Interview the Jim O'Neill, "Occupy" Protests Spread; Alabama's New Immigration Law
FOSTER: Now what started 21 days ago as Occupy Wall Street is now becoming occupy everywhere. You're looking at Occupy Philadelphia, a demonstration there today. Some of these protesters camped out outside city hall last night. The leaderless movement says it won't tolerate the greed and corruption of America's richest 1 percent. The movement is spreading across the country. Protesters are also taking their message to the White House, demanding that the government represent the 99 percent, not the 1 percent, as Andrew Spencer reports, the movement's message is getting louder.</s>ANDREW SPENCER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The protests that started on Wall Street are now flooding Main Street. New ones are popping up just about everywhere, including this one in Philadelphia.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're here to say that we matter, we have a voice, we're not powerless.</s>SPENCER: Anywhere from a few dozen to hundreds of people are showing up in cities from coast to coast to protest a variety of issues, corporate greed among them.</s>ELEANOR WALKER, PROTESTER: It's time for the people to wake up and realize that we do have power.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's right.</s>WALKER: We've got power.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes!</s>WALKER: And we can take back our power from these greedy politicians and these corporations.</s>SPENCER: There have been clashes between police and protesters in New York, along with arrests, but most of the rallies have been peaceful and protesters say they want the government to start looking out for the little guy.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not expecting miracles but I'm expecting something.</s>SPENCER: Their message has even reached the White House.</s>JOSEPH BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The core is the American people do not think the system is fair or on the level. That is the core of what you're seeing on Wall Street.</s>SPENCER: There has been a lot of anger, but no clear demand. Still, protesters say they want their voices heard and they have no plans of stopping their campaign any time soon. I'm Andrew Spencer reporting.</s>FOSTER: Now, as you've seen in our U.S. reporting, the protests are taking place near Wall Street in New York. But people around the world are picking up on the idea and want "Occupy" demonstrations to go global, actually, on October the 15th. This Facebook page, Occupy London, is gaining followers pretty fast. And this page in Australia is also taking on the "Occupy" mantra, as you can see. We've posted a story on our Facebook page, as well, looking at the places using social media to plan protests. And that's all at Facebook.com/cnnquest. Right now, though, we're going to get the weather from Guillermo. He's going to tell us what those demonstrations are sort of -- what are the conditions they're going to be in around the world as they -- they hit the streets.</s>GUILLERMO ARDUINO, ATS METEOROLOGIST: The demonstrators must be very happy in the States. The weather is gorgeous. Now I wonder how you like the change. And this is a question that I'm putting to you, Max. how do you like the change in Europe? What did you see?</s>FOSTER: Well, it's been very strange, hasn't it, because it's extremely hot and within a few days, it got into autumn and all the leaves were falling off.</s>ARDUINO: I think...</s>FOSTER: And that's the truth.</s>ARDUINO: -- I think...</s>FOSTER: I like it because it -- it's sunny but it's chilly.</s>ARDUINO: Well, I think it's getting that way and it's going to be quite dramatic. Perhaps this weekend we will see moderate conditions in England, in -- in Britain and Ireland. But elsewhere, you see, especially Central and Eastern Europe is where we see the big change. So temps are dropping down. They're going down big time and quickly. We are talking about 15 degrees below what we saw before. London, in the last 24 hours, didn't see any change, because a big change came before. But try to convince those in Poland, in the Czech Republic, in Hungary, in Austria, into the Balkan Peninsula, too, and Northern Italy of the change, because that's quite significant. A 9 degree change in Munich, so -- for the worse, because it's cooling down. And along with that, we get the winds, and also, we get the rain and in some instances, some snow. So we are seeing a big change right now. And I have pinpointed a couple of places -- Wendelstein in Germany, 102 kilometers per hour. So the temperature feels totally different when we have that. And try to drive along a highway at 200 kilometers per hour with those winds. Sisco in Corsica, 144, even worse. And 111 in Chasseral in Switzerland. So we obviously see a difference compared to what we have seen lately in Europe that was fantastic, especially those tourists who are lucky enough to get a break and see different conditions from the norm. And look at here, the comparison between Thursday and Friday. So Vienna, Munich, Prague and Zurich as an example. And you see that the change is quite dramatic. So the '20s are long gone. Also, a big change coming into Turkey. We have seen and we still see nice conditions. The front is going to arrive there and it's going to bring some blustery conditions. And the change will come, also, with different temperatures. So it's a matter of time, two days or so, and we get -- we'll get to it. And if you are planning to fly out or in on Saturday, pay attention to these airports. Nothing really significant, but you may have some issues because of the winds, especially, and also some rain showers, affecting even Spain, where we see a change in temperatures. But I said that in the United States, things are much, much nicer. We have welcome rain in Texas after the fire situation that is really devastating. And we will see significant accumulations, especially in the north. If you're coming to Miami, you will see some rain, as well, Miami, all the way up into Daytona Beach, for example, even in South Carolina, you will see that. But it's much more pleasant, Max, in the United States, where temperatures way above the 20s. Dallas at twee, Atlanta at 24. New York is very nice, at 18.</s>FOSTER: Enjoy, Guillermo.</s>ARDUINO: Thank you.</s>FOSTER: Twenty-four your -- thank you. The U.S. Justice Department, meanwhile, wants a federal appeals court to block Alabama's tough new immigration law. Several civil rights groups are fighting the law, too. And as for the farmers affected by it, well, they say it puts their livelihoods on the line. Here's Rafael Romo.</s>RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice-over): It was supposed to be an informational meeting, but the conversation quickly heated up.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is your answer to our problem?</s>SCOTT BEASON (R), ALABAMA STATE SENATE: I don't think there is an answer for the short term.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, so, we go broke while...</s>BEASON: I said the</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- you're sitting there.</s>ROMO: These farmers in Alabama say they're facing a crisis. Their fruits and vegetables are rotting in the fields because there aren't enough farm workers. They say that a law that cracks down on illegal immigration has scared away the Hispanic immigrants they once relied on.</s>FRANK MCGEE, ALEX CANTOS FRUIT COMPANY: After we did everything we could do to replace them, nobody -- nobody wants the jobs. That is a misconception.</s>LANA BOATWRIGHT, HUSBAND IS FOURTH GENERATION FARMER: Basically, this law is shutting us down. And that's the money that we live on.</s>ROMO: Listening to their concerns is Alabama state senator, Scott Beason, the Republican who wrote the immigration law.</s>BEASON: I don't think you can write it to say agriculture is exempted or anything like that. It either has to be you're going to decide what you're going to do with the illegal aliens that are in the state -- are you going to make it easy for them to stay here or not easy for them to stay here. And my position is to stay with the law that we have.</s>ROMO: Farmers in Georgia, where a similar immigration law was approved, reported they were 11,000 workers short over the summer. To bridge the gap, state officials had felony probationers work at the farms. But the 10 hour days in 90 degree heat drove most of them away. In Alabama, farmers are making desperate efforts to replace the Hispanic migrant workers who left, including offering to increase pay. But they've had little success. For decades, Giuseppe Peturis and his family have relied on migrant labor at their farm.</s>GIUSEPPE PETURIS, ALABAMA FARMER: The Americans are not going to get out in the heat and work. They're not going to bend their back all day long. And they're not going to work -- they're not as hard of workers as Hispanics.</s>FOSTER: Well, there you are. That is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS. I'm Max Foster in London. Thank you for watching. Have a good weekend. "MARKETPLACE AFRICA" is up for you next.