Anti-austerity and anti-TTIP protest blockade Brussels EU summit (nowhere in english-speaking media)

[BelgianMadCow]

Today, starting at 7 AM, an unusual and not previously seen coalition of farmers, unions and citizens' groups called D19-20 blocked several key crossings in Brussels. The blockade comes after last year's anti-austerity demo with 100.000 in attendance did not bring any response or change of plans by the EU, so the unions decided to take it one step further.

This year, the blockade was against two EU policies: the "Fiscal Compact", which strongly limits EU countries' budgetary sovereignty, and the TTIP, the "sister" free trade pact of the TPP, which is a frontal assault on democracy.

Some 2000 protesters were reported, but reports varied from hundreds to 10.000. That is quite a lot for an action with a clear "civil disobedience" character. It's also surprising that the unions participated in them.


Farmers used tractors to block some of the crossings
photo: Kevin Van den Panhuyzen, from the front-page article in my favourite independent news outlet De Wereldmorgen.

The coalition wrote a letter to EU Trade commissioner Karel De Gucht (a belgian), EU commission president Barroso and EU council president Van Rompuy (another belgian) in order to be heard, but they weren't. The protest was nicely sanitized, in two ways: in the media and by the police. The police blockaded the blockades - thereby isolating the protesters. That's very smart, now all the people in the traffic jams don't even get to hear why they were there. After blocking the crossings, the idea was to gather at one central location, but the police had barricaded it. 70 people trying to break through were arrested.



The belgian MSM did carry the protest - with quite some focus on the traffic disturbance, but in several outlets the demands of the protesters were also aired. At least, now most people won't go "huh?" anymore when I mention the TTIP. Well done, protesters. Also, one paper carried an Op-Ed by Green EU parliament member Bart Staes, which outlines all the criticism of the TTIP in detail, and which said they (the Greens) supported the protest. Another breakthrough.

And then I went looking for coverage in other media. After all, Brussels is the "capital" of Europe, and an EU summit is a high-profile event. The Guardian? The BBC? Frankfurter Allgemeine? News aggregators like Reuters or Rediff?

Not. One. Word. You're not supposed to know. Spot any difference with the protest in Ukraine? (which was all I got on Reuters with "brussels protest"...)

The dutch paper De Volkskrant, at least they speak the same language, and they are in the same press group as the paper with the Op-Ed? Nothing.

But, the BBC did have one picture + one sentence:


An anti-austerity protest by trade unions, farmers and civil society groups blocked main roads in central Brussels

So here I am, breaking the silence

[KoKo]

1. The World's Common People Waking Up to these BOGUS "Trade Agreements"

Which do nothing but import cheap labor in the country's signing them (to exploit the immigrants which they then expell when the population rises up in unemployment for the citizens) and cause JOB LOSS and the best to have to leave their own countries to find jobs elsewhere.

I haven't said this very well...but, these BOGUS TRADE AGREEMENTS do nothing for the Countries signing them!

(sorry...brain dead tonight for many reasons that are just work related/personal)

Anyway Wonderful to see Populations RISE UP to fight back. We have to keep on top of this and keep on doing what we can do to stop these Job Exporting/Importing Cheap Labor Agreements from being adopted.

[Enthusiast]

6. Thank you for pointing this out.

They are protesting this race to the bottom that the Fascists are pushing.

[KoKo]

2. My internet has been spotty today...

so I missed my RT Fix. I will check tomorrow and see if I can find if they did anything about it. Also maybe Amy Goodman at "Democracy Now" has a mention in today's show.

It reminds me of our protests against Bush/Cheney for years and the Occupy Movement in the USA. They started putting up the Gates to keep protestors cordoned off under Bush in his second term when the protests started to get larger. Now it seems that US tactics by the Police and Media have gone GLOBAL...which is more reason to stop these fake "Trade Agreements" which will mean ever more Global Policing and Controlled Media (which will not report or give a "one sentence."

what you say here:

"The protest was nicely sanitized, in two ways: in the media and by the police. The police blockaded the blockades - thereby isolating the protesters. That's very smart, now all the people in the traffic jams don't even get to hear why they were there. After blocking the crossings, the idea was to gather at one central location, but the police had barricaded it. 70 people trying to break through were arrested."

[BelgianMadCow]

4. Didn't see it on RT, dunno about Democracy now

should you find anything, I'd be interested to hear it! (once you have a clearer head & a good night's sleep, I hope).

But yes, I thought of US "free speech zones" (a ridiculous concept) when I saw how the protest unfolded. Eerie. It's also very similar to the case of Spain - where now they're trying to pass a law that makes protest illegal in basically any place near the democratic institutions. You can also get a 6000 euro fine for swearing at a police officer.

With the heat in the frog's kettle going ever up, and all avenues of pressure escape sealed, that can only lead to one thing. I already "look forward" to characterizations like "looters" and "riots", and after all the system is equipped to deal with aggression.

That's why I think the only chance we have is through "being the alternative" - retract our support of the system, using strategies like boycots, changing banks to responsible ones, repairing & bartering instead of buying (there's a whole "repair café" movement springing up here), going prism-break.org, crowdfunding & the lateral revolution, and similar things we can still do at the local level first.

That, or a massive peaceful outpouring & constitution rewriting & reckoning like in Iceland. But I'm afraid it wouldn't even be allowed to happen here or in the US, or it would be ignored like in Spain, Greece, Turkey and Italy. Or usurped like in Egypt and Syria. Greece is gonna get interesting, with Syriza polling in close second place and the country on the path to third world status.

[pa28]

3. I see they have riot police out.

That crowd looks like a really dangerous bunch.

[Enthusiast]

5. Recommended a bunch! These protesters are fighting international Fascism.

Yay, protesters!

[BelgianMadCow]

7. Thanks, Enthusiast

I think they are, yes. But it never ceases to amaze me how non-US news is considered "bleh" by DU. Like when global dragnet spying is "OK" because it's only foreigners. Not you, of course.

[Ichingcarpenter]

8. Global Power Project: The Group of Thirty, Architects of Austerity

Global Power Project: The Group of Thirty, Architects of Austerity


The Group of Thirty, a preeminent think tank that brings together dozens of the world’s most influential policy makers, central bankers, financiers and academics, has been the focus of two recent reports for Occupy.com’s Global Power Project. In studying this group, I compiled CVs of the G30's current and senior members: a total of 34 individuals. The first report looked at the origins of the G30, while the second examined some of the current projects and reports emanating from the group. In this installment, I take a look at some specific members of the G30 and their roles in justifying and implementing austerity measures.


http://www.occupy.com/article/global-power-project-group-thirty-architects-austerity

[BelgianMadCow]

9. That is excellent information!

I knew the "usual supects" but the Bank of International Settlements dude was new. The BIS is the apex of 1%, me thinks. Bookmarked for later reference, thanks for adding!

[Ichingcarpenter]

10. Its in three parts

so its a long but good read.

[DrDebug]

13. The BIS is very important

That is the central bank of central banks. It iss one of the wealthiest institutes in the world vacuum the global economy for decades now.

If you want to know more I'd recommend Edward Jay Epstein's story (even though it's a little dated):

Ruling The World of Money
HARPER'S
November 1983

by Edward Jay Epstein

Ten times a year — once a mouth except in August and October — a small elite of well dressed men arrives in Basel, Switzerland. Carrying overnight bags and attache cases, they discreetly check into the Euler Hotel, across from the railroad station. They have come to this sleepy city from places as disparate as Tokyo, London, and Washington, D.C., for the regular meeting of the most exclusive, secretive, and powerful supranational club in the world. Each of the dozen or so visiting members has his own office at the club, with secure telephone lines to his home country. The members are fully serviced by a permanent staff of about 300, including chauffeurs, chefs, guards, messengers, translators, stenographers, secretaries, and researchers. Also at their disposal are a brilliant research unit and an ultramodern computer, as well as a secluded country club with tennis courts and a swimming pool, a few kilometers outside Basel.

(...)

Originally, the central bankers sought complete anonymity for their activities. Their headquarters were in an abandoned six story hotel, the Grand et Savoy Hotel Universe, with an annex above the adjacent Frey's Chocolate Shop. There purposely was no sign over the door identifying the BIS, so visiting central bankers and gold dealers used Frey's, which is across the street from the railroad station, as a convenient landmark. It was in the wood-paneled rooms above the shop and the hotel that decisions were reached to devalue or defend currencies, to fix the price of gold, to regulate offshore banking, and to raise or lower short-term interest rates. And though they shaped "a new world economic order" through these deliberations, according to Guido Carli, the governor of the Italian central bank,, the public, even in Basel, remained almost totally unaware of the club and its activities.

(...)

http://www.edwardjayepstein.com/archived/moneyclub.htm

[BelgianMadCow]

14. I'll definitely read that. The truth doesn't age, either.

As I recall, something like 150 central banks belong to the BIS system, and the handful that don't look suspiciously like the just-attacked/just-meddled/still-to-do list.

[woo me with science]

11. K&R

[WillyT]

12. HUGE K & R !!! - THANK YOU !!!

[woo me with science]

15. kick

[KoKo]

16. "Democracy Now" has the Protest on December 21st Show:

Here's the snip. It's in her Headlines with video of the protest at the link...but here's the snip of her report:


Thousands March Against Free Trade, Austerity on 1st Day of EU Summit
Facebook_20 Twitter_20
Reddit_20 Email_20 Addthis_20

In Belgium, protesters opposed to austerity and so-called free trade shut down traffic in parts of Brussels on the opening day of the European Union summit Thursday. Some 10,000 protesters took to the streets to oppose secretive negotiations for a massive trade deal between the United States and Europe, which they say would favor corporations and undermine protections, from food safety to workers’ rights. Pascoe Sabido of the Corporate Europe Observatory spoke at Thursday’s action.

Pascoe Sabido: "So, we’re here today to block the EU summit, where our so-called leaders are meeting, to make sure that two treaties — the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, the free trade deal with the U.S., as well as the TSCG, which is basically a treaty of austerity — make sure they don’t go forward and to make sure that actually our voices here in the streets, across society, are not just listened to, but make sure we’re not complicit in this. So we’re here to say, 'No, this will not happen, and enough is enough.' And we’re going to try and build a Europe from below."

Coverage at link in her Headlines Intro about 5 issues in:

http://www.democracynow.org/2013/12/20/headlines#122010

[BelgianMadCow]

17. Thanks a gazillion KoKo! D19-20 will be very happy to hear this, and I'll make sure

they do.

Now off to watching. Very much appreciated!

[KoKo]

18. Ill check out the "other International Site"...

that I mentioned...but haven't had time to go through their archives. I am willing to bet they either covered it or will do a newstory on in next week.

Yes...it was great to see that coverage from "DN."

[woo me with science]

19. kick

[BelgianMadCow]

21. thanks for kicking, woo me with science

every view is a view. The entire episode has provoked debate here, with Karel De Gucht replying to the Op-Ed I linked (with nothing but obfuscation, and mainly "trussssst us" No I won't).

[laundry_queen]

20. K&R nt