Occupy Wall Street Spreads to Over 50 Cities,
Reflecting Israel’s Social Justice Protests
and
Arab Spring Roots
Occupy Wall Street Spreads to Over 50 Cities, Reflecting Israel’s Social Justice Protests and Arab Spring RootsThe Guardian-Reuters - 55 minutes ago Police officers reach into a crowd of protesters to make an arrest on the Brooklyn Bridge during an Occupy Wall Street march in New York October 1, 2011. ... UPDATE: Cops Accused Of Trapping Wall Street Protesters On ..'Occupy Wall Street' Protests Spread Across the Country - ABC NewsOccupy Wall Street in Boston - ForbesOccupy Wall Street - FacebookWhy ‘Occupy Wall Street’?By James Downie You may have heard about the Occupy Wall Street protests, now entering their 10th day in New York. Several hundred activists have taken over Zuccotti Park near Wall Street since Sept. 17, and this past Saturday they were joined by over a thousand more. The NYPD, displaying their famously light touch, has arrested dozens of activists, including members of the protest’s media team, and even maced innocent protesters. (The occupation’s Twitter hashtag,#occupywallstreet, and its livestream have plenty more details.) Despite this pressure, the protesters have vowed to stay in the park for the foreseeable future. Then again, you can’t walk around New York without bumping into some demonstration, so does this protest deserve attention? It’s easy to say that these are just (mostly) college kids with nothing better to do; or to make fun of their demands, which range from ending wealth inequality to ending war; or to use more extreme protesters to dismiss the rest. And it’s easy to believe that the protesters’ cause will be forgotten as soon as the demonstration ends. It’s easy to react this way, because that’s how many protest “movements” have panned out in the past. But this movement is different because of the bleak situation facing the country, especially its youth. Demonstrations are stronger when protesters are denouncing a target that directly affects them. In 1971, President Nixon’s decision to end student deferments sparked a new wave of antiwar protests on campuses around the country. Many believe the lack of a draft severely weakened protests against the Iraq war. In 1932, the Bonus Army was able to gather thousands of veterans to Washington because their cause was not someone else’s poverty but their own. Similarly, these demonstrators are protesting not only for a cause but for themselves. Just as many young people in the ’60s and ’70s feared becoming cannon fodder in Southeast Asia, so, too, do many today fear for their futures. The figures are astounding. Three years after Wall Street crashed the economy, youth unemployment stands at 18 percent, double the national rate, while youth employment is at its lowest level since the end of World War II. And because the graduate who spends a year unemployed will still make 23 percent less than a similar classmate a decade later, the young unemployed will feel these effects for years. The average college graduate now carries over$27,000 in debt at graduation; not surprisingly, then, more than 85 percent of the Class of 2011 moved back into their parents’ homes, the highest number on record. Not to mention, when this long recession is finally over, the young get to face reduced Social Security, Medicare and other benefits, largely (though not entirely, of course) because their parents and grandparents decided to let their descendants pay for their tax cuts, their wars and their bailouts. In short, as Republican candidates have demanded, the youth have skin in this game. So this isn’t genocide or Palestine or globalization or another geographically or politically distant cause that rarely has staying power beyond a committed activist core. The Wall Street protests are at least in part fueled by the knowledge that, for the first time in almost a century, “you never had it so good” no longer applies to the next generation. The victims of this collapse are not on the other side of the world; they’re the protesters themselves, their friends and classmates, sons and daughters. That’s a personal connection to, and motivation for, their cause that cannot grow artificially. Will this specific protest, then, last “until our demands are met”? Perhaps, perhaps not. But as long as the sluggish economy continues to hit Americans — and especially young Americans — hard, expect more and bigger demonstrations like “Occupy Wall Street” — unfocused, sometimes excessive, but fundamentally justifiable. About 400 arrested in Wall Street protest Reuters Police officers reach into a crowd of protesters to make an arrest on the Brooklyn Bridge during anOccupy Wall Street march in New York October 1, 2011. By Ray Sanchez NEW YORK (Reuters) - Police reopened the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday evening after ...See all stories on this topic » Van Jones Praises Occupy Wall Street, Says Progressives Launching 'October ... Huffington Post "When Warren Buffett comes out and says, look, we've got to do something to raise taxes and to do better by America, and you've got these young kids who are going out there on Wall Street," Jones said, referring to the members of Occupy Wall Street, ...See all stories on this topic » Occupy Wall Street protest on Brooklyn Bridge ends with 400 arrests Montreal Gazette By Ray Sanchez, Reuters October 1, 2011 9:04 PM Demonstrators affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement are arrested after attempting to cross the Brooklyn Bridge on the motorway on October 1, 2011 in New York City. The motorway portion of the ... See all stories on this topic » Albuquerque protesters 'Occupy Wall Street' KOB.com It wasn't Wall Street, and Michael Moore and Susan Sarandon didn't show up, but the event tied in and harmonized with the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations that have filled New York City the past two weeks. Albuquerque police blocked traffic while ...See all stories on this topic »-KOB.com Occupy Wall Street: Friday Afternoon Reluctant Habits By Edward Champion On Friday afternoon, the crowd density at Occupy Wall Streethad thickened quite a bit from earlier in the week. Many of the new attendees were journalists. I counted close to thirty media types as I canvassed Zuccotti Park, ...See all stories on this topic »-Reluctant Habits NYC Cop Addresses #Occupy Wall Street Forbes Type in occupy Wall street into youtube and the first video you will find shows a police officer beating a protestor who wasn't resisted. The camera then switches to a group of females. Despite that these women show absolutely no threat (at all) ...See all stories on this topic »-Forbes Occupying, and Now Publishing, Too New York Times (blog) “Would you like a copy of The Occupied Wall Street Journal?” The man accepted the paper without breaking stride then looked at it as he continued walking. Over the last two weeks, as people participating in a protest called Occupy Wall Street have ...See all stories on this topic »-New York Times (blog) Occupy Wall Street: inquiries launched as new pepper-spray video emerges The Guardian (blog) The senior New York police officer at the centre of the Occupy Wall Street pepper spray controversy fired the gas at protesters a second time just moments later. After new video emerged on Wednesday showing the second incident, New York police ...See all stories on this topic »-The Guardian (blog) The storming of Brooklyn Bridge: Wall Street protesters occupy New York ... Daily Mail By Daily Mail Reporter The Brooklyn Bridge has been shut down and up to 400 people arrested after protesters camping out near Wall Street spilled on to the roadway, illegally blocking traffic from one direction. In a tense showdown on Saturday evening, ...See all stories on this topic » Occupy Wall Street - Navy Veteran Expresses His Support Forbes Digital Download (blog) Chris's father the late Reverend Hank Dwyer, whose legacy includes St. Peter's Haven, was the nicest guy that I have ever known. His mother Marianne Reilly Dwyer, my first cousin, is absolutely the coolest person I have ever known. ...See all stories on this topic » Occupy Asheville opens with assembly, march, plans to camp out Mountain Xpress Held in solidarity with the ongoing Occupy Wall Street demonstrations in New York City, the events began around 11 am on Wall Street, with a gathering marking the memorial to Troy Davis, a recently-executed Georgia man who many critics assert was ...See all stories on this topic » Wall Street Protesters: Middle Class Issues Huffington Post (blog) On Friday morning, Robert James Carlson -- his face clean-shaven, his reddish blonde hair clipped short and business-like -- stands on the northwest corner of Zuccotti Park, the headquarters for theOccupy Wall Street movement. ...See all stories on this topic » Jonathan Franzen on Occupy Wall Street, Obama, Nixon, HBO 'Corrections' Series... The Nation. (blog) Jonathan Franzen is for the Occupy Wall Street protests. In fact, the celebrated novelist is for just about any action that “revives a conversation about economic disparities, and how utterly shafted the middle class is.” In a packed session at the New ...See all stories on this topic »-The Nation. (blog) AFL-CIO's Trumka Hails Occupy Wall Street The Nation. (blog) Declaring that “Wall Street's out of control,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has embraced street protests such as the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations—and others like them that are planned for cities across the country. Asked about the ongoing ... See all stories on this topic »-The Nation. (blog) Occupy Wall Street: Not Blaming the Blameful? AllMediaNY They're also about holding Wall Street accountable. Throw in fights against abusive cops and you have something like what this generation desperately wants: An anti-anything movement. The ideas that these protesters are standing behind are valid, ...See all stories on this topic »- AllMediaNY Wall Street protesters shut Brooklyn Bridge Channel News Asia The "Occupy Wall Street" group inspired by the pro-democracy Arab Spring movements said on its website that "at least 50" protesters had been arrested, though the NYPD would not confirm the figure. Police shut down the Brooklyn Bridge at around 4:00 or ...See all stories on this topic » Police: Hundreds Of Wall St. Protesters Arrested KSAT San Antonio By the CNN Wire Staff NEW YORK (CNN) -- Hundreds of chanting Occupy Wall Street protesters were arrested Saturday for blocking traffic at the Brooklyn Bridge, police said. Traffic heading to Brooklyn from Manhattan was still not flowing at 7:15 pm ...See all stories on this topic » Occupy Wall Street Welcomes NYC Transit Union, Millionaire Russell Simmons Gothamist The Occupy Wall Street protesters have had support from assorted celebrities and intellectuals over the course of the past two weeks, from the likes of Cornell West, Susan Sarandon, Tom Morello and Michael Moore. And while it seems a certain band...See all stories on this topic »-Gothamist Occupy Wall Street Update: Michael Moore Doesn't Represent Whole Movement International Business Times By John Talty | September 28, 2011 5:49 PM EDT Michael Moore and Susan Sarandon might be garnering all of the headlines about the Occupy Wall Street protests, but not everyone down at Zuccotti Park is comfortable with that. One young man, who wished to ...See all stories on this topic »-International Business Times Watters World Investigates Who's Really Behind the Wall St Protest Fox News 'The Factor' producer Jesse Watters interviewed 'Occupy Wall Street' demonstrators in an attempt to understand why they’re against capitalism. Though he had difficulty finding a uniform theme, he did uncover some secrets about who is really behind ...See all stories on this topic » New York Times' Andrew Ross Sorkin Sneers At Wall Street Protesters, Estimates ... Think Progress By Lee Fang on Oct 1, 2011 at 8:30 pm The Occupy Wall Street protests have grown every day since they began two weeks ago. In the past 24 hours, they have expanded to Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, and other major cities as thousands have gathered to ...See all stories on this topic »- Think Progress Occupy Wall Street Protesters Rally Against "Excessive Force" NY1 Their fight over corporate greed isn't over yet, but protesters who've been camped out in Lower Manhattan for two weeks are now taking on a new issue. Demonstrators marched from their main gathering point in Zuccotti Park to police headquarters Friday...See all stories on this topic »-NY1 Occupy Wall Street: FAQ The Nation. Q: I hear that Adbusters organized Occupy Wall Street? Or Anonymous? Or US Day of Rage? Just who put this together anyway? A: All of the above, and more. Adbusters made the initial call in mid-July, and also produced a very sexy poster with a ballerina ...See all stories on this topic » Good Reads: Model-Plane Bomber, Mass Graves in Kashmir, and Occupy Wall Street Christian Science Monitor Finally, in this week's New Yorker, John Cassidy pays a visit to the protesters of “Occupy Wall Street.” The protests began about a month ago, inspired by the mass-occupation strategies of the Arab Spring, and the target of their rage was the class of...See all stories on this topic »Christian Science Monitor Photos: The Faces Of Occupy Wall Street Gothamist There is a perception that those who support the Occupy Wall Street protests are of a particular persuasion: patchouli-crusted recent Wesleyan grads who tap on Macbooks while groaning about "corporations." While waiting for yesterday's galvanizing ...See all stories on this topic » ASK JAMES: MORALITY, ATHEISM, OCCUPY WALL STREET, ENTREPENEURSHIP, and MORE Business Insider The problem is this: I used to live right on Wall Street. So I know the people who actually work there. Many of those people lost their jobs, their pensions, their homes, their savings, their 401ks, etc. I hate to think now that along with all that ...See all stories on this topic » By Danny Schechter DISPATCH FROM #OCCUPY WALL ST AS PROTESTS ENTER THIRD WEEK News Dissector Reports from #OccupyWallStreet as protests enter third week This morning, while on local radio show, NYC mayor Michael Bloomberg was asked about the demonstrations on Wall Street. Bloomberg condemned the protests, claiming that the protesters are targeting people who making "$40-50,000 a year and are struggling to make ends meet." He then went on to say people are focusing too much on the causes of the financial crisis and that we need to be nicer to the banking industry so that it starts lending again. He concluded by saying that we are "blaming the wrong people" by "blaming the banks" for the recession. By Rob Kall There's Something Happening-- BIG!! Are You In? People are coming out into the streets because going into voting booths has not helped them. People are joining "occupation" protests because they've realized that things are getting so bad that they have to do something. By Laura Stein Is Protest Still Optional? U.S. fascism is being rationalized by American-style, Fox News type disinformation, but it is no less damaging to the well-being of citizens than any other form of fascism. The fire that is the peoples' movment known as Occupy Wall Street is now burning and fuel is being added. It's at the point where nothing can stop it. Today a Declaration of the Occupation of New York City was released. Those on the balcony of Harry Cipriani on Wall Street will sip champagne and chuckle just a little less than they did the day prior. Here we go! Let the ride begin. Anonymous sources try to discredit Bloomberg article on Koch Industries before it's even published. Here are two of the issues the Kochs' PR machine are desperately trying to spin: One of those episodes apparently involves bribery by a Koch subsidiary in France, according to the piece by Washington Examiner editorial page editor Mark Tapscott and another one of the issues addressed in the Bloomberg article will be the Kochs' past business dealings with Iran. OMG!! The socialist health-care loving French and the Shia-loving Muslims!! OMFG!! The Koch Brothers have some 'splain to do to their Tea Baggin fundamentalist gun-loving, gaws-fearing Christian crusaders!!   |
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