The aim of #OCCUPYWALLSTREET is to draw protesters to New York's financial district in a non-violent protest to spark a mass movement against corporate dominance. While the corporate media ignores the protest, Reader Supported News will continue to report on the latest developments.
A demonstrator holds a sign during an Occupy Wall Street protest in lower Manhattan. The protests moved into their third week on Monday. (photo: Reuters)
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02 October - 06 October 11
This page is an archive. Future OWS updates will go on the new page.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDlf-erPtzM
05 October 11
07 October 11
NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly had some strong words for "Occupy Wall Street" protesters Thursday, blaming participants for starting skirmishes which led to more than 20 arrests on Wednesday.
"What they did is they counted. They actually had a countdown - 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 - they grouped together, they joined arms and they charged the police. They attacked the police. They wanted to get into Wall Street, they wanted to occupy Wall Street," Kelly told reporters. READ MORE
07 October 11
Tim King, Sojourners communications director, joined the protests. He is sleeping in the park and blogging about his experiences. He said one of his goals is to look for God’s presence amidst the event. "I believe it’s often easier to find God on the streets than in a sanctuary," King said. "We serve a God who shows up for those in need, and for those who stand with them." He reported that there are Christians at the event and that many of the protesters are open to religion.
King said, "Many protesters here have had some bad experiences with religion, but it’s clear that they are genuinely open to seeing religion done differently." Also, like the early tea party protests, Occupy Wall Street is heavy on pointing out the problem (i.e., corporations) rather than articulating a set of policy proposals or goals. BreakPoint’s John Stonestreet said that the message of the protests is that "things are broken—Wall Street, the environment, society, the list of complaints goes on and on. Their solution? Well, none have been offered." He compared this to BreakPoint’s recent Do the Right Thing movement, which "identifies that the central problem is an ethical collapse."READ MORE
07 October 11
The protest movement called Occupy Wall Street has struck a nerve. The demonstrators’ goals may be vague, but their grievances are very real. If our country is to break out of this horrendous recession and create the millions of jobs we desperately need, if we are going to create a financially-stable future, we must take a hard look at Wall Street and demand fundamental reforms. I hope the protesters provide the spark that ignites that process.
The truth is that millions of Americans lost their jobs, their homes and their life savings because of the greed, recklessness and illegal behavior of Wall Street. Even Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke agreed when I questioned him this week at a Joint Economic Committee hearing that that there was "excessive risk taking" by Wall Street. Bernanke also said the protesters “with some justification" hold the financial sector responsible for "getting us into this mess" and added, "I can't blame them." READ MORE
06 October 11
There's something happening here. What it is ain't exactly clear, but we may, at long last, be seeing the rise of a popular movement that, unlike the Tea Party, is angry at the right people.
When the Occupy Wall Street protests began three weeks ago, most news organizations were derisive if they deigned to mention the events at all. For example, nine days into the protests, National Public Radio had provided no coverage whatsoever.
It is, therefore, a testament to the passion of those involved that the protests not only continued but grew, eventually becoming too big to ignore. With unions and a growing number of Democrats now expressing at least qualified support for the protesters, Occupy Wall Street is starting to look like an important event that might even eventually be seen as a turning point. READ MORE
06 October 11
ome wanted bank executives arrested. Others wanted Medicare extended to all citizens, an end to war or a halt on foreclosures. Their demands were disparate, but they were unified in a frustration with the status quo and a feeling that a fortunate few are enjoying all the prosperity at the expense of everyone else.
The Occupy Wall Street movement came to Portland on Thursday in a peaceful demonstration that began along the Willamette River, wended through the streets of Portland and concluded in Lownsdale Square, a park across the street from federal court.
"Everybody has different grievances, but we all feel the country is being lost," said Frank Bader, 44, an unemployed title examiner in the real estate industry. "I feel that my children's country is being robbed by greed, by special interests." READ MORE
07 October 2011
In Dallas, where police estimated 400 to 500 protesters, organizers encouraged the swelling crowd to be orderly and peaceful, but to fully deliver their message of frustration.
Many of them grabbed donated bottles of water and oranges as they began their walk along roads that Dallas police had blocked off to safely let them pass.
As they chanted "Tell me what democracy looks like; this is what democracy looks like" and "Banks got bailed out; we got sold out," many protesters said they want to see change, from requiring bankers to pay fees on every transaction to asking the richest Americans to pay more taxes.
"People who are making millions can afford to pick up the slack and pay more taxes," Marrufo said.
David and Patty Broiles drove in from Fort Worth to support the protesters.
"We're lucky enough to be in the 1 percent, but we also recognize 99 percent of those who aren't as lucky are getting screwed," said David Broiles, a Fort Worth attorney who represented protesters who pitched tents near then-President George W. Bush's Crawford ranch during Cindy Sheehan's 2006 anti-war campaign. "We are here to support the 99 percent." READ MORE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbmbDY-bZNM
06 October 11
On October 6th, in Portland, Oregon, ten thousand people assembled at noon at Waterfront Park on a workday in anticipation of the non-permitted march, which would make a pit stop before ending at its official, secret “Occupation” spot.
The buzz for the event had permeated all sectors of Portland society. People who had never shown a political urge in their lives were suddenly convulsing. Hundreds of people started showing up at the organizing meetings, many of them younger people unknown by the “usual suspects” of Portland activism. A refreshing sign, since new blood is a key ingredient to all social movements.
Although people were warned of police violence during the non-permitted march, nothing came of it. This isn’t surprising, given the close spotlight on Portland’s police (the Justice Department is investigating them for police brutality and having heavy trigger fingers). Also, Portland’s Mayor has a reputation for being Mr. Liberal, and cracking heads in broad daylight must not have sounded appealing to him. Most importantly, the march was large enough to defend itself, permits or not. READ MORE
06 October 11
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) threw her weight behind the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations Thursday, showering praise on a movement that has so far spread to dozens of cities, including Washington, DC.
"The message of the protesters is a message for the establishment in every place," she told reporters in a Capitol press conference. "The message of the American people is that no longer will the recklessness of some on Wall Street cause massive joblessness on Main Street. READ MORE
06 October 2011
Anti-Wall Street protesters were rallying more public opinion to their cause Thursday by posting video of a cop saying he just couldn't wait to beat up demonstrators.
"My little nightstick's gonna get a workout tonight," the unidentified officer says jokingly to a fellow cop as they wait by a metal barricade.
The officer, burly and bald, seems unaware he is being videotaped. His female colleague says she hasn't used her baton yet, and he crows back with a grin, "I have. Several times." READ MORE
08 October 11
Will the Wall Street Occupiers morph into a movement that has as much impact on the Democratic Party as the Tea Party has had on the GOP? Maybe. But there are reasons for doubting it.
Tea Partiers have been a mixed blessing for the GOP establishment - a source of new ground troops and energy but also a pain in the assets with regard to attracting independent voters. As Rick Perry and Mitt Romney square off, that pain will become more evident.
So far the Wall Street Occupiers have helped the Democratic Party. Their inchoate demand that the rich pay their fair share is tailor-made for the Democrats' new plan for a 5.6 percent tax on millionaires, as well as the President's push to end the Bush tax cut for people with incomes over $250,000 and to limit deductions at the top. READ MORE
07 October 11
In Florida this week, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was asked about the growing Occupy Wall Street movement. “I think it’s dangerous, this class warfare,” he said.
Romney’s right. It may be dangerous - to his chances of being elected.
Occupy Wall Street, now almost three weeks old, isn’t like the anti-globalization demonstrations that disrupted summits in the 1990s or even the street actions at the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York, though some of the same characters are probably in attendance. With unemployed young protesters planning to camp out all winter in Zuccotti Park (with bathrooms available only at a nearby McDonald’s), it’s more like a cross between a Hooverville and Woodstock - the middle-class jobless of the 1930s and the hippie protesters of the 1960s. READ MORE
06 October 11
President Obama said Thursday that the Occupy Wall Street protests show a "broad-based frustration" among Americans about how the US financial system works.
Speaking at an East Room news conference, Obama said he has monitored the movement, which has spread to dozens of cities nationwide.
"I think it expresses the frustrations the American people feel, that we had the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression, huge collateral damage all throughout the country ... and yet you're still seeing some of the same folks who acted irresponsibly trying to fight efforts to crack down on the abusive practices that got us into this in the first place," he said. READ MORE
05 October 11
Thousands of union workers joined protesters marching through the Financial District Wednesday for Occupy Wall Street's largest rally yet against "corporate greed."
The march was mostly peaceful - until after nightfall, when scuffles erupted and some of the younger demonstrators were arrested when they tried to storm barricades blocking them from Wall Street and the Stock Exchange.
A video posted on the Occupy Wall Street Twitter feed late Wednesday night showed police swinging at a protestor with a night stick. READ MORE
05 October 11
Democratic lawmakers have begun to embrace the Occupy Wall Street protests as they spread to Washington on Thursday, with some likening the movement to a Tea Party of the left.
Several liberal House lawmakers endorsed the protests Wednesday, and the leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus said they had been inspired by demonstrators who have been arrested by the hundreds in New York City.
"We share the anger and frustration of so many Americans who have seen the enormous toll that an unchecked Wall Street has taken on the overwhelming majority of Americans while benefiting the super-wealthy," Reps. Raul Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) said in a joint statement. READ MORE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2C4KUdnV-A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtYnoOpLYAE
05 October 11
The Occupy Wall Street protest grows daily, spreading to cities across the United States. "We are the 99 percent," the protesters say, "that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1 percent." The response by the New York Police Department has been brutal. Saturday, the police swept up more than 700 protesters in one of the largest mass arrests in US history. The week before, innocent protesters were pepper-sprayed in the face without warning or reason. That is why, after receiving a landmark settlement this week from the police departments of Minneapolis and St. Paul, as well as the US Secret Service, my colleagues and I went to Liberty Square, the heart of the Wall Street occupation, to announce the legal victory. READ MORE
05 October 11
Thousands of people waving signs and chanting slogans marched Wednesday afternoon from Occupy Wall Street's encampment in Lower Manhattan's financial district to Foley Square in front of the courthouse to press their anti-greed message.
It was by far the biggest march yet in New York since the movement began Sept. 17 and was helped by the presence of people representing various labor groups, among them transportation union workers, nurses and teachers. READ MORE
Right Here All Over (Occupy Wall St.) from Alex Mallis on Vimeo.
05 October 11
The cavalry has arrived in Lower Manhattan. Representatives from no fewer than 15 of the country's largest labor unions will join the Occupy Wall Street protesters for a mass rally and march today in New York City.
The AFL-CIO, United Auto Workers, and Transit Workers' Union are among the groups expected to stand in solidarity with the hundreds of mostly young men and women who have spent the better part of three weeks sleeping, eating, and organizing from Zuccotti Square. READ MORE
05 October 11
Students at a number of universities nationwide staged walkout demonstrations at noon on Wednesday to show support for the ongoing Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City.
On most participating campuses, demonstrators walked out of class and marched to an administrative building to voice their complaints, which predominately focused on tuition hikes, the job market, and student debt. The protests were affiliated with Occupy Colleges, a hub for college organizers who want to get involved or express support for Occupy Wall Street.
"The reason we're doing this is because students are riddled with debt," Natalia Abrams, an Occupy Colleges organizer and University of California - Los Angeles alumna told Campus Progress. "We are the 99 percent, and we are in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street." READ MORE
05 October 11
Like the spokesmen for Arab dictators feigning bewilderment over protesters' demands, mainstream television news reporters finally training their attention on the growing Occupy Wall Street protest movement seem determined to cast it as the random, silly blather of an ungrateful and lazy generation of weirdos. They couldn't be more wrong and, as time will tell, may eventually be forced to accept the inevitability of their own obsolescence.
Are they ready to articulate exactly what that problem is and how to address it? No, not yet. But neither are Congress or the president who, in thrall to corporate America and Wall Street, respectively, have consistently failed to engage in anything resembling a conversation as cogent as the many I witnessed as I strolled by Occupy Wall Street's many teach-ins this morning. There were young people teaching one another about, among other things, how the economy works, about the disconnection of investment banking from the economy of goods and services, the history of centralized interest-bearing currency, the creation and growth of the derivatives industry, and about the Obama administration deciding to settle with, rather than investigate and prosecute the investment banking industry for housing fraud. READ MORE
05 October 11
Unlike the Tea Party on the right, the Occupy Wall Street protests have thus far lacked any supporters in Congress. But with labor unions and the Working Families Party getting on board, that may be about to change - and with it their ability to shape the agenda on Capitol Hill.
"I think it has become a vehicle for people to vent their frustration with the economy," Senator Kirsten Gillibrand told The National Memo on Tuesday. "Everywhere I travel across New York State I meet with every day families and small businesses, and they are deeply worried about the economy. I share the frustration at how broken Washington has become in forging solutions. We must act and I hope we can rally around the bipartisan ideas I've outlined today to get people back to work."
Off-the-record conversations with other members of New York's congressional delegation suggest sympathy for the cause, though few have gone on record backing it as of yet. More on this as it develops.READ MORE
05 October 11
The Communications Workers of America (CWA), "the largest communications and media union in the US," announced its support of the Occupy Wall Street protests this afternoon. In a statement, the CWA says it "strongly supports the Occupy Wall Street Movement," and that "it is an appropriate expression of anger for all Americans, but especially for those who have been left behind by Wall Street." The national union plans to "encourage all CWA Locals to participate in the growth of this protest movement."READ MORE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJTmUcVb2kw
05 October 11
Seattle Police gave an ultimatum to members of the "Occupy Seattle" protest group Tuesday -- either move their tents from public property or be arrested.
This is the third day "Occupy Seattle" has demonstrated at Westlake Center in downtown Seattle. Protesters have set up more than 50 tents in the south end of the City Plaza.
Seattle Police Chief John Diaz said he will order the group to move the tents before the end of the day. Diaz said he will not restrict them from peacefully protesting, but will not allow them to keep the tents on public property. READ MORE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IdPyYRnOY0
05 October 11
The occupation of Wall Street has now entered its third week and protests are spreading like wildfire throughout the country.
As the protests continue to grow, the media is increasingly taking notice. Yet many of these media outlets are insisting on referring to the protests as "anti-capitalist." Here are just a few examples: READ MORE
05 October 11
Everybody has a piece of advice for the protesters at Occupy Wall Street. They should put their clothes on. They should stop raising their fists. They should fact-check their handwritten signs. They should appoint leaders who can give pithy quotes to reporters. They should get with an electoral program. Nicholas Kristof even offered to help them out with a neat list of demands, in case those holding signs saying "We Are the 99%" just needed to have the unfairness of the carried interest rule explained to them.
Indeed, their failure to present demands is the most frequently heard criticism of the OWS protesters, not just in the mainstream press but from veteran leftists as well. What do these wan, angry young people want, anyway?
If you spend an hour or two down at Liberty Plaza, as I did with my 8-year-old daughter this past weekend, it's clear enough. She got the point, at least: especially from the signs that read, "You should teach your kids to share," and, "Give my mom her money back!! A single working mom ... not fair!" READ MORE
05 October 11
Wall Street protesters arrested in a march across the Brooklyn Bridge sued New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly for allegedly violating their constitutional rights.
Five of the protesters, seeking to represent about 700 people arrested in the Oct. 1 march, filed a civil rights complaint yesterday in Manhattan federal court. They claimed officers from the New York City Police Department lured them onto the bridge's roadway to trap and arrest them. READ MORE
04 October 11
Coming to Utah soon: the revolution. Occupy Wall Street began less than three weeks ago as a small East Coast movement raging against injustice, the shaky economy and corporate greed. Since then, the demonstrations gave grown and entered their 18th day Tuesday as protesters marched on Federal Reserve banks and camped out in parks from Los Angeles to Portland, Maine. The message is inspiring a similar peaceful protest in Salt Lake City.
In recent days, a group called Occupy Salt Lake City has hosted 8 p.m. meetings at Salt Lake City Library’s outdoor amphitheater, ramping up for an initial rally. It’ set for 10 a.m. Thursday at the State Capitol, followed by a march beginning at 11 a.m. to Pioneer Park, where an "occupation" begins, according to organizers.
"We will make this a permanent demonstration of our solidarity until we are heard," said a brief statement emailed from area supporters of the movement. READ MORE
04 October 11
JPMorgan Chase - one of the biggest banksters that Occupy Wall Street is standing up to -- made the largest donation in the history of the New York City Police Foundation to the NYPD's nonprofit organization ... just in the nick of time! They donated $4.6 million, supposedly to fund new laptops in patrol cars and security monitoring software. Seems pretty benign ... at first.
Clearly, CEO Jamie Dimon said he hopes the donation shows how much they value the NYPD's "hard work." I'm sure that's, uh, part of it. But it's more likely he appreciates how hard the NYPD worked to put demonstrators in their place. The bribe - like donation is so blatant, it's almost unbelievable! READ MORE
04 October 11
Protests against the perceived excesses of Wall Street spread farther Tuesday, with events in new cities as the populist groundswell enters its 18th day. On Monday, hundreds dressed as zombies and lurched past the New York Stock Exchange clutching fistfuls of fake money. In Chicago, demonstrators pounded drums in the city's financial district.
Others pitched tents or waved protest signs at passing cars in Boston, St. Louis, Kansas City, Mo., and Los Angeles. Downtown Boston saw hundreds of demonstrators march from a tent city on a grassy plot in downtown towards the Statehouse, callling for an end of corporate influence of government.
In Chicago, protesters beat drums on the corner near the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. In Los Angeles, demonstrators hoping to get TV coverage gathered in front of the courthouse where Michael Jackson's doctor is on trial on manslaughter charge. READ MORE
04 October 11
New York City’s Occupy Wall Street protestors made headlines this weekend when 700 of them were arrested on charges of blocking the Brooklyn Bridge. The effort has spread to several communities nationwide, including "occupations" in California, Hawaii and Florida. But also last Friday, 1,000 demonstrators gathered in Boston to march around the city's financial district, culminating in a sit - in at a Bank of America building. The sit - in led to 24 being people being arrested on trespassing charges when they refused to leave, the Boston Globe reports.
The action is part of an ongoing series of protests, coordinated by community organizers and homeowners' groups, that aims to put the question of Wall Street accountability back onto the national agenda. Earlier last week, as part of a series of actions in the Bay Area, homeowners gathered up trash at foreclosed homes that banks are squatting on and delivered it to East Oakland bank branches. The campaign arrived in Los Angeles this week for a sereis of actions targeting banks.
04 October 11
In Les Confessions, Rousseau wrote, "Finally I recalled the stopgap solution of a great princess who was told that the peasants had no bread, and who responded: 'Let them eat cake.'" This 1782 quote has become the iconic slogan of class oppression by the ruling elite. While the right cries class war at the proposal of taxing millionaires at a slightly higher rate, the richest 1% continue to wage war against the other 99% of us with powerful corporate, financial and lobbying connections.
Class war is being waged daily - foreclosure fraud, wanton oil speculation, a student-loan bubble fit to burst. The same corporate moguls who have bankrolled the campaigns of Tea Party candidates promising deregulation and lower taxes have been recently highlighted for illegally trading with hostile nations, falsifying documents, and knowingly operating equipment that has killed children. A trader nonchalantly mentioned on BBC that he dreams every night of another recession, so he can profit more from a market crash. The evidence of class warfare is everywhere. Our current system has been carefully designed so the 1% will benefit from the efforts and toil of the 99%. READ MORE
04 October 11
New York's budding anti-capitalism protest movement began last month with a vague sense of grievance over the widening gap between the rich and poor in America.
But in three weeks, it has provided fuel for a broader national anti-corporate message, drawing inspiration from the Arab Spring but struggling to define its goals beyond a general feeling that power needs to be restored to ordinary people.
Now similar protests are springing up in Boston, Los Angeles and Chicago, and organizers in Washington plan a march at Freedom Plaza on Thursday to "denounce the systems and institutions that support endless war and unrestrained corporate greed." READ MORE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yrT-0Xbrn4
The speaker giving Fox News the buisness is Jesse LaGreca, a vocal member of the Occupy Wall Street protests. This video comes courtesy of Kyle Christopher from OccupyWallSt.org's media team.
Now, no news organization is under obligation to air every interview they’ve filmed, especially when it makes them look bad. But you'd think that a "Fair and Balanced" network (that tells an interviewee that they are here to give them fair coverage to get any message they’d like to get out) would try to include at least a couple of opposing viewpoints ...
03 October 11
Wall Street is quietly watching Elizabeth Warren, getting ready to pounce.
The Democratic primary in Massachusetts is still almost a year away, but the expected race between the architect of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Republican Sen. Scott Brown is already a hot topic in the financial services universe.
"The potential Brown-Warren matchup is on everyone's radar," said Scott Talbot, chief lobbyist for the Financial Services Roundtable. READ MORE
03 October 11
The Transport Workers Union will go to court Monday to try to stop the city from forcing bus drivers to transport Wall Street protesters arrested by the NYPD, the Daily News has learned.
The union, whose leaders voted last week to support the protesters, said police brass commandeered three MTA buses to transport many of the 700 demonstrators arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday.
Union President John Samuelsen called ordering bus drivers to drive prisoners "a blatant act of political retaliation." READ MORE
03 October 11
The solidarity march planned for Saturday, October 1, 2011, at 3 p.m. did not go according to plan. Although Occupy Wall Street claims to be a "leaderless resistance movement," the march was in fact led by a core group of organizers (or working groups) whom presumably have been camped out the longest. According to the debriefing session following the police kettling on the bridge, the original plan had been for all the protesters to stay on the pedestrian walkway as we crossed over the Brooklyn Bridge to the Brooklyn Bridge Park, where the march was to end in a rally.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJnTqnHkwKQ
03 October 11
Among those part of and concerned with the Occupy Wall Street movement, it's very common to hear complaints about the lack of mainstream media coverage. There's even a sign at the occupation's media center that says, "Welcome to the media blackout." To a large extent, the blackout is real. The New York Times and other local papers didn't give the movement headlines until almost a week in, with the exception of a cover story in Metro that first Wednesday. And, while several local TV stations were at Liberty Plaza during the first week, their reports weren't being picked up by national affiliates. Only recently has this begun to change. READ MORE
Monday, October 3
1:00pm General Assembly (Liberty Plaza)
4:00pm Rally with DC 37 workers (City Hall)
5:30pm Rally For Locked Out Sotheby's Workers (820 5th Avenue, btwn 63rd and 64th)
5:30pm Teamsters Rally ( York & 72nd, NYC)
6:00pm Labor Outreach Working Group (Liberty Plaza)
7:00pm General Assembly (liberty Plaza)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O82cUDzzyjI
02 October 11
The New York Police Department puts an endless list of tasks on the shoulders of its so-called white shirts - the commanders atop an army of lesser - ranking officers in dark blue.
But the portfolio of the white shirt has now unexpectedly grown to include the role of enforcer.
As the Occupy Wall Street protests, which began on Sept. 17, lurch into their third week, it is often the white shirts who lay hands on protesters or initiate arrests. Video recordings of clashes have shown white shirts - lieutenants, captains or inspectors - leading underlings into the fray. READ MORE
02 October 11
What we call something has everything to do with how we treat it.
So, why do we as citizens continue to allow corporately-owned and government - sponsored media to be called "Main Stream"?
Those two words alone keep our country watching. READ MORE
02 October 11
As we gather together in solidarity to express a feeling of mass injustice, we must not lose sight of what brought us together. We write so that all people who feel wronged by the corporate forces of the world can know that we are your allies.
As one people, united, we acknowledge the reality: that the future of the human race requires the cooperation of its members; that our system must protect our rights, and upon corruption of that system, it is up to the individuals to protect their own rights, and those of their neighbors; that a democratic government derives its just power from the people, but corporations do not seek consent to extract wealth from the people and the Earth; and that no true democracy is attainable when the process is determined by economic power. We come to you at a time when corporations, which place profit over people, self-interest over justice, and oppression over equality, run our governments. We have peaceably assembled here, as is our right, to let these facts be known.
They have taken our houses through an illegal foreclosure process, despite not having the original mortgage. They have taken bailouts from taxpayers with impunity, and continue to give Executives exorbitant bonuses. They have perpetuated inequality and discrimination in the workplace based on age, the color of one’s skin, sex, gender identity and sexual orientation. They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization. READ MORE
02 October 11
The big bronze bull is surrounded by metal fences and strategically placed members of NYPD's finest. The famous statue, the symbol of aggressive market optimism, is normally open for tourists to grope and fondle, but today, in part because of the "Occupy Wall Street" protest, it has been penned. Today, the Wall Street Bull looks amusingly like a panicked animal in a cage.
It might have been spooked by the couple of thousand activists, hippies, union members, laid-off workers and schoolkids camped out around the corner in Liberty Plaza. When I arrive at Occupy Wall Street, they've already been there for a fortnight, and have turned the square, which is normally scattered with City workers snatching lunch and chattering on their smartphones, into a little peace village, complete with a well-stocked library, free kitchen, professional childcare centre, sleeping areas, meeting spaces, and crowds of young people dancing and playing music.
Occupy Wall Street is sending a message to the American people: the 99 percent are still here, in the shadow of the glittering palaces of global finance, and they are beginning to dream dangerously, and they will not go away quietly. READ MORE
02 October 11
UPDATE: 3:35 a.m. Sunday - In a tense showdown above the East River, the police arrested more than 700 demonstrators from the Occupy Wall Street protests who took to the roadway as they tried to cross the Brooklyn Bridge on Saturday afternoon.
The police said it was the marchers' choice that led to the enforcement action.
"Protesters who used the Brooklyn Bridge walkway were not arrested," Paul J. Browne, the chief spokesman for the New York Police Department, said. "Those who took over the Brooklyn-bound roadway, and impeded vehicle traffic, were arrested." READ MORE
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