OCCUPY WALL STREET

[ruffryder]

.. and this is what you get for wearing a tent apparently. looks like sexual harrasment to me as they leave her nearly naked.


“This is not consensual,” the lady getting the tent ripped off said. “Don’t take my clothes off!”

The woman yelled as officers ripped and tore the tent dress until she was left in only her bra and panties. As she sat on the ground trying to cover herself, the police quickly turned and exited the park, neglecting to see if she was hurt.

“The Ethical Standards Department has subsequently received a physical assault complaint in relation to this incident and is investigating,” Victoria Police said in a statement.

“As this investigation is ongoing we will not be commenting further.”

Tal Slome, a spokeswoman for Occupy Melbourne, explained that the action was a “completely unnecessary form of brutality” because police knew she was only wearing underwear beneath the tent.

“Who decides what constitutes clothing in our society?” she asked.

http://www.rawstory.com

[ruffryder]

I ran across this video of the UC Davis Pepper Spraying. The maker of this video says,

"This video shows the events leading up to the use of pepper spray by UC Davis police officers. I made this from video I and a friend I was visiting shot. This video shows in chronological order events leading up to the use of pepper spray. I created the video from about an hour of footage, and much of what I cut was when people were standing around and chanting. There were cameras everywhere (on both sides of me and behind me), so I'm sure if you do a search you will be able to find video of the events from different angles. I encourage people to do their own research... the comments in the video are only opinions."

[ruffryder]

December 6 - OWS calls for Occupy Homes. Occupy Homes, an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street, will protest in foreclosed and vacant properties in around 25 U.S. cities on Tuesday's "Day of Action," promoting what organizers call the "basic human right of housing."

This targets the banks and institutions offering incredible and outrageous loans to homebuyers and no help with foreclosure. It encourages Americans to transform their relationship with land and owning homes. People will be protesting foreclosures and auctions that will go on. In the coming months there are plans of more of this kind of protesting on foreclosures. Full story here > http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/2618...ures-dec-6.htm

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by ruffryder

December 6 - OWS calls for Occupy Homes. Occupy Homes, an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street, will protest in foreclosed and vacant properties in around 25 U.S. cities on Tuesday's "Day of Action," promoting what organizers call the "basic human right of housing."

This targets the banks and institutions offering incredible and outrageous loans to homebuyers and no help with foreclosure. It encourages Americans to transform their relationship with land and owning homes. People will be protesting foreclosures and auctions that will go on. In the coming months there are plans of more of this kind of protesting on foreclosures. Full story here > http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/2618...ures-dec-6.htm

These Occupy efforts really are important. I am elated to see these actions begin and spread throughout Occupy demonstrations all over. Wouldn't it be something if somehow an independent "mortgage" company sprung from this? Something that could just pay-off the loans and re-sell the home to people at low interest rates and the principal amount of the market today. And no FICO scores required! So many of these people could pay a sane mortgage- some have become re-employed, but at lower take-home pay. Maybe even a "grace period" of a few months until payments began (with no accrued interest) if they are not yet back to work.

I had a fantasy today about winning the super-duper lottery and setting up a non-profit re-finance that is totally different than traditional profit motivated banks and mortgage companies that could intervene and partner with the Occupy movement to save these homes. LOL- I don't even buy lottery tickets- but it was the only thing I could think of to do something like this.

I know, I'm not a good candidate for running a business. Anyway- any focus on the housing situation and those losing their homes due to the Wall Street greed that brought our economy to where it did, excites me. There was predatory lending going on with junk securities bundled and sold at insane profits. Relaxing mortgage qualifying documentation and requirements made it very easy to rope all of these people in- and that was exactly what they wanted to do.

[GeorgiaMa'am]

Originally Posted by AtLast

I had a fantasy today about winning the super-duper lottery and setting up a non-profit re-finance that is totally different than traditional profit motivated banks and mortgage companies that could intervene and partner with the Occupy movement to save these homes. LOL- I don't even buy lottery tickets- but it was the only thing I could think of to do something like this.

I know, I'm not a good candidate for running a business.

You go, George Bailey! You go! (Just watched _It's A Wonderful Life_ this past weekend for the I-won't-say-how-many-Christmases-in-a-row. Down with Potterville! Honestly, if you need a temporary escape from the crisis, it's a good movie - unless you can't stand sugary-sweet escapism.)

[atomiczombie]

[ruffryder]

GeorgiaMa'am with all due respect I appreciate the discussion and Corkey and Toughy and anyone else that responds to My questions.

Yes these are matters that deserve further discussion and not everyone has the same beliefs but nonetheless I respect everyones opinion and try to see their point. It doesn't mean I won't debate it or question it. I've been known to change My mind on some things. Just to be clear I am not here to fight. I am here to have an opinion also and feel free to understand others. I'm sorry if people get upset by that or see me as trying to cause problems cause that is not me. I respect everybody and their opinions.
I do give people the benefit of the doubt. I never said anyones points were not valid and I was just trying to understand some ones view. I was not tearing anyone down. I don't appreciate name calling and i do appreciate others here and the discussion. I have seen people torn down although and I don't understand where that comes from. A bad day? It's a shame some won't make discussion or voice their opinion because others are hateful towards them. I will voice my opinion and I have always been respectful doing so and appreciating others thoughts. So I do thank you for those that do appreciate that also.

[SoNotHer]

The video is worth watching, folks, especially if you are just coming into the dialogue here and haven't read about the act yet. The Senate just passed this bill last week. The bill allows for indefinite detention in secret prisons, secret interrogations and trial-free domestic terror proceedings and processes:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain...mericans-face/

http://loyalopposition.blogs.nytimes...orization-act/

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/1...on-Act-of-2012

Originally Posted by atomiczombie

[Ebon]

Originally Posted by atomiczombie

Yeah we're fucked. Most people are still not awake either.

[AtLast]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaMa'am

You go, George Bailey! You go! (Just watched _It's A Wonderful Life_ this past weekend for the I-won't-say-how-many-Christmases-in-a-row. Down with Potterville! Honestly, if you need a temporary escape from the crisis, it's a good movie - unless you can't stand sugary-sweet escapism.)

Well thank you! One of my favorite Christmas movies! I just can't help but think there is a way to tackle this problem via OWS. I really am happy to see the Occupy people in many places on the lawns of foreclosure situations. A couple of these actions have helped get some more time for some folks. We need to get these properties completely out of the hands of banks and re-structure loans based upon actual market values today. Just that would enable many to stay in their homes and pay it off. Some of the bogus loan products people were sold were just nuts! Some of these loans can't even be traced to wherever they ended up!

Oh, I can deal with sugary-sweet escapism!

[atomiczombie]

This past Sunday 60 minutes did a segment on all the fraud that went on at banks such as Countrywide and how no one in the SEC or FBI is willing to do a serious investigation or prosecute them. This link has a transcript and video of the show:

http://occupyamerica.crooksandliars....t-we-prosecuti

Here's a snippet of the interview:

Steve Kroft: Do you believe that there are people at Countrywide who belong behind bars?

Eileen Foster: Yes.

Kroft: Do you want to give me their names?

Foster: No.

Kroft: Would you give their names to a grand jury if you were asked?

Foster: Yes.

But Eileen Foster has never been asked - and never spoken to the Justice Department - even though she was Countrywide's executive vice president in charge of fraud investigations. At the height of the housing bubble, Countrywide Financial was the largest mortgage lender in the country and the loans it made were among the worst, a third ending up in foreclosure or default, many because of mortgage fraud.

It was Foster's job to monitor and investigate allegations of fraud against Countrywide employees and make sure they were reported to the Board of Directors and the Treasury Department.

Kroft: How much fraud was there at Countrywide?

Foster: From what I saw, the types of things I saw, it was-- it appeared systemic. It, it wasn't just one individual or two or three individuals, it was branches of individuals, it was regions of individuals.

Kroft: What you seem to be saying was it was just a way of doing business?

Foster: Yes.

In 2007, Foster sent a team to the Boston area to search several branch offices of Countrywide's subprime division - the division that lent to borrowers with poor credit. The investigators rummaged through the office's recycling bins and found evidence that Countrywide loan officers were forging and manipulating borrowers' income and asset statements to help them get loans they weren't qualified for and couldn't afford.

Foster: All of the-- the recycle bins, whenever we looked through those they were full of, you know, signatures that had been cut off of one document and put onto another and then photocopied, you know, or faxed and then the-- you know, the creation thrown-- thrown in the recycle bin.