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	Europe for the People, Not the Markets by Elena Arrontes Global Voices Online   From March 11 to 17 European citizens organized a week of protests against the austerity measures imposed on the countries of the European Union as a strategy for ending the economic crisis. Known as the European Counter Summit, it is the response to the European Summit in which European leaders gathered, and an occasion to make the voices heard of those citizens who defend a “Europe for the people and not for the markets“. They also reject the negative effects of the policies of cuts and they demand a series of changes in the European Union. People from different countries have protested in the streets and commented on the events through Twitter under the tag #EuropeanSpring.   In Brussels, the protesters have chosen to bring their discontent to the European Council, while in Spain the Counter Summit week entailed a program with different acts that culminated with a protest in the center of Madrid on Saturday, March 16. The manifesto of the Counter Summit published on the blog Desmontando Mentiras (Dismantling Lies) begins by declaring the following:   We defend a Europe where the rights of the people are held above the interests of the markets. We support a new model chosen by the citizens through direct democracy, which puts men and women at the center of policy. A system that exchanges competition for cooperation, individualism for mutual support, oppression and patriarchy for equality, and that is based on the sovereignty of the people. A Europe of the people that is opposed to the mechanisms of selfishness and economic cannibalism.   We fight for liberty against the tyranny of false democracies and an economic system that only serves to perpetuate inequalities and injustices. The European Union is not a social project, its ultimate goal is to increase the competitiveness of the large banks and companies in world markets, and with it their profits. It is the maximization of capitalist benefit above any social or ecological right. That is why in Brussels there are 15,000 lobbyists, and people from the banks can be found in important positions in national governments and in the leadership of organizations like the IMF or the ECB. That is why presidents and ministers end up on the boards of these companies and banks.   Dozens of platforms, assemblies and organizations united in the group RE-ACCIONA CIUDADANA (Citizen Reaction) are behind the preparation of this European Spring.   Almost at the same time that the people were demanding a different model, the news about the imposition of a withdrawal [a tax] on bank deposits and the following freeze on assets in Cyprus came by surprise. The negotiations for the rescue of Cyprus were concluded late in the night with a plan for restructuring the biggest bank in the country, closing the second banking entity and imposing withdrawals on stockholders, creditors and accounts with more than 100,000 euros.   Facing the harsh rescue conditions, and still seeming that those with small savings would also pay with a withdrawal from their deposits, solidarity with the Cypriot people was quick to come and there were a lot of signals of support and indignation toward the European decision, on Twitter under the hashtag #SomosChipre (WeAreCyprus).   It is hard to believe that European leaders will pay attention to the indignation of the people and their demands made in the Counter Summit. Will the European elections in 2014 be the opportunity to move forward with the changes that the Europeans are asking for, so that they are taken into account, and to alleviate the political crisis on top of the economic one that is taking place in the European Union?   Even if the changes in the ballot boxes turn around the austerity measures, citizens should still put pressure on the activity of entities not subject to democratic elections such as the European Central Bank or the International Monetary Fund.   http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/03/29/voices-in-europe-claim-europe-for-the-people-not-the-markets/ Visit the related web page
	Broadcast group condemns China over radio jamming by Association for International Broadcasting   March 2013   The Association for International Broadcasting (AIB) says English-language broadcasts from Radio Australia, the BBC World Service and the Voice of America are being jammed.   Chief Executive Simon Spanswick has told Radio Australia’s Connect Asia program research has indicated the jamming signals appear to be coming from within China.   "It appears to be quite wide," he said. "We"ve been talking to some monitors who keep ears on the shortwave bands around Asia and they say that it"s certainly audible well outside China.   "So, one imagines, even with the geographic scale of China itself, that this is right across the region."   The AIB says broadcasts in Mandarin from broadcasters including the BBC, Radio Free Asia and Voice of America have been interfered with for many years.   Mr Spanswick says while the methodology appears to be the same, this is the first time English-language services have been targeted.   "Essentially what you do if you"re trying to stop people listening to a program on shortwave is you transmit another audio feed on the same frequency.   "What the Chinese have done for a long time is actually broadcast Chinese folk music...what"s happening in this case is that they"re transmitting a different sort of noise.   "The aim is to simply make it so uncomfortable to listen to that people switch off and don"t bother trying to listen to the program that they wanted to get."   The AIB has lodged protests over the jamming with the Chinese embassies in Washington, London and Canberra.   Mr Spanswick says it"s particularly concerning at a time when China is expanding its own international radio and television services.   "They"re going global...and nobody is trying to stop them from making available information about what the Chinese Government wants the rest of the world to hear," he said.   "So there"s go to be a level playing field...there"s a universal right to fair and free information and freedom of speech. "Jamming is simply so contrary to that sort of notion that it simply can"t be allowed to continue."
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