Banks Got Bailed Out: We Got Sold Out!

"The ego and the narcissism of these people - they're unable to acknowledge fault... We were interviewing Treasury Secretary [Timothy] Geithner... I asked 'What is one thing you think you did wrong,' and his response was, 'We underestimated how right we were about everything'. And that's the mentality." 
- Neil Barofsky

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Elizabeth Warren to bank regulators: 

"If they can break the law and drag in BILLIONS in profits and then turn around and settle - paying out of those profits - they don't have much incentive to follow the law." 

"Tell me a little bit about the last few times you've taken the biggest financial institutions on Wall Street all the way to a trial. [pause] ...Anybody?"

   

Occupy Wall Street Protesters arrested: THOUSANDS 

Homes Foreclosed on by Bailed-Out-Banks: MILLIONS!

Fed Cash SECRETLY funneled to banks on top of TARP: $16 TRILLION
(more than the U.S. annual GDP - or the nation's TOTAL debt) 

U.S. Bankers arrested for perpetrating the financial crimes: 0 (ZERO)

How America Got Bought Out [VIDEO]

It's really not rocket-science...

Narration by Ed Asner / Animation by Mike Konopacki. 

"[It's a] video about how we arrived at this moment of poorly funded public services and widening economic inequality. Things go downhill in a happy and prosperous land after the rich decide they don't want to pay taxes anymore. They tell the people that there is no alternative, but the people aren't so sure. This land bears a startling resemblance to our land." - Director, Fred Glass

Michelle Malkin - one of Fox News' hot-air-bags for hire, actually likened the TAX-EVASION of the 1% mentioned in the cartoon, to the LEGAL tax-exemption status of NOT-FOR-PROFIT organizations. 

Sean Hannity - Fox News' #1 talking airhead and chicken-hawk - called Malkin's 'analysis' (for lack of a better word) a "good point".

Pay close attention to the part of the video that mentions who OWNS the American media and communications companies - and why!

Vietnam was stopped by American Protesters at a time when American media was controlled by 50 or so, different companies. Most American media & communications systems now sit in the hands of only 5 war-mongering GIANT corporations. They lie to you. Their goal is to take your money away and to perpetuate GIANT industry - of any kind. Ask any Wall Street Banker or Advertising professional. They'll likely smile while admitting it. It is their business; it's what they do. Turn off your TV if you want to learn.

American Fascism

 GETTING THE MESSAGE??? 

 THEY are "programming" YOU! 

Click HERE to learn more. 

      Did you know:

• The US imprisons more of its own population than 
   ANY other nation on the planet.  

• The Prison-Industrial-Complex is one of our nation's largest private sectors.

•  1 in 100 Adult Americans are currently incarcerated. 

 PLEASE CHECK THESE FACTS! 

BREAKING NEWS : UK Threatens Ecuador Over Protection of WikiLeaks' Assange [VIDEO]

ANY ACT of AGGRESSION by the UK and 
the EMPIRE against the ECUADORIAN EMBASSY is an 
ACT of AGGRESSION against ECUADORIAN SOVERGEINGTY. 
 - SOLIDARITY!!! 

Julian Assange, Wikileaks figurehead has been fighting extradition from the UK on trumped up charges of an alleged sexual assault - though the accuser herself admits the sex was consensual and only became upset with Assange days later - after realizing she had contracted an STD. After speaking with another woman who also claims Assange gave her the same STD, both women decided to press charges. Assange has agreed to meet with any Swedish officials for the purpose of their investigation - in England, while under the protection of British Law. Sweden has continually turned down his offer and insists that he be physically imprisoned and forced back to Sweden. Whether the STD came from Assange or not, these local charges (stemming from an encounter in Sweden during one of Assanges speaking tours) have somehow become an international extradition case, leading no one to wonder why. 

Assange has upset very many of the World's Elite in the Military-Industrial Complex, Global Central Banking Schemes, and Corporate Communications & Information Systems ownership and control. He is the one willing to take the fall for exposing the lies of our governments - and our government's corporate-masters. 

Knowing that they would be taking on the weight of the world, Ecuador offered the safety of asylum to Julian Assange and the Ecuadorian Embassy is currently in a STAND-OFF with British officials who are threatening to invade the Embassy - effectively invading Ecuadorian Sovereignty. 

The only question - as is always the case - is whether the UK believes they can get away with their aggression toward other countries by selling it to their own people with a clever enough PR campaign. There is NO possible case that the UK, the US, or any of their corporate-profiteers can make, that would justify their invasion of the Ecuadorian Embassy - which only exists in the UK under the promise that such a thing could NEVER happen. 

This would be an enormous act of international aggression on the part of the UK. No PR campaign that they wage on their own people, could protect them from the ire of the World, should they act with such aggression.

While the Assange extradition has been playing out for about a year - this story of the Ecuadorian Embassy standing up to the Empire in order to do what's right - is just BREAKING.

The Empire is currently threatening to forcefully remove the Ecuadorian Embassy in order to forcefully remove Assange from Ecuador's protection. However this turns out - Ecuador is the Hero in this. Bless Ecuador for taking this Brave and very necessary stand!

Solidarity!
#ONYS

Assange continually has the support of The People in every country whose governments and corporations keep trying to silence him. 

His WikiLeaks.org has relentlessly 
exposed governmental, political, &

 corporate secrets - in particular, the secrets of 

the  Military-Industrial-Complex 
 ...the secrets Eisenhower warned us about. 

A truly FREE NATION, has no secrets.  

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange speaking to demonstrators from the steps of Saint Paul's Cathedral in London on Saturday (Leon Neal, AFP / Getty Images)

       Whether you know it or not, 

       your government is  waging a secret war   

           against Whistle-Blowers who are      

          exposing their War-Mongering LIES!!! heir war-mongering LIES.

Other sourced coverage complete with 

LINK to LIVE-FEED outside the Embassy
(feed just went down for battery conservation) continues HERE:

Our Occupation & City Officials Response So Far

We came. They saw. We dialogued :)



The Mayor hand delivered a permit application. We obliged her and filed it.
We then met with the City in order to reach solutions for our encampment in cooperation with the City.



Having no time constraints on approving or denying the permit application that Mayor Carolyn Peterson hand delivered to us, personally - the City flatly denied it. They then, admitted they had no sincere intention of considering it in the first place.



They have asked us about our willingness to negotiate.
On almost every issue they raise, our answer has been, "Yes, we can negotiate on that."
We have asked them to put something on the table... anything... anything at all...
...we're still waiting.


UPDATE:
CLICK HERE for documents

D15 - BILL OF RIGHTS DAY - Direct Action

You CAN Help Us & We Need You Now

Text "@occupyithacahub" to 23559 in order to receive our:

1.) EMERGENCY RESPONSE communications, and
2.) updates on General Assemblies and Direct Actions

- Keep your video cameras (cell phone cameras) charged and ready to record.
- Be ready to show up in solidarity and as a witness, should we require immediate support.

Whether or not you are able to join us daily or nightly in the park, you can help by showing your support!

• Contact the Mayor, the Police Department and other relevant city officials - and let them know that you support this movement! Let them know that you will not stand for the city disallowing our rights to peaceful public assembly and speech.

• Superintendent of Public Works, Bill Gray told the Ithaca Journal that he has 'put us on notice'. Help us put him on notice - that our constitutionally protected rights WILL NOT be violated in your city!

Bill Gray's contact info can be found by clicking on his name (above).
For the contact info of each of the city officials and departments mentioned here - click on them (above).

Your support is invaluable.  

We need you now.

For more info, click here!

Lend a hand.

When Our Land & Water Are Under Attack, What Do We Do? STAND UP - FIGHT BACK!

Governor Andrew Cuomo may have personally profited from campaign money given to him by those who aim to exploit New York's resources at the reckless detriment of our land and water, but we will not comply with the poisoning of our people. We will fight back.

"We will stop every truck at the border and we will blockade every road into this state if we have to!"

There are over-dramatic, cartoons and comic book evil villain stories that look like our current reality regarding FRACKING (hydraulic fracturing for natural gas drilling). Giant energy companies are literally poisoning the land and water of our communities - for a financial profit. The documentary "Gasland" has brought the truth to light. The ever-growing stories of those who have already fallen prey to, and suffered the ramifications of dealing with these energy company super-villains are also helping to expose the dangerous truth about hydro-fracking.

Currently, the Town of Dryden is under legal attack by Anschutz, an energy company who holds drilling leases on properties throughout the town. The Town of Dryden, the hero of this story, has banned this poisonous industry in an effort to protect it's citizens, it's land and it's water.

Banning hydro-fracking state-wide however, will be the only way to protect New York State residents from these toxic drilling practices, as our air and our water are not confined by town borders. As long as we have a governor who has accepted campaign money from these toxic companies who aim to poison our land and our people for financial gains, we must be vigilant and without relent. We must be aware of who stands on the side of the people and who stands to exploit our great state, at the expense of our health and safety.
We must fight.

When our land and water are under attack, what do we do?
STAND UP - FIGHT BACK!

We have only just begun.
We will not allow profiteers or their puppet-politicians to poison our communities.
We Will Not Allow It.

What Have We Been Up To?

If you've passed DeWitt Park over the past week or two, you might have noticed something.
We are occupying.

What started with about 7 tents the Monday before last, has now grown to about 17.
We have a "Hospitality Table" as well, with plenty of information and - for as long as we can keep them in stock - hard copies of the newly launched Occupied Ithaca Journal.

The immediate local business community has been wonderfully accommodating - helping to keep us warm, fed and equipped for the long hard task in front of us. We are grateful for all of our donors, but it is especially nice to be so warmly welcomed by our own downtown business and resident neighbors.

 

2nd day of the Occupy Ithaca encampment.

The official "Occupy Ithaca - Declaration of the Occupation" has been published,
and is hosted online by the Occupied Ithaca Journal. 

So, why now? Why take to the park in Ithaca more than 2 months since the start of the movement?
Because the time was right. 

Since very early on, Ithacans had been supporting the greater Occupy Movement from it's fledgling stages, right on through to it's global networking. As a more socially-conscious city than most, and with plenty of activists ready to stand up for what we believe in - in a call for social justice worldwide, targeting at the core of global social and economic corruption, Wall Street - it seemed obvious early on that our resources were best spent on helping OWS (Occupy Wall Street) to hold it's ground and Occupy Together to help spread the message. Carpools and ride-shares brought our people-power resources to where they were needed most, helping to ensure the longevity and stability of the greater movement. Once the N17 International Day of Action proved the worldwide success of the movement in terms not only of that longevity and stability, but also the enormous growth of the movement, it was clear to Occupy Ithaca that our resources could safely be directed more toward local actions, here at home. 

We have had many visitors since setting up our round-the-clock public protest.

• Mayor Carolyn Peterson came by to chat with us on day one, and to personally deliver a permit application, requesting that we file it with the city. We did. 
• Ithaca's Finest visit regularly and help to keep us company in the late hours, when company is harder for us to come by. 
• Mayor Elect, Svante Myrick has been by more than once to check in, and to join us in discussions.
• Your friends and neighbors are dropping by regularly to get some direct information on the Occupy Movement, from the source rather than from sensationalist "news" media.

Everyone has been warm and congenial.

If you haven't joined us for discussion yet, please do.
You may not yet understand our movement if your only source of information has been corporate news media, but we are eager for all who are curious to drop by for some direct, sincere, and long overdue dialogue about how we can make our world a better place.

In Egypt & In Oakland: Latest Occupy Efforts on Opposite Ends of the Map

Egypt Rising Against Military Rule,
Security Forces Descend on Tahrir Square

Originally published on Nov. 20, 2011, 12:04 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt

• live coverage from Al Jazeera
• footage from earlier

151 Comments Occupy Oakland Calls for TOTAL WEST COAST PORT SHUTDOWN ON 12/12 Originally published on Nov. 19, 2011, 8:35 p.m. EST by OccupyWallSt Proposal for a Coordinated West Coast Port Shutdown, Passed With Unanimous Consensus by vote of the Occupy Oakland General Assembly 11/18/2012: In response to coordinated attacks on the occupations and attacks on workers across the nation: Occupy Oakland calls for the blockade and disruption of the economic apparatus of the 1% with a coordinated shutdown of ports on the entire West Coast on December 12th. The 1% has disrupted the lives of longshoremen and port truckers and the workers who create their wealth, just as coordinated nationwide police attacks have turned our cities into battlegrounds in an effort to disrupt our Occupy movement. Read More... 745 Comments