{"id":24352,"date":"2019-11-02T22:10:25","date_gmt":"2019-11-03T06:10:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/?p=24352"},"modified":"2019-11-03T01:03:55","modified_gmt":"2019-11-03T09:03:55","slug":"rouge-forum-dispatch-remember-greensboro","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/rouge-forum-dispatch-remember-greensboro\/","title":{"rendered":"Rouge Forum Dispatch: Remember Greensboro!"},"content":{"rendered":"

We Say Fight Back!<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Do today’s global protests have anything in common?<\/h1>\n

In recent weeks, mass protests have broken out in countries from Lebanon to Spain to Chile. All are different – with distinct causes, methods and goals – but there are some common themes that connect them.<\/p>\n

While thousands of miles apart, protests have begun for similar reasons in several countries, and some have taken inspiration from each other on how to organise and advance their goals.<\/p>\n

Here’s a look at the issues at stake – and what binds many of those taking to the streets.<\/p>\n

Inequality<\/h2>\n

Many of those protesting are people who have long felt shut out of the wealth of their country. In several cases, a rise in prices for key services has proved the final straw.<\/p>\n

Demonstrations began in Ecuador this month <\/a>when the government announced that it was scrapping decades-old fuel subsidies as part of public spending cuts agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The change led to a sharp rise in petrol prices, which many said they could not afford. Indigenous groups feared that the measure would result in increased costs for public transport and food, and that their rural communities would be hardest hit.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Corruption<\/h2>\n

Claims of government corruption are at the heart of several of the protests, and are closely linked to the issue of inequality.<\/p>\n

In Lebanon, protesters argue that while they are suffering under an economic crisis, the country’s leaders have been using their positions of power to enrich themselves, through kickbacks and favourable deals.<\/p>\n

“I’ve seen a lot of things here but I have never seen such a corrupt government in Lebanon,” said 50-year-old protester Rabab.<\/p>\n

The government on Monday approved a package of reforms, including slashing politicians’ salaries,<\/a> in an effort to quell the unrest.<\/p>\n

People in Iraq have also been calling for the end of a political system that they say has failed them. One of the main points of contention there is the way government appointments are made on the basis of sectarian or ethnic quotas, instead of on merit.<\/p>\n

Demonstrators argue that this has allowed leaders to abuse public funds to reward themselves and their followers, with very little benefit to most citizens.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

\"Protesters<\/span><\/p>\n

Political freedom<\/h2>\n

In some countries, protesters are angered by political systems in which they feel trapped.<\/p>\n

Demonstrations in Hong Kong began this summer<\/a> over a bill that would have allowed criminal suspects to be extradited to mainland China in certain circumstances. Hong Kong is part of China but its people enjoy special freedoms and there is a deep sense of fear that Beijing wants to exert greater control.<\/p>\n

Like fellow protesters in Chile and Lebanon, the mass action in Hong Kong led to the withdrawal of the controversial legislation, but the protests themselves continued. Among their demands, protesters now want complete universal suffrage, an independent inquiry into alleged police brutality and amnesty for demonstrators who have been arrested.\u00a0 www.bbc.com\/news\/world-50123743<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Striking<\/p>\n

In a Strong Economy, Why Are So Many Workers on Strike?<\/span><\/h1>\n
\n

At first glance, it may seem like a paradox: Even as the economy rides a 10-year winning streak, tens of thousands of workers across the country, from General Motors employees to teachers in Chicago, are striking to win better wages and benefits.<\/p>\n

But, according to those on strike, the strong growth is precisely the point. Autoworkers, teachers and other workers accepted austerity when the economy was in a free fall, expecting to share in the gains once the recovery took hold.<\/p>\n

In recent years, however, many of those workers have come to believe that they fell for a sucker\u2019s be<\/strong><\/em>t, as they watched their employers grow flush while their own incomes barely budged. Corporate profits are up by nearly 4 percent, about the same percentage as household income since their pre-recession peak. But corporate profits had already recovered by 2010, while it took the typical household another six years<\/a> to regain its footing. Many<\/a> Americans still find themselves struggling. The resulting frustration is partly behind the recent upturn in strikes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was the understanding \u2014 that if we gave up the concessions back in 2007 and 2009, that once G.M. got back on their feet, we would slowly get those things back,\u201d said Tammy Daggy, who worked at the now-idled G.M. plant in Lordstown, Ohio, for nearly 25 years. But on many issues, \u201cwe never did.\u201d\u00a0 www.nytimes.com\/2019\/10\/19\/business\/economy\/workers-strike-economy.html?fbclid=IwAR0Wny5584eea0z3qNyesn6XnrkFFv_vfNlc2BrMsYtzuACC2wSqUKx64xY<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

November 3, 1979<\/strong><\/p>\n

www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ygfAsEZkKA0<\/a><\/p>\n