Stop that train!
In May,2011 the construction site in Susa was occupied and fortified. On June 26 a massive police army finally evicted the site, after determined resistance by the whole population. The next week 50,000 gathered for another pitched battle and since then it is the police who are under siege. The resistance is stronger than ever, and work had yet to begin.
Latest News is that Italy is totally trapped by Impossible Debts, it’s less and less likely that this TAV line will proceed, indeed the Italians may yet get credit for toppling the teetering capitalist system!
NO TAV (No to the High Speed Train) is a movement based in the Susa Valley in Piedmont that opposes the creation of the new high speed railway line between Turin and Lyon in France.
The simple principle behind the movement is that a new high speed railway line in the Valley is completely useless and not needed, its only purpose being the profit of the many private companies that have shares in it.
The NO TAV think that the current railway line between Piedmont and France is more than sufficient, considering that traffic in the area has never been incredibly high. More importantly, the construction of the line would utterly and irreversibly destroy a huge part of the Susa Valley, causing not only an environmental but also an economic and social disaster, with businesses closing down and villages being completely disfigured or disappearing.
High speed railway lines in Italy are considered to be of “strategic interest”, which translated from political bullshit language means that the law allows this type of works WITHOUT consulting the local population and institutions whatsoever. At a time of economic collapse such as Italy is going through, the works require billions of Italian taxpayers’ money, at the expense of primary services like education and health. It would mainly be construction and other private companies profiting from it, but when finished and in use, the low demand 
for the line would end up making it a loss-making burden on the taxpayers. Like in Rossport, Ireland, the locals’ concerns and proposals are being completely ignored in the name of the only Modern God: money.
The NO TAV came up with their own plan for the area which would include:
– changing the production and distribution processes to decrease transport of people and goods, especially on long distances
– supporting local sustainable trades instead of big industries
– creating or improving local means of sustainable and green transport for workers and students
– supporting and incrementing the use of the already existing local railway line
READ MUCH MORE HERE; IN ENGLISH http://italycalling.wordpress.com/2011/07/03/brief-history-of-the-no-tav-movement/
Allegations of police violence towards protesters triggered further protests in Bolivian cities
The Free 