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.
Occupy Wall Street logo illustration. (art: Drea Zlanabitnig/NYT)
Occupy Wall Street, Occupy Together, Occupy D.C., Occupy Oakland, Occupy Chicago, Occupy Boston, Occupy San Francisco , Occupy Los Angeles, Occupy Live Streams
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10 October 11
10 October 11
If there is one thing I know, it's that the 1% loves a crisis. When people are panicked and desperate, that is the ideal time to push through their wishlist of pro-corporate policies: privatising education and social security, slashing public services, getting rid of the last constraints on corporate power. Amidst the economic crisis, this is happening the world over.
There is only one thing that can block this tactic, and fortunately, it's a very big thing: the 99%. And that 99% is taking to the streets from Madison to Madrid to say: "No. We will not pay for your crisis." READ MORE
10 October 11
As the Occupy Wall Street protests spread from Lower Manhattan to Washington and other cities, the chattering classes keep complaining that the marchers lack a clear message and specific policy prescriptions. The message - and the solutions - should be obvious to anyone who has been paying attention since the economy went into a recession that continues to sock the middle class while the rich have recovered and prospered. The problem is that no one in Washington has been listening. READ MORE
10 October 11
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said on Monday the Occupy Wall Street protesters can camp out in Zuccotti Park in downtown Manhattan for as long as they want.
Zuccotti Park, the movement's unofficial headquarters located just blocks from Wall Street, is a privately owned, publicly accessible park where protesters have gathered for 24 days. Bloomberg said as long as demonstrators do not break the law, the city will permit them to stay, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The mayor told the WSJ he has "no idea" how long the protest will last, but added that he thinks "part of it has probably to do with the weather." Bloomberg has previously spoken out against Occupy Wall Street and slammed the protesters last week, saying their attack on banks could harm one of the city's major employers. READ MORE
10 October 11
The campaign to marginalize and destroy the growing 99 Percent Movement is in full swing, with many in the media attempting to smear the people participating in the "occupation" protests across the country. However, several of the so-called journalists deriding, and in some cases sabotaging the movement, have paychecks thanks to a billionaire whose business practices have been scorned as among the worst of the financial elite.
As the New York Times has documented, Paul Singer, a Republican activist and hedge fund manager worth over $900 million, has emerged as one of the most important power brokers within the GOP. Now, it appears that the reporters financed by Singer are at the forefront of efforts to tarnish the reputation of 99 Percent Movement demonstrators. READ MORE
10 October 11
Today faculty from Columbia University released a petition signed by over 300 professors expressing their support for the Occupy Wall Street movement. Signatories to the petition come from across the faculty of Columbia University and Barnard College. In their petition, the professors join the Occupy Wall Street movement in condemning the growth of economic, social, and political inequalities. According to the petition, claims that the movement lacks focus are inaccurate and ignore the many important issues that the Occupy Wall Street movement has raised.
"I understand the message of the Occupy Wall Street movement clearly," said Columbia professor and former University provost, Jonathan R. Cole. "The movement speaks to the growing economic inequalities in our society: 1 percent of the population holds almost 40 percent of the nation's wealth; as inequality has increased taxes on the wealthy have plunged; often wealth rather than merit determines who receives educational opportunities; and millions of citizens have lost their homes while those on Wall Street, who are responsible for much of the economic crisis, are rewarded rather than punished." READ MORE
To read and sign the Petition click here.
10 October 11
The movement known as "Occupy Wall Street" has spread far beyond its starting point in lower Manhattan. CBS News correspondent Bigad Shaban reports that it now has offshoots in 25 cities nationwide, and political leaders from both sides are weighing in.
From D.C. to Alabama to Portland, demonstrators protest everything from corporate greed to joblessness to economic inequality. Back in N.Y., 39-year-old Jesse LaGreca is one of the more prominent voices.
"You've got people here being told they need to face a lower standard of living, that we can't pay the wages that we used to enjoy, that the promises that were made to our grandparents are going to be broken," LaGreca said. READ MORE
10 October 11
It remains to be seen whether the Occupy Wall Street protests will change America's direction. Yet the protests have already elicited a remarkably hysterical reaction from Wall Street, the super-rich in general, and politicians and pundits who reliably serve the interests of the wealthiest hundredth of a percent. READ MORE
10 October 11
Ketchup, a petite 22-year-old from Chicago with wavy red hair and glasses with bright red frames, arrived in Zuccotti Park in New York on Sept. 17. She had a tent, a rolling suitcase, 40 dollars' worth of food, the graphic version of Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States" and a sleeping bag. She had no return ticket, no idea what she was undertaking, and no acquaintances among the stragglers who joined her that afternoon to begin the Wall Street occupation. She decided to go to New York after reading the Canadian magazine Adbusters, which called for the occupation, although she noted that when she got to the park Adbusters had no discernible presence. READ MORE
09 October 11
Thomas Jefferson wrote, "My wish was, to see both Houses of Congress cleaned of all persons interested in the bank or public stocks - cleansed, that is - of all corruption."
If only Jefferson could see what is happening today. Not only do stockholders own the banks and the rotten, stinkin' derivatives they sold us, they have the nerve to scream about socialism now ... after they have been the recipients of it.
The public stock owners of 1776, those Jefferson wanted cleansed of corruption, now own almost everything of influence in America. READ MORE
09 October 11
House Democratic Leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said she supports the growing nationwide Occupy Wall Street movement, which began on the streets of downtown New York City in mid - September.
"I support the message to the establishment, whether it's Wall Street or the political establishment and the rest, that change has to happen," said Pelosi in an exclusive interview with ABC News "This Week" anchor Christiane Amanpour. "We cannot continue in a way that is not relevant to their lives."
Pelosi sees the protestors' anger stemming from unemployment, which remains above 9 percent. READ MORE
09 October 11
If some aspects of the Occupy Wall Street protest feel predictable - the drum circles, the signs, including "Tax Wall Street Transactions" and "End the FED" - so does the right-wing response. Is it any surprise that Fox News and its allied bloggers consider the protesters "deluded" and "dirty smelly hippies"?
Then again, maybe it is surprising. As more than a few observers have noted, the Occupy Wall Street chant, "We Are the 99 Percent" - a shot across the bow of the wealthiest 1 percent of the country, which includes the financial predators and confidence gamers who crashed the global economy with impunity - seems synonymous with the Tea Party's "Take Back America" ethos. READ MORE
09 October 11
More and more, in dealing with nonviolent political protesters police across America show up in battlefield dress with intimidating military gear supplied by the Pentagon and Homeland Security. Writer John Hanrahan says reporters, instead of ignoring this ominous development, should ask local, regional and national leaders: Do we need this crap? READ MORE
08 October 11
I've been coughing and vomiting, and my head aches from pepper spray. I'll post videos and photos of why here.
We intended to hold signs and sing inside the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, protesting its promotion of unmanned drones, missiles, and bombs, including its sponsorship by and promotion of weapons corporations. We don't have any museums promoting health coverage or education or retirement security.
We had marched from the Freedom Plaza and McPherson Square occupations, taking over the streets of DC. The museum knew we were coming. Some of our group got in and dropped a banner. Hundreds of us did not. Instead, we were greeted at the door with cans of pepper spray.
There were three sets of entrance doors. I was among the first to open the third set of doors. A guard shook a can of pepper spray in front of me and demanded that we back out. But a dozen feet away at the second set of doors, people were staggering out and collapsing in pain, having been pepper sprayed in the face. I started to go toward them, but began coughing and vomiting. A lot of people were effected, directly or - like me - indirectly by the pepper spray.
It is not true that we assaulted the police. Nobody was accused of or charged with that. I didn't hear about it until later from the media. A young woman named Thi Le was told she'd be charged with assaulting a police officer after she was pepper sprayed and handcuffed, but they switched the charge to disorderly conduct and released her a few hours later.
It is not true that they only pepper sprayed one person. Many people were pepper sprayed.
It is not true that the crowd dispersed. The guards locked the doors and closed the museum. We had not planned to close the museum but to demonstrate and leave. With the museum closed and one of our own in custody, we held a rally on the steps as more people made their way over from Freedom Plaza to join us. We were there for hours.
We will be here for as long as it takes.
Congress comes back to this town on Tuesday.
We're ready.
We're nonviolent.
We're not scared.
We're not discouraged.
We're not fooled.
We've got demands as clear as a blue sky:
Occupy Wall Street
Occupy K Street
Occupy Everything
And Never Give it Back!
08 October 11
Like most people living through this jarring age of economic turbulence and political dysfunction, you can probably recall a moment in the last few months when you thought to yourself that our lawmakers and corporate leaders are all crazy. And not just run-of-the-mill crazy, a la George Costanza's parents, but the kind of crazy that makes films like "Silence of the Lambs" and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" so frightening.
The good news for you is that you aren't insane for thinking this. The bad news for all of us, though, is that according to two new scientific analyses, you are more correct in your assessment than you may know. READ MORE
08 October 11
The Occupy Wall Street protests that began in New York City more than three weeks ago have now spread across the country. The choice of Wall Street as the focal point for the protests - as even Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said - makes sense due to the big bank malfeasance that led to the Great Recession.
While the Dodd-Frank financial reform law did a lot to ensure that a repeat of the 2008 financial crisis won't occur - through regulation of derivatives, a new consumer protection agency, and new powers for the government to dismantle failing banks - the biggest banks still have a firm grip on the financial system, even more so than before the 2008 financial crisis. Here are eleven facts that you need to know about the nation's biggest banks: READ MORE
08 October 11
I love you.
And I didn't just say that so that hundreds of you would shout "I love you" back, though that is obviously a bonus feature of the human microphone. Say unto others what you would have them say unto you, only way louder.
Yesterday, one of the speakers at the labor rally said: "We found each other." That sentiment captures the beauty of what is being created here. A wide-open space (as well as an idea so big it can’t be contained by any space) for all the people who want a better world to find each other. We are so grateful. READ MORE
08 October 11
Bruner said he expected "hundreds, maybe thousands" to join the demonstrators this afternoon at Washington Square for its first - ever rally there at 3 p.m. Cops are already gearing up for what could be an invasion.
They're fencing off grassy areas in the park, and putting up 10 - foot high chain link fences around public bathrooms. Close to 30 cops, nine scooters and three - wheeled vehicles and a van were already stationed at Laguardia Place and West 3rd St., hours before the new protest.
One officer at Zuccotti Park told The Post: "I think they'll have to move, to find a new place to stay. They can do whatever they want until the sun goes down." READ MORE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhrwmJcsfT0
08 October 11
The debate over the Occupy Wall Street protests took on a harsh tenor Friday, with Republican leader Rep. Eric Cantor denouncing the demonstrators as "mobs" and slamming President Obama for allegedly encouraging them.
"This administration's failed policies have resulted in an assault on many of our nation's bedrock principles," he said. "If you read the newspapers today, I for one am increasingly concerned about the growing mobs occupying Wall Street and the other cities across the country. 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
08 October 2011
An expedition of protesters from the Occupy Wall Street movement is scheduled to hold a meeting in Washington Square Park Saturday.
Organizers of the demonstration say they will hold a "general assembly" at 3 p.m, which they describe as an opportunity to recruit new supporters and share ideas.
"The Washington Square Park thing is a great way to bring us to the next level," said Michael Fix, an organizer of the demonstration. READ MORE
08 October 2011
"More and more middle-age people are showing up all the time," says Robert Hockett, a professor at Cornell University Law School, who has a small apartment just around the corner from Zuccotti Park where the Wall Street protest began in New York. He attends the nightly general assembly meetings, he says with a laugh, adding, "They are my neighbors now."
A student of social protest, he says that "this is different from many earlier movements such as the antiwar actions, because the issues don't fall into partisan political or age divides." Rather, he says, "these economic issues are hitting old and young across political lines."
Veterans from earlier protest eras are putting in a good showing. Margaret Ratner Kunstler, widow of the iconic progressive attorney William Kuntsler, has been in the heart of the fray from early on and represents many of the protesters arrested on the Brooklyn Bridge two weeks ago.
"I'm a grandmother and these are my children," she says with a laugh, noting that the reach and organization she sees springing up around the movement "is giving me hope." READ MORE
08 October 11
#ows is growing. We will be in a thousand cities in this country by the end of the month - hundreds of cities in other countries. We will see General Assemblies on six continents. Liberty Square has grown exponentially over the last three weeks. It is time to form a second General Assembly in Manhattan. We expect more to follow.
"On October eighth at three in the afternoon a General Assembly will convene in Washington Square Park. At the same time Anti-Flag will play an acoustic set in Liberty Square in solidarity with our movement's expansion. We are growing. Block by block – city by city. We will see change in this country, in this world. It will happen sooner than you can imagine."
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
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
