Europe

Rage Against The ECB: What’s Blockupy Against?

March 18, 2015 DW, www.dw.de Resist! Banking, Europe, Germany

The Frankfurt-based European Central Bank (ECB) had scheduled Wednesday as a festive day to commemorate the official opening of the 185-meter (202-yard) tall skyscraper that will serve as its new headquarters building - a big glass tower that took five years and 1.3 billion euros ($1.4 billion) to build. But the anti-capitalist Blockupy network has other plans. It's gearing up for a day of protest and blockade, speeches and street theater. Blockupy's goal: To draw attention to ECB policies which, they say, have favored the rich over the poor, the banks over the people, the creditor class over debtors - policies that have amounted to bailing out irresponsible financiers at the expense of ordinary citizens.

Greece Sours German Relations With Demand For War Reparations

March 14, 2015 Helena Smith, www.theguardian.com Educate! Europe, Germany, Greece, History, Reparations

Greece’s strained relations with Germany took a turn for the worse on Wednesday when Athens’ leftist-led government raised the spectre of seizing German assets for war reparations that it claimed Berlin has stubbornly refused to honour. In an address before the Greek parliament, Alexis Tspiras, the Greek prime minister, said Germany had “a moral obligation” to make amends for the atrocities wrought during three devastating years of Nazi occupation. Berlin, he said, had deliberately flouted its duty employing “legal tricks and delay”. “Germany has never properly paid reparations for the damage done to Greece by the Nazi occupation,” the premier told the house as deputies debated establishing a committee to seek war reparations, repayment of a forced loan and the return of plundered antiquities.

The United States Of TTIP: Big Business Constitution For Europe

March 13, 2015 Nick Dearden, www.commondreams.org Educate! Corporatism, Democracy, Europe, Free Trade, TTIP

The US-EU trade agreement, known as TTIP, is not just another free trade deal. It is a charter for big business, forcing lawmakers to uphold the so-called ‘rights’ of investors above every other consideration – human rights, environmental protection, democratic accountability. It is a constitution for the free movement of capital. Leaked documents from the European Commission reveal that TTIP will be a ‘living agreement,’ continuing to influence laws even after it has been signed. If something doesn’t make the final cut, business lobbyists needn’t fear, because the Commission is working to enshrine a greater role for them in the process of creating (or halting) regulation. "The central purpose of TTIP is to align regulations on both sides of the Atlantic – whether chemical regulations, food production standards or environmental requirements."

What Europe’s Hopeful Left Can Learn From Latin America

March 9, 2015 Ana Cecilia Dinerstein, www.theconversation.com Strategize! Europe, Greece, Latin America, Left, Social Change, Spain

Hope is not just the ability to wish or fantasise. It is a tool for taking alternative realities seriously so that they might actually become possible. With hope, people can make mental space and concrete preparations for alternative ways of organising their societies – alternatives that are already lurking in the present, but which are simply not thought possible yet. Austerity is unrealistic because it demands that we abandon hope, which is an essential component of our humanity. Our inherent capacity to dream and aspire collectively is our only way to make a truly better world, and a political “reality” that does not accept the possibility of alternatives is not a reality at all, but a demented fiction. In Latin America, the eruption of hope in the face of austerity began with a real sense of injustice and frustration across different sectors of the population, quickly reaching beyond the dedicated activist to the ordinary citizen.

#OccupyBanking #ReturnWithFreedom

March 5, 2015 RETORNENLIBERTAT, www.coopfunding.net Create! Banking, Debt, Democracy, Europe

We want to finance the team that is already working on the launch of the #OccupyBanking campaign with the intention of placing at the center of public debate the total lack of democracy of the European Central Bank (ECB) and large private banks who control the monetary system, and especially the creation of money. A perverse system based on debt with these institutions – who have never been voted in democratically – hijacking our sovereignty. The #OccupyBanking campaign also wants to be the spearhead for creating the conditions that allow the #ReturnWithFreedom of the activist Enric Duran. The current crisis / fraud perpetrated by the financial and banking system in recent years has uncovered one of the problems that have long been highlighted by many activist groups: from the anti-globalization demonstrations in Seattle up until today, the effects of globalized capitalism have been exposed around the world. . .

TTIP: Transatlantic Trade Deal Text Leaked To BBC

March 2, 2015 Glenn Campbell, www.bbc.com Educate! Europe, Free Trade, TTIP

The document describes itself as the EU's "initial offer" in negotiations over the transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP). It includes the wording that UK ministers have said will protect the NHS from privatisation. Anti-TTIP campaigners say a specific exemption for the NHS is still needed. The 103-page document is headed "trade in services and investment: schedule of specific commitments and reservations". On health, the document states: "The EU reserves the right to adopt or maintain any measure with regard to the provision of all health services which receive public funding or State support in any form". The wording is the same as that used in a similar free trade agreement between the EU and Canada (CETA). The UK trade minister, Lord Livingston, said last week that this text ensured "publicly funded health services are excluded".

Iraq War Resister Dealt Blow By European Court

February 28, 2015 Connection e.V. and PRO ASYL, www.connection-ev.com Resist! Europe, Iraq, Law, Wars and Militarism

The network for conscientious objection Connection e.V. and PRO ASYL criticize today’s decision by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the case of U.S. AWOL soldier André Shepherd (37) as insufficient and in part quite incomprehensible in its argumentation. “The ruling by the ECJ does not strengthen the position of conscientious objectors and deserters in political-asylum proceedings. The Court avoided some fundamental questions, and answered others unacceptably, contrary to the opinion submitted by the Advocate-General.” said Rudi Friedrich of Connection e.V. The Court’s statements regarding wars that are mandated by a resolution of the U.N. Security Council are especially dubious. Bernd Mesovic of PRO ASYL said, “It is scandalous that the Court more-or-less decrees for such cases that no war crimes ‘are committed’ in such wars, and that this also applies to operations about which there is some other international consensus. Reality is turned on its head by an assertion of fact here.”

Ending Austerity In Greece: Time For Plan B?

February 27, 2015 Jerome Roos, www.roarmag.org Resist! Austerity, Europe, Greece, Syriza

When the Eurogroup accepted Greece’s reform proposals on Tuesday, investors and EU leaders let out a collective sigh of relief: it appears that the bombshell of a disorderly Greek exit from the Eurozone has been diffused, at least until the start of the summer. In return for a significant roll-back of its campaign pledges, Greece’s freshly inaugurated government secured a four-month extension of its current bailout program and thereby managed to avert a potentially catastrophic bank run that would likely have resulted in Grexit. But while Greece’s creditors seemed content, the agreement immediately unleashed a bitter debate within the governing leftist party Syriza. Prime Minister Tsipras may have declared a tentative victory for his anti-austerity coalition, but some influential party members strongly criticized what they perceived to be an unacceptable climbdown.

TTIP Negotiations Give Corporations Power Over Legislation

February 14, 2015 Failed Evolution, www.failedevolution.blogspot.gr Educate! Corporatism, Europe, Greece, Politics, TTIP, usa

Since December 2013, NGOs, social movements, and politicians have harshly criticised the European Commission's (EC) proposal on 'regulatory co-operation' 1in the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). They argue that a position paper, leaked back then, suggested the Commission was opening the door to massive influence by big business over future laws. Now, a leaked document shows the Commission is maintaining its course – nothing suggests it is taking civil society concerns into account. In a previous document from December 2014, the EC goes even further, suggesting limiting the policy space of municipalities and local authorities – though this idea is under fire and might not be part of the EU position, it is a sign that regulatory co-operation could prove to be not only very comprehensive, but outright dangerous to democracy.

Europeans Protest Trade Talks In Brussels

February 6, 2015 Andrea Germanos, www.commondreams.org Resist! Europe, Free Trade Agreement, TTIP, usa

Hundreds of people rallied in Brussels on Wednesday, where negotiators are holding their latest round of talks on a proposed EU-U.S. trade deal criticized as a "Trojan treaty" that threatens democracy and puts corporate profits above people. At issue is the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), which would be the biggest-ever trade deal, and is a proposal that has faced years of opposition over its secrecy as well as possible impacts on issues ranging from food safety to fracking to copyright. Friends of the Earth Europe brought their touring "Trojan horse" to Brussels to urge negotiators to say not to what the environmental group says is a Trojan treaty.

Podemos Poses Major Threat To Spanish Political Establishment

February 5, 2015 Vicente Navarro, www.socialeurope.eu Educate! Europe, Greece, Left, Spain, Syriza

Something is happening in Spain. A party that was only founded a year ago, Podemos, with a clear left-wing programme, could well gain a majority in the Spanish Parliament if an election were held today. Following the victory of Syriza in the Greek elections on 25 January, speculation has been raised as to whether Podemos could achieve a similar feat in Spain’s parliamentary elections later this year, but what is driving the party’s success? Support for Podemos is intricately linked to the policies pursued by the conservative People’s Party government, led by Mariano Rajoy. These policies have included the largest cuts in public social expenditures (dismantling the underfunded Spanish welfare state) since democracy was established in Spain in 1978, and the toughest labour reforms pursued in the same period, which have substantially deteriorated labour market conditions.

Leaks Show TAFTA Will Undermine Sovereignty & Democracy

February 4, 2015 Glyn Moody, www.techdirt.com Educate! Europe, TTIP, US

It has long been evident that TAFTA/TTIP is not a traditional trade agreement -- that is, one that seeks to promote trade by removing discriminatory local tariffs on imported goods and services. That's simply because the tariffs between the US and EU are already very low -- under 3% on average. Removing all those will produce very little change in trading patterns. The original justification for TTIP recognized this, and called for "non-tariff barriers" to be removed as well. Those "non-tariff barriers" include regulations and standards introduced to protect the public -- for example, through health and safety laws or environmental regulations. Removing those "barriers" in order to increase trade might be great for companies, but increases the social costs through weakened protection for the environment, or greater health risks.

Is A European Spring Coming?

February 3, 2015 Lorenzo Del Savio and Matteo Mameli, www.truth-out.org Resist! Austerity, Europe, Greece, Left, Spain, Youth

In the wake of the victory of the progressive party Syriza at the Greek general election on January 25, 2015, some have started talking about the coming of a European Spring, a democratic uprising against the political status quo in Europe. This status quo has imposed brutal austerity policies on countries like Greece, Cyprus, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Ireland. These policies have protected and advanced the interests of banks, and more generally, of those holding large financial assets. They have protected and advanced the interests of large corporations. They have generated unbelievably high unemployment rates, a huge squeeze on workers' wages and an astonishing number of bankruptcies among small businesses. They have resulted in dramatic cuts to social security and public health systems. These are economic issues, but they are also moral issues. Robbing a whole generation of European youth of the possibility of finding a decent job is stripping them of their hopes and dignity.

Syriza Official Vows To Kill TAFTA: ‘Gift To European People’

February 3, 2015 Andrea Germanos, www.commondreams.org Resist! Europe, Free Trade Agreements, Greece, TTIP

An official with Greece's newly elected Syriza party may have sounded the death knell for a proposed EU-U.S. trade deal that has faced a mountain of opposition from civil society. The deal is the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), now facing itseighth round of talks between negotiators this week in Brussels. The TTIP, which would be the biggest trade deal ever, has been criticized as a corporate-friendly deal that threatens food and environmental safety under the guise of "harmonization" of regulations. Georgios Katrougkalos, now deputy minister for administrative reform, confirmed what he had told EurActiv Greece ahead of his Syriza party's victory last week: that his parliament would not ratify the trade deal.

Bristol Bus Protesters Take To The Trees

February 3, 2015 Steven Morris, www.theguardian.com Resist! Bristol, Environment, Europe

Environmental campaigners have taken to treetops in Bristol to try to halt work on a new bus scheme that they argue will wreck some of the city’s most precious food-growing land. The protest against a development that the activists say will ruin allotments and damage an award-winning community food-growing project is embarrassing for the city as it has just launched 12 months of events and initiatives as European green capital 2015. Around a dozen protesters have set up camp in trees that border the Stapleton allotments and the Feed Bristol site after hearing that they were about to be cut down as part of the MetroBus development. Signs were put up on some of the trees claiming nails had been hammered into them – a tactic designed to make cutting them down with chainsaw dangerous.

«1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 »

assetto corsa mods

Daily movement news and resources