Rioters rampage, protesters block French airports

[defendandprotect]

Rioters rampage, protesters block French airports

By GREG KELLER, Associated Press Writer Greg Keller, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 47 mins ago
PARIS – Workers opposed to a higher retirement age blocked roads to airports around France on Wednesday, leaving passengers in Paris dragging suitcases on foot along an emergency breakdown lane.

Outside the capital, hooded youths smashed store windows amid clouds of tear gas.

Riot police in black body armor forced striking workers away from blocked fuel depots in western France, restoring gasoline to areas where pumps were dry after weeks of protests over the government proposal raising the age from 60 to 62.

Riot officers in the Paris suburb of Nanterre and the southeastern city of Lyon sprayed tear gas but appeared unable to stop the violence.





http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101020/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_france_retirement_strikes

[alcibiades_mystery]

1. May '68, take 2

Did the Goldman Sachses of the world think they'd escape without class struggle this time?

[leveymg]

2. "Protesters occupied the Marseille Chamber of Commerce before being kicked out by police. "

Sometimes you have to read down to the very end to get the best part. :evilgrin:

[defendandprotect]

3. Thanks -- I didn't read it all myself; just came back to do that ....

Given the military/violent type of RESPONSE to demonstrations elsewhere -- think we have

to keep that in mind when we are asking why Americans aren't more like the French!!

In fact, our peace activists are being labelled "terrorists" now by the FBI ... in hopes

that they can get their hands on some Homeland Security $$$$$$$$$$$$ -- !!!

Of course, FBI would do it without the money!!

:evilgrin:

[leveymg]

4. This country is ready for a major blow-out of the political cobwebs. The main reason we've been so

quiet in the last two years is the (now dissipated) "Hope and Change" message of the party in power. Under the previous Administration, many of us were simply so shocked by the Bush-Cheney killing and looting and election-stealing machine that we were frozen in place - I think many just couldn't believe what was going on, or were just plain frightened.

A lot of the novelty (and power) of both forms of social control has worn off. I think next year, we will see much more of the old civil insurrection that was a feature of American life in the 1960s and 1930s. I don't think the FBI will be able to do much to stop it from happening, and frankly, facing cuts in their own pensions and salaries, federal employees may not be much inclined to work really hard to put down a broad-based opposition.

[defendandprotect]

5. Very interesting comments ... things I hadn't thought of ....

The internet is the only place for info now -- even C-span is in rather dire

straights over the past decade and more -- very limited in what it is showing

compared to pre-Newt Gingrich days. I'm sure they are not going to give up on

trying to suppress it.

Think many people still under impression that we've made it because we elected a Dem.

Personally, I think the Obama deals with Big Pharma on drug prices and with health care

industry NOT to include public option and to keep a privatized system have put people

into new shock.

Government salaries are pretty much 40% above private sector -- that's how we know how

underpaid most people are! Their COLA's did work to keep them ahead -- everyone else's

salaries are stagnant. The argument you're making about falling benefits ... don't know.

They've pretty much in our town knocked out a bunch of police officers and even before

that they hired a law firm to fight with them on salaries to downgrade them and benefits.

They didn't have a contract for years! Yet, at the same time, we had a huge sexual harassment

suit -- Captain of police department took a fancy to a young female police officer who was

"black" and he was "white" -- and after it became known he had been pushing himself on her,

it looked like the police tried to set her up for a minor scandal re parking ticket and

her nephew! Does the right-wingedness of police officers and FBI really change even if they

are suffering the same problems that the public is suffering? I'm not sure about that.

Two things I'm sure of -- we have to find new and better ways to unite and to protest together.

AND, once we begin we can't stop until we have put this entire planet aright!


Doesn't make much sense to me to go to Washington when no one is there!

Think we need to have other ways to show our power -- lights out for an hour on a given "click" --

Australia did that for environmental concerns but can be used for anything.

STOP using these damned credit cards which are enriching the banksters -- every purchase

your bank gets a percentage which only increases our prices. Same with Visa 3.5% and more

from business owner -- American express is 7.5%. And the banks do nothing but issue the cards -

we do the work for them every day!

We can also at a click pull our cars off the road for 15-20 minutes at a time.

We can stop buying products we don't need -- have you seen the department stores already full

of Xmas crap?

We can also STOP buying goods made in China ... and gradually begin demanding goods made in USA.

From these ideas would come many, many other ideas.

One of the really important things we can do is to go vegetarian which would not only help us --

but help the planet.

We should also keep demanding paper ballots and ink -- and hand-counting!!

:)



PS: Thought the idea of moving money out of the major banks and into town banks/credit unions

was brilliant - need more ideas like that. We've done it gradually --

and think many others have done it?

[kenny blankenship]

6. Tout Va Bien

[RagAss]

7. We wish we had guts like the French.

[lonestarnot]

8. We do.