Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1%

[Lookin4SVX]

Bank Bailouts Explained:


Quantitative Easing Explained:


JP Morgan Silver Manipulation Explained:

[LetItSnow]

<Rome, Italy>. The last? Blame who you like for the ignition, but there was plenty of fire.

The code of conduct is only followed by those who choose to follow it.

2. We will not vandalize or destroy property.

ORLY?

[NikFu S.]

I doubt everyone is willing to comply, but the movement at large is courteous, which is one reason I am glad I am somewhat removed, as I certainly am not. Love me some violence.

Your photo:

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=46739

[dcarrb]

What we really need is an Ignore Wall Street movement. Our free-market truly depends on a robust middle class, on transactions at street level, and in our faith in the system. So long as we let them call the tune, so long as we are willing the ride the boom-bust roller-coaster, so long as we expect "economic growth" to exceed the true needs or the populace in order to line the pockets of those who make their living gaming the system, we'll keep finding ourselves back in this sort of mess. Until the have-nots finally gain enough strength to bring it all down, that is. Surely nobody wants that.

dcb

[LetItSnow]

Here's your problem: Doesn't a capitalist structure demand have-nots?

[Landshark]

do those hippies know that without Wall Street, they wouldn't have their precious iPhones?

"WALL STREET BAD! wait, what?"

[dcarrb]

Originally Posted by LetItSnow

Here's your problem: Doesn't a capitalist structure demand have-nots?

I wouldn't say, demand. But it's inevitable that there will be some stragglers in any free endeavor, I reckon.

Trouble now is, the "have nots" are falling more and more from the middle class, while the wealth accumulates disproportionally at the top. Before long there will be no consumers left to consume the mundane stuff that keeps our economy running. Blows my mind that some folks actually believe this "I got mine/sucks to be you" culture is sustainable.

One of my favorite quotations (can't recall the author): If a man tells you he became wealthy through hard work, ask him, Whose?

dcb

[immortal_suby]

Originally Posted by Landshark

do those hippies know that without Wall Street, they wouldn't have their precious iPhones?

"WALL STREET BAD! wait, what?"

+1!

the ironing is delicious.

[NikFu S.]

Originally Posted by Landshark

do those hippies know that without Wall Street, they wouldn't have their precious iPhones?

"WALL STREET BAD! wait, what?"

It's not a protest against "Wall Street", it's a protest against banker/government collusion and lack of accountability of economic crimes, for most of them.
Maybe it's true that "without Wall Street" we would not have certain luxuries (that is not a point that can be proven and is hence futile to consider), but why not look at it from the other side; might we have even better things if Wall Street played fair rather than abusing our system of government? This is something plausibly demonstrable, if given the opportunity.

Originally Posted by dcarrb

I wouldn't say, demand. But it's inevitable that there will be some stragglers in any free endeavor, I reckon.

I agree, there will always be stragglers, but what makes a straggler is a chance combination of one part ignorance, one part naivete, one part bad luck, and one part sloth. It's easy to blame people for being lazy when you or I bust our ass, but what about the people whom were never given a chance? People born into poverty, into indoctrination, into a family that fails to stimulate their interest in their future? Do we laugh and say "Ha! Your family sucks, and your life will from now on" unless you get 17 jobs and work 12 days a week for the rest of your life only to scarcely afford the bare minimum of a comfortable existence since our clepto-conomy is designed to keep poor people poor, dumb people dumb, and continually divide the line between work versus wage.

One of my favorite quotations (can't recall the author): If a man tells you he became wealthy through hard work, ask him, Whose?

dcb

It's a great point. "The road to 'x' is paved with 'y'." So long as those paving the roads rely on the sacrifice of others for their exclusive gains they are nothing more than opportunists, but the problem is the selfish and greedy LIKE being selfish and greedy, and there is no appreciable effect in demeaning their character.

I believe a self-interested person when faced with a choice will only respond in a selfless manner when faced with a force that is capable of and intends to cause them distress. This is why we need the protests, this is why we need a contingency, this is why we need to not take the movement so lightly.

Originally Posted by immortal_suby

+1!

the ironing is delicious.

Hardly. If you lap up the propaganda that this is an anti-Capitalist movement and conclude that anti-Capitalist protesters using products of Capitalism is hypocrisy, then all you've done is concocted a straw man fallacy, which is a form of deception, placing question upon either your intellect (ignorant of facts) or character (willfully deceptive).
Of all people, I would not side with Alan on this one.



On a much related note:





More info on the wounded kid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpPJ1PWTc6I

Originally Posted by NikFu S.

The protest organizers want to avoid conflict, but as you can see from various videos it's actually been the police provoking the protesters.

Does anyone care to play devil's advocate with me?


---

Related:

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics...ating-20111025

Wall Street Isn't Winning – It's Cheating


I was at an event on the Upper East Side last Friday night when I got to talking with a salesman in the media business. The subject turned to Zucotti Park and Occupy Wall Street, and he was chuckling about something he'd heard on the news.

"I hear [Occupy Wall Street] has a CFO," he said. "I think that's funny."

"Okay, I'll bite," I said. "Why is that funny?"

"Well, I heard they're trying to decide what bank to put their money in," he said, munching on hors d'oeuvres. "It's just kind of ironic."

Oh, Christ, I thought. He’s saying the protesters are hypocrites because they’re using banks. I sighed.

"Listen," I said, "where else are you going to put three hundred thousand dollars? A shopping bag?"

"Well," he said, "it's just, they're protests are all about... You know..."

"Dude," I said. "These people aren't protesting money. They're not protesting banking. They're protesting corruption on Wall Street."

"Whatever," he said, shrugging.

[LetItSnow]

The sad bit is, from the interviews I've read with Occupants, some of them have about the same amount of a clue as to the mission as that described above.

Even the short videos are tl/dw - do they show or describe all of the events leading to police action? Money says, "never". I suppose comparing result to result and ignoring causes, you can just say that there are inexplicably illegally parked campers in cities around the world, and that there's no evidence of flaws in the economic system, so what in the world are they all up in arms for?

[LetItSnow]

Ah, the way it's told, the Occupants were given four ignored minutes to evacuate a public park. I suppose that throws number 8 straight out the window.

(EDIT: My mistake - it was a private plaza.)

This will not end well.

As it is, my upstate wallet is supporting a $3M increase in police funding due to this activity in NYC. I'm a little Occupist off.

[92 SVX]

Originally Posted by LetItSnow

Ah, the way it's told, the Occupants were given four ignored minutes to evacuate a public park. I suppose that throws number 8 straight out the window.

This will not end well.

As it is, my upstate wallet is supporting a $3M increase in police funding due to this activity in NYC. I'm a little Occupist off.

I was not going to get into this but I have to ask this.

Where does it say in our constitiution that the public can not gather
in public?

[Lookin4SVX]

Originally Posted by 92 SVX

I was not going to get into this but I have to ask this.

Where does it say in our constitiution that the public can not gather
in public?

Just one them unconstitutional laws they passed...

You know, where you have to apply for a permit from the government to protest...

Its right there next the law that made "free speech zones"....

We are living in a police state...most people just don't seem to notice.

[LetItSnow]

Dreadfully sorry; Frank Ogawa Plaza is a private park - one which the Occupants had already been removed from in their illegal Occupation.

Throwing rocks, bottles and paint cans at police - or anybody - defies rule seven, as well. So much for credibility in their civility.

[NikFu S.]

Originally Posted by LetItSnow

The sad bit is, from the interviews I've read with Occupants, some of them have about the same amount of a clue as to the mission as that described above.

Even the short videos are tl/dw - do they show or describe all of the events leading to police action? Money says, "never". I suppose comparing result to result and ignoring causes, you can just say that there are inexplicably illegally parked campers in cities around the world, and that there's no evidence of flaws in the economic system, so what in the world are they all up in arms for?

Originally Posted by LetItSnow

I'm a little Occupist off.

Cute.

Originally Posted by LetItSnow

Dreadfully sorry; Frank Ogawa Plaza is a private park - one which the Occupants had already been removed from in their illegal Occupation.

Throwing rocks, bottles and paint cans at police - or anybody - defies rule seven, as well. So much for credibility in their civility.

The park is private and being publicly leased for tax credits, or the other way around, I forget. As for any protester aggression, I have yet to see any caught on video.

For one, I credit agent provocateurs and random vandals with most "non-police" aggression, and two,



I think WS/NYPD at least should have no trouble proving protester aggression. I know I've seen video with officers walking around with cameras as well.

Something tells me they can't prove anything otherwise why would they do this...


[Generators and fuel confiscated, cited as safety hazard despite lack of accidents.]


Protester violence? Video or it didn't happen.




----

Recent events:



Seems to be picking up steam.





Seems to also be picking up "anarchists".

Truth is you can't control all variables, but what you can do is define your own agenda. OWS defines itself as pacifist, therefore aggressors can not be a part of OWS. It's easy to just include everyone into the same group, to attribute malicious actions to whomever suits your interests, but that is about as logical as saying that your personal ideology is as much at fault or equitably represents whatever crime exists in your place of residence simply because of proximity...