Nobel laureate joins Wall Street protest [View All]

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/daily/english/03_16.html

Demonstrators continue to besiege New York's financial district to protest against high unemployment and the government's economic policies. A Nobel laureate has joined the rally. About 1,000 people gathered in a park near Manhattan's financial district on Sunday, despite the arrests of 700 demonstrators on the Brooklyn Bridge the previous day. The protestors, mostly young people, carried placards bearing their slogan "Occupy Wall Street" amid tight police security.

Among the protesters was Columbia University Professor Joseph Stiglitz, who received the Nobel Prize in economics in 2001. He criticized the US government for its failure to keep financial markets in check during the global financial crisis of 2008. Stiglitz said the protests were bound to happen and long overdue, with 25 million people without regular jobs. He expressed support for the protests, noting that they may lead to greater movement toward change. The New York protests have sparked similar demonstrations in other cities across the United States, with fresh rallies scheduled for Monday. The protestors are using social networking Internet sites to spread information.