does anyone know what happened there? i hadn't heard about this.

nm... i followed the link :) thanks SoNotHer!

RE car running down protesters in oakland
 

omg... even after seeing the video thay're calling it an accident??? an accident?? seriously? wow. they don't seem to be taking it very seriously. they're tossing occupiers in jail for petty shit...and this guy goes free?? scary shit.

Need Voices....
 

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IiCSMYO3yg&feature=share"]Native Perspectives on the Oakland Occupy General Strike 11.2.11 - YouTube[/nomedia]

BTD
 

http://www.forbes.com/sites/moneywis...ange-anything/

Will Bank Transfer Day Really Change Anything?

Nearly 80,000 people are currently signed up on Facebook to attend Bank Transfer Day, Google returns over 400 news articles headlined “Bank Transfer Day,” and today in San Francisco, at least three spray-painted faces of BTD—the patriotic rendition of the V mask—smiled triumphantly at me on my way to work.

But will Bank Transfer Day accomplish what it seeks to do, which, according to the Facebook event, is to “send a clear message that conscious consumers won’t support companies with unethical business practices”?

How It May Win A Battle…

If awareness is the goal, then supporters of Bank Transfer Day can pop the champagne already.

Bank Transfer Day is an orchestrated call to action for consumers to switch from their for-profit bank to not-for-profit credit unions before November 5. With its media bullhorn and measurable results of credit union growth, Bank Transfer Day is arguably not just a one day event; it signals the start of an on-going movement from which we may see ripple effects in the coming year.

And so far, at least 650,000 consumers nationwide have joined credit unions and helped add $4.5 billion in new savings accounts, reports CUNA. With four in every five credit unions reporting noticeable member growth since the end of September, the waves of consumers moving their money out of big banks seems to be a combination of consumer reactions to the now-rescinded debit card fees as well as Bank Transfer Day. If you are thinking about making the switch to a credit union as well, be sure to research credit union reviews before moving your money.

With the sheer volume of media coverage and credit union mobilization, Bank Transfer Day is finally providing fed-up, frustrated consumers with what they need: a real course of action.

*not the full article*

I'm not so sure Bank Transfer Day will have a great impact. OWS is still in the beginning stages. Lots of Americans do not even have a clue what "occupy" means. I think, with anything people are trying to change, it needs to be constant and ongoing. There needs to be more awareness, more understanding and more days like this in order to have a impact on these companies or banks. I will say it is a good start!

How can moving 4 billion dollars not have an impact?? What you are saying sounds like the rhetoric the banks are trying to feed us so that people don't take their money and move it. Trust me, banks ARE afraid right now. To me and I'm sure the banks, four billion dollars is a significant amount of money to lose out on, and it is about time. I'm tired of banks using my money to put more money in their pockets while paying out paltry interest rates. I'm tired of banks being bailed out only for the top people to get HUGE bonus payouts. Enough is enough already. Sometimes I think it is better just to do banking the old fashioned way, in a coffee can or under the mattress LOL

Did you move your money? Did you talk to your family and friends? Did you ask them to move their money to a credit union or a locally owned bank?

Occupy is a worldwide movement started with the Arab Spring. Occupy will continue until something dramatic changes in terms of economic injustice. Dissolve the Fed and the World Bank. Regulate Wall Street and how paper is bundled and moved. Raise taxes in a big ass way on folks who have over a million bucks.

Donate money, food, supplies, etc to your local Occupy folks.

also.........

www.movetoamend.com Get money out of politics and political campaigns at all levels. Money is not speech. Corporations are not people. Public financing of ALL political campaigns with NO non-public money allowed to advertise or do mailings or anything related to elections. End the money/power based corruption of our democracy.

more from weds
 

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdQFz-w-wTk&feature=share"]Oakland General Strike | LeftBay99 - YouTube[/nomedia]

To be honest, public financing of elections (every single part of elections) to me is the single most important way to finally have a voice that is heard. If the Occupy movement dropped all other issues and focused on this in a way that grew and grew- I would be very happy!

I honestly don't see much of anything changing as long as the US continues with election/campaign financing as it is- especially after corporations became people via the SC.

Talk about unequal distribution of wealth!

And if and when folks change to another bank or credit union- please don't be snotty to bank tellers- they are not the BIG BAD BANK! In fact, tellers don't make much at all and are very much part of the 99%.

my opinion only.. a big impact would be closing down the banks or perhaps one to start this Bank Transfer Day. 4 billion dollars is alot yes, but to a bank?? seriously, it's a dent if even. All I was saying is it's a start and MORE people need to be aware of what "occupy" is. People don't even have a clue. As Toughy put it people need to talk to family and friends and be involved. It is a good thing although. I'm glad people did it. I would just like to see it done again, and again, and again. Turn 4 billion into 400 billion.

I know, right. It's complete BS.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/1..._lnk3%7C110308

WASHINGTON — 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.

Congress is expected to decide by year's end whether to continue providing emergency unemployment benefits for up to 99 weeks in the hardest-hit states. If the emergency benefits expire, the proportion of the unemployed receiving aid would fall further.

The ranks of the poor would also rise. The Census Bureau says unemployment benefits kept 3.2 million people from slipping into poverty last year. It defines poverty as annual income below $22,314 for a family of four.

Yet for a growing share of the unemployed, a vote in Congress to extend the benefits to 99 weeks is irrelevant. They've had no job for more than 99 weeks. They're no longer eligible for benefits.

Their options include food stamps or other social programs. Nearly 46 million people received food stamps in August, a record total. That figure could grow as more people lose unemployment benefits.

So could the government's disability rolls. Applications for the disability insurance program have jumped about 50 percent since 2007.

"There's going to be increased hardship," said Wayne Vroman, an economist at the Urban Institute.

The number of unemployed has been roughly stable this year. Yet the number receiving benefits has plunged 30 percent.

Government unemployment benefits weren't designed to sustain people for long stretches without work. They usually don't have to. In the recoveries from the previous three recessions, the longest average duration of unemployment was 21 weeks, in July 1983.

By contrast, in the wake of the Great Recession, the figure reached 41 weeks in September. That's the longest on records dating to 1948. The figure is now 39 weeks.

"It was a good safety net for a shorter recession," said Carl Van Horn, an economist at Rutgers University. It assumes "the economy will experience short interruptions and then go back to normal."

Weekly unemployment checks average about $300 nationwide. If the extended benefits aren't renewed, growth could slow by up to a half-percentage point next year, economists say.

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that each $1 spent on unemployment benefits generates up to $1.90 in economic growth. The CBO has found that the program is the most effective government policy for increasing growth among 11 options it's analyzed.

Jon Polis lives in East Greenwich, R.I., one of the 20 states where 99 weeks of benefits are available. He used them all up after losing his job as a warehouse worker in 2008. His benefits paid for groceries, car maintenance and health insurance.

Now, Polis, 55, receives disability insurance payments, food stamps and lives in government-subsidized housing. He's been unable to find work because employers in his field want computer skills he doesn't have.

"Employers are crying that they can't find qualified help," he said. But the ones he interviewed with "weren't willing to train anybody."

From late 2007, when the recession began, to early 2010, the number of people receiving unemployment benefits rose more than four-fold, to 11.5 million.

But the economy has remained so weak that an analysis of long-term unemployment data suggests that about 2 million people have used up 99 weeks of checks and still can't find work.

Contributing to the smaller share of the unemployed who are receiving benefits: Some of them are college graduates or others seeking jobs for the first time. They aren't eligible. Only those who have lost a job through no fault of their own qualify.

The proportion of the unemployed receiving benefits usually falls below 50 percent during an economic recovery. Many have either quit jobs or are new to the job market and don't qualify.

Today, the proportion is falling for a very different reason: Jobs remain scarce. So more of the unemployed are exhausting their benefits.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has noted that the long-term unemployed increasingly find it hard to find work as their skills and professional networks erode. In a speech last month, Bernanke called long-term unemployment a "national crisis" that should be a top priority for Congress.

Lawmakers will have to decide whether to continue the extended benefits by the end of this year. If the program ends, nearly 2.2 million people will be cut off by February.

Congress has extended the program nine times. But it might balk at the $45 billion cost. It will be the first time the Republican-led House will vote on the issue.

Yup- and wars are won, one battle at a time.

Occupy Update
 

God I love Angela Davis.

not directly ows... but i think related and inspiring
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_JF-PCEoHI&feature=player_embedded"]Oakland State of Mind - YouTube[/nomedia]

Today I heard about arrests in Orlando and in Hawaii. Glad to know people are getting out in these two areas and occupying.