NEW YORK CITY: Activists Demand "Robin Hood Tax" On Financial Institutions

Yesterday about a thousand activists marched on the United Nations, demanding the creation of a so-called "Robin Hood Tax" on Wall Street and financial institutions around the world. Forbes posted a press release:

To commemorate the 2nd Anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, the Robin Hood tax coalition that consists of two hundred million supporters around the world including Occupy Wall Street, Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, The Vatican, The AFL-CIO, Lawrence Summers, Nancy Pelosi, Nobel Prize Laureates Desmond Tutu, Al Gore, Joseph Stigliz and Paul Krugman will rally to support H.R. 1579, the Inclusive Prosperity Act, a financial transaction tax of 0.5% that will raise hundreds of billions of dollars a year that puts people before profit and helps stabilize the financial markets. Dozens of major economies have already implemented this tax. 11 countries including Germany and France will begin to implement the tax on January 1.

From the Robin Hood Tax website:

This small tax of less than ½ of 1% on Wall Street transactions can generate hundreds of billions of dollars each year in the US alone. Enough to protect American schools, housing, local governments and hospitals. Enough to pay for lifesaving AIDS medicines. Enough to support people and communities around the world – and deal with the climate challenges we're facing. It won't affect ordinary Americans, their personal savings, or every day consumer activity, such as ATMs or debit cards. It's easy to enforce and tough to evade. This is a tax on Wall Street, which created the greatest economic crisis in our nation, and globally, since the Great Depression. The same people who have returned to record profits and bonuses while ordinary Americans, the 99%, continue to pay the price of their crisis.

Gothamist has posted a slideshow from yesterday and notes that among those arrested was openly gay New York state Sen. Bray Hoylman, seen below.

UC Pepper Spray Cop Files For Disablility

The former University Of California Davis campus cop who infamously and oh-so-casually doused students with pepper spray in 2011 has filed a worker's compensation claim with the state, claiming that the incident caused him to suffer a mental disability.

John Pike ceased to be a UCD employee in July 2012. He remains entitled to retirement credit for his years of service, a UCD spokesperson said at the time, but he was to receive no other payout. If Pike receives disability benefits, it will cover income, health and other benefits until he turns 65. Pike, whose annual salary was $121,680, remained on paid leave for eight months while the pepper-spraying was investigated. As dozens watched on Nov. 18, 2011, Pike sprayed a group of seated, unarmed students blocking a sidewalk on the Quad that officers were using to take away protesters arrested at a day-old encampment created in part because of opposition to repeated tuition hikes.

An attorney for Occupy UC Davis, which won a $1M settlement from the university, says that a protest will be staged outside of Pike's compensation hearing in August.

Punched Occupy Protester Sues NYPD

You may recall the video I posted in 2011 which clearly showed an Occupy Wall Street protester being sucker-punched by a member of the NYPD. Yesterday the victim filed a federal lawsuit.

Deputy Inspector Johnny Cardona punched Felix Rivera-Pitre — an HIV-positive activist — in the face, ripping an earing from his ear during an Oct. 14, 2011 protest in Downtown Manhattan, according to lawyer Ron Kuby. Rivera-Pitre appears in the footage to then fall to the ground, where Kuby said Cardona continued to hit him. "The assault was a completely well-documented criminal act by a deputy inspector captured on video tape losing his temper and punching someone," Kuby said. Kuby added that the suit is not requesting a specific amount of money but will be left up to a jury to decide. Cordona opened a complaint against Rivera-Pitre after the incident, claiming the activist assaulted him prior to the scuffle. But the NYPD agreed to not charge Rivera-Pitre until after the Manhattan District Attorney's Office finished an investigation into the incident, according to Kuby.

Here's the video again.