After a rare visit to Cineworld this evening I was intrigued to find a professional-looking man handing out yellow paper leaflets just outside the entrance. I asked for a leaflet and was pleased to read about an upcoming demonstration in the Royal Square. The details on the leaflet were as follows:
Are you fed up with our government?
Then get off your arse and do something!
LUNCHTIME DEMONSTRATION
Date: Tuesday 6th May 2008
Time: 12:30 -1:30pm
Venue: Royal Square
Come join us and have your voice heard
As you can imagine I was very excited by this, and so I thought "yes, I will get off my arse and do something!" I only hope all my readers will think the same.
Please come and join me and many others. The protest is timed to coincide with the standard working lunch hour so there really is no excuse if you are near town! Also, please remember to register your name to be eligable to vote in the coming elections; if I hear "one man/woman cannot make a difference" one more time I think I will go mad!
I look forward to seeing you all there,
- Benjamin Langlois
Official Time4Change/Reform Press Release
Time4change/Reform have organised a demonstration to 'welcome' the arrival of GST to Jersey, this coming Tuesday, and are asking islanders to attend to show the States of Jersey how they feel about this tax. They are also calling on the Chief Architect of GST, Terry Le Sueur, and his 29 supporters in the States to attend and listen to what the people have to say.
Lieve Hodgetts, a spokeswoman for the group said, "We live in a democracy, albeit an imperfect one, so it is important that the 30 members of the 'GST Party' are reminded that they have brought in this pernicious tax against the will of the vast majority of people.
The rally will start with the names of the 30 members of the 'GST party' being read out loud, and flyers will be handed out of all the guilty politicians. There will be a proposal for the zero rating fof GST and failing that for exemptions to be put on foodstuffs, childrens' clothes and school books. We also hope to put an end to the myth that there are no viable alternatives to GST, and will be proposing a whole series of viable, fairer alternatives."
The rally which will take place from 12:30 - 1:30pm on Tuesday 6th May in the Royal Square, is expected to attract many workers in St Helier over the lunchtime period.
Message to the organisers: If you would like to contact me to follow-up what we very briefly discussed earlier this evening (Sunday 04 May 2008), you can reach me at online@benjaminlanglois.co.uk. Thanks.
4 comments:
5 May 2008 08:21
I will be "getting off my arse" not only for the demonstration in the royal square but putting my x in the box come election time.
It is all very well turning up at rally's but unless you show your discontent at the ballot box, turning up at rally's means very little.
I have added your site as a link on mine, would appreciate it if you could do the same.
Cheers
5 May 2008 19:32
I could not agree with you more; if you do not make the small effort to vote at the ballot box than you cannot complain about which people are in power.
I have included your site in my 'Jersey blogs' list. Thank you.
- Benjamin Langlois
7 May 2008 14:46
'if I hear "one man/woman cannot make a difference" one more time I think I will go mad!'
If people who thought in that manner applied the same methodology to their personal finances, they'd be all the poorer for it. "Why waste time saving pennies...it ain't gonna make a difference".
I firmly believe voting should be made compulsory in Jersey. Political apathy has reigned for far too long - to the benefit of those in power with self-serving agendas.
Compulsory voting is not as radical a solution as it may sound. It's the norm in many countries, including Austrailia, Switzerland and Belgium....even France have it for their Senatorial elections.
9 May 2008 09:31
Long Live the memory of Norman Le Brocq and the Jersey Resistance Movement
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