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Greece: How police shooting of a teenage boy rallied the ‘€700 generation’
Maria Margaronis, Guardian
… The teenagers and twenty-somethings who have come close to toppling the Greek government are not the marginalised: this is no replay of the riots that convulsed Paris in 2005. Many are sons and daughters of the middle classes, shocked at the killing of one of their own, disgusted with the government’s incompetence and corruption, enraged by the broken promises of the education system, scared at the prospect of having to work still harder than their exhausted parents.
Some call themselves the “€700 generation” in recognition of the wage they expect their degrees to get them. The intensity of their fury has startled the whole country – including, perhaps, themselves.
Anarchist groups dreaming of revolution played a key part in the first waves of destruction, but this week’s protests were not orchestrated by the usual suspects, who relish a good bust-up and a whiff of teargas. There’s been no siege of the American embassy, no blaming Bush, very few party slogans.
Though the spectacular violence has dominated the news, thousands have also set out to join in peaceful demonstrations, among them parents worried for their children’s future. Linked by the internet, by twitter and text messages, many are trying to distance themselves from the destruction, which they attribute to “extremists, idiots and provocateurs”.
The demands of the young are hard to formulate. They want an end to police violence; they want to change things; they want jobs, and hope; they want a better system. If the wish list is slightly vague, the problem itself is amorphous and difficult to name: a crisis of values and institutions, society and economy, vision and leadership.
(13 December 2008)
If we’re going to spend, then let’s invest in Britain’s future
Andrew Rawnsley, The Observer
Rather than encourage people to squitter money on imports, the government should build us an infrastructure fit for this century
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… As the D-word [Depression] again stalks the world, the current crisis will separate Prime Ministers and Presidents into two kinds of leaders. The unlucky countries will be those led by politicians who think only of how they might scrabble through the next six months. The lucky ones will be those with leaders who turn the emergency of the moment into an opportunity to equip their countries for the future.
… Let me suggest three projects that would provide much better value for money than squittering away any more billions on electronic toys from the Far East. The first and most screamingly obvious candidate for investment is Britain’s outdated railways. We are now in that dreadful season when a centimetre of snow is capable of paralysing our antediluvian rail network. It is as bewildering as it is shocking that our railways are so bad. Britain invented the train. We live in a compact, temperate and relatively flat country with no mountain ranges like the Alps or the Rockies to negotiate. Nature gifted us geography ideally suited for a fast, efficient and green rail network. We blew it. infrastructure.
… My next candidate for investment is the creation of a national fibre optic network capable of connecting everyone to super-fast broadband. More and more economic, social and political activity is happening on the internet, but the digital plumbing is struggling to cope with the volumes of data.
… My third candidate is green energy. We know this recession will end one day. The oil price is not going to be low for ever.
(14 December 2008)
This won’t deliver without a global deal
Bryony Worthington, The Guardian
With politicians crowing while the greens cry foul, what’s the real outcome of Europe’s climate deal? The buying and selling of permits to pollute – the EU Emissions Trading Scheme – is meant to be the main mechanism by which Europe drives down its greenhouse gas emissions. But today’s pact changes this.
The ETS has had a rocky start since its launch in 2005 and its impact has now been further watered down. In fact, the rules have been drafted with such complexity that it is virtually impossible to say for sure whether it will have any impact at all going forward.
(12 December 2008)
