We Speak For Earth
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ikenbot CWL -
mohandasgandhi Mohandas Gandhi -
realcleverscience Real Clever Science -
socialuprooting Social Uprooting -
abstractnerd Abstract Nerd -
perscientiamlibertas A Matter of the Most Pleasant Fraternal Confidence
Occupy Wall Street Bikes Power NYC’s Lower East Side
NYNatives.com talked to residents of C- Squat on the Lower East Side Thursday and learned they’ve been biking their way to a dry environment using none other than the Occupy Wall Street bicycle generators. Water, water everywhere. New York City’s Lower East Side is bailing itself out after flooding caused by Hurricane Sandy engulfed the neighborhood earlier this week. Here’s an excerpt from the full story:
“The residents of C-Squat have set up 2 grills, are receiving food donations and are essentially feeding the neighborhood. After pumping out there own basement and rescuing the Occupy Wall Street bikes, the residents pumped out the water from the bar next door and the deli on the corner. As one C-Squat resident exclaimed:’It’s like a block party!’”
According to The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS), these same bikes were used to give power to the protestors in Occupy Wall Street last year.
“In a press release as of November 1, MoRUS shared “The Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) is using one of its exhibits to provide the community with free cell phone charging. Working with environmental group Times Up, MoRUS has set up Occupy Wall Street bike generators on Avenue C between 9th and 10th Street. For the past two days, volunteer riders have been pedaling as crowds of people gather to charge up their cell phones. For many people, this has been the first time they’ve been able to contact loved ones after Hurricane Sandy hit earlier this week. Meanwhile, C-Squat, the squat which houses MoRUS, has set up a street-side barbecue. They have been accepting donations and providing the community with free food.”
Of all the criticisms of the Occupy Wall Street movement — which marks its one-year anniversary today — the most frustrating is that the participants allegedly do not know what they’re protesting against. Whether that comes from hip-hop moguls or from the Tea Party, the criticism is wrongheaded and delightfully so.
Why? Because Wall Street is a financial behemoth with many moving parts and tendrils that reach into every facet of society and government. It helps buy homes and takes them away; we buy debt from them to help fix the economy even though they wrecked it in the first place — and even admit to it; they keep one segment of the population in some form of indentured servitude and also the same for another. Heck, they even tried to stop this thing from happening.
And that’s just a sampling.
The Occupy folks down at Zuccotti Park — and at at least 15 other locations in the United States today — have every right to be concerned with Wall Street’s antics. Granted, our nation’s banks and financial corporations are a major driver of the economy, and we’re not ignorant to their critical roles on the regional, national and international stage.
But should we not call for more regulations to help prevent a repeat of 2008? Should we not call for banks to forgive bad loans (why shouldn’t it be just as much on the lender as the lendee when a $500,000 mortgage granted with virtually no money down to a person who eventually defaults on said loan?) and creditors not to charge sky-high APR’s?
And why should we overlook that one major political party is calling for continuing tax breaks for the most wealthy of Americans — the One Percent — while the Supreme Court essentially agrees that corporations are people too, my friend?
During their national convention in Charlotte — at least in primetime — the Democratic Party seemed to make no mention of the Occupy movement. That’s unfortunate, because the broader #OWS platform seems at first glance to reflect the Dems’ values of pushing for stricter financial regulations, doing away with the Bush-era tax cuts for the rich and corporations, and lessening the effects of economic disparity. Doesn’t it make sense to at least acknowledge what the folks at Zuccotti Park are getting arrested for today?
Ignoring an entire movement instead of helping it refine and broadcast its message could be a serious misstep for the Dems come November. (One only need to look at the Republicans, which until it nominated Paul Ryan for the veep slot didn’t really have the Tea Party — a creation borne of the GOP, whether or not they admit it — in its fold.) That’s not to say that Occupy’s message or direction aligns with the Democrats on every issue, of course: no single party owns the 99 Percent, and OWS is often called a “leaderless revolution.”. But of the major parties, which is more likely to land on the side of economic justice?
The answer was once obvious, and it needs to be again.
Would appreciate hearing from all sides on this issue in your reblogs and replies.
My first post for the Election Tumblr.
NYPD arrests veteran yesterday (S14) for ‘putting his bag on the floor’ at Zuccotti Park.
In Cook County today Judge Stanley J. Sacks declared Illinois’ eavesdropping law—which is one of the toughest in the nation—unconstitutional in his ruling in the case of Christopher Drew, who was charged with the felony crime in 2009.
The eavesdropping law prohibits citizens from making audio or visual recordings of others without every recorded person’s explicit consent. Sixty-year-old artist Drew audio-recorded his interaction with a police officer who was arresting him for selling art patches at the side of the road. A police officer found the tape recorder and Drew found himself with a Class 1 felony charge, which carries up to 15 years in prison. “That’s one step below attempted murder,” Drew said in a January interview with the New York Times.
» via ars technica
Glad it won, but still amazed this is an issue. Our country really has a lot of work to do to unfuckify itself.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a request on Friday for public comment on whether government agencies should be allowed to block access to cellphone networks.
The request stems from an incident last summer, when a San Francisco transit agency shut off the transmitters that allow for cellphone reception in four underground subway stations to disrupt a planned protest over a police shooting.
» via The Hill
This should be getting way more attention.
We will host a National Consumer Protection Week question and answer session on Tuesday, March 6 at 2pm EST.
Experts from USA.gov and the Federal Trade Commission will be on hand to answer your consumer-related questions and and provide government resources that can help. So whether you have questions about how to file a complaint with a company or how to learn about the latest scams, now is your chance to get answers…
I can see this being relevant to many, especially OWSers.
Cause seriously, there are some dirty, scamming, shameful companies out there.
First thought: They still make archie comics?!
(And with the wisdom gained over the past 15 years, reflecting and reconsidering the themes and characters from new perspectives, I have to say, Veronica is still a bitch. There’s just no other way to look at it.)
(via abcsoupdot)
In a San Francisco neighborhood, another way to pay: Insular Bernal Heights — “this weird little borderline utopia,” as one resident calls it — has updated “complementary currency” in the form of a debit card.
This sounds like a fascinating experiment!
Designed by two neighborhood loyalists versed in technology and banking, the Bernal Bucks card allows residents to pay for their purchases while earning credits every time they swipe it at any of the two dozen area businesses that have signed on since June.
Accrued as frequent-flier miles are, the bucks can be printed as coupons and used toward future purchases. Cardholders also can donate their accrued “wealth” to neighborhood nonprofits.
… Branded with a cheerful image of Bernal’s iconic hill, their Visa debit card is issued by the local Community Trust Credit Union and aims to make patronizing neighborhood stores simpler: Residents can earn rewards or make charitable donations without having to keep track of stickers on their bills or carry a passel of buy-nine-and-get-the-10th-free punch cards.
Photo: The Bernal Bucks card allows residents to pay for their purchases while earning credits every time they swipe it at any of the two dozen area businesses that have signed on since June. Credit: Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times
This is pretty interesting, especially with the much deserved anti-bank sentiment, seen from OWS, a hugely successful bank-transfer-day, and the recent announcement that the town of Berkeley is specifically moving its funds out of a big bank. Plus, with much talk around tech-circles about the growth of micro-currencies, we might be seeing a fascinating and timely development. hmm…
Why isn’t this viral?
In what may be the most damaging blow to Big Banks since the overwhelming success of Bank Transfer Day in late 2011, the City of Berkeley recently announced its intention to withdraw all financial assets from Wells Fargo.
On Tuesday night, the City Council voted unanimously to find a more socially-minded institution to hold approximately $300 million in city assets. Council members said that they hoped the decision would send a very strong message to the Big Banks ultimately responsible for the housing crisis that sent the economy spiraling…
As might be expected, the local Wells Fargo branch was shocked and somewhat defensive following the City Council’s announcement.
“Over the past three years, Wells Fargo has donated more than $3 million to 89 nonprofits in Berkeley… And less than two percent of homeowner-occupied loans in our servicing portfolio have proceeded to foreclosure sale,” said Wells Fargo spokesman Ruben Pulido.
While that may be true on a local level, there is no denying the dubious actions of the Wells Fargo corporation:
- Wells Fargo was a significant player in the subprime crisis. In 2006, the last year before the subprime bubble started to burst, Wells originated or co-issued $74.2 billion worth of subprime loans, making it one of the top subprime lenders in the country.
- As recently as September 2008, Wells still held $48 billion worth of subprime mortgages in its servicing portfolio, making it the nation’s sixth largest subprime servicer.
- Despite its large portfolio of at risk mortgages, Wells Fargo has started trial mortgage modifications for only 11% of its 292,515 borrowers who are eligible for the Obama Administration’s Making Home Affordable Program (and are at least 60 days past due). At Wachovia, which Wells Fargo acquired in 2008, the number is even lower, 2% of 74,231 eligible borrowers.
- Wells Fargo put taxpayers on the hook for up to $36.9 billion in bailout funds and programs plus an unknown amount from the Federal Reserve’s $8 trillion in emergency programs. This money was supposed to help the banks get the economy going again. But little of this money has gone to relieve struggling homeowners and increase the flow of credit to small businesses (bullet points sourced via SEIU).
In my opinion, the City of Berkeley is to be applauded for its decision to take bold action against the Big Banks, many of which have yet to face any significant consequences for their negligent and often illegal actions. Let the politicians form their task forces and sub committees. In the mean time, intelligent citizens like those on the Berkeley City Council will continue to take action in the most powerful manner possible: voting with their dollars.
care2, 02.02.12.
Go Berkeley!
the nice little neighborhood Wells Fargo branch that I used to go down to with my mom in the Elmwood.
Occupy Oakland x Bank Transfer Day, 05.11.11.
This is hugely awesome. And as Michael asked, why isn’t this viral?!… yet?
Americans protest a corrupted economic system - “They’re worthless hippies!”
Syrians fleeing a brutal government - “Who? Are those the bad guys, or is that the other one?
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Maybe it’s just me being cynical, but this seems to be how most Americans I know actually react to these things.
You tell me if there’s something wrong with this picture.
