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All Out - London Oct 20th - This is Not a Recession, This is a Robbery!

Robin Hood | 07.08.2012 11:22 | Health | Public sector cuts | Social Struggles

11am sharp, London Blackfriars / Victoria Embankment, Sat 20 Oct 2012

This is not a recession, this is a robbery!
This is not a recession, this is a robbery!


The MPs expenses scandal was followed by Liberal Democrats and Tories breaking pre-election promises on tuition fees and NHS re-organisation, undermining the entire basis of modern democracy, and paving the way for the wholescale theft of education and health entitlements that British taxpayers have been paying-in to for generations.

Bank bailouts steal billions from ordinary taxpayers while bank bosses steal million pound bonuses, the Libor scandal exposes the banks as systematic thieves, HSBC and Standard Chartered launder hundreds of billions for murdering Colombian narco-capitalists and for repressive regimes.

Multi-nationals and the super-rich dodge trillions in taxes which could wipe-out any deficit many times over, police kill with impunity, rioters serve jail time for stealing water, Bullingdon Club hooligans protect their friends by firing tax collectors instead of jailing tax criminals and punishing criminal bankers.

Assemble 11am sharp, London Blackfriars / Victoria Embankment, Sat 20 Oct 2012. Don't give The Daily Mail what they want - keep it PEACEFUL but make it LOUD.

Coaches and trains from Abingdon, Ashford, Aylesbury, Banbury, Basingstoke, Bolton, Bracknell, Brighton, Chichester, Cornwall, Crawley, Dartford, Didcot, Dover, Fareham, Folkestone, Gosport, Gravesend, Hastings, Hempstead, Horsham, Hull, Maidstone, Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Oxford, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Sevenoaks, Sittingbourne, Southampton, Southend, Weston super Mare, Westwood, Winchester, Witney and Worthing (more to-be-confirmed) -  http://falseeconomy.org.uk/travel/uk/all/t1

Twitter @futurethatworks

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The people we need on Oct 20 are disaffected Tories and Lib-Dems as well as trade unionists, lefties, pensioners and young people - please preach to the un-converted (whatever you can do is always better than nothing, and the only way to guarantee something won't work is not to try), Please email and re-post Oct 20 graphics and text to friends and relatives, print-out flyers and leaflet streets, estates and workplaces, email supporting Oct 20 to the national & local papers and to radio, websites and TV.

Robin Hood

Comments

Hide the following 17 comments

Nice safe State approved TUC march - will achieve nothing

07.08.2012 11:54

Another attempt by the TUC to pretend they are involved with the protests against the cuts. The bosses of the TUC Unions are no difference to the bosses of the banks, the arms companies and the other multi-nationals. People trying to preserve their power by telling us what to do.

This nice and safe march from A to B followed by speeches from the usual journeymen will achieve nothing beyond dissipating energy from the cuts protests. The State loves this sort of 'protest' - easily managed, self policed (stewards telling us where to go) and most of all no threat to the status quo of power.

The TUC has always been in the bosses pockets

No war but the Class War


In agreement

07.08.2012 12:19

Safe, manageable and ultimately pointless. A waste of time, money, energy and soul. When will people learn that brandishing placards and having a few chants while being contained down some side street achieves absolutely nothing? If you were being mugged on the street what would you do? A. Hold a placard and protest B. Fight back and confront the attacker?

only one choice now


fuck the daily mail

07.08.2012 12:36

no justice = no peace

(the strength of any protest is not based on getting a good image in the daily mail)

_


Answering "Nice safe"

07.08.2012 13:47

"Nice safe State approved TUC march"? "No war but the Class War"? Like the post said, the only way to guarantee something won't achieve anything is not to give it a try, but... you still don't like it? Fine!

You and the other 5 members that London Class War had when they folded in May 2011 can organise your OWN protest, and see how much more you're able to achieve!!!!! Oh, I forgot, you did organise your own protest - in Cambridge this June, and 20 people showed up, the State were terrified ;)

"Dissipating energy from the cuts protests"? At this exact moment there aren't any cuts protests, dipstick, so how can something be dissipating the energy of something which it seeks to create but which at present doesn't actually exist? To be honest this trolling is SO dumb I'm tempted to think it's actually the cops

Helyer


Pensioners, disabled people, kids, mums with kids......

07.08.2012 14:00

Different styles of protest are not mutually exclusive. Opponents of peaceful protest can, if they're intelligent enough to realise the tactical benefits of covering all bases, play to their own strengths, in their own space and time, without denying those who can't physically FIGHT (pensioners, disabled people, kids, mums and dads with kids, people who commit the crime of not sharing your views about militant action etc) their right to protest against govt cuts.

Still unhappy? Then you deliver a better alternative (and note I didn't say "you talk about" a better alternative, I said you DELIVER a better alternative, and deliver that alternative as an actual practical and concrete reality before you criticize anyone else)

Still waiting


Answering "No war"

07.08.2012 14:06

The interesting... no... revealing thing about your reply is that it doesn't answer a single one of the points I made, but just speculates, ie - lies, about claims you have no evidence for instead

Have a nice day :)

Helyer


The strength of a good protest

07.08.2012 14:16

You're right - the strength of any protest is not based on getting a good image in the Daily Mail, the strength of a good protest is (measured in the most practically direct and literal common-sense terms) getting 500,000 people to turn-up rather than just 20

I'll explain it to you slowly if you don't understand. As for not giving the Daily Nazi what they want, funny, isn't it, how when there's a protest the establishment WANT to smear (TUC demo 26 March 2011) the black-bloc are all over the place, but when there's a protest the establishment don't producing images of disruption in London that the foreign media can beam all over the world (Olympics demo 28 July 2012) the black-bloc are nowhere to be seen

Groutey


@Groutey

07.08.2012 16:54

No, the success of a protest is measured in whether it brings us closer to our aims - in this case stopping the cuts. Doesn't matter how huge the numbers are if they only ever use tactics the govt can easily ignore.

As for the presence of black bloc on Mar 26th, but not on anti-Olympics, anyone involved in the anti-capitalist or anarchist movements could tell you that people mobilised for March 26th, but nowhere near as much for the anti-Olympics stuff. No mystery or conspiracy there, just a case of people picking their battles.

anon


Super-rich hiding at least $21 TRILLION

08.08.2012 00:00

One for the morons -  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18944097

And for the real illiterates, READ what written above - it's not the TUC who are spinning the class war rhetoric you dolt, it's the cops, pretending to be anarchists




Len


@ Basic Maths

08.08.2012 10:41

"My word the EDL are using some dumb trolls these days"


My word some people are patronising tits these days - why not fuck off and troll somewhere else.

Troll watch


the concept of bribeocracy

08.08.2012 11:33

The 'government' bailed out the irresponsible banks, who did not meet their customers needs of safe investment and lending and there for should have gone bankrupt. The state did this by effectively putting a gun against the head of the responsible banks, who served their customers well and provided safe investment and lending. The needy banks were helped at the expense of the wealthy banks, in line with the principle of "FROM EACH ACCORDING TO ABILITY; TO EACH ACCORDING TO NEED"; pure socialism at work! In the political system it pays to be irresponsible, so we can expect a lot more irresponsibility in future! If you want safe investment, don't invest with a responsible bank, invest if a bank which is "too big to fail"; one that will be bailed out by the state.

A vote is not a contract. Politicians are under no obligation to keep their election promises, so why vote and endorse the concept of 'government'? If you expect something in return for your 'x'
, it's no more than a little bribe you are offering anyway, and unless you have great economic power and influence, you can be sure that someone else can offer bigger bribes.

anarchist


Maths Class for Class Warrior

08.08.2012 11:38

As the saying goes "it's better to have 10% of something than 100% of nothing", so here's how the figures shake-down as regards the debate about militant vs. legal protest ...

If, by way of illustration, say 500,000 people take part in a legal protest - such as signing a 38 Degrees petition or joining a major TUC march, and those protests fail, then if (being as pessimistic as possible) even 0.1% (let alone 10%) of those people move on to more militant forms of protest, that's still 500 new militants. If, in contrast, 20-odd people show-up for a Class War demo in Cambridge, or sign Ian Bone's petition against Eton college, and those protests also fail, then even if (being as optimistic as possible) 100% of those people stay militant then that still adds-up to just 20 militant activists. The bottom line is that not undermining big protests is the best strategy for both militant activism and for moderate activism.

It's also a fact that no single march or petition, no matter how massive, can realistically be said to have "failed" unless the pressure it brings to bear against privatisers etc is maintained for as long they're willing to hold-out, ie - for years, so arguably the problem with TUC demos is that they don't organise enough protests (and either way it goes without saying that legal protests don't preclude militant protests).

Sergei


Don't give up the fight.

11.08.2012 14:56

You are all missing the point.

A TUC march will benefit the Labour party because the TUC is a Labour organisation. Irrespective of how many people turn up, the advantage is Labours to gain. Labour is a hierarchical political party. Of course it has plenty of reasons to want you out on the streets, if you show up, you do so under their flag. If that turns out to be a waypoint to power, you will have given them that power.

No, the narrative we need to build is one of political non compliance. None of the hierarchical political parties have the answer and that is what we stand to expose. We all know that austerity in the UK is determined not by political choice, but by national political obedience to the IMF. This is what we need to address.

This TUC march is planned by TUC stewards and will coincide with Labour party planning policy against the coalition. This is why these marches are called infrequently. They have to coincide with the national and local Labour body politic. This entails a national and local campaign at grass roots level and in the national press.

We have little to gain by helping this cause. If Labour call this as a success you can guarantee that you won't get a look in. They will take ownership of your endeavour because that's how the hierarchy derives its power.

Taking ownership is their bread and butter. Its their stocking trade.

Anti-austerity should be for the people to determine. These days, that means releiving the hierarchy of its ownership of the narrative.

We need a consensus built upon unity that itself is derived from recognition that our political hierarchy has failed. This isn't difficult given the public mind. Build unity around the public mood and we will have not only an answer to Britain's enactment of the policy of the IMF, but an answer to our failing hierarchy.

Get up, stand up. If others still sleep, let them sleep forever.






Get up, stand up.


@Get up, stand up

11.08.2012 23:13

No, YOU are missing the point/s. The points for instance about how the disillusionment of the many is more productive for radical politics than the political fervour of the tiny minorities who (who whatever reasons, rightly or wrongly) feel they're above participation in more mainstream forms of protest. If you feel that "we (sic) have little to gain by helping this cause" then don't help it. Stay away from the march. No, really- keep hold of whatever tiny, ever-shrinking political micro-sect you happen to identify with, and keep on trolling comments which discourage activists from being active in political culture!

The trolls have been challenged to show they can produce (really PRODUCE, not just talk about) better alternatives, and have continued to talk about alternatives which they have no practical proposals for ever realising. I totally agree that "none of the hierarchical political parties have the answer" - re-read the arguments above that so far you've ignored, then explain exactly HOW you personally are going to achieve the destruction of political obedience to the IMF?

Who is this "we" on whose behalf you claim to be speaking anyway?

Rafters


Congratulations

11.08.2012 23:17

Never in my life have I seen Indymedia being used so much as a medium for DISCOURAGING protest

10,000


Grassroots alternative

12.08.2012 08:49

It's all very well giving it the 'grassroots alternative' routine, but how exactly do you think this grassroots alternative is going to happen? Basic logic suggests that if activists go on the TUC demo then they have an opportunity to communicate with (not to mention express solidarity with) hundreds of thousands of ordinary people, but if we continue being all snotty about it, then we spurn that opportunity and communicate with absolutely no-one

And whatever people think about Labour and the TUC, when it comes to public opposition to austerity, if this demo is poorly attended the Tories and Liberal Democrats will interpret that as total victory

martin