"Occupy Wall Street" Today in NYC: A "Day of Rage" Kicking Off Our Own Arab Spring?

Later today, activists will file downtown and set up tarps, tents and sleeping bags to being an "occupation" of Wall Street in protest of the financial and corporate hegemony. Their specific demand is for free and fair elections, ending big contributions and demanding that one citizen be allowed to contribute a dollar.

But more generally, the aim of the protests is to demonstrate a "Tahrir Square in the West"--to show the powers that be that Americans are as stalwart and unyielding in their pursuits of justice as citizens who are taking part in the "Arab Spring."

Here's the latest update from Adbusters, an organizer of today's events:

Saturday's occupation begins at noon in Bowling Green Park. The first people's assembly will start at 3 p.m. at One Chase Manhattan Plaza and continue until our one demand is agreed upon by all. Check out the full schedule of events.

A leaked bulletin from the New York Police Department reveals that they expect at least 5,000, and maybe even 20,000 people to swarm Wall Street tomorrow. That just might be enough for us to pull this off!

A telephone support line has been set up by occupywallst.org. For directions or help call (877) 881-3020 to speak with a local activist. For legal advice, or to report an arrest, call the National Lawyers Guild at (212) 679-6018.

This should be an exciting movement to follow. To follow the protests in real time, check out the Twitter hashtags#usdor, #sept17, or #occupywallstreet. 

Watch live streaming video from globalrevolution at livestream.com

More info on Occupy Wall Street:

Adbusters

US Day of Rage