Rss Feed Tweeter button Facebook button Delicious button

Skip to content

Thursday, May 24th 2012

#OccupyDameStreet 8th of Oct, 2pm

Author: Irish Left Review of Irish Left Review

Published: October 4th, 2011

Section: Articles, Economy

Discussion: 5 comments ↓

Possibly Related: , , , ,

Press release from the #OccupyDameStreet group

#OccupyDameStreet is one of dozens of sister occupations in the current movement initiated by Occupy Wall Street (occupywallst.org). This is a peoples initiative unaffiliated to any political parties. Like OWS, this is a “leaderless resistance movement” with people of many nationalities, backgrounds, genders and political persuasions. We will utilise tactics of non-violence and civil disobedience, akin to scenes of peaceful resistance in Tahrir Square during the Egyptian Uprising - part of the wider Arab Spring.

Now is the time for the spirit of the revolt in Tahrir Square to spread to other major cities and financial districts around the world. It is the duty of those of us living in western capitalist states to take up the fight against the endlessly greedy bankers and political & financial elites who cause so many problems for not only people at home, but the entire world. Chris Hedges put it well in this quote, and it goes for all of us in the West, not just America:

“There are no excuses left. Either you join the revolt taking place on Wall Street and in the financial districts of other cities across the country or you stand on the wrong side of history. Either you obstruct, in the only form left to us, which is civil disobedience, the plundering by the criminal class on Wall Street and accelerated destruction of the ecosystem that sustains the human species, or become the passive enabler of a monstrous evil. Either you taste, feel and smell the intoxication of freedom and revolt or sink into the miasma of despair and apathy. Either you are a rebel or a slave.”

Our demand in Ireland is that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and European Central Bank (ECB) stay out of our affairs. We do not want their influence or control. Our demand is that the private bank debt that has been socialised and burdened upon the population of the country who had nothing to do with it be lifted. We will not pay and let our children and grandchildren pay for this mess that private banks and bondholders have caused. It is their problem, not ours. Our demand is that the oil and gas reserves off our coast that were criminally handed away to private corporations be returned to the people. Our demand is for real, participatory democracy - where the people’s interests come first, where the people decide what happens.

Discussion

We welcome and encourage lively discussion from the public about articles on Irish Left Review. You can leave a comment using the form at the bottom of the page. Please read through the existing comments before posting your own.

  1. Comment by: Des Derwin

    Oct 4th 2011 at 11:10

    The Occupy Wall Street movement (or phase of the ‘Spring’ and ‘Indignatio’ movements) is tremendous and uplifting. Astonishing really, though we should not be astonished. A similarity here would be great. Though simple tranplantation does not always work.

    Some comments:

    There are already at least three demonstrations on austerity being proposed: in October (’Enough’!), in November (the Dublin Council of Trade Unions) and in December (Spectacle of Defiance). The ULA TDs have proposed one also, but this is intended to tie in with other forces anyway. Dame Street is yet another.

    Maybe Dame Street will lead to the big one. Nevertheless it makes sense to pool resources and make things as big as possible. There is a talk of a meeting (this evening?) to attempt to co-ordinate the various initiatives. Maybe someone has more detail on this.

    Stop with the “leaderless resistance movement”. By designing the poster, setting a date and posting this notice you have given a lead. And congratulations for it! You have followed the lead of New York, which has followed the lead of Cairo and so on. The post above already leads with a well articulated set of demands.

  2. Comment by: Richard

    Oct 4th 2011 at 15:10

    Des,

    Real Democracy Now -which maintains contact with popular movements in Spain and Greece- holds weekly assemblies in Seomra Spraoi. There’s one tonight at 7pm. I believe the organisers of this Saturday’s event will also be speaking at this but am not aware of attendees from other organising groups, nor if the plan is to co-ordinate the various initiatives. All are welcome, however.

    http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=254056504636272

  3. Comment by: dunk

    Oct 4th 2011 at 17:10

    The American Revolution is underway, #occupywallstreet takes it to the belly of the beast (Indymedia Ireland feature)
    http://www.indymedia.ie/article/100645

    Cornell West speaking at the peoples assembly at #occupywallstreet day 11:

    “There is a sweet spirit in this place. I hope you can feel the love and inspiration, of those sly stone called “everyday people” who take a stand with great courage and compassion because we oppose the greed of Wall street oligarchs and corporate plutocrats who squeeze the democratic juices out of this country and other places around the world. I am so blessed to be here, you got me spiritually breakdancing on the way here, cuz when you bring folk together, all colours, all cultures, all genders, all sexual orientation, the elite will tremble in their boots. And we will send a message that this is the US FALL responding to the Arab Spring, it is going to hit Chicago, Los Angelas, Phoenix Arizona, and A town itself, moving on to detroit, its gonna hit apalacha, hit the reservations with our red brothers and sisters, martin luther king will smile in the grave, saying were moving step by step to what he called a revolution, dont be afraid to say REVOLUTION. We wanna transfer of power from the oligarchs, to ordinary citizens, with the poor children of all colours, and the orphans and the widows, and the elderly, and the working folk, if we connect the prison industrial complex with the military industrial complex and the wall street oligarchy complex and the corporate media multiplex. I want to thank you, its a blessing to be a small part of this magnificant gathering, this is the general assembly consecrated by your witness and your body and your mind.

  4. Comment by: paul

    Oct 9th 2011 at 17:10

    Dont forget about Irish participation in International pre=emptive warcrimes and genocide by the use of Shannon Civilian Airport by a forigen military engaged in barbaric illegal acts of savagery, against the same people who sailed ships laden with food for the starving Irish, here during our famine……
    A discussion should not exclude any injustice, in fact should include all injustice….

  5. Comment by: María

    Oct 9th 2011 at 17:10

    Regarding the end of the Des’ comment, I want to point out that to call for a demostration agreed among a group of people by consensus and without repressentative persons is a leaderless movement.

Leave a Comment

(required)

(required, will not be published)

Sins of the Father

Sins of the Father:

Tracing the Decisions

That Shaped the Irish Economy,

by Conor McCabe

from The History Press

Now Available as an e-Book.

Subscribe by Email

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner



Irish Left Review on Facebook

Best of the Web

  • Enough wrong turns – opt for growth that will lead to quality jobs

    From the European Trade Union Confederation, responding to the informal summit on growth and austerity in Brussels today.

    Bernadette Ségol, ETUC general secretary, stated:

    “We are delighted with the recent interest in growth shown by European leaders. It is now obvious to all that austerity has been a failure. Let us be wary about this reversal in trend, however. Whereas everyone is talking about growth, proposals on how to stimulate growth are conflicting. The new advocates of growth are calling for growth through structural reforms. These reforms are just another word for more deregulation, more flexibility, fewer public services and in short, more insecurity. The growth we recommend is completely different. We want a recovery through investment, through wage rises. The European Central Bank must guarantee the common currency to restore growth and confidence. Finally, new sources of financing must be given serious consideration (tax on financial transactions, Eurobonds). Moreover the May 23rd summit must concentrate on creating sustainable employment. One of the ways to do so would be to approve an ambitious directive on energy efficiency with binding targets at the national and European levels.”

    No comments »

  • 97% Owned | Documentary on Money

    This looks good…

    When money drives almost all activity on the planet, it’s essential that we understand it. Yet simple questions often get overlooked - questions like:

    • where does money come from?
    • Who creates it?
    • Who decides how it gets used?
    • And what does that mean for the millions of ordinary people who suffer when money and finance breaks down?

    97% Owned is a new documentary that reveals how money is at the root of our current social and economic crisis. Featuring frank interviews and commentary from economists, campaigners and former bankers, it exposes the privatised, debt-based monetary system that gives banks the power to create money, shape the economy, cause crises and push house prices out of reach.

    Fact-based and clearly explained, in just 60 minutes it shows how the power to create money is the piece of the puzzle that economists were missing when they failed to predict the crisis.

    Produced by Queuepolitely and featuring Ben Dyson of Positive Money, Josh Ryan-Collins of The New Economics Foundation, Ann Pettifor, the “HBOS Whistleblower” Paul Moore, Simon Dixon of Bank to the Future and Sargon Nissan and Nick Dearden from the Jubliee Debt Campaign, this is the first documentary to tackle this issue from a UK-perspective, and can be watched online now.

    No comments »

  • Greek leftist brings message to Europe - “Let’s talk”

    “The first reason we are taking this trip is because we want the governments of these important European Union countries, France and Germany, to see what we stand for: what is being transmitted in Europe about us is not what we represent and want,” Tsipras told Reuters at the office of his SYRIZA party.

    He will not be meeting government officials, but will see fellow leftists in France and Germany, including former French presidential candidate Jean-Luc Melenchon and Klaus Ernst and Gregor Gysi of Germany’s The Left. He will hold news conferences in both capitals to get his message to a wider audience.

    “We are not at all an anti-European force. We are fighting to save social cohesion in Europe. We are maybe the most pro-European force in Europe, because its dominant powers will lead the union into instability and the euro zone to collapse if they insist on austerity,” he said.

    While he repeated his assertion that the terms of a 130 billion bailout agreement Greece signed with international lenders in March are now a “dead letter”, he said that if he comes to power he will seek a new policy mix to keep Greece in the euro.

    “Yes, we do want Europe’s support and funding, but we don’t want the money of European taxpayers to be wasted. Two bailouts in a row went into the dustbin, into a bottomless barrel. If this continues we would need a third package in six months. Europeans and their leaders must realise this,” he said.

    No comments »

  • Damien Dempsey calls for a No vote in the 31st of May Fiscal Compact Treaty Referendum

    No comments »

  • Mandate: Vote No to the Austerity Treaty

    No comments »

  • Étienne Balibar: ‘Ejecting Greece from the eurozone would be a moral failure for Europe’ - video

    French Marxist philosopher Étienne Balibar discusses European identity amid the financial crisis. Using ideas explored in his 2002 book Politics and the Other Scene, he argues that the continent still has some way to go to rid itself of xenophobia.

    Guardian Comment is Free Video Interview

    No comments »

  • Greece: when the lights go out

    Ireland is not Greece, Michael Noonan has said. The two countries are so far apart that the only thing that reaches us is feta for our fancy salads. Yet, Phil Hogan is planning to use details from electricity bills to go after those who haven’t paid their household charge, just like they tried in Greece. Let’s see how that goes…

    The desperate cunning scheme to get Greeks to pay property taxes by bundling them with electricity bills didn’t last long. You guessed it, people stopped paying their electricity bills and now it looks like the power company - which had to be bailed out last month - has stopped even trying to collect the levy.

    No comments »

  • Greece: heading for the exit? | Michael Roberts

    There is a way out of this. But it’s not on the basis of the pro-banking, pro-capitalist policies of the Euro leaders. Greek state finances would be fine if the richest Greeks paid taxes and did not spirit their money offshore to buy property in Kensington, London or Monaco, with the connivance of Greek banks and politicians granting their wealthy friends and multinationals all kinds of tax advantages and favours that have diluted tax revenues to the point where there is not enough in the kitty to maintain public services.  According to the Tax Justice Network, over a trillion dollars lie in offshore banks and companies in tax havens (not all Greek money of course).  Recover this money and governments could not only reduce their debts but pave the way for a lowering of taxes across the board to encourage investment and growth and increase spending power for the majority.

    Capital controls, public ownership of the banks and major corporate sectors to organise a plan for investment and growth: this is not just an alternative programme for Greece but for all of Europe.

    No comments »

  • On ABC Radio National, PM program: ‘Stupendously idiotic’ policies for Greece can’t work.

    Good answers….

    MARK COLVIN: Well it’s being imposed effectively from Germany, isn’t it? What are the chances that Germany is going to have any patience with a Greece which has failed to form a coalition, which is going into uncharted territories, as you say, with a new election?

    YANIS VAROUFAKIS: It’s like asking the question, what kind of patience am I going to have with gravity? It doesn’t matter.

    (sound of Mark Colvin laughing)

    Gravity is a law of nature and I cannot do anything about it. Similarly, Germany at some point, and I think that that point has already come, Germany will realise that it is absolutely impossible to, for a country like Greece, or for Spain for the matter, to exit this debt deflationary spiral, through cutting. This cannot be done even if every single Greek and Spaniard and Italian wants to do it.

    Even if God, his angels and, you know, every good man and woman on this planet wanted to implement this German prescription on the European periphery, it cannot be done for the same reasons why I can’t fly without an aeroplane.

    MARK COLVIN: So what’s the alternative? Where’s the money going to come from for pump priming?

    YANIS VAROUFAKIS: Well, I don’t think we should have pump priming. What I think we should have in Europe is a little modicum, tiny whiff of rationality.

    No comments »

  • Video: David Graeber and David Harvey in Conversation

    David Graeber and David Harvey discuss their new books, Debt: The First 5000 Years, and Rebel Cities, respectively.

    25 April 2012 at The CUNY Graduate Center

    No comments »

Link Archives »

Authors