Democracy Now! May 2, 2012

May 02, 2012 from Democracy Now! via Creative Commons License BY-NC-ND

On a surprise visit to Afghanistan, President Obama marked the one-year anniversary of the assassination of Osama bin Laden and announced the signing of a long-term strategic partnership. Hundreds of thousands of people across the world marked May Day on Tuesday by filling the streets and demanding better working conditions, greater job security, and improved quality of life. Several major unions joined with immigrant rights activists and tens of thousands of Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York City for a massive rally that marched to Wall Street. And in the city’s Madison Square Park, hundreds of people attended a "Free University" hosted by Occupy Wall Street. Plus headlines, and more.

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In This Video

May Day

May Day on May 1 is an ancient Northern Hemisphere spring festival and usually a public holiday; it is also a traditional spring holiday in many cultures. Explore this topic

International Workers' Day

International Workers' Day is a celebration of the international labour movement. May 1 is a national holiday in more than 80 countries and celebrated unofficially in many other countries, though in some countries the public holiday is a commemoration of the traditional Europe... Explore this topic

Occupy movement

The "Occupy" protests are an ongoing series of international protests which began in mid-September 2011 and are primarily against social and economic inequality, corporate greed and influence of corporate money and lobbyists on government. The protests take their name from the... Explore this topic

Trade union

A trade union, labour union or labor union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals such as protecting the integrity of its trade, achieving higher pay, increasing the number of employees an employer hires, and better working conditions. T... Explore this topic

Occupy Wall Street

Occupy Wall Street is the name given to a protest movement that began on September 17, 2011, in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Wall Street financial district. This date may be disputed with a likely trigger event as early as August 1, 2011, as a nude artist performa... Explore this topic

Anti-corporate activism

Anti-corporate activism holds that the influence of big business corporations is a detriment to the public good and to the democratic process. Explore this topic

Immigration

Immigration is the movement of people into another country or region to which they are not native in order to settle there. Immigration is a result of: including temperature, breeding, economic, political, family re-unification, natural disaster, poverty or the wish to change ... Explore this topic

General strike

A general strike is a strike action in which a substantial proportion of the total labour force in a city, region, or country participates. General strikes are characterized by the participation of workers in a multitude of workplaces, and tend to involve entire communities. G... Explore this topic

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. The city is referred to as New York City or the City of New York to distinguish it from the State of New York, ... Explore this topic

Transport Workers Union of America

Transport Workers Union of America is a United States labor union that was founded in 1934 by subway workers in New York City, then expanded to represent transit employees in other cities, primarily in the eastern U.S. This article discusses the parent union and its largest lo... Explore this topic

Also See

International Workers' Day

May Day

Occupy movement

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Democracy Now! | May 2

On a surprise visit to Afghanistan, President Obama marked the one-year anniversary of the assassination of Osama bin Laden and announced the signi...