Occupy Wall Street Plans "War Profiteers" Protest
Occupiers say they will hold two rallies nearby
NBC New York
Protesters spent Thursday morning criss-crossing lower Manhattan in their Day of Action, and some seemed intent on ending up in jail. Melissa Russo reports after spending the day among the ranks.
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Occupy Wall Street returns Wednesday, this time with the aerospace and defense finance industries in its sights.
As Aviation Week and Credit Suisse hold their 17th annual Aerospace & Defense Finance Conference at the bank’s New York offices, Occupy Wall Street plans to greet them nearby with two demonstrations.
At 6:30 a.m., protesters will meet in Madison Square Park and “rally to non-violently interrupt business as usual as delegates enter the conference,” Occupy Wall Street says on its website. A “rally against militarism” is planned for the afternoon, at 4:30 p.m.
The conference, featuring 30 industry CEOs, is set to begin with a continental breakfast at 7:15 a.m. Industry bigwigs slated to speak Wednesday and Thursday include Raytheon CEO and Chairman Bill Swanson, Boeing Commercial Airplanes CEO and President Jim Albaugh, and Lockheed Martin executives.
The conference will feature investment and growth strategies from CEOs and allow participants to get “competitive intelligence” and “discover investment opportunities,” organizers say.
Occupy Wall Street charges that those gathering at the Madison Avenue conference site are “war profiteers” who “export death in the name of defense.”
“They have obscene influence over our democracy with politicians in their pockets and hundreds of lobbyists working Congress,” the Occupiers say on their website. “They sell arms to the 1% so that war can be waged against the 99% in efficient and technologically advanced ways.”
A Credit Suisse spokesperson said, “Credit Suisse hosts a variety of research conferences that focus on a number of sectors and industries for our clients and the investing community. As in years past, the aerospace and defense conference, cosponsored by Aviation Week, has invited media to attend to ensure the meetings are public.”
An Aviation Week Events spokeswoman could not immediately be reached for comment late Tuesday afternoon.
The Occupiers’ last big march was nearly two weeks ago, on Nov. 17, when thousands of protesters marched on Wall Street and onto the Brooklyn Bridge. That followed the police’s overnight raid to break up their tent headquarters in Zuccotti Park a few days before.
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