They go from fear to euphoria from pepper spray to chants on the sidewalk. Their detractors, some of whom may not have actually been down to see them dismiss them as unruly, unorganized and unimportant. But now in their third week, the ranks of protesters who comprise Occupy Wall Street are proving to be unbowed, unapologetic and undeterred. And now more New York workers are stepping onto those sidewalks.

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Part One of The Current

Satire

It's Tuesday, October 4th.

A new online service will send men texts from an imaginary girlfriend so they won't look single - and pathetic.

Currently, a similar service will send texts to women who have real boyfriends - but prefer the romance of an imaginary one.

This is the Current.

Occupy Wall Street Protests - John Samuelsen

It's a little difficult to know what to make of what's been happening at the bottom of Manhattan Island for the past three weeks. And listening to teenagers lead crowds in revolutionary chants yesterday doesn't necessarily clear things up. Since the middle of last month, protesters have gathered for what they call Occupy Wall Street demonstrations.

The crowds ebb and flow with enthusiasm, and their message - aside from being anti-corporate greed - has been criticized for being far from focused. But one thing is clear: The movement is growing - attracting a much broader array of protesters than the activists who originally set up camp on September 17th. And the teenagers we heard from at the beginning of this part aren't the only ones lending their voices to the cause.

Last week, more than 700 uniformed airline pilots marched along Wall Street - and that captured the attention of the mainstream media outlets who until then, had seemed to offer little television or newspaper coverage of the event.

Now the chapter of the Transport Workers Union that represents the majority of New York City's public transit employees is also on board. John Samuelsen is the President of the Transport Workers Union Local 100. We reached him in New York.

Occupy Wall Street Protests - Nathan Schneider

The protests in New York were sparked in large part by a call by the Vancouver-based Adbusters Media Foundation. It urged people to occupy Wall Street on September 17th to protest inequalities in the global economic system. We heard from Micah White, a Senior Editor at AdBusters Magazine.

The movement is not only gaining new faces in New York, it's spreading to other cities. And it's expected to come to Canada, very soon. Organizers in Vancouver and Toronto plan similar protests next weekend. But where will it all go and what will it achieve?

For a closer look at the anatomy of this protest movement - and its future - we were joined by Nathan Schneider. He's the editor of the website, Waging Non Violence and has covered the Wall Street protests since the beginning. He was in New York. Good

Related Links:

• TWU blasts city for putting handcuffed Occupy Wall Street protesters on buses By Pete Donohue, Emily Sher and Helen Kennedy - NY Daily News
• Wall Street Protest Digs In, Spreads By Andrew Grossman & Jack Nicas - The Wall Street Journal
• Occupy Wall Street Protests Poised to Grow Rapidly With Union Support By Carl Franzen - Info Shop News

Other segments from today's show:

• The Rogue: Searching for the Real Sarah Palin
• One-State Solution