what exactly are G8 Protesters protesting about?

martinedwards

SPECIFICALLY....

other than a chance to just yell abit.....

seamus

It's usually a mix of everything. War and poverty are the staples and will attract a few hundred protestors. Though austerity and taxation will make up the bulk of it this year. Nothing gets people more annoyed than if they're a little less well-off than they were last year.

tin79

seamus wrote: »

Nothing gets people more annoyed than if they're a little less well-off than they were last year.

Being a lot less well off than last year does.

Sergeant

As a means of trying to justify in their own heads' the utter failure of their stupid political ideologies.

God Hates G8

AnonoBoy

They're probably protesting the near txtspk title of the summit.



"How was the summit?"

- Ah you know, it wasn't a good summit, it was a Gr8 summit!

Fukuyama

In London it looked like a one size fits all circle jerk for the crusties.

Think #occupy with even more hippies.

GerryT

Fake protester for fake summits .

Have you ever seen something come out from a staged protest ?

Everything is already decided before hand , the summit are only to exuse a free holiday , and the protester a bunch of dreamers . Or a bunch of too doopy people with no contacts with the surrounding reality .

All the summit are just a pain for the people that are located around the area or on the several routes that take the big fat guys to the destinated place where they will claim they right for spending their free time as they wish and the right to watch the show put up by the protester ... have a laugh a Glass of whatever a nice meal and back of to their original destination.

Of course some of them would spend some nice word toward the host country and peraphs go out and have pint in a pub pretending to smile .

Spidermensch

They're sticking it to the Man......………..........probably.

caustic 1

Sandwich fillings.

Aidric

Rent a mob, basically. Not a coherent argument between them.

Yitzhak Rabin

Your usual hodge-podge of lefties and lunatics. A few there will be protesting against war and famine etc., others who don't want to pay taxes for services they use, assorted treehuggers, and a few banging on about 'freeing da weed', but for most though its just a good excuse to throw on the hemp poncho, light up a doob, chant a few slogans and blow whistles with their mates and go home with a smug satisfaction that they "at least did something", whatever that means...

Cody Pomeray

Yitzhak Rabin wrote: »

Your usual hodge-podge of lefties and lunatics. A few there will be protesting against war and famine etc.,

Yeah, what a bunch of losers.

--Kaiser--

Yitzhak Rabin wrote: »

Your usual hodge-podge of lefties and lunatics. A few there will be protesting against war and famine etc., others who don't want to pay taxes for services they use, assorted treehuggers, and a few banging on about 'freeing da weed', but for most though its just a good excuse to throw on the hemp poncho, light up a doob, chant a few slogans and blow whistles with their mates and go home with a smug satisfaction that they "at least did something", whatever that means...

Well said, professional protesters

muddypaws

I didn't think there were any, the campsite is empty apart from a couple of Dutch tourists who saw it and decided it was a great place to stay for a few days.

Snake Pliisken

The apathy and ignorance in this thread is discouraging.

A generation of this country will grow up worse off because of the actions of our political and banking class and when those they bent over for come to our shores we bemoan anyone who would stand up and be counted? Pathetic.

Gran Hermano

Tony the Tiger, he's Gr8

FTA69

Even if a few of them are a shower of hippies the basic premise of protesting at the G8 is justified. The world is a sickeningly unequal place riven by war and famine. In the western world in general working people are under systematic attack in terms of wages, jobs and living standards while the share of the world's wealth gets increasingly concentrated in the hands of an elite.

If you want to b*tch about something then I suggest the above is of more importance than whether a protester is a vegetarian or not.

Grayditch

Probably people who don't like to be ripped off, or like to watch human atrocities.

I know they're mostly annoying looking/sounding, but their message is important and they have my ear, anyway.

dsmythy

Snake Pliisken wrote: »

The apathy and ignorance in this thread is discouraging.

A generation of this country will grow up worse off because of the actions of our political and banking class and when those they bent over for come to our shores we bemoan anyone who would stand up and be counted? Pathetic.

Will they?

MagicMarker

FTA69 wrote: »

The world is a sickeningly unequal place riven by war and famine.

Has it ever not been....?

Phill Ewinn

MagicMarker wrote: »

Has it ever not been....?

Think it's getting worse. At least before you could run away from wars or battles. The drones have put an end to that. Also how does a country that owes $17trillion afford expensive drones. Buying them while the unemployment queues get longer........

Cienciano

Cody Pomeray wrote: »

Yeah, what a bunch of losers.

Will their protest stop war or famine? So, technically they are losers

FTA69

MagicMarker wrote: »

Has it ever not been....?

Unlike other periods in history we now have the potential to change all of that. Similarly we can also change the fact that people now are worse off than they were years ago, that their wages are being cut while profits massively increase etc.

"Sure that's the way it has always been." Things change, but nothing will change if people don't organise around that.

Cody Pomeray

MagicMarker wrote: »

Has it ever not been....?

Of course not.

But it would be a lot worse if nobody ever bothered their ass protesting. 40% of the world is living in extreme poverty.

If people want to protest global poverty while the OECD pours trillions of euro into bank rescues, I'm certainly not going to mock them on an internet forum.

I'd say the Shell to Sea lads are enjoying their away day.

68Murph68

FTA69 wrote: »

Even if a few of them are a shower of hippies the basic premise of protesting at the G8 is justified. The world is a sickeningly unequal place riven by war and famine. In the western world in general working people are under systematic attack in terms of wages, jobs and living standards while the share of the world's wealth gets increasingly concentrated in the hands of an elite.

If you want to b*tch about something then I suggest the above is of more importance than whether a protester is a vegetarian or not.

And is the G8 working to make the world a better place or a worse place?

Syria is one of the key topics. Are the world leaders going to be trying to do what they can to sort the situation out or are they going to be talking about how to keep the civil war going longer?

Another issue on the table is tax. Basically the big countries are looking to crack down on tax havens. Given it's generally only the richest in society who take advantage of tax havens, this can only be a good thing for the average punter. Will the G8 make the situation for the average person better or worse in relation to tax?

Obviously the lads in the G8 aren't all the nicest bunch in the world but the nonsense the protesters come out with is just protesting for the sake of protesting. Politics is the art of the possible. The politicians are doing what little they possibly can to improve things. They don't have a magic wand to wave and solve all of the world's problems. The protesters are complaining because the world isn't perfect. If the G8 announced tomorrow that they had solved world hunger 99% of the folk protesting would still be giving out.

68Murph68

68Murph68 wrote: »

Given it's generally only the richest in society who take advantage of tax havens, this can only be a good thing for the average punter. .

Especially if all the companies here pack up and leave

Valetta

68Murph68 wrote: »

And is the G8 working to make the world a better place or a worse place?

Syria is one of the key topics. Are the world leaders going to be trying to do what they can to sort the situation out or are they going to be talking about how to keep the civil war going longer?

Another issue on the table is tax. Basically the big countries are looking to crack down on tax havens. Given it's generally only the richest in society who take advantage of tax havens, this can only be a good thing for the average punter. Will the G8 make the situation for the average person better or worse in relation to tax?

Obviously the lads in the G8 aren't all the nicest bunch in the world but the nonsense the protesters come out with is just protesting for the sake of protesting. Politics is the art of the possible. The politicians are doing what little they possibly can to improve things. They don't have a magic wand to wave and solve all of the world's problems. The protesters are complaining because the world isn't perfect. If the G8 announced tomorrow that they had solved world hunger 99% of the folk protesting would still be giving out.

That's far too sensible for AH.

They're protesting about the water canons. Something about keeping religion out of politics.

FTA69

And is the G8 working to make the world a better place or a worse place?

The people who compose it are definitely making it worse. For the most part it is them presiding over the neo-liberal system which is seeing greater and greater inequality in the world today.

Syria is one of the key topics. Are the world leaders going to be trying to do what they can to sort the situation out or are they going to be talking about how to keep the civil war going longer?

Considering the US and Britain are planning on arming rebel groups which contain large groups of Islamic fundamentalists, and Russia are arming the Assad regime I'd imagine that civil war may go on a lot longer. The likes of the US and Russia only care about their own spheres of interest. They couldn't give a sh*t about the ordinary Syrian.

We have Obama up to his neck in drone strikes in Pakistan while in Britain we have David Cameron leading a Thatcherite government that is currently presiding over the biggest attack on working people since Maggie herself took power. And these are the type of people you think are working "to make the world better?"

The G8 represents a collection of the political elite that conceived and implemented the type of global capitalism we see today. It isn't a problem-solving club there to benefit the ordinary man or woman.

KyussBishop

It's kind of ironic that the (supposedly) anti-authoritarian Libertarians on boards, become apologists for authority when it comes to protesting and economic issues.

Honestly, if none of you can think of a single issue worth protesting about, out of all that's happened in the last 5 years, then don't pretend to give a toss about Libertarian ideals.

Ridiculous, that those who supposedly promote liberty above all else, would disparage others exercising their liberty to protest.


The only argument they can come up with, in opposition to those who do protest is that they, the people complaining about protesting, are totally ignorant about what people are protesting about.

Your own ignorance is a comment on you, not on the people protesting.


If any of you believe, you are just engaging in intelligent/crafty trolling, to rile up lefties/crusties etc., and thus aren't taking what you say seriously:
That doesn't work, it does not count as trolling, when you actually believe every word you are saying; that is not trolling, that is displaying an obnoxiously ideological personality.

Cody Pomeray

68Murph68 wrote: »

And is the G8 working to make the world a better place or a worse place?

Of course they are not planning to make the world a worse place.

All of the leaders at the G8 want a better world, but you have to acknowledge two basic points.

1. That the G8 leaders (quite understandably,but improperly) put the welfare and interests of their own people ahead of those of other, lesser nations (e.g. drone attacks in Pakistan). Similarly, the constitutional and human rights of their own citizens take precedence over those citizens of 'lesser' nations.

2. That not everybody has the same understanding of how the world can be a better place. I have no doubt that the 8 leaders want a better world. But they probably have 8 different beliefs of what constitutes a better world, just like the protestors down the road. This is all perfectly normal, and in that sense protesting is just a normal interaction of the people with their authorities.

Karl Stein

Sergeant wrote: »

As a means of trying to justify in their own heads' the utter failure of their stupid political ideologies.

Compared to the utter failure of the system that led to massive debts that have been socialised?

Yitzhak Rabin wrote: »

Your usual hodge-podge of lefties....

You guys should form a double act.

I presume you'll be organising a counter-protest?

No? Yeah. Just keep on bitching from your arm-chairs

Karl Stein

KyussBishop wrote: »

It's kind of ironic that the (supposedly) anti-authoritarian Libertarians

Nanny state conservatives is what they are. They're just too stupid to see their own hypocrisies until they pointed out and then they crawl back into the shadows and start rocking and sucking their thumbs again.

KyussBishop

KyussBishop wrote: »

It's kind of ironic that the (supposedly) anti-authoritarian Libertarians on boards, become apologists for authority when it comes to protesting and economic issues..

I've hardly seen any of them post in here.
Besides which, libertarian doesn't mean "agree with everybody"
Of course they can go and protest if they like - it doesn't mean nobody is allowed to say a word against them

KyussBishop

bluewolf wrote: »

I've hardly seen any of them post in here.
Besides which, libertarian doesn't mean "agree with everybody"
Of course they can go and protest if they like - it doesn't mean nobody is allowed to say a word against them

A lot of the regulars on this type of topic are usually Austrian or Libertarian-leaning, even if not outright stated; you get a mix of that, and the more authoritarian conservatives.

This topic isn't a matter of disagreement either: The entire thing people are criticizing protestors about, is their (the people complaining about protesting) ignorance about what people are protesting about.

MagicMarker

FTA69 wrote: »

Unlike other periods in history we now have the potential to change all of that.

I think we've always had the potential to stop wars and feed people. Always.

Cody Pomeray wrote: »

Of course not.

But it would be a lot worse if nobody ever bothered their ass protesting.

Would it really though? What has protesting achieved so far?

hatrickpatrick

The G8 is responsible for perpetuating a debt based financial system to their own benefit and at the expense of everyone else's.
Show me individual at one of these summits who has personally lost everything as a result of the economic crisis? No? Didn't think so.

Cody Pomeray

MagicMarker wrote: »

Would it really though? What has protesting achieved so far?

Seriously? For example...The Peasant's Revolt of 1381, the French Revolution, The American Revolution, The civil rights movement in the USA, the international Labour movement... Take your pick... Jesus.

hatrickpatrick

Cody Pomeray wrote: »

Seriously? For example...The Peasant's Revolt of 1381, the French Revolution, The American Revolution, The civil rights movement in the USA, the international Labour movement... Take your pick... Jesus.

This. The only thing worse than the "we shouldn't be protesting" brigade is the "protesting accomplishes nothing" brigade.

suicide_circus

Cienciano wrote: »

Will their protest stop war or famine? So, technically they are losers

I loled hard at that one!

utyh2ikcq9z76b

20,000 children day die everyday from hunger related causes, if thats not worth protesting about,what is?

FTA69

MagicMarker wrote: »

I think we've always had the potential to stop wars and feed people. Always.

We haven't really due to the fact that most people throughout history have been subsistence farmers dependent on the whims of the seasons, relationship with their lord etc. It was only in the age of mass industrialisation and advanced mechanised farming that we have had the chance to produce enough to adequately feed all of our population.

suicide_circus

Lane Juicy Putter wrote: »

20,000 children day die everyday from hunger related causes, if thats not worth protesting about,what is?

But you are fully aware that this kind of protest feeds nobody. Concrete action and cold hard cash, is the ticket.

hatrickpatrick

^ Then maybe there's hope that some day reality will catch up with potential?
I find it absolutely ridiculous that whether or not we are "prosperous" or not has almost nothing to do with what we're physically capable of creating in terms of food, clothes, etc, and more to do with the whims of an entirely artificial mathematical construct invented by humans to govern trade. It makes literally no sense whatsoever. If we have to same capacity today to produce as much food as we did in 2008 then why are more people hungry today? Evidence if any was needed that the problem is not grounded in reality at all, but in the system of money and banking that we choose to rely on.

KyussBishop

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

^ Then maybe there's hope that some day reality will catch up with potential?
I find it absolutely ridiculous that whether or not we are "prosperous" or not has almost nothing to do with what we're physically capable of creating in terms of food, clothes, etc, and more to do with the whims of an entirely artificial mathematical construct invented by humans to govern trade. It makes literally no sense whatsoever. If we have to same capacity today to produce as much food as we did in 2008 then why are more people hungry today? Evidence if any was needed that the problem is not grounded in reality at all, but in the system of money and banking that we choose to rely on.

Yea this really sums up the truly bizarre situation we find ourselves in, and that a lot of people actually spend time defending:
Economic teaching is so wrong and deluded on a fundamental level today, that people can actually credibly argue you should permanently waste enormous amounts of productive potential, by leaving huge swathes of workers unemployed, resources they could work with left idle, and useful things they could do, left undone.

In 100 years, people will look back on how we ran economies today, and will view it as (next to religion perhaps) one of the most historically stupid and harmful examples, of ideology trumping rationality, and holding back the world (causing totally unnecessary widespread suffering in the process).


It's really obvious and simple when you think about it:
When you have anything less than full employment, you are wasting resources and running at less than 100% economic capacity; that is automatically a massive failure of basic economic goals, which is all (when it comes down to it) about allocating resources in an efficient way.

Economic ideology today (including the mainstream theories), is almost entirely politicized now and aimed at favouring right-wing politics, with the goal of trying to fool people into believing any and all steps that could restore full employment, are wrong and will lead to disaster; it's bullshít, touted for political purposes, by those who stand to gain from economic turmoil.

4zn76tysfajdxp

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

This. The only thing worse than the "we shouldn't be protesting" brigade is the "protesting accomplishes nothing" brigade.

Are they not the same brigade?

OneArt

are dey not prostein bou a mountain or somethin

NuckingFacker

Some of them are protesting about unemployment, having recently got the g8 themselves.

Iwasfrozen

KyussBishop wrote: »

Yea this really sums up the truly bizarre situation we find ourselves in, and that a lot of people actually spend time defending:
Economic teaching is so wrong and deluded on a fundamental level today, that people can actually credibly argue you should permanently waste enormous amounts of productive potential, by leaving huge swathes of workers unemployed, resources they could work with left idle, and useful things they could do, left undone.

In 100 years, people will look back on how we ran economies today, and will view it as (next to religion perhaps) one of the most historically stupid and harmful examples, of ideology trumping rationality, and holding back the world (causing totally unnecessary widespread suffering in the process).


It's really obvious and simple when you think about it:
When you have anything less than full employment, you are wasting resources and running at less than 100% economic capacity; that is automatically a massive failure of basic economic goals, which is all (when it comes down to it) about allocating resources in an efficient way.

Economic ideology today (including the mainstream theories), is almost entirely politicized now and aimed at favouring right-wing politics, with the goal of trying to fool people into believing any and all steps that could restore full employment, are wrong and will lead to disaster; it's bullshít, touted for political purposes, by those who stand to gain from economic turmoil.

And yet every centrally planned economy that has been tested has been a failure. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Anyway have a look through this, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_cycle#Explanations

Nodin

Cathal Cloch wrote: »

.............

I presume you'll be organising a counter-protest?

No? Yeah. Just keep on bitching from your arm-chairs

There was actually a counter-protest from some loyalists the other day. Bizarre, but there we go.