Labour Friends of Italy, the Labour Movement for Europe (London and South East branch) and Islington South & Finsbury CLP organise an ACTION DAY IN CLERKENWELL
on Saturday 20th of March
We will meet at the Muratori Cafe (162 Farringdon) at 10.30am for a couple of hours of campaigning in support of Emily Thornberry MP and the Labour local candidates for the Council election, in one of the “most Italian” area of London.
We will have lunch together at “La Porchetta” in Roseberry Avenure and we can have another couple of hours of campaignign before some well deserved drinks. Help us in getting out the Italian and European vote and in supporting Labour’s efforts to build a fairer, more prosperous society.
In order to better organize the refreshments, please confirm your attendance to info@labour-italy.org.uk
There is one aspect of the Greek debt crisis, which has not been widely discussed sofar. Much nonsense has been written about how the Euro was to blame for the Greek crisis. (find an excellent rebuttal of these arguments by Stefan Collignon in the Social Europe Journal http://www.social-europe.eu/2010/03/what-conservatives-do-not-understand-about-the-euro/)
Is it because the European and American arms industries do not want to loose a good customer, that most commentators fail to mention that Greece spends excessive amounts on its military?
Could better European defence co-operation (economies of scale in division of labour and joint procurement) and an active peace policy in the region (solving the Cyprus standstill and unblocking Turkey’s accession negotiations) enable Greece to agressively cut down on its military shopping-binge? Just a thought.
Look no further than wikipedia for some base figures on this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_Greece:
“… Greece directs approximately 4.3% of its GDP to military expenditures, the 2nd highest percentage in Europe (behind the Republic of Macedonia).[4] In absolute numbers the Greek military budget ranked 28th in the world in 2005. By the same measure, Greek military budget ranked 6th in the Mediterranean basin (behind France, Italy, Turkey, Israel and Spain) and 2nd (behind Turkey) in its immediate vicinity, the Balkans.[5] It must be noted that Greek arms purchasing is among the highest in the world: Greece ranked 3rd in the world in 2004.? …”
LME’s very own Lazzaro Pietragnoli has been instrumental in founding Labour Friends of Italy. Their first event jointly organised with Islington South & Finsbury CLP organise and LME-LSE will happen later this month. Please come along.
ACTION DAY IN CLERKENWELL on Saturday 20th of March – 10:00 to 12:30
Join us for a morning of campaigning in support of Emily Thornberry MP and the Labour local candidates for the Council election, in one of the “most Italian” areas of London.
Help us get out the Italian and European vote for the local elections and help us prevent the euro-sceptic Tories from winning the General Election.
Give us a couple of your spare hours and stay with us afterwards for a glass of wine and some real Italian appetisers.
For further details and to confirm your attendance, please e-mail
info@labour-italy.org.uk
