Thursday 21 February 2013

Anti Cuts March 23 Feb

MANIFESTACIÓN CONTRA LOS RECORTES

nos vemos ESTE SÁBADO 23 FEB a las 12

los detalles de la convocatoria y recorrido están  aquí 
Add caption

Friday 1 February 2013

BASTA DE SOBRES - VEN A PICCADILLY

CONCENTRACION EN PICCADILLY GARDENS

SATURDAY 2 FEB 12:00


TRAE CACEROLAS, PANCARTAS, rabia, ganas. Que no te quiten las ganas.

COME TO SHOW SOLIDARITY WITH THE SPANISH PEOPLE
bring pots & pans & banners

MEET AT QUEEN VICTORIA STATUE, PICCADILLY GARDENS, MANCHESTER

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La credibilidad del gobierno se ha hecho trizas hoy (31/1/13). Estos son precisamente los individuos que han tomado decisiones gracias a las cuales millones de personas como tú y como yo han perdido sus trabajos, sus casas, sus ahorros, escuelas, hospitales, sueños. Hoy esa farsa de "lo hacemos por el bien común" suena mas hueca y cruel que nunca.

Qué nos queda? Sólo nuestras manos. Cuarenta y siete millones de pares de manos. Es hora de empezar a construir un país desde cero.

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Whatever was left of the credibility of Spain's government has been shaken to dust today (31/1/13). These are precisely the individuals who have repeatedly taken decisions resulting in millions of ordinary people being dispossesed of their jobs, homes, savings, schools, hospitals, dreams. Now their farce, "we are doing this for the common good", rings more empty and cruel than ever.

What are we left with? Only our hands. Fourty-seven million pairs of hands. Time to clean and build a country from scratch.

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"Spanish prime minister Rajoy accused of hiding secret income. Mariano Rajoy's government reeling from claims that he received €250,000 in money that had been hidden from tax authorities"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jan/31/spanish-prime-minister-secret-payments

FIRMA!
Please SIGN THIS (asking for the resignation of those who've presumably received 'black' money) if you haven't done so already (500,000 signatures in 24h - and counting!):  
http://www.change.org/es/peticiones/un-millón-de-firmas-por-la-dimisión-de-la-cúpula-del-pp-lospapelesdebárcenas-quesevayantodos



Thursday 10 May 2012

#12M15M Global day of action

THIS SATURDAY 12 May

come to PICCADILLY GARDENS from 2pm!


We will join our Occupy Manchester friends for a special #12M15M Global day of action - see their video http://youtu.be/N2kVMVeO2Bo


Friday 14 October 2011

OCTOBER 15TH: United for Global Change

THIS SATURDAY 15 OCTOBER 2011

All over the world, people will take to the streets and squares in an unprecedented global non-violent protest to demand a true democracy.

There will be demonstrations/assemblies/camps in 951 cities and 82 countries - see this GLOBAL MAP. If you are in Manchester,


Come to PICCADILLY GARDENS AT 11am!




[ Take to the streets. Create another world. ]




OCCUPY / STRIKE / RESIST !

Friday 30 September 2011

It is finally happening: OCCUPY! Mcr










THIS SUNDAY 2 October 2011

Manchester and Salford will be flooded with the demonstration Manchester for the Alternative organised by the trade unions and other nation-wide and local groups against the Tory Party conference.

It is more generally a protest against the wave of cuts that are ripping up the welfare state in the UK as well as in other countries in Europe. We are facing an unprecedented era of cutbacks to basic social rights like education and health services - or, to name a few more specific and local examples, childcare, pensions, affordable higher education, even libraries!

It has taken more than 150 years of struggles (measured in human lives) to achieve those rights. Are we really going to look aside and wait while they take those rights away from the people?

It is time to remind our governments that their power stems from the citizens that have elected them - that they work for ALL the citizens, not only for the rich and for the lobbies - and especially that they do NOT (or rather should not) work for the bankers, financial traders nor for the opaque and non-democratic institutions that nobody has elected (like the IMF, WB, ECB, or the increasingly powerful rating agencies, which have lately been allowed -by our governments- to have a dangerously high influence on the everyday lives of millions of people in Europe).

It is clearly not enough to vote once every four years or to march from time to time. It is time to diversify and to globalise the struggle.

That is why this Sunday will be an important day here in the UK.

A couple of months ago we were very happy at Real Democracy Manchester to hear about the birth of a local group-of-groups, OCCUPY! Manchester, as it was precisely what we had been waiting for since last May. We have in this way joined forces with many local groups with whom this Sunday we will

  • take part in the Education part of the march that is starting from University Place on Oxford Road at 11am and which will join the main march at 12am (see route map),
  • OCCUPY! Albert Square after the march, in order to create a space for assemblies and creative discussions (in the style of the square occupations that sprung up e.g. in Spain last May or in Wall Street, New York two weeks ago).

In short - we hope to see you on Sunday, knowing that October 2nd is not an end, but a beginning!

Wednesday 6 July 2011

Acampada Sol, the documentary

How did the 15-M movement start in Spain, and why? Who were the ones behind the first protests? What gave rise to camping on the squares? This superb documentary answers all these questions and many more. Watch it and share it!

The version in English of this video is unfortunately no longer accessible, but the original version (in Spanish) can still be found at: AcampadaSol documentary (+ a preview) .

To make up for this, we have prepared a special treat for our English-speaking readers:


A selection of videos about the 15-May movement in Spain. Enjoy!





15-M movement as covered by The Guardian:



Video of an assembly in Madrid in which Joseph Stiglitz took part


Slide show in The New York Times: In Want of Jobs, Protesters Take Over the Streets

Thursday 30 June 2011

Cacerolada against the F1 Grand Prix

Over the last three years the Valencia government has spent around 140 million euros on the F1 Grand Prix celebration.

Too fast, too ruinous”. This is the text on a huge banner flying yesterday at a short distance to the Valencia F1 urban circuit. There, a group of about 200 indignados (outraged) demonstrated with a great cacerolada (saucepan-banging) against the public money spent on this event. Over the last three years, Valencia´s government has spent about 140 millions euros on the race celebration.

In turn, the autonomic administration reassures that Valencia´s society has got an economical impact of 158 millions euros, although does not specify what the benefits consisted of or how have they been calculated. The place chosen for the indignados to demonstrate was the most touristic entry of the circuit, the one that gets to the race from the maritime promenade and the restaurants of Malvarrosa beach. The time chosen coincided with the massive arrival of the spectators: one o´clock in the afternoon. Therefore hundreds of tourists could take pictures of the protest and listen to the slogans shouted by the demonstrators: “The urban circuit is paid for by the citizens”. There was even place for other demands like the banner carried by a 50 year old woman: “Violence is the education system and the barrack huts”, meaning the pre-built classrooms where thousands of students have to study in Valencia due to the lack of funds for building new schools.

The indignados also took with them to the maritime promenade a collection of cardboard cars used to parody the F1 grand prix. The demonstration is one of the activities organized by the indignados of Valencia´s villages’ assemblies, whom over the weekend celebrated a camping in one of the most diminished squares of the city, a kilometre away from the circuit. Concerts, workshops, and assemblies are celebrated there, as a protest to contrast the race´s luxury against the lack of funding in the area.

The numbers of the circuit.

The European F1 Grand Prix has been taken place in Valencia since 2008. The government built a circuit in the harbour which cost around 85 millions euros. The Valencia government specified that the cost would be none as when the area would be built up, development companies would pay a plus in order to build houses. The government also accepts the annual cost of the canon which is around 18 millions euros, according to Jorge Martinez Aspar (Valmor partner; private company in charge of setting up and dismantling the event).

According to the government, the grand prix means “a global impact ( building industry + running the event) greater than 158 millions euros for Valencia in only three years. It is also worth mentioning that 6.284 jobs have been created between the building and the celebration of three editions of this event, witnessed by almost 285.000 espectators”. Valencia´s administration emphasizes the powerful advertisement for the city: “An F1 grand prix has an average share of 600 millions espectators. 150 TV channels of 188 countries of the 5 continents live the races. Around 1.000 journalists from all over the world, come to Valencia to cover the event”.

The Valencia government declare that the economical benefits data have been thoroughly studied by the IVIE (Valencia´s college of economical research) although from the Economical department state that it is not possible to publish the document with the detailed breakdown of such benefits.

The original article can be seen here.