Sociological Changes

[Gerard Zwaan]

February 23, 2011. http://www.theblaze.com/stories/ahmadinejad-predicts-mideast-unrest-coming-to-america/ Iran's president said Wednesday he is certain the wave of unrest in the Middle East will spread to Europe and North America, bringing an end to governments he accused of oppressing and humiliating people. "The world is on the verge of big developments. Changes will be forthcoming and will engulf the whole world from Asia to Africa and from Europe to North America," Ahmadinejad told a news conference. Ahmadinejad said the world was in need of a just system of rule that "puts an end to oppression, occupation and humiliation of people." [and from another] This correlates with what the Zetas said about the 8 of 10, "These sociological and political dramas are part of the 8 of 10 scenarios, as well as geological and astronomical features. This is the next chapter." https://poleshift.ning.com/profiles/blogs/zetatalk-fame The Zetas did say that Ahmadinejad is STO . Did he got his information from reading ZT or is there more too it?

 

Ahmadinejad is speaking as a leader of a Muslim country, viewing the Arab Spring as an uprising against colonialism, imperialism, and western corporate influence. This stance is expected of him because of his political role in Iran. The article makes much of Ahmadinejad's criticism of Gaddafi and his brutal treatment of his people. This is to differentiate between an Arab leader who was considered a puppet, as was Mubarak, and Gaddafi who was considered a leader who resisted western influence and control and thus should be a brother to his people. Does Ahmadinejad read ZetaTalk and have an inside track on the Transformation, the pending 8 of 10 scenarios? Yes on both fronts, as despite disbelief that Ahmadinejad is a Service-to-Other individual, he is a sleeper like Obama, awaiting his opportunities to make a difference in the world. He gives a hint as to the sequence of revolt and discontent - from the Arab Spring to Asia, then Africa, then Europe and thence to N America.

Source: ZetaTalk for June 18, 2011

 

Note: This blog is about his prediction. Keep in mind that political debates are not allowed on the poleshift ning.

[casey a]

If what is happening in Baltimore happened in a foreign country, here is how Western media would cover it

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/baltimore-riots-ho...

[casey a]

Good infograph on "Corruption in America".

"As long as the general population is passive, apathetic, diverted to consumerism or hatred of the vulnerable, then the powerful can do as they please, and those who survive will be left to contemplate the outcome."

[casey a]

Broader context of Baltimore protests & riots

[casey a]

Police unleash smoke bombs as Baltimore protesters defy curfew

Rival Crips and Bloods gangs unite to enforce curfew in Baltimore

'Protests are broader social issue not just law and order issue' says Obama

[KM]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3057819/Baltimore-police-Fr...

Governor sends in National Guard as 15 officers are injured, shops are looted and police cars are set ablaze when gangs unite to take on Baltimore police after Freddie Gray open casket funeral

• State of emergency declared in Baltimore just hours after funeral for Freddie Gray who died in police custody
• Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake branded the rioters 'thugs' and issued a 10pm-5am curfew for all adults 
• President has been briefed on the situation, more than 1,000 police and Maryland National Guard are on standby  
• Three rival gangs have announced an unprecedented alliance to 'take out' Baltimore officers
• 15 police officers injured, two in serious condition in hospital. 27 people have been arrested
• Looters are raiding gun stores and check cashing stores. A CVS store is on fire, rioters slashed fire fighters' hoses
• Earlier Gray's distraught mother, Gloria Darden draped herself over her sons body during the open casket viewing
• Family attorney, Bill Murphy called for the officers who arrested Gray to come clean to the public
• Gray, 25, died after being detained by police on April 12. He suffered a spinal injury in their care and died on April 19

A state of emergency has been declared in Baltimore as the city transforms into 'an absolute war zone' following the funeral of Freddie Gray.

More than 1,000 police officers and the Maryland National Guard are arriving in the city and the president has been briefed on the situation as violence continues to escalate.

Fifteen police officers have been injured, many with broken bones, and at least one appeared ‘unresponsive’. Two of the 15 are in hospital in a serious condition.

Rioters are looting gun stores, ripping off the doors and passing weapons to people on the streets. Others have stormed check cashing stores and supermarkets. Buildings, including a CVS pharmacy, are on fire. Rioters have slashed fire fighters' hoses as they try to battle the flames. 

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake branded the rioters 'senseless thugs' in a press conference as she announced a week-long 10pm-5am curfew for all citizens starting tomorrow night. 

As night falls, groups appear to be moving toward Camden Yards stadium, prompting tonight's White Sox v Orioles game to be suspended. College students have been told to stay in their doors and be alert to possible attacks.

Freddie Gray died of a severe spinal injury in police custody on April 12.

State of emergency: Baltimore is in flames and the Maryland National Guard is on standby as riots escalate after Freddie Gray's funeral

Fire fight: A Baltimore police cruiser burns after being set alight on Monday following the outbreak of riots in the troubled city

A man walks past a burning police vehicle as another one burns (right) during unrest in Baltimore on Monday. Helicopters circled overhead as groups of roving youths moved through the city. Television footage showed a group of demonstrators pile on top of a car

[casey a]

World Bank breaks its own rules as millions lose land and livelihoods http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/apr/16/world-ban...

The World Bank has repeatedly violated its own policies on protecting the rights of indigenous people by funding projects that resulted in nearly 3.4 million slum-dwellers, farmers and villagers losing their land or having their livelihoods damaged over the past decade, according to documents seen by the Guardian.

Residents of the Badia East slum in Lagos, who were evicted last year when the area was razed to make way for a World Bank-funded project.

Photograph: George Osodi/ICIJ

The following is a comment from Reddit:

Dr. Ha Joon Chang, economics professor at Cambridge(UK) University wrote a book entitled Kicking Away The Ladder which points to the IMF and Worldbank being active participants in ensuring the 3rd world stays poor by the 1st world profiting off them.

So no, what they actually mean is moving people from the countryside into slums in the cities then killing two birds with one stone by appropriating their land and moving them into sweatshop labour. But hey it looks good on paper because GDP measures the flow of capital around a country (for example, a wealthy oligarch buying up a neighbourhood then renting it back to that neighbourhood contributes positively to GDP, whether you think this is positive to the wellbeing of the neighbourhood is your own moral perception I guess). Farmers living the good life in the country don't contribute to GDP. But children in sweatshops do!

[SongStar101]

Average worker must work 127.7 years for 1 year of CEO pay

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/average-worker-must-work-1277-year...

While the average American is living from paycheck to paycheck, the executives in the C-suite are taking home millions in wages and compensation, highlighting the widening income disparity in the U.S.

The average pay of chief executive officers working for the largest 3,000 companies in the U.S. climbed to $6.4 million in 2014 from $5.5 million in the previous year while the median CEO pay jumped 12.7% on the strength of higher pensions, according to data from ISS Corporate Solutions.

“These numbers provide a likely forecast for CEO pay trends and numbers we’ll see over the course of 2015 U.S. annual meeting season,” said John Roe, head of advisory with ISS.

Wages and salaries rose around 3% for most Americans workers in 2014, according to recent data.

In 2013, the latest year for which the Social Security Administration posted data for, average wages in America rose a mere 1.3% to $43,041 from $42.498 in 2012—meaning an average worker must work roughly 127.7 years to make the same kind of money that a CEO does.

By geography, CEOs in the Connecticut area saw the largest median pay increase at 38.7% compared with Denver-area CEOs who got a 2.3% hike.

CEOs in the San Francisco Bay Area got a 19.5% raise, followed by CEOs in the Washington, D.C. area at 15.4%. Ninety-eight New York-based corporations gave their CEOs a median pay raise of 12.3%, based on filings submitted.

The data, while not surprising, underscores the reality of how one of the richest countries in the world trails other nations in wealth distribution. The U.S.’s Gini coefficient—often used to measure income equality—was 41.1 in 2011, behind countries like Madagascar and Greece. Zero reflects perfect equality, and 100 represents perfect inequality.

---------------------------

Report: CEOs Earn 331 Times As Much As Average Workers, 774 Times As Much A...

With CEO compensation analysis season in full swing, the AFL-CIO released data this morning stating that American CEOs in 2013 earned an average of $11.7 million–an eye-popping 331 times the average worker’s $35,293.

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Protests for $15-an-hour wages set to expand Wednesday

Fight for $15 protests planned for fast-food and other low-wage workers

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/protests-15-hour-wages-set-112152734....

NEW YORK (AP) -- Fast-food workers calling for $15 an hour are picking up some more allies Wednesday.

Airport workers, home care workers, Walmart workers and adjunct professors are among those set to join in the Fight for $15 protests across the country, in what organizers are calling the biggest ever mobilization of workers in the U.S.

The campaign is being spearheaded by the Service Employees International Union and began in late 2012. On Wednesday, organizers say protests for higher pay and union for low-wage workers are planned for more than 230 cities and college campuses.

The demonstrations got an early start Tuesday afternoon in Boston, where several hundred people including college students, low-wage workers and their supporters gathered for a rally. In Detroit, protesters gathered in the evening inside a McDonald's, and organizers say three employees walked off the job as part of the protests.

In New York City, protesters rallied outside a McDonald's early Wednesday morning and were planning more demonstrations throughout the day.

Kendall Fells, organizing director for Fight for $15, said McDonald's remains a focus of the protests and that the company's recently announced pay bump shows fast-food workers already have a de facto union.

"It shows the workers are winning," he said.

McDonald's earlier this month said it would raise its starting salary to $1 above the local minimum wage, and give workers the ability to accrue paid time off. It marked the first national pay policy by McDonald's, and indicates the company wants to take control of its image as an employer. But the move only applies to workers at company-owned stores, which account for about 10 percent of more than 14,300 locations.

That means McDonald's is digging in its heels over a central issue for labor organizers: Whether it has the power to set wages at franchised restaurants.

McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's say they don't control the employment decisions at franchised restaurants. The SEIU is working to change that and hold McDonald's responsible for labor conditions at franchised restaurants in multiple ways, including lawsuits.

In an emailed statement, McDonald's said it respects the right to "peacefully protest" and that its restaurants will remain open Wednesday. In the past, it said only about 10 to 15 McDonald's workers out of about 800,000 have participated.

In a recent column in The Chicago Tribune, McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook described the company's pay hike and other perks as "an initial step," and said he wants to transform McDonald's into a "modern, progressive burger company."

But that transformation will have to take place as labor organizers continue rallying public support for low-wage workers. Ahead of the protests this week, a study funded by the SEIU found working families rely on $153 billion in public assistance a year as a result of their low wages.

Already, organizers say the Fight for $15 is changing the way people think about low-wage work.

Last year, more than a dozen states and multiple cities raised their minimum wages, according to the National Employment Law Project. Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which has also been targeted with protests for higher wages and better treatment for workers, also recently announced pay hikes.

Robert Reich, former Labor secretary and a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, said stagnating wages for lower-income workers are also helping change negative attitudes about unions.

"People are beginning to wonder if they'd be better off with bargaining power," Reich said.

[Moderating Staff]

Comment by jorge namour 5 hours ago

Liveblog: Blockupy anti-ECB demo in Frankfurt - GERMANY

http://www.thelocal.de/20150318/blockupy-frankfurt-liveblog-anti-ec...

Published: 18 Mar 2015

Frankfurt remains on alert after a morning of violence, burned cars and hundreds of arrests gave way to what is hoped to be an afternoon of peaceful protest. Organizers of the "Blockupy" demonstration against the new European Central Bank (ECB) building said they distanced themselves from the violence. Follow the latest updates here.

http://terrarealtime.blogspot.com.ar/2015/03/assalto-alla-bce-franc...

https://translate.google.com.ar/translate?sl=it&tl=en&js=y&...

March 18, 2015
ASSAULT TO ECB: FRANKFURT ON FIRE!

[casey a]

Wall Street bonuses keep soaring as profits decline   http://www.theguardian.com/money/us-money-blog/2015/mar/15/wall-str...

Bankers’ bonuses average some $173,000 – or three times the median American income – amounting to 170% of NYSE member firms’ profits

Bonuses don’t come out of a bank’s profits, but out of its revenues... Wall Street prefers to look at bonus payouts as a function of revenue. Even so, that still means that banks like JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are handing over about 40 to 50 cents out of every dollar of REVENUE (not profits) they generate every year in bonuses.

The biggest question of all is whether Wall Street’s investors are going to sit idly by as a greater percentage of profits that belong to them flow out the doors to the banks’ employees?... At some point, the banks won’t be able to... When that happens, maybe the bonus gravy train will finally stop running.

[casey a]

Thousands gather across Canada to protest proposed anti-terror legislation. http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/03/14/canada-wide-protests-pla...