“A new survey shows that Americans overwhelmingly support the self-styled Occupy Wall Street protests that not only have disrupted life in Lower Manhattan but also in Washington and cities and towns across the U.S. and in other nations. Some 59 percent of adults either completely agree or mostly agree with the protesters, while 31 percent mostly disagree or completely disagree; 10 percent of those surveyed didn’t know or refused to answer.

“What’s more, many people are paying attention to the rallies. Almost two-thirds of respondents—65 percent—said they’ve heard ‘a lot’ or ‘some’ about the rallies, while 35 percent have said they’ve heard or seen ‘not too much’ or ‘nothing at all’ about the demonstrations.”

“With the movement starting to show real political weight — as seen in repeated references by President Barack Obama and his Republican challengers — tentative steps are being taken to address the demand question.

“But if the progress of the Demands Working Group is anything to go by, the answers won’t come soon.

“A meeting of the group on a chilly sidewalk late Monday fizzled out when only two members showed up, interrupted by a protestor in baggy pajama-like trousers and a wild hair-do who hugged an AFP reporter, then strode off…

“‘The process is supposed to help us understand the variety of perspectives in the group and consider them,’ said James, an activist from Chicago, asking that his last name not be used.

“Mysteriously, James added: ‘The Demands Group could also have a discussion of what are ‘demands’?… Part of demands has to be understanding what demands mean to the development of a democratic culture.'”

“Hundreds of protesters laying siege to Wall Street and stuffed into downtown Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park dine each night on gourmet meals prepared by a former hotel chef using only the finest organic ingredients.

“‘We’re running a five-star restaurant down there,’ said Eric Smith, 38, the ex-Chef de Tournant at the Sheraton in Midtown, who works out of a soup kitchen in East New York, Brooklyn, churning out the meals for more than 1,000 protesters every day.

“‘The other day, we made some wonderful salmon cakes with dill sauce and some quinoa salad and a wonderful tomato salad with fennel and red onion,’ he said.”

“Dear Mr. Mayor:

“We represent the residents of Liberty Tower, which is located one block east of Zuccotti Park, making it one of the closest residential buildings to the park. Liberty Tower was one of the first conversions of an office building into apartments to have been completed in the Financial District. Our apartment building, now over 100 years old, and a residential building since 1979, is suffering from the use of Zuccotti Park by the ‘Occupy Wall Street’ participants.

“As you know from the many complaints from residents of the building to the New York Police Department and the city’s 311 hotline, the Occupy Wall Street participants for several weeks have created the nuisance of playing loud music in the park during the evening and at night. This creates an unacceptable situation and an unlawful nuisance, especially for the many infants and children who live in this building. Many of the children have 8:00 pm bed times in order to be ready for school the next day, so noise from the park needs to end by then…

“We do not understand why the city has failed to enforce the laws. The city parks that our children visit close at dusk, and our children must obey the rules of the parks or be subject to removal. Why should the Occupy Wall Street group be permitted to sleep in Zuccotti Park, violate other rules of the park and disturb the neighbors?”

“It’s now common to see tourists at Zuccotti Park taking photographs of themselves, with protesters in the background. On a typical day they clog the pedestrian traffic in the area, which is often bustling with financial district employees pushing their way through…

“Molly Schwad, a jeweler from Kansas traveling with Qualizza and other friends, said she was surprised by what she saw, compared to the TV coverage of the protest movement.

“She saw a rather quiet encampment in the rain, of only about 200 people. At times several hundred people have camped at the park, and some of the demonstrations organized as part of the Occupy Wall Street movement have drawn thousands.

“‘I thought it was much bigger,’ Schwad said. ‘We were afraid there might be violence here.'”

“The tone of this report is shocking. A girl claims she was raped and the reporter frets this will ruin the good work done by the movement? What work? They’re camping in a park, not curing cancer. The producers of this package even allow someone at the camp to insinuate the girl’s a liar.”

Via Breitbart TV.