France brought to a halt by strike of more than 1million people

[Defeated Romanticist]

Of course it wouldn't - of course France is the only country in the world that is currently subjected to protest - didn't people power just bring down the Icelandic government (a neo-liberal one if I'm not mistaken).

Iceland's main problems is riots, not strikes, ditto Latvia.

[H.R. Haldeman]

UTTER BS! The people screaming for ice cream were the banks and they were sated in full - they have had second and third helpings besides - while thousands of us will scarcely be fed at all.

Yeah, that's why I recommended the time machine dude. The horse is bolted and only the mess is left behind. If you want revenge on those responsible - jail, financial ruin, social ostracism - then I'm with you 100%. But striking about it is pointless because these gombeens have left us broke and there is no money. End of story. You tell us how a strike fixes that.

How in the name of God can you seriously contend that people who merely want to keep their jobs, innocent of any responsibility for this situation, are the ones who are being unrealistic.

This is a gross and dozy bastardisation of what I said. Besides, what you are accusing me of is a non-sequiter - there is no disconnect between whether one is realistic or not and your job status. You can be realistic and have job security, or you can be unrealistic and be on the verge of redundancy. So not only are you paraphrasing me badly, you are also making no sense in that paraphrasing.

You disgust me.

No. You didn't read my post properly and you are just going out of your way to be outraged about something you think you have read.

[clontarfblue]

A strike of any sort if the last thing Ireland needs at the moment. Hopefully, Irish Unions realise that a strike would be pointless and just further the cause for government cuts. All Irish workers be they public or private are overpaid and they need to realise that. Id gladly take a pay cut for the national good, unlike the rest of ye selfish lot out there.

[midlander12]

These 'days of action' are a national pastime in France; they have at least one every year. One time I was there a few years ago there was one which lasted a week. Schoolchildren were out blocking motorways; it was hilarious. It was also utterly meaningless. The left has never been weaker in France and Sarkozy's party are currently virtually unchallenged. The strikes usually affect only local public transport & most 'affaires' continue as normal.

[blacbloc]

A strike of any sort if the last thing Ireland needs at the moment. Hopefully, Irish Unions realise that a strike would be pointless and just further the cause for government cuts. All Irish workers be they public or private are overpaid and they need to realise that. Id gladly take a pay cut for the national good, unlike the rest of ye selfish lot out there.

Hopefully the Irish government and the Irish banking sector realise that unless they reconsider their present approach to our economy, they are in for a very tought time. Irish people who are being told they will be thrown out of work and onto the dung heap have nothing to fear from striking. Let the blame and expense for this crock of economic sthit lie where it should.

[clontarfblue]

Hopefully the Irish government and the Irish banking sector realise that unless they reconsider their present approach to our economy, they are in for a very tought time. Irish people who are being told they will be thrown out of work and onto the dung heap have nothing to fear from striking. Let the blame and expense for this crock of economic sthit lie where it should.

I agree with ya on that, but back to the ould chesnut - what would a Strike prove?

[JollyRedGiant]

A strike of any sort if the last thing Ireland needs at the moment.

Of course - shame on use for trying to keep our livehoods afloat and damage profits.

Hopefully, Irish Unions realise that a strike would be pointless and just further the cause for government cuts.

Yea - right - a strike would break this government and force the political elite to bail out the country to protect their system.

All Irish workers be they public or private are overpaid and they need to realise that.

Bullsh*t - profits ahve gone trhought the roof in the last 20 years while workers wages ahve been capped by national agreements - and people are copping onto this with increasing rapidity.

Id gladly take a pay cut for the national good, unlike the rest of ye selfish lot out there.

In the national interest - I have never heard such rubbish - for 'national interest' read 'interest of the bosses and maintain profits' - it is certainly not in the interests of the vast majority of the population of the country who are going to get screwed to protect the wealth of Tony O'Reilly, Sean Quinn and the like.

[clontarfblue]

In the national interest - I have never heard such rubbish - for 'national interest' read 'interest of the bosses and maintain profits' - it is certainly not in the interests of the vast majority of the population of the country who are going to get screwed to protect the wealth of Tony O'Reilly, Sean Quinn and the like.

I would gladly take a cut. If i insist on my current income I may be out of a job, if at least i take a cut they will still be able to keep me on.

The likes of O'Reilly and Quinn are weathly because of they pure ambition and guile and fair play to them, it is the sign of a healthy country when people can come from very little to a lot.

[JollyRedGiant]

The likes of O'Reilly and Quinn are weathly because of they pure ambition and guile and fair play to them, it is the sign of a healthy country when people can come from very little to a lot.

Come from very little - you know nothing about O'Reilly so - as for ambition and guile - is that why Quinn's antics in Anglo Irish are now under investigation?

[CookieMonster]

Where the hell have you been? Do you not know the first thing about what uckfed up the global economy? It was NOTHING to do with public sector workers or the unions and EVERYTHING to do with crazy speculating resulting in toxic debt which public sector workers are now, it seems, going to blamed for by the likes of you.

Are you reading my post or just ranting randomly? Where did I meantion public sector workers?

The REAL economy, outside of all the hedgefund BS, has been stuffed BECAUSE of the same hedgefund etc BS - and it will bite people like you in the ass too sooner or later unless you cop on. Jesus. Where is your brain?!?! What sort of vicious arrogance are you talking here - there are millions of people who have no responsibility for the greed and irresponsibility of the financial markets who are, since you seem to have no appreciation of the fact, currently dominating more than 90% of the entire global economy with nothing more than purely speculative crap.

Like it or not we all were and currently are part of the problem. Fudging the issues and shoveling blame onto "THE MAN" and not taking responsibiliy for one's own actions and one's own greed isn't going to make the problem go away nor is it going to solve anything inside the massive sh*tstorm we're headed into.

The whole thing comes down to trillions of dollars of debt that has been created out of speculative notions!

Which we all bought into happily at the time.

AND on top of that, the ucfers responsible for all this get bailed out with OUR money!!!!!!! You must be feeling pretty safe and comfortable to be able to consign so many entirely innocent people to poverty with such appalling contempt. But to lay the blame for all of this at their feet is outrageous.

Again, where did I say all the blame is at their feet?

So YES, blame IBEC, blame the government - blame those who are actually RESPONSIBLE - they encouraged it, let it happen, insisted it was the last word in economic sense.

Calm down.