US 13.4 TRILLION DEBT

Panda wrote:

Lioned wrote:So when is America going to pay back the 13.4 trillion dollars ? And who they going to give it to.Are we all going to get a share ?
If they are so much in debt why are they all obese ?

Hi Lioned, it"s gone up since I started the thread, it now stands at $14.3 Trillion and is owed to China. I keep forgetting the deal that Hilary Clinton made with the Chinese when the U.S. wanted to increase from the $13.4.......AnnaEsse knows it, it"s something like "domain." What it means is if the U.S. ever renages the Chinese could come into the U.S. and take anything they want, Businesses, your home, probably
Airlines and there is nothing the Americans can do about it.

Impeachment Time: Obama Grants Eminent Domain Rights to China to Secure Debt

William Dupray
, DC Republican Examiner
February 27, 2009

UPDATED BELOW.

The time for partisan bickering just ended. This is as serious as a heart attack. Obama is going to spend so much money, which he intends to get from China via the sale of government backed bonds, that the Chinese apparently don't think he'll be able to make good on them.

So President Obama gave the Chinese eminent domain rights to American land and businesses as collateral - i.e. we don't pay, they now own America.

From Patriot Room.

Because it looks like our wonderful new administration is granting the Chinese eminent domain as collateral for US debts. Yea you read that right. That means when we can no longer pay for all this massive spending the Chinese can call in the loans and take our land.

The thought that American citizens and businesses could lose their land as a means of payment is downright scary. I highly doubt ANY American citizen would have voted for Obama if they knew this was coming down the pike.

Sources at the United States Embassy in Beijing China have just CONFIRMED to me that the United States of America has tendered to China a written agreement which grants to the People's Republic of China, an option to exercise Eminent Domain within the USA, as collateral for China's continued purchase of US Treasury Notes and existing US Currency reserves!

The written agreement was brought to Beijing by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and was formalized and agreed-to during her recent trip to China.

This means that in the event the US Government defaults on its financial obligations to China, the Communist Government of China would be permitted to physically take -- inside the USA -- land, buildings, factories, perhaps even entire cities - to satisfy the financial obligations of the US government.

Put simply, the feds have now actually mortgaged the physical land and property of all citizens and businesses in the United States. They have given to a foreign power, their Constitutional power to "take" all of our property, as actual collateral for continued Chinese funding of US deficit spending and the continued carrying of US national debt.


http://www.examiner.com/republican-in-washington-dc/impeachment-time-obama-grants-eminent-domain-rights-to-china-to-secure-debt

Why did Hillary grant CHINA "Eminent Domain" here in the United States of America?
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thre…

Beijing, China -- Sources at the United States Embassy in Beijing China have just CONFIRMED to me that the United States of America has tendered to China a written agreement which grants to the People's Republic of China, an option to exercise Eminent Domain within the USA, as collateral for China's continued purchase of US Treasury Notes and existing US Currency reserves!

The written agreement was brought to Beijing by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and was formalized and agreed-to during her recent trip to China.

3 years ago

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090227073232AA9HE6Z

Many thanks AnnaEsse, I have written it down now.

Let"s hope it will never be exercised ....can you imagine any American Citizen standing by while his Business or Home is sequestered!!!!!

Yesterday"s demonstrations ended up with over 200 arrests but apparently more and more young unemployed around the World have demonstrated , but as one American Analyst said, why don"t they try to get the problem solved politically by forming a Political Party?
There appears to be a strong support from the "middle Class" and the protest is spreading around the World.

It would be very interesting to see the Chinease go into America,like a bunch of bailiffs, and take what they want !
Wonder how that would work ?

Lioned wrote:It would be very interesting to see the Chinease go into America,like a bunch of bailiffs, and take what they want !
Wonder how that would work ?

Could you imagine the Americans letting them take over their homes??? China is having problems of their own at the moment, slowing down like the rest of the World, house prices falling......but they have still got a lot of cash.

"There's something happening here, what it is ain't exactly clear..." Buffalo Springfield
Occupy Wall Street is sending a loud and clear message to Congress and its Super Committee so they better well listen!
Occupy Wall Street does have a message even though they may not have found the right messenger yet to articulate it.
Their
message is simple and profound - their government no longer serves
their interests and they are mad as hell and taking to the streets.
They
may have picked the wrong target and be marching in the wrong streets,
nevertheless their message is clear and sadly correct.
Their government is no longer working to protect their interests.
They
are exercising probably their last remaining democratic rights - their
right of free speech and their right to assemble and protest.
Here is where they got it wrong - they should be seeking redress and petitioning their government and NOT individual businesses!
The banks - and for that matter, any other businesses - are not the problem.
They are only taking advantage of the opportunities provided to them by The System.
In a democracy it is the job of government to regulate and prevent the abusive practices of business.
In
a democracy in a capitalist system, government is responsible for
striking a balance between unfettered capitalism and the best interests
of the people.
What Americans have allowed their system of government to become - is the real problem.
Americans have gradually allowed money and special interests to take over and all but paralyse the US democratic system.
This has been a slow but steady process.
First,
without any national discussion at all of the long-term consequences,
Americans were force fed the idea that free trade and globalization was
the way to go.
The changes that occurred resulted in the global
business concept as opposed to those solely with a national identity -
U.S. owned.
This was the beginning of jobs moving out of the U.S.
to countries where the costs of production were lower and the profits
would be higher.
Although this was clearly in the best interest of
the corporations who did this, not one politician on either side
explained or discussed what this might ultimately mean to their
constituents and America as a whole.
There was no discussion of
how it might affect manufacturing and even national security which is
linked closely with economic security.
Although Europe took a
similar route they did a much better job of protecting some domestic
manufacturing and other critical sectors.
Congress was merely doing the bidding of their biggest contributors Global Business.
Bit
by bit Americans sat on the sidelines while their democracy eroded
piece by piece as cash became king in the political process, completely
over shadowing the interests and the voice of the people.
Nowhere is this more clear than in the battle raging in the US Congress' Super Committee at the moment.
The
real unspoken battle is not between two differing views of what is best
for the people but a fight between special interest groups trying to
get their way with Congress.
Although some political spin-meisters
would have Americans believe that it is a war between those supporting
more government or less, it is really a battle between the interests of
Global Business and the average citizen in the streets.
Global Business is not the enemy; it is the lifeline.
It provides jobs and economic security but unfortunately answers to no one other than its shareholders.
In this new borderless global economy it has no real nationality and it goes where conditions are best for profit.
It has no loyalty or concern for the welfare of the community other than what is required by law.
Members
of Congress need huge piles of money to stay in power and most do the
bidding of their contributors including Global Business not their
constituents.
Americans lost this fight when they abandoned
campaign finance reform and the Supreme Court made the final blow to
this effort with its decision in the Citizens United case - allowing
even more cash to pour into the political system.
Congress has
become dangerously polarised. It is a place where statesman, who really
do try to serve the interests of the people are targeted for defeat by
extremist on both sides.
Up until now this was fine with most Americans as long as there were plenty of jobs.
And as long as those jobs were able to provide a comfortable lifestyle for them and their families.
But those days are long gone.
Whether they want to hear it or not, the US is currently losing the global competition for the best jobs.
Compounding
that, the average American does not have a high-powered lobbyist
banging down the doors of their Congress Member to make their case.
However, they all still do have the right to vote - most simply don't bother to use it or think it doesn't matter.
All
of this has been possible because Americans have become lazy about
their democracy. They have actively participated in their own "dumbing
down".
Instead of elevating education they have been fooled into demonising the educated as "elites".
Elevating stupidity is the surest way to win the race to the bottom.
Maybe
its time for a new reality show. Instead of "The Biggest Loser" how
about "The Smartest Kid" or "Know Your Constitution"? What it really
says and not what some political influence peddler wants you to believe.
There may be a glimmer of hope as some Americans have finally realised just what is happening here...or there.
They
have joined the OWS movement to take to the streets and let their
voices be heard in New York, Los Angeles, Oakland and the list goes on.
In
the UK, Greece, Italy and in other countries across Europe this very
same disconnect and frustration has literally brought some governments
to their knees.
It is simply unrealistic to reverse all of this while maintaining any form of a civilised society.
Those who say otherwise are ill-informed and foolish.
However,
it is not too late to put things back in balance and provide an
environment which is both good for business - even Global Business and
people.
It may be time for these Americans to move beyond the marching and the camping in the streets to get their message out.
It
may be time for these Americans to take back their democracy in a more
meaningful way - by really getting involved in the political process and
voting for people who have their best interests in mind...."For What
It's Worth".
Read more from Jon-Christopher Bua on The Huffington Post

http://americac2c.com/profiles/blog/show?id=2456870%3ABlogPost%3A703183&xgs=1&xg_source=msg_share_post


As I see and hear the words of those in the “Occupy Whatever” movement I am struck by a common theme from times past. We are on the verge of times more terrifying than have been seen since the Civil War. Our nation is imploding from the malaise of some and the dedication to communism of others. We find people who have come out in protest of real issues but lack either the intelligence or the ability to put those issues into perspective. They have been overcome by people with no agenda other than the destruction of our way of life. I have seen and heard people threaten violence of cataclysmic proportions. I have heard the reports of rapes, beatings, theft, open drug dealing and use, and now shootings, all in the name of exercising their own “rights”.

One guy in a video that I have seen several times on various television reports and internet postings speaks of what Molotov cocktails can do to a Macy’s store. I have seen and heard others taunting the police, trying their best to start a riot. In Oakland they actually destroyed buildings and set fires in the streets, much like what we have seen in Great Britain, Greece, Spain, and other European countries.

I hear Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and a host of other Democrat politicians come out in support of what these “occupy” people are doing. I see and hear Hollywood types, Michael Moore for one, and media people praise the “occupiers” for their “patriotism” and call them “refreshing”. Refreshing?????????? The very same people who are undoubtedly part of the “1%” being protested are out there instigating violence against others.

This violence, being instigated by the ultra rich to be committed against other rich people, will not do any real damage to either set of rich people. The violence will hurt the middle income and the poor, including those who will commit these acts of violence being encouraged by ultra-rich Marxists. How will you get through this time of chaos?

Last winter Oklahoma was hit by the worst snow storm in a decade or longer. We saw 23” of snow over about a 48 hour period. The roads had not yet been cleared when we got hit with another 12” or more a week later. Grocery stores depend on daily shipments of food staples like, bread, meats, milk, eggs, and other items to sustain their stocks. It took less than 12 hours to strip the local Wal-Mart Super Center of every loaf of bread, every package of buns, all of the milk, all of the meat, all of the eggs, and just about everything else people buy on a regular basis. The local Reasor’s and Warehouse Market grocery stores were likewise stripped of any goods in a very short time.

My wife and I are old hands at this so we stocked up a few days early just in case the weather man was correct in his forecast. It was actually a bit worse than predicted so many people did not have sufficient supplies to hold them over. We had extra people at our house due to a domestic issue so we planned on feeding 4 extra mouths. The one opportunity we had between the storms to get out to restock found us not coming home with very much. If we had not prepared for the first storm we would have been hard pressed to eat through either storm.

The end result was a little more than 2 weeks of being pretty much snow-bound but we had enough food to feed those in our house because we had prepared. We had also filled our vehicles up or topped off our gasoline tanks in case we lost electricity and needed the vehicles to keep warm. We also had extra gas and a generator for backup. We were prepared to take care of ourselves and extra family members. We have 3 daughters and 10 grandchildren living in the same town with us. We were prepared to feed and house all of them if necessary.

America is fast approaching a time of hardship such as few living citizens have seen. Anarchy is going to break out, likely sooner than later. The political conventions next summer are going to be targeted by those who seek to destroy America, probably leading to massive riots and government crackdowns that will be much worse than the anti-war problems of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Those intent on causing this unrest are not making any secret of their intentions and it is unfortunate that so many will join in to help destroy the very way of life they enjoy. Useful idiots seem to be a dime a dozen in every country in the free world. I say free world because those living under dictatorships have no freedom to carry out such protests.

There are people actively plotting the overthrow of our system of government by using the riots, under the false auspices of righteous indignation, to usher in martial law and the suspension of the Constitution and Congress. Unfortunately many of those plotters are our own elected government officials. Some Democrats have already called for the suspension of the Constitution to allow Barack Obama to “do what he needs to do”. Jesse Jackson Jr. is but one of those calling for Obama to be granted dictatorial powers. Those seeking this power will attempt to use riots at the conventions to gain the control they need to destroy our very way of life.

When, and I say when not if on purpose, this happens the difference in how you get through it will be in how you prepare for it. People who dismiss my warnings will find themselves in dire straits when the time comes. When we were shopping between the storms we saw people in panic mode because they could not find what they needed on the shelves and didn’t have food at home. We had food at home but were attempting to refurbish what we could in case the next storm lasted as long. As it turned out, except for the one day, we were snowbound for about 2 1/2 weeks but had plenty of food to get us through, even with the extra mouths to feed.

When civilized society breaks down there will be several issues to deal with. Not only will delivery of supplies to stores and gas stations be interrupted, there will be many places where even venturing out of your home might be a life threatening ordeal. We have already seen, many times, what those who espouse anarchy are willing to do to accomplish their destruction. Look at what is happening in Europe and know it will happen here. A few years ago the United States hosted one of the G-8 or G-20 (I don’t remember which one it was) summits in Pittsburgh. Rioters nearly destroyed the downtown area. Thankfully it didn’t spread to the rest of the nation but the “occupy” movement shows us that we are not going to be so fortunate the next time around.

The people who are protesting legitimate issues now have been overtaken by those intent on the destruction of our way of life. Tulsa, Oklahoma is a prime example of what is happening. People came out to protest the improper and illegal foreclosures of houses.They set up in front of the banks that were under investigation for the activities that resulted from the housing bubble bust. In no time they were overwhelmed by people who came from Oklahoma City and other places with the intent of being arrested and causing as much chaos as possible. Those who were there to peacefully participate in a lawful protest soon found themselves pleading with the outsiders to leave and allow them to get their message out. Those intent on anarchy would have none of it and were determined to cause as many problems as possible. Guess who received all of the media coverage.

The point of this is to prepare for the worst and pray for the best. Families and neighbors can band together to help each other. The only way for our nation to survive is for us to help each other. You need food, water, toilet paper, and all of the other items you use every day. In our normal day to day living it is easy to take the availability of grocery stores, and their goods, for granted. As sad as it is to say, also prepare to defend what you have. While it is good to share what you have, there are those who are willing to use force to take everything you have, not just what they need. You only have to look at the “occupy” people to see the lengths they will go to. Don’t take anything for granted, it may be a very bad decision.

Americans are resilient people and we can survive the coming problems. Those who prepare will get by just fine. Those who stick their heads in the sand and go with the “it can’t happen here” idea are in for a rude awakening. Pray for the best for our nation but prepare for the worst.

I submit this in the name of the most Holy Trinity, in faith, with the responsibility given to me by Almighty God to honor His work and not let it die from neglect.

Bob Russell Claremore, Oklahoma November 17, 2011



http://americac2c.com/profiles/blog/show?id=2456870%3ABlogPost%3A703183&xgs=1&xg_source=msg_share_post

Morning AnnaEsse

It"s O.K. for him to say, "prepare", how can 1 in 4 people living below the poverty line prepare.!!!!

I think the Jon-Christopher Bua on the Huffington Post which is a couple of posts further back is one of the best I have read.

Panda wrote:Morning AnnaEsse

It"s O.K. for him to say, "prepare", how can 1 in 4 people living below the poverty line prepare.!!!!

I think the Jon-Christopher Bua on the Huffington Post which is a couple of posts further back is one of the best I have read.

I'll have a look at that one Panda.

You're right about those below the poverty line. It's all very well telling people to stock up on food, but if you're living hand to mouth, that's rather difficult.

Cop Pepper-Sprays Protesters Video Goes Viral

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3:01pm UK, Sunday November 20, 2011





A shocking video showing a police officer pepper-spraying
Occupy Wall Street protesters as they sat calmly on the ground at a US
university has gone viral on the internet.


The footage, which was circulated on YouTube, captured the policeman
walking up and down the line of protesters, releasing the spray into
their faces at close range.


The officer's actions prompted immediate outrage among the faculty and students.


In the footage, onlookers can be heard screaming out to the officer
to stop before chanting "shame on you" as the protesters on the ground
were handcuffed and led away.


The incident happened on Friday at the University of California campus in Davis, about 80 miles north of San Francisco.










Police reaction to Wall Street protesters has been in the spotlight worldwide





The university's chancellor, Linda Katehi, described the video as
"chilling" and said she was forming a task force to investigate -
despite calls for her to step down.


In a message posted on the school's website she added that it "raises
many questions about how best to handle situations like this".


Many Twitter and Facebook comments supported the students and
criticised the response. Actress Mia Farrow tweeted that it was a
"stomach-churning" video.


However, a law enforcement official who watched the clip called the use of force "fairly standard police procedure".


::
Read more about how the 'Occupy' movement has rapidly spread worldwide,
including the UK, with all the key events highlighted.










An 'Occupy' protest camp outside St Paul's cathedral in London





University spokeswoman Karen Nikos said nine people hit by pepper
spray were treated at the scene, while another two were taken to
hospitals and later released. Ten people were arrested.


Police actions have been in the spotlight as officers clash with the
thousands of people who have been holding protests and marches in cities
across the world as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement for the past two months.


One of the most notable cases was in Oakland where a large police
force, armed with shot guns, tear gas and riot gear entered the
non-violent 'Occupy' protest and forcibly dismantled tents and evicted
protesters on October 25.


Several
people were injured in the eviction, including 24-year-old war hero
Scott Olsen, who is recovering from a critical brain injury after being
hit by a projectile.


His case lead to police chiefs and mayors holding conference calls to discuss containment strategies.


It was decided that police departments would turn to pepper spray to
try to quell large crowds instead of rubber bullets and tear gas.


Supporters of the Occupy Wall Street movement say they are upset that
billions of dollars in bail-outs given to banks during the recession
allowed them to make huge profits again, while average Americans have
suffered from high unemployment and rising costs as the economy
struggles to recover.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/us/politics/death-of-deficit-deal-opens-up-new-campaign-of-blame.html?_r=1&emc=na

WASHINGTON — After one last bout of fitful but futile talks, Congressional negotiators conceded the obvious: that the joint Congressional committee charged with drafting a deficit reduction package would miss its deadline this week. But they did not quite give up the ghost of a chance that a solution might be found later.

“After months of hard work and intense deliberations, we have come to the conclusion today that it will not be possible to make any bipartisan agreement available to the public before the committee’s deadline,” said a statement issued late in the afternoon by Representative Jeb Hensarling of Texas and Senator Patty Murray of Washington, the panel’s Republican and Democratic co-chairs.

“Despite our inability to bridge the committee’s significant differences, we end this process united in our belief that the nation’s fiscal crisis must be addressed and that we cannot leave it for the next generation to solve,” they said. “We remain hopeful that Congress can build on this committee’s work and can find a way to tackle this issue in a way that works for the American people and our economy.”

The White House said earlier in the day that only Congress could have produced a solution, while Republican presidential candidates moved to frame the committee’s failure to meet its deadline as a lack of leadership by President Obama.

Already some Republicans were saying Monday that they would try to spare the huge and automatic cuts to military spending that will be triggered eventually if Congress cannot agree on a deficit reduction plan.

If that Republican idea gained little traction among Democrats, neither were Republicans open to any revival of big increases in revenues as a solution.

Asked what had happened at the last-ditch meeting Monday, a Republican close to the negotiations said that Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts “went rogue and tried to float another iteration of a trillion dollar tax hike, but it does not appear to have any other support from Democrats.”Optimism was never high that the panel would succeed, but stock markets were still dropping at midday, with stocks off sharply as bond yields fell.

At the White House, where the president signed legislation intended to spur the hiring of veterans, Mr. Obama urged lawmakers to get back to work on economic issues in a spirit of bipartisanship, but made no direct reference to the collapse of the deficit talks over the weekend — even though some of the legislators involved were attending the signing ceremony.

The White House press secretary, Jay Carney, pointedly noted that the responsibility for getting a deal belonged to Congress, not the White House.

“They should do the right thing and come together,” Mr. Carney said. “From the beginning of this process, what the Congress needs to do to get this done has been obvious to everyone.”

At a campaign stop in New Hampshire, one of Mr. Obama’s chief Republican rivals, Mitt Romney, said Monday that what was most disappointing about the panel’s failure was “that our president has had no involvement with the process.”

“I find it extraordinary that there would be set up a committee, with such an important mission as finding a way to provide fiscal sanity in America, and with the penalty, if that fiscal sanity is not found, of a $600 billion cut to our military,” Mr. Romney said.

He added that the White House should promote legislation that would hold the military out of a set of automatic cuts, known as sequestration and divided between security and domestic programs, that are set to trigger in 2013 unless some other resolution is devised.

As part of the legislation written to raise the debt ceiling earlier this year, a failure of Congress to reach a deal by the end of the year would result in $1.2 trillion in automatic spending cuts in domestic and military programs over 10 years, starting in January, 2013 — after elections that could reshape the Congress and perhaps replace the president.

Ex-Occupier now holds Wall Street job



By Chris Knowles and Raelyn Johnson, CNN
December 8, 2011 -- Updated 0200 GMT (1000 HKT)
















Occupy protester gets job on Wall Street








STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Tracy Postert was fully committed to the Occupy Wall Street protests, she tells CNN
  
• The biochemist says she had been looking for work, but couldn't prove it to naysayers
  
• She showed up at Zuccotti Park with her résumé, and soon had a job offer
  
• She now researches biotech companies for John Thomas Financial -- on Wall Street
  

New York (CNN) -- The occupiers of Wall Street have
been portrayed by some as radicals, young kids without focus,
ne'er-do-wells who'd do anything but get a job. But one woman used her
time in at Zuccotti Park differently, and as a result she has gone from
Occupy Wall Street to occupying an actual office on Wall Street.

In the gathering of the so-called 99%, Tracy Postert had no idea she would be the one who would be working for the 1%.

"There were some days it was a carnival, or lots of music, drumming,
costumes, marching, protesting," said Postert, describing the weeks she
spent demonstrating at the park in downtown Manhattan.

Frustrated with the economy, Postert says she jumped right into the
Occupy Wall Street movement -- all in -- banging drums and washing
paint- and dirt-covered sidewalks.

She sounds like the protester stereotype, but she isn't; she has a doctorate in biochemistry.

In the past few years, the biochemist said, she had found herself at
times unemployed or underemployed. Until a few weeks ago she decided to
change her protest sign to a "Job Wanted" sign and hunkered down in
Zuccotti Park with a handful of résumés.

"Passers-by would say, 'Get a job,' and I didn't have a really good response to that," Postert told CNN.

"I wanted to say, 'Well, I'm trying to get a job,' but you know you
can't really prove it." Postert said. "So I said, why don't I make a
sign (and prove) that I am actively looking for a job?"

Within two days, she said, someone spotted her. They exchanged e-mails, and an offer followed.

That someone was a top executive at a Wall Street financial firm -- in other words, the enemy.

"It might sound like it's a fish-out-of-water story -- (round) peg in
a square hole -- but it's really not," said Wayne Kaufman, a market
analyst at John Thomas Financial.

"She was standing there. She had her sign, she had her résumé, and I
just passed by her and I chatted with her just for a brief few seconds.
And she was obviously an intelligent person," Kaufman said.

"The résumé spoke for itself, it was very impressive," he said. "So, I
sent her an e-mail the next day and ... she responded almost
immediately.

"I asked her if she wanted to come in for an interview; she said yes.
I told her what I had in mind for her according to her skill set, and
the rest is just history."

For now, Tracy is researching early stage biotech companies for John
Thomas Financial. She says she plans to take a test that would allow her
to become a broker, and thus a full-fledged member of the 1%. So what
are her former Occupy Wall Street compatriots saying?

"I have been accused of being a traitor to both sides. Some people
are saying that the whole time I was at Occupy Wall Street I was really a
Wall Street insider," says Postert.

She said she plans on keeping her sign. She pledged to protest again when she finds something she feels is worth protesting.

Now it's 'Occupy foreclosed homes'



By Sally Kohn, Special to CNN
December 10, 2011 -- Updated 0156 GMT (0956 HKT)






Members of the Occupy Wall Street movement rally around a foreclosed home during a march in East New York earlier this week.


STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Sally Kohn: Vacant building in Brooklyn represents new front for Occupy Wall Street
  
• She says organizers match foreclosed homes with needy families to redress inequality
  
• She says banks bailed out by taxpayers coldly foreclose, homes empty, homelessness up
  
• Kohn: Since D.C. won't force banks to find solution, Occupy movement will step into breach
  

Editor's note: Sally Kohn is a political commentator and grass roots strategist. You can find her online at http://sallykohn.com.

(CNN) -- Neighbors said the house on Vermont Street
in Brooklyn's East New York neighborhood had been vacant for years.
Three years ago the now-defunct predatory lending bank Countrywide
refused to renegotiate the ballooning interest rate on a mortgage filled
with hidden clauses and traps. Instead, Countrywide sold the mortgage to Bank of America,
which, in turn, initiated foreclosure proceedings. In the East New York
neighborhood, one of the poorest parts of the United States, more than 16 per 1,000 homes are in foreclosure, the highest rate in New York City and one of the highest nationwide.

Banks are foreclosing on homes at rates far faster than they can sell them. In a report released
this week, the Government Accountability Office, the independent
research arm of Congress, found an increasing percentage of homes are
going unused due to high rates of foreclosure and unemployment:
"Nonseasonal vacant properties have increased 51% nationally from nearly
7 million in 2000 to 10 million in April 2010, with 10 states seeing
increases of 70% or more," the report said.

In our down housing market, most foreclosed homes sit vacant for
years and, neglected by the banks, fall into disrepair and further
blight neighborhoods. You can literally walk down any block in East New
York and see every sixth house or so boarded up. One study in Los Angeles
estimated that, between 2008 and 2012, all homeowners will lose $78.8
billion in home values due to foreclosure rates and blighted homes in
their neighborhoods.

Sally Kohn




Meanwhile, Tasha Glasgow has spent much of the last decade without a
home, in and out of New York City's shelter system. Glasgow has an
8-year-old daughter with severe autism and a 5-year-old son. Struggling
to find work while struggling to care for her kids, Glasgow thought her
luck might change earlier this year when she received a voucher from the
New York City government that would allow her to move out of the
shelter system. But then, she says, that vital helping hand was abruptly
pulled away, the voucher cut by Mayor Michael Bloomberg's recent
austerity measures.

This brings us to the newest front in the Occupy Wall Street
movement: matching needy homes to needy families. This week, Occupy Wall
Street organizers moved Glasgow and her family into the vacant Vermont
Street home now owned by Bank of America.

It only makes sense. Pulling the strings of Washington and using our
tax dollars, big banks orchestrated a massive bailout for themselves but
continue to offer no relief to homeowners suffering under the bad loans
they made and the bad economy they created.

In the last several years, homelessness in New York City has jumped 45%. Meanwhile, in 2009 when the unemployment rate in the city was 10.1%, unemployment topped 19.2%
in East New York. Those who argue that Wall Street should be coddled
while people in places like East New York have to pull themselves up by
their own bootstraps have an unrealistic grasp of the depths of
America's inequality. How can people like Tasha Glasgow pull herself up
by her own bootstraps when she can't even afford boots?

So the Occupy movement may be finding its next phase in helping
struggling Americans across the United States keep their homes out of
foreclosure or occupy vacant homes that have been foreclosed. Eviction
defenses and occupations are planned in more than 20 cities. And the idea is catching on beyond organized protests. In Atlanta this week, police and movers refused to evict a 103-year-old woman
from her home when the bank foreclosed on it. Of course, if you think
foreclosing on a 103-year-old woman (and her 83-year-old daughter) is
heartless, ask yourself at what age is it ever acceptable to kick
struggling families out of their homes in a bad economy, only to leave
the houses vacant and decaying?

You can say that's just how banks work, like it or not. But that's
the same excuse for why corrupt lenders like Countrywide initiated loans
with terms so bad that its managers found themselves under criminal
investigation. It's the same excuse for the banks causing the housing
crisis and crashing our economy by making bad bets on subprime loans,
and then begging the government to cover their losses.

This is not capitalism. This is an anti-free market manipulation of
our economy to benefit the 1% while hurting the rest of us. The United
States economy, as Wall Street has rigged it, violates the principle of
capitalism proffered by Adam Smith and the ideal of equal opportunity
enshrined by our founders. To "rescue" our economy, we let big banks
write down their bad debt. So, to rescue homeowners, banks must write
down underwater mortgages, helping homeowners adjust the principle of
their loans to reasonable, pre-bubble levels, keep families in their
homes and stabilize the housing market.

Millions of Americans have lost their homes. In 2010 alone, banks
filed a record 3.8 million foreclosures. Totals for 2011 are expected to
be even higher. Many people are living on the couches of relatives or spending their savings on low-end motel rooms or are homeless. A 2010 study by the U.S. Conference of Mayors in 26 cities found the rate of homelessness had jumped a startling 9%.

But the Occupy movement is bringing some hope and opportunity back to
our nation, restoring the idea that our economy and our political
system can and must work for the 99%. Granted, helping homeowners stop
eviction orders and helping homeless families occupy empty, bank-owned
homes is a short-term strategy, but one that will hopefully draw public
attention to the injustice of millions of foreclosed homes and millions
of homeless families, an injustice that banks could easily have
addressed if they cared about our nation and our economy a fraction as
much as they care about their bottom lines.

Anyone who argues the Occupy movement isn't "clear about its demands"
should talk with Tasha Glasgow. Washington's hands are tied by Wall
Street and won't budge to create jobs, force the banks to adjust
mortgages and cutour monstrous inequality. So it's up to we, the people,
taking empty homes from banks that have already taken too much from all
of us and giving them to hardworking and needy families. In doing so,
the Occupy movement is not only creating opportunity for more and more
Americans but also creating a home for the 99% in a political and
economic system that has far too often kicked us all to the curb.

NOT SURE IF RIGHT THREAD TO POST THIS ON.
I HAVE A THEORY(PROPERBLY NOT ORIGINAL,BASED ON A PROGRAMME I SAW) THAT THE PROBLEM WITH A CAPALIST SYSTEM IS THAT AS THE RICH GET RICHER(THE 1%),MOST OF WHICH MIGHT BE IN SHARES SO THE 99% HAVE LESS MONEY TO SPEND(THE RICH TEND NOT TO SPEND THEIR MONEY AS THEY GET RICHER),MEANING THAT LESS MONEY IS SPEND CAUSING A RECESSION.

Badboy wrote:NOT SURE IF RIGHT THREAD TO POST THIS ON.
I HAVE A THEORY(PROPERBLY NOT ORIGINAL,BASED ON A PROGRAMME I SAW) THAT THE PROBLEM WITH A CAPALIST SYSTEM IS THAT AS THE RICH GET RICHER(THE 1%),MOST OF WHICH MIGHT BE IN SHARES SO THE 99% HAVE LESS MONEY TO SPEND(THE RICH TEND NOT TO SPEND THEIR MONEY AS THEY GET RICHER),MEANING THAT LESS MONEY IS SPEND CAUSING A RECESSION.

Hi Badboy, It is a known fact that the rich do not contribute to Charities half as much as the poor and claim the gift tax back. A lot of their money is in Properties earning Rental income , since shares can go down and sell as up.The Recession is caused by a lack of money in the Banks which means houses
do not get built and employment drops, small businesses being able to expand by receiving Bank Loans,inflation and unemployment resulting in people
spending less etc,not by one single thing.

Police Evict Protesters From Occupy Boston Site

By JESS BIDGOOD

Published: December 10, 2011

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BOSTON — The police swept into Occupy Boston’s campsite early Saturday morning, bringing one of the country’s largest continuous demonstrations inspired by New York City’s Occupy Wall Street protest to an end.









Boston’s police commissioner, Edward Davis, said 46 people were arrested during what he said was “by and large” a peaceful eviction.
Police officers arrived shortly before 5 a.m., dragging tents out of the camp and warning the roughly 75 protesters who had stayed the night there that they would be arrested if the did not leave.
“The first thing I heard was the sound of a knife ripping through a tent,” said Mike Hipson, a demonstrator who stayed through the night. A group linked arms and awaited arrest as police officers backed vans into the camp.
Some protesters noted that they could not read police badges, and some members of the media said they were kept at a distance as arrests were being made.
The sweep was not a surprise. On Thursday, a Boston judge lifted a temporary restraining order that had barred the police from evicting the group. By Friday, protesters had received eviction notices warning them that they risked arrest if they did not vacate Dewey Square by midnight, and many began clearing tents and valuables from the camp. But that night, a crowd of more than 1,000 gathered in and around the square. “The mayor and I decided it was good to hold off 24 hours after the deadline,” Commissioner Davis said.
By 8 a.m. Saturday, the city’s cleanup of Dewey Square was in full force, with workers using leafbowers and moving garbage into dump trucks. Others had begun power-washing posters off of the building they had adorned in the square.
Across the street, a couple of dozen protestors chalked messages, like “Occupy Boston Lives,” on the pavement outside of South Station, using supplies from the group’s “mobile sign unit.” The supplies, one housed in a sign-making tent, were now inside a child’s wooden wagon.
One of the protesters, Steve O’Brien, a homeless 18-year-old, said he did not know where he would go now.
“I’m hoping it will be reinstated, that we go back in and set it up again,” Mr. O’Brien said. He said he had wanted to be arrested, but that the police told him he was too young.
The group scheduled a general assembly for Saturday night on the Boston Common to discuss its next move.
“We have a lot of options,” said Robin Jacks, 31, who, along with one other, helped begin the Boston occupation. Ms. Jacks has expressed interest in transitioning, as other groups around the country have done, from a public occupation to action like occupying foreclosed homes.
“This is not over. There’s no way that we’re going to dispense and not be us anymore.”

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Occupy Wall Street Protesters Report to Court

By COLIN MOYNIHAN

Published: December 14, 2011

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The line outside the summons court was longer than normal on Wednesday morning, as those accused of the usual offenses, like allowing a dog to wander off a leash or drinking a beer on a public stretch of pavement, were joined by protesters from Occupy Wall Street.






















Many of the protesters, numbering nearly 200, had last seen one another in October after their arrests for crossing the roadway of the Brooklyn Bridge; they had ridden the same city bus used to transport prisoners, or had shared stories inside a police precinct station house.
On Wednesday, they had another shared experience, passing through two magnetometers on their way to the fourth floor of 346 Broadway, where court cases tend to move swiftly and are often disposed of with small fines or conditional discharges. The court is normally reserved for cases that can safely be categorized as minor and rarely qualify as headline material.
Inside a courtroom, Judge Neil Ross heard pleas. Many defendants agreed to arrangements that will result in their charges being dismissed if they are not arrested within six months. But others declined, saying they wanted to go to trial.
In total, court officials said, 351 summonses were addressed; most of the protesters faced two separate charges. One hundred eighty-two summonses ended with dismissal agreements; 139 will move forward, perhaps to trials. Judge Ross issued 30 arrest warrants but suspended their execution until January.
Protesters had said they would fight every charge, in effect occupying the court system. But on Wednesday, some said that they had decided to accept the dismissal agreements, in part to avoid future court dates.
“I think it could be really stressful,” said Rosa Lopez, 27, from Passaic, N.J. “I just wanted to get it over with.”
Others said they wanted their day in court. One was Mike Dobsevage, 35, from Danbury, Conn., who said he thought the police had used “trickery, deceit or entrapment” while stopping and arresting the marchers on the bridge. The police said the demonstrators had been warned that taking to the roadway meant that they would face arrest.
Mr. Dobsevage said, “It’s better that this is examined in a court of law instead of being hidden away under a sealed charge.”
More than 700 people were arrested for the Brooklyn Bridge demonstration on Oct. 1. The stream of defendants through summons court is expected to continue this week.
Several defendants, it turned out, could not appear and had authorized their lawyers to enter pleas on their behalf. Among that group were several students taking midterm exams at distant colleges, a professional musician on tour and one man whose lawyer said he could not attend because he was in the middle of a hunger strike in Washington.
Martin J. Stolar, a lawyer representing several protesters, made a motion to dismiss all of the charges, saying the original summonses had been taken from the court by the police and then returned, which he said “raises questions about the integrity of every single summons.”
A prosecutor for the Manhattan district attorney’s office said the summonses had been removed for the “purpose of supplementing affidavits.”
Judge Ross denied Mr. Stolar’s motion, saying, “There is nothing to suggest any impropriety.”


A version of this article appeared in print on December 15, 2011, on page A35 of the New York edition with the headline: As Occupy Wall St. Protesters Go to Court, Some Take Deals, Some Demand Trials.

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Occupy Group Faults Church, a Onetime Ally

Chang W. Lee/The New York Times
Linda Hanick, left, and Matt Heyd of Trinity Wall Street, with Laura Gottesdiener, right, an Occupy Wall Street member.

By MATT FLEGENHEIMER

Published: December 16, 2011

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For months, they were the best of neighbors: the slapdash champions of economic equality, putting down stakes in an outdoor plaza, and the venerable Episcopal parish next door, whose munificence helped sustain the growing protest.


Connect with @NYTMetro on Twitter for New York breaking news and headlines.


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Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

A lot owned by the church that protesters covet.


But in the weeks since Occupy Wall Street was evicted from Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan, relations between the demonstrators and Trinity Wall Street, a church barely one block from the New York Stock Exchange, have reached a crossroads.
The displaced occupiers had asked the church, one of the city’s largest landholders, to hand over a gravel lot, near Canal Street and Avenue of the Americas, for use as an alternate campsite and organizing hub. The church declined, calling the proposed encampment “wrong, unsafe, unhealthy and potentially injurious.”
And now the Occupy movement, after weeks of targeting big banks and large corporations, has chosen Trinity, one of the nation’s most prominent Episcopal parishes, as its latest antagonist.
“We need more; you have more,” one protester, Amin Husain, 36, told a Trinity official on Thursday, during an impromptu sidewalk exchange between clergy members and demonstrators. “We are coming to you for sanctuary.”
Trinity’s rector, the Rev. James H. Cooper, defended the church’s record of support for the protesters, including not only expressions of sympathy, but also meeting spaces, resting areas, pastoral services, electricity, bathrooms, even blankets and hot chocolate. But he said the church’s lot — called Duarte Square — was not an appropriate site for the protesters, noting that “there are no basic elements to sustain an encampment.”
“Trinity has probably done as much or more for the protesters than any other institution in the area,” Mr. Cooper wrote on his parish Web site. “Calling this an issue of ‘political sanctuary’ is manipulative and blind to reality. Equating the desire to seize this property with uprisings against tyranny is misguided, at best. Hyperbolic distortion drives up petition signatures, but doesn’t make it right.”
The criticism of Trinity was coming not only from protesters, but even from some Episcopal priests and other Protestant clergy members.
“Trinity Church had a fantastic opportunity to be a Christlike presence by openings its doors to the protesters,” said the Rev. Milind Sojwal, the rector of All Angels Church, an Episcopal parish on the Upper West Side. “And I believe Trinity blew it.”
On Thursday, some church leaders and protesters brought a Nativity scene to Trinity’s main entrance on Broadway, with a sign attached. “There was no room for them in the inn,” it read in part. “Trinity has plenty of room.”
Occupy Wall Street plans to hold a demonstration on Saturday at the lot. Some clergy members have said they planned to attend, and a handful said they may join protesters who have discussed taking down the fences around the lot, risking arrest.
“I’m willing to occupy space in an act of civil disobedience in order to shine a light on social and economic injustice,” said the Rev. John Merz, of the Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
Trinity is not the first Anglican church to grapple with how to respond to the Occupy movement. In London, protesters have camped outside St. Paul’s Cathedral for weeks, and the city has sought to evict them.
So vexing is Trinity’s dilemma that one of the world’s most prominent Anglicans, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, has issued two statements on the matter: one posted on the Occupy Wall Street Web site, imploring Trinity to “find a way to help” the protesters, and a second, posted on the Trinity Web site, in which Archbishop Tutu said his comments were “not to be used to justify breaking the law.”
Bishop Mark S. Sisk, the Episcopal bishop of New York, and Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, the top official of the denomination nationally, issued statements on Friday supporting Trinity’s position.
“It is regrettable that Occupy members feel it necessary to provoke potential legal and police action by attempting to trespass on other parish property,” Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori said. “Seekers after justice have more often achieved success through nonviolent action, rather than acts of force or arms. I would urge all concerned to stand down and seek justice in ways that do not further alienate potential allies.”

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50 arrested in Occupy Wall Street demonstration



By Dominique Debucquoy Dodley and Jesse Solomon, CNN
December 18, 2011 -- Updated 0511 GMT (1311 HKT)






A protester is arrested during Saturday's Occupy Wall Street demonstration in New York.


STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Those arrested attempted to scale a fence belonging to a church, NYPD spokesman says
  
• The arrests "may have stymied plans to cut through the fence on multiple sides," police say
  
• Church rector says the lot is un-equipped for a winter encampment
  
• Occupy spokesman expresses disappointment with the church's position
  

New York (CNN) -- New York police arrested 50
protesters Saturday on what organizers from Occupy Wall Street were
dubbing a day to "re-occupy," coinciding with the movement's three-month
anniversary.

Those arrested were charged with trespassing after they attempted to
scale a fence belonging to a church in lower Manhattan, NYPD Deputy
Commissioner Paul Browne said.

Browne added that the arrests "may have stymied plans to cut through the fence on multiple sides."

The fence protected an area of Duarte Park that is owned by Trinity
Church. Though supportive of the movement, the Rev. James H. Cooper, the
rector of the church, said he does not believe setting up a tent city
at Duarte Park enhances its mission or that of the protesters.

"The vacant lot has no facilities to sustain a winter encampment,"
Cooper said in a statement Saturday. "In good conscience and faith, we
strongly believe to do so would be wrong, unsafe, unhealthy, and
potentially injurious."

A spokesman for Occupy Wall Street expressed disappointment that the movement did not get more support from the church.

"Churches have been supportive venues -- it is a shame that this came to this," Karanja Gacuca said.

Protesters are looking for a new home after being evicted last month
from the city's Zuccotti Park -- the movement's physical birthplace --
when a New York Supreme Court judge ruled that they could protest at the
park, but not camp out.

Upon hearing of the protesters' plan to set up camp at the church,
officials from the Episcopal Church, which oversees Trinity, warned
Friday that demonstrators would be subject to police and legal action
should they attempt to trespass on the property.

"In a country where all people can vote and Trinity's door to
dialogue is open, it is not necessary to forcibly break into property,"
Archbishop Desmond Tutu said in a statement Friday.

Gacuca said Saturday that protesters aren't "interested in seizing
property -- we are interested in justice and expressing our
frustrations."

"The area we're talking about is empty and vacant. It is a tragedy because it is a waste of resource," he said.

Earlier, Occupy Wall Street protesters gathered in Duarte Park for
speeches and music. Protesters called Saturday "part of a call to
re-occupy in the wake of the coordinated attacks and subsequent
evictions of occupations across the nation and around the world,"
according to their website.

It is unclear when the arrested protesters will be released. A
smaller number of Occupy participants marched to Times Square on
Saturday night.

68 Occupy demonstrators arrested in New York



From Susan Candiotti, CNN National Correspondent
January 1, 2012 -- Updated 2352 GMT (0752 HKT)






Police arrested dozens of Occupy Wall Street demonstrators in New York on New Year's Eve.




STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• The arrests occur after a protest and march from Zuccotti Park, a New York police official says
  
• One demonstrator is accused of stabbing a police officer in the hand with scissors
  
• The police officer was treated and released from a New York hospital
  

(CNN) -- New York police arrested 68 Occupy Wall
Street demonstrators on New Year's Eve after a flare-up at and march
from their longtime base, a police official said.

The arrests came after a protest at Zuccotti Park and a subsequent
march, said New York Police Department Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne.

A 28-year-old male demonstrator is charged with assault on a police
officer after stabbing a police officer who had been trying to arrest
him, according to Browne.

Occupy activist's Twitter account subpoenaed

The officer, who was stabbed on the hand, was treated at Bellevue
Hospital and released. The suspect in this incident had been arrested
twice before for obstructing government property, trespassing and
disorderly conduct, said Browne.

The Occupy movement began in September in Lower Manhattan, before
spreading to communities around the country and the world as a call to
action against unequal distribution of wealth and other issues.

While most of the protesters' activities have been free of
confrontations, there have been hundreds of arrests and some clashes
with law enforcement officers.