Occupy Everywhere - Sept 17th - Day of Rage Against Wall Street and what it stands for!

[Peter Lemkin]

Davos Forum founder says capitalism is out of balance, warns conflicts await

By Associated Press, Published: January 24

DAVOS, Switzerland Capitalism is out of whack, the founder of the World Economic Forum says, welcoming critics' ideas of how to fix it even those camped out in protest igloos near his invitation-only gathering of global VIPs.
This anti-big money mood is surprising territory for a man who embraces free markets and whose livelihood consists of bringing world CEOs and political leaders together for elite brainstorming sessions.
Klaus Schwab is also unusually downbeat, his trademark optimism tempered by protracted global economic distress, as well as public unrest, ahead of this year's forum.
"I'm a deep believer in free markets but free markets have to serve society," he told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday ahead of the forum's Wednesday opening. said in Davos, a ski resort tucked away deep in the Swiss Alps. He lamented excesses and "lack of inclusiveness in the capitalist system."
"We have sinned," he said, adding that this year's forum will place particular emphasis on ethics and resetting the moral compass of the world's business and political community.
Schwab said the forum had invited members of the Occupy protest movement camped in igloos in Davos to a session on the sidelines of the forum this week on reforming capitalism.
Protest organizer David Roth told the AP his group hadn't decided yet whether to accept. He said the event appeared to be a "staged self-criticism" by forum organizers. His group had suggested a debate at a neutral venue instead.
Thousands of Swiss soldiers and police have been shoveling snow to erect a ring of steel' against unwelcome demonstrators hoping to gatecrash the meeting. Some 3,500 soldiers are on hand to provide security to the VIPs, who include German Chancellor Angela Merkel, British Prime Minister David Cameron and nearly 40 other world leaders.
President Barack Obama will not be coming, but his Treasury chief Timothy Geithner will be there along with some members of Congress.
Half a dozen demonstrators appeared briefly Tuesday outside the security perimeter, daubing the snow with anti-capitalist slogans. Police checked their IDs but allowed the protest to go ahead.
"Everybody who could make a constructive proposal is very welcome. We need new ideas," Schwab said.
He did note a general aversion to allowing too much anti-capitalist fervor to reach Davos.
"I also emphasize that Davos is a place for dialogue. ... The participants are usually reluctant to be confronted with people who are not open to dialogue and just want to serve their own sometimes one-sided interests," he said.
He warned that an "intergenerational conflict" could be looming as governments compromise future spending to pay today's debts.
"People feel it's a difficult time. They are irritated. There is, they feel, a lack of future perspective," he said.
Schwab also urged that more attention be paid by leaders and governments alike to jobs saying Davos participants should focus on "talentism" instead of capitalism.
He also said leaders should concentrate on winning back public trust.
A survey by public relations firm Edelman suggested the same thing, showing that levels of trust in governments and companies to solve problems has dived.
CEO Richard Edelman said he was most struck by "the demise of trust in government. In 2008-09 trust in government soared because it had to bail out business. But this year, because of corruption in India and Brazil, because of the stymied situation in the United States, as well as the continued travails in the eurozone, trust in government absolutely fell apart."
The CEOs themselves are pessimistic this year too, according to a another survey released Tuesday by consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.
In polling 1,258 CEOs around the world, they found 48 percent believed the global economy would decline further in 2012. Many cited uncertainty about the European debt crisis as their major cause for worry.
While China, Brazil and other developing economies remain robust, the United States and Europe are still struggling with financial issues that erupted in the credit crunch of 2008, including high unemployment. That contributes to a feeling that the world's economic problems are worse than leaders meeting at Davos in previous years had foreseen.
"We were too optimistic (last year)," Schwab acknowledged.
Meanwhile, scientists at the Swiss Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research are keeping a close watch on the nearby slopes, lest all the heavy snow they are carrying pose a risk to Davos and its high-profile visitors.

[Peter Lemkin]

[Peter Lemkin]

[Peter Lemkin]

The People's Library, 3.0: Mobile and in the Streets
The People's Library, 3.0: Mobile and in the Streets

Stephen Boyer 23 January, 2012

Have Wheels, Will Travel: The People's Library 3.0

Before the November 15 raid of Liberty Square, the Occupy Wall Street library had an estimated 5,000 books on site, plus zines, periodicals and multimedia materials. During the eviction the library was defended by its dedicated librarians, one of whom had the backpack cut off their back before being violently arrested. The day after laptops, audio equipment and books were indiscriminately tossed into dumpsters by the NYPD, Mayor Bloomberg announced that he would release the contents of the library. However, only 1,275 books have been recovered, with only 578 books in readable condition. That means 79% of the original library is gone or destroyed.
The People's Library was taken to a sanitation garage after the November 15 eviction. Photo: @NYCMayorsOffice

When the park was re-opened by court order the next day, people immediately placed books on the granite benches that had been the library. But the new library The People's Library 2.0, if you will only lasted until the following night. At 7:30 p.m. on November 16, about 15 police officers and sanitation workers from Brookfield Properties, which owns the public park, descended on Liberty Square and circled the 200+ new book donations that had come in since the raid. An officer announced the books would be confiscated if not immediately removed by librarians. Seconds later, officers seized the books and threw them into garbage bins. Again.
Around 1:00 a.m. on November 17, I showed up with a tote bag full of books. After all, a bag of books is personal property. I spent the morning in conversation with Brookfield's security, who argued that an individual didn't need more than one book. But eventually we agreed the books would be kept in carts and off the benches, as Brookfield insisted the benches remain open to the public.

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[Peter Lemkin]

[URL="http://www.5min.com/Video/Roger-McNamee-on-Occupy-Wall-Street-517207056"][video]http://www.5min.com/Video/Roger-McNamee-on-Occupy-Wall-Street-517207056[/video]


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[Peter Lemkin]

[Albert Doyle]

Celebrate not SOPA being defeated too greatly for it is already covered by NDAA. Learn the ways of the wicked and the false victories they give in order to hide their wicked gains.

[Peter Lemkin]

Press Freedom Index: Occupy Wall Street Journalist Arrests Cost U.S. Dearly In Latest Survey

The Huffington Post Jack Mirkinson First Posted: 01/25/2012 10:01 am Updated: 01/25/2012 11:15 am

The targeting of journalists covering the Occupy Wall Street movement has caused the United States to drop precipitously in a leading survey of press freedom.

Reporters Without Borders' latest Press Freedom Index was released on Wednesday, and the list reflected some of the tumult that took place in the world in 2011, as well as the impact that those events had on journalists across the globe. Reporters became targets over and over again throughout the year, both in the Middle East and on the streets of New York.

Some examples of the change wrought by the Arab Spring could be found in Tunisia, which the compilers moved up 30 places on the list in the wake of that country's democratic revolution. Not so lucky were Bahrain and Egypt, both of which cracked down on journalists and on the popular movements pressing for further change in their countries. They fell 29 and 39 places, respectively, on the scale.

But the U.S. tumbled almost as far as Bahrain did in the wake of the repeated crackdowns on journalists covering Occupy movements. Reporters Without Borders was explicit in its summary of its report, saying that "the United States (47th) also owed its fall of 27 places to the many arrests of journalist covering Occupy Wall Street protests."

The treatment of journalists by police was well documented throughout 2011. Reporters were beaten, arrested and prevented from covering police action against Occupy protesters. Tensions heightened so much that the New York Police Department had to meet with journalists and remind its officers not to mistreat them.

[Peter Lemkin]

[Peter Lemkin]