₦airaland Forum

Wall Street sit-in goes global Saturday

By Alastair Macdonald

LONDON | Fri Oct 14, 2011 6:52am EDT

Oct 14(Reuters) - For an October revolution, dress warm.

That's the word going out - politely - on the Web to rally street protests on Saturday around the globe from New Zealand to Alaska via London, Frankfurt, Washington and, of course, New York, where the past month's Occupy Wall Street movement has inspired a worldwide yell of anger at banks and financiers.

How many will show up, let alone stay to camp out to disrupt city centres for days, or months, to come, is anyone's guess. The hundreds at Manhattan's Zuccotti Park were calling for back-up on Friday, fearing imminent eviction. Rome expects tens of thousands at a national protest of more traditional stamp.

Few other police forces expect more than a few thousand to turn out on the day for what is billed as an exercise in social media-spread, Arab Spring-inspired, grassroots democracy with an emphasis on peaceful, homespun debate, as seen among Madrid's "indignados" in June or at the current Wall Street park sit-in.

Blogs and Facebook pages devoted to "October 15" - #O15 on Twitter - abound with exhortations to keep the peace, bring an open mind, a sleeping bag, food and warm clothing; in Britain, "Occupy London Stock Exchange" is at pains to stress it does not plan to actually, well, occupy the stock exchange.

That may turn off those with a taste for the kind of anarchic violence seen in London in August, at anti-capitalism protests of the past decade and at some rallies against spending cuts in Europe this year. But, as Karlin Younger of consultancy Control Risks said: "When there's a protest by an organisation that's very grassroots, you can't be sure who will show up."

Concrete demands are few from those who proclaim "We are the 99 percent", other than a general sense that the other 1 percent - the "greedy and corrupt" rich, and especially banks - should pay more, and that elected governments are not listening.

"It's time for us to unite; it's time for them to listen; people of the world, rise up!" proclaims the Web site United for #GlobalChange. "We are not goods in the hands of politicians and bankers who do not represent us , We will peacefully demonstrate, talk and organise until we make it happen."

By doing so peacefully, many hope for a wider political impact, by amplifying the chord their ideas strike with millions of voters in wealthy countries who feel ever more squeezed by the global financial crisis while the rich seem to get richer.

"ENOUGH IS ENOUGH"

"We have people from all walks of life joining us every day," said Spyro, one of those behind a Facebook page in London which has grown to have some 12,000 followers in a few weeks, enthused by Occupy Wall Street. Some 5,000 have posted that they will turn out, though even some activists expect fewer will.

Spyro, a 28-year-old graduate who has a well-paid job and did not want his family name published, summed up the main target of the global protests as "the financial system".

Angry at taxpayer bailouts of banks since crisis hit in 2008 and at big bonuses still paid to some who work in them while unemployment blights the lives of many young Britons, he said: "People all over the world, we are saying 'Enough is enough'."

What the remedy would be, Spyro said, was not for him to say but should emerge from public debate - a common theme for those camping out off Wall Street since mid-September, who have stirred up U.S. political debate and, a Reuters poll found , won sympathy from over a third of Americans.

A suggestions log posted at 15october.net ("This space is ready for YOUR idea for the revolution" range from a mass cutting up of credit cards ("hit the banks where it counts" to "use technology to make education free".

For all such utopianism, the possibility that peaceful mass action, helped by new technologies, can bring real change has been reinforced by the success of Arab uprisings this year.

"I've been waiting for this protest for a long time, since 2008," said Daniel Schreiber, 28, an editor in Berlin. "I was always wondering why people aren't outraged and why nothing has happened and finally, three years later, it's happening."

Quite what is happening, though, is hard to say. The biggest turnouts are expected where local conditions are most acute.

Italian police are preparing for tens of thousands to march in Rome against austerity measures planned by the beleaguered government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Yet in crisis-ravaged Athens, where big protests have seen violence at times of late, a sense of fatigue and futility may limit numbers on Saturday. In Madrid, where thousands of young "indignados", or "angry ones", camped out for weeks, many also feel the movement has run out of steam since the summer.

Germans, where sympathy for southern Europe's debt troubles is patchy, the financial centre of Frankfurt, and the European Central Bank in particular, is expected to be a focus of marches calling by the Spanish-inspired Real Democracy Now movement.

Complicating German sentiments, however, a series of small bombs found on trains has stirred memories of the left-wing guerrilla attacks that grew in the 1970s from frustration at a lack of change after the student protests of 1968.

CITY OF LONDON

British student protests a year ago were marked by some acts of violence by what authorities say were hard-core anarchists. Days of looting in London in August were put down to motives that mingled political discontent with criminal opportunism.

As an international centre of finance, the City of London is key target. But organisers know strong police powers make setting up a Wall Street-style protest camp there far from easy.

"There's quite a bit of fatigue setting in," said one young veteran of last year's protests against higher university fees. "But if it's still going by Monday or Tuesday, I think that will excite students and they will head down. The City is much more the focus of people's anger now, compared to a year ago."

A long Saturday of rallies may start in New Zealand, where the Occupy Auckland Facebook page provides links recommending "suitable clothing , a sleeping bag, a tent, food" -- but, in a family-friendly spirit, strictly no drugs or alcohol.

Asian authorities and businesses may have less to fear, since most of their economies are still growing strongly.

Tracking across the time zones, through towns large and small ("Occupy Norwich!" reads a website from the picturesque English city), the New York example has also prompted calls for similar occupations in dozens of U.S. cities from Saturday.

In Houston, protesters plan to tap into anger at big oil companies. As the world's day ends, hardy souls will be marching in Fairbanks. "We will be obeying traffic lights," insist the authors of OccupyAlaska.org, and they "will be dressed warm".

History suggests such actions are unlikely, of themselves, to change the world. As one anonymous poster at 15october.net writes, "Fleshing out ideas into living reality has always been the bugbear of radical politics". And while anger at corporate greed is widespread, there are plenty of voters who would agree with the Australian who posted on the OccupySydney site that those marching will be "the lazy, the paranoid, the confused".

But some analysts do see a potential for political change.

Jeff Madrick, a prominent economics writer, speaks warmly of the serious and reasonable debate he found at Zuccotti Park. Revolutions may be rare, but the protests could push lawmakers to act on some of the demands, he said last week: "It may begin to change public opinion enough to give Congress, people in Washington, the courage of their own convictions."

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/14/wallstreet-global-idUSL5E7LD3VU20111014

Occupy Wall Street goes global
Posted by Suzy Khimm at 10:28 AM ET, 10/13/2011


The U.S. anti-corporate movement has inspired an offshoot occupation in London. It will kick off this Saturday with a rally headed to the London Stock Exchange, as Dealbook notes today. OccupyLSX describes itself as part of a global movement against “corporate greed” and inequality, and UK Uncut — a group of activists who’ve fought austerity measures — has already signed on to support it. From the OccupyLSX Web site:

The words ‘corporate greed’ ring through the speeches and banners of protests across the globe. After huge bail-outs and in the face of unemployment, privatisation and austerity we still see profits for the rich on the increase. But we are the 99%, and on October 15th our voice unites across gender and race, across borders and continents as we call for equality and justice for all.

There have been recent popular uprisings in London, like this summer’s riots that many have linked to economic discontent and anti-austerity measures. By contrast, the OccupyLSX movement has already distinguished itself as an organized, civil society protest with a clear purpose. Unlike their New York counterparts, the OccupyLSX organizers say they want a specific agenda, vowing to build “a future free from austerity, growing inequality, unemployment, tax injustice and a political elite who ignores its citizens, and work towards concrete demands to be met.” It’s not the only popular U.S. movement to go global in recent months: a Tea Party offshoot sprung up in Australia last year.

OccupyLSX cites its Facebook page as a display of its growing support: as of Thursday morning, it had about 4,600 people saying they’d show up. That’s a small crowd, as far as these sorts of demonstrations go, but piggybacking off the U.S. movement, OccupyLSX is anticipating the media attention: their Web site already lists dedicated press contacts.

*Update: Other cities spanning 78 countries are also planning October 15 solidarity events to protest economic injustice, but not all seem to be as directly modeled on Occupy Wall Street.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/occupy-wall-street-spreads-to-london/2011/10/13/gIQAnbsRhL_blog.html

^^^

'Modern face of illegal insider trading' Raj Rajaratnam gets 11 years in prison

Published: Thursday, Oct 13, 2011, 21:32 IST | Updated: Thursday, Oct 13, 2011, 23:18 IST
Place: NEW YORK | Agency: PTI

A former billionaire described by the government as "the modern face of illegal insider trading" was sentenced today to 11 years in prison, the longest insider trading sentence ever but far short of the two decades sought by prosecutors.


Galleon Group founder Raj Rajaratnam also was fined $10 million by US District Judge Richard J Holwell, who said he concluded that Rajaratnam made well over $50 million in profits from his illegal trades.

"His crimes and the scope of his crimes reflect a virus in our business culture that needs to be eradicated," Holwell said.

The Sri Lanka-born Rajaratnam, 54, was ordered to report to a yet-to-be-designated prison on November 28.

The judge gave Rajaratnam leniency, citing his need for a kidney transplant and his advanced diabetes. And he credited Rajaratnam's charity work, which he called "the defendant's responsiveness to and care for the less privileged." The judge cited Rajaratnam's work to help victims of the earthquake in Pakistan and September 11, among others.


Asked if he wished to speak at his sentencing, Rajaratnam said only, "No, thank you."

The sentencing culminates a series of convictions and sentencings that followed the October 2009 announcement of Rajaratnam's arrest. More than two dozen people were arrested; all were convicted. The other defendants got sentences ranging from a few months to 10 years.

Assistant US Attorney Reed Brodsky told Holwell before the sentence was announced that Rajaratnam made up to $75 million in illegal profits from insider trading he indulged in since at least the late 1990s. The government has said he switched so much money around within his multibillion dollar funds that the movement of price in individual stocks could be traced to his trading whims.

http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_insider-trading-case-raj-rajaratnam-gets-11-years-in-prison_1598480

Oct, 12, 2011
Another firebomb found near Berlin train tracks
By JUERGEN BAETZ / The Associated Press

BERLIN -- German police say they have found another firebomb set to go off next to train tracks in southwest Berlin.

Federal police spokesman Meik Gauer said Thursday that experts were on hand to defuse the device.

Sixteen firebombs have been found in nine locations since Monday and hundreds of trains have been delayed because of partial shutdowns, but there have been no injuries. Two have gone off - one damaging a track west of the city and another igniting but not exploding in Berlin with little effect.

Gauer says it is not known when the most recent bomb was placed - and authorities have said that all of the devices could have been planted at the same time over the weekend.

A previously unknown leftist group has claimed responsibility for one of the firebombs.

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/2011/10/12/2224709/3-more-arson-attacks-against-berlin.html

David Cameron needs facts before making Liam Fox decision

By Mark McLaughlin
Thursday, 13 October 2011

Prime Minster David Cameron has suggested he would be "a weak leader" if he made a decision on Liam Fox's future before the facts about the financial affairs of his close friend and self-styled adviser Adam Werritty had been established.


Mr Werritty will be questioned for a second time by senior civil servants investigating his relationship with Dr Fox, the Defence Secretary, either on Thursday or Friday.

Speaking during a visit to Aberdeen, where he was welcoming BP's announcement of a near £10 billion investment in the UK oil industry, [b]Mr Cameron said: "I think what is right is to allow the Cabinet Secretary Gus O'Donnell to complete his full report. I think we have to be patient and allow him to gather the information, to answer the questions and a judgment can be made.

"But let me repeat again, I think Liam Fox has done a good job in sorting out the defence budget, making sure we've effective in Libya, and clearing up the mess in the MoD left by the last administration."

Mr Cameron was responding to new allegations that wealthy backers of Dr Fox had funded Mr Werritty's work and travel, claims that Labour said have appeared to "blow a hole" in the Defence Secretary's position.

Mr Cameron added: "A strong leader actually recognises you have to take time to get all the information, answer all the questions, and then actually make a decision.

"A weak leader is someone who jumps at it because of some artificial deadline. Let's get the facts established, and then we'll make a decision."
[/b]

Labour MP Anas Sarwar called on the Electoral Commission to investigate the latest claims that anonymous backers had paid Mr Werritty.

In a letter to the watchdog, Mr Sarwar said there had been "potential breaches of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000" as anonymous donations were illegal.

Referring to reports that Mr Werritty was effectively a privately-funded adviser to the Defence Secretary, he wrote: "If true, this would be a donation to Liam Fox, which would legally have to be declared.

"Records of donors available on the Electoral Commission website list a number of donations to Dr Fox but none of these date from after the 2010 election - a period when Mr Werritty is reported to have been an adviser to Dr Fox - and it is unclear whether these donations relate to money used for the employment of Adam Werritty.

"Additionally, Dr Fox's entry in the House of Commons Register of Members' Financial Interests makes no reference to Adam Werritty."

The BBC reported that Mr Werritty, who has been by the Defence Secretary's side on numerous overseas visits over the past 18 months, was bankrolled by "a number of wealthy private clients" who shared his and Dr Fox's strong Atlanticist views.

Arriving at the Ministry of Defence this morning, Dr Fox said he was concentrating on his job at an important time for operations in Libya.

"I'm continuing to do what is needed at the moment, which is that the Defence Secretary focuses on defence issues," he told reporters.

But Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "This uncertainty is not good for the country.

"We've got a distracted Defence Secretary and a distracted Government.

"The questions are mounting about Liam Fox, and the best way of answering those questions is to speedily get on with the report that is being done."


Mr Miliband said Prime Minister David Cameron should have referred the inquiry into Dr Fox's conduct to an independent adviser.

"Let's get on with that report and then let's find out what his judgment is about whether Liam Fox broke the ministerial code," he said.

Mr Miliband accused the Prime Minister of being "weak" in his response to the allegations surrounding Dr Fox.

Renewing his questions over why the case had not been referred to the independent adviser on the ministerial code, Sir Philip Mawer, he told a press conference: "There is an issue now about delay and indecision at the heart of Government.

"A report should have been commissioned swiftly, and then a decision should have been made.

"He is showing ineffective leadership. He should have acted more swiftly, he should have done what the code says."

The Labour leader said Mr Cameron was showing himself to be "a weak Prime Minister seemingly unable to make the right decision".

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/david-cameron-needs-facts-before-making-liam-fox-decision-2369924.html?service=Print

lagcity:
Poor Jona missed his calling. He should have been a military man instead of Zoologist. Looks good in Uniform

He started his working career in the Customs Service.

Here is a picture of him carrying out fleet review during the Navy's 50th anniversary in September last year.

@eGuerrilla, GEJ actually started his career with the Customs Service.

Which govt?

Federal, state or LG?

Na dem cause the rain?

Dem no warn say rain go plenty?

Sorry about your car though.

^^

Bless you!

Israeli protests: 430,000 take to streets to demand social justice
Harriet Sherwood in Tel Aviv guardian.co.uk, Sunday 4 September 2011 11.40 BST

Up to 300,000 take part in Tel Aviv, 50,000 in Jerusalem and 40,000 in Haifa in Israel's biggest ever demonstration


A record 430,000 people have taken part in demonstrations across Israel to demand social justice and a lower cost of living Link to this video Hundreds of thousands of Israelis took to the streets on Saturday night in Israel's biggest ever demonstration to demand social justice, a lower cost of living and a clear government response to the concerns of an increasingly squeezed middle class.

About 430,000 people took part in marches and rallies across the country, according to police. The biggest march was in Tel Aviv, where up to 300,000 took part. There was an unprecedented 50,000-strong protest in Jerusalem, and 40,000 marched in Haifa. There were smaller protests in dozens of other towns and cities.

It had been billed as the "march of the million" but organisers said a turnout matching the 300,000-strong demonstrations four weeks ago would be a triumph. Israel's population is 7.7 million.

Saturday's demonstrations followed 50 days of protests that have rattled political leaders and led commentators and analysts to ask whether a new social movement would transform Israeli domestic politics for the next generation.

The movement, which has the support of about 90% of the population according to opinion polls, began when a small group of activists erected tents in Tel Aviv's prosperous Rothschild Boulevard in protest at high rents and house prices.

Tent cities mushroomed across the country and protesters rallied behind the slogan: "The people demand social justice." Among the issues raised were the cost of housing, transport, childcare, food and fuel; the low salaries paid to many professionals, including doctors and teachers; tax reform; and welfare payments. The government established a committee led by the economics professor Manuel Trajtenberg to examine the protesters' demands, which is due to report later this month.

Demonstrators in Tel Aviv on Saturday night blew whistles and banged drums as they marched in a carnival atmosphere to a large square for a rally. Residents hung banners from balconies and cheered as they passed.

"We are the new Israelis," the student leader Itzik Shmuli told the rally. "And the new Israelis want only one simple thing: to live with dignity in this country."

He added: "Tonight we make history again. The people are supporting a protest started by the young people and, a week after the protest was proclaimed over, we are on the verge of breaking another record. From now on the government knows that at any given moment Israelis can return to the streets and must therefore deliver the goods."

Daphni Leef, one of the organisers of the original tent protest, said: "This summer is the great summer of the new Israeli hope born of despair, alienation and impossible gaps … The Israeli society has reached its red line, and has gotten up and said: 'No more.' This is the miracle of the summer of 2011."

Under a homemade banner saying "Walk like an Egyptian", Ruti Hertz, 34, a journalist, said that until this summer people had been privately ashamed of their inability to make ends meet. "Each person was lonely in their situation, thinking it's my own problem." That had changed with the protests.

She said that she and her teacher husband, Roi, were living on the same income as when they met 10 years ago. "We don't ask for much, just to be able to finish the month without taking from our parents."

Roi's monthly take-home pay of 5,500 shekels (£940) went on nursery fees for their two young daughters, she said.

Vered Cohen Nitsan, a primary school teacher from Netanya, said she had joined the march "to protest, to support the people of my country and [because] I wish my children will have an easier life in the future".

She added: "For years, you think you just have to work harder and struggle. And now people start to talk to one another and you see it's not your personal problem."

At a rally in Haifa, Shahin Nasser, an Israeli-Arab, said: "Today we are changing the rules of the game. No more coexistence based on hummus and fava beans. What is happening here is true coexistence, when Arabs and Jews march together shoulder to shoulder calling for social justice and peace. We've had it."

The protests have been criticised by some on the left for not paying more attention to the discrimination suffered by Israeli-Arabs, who make up 20% of Israel's population, or Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Weekly demonstrations, whose turnout had been steadily building, were suspended for two weeks after an attack by militants near the Egyptian-Israeli border in which eight Israelis were killed. Some commentators suggested that the movement had lost its momentum.

Protest organisers said the tent cities would be dismantled but the movement would continue with other actions. Many tent-dwellers had already left as the Israeli summer holidays ended.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/04/israel-protests-social-justice

blank:
Imagine 6 lanes merging into 2. Not to mention those entering the roundabouts or exiting. Why not 3 lanes? Hopefully, they will build flyovers. Praying seriously.

You are right. They would have to build bridges sooner or later. Later seems more like it (maybe phase 3 or 4 of the project).

olabukola:
Yet you can't see the news on BBC. And CNN. They are still showing us Arab spring while American Autum is going on on-televised except on Russia Today(RT).

So you noticed too!

Do you know that there have been hundreds protesting in Israel since July (See pictures below). No mainstream western media carries it. You won't hear it on CNN or BBC. But the Tunisian, Egyptian, Libyan and Syria uprisings are staples.

Don't believe the hype!

27 September 2011 Last updated at 18:16 GMT

African viewpoint: You can't lose what you don't have

-----------------------------------------
In our series of viewpoints from African journalists, Ghanaian writer Elizabeth Ohene comments on the media coverage of the recent arrest of the Ghana-born UBS "rogue trader".
-----------------------------

A few weeks ago, the Ghana parliament was recalled from vacation so that members could debate a $3bn (£2bn) dollar loan the president had negotiated from China.

According to the government this loan is going to be the panacea for the huge infrastructure deficit we have.

Roads, bridges, hospitals, factories, schools, money-in-our-pockets - everything that would make us truly a middle-income nation would happen with this $3bn Chinese loan.

I confess freely that figures are not my strong point: and I was still trying to get my mind around the loan when we were hit by the story of the UBS trader who is said to have lost $2.3bn dollars in unauthorised trading.

As I sat wondering how anybody "loses" $2.3bn, a new angle to the story emerged.

Every newsroom around the world went into frantic mode trying to get the Ghana angle. In a 30-second news item on the young man's appearance in court last Thursday, the BBC managed to make three references to him being a Ghanaian.

Public school boy

At first I was thoroughly irritated by this. As the whole world now knows Kweku Adoboli, the young "rogue trader" as he is described, is the son of a retired United Nations official who is a Ghanaian and lives here in Ghana. There has even been footage of the retired man's home on international television.

Continue reading the main story
“
Start Quote
Oh no! We are not accepting responsibility for this one, he might be Ghanaian born and even carry a Ghana passport but he sounds more British to me”
End Quote The 31-year-old young man was said to be a Ghanaian and suddenly him being a Ghanaian seemed to be the most interesting part of the story.

Kweku Adoboli, we now know, grew up around the world, as all these international children do: and he went to an English public school where the fees range from £19,000 to £26,000 ($29,000 to $40,000) a year, depending on which newspaper or radio station or website you are following.

My first instinct was to say: "Oh no - we are not accepting responsibility for this one. He might be Ghanaian born and even carry a Ghana passport but he sounds more British to me."

There aren't many Ghanaians who become head boys at a Quaker public school and who get high-flying jobs with fancy companies or live in £1000-a-week apartments.

The more I heard and read British news outlets trying to distance Britain from the young man, the more I decided it is no wonder the world's finances are in such disarray.

Money matters

Surely what happened had more to do with the financial system than the nationality of the trader?

I had always been made to believe that when it came to money matters, the Swiss had no competitors and the City of London was the place for financial wizardry.

Now I am to believe, according to the charges being laid against him in court, that a 31-year-old Ghanaian, sitting in front of a computer in the City of London, is able to lose $2.3bn belonging to a Swiss bank.

The capital base of all the banks operating in Ghana does not add up to $2.3bn. Our parliament had to be recalled from holidays for a $3bn Chinese loan.

Then I hear on the news that Kweku Adoboli is telling the court through his lawyer he is "sorry beyond words" for what happened and "appalled at the scale of the consequences of his disastrous miscalculations".

Now that sounds to me like just how a British public schoolboy would speak. Miscalculations indeed.

In my mother tongue, we do not have any real equivalent for a million - what we say translates as "uncountable thousands". So when the conversation gets into billions, I retire gracefully.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-15081657

johnie:
The protesters have varied causes but have spoken largely about unemployment and economic inequality and reserved most of their criticism for Wall Street. "We are the 99 percent," they chanted, contrasting themselves with the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans.

Susan Henoch, 63, of Manhattan said she was a "child of the '60s" and came out to the park for the first time Wednesday. She held a sign that read, "Enough."

"It's time for the people to speak up," she said. "Nobody's listening to us, nobody's representing us. Politics is dead.

"This is no longer a recognizable democracy. This is a disaster," she said.

"The state of education in our country is ridiculous," said Kingsbury, who plans to teach. "The state doesn't care about it and we need to fight back about that."

God dey!

johnie:
Several Democratic lawmakers have expressed support for the protesters, but some Republican presidential candidates have rebuked them. Herman Cain, called the activists "un-American" Wednesday at a book signing in St. Petersburg, Fla.

"They're basically saying that somehow the government is supposed to take from those that have succeeded and give to those who want to protest," the former pizza-company executive said. "That's not the way America was built."

Politicians!

johnie:
Some protesters were recent graduates looking for work, including Rachelle Suissa, who held up a sign in Manhattan that read: "I have a 4.0 GPA & $20,000 in debt. Where's my bailout?"

The 25-year-old Brooklyn woman said she has applied for at least 200 jobs and is finding it difficult to remain optimistic.
"I don't understand what's going on here," she said.

This is my favourite. Classic!

, Unions, students join Wall Street protesters
By DEEPTI HAJELA and VERENA DOBNIK - Associated Press | AP – 4 hrs ago.
, Occupy Boston protesters gather outside a building in the Financial district in Boston, …

.NEW YORK (AP) — Unions lent their muscle to the long-running protest against Wall Street and economic inequality Wednesday, with their members joining thousands of protesters in a lower Manhattan march as smaller demonstrations flourished across the country.

Protesters in suits and T-shirts with union slogans left work early to march with activists who have been camped out in Zuccotti Park for days. Some marchers brought along their children, hoisting them onto their shoulders as they walked down Broadway.

"We're here to stop corporate greed," said Mike Pellegrino, an NYC Transit bus mechanic from Rye Brook. "They should pay their fair share of taxes. We're just working and looking for decent lives for our families."

Of the camping protesters, he said, "We feel kinship with them. We're both looking for the same things."

People gathered in front of the courthouses that encircle Foley Square, then marched to Zuccotti Park, where they refueled with snacks and hurriedly painted new signs as the strong scent of burning sage wafted through the plaza.

Previous marches have resulted in mass arrests. Police said there were about 28 arrests on Wednesday night, mostly for disorderly conduct. But at least one arrest was for assaulting a police officer; authorities said a demonstrator knocked an officer off his scooter.

The demonstrators Wednesday night posted a video on YouTube in which a police official is seen swinging a baton to clear a crowd of protesters. It was unclear from the angle of the video if anyone was hit. Officers are allowed to use batons and pepper spray in crowd control efforts.

Another arrest came when a group of about 300 people decided to start marching again Wednesday night after the main march had ended.

The protesters have varied causes but have spoken largely about unemployment and economic inequality and reserved most of their criticism for Wall Street. "We are the 99 percent," they chanted, contrasting themselves with the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans.

Susan Henoch, 63, of Manhattan said she was a "child of the '60s" and came out to the park for the first time Wednesday. She held a sign that read, "Enough."

"It's time for the people to speak up," she said. "Nobody's listening to us, nobody's representing us. Politics is dead.

"This is no longer a recognizable democracy. This is a disaster," she said.

Some of the union members traveled from other states to march.

Karen Higgins, a co-president of National Nurses United, came down with a group of colleagues from Boston. She said they had seen patients who skipped important medical tests because they couldn't afford them.

"Tax Wall Street," she said. "Those who make all the money need to start paying their fair share."

The Occupy Wall Street protests started Sept. 17 with a few dozen demonstrators who tried to pitch tents in front of the New York Stock Exchange. Since then, hundreds have set up camp nearby in Zuccotti Park and have become increasingly organized, lining up medical aid and legal help and printing their own newspaper.

Several Democratic lawmakers have expressed support for the protesters, but some Republican presidential candidates have rebuked them. Herman Cain, called the activists "un-American" Wednesday at a book signing in St. Petersburg, Fla.

"They're basically saying that somehow the government is supposed to take from those that have succeeded and give to those who want to protest," the former pizza-company executive said. "That's not the way America was built."

On Tuesday, CBS reported that former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney called the protest "class warfare" at an appearance at a Florida retirement community.

Activists have been showing solidarity with movement in many cities: Occupy Providence. Occupy Los Angeles. Occupy Boise.

More than 100 people withstood an afternoon downpour in Idaho's capital to protest, including Judy Taylor, a retired property manager.

"I want change. I'm tired of things being taken away from those that need help," she said.

In Seattle, at least four demonstrators who had been camping out since the weekend in a downtown park were arrested after they refused orders from city park rangers to pack up. The reception was warmer in Los Angeles, where the City Council approved a resolution of support and Mayor Antonia Villaraigosa's office distributed 100 rain ponchos to activists at another dayslong demonstration, according to City News Service.

In Boston, hundreds of nurses and Northeastern University students rallied together to condemn what they called corporate control of government and the spiraling costs of their education. The students banged on drums made of water jugs and chanted, "Banks got bailed out, and we got sold out."

"This is an organic process. This is a process of grassroot people coming together. It's a beautiful thing," said David Schildmeier, spokesman for the Massachusetts Nurses Association.

Many of those protesting are college students. Hundreds walked out of classes in New York, some in a show of solidarity for the Wall Street movement but many more concerned with worries closer to home. Protests were scheduled at State University of New York campuses including Albany, Buffalo, Binghamton, New Paltz and Purchase.

Danielle Kingsbury, a 21-year-old senior from New Paltz, said she walked out of an American literature class to show support for some of her professors who she said have had their workloads increased because of budget cuts.

"The state of education in our country is ridiculous," said Kingsbury, who plans to teach. "The state doesn't care about it and we need to fight back about that."

Not every campus appeared to feel the rumblings of dissent. At the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, there were students publicizing breast cancer awareness and National Coming Out Week, students crawling on their elbows in an apparent fraternity hazing ritual, quarreling evangelicals and even a flash mob to promote physical fitness, but no sign of the Wall Street protests.

Senior Alex Brown tried to promote an event on Facebook, but said students' disgust with the government and wealth inequality was "not enough to reach a fever pitch."

Some protesters were recent graduates looking for work, including Rachelle Suissa, who held up a sign in Manhattan that read: "I have a 4.0 GPA & $20,000 in debt. Where's my bailout?"

The 25-year-old Brooklyn woman said she has applied for at least 200 jobs and is finding it difficult to remain optimistic.

"I don't understand what's going on here," she said.

Wednesday was quieter for the New York protesters than Saturday, when about 700 people were arrested and given disorderly conduct summonses for spilling into the roadway of the Brooklyn Bridge despite warnings from police. Wednesday's march route was well marked with metal barricades along the side of the road.


http://news.yahoo.com/unions-students-join-wall-street-protesters-205839370.html

My point in posting these pictures is to show that anyone can read any meaning he wants into any picture.

Maybe that is why photography is a form of art!

And just in case you did not go through those pictures, look at these one closely.

Pic 1: JFK did not climb down before Jackie

Pic 2: Na senior military officer dey carry michelle bag so o! Who then is  the C-in-C?

Pic 3& 4:Michelle in front. Who exactly are the officers saluting?

I don't think the yanks are that crazy about "protocol". Might explain why Michelle touched the queen which is contraty to protocol.

These photos show clearly that Airforce One is not the same as the plane the Nigerian president flies. Na levels! And don't nobody start with me about Nigeria not being able to afford a plane like Airforce One!

Observe that the gangway/stairs of Airforce One is wide enough to take the president and his wife.

Anvaller:
I think the problem with GEJ is that his wife looks too bush so even if he was not actually wrong by his action but the bushy swag of his wife will give a feeling that something is just not right.

Pure Bad Belle ! Nothing else!

I laugh in fulfulde on Kukuruku Hill!

Amen!!!

Continued at

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-775701.0.html#msg9282681

Fashola Opens New Link Bridge

Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola of Lagos State this morning commissioned the N2.5 billion Falomo bridge built by the Lekki Concession Company Limited.

The new flyover that links Lekki-Epe Expressway with Falomo bridge was commissioned by Governor Babatunde Fashola this morning at Law School Bus stop, Ozumba Mbadiwe Street, Victorial Island, Lagos. Photo: Abeeb Ogunbadejo.

The new bridge which is 150 metres long is the first ever bridge structure of this scale and specification to be built by a private investor under the public-private partnership model.

Commissioning the bridge today, Fashola said the bridge will improve travel time for vehicles travelling to Ikoyi from Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue linking Falomo.

He said this will make a positive difference to daily commuting and life of road users.

Also speaking, the Managing Director of Lekki Concession Company Limited, Mr. Oruiyo Osoriokuna said the bridge would ease the traffic bottleneck that has plagued Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue for several years.

“This bottleneck which is caused by conflict of the intercession of Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue and Adeyemo Alakija Street on Victoria Island should now be eased by the provision of direct access onto the existing Falomo Brdige.

—Kazeem Ugbodaga

http://pmnewsnigeria.com/2011/10/05/fashola-opens-new-link-bridge/

Sept 28

Sept 28

Sept 28

I heard on radio this afternoon that BRF opened the Falomo link bridge today.

That should bring some relief around the Law School area.

Picture shows status of work on the bridge as at Sept 16

Continued from

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-367311.800.html#msg9235459

I heard him talking about regulating it. Not quite sure what he meant.

playmode:
Zuma's initial support for gadaffi is also a great move and not suprising.Gadaffi contributed more than anyone else on the African continent to the freedom of South Africa.Fidel Castro and Gadaffi matter most to the people of South Africa more than anyone else.Have you forgotten that fidel actually sent his soldiers to come and fight the Apartheid Government? You people talk about freedom ,do you know that Gadaffi single handedly freed Africa from telecommunications slavery? If not for gadaffi ,companies like Glo may not exist today.How quick you forget those who have done great deeds in order to please the imperialists.

How quickly have the South Africans forgotten all that Nigeria did for SA during the apartheid era? If not for Nigeria's foreign policy of making Africa the centre piece where will a lot of African countries who today disparage Nigeria be?

playmode:
Leave South Africa alone and focus on your country where the shxt has hit the fan.Has jonathan not made horrible blunders himself? Jonathan is  an obama slave with no common sense or mind of his own.That is why up till date the west are still polluting his home  region of Niger delta.

Would you rather Jonathan was a slave of the Chinese like you present Zuma to be?

Desmond Tutu attacks South African government over Dalai Lama ban

Furious archbishop warns ruling ANC to 'watch out' after Tibetan spiritual leader is denied visa to attend birthday party


Archbishop Desmond Tutu, visibly shaking with anger, compared the South African government unfavourably with the apartheid regime and threatened to pray for the downfall of the African National Congress (ANC) yesterday after the Dalai Lama said he was forced to pull out of Tutu's 80th birthday celebrations because he had not been granted an entry visa.

"Our government is worse than the apartheid government because at least you would expect it with the apartheid government," Tutu told a press conference in Cape Town. "Our government we expect to be sensitive to the sentiments of our constitution."


In a tirade that stunned South African journalists, he went on: "Let the ANC know they have a large majority. Well, Mubarak had a large majority, Gaddafi had a large majority. I am warning you: watch out. Watch out.

"Our government – representing me! – says it will not support Tibetans being viciously oppressed by China. You, president Zuma and your government, do not represent me. I am warning you, as I warned the [pro-apartheid] nationalists, one day we will pray for the defeat of the ANC government."


Tutu had invited his fellow Nobel peace laureate to deliver a lecture to mark his milestone birthday in Cape Town on Friday. Officials from the archbishop emeritus's office started the visa application processin June but met a series of bureaucratic delays.

On Tuesday the Dalai Lama's office finally gave up on the application for the 76-year-old. "His holiness was to depart for South Africa on 6 October, but visas have not been granted yet," a spokesperson for the office said. "We are, therefore, now convinced that, for whatever reason or reasons, the South African government finds it inconvenient to issue a visa to … the Dalai Lama."

Tutu said he was still struggling to make sense of what had happened. "I have to say I can't believe it, I really can't believe it," he exclaimed. "Wake me up and tell me this is actually happening here. It's quite unbelievable. The discourtesy they have shown to the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama!

"The Dalai Lama, anywhere in the world, they have problems finding a venue that can contain the people who want him. He goes to New York and Central Park is overflowing. The discourtesy is mindblowing."


Asked if he felt the Tibetan spiritual leader had in effect been banned from the country, Tutu replied: "To all intents and purposes, yes. This is the Dalai Lama. Incredible.

"Many, many people are appalled in many parts of the world, especially people who supported us during the struggle. They are weeping and saying, 'South Africa? It can't be.'"


Tutu's daughter, Mpho, said the government's actions had not matched "what we dreamed we would be, who we hoped we would become as a country and as a people". Clearly overcome with emotion, she added: "It is with great sadness that we sit here."

A candlelit vigil outside the South African parliament in Cape Town on Monday drew about 250 people demanding the Tibetan spiritual leader be allowed into the country. There was bitter disappointment on Tuesday morning when it was announced that the eight-day trip had been called off. Civil rights activists blamed the government.

Ela Gandhi, who planned to present the Dalai Lama with a peace prize in the name of her grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi, said: "I'm very disappointed. We were looking forward to him coming and to presenting the award. I really feel the whole situation has been handled so badly. It's discourteous for a person of his stature to be told to wait for so long. For a person of peace to be treated like this is wrong."


She added: "Everybody thinks this is because of pressure from China. It's very sad another country is allowed to dictate terms to our government. It's going back to apartheid times. I am ashamed of my own country."


South African foreign ministry officials have consistently denied accusations they have been bowing to pressure from Beijing. Asked for his reaction to the Dalai Lama's decision, a spokesman, Clayson Monyela, said: "We don't have a reaction. He's cancelled his trip and that's it. We have not said no. We've not refused him a visa; the visa was still being processed. It's only on 20 September that he submitted his full paperwork. In some countries a visa can take two months. I don't know why people are criticising the government."



The Dalai Lama visited South Africa in 1996, meeting Nelson Mandela, but was prevented from attending a Nobel laureates' conference in the country two years ago, when the government said his visit would distract from World Cup preparations. At the time, Tutu called the decision disgraceful, and accused the authorities of bowing to pressure from China.

South Africa's official opposition has added its voice to the criticism of the stalled visa.

Stevens Mokgalapa, shadow deputy foreign minister for the Democratic Alliance, said: "The inescapable conclusion is that the South African government has predictably strung the Dalai Lama along to make it impossible for him to plan his trip. That way it could avoid making a decision that would either upset the Chinese or upset millions of peace-loving South Africans and citizens around the globe.

"But by delaying [the visa decision] the government made its choice: it allowed China to dictate foreign policy. This is a sad day for those of us who believe in a sovereign foreign policy based on ubuntu [a humanist philosophy] and human rights. It is not acceptable that the government has allowed a breach of this sovereignty by bowing to pressure from a foreign power."


While the Dalai Lama is excluded, other leading international activists will join three days of birthday events. The U2 singer Bono is expected to speak at the launch of a biography, Tutu: The Authorised Portrait, in Cape Town on Thursday.

Bono has also reportedly been invited to join former the US president Jimmy Carter, the former UN secretary general Kofi Annan, and the British businessman Richard Branson at a picnic at a vineyard on Friday. A public church commemoration will be held earlier that day.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/04/tutu-attacks-anc-dalai-lama-visa/print

Desmond Tutu attacks South African government over Dalai Lama ban

Furious archbishop warns ruling ANC to 'watch out' after Tibetan spiritual leader is denied visa to attend birthday party


Archbishop Desmond Tutu, visibly shaking with anger, compared the South African government unfavourably with the apartheid regime and threatened to pray for the downfall of the African National Congress (ANC) yesterday after the Dalai Lama said he was forced to pull out of Tutu's 80th birthday celebrations because he had not been granted an entry visa.

"Our government is worse than the apartheid government because at least you would expect it with the apartheid government," Tutu told a press conference in Cape Town. "Our government we expect to be sensitive to the sentiments of our constitution."


In a tirade that stunned South African journalists, he went on: "Let the ANC know they have a large majority. Well, Mubarak had a large majority, Gaddafi had a large majority. I am warning you: watch out. Watch out.

"Our government – representing me! – says it will not support Tibetans being viciously oppressed by China. You, president Zuma and your government, do not represent me. I am warning you, as I warned the [pro-apartheid] nationalists, one day we will pray for the defeat of the ANC government."


Tutu had invited his fellow Nobel peace laureate to deliver a lecture to mark his milestone birthday in Cape Town on Friday. Officials from the archbishop emeritus's office started the visa application processin June but met a series of bureaucratic delays.

On Tuesday the Dalai Lama's office finally gave up on the application for the 76-year-old. "His holiness was to depart for South Africa on 6 October, but visas have not been granted yet," a spokesperson for the office said. "We are, therefore, now convinced that, for whatever reason or reasons, the South African government finds it inconvenient to issue a visa to … the Dalai Lama."

Tutu said he was still struggling to make sense of what had happened. "I have to say I can't believe it, I really can't believe it," he exclaimed. "Wake me up and tell me this is actually happening here. It's quite unbelievable. The discourtesy they have shown to the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama!

"The Dalai Lama, anywhere in the world, they have problems finding a venue that can contain the people who want him. He goes to New York and Central Park is overflowing. The discourtesy is mindblowing."


Asked if he felt the Tibetan spiritual leader had in effect been banned from the country, Tutu replied: "To all intents and purposes, yes. This is the Dalai Lama. Incredible.

"Many, many people are appalled in many parts of the world, especially people who supported us during the struggle. They are weeping and saying, 'South Africa? It can't be.'"


Tutu's daughter, Mpho, said the government's actions had not matched "what we dreamed we would be, who we hoped we would become as a country and as a people". Clearly overcome with emotion, she added: "It is with great sadness that we sit here."

A candlelit vigil outside the South African parliament in Cape Town on Monday drew about 250 people demanding the Tibetan spiritual leader be allowed into the country. There was bitter disappointment on Tuesday morning when it was announced that the eight-day trip had been called off. Civil rights activists blamed the government.

Ela Gandhi, who planned to present the Dalai Lama with a peace prize in the name of her grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi, said: "I'm very disappointed. We were looking forward to him coming and to presenting the award. I really feel the whole situation has been handled so badly. It's discourteous for a person of his stature to be told to wait for so long. For a person of peace to be treated like this is wrong."


She added: "Everybody thinks this is because of pressure from China. It's very sad another country is allowed to dictate terms to our government. It's going back to apartheid times. I am ashamed of my own country."


South African foreign ministry officials have consistently denied accusations they have been bowing to pressure from Beijing. Asked for his reaction to the Dalai Lama's decision, a spokesman, Clayson Monyela, said: "We don't have a reaction. He's cancelled his trip and that's it. We have not said no. We've not refused him a visa; the visa was still being processed. It's only on 20 September that he submitted his full paperwork. In some countries a visa can take two months. I don't know why people are criticising the government."



The Dalai Lama visited South Africa in 1996, meeting Nelson Mandela, but was prevented from attending a Nobel laureates' conference in the country two years ago, when the government said his visit would distract from World Cup preparations. At the time, Tutu called the decision disgraceful, and accused the authorities of bowing to pressure from China.

South Africa's official opposition has added its voice to the criticism of the stalled visa.

Stevens Mokgalapa, shadow deputy foreign minister for the Democratic Alliance, said: "The inescapable conclusion is that the South African government has predictably strung the Dalai Lama along to make it impossible for him to plan his trip. That way it could avoid making a decision that would either upset the Chinese or upset millions of peace-loving South Africans and citizens around the globe.

"But by delaying [the visa decision] the government made its choice: it allowed China to dictate foreign policy. This is a sad day for those of us who believe in a sovereign foreign policy based on ubuntu [a humanist philosophy] and human rights. It is not acceptable that the government has allowed a breach of this sovereignty by bowing to pressure from a foreign power."


While the Dalai Lama is excluded, other leading international activists will join three days of birthday events. The U2 singer Bono is expected to speak at the launch of a biography, Tutu: The Authorised Portrait, in Cape Town on Thursday.

Bono has also reportedly been invited to join former the US president Jimmy Carter, the former UN secretary general Kofi Annan, and the British businessman Richard Branson at a picnic at a vineyard on Friday. A public church commemoration will be held earlier that day.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/oct/04/tutu-attacks-anc-dalai-lama-visa/print

The SA govt has always been clueless in foreign policy matters.

Check out their response to the Ivorian,Egyptian, Libyan, Burma (Myanmar) and Zimbabwe crises.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-639186.0.html#msg8058368

Mar 24th 2011 | JOHANNESBURG | from the print edition

South Africa's foreign policy
All over the place

South Africa is joining the BRICs without much straw

“WE SAY no to the killing of civilians!” Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s president, thundered on March 21st. “No to the foreign occupation of Libya or any other sovereign state!” The crowd, mainly supporters of the ruling African National Congress (ANC), roared back its approval. Theirs, after all, was the country of human rights, a beacon to the world, as their first black president, Nelson Mandela, had proclaimed. Just four days earlier, however, South Africa had voted for the UN Security Council resolution calling for “all necessary measures” to be taken to protect Libyan civilians under threat, including the imposition of a no-fly zone. Did Mr Zuma believe this could be done without recourse to force? He is not that naive.

These days South Africa’s foreign policy swings back and forth. Under Thabo Mbeki, Mr Zuma’s globe-trotting predecessor, it seemed to have an overarching aim, at least on paper: the promotion of an “African renaissance”, even if that meant ignoring the human-rights violations of some of South Africa’s allies. But now, as Mr Zuma flits ever more energetically around the world, charming everyone as he always does, it is hard to find a pattern to his policies. “None of it makes any real sense,” says Tom Wheeler, a former South African ambassador and now a research fellow with the South African Institute of International Affairs: “There’s no substance, no coherence.”

In fact, South Africa often appears to be pursuing two contradictory sets of values. At one moment, Mr Zuma is upholding the principles of national sovereignty and non-interference dear to despots around the world. At the next, he insists that his “primary objective” is to contribute to the ideals of democracy, human rights and justice. The result is a mishmash of unpredictable responses to apparently similar situations in different countries.

In the face of the recent uprising in Egypt, for example, Mr Zuma joined the international chorus demanding the resignation of Hosni Mubarak, the president. But in the face of dreadful factional violence and impending civil war in Côte d’Ivoire, South Africa sat on the fence for months, refusing to accept Alassane Ouattara’s internationally recognised victory in November’s presidential elections until earlier this month, when it endorsed the call of the peace and security committee of the African Union (AU) for the defeated incumbent, Laurent Gbagbo, to step down. In Swaziland, Africa’s last absolute monarchy, right on South Africa’s doorstep, Mr Zuma remains obdurately silent over the violation of civil rights and the suppression of pro-democracy protests, yet recently recalled his ambassador to Israel after Israeli commandos stopped a flotilla of pro-Palestinian campaigners from reaching Gaza, killing nine Turks on board.

The same contradiction is seen in South Africa’s handling of Myanmar and Zimbabwe. In Myanmar Mr Zuma did not hesitate to condemn November’s rigged elections and call for the release of the opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. Yet he refrains from peeping a word of public criticism of Zimbabwe’s ageing dictator, Robert Mugabe, despite a string of rigged and robbed elections, killings, torture and other state-sponsored violence. Last October South Africa appeared to change its studied neutrality on Iran’s nuclear plans, voting for UN sanctions on Iran, only to claim that it had actually intended to vote against the measure. And when the jailed Chinese dissident, Liu Xiaobo, was awarded the Nobel peace prize in December, South Africa was one of the few countries to refuse to congratulate him.

Next month South Africa is due to be formally inducted into membership of the BRICs, a club of regional power brokers embracing Brazil, Russia, India and China, which have recently shown a desire to use their combined size and economic might—together they account for 40% of the world’s population—to counter the West’s global dominion. They also want to reform such institutions as the UN Security Council and the World Bank.

Will South Africa—its GDP, population and land mass all dwarfed by the BRIC giants—find itself obliged to align its foreign policy more with its new peers, notably Russia and China? Perhaps not, judging by its recent vote in favour of the Libyan no-fly zone. The other BRICS (with a capital S), as the enlarged group will be known, all abstained. Perhaps, after Mr Zuma’s latest exclamation, South Africa will again claim it had really meant to vote against the resolution.

http://www.economist.com/node/18447027