News Times by Justine McCabe October 21, 2011 The Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement is thriving, spreading from New York City to hundreds of cities around the country and to the world. Its evolution is remarkable given initial disregard or criticism from corporate media, and demeaning characterizations by congressmen (“mobs”) and presidential contenders (“unpatriotic”). Initiated largely by young people, this vibrant movement resonates with people of all ages, political affiliations and virtually all socioeconomic classes — the “99 percent” of the U.S. population who are economically disenfranchised by the “1 percent” who control at least 40 percent of U.S. wealth,…