General Strke in Italy againt austerity measures

[malaise]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-14798534
<snip>
Millions of Italian trade union members are thought to be taking part in a day-long strike against the government's latest austerity measures.

Flights have been cancelled, trains and buses are stationary, and government offices have been shut across Italy.

The government has faced criticism over a 45bn-euro (£40bn) austerity package, and has been scrambling to revise it.

"This is a plan the country doesn't deserve," said CGIL union leader Susanna Camusso, marching through Rome.

CGIL, which called the general strike, is Italy's largest union federation.
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Bravo workers of the world!!

[elleng]

1. And there's this:

U.N. study savages U.S., European economic policy.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x625372

'The report, entitled "Post-crisis policy challenges in the world economy," savaged U.S. and European economic policies and called for wage increases, stricter regulation of financial markets, including a return to a system of managed exchange rates, and a conscious break with market-led thinking.

"The message here is very pragmatic: we need to reverse our course quickly," said UNCTAD Secretary General Supachai Panitchpakdi.

Supachai, a former head of the World Trade Organisation, said the policy response to the crisis, with an emphasis on fiscal tightening, was misconceived and inept. . .

The report put much of the blame for the crisis on deregulation of financial markets, which it said invited destabilising "herd behaviour" by speculators, and allowed an over-concentration of banking activities.

"What we've seen in the past and we never learn is that countries seem to have excessive belief in the financial markets. And we've seen time and again that financial markets are not very sound in their judgement," said Supachai.

"But still people keep thinking that they are doing these austerity measures because they want to please the markets so that the markets give them better ratings, including the rating agencies which do not always produce the best assessment."'

[malaise]

2. Thanks for that link

The system is crumbling before our eyes

[elleng]

3. Yes, I'm afraid so. Sent it to WH.

[jwirr]

6. This is the UN talking? The same UN that contains the IMF, the

World Bank and other agencies that have practiced disaster capitalism for years now. Maybe they have learned something?

[elleng]

9. 'The report's lead author

Heiner Flassbeck said the global economic situation was extremely dangerous and, without more stimulus, a decade of stagnation was the best-case scenario.

The current policies were a disaster, said Flassbeck, head of the globalisation and development strategies division at the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development, and a former deputy finance minister in Germany.'

[nadinbrzezinski]

10. The IMF and the Word Bank are part of the Bretton Woods agreement

and not part of the UN.

[jwirr]

11. I thought the UN ran them?

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. No, they precede the UN by a year treaty wise

they coordinate with the UN... but they are not really a UN Agency. They came from 1944, the UN was formed in 1945.

The UN has an agency for development that heavily coordinates with them though, and partially the UNHCR.

[jwirr]

14. Thank you - I did not know that.

[Blue_Tires]

4. kick

Solidariedade!

[doc03]

5. This morning on Bloomberg News I heard one of those

financial talking heads say "Europe has discovered that austerity is not the way to grow the economy."

[blindpig]

7. Take notes....

We will do this or the ruling class will continue to spit on us.

[sfpcjock]

8. We need a universal debt forgiveness from these Banksters

who have been paid off in spades. Iceland did the right thing and told them to piss off. Now they're doing great. Ireland didn't and it is in the loo.

[socialist_n_TN]

13. Workers of the world, UNITE!

You have nothing to lose, but you're chains!

Now, Europe needs to show the world the way by COORDINATING these general strikes. It's encouraging to see all of them, but it would be MORE encouraging AND more effective, if ALL the working class went out at the same time. Who knows? It might even spark something here.