
Boris Roessler / EPA
German anti-riot police carry away a protester and her stuffed animal during protests in Frankfurt on Friday.
Police in Frankfurt, Germany, arrested about 400 "Blockupy" protesters Friday for defying a ban on anti-austerity demonstrations.
Several hundred people took to the streets to protest the European Union's austerity measures and the power of banks, as part of a four-day anti-capitalist "Blockupy" protest due to run until Saturday.
According to Der Spiegel, around 5,000 police were on the ground backed up by water canons. There was no violence.
The protesters are angry at the misery they say governments are inflicting on people with their response to the crisis, which has intensified since inconclusive elections in Greece this month fueled concerns about its future in the euro zone.
"The Greek austerity measures are making Greece go kaputt even faster," said protester Leonard Loch, 37, from Hamburg.
The "Blockupy 'alliance criticized the massive police presence in Frankfurt, which is the seat of the European Central Bank and the largest financial center in continental Europe. The demonstrators were "all prudent and were holding back," Frauke Distelrath, spokesperson for the activist group Attac, told Die Welt.
A court on Monday authorized a rave dance party organized by protesters on Wednesday and protests scheduled for Saturday, but ruled against them taking place on the other days.
On Wednesday, police peacefully removed demonstrators from outside the ECB's Frankfurt headquarters and detained 150 demonstrators on Thursday for defying a ban on protests.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Why Occupy ?
Oh, how we moan, groan and quake in Trepidation over any and All forms of Self and Other Meditations regarding the Occupiers and their pervasive Occupations of many of Our Global towns, cities, states, regions and Nations. Why ? The Occupiers are much more than just the 99%. The Occupiers are Our Universal Collective Social Conscience (when they are not Giving-in to the very negative and violent mis-Behaviors being Analyzed and Questioned, in the first place, by the Majority of the Collective Ideological Peaceful Warrior/Occupiers). Occupiers, if you give into your more bestial Selves, you take on the Shadow - the darker attributes and aspects - of the very Societal problems (and sick Systemic structures, laws, rules, manipulations, and Manipulators) you are trying to get Everyone to Acknowledge, Walk away from, Re-Think and Change for the Betterment of All. What do the Occupiers Want ? What do the Occupiers Need ? They Want and Need for Us to: Look at Your Life, Our Lives It and They Move so fast Pick up Your (Our) Own Looking Glass Discover Who You (We) Are And Who You’ll (We’ll) Be Look at YourSelf (OurSelves) So You (We) can See The Wonders of Life What It Can Be Oh yes, Dreams and Things that You (We) Believe in Are what Give Your (Our) Lives Its (Their) Purpose and Meanings The Occupiers are the Questioners and the Questioned. Both Processes are healthy and necessary for a corrupted Social System - a corrupted Social Structure to be Wisely and Ethically Analyzed, Scrutinized, Re-Thought, Re-Tooled, Re-Structured, Re-Created, and Transformed for the Betterment of All. For the Betterment of the 100%. Yes, something happened within the internal and external Lives of the Occupiers to bring about the Understanding of the true untenable Realities of their private and public Lives. Something happened that compelled them to Pick up the Universal Looking Glass and ask, “Who Am I ?” “Who Are We the People”? “Who and What do We the People Want to Be” ? “Who and What do I Want to Be “? Answering these Universal Questions involves Looking at Our Individual and Collective Social Ethics and Morays. Our Personal and Collective Dreams, Schemes, and Life’s Themes. It involves Occupying a Space and Time of Awakening - of Self and Other Awakenings. The Occupiers are the Awakened, the Awakening, and the Awakeners. We the People Need the Occupiers - the Pro (Positive)-Testers of Our Global Societies and Social, Political, Economic, Judicial, Corporate and Religious Systems. The Global Puppet Masters, the Global King Cons, the Global Robber Barons (and Baronesses), the Global 1 % ers, the Global Elitists, the Banking Monopolies, the Corporate Monopolies, the Global Game Players have a stranglehold on the World’s Systems and Societies. As a result, everything is out of Balance. Everything is becoming corrosive and corroding. Everything is being slowly and painfully cannibalized. Yes, All things experience entropy. But All things can also experience the Energy of Resurrection and Revitalization, especially when a Focused and Knowledgeable Will is applied. Especially when a Collective Will is Applied and Occupied. The Occupiers have Courageously and Wisely resisted everyone’s efforts to make them represent just one Question - just one Sentiment or Concern. The Occupiers are the multifaceted Voice and Voices - the kaleidoscopic Questions and Concerns - Visions and EnVisionings of the Many. When the Leaders of All Nations, Global Banks, Global Corporations, Global Governments and Global LawMakers are primarily manipulative sociopaths, Societal looters and cannibalizers who desire only to serve themselves at the sacrifice of others, the World as a Whole suffers and is diminished. In fact, the favorite meal of the Bully-Boys (and Girls) of the World is mutton (People who Be-Come Mind-less and Compliant Sheeple - baaaaa !). The Occupiers are the Universal Longing for Social, political, economic, corporate, judicial, and religious Systems which productively and positively support, nurture and sustain each and every Human Beings Liberty, Justice, Equality, Fairness, Opportunity, and Selfhood. The Occupiers are Our Social Barometer of the general - of the overall Rights and Wrongs of All existing Societies. Yes, Dreams and Things that We Believe in - that Occupy Us - are what Give Our Lives their Truest and Highest Purposes and Meanings.
Your points about human existence and individual value are well taken. The rich of the world are mandated to be distribution points for the welfare of others. Where is this originated? Not with you or any other self serving, humanistic, existentialist.
What you and your fellow "Occupy Something's" need is to embrace Jesus Christ and the teachings of Christ in the Bible, in truth.
If you reject Christ, you and yours will never come to any resolution or satisfaction with your demands for equality, justice, or reparations. If you don't serve Christ in sincerity, you will only repeat the Godless catastrophe of the French Revolution, possibly.
And it get's worse. You will die in your sin and self righteousness and with the utmost certainty, face the ultimate crisis of your existence without Christ: the judgement of a perfectly Omnipotent, Omniscient, Holy, Just, and Righteous God.
Repent now. Today. While there is time.
I remember the Turkish riots in Frankfurt in the 70s. Hope this doesn't turn that violent. Germany has always been a Country that could gather great numbers for protests. They commonly block off entrances to the Autobahn tying up the Country's traffic too.
The Krauts don't have as much to complain about as the rest of Europe.
In 1945 Hitler said, just proir to his suicide, "In 50 years the world will see I was right." hmmmmm.......
Maybe he had the right idea, just went about it the wrong way.
German gem.What are you putting us on ? Yes Hitler had the right idea.suicide but he did it about 50 years too late and he should have done it alone not torture and murder millions ..or his mother should have killed him as soon as he left the womb.But anyway this is about the protesters not about Hitler so buzz off and go to some pro nazi site where hopefully you will just evaporate .!!.
wow, somebody sure got up on the wrong side of the bed today.
GermanGem - What are you saying? What was his "right idea"? Has the bleach damaged your brain?
Given the latest issues with JPMorgan and with governments making no effort to rein in their spendings, looks like capitalism is imploding heh heh. My guess is the numbers will grow in these protest and they will finish off capitalism as well as many forms of government. Looks like I'm finishing up my life in some interesting times LOL
I really hope to see some more interesting times. I grew up in the seventies and early eighties..I gotta tell ya. The world is kinda sucking.. I wish all of the people unhappy with the way the financial institutions would realize..we have a common goal..and besides we are all trapped on one little planet. ALL OF US.
"a ban on anti-austerity demonstrations"
it's official: the NAZIS are back, Merkel must be Hitler's grand daughter. who knew?
Somehow making rich people poor will make poor people rich. A fine example of libtard logic. Socialism will not work and never has.