Sunday, 14 October 2012

'Global Noise' takes on the world against austerity (videos)

All over the world people were banging pots and pans and generally making themselves heard on Saturday, in the popular "Global Noise" movement against austerity.

People of the world are sick of governments bailing out the banks, while the people are forced to accept budget cuts, austerity measures, unemployment and hunger.On Saturday all over the world people got involved in a global cacerolazo, or pot banging protest.

According to the Global Noise website, the focus of the protest was intentionally left open, so that local organizers and participants could choose their own cacophony of slogans and issues. For example, “Don’t owe, won’t pay” in Spain, “Fuck the Troika” in Portugal and Greece, a clear message against war from Istanbul, Turkey, and a protest in front of the annual IMF/Worldbank meeting in Tokyo.

The common theme uniting all the Global Noise events was for participants to make themselves heard by the political and financial elites, those responsible for destroying communities and the planet. It was also to join with the ongoing and continuous wave of anti-austerity protests all over Europe and the world.

The movement is also a symbol of hope and unity, which participants hope will build a wide variety of struggles for global justice and solidarity.

Most Global Noise events happened in the US and Europe yesterday, but from the map below you can see that South America, Australia and New Zealand had several events, and in Asia, Japan was out on the streets against the IMF.
Map showing locations of Global Noise events on October 13  2012.
Screen capture
Map showing locations of Global Noise events on October 13, 2012.
RT interviewed Caleb Maupin from the International Action Center about the Global Noise actions.

Comparing Occupy Wall Street to Global Noise, RT asked Maupin how Global Noise is different.
Untitled
Global Noise

Maupin replied, "Basically, Global Noise is saying we are not going to be silent. Because right now the banks are coming for us – they are cutting all of the programs. There is mass unemployment. There is cutting in government spending and the governments of the world are just having to pay back the banks."

"And in the process, our future is being destroyed. It is impossible to get an education in this country [USA] without a rising debt. What we are saying is that we are going to be a global noise. We are the next generation, the youth part of the working class as our future is being destroyed."

"We are not going to silently sit back and let them destroy our future. We are going to be loud. We are going to be confrontational and we are going demand that this stop."
"Austerity is a crime against the people. These cuts are a crime against us, and we are going to demonstrate and we are going to oppose it."

RT asked Maupin about austerity cuts in the US, saying there were little at present.

Maupin replied, "There are plenty of austerity cuts in the United States. Food stamps, a program which many millions of people depend on so they can have food, is being cut. College prices are going up. They had kind of halted it because they are planning after the elections to have austerity. All the major cuts are going to happen after the election."

OWS participating in Global Noise  October 13  2012.
Global Noise
OWS participating in Global Noise, October 13, 2012.

The general message to everyone on the day was "Keep calm, and BANG."

 The full interview with Maupin can be read here.

Read more and watch videos: http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/334804

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