Greeks Call for Solidarity in Strikes Against Austerity : occupy

Greeks Call for Solidarity in Strikes Against     Austerity

 

Under pressure from creditors, the International Monetary Fund, the European Central Bank, and the EU, the Greek government is forcing through unpopular austerity measures. The Greek Prime Minister threatened to remove any government minister who objected to the policies.

Wages are to be cut by more than 20 percent, thousands of civil servants will be laid off, and vital social programs will be severely cut. These laws punish the Greek 99% to repay the debts of the ruling class. The government has sold out sovereignty, the poor, and the working class in the interest of foreign creditors and the demands of the 1%. Bankers continue to make millions and corporations pay fewer taxes. The rest of society, having done nothing wrong, is being punished for the failures of the market.

In response, thousands have taken to the streets and occupied the square in front of Parliament. For the second time this week, Greek workers began a general strike for today and tomorrow. Most transportation has been shut down – limited-service trains will allow protesters to attend demonstrations in Athens. Protesters around Parliament have been attacked with stun grenades and teargas by riot police. Similar protests and strikes are underway across Europe, including in Belgium, where firefighters opposed to cuts in their retirement plan broke through police lines with water hoses.

Students also occupied a school and held General Assemblies for protesters. The occupiers released a statement:

The health structures, the educational spaces, the “welfare” benefits and anything making us productive in the dominant system are now a thing of the past. After squeezing everything out of us, they now throw us straight into hunger and impoverishment.

For years, Greece has been wrecked by the very same policies of austerity also underway in the United States and other countries. From Athens to Oakland, the 99% have awoken – and we refuse to be sold out.

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This Weekend: #OccupyCPAC in DC, Occupy Town Squares in NYC, Resist Repression in SF

Posted 4 days ago on Feb. 10, 2012, 10:24 a.m. EST by OccupyWallSt

Today (Feb. 10th, 2012) in Washington, DC: Occupy CPAC!
12noon and 5pm at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel
2600 Woodley Rd. at Connecticut Ave. N.W – metro: Woodley Park

 

All this weekend, the right-wing Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) is happening in Washington, DC. The event – deemed the “summit of the 1%” – features a range of powerful conservative groups and politicians like Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Scott Walker, and more. The one thing they share in common: Their pockets are lined with corporate money and all of their agendas disproportionately benefit the 1% at the direct expense of the rest of us.

Labor groups like the Metropolitan Washington, D.C. Labor Council and local progressive organizations like the Washington Peace Center are organizing a variety of actions today. The AFL-CIO has promised “giant puppets, inflatables, chants, songs and of course tents to Occupy CPAC.” Occupy DC and supporters plan to be out in full force, as well – demonstrating their commitment to the struggle for economic justice following their recent removal from their homes at McPherson Square. Follow #OccupyCPAC on Twitter.

Also today, Occupy San Francisco plans to march against police repression:

Occupy demonstrators nationwide have faced brutal police crackdowns, near lethal force, indiscriminate use of chemical weapons such as CS Gas, constant police violence & harassment and the illegitimate repression of our natural rights to assembly and free speech. Poor people, people of color and the homeless have been facing cruel and unjust police oppression and brutality on an everyday basis for decades. As an institution, the police stand between the 99% and the 1%, protecting the interests of the governments, banks and corporations that foreclose on our lives and homes, destroy our Mother Earth, and send us off to illegal wars for profit. If we are to liberate our commons, reclaim vacant buildings and unused homes, and occupy public spaces for social change, we must, one way or another, overcome the violent state repression that manifests itself as the Police. Join us this Friday, Feb. 10 at 6pm at 101 Market St, the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, near Embarcadero BART station. RESIST.

 

 

Later this weekend, Occupy Town Squares returns to New York City:

Saturday, Feb. 11th 2012
1pm – 7pm at West Park Presbyterian
165 West 86th St

 

On February 11th, come visit the second Occupy Town Square, at West Park Presbyterian. For one afternoon, Occupy Wall Street will fill the beautiful old church on 86th & Amsterdam Ave with teach-ins and trainings, speeches and discussion, pamphlets and performances. Come help us revive the great democratic tradition of public discourse and civic engagement. Whether you consider yourself a supporter of the movement or not, we want to meet you. Share our food and warmth; bring your stories and ideas; learn, argue, debate, coordinate, collaborate!

http://occupywallst.org/

 

 

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