We don't know exact time Of the HOUR, (Only God Knows). However, we do know some Of the Sign.

REMEMBER: Think & Observe the Signs Of All Mighty God before it's too late. The HOUR is Coming, it's just a matter Of time . . 

'With OWS encampments banned, where do we convene?'

Polis oakland telah membuat 1 tangkapan beramai-ramai yang terbesar sejak wabak pergerakan menduduki di Amerika Syarikat. Aktivis Sara Flounders memberitahu RT mengapa menghuni di Oakland cuba untuk mengambil alih sebuah pusat konvensyen pada malam Sabtu. "Ia adalah penting untuk menyedari bahawa menghuni perhatian movementis memberi tumpuan kepada harta yang mutlak terbiar, tidak digunakan pada 1 masa apabila terdapat berjuta-juta orang kehilangan tempat tinggal di Amerika Syarikat dan pada masa yang apabila pergerakan menduduki telah tercampak keluar dari perkhemahan di seluruh negara, "kata Sara Flounders dari Pusat Tindakan Antarabangsa.

"Jadi ini merupakan 1 lagi taktik yang kreatif untuk mengambil ruang pusat konvensyen yang tidak digunakan dan ia sebagai pusat baru bagi pergerakan menduduki di Oakland." Flounders bermain laporan mengatakan bahawa menduduki aktivis melontar Oakland polis dengan botol, batu-batu dan membakar nyala. "Sekali lagi dan sekali lagi, media cuba untuk melukis ini menduduki Pergerakan sebagai menjadi ganas. Keganasan telah datang dari pihak polis. Sekeping kaca yang telah patah, tidak kepala polis pecah Menyusahkan Pergerakan menduduki," menegaskan Flounders.

REVIEW: A protester from Occupy Oakland -the local offshoot of Occupy Wall Street- is arrested in Oakland on January 28, 2012 (Penunjuk perasaan dari menduduki Oakland-cabang tempatan menghuni di Wall Street-ditangkap di Oakland pada 28 Januari 2012)

Oakland police have made one of the biggest mass arrests since the outbreak of the Occupy movement in the US. Activist Sara Flounders tells RT why Occupy Oakland tried to take over a convention center on Saturday night. "It is important to recognize that the Occupy movementis focusing attention on absolutely abandoned, unused property at a time when there are millions of people homeless in the US and at a time when the Occupy movement has been thrown out of its encampments across the country," said Sara Flounders from the International Action Center.

"So this is another creative tactic to take unused convention center space and have it as a new center for the Occupy movement in Oakland." Flounders played down reports saying that Occupy activists pelted Oakland police with bottles, rocks and burning flares. "Again and again, the media tries to paint this Occupy Movement as being violent. The violence has come from the police. A broken piece of glass is not the broken heads the police are inflicting on the Occupy Movement," insists Flounders.

Occupy Oakland: Cops bend law in brutal arrest wave (Menduduki Oakland: Polis selekoh undang-undang dalam gelombang penangkapan kejam)

(30 January, 2012) Cc1WC’sChannel REVIEW Disaster 2012: Members of the Oakland Police Department arrest an Occupy Oakland demonstrator during a confrontation in Downtown Oakland. (Ahli-ahli Jabatan Polis Oakland menangkap menginap di demonstrasi Oakland semasa konfrontasi di Downtown Oakland)

Adalah provokasi polis di belakang luar pendirian antara penguat kuasa undang-undang dan menduduki penunjuk perasaan di Oakland, di mana lebih 400 orang telah ditahan pada malam Sabtu? Saksi menegaskan tiada perintah untuk bersurai didahului penangkapan massa. Perhimpunan aman Sabtu lalu bertukar menjadi pertembungan ganas, dengan penunjuk perasaan yang membaling batu ke arah polis dan pegawai yang menjawab dengan bom gas pemedih mata. Akhirnya, penguatkuasaan undang-undang kejam mengalahkan rioters, dengan lebih 400 ditangkap atas tuduhan mengingkari perintah untuk bersurai dan vandalisme.

Pada hari Ahad, Datuk Bandar Jean Quan Oakland Petrified untuk melihat keputusan serangan terhadap Dewan Bandaraya (City Hall). Semua yang diperbuat daripada kaca telah pecah, dokumen yang tertumpah ke atas lantai yang kotor, dan grafitti meliputi dinding Dewan. Dilaporkan, bendera kebangsaan Amerika Syarikat telah dibakar.

"Berhenti menggunakan Oakland sebagai sebuah taman permainan," Datuk Bandar panggil aktivis, mengutuk taktik pergerakan itu sebagai "provokasi 1 malar polis dengan banyak 1 keganasan ke arah mereka." Demonstrasi telah sudah kos bandar dalam keadaan sudah kubur kewangan lain US $ 5 juta. Datuk Bandar itu berkata kini ahli-ahli pergerakan menduduki tidak mempunyai alasan untuk kelakuan mereka.

Selepas penangkapan, menduduki Oakland dituduh tindakan polis yang menyalahi undang-undang kerana penunjuk perasaan telah tidak diberi peluang untuk bersurai. Di sebaliknya, polis mengatakan orang-orang yang berkumpul di hadapan Dewan Bandaraya berbuat demikian dengan "niat menyalahi undang-undang memasuki" pejabat Datuk Bandar. Begitu juga versi acara rasmi. Tetapi membaca laporan mereka yang sebenarnya ada dan masuk ke butiran malam itu ganas menggambarkan gambaran yang lebih rumit daripada penunjuk perasaan melulu dan undang-undang yang memelihara polis.

Saksi berkata serangan keganasan terhadap Dewan Bandaraya tidak pernah sebenarnya berlaku. Penunjuk perasaan hanya memasuki bangunan itu selepas tangkapan besar-besaran polis dibuat apabila aktivis gagal untuk menduduki sebuah bangunan yang ditinggalkan.

"Saya tidak tahu bagaimana, tetapi mereka membuka pintu depan (yang) Dewan Bandaraya dan menduduki bangunan itu. Dibuka, dalam menghancurkan tingkap. Langkah itu tidak bertujuan untuk menjadi 1 pekerjaan tetapi lebih menunjukkan perpaduan kepada 300 penunjuk perasaan ditangkap di hujung jalan, "kata panduan baked420 yang berkongsi pengalaman beliau pada Reddit rangkaian sosial Amerika Syarikat.

Tindakan pada hari Sabtu bermula sebagai 1 percubaan untuk “move-in” untuk sebuah bangunan besar yang ditinggalkan dan mengubahnya menjadi pusat politik dan sosial untuk menyelaras pergerakan menduduki, Sara Flounders told RT. Dengan menduduki perkhemahan diharamkan di seluruh negara, aktivis hanya tidak mempunyai tempat untuk mengadakan, manakala inisiatif itu tidak pernah berhenti berkembang. Polis telah mengelilingi bangunan yang dimaksudkan untuk diduduki sebelum aktivis tiba. Tetapi selepas beberapa pagar-pagar telah diambil dalam keadaan marah dan gas pemedih mata merokok, hanya beberapa tangkapan telah dibuat.

400 penahanan + plus masih berlaku 1 jam kemudian, sebagai aktivis distrim perarakan mereka kepada bahagian-bahagian lain Oakland. Pada ketika itu, polis hanya berhenti perarakan, diisytiharkan "perhimpunan yang menyalahi undang-undang" dan tangkap orang-orang yang mereka suka, tanpa memberi apa-apa amaran yang kuat untuk menyuraikan atau sebenarnya menawarkan apa-apa jalan keluar.

"Menangkap lebih ramai Malam ini berlaku tanpa perintah penyebaran. Tiada undang-undang telah rosak. Satunya perintah yang diberikan adalah: "You are under arrest. Submit to your arrest," baked420 menulis.

Keraguan timbul tentang bagaimana sah di sisi undang-undang ini menangkap lebih ramai adalah: polis telah menahan beratus-ratus orang untuk tindakan beberapa dozen, jauh dari tempat kejadian sebenar dan pada masa yang berbeza. Walau bagaimanapun, mereka yang ditahan telah didakwa di bawah Kanun Keseksaan CA 409 yang berkaitan dengan pelanggaran undang-undang negara dan rusuhan. Dalam hal ini, tindakan polis harus dipertimbangkan dalam hal Pindaan Pertama, yang menyediakan hak untuk berhimpun secara aman, titik keluar aktivis.

"Bertentangan dengan dasar mereka sendiri, Jabatan Polis Oakland (OPD) memberikan sebarang pilihan untuk meninggalkan atau arahan tentang bagaimana berlepas. Tangkapan ini adalah menyalahi undang-undang, dan ini mungkin akan mengakibatkan 1 lagi dalam tuntutan mahkamah tindakan kelas terhadap OPD, "kata kenyataan dari kumpulan.

Robert Wohl dari pasukan menduduki tindakan DC kepada RT bahawa ia adalah mengejutkan dan "menakutkan untuk melihat apa yang datang daripada Oakland tetapi ia tidak menghairankan."

"Saya fikir anda perlu mengiktiraf khusus jabatan polis Oakland," katanya. "Mereka dikenali sebagai salah satu yang paling ganas dan menindas di negara ini. Mereka telah membunuh orang, mereka sudah menggunakan cara kekerasan ke atas penunjuk perasaan dari awal di sana. Oakland telah menjadi takat kilat kerana saya fikir ia telah mendedahkan bagaimana ketenteraan polis Amerika telah menjadi-jadi pada tahun-tahun kebelakangan ini."

 

Kevin Zeese, pengarah kempen ItsOurEconomy percaya bahawa rakyat perlu menjadi sangat percaya apabila mereka melihat adegan keganasan atau kerosakan harta yang dinyalakan oleh penunjuk perasaan. "Kami tidak boleh memberitahu apabila melakukan kerosakan harta benda berlaku atau sesuatu seperti membakar bendera Amerika berlaku sama ada yang sesuatu yang sebenarnya menghasut oleh provokasi atau sama ada ia ada oleh camper," katanya. "Ini telah menjadi sebuah gerakan tanpa keganasan bagi sebahagian besar."

Kevin Zeese, the director of ItsOurEconomy campaign believes that people need to be very skeptical when they see scenes of violence or property damage ignited by the protesters. “We can’t tell when these acts of property damage occur or something like burning the American flag occurs whether that is something actually instigated by a provocateur or whether it is by the campers,” he said. “This has been a non-violent movement for the most part.”

Was police provocation behind the stand-off between law enforcers and Occupy protesters in Oakland, where over 400 people were detained on Saturday night? Witnesses insist no order to disperse preceded the mass arrests. The peaceful rally last Saturday turned into a violent clash, with protesters throwing stones at police and officers answering with tear gas grenades. In the end, law enforcement brutally beat the rioters, with over 400 arrested, on charges of disobeying commands to disperse and vandalism.

On Sunday, Mayor Jean Quan of Oakland was petrified to see the results of the assault on City Hall. Everything made of glass was smashed, documents spilled over the filthy floors, and graffiti covered the walls of the Hall. Reportedly, a US national flag had been burnt.

“Stop using Oakland as a playground,” the Mayor called on the activists, condemning the movement's tactics as “a constant provocation of the police with a lot of violence toward them.” Demonstrations have already cost the city in already grave financial circumstances another $5 million.  The mayor said now the Occupy movement members have no excuse for their behavior.  

After the arrests, Occupy Oakland accused police of unlawful actions because the protesters were not given an opportunity to disperse. In turn, police say the people that gathered in front of City Hall did so with “the intent of unlawfully entering” the Mayor’s office. So goes the official version of events.  But reading the reports of those who were actually there, and getting into details of that violent night portrays a more complicated picture than that of reckless protesters and law-keeping police.

Witnesses say the violent assault on City Hall never actually happened. Protesters simply entered the building after massive arrests police made when the activists failed to occupy an abandoned building.

“I do not know how, but they opened the front door to [the] City Hall and occupied the building. Opened, as in no window smashing. The move was not meant to be an occupation but more of a show of solidarity to the 300 arrested protesters down the street,” says user baked420 who shared his experience on the US social network Reddit.

The whole action on Saturday started as an attempt to “move-in” to a large abandoned building and turn it into a political and social center to coordinate the Occupy movement, Sara Flounders told RT. With Occupy encampments banned across the country, the activists just do not have a place to convene, while the initiative has never stopped growing. The police had circled the building meant for occupation before activists arrived. But after several fences were taken down in anger and tear gas smoked, only a few arrests were made. 

The 400+ detentions were still to take place an hour later, as the activists streamed their march into other parts of Oakland. At that point, police simply stopped the march, declared it “unlawful assembly” and arrested those they chose, without giving any loud warning to disperse or actually offering any exit route. 

“Tonight's mass arrest occurred without a dispersal order. No law was broken. The only order given was: "You are under arrest. Submit to your arrest," writes baked420. 

Doubts arise about how lawful this mass arrest is: police detained hundreds of people for the actions of several dozen, away from the actual scene and at a different time. Nevertheless, those arrested were charged under CA Penal Code 409 that deals with misdemeanor and riots.

In this light, police actions should be considered in regard to the First Amendment, which provides the right to peaceful assembly, point out the activists.  

“Contrary to their own policy, the Oakland Police Department [OPD] gave no option of leaving or instruction on how to depart. These arrests are completely illegal, and this will probably result in another class-action lawsuit against the OPD,” says a release from the group.

Robert Wohl from the Occupy DC action team told RT that it is shocking and “horrifying to see what is coming out of Oakland but it is hardly surprising.”

“I think you have to recognize the specifics of the Oakland police department,” he said. “They are known as one of the most violent and repressive in the country. They’ve murdered people, they’ve been using violent means on the protesters from the beginning there. Oakland has become a flashpoint because I think it has exposed how militarized American police have become in recent years.”

Americans oppose war: But does govt care?

Dengan retorik keras Amerika Syarikat dan ketegangan di seluruh program nuklear Iran pendorong mengikut masa, pemilihan Amerika tetap menunjukkan bahawa kebanyakan rakyat Amerika berfikir perang dengan Tehran akan menjadi 1 kesilapan kubur (Garrah). Tetapi adakah pemimpin peduli?

Walaupun persetujuan Iran baru-baru ini untuk kembali ke rundingan alih kerja atom, pentadbiran Obama berkata perang dengan Tehran masih di atas meja. Lebih lebih keras kenyataan datang dari beberapa burung helang Washington seperti Newt Gingrich, yang bercakap melanggar rejim Iran dalam tempoh setahun. Walau bagaimanapun, panggilan muncul untuk mencari sokongan sedikit dengan rakyat biasa. Kaji selidik dalam talian dan telefon oleh salah 1 daripada pemilihan sahabat dalam talian di negara ini menunjukkan majoriti rakyat Amerika tidak kembali ceramah kerajaan perang terhadap Iran.

Penduduk-penduduk bandar di 1 American pergi lebih jauh dan mengambil perkara itu kepada Majlis Bandaraya mereka. Badan perundangan Charlottesville di Virginia meluluskan 1 resolusi, dipercayai untuk menjadi pertama di negara ini, membantah pelancaran perang ke atas Iran, serta menyeru untuk akhir ke tanah semasa (current ground) dan terlibat dalam peperangan berdengung oleh Amerika Syarikat. "Wasiat popular sentiasa menjadi menentang peperangan, kecuali ditolak dan ditarik oleh propaganda yang sangat manipulatif," David Swanson, penulis bersama resolusi kepada RT. "Dan mereka telah cuba - orang-orang yang mahu perang ke atas Iran - telah mencuba tetapi tidak berjaya selama bertahun-tahun untuk mendapatkan pesawat rakyat Amerika ".

Gayane Chichakyan RT pergi berjalan-jalan di Washington untuk melihat berapa ramai orang dia bertemu yang mahu Amerika Syarikat untuk menyerang Iran.

Hasilnya adalah hanya 1, daripada lebih daripada sedozen.

Dan ia bukan hanya rakyat Amerika Syarikat biasa, tetapi ramai pakar dalam bidang keselamatan, yang memberikan amaran tentang memulakan perang dengan Iran. Salah satunya ialah bekas pengarah yang bertindak CIA.

"Orang ramai selalu berkata bahawa pilihan ketenteraan masih di atas meja. Saya fikir ia akan menjadi pilihan yang sangat buruk . . . Salah satu masalah besar dengan Iran adalah bahawa jika anda masuk ke dalam konfrontasi terbuka, konfrontasi tentera, anda berisiko kitaran tindak balas dan respons dengan susah payah melihat di mana titik akhir, " John E. McLaughlin kata. 1 soalan yang semulajadi di sini, bagaimana Washington boleh terus bercakap peperangan, dengan begitu banyak Amerika terhadapnya?

"Saya mempunyai pemikiran masa keras contoh mana-mana apa-apa isu yang kelakuan kerajaan kita di Washington sepadan dengan pendapat majoriti. Perang tidak beberapa jenis pengecualian. Orang awam ialah terhadap menyelamatkan bank-bank, orang ramai terhadap subsidi untuk syarikat-syarikat tenaga, orang ramai terhadap peperangan, orang ramai berbanding hanya kira-kira setiap keputusan yang dibuat mengenai isu-isu penting di Washington, "David Swanson merungut RT.

Tetapi adakah kerajaan peduli?

Rasa banyak perselisihan di antara apa yang Amerika mahu, dan apa yang pemimpin lakukan di atas nama rakyat Amerika, tidak sempit.

Malah, ia semakin luas.

Cc1WC’sChannel REVIEW Disaster 2012

With harsh US rhetoric and tensions around Iran’s nuclear program snowballing by the hour, American polls nonetheless show that most Americans think a war with Tehran would be a grave mistake. But do the leaders care?

Despite Iran’s recent consent to return to negotiations over its atomic work, the Obama administration says war with Tehran is still on the table. Even harsher statements come from some of Washington’s hawks like Newt Gingrich, who spoke of breaking the Iranian regime within a year. The calls however appear to find little support with the ordinary people. Online and telephone surveys by one of the country’s online companion polls show the majority of Americans do not back the government’s talk of war against Iran.

The residents of one American city went even further and took the matter to their City Council. The legislative body of Charlottesville in Virginia passed a resolution, believed to be a first in the country, opposing the launching of a war on Iran, as well as calling for an end to current ground and drone wars engaged in by the US. “The popular will has always been against wars, unless pushed and dragged by a very manipulative propaganda,” David Swanson, co-author of the resolution told RT. “And they have been trying – those who want war on Iran – have been trying unsuccessfully for years to get the American people onboard”.

RT’s Gayane Chichakyan went out on the streets of Washington to see how many people she met who want the US to attack Iran.

The result was – just one, out of more than a dozen.

And it’s not just ordinary US people, but many experts in the security field, who warn against starting a war with Iran. One of these is a former acting director of the CIA.

“People keep saying that the military option is still on the table. I think it would be a very bad option… One of the big problems with Iran is that if you get into an open confrontation, a military confrontation, you risk a cycle of retaliation and response with great difficulty seeing where the end point is,” John E. McLaughlin says. A natural question here is, how can Washington continue talking war, with so many Americans against it? 

“I have a hard time thinking of any example of any issue on which the conduct of our government in Washington corresponds with majority opinion. War is not some kind of exception. The public is against bailouts for bankers, the public is against subsidies for energy companies, the public is against wars, the public is against just about every decision made on important issues in Washington,” David Swanson laments to RT.

But does the government care?

Many sense that the rift between what Americans want, and what the leaders do in the name of the American people, is not narrowing.

In fact, it is getting wider.

Eurozone downgrade: Is collapse imminent? (Zon euro turun taraf: Apakah ambang keruntuhan)?

Pemimpin Eropah bergegas untuk membendung kejatuhan selepas S&P menurunkan 9 daripada 17 ahli zon euro. Tetapi manakala ramai di seluruh Eropah menjanjikan pembaharuan lanjut, pemecahan zon euro perjanjian yang dilakukan?

Bercakap dengan pemberita dan penganalisis selepas potongan, Standard & Poor meramalkan kemelesetan ekonomi zon euro, mengatakan bahawa KDNK menguncup sebanyak 1.5 % peratus pada tahun 2012.

Perancis, ekonomi ke-2 terbesar zon euro, telah diturunkan daripada penarafan kredit AAA untuk AA + dan boleh menghadapi luka lagi melainkan jika ia berjaya membendung tekanan inflasi ke atas hutang dan defisit bajet. Sebagai tindak balas, Perdana Menteri Perancis Francois Fillon berkata pada hari Sabtu bahawa negaranya akan meneruskan dengan langkah pengurangan kos dalam reaksi potong S&P.

Selain dari Perancis, Austria, Malta, Slovakia dan Slovenia juga telah diturunkan 1 takuk, manakala Cyprus, Itali, Sepanyol dan Portugal mengalami penurunan 2 takuk. Austria, yang kehilangan penarafan AAA, dilihat penurunan taraf sebagai panggilan memanggil untuk membendung hutang dan mendapatkan bagi rumah kewangan. Walau bagaimanapun, negara-negara Eropah yang lain kuat mengkritik Jumaat untuk penurunan gred (downgrades), dengan alasan langkah itu boleh menjejaskan keupayaan negara sudah embattled untuk meminjam wang, mengurangkan hutang, dan mengelakkan krisis yang semakin.

Tetapi manakala Canselor Jerman Angela Merkel berharap penurunan taraf yang akan merangsang penandatangan "padat kewangan" 1 antara negara anggota yang boleh membantu menyelamatkan mata wang tunggal, Laughland John, pengarah kajian di Institut Demokrasi dan Kerjasama, kepada RT bahawa penurunan taraf Jumaat akan turun sebagai awal akhir untuk euro. "Saya fikir apabila euro akhirnya runtuh seperti yang akan berlaku pasti, mungkin dalam tahun hadapan, kita akan lihat pada hari ini, pengumuman ini, penurunan taraf Perancis, seperti yang telah salah satu momen tegas, kerana ia benar-benar adalah 1 tanda bahawa pasaran kehilangan keyakinan dalam zon euro dan euro-projek secara keseluruhannya, dan di negara-negara utama di Eropah, "katanya.

Laughland lagi berhujah bahawa walaupun pemerintahan janji hutang, euro itu sendiri adalah mutlak untuk menyalahkan krisis ekonomi yang mendalam. "Selain dari percanggahan mewarisi euro itu sendiri, isu hutang ini adalah sesuatu yang euro telah gagal untuk mengawal, ia sebenarnya disebabkan oleh euro. Sebab mengapa kita mempunyai masalah hutang dalam zon euro bahawa negara-negara, khususnya di selatan Eropah, yang telah dijalankan hutang yang sangat besar telah mampu untuk berbuat demikian tanpa rasa akibat dari segi kadar pertukaran. Dalam keadaan biasa, jika mereka mempunyai mata wang negara, mata wang mereka akan hilang nilai. Ia adalah kerana mereka mempunyai mata wang yang dikongsi bersama bahawa mereka mempunyai tanggapan bahawa mereka boleh mempunyai jenis makan tengah hari percuma untuk sekian lama. Dan itulah apa yang dapat kami ke dalam keadaan yang kami ini."

Cc1WC’sChannel REVIEW Disaster 2012: People demonstrate with placards in front of the headquarters of Standard & Poor's on January 14, 2012 in Paris (Orang menunjukkan dengan pelekat di hadapan ibu pejabat Standard & Poor pada 14 Januari, 2012 di Paris)

European leaders are rushing to contain the fallout after S&P downgraded nine of the seventeen eurozone members. But while many across Europe promise further reforms, is a eurozone breakup a done deal?

Speaking with reporters and analysts after the cuts, Standard & Poor's predicted a eurozone recession, saying that GDP could contract by 1.5 per cent in 2012.

France, the eurozone’s second largest economy, was downgraded from its AAA credit rating to AA+ and could face further cuts unless it manages to curb inflationary pressure on its debt and budget deficit. In response, the French Prime Minister Francois Fillon said on Saturday that his country would push ahead with cost-cutting measures in reaction to the S&P cut.

Apart from France, Austria, Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia were also downgraded one notch, while Cyprus, Italy, Spain and Portugal suffered double-notch declines. Austria, which lost its AAA rating, viewed the downgrade as a wake-up call to curb its debt and get its financial house in order. However, other European nations strongly criticized Friday’s deluge of downgrades, arguing the move could hamper already embattled countries’ ability to borrow money, reduce debts, and avoid a deepening of the crisis.

But while German Chancellor Angela Merkel hoped the downgrade would spur the signing of a “financial compact” between member states that could help save the single currency, John Laughland, director of studies at the Institute for Democracy and Cooperation, told RT that Friday’s downgrade would go down as the beginning of the end for the euro. “I think when the euro finally collapses as it will do surely, probably within the next year, we will see this day, this announcement, the downgrading of France, as having been one of the decisive moments, because it really is a sign that the markets are losing confidence in the eurozone and the euro-project as a whole, and in the core countries in Europe,” he said. 

Laughland further argues that despite promises reign in debt, the euro itself is ultimately to blame for the deepening economic crisis. “Apart from the inherit contradictions of the euro itself, this debt issue is not something that the euro has failed to control, it has actually been caused by the euro. The reason why we have a debt problem in the eurozone is that the countries, particularly in southern Europe, who have run up enormous debts, have been able to do so without feeling the consequences in terms of exchange rates. In a normal situation, if they had had national currencies, their currencies would have lost value. It is precisely because they have a shared currency that they have the impression that they could have a sort of free lunch for so long. And that’s what’s got us into the situation that we’re in.”

A better WORLD without: OWS, poverty, religion? (DUNIA yang lebih baik tanpa: OWS, kemiskinan, agama)?

Tahun Baru sentiasa insentif yang kuat untuk orang ramai untuk memulakan sesuatu yang baru dan mengucapkan selamat tinggal kepada yang lama. RT tanya New York apa yang mereka akan menghapuskan DUNIA untuk membuat tempat yang lebih baik pada tahun 2012.

"Residen" Lori Harfenist menerima beberapa komen yang agak mengejutkan dari warga senegara.

Cc1WC’sChannel REVIEW Disaster 2012

The New Year is always a strong incentive for people to start something new and say goodbye to the old. RT asked New Yorkers what they would rid the world of to make it a better place in 2012.

“The Resident” Lori Harfenist received some quite astounding comments from fellow citizens.

The year of dissent: Battling Europe (tahun perbezaan pendapat: Melawan Eropah)

Bida masyarakat Eropah selamat tinggal kepada tahun yang paling teruk untuk zon euro, yang menyaksikan krisis ekonomi yang paling sukar dalam beberapa dekad. Pertempuran untuk menyelamatkan mata wang tunggal meninggalkan bilik lembaga dan membanjiri jalan-jalan Eropah - yang paling biasa dan ganas di Athens. Bagi Greece, negara yang paling terjejas teruk oleh bencana kewangan, 2011 adalah tahun putus asa dan rasa tidak puas hati. Hutang Yunani menjadi di tengah-tengah krisis euro. Protes di negara ini telah menjadi kejadian yang biasa berlaku terhadap potongan penjimatan terdesak untuk layak untuk penyelamatan IMF dan pengangguran yang rekod tinggi melumpuhkan.

Krisis kewangan di Greece telah berhijrah ke negara-negara Eropah yang lain, termasuk Portugal, Sepanyol, Ireland dan Itali. Musim luruh di Eropah membawa kepada kejatuhan beberapa pemimpin di seluruh Kesatuan Eropah (EU) - Itali, Greece dan Sepanyol - semua negara-negara ini melihat kerajaan berubah dalam tempoh 2 minggu. Sepanyol memberikan Parti Rakyat tengah-kanan majoriti mutlak di Parlimen selepas kerajaan Sosialis telah digulingkan oleh krisis hutang.

Manakala Greece dan Itali kini dipimpin oleh pemimpin teknokrat tidak dilantik Brussels bersandarkan yang cuba untuk membendung krisis yang datang ke dalam Tahun Baru. Tetapi orang-muka-muka baru menerajui negara-negara Eropah yang paling bermasalah adalah masih tidak jelas. Dan akan mereka benar-benar membuat perkara yang lebih baik untuk rakyat?

Tahun 2012 akan membawa kebanyakannya berita buruk bagi zon euro - kemelesetan menghancurkan tali mungkin kegagalan dan keruntuhan kemungkinan euro itu, Penasihat Pelaburan Patrick muda meramalkan.

"Kami mempunyai 1 generasi yang hilang di Eropah barat. Sesuatu seperti 40 % peratus daripada semua Sepanyol berusia 20-an mereka ini menganggur. Itu perolokan! Ia merupakan 1 kegagalan mutlak kerajaan! Dan ia mengerikan. Benar-benar bersimpati, tetapi kesukaran yang anda tidak boleh menyimpan kerajaan hanya membelanjakan wang untuk mengurus dan perkara yang membuat kerja. Dan mabuk yang kita ada adalah berkesan 50 tahun sosialisme kawalan negara di Eropah barat yang akhirnya telah terbukti menjadi mahal sehingga tidak mampu dibeli di banyak negara, "katanya kepada RT.

 

Cc1WC’sChannel REVIEW Disaster 2012: The European community bids farewell to the worst year for the eurozone, which saw the toughest economic crisis in decades. (Bida masyarakat Eropah selamat tinggal kepada tahun yang paling teruk untuk zon euro, yang menyaksikan krisis ekonomi yang paling sukar dalam beberapa dekad).

The European community bids farewell to the worst year for the eurozone, which saw the toughest economic crisis in decades. The battle to save the single currency left boardrooms and flooded European streets - most commonly and violently in Athens. For Greece, the country most severely affected by the financial disaster, 2011 was a year of despair and discontent. Greek debt became the centerpiece of the euro crisis. Protests in the country have become a common occurrenceagainst desperate austerity cuts to qualify for IMF bailouts and unemployment crippling record high.

The financial crisis in Greece has migrated to other European countries, including Portugal, Spain, Ireland and Italy.  Autumn in Europe brought about the fall of several leaders across the EU – Italy, Greece and Spain – all of these countries saw governments change within a two-week period.  Spaniards gave the center-right People's Party an absolute majority in parliament after the Socialist government was toppled by the debt crisis.

While Greece and Italy are now led by unelected Brussels-backed technocrat leaders who are trying to curb the crisis coming into the New Year. But who these new faces at the helm of Europe’s most troubled nations are remains unclear. And will they really make things better for the people?

The year 2012 will bring mostly bad news for the eurozone – a crushing recession, likely string of defaults and the probable collapse of the euro itself, predicts Investment Advisor Patrick Young.

“We have a lost generation in western Europe. Something like 40 per cent of all Spaniards in their 20s are unemployed. That’s a travesty! It’s an absolute failure of government! And it’s appalling. One really sympathizes, but the difficulty is that you can’t keep the government simply spending money in order to manage and things make work. And the hangover we have is effectively 50 years of state-controlled socialism in western Europe that ultimately has proved to be unaffordable in many countries,” he told RT.

 

Cc1WC’sChannel REVIEW Disaster 2012: Panagiotis Sotiris, pensyarah Sosiologi di University of Aegean, percaya bahawa akhir tahun ini membawa harapan sedikit untuk Greece atau zon euro. "Kami berada di bulatan ganas hutang berjimat cermat, dan kemelesetan ekonomi yang amat mendalam," katanya kepada RT. "Tidak ada cahaya di hujung terowong. Apa yang kita alami dan kita telah memberitahu kita akan mengalami tahun depan, yang bermakna 1 lagi tahun kemusnahan sosial, sebenarnya bukti kegagalan dasar-dasar ini". Beliau juga berkata bahawa penduduk Greece berkesan ketinggalan dalam proses membuat keputusan. "Kursus semula jadi perkara yang telah sama ada pilihan raya baru atau referendum. Dalam kedua-dua kes pada bulan November, kita boleh mempunyai penolakan yang kuat semua dasar-dasar ini. Jadi, kerajaan Papademos adalah dalam cara yang ditentukan oleh Kesatuan Eropah dan IMF yang berkata 'Tidak, anda tidak boleh mempunyai referendum, tiada anda tidak boleh mempunyai pilihan raya. Anda akan mempunyai Banker Pusat Eropah sebagai Perdana Menteri sama ada anda suka atau tidak. Kita akan mula-mula mengundi bagi pihak semua langkah-langkah ini bahawa orang-orang di jalan-jalan telah ditolak dan kemudian anda boleh mempunyai pilihan raya. Tetapi ini adalah 1 penghinaan terhadap demokrasi."

Cc1WC’sChannel REVIEW Disaster 2012: Panagiotis Sotiris, a sociology lecturer at the University of the Aegean, believes that the end of the year brings little hope for Greece or the eurozone. “We’re in a very deep vicious circle of austerity, debt and recession”, he told RT. “There’s no light at the end of the tunnel. What we are experiencing and we have been told we are going to experience next year, which means another year of social devastation, is exactly the proof of the failure of these policies”. He also said that the population of Greece was effectively left out of the decision-making process. “The natural course of things would have been either a new election or a referendum. In both cases back in November we could have had a strong rejection of all these policies. So, the Papademos government was in a way dictated to by the European Union and the IMF who said ‘No, you cannot have a referendum, no you cannot have an election. You are going to have a European Central Banker as prime minister whether you like it or not. We are going to first vote for all these measures that the people on the streets have rejected and then you can have an election. But this is a mockery of democracy.”

Europe - the 'laughingstock of the WORLD’

Greece mendapati dirinya lagi terhenti lain dengan mogok besar-besaran dijalankan sebagai pemeriksa IMF membayar 1 lagi lawatan menyelesaikan hutang ke Athens. Tetapi "IMF" bukan merupakan 1 kaedah yang produktif menyelesaikan krisis, ekonomi, Yanis Varoufakis kepada RT.

Kira-kira 12,000 orang telah mengambil jalan-jalan di tengah-tengah Athens dalam 2 perhimpunan yang dianjurkan oleh Parti Komunis Yunani dan Gabungan Am Pekerja Greek, berarak secara aman kepada Parlimen dan kemudian bersurai. 1 pasukan Kesatuan Eropah (EU) dan IMF pemeriksa memulakan semula rundingan lebih dengan pegawai Greek apakah langkah Athens perlu mengambil untuk menjamin bayaran lain bailout dan mengelakkan lalai pada 1 pembayaran balik bon yang disebabkan US $ 18.6 billion 20 Mac.

Untuk mengurangkan hutang, Greece juga cuba untuk merundingkan isu perjanjian bon yang panjang-pembayaran balik dengan pelabur swasta, tetapi rundingan terhenti sepanjang perselisihan pendapat tentang kadar faedah. Pelabur, bagaimanapun, mengulangi komitmen mereka kepada perjanjian pada bursa hutang sukarela, dan mengesahkan bahawa mereka akan kembali ke Athens pada hari Rabu untuk meneruskan perbincangan. Sementara itu, Tabung Kewangan Antarabangsa (IMF) menganggarkan bahawa negara-negara di seluruh DUNIA akan memerlukan kira-kira US $ 1 trilion dalam pinjaman pada tahun-tahun akan datang. IMF berkata, ia bertujuan untuk mengumpul sehingga $ 500 bilion bagi pinjaman baru, termasuk $200 billion yang telah dijanjikan oleh negara-negara Eropah.

Yanis Varoufakis, seorang profesor ekonomi di Universiti Athens, memberitahu RT bahawa Greece mengadakan perbincangan dengan pelabur swasta sebagai sebahagian daripada perjanjian dengan Kesatuan Eropah (EU) dan IMF. "Idea ini adalah untuk menulis sebahagian daripada hutang melalui potongan PSI ini (pelabur sektor swasta) untuk membolehkan Jerman dan EU secara amnya untuk membawa diri mereka untuk membayar wang yang diperlukan untuk Greece untuk memenuhi obligasinya," kata Varoufakis.

"Tiada apa-apa jua yang berlaku di Greece membuat apa-apa perbezaan, kerana semua keputusan penting telah dicapai di Brussels, di Frankfurt, di Paris, di Berlin," katanya. "Sama ada Greece akan lalai akhirnya bergantung kepada sektor rasmi - Kesatuan Eropah (EU) dan IMF" Varoufakis berkata apa-apa wang Greece menerima "hanya akan digunakan untuk membayar balik bank." Jadi, daripada rak hutang Yunani baru, katanya, ia akan masuk akal banyak lagi untuk membiarkan lalai Greece di zon Euro. "Kemudian sektor rasmi secara langsung dapat permodalan semula bank-bank, yang akan masuk akal banyak lagi," jelas beliau. "Tetapi rasa tidak adalah kad lukisan hari ini - untuk 2 tahun yang lalu - di Kesatuan Eropah."

"Orang-orang Eropah telah gagal untuk meletakkan rumah mereka bagi," tambah Varoufakis. "Mereka telah gagal untuk datang dengan rancangan untuk menangani krisis bersekedudukan dengan sektor perbankan pada 1 tangan, dan ahli negeri-negeri di Zon Eropah. Kami telah menggunakan IMF. Ini adalah 1 tragedi." "Kami, Eropah, bertukar diri ke dalam laughingstock daripada DUNIA, "katanya.

Cc1WC'sChannel REVIEW Disaster 2012: Demonstrators shout slogans during a 24-hour strike against the austerity measures in Athens on January 17, 2012 (Penunjuk perasaan menjerit slogan semasa mogok 24 jam terhadap langkah-langkah penjimatan di Athens pada 17 Januari 2012)

Greece finds itself at yet another standstill, with a mass strike underway as IMF inspectors pay another debt-settling visit to Athens. But “resorting to the IMF” is not a productive method of settling the crisis, economist Yanis Varoufakis told RT.

Some 12,000 people took to the streets in central Athens in two rallies organized by the Greek Communist Party and the General Confederation of Greek Workers, marching peacefully to the parliament and then dispersing. A team of EU and IMF inspectors resumed negotiations with Greek officials over what steps Athens needs to take in order to secure another bailout payment - and avoid default on an $18.6 billion bond repayment due March 20.

To reduce its debt, Greece also attempted to negotiate an extended-repayment bond issue deal with private investors, but the talks stalled over a disagreement on interest rates.  Investors, however, reiterated their commitment to an agreement on a voluntary debt exchange, and confirmed that they would return to Athens on Wednesday to resume discussions. Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund estimated that countries around the world will need about $1 trillion in loans in the coming years. The IMF said it aims to raise up to $500 billion for new loans, including $200 billion already promised by European countries.

Yanis Varoufakis, a professor of economics at Athens University, told RT that Greece is holding talks with private investors as a part of a deal with the EU and IMF. “The idea was to write down part of the debt through this PSI (private sector investors) haircut in order to allow Germany and the EU in general to bring themselves to paying the money necessary for Greece to meet its obligations,” Varoufakis said.

“Nothing that happens in Greece makes any difference, because all the important decisions are reached in Brussels, in Frankfurt, in Paris, in Berlin,” he added. “Whether Greece will default depends ultimately on the official sector - the European Union and the IMF.” Varoufakis says any money Greece receives “will only be used in order to repay banks.” So instead of racking up new Greek debt, he says, it would make much more sense to let Greece default within the Eurozone. “And then the official sector could directly recapitalize the banks, which would make much more sense,” he explained. “But sense is not the drawing card these days – for the last two years - in the European Union.”

“The Europeans have failed to put their house in order,” Varoufakis added. “They have failed to come up with a plan to deal with the cohabiting crisis with the banking sector on the one hand, and the member states of the Eurozone. We have resorted to the IMF. This is a tragedy.” “We, Europeans, turned ourselves into the laughingstock of the WORLD,” he concluded.

Romania rages against the regime

Kemarahan yang berleluasa telah dibakar di jalan-jalan di Romania selama 6 hari berturut-turut, dengan orang yang menyertai protes besar-besaran untuk menuntut pemotongan kerajaan, cukai yang lebih tinggi dan rasuah di bahagian atas. Lebih 10,000 dijangka berkumpul di ibu negara, Bucharest, pada hari Khamis. Protes berterusan kelihatan bersedia untuk menjadi tindakan anti-kerajaan yang terbesar sejak tahun 2004, apabila Presiden Traian Basescu mengambil alih jawatan. - Penjimatan menggigit dan perasaan kerajaan tidak mendengar telah melimpah ke dalam kemarahan, walaupun keganasan.

Kira-kira 60 orang telah dilaporkan cedera dan lebih 113 ditangkap sebagai penunjuk perasaan bertempur dengan polis rusuhan, membaling batu dan bom petrol, dalam pencurahan kemarahan terhadap kerajaan. Perhimpunan ganas bermula minggu lepas atas bil kesihatan yang sangat tidak popular yang telah ditarik balik. Siang dan malam, orang ramai datang untuk menjerit mengingkari mereka. Demonstrasi telah dimulakan oleh parti-parti pembangkang Kesatuan Sosial Liberal Romania - Parti Demokratik Sosial, Parti Liberal Nasional dan Parti Konservatif.

Romania generasi muda merasa terperangkap dan mengarahkan kemarahan mereka pada presiden, Traian Basescu. Sebagai Tom RT Barton laporan dari ibu negara, Bucharest, penunjuk perasaan menuduh Basescu dipijak lebih demokrasi dan mempengerusikan elit politik yang penuh dengan rasuah.

"Kami mahu mengambil Basescu turun! Turun dengan Basescu! adalah berbeza daripada penunjuk perasaan. Pinjaman Tabung Kewangan Antarabangsa pada tahun 2009 datang dengan keadaan yang sukar. Kerajaan telah memperkenalkan potong gaji 25 % peratus untuk pekerja sektor awam, 15 % peratus pencen dipotong, luka program-program sosial dan menolak beratus-ratus ribu penjawat awam.

Langkah-langkah penjimatan telah dikritik oleh kesatuan sekerja, yang digelar mereka "genosid sosial" dan dianjurkan protes besar-besaran. Dan kini ia adalah orang yang dipaksa untuk membayar untuk kesilapan segelintir yang mengemudi negara bencana ekonomi.

"Ini telah dilakukan di perbelanjaan negeri Romania, dan kini orang-orang yang tidak bersalah mewujudkan keadaan, dan yang tidak pun keuntungan daripada itu, telah terpaksa membayar bagi orang-orang yang telah dapat keuntungan," penganalisis ekonomi Ilie Serbanescu mengadu kepada RT. Sementara itu, kerajaan shrugging luar tanggungjawab, berkata keadaan ekonomi antarabangsa yang harus dipersalahkan kerana masalah negara.

"Mari kita tidak lupa bahawa kita berada di mata ribut, ribut ekonomi Eropah. Di sekeliling kita, malangnya, adalah ribut kencang perkasa dengan kesan-kesan ekonomi yang tidak dapat dielakkan kesan kepada kita juga, "keluh Perdana Menteri negara, Emil BOC.

"Tidak cukup baik," berkata pembangkang, yang berpendapat, sudah tentu, yang mereka boleh lakukan yang lebih baik. "Tiap-tiap hari ini rasuah, kerajaan yang tidak cekap kekal berkuasa adalah hari yang hilang bagi Romania. Tanggungjawab kita adalah untuk memendekkan tempoh itu sebanyak seperti yang kita boleh dan sepantas yang kita boleh oleh pilihanraya yang adil, "rages Victor Ponta dari parti pembangkang Demokratik Sosial. Dengan ramai sekarang menerima tidak mendapat jalan mengelaknya dari segi ekonomi, politik muncul untuk menawarkan mereka satu-satunya harapan perubahan.

Untuk mengetahui lebih lanjut tentang kebimbangan Romania dan meneroka mood di jalan-jalan, menonton laporan Tom RT Barton dari modal, Bucharest.

Cc1WC’sChannel REVIEW Disaster 2012: Romanian protesters shout anti-government slogans in the center of Bucharest on January 15, 2012 during a demonstration against the government's austerity program and Romanian President Traian Basescu (Penunjuk perasaan romanian menjerit slogan anti-kerajaan di pusat Bucharest pada 15 Januari, 2012 semasa demonstrasi terhadap program penjimatan kerajaan dan Romania Presiden Traian Basescu)

Rampant anger has flared on the streets of Romania for six days in a row, with people joining massive protests to demand an end to government cuts, higher taxes and corruption at the top. Over 10,000 are expected to gather in the capital, Bucharest, on Thursday. The ongoing protests look set to become the largest anti-government action since 2004, when President Traian Basescu took office. ­

Biting austerity and a feeling the government is not listening have spilled over into anger, even violence. Some 60 people have reportedly been injured and over 113 arrested as demonstrators clashed with riot police, hurling stones and petrol bombs, in an outpouring of rage against the government.

The violent rallies began last week over a highly unpopular health bill which has since been withdrawn. Night and day, people come to scream their defiance.  The demonstration has been initiated by the opposition parties of Romania’s Social Liberal Union – the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party and the Conservative Party.

Young Romanians feel trapped, and are directing most of their anger at the president, Traian Basescu. As RT’s Tom Barton reports from the capital, Bucharest, protesters accuse Basescu of trampling over democracy and presiding over a political elite riddled with corruption.

“We want to take Basescu down! Down with Basescu! is the cry from demonstrators.  An International Monetary Fund loan in 2009 came with tough conditions. The government has introduced a 25 per cent salary cut for public sector employees, a 15 per cent pensions cut, wound down social programs and dismissed hundreds of thousands of public servants.

The austerity measures were sharply criticized by trade unions, who dubbed them ”social genocide” and organized mass protests. And now it is the people who are being forced to pay for the mistakes of the few who steered the country to economic disaster.

“This was done at the expense of the Romanian state, and now those who weren’t guilty of creating the  situation, and who hadn't even profited from it, have had to pay for those who had profited,”economic analyst Ilie Serbanescu complained to RT. Meanwhile, the government is shrugging off responsibility, saying international economic conditions are to blame for the country’s woes.

“Let's not forget that we're in the eye of a storm, of an economic European storm. All around us, unfortunately, is a mighty tempest with economic consequences that inevitably affect us too,” laments the country’s Prime Minister, Emil Boc.

“Not good enough,” say the opposition, who argue, of course, that they could do better.

“Every day this corrupt, inefficient government stays in power is a day lost for Romania. Our duty is to shorten that period as much as we can and as fast as we can by fair elections,” rages Victor Ponta from the opposition Social Democratic party.

With many now accepting there is no escape economically, politics appears to offer them the only hope of change.

To find out more about the concerns of Romanians and tap into the mood on the  streets, watch RT's Tom Barton report from the capital, Bucharest.

Protesters’ Molotov cocktails vs police tear gas in Romania

Polis Romanian melepaskan gas pemedih mata dan penunjuk perasaan yang bertindak balas dengan batu-batu dan koktel Molotov semasa protes anti-kerajaan pada hari Sabtu di Bucharest. 1 perhimpunan yang tidak dibenarkan telah diadakan terhadap pembaharuan penjagaan kesihatan yang dicadangkan.

Lebih daripada 1,000 penunjuk perasaan bersatu di Universiti Square utama Bucharest, menghalang lalu lintas, Akhbar laporan Associated. Penunjuk perasaan menjerit slogan anti-kerajaan dan dipanggil untuk pilihan raya awal. Mereka telah melambai bendera Romania dengan kerabit keluar pusat, melambangkan 1989 revolusi anti-komunis.

7 jam kemudian mereka masih enggan meninggalkan dan bertempur dengan polis rusuhan, yang kemudiannya menggunakan gas pemedih mata. Hasilnya sembilan orang telah cedera, di kalangan mereka seorang wartawan TV, yang telah cedera oleh batu yang dilemparkan oleh penunjuk perasaan, berkata pihak berkuasa tempatan. Seorang pegawai polis mengalami kecederaan di kepala selepas dia telah terkena batu.

Polis menahan 29 orang, termasuk samseng bola sepak dengan rekod polis sebelumnya bagi tindakan ganas dan mengganggu ketenteraman awam. Ini adalah hari ke-4 berturut-turut demonstrasi di Romania dan ke-2 di ibu negara terhadap potongan penjimatan dan kejatuhan taraf hidup (falling living standards).

Cc1WC'sChannel REVIEW Disaster 2012: Protesters clash with riot police on University Square in Bucharest on January 14, 2012 during a protest against the government's austerity program and Romanian President Traian Basescu (Penunjuk perasaan pertembungan dengan polis rusuhan di Universiti Square di Bucharest pada 14 Januari, 2012 semasa protes terhadap program penjimatan kerajaan dan Romania Presiden Traian Basescu)

Romanian police fired tear gas and protesters responded with stones and Molotov cocktails during an anti-government protest on Saturday in Bucharest. An unauthorized rally has been staged against proposed health care reforms.

More than 1,000 protesters rallied in Bucharest's main University Square, blocking traffic, Associated Press reports. Protesters yelled anti-government slogans and called for early elections. They have been waving a Romanian flag with a ripped out center, symbolizing the 1989 anti-communist revolution.

Seven hours later they still refused to leave and clashed with riot police, who then used tear gas. As a result nine people have been injured, among them a TV journalist, who has been injured by a stone thrown by a protester, said local authorities. One police officer sustained head injuries after he was hit by stones.

Police detained 29 people, including soccer hooligans with a previous police record for acts of violence and for disturbing public order. This was the fourth consecutive day of demonstrations in Romania and the second in the capital against austerity cuts and falling living standards.

Protestant march sparks riots in Northern Ireland (VIDEO)

Nationalist protestors clash with police as Orangemen march past the Nationalist Ardoyne shops of North Belfast, in Northern Ireland, on July 12, 2012 (Pertembungan penunjuk perasaan Nasionalis dengan polis sebagai Orangemen perarakan melepasi kedai Ardoyne Nasionalis Utara Belfast, di Ireland Utara, pada 12 Julai 2012)

Protestant march sparks riots in Northern Ireland (PHOTOS)

Polis di Belfast melepaskan tembakan meriam air pada belia Katolik, rusuhan meletus selepas perarakan Protestan. Remaja membaling batu bata dan bola snuker pada pihak berkuasa, manakala beberapa penunjuk perasaan merampas dan membakar kereta berdekatan. Penunjuk perasaan membaling koktel Molotov pada polis, yang bertindak balas dengan melepaskan tembakan peluru plastik. 9 pegawai pihak berkuasa cedera dan 2 rioters telah ditangkap semasa pertempuran. Rusuhan telah tercetus oleh perbarisan yang berlaku setiap tahun pada 12 Julai. Dihoskan oleh Orange Order Brotherhood - kumpulan Protestan pro-British - perarakan untuk memperingati kemenangan tentera ke atas kuasa Katolik abad ke-17. Walau bagaimanapun, perbarisan itu dilihat sebagai paparan keunggulan Protestan oleh nasionalis Ireland yang mahu menjadi sebahagian daripada Ireland bersatu. Polis cuba untuk mengelakkan keganasan yang tidak dapat dielakkan antara kedua-dua kumpulan agama dengan memberi peserta jadual dan laluan tertentu. Walau bagaimanapun, usaha-usaha terbukti sia-sia apabila perarakan melalui daerah bandar Katolik.

Masalahnya bermula selepas 15 ahli Perintah Orange berjalan dalam senyap melepasi deretan kedai-kedai di kawasan yang sebahagian besarnya nasionalis. Sekumpulan kecil penduduk Katolik berdiri di atas kedua-dua belah jalan yang memegang sepanduk yang berkata, "hak-hak Penduduk dipijak". Tidak lama lagi, bilangan penganut Katolik marah di jalan melambung kepada lebih daripada 1,000 orang. Dalam usaha untuk meredakan ketegangan, polis membenarkan penduduk Katolik untuk mengadakan perarakan mereka sendiri - walaupun ia akan lulus berbahaya dekat dengan orang ramai terhadap orang Protestan. Ia segera bertukar menjadi standoff antara kedua-dua kumpulan, dengan kedua-dua belah pihak berdagang penderaan lisan antara satu sama lain. Katolik dilambung botol dan batu-batu di Protestan, yang kemudiannya membalas. Bola golf dan papan kayu telah digunakan sebagai senjata sementara, dan dicampakkan ke atas kepala polis rusuhan. Pihak berkuasa kemudian tepu kawasan tersebut, menghalang kedua-dua belah pihak daripada mendapat rapat antara satu sama lain.

Nasionalis ini hanya terus menimbulkan kemarahan, yang memutuskan untuk berhadapan dengan polis. Katolik menimbulkan pegawai di jalan dan mereka memecahkan kereta BMW yang berada di situ. Isu-isu mazhab Ireland Utara unarguably kompleks, tetapi tidak semua orang percaya Katolik Ireland adalah punca masalah ini. Gerry Adams, pemimpin nasionalis Ireland parti Sinn Fein, berkata masalah itu adalah keengganan Orangemens 'untuk berunding secara terus dengan kumpulan anti-Orange dari kawasan kejiranan Katolik. "Orange (Perintah) harus mempunyai hari-hari mereka, tetapi orang-orang dalam masyarakat tuan rumah mempunyai hak untuk berbincang dengan," Adams memberitahu AP.

Pengkritik berkata perarakan tahunan nampaknya sia-sia, sejak kerajaan Ireland Utara kebanyakannya diketuai oleh Orangemen dan Sinn Fein, yang bercakap dan bekerja bersama-sama, walaupun terdapat perbezaan pendapat yang serius. Belfast telah dibelenggu oleh 3 dekad keganasan antara penyokong setia Protestan yang ingin Ireland Utara kekal sebahagian daripada United Kingdom dan Ireland nasionalis terutamanya Katolik - yang mahu menjadi sebahagian daripada Ireland bersatu. Satu perjanjian damai 1998 yang membawa kepada sebuah kerajaan perkongsian kuasa kedua-dua penyokong setia dan nasionalis. Walaupun keganasan telah reda, polis mengatakan ancaman daripada kumpulan-kumpulan yang menentang perjanjian itu kini lebih tinggi berbanding pada bila-bila masa kerana ia telah ditandatangani.

Police in Belfast fired water cannon at Catholic youths, after rioting erupted following a Protestant march. Teens threw bricks and snooker balls at officers, while several protesters hijacked and burned nearby cars. Demonstrators threw Molotov cocktails at police, who responded by firing plastic bullets. Nine officers were wounded and two rioters were arrested during the clashes.  The riot was sparked by a parade which takes place every year on July 12. Hosted by the Orange Order Brotherhood – a group of pro-British Protestants – the march is to commemorate a 17th-century military victory over Catholic forces. However, the parade is seen as a display of Protestant superiority by Irish nationalists who want to be part of a united Ireland. Police tried to avoid the inevitable violence between the two religious groups by giving participants a timetable and specified route. However, the efforts proved futile when the march passed through a Catholic district of the city.

The trouble began after 15 members of the Orange Order walked in silence past a row of shops in a largely nationalist area. A small group of Catholic residents stood on either side of the road holding banners which said, “Residents’ rights are being trampled”. Soon, the number of angry Catholics on the street swelled to more than 1,000 people.  In a bid to defuse tensions, police allowed Catholic residents to stage their own march – even though it would pass dangerously close to the crowd of Protestants. It quickly turned into a standoff between the two groups, with both sides trading verbal abuse with one another. Catholics tossed bottles and stones at Protestants, who then retaliated. Golf balls and planks of wood were used as makeshift weapons, and thrown over the heads of riot police. Officers then saturated the area, preventing the two sides from getting close to each other.

Critics say the annual march seems pointless, since Northern Ireland’s government is led mostly by Orangemen and Sinn Fein, who talk and work together, despite serious differences of opinion. Belfast has been plagued by three decades of violence between Protestant loyalists who want Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom and Irish nationalists – mainly Catholics – who want it to be part of a united Ireland. A 1998 peace agreement led to a power-sharing government of both loyalists and nationalists. Although violence has subsided, police say the threat from groups opposed to the deal is now higher than at any time since it was signed.

'Aware Yourself 2012' Signs Of the End Of the WORLD . . .

UK News ‘Belfast Catholics riot after token Orange march’

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) - Irish Catholic militants attacked riot police Thursday in a divided corner of Belfast as the most polarizing day on Northern Ireland's calendar reached a typically ugly end - and yet managed, amid the smoke and chaos, to take a few tentative steps toward compromise.

Many hours of violence in the hardline Catholic Ardoyne district marked the fourth straight year that the area has descended into anarchy following the annual passage of Protestant marchers from the Orange Order brotherhood.

Massive Orange parades across Northern Ireland each July 12 - an official holiday that commemorates the Protestant side's victory in 17th-century religious warfare - often stoke conflict with Catholics, who despise the annual marches as a Protestant show of superiority.

But in recent years, as British authorities have restricted the Protestants' march routes, a drab stretch of road that passes a row of Ardoyne shops has become the focal point for province-wide animosity. There, the decades-old battle for supremacy between the British Protestant majority and Irish Catholic minority wages a yearly test of wills, with heavily armored police stuck in the middle.

A British government-appointed Parades Commission sought to defuse the Ardoyne conflict this year by ordering the Orangemen to march along Crumlin Road by 4 p.m. local time, three hours sooner than normal. Protestant leaders grudgingly accepted the deadline rather than mount a later standoff, and all sides agreed this gesture kept a bad situation from turning even worse.

The Parades Commission and police also permitted Ardoyne residents for the first time to stage their own march on the road a few hours later in a bid to balance competing rights. Protracted violence by masked Ardoyne youths followed that second gesture.

As the rioting headed toward midnight, police said nine officers had been wounded and two rioters arrested. They said rioters had hijacked and burned three cars and were tossing occasional Molotov cocktails at police lines. Officers responded by firing a half-dozen plastic bullets, blunt-nosed cylinders designed to knock down the target without penetrating the skin.

The sectarian showdown on Crumlin Road demonstrated how, despite a two-decade peace process and five years of a joint Catholic-Protestant government, Northern Ireland at grass-roots level still faces a long, uncertain journey to achieve reconciliation.

Indeed, Protestant officials of the unity government took part in the Orange parade, while some of their Catholic counterparts stood with the Ardoyne protesters. And yet both sides' leaders said the dispute would do nothing to derail their continued cooperation the rest of the year.

Orangemen, unable to reach Ardoyne on foot by the Parades Commission's 4 p.m. deadline, considered standing their ground with police in a bid to force their march through in the evening. Their leaders insisted they had to defend their right to freedom of assembly, fearing that once banned from a particular stretch of road they would never be permitted to return.

But aware that a standoff would inevitably end in violent clashes between Protestants and police, Orange leaders decided to observe the deadline and compromise - while still maintaining a symbolic claim to the road.

They sent a token group of two dozen members by bus to march along that short stretch of road past the Ardoyne shops. Police girded in flame-retardant boiler suits, helmets, shatter-proof visors and shields flanked the tiny Orange procession as several hundred Protestants, many waving Union Jacks, cheered the scene from one side of the thoroughfare.

On the other side, masked Catholic youths were already stockpiling makeshift weapons for the night's fight ahead. Denied a decent Orange provocation, the Irish side appeared hell-bent on confronting the police regardless.

Several youths smashed their way into a parked silver BMW, pushed it toward police lines and set it on fire. A police armored car rammed the vehicle into a sidewalk, then a mobile water cannon doused the flames and turned its jets on the growing crowd of rioters.

Soon the Ardoyne crowd, fueled by militants from other hardline Catholic parts of Belfast, swelled to more than 1,000 on two narrow side streets. In a bid to defuse the tensions, police permitted the Catholic Ardoyne residents to stage their own march on Crumlin Road - even though the unruly procession passed dangerously close to an angry crowd of a few hundred Protestants. The Catholics bore a banner at the front that read "Ardoyne residents have rights too."

Both sides traded vulgar verbal abuse. Masked, hooded youths within the much larger Catholic group tossed bottles and stones at the Protestants, who retaliated in kind. Soon salvos of bricks, golf balls and even planks of wood were flying back and forth over the helmeted heads of the police, who saturated the area to ensure that the two sides could not get within punching distance of the other.

Before the confrontation, Gerry Adams, leader of the Irish nationalist Sinn Fein party, said the crux of the problem was the Orangemen's longstanding refusal to negotiate directly with anti-Orange groups from Catholic districts.

"The Orange (Order) should have their day, but the people in the host community have a right to be talked to," Adams said. Commentators agree that the Orange Order's boycott on direct contact with the enemy appears anachronistic given that Northern Ireland's government is led chiefly by Orangemen and Sinn Fein, who do talk and work together.

But the Ardoyne conflict also defies easy resolution because of the tight confines of Belfast geography. The starting point and final destination for the local Orangemen marching Thursday was their lodge, and Crumlin Road is the only direct link between it and the day's main Orange parade. That means any Orange march in the area must pass the Ardoyne shops.

Online: Orange Order, http://bit.ly/reQKqQ

Parades Commission, http://bit.ly/OzeyhC