is no clear way out of it, and we’ll be living with the consequences of it for
some time yet.
Though this crisis is the result of a system engineered by states, and
profited from by vast companies and financial institutions, it is ordinary
people who are suffering from it. Job losses and unemployment have shot up,
people are losing their homes, and public services face the axe to pay for the
banking bailout.
But not everyone has taken this lying down. 2009 has seen some of the most
significant struggles in recent years as ordinary people stand up and fight
back. Workers threatened with layoffs have occupied their workplaces, local
communities have occupied schools threatened with closure, and workers are
taking industrial action to defend themselves against a hammering.
This public meeting is to bring together those interested in joining,
supporting and organising around this fightback.'