Once upon a time, the general strike was a powerful tool of the powerless. The question is, can it work in this day and age?

Occupy Oakland has called for a general strike in response to the brutal police crackdown last week that sent veteran Scott Olson to the hospital in a coma (for background, see our coverage here, here, and here).

They’ve been joined by a number of allies:

But will the stridency and revolutionary imagery they’re using appeal to the American middle-class masses? That remains to be seen.

Also coming up in the next week: