Occupy Wall Street protests..

Is this a flash in the pan or something that'll grow over the next few weeks and months?

Hopefully they will grow, there's now talk of international protests which I am going to take part in. Including one in NZ.

While at the moment there doesn't appear to be a coherent set of demands, it will draw attention to the fact that people want and need change to happen. The main sentiment is anti-corporatism, anti-capitalism etc...

The growing gap between rich and poor is something that everyone should care about, even the rich as they are more likely to be mentally and physically worse off as the divide increases.

I would encourage people who are largely apathetic but do believe this is a problem to take part in the Saturday October 15th protest on Queen St.

NZ used to be a pinnacle of social change, suffragettes, the right to vote, anti-apartheid.

The new apartheid is the gap between rich and poor and until it's addressed people need to stand up and scream about it and make themselves heard.

+1 resist

Here are the relevant facebook groups:

http://www.facebook.com/OccupyAuck
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-New-Zealand

Melbs:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=170501669699928&ref=ts

That was at 2001, it would be far more extreme now.

fucking liberals

not sure you understand what that term actually means.

fkn pinko commies imo :>

resist i'm pro capitalism and greed and rich cunts, enjoy your little march tho babe x

It's early days but this movement is gathering surprising and unexpected momentum, moreover a strength is its generality and symbolic power - which is always more powerful emotively than cold policy details.



In NZ we are actually not doing as badly as many places like Europe and the US where unemployment is far higher and governments have so much more blood on their hands. Here we have a Key govt rating high in the polls. In the UK they are fresh from unexpected riots, Spain has a well organised revolutionary movement, Greece doesnt know what to do with itself and in the US a huge electorate who voted for Obama and Change is feeling very fucked over.

it's gonna pain me when you're up against the wall trixy :'(

I kinda wish people on the pro democracy side would stop spreading made up bollocks for their cause on facebook though, it kinda takes a lot of the credibility away from it.

They may as well just be posting that FB are going to start charging soon. People just blindly repost it. I'm quite sceptical when I see anything about the situation now.

The americans actually have a very worthy reason to protest but it is getting lost in the retoric. Protesting for laws to stop the GFC happening is awesome. Turning that into an anti capitalism rally is only going to marginalise the protesters. A few idiots spoil it for the people who have a point.

if it's at your hands i will die a happy man

http://ntu.org/tax-basics/history-of-federal-individual-1.html

Tax rates for top and bottom earners in US which I expect will have dictated our taxation policy to some extent if only due to the fear of "scaring business offshore".

92% for top earners in 1952 (US$400 000) down to 35% in 2011 on over $379 150.

And afaik these figures are for real dollar, not comparative worth, so the brackets increased right up into what must have been the billions back then, while nowadays the well off (whom most capitalists seem to both concern themselves and identify most with) and the ultra rich enjoy the same bracket

Why write this off? Rampant capitalist greed is what has led America to where it is today, why ignore it?

Were fucked because of corporate capitalist greed. We had to go into a recession because capitalism worldwide is failing us.

capitalism brought you internets and d/loads of season this and season that you bloody nutters and a recession? LOL you complain about recession like it was a depression 1930's style?

so good I had to post twice

it may have been capitalists lending the money but it was socialists in Greece spending it like there was no tomrrow on UNSUSTAINABLE nonsense

lol @ capitalism bringing us the internet...

!

Soon will be if nothing major changes imo (and of plenty of people whose expertise I choose to believe) hence plenty of us being concerned by the whole situation.

The world markets are on the verge of total collapse

WTF are you talking about NR.

Capitalist greed has infiltrated the US Govt to the point where they don't really even try to hid it anymore. Meanwhile perfectly respectable people earning perfectly respectable incomes can't afford to look after themselves, while others are worse off than that. And what? You cannot even compare what's happening in our world today to the Depression, it's stupid to even try.

We are where we're at mostly due to a deregulated financial system that let people fiddle with things far too much, while the US Govt stood back and watched for far too long. And nothing is going to change where we're at unless normal folk stand up against it en masse.

I hope it continues to gather momentum, everyone's dealt with this shit for far too long.

I'm not denying it's serious and it's a bloody shame the lessons of the past were ignored by those who should know better but there it is it's done. It is still only recessionary, which the piigs are not helping wth the reovery from.

NR, bob et al., do you think growing income disparity is a problem? What do you suggest is done to combat it if you do?

Is income disparity growing or are previously poor countries that were off the radar getting richer at the expense of "1st world" countries?

It is at present, yes, but I don't believe for much longer as the stimulus packages, bailouts, and legislation changes haven't addressed enough of the core issues, so we are bound to feel the full force shortly.

So the main reason I want to involve myself in this is because plenty of people I care about don't yet recognize how serious it is or that there are ways to head it off if we make sweeping changes before those who make money from crises send our financial horse over the cliff.

Whether any of these ideas will work or if we even manage to choose the right one, if we do manage to get people concerned enough to affect major change, is the next step...

Look at the Arab nations, they got massive political change through protest, if the entire world protests someone is going to take note.

Income disparity for the purposes of most of these discussions is within a given economy, but the growth and development of previously poorer countries are changing the face of the world economy, for sure.

It's nothing to do with poor nations getting richer at all.

To clarify, it's about the vast bulk of the worlds riches being owned and controlled by less than 1% of the population. Remember those bankers that destroyed the global financial system? They are still rich, still doing the same thing, yet the rest of us are the ones that are dealing with the fallout, and paying for it.

Income disparity grows ... for western nations anyway. Unskilled jobs are lost to manufacturing nations (Taiwan, China etc) which means an oversupply in the local market with out of work unskilled workers, which in turn drops their wages. Meanwhile the top jobs are still there (someone has to tell the Chinese factories what to do). Probably an oversimplification of it but I'm tired. Plus there's more than just globalisation that's responsible for disparity, but yeah...

Thanks, basically atm there's a huge disparity in wealth, during the GFC these people made a shitload, while the rest of us plebians got absolutely shafted.

http://lancewiggs.com/2011/10/04/lets-make-new-zealand-the-1-percent/

-Howard Zinn

-Noam Chomsky

Democracy is a form of government in which all people have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives

the more often we the people gather to voice our opinions the more those in power will take note - this isn't about dismantling capitalism, this is about putting balance and fairness back into our political and economic systems - this effects us all and we all can benefit, 100%

They called themselves "socialists" and so did the Nazis. Often people tell lies about who they are.

There's now 316 protests planned in 316 different cities, so the movement is definitely gaining a lot of traction. Looks like the media will be covering it here too.

Tens of Thousands in Foley Square.. About to march on Wall Street.

http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/10/05/wall-street-protesters-coalesce-movement-spreads-nationwide/

Quote from Mitt Romney:

"I don't have facts to back this up, but I happen to believe that these demonstrations are planned and orchestrated to distract from the failed policies of the Obama administration. Don't blame Wall Street, don't blame the big banks, if you don't have a job and you're not rich, blame yourself! It is not someone's fault if they succeeded."

What something clever and witty to have on a carry sign for that protest on the 15th.

CAN HAZ MORE MONIES?

that's not even funny. Yaw I have lost my funny

I'm occupying my desk until QT gets her funny on

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

!

edit: Was trying to find direct link for that and it seems that Herman Cain actually said it

#occupysesamestreet: Outrageous that 99% of the cookies are consumed by 1% of the monsters.

ahh it was weird the way they labeled it ! Sorry Mitt Romney said it was class warfare.

You see anonymous is threatening to take out the NYSE ?

They also threatened the police that they would release personal details about them if they were caught using pepper spray or excessive force on protesters, 2 days after the warning they did just that and with photos of the incidents they went on to release all details about the officers involved.

the protests remind me of the anti war protests that spread around the world before the Iraq invasion...

shame the leaders didn't listen then as over a million iraqi's might still be alive today

15000 in NY now, a lot more than the 1000 that marched a week ago!

Great news about why this is relevant here:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/money/5742308/Tiny-gains-in-wage-packets

And the distribution of wealth in NZ:

http://www.nzinstitute.org/index.php/ownershipsociety/paper/the_wealth_of_a_nation/

x2

It's almost criminal how not one major US news network is covering any of this. What are their reasons, anyone know?

It's a major threat to them, they are also protesting corporations control over mass media. If they thought this was a flash in the pan protest they would cover it, but it's gaining traction and fast.

The fact it's not going mainstream through the media is giving it more power.

It angers me beyond words tbh. Americans have been brainwashed for decades. God bless the BBC is all I can say.

Yeah the UK coverage is really good. So is Aljazeera !

BBC and Aljazeera are the only two news agencies I have any respect for these days.

ALJ rocks... BBC is biased these days and nothing like the BBC of old

"Greece edged deeper into chaos as workers brought the country to a standstill with a general strike."
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/oct/05/general-strike-in-greece?newsfeed=true

First Edition of the Wall St Occupation Paper is online.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/daryllang/occupy_wsj.pdf

Reports of 40000+ protesters in New York now.

Halls of mirors? Already?

When you lack inspiration for a clever sign, always go for these old fallbacks:

kris...

OpWallStreet #OccupyAmerica
Pepper Spray & Arrest currently happening. Police cant let us have a good day. @MikeBloomberg is a prick. #OccupyWallStreet @OccupyAmerica

Link?

5.12pm: Paul Harris says there could be as many as 15,000 on the march. More are on the way – Village Voice reports...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2011/oct/05/occupy-wall-street-protests-live

Fox News accidently interviews an intelligent person. This didn't make it to air.


http://www.observer.com/2011/10/exclusive-occupy-wall-street-activist-slams-fox-news-anchor-in-un-aired-interview-video/

articulate and brilliant

Was quoted on the Occupy Denver page, apparently when the students rolled up the numbers increased to over double.

http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/news/local/city-council-to-officially-support-occupy-la-20111005?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

so LA is supporting meanwhile there have been mass arrests:

Globalrevolution is now broadcasting from the back of a paddywagon as they have been arrested.

Register of the vested interests of all parliamentarians:

John Key - Bank of America

http://www.parliament.nz/NR/rdonlyres/84AF1922-F14F-4BAB-A321-BEA111EB0AD1/145163/register2010_5.pdf

779 Cities and counting.

shaky investment?

http://finance.yahoo.com/echarts?s=bac+interactive#symbol=bac;range=1y;compare=;indicator=volume;charttype=area;crosshair=on;ohlcvalues=0;logscale=off;source=;

Are you going to the Melbourne thingy type thing Yak?

I saw the invite, was thinking of seeing if Matt was keen, cause hey, if its not interesting.. theres plenty of bars close by

I'm such a capatialist scum

not if you go to a working mens club

Ya I'm definitely there, I love occupations :>
Matt RSVP'd as attending too..

yeh I havent seen much about it at all... and I keep my eyes and ears open in the media...


imo simple solution is progresssive taxation

The protest no one is talking about.... fyi the media reported this as 15000.

the revolution will not be televised

Perfect example there Resist... its been photoshopped :

so does that google map pic have a date stamp and geo o-ordinates tag?

Yes I was wrong to post that photo, that was my bad.

Here's the statement of purpose from the NZ group:

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
by Occupy Aotearoa New Zealand

Friday October 7th, 8:24 p.m.

Kia ora koutou.

This is a living document representing the voice of Occupy Movements across Auckland, New Plymouth, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. We are a peaceful movement with no political affiliations.

We stand in solidarity with our friends in New York who have been courageously occupying Wall Street since September the 17th, as well as the many other occupations formed around the world in recent weeks. We support their assertion that endless corporate greed compromises the political system and holds too much influence over our everyday lives. We stand for a truly democratic society of freedom, equality, justice and equity.

The 15th of October is Global Unite For Change Day. On that day we will join countless others around the world to occupy our cities and voice our message loud and clear.

Our nation faces many issues. One in five of our children currently live in poverty. Our government repeatedly undermines democracy by passing legislation under urgency to fast track public consultation. Our country is now open to overseas companies eager to plunder our natural resources and scoop up most of the profits. Our cost of living continues to rise faster than wages increase. Our gap between rich and poor continues to widen.

We know that our current financial system has failed us. The world economy is in a state of collapse and yet the wealthy elite still profit whilst passing the strain down to us. The richest 1% of the world control 40% of its wealth, whilst people still die every day from lack of basic needs. Corporatism is exhausting the supply of our planet's resources and stealing the prospects of our future generations.

The Occupy Movement encourages us all to acknowledge the ugly situation we're in and start looking for real answers. It may take us some time to find those answers, but they will be found through perseverance and determination.

We are inclusive of all people, irrespective of race, gender, sexuality, religion or political orientation. We want a system that benefits everyone fairly, and we would love to hear your views.

We urge you to attend your local occupation, or create one for your province if needed. Be bold, kind and creative. This is not a one day protest; this is a united assembly of the people, for the people.

We are the 99%. Join us.

“He aha te mea nui o te ao?
He tangata! He tangata! He tangata!"

"What is the most important thing in the world?
It is people! It is people! It is people!”

Hippies are ruining socialism

Let's be honest, the right has it mostly right. Most leftists nowadays ARE lazy

This is a problem. leftits should be stakhanovites.

Socialism was discredited because there was too much emphasis on the iron fist.
The world would be a far safer place if those in power acknowledged that they actually do not have all the answers, and that dialogue is needed to identify possible solutions.
Modernity is out of control, and it resists control even as we need at the same time to steer it in a different direction. Those who think they have the answers fail to comprehend problems like complexity and unanticipated consequences.

Download the Occupied Wall Street Journal

http://www.scribd.com/doc/67837516/Occupied-Wall-Street-Journal

Good article on what's gwan.... from an American publication no less! http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/07/opinion/krugman-confronting-the-malefactors.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

from a nobel prize winning economist too!

http://nation.foxnews.com/tea-party/2011/10/07/ny-times-touts-unexpected-success-wall-street-protest-almost-ignored-nyc-tea-party-2009

1083 Cities and counting.

I am probably going to boycott the NZ one, and urge others to do so until they change their stance as they have decide to allow political party flags and affiliations which will result in the movement here being marginalised by minority parties like the Mana party.

Where are you getting this from? Facebook? I'd have something to say about that..

http://www.politickerny.com/2011/10/07/peter-king-disapproves-of-occupy-wall-street/

It is a very worrying situation in the sense that the Occupy Wall St Movement will be labelled in all kinds of ways by extreme Republicans so they can be subject to "legitimate" violence

Dismissing these protests as anti-American is pretty anti-American.... in the original meaning of the phrase before it was bastardised by the right to mean anyone that was against them.

Interesting one. Not sure where i stand on it. I think I'd be ok for people to parade signage for political type organisations like 350 and unions, etc, but to let Political Parties have a presence is a big step beyond that