chemtrails" is comedy gold.
Violent 'Occupier' Demands Free Food at McDonald's, Goes Wild When Refused
The Democrat-endorsed Occupy Wall Street protest continues to unravel.
An Occupy Wall Street protestor was arrested early Friday after a violent rampage at a McDonald's that refused to offer him free food.
The NYPD says it happened at about 2:45 a.m. at a McDonald's near the make-shift tent city in Zuccotti Park.
The man, who had not been identified, went into the world's largest restaurant chain and demanded free food, apparently craving a burger over the gourmet food being served in the park.
The people behind the counter, who are working instead of protesting, were not about to offer the man free food.
The protester then turned violent, even breaking a machine inside of the store before police arrived and arrested the 27-year-old.
'Occupy' Threat Level Elevated to 'High' for the Weekend
But I thought it was such a peaceful movement?
The folks at Fox may want to pay attention.
The ListenLogic Social Listening Intelligence Center (SLIC) today elevated the 'Occupy' threat advisory level for large U.S. corporations to "High" for the upcoming November 5th weekend. Ongoing ListenLogic analysis of several million online posts has identified a significant increase in support for key Occupy events during the November 5th weekend, as well as increases in:Apparently the U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is too consumed with his Fast and Furious scandal to notice the threats of these domestic terrorists. And where is Janet Napolitano?
Threats made by protesters, with a 25% increase during the past week alone; of the threats, nearly 70% target police. The other most commonly targeted groups include: politicians (10%), corporate executives (8%), and reporters (3%).
Interest in online Occupy videos depicting acts of violence, destruction, and/or arrest activity. Over 80% of Occupy-related videos viewed on YouTube for the 30-day period ending November 4th include such acts.
Posts 'by' protestors who have been actively involved in marches stating that they will avoid weekend activity because of the potential for violence or harm.
Calls for violent action, flash mobs, and vandalism
Currently, there are over one million posts per day online regarding the Occupy movement. ListenLogic analyzed this social media activity to identify events of growing popularity and concern set to take place during the November 5th weekend.
These include:
Bank-Focused Flash Mobs: Occupy protesters are organizing flash mobs to convene at branch banks in the U.S. and Canada beginning the afternoon of November 4th. While officially deemed, "Dance on the Banks," increases in bank-related arrests, as well as vandalism of bank signs, windows, and ATM's suggest that mob activity may turn violent.
Nov. 5 Bank Transfer Day/Move Your Money Day: Designed to encourage people to switch their accounts from "big" banks to local credit unions. On Facebook alone, over 75,000 users have joined related Facebook groups. Marches to bank branches are being organized throughout the U.S.
Nov. 5 Guy Fawkes Day/Bonfires Day: Annual commemoration of anarchist Guy Fawkes' plot to blow up the English parliament. Guy Fawkes masks are used by Occupy protesters to symbolize anarchist intentions and, more recently, to maintain anonymity while being destructive. Occupy protesters with anarchist intentions are planning bonfires in city streets throughout the country.
Nov. 5 Operation Foxhunt: Hacktivist group, "Anonymous" and others have threatened to shut down Fox News in support of the Occupy movement.
"The Occupy movement is now targeting a wider range of banks and corporations because of their high profile and/or geographic proximity to Occupy protests. November 5th has historically been an important date for anarchists worldwide because of its connection to Guy Fawkes and street bonfires. The addition of Bank Transfer Day, Operation Fox Hunt, Dance on the Banks, and several other activities has the potential to create a 'perfect storm' this weekend that could escalate into further hostility," explained Vincent Schiavone, ListenLogic co-founder & chairman. "As ListenLogic continues to monitor this situation with a real-time SLIC for its clients, we feel it is necessary to elevate the threat level so that the public and all of corporate America are aware of the alarming social activity we are witnessing."
The folks at Fox may want to pay attention.
Obama Bundler Corzine Steps Down From MF Global
I guess this paves the way for his next role as Obama's Treasury Secretary. Well, that or a full-time fundraiser.
Jon Corzine (D-NJ) is stepping down from running the securities firm that collapsed after his disastrous bets on European debt.I took the liberty of adding the "(D-NJ)" part since the AP conveniently ignored that, not to mention his cozy relationship with Obama.
The firm, MF Global, said Friday that Corzine has resigned as chairman and CEO. It says he will decline a severance package worth $12.1 million, including cash and benefits.
MF Global filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday after its bets on European debt spooked investors and trading partners.
The company is under investigation by regulators and the FBI because hundreds of millions disappeared from customer accounts as it slid toward bankruptcy.
Corzine ran Goldman Sachs and was governor of New Jersey before joining MF Global.
Scenes From Zuccotti Park: 'You Want to Fight? You Want to Get F--ked Up? Let’s Get It On!'
And we've got to bear witness to the depravity of Zuccotti Park. How much longer must our senses be assaulted by this grotesque behavior?
This is the new face of Zuccotti Park!Just wait, it gets better. This psychopath we witness on video isn't some crazy person. He's a secret agent of that nefarious headcracker Michael Bloomberg. Yes, really.
A deranged homeless man who has been squatting among the Occupy Wall Street protesters in lower Manhattan went on a violent, early-morning rampage yesterday, cursing incoherently and kicking down tents.
The only thing that could stop Jeremy Clinch from his Godzilla-like rampage was a left hook to the face delivered by a paranoid fellow protester who claimed to be an ex-Turkish diplomat -- and charged that his assailant was carrying out a plot hatched by Mayor Bloomberg.
“I’ve been here from Day One! I haven’t got a tent!” the Cleveland-native Clinch shrieked as he furiously kicked down tents onto sleeping protesters at about 8 a.m.
“I’ve been here for three months, and I haven’t been able to sleep!” the out-of-his-head Clinch screamed.
It was just the type of increasingly violent incident that has downtown residents -- already bombarded by megaphones, incessant drumming, graffiti and public urination -- feeling on edge as the OWS takeover of Zuccotti Park enters its third month.
“You want to fight? You want to get f--ked up? Let’s get it on! Let’s get it on!” Clinch ranted.
The unhinged vagrant then put the boot to the wrong man -- Recai “Rocky” Iskender, 48, of Cliffside Park, NJ, as he slept in his tent.
Iskender, who on his Facebook page calls himself a career diplomat for his native Turkey and says he lost 20 pounds on a six-day hunger strike in the protest, leaped from his tent and hurled a plastic water jug at Clinch.
The enraged Turk then lunged at his stunned assailant, nailing him with a punch that knocked him backward on the pavement.
Clinch -- whom other protesters described as mentally ill and “off his meds” -- dropped to the sidewalk as the hulking Iskender stood over him glowering.
OWS medical volunteer Eric Carter, 30, intervened, helping Clinch to his feet and leading him away as other protesters declined a cop’s offer of assistance.
In a bizarre rant after the dust settled, Iskender told The Post that Clinch “is a police agent.” “He is a Bloomberg agent, disturbing and disrupting the protest,” said Iskender, who after the fight donned a message board that read, “USA-Turk Army Ended My Diplomatic Career 6 Times,” and also charged that “AC Tropicana Casino Robbed My $30K Pay For My Driving Job.”
Bloomberg, Iskender ranted, “does everything” and is controlling what happens at the park.
“This is Bloomberg,” he said, pointing at cops. “[The] Bloomberg police machine. [The] police state finds those guys to infiltrate, to disrupt it. That’s what Bloomberg wants.”
Zuccotti Park Sex Assault Victim Blames the NYPD: 'Most of Us Feel the Police Are Not Here to Help Us At All'
So let's see. You decide to sleep in an urban park with the lowest form of human debris, wind up being fondled, don't report the incident for two days and it's the fault of the police. OK, that all makes sense. I guess they're supposed to set up command posts under every tarp and install surveillance cameras in every tent to monitor behavior. Besides, the "occupiers" claim they have their own crack security committee, so where were they?
The pusillanimous pipsqueak they call the mayor is finally starting to catch on.
There's no convincing Occupy Wall Street that the cops are there to protect them.So the police are supposed to be there to help this anarchist mob? What planet does this idiot live on? Haven't these people claimed their constructing their own self-sustaining society where sexual assaults are the norm? Why would they need help from The Man?
As Mayor Bloomberg accused the protesters Thursday of endangering all New Yorkers by failing to report crimes, Lauren DiGioia was marching around with a sign saying "I was more victimized by the NYPD who handled my sexual assault case than I was by the assaulter."
DiGioia, 26, of Clifton, N.J., woke up in the wee hours of Oct. 8 - her first night at Zuccotti Park - to find a drunken man slipping a hand under her sweatshirt, kissing her head and trying to flip her over.
She pushed him away and, in the morning, he was gone.
DiGioia didn't report the incident until two days later, when she learned 27-year-old Dave Park of Connecticut was still lurking and had him arrested.
She said police kept her waiting for hours, and told her it was her fault for sleeping outside.
"I'm a perfect example of somebody who went through the process. I followed all the steps of the law, and I felt victimized by it. I felt like I was a criminal, too," DiGioia said.
"Most of us feel the police are not here to help us at all. They are getting paid to baby-sit," she said. "I don't blame women for not wanting to come forward."
The pusillanimous pipsqueak they call the mayor is finally starting to catch on.
"Instead of calling the police, they form a circle around the perpetrator, chastise him or her and chase him or her out into the rest of the city - to do who knows what to who knows whom," Bloomberg said.
"It is despicable," he said. "I think it is outrageous and it really allows the criminal to strike again making all of us less safe."
Slick Insights: The Country's a Mess Because of the Tea Party or Something
Strange, but the left keeps telling how irrelevant the Tea Party is while at the same time demonizing them daily and fundraising off them. The Occupy Wall Street mob, by contrast, is described as peaceful at every turn despite all evidence to the contrary. So now along comes a guy who did plenty of occupying in his time (despite protestations of the women, on occasion) to tell us the country's woeful condition can be blamed on tea party sentiments dating back to the, um, 1980s.
There's plenty of other revisionist history.
Don;t expect any interviewers to point this stuff out during his book tour.
In his book, “Back to Work,” Clinton analyzes the factors that contributed to the nation’s current economic woes and offers several policy prescriptions he says would create jobs and make the U.S. more competitive. While he generally praises Obama for taking steps to mitigate the financial crisis and deep recession, he also gently dings the president for poor communication and strategic misfires.Maybe I missed a couple of decades, but I recall the Tea Party movement began in 2009, after the failed stimulus.
The book is scheduled for release next Tuesday by publisher Knopf. The Associated Press bought a copy on Thursday.
Clinton, a Democrat, describes the current state of the country as “a mess” and largely blames the anti-government sentiment embodied in the tea party movement that has held sway since the 1980s. But Clinton also criticizes Obama and other Democratic lawmakers for not making a stronger case for the steps they took to stabilize the U.S. economy in 2009, like the bank and auto company bailouts and the $787 billion economic stimulus program.
There's plenty of other revisionist history.
Clinton recalls his own eight years in the White House in glowing terms, noting how his economic policies helped create 22 million jobs and substantially reduce the federal debt. Among other things, he says, he was able to persuade many wealthy people to accept higher taxes because “I didn’t attack them for their success.”Amazing how he overcame those angry tea party sentiments during those eight years. Of course jobs were created in spite of him. He'll fail to point out there's was virtually zero growth during the first two years of his presidency, a colossal failure that resulted in Democrats losing both the House and Senate in the 1994 elections. If there was no Republican majorities the rest of his term his rosy recollections would never have come to fruition.
Don;t expect any interviewers to point this stuff out during his book tour.
Thursday, November 03, 2011
Occupy Portland Photo of the Day
From the same outfit that gave up the "Up Twinkles" comedy gold, now we've got some toothless moron showing his voter ID registration listing an encampment as a residence.
What these freaks should be occupying is a dentist's chair.
"We are here in hopes of creating an environment for change," said Jeff Billings, 57, who moved from a homeless camp in the Gateway neighborhood to the Occupy Portland camp soon after it went up. Last week, he registered to vote and listed "Southwest Fourth and Madison" as his address. "I like to say that we are a social experiment in chaos, and it's working."Here's some of that chaos creating an environment for change.
What these freaks should be occupying is a dentist's chair.
Poll: Anti-Semitism on the Rise in US
Gee, you think? Well, it shouldn't come as a surprise to any casual observer of the ugly anti-Semitism so prevalent among the Occupy Wall Street mob.
Age-old stereotypes about Jews, money and power still remain, a nationwide poll conducted by the Anti-Defamation League shows.It didn't receive much attention, but Foxman did notice the "occupiers" who've taken Jew hatred to new levels. Democrats, however, still solidly endorse this nonsense. Haven't seen any condemning idiocy like this:
A nationwide US survey released by the Anti-Defamation League on Thursday, found that anti-Semitic tendencies had increased, slightly but significantly.
Results showed that 15 percent of Americans hold anti-Semitic views, 3% more than in results of a similar poll carried out in 2009, and dropping back to levels of anti-Semitism found in 2007 and 2009.
The 2011 Survey of American Attitudes Toward Jews in America, a national telephone survey of 1,754 adults, was conducted October 13-23 by Marttila Strategies of Washington, DC and Boston. The margin of error is +/-2.8%.
"The fact that anti-Semitic attitudes have increased significantly over the past two years is troubling and raises questions about the impact of broader trends in America – financial insecurity, social uncertainty, the decline in civility and the growth of polarization – on attitudes toward Jews," said Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director. "It is disturbing that with all of the strides we have made in becoming a more tolerant society, anti-Semitic beliefs continue to hold a vice-grip on a small but not insubstantial segment of the American public."
Among the findings, the poll demonstrated that stereotypes about Jews, money and Jewish power still remain.
19% of Americans answered "probably true" to the statement "Jews have too much control/influence on Wall Street," an increase from 14% in 2009.
"The stereotypes about Jews and money endure, and the fact that more Americans are now accepting these statements about Jews as true suggests that the downturn in the economy, along with the changing demographics of our society, may have contributed to the rise in anti-Semitic sentiments," said Foxman. "Once again the old anti-Semitic standbys about Jewish loyalty, the death of Jesus and Jewish power remain strong."
Despite Supporting Occupy Oakland Anarchists, Men's Wearhouse is Vandalized
Try to appease the mob, and this is what you get.
Here's a photo.
They deserve no mercy, and no business from the sane.
H/T Ben.
As we like to say:
At the Men's Wearhouse, which had closed Wednesday and put up signs in support of the general strike, windows were shattered. A box nearby read, "Cop uniform surrender box." No police uniforms were inside.Idiots.
Here's a photo.
They deserve no mercy, and no business from the sane.
H/T Ben.
As we like to say:
Former NY Times 'Reporter' Arrested in March on Goldman Sachs
This turd Chris Hedges was never much of a reporter. Like most NY Times hacks he was a propagandist and left to become an anti-Bush protester back during the early days of the Iraq War. I guess he's just a full-time nuisance now.
Worth noting that Hedges now writes for the anti-Semitic group behind the original OWS protest. If you need a primer on how insane he is, check here.
From the original NYDN link, they sure to go out of their way to minimize the domestic terrorism in Oakland last night.
At least 15 Occupy Wall Street protesters were arrested Thursday after marching on Goldman Sachs to deliver an “indictment” of the financial giant.They're apparently demanding money directly from Goldman Sachs. I'd say they're acting like five-year-olds but five-year-olds demonstrate much more maturity. Here's their fun day of make believe:
Among the demonstrators hauled away after sitting down in front of the multinational’s doors at 200 West St. was former New York Times foreign correspondent-turned-activist Chris Hedges.
The anti-fat cat demonstrators had staged a “people’s trial” of Goldman Sachs at their base in Zuccotti Park, accusing the firm of felony fraud, perjury and “theft of $78 billion in taxpayer money.”
At noon, about 300 marched eight blocks to the firm’s HQ to deliver their “verdict” of guilty and to demand the imprisonment of CEO Lloyd Blankfein.
On the way, they chanted “Goldman Sucks.”
The marchers, led by four drummers, stretched a city block.
Some construction workers sitting along Church Street gave them thumbs up and a businessman on Murray Street muttered to himself, “What a bunch of idiots."
The proceedings will also include expert analysis from Ralph Nader, Cornel West and Chris Hedges. Following the 99-minute hearing the people will decide on a fair and deliverable verdict via our own process of consensus-based direct democracy – and we intend to deliver it ourselves – to the headquarters of Goldman Sachs at 200 West Street, eight blocks from Liberty Square. We will ask for something our judicial and legislative systems have so far failed to deliver – the return of billions of taxpayer dollars to the 99 percent and criminal sentences for those Goldman Sachs executives who carried out the fraud.Amazing they continue to ignore Jon Corzine, isn't it?
Worth noting that Hedges now writes for the anti-Semitic group behind the original OWS protest. If you need a primer on how insane he is, check here.
From the original NYDN link, they sure to go out of their way to minimize the domestic terrorism in Oakland last night.
On Wednesday, protesters staged a general strike in Oakland, Ca., shutting down the city’s port. The night ended in a mini-riot as a handful of people threw rocks and set fires.Really, is that all it was?
Pelosi Claims Unemployment Would be 15% Without Stimulus: 'It’s Really Important to Know That President Obama Was a Job Creator From Day One'
I wonder if she's even aware real unemployment is currently 17.7%? Notice she's revised her numbers just in the past month.
Since President Barack Obama signed his $825 billion economic stimulus plan into law in February 2009, the national unemployment rate has risen from 8.2 percent to 9.1 percent. But House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D.-Calif.) said at her press briefing Thursday that if the stimulus had not been enacted the unemployment rate would now be 15 percent.Worth noting is the unemployment rate when she became House Speaker was 4.6%, basically half what it is today. To say her tenure was a colossal disaster would be a massive understatement.
At a press briefing only a month ago, Pelosi said that if the stimulus not been enacted unemployment would have reached 14.5 percent by the time of the November 2010 elections.
"I think it’s really important to know that President Obama was a job creator from day one," Pelosi said at her Thursday briefing. "Now, was the ditch that we were in so deep that when you’re talking to people and they still don’t have a job, that that’s any consolation to them? No.
“But I’ll tell you this,” said Pelosi, “if President Obama and the House congressional Democrats had not acted, we would be at 15 percent unemployment. Again, no consolation to those without a job, but an important point to make."
At her Oct. 6 briefing, Pelosi said: “Without the Recovery Act and accompanying federal interventions, whether from the Fed or ‘Cash for Clunkers’ or other initiatives, this unemployment rate last year at the time of the election would’ve been 14.5 percent, not 9.5 percent.”
House GOP to Subpoena WH Solyndra Documents
Good luck getting this lawless White House to comply.
Good thing for him his stenographer media has dutifully helped run the misdirection.
Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee voted Thursday to subpoena the White House for all internal communications related to the failed solar company Solyndra.Obama's Occupy Wall Street protests sure have provided lots of cover for his scandal, which also include Fast and Furious.
The subpoena escalates the ongoing battle between the White House and Republicans over a $535 million Energy Department loan guarantee to Solyndra, the California solar panel maker that filed for bankruptcy in early September, setting off a firestorm in Washington.
Republicans have pummeled the White House over the loan guarantee for weeks, using Solyndra’s bankruptcy to challenge the administration’s green energy agenda.
Good thing for him his stenographer media has dutifully helped run the misdirection.
'It Was Very Ghoulish, Like a Man Screaming in Pain'
This is nuts.
Doctors at Queen’s University thought they were going nuts when they saw what appeared to be the outline of a man’s face staring back at them in an ultrasound image of a tumour.
Drs. Naji Touma and Gregory Roberts were scrolling through images of a testicular tumour on a computer when they did a double take.
“It was very ghoulish, like a man screaming in pain. His mouth was open and it looked like one eye was gouged out,” said Touma, a professor at Queen’s University Medical School and urologist at Kingston General Hospital.
The ultrasound image, taken in December 2009, was sent to the journal Urology and recently published under the tongue-in-cheek headline, “The face of testicular pain: A surprising ultrasound finding.”
“A brief debate ensued on whether the image could have been a sign from the deity (perhaps “Min” the Egyptian god of male virility); however, the consensus deemed it a mere coincidental occurrence rather than a divine proclamation,” the accompanying article said.
Iowa Political Candidate Arrested for Prostitution
Talking about whoring yourself out in pursuit of political office. Only this story has a very unique twist.
On Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011 the Centerville Police Department arrested and charged Ben Clifford Dawson, 83, of Centerville with the crime of prostitution, an aggravated misdemeanor and assault with the intent to commit sexual abuse, an aggravated misdemeanor, according to a Centerville Police Department press release.He apparently did this to two women. And here you thought Herman Cain had issues.
The charges stem from an investigation which began on Oct. 22. During the investigation the victim alleged Dawson had offered to perform sex acts upon them in exchange for repayment of a loan. Dawson also grabbed the victim and began kissing their neck without consent.
Accused Zuccotti Park Rapist Has Sealed Juvenile Record in Texas, Donated to LaRouche Democrat
The fleabaggers are really attracting the best and brightest to the Occupy Wall Street protest.
A search determined Iketubosin is from Sugar Land, TX and a 2003 graduate of Sugar Land HS. That name also surfaced on this FEC political donation filing for Kesha Rogers.
You may remember her.
The NY Post says it's time to throw the bums out. Actually, that time was six weeks ago.
An Occupy Wall Street kitchen worker has been charged with groping one female demonstrator -- and is a suspect in the horrifying rape of another, law-enforcement sources told The Post.I guess Tonye doesn't understand you can't just occupy random females when you feel like it.
Tonye Iketubosin, 26 -- who has been working at the protesters’ makeshift kitchen at Zuccotti Park since last month -- was charged yesterday in the sex abuse of an 18-year-old protester in the tent he helped her pitch on Oct. 24, the sources said.
The creeped-out victim told cops that Iketubosin offered to help her put up her tent -- and was still inside when she showed up to go to sleep hours later, according to the sources.
Despite her furious demands that the sicko get out of her space, Iketubosin allegedly refused -- and instead lunged at her, grabbing her thigh and buttocks, the sources said.
The enraged protester told cops she was finally able to shove him out of the tent.
The woman told cops about the pervy protester on Tuesday.
She said that she knew the man by sight, but had not been acquainted with him before he helped her with her tent.
Iketubosin, who has a sealed juvenile record in Texas, was busted soon afterward.
He was arraigned last night, with bail set at $7,500 bond or $5,000 cash.
The prosecutor said Iketubosin -- who is living with an aunt in Crown Heights, Brooklyn -- is a suspect in several rapes in the park.
One rape victim was another 18-year-old.
A search determined Iketubosin is from Sugar Land, TX and a 2003 graduate of Sugar Land HS. That name also surfaced on this FEC political donation filing for Kesha Rogers.
You may remember her.
The victory in the 22nd Congressional District yesterday by LaRouche Democrat Kesha Rogers sent an unmistakable message to the White House, and its British imperial controllers: Your days are numbered. Kesha's campaign hit relentlessly at a single theme, that President Obama must go, that his attacks on this nation – with his dismantling of the manned space program, his efforts to ram through a fascist, killer “health care” policy, his endless bailouts for Wall Street swindlers, while demanding budget cuts which will increase the death rates among the poor, the sick, the elderly and the unemployed – are not acceptable, and will not be tolerated.She's a Lyndon LaRouche Democrat, and we've seen signs in support of LaRouche at OWS. The alleged rapist was probably the one holding them.
The NY Post says it's time to throw the bums out. Actually, that time was six weeks ago.
'Mostly Peaceful' Occupy Oakland Temper Tantrum Turns Violent
What, you expected anything less from the 0.99%?
The whole world is watching, and recoiling in disgust at this Democrat-endorsed horror show.
Verum Serum has some rather disturbing photos for this "mostly peaceful" gathering, including this:
I wonder where that kid will attend preschool if the city burns?
As many as 40 people were arrested in downtown Oakland early Thursday after what was mostly a peaceful day during the general strike Wednesday turned heated.Homemade bomb launchers. Probably the only thing these cretins have ever manufactured in their miserable lives.
Late in the evening, protesters temporarily took over a vacant building, started fires in downtown and used homemade bomb launchers to fire M80s at police.
At 1 a.m. police had used tear-gas and flashbang grenades in attempts to clear the crowd from downtown streets. Some protesters tried to calm the situation by chanting "Don't throw (crap)" and yelling "Stand still the world is watching" but others continued to stand off with police and refused to leave despite police calling an "unlawful assembly" at midnight.
Shortly after 1:30 a.m. police were ready to move in on the Occupy Oakland camp at Frank H. Ogawa Plaza and announced that arrests would be made. At least 100 tents are housing hundreds of people there.
Interim Police Chief Howard Jordan said there are about 70 people "determined to cause trouble and instigate a confrontation with police." They plan to release their photos at some point. Jordan said officers intended to separate the troublemakers from the rest of the campers. He said around 2 a.m. that between 30 and 40 had been arrested, although he could not confirm the exact number.
They may have been some of the same vandals who trashed Whole Foods on Wednesday.
The whole world is watching, and recoiling in disgust at this Democrat-endorsed horror show.
Verum Serum has some rather disturbing photos for this "mostly peaceful" gathering, including this:
I wonder where that kid will attend preschool if the city burns?
"To me this is all (baloney)," said Sam, who declined to give his last name, but said he is a hauler for NevCal Trucking out of Reno and picked up a container at PortsAmerica terminal Wednesday afternoon. When he tried to leave, the exit gate manned by U.S. Customs and Border Protection had closed early because of the impending protest.Meanwhile, an expensive imported automobile struck a protester, with predictable results. Obviously only the 1% drives a Mercedes and that's just not fair to the 99%.
"These people are out here trying to make a living. I get paid per run, I don't get paid by the hour,'' he said. "My personal opinion? The 1 percent down here is protesting, the 99 percent is down here working."
A car struck two Occupy Oakland protesters tonight as they marched with a crowd along Broadway, and an angry mob surrounded the car as emergency workers tended to the injured.That may be the first time we've seen the angry mob properly described by the media. I thought that characterization was reserved only for tea partiers.
The driver, who was not identified, sat in his silver Mercedes-Benz sedan after the 7:30 p.m. incident while hundreds of people screamed at him through his closed windows.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Zuccotti Park Rapist: 'He Was a Genuinely Nice Guy...He Came To Get Sh-t Done'
Sounds like this alleged rapist sure did get his sh-t done.
A man who has been linked to two sexual assault charges in Zuccotti Park has been arrested. 26-year-old Tonye Iketubosin of Crown Heights allegedly raped an 18-year-old woman from Massachusetts early Saturday morning, and sexually assaulted a 17-year-old woman on October 25th. According to the Wall Street Journal, he has been charged with third-degree sexual abuse, and the DA's office states that charges related to the alleged rape are "pending."Seems Tonye has at least one alias.
The 18-year-old told police that following an argument with her tent-mate at around 6 a.m. on Saturday, she met Iketubosin and he offered to let her sleep in his tent, "saying he had to go work in the park's makeshift kitchen." After falling asleep, she woke up shortly after "to Iketubosin removing her pants…she told police she asked him to stop, but he didn't comply. Then he raped her."
Iketubosin allegedly helped the 17-year-old set up her tent last Thursday night, and early the next morning found him inside the tent. He allegedly "ignored her repeated requests to leave. Then he groped her until she pushed him away." Iketubosin reportedly told authorities that he had been staying at Zuccotti Park for more than a week and working in the kitchen.
Beau Sibbing, Wisconsin resident who has been working in the kitchen at Zuccotti Park for the past three weeks, tells us that Iketubosin was known as "Tonye Parks," and came to work in the kitchen around two weeks ago. "He was a genuinely nice guy...he came to get shit done," he said. Sibbing had heard rumors of the first assault on Friday, and said that Iketubosin "was adamant that it wasn't him."Naturally, some idiots rationalize it because it's all for a good cause. To them, as they've declared, this is war. And in every battle you have some casualties. So some women get raped. At least they have mediation counselors to help cheer up the victims.
Another woman who has been at the park for the past three weeks from her home on Long Island and asked to be identified as Amanda F., says, "This is still New York. It's humanity; you're gonna find the good and the bad. I don't want to discourage people from coming down here, it's very rare that something like this would happen."Except it's happening at virtually every one of the encampments.
The Whole World Isn't Watching: Occupy Oakland Strike Draws About 1000
Lame. Very lame. All the hype and they can only get a thousand people? Of course by the end of the day they'll tell us it was a million.
Hundreds of workers and students have taken to the streets in Oakland today as part of a daylong general strike called by Occupy Oakland organizers to protest economic inequity and corporate greed.There's UStream video here. The "Death to Capitalism" sign I saw is a nice touch.
The protest began at 9 a.m. when about 1,000 demonstrators blocked the intersection of 14th Street and Broadway just steps from Frank Ogawa Plaza before marching toward local banks. The crowd was peaceful and almost celebratory - a band was playing and walking with the group and a "flash mob" broke out in dance at one point - but traffic, including AC Transit buses, was being diverted from the area. The bus agency said many of its lines are being detoured.
By 11 a.m., marchers had reached Wells Fargo Bank at 12th Street and Broadway. The bank was closed, and no workers could be seen inside. Across the street, Comerica Bank locked its doors as protesters approached. Before the protest, police asked the banks to close their doors to everyone except customers and "facilitate customer access at secured doors."
Many downtown businesses, including national chains like Rite Aid and Foot Locker, closed for the day.
No uniformed police officers were visible at the march. But undercover officers have monitored previous Occupy Oakland protests.
By the afternoon, the protest is expected to move to the Port of Oakland, where marchers want to shut down the container terminal there. Port officials said about 12 percent of longshoremen did not report to work.
Reverend Obama: God Wants Us To Put People Back to Work or Something
File under what is Bush said this? Of course we all know a Republican invoking God in the public sphere is greatly frowned upon by the secular left. But cloaking yourself in religion is peachy keen if you're a shameless Democrat looking to raise taxes.
Stumping for his jobs bill today, President Obama invoked a unique source of support: God.Yes, how trivial of Republicans to spend on minute on something like baseball. We all know how much the deeply religious Obama hates sports of all kinds.
Obama's theological appeal came while protesting that House Republicans have ignored his $447 billion American Jobs Act, even while approving legislation re-affirming "In God We Trust" as the national motto.
"That's not putting people back to work," Obama said during a jobs speech at a bridge in Washington, D.C. "I trust in God, but God wants to see us help ourselves by putting people back to work."
"There's work to be done, there are workers ready to do it," Obama added, also criticizing House Republicans for debating a memorial coin to celebrate baseball.
House Republican aides said the baseball and the "In God We Trust" items were procedural matters that took less than 20 minutes -- and that the GOP-run House has also passed some 20 pieces that would promote job creation through reduced regulations and tax changes.Speaking of God, how's Obama's search for a new church been coming since he left Rev. Wright's flock in 2008?
"At this point, the White House will create any sideshow they can to distract from the fact the House has sent jobs bill after jobs bill over to the Democrat-run Senate, only to see them collect dust," said Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
Local Pols Show Sudden Concern for Quality of Life Issues at Zuccotti Park
Back on October 14, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he was under threat from local politicians after he announced plans to clean up the fleabagger encampment at Zuccotti Park.
Fast forward to today and all of a suddenly Silver and Nadler are among those now calling for a return to normalcy. Well good luck with that, guys. You own this movement.
Either way, they get to keep their hands clean and still support these savages.
Mayor Bloomberg made his weekly radio show appearance Friday morning, saying Brookfield Properties informed him the company “got lots of calls from many elected officials threatening them and saying, ‘If you don’t stop this [the planned cleanup], we’ll make your life more difficult’.”These pols were never named, but it's not difficult to figure out those who represent the area, in particular State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Congressional heavyweight Jerrold Nadler were two of them.
Fast forward to today and all of a suddenly Silver and Nadler are among those now calling for a return to normalcy. Well good luck with that, guys. You own this movement.
Powerful assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has had enough of Occupy Wall Streeters peeing and pooping on the streets - and drumming all day.So 19 days ago Bloomberg was threatened if he cleaned up and now they're demanding he clean things up.
Silver, Rep. Jerald [sic] Nadler (D-Manhattan) and local lawmakers who represent lower Manhattan demanded Tuesday that Mayor Bloomberg crack down on quality-of-life infractions by those encamped at Zuccotti Park.
Either way, they get to keep their hands clean and still support these savages.
While expressing sympathy for Occupy Wall Street protesters and their right to protest, the elected officials wrote to Bloomberg insisting he solve growing concerns.Expecting a tower of jelly like Bloomberg to do anything is as stretch.
“Some of the protesters, and others who have opportunistically joined the crowd for unrelated reasons, have created serious qualify-of-life concerns for residents of the immediate area,” the letter states.
The group complained about public urination, nonstop drumming - and erected barricades that make it difficult for local residents to get around.
“It is important that these quality-of-life concerns are addressed in an effective and thoughtful manner by the city so that they do not keep recurring,” the letter states.
Silver, at the Capitol in Albany, told reporters that exercising one’s First Amendment rights “should not include defecating or urinating on sidewalks.
Health News: McRibs Contain Same Ingredient As Shoe Soles
I knew there was a reason why I never ate one of these things. As someone who enjoys making and consuming ribs, I can attest I studiously avoid using shoe soles in any form.
Blink and it's gone. The ephemeral McRib sandwich appears at McDonald's infrequently and only for a limited time. If you haven't indulged in one yet, here's what you're missing: azodicarbonamide, ammonium sulfate and polysorbate 80 — those are just three of the 70 ingredients (34 in the bun alone) that go into the BBQ pork sandwich, according to the restaurant's website.
These components are in small enough quantities to be innocuous. But it's still a little disconcerting to know that, for example, azodicarbonamide, a flour-bleaching agent that is most commonly used in the manufacture of foamed plastics like in gym mats and the soles of shoes, is found in the McRib bun. The compound is banned in Europe and Australia as a food additive. (England's Health and Safety Executive classified it as a "respiratory sensitizer" that potentially contributes to asthma through occupational exposure.) The U.S. limits azodicarbonamide to 45 parts per million in commercial flour products, based on analysis of lab testing.
Obama: The Economy 'Is Always My Responsibility'
After three years of blaming Bush, is he ready to accept responsibility for his own economic disaster?
WCCO-TV correspondent: "When I finally did have a chance to talk to President Obama one-on-one, I asked him at what point does the economy become his fault and not his predecessor's?"He just can't tell the truth. There have been 1.6 million private sector jobs lost since he was coronated.
President Barack Obama: "It's always my responsibility. I'm less interested in allocating blame then just making sure that we're taking every step we need to, to move the economy forward. And, you know, traditionally after big financial crises like this the economy takes a longer time to heal and we've seen some progress. In the private sector, we've seen over two million jobs created and this year alone, over a million jobs created. But, it's just not enough yet to have an impact on everybody who needs help out there."
Chicago Board of Trade Offers Assistance to Occupy Chicago Protesters
I love smart asses.
Click the image to enlarge. If you're a deeply offended OWS type you should consider printing and filling it out.Someone at the Chicago Board of Trade issued another message to the Occupy Chicago protesters by blanketing them with these McDonald's job applications. The protesters are understandably offended by both the message and by the hundreds of pieces of new litter around them.
First the CBOT folks posted "We are the 1%" in their eighth floor windows a few weeks ago. This is the second time they tossed flyers down from their ivory tower, too. They tossed down “We Are the 1% Paying For This" on Oct. 21.
Shock OWS Study: 'The Group is Very Liberal and Part of the Democratic Base'
Well, knock me over with a feather.
Meanwhile, the Daily Caller notes many of the alleged 99% are living quite comfortably, many in rather opulent digs. If only 99% of us could live so large.
Meanwhile, the "occupiers" are trying to figure out what to do with all the money they've raised. Here's a bit of irony.
Also noted is the Alliance for Global Justice, the movement's fiscal sponsor. You'd never guess who they're affiliated with.
More than half of the Zuccotti Park protestors voted for President Obama in 2008. But 73% now disapprove of the commander-in-chief and 25% plan to skip the 2012 election, according to a survey by Fordham University.You can bet Tea Party symphathizers will be crawling over broken glass to vote in 2012, even for a Mitt Romney.
The poll by Fordham's Center for Electoral Politics and Democracy released last week found that the Occupy Wall Street movement is 68% white, 61% male and 28% unemployed. But most of the protestors are college graduates and 22% hold advanced degrees.
It also found that only 25% of the protestors identify with the Democratic Party, while 21% want Rep Ron Paul (R-Texas) to become the Republican Party nominee for president.
The project by Costas Panagopoulos, professor of political science at Fordham and students, surveyed 301 protestors camped out at Zuccotti Park from Oct. 11 to Oct. 14, with a response rate of 78%. Only one other such survey of Occupy Wall Street exists and it polled fewer protestors, Panagopoulos said.
“The group is very liberal and part of the Democratic base,” Panagopoulos said. “But a surprising number don’t plan to vote."
The OWS rabble rousers seem to detest the Tea Party movement, with 75% giving it two thumbs down.
Meanwhile, the Daily Caller notes many of the alleged 99% are living quite comfortably, many in rather opulent digs. If only 99% of us could live so large.
Meanwhile, the "occupiers" are trying to figure out what to do with all the money they've raised. Here's a bit of irony.
The movement is keeping its money at Amalgamated Bank, which was started in the 1920s by a garment-workers union and was until recently 100 percent union-owned.That's billionaire Ron Burkle, of Bill Clinton fame.
That sole union ownership ended in September just as the protests were starting. Nine days after the demonstrations began, Amalgamated sold 40 percent of its stock to two of America's best-known investors, Wilbur Ross and Ron Burkle.
Also noted is the Alliance for Global Justice, the movement's fiscal sponsor. You'd never guess who they're affiliated with.
The Alliance for Global Justice (AGJ) is a Washington, D.C.-based charity that promotes opposition to free-market capitalism, particularly in Latin America, under the cover of engaging in "education on human, environmental and worker rights." AGJ underwrites and publicizes the activities of revolutionary Marxist movements from Nicaragua to Mexico and trains young activists to work toward its distinctly radical conception of "economic justice."But wait, there's more!
In addition to its efforts to stoke revolution in other countries, AGJ also funds revolutionary groups within the United States. For instance, it is the main financial sponsor of World Can't Wait, a direct-action movement affiliated with the Revolutionary Communist Party. On October 1, 2011, AGJ was retained by the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement to manage the processing of online donations for the latter.Only in America could a Communist front get get themselves a tax exemption.
AGJ is listed as a tax-exempt charitable organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code.
Obama: Corzine is 'Our Wall Street Guy'
It's safe to say these two are joined at the hip, although the way the media is reporting the downfall of Jon Corzine's MF Global, you wouldn't even know Corzine's a Democrat, let alone one of Obama's top campaign honchos. So it's worth noting this story from July.
Naturally, Corzine's former stenographers at the Star Ledger are crestfallen over the downfall of the guy they shamelessly supported while he was buying a Senate seat and later the governorship. Laughably, in his support they trot out corrupt former Senator Bob Torricelli, who was forced from office back in 2002.
President Obama is desperately putting his Wall Street stock in an unlikely old buddy.Where are the good government types screaming from the rooftops about Obama's deep connections with this man facing, to put it mildly, a very uncertain future? Can you imagine if such a close pal and fundraiser for Bush was up to his neck in problems and whose company is under investigation after $700 million went missing? Where are those noble souls "occupying" media attention to demand a perp walk for Obama's good buddy?
The beleaguered president has recruited former Goldman Sachs head honcho Jon Corzine to shore up re-election funds from the banking industry, which is furious over Obama's financial regulations.
Corzine, the former governor of New Jersey who was blasted out of office by Republican Chris Christie in 2009, has attended secret meetings with the president and has been working on Obama's 2012 campaign for months, The Post has learned.
The Democrat, who now leads Manhattan-based brokerage MF Global, has been tasked with scraping up the very little banking-industry support Obama can still get.
And, like any good executive, Corzine is looking out for his own bottom line.
Success could resuscitate his political career with a top post -- such as treasury secretary or a key ambassadorship -- if there is a second Obama term.
Obama campaigned heavily for Corzine in his failed re-election bid, calling him "our Wall Street guy."
Corzine's name popped up on an attendance list for a controversial and secret White House sit-down with leaders of New York's financial sector late last month. He has also aggressively worked the phone lines and the cocktail-party circuit.
And in the last few months, Corzine hosted a high-end fund-raiser at his Fifth Avenue home for Obama.
He even secretly organized a meet-and-greet at the Four Seasons for key finance-industry execs and Obama's new chief of staff, former banker Bill Daley.
Naturally, Corzine's former stenographers at the Star Ledger are crestfallen over the downfall of the guy they shamelessly supported while he was buying a Senate seat and later the governorship. Laughably, in his support they trot out corrupt former Senator Bob Torricelli, who was forced from office back in 2002.
Former U.S. Sen. Robert Torricelli, who was close with Corzine, said the former governor has had his share of troubles over the years.Actually, it seems more like a criminal situation, Bobby. You'd know all about that.
"Jon has suffered a series of very difficult professional blows, and I know professional difficulties affect him deeply and personally,’’ he said. "The wound of being fired from Goldman Sachs never healed."
The defeat in politics, though, may have been easier for him to accept than the failure of MF Global, said Torricelli. Politics, he pointed out, was only an adopted avocation.
"In some ways this is probably more difficult," said Torricelli. "It’s a heart-breaking situation."