THE CLASH - REVOLUTION ROCK
Google reports that the government has sent in police in Barcelona with truncheons and they are beating peaceful demonstrators and shooting them with rubber bullets. Google reports:
BARCELONA — Spanish police fired rubber bullets and swung truncheons to disperse anti-crisis protesters in a Barcelona square Friday as cleaning crews cleared their tent camp.
Catalan police in anti-riot gear moved in after about 50 protesters sat down on the street to block a convoy of cleaning trucks leaving the Plaza de Cataluna square with remnants of the encampment.
Police, some with plastic shields, were shown on television dragging protesters along the street and swiping with truncheons at activists, who had been chanting: "They shall not pass."
An AFP reporter at the scene saw rubber bullets fired.
The protest blockade was broken up within minutes but about 100 protesters regrouped in the square. They were surrounded by two police cordons blocking hundreds more people from entering from nearby roads.
Demonstrators chanted: "The people, united, will never be defeated!" and "No to violence!"
Cleaning crews with 10 lorries dismantled the last of the tents under police surveillance. Later, police left the square and let thousands of demonstrators flood in.
By the evening, at least 5,000 people were in the square protesting against the police intervention, some having put up tents. A dozen police vehicles were in streets leading to the square.
"What happened today was awful but it is a warning" for the country's leadership, said Ramon Deltran, 50, a psychiatrist.
I predict that this situation is going to seriously escalate and, like I wrote on May 21 in Massive Anti-Government Protests in Spain Spreading to Italy! No Mention at all in Japanese Press, the exact same thing is going on now!
Ultimately, unemployment, taxes and austerity measures have caused these huge demonstrations that are, as one protester said, "... against the criminal behavior of the central bankers and IMF. Taking tax money from the people and giving it to rich bankers have finally made the people take to the streets...."
Yet, this news is nowhere to be found in the Japanese news services in English or in Japanese.
I predict that this demonstration in Spain will collapse the Spanish government.
Yet, this news is nowhere to be found in the Japanese news services in English or in Japanese.
I predict that this demonstration in Spain will collapse the Spanish government.
There's no way unemployment or the situation with government debt, which will lead to higher taxes and more austerity measures in Spain is going to go away anytime soon, so these demonstrations are going to go on. The government, by taking a heavy hand are just escalating the situation. They are toast.
But, once again, not a word about it in the Japanese press! I checked both Yahoo! Japan and NHK and cannot find any mention of this news!
Here's a screen capture of NHK news site:
Quick translation from top to bottom:
Anti-Nuclear Demonstrations Prompting Closure of Nuke Plants
President Expected in Poland
Tourism promotion delegation sent to China
U.S. envoy continuing investigation of food shortages in North Korea
Honda in Canada leaks personal information
The state of the last shuttle maintenance announced
"The strange quiet of territorial negotiations"
Syrian crackdown as police fire at protesters
Democratization and assistance in the Middle East
Massive demonstrations protesting the army in Egypt
U.S. Secretary of State visits Pakistan
......Nothing about police shooting people with rubber bullets in Barcelona Spain. How about Yahoo! Japan?
Well, what do you know!? Yahoo! Japan does come through and has a story about Barcelona! (Marked in red)... Yippee... Er, well, not exactly about demonstrations and the police rousting people out like the Nazi Gestapo, but about how some soccer team from Barcelona won a soccer championship for the fourth time beating Manchester United..... .....Yawn!
Unemployment in Spain is the highest in the EU at over 21%, the entire country is about to go bankrupt and these stupid people care about who wins some professional sports title? Are you kidding me? Morons.
Who was it that wrote something about "Bread and Circuses for the masses"?
2 comments:
A few days after reading your earlier posts on this, I did see a brief news clip on Japanese TV. This was probably last weekend.
Most "news" is "info-tainment". Still, police beating protesters fits the bill, so you'd think we'd be treated to some scenes of this. Maybe tomorrow.
A Google search on スペインデモ didn't bring up anything newer than May 23rd.
I absolutely agree with you that it's embarrassing that the Spanish demonstrations haven't been adequately covered by the Japanese media.
But I'm willing to argue their failure to publicize Gov. Ishihara's calls to serve irradiated Fukushima vegetables and milk to public school children is a lot more shameful. Also, how much are they speaking in the news about the ongoing problems in Fukui. Kyoto is reporting higher radiation levels since the tropical storm. Things are falling apart for Japan and the media is turning a complete blind eye. It's entirely shameful.
Post a Comment