Catch the spirit– how Wall Street occupiers averted eviction

RE: “Catch the spirit– how Wall Street occupiers averted eviction” ~ Annie

SOMEWHAT RELATED: The Merkel Doctrine: Tank Exports to Saudi Arabians Signal German Policy Shift ~ By Holger Stark, Spiegel Online, 10/14/11

(excerpts)…Berlin has said nothing about the reasons behind its decision to reverse decades of carefully considered foreign policy and export up to 270 modern tanks to Saudi Arabia. The sale has baffled many given the country’s longstanding tradition of not selling arms to crisis regions. It may be only the be the beginning…
…The debate that broke out after the deal came to light was an unusually passionate one, with the opposition condemning the deal and many conservatives reacting with dismay as well…
…Perhaps there are good reasons for exporting German military equipment to Saudi Arabia — but the public still hasn’t been informed of them, even months after the decision leaked. One thing is certain, though: There are good reasons not to endorse the deal. In a truly democratic process, arguments on both sides would be weighed in order to then pursue the best path…

Part 2: Tanks Well Suited for Putting Down Revolutions

In early 2011, before the request officially reached the Federal Security Council, the German government sounded out Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opinion on the matter in conversations at various levels, approaching Israel’s Foreign Ministry as well as Uzi Arad, then Netanyahu’s national security advisor.
Israel had no objections at that point. Contacts between Jerusalem and Riyadh had improved in the preceding years, with Saudi Arabia becoming one of Israel’s most important allies in combating Iran’s nuclear program. The United States government also signaled its approval…

German Leopards Could Roll Through Arab World

The German Leopard 2 tanks would also be well suited to putting down revolutions. They have an attachable “obstacle clearance blade” that can move protesters out of the way and seem as if they were made to modernize Saudi Arabia as a tank-driving military force. The lesson learned from Bahrain is that, next time, it could be German Leopards rolling through the Arab world…

ENTIRE THREE-PART ARTICLE – http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,791380,00.html
P.S. This is real journalism (as opposed to what you usually see in the NYT, WaPo, etc.!