"bits of life"
musings, adventures and creative endeavours
Leeds Summat, a summary(ish)
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We’re living through extraordinary times, with seismic upheavals and change: economic, political, cultural, social, media, environmental,…
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Tax Justice, presented by Christian Aid
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Christian Aid - fighting for a world free of poverty and injustice TaxAccounting for change: My word is my bond (2011) On 15 October 2011, the Occupy London Stock Exchange (LSX) movement established a protes…
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“After much deliberation on what session to attend I’ve gone for the one on tax injustice and how to address it. #ukuncut #summat #Leeds
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“#summat liked our first task - to choose if we pay tax on our ‘pay day’ earnings through secret envelopes. What would you do? #summat
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“#summat a Christian Aid report has found that none of the major diamond mining companies in Sierra Leone report a profit = paying no tax.
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“#summat what’s the biggest problem with #taxdodging? Secrecy. The ability to hide records allows companies to use tax havens #ukuncut
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Christian Aid | Campaigns Blog | Financial Secrecy Index 2011
By Alasdair Roxburgh | 4 October 2011 As supporters of Christian Aid’s tax campaign will know, tax havens play a key role in allowing som… -
“#summat did you know Delaware is a tax haven? Not just random islands or Switzerland!! #ukuncut #ukuncut
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“#summat the global focus on tax which includes #ukuncut and Action Aid is bringing tax as an issue to the forefront
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“#summat what can we do? Putting pressure on 4 huge UK FTSE companies to back the pro-tax campaign.
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Christian Aid - fighting for a world free of poverty and injustice Campaigns Blog - FTSE firms
The latest on our FTSE Four tax campaign. 18 Aug- Billionaire Warren Buffett this week made waves by saying that the US tax system favour… -
“#summat Christian Aid are currently focusing on Unilever to ask them to support the campaign to back pro-tax policies they’ve #Leeds factory
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“@luluartist What did you have in mind? Is there something already up and running?
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“@bangthebore not that I know of but I thought it was worth raising. We are not powerless here in #Leeds! @Occupy_Leeds #summat #ukuncut
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“@luluartist I don’t understand why it is the companies being targeted rather than the gov’t to close down loopholes.
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“#summat @fearfulpenguin it’s a good question. companies are the knew that pay tax and can set example/lead the way in the FTSE #ukuncut
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Leeds Fabians and Lord Maurice Glasman talk about renewing politics and ‘Blue Labour’
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“Now in a session on renewing politics and ‘Blue Labour’. Party politics from Maurice Glassman #summat
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Blue Labour - Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Blue Labour is an influential[1] political tendency in the British Labour Party that was “effective…
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“Capital, if not challenged, will seek to gain the maximum from it’s investment. Democracy should check the domination of money. #summat
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“I think Glassman is saying that nationalisation is not good as turns voters into clients/customers #summat
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“@mauriceglasman talking at Leeds #Summat about how “PPE class” became technocrat rulers of workers in nationalised industries after 1945
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“The hollowing out of trade unions, cooperatives, credit unions leaves the power of the state is unchecked. See Thatcher. #summat
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“#summat we have to work towards a relational politics where we are working towards a common agenda with people we don’t agree with #Glassman
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“#summat @mauriceglasman claims the bail out as being the biggest transfer of money from poor to rich since the Norman Conquest.
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“#summat @mauriceglasman talking a lot about the regions and the lack of investment or even any attention shown to us
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“Maurice Glasman: between 97-07 of the £1.4tn invested in uk economy 80% was housing. It was state sponsored capitalism.. #summat
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“#summat @mauriceglasman ‘politics happens in places. Globalisation claims place doesn’t matter anymore’
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“#summat what is the importance of ‘educate, agitate, organise’? A lost maxim? @mauriceglasman talking at #Leeds #summat
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“Maurice Glasman: ‘educate, agitate, organise’ -our oldest city has capital at it’s heart, London Corp should declare it’s assets.. #summat
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“#summat @mauriceglasman says the most important international agenda should be solidarity with workers. A genuine internationalism.
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“#summat ‘we have to support free and democratic trade unions and environmental movements across the world’ @mauriceglasman
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“#summat question from the floor re:China. Is unionising China just for US benefit as labour so cheap? (me: aggghhhh!!!)
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“#summat I am assuming the man who asked that question has little concern for the fact that Chinese workers die daily? @mauriceglasman talk
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“#summat I wonder if he has seen the amazing ‘Revolution is Love’ video from #occupy #ows? Can anyone link me up to that Vimeo? #occupylsx
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“#summat @mauriceglasman calls for 5% of the bail out to be used to set up local banks. A #Leeds City Bank? Regional banking important.
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“@luluartist @mauriceglasman Not against local Banks but we need to publicly control the state owned Banks and the Bank of England
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Time to leave
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“Had an amazing day @LeedsSummat. Fabulous #yoga session this morning and rounded off with a free massage! Time for me to reflect now #summat
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“#summat thank you to all the lovely people who got up early to come to my #druyoga session @LeedsSummat it was a joy to teach you
Statement from #occupyleeds
Walk to the #n30 strike rally in #Leeds
We are the 99%
A wave of protests is moving around the globe, inspired by the Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street, people are mobilising to say that they are fed up of the greed of large corporations, the financial system and the inadequacy of those in charge, with a slogan that has caught everyone’s imagination - we are the 99%.
These are peaceful protests which use direct action and community consensus decision making. The way that the groups are currently working together to create these encampments is inspiring. Soup kitchens, tents, media centres, using each other to relay speeches and announcements throughout the crowd - all these means show how intelligence and community can be used in a way so far removed from our current political system.
British cities joined the wave yesterday, along with protestors as far a field as Tokyo and Honolulu. I was delighted to hear of (via Twitter of course) tents popping up in Market Square in Nottingham and George Square in Glasgow.
The big focus is on London where the #occupyLSX movement ended up taking occupation of the steps of St.Paul’s, where I was amused to note, we met up to start our March for the Alternative back in March 2011. There is a great video on The Guardian website showing the camp being set up and run: http://gu.com/p/32kxv
St.Paul’s is not the intended target which was (and still is) the London Stock Exchange, but I rather like it as a focal point for the British protest. I’m not sure if these protests will reach the politicians or corporations, or get them to change anything (yet!), but I do think they can reach the wider population - those currently not involved in protest, in fighting the cuts, even in considering the wider implications of what is going on in the UK and beyond. I have seen how distorted people’s ideas become when their only source of information is a Murdoch owned news channel, or the BBC (who are under the dictat of the government, whichever side that leans to).
So I hope these protests can start to make a change in the way that people think, in the way that we accept, or not, what is happening around us, financially and politically. We are the 99% and that is by far and away a majority.
Links:
http://nottingham.indymedia.org.uk/articles/2076
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/video/2011/oct/15/occupy-london-st-pauls-cathedral
http://twitter.com/#!/search/occupylsx
