This call for a General Strike is a non-violent, peaceful, and powerful means to send a message to D.C. It is not meant to hurt the country in any way but to remove those who have.
  
  

   9/11-15/08                               

 

                                           FREE  FLYERS

                                 Stay informed Daily updates:

                                       General Strike Blog

                                Impeachment Forum: Post/Comment

                            Get off the internet, I'll see you in the streets!

GLOBAL  GENERAL  STRIKE  9/11/08
                                  

Even the common laborers and all unorganized labor ceased work. The strike had tied everything up so that nobody could work. Besides, the women proved to be the strongest promoters of the strike. They set their faces against the war. They did not want their men to go forth to die. Then, also, the idea of the general strike caught the mood of the people. It struck their sense of humor. The idea was infectious. The children struck in all the schools, and such teachers as came, went home again from deserted class rooms. The general strike took the form of a great national picnic. And the idea of the solidarity of labor, so evidenced, appealed to the imagination of all. And, finally, there was no danger to be incurred by the colossal frolic. When everybody was guilty, how was anybody to be punished?

   

News  Item:

Factories close, supermarkets empty and jets run out of fuel as truckers' strike bites

· Spain promises tough response despite deaths
· Britain on alert as action threatens to spread

          Thursday June 12 2008

Strike action by thousands of Spanish and Portuguese truckers produced ominous knock-on effects on food supplies, aviation and industry yesterday, as Lisbon airport ran out of fuel, car factories shut down and petrol stations and supermarkets reported shortages.
In a worrying sign for other European countries that face rising discontent at the spiralling cost of diesel, a third day of strikes generated widespread mayhem and the mood turned ugly after the first casualties of the standoff: two strikers died in clashes on picket lines.
Tourists flying to Lisbon faced delays after the airport ran out of fuel. Some flights were diverted to Porto. Only emergency, military or state flights were allowed out of Portela airport, a spokesman said. Only emergency fuel stocks saved Spanish airlines from similar disruption.
Supermarkets, meanwhile, reported dwindling supplies. Authorities at Spain's two biggest wholesale markets, Mercamadrid, in Madrid, and Mercabarna in Barcelona, reported deliveries of meat, fish and fruit were almost at a standstill.
In Barcelona, at a branch of Caprabo supermarket, there was no fresh fish or meat on the shelves. Shopper María Luz Martínez, 38, said: "The lorry drivers are looking after themselves while we are all suffering. But the government doesn't appear to be that interested."
As panic buying among motorists continued, petrol stations were running dry. Drivers in Lisbon trying to fill up their cars were turned away. In Spain, "empty" signs hung from pumps at hundreds of stations across the country. Three car firms, Seat, Nissan and Mercedes, suspended production because of parts shortages.
Some ferries from the Balearic islands to mainland Spain were cancelled due to lack of fuel. José María Pozancos, director of Spain's fruit and vegetable export federation, said the strike was costing the industry €25m (£20m) a day.
The action is being closely watched in France, Italy, Britain and other countries where the threat of a similar strike looms. Diesel prices have shot up on average around 40% over the past year amid record jumps in oil prices, and truckers say profits have been all but wiped out. Italian hauliers are planning a five-day strike at the end of the month, while their British counterparts are targeting central London again on July 2.
With unions talking of coordinated action in several countries at a time and policymakers in Brussels refusing to countenance tax breaks, the fear is that the action in Spain and Portugal could spread. Yesterday truckers in Thailand used a half-day strike to demand financial help.
As the Spanish government yesterday deployed 25,000 police to clear major routes, the mood among strikers was increasingly turning bitter. Scores of pickets were arrested in clashes with police and two drivers were killed at blockades.
Lorry driver Julio Cervilla Sojo, 47, a father of two, died after being run over by a lorry which was trying to pass picket lines near Granada on Tuesday. A man was arrested and appeared in court.
In Portugal, a 52-year-old man was killed on a picket line north of Lisbon, as he tried to stop a lorry passing a blockade.
Picketers in Spain have thrown stones at lorries trying to pass blockades. One driver suffered serious burns near Alicante when four trucks were set on fire.
Hooded strikers in Valencia were photographed brandishing knives. Riot police cleared pickets blocking routes into major cities and the La Junquera junction between Catalonia and France.
Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, the Spanish interior minister, said 51 people were arrested after violence on picket lines. He said: "There is a constitutional right to strike. There is no constitutional right to disrupt people's lives. Therefore, we are going to continue acting with maximum force and maximum firmness."
For Spain's prime minister, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who is already facing a downturn in the economy since the end of the building boom, the strike is the most serious bout of industrial unrest since he took power in 2004.
About 70,000 mostly self-employed drivers from two unions, which make up about 20% of the industry, are demanding guaranteed haulage rates so they can offset rising fuel prices. But the government, which has offered tax concessions to the lorry drivers, opposes fixing guaranteed rates, saying it would be against EU free-market principles.
 

 News  Item:

June 10, 2008
Spanish Truckers Block Border
By DALE FUCHS and ALAN COWELL

MADRID — Spanish truck drivers began a blockade of their country’s border with France on Monday, lining up their rigs and slowing them to a crawl to protest the cost of diesel fuel.

The strike blocked the highway in both directions in southwestern France. But the Spanish drivers were not the only ones feeling the price pinch. French drivers slowed traffic near Bordeaux to demand lower fuel prices, offering a foretaste of a national strike planned by French truckers next Monday. Portuguese drivers blocked roads, and in Liège, Belgium, thousands of labor union members demonstrated to protest the rising cost of living as a result of higher fuel costs.

Fuel prices have been far higher in Europe than in the United States for many years, largely as a result of fuel taxes. Taxes account for at least half the price that motorists pay and sometimes more than 70 percent.

But the sustained surge in oil prices has left many Europeans bewildered by the relentless increase in the cost of fuel. Depending on where and how it is bought, the price of diesel — widely used in private cars as well as by truckers, fishermen and farmers — can reach the equivalent of almost $9 per gallon.

Across Spain, about 70,000 truckers joined the strike Monday, according to Desirée Paseiro, a representative of a truckers’ association that is threatening to paralyze the country unless the government introduces measures to lower fuel bills.

The strike has alarmed many people, who already have begun lining up at gas stations and supermarkets for fear that supplies will be cut. Wholesale food markets like Mercamadrid stocked up on fish and meat over the weekend so their stalls would not be left bare.

On Monday morning, groups of slow-moving trucks blocked the major highways that surround Madrid in a so-called snail protest that snarled traffic. Some food distributors fear that their trucks will not be allowed to roll.

“We are the ones who move the merchandise that this country needs to function,” Julio Villascusa, a truckers’ representative, told the Cadena Ser radio station on the eve of the strike. “If we don’t have the money to keep buying fuel to offer this public service, well, then, this country comes to a halt.”

Spanish truckers say the price of diesel, which varies among European countries, was the equivalent of $7.73 per gallon, compared with $5.58 per gallon a year ago. At that price, they argue, it costs them more to buy fuel than they earn from trucking contracts.

Prices at the pump could continue to climb, according to Jeffrey Currie, the global chief of commodities research at Goldman Sachs. At an oil and gas conference in Malaysia on Monday, he said that oil prices were likely to hit $150 a barrel this summer, surpassing the record of $139.12 set last Friday, Reuters reported.

Spain has been particularly hard hit as soaring fuel prices coincide with the sharpest economic retreat in 15 years. The Spanish government has so far offered loans to the industry, composed principally of small businesses.

Dale Fuchs reported from Madrid, and Alan Cowell from Paris.

News  Item:

Last Sunday here in Bath, Maine the Rev. Bill Bliss spoke about the hunger strike as the theme of his sermon at his United Church of Christ. Others have been urging people to sign the on-line petition at http://www.nonviolence.cz/ Still others are writing letters to the editor of their newspaper and planning to hold public vigils.

In the coming days the U.S. government will once again be debating their annual Pentagon spending appropriations. The military budget will be well over $600 billion in the coming year and the largest single project is for Star Wars "research and development." Now is the time for those who live in the U.S. to be calling on Congress to defund Star Wars.

This campaign is growing daily as people worldwide learn more about U.S. plans to move the arms race into space.

The aerospace industry often brags that Star Wars will be the largest industrial project in the history of the planet. But in order to make it so they must first drag other countries like the Czech Republic, Poland, Japan, South Korea, Britain, Italy, Canada, Australia, and others into the program.

The resistance we are now seeing from the Czech Republic must be matched with similar efforts all over if we hope to have the resources to effectively deal with climate change and maintain social progress in our communities.

We must join the fight now to keep space for peace.

               

News  Item:
By BEN McCONVILLE, Associated Press Writer Sun Apr 27, 10:28 AM ET
EDINBURGH, Scotland - Hundreds of workers at Scotland's only oil refinery on Sunday began a 48-hour strike that has forced BP PLC to shut a pipeline system that delivers almost a third of Britain's North Sea oil.
BP said it had completed the closure of the Forties Pipeline System by 6 a.m., when 1,200 workers at the Grangemouth refinery in central Scotland walked off the job. The pipeline brings in 700,000 barrels of oil a day from the North Sea to BP's Kinneil plant, which is powered from the Grangemouth site.
Energy industry group Oil & Gas U.K. said the strike, over pension issues, could cost $100 million a day in lost production.
The main effect of the walkout was likely to be felt by the British Treasury — which relies heavily on taxes from oil production — and at gas stations in Scotland, some of which limited purchases in anticipation of the strike.
The government urged motorists not to hoard fuel, saying there would be enough to go around. It wants to avoid a repeat of scenes in 2000 when motorists were forced to line up at gas stations as truckers angry at heavily taxed fuel brought Britain to a standstill by blockading refineries.
For the rest of the story click this link:

            
News Item:  (We need to learn from the past & not repeat it. Governments rely on the same predictable tactics. Which makes it easy to be prepared & to beat them at their own game).
#1.  APRIL 4th-
CAIRO, Egypt, (AP) -- Egypt's Interior Ministry warned Egyptians on Saturday against interfering with traffic or keeping public servants from going to work ahead of a general strike being called by textile workers and activists.
Egypt's largest state-owned textile factory, Mahalla al-Kobra, has called for a strike Sunday over low wages and rising prices. Democracy activists are trying to turn it into a nationwide action at a time of rising discontent over economic conditions.
"The ministry's agencies will take the necessary and immediate firm measures against any attempt to demonstrate, block traffic or hinder public services -- or inciting any of these acts," the statement said.
The ministry went on to condemn the "illegitimate groups" calling for the strike and assured the people that on Sunday, government services will be operating as normal.

Don't Miss

Strikes and demonstrations are illegal in Egypt under emergency law. Limited demonstrations became possible in the aftermath of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and American pressure on the region to democratize and ahead of Egyptian presidential elections in 2005.
In 2006, however, security services no longer allowed even limited street protests.
In its statement, the ministry assured that there was "no prevention of freedom of expression, just that such actions must come through legitimate channels and the qualified unions and professional associations according to the law."
Al-Azhar, the nation's highest Sunni Islamic institution, whose head is appointed by the government, has also come out against the strike.
"Any delay of work is considered harmful to the citizens' and state's interest and will exacerbate the problem," Sheik Abdel-Fattah Allam, a senior official at the institution, said in the early Sunday edition of the state-owned daily Al-Gomhuria.
In recent days, anti-government groups have been sending mobile phone messages and e-mails urging people across the country to hold protests, stay home from work, avoid shopping, wear black clothes and hang the Egyptian flag from windows and balconies in a show of support for the strikers.
The country's most powerful opposition movement, the Muslim Brotherhood, threw its support behind the strikers Thursday, raising government fears that the movements seeks to position itself to be the political vehicle for the economic discontent.
The government quickly announced a ban on political rallies inside mosques, hoping to blunt protests. Mubarak also lifted import duties on some foodstuffs in an effort to soften economic complaints brought on by a near doubling of prices because of international and local influences.
Nearly 40 percent of Egyptians live near or below the poverty line of $2 a day.
The strike calls were the first major attempt by opposition groups to turn the past year's labor unrest and the rising anger over the economy into a wider political protest against the government, only two days before key elections for local councils Tuesday.
#2.  APRIL 5th-
An online campaign calling for a general strike across Egypt on Sunday has been gaining momentum, with thousands promising to stop work for the day in protest against low salaries and increasing prices. This prompted the government to issue a stern warning against those planning to take part in the event. Arrests have been reported in Cairo, with one blogger already detained Saturday, for his alleged role in calling for the strike.
Calls for the strike were mass circulated via text messages and emails as well as the social networking platform, Facebook, where a group calling itself 6 April - The Day of Anger, managed to attract more than 65,000 members since it was set up last week.
Blogger Baheyya sheds light on the strike saying:
A broad coalition of blue- and white-collar national forces has called a general strike for tomorrow 6 April to demand decent living conditions and protest all the man-made ills afflicting our society: corruption, nepotism, inflation, torture, poverty, police brutality. The plan is to stay home and not report to work or school, or alternatively to join others in street processions converging on main city squares.
The general strike is the brainchild of the Ghazl a-Mahalla workers, later joined by Kafr al-Dawwar labourers. Kifaya, al-Wasat, al-Karama, the 9 March Movement for University Autonomy and a slew of other collectives have also signed on.

Baheyya continues:
Of course, the government and all its institutions have been mobilising for days to obstruct and ridicule the very notion of a strike. Today, the ever-informative Al-Ahram quoted a judge who reminded citizens that Article 124 of the Penal Code punishes all those who shirk their work obligations with a prison sentence of 3 months to one year, and double that for all those who incite others to strike. Civil servants, teachers, police officers and many others have been given strict instructions to report for work tomorrow, and amn al-dawla has been busy alternately threatening and cajoling workers to abandon or abort the strike effort.
Malek, the first on the blogger casualty list, has been arrested, allegedly for encouraging the public to take part in the strike. His arrest was first reported by bloggers via Twitter, with veteran blogger Ala'a Abdelfattah breaking the story with this message:
MaLek arrested and is now in masr el qadima police station
#3.  APRIL 6th-Around 500 people were arrested in Egypt Sunday as police quashed a general strike, in protest against the increasing cost of living and calling for better wages.
And just as word about the strike was spread via massive text-messaging, email, and popular social networking platform Facebook, bloggers and online activists kept the world abreast with arrests and developments on the ground minute by minute throughout the day.
The strike, all over Egypt, created a rift in opinions, between those confirming its success and others announcing its abortion and even failure. Many people stayed home, as participants in the event and avoiding the day's sandstorms or simply out of fear from the anticipated violent clashes that might break out on the streets.
Witnesses reported light traffic on the streets, which were dotted with police vehicles and swarming with plainclothes policemen. Throughout the day news continued to pour in via Twitter, Facebook and blogs about arrests being made, against protesters, politicians and citizens, including bloggers.
SA wrote “what happened in the strike today”:
“I am just back from that long day. And I was about to be arrested, the Egyptian security didn’t stop bothering and aggressing the activists .
Since last night they started by arresting many activists and today they continue to arrest a lot .
I was in the Tahrir Square since 11 AM and there were a huge number of soldiers and security in plain cloths, they were bothering everyone and asking for our ids and pushing us to go away.
Three young girls from the American university in Cairo AUC come to protest at the square using breads ,the security guys didn’t like they way those young girls protest with and many soldiers were attacking the girls.
A woman with her two kids tried to save the girls but the police arrested the mother .
The two boys were alone crying because they took their mothers .
They arrested some women at the Tahrir square too and make a siege around them but me and other AUC students, we stayed in front of that siege asking the police to free them and we didn’t move till, they let them go.”
She also added:
“At down town in front of the syndicate of lawyers I was there when people in the street decided to join the people of the demonstration inside the syndicate, we were shouting outin the street “fall down Hosni Mubarak” but tens of soldiers ran after us with sticks and wanted to attack us, I was using my camera to film when an officer arrested me and wanted to take my camera and my mobile phone, thanks God a French friend journalist came and said I am his assistant and after 15 minutes of negotiation I could be out of that.
Till now they arrested more than 100 people ,but anyway a lot of Egyptians particpated in the strike by staying home .
The message of the regime was clear “no freedom, freedom of expression”.
I am wondering where was Mubarak the dictator hiding today ?
The police were very aggressive today but we resist till the end and I am considering today a victory against corruption, abuse, torture, dictatorship.”
Hossam El Hamalawy and Sandmonkey posted regular updates but the star of the day was a new blog (Ar) put up by activists, which invited people to send in their stories, pictures and videos, to document the events of the day. Tadamon Masr also posted regular updates, as they were happening throughout the day. Both blogs are still updating the day's incidents as this report was being compiled.
#4.  APRIL 6th - CAIRO, Apr 6, 2008 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- -- The Egyptian authorities thwarted plans for a general strike to protest against price hikes which hit the populous Arab country hard in recent months.
People were unaffected by the general strike calls and conditions across the country were calm on Sunday, the official MENA news agency reported.
#5.  APRIL 21st-Cairo, Egypt (PANA) - The Egyptian opposition is gearing up for a 5 May general strike to coincide with President Hosni Mubarak's 80th birthday, according to opposition groups.

PANA learnt that the opposition groups have so far attracted up to 250,000 participants, almost triple the number for those who participated in the failed 6 April strike in the country.

The strike is being called in response to what the opposition perceives as government's inaction towards rising costs of living and low wages.

"Our goal is to show Mubarak that we are not ready to stop until things change in this country," Heba Said, a Kefaya (Enough) activist, told PANA here on Monday, citing hundreds of other activists who are willing to move forward on these campaigns.

"(Hundreds) of people are ready to march in the streets against the way the government is treating us. People can't afford to live any longer so why shouldn't they go to the street," Said asked.

The World Bank has reported that Egyptian costs of living have increased by as much as 50 percent since the beginning of the year.

Many people are disillusioned over the price hikes and lack of an equal salary increase.

Similar to the calls for the April strike, the organisers of the 5 May action are calling on Egyptian citizens to wear black as a sign of mourning for what they have termed the death of "freedom and democracy in Egypt."

The nation's largest and most popular opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, has yet to throw its support for the strike, but that has not stopped some 700 younger members from joining the planners.

The Islamic organisation also did not join calls for the 6 April strike, although it said members who joined would not be punished.

Kefaya, a leading opposition movement in the country, has repeatedly said it will determine its participation after other organisations in the country decide how they will act, most notably the Brotherhood.

The ministry of interior has warned against such action, saying security forces "will do everything we can in order to maintain order."
 
Cairo - 21/04/2008


QUESTIONS/COMMENTS:  realchange@votestrike.com

 

Copyright. All rights reserved.

Hosted by Yahoo!

 

The cartoons are copyright, but you are welcome to put them on your website or reproduce them for non-commercial purposes.

 

Most stats or figures found on this site come from the government:  GAO, Census  Bureau,  Commerce  Dept.,  Bureau  of  Labor  Statistics,  etc.  Whenever  those  numbers  are  in  dispute  or  in  question  we'll  say  so  within  the  text. 

http://www.fedstats.gov

DESCRIPTION:  The Federal Interagency Council on Statistical Policy maintains this site to provide easy access to the full range of statistics and information produced by more than 70 U.S. Federal Government agencies for public use.

 

 

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has

not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner.

We are making such material available in our efforts to advance

understanding of environmental, political, human rights,

economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.

We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted

material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on

this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed

a prior interest in receiving the included information for research

and educational purposes. For more information go to:

 

 http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.

 

Feel  free  to  reproduce  anything  from  this  site 

for  non  commercial  purposes.