July 19, 2012

Glorious! OccupyLA read the riot act to LAPD regarding police misconduct at Chalkwalk

July 17, 2012

#Occupied: Reports From the Front Lines, 7-17-2012

This week's news for those wondering if Occupy is dead.

http://occupiedmedia.us/2012/07/occupied-reports-from-the-front-lines-19/

July 17, 2012

Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck...believes the department "overall responded appropriately."

SUHPRAHS SUHPRAHS SUHPRAHS!

LAPD reviews handling of Art Walk melee

He added that department officials were conducting a more thorough review of the night's events, in which they would look into whether the "hard-line enforcement" approach that police took was necessary.

"I would much prefer to resolve these things through negotiation and cooperation, rather than hard-line enforcement," he said.

"We will look to see if there were opportunities we missed," he said. "At this point, I don't know if this incident could have been handled any better or differently."

http://mobile.latimes.com/p.p?m=b&a=rp&id=2424335&postId=2424335&postUserId=7&sessionToken&catId=6978&curAbsIndex=2&resultsUrl=DID%3D6&DFCL=1000&DSB=rank%23desc&DBFQ=userId%3A7&DL.w&DL.d=10&DQ=sectionId%3A6978&DPS=0&DPL=3

The above is likely best read in a Bullwinkle voice.

OccupyLA's press release link can be found here along with plenty of video of police firing "foam batons", confiscating water-soluble children's sidewalk chalk, saying chalk is illegal for right now, a conflicting quote on chalk/vandalism from another LAPD officer, police throwing people to the ground without warning, tasering and kicking people in the head, video of one man who was shot four times, and media lies. Over water-soluble CHALK. Good one, LAPD.

http://occupyobservations.blogspot.com/2012/07/truth-about-lapds-violent-attack-upon.html

Why not sign the petition for an investigation into their brutality and over-reaction?

http://www.change.org/petitions/mayor-villaraigosa-governor-jerry-brown-attorney-general-eric-holder-investigate-lapd-use-of-force-on-angelenos-at-art-walk-on-7-12-12

Thank you again to all who contributed to the live update thread here on DU.

July 16, 2012

Pic: Japan No-Nuke protest, July 16

Share on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=450271998328317&set=a.434881336534050.98526.307551552600363&type=1&theater


Anonymous Operations ?@Anon_Central

Over 7.4 MILLION signatures have been collected for a petition demanding a phase-out for nuclear power. #Japan #NoNukes


Anonymous Operations ?@Anon_Central

#NoNukes #Japan: 36 Percent Of #Fukushima Children Have Abnormal Growths From #Radiation Exposure |
http://read.bi/OB4d3L


Anonymous Operations ?@Anon_Central

The fact that BBC, CNN & other western mainstream media are not reporting on anti nuke protests in Japan tells us who are they working for.

July 16, 2012

Graphic: Man shot four times with rubber bullets by LAPD at Artwalk

This man was shot once:



Videos by Sam Slovick.

Additional videos in anon-y-moose's thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/101740936

My GD thread with several videos and article links:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002950512

July 16, 2012

Cop pulls baton; Do you see anything whatsoever that looks like a threat?

I wanted to turn the lens upon this moment from this week's LAPD attack upon Artwalk/Chalkwalk. At 31 seconds this cop pulls his baton:

Is this normal?

July 15, 2012

U.S. considering criminal charges in Libor case: NY Times

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/07/15/us-banking-libor-report-idUSBRE86E01520120715

WASHINGTON | Sat Jul 14, 2012 11:48pm EDT

(Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is building criminal cases against several financial institutions and their employees related to the manipulation of interest rates, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

Citing government officials close to the case who spoke on condition of anonymity, the Times said traders at Barclays Plc (BARC.L) were among the individuals against whom Justice was building cases. Authorities expect to file charges against at least one bank later this year, the newspaper reported.

Investigators in Washington and London last month struck a $450 million settlement with Barclays in a rate-rigging case, but the deal does not shield Barclays employees from criminal prosecution. The criminal and civil investigations have focused on how banks set the London interbank offered rate, or Libor.

---

More comprehensive story at Aljazeera:

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2012/07/20127157320870534.html

July 15, 2012

The truth about LAPD's violent attack upon the downtown Artwalk. Updated with new videos. Graphic

LAPD Officer Karen Rayner said it (chalk) is "not vandalism because it's not permanent."

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/los-angeles-artwalk-turns-violent-clash-police-occupy-article-1.1114068#ixzz20XxHB6Hr


There were probably 20-40 Occupiers at Chalkwalk/Artwalk. I wasn't there; I watched livestream. One Occupier says there were 10 and it's likely the case as I recognize them in the early videos. I'm waiting for an official OLA press release.

The =hundreds= of Artwalkers and locals who stood up to LAPD did so of their own will because LAPD were blatantly WRONG.

Notice the cop in the first video takes out his baton at about 31 seconds. With this disproportion, what later occurred was inevitable.

Arrests for water-soluble chalk drawings, including one saying &quot Heart) the police"; people in disbelief, children crying:


Video by PeteyK

Shot in the chest ("foam baton&quot , arrested...said to have been kicked in the head by cops, see below:



Above view, start at 4:45. Tazer can be heard at 4:57; not very audible here but I've heard it clearly on other video near the street. I've been reading that they kicked the man in the face and this confirms it repeatedly:



Taser sound is clearly audible at 7:38. Locals have joined and tag a parked truck.



This young man was shot four times, shows his discrete wounds:


Video by Sam Slovick

This man was shot once:


Video by Sam Slovick

Police arrests over chalking leads to uprising | l.a. activist
http://www.laactivist.com/2012/07/14/police-arrests-over-chalking-leads-to-uprising/


Art Walk Vendor Slams the LAPD's Tactics Against Occupy L.A.
http://laist.com/2012/07/13/art_walk_vendor_speaks_out_against.php


LATimes article. Note they are spray-painting over water-soluble chalk.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-0714-artwalk-20120714,0,7994058.story
and note the space given to Carol Schatz of the CCA, about whom I have been posting recently...and who as the head of the local 1% gentrification effort, wrote an op-ed in the LA Times in April condemning the homeless in her way.







Photoset:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nohodamon/sets/72157630560888092/with/7563452964/


Amber Stephens @amberjamie99pct

Eyewitness: "Many non-occupiers began using chalk and creating their own art, which is when riot police attacked." @Occupyla #ows #ola
Retweeted by Jeff K. (#OYSlive)


"Due to unusual occurance in central division. The city of Los Angeles is on tactical alert status."

Severity:
Minor - Minimal to no known threat to life or property

https://local.nixle.com/alert/4855473/


RyanRiceLA

[ChalkWalk] #OWS
http://t.co/Gm6i95aG
has compiled several good report-backs on the ArtWalk Uprising in #DTLA
http://t.co/FhiIS0f2


Just before this attack, Michelle Shocked made a quick video on the subject. Note her being confronted by a CCA korporate kop:




Don't forget what LAPD did to citizens just one month earlier when the Kings won Lord Stanley's Cup:




Live report thread of the incident; thank you to all who contributed!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002939669

July 14, 2012

California Calls for Austerity for Disabled Children

http://la.indymedia.org/news/2012/06/253669.php

Medical Therapy Program Eligibility. The Budget proposes to align income eligibility requirements for the Medical Therapy Program with the broader California Children’s Services (CCS) Program. Currently, there is no financial test for eligibility. Under the proposed eligibility standards, families with annual income less than $40,000 or with annual CCS-related medical expenses exceeding 20 percent of their annual income will continue to be eligible for the Medical Therapy Program. This is consistent with the eligibility requirements already in place for all other CCS benefits and will result in savings of $9.1 million General Fund in 2012-13 and $10.9 million in 2013-14. In addition to state savings, counties will also realize savings.

Pages 7-8 of the 2012-2013 Governor’s Budget Highlights
Department of Health Care Services
http://www.dhcs.ca.gov/Documents/2012-13%20Budget%20Highlights.pdf

This is a shameful austerity measure. The children affected by this measure are children who need physical or occupational therapy most likely due to a chronic disability. The CCS Medical Therapy Program is not a luxury for these children- it is a necessity. Setting a financial cut-off for a necessary service is going to be inevitably arbitrary, but setting it at $40,000 is cruel. This implies that a family making 45 or 50 thousand dollars (or even more) has extra money to pay for therapy for their already disabled child without it affecting the rest of their household expenses. This only creates impossible dilemmas for a great many families- to come up with extra money to pay for therapy or have their child go without it. But once gain- this is a necessary service for the children who use it as well as an important resource for the parents and families of these children who often have extra stress resulting from caring for a child with special needs.

---

A month old, but unfortunately still current.

July 14, 2012

It's funny because it's true.

Megan Amram ?@meganamram

I wouldn't be surprised one bit if it turns out that Mitt Romney is one of those inflatable tube guys from car dealerships

Retweeted by William Gibson