Dr. Jeffrey Sachs at OWS

I had just arrived when I saw a group gathered around, I got close and recognized Dr. Jeffrey Sachs sounding pretty pumped (that is, as pumped as I've ever seen economists get). I am not - as shocking as this is - an expert cameraman. The video is of poor quality, but I was pretty close. Take of it what you will.

Video 1: Only 17 seconds of Dr. Sachs (and here) stating that the two political parties in the US are fighting for the 1% - not the 99%. The two videos were taken back to back, I wasn't sure how long he was staying. He stayed a long time and moved around the crowded square so as to not create too much traffic and to hear people's questions/give interviews.

 

Video 2: (Much longer) Dr. Sachs takes all sorts of questions while I struggle to get footage of it. There was definitely a political campaign feel to it - like he was running for office and psyching supporters (I'm sure this is NOT the case, I'm only saying how I felt watching it). I've never seen Dr. Sachs speak before, and I'm only basically familiar with his work, but I got the feeling he was out to rally people and give a nuanced outlook on what was happening. 

Occupy Wall Street

On Friday (10/7) I took the trip into NYC to spend a few hours taking in the protest off Wall Street. What I saw was a large group of people dedicated to the important but vague issue of the disparity in income distribution in the United States. In addition to protesting the unfairly large share of resources the richest 1% control, they're protesting the undue influence of these same people in controlling national policy.  

The message was not united. Some people just really like to protest and a handful of loud people in the park are doing exactly that. There was one guy screaming for a return to the gold standard, another protesting the treatment of 9/11 victims, and another promoting animal rights. 

The movement is growing. It's an effective strategy to not coalesce around one united set of goals, for fear of alienating would-be joiners. I would say though, that the time is coming when a specific set of demands will be laid out to be addressed by the President and GOP candidates. I don't think a leader of the movement will be named for fear of his/her faults being exploited and costing the movement.

I grabbed some video of Dr. Jeff Sachs speaking at the event, its not expert footage but I'll be posting it soon. The following sources are also useful: 

New Yorker 

Facebook Rant

Atlantic

4 Reasons to OWS

Alan Grayson

The rest of the pictures are my own. Comments welcome.