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US, California: Cindy Sheehan leads 30 Occupy Sacramento defendants to mass arraignment Thursday; courts balk at other 'occupier' cases

Cindy Sheehan
© unknownCindy Sheehan
Anti-war Mom Cindy Sheehan and 29 other Occupy Sacramento defendants will appear in the largest mass arraignment yet this Thursday - even as Sacramento Superior Court judges try to stop the constant barrage of "occupiers" into the courts.

Sheehan and the others will be arraigned at 8:30 a.m. Thursday in Dept. 3 and 4. They will hold a media availability outside the courthouse (720 9th St.) at 8 a.m.

The trial courts Wednesday refused to let additional occupiers be arraigned Thursday because it became apparently the courts can't handle the load.

83 arrests have been made at Occupy Sacramento at Cesar Chavez Park since Oct. 6. Dozens of people still have not had their court dates. Thursday will be Day 29 of the occupation.

All are expected to plead not guilty, reject any offer by the City of Sacramento and demand a jury trial.

Binoculars

US: Pro Surfer At San Francisco Event Withdraws After Seeing Large Shark

A professional surfer competing in a contest Tuesday in the cold waters of San Francisco's Ocean Beach left the waves before the end of his heat after saying he saw a large shark.

Surfer Dusty Payne, 22, of Hawaii left the surf while competing against Jordy Smith of South Africa. Payne said he spotted a large shark fin just outside the "lineup," where surfers sit in the water and wait for their turn.

"I was just sitting there, and I was waiting for a wave. I've seen dolphins before, and it wasn't a dolphin," Payne said during an interview on the beach with the Rip Curl Pro Search event's camera crew. "It was the biggest fin I've ever seen in my life coming straight at me."


Pistol

US: 16 shot, 2 fatally, on Halloween in New Orleans

New Orleans
© Associated Press/Gerald HerbertA surveillance camera is seen overlooking the intersection of Bourbon St. and St. Louis St. in the French Quarter section of New Orleans, where eight people were shot in New Orleans, Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011. Another four were shot nearby on Canal St. in a separate incident
Sixteen people were shot and at least two killed in a bloody Halloween in New Orleans that included gunfire on Bourbon Street, the tourist hot spot in the French Quarter.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu, at a news conference called Tuesday in response to the five separate shootings, said a "culture of violence," that involved young black men with illegal guns has plagued the city and must be stopped.

"This continues to be a battle for the future of our city," Landrieu said.

Around midnight, two men started firing at each other on Bourbon Street - near the famous Chris Owens night club. When the gunfire stopped, Albert Glover, 25, of New Orleans, was dead and seven others injured. Police spokesman Garry Flot said the injuries were not life-threatening.

Eye 2

France: DSK scandal to be made into porn film

Dominique-Strauss-Kahn
© Larry Downing/ReutersUnscrupulous: french producers to turn Dominique Strauss-Kahn's pathological perversions into a porn movie
French producers are planning to make a porn film about the scandal surrounding former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn and his alleged sexual assault of a New York hotel maid.

Porn star Roberto Malone will play the lead character, "David Sex King" while Sandra Romain will play his wife, and Katia De Lys will portray the hotel maid, The Local reported.

The production company, My Porn Productions, is asking members of the public to help fund the project, which has the working title DXK.

The firm calls on people to donate a minimum of €50 ($US68) toward the movie's €200,000 production costs. In return, donors will have their names included in the credits and receive an invitation to the film's premiere.

Stormtrooper

Cannes sheds its black tie image for G20 riot gear

Cannes security G20
© Reuters/Dylan MartinezSecurity make their way down the promenade near the festival palace in Cannes, southern France November 1, 2011
The glamorous and easy-going Riviera resort of Cannes turns into a fortified camp this week as French police prepare for the arrival of world leaders for a G20 summit set to be hijacked by fears that a euro zone crisis relief plan is unraveling.

Thousands of extra police have been deployed along the Mediterranean coast to stop protestors traveling the 30 km (19 miles) down from Nice, where they are being kept at arm's length, and sparking clashes that could disrupt the gathering.

Police have sealed off Cannes' mythical waterfront drag, set up a second security perimeter around the old town and told 'Cannois' locals aged over 12 they must wear identity badges to move around their own city during the Nov 3-4 summit.

Light Saber

US: Senators Udall, Bennet propose amendment to overturn Citizens United ruling

Udall
Democratic Sens. Tom Udall of New Mexico and Michael Bennet of Colorado introduced a constitutional amendment on Tuesday that would overturn the U.S. Supreme Court's controversial 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

The decision gave corporations and unions the ability to spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections, so long as their actions are not coordinated with a candidate's campaign.

"As we head into another election year, we are about to see unprecedented amounts of money spent on efforts to influence the outcome of our elections," Udall said. "With the Supreme Court striking down the sensible regulations Congress has passed, the only way to address the root cause of this problem is to give Congress clear authority to regulate the campaign finance system."

Newspaper

New Website Seeks to Hold Journalists Accountable

Image
© Futureofcapitalism.com
A Wikipedia-style website launched on Monday which provides information about the journalists behind the bylines.

News Transparency is a creation of Ira Stoll, the founder of another website called FutureOfCapitalism.com and the former managing editor of the now defunct New York Sun.

In a statement on its home page, newstransparency.com, the website said its goal is to help users "find out more about the people who produce the news" and "hold them accountable, the same way that journalists hold other powerful institutions accountable, by posting reviews and sharing information."

News Transparency features an alphabetical list of hundreds of journalists and invites users to edit their profiles, which include basic biographical information such as age, education, current employer and work history.

Bizarro Earth

Best of the Web: US: Buddy can you spare a dime? One in three Americans has no spare cash

Global consumer confidence remained weak in the third quarter with more than 60 per cent of consumers saying it was not a good time to spend, and one-in-three Americans saying they have no spare cash, a new survey shows.

The economic outlook, followed by job security, became consumers' biggest concern in the third quarter, overtaking worries about rising inflation, according to the quarterly survey by global analytics and information company Nielsen.

The Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index dipped just 1 point in the third quarter from the second quarter to 88 points, but it was shored up by a surge in confidence in emerging economies Brazil and Saudi Arabia, which masked weak confidence in major developed economies.

Crusader

A Message To The Oakland Police: "You Have No Power!"



Watch the entire clip.

Light Saber

'The Markets' (super-elite) and Euro elite throw a fit as Greek PM sides with people over banksters

Image
© Joel Saget/AFP/Getty ImagesThis is my 'concerned' face: Nicolas Sarkozy makes a statement after a cabinet meeting focusing on the Greek PM's shock referendum announcement.
The French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel will hold emergency talks on Wednesday in a desperate attempt to hold the eurozone together and formulate a response to the Greek prime minister's plan for a referendum on the austerity measures imposed by his European partners.

George Papandreou's socialist government is on the brink of collapse after his referendum plan sparked an angry reaction within his own party and plunged Europe back into turmoil, just days after a complex rescue deal had been agreed - requiring Greece to embark on tough cost-cutting measures.

While Papandreou's cabinet approved unanimously his decision to hold a referendum, it threatens to split the prime minister's Pasok party. One MP, Milena Apostolaki, has quit in disgust at the idea of a referendum and several colleagues have said that if it is not abandoned they will join her. Papandreou faces a vote of confidence on Friday. A split in the Pasok party would almost certainly bring down the Greek government, which now has a majority of just two MPs in parliament.

Comment: It's important to keep in mind during this era of purposely generated economic and financial crises that when the media tells us that the "Greek government is teetering on the brink of collapse" or "the euro is in turmoil again" or "the markets plunged on the news that XYZ", what they're really doing is conveying the message to leaders like Papandreou and the masses at large that their insolence will not stand. They will be crushed and will submit to "austerity measures" (slavery) one way or another. And they do that primarily by deliberately creating turmoil on the markets, speculating and gambling currencies to give the impression that they can pull the rug out from under a whole country's economy.