After sex scandal, ex-CIA chief Petraeus takes Wall Street job

NBC News

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Former CIA director David Petraeus addresses a University of Southern California event honoring the military on March 26, 2013 in Los Angeles, California.

Retired Army Gen. David Petraeus, attempting to rebuild his reputation after he resigned as CIA director last year over an extramarital affair, will take a new job with investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, the firm said on Thursday.

Petraeus, 60, will serve as chairman of the newly created KKR Global Institute, supporting its investment teams and portfolio companies studying new investments, especially in new parts of the world. The New York-based company did not detail the terms of its agreement with Petraeus, but a spokeswoman said he will serve in a consultant's role.

The four-star general resigned as head of the CIA in November, saying he had engaged in an extramarital affair. It was a stunning downfall for a revered military man who was seen as one of the top American leaders of his generation and was once considered a potential contender for the White House.

The sex scandal involving the married Petraeus and his biographer Paula Broadwell, an Army reserve intelligence officer who is also married, provided fodder for comedians and triggered a media storm that followed his confession and resignation.

He had been CIA director since September 2011. Before that, Petraeus served more than 37 years in the U.S. Army. He was commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan and also commanded forces in Iraq in 2007 and 2008, when violence in that country dropped following a surge in military forces.

Petraeus has a doctorate from Princeton University and has written widely on international relations, military strategy and tactics, and national security issues. He also has taught economics and international relations at the U.S. Military Academy.

He will add the new job to a couple of teaching assignments. Earlier this month, the University of Southern California announced he will join its faculty to teach classes and also mentor ROTC members.

In April, Macaulay Honors College at City University of New York named Petraeus a visiting professor for public policy starting next August. He said in a statement released by Macaulay that he was looking forward to leading a seminar on the global economic slowdown.

KKR, which has more than $78 billion in assets under management, has been involved in some of the biggest private equity buyouts in history including the $45 billion takeover of Texas power producer TXU, now known as Energy Future Holdings, in 2007. Private equity still accounts for most of KKR's assets under management, but the firm has been diversifying into credit and hedge funds.

KKR said the global institute will help it focus on issues that can affect its global investments. Those include public policy, regulatory and technology trends. The institute also will build on KKR's push to help its portfolio companies expand globally.

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Wall Street • Conspiracy Theory

Donald Trump on 'Occupy Wall Street'

#OWS Hijacked by Communist, Socialist Leaders: Alex Jones Report

Coren & Shaidle on Occupy Wall Street's anti-Semitism

White House Draws Closer To Occupy Wall Street, Says Obama Is Fighting For The Interests Of The 99%

The White House continued its embrace of the Occupy Wall Street protests on Sunday, using the strongest terms yet to identify President Barack Obama with the growing movement.

In a call previewing Obama's upcoming bus tour through North Carolina and Virginia, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Obama "will continue to acknowledge the frustration that he himself shares," about Washington's laggard response to the financial crisis.

Earnest added that while on the trip, Obama will make it clear that he is fighting to make certain that the "interests of 99 percent of Americans are well represented" — the first time the White House has used the term to differentiate the vast majority of Americans from the wealthy.

Obama, who has been branded a "class warrior" by Republicans unhappy with his plans to increase taxes on the rich to pay for his jobs and deficit plans, has embraced the term.

"I’ll tell you what, if asking a billionaire to pay the same tax rate as a plumber or a teacher or a bus driver makes me a warrior for the middle class, I will wear that charge with honor," he told donors in Dallas earlier this month.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/white-house-draws-closer-to-occupy-wall-street-says-obama-is-fighting-for-interests-of-the-99-2011-10?nr_email_referer=1&utm_source=Triggermail&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Politix%20Select&utm_campaign=Politix%20Select%202011-10-18#ixzz1b9uBDmKb

Coren & Klagsbrun on Occupy Toronto

More than 1,000 Occupy Toronto protesters hit the streets on Monday.

They marched from St. James Park north on Church St. to a social justice rally at Ryerson University followed by a march down Yonge St. to get back to the tent city they put up in the park.

The protests in Toronto are a spin-off to the protest in New York City's Wall Street against corporate greed that have been going on for a month.

By the dinner hour Monday, protesters blocked the Yonge and Dundas Sts. intersection for about 20 minutes before they returned to the park.

Carolyn Weatherson joined the protest because she says lobby groups have too much power.

"They are very influential. It is important for the vast majority to stand up and have influence," Weatherson said.

"We have corporate tax cuts, billions in subsidies for the oil sands, the purchase of fighter jets with no transparency, all done in in camera meetings without the media," she said. "I find it terrifying. Our voices need to be heard."

Dallas, who didn't give a last name, said he is protesting to voice his opinion.

"Here I have spoken to people from all over the world and shared views. I hope the dialogue continues for a better future," Dallas said.

Marching is a great way to show dissent, said Elliot, who also didn't give a last name.

"We need to discuss if we should have capitalism and what should replace it," he said. "Smart people need to be talking about this."

Sari Stern claims to be one of the 99% of people being screwed by corporations.

"I am here to show how large we are. I am a house cleaner and I took the day off work to be here. As an individual I'm looking at retiring under a bridge and that is not right," Stern said.

Who are behind Occupy Toronto Movement?

Occupy Toronto General Assembly: Spontaneous?

Toronto Braces for 'Occupy' Protests

By KAREN JOHNSON And CAROLINE VAN HASSELT

TORONTO—Hundreds of protesters are expected to converge on Toronto's financial district Saturday, in demonstrations inspired by the month-old Occupy Wall Street movement in the U.S.

The demonstrations, organized with the help of social media, are part of a groundswell of protests spanning several countries, aimed at drawing attention to the growing disparity between the rich and the poor.

"Income inequality is growing in Canada, as elsewhere," said Kevin Konnyu, a Toronto photographer and Occupy Toronto volunteer. "There's no merit in comparing yourself to the worst countries in the world."

More than 10,000 people have registered online to learn about the protests and Monday's planned march to the Toronto Stock Exchange, Mr. Konnyu said.

"I want a world where people and the planet come before profit and greed, and this requires all of us to participate because it just won't be delivered based on demands alone," he said.

Similar demonstrations are taking place in cities across Canada and across the globe.

"I think that we're different in Canada," said Ted Menzies, Canada's Minister of State, Finance, at a news conference Friday in Toronto.

He feels that high youth unemployment helped precipitate the U.S. protests. The U.S. jobless rate for people age 15-24 was 17.4% in September, compared to 14% in Canada. Both are well below Spain, where the jobless rate for people under 25 stands at 45.7%, and Greece, at 38.5%.

"I don't blame those individuals for being frustrated that they can't find a job," Mr. Menzies said. "I sympathize with their position. I'm not sure I sympathize with the method, but that's their privilege."

One Bay Street trader in Toronto, who asked not to be named, said he found the movement to be "reprehensible."

"The big bad banks? Really? This isn't New York. This isn't Athens. It's not London. It's Toronto. It's a different ball game," the trader said.

In Toronto, where the violence of last year's Group of 20 protests is still fresh, officials are on alert. The banking industry's trade group and the country's biggest lenders have held conference calls with Toronto police and property management companies to prepare for disruptions arising from the Occupy Toronto protests.

"We're still monitoring the situation and talking to police and property managers," said Maura Drew-Lytle, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Bankers Association.

The headquarters of the five biggest banks and the Toronto Stock Exchange are all located within a four-block radius in downtown Toronto.

The banks have business continuity plans to deal with any disruptions, a bank industry spokeswoman said. Plans include beefing up security to working in satellite locations. The banks previously implemented them in 2003 for the SARS virus outbreak and massive blackout in the Northeast, and in 2010 for the G20 protests.

"While we're not expecting disruptions to service at this time, we are prepared to close branches or offices if there are concerns to safety," said Wojtek Dabrowski, a Toronto-Dominion Bank spokesman.

The protests also coincide with Sunday's Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. which is expected to draw 22,000 competitors on a course along the waterfront and downtown Toronto. A spokeswoman said there have been discussions about the Occupy Toronto protests, but was unable to provide further details.

A spokesman for the Toronto police said preparations for the protests were under way but declined further comment.

Violence Erupts on Wall Street After Clean-up Postponed

It's war!

Hundreds of Occupy Wall Street protesters -- emboldened by officials backing down this morning from evicting them from their Zuccotti Park campsite for a 7 a.m. cleaning -- stormed Wall Street, leaping over barriers and getting into a fracas with cops.

The throng of protesters streamed onto Broadway, blocking traffic, setting up a confrontation with police who are waiting for them on the street.

Things turned predictably violent as cops tackled protesters and chased them up the street -- forcing everyone to the sidewalks -- in what turned into a melee. Read more at nypost.com.

Occupy DC: 'We need millions of people more'

Occupy Wall Street Movement &The Krugman Army

By Ed Driscoll

On Friday, James Taranto described Occupy Wall Street as “Krugman’s Army,” and the former Enron advisor certainly has gone all in with the movement:

• 

• “Some commentators have tried to play down the mob aspect of these scenes, likening the campaign against health reform to the campaign against Social Security privatization back in 2005. But there’s no comparison. I’ve gone through many news reports from 2005, and while anti-privatization activists were sometimes raucous and rude, I can’t find any examples of congressmen shouted down, congressmen hanged in effigy, congressmen surrounded and followed by taunting crowds. And I can’t find any counterpart to the death threats at least one congressman has received. So this is something new and ugly. What’s behind it?”–former Enron adviser Paul Krugman, New York Times, Aug. 7, 2009
• “ ‘Kill the Cops!’ Shout Reported During ‘Occupy New Orleans’ Protest”–headline, DailyCaller.com, Oct. 7
• “Occupy Wall Street is starting to look like an important event that might even eventually be seen as a turning point. … Now, it’s true that some of the protesters are oddly dressed or have silly-sounding slogans, which is inevitable given the open character of the events. But so what? I, at least, am a lot more offended by the sight of exquisitely tailored plutocrats, who owe their continued wealth to government guarantees, whining that President Obama has said mean things about them than I am by the sight of ragtag young people denouncing consumerism.”–Krugman, New York Times, Oct. 7, 2011
• “Almost all the bankers and hedge-fund managers on Wall Street are Jewish. There is a conspiracy in this country in which Jews control the media, finances–if you Google, Google ‘Wall Street Jews.’ Google ‘Jewish billionaires.’ Google ‘Jews in the Federal Reserve Bank.’ The Jews, who represent 2% of the population–it’s similar to Russia, the oligarchs and the plutocrats–a small ethnic minority, they have pooled their money together, amassed their money, to take control of America’s finances. I ask the Russian people to Google ‘Jewish billionaires’ in this country. You’ll find out that half the billionaires in this country are Jewish.”–Occupy Wall Street protester in YouTube video, Oct. 3, 2011
• “When I said that it was the job of policy intellectuals to fill in the details for the Occupy Wall Street protestors, I didn’t mean ‘don’t worry your pretty little heads about it, we’ll work it out,’ I meant job literally as in responsibility: people like Joe Stiglitz and me have an obligation to work on this, helping to translate what justifiably angry citizens are saying into more fleshed-out proposals.”–Krugman, New York Times website, Oct. 7, 2011

Meanwhile, Noel Sheppard responds at Newsbusters to Krugman’s latest column:

It seems New York Times columnist Paul Krugman thinks the Occupy Wall Street protesters have been better behaved than Tea Party attendees.
Read the following paragraph from Monday’s “Panic of the Plutocrats” and you be the judge:

Consider first how Republican politicians have portrayed the modest-sized if growing demonstrations, which have involved some confrontations with the police — confrontations that seem to have involved a lot of police overreaction — but nothing one could call a riot. And there has in fact been nothing so far to match the behavior of Tea Party crowds in the summer of 2009.

Maybe Krugman has missed images like these:

Click over for multiple shots of Occupy Wall Street types living in homeless-style squalor, being carted off by the police, etc. And as Noel adds, “As most folks are aware, there are worse pictures as Britain’s Daily Mail reported Saturday including a protester defecating on a police car.”
As Taranto quips today, “Remember when Krugman was making up lies about conservatives employing ‘eliminationist rhetoric?’ He now commands an army that is engaged in a campaign of actual elimination.”
More > 

Communists Lead “Occupy Los Angeles” Movement – Nationwide Takeover Planned

New Zeal Blog

Two prominent members of the Communist Party USA are leading lead the growing “Occupy Los Angeles” movement.

Occupy Los Angeles in action

Further, the Communist Party is deliberately infiltrating the “Occupy” movement in other parts of the country, to ensure that revolutionary forces gain as much control as possible .
The two Southern California communists at the heart of Occupy Los Angeles movement are veteran party leader Arturo Cambron and his comrade, Lincoln Heights Neighborhood Council member Mario Brito

Arturo Cambron

Arturo Cambron is a long time Party member and is the husband of Rossana Cambron, the Party’s Southern California coordinator. He is the president of the Party run Los Angeles Workers’ Center, situated in South Saint Andrews Place, which essentially serves as the Communist Party HQ for the area.
Cambron is active in the Occupy Los Angeles protests, and has acted as a moderator for the organization’s nightly core group meetings.
More >

Unions and the "Occupy Wall Street Movement"

The Meaning of ‘Occupy Wall Street.’ The Confusion on the Left and the Right

By Ron Radosh

The “Occupy Wall Street” protests have created a major problem for the Obama administration and the Democrats. Undoubtedly, the occupation and protests have been encouraged by the constant refrain of the need to “tax the rich” and the calls to have “millionaires pay their fair share” that have come regularly from the White House. Having heard the president and his team engage in regular rounds of class warfare, we should not be surprised when scores turn out and act like taking over public space with signs attacking the wealthy will somehow lead to a resolution of the very real problems facing our country.
Nevertheless, as of Obama’s remarks yesterday, the administration has not decided whether  to really stand behind the demonstrators. At most, what the president said is that “the protesters are giving voice to a more broad-based frustration about how our financial system works…we have to have a strong, effective financial sector in order for us to grow.” That is a rather soft comment that is not exactly a strong endorsement.
What the administration prefers is to leave overt support to the most radical of its supporters, like the socialist senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, who told CNN that he stands behind them. Yet, as a shrewd report in the Wall Street Journal makes quite clear,

[M]any in the Democratic Party remain studiously silent on the growing crowds, wary of embracing a protest movement whose aims and goals are unclear, some Democratic congressional aides said Thursday. Moderate, middle-class swing voters, as well as wealthy Democratic Wall Street donors, may be turned off by the demonstrators’ rougher edges.

And those rough edges are there. Watch any of the video reports on MSNBC, which has virtually camped out there during its evening prime time coverage by the likes of Ed Schultz and the rest of its left-leaning team, and you will see a conglomeration of younger people in their 20s and 30s. There is also a strange amalgamation of leftover hippies from the ’60s and some who appear to be truly bizarre, as well as scores of extreme left radical groups from organizations as diverse as anarchists, members of the Industrial Workers of the World (whose heyday was in the early 20^th century), and, of course, an assortment of every remaining communist and socialist grouplet with their own signs and propaganda.
Read more >