Support for 'Occupy Wall Street' protest boosted by mass arrests

[cal04]

By Stephen Foley in New York
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/support-for-occupy-wall-street-protest-boosted-by-mass-arrests-2364710.html

A two-week old protest movement claiming to "Occupy Wall Street" looked like becoming a cause célèbre after the arrest of 700 people who blocked New York's Brooklyn Bridge over the weekend.

Celebrities expressed their solidarity and descended on the makeshift camp in Manhattan's financial district amid criticism of police tactics, and the protest enters its third week with the attention of the media and the backing of organised unions for the first time.

The disruption on the Brooklyn Bridge marked the moment the Occupy Wall Street protests became too big to ignore, as police moved in with netting to pen demonstrators who were disrupting traffic on the road that spans the East River. The organisers of the march claimed participants had been lured on to the road by police, who had previously seemed to stand aside for them. The authorities insisted there had been repeated warnings that straying from the pedestrian walkway would be regarded as disorderly conduct.

(snip)
After Saturday's arrests, the MSNBC news anchor Dylan Ratigan spoke to the camp, expressing his support. And yesterday Salman Rushdie, the author, became the latest celebrity to back the protests. "The world's economy has been wrecked by these rapacious traders. Yet it is the protesters who are jailed," he wrote on his Twitter account. "The thieves are in their palaces, counting their loot. But now the people are hammering at the palace gates."

[Mnemosyne]

1. K&R...

[redgiant]

2. Intentions?

So, the intent of the protesters was never to impede traffic on the bridge, and only did so when "lured" onto the roadway. Bullshit.

Protesting by impeding traffic is a form of civil disobedience. Fine, if that is how you choose to protest, but don't be outraged when the civil authorities do their job to restore the ability of traffic to proceed on the public roadway.

[roguevalley]

3. I can be outraged. Not a problem.

[redgiant]

5. Okay, change "outraged" to "surprised." Works, too.

[JDPriestly]

7. redgiant, here is a video of the police leading protestors on

to the bridge. One fat policeman was beckoning to them. The protestors were clearly entrapped.

Fortunately, the whole thing was videoed. The police were absolutely and clearly in the wrong. What a bunch.

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. support is growing despite NY newspaper distorting the truth:

[tblue]

9. I want to track down this "Al Baker" and ask him WTF?

creep.

[JDPriestly]

10. Here is the video. The first headline was accurate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fockzr7rXys&feature=player_embedded

It's quite incredible. The police were literally caught in the act by Candid Cameras.

[tblue]

11. OK. Here's the guy who changed the NYT article

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/13/business/media/13askthetimes.html?pagewanted=all

Al Baker, police headquarters bureau chief

[eppur_se_muova]

6. No one could have predicted that ... nt

:eyes::eyes::eyes:

[tblue]

8. Dylan Ratigan? Whoa!!!

Way cool!
:woohoo:

[Uncle Joe]

12. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, cal.