Occupy Wall Street

[Lasercookie]

http://occupywallst.org/

http://www.smh.com.au/world/occupy-wall-street-protesters-organise-for-long-haul-20111013-1lmki.html

It's pretty impressive what they're doing.

[appianway]

Some Yales organized an occupy occupy wall st :/

[Interficere]

There's one in Melbourne (and probably other Australian cities) starting this Saturday. It'll probably be overrun with people from Socialist Alternative (sorry if you're one of them, it's just that I'm really tired of SA/Resistance/whatever else taking over every single protest to push their own agenda) but nevertheless it'll be interesting to see how it goes.

Melbourne: http://www.facebook.com/occupymelb
Sydney: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-Sydney/153514104742550?sk=wall
Brisbane: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Occupy-Brisbane/104200033022305?sk=info
Perth: http://www.facebook.com/pages/OccupyPerth/119982941440960?sk=info
Adelaide: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=138387406259689

[Mao]

Oh yeah, corporations are pure evil. Because jobs in third world countries don't help with poverty or anything like that. Those people are much better off not working... oh wait.

[Russ]

If I was a lawyer, I'd sue them for incitement to riot.

[Eriny]

There's one in Canberra too this weekend. I understand how pissed off Americans must be where you can still have two jobs and be under the poverty line meanwhile in the midst of recession CEOs have gotten pay increases, but I'm not sure how it really applies to Australia. Certainly there is a lot of inequality here, but I don't see the situation as being anywhere near as dire thanks to a reasonable safety net and a basic minimum wage.

[appianway]

I went to a panel today which said that changing CEO salaries wouldn't really do much, and that the main way in which the US government can actually make a difference is to have a large, sustained stimulus package (and apparently the increase in employment that it could cause would halve the national debt). Interesting.

[MuggedByReality]

 
    Q: Why are you protesting?
    A: I like the use of public space as a performative realm and I like the combination of bodies in space. I think it makes a statement.
  http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2011/10/06/fashion/20111006PROTEST-4.html

[appianway]

Occupy New Haven was happening right outside my window :/

[Ghost!]

My cousin was a major organizer for the Occupy Melbourne event this past weekend. Personally, I think it's a load of people living above their means getting upset when they can't support such a lifestyle, so, meh. I can't recall who said it, but it was a pretty impressive quote regarding American's approach to personal finance, and although I've never been to the US from what I've been exposed to via television, the internet and the media it seems somewhat accurate. Essentially, American's never view themselves as a part of the poor class of society, only ever as temporarily embarrassed millionaires - hence the tendency to excessively spend money they cannot afford to repay.

[selim31]

If you ask me it's just the Left refusing once again to contribute to society and let big mama CEO pay for you while they're protesting their own misery on a weekday.

[Eriny]

^How so? While protests of this kind are undeniably leftist in nature, I don't think you're really accurately portraying the lives of those Americans who are really screwed over by corporate interests. The American government is highly protectionist of their industries, and I think there is a case in saying that in being so protectionist, the CEOs of said companies are being funded at the expense of ordinary citizens.

[selim31]

Obama probably shouldn't have promised too much when he said that his 'Jobs Bill' would actually create many jobs. Don't despair, I know that Bush supported many bailouts. I really don't care however as both parties are responsible for this mess.

[selim31]

Uhh.....Corporate greed isn't exactly a justification for bashing a 14 year old Girl in Melbourne's CBD.

[tea.squaredd]

The police asked the protesters to move. They didn't. What did you expect?
Although the 'bashing' of any citizen should not be tolerated, I'm sure the police wouldn't have 'bashed' this girl if she was not putting up resistance. I am not sure to what degree this person was 'bashed', hence it is in quotation marks.
If you show resistance to enforcers of any policy, there will be incidents where unintended injuries may occur. Common Sense.
To put it harshly, the protesters are , in effect, asking for it.