Tag Archives: occupy

Occupy London’s anger over police ‘terrorism’ document

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Occupy London’s anger over police ‘terrorism’ document | UK news | guardian.co.uk.

Police have angered Occupy London activists after listing the movement among terrorist groups in an advisory notice sent to the business community in the City.

The document issued by City of London police, headed “Terrorism/extremism update for the City of London business community”, included a detailed account of recent and upcoming Occupy London activities and was sent to “trusted partners” in the area.

The document, dated 2 December, which was passed on to Occupy London’s Finsbury square encampment over the weekend by a local business owner, gave an update on foreign terrorist activities including that of Farc in Columbia, al-Qaida in Pakistan and the outcome of a trial into the Minsk bombing in Belarus.

Below that, a section headed “Domestic” was dedicated wholly to the activities of the Occupy encampments and singled out anti-capitalists as a cause for concern.

“As the worldwide Occupy movement shows no sign of abating, it is likely that activists aspire to identify other locations to occupy, especially those they identify with capitalism.”

The document stated that police had “received a number of hostile reconnaissance reports concerning individuals who would fit the anti-capitalist profile”, and asked businesses to be vigilant for further sign of occupation activity.

It also said that the number of protesters present at the camp remained “fairly consistent” but that demonstrations originating from the camp had “decreased and lacked the support and momentum of earlier actions”.

The City of London police have as yet been unwilling to reveal how many businesses were included on the mailing but their list is thought to include large multinationals and banks.

A City of London police source admitted that the “title of the document was not helpful” and denied that it labelled or intended to label the Occupy movement as equivalent to al-Qaida.

An activist from the camp called the document “vulgar” and said Occupy London had met Church of England representatives many times in the past and were meeting the Financial Services Authority, which regulates banking activity in the UK, on Monday.

A statement from the Occupy London camp said: “The reference to ‘suspected activists’ seems to demonstrate a disturbing loss of perspective.

“Activism is not a crime and the desire to participate in democratic decision-making should not be a cause for concern for the police in any free society.

“An institution that confuses active citizens with criminals and equates al-Qaida with efforts to re-imagine the City is an institution in grave danger of losing its way.”

Asked about the document, the City of London police said their community policing methods had been praised.

A spokesman added: “City of London police works with the community to deter and detect terrorist activity and crime in the City in a way that has been identified nationally as good practice.

“We’ve seen crime linked to protests in recent weeks, notably around groups entering office buildings, and with that in mind we continue to brief key trusted partners on activity linked to protests.”

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Occupy Wall Street protester now occupying a cubicle after getting a job at Wall Street bank

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Occupy Wall Street protester now occupying a cubicle after getting a job at Wall Street bank | Mail Online.

Unlike many protesters who were not very clear in their demands, Tracy Postert went down to Zuccotti Square during the Occupy Wall Street protests with a specific goal in mind: to get a job.

In a serendipitous turn of events, she landed one, but in one of the very banks she had gone to protest against.

The biomedical scientist, who has her Ph.D. specializing in pharmacology, had been unemployed for quite some time so she decided to be creative with her job seeking process.

After spending 10 days protesting with anti-capitalist signs like everyone else, Ms Postert showed up on October 22 in a medical jacket holding a sign stating her intentions.

Her sign said ‘Ph.D Biomedical scientist seeking full time employment’ on the front and ‘Ask me for my resume’ on the back.

Luckily enough, one passer-by did.

Now, over a month later, she is working in an office on Wall Street – in one of the companies that she was protesting against not long ago.

Wayne Kaufman, chief marketing analyst from John Thomas Financial Brokerage, took her resume and promptly invited her for an interview.

‘I had been unemployed for so long, I thought why not?’ Ms Postert told The New York Post.

Shortly after the interview, in the company’s offices at 14 Wall Street, she was offered a job she couldn’t refuse.

At first, Ms Postert was hesitant to accept the position as a junior analyst specializing in the viability of medical companies as investments. Given her political sympathies and involvement in the Occupy Wall Street protests, it seemed like a hypocritical move.

But, considering she is in her 30s and has spent many months to no avail looking for a job in the academic arena- which would be her first choice- she decided that practicality had to trump political posturing.

‘I never thought I would be doing this,’ she told The Post.

Mr Kaufman said that the starting salary as a junior analyst is near minimum wage, but there is much room for growth and he expects her to be making a six-figure salary soon enough.

A job in the financial services sector did seem unlikely for the Upper West Sider, considering she had no financial background or any training in the field.

Needless to say, long gone are the ‘Reagan Sucks’ posters that she held up in Zuccotti Park.

Now, Ms Postert arrives to her desk in the Wall Street office by 8am every morning as she studies to take her financial analyst exams.

For Ms Postert, the job means that she has a steady pay check. For the company, they have one convert to the cause.

‘She was ranting about Wall Street, and now she’s working on Wall Street,’ said the CEO of John Thomas Financial Brokerage.

‘Banks are not so bad. I hope we have opened her eyes,’ Mr Belesis said.

60 Minutes Asks: ‘Why Aren’t We Prosecuting Wall Street?’ | Occupy America

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60 Minutes Asks: ‘Why Aren’t We Prosecuting Wall Street?’ | Occupy America.

Click link above to watch video.

Big banks, bailouts, and secret bailouts, the defective and even fraudulent mortgages that have already led to foreclosure on millions of American’s homes; finally, a mainstream media news source is asking why none of the companies involved – or their executives – have been prosecuted.

Steve Kroft and 60 Minutes talks with two whistleblowers, Eileen Foster, a former senior executive at Countrywide Financial, and Richard Bowen, a former vice president at Citigroup.

In a script note from “60 Minutes” producer, James Jacoby, begins with “It’s been three years since the financial crisis crippled the American economy, and much to the consternation of the general public and the demonstrators on Wall Street,(Emphasis mine) there has not been a single prosecution of a high-ranking Wall Street executive or major financial firm even though fraud and financial misrepresentations played a significant role in the meltdown.”

A significant “win” for the Occupy Wall Street movement to be mentioned in such a groundbreaking investigative report? If nothing else, perhaps the Wall Street titans will cringe a little more with each spotting of a protest sign or “mic check.”

Part one of the program begins, with the second part of the video at the bottom of the page, and a link to the final portion that’s contained in the 60 Minutes Overtime report:

Steve Kroft: Do you believe that there are people at Countrywide who belong behind bars?

Eileen Foster: Yes.

Kroft: Do you want to give me their names?

Foster: No.

Kroft: Would you give their names to a grand jury if you were asked?

Foster: Yes.

But Eileen Foster has never been asked – and never spoken to the Justice Department – even though she was Countrywide’s executive vice president in charge of fraud investigations. At the height of the housing bubble, Countrywide Financial was the largest mortgage lender in the country and the loans it made were among the worst, a third ending up in foreclosure or default, many because of mortgage fraud.

It was Foster’s job to monitor and investigate allegations of fraud against Countrywide employees and make sure they were reported to the Board of Directors and the Treasury Department.

Kroft: How much fraud was there at Countrywide?

Foster: From what I saw, the types of things I saw, it was– it appeared systemic. It, it wasn’t just one individual or two or three individuals, it was branches of individuals, it was regions of individuals.

Kroft: What you seem to be saying was it was just a way of doing business?

Foster: Yes.

In 2007, Foster sent a team to the Boston area to search several branch offices of Countrywide’s subprime division – the division that lent to borrowers with poor credit. The investigators rummaged through the office’s recycling bins and found evidence that Countrywide loan officers were forging and manipulating borrowers’ income and asset statements to help them get loans they weren’t qualified for and couldn’t afford.

Foster: All of the– the recycle bins, whenever we looked through those they were full of, you know, signatures that had been cut off of one document and put onto another and then photocopied, you know, or faxed and then the– you know, the creation thrown– thrown in the recycle bin.

Full transcript available here.