02-10-2011, 06:50 AM
[URL="http://news.vivasoft.hu/the-news/266601-wall-street-protests-spread-to-other-cities.html"]U.S. anti-corporate movement expands
[/URL]The Occupy Wall Street protest movement spreads to other cities and gains big-name supporters.
In the two weeks since activists with Occupy Wall Street began protesting in New York, the movement has gained traction nationwide with events in almost every major U.S. city. Meanwhile, more mainstream allies are joining the cause, including unions, members of Congress, celebrities, pundits, and academics.
Demonstrators and sympathisers oppose "corporate greed and corrupt politics," the "gangsterism of Wall Street," and the disproportionate effect the global economic downturn has had on "the other 99 percent."
In a sign that the movement is gaining traction, some of New York's biggest labour unions have now joined protestors (or are planning to join later this week). The city's 38,000-member transit union pledged its support and is planning to encourage members to join the street demonstrations early next week. Unions representing teachers, doormen, security guards, maintenance workers, postal workers, healthcare workers, and other labour sectors have also pledged support and hinted at future involvement.
Organisers hope that union involvement will swell the ranks of protestors from a few hundred to a few thousand, though it remains unclear whether organisers will be able to reach their initial goal of 20,000 on-the-ground activists in New York City.
Congressman Bernie Sanders also expressed support for the movement. Actors and filmmakers, musicians, academics, and other famous faces have shown their support for the movement, either by appearing in person or speaking to the media.
The protests, which began Sept 17, were inspired by a Vancouver-based group that opposes consumerism. The hacktivist group Anonymous helped promote the first organised protest event.
Senator Bernie Sanders speaks out in support of protesters on Sept 29.
Some of New York's labour unions pledged their support for the cause. Below, airline pilots march on Wall Street.
Celebrities have also become involved. Below, actress Susan Sarandon, speaking to a camera crew.
Activist and academic Cornel West.
Filmmaker Michael Moore.
Crowds stage a sit-in in New York's financial district.
Protestors in San Francisco tell Jaime Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase: "You will not get my home!"
Netizens have set up a Tumblr to share stories about "the other 99 percent" of Americans, who they say are struggling to get by while the top one percent remain entrenched in the elite.
The blog, 'We Are the 99 Percent,' links to two Occupy Wall Street organisation pages.
[/URL]The Occupy Wall Street protest movement spreads to other cities and gains big-name supporters.
In the two weeks since activists with Occupy Wall Street began protesting in New York, the movement has gained traction nationwide with events in almost every major U.S. city. Meanwhile, more mainstream allies are joining the cause, including unions, members of Congress, celebrities, pundits, and academics.
Demonstrators and sympathisers oppose "corporate greed and corrupt politics," the "gangsterism of Wall Street," and the disproportionate effect the global economic downturn has had on "the other 99 percent."
In a sign that the movement is gaining traction, some of New York's biggest labour unions have now joined protestors (or are planning to join later this week). The city's 38,000-member transit union pledged its support and is planning to encourage members to join the street demonstrations early next week. Unions representing teachers, doormen, security guards, maintenance workers, postal workers, healthcare workers, and other labour sectors have also pledged support and hinted at future involvement.
Organisers hope that union involvement will swell the ranks of protestors from a few hundred to a few thousand, though it remains unclear whether organisers will be able to reach their initial goal of 20,000 on-the-ground activists in New York City.
Congressman Bernie Sanders also expressed support for the movement. Actors and filmmakers, musicians, academics, and other famous faces have shown their support for the movement, either by appearing in person or speaking to the media.
The protests, which began Sept 17, were inspired by a Vancouver-based group that opposes consumerism. The hacktivist group Anonymous helped promote the first organised protest event.
Senator Bernie Sanders speaks out in support of protesters on Sept 29.
Some of New York's labour unions pledged their support for the cause. Below, airline pilots march on Wall Street.
Celebrities have also become involved. Below, actress Susan Sarandon, speaking to a camera crew.
Activist and academic Cornel West.
Filmmaker Michael Moore.
Crowds stage a sit-in in New York's financial district.
Protestors in San Francisco tell Jaime Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase: "You will not get my home!"
Netizens have set up a Tumblr to share stories about "the other 99 percent" of Americans, who they say are struggling to get by while the top one percent remain entrenched in the elite.
The blog, 'We Are the 99 Percent,' links to two Occupy Wall Street organisation pages.
"Let me issue and control a nation's money and I care not who writes the laws. - Mayer Rothschild
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience! People are obedient in the face of poverty, starvation, stupidity, war, and cruelty. Our problem is that grand thieves are running the country. That's our problem!" - Howard Zinn
"If there is no struggle there is no progress. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and never will" - Frederick Douglass