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Occupy Wall Street protest spreads to Los Angeles

Xinhua, October 3, 2011

• Some 800 protesters marched and rallied in downtown Los Angeles Sunday to show their support for "Occupy Wall Street" protesters in New York City.

  Approximately 500 protesters set up camp in front of Los Angeles City Hall and about 300 protesters marched through the streets of downtown Los Angeles with variations on the slogan "We are the 99%" and "all week all day occupied LA."

  Many protesters carried placards, some reading "We are the 99 percent," "This Is Our Country, We Will Occupy It" or "Banks Got Bailed-out, We Got Sold Out."

  "The sign 'We are the 99 percent' means everyone, that is, except the richest 1 percent of the population, who the demonstrators contend are the only beneficiaries of America's economic policies," a protester told Xinhua, who declined to give his name.

  "Our goal is to keep it peaceful, we are non-violent," he said.

  "America needs a change and we need jobs," another anonymous protester told Xinhua.

  The protesters organized by a group called "Occupy Los Angeles," mostly young, are angry over Wall Street greed, corporate influence in politics and the richest one percent of Americans gaining more wealth during a period of time while the majority faces unemployment, growing poverty rates and austerity measures.

  Most said they had heard about the Occupy Los Angeles protest via Twitter and Internet.

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