At last someone has dared to defend the oppressed people of the British banking community. Bob Diamond, chief executive of Barclays bank, who himself has to suffer the trauma of an 拢8 million bonus, said yesterday that the bankers鈥 鈥減eriod of remorse and apology should be over鈥.
And you feel his pain, because the first words to cross your mind when you see a banker are 鈥渞emorseful and apologetic鈥.
Britain
At first glance, you might have mistaken London鈥檚 packed streets on November 10 for a Mardi Gras carnival. There young faces and large grins, combined with incessant whistle-blowing, trumpet-blasting and drum-beating. All mixed together to form the din of student protest.
The noise took shape and all of a sudden burst from the centre of the crowd, picked up by everyone else: 鈥淣o ifs, no buts, no education cuts鈥 鈥 the main chants of the 50,000 students marching forward from Westminster to the destination of the Milbank headquarters of the Conservative Party.
鈥淩ise like lions after slumber/In unvanquishable number!/Shake your chains to earth, like dew/Which in sleep had fall鈥檔 on you/Ye are many 鈥攖hey are few.鈥
These days, the stirring lines of Percy Shelley鈥檚 鈥淢ask of Anarchy鈥 from 1819 may seem unattainable. I don鈥檛 think so.
Shelley was both a Romantic and political truth-teller. His words resonate now because only one political course is left to those who are disenfranchised and whose ruin is announced on a British government spreadsheet.
In what Sky News described as one of the largest demonstrations to hit London streets in decades, tens of thousands of students, teachers, staff members and their supporters rallied on November 10 in opposition to the new Conservative-led government鈥檚 plan for tuition increases and cutbacks at Britain鈥檚 colleges.
Organised by the National Union of Students (NUS) and the University and College Union (UCU), the demonstration drew students from across the country for a march through central London, during which students occupied the Conservative Party headquarters.
The Conservative Party, or Tories, has never really forgiven the British working class for demanding and winning the creation of the 鈥渨elfare state鈥. Gains won included such things as free health care, council homes at affordable rents, and care for the elderly and vulnerable.
From the Tories鈥 point of view, these are all things individuals should sort out for themselves. The modern state should provide the same level of social protection as was available to Queen Victoria鈥檚 subjects in the 19th century.
At least five Vodafone stores were closed in central London on October 30 by protests, TheGabber.org said that day. The protests were against the British government鈥檚 alleged decision to give companies, such as Vodafone, huge tax breaks of about 拢6 billion at a time when ordinary people are having their benefits cut or taken away.
British rail unions branded Transport for London (TfL) 鈥渂arefaced liars" after its management attempted to claim minimum disruption during a 24-hour strike on November 3.
London Underground services were crippled by strike action called by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) and Transport Salaried Staffs' Association (TSSA) over safety-critical job cuts.
All 11 of the London鈥檚 Tube lines were hit by the walkout. The action was the latest in a series of strikes over plans to axe up to 2000 jobs, including 800 station staff.
BBC services were severely disrupted after a 48-hour walkout on November 5 and 6 by thousands of media workers. MorningStarOnline.co.uk said on November 5 the workers were fighting the corporation鈥檚 鈥減ensions robbery鈥, which would result in payouts being dramatically reduced.
The corporation鈥檚 director general Mark Thompson claimed the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) strike had no impact, but viewers and listeners tuned into BBC radio and TV channels to find the flagship program off air.
Thousands of pensioners descended on British parliament to reject the government鈥檚 pension cuts on October 27.
Angry pensioners pledged to escalate the fight against the cuts by joining spirited protests up and down the land against the government鈥檚 public spending cuts.
Nearly 1000 activists from the National Pensioners Convention (NPC) converged on Westminster to protest against vicious cuts in vital services and to demand a basic state pension of at least 拢171 a week.
Out-of-favour Manchester United star Wayne Rooney must look in the papers every morning and think: 鈥淗ow does [Liberal Democrat MP and business secretary in the Tory-Lib Dem coalition] Vince Cable get away with it?
鈥淛ust like me, a year ago he was a national hero, the embodiment of hope, and now he鈥檚 a bumbling fool and revealed as a cheat. But he's allowed to carry on as he pleases and isn鈥檛 even substituted.
鈥淚 want a transfer to the Liberal Democrats.鈥
On October 20, thousands of students and workers marched on Downing Street in London to protest against the savage cuts in social spending announced by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government, Counterfire.org reported that day.
The protest was organised by the Coalition of Resistance, Camden Trades Council and the People鈥檚 Charter.
The cuts in public spending announced by British chancellor George Osborne that day amount to 81 billion pounds.
The marvellous part about a transport strike, such as the one on the London Underground on October 4, is the reports on the news afterwards.
This is where we鈥檙e told: 鈥淥ne plucky commuter beat the strike by breaking into the Imperial War Museum and stealing a Spitfire, which he used to ferry grateful passengers who鈥檇 been left stranded by the union in a swamp with little hope of ever seeing their children again.
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