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Che Guevara

Poll: Vast majority of Americans support Occupy Wall Street, tax on rich

Matthew Cooper
National Journal
Wed, 19 Oct 2011 23:57 UTC
Image
© Chet Susslin
The Occupy Wall Street movement that started in New York City spread to Freedom Plaza in Washington D.C.
At a time when protests have erupted across the country over a growing inequality of wealth and Congress is considering measures to impose a surtax on those earning more than $1 million annually, the public seems to be in a populist mood - one that's tempered by skepticism about Washington's ability to do anything about the grim economy.

A new survey shows that Americans overwhelmingly support the self-styled Occupy Wall Street protests that not only have disrupted life in Lower Manhattan but also in Washington and cities and towns across the U.S. and in other nations. Some 59 percent of adults either completely agree or mostly agree with the protesters, while 31 percent mostly disagree or completely disagree; 10 percent of those surveyed didn't know or refused to answer.

What's more, many people are paying attention to the rallies. Almost two-thirds of respondents - 65 percent - said they've heard "a lot" or "some" about the rallies, while 35 percent have said they've heard or seen "not too much" or "nothing at all" about the demonstrations.
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Alarm Clock

US: New York - In Her Own Words: Naomi Wolf's Arrest At Occupy Wall Street

Naomi Wolf
Theguardian.co.uk
Wed, 19 Oct 2011 16:57 UTC
Image
© Mike Shane
Naomi Wolf is arrested during the Occupy Wall Street protest in New York.
Arresting a middle-aged writer in an evening gown for peaceable conduct is a far cry from when America was a free republic

Last night I was arrested in my home town, outside an event to which I had been invited, for standing lawfully on the sidewalk in an evening gown.

Let me explain; my partner and I were attending an event for the Huffington Post, for which I often write: Game Changers 2011, in a venue space on Hudson Street. As we entered the space, we saw that about 200 Occupy Wall Street protesters were peacefully assembled and were chanting. They wanted to address Governor Andrew Cuomo, who was going to be arriving at the event. They were using a technique that has become known as "the human mic" - by which the crowd laboriously repeats every word the speaker says - since they had been told that using real megaphones was illegal.

In my book Give Me Liberty, a blueprint for how to open up a closing civil society, I have a chapter on permits - which is a crucial subject to understand for anyone involved in protest in the US. In 70s America, protest used to be very effective, but in subsequent decades municipalities have sneakily created a web of "overpermiticisation" - requirements that were designed to stifle freedom of assembly and the right to petition government for redress of grievances, both of which are part of our first amendment. One of these made-up permit requirements, which are not transparent or accountable, is the megaphone restriction.
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Handcuffs

Author Naomi Wolf arrested during Occupy protest


nzherald.co.nz
Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:38 UTC
Naomi Wolf
© Photo / supplied to Herald on Sunday
Naomi Wolf was arrested as she went to defend those participating in the Occupy protest.

It's not just the little people being arrested during the Occupy protests in New York, Denver, Boston and across the world.

Author Naomi Wolf yesterday joined the group of those who have been handcuffed during this month of demonstrations against economic inequality and perceived injustice.

New York City police arrested Wolf after she attended an awards ceremony thrown by the Huffington Post at New York's Skylight Studios, the Guardian reports.
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Heart - Black

US: 4th arrest in Philly basement case; 10 youths held


MSNBC / Associated Press
Wed, 19 Oct 2011 13:45 UTC
Authorities in at least two states missed chances to help four mentally disabled adults

Authorities say a fourth person has been charged in a case in which four mentally disabled people were found locked up in a Philadelphia basement, allegedly so their captors could cash their Social Security checks.

Thirty-two-year-old Jean McIntosh was arrested Wednesday. Prosecutors say she is the daughter of the scheme's alleged ringleader, 51-year-old Linda Weston. Philadelphia police said detectives had been interviewing her about the case and put her under arrest around 3:45 a.m.

Image
© Ron Cortes / AP
The dank basement room in Philadelphia in which four weak and malnourished mentally disabled adults, one chained to the boiler, were found locked up on Saturday is shown Monday.
Two other men are also charged in the case.

News of the fourth arrest came after authorities in at least two states acknowledged that they missed opportunities to help the four captives.

Two other men are also charged in the case. News of the fourth arrest came after authorities in at least two states acknowledged that they missed opportunities to help the four captives.
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Heart - Black

US: Teen girl forced to wear armor, fight stepfather with wooden sword

Drew Mikkelsen
MSNBC / King5 News
Wed, 19 Oct 2011 13:38 UTC
Couple told officers they punished the teen for going to a party without their permission

A Thurston County couple is accused of beating their daughter and forcing her to fight them in a medieval-style duel.

Investigators arrested the 16-year-old girl's stepfather, Fremon Seay, and her mother, Julie Seay, this weekend.

According to police, the teen was forced her to dress in armor and fight Fremon Seay with a wooden sword for two hours. Police also said Seay punched and beat his stepdaughter with a tree branch prior to the duel. Investigators said she collapsed from exhaustion.

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Family

US People Power: Alaska voters say no to gold, copper mine

Becky Bohrer
MSNBC / Associated Press
Wed, 19 Oct 2011 13:28 UTC
Juneau - Voters in a small southwest Alaska borough narrowly passed a measure blocking a proposed gold and copper mine that conservationists said would have threatened one of the world's premier wild salmon fisheries in a local election that gained national attention, pitting environmental and business interests on opposing sides.

The vote bans large-scale resource extraction - including mining - that would destroy or degrade salmon habitat. The measure was aimed squarely at Pebble Mine, a massive gold and copper operation planned near the headwaters of Bristol Bay and one of the world's premier wild salmon fisheries.

Unofficial results, released by the Lake and Peninsula Borough clerk late Monday, showed 280 in favor of the measure and 246 against.

Image
© Unknown
The mine is a joint venture of Canada-based Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. and Anglo American plc of the United Kingdom.

The proposal, like the project itself, was the subject of an intense public relations campaign on both sides. And the vote is unlikely to be the last word on whether, or how, the mine is built - a court challenge has already been filed.
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Smiley

What if Mormons Were Mainstream and Christians the Fringe?

Edwin Decker
San Diego City Beat
Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:38 UTC
Two Crooks
© Steve Marcus / Reuters
Mitt Romney, left, and Rick Perry in the GOP candidate debate in Las Vegas.

Pondering the comments of those who think Mitt Romney's religions is kooky and others aren't.

Two weeks ago, at the GOP's Values Voters Summit - also known as Lalaland-a-Palooza - Mitt Romney's faith was taken to task.

For whatever reason, Romney was scheduled to speak in the slot immediately before Bryan Fisher, a right-wing talk-radio host and spokesperson for the American Family Association.

Fischer's a raging mormophobe. He's the guy who famously declared that the First Amendment doesn't apply to Mormons, along with a spate of even more ludicrous and bigoted remarks that helped earn him a slot as a featured speaker at Lalaland-a-Palooza.

But the comments that made the headlines came during the introduction to Texas Gov. Rick Perry's speech.

"Only faith in Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone, qualifies you as a Christian," said Dr. Robert Jeffress, senior pastor of the First Baptist Church of Texas.

I always get a big yuck out of these mainstream-religion types who scoff at fringe religions as being preposterous, which is like junkies scoffing at tweakers for being addicted to a more damaging drug.

As much as Jeffress, Fischer and those who share their views would like to separate Christianity from Mormonism, the fact is, Mormons are Christians. This is not debatable.
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House

Violent clashes as UK police begin clearing illegal Traveler camp


MSNBC
Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:30 UTC
British police in riot gear on Wednesday used sledgehammers to clear the way for the eviction of a community of Irish Travelers from a site where they have lived illegally for a decade.

A large force of police and bailiffs faced resistance from several dozen residents and supporters who threw bricks and struggled with officers at the Dale Farm site, set amid fields 30 miles east of London. One mobile home was set on fire as police moved in at dawn, and several protesters chained themselves to barricades with bicycle locks in a bid to slow down the evictions. Others scaled a 40-foot scaffolding tower, from which police began removing them one by one.

Essex Police said two protesters were Tasered and one person arrested and that police officers had been attacked with rocks and other missiles.

Image
© Peter MacDiarmid / Getty Images
Activists confront police as they enter the site to begin evictions from Dale Farm travelers' camp near Basildon, England, on October 19. Travelers have fought for 10 years to stay on the former scrap yard site. The local authorities have been given the go-ahead to proceed with the eviction of illegal dwellings after rulings by the Court of Appeal.
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Pistol

Turkey PM promises great revenge after deadly PKK attacks


MSNBC
Wed, 19 Oct 2011 06:20 UTC
Turkey kills 15 Kurdish militants, reportedly sends troops into Iraq after 26 Turkish soldiers die in multiple raids
Image
© Unknown
Turkish Military and Tank.

Ankara, Turkey - Turkish security forces said they had killed 15 Kurdish militants and they also reportedly launched an incursion inside Iraq Wednesday, after Kurdish rebels killed 26 Turkish soldiers and wounded 22 others in multiple attacks along the border.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said revenge would be "very great" for the attacks in southeastern Turkey.

"No one should forget this, those that inflict this pain on us will endure far greater pain. Those that think they will weaken our state with these attacks or think they will bring our state into line, they will see that the revenge for these attacks will be very great and they will endure it many times over," Gul told reporters in Istanbul.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and its Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu both cancelled foreign trips after the attacks, the deadliest strike on Turkish security forces in 18 years, Al Arabiya reported. Al Arabiya, citing the AFP, said that the PKK killed 33 unarmed soldiers in Bingol province in 1993.

The Kurdish rebels, who are fighting for autonomy in Turkey's southeast, staged simultaneous attacks on military outposts and police stations near the border towns of Cukurca and Yuksekova early Wednesday.

The attacks left 26 soldiers dead and 22 others wounded, the Interior Ministry announced. It was the deadliest Kurdish rebel attack since 1992, according to a tally by NTV television.
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Stormtrooper

US: Romney and Perry spar at Nevada debate

Michael O'Brien
MSNBC
Wed, 19 Oct 2011 08:03 UTC
Cain faces heightened scrutiny of '9-9-9' economic plan

Washington - A long-awaited showdown between former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and Texas Gov. Rick Perry erupted at Tuesday night's Republican presidential debate, in an occasionally personal battle between the two GOP heavyweights.

Romney and Perry sparred throughout the two-hour CNN/Western Republican Leadership Conference debate in Las Vegas, mostly overshadowing an early pile-on of Herman Cain and his "9-9-9" economic plan.

Perry called Romney a hypocrite, while the former Massachusetts governor retorted that the Texan was suffering from some recent rough debate outings. The body language of both turned visibly cool as they talked past one another at points.

The fireworks emerged halfway through the first hour of the debate, when Perry accused Romney of having hired illegal immigrants as landscapers at one of his homes. Perry has been looking to reverse a slide in the polls driven in part by poor debate performances.

"The idea that you stand here before us and talk about you're strong on illegal immigration is on its face the height of hypocrisy," a more animated Perry said.

Romney denied ever having hired an illegal immigrant and heatedly insisted he have a chance to talk when the two bickered during Romney's response.


"This has been a tough couple of debates for Rick and I understand that, so you're going to get testy," Romney said, later adding: "You have a problem with allowing someone to finish speaking."

Comment: Comical. In the dustbin of Politics we have non-debates, upside down 6-6-6, and a chance in the 2012 S-election to vote for Satan, Lucifer or the Devil. How does one look better if the only options are Evil, Greed, Lies, Corruption?

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