OCCUPY WALL STREET

[Cin]

Originally Posted by AtLast

http://www.mercurynews.com/rss/ci_19298642?source=rss

Part of article- use link for the rest. There seems to be some heightened discontent going on with Oakland business owners and the City Council in terms of getting demonstrators out of the park.

The mayor's impromptu visit happened at the same time five council members, business people and faith leaders gathered at the Lake Merritt Band Shell to express their frustration with the camp, the violence and the effect on downtown businesses. They promised to find a way to boot the camp if the mayor will not do it.

I don't know the truth of it all not being in Oakland but I read some of the comments at the end of the article and people are saying that the movement has helped businesses and that downtown businesses have been hurting for years. They seem to think that saying businesses are hurt is politically motivated and actually untrue. Again I'm not from there so I have no idea the reality of it. Perhaps people from there who read the article and the comments after it will have a much more informed opinion.

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by Miss Tick

I don't know the truth of it all not being in Oakland but I read some of the comments at the end of the article and people are saying that the movement has helped businesses and that downtown businesses have been hurting for years. They seem to think that saying businesses are hurt is politically motivated and actually untrue. Again I'm not from there so I have no idea the reality of it. Perhaps people from there who read the article and the comments after it will have a much more informed opinion.

Yes, there are differing views. I am not supporting the article in terms of "sides", just posting for information on new developments.

From local news, it seems like there are two sides to this and the businesses close to the Occupied park are the ones wanting it moved out and feel that they are being hurt because people are just staying away from the "heart" of the protest after incidences of violence. Also, some don't want a tent city and the sanitation issues around them.

I hope that they can all meet and discuss this whole thing with council members that are getting complaints and come up with solutions in compromise.

I hope that there is no more situations in which anyone gets hurt physically. But, it looked like tempers could flair when the council members that are being pressed by constituents tried to have a press conference about all of this.

This is really interesting in terms of how do we use our rights to assemble and bring our grievances to our government, yet, respect the rights of those that also are part of a community at large? And what responsibilities do bodies like city councils have in terms of representation of ALL of the people they were elected to represent? There are many people demonstrating that are not residents of Oakland or even Alameda County camping in the park. In fact, most of the people camping do not live in Oakland. So, who does the council act for- non-residents are not part of their consituency and also do not pay taxes in the city or county.

How do we address this in terms of a national protest? What is fair and what is not to the people that live and support the public funds of a municipality? Whose rights do we put above someone else's?

I have been thinking a lot about this in terms of a public park near me. It is a great park that is used by lots of groups and people from my city. Schools as well as city groups use the baseball diamonds and our rec department and senior center uses its facilities too. There are numerous activities that go on in it all of the time that are planned in advanced and people have to sign up for use permits. some plan events a year in advance and these are open to the public. There are two great play grounds there that families use every day (unless it is raining) and the fact is that our property taxes go to support this public park. It belongs to all of us.

if all of a sudden a bunch of people that do not even live here decided to take it over and camp, I have to be honest, I wouldn't like it. There is already traffic from 3 schools, a theater, and our community center and several city sports leagues (soccer, baseball- all kids programs) have secured use permits for their activities. So, they should have to give up their events and activities to people that just move in and want to use the park as a camp ground?

Now, having people gather there to protest in the areas not already spoken for to protest is different to me. But, I am talking about day use that does not impact the rightful use for others. Also, there are reasons for permits- sanitation needs and clean-up as well as any emergency services that might be needed. These are all supplied by the city because this is a public park and we all pay for this as residents here.

Frankly, most of the sports activities that go on in this city park are for kids that have few resources and want to participate in a sport or other community activity. There are all kinds of booster clubs that do fund-raisers to help support these programs as well as the city giving use permits to these kids groups. So, what do we say to a group of 3rd graders that have been all excited about the winter league they are in and ready to go play? I see the excitement and joy of these kids as they walk by or their parents park near my home as they go to participate. It is important to them. So are the old rose shows (senior citizens) and holiday children of light festivities that go on in this public park. All of which are open to the public and the park is intended and supported for by residents here.

I think that the OWS movement is important and needs to go on. However, it also has to compromise in terms of public use areas and abide by city and county ordinances of the 98/99%. Wall Street barons do not use public parks for activities like the general population- nor do their kids need to sell candy to buy school supplies.

[Toughy]

Be Afraid..........Be Very Afraid.....

The Oakland Chamber of Commerce and some members of the City Council have done a grand job of making people afraid to go to downtown Oakland and the reason to be afraid is a bunch of folks in a whole bunch of tents camped out in the City Center Frank Ogawa Plaza (renamed Oscar Grant Plaza). Be afraid they are violent. Be afraid they are hurting your business. Be fucking afraid of your fellow Oaktown residents.

I am sure there are some folks who won't go downtown because of OO. I am also sure that many many of the business around Oscar Grant Plaza are doing better business than before OO.

If the Chamber and the Council actually gave a shit about downtown business there would be an ad campaign to bring folks into downtown to eat and shop. There is not a damn thing to be afraid of in downtown Oakland on a normal day and/or evening.....

Be Afraid........they will get you......Be Afraid....

[persiphone]

i extracted this comment from this article that Miss Tick posted:

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/a...nancial-system


Understanding the puzzle of derivatives

The Commodity Futures market is one of the largest derivative trading arenas with many commodities; currencies; precious metals; and energy products listed – .

It all revolves around “Price” and “Time”. You will notice that on all traded contracts there are time periods listed noted by contract months going out up to three-years out.

Whatever the price is today (minute by minute as the contracts are traded) someone can buy or sell a contract with a 1% to 3% of the value of the contract in their account (buying or selling on margin)

Most from the public are psychologically conditioned that they have to buy first and then sell to make a profit. In derivatives that is 100% incorrect. You are making a “time” bet for higher or lower prices. If you think the value is going down, you sell a contract. If you think it is going up you buy a contract.

With the markets now primarily being traded electronically, when a buy or sell order is entered and at your price your fill usually is instant. This means you can jump in and out at your choice. If you choose it could be 10 minutes, an hour, a day, a week, or longer that you hold your position. The following is an example of the best profit in the shortest period I personally made:

It was back in 1981 and on on day when I was watching silver towards the close, it looked like it was very top heavy after moving up a few dollars over a couple of weeks. I said to myself: “I think it is going to collapse in the last few minutes before the close. It was 4-minutes to the close and I at that time having an account balance of about $32,000 slapped in two orders; (SELL) 35 DEC SILVERS at Market, and (BUY) 35 DEC SILVERS (Market on Close)

Well, got filled on the 35 sell orders in about 5 seconds and in the next 4-minutes silver collapsed by 42c where my Market on close orders were filled. No more 35 derivative orders held, just accounting of the instant CASH collected on the trade. Here is the accounting: 42c X 35 = $14.7 X $5,000 ($1 value of a silver contract move) = $73,500 + $32,000 (my account balance before the trade)= $106,500 (account balance after the trade) or not bad after a 4-minute derivatives trade. Now those that had the “other side” of the trade got burnt. The commissions I was paying at that time was about $15 per contract X 35 contracts traded = $525 that went to the House and exchange that “cleared” the trade.

Most commodity contracts have active participation in the front months but the further the time goes out participation dries up and thus no liquidity to trade those contracts.

For every contract being that it is a bet on “time” will reach its expiration and delivery day. When that happens all speculators are out and those wishing to take or make delivery stay in to the last day and then the exchanges match up the “real” buyers and sellers to each other on the outstanding contracts where physical delivery of the underling commodity is made.

Come that last day the volume of contracts held dries up to usually less that 1% of what it was a few days earlier (over 99% were speculators and less than 1% actually wanted to take or make delivery)

The 600 trillion notional value is: the value of all the bets.

EXAMPLE: on the commodity futures market has a $100,000 face value of the bet and the margin requirement to hold it over night is $2,500 and day trading margin can be $1,000. As of today the “Net” contract volume is at about 289,000 contracts. So based on notional face value that is 289,000 X $100,000 = $89 billion-dollars but the “margin deposits being used is substantially less.

So that 600 trillion is the “full contract value” of all contracts being traded. That 1.5 quadrillion is when you take into account both sides of the contract. For every buyer holding a contract there is a seller holding the other side. So when counting each side 600 X 600 = 1.2 quadrillion.

Here is the “Bottom Line”:

With 99% speculators, yes it is a casino. But “who” are the primary players that are liquidating tens of billion of dollars a day from the trading activity (remember when the trade is closed in 5-minutes or 5-months it is all a “cash” accounting for the winner’s and loser’s account balances)

Well, those from the general public that tries to play this game, they get their account balances decimated to the tune of 98% of those player that participated in very short periods of time. (bought on highs; sold on lows; got stopped out or force liquidated for not having the proper margin after being depleted from quick adverse market moves)

So who are that 2% factor that takes everyone’s money to the tune of over a few trillion dollars a year (some times in a month as happened at the end of 2008) ?

The answer may surprise you. Now the House and the Exchanges get a small cut from each side. There are a few magnates on the inside track that also make good money: But the “Primary” profiteer for several decades now are: Institutional Government Fund Management.

They in so many words all subscribe to the same News Services and consulting groups. They have the fund resources in trillion dollar collective totals managed from around the globe. They can act in loose concert and roll the markets up; down; sideways and do so as fast or as slow as they wish.

The end of 2008 showed how fast they could move the markets by exercising their multi-trillion dollar trading accounts and massive contract volume they can move in and out.

At the end of 2008 in a month and a half about 25 to 30 trillion-dollars was “sucked” right out of players accounts globally that were on the wrong sides of the trades. Now some government investment funds where they were on the outside track got burnt. The primary government institutional global accounts that “were” on the inside track made a killing of several trillion dollars.
Now here is the definition of arrogance:

Government (USA) global institutional funds now after having liquidating trillions out of the playing loser’s accounts at the end of 2008, (which caused massive defaults from the loser’s who ended up with severe deficit account balances)now uses a trillion here and a trillion there of taxpayer revenue to shore-up their own casino and friendly corporate interests.

Is there a “bubble” in the derivatives market?

As of 2009, Oh yes.. You can not suck so many trillions out of others accounts at the end of 2008 without destabilizing the playing field. Commodity futures contracts back then were settled after weeding out defaults so back to normal there. I note the definition of normal is those government institutional accounts rolling the market up and down, quick and slow; as they liquidate that 98% factions cash on the trades.

The danger lies in those “Mortgage Interest Rate Swaps” where there is a substantially reduced value of the underling commodity and in some cases the contract instrument traded had no underling commodity to back it up at all(real-estate home and commercial properties)

Here the balancing act is precarious to say the least. Offsetting those contract instruments to balance out with “real” underling value market to market is a nightmare for the players.

Those trillions in bailouts to the global banks and financial institutions have primarily gone to that end.

Are they getting closer to balancing the books? Yes..

Are they there yet? No, they are about 60% there and it will take more time to balance the remainder and the beat goes on..

Walter Burien – (CTA) Commodity Trading Advisor) 1978 – 1992 and
commodity Futures Trader of 33 years.


i highlighted some key points.

[Cin]

On Thursday, November 10 at 8pm, The New School in New York City will be hosting Occupy Everywhere: On the New Politics and Possibilities of the Movement Against Corporate Power, a discussion featuring award-winning filmmaker and author Michael Moore (Here Comes Trouble), best-selling author and Nation columnist Naomi Klein (The Shock Doctrine), Nation National Affairs correspondent William Greider (Come Home, America), Colorlines Publisher Rinku Sen (The Accidental American), Occupy Wall Street Organizer Patrick Bruner and Richard Kim, executive editor, The Nation.com (moderator). Sponsored by The Nation and The New School.

Watch the live stream here and visit The Nation's special section front on Occupy Wall Street for more coverage of the movement.


http://www.thenation.com/video/16449...whats-next-ows

[Toughy]

A man was shot and killed on Oscar Grant Plaza about an hour and a half ago. Occupy Oakland medics were first on the scene followed by regular first responders. The shooting was on a part of the Plaza that has no tents and is a place where folks hang out and play hacky sack, drum, etc.

Occupy Oakland was to be celebrating their 30 day birthday tonite. That's not happening of course. Folks are already packing up their tents and leaving.

go to KRON TV4 for more info.

[Ebon]

http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2011/...eir-money.html

Big Banks Plead with Customers Not to Move Their Money
Posted on November 9, 2011 by WashingtonsBlog
Yes, The Big Banks DO Care If We Move Our Money

650,000 customers moved $4.5 billion dollars out of the big banks and into smaller banks and credit unions in the last month.

But there is a myth making the rounds that the big banks don’t really care if we move our money. For example, one line of reasoning is that no matter how many people move their money, the Fed and Treasury will just bail out the giants again.

But many anecdotes show that the too big to fails do, in fact, care.

Initially, of course, if the big banks really didn’t care, they wouldn’t have prevented protesters from closing their accounts.

NBC notes that – in response to inquiries regarding how many people have moved their money – Bank of America refused to provide figures, and instead sent the following defensive email:

“Bank of America continues to be a great place for customers to manage their everyday finances and achieve their savings goals,” [Colleen Haggerty, a spokeswoman for Bank of America's Southern California operations] said in an email. “We offer customers more choice and convenience, including industry-leading fraud protection, access to thousands of banking centers and ATMs, and the best online and mobile banking, which allow customers to bank on their terms 24/7.”

A writer noted at Daily Kos:

At Wells Fargo, my sister walked up to the teller and politely asked to close her account. The teller said, “No problem.” She pulled up her account and saw the balance and told her that due to the amount she had to speak with the branch manager. The branch manager came out. He was probably 30 years old and was very arrogant. He asked my sister why she wanted to close her account and my sister told him she thought Wells Fargo was part of the problem with the economy. He went thru some talking points about why she shouldn’t move her money, but my sister didn’t back down. When he asked her where she was going she told him that she would be banking at the North Carolina State Employees Credit Union. She isn’t a state employee, but anyone can join if you are related to a state employee. It turns out her husband is. Anyway, the bankster told her “You’ll be back. Credit unions can’t provide the services you need.” We’ll see about that. She withdrew over $200k from Wells Fargo.


READ FULL ARTICLE AT THE LINK...

I'm sorry to hear that someone got shot.

[greeneyedgrrl]

Originally Posted by Toughy

A man was shot and killed on Oscar Grant Plaza about an hour and a half ago. Occupy Oakland medics were first on the scene followed by regular first responders. The shooting was on a part of the Plaza that has no tents and is a place where folks hang out and play hacky sack, drum, etc.

Occupy Oakland was to be celebrating their 30 day birthday tonite. That's not happening of course. Folks are already packing up their tents and leaving.

go to KRON TV4 for more info.

do you have a link? i can't find it.