Lobbying Firm Memo To Advise Wall Street Clients On Occupy Movement
WASHINGTON -- A lobbying firm has prepared a memo offering advice to its Wall Street clients to help them manage any political fallout from Occupy Wall Street, warning that Republicans may turn on big banks, at least in public, altering the political ground for years to come. It is one of the first clear signs that the movement may be starting to trouble the moneyed elite.
The memo, first reported by MSNBC's Chris Hayes, host of the show "Up with Chris Hayes," was written by the firm Clark, Lytle, Geduldig, Cranford and addressed to one of its Wall Street clients. It runs four pages long and is set to be sent on Thanksgiving.
The first two graphs of the memo, provided by MSNBC to The Huffington Post, express angst over the idea that the movement could mean "more than just short-term discomfort for Wall Street firms" and has "the potential to have very long-lasting political, policy and financial impacts on the companies in the center of the bullseye."
The paragraphs read in full:
Leading Democratic party strategists have begun to openly discuss the benefits of embracing the growing and increasingly organized Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement to prevent Republican gains in Congress and the White House next year. We have seen this process of adopting extreme positions and movements to increase base voter turnout, including in the 2005-2006 immigration debate. This would mean more than just short-term discomfort for Wall Street firms. If vilifying the leading companies of this sector is allowed to become an unchallenged centerpiece of a coordinated Democratic campaign, it has the potential to have very long-lasting political, policy and financial impacts on the companies in the center of the bullseye. It shouldn't be surprising that the Democratic party or even President Obama's re-election team would campaign against Wall Street in this cycle. However the bigger concern should be that Republicans will no longer defend Wall Street companies -- and might start running against them too.
The lobbying firm, a high-powered shop with an array of clients from across the political spectrum, declined to comment. On its website, the firm notes that it "combines sophisticated high-level strategic thinking with robust ground-level relationships established over decades with key members of Congress and their staff, Administration officials."
Joshua Stephens, who has participated in the occupy movement in New York City, says the memo worries might be misplaced or potentially obsolete. "The danger is not whether or not politicians will defend these institutions. My fear wouldn't be that," he said. "My fear would be that the politicians that come to their aid will be increasingly irrelevant...That's the real threat and that's where things are going."
There will be more on the memo on "Up With Chris Hayes" on Saturday at 7 a.m.
Ryan Grim contributed reporting to this story.
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
Occupy London protesters and a squatters' action group take over a disused office block near the City owned by the bank UBS Link to this video Activists from the Occupy London movement have abruptly changed tactics, following a month of open-air tent protests, by seizing a vacant office complex owned by a major global bank.
In the early hours of Friday morning, protesters entered a series of interconnected buildings owned by UBS on the fringe of the City, which have lain empty for several years. They immediately claimed squatters' rights, posting a legal notice to that effect.
By mid-morning, several dozen people were inside, cleaning up patches of damp and collapsed ceiling plaster and hanging giant banners from windows, several targeting the actions of UBS, which has its London headquarters are across the street.
In contrast to Occupy's existing camps in the capital next to St Paul's Cathedral and on Finsbury Square the new outpost will not be primarily residential but aims to act as a forum for ideas and meetings.
Called by protesters the Bank of Ideas, the buildings, near Liverpool Street, will hold an inaugural conference of Occupy movements from around the UK this weekend. A statement by the group promised a show by the comedian Josie Long and a seminar by Alessio Rastani, the independent financial trader who made headlines in September by telling the BBC that investment banks were now more powerful than governments.
"The Bank of Ideas will host a full events programme where people will be able to trade in creativity rather than cash," said Sarah Layler of the group. "We will also make space available for those that have lost their nurseries, community centres and youth clubs to savage government spending cuts."
It marks a further sign of the growing confidence of the UK movement, which sprang from an international wave of protests against the perceived excesses and inequalities of the global financial system. Occupy London has attracted significant attention since opening its camp on land next to St Paul's on 15 October after police thwarted an initial plan for a base next to the London Stock Exchange. A fierce debate was sparked within the Church of England about equality and the right to protest, resulting in two senior clergy leaving their jobs.
Unlike their counterparts in the US, who have faced a number of forcible police evictions, Occupy protesters in London have been left alone, in part because of the church's decision to tolerate the St Paul's camp.
An attempt by the Corporation of London to have the St Paul's camp removed is set to reach the high court on Wednesday. The Finsbury Square camp is on land owned by Islington council, which has privately told activists it does not have the money to pursue a court case.
UBS, however, could apply very quickly for legal repossession of the buildings and request bailiffs, backed up by police, to move in. A spokeswoman for the Swiss-based bank said: "We know they're there, and we're taking appropriate action."
A building in an adjoining street was occupied briefly by anti-globalisation protesters ahead of the G20 meeting in London in April 2009. Within days, it was stormed by police in a raid which, activists alleged, involved the use of stun guns.
At a hastily-arranged press conference inside the UBS building, about a dozen activists answered questions while sitting on a stained blue office carpet in front of a vast Occupy London sign. The group said it hoped to avoid confrontation with police and had asked UBS about agreeing temporary use of the site. UBS said it had no comment on this offer.
Aside from the building's size and location, near many other financial institutions, the group said it was chosen as it is owned by a major bank, and one which was bailed out by taxpayers, albeit those in Switzerland. Ronan McNern, a spokesman, said: "UBS is representative of the sort of bank which is not acting in the public interest. This is a public repossession of their empty building."
Another symbolic element of the site is that, while close to many financial institutions, it lies just outside the area administered by the very wealthy and, activists claim, highly unrepresentative Corporation of London, in Hackney, one of the UK's most deprived boroughs.
The occupation has been assisted by veteran squatters' rights campaigners, who hope to use the site to highlight an imminent new law that will make the practice a criminal offence. Currently, squatters must be evicted via the civil courts as long as a building is empty and there is no damage caused in gaining entry.
One campaigner, environmental consultant Pete Phoenix, 41, showed the Guardian round several dozen of the several hundred empty rooms in the complex. This vast size and emptiness served as a symbol of poor use of resources, he said. "This winter there's people freezing on the streets, and look at all of this wasted space."
There is a slight potential conflict between the protesters' stated intention to make the building a public space and its status as a squatted building. This will be overcome by designating visitors "friends" or "guests".
In the interim, the building remains shut to outsiders, making it a different prospect to the open-to-all ethos of the other camps, where passersby and local workers have been welcomed.
There seemed little imminent prospect of detente with UBS staff: soon after the first Occupy banners were hung, UBS workers on the other side of the street pulled down all the blinds in their offices. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/nov/18...s-ubs-bank
"The philosophers have only interpreted the world, in various ways. The point, however, is to change it." Karl Marx
"He would, wouldn't he?" Mandy Rice-Davies. When asked in court whether she knew that Lord Astor had denied having sex with her.
“I think it would be a good idea” Ghandi, when asked about Western Civilisation.
just had to share this photo..... A policeman's way of saying 'have a nice day'.... and stopping obviously dangerous criminals 'in the act'.
"Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws. - Mayer Rothschild
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass
Occupy London protesters and a squatters' action group take over a disused office block near the City owned by the bank UBS Link to this video Activists from the Occupy London movement have abruptly changed tactics, following a month of open-air tent protests, by seizing a vacant office complex owned by a major global bank.
In the early hours of Friday morning, protesters entered a series of interconnected buildings owned by UBS on the fringe of the City, which have lain empty for several years. They immediately claimed squatters' rights, posting a legal notice to that effect.
By mid-morning, several dozen people were inside, cleaning up patches of damp and collapsed ceiling plaster and hanging giant banners from windows, several targeting the actions of UBS, which has its London headquarters are across the street.
In contrast to Occupy's existing camps in the capital next to St Paul's Cathedral and on Finsbury Square the new outpost will not be primarily residential but aims to act as a forum for ideas and meetings.
Called by protesters the Bank of Ideas, the buildings, near Liverpool Street, will hold an inaugural conference of Occupy movements from around the UK this weekend. A statement by the group promised a show by the comedian Josie Long and a seminar by Alessio Rastani, the independent financial trader who made headlines in September by telling the BBC that investment banks were now more powerful than governments.
"The Bank of Ideas will host a full events programme where people will be able to trade in creativity rather than cash," said Sarah Layler of the group. "We will also make space available for those that have lost their nurseries, community centres and youth clubs to savage government spending cuts."
It marks a further sign of the growing confidence of the UK movement, which sprang from an international wave of protests against the perceived excesses and inequalities of the global financial system. Occupy London has attracted significant attention since opening its camp on land next to St Paul's on 15 October after police thwarted an initial plan for a base next to the London Stock Exchange. A fierce debate was sparked within the Church of England about equality and the right to protest, resulting in two senior clergy leaving their jobs.
Unlike their counterparts in the US, who have faced a number of forcible police evictions, Occupy protesters in London have been left alone, in part because of the church's decision to tolerate the St Paul's camp.
An attempt by the Corporation of London to have the St Paul's camp removed is set to reach the high court on Wednesday. The Finsbury Square camp is on land owned by Islington council, which has privately told activists it does not have the money to pursue a court case.
UBS, however, could apply very quickly for legal repossession of the buildings and request bailiffs, backed up by police, to move in. A spokeswoman for the Swiss-based bank said: "We know they're there, and we're taking appropriate action."
A building in an adjoining street was occupied briefly by anti-globalisation protesters ahead of the G20 meeting in London in April 2009. Within days, it was stormed by police in a raid which, activists alleged, involved the use of stun guns.
At a hastily-arranged press conference inside the UBS building, about a dozen activists answered questions while sitting on a stained blue office carpet in front of a vast Occupy London sign. The group said it hoped to avoid confrontation with police and had asked UBS about agreeing temporary use of the site. UBS said it had no comment on this offer.
Aside from the building's size and location, near many other financial institutions, the group said it was chosen as it is owned by a major bank, and one which was bailed out by taxpayers, albeit those in Switzerland. Ronan McNern, a spokesman, said: "UBS is representative of the sort of bank which is not acting in the public interest. This is a public repossession of their empty building."
Another symbolic element of the site is that, while close to many financial institutions, it lies just outside the area administered by the very wealthy and, activists claim, highly unrepresentative Corporation of London, in Hackney, one of the UK's most deprived boroughs.
The occupation has been assisted by veteran squatters' rights campaigners, who hope to use the site to highlight an imminent new law that will make the practice a criminal offence. Currently, squatters must be evicted via the civil courts as long as a building is empty and there is no damage caused in gaining entry.
One campaigner, environmental consultant Pete Phoenix, 41, showed the Guardian round several dozen of the several hundred empty rooms in the complex. This vast size and emptiness served as a symbol of poor use of resources, he said. "This winter there's people freezing on the streets, and look at all of this wasted space."
There is a slight potential conflict between the protesters' stated intention to make the building a public space and its status as a squatted building. This will be overcome by designating visitors "friends" or "guests".
In the interim, the building remains shut to outsiders, making it a different prospect to the open-to-all ethos of the other camps, where passersby and local workers have been welcomed.
There seemed little imminent prospect of detente with UBS staff: soon after the first Occupy banners were hung, UBS workers on the other side of the street pulled down all the blinds in their offices. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/nov/18...s-ubs-bank
Lately, I've personally been spending much of my time on the London Occupy chat. I asked them to issue their own new currency in different 'idea denominations' - redeemable in good faith and positive action. Amazingly, by UK law, it will take months to remove them. In the neo-fascist USA, the police would move in within hours.
In a parallel action, yesterday Bailiff from the Corporation of London gave notice to the London Occupyiers to leave yesterday and again today. However, it will take months of court action before the police can do anything. Again, in the
neo-fascist USA the police would evict first and seek 'legal redress' afterward
This action has renamed the 'bank' the Bank of Ideas!.....certainly a better bank than the banks of greed!!!...by a long way!
"Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws. - Mayer Rothschild
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass
This is a version of the M577 command track vehicle that we used in Vietnam.I'm guessing this is the newer Israeli made model.
[URL="http://i53.twitgoo.com/2zi6gjs.jpg"] [/URL]
"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.â€
Buckminster Fuller
Peter Lemkin Wrote:just had to share this photo..... A policeman's way of saying 'have a nice day'.... and stopping obviously dangerous criminals 'in the act'.
Now for the backlash:
Professor calls for UC Davis Chancellor to resign.
Quote:Open Letter to Chancellor Linda P.B. Katehi
Linda P.B. Katehi,
I am a junior faculty member at UC Davis. I am an Assistant Professor in the Department of English, and I teach in the Program in Critical Theory and in Science & Technology Studies. I have a strong record of research, teaching, and service. I am currently a Board Member of the Davis Faculty Association. I have also taken an active role in supporting the student movement to defend public education on our campus and throughout the UC system. In a word: I am the sort of young faculty member, like many of my colleagues, this campus needs. I am an asset to the University of California at Davis.
You are not.
I write to you and to my colleagues for three reasons:
1) to express my outrage at the police brutality which occurred against students engaged in peaceful protest on the UC Davis campus today
2) to hold you accountable for this police brutality
3) to demand your immediate resignation
"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.â€
Buckminster Fuller
"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.â€
Buckminster Fuller
As I write, the NSA or someone very like it, is blocking access to all livestreams related to the Occupy movement, where I am!
"Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws. - Mayer Rothschild
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass
D0X: UC Davis Pepper Spraying officer, Lt. John Pike. Please be respectful in your condemnation of this act of brutality.
Lieutenant John Pike
Records Unit Manager
Phone: 530-752-3989
Cell: 530-979-0184 japikeiii@ucdavis.edu
Davis, CA 95618-6017
Skype: japike3
John A. Pike
POLICE LIEUTENANT - MSP
UC Davis
His boss, UCD Police Chief Annette Spicuzza, told the Davis Enterprise that she's "very proud" of her officers. "I don't believe any of our officers were hurt," she says, "and I hope none of the students were injured." (source)
California Penal Code Section 12403.7 (a) (8)
(g) Any person who uses tear gas or tear gas weapons except in self-defense is guilty of a public offense and is punishable byimprisonment in a state prison for 16 months, or two or three years or in a county jail not to exceed one year or by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment, except that, if the use is against a peace officer, as defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2, engaged in the performance of his or her official duties and the person committing the offense knows or reasonably should know that the victim is a peace officer, the offense is punishable by imprisonment in a state prison for 16 months or two or three years or by a fine of one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment.
"You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.â€
Buckminster Fuller
20-11-2011, 07:37 AM (This post was last modified: 20-11-2011, 09:05 AM by Peter Lemkin.)
I imagine Pike and the chancellor got more than a few emails :lol: The chancellor wrote an absolutely pathetic response letter one can find on the internet. I don't think Pike has said peep yet. On one video I saw he sprayed directly into faces, down throats, and even threatened the entire crowd watching with a two-fisted display of two huge pepper spray bottles - one in each hand. Fire the man!
Oakland had another march yesterday for general Occupy themes plus a special one - to save the schools in Oakland - five of which are stated to be closed this year and 30 are in danger of being closed in the next few. That would leave a poor and predominantly minority city with NO public schools - only private [the idea from the School Board]. To save the five schools would cost 2.5 million - the exact cost of the police used to remove peaceful demonstrators from near the Mayor's office two weeks ago. America has money for war and controlling the populace, but none for education, healthcare, infrastructure, environment, arts, libraries, etc. :darthvader:
"Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws. - Mayer Rothschild
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass
![[Image: r-OCCUPY-WALL-STREET-large570.jpg]](http://i.huffpost.com/gen/411028/thumbs/r-OCCUPY-WALL-STREET-large570.jpg)
![[Image: 2zi6gjs.jpg]](http://i53.twitgoo.com/2zi6gjs.jpg)
[/URL]
![[Image: Pike_W.jpg]](http://i1091.photobucket.com/albums/i398/99anon/Pike_W.jpg)