Occupy Wall Street Protesters March On Police Headquarters

Thousands of Wall Street Protesters March on Police Headquarters

October 1, 2011 11:05am | By Ben Fractenberg, DNAinfo Reporter/Producer

LOWER MANHATTAN — Thousands of protesters led by the Occupy Wall Street group rallied downtown Friday to decry the use of pepper spray by a high-ranking officer during a march in last week.

The rally began in Zuccotti Park at 5:30 p.m. after hundreds of people, hoping to see a Radiohead concert that never happened, joined the protesters who were already there. Members of Transport Workers Union Local 100 and some members of other unions, such as the United Auto Workers, joined them.

(OccupyWallStreet)

"Last [weekend] we experienced police brutality, but actually to a very limited degree," said one speaker who is part of an anti-police brutality organization. "Across the nation and all over the world hundreds of people are killed by the police and the police are never held accountable."

Last Saturday, the situation became heated as protesters, opposing Wall Street greed, marched from their encampment at Zuccotti Park, near the World Trade Center, to Union Square. 

Some 80 protesters were arrested and hit with various charges that day and videos began to surface allegedly showing a high-ranking police official, identified by sources as Deputy Inspector Anthony Bologna, pepper spraying a group of women.

The NYPD said that it is investigating the incident, which has also been referred to the Civilian Complaint Review Board.

A second video surfaced on Wednesday purportedly showing another pepper spray incident.

On Friday evening, marchers made their way to the plaza outside the Municipal Building and Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office — yards from police headquarters.

Group members sat down and shouted what speakers said so even those in the back could hear.

A number of issues were touched upon during the protest, but the main theme continued to be against corporate greed and a more equitable distribution of resources.

Some protesters said they purposefully are not speaking about a specific set of demands or issues as they want Zuccotti Park, where they have been based since Sept. 17, to remain a place where democratic conversation can take place.

But at least one protester during the march said he would like to see a bit more focus.

"If the movement can come out and make a specific demand like this [demanding an end to police brutality] it will make a difference," said Will Hurd, 34, who traveled from Vermont for the protest and has been sleeping in Zuccotti Park for the past three days.


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Wall Street Protest Starting to Look Like Tahrir Square, Egypt-Occupy Wall Street Protests

Occupy Wall Street Protest Movement


The American Autumn Revolution


Is this the Black Swan that will overturn the obstructionism going on in Congress? Will this take down the bloated fat asses who have been earning big dollars through their connections to lobbyists, Wall Street elite, and other neo-fascists running multinational corporations who control much of Washington? 


This movement is spreading. The Tea Party will be nothing after this movement takes hold nationwide. These are the real Americans who have said NO to the way Washington plutocrats destroy things.

More great postings from http://www.washingtonsblog.com  9-30-11

Alexander Higgins reports:

NYPD police scanners are estimating a crowd up to 5,000 are occupying liberty square in a scene that is now starting to look more like Egypt’s Tahrir square.

Here are some additional photographs from a helicopter.

Who Are the Protesters?

Wall Street is trying to write all of these people off as being “hippies” who “need to get a job” (to which the protesters would respond: That’s the point – There are no jobs, because Wall Street has destroyed the economy.)

The poor and the desperate, formerly-middle class people participating in the protests are not taking well to Wall Street’s “Let them eat cake” response.

But all types are marching, including grannies and pilots:

Marines and other military men and women.

Wealthy folks such as Russel Simmons and Alec Baldwin.

Liberals and conservatives.

On the other side of the protest line, Mayor Bloomberg is whining that the protesters are targeting bankers who “are struggling to make ends meet”. He has a point: if Wall Street is reined in so that the rest of the country has a chance, the bankers might have to cut back on their mistresses, prostitutes and solid gold toilets.

Class Warfare?

Yes, this is class warfare. But it is class warfare by the 1% against the other 99% (and see this). Specifically, it is the looting of the country by the top .1% through fraud.

As Warren Buffet – one of America’s most successful capitalists and defenders of capitalism – points out:

There’s class warfare, all right, but it’s my class, the rich class, that’s making war ….

Leading economists note that rampant inequality was one of the main causes of the Great Depression and of the current economic crisis.

Indeed, given that inequality in America is worse than Egypt (or Tunisia, or Yemen or mostLatin American banana republics), and that social mobility is lower in America than in most European countries (and see this), we have been predicting these types of protests for years.

If Wall Street is starting to look like Tahir Square, it is because America is starting to look more and more like Egypt – with a handful of super-rich, and crumbs for everyone else.

Posted in Politics / World News | 1 Comment

Wall Street Protest: Time for Conservative Endorsements

Posted on September 30, 2011 by WashingtonsBlog

Big Liberal Endorsements for Wall Street Protest

Given that numerous unions (and see this) and progressive luminaries like Cornell West, Michael Moore, Bernie Sanders and Russel Simmons are joining the Wall Street protest, this may be painted by some as a “left-wing movement”.

Conservatives Support Protests

Of course, United Airlines pilots are not a particularly liberal group, but they joined in.

Indeed, conservatives such as Dylan Ratigan, Karl Denninger, and supporters of Ron Paul have also joined in to the protests.

The Divide-And-Conquer Technique Is Failing

I’ve repeatedly warned that there is a scripted, psuedo-war between Dems and Repubs, liberals and conservatives which is in reality a false divide-and-conquer dog-and-pony show created by the powers that be to keep the American people divided and distracted. See this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this,this and this. (In fact, the Founding Fathers warned us about the threat from a two party system.)

The Tea Party was quickly co-opted by the Republican Party:

Remember that one of the founders of the Tea Party – Karl Denninger – has slammedthe current Tea Party (which was quickly co-opted by the mainstream GOP) for serving the rich and the Republican party instead of fighting against the giant banks, and iscalling for non-partisan, Gandhi-style nonviolent resistance to take on the banskters.

Don’t let the Wall Street protests get hijacked by the mainstream Democratic Party.

Time for Big Conservative Endorsements

This is not a liberal or a conservative cause … it is both.

It is time for some big conservative endorsements, to rally around the non-partisan issues important to all Americans.

The Tea Party should endorse the protests, but so should the Oath Keepers, taxpayer rights groups, conservative Christians, limited government groups, and all other conservative groups.

A sign from the Wall Street protest shows that the people on the ground get it:

AFL-CIO Chief Backs Wall Street Protest

Posted on September 30, 2011 by WashingtonsBlog

AFL-CIO Boss Supports Wall Street Protest

[Note: Many other unions are supporting the protests as well.]

By leading anti-war activist David Swanson, author of Day Break and War Is A Lie, who runs the websites DavidSwanson.org and WarIsACrime.org (formerly AfterDowningStreet.org).

AFL-CIO’s Richard Trumka Backs Occupy Wall Street

Video on C-Span.

Rough transcript:

okay. let’s take questions from the audience. in the very back there’s a question with his hand up, and if you can give us your name, and if you’re with an organization and also keep your questions brief so we can get to as many people as possible.

certainly. lloyd chris, america’s democratic action. my question actually has to do with the occupied wall street protests that are going on in new york city, and there’s been some recent activity where some union locals are kind of becoming involved in that, and I was wondering if you have an opinion on some of the AFL-CIO national member organizations, kind of beginning to take a role in that because I sort of think that that street demonstration activity is sort of forcing dialogue on the issues that you’re talking about. just wondered if you have any thoughts on that, thank you.

I happen to agree with you. I think being in the streets and calling attention to issues is sometime the only recourse you have because god only knows you can go to the hill, and you can talk to a lot of people and see nothing ever happen because it doesn’t happen. in the streets, I think, a lot of people are there. our international unions are involved. our locals are involved, and you’ll see a lot of working people. you’ll see a lot of small business people. you’ll see a lot of manufacturing people who actually produce in this country that are being stepped on the same way by multinationals in wall street. I think it’s a tactic and a valid tactic to call attention to a problem. wall street is out of control. we have three imbalances in this country. the imbalance between imports and exports. the imbalance between employer power and working power, and the imbalance between the real economy and the financial economy. we need to bring back balance to the final economy and calling attention to it and peacefully protesting is very legitimate way of doing it. god only knows i’ve done it thousands of times myself, and i’ll do it again.

Posted in Politics / World News | 1 Comment

Media, Internet and Government Censoring Wall Street Protest?

Posted on September 30, 2011 by WashingtonsBlog

Mainstream Media Censoring Wall Street Protests

The mainstream media is refusing to cover the Wall Street protests.

Google, Yahoo and Twitter are both alleged to be censoring the protests.

As an op-ed in China Daily notes, the “US media blackout of protest is shameful”.

While China is hardly a bastion for free speech or a free media, the pot is in this case correct in calling the kettle black.

Government Censorship?

Governments have ordered YouTube to take down protest videos.

America has engaged in massive censorship in recent years, and the elites have openly pined to crack down even more … and to emulate China. For example, Senator Joe Lieberman lamented:

Right now, China can disconnect parts of its Internet in times of war. We need to be able to do that too.

Is the U.S. government censoring coverage of the Wall Street protests? Only time will tell.

Anthem For Wall Street (And Worldwide) Protests

Posted on September 29, 2011 by WashingtonsBlog

(See below for notes on the music.)

The king’s men
Have betrayed us
Tricked us out of
Our homes

No one else
Gonna save us
We must stand up
On our own

Divided
We’ve been conquered
For too long
We’ve played their game

United
We’d be invincible
So rise up
And shake off our chains

We’ve been fooled
By the banker
The sheriff
And the priest

We’ve been ruled
By the con man
The scoundrel
And the thief

Divided
We’ve been conquered
For too long
We’ve played their game

United
We’d be invincible
So rise up
And shake off our chains

Feel
The power
Streaming out
Through our souls [Note: if you're an atheist, think of it as our source of courage, or just change the last word to "soles"]

Now’s
The hour
Come together
And let’s roll

Here we are
In the meadow
It is time to
Decide

From afar
The army’s nearing
Are we slaves or
Will we fight?

Divided
We’ve been conquered
For too long
We’ve played their game

United
We’d be invincible
So rise up
And shake off our chains

Feel
The power
Streaming out
Through our souls

Now’s
The hour
Come together
And let’s roll

Words and music Copyright © 2010-2011 George Washington/Washington’s Blog.

Notes on the music: The drums are similar to U2′s “Bloody Sunday“, the guitar similar to U2 in some parts and the main riff from Little Steven’s “Freedom” in other parts, and there are elements of Simple Minds’ “Sanctify Yourself” or “Don’t You Forget About Me” and – I know, I know – Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love“.

Note: If a professional recording studio donates time, we can record this properly. Please send us an email if you can offer recording and engineering time.

Posted in Politics / World News | 8 Comments

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