Naomi Klein: 'Protesters Seek Change in the Streets Because It Won't Come from the Ballot Box'

http://DemocracyNow.org

Among the thousands at last night's Occupy Wall Street protest in New York City was award-winning journalist and author Naomi Klein. She is the author of the bestselling book, "The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism." She also wrote "No Logo," a book that has become a cultural manifesto for critics of unfettered capitalism worldwide. Klein was interviewed on Democracy Now! to discuss the Occupy Wall Street movement and why it is being belittled in the corporate media. "My biggest fear was that the Obama presidency was was going to lead this generation of young people into political cynicism and political apathy," Klein says. "But instead, they are going to where the power is. They are realizing the change is not coming in Washington because politicians are so controlled by corporate interest, and that that is the fundamental crisis in this country."

For the complete transcript, podcast, and for additional Democracy Now! reports about the Occupied Wall Street protests, visit http://www.democracynow.org/tags/occupy_wall_street

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[erahmer]

Expose the lie of scarcity. This is an excellent description. We spend 1.6 TRILLION on WAR. $.53 cents out of every dollar. This translates into the hazing of each new generation, the dumbing-down of culture: because America is a death machine. We spend much more on destruction and killing than we do on healthy living, humanity, ecology. Truly a CRISES OF HOW THE MONEY IS DISTRIBUTED. That's why Occupy Wall Street will continue to grow.

[nayanmalig]

@takadi maybe it can come out of your ass. I don't care. america has enough wealth but they divert it to the banks & not to where it should. Americans don't ask everything for shit free it's the banks & defense that do. In case you missed it it's the american entrepreneurs & workers who created everything that makes the world civilized today. even youtube, computer, internet & you name it. So the american people deserve to ask their share. stop bitching about american workers & unions.

[jsgdk]

OccupyWS is mainly about us rewarding banks for ruining the country instead of punishing them.

[jsgdk]

@takadi

We can easily satisfy human need.. human greed is another matter.

[intricatic]

@nayanmalig Actually, like so many other examples of Orwellian irony within the US, corporations like the unions because the unions speak for the employees, thus mitigating the employee him or herself from forming an independent mind about an issue or topic. Most unions are so embedded within the corporations they work with that it's nearly impossible to differentiate the two. Public funds go right back to corporations, be they in food stamps or subsidized housing. It's all a veil of stupid.

[Yankhadenough]

#111PLANonePERSONoneDOLLARoneV­OTE

[nayanmalig]

@takadi using funds for public benefit is retarded? with people like you wall street must be smacking their lips. don't protest, don't use public funds for public benefit. unions are bad, blah, blah, whine, whine...

[takadi]

@nayanmalig

That's the most retarded reasoning ever, same reasoning those stupid london rioters use. If government is stealing all my shit, I'll steal shit from people too. And you're right, complaining does nothing. Occupy wall street is a complete waste of time.

You're naive if unions are formed for productivity reasons. Unions are formed for the same reasons cartels are. To protect the inside men, to make windfall profit, and to screw over the little guy

[vicj0r]

Giving money at 0% interest to bankers to play equities poker against the retirement savings of millions. Sure the banks returned the credit they were given to turn their losing plays into into winning positions. They were able to return money to the government and pay bonuses but the market is down 20% now; guess who has lost.

[nayanmalig]

@takadi if the banks can waste trillions on themselves why can't it be used for the benefit of the public? complaining about everything solves nothing. the govt. will have to decide what's good for the people. not the banks. all unions are not parasites. it's the banks & politicians who are. they just absorb way more than they deserve. workers who form unions produce real goods & services. understand the difference instead of getting caught up in meaningless hyperbole against everything.

[takadi]

@nayanmalig

That's the problem. You don't care. You're no different than any of the greedy bankers who want something for nothing, but at all costs. Just like the unions that are just as greedy as corporations, they use all the power of bureaucracy and legislation to get what they want. You think wealth is some kind of magical pool from which everyone takes? You're right, entrepeneurs and workers who have respect for the free market create things, not some freeloading parasitical lobbyist