Occupy Wall Street: Take the Bull by the Horns
06 October 11
Obama: Occupy Wall Street Protests Show Americans' Frustration
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
NY Police Attack Protesters: Scores Injured, Arrested
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
Democratic Lawmakers Embrace Occupy Wall Street Protesters
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
Police Beat Occupy Wall Street Protesters With Batons
Michael Moore: Occupy Everywhere!
Policing the Prophets of Wall Street
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
Thousands March in Occupy Wall Street Protest
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.
Labor Unions Join Wall Street "Occupiers" for Mass Rally
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
#OccupyCollege Walkouts Show Support for #OccupyWallStreet
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
Think Occupy Wall St. Is a Phase? You Don't Get It
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
FOCUS: Howard Dean, Dems Back Occupy Wall Street
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
700,000-Member Strong Communications Workers of America Announce Support for Occupy Wall Street
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
Michael Moore's 4th Visit to #OccupyWallStreet Day 18, 10/4/11
'Occupy Seattle' Protesters Ordered to Move Tents or Face Arrest
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
