Tuesday 30 August 2011

THE STATE AND ITS HATERD OF UNIONS.



The trial of the leader of the Fiji Trades Union Congress
 is due to start this week.
SOLIDARITY.

         Fiji's military government has dramatically stepped up its harassment of trade unionists. Recently FTUC President Daniel Urai was arrested for holding an ‘illegal’ meeting, and his trial is due to start on 2 September. Meetings of the FTUC itself have also been prevented. Fiji has been under a military dictatorship since 2006, as a result of which Fiji has been suspended from the Commonwealth and the Pacific Islands Forum. The European Union has also suspended overseas aid payments to the regime. Leaders and activists of the Fiji Trades Union Congress (FTUC) have been assaulted or detained on several occasions. In February, Felix Anthony, General Secretary of the FTUC and of the Sugar Workers’ Union affiliated to the ITF and the IUF was taken from home by three uniformed military officers and subjected to threats. His family including children were also threatened. A new government decree issued on 29 July will, 'effectively abolish all trade unions in Fiji', according to the FTUC. Fiji has ratified the two relevant core ILO Conventions - Convention 98(1974) and Convention 87 (2002) and is obliged to observe the workers' rights enshrined in them. Moreover, as a member state of the ILO, the Government of Fiji has an obligation to adhere to the Declaration of Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work adopted by the ILO in 1998.



An appeal from LabourStart.
       The trade unions of the Pacific island nation of Fiji are under attack. Please take a moment to join thousands of other trade unionists from around the world to send your message of protest:
http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/solidarityforever/show_campaign.cgi?c=1086
Please spread the word by email, on Facebook, and elsewhere.
This is extremely urgent.
Thank you!


ann arky's home.

CAPITALISM IN CRISIS.


       
        Deleveraging, structural adjustments, severely adverse developments, how these words translate for you and I is, harsher conditions, slashing social spending, rising long term unemployment, as the billionaires, hedge funds and bond markets try to get out of the shit they dropped themselves in by their rampant greed. For those interested in information that hasn't been neutered via the mainstream media, you could do no better than visit, Capitalism in Crisis. The following is just a short extract.
      
       After four years---the financial crisis and the ensuing policy responses continue to cast long shadows. Economies and financial systems are still vulnerable to even modest shocks, and the likelihood of severely adverse developments has not decreased.
        In the advanced economies at the centre of the crisis, overall deleveraging and structural adjustment is still incomplete.
  - - - "We estimated in 2009 that the world had about $30 trillion in ghost assets. Almost half went up in smoke in six months between September 2008 and March 2009. For our team. It's now the other half's turn, the 15 trillion USD of ghost assets remaining, purely and simply vanishing between July 2011 and January 2012. “The insolvency of the global financial system, and of the Western financial system in the first place, returns again to the front of the stage after just over a year of political cosmetics aimed at burying this fundamental problem under truckloads of cash.”

       Do we need a system that throws the majority of the population into deprivation, and robs them of the future and all hope, so that the billionaires can try to recover their losses from their addiction to the gambling casino?

IT'S NOT THE 30's - IT'S FAR WORSE!!!


       
             As the "financial crisis" rumbles on with the pundits looking for growth, and in some case looking with a microscope to get some encouragement, there is the tendency to spout figures about the future recovery and give percentages. This isn't science speaking, this is guesswork and it is also based on the theory that we got out of it last time, so we will get out of it this time. Not always a sure bet. Capitalism develops, it changes and morphs into a different type of exploiting beast. What happened after the 30's can not be taken as standard procedure. After all it took the second world war to drag the old capitalist beast out of the depression. I doubt if even that would work this time round. Like I said, today's big fat capitalist beast is a different animal all together.
        In an interesting article on "AWorld to Win", Fawzi Ibrahim argues that the present crisis demonstrates that global capitalism has for the first time reached the “critical zone” – the point of “capital deficiency”. Below is a short extract from his article. Well worth a read.


         In a boom, profits are high; capital accumulates, yielding even more profits which are then invested to produce more profits and so on. However, if for any reason the rate of profit falls, then profits would follow suit unless more capital is invested to counterbalance the fall in the rate of profit. The amount of additional investment necessary to compensate for a fall in the rate of profit would depend on the original or baseline investment.
         For instance, a small initial capital of £10m at an annual rate of profit of say 5% would yield a profit of £500,000. If the rate of profit fell by 1%, to 4%, the profit would drop to £400,000. To compensate for this drop and keep profit at the same level of £500,000, investment must go up to £12.5m, a rise of £2.5m, and a relatively small amount which may not be too excessive for the market to provide. However, if the baseline investment was £10bn instead of £10m, then the additional investment necessary to maintain profits for the same drop in the rate of profit would be 1,000 times greater at £2,500m. If the rate of profit fell by more than 1%, an even greater additional investment would be necessary.
         In a highly developed economies such as those of the USA and the UK in which the baseline capital investment is in trillions, even a relatively small drop in the rate of profit would necessitate additional investment in billions if profits are to be maintained. If profits are to increase, as it is the aim of all corporations, the additional investment would have been even greater.
In general, therefore, as capitalism develops and capital accumulates, the baseline investment increases and with it the additional investment necessary to counteract a fall in the rate of profit. At some time, when capital accumulation reaches the astronomical levels we have today, a tipping point is reached at which the increase in investment necessary to counterbalance a drop in the rate of profit becomes prohibitively high, greater than the amount the market can provide. This is the “critical zone”, the zone of capital deficiency.
         While the outward symptoms of the great depression of the ‘30s and the present financial/economic meltdown are very similar – bank failures, economic downturn, unemployment, hardship and near-collapse of the system – the underlying terrains are anything but; in fact they are polar opposites. The 30s’ depression was one of abundance, capital abundance; that of 2008-09 is one of deficiency, capital deficiency.

Monday 29 August 2011

NATO - THE OIL INDUSTRY'S HIT SQUAD!!!




          Now as the Libyans look at a divided country facing a humanitarian crisis we should be asking ourselves whether the NATO carrying out of UN resolution 1973 has been a success or not. The UN resolution was to stop Gaddaffi using the Libyan air force and army helicopters to attack the rebels and bomb civilian areas, in so doing prevent a humanitarian disaster. What UN resolution 1973 did not do was sanction regime change. It is also clear the the resolution did not sanction an aerial campaign against the Libyan government nor the Libyan army. The NATO force was to be a defence force for the Libyan people, it was not meant to be an attack force for the benefit of Libyan rebels. However as usual, the Western powers deliberately misinterpret UN resolutions to further their own imperial designs. No matter your opinion of the Gaddaffi regime the military campaign carried out by NATO against Libya was illegal, thus making the the leaders of the governments involved, mainly UK, France and Italy, equally guilty of war crimes as the man they wished to replace, Gaddaffi. It is not the first time that the Western imperialists have carried out regime change by means of military action, but it usually results in instability and/or civil war in the country they have targeted. The result can usually be classified as a humanitarian disaster, and from the reports coming out of Libya it would appear that this case is no exception as report after report paints a picture of a devastating humanitarian catastrophe. The only conclusion that can be drawn from the evidence on the ground is that the NATO carrying out of UN resolution 1973 has been an abysmal failure. The main beneficiaries being the Western oil companies who have already moved to get their slice of the action. It is sad to think that there are still people out there who believe that during their financial crisis, the Western powers spent all that money and effort simply for the benefit of the Libyan people.

Sunday 28 August 2011

CUT OFF YOUR NOSE TO SPITE YOUR FACE???





       In this weird and exploitive system of capitalism, some times great effort is put into something and just when those responsible think they have success, up pops another problem caused by their success. The state of Arizona has been working away diligently trying to close its border with Mexico. According to The Centre for American Progress, there has been $115 billion spent on beefing up the border controls in the last 8 years, and the Arizona Border Patrol has double in the last seven years. So now that they are beginning to pat themselves on the back with congratulations as they think they have cut the number of people getting across the border, along come some moaning minnies. It seems that the Arizona farmers are complaining as they are now in trouble because they can't get enough migrant workers to work the farms. So it looks like that the US tax payers have paid $115 billion to cripple the Arizona farmers, ah, that's capitalism for you. This could be a case for some joined-up thinking and one group speaking to the other. Of course in a free and decent society there would be no borders.

Saturday 27 August 2011

THE LIBYA THE WEST HAS DESTROYED!!!



            All those who are rooting for NATO in the Libyan attack should ask themselves, what they actually know about the Libya that NATO is destroying. What do you know of the type of society that was in place before the “rebels” backed up by the oil hungry Western fighting machine NATO started its onslaught, an onslaught that has totally destroy the infrastructure of that country? How did the people live? Who are these “rebels”? I bet you don't know, except what the Western imperialist media has told you. Don't you think that might be a biased view? How long will it be before the Libyan's can once again experience the free education, free health care, free clean drinking water for all, decent working conditions and a decent pension they had before the "rebels" set them free? As soon a any rebellion calls on the Western imperialist powers for military help, it has sold any legitimacy it may have held.


HEALTH AND WELFARE.

Social Welfare


A government advertisement appearing in an international publication in 1977 asserted that the Libyan social security legislation of 1973 ranked among the most comprehensive in the world and that it protected all citizens from many hazards associated with employment. The social security program instituted in 1957 had already provided protection superior to that available in many or most developing countries, and in the 1980s the welfare available to Libyans included much more than was provided under the social security law: work injury and sickness compensation and disability, retirement, and survivors' pensions. Workers employed by foreign firms were entitled to the same social security benefits as workers employed by Libyan citizens.
Subsidized food, inexpensive housing, free medical care and education, and profit-sharing were among the benefits that eased the lives of all citizens. The government protected the employed in their jobs and subsidized the underemployed and unemployed. In addition, there were nurseries to care for the children of working mothers, orphanages for homeless children, and homes for the aged. The welfare programs had reached even the oasis towns of the desert, where they reportedly were received with considerable satisfaction. The giving of alms to the poor remained one of the pillars of the Islamic faith, but the extent of public welfare was such that there was increasingly less place for private welfare. Nonetheless, the traditional Arab sense of family responsibility remained strong, and provision for needy relatives was still a common practice.

 Medical Care

The number of physicians and surgeons in practice increased fivefold between 1965 and 1974, and large increases were registered in the number of dentists, medical, and paramedical personnel. Further expansion and improvement followed over the next decade in response to large budgetary outlays, as the revolutionary regime continued to use its oil income to improve the health and welfare of all Libyans. The number of doctors and dentists increased from 783 in 1970 to 5,450 in 1985, producing in the case of doctors a ratio of 1 per 673 citizens. These doctors were attached to a comprehensive network of health care facilities that dispensed free medical care. The number of hospital beds increased from 7,500 in 1970 to almost 20,000 by 1985, an improvement from 3.5 beds to 5.3 beds per 1,000 citizens. During the same years, substantial increases were also registered in the number of clinics and health care centers.
A large proportion of medical and paramedical personnel were foreigners brought in under contract from other Arab countries and from Eastern Europe. The major efforts to "Libyanize" health care professionals, however, were beginning to show results in the mid1980s . Libyan sources claimed that approximately 33 percent of all doctors were nationals in 1985, as compared with only about 6 percent a decade earlier. In the field of nursing staff and technicians, the situation was considerably better--about 80 percent were Libyan. Schools of nursing had been in existence since the early 1960s, and the faculties of medicine in the universities at Tripoli and Benghazi included specialized institutes for nurses and technicians. The first medical school was not established until 1970, and there was no school of dentistry until 1974. By 1978 a total of nearly 500 students was enrolled in medical studies at schools in Benghazi and Tripoli, and the dental school in Benghazi had graduated its first class of 23 students. In addition, some students were pursuing graduate medical studies abroad, but in the immediate future Libya was expected to continue to rely heavily on expatriate medical personnel.
Among the major health hazards endemic in the country in the 1970s were typhoid and paratyphoid, infectious hepatitis, leishmaniasis, rabies, meningitis, schistosomiasis, and venereal diseases. Also reported as having high incidence were various childhood diseases, such as whooping cough, mumps, measles, and chicken pox. Cholera occurred intermittently and, although malaria was regarded as having been eliminated in the 1960s, malaria suppressants were often recommended for use in desert oasis areas.
By the early 1980s, it was claimed that most or all of these diseases were under control. A high rate of trachoma formerly left 10 percent or more of the population blinded or with critically impaired vision, but by the late 1970s the disease appeared to have been brought under control. The incidence of new cases of tuberculosis was reduced by nearly half between 1969 and 1976, and twenty-two new centers for tuberculosis care were constructed between 1970 and 1985. By the early 1980s, two rehabilitation centers for the handicapped had been built, one each in Benghazi and Tripoli. These offered both medical and job-training services and complemented the range of health care services available in the country.
The streets of Tripoli and Benghazi were kept scrupulously clean, and drinking water in these cities was of good quality. The government had made significant efforts to provide safe water. In summing up accomplishments since 1970, officials listed almost 1,500 wells drilled and more than 900 reservoirs in service in 1985, in addition to 9,000 kilometers of potable water networks and 44 desalination plants. Sewage disposal had also received considerable attention, twenty-eight treatment plants having been built.

LIBYAN RESITANCE TO NATO ONSLAUGHT.



           In every war there are two sides, and in the Libyan conflict it is no different. Unfortunately we in the West get a picture of us, the great white peace and democracy bringers against the evil empires of the world. Though it does seem a bit of a coincidence that all the evil regimes we try to save the people from, happen to be sitting on oil, and they happen to be regimes that don't always co-operate with the great Western corporate world. The article below is from The International Action Centre, and because it differs from the Western imperialist backing media, it will clash with the view you have been fed since this illegal bombing began.


LIBYA - Resistance to US/NATO Conquest Continues
          Under the most incredibly difficult conditions – including NATO bombing, mercenary landings, Special Forces operations and the destruction of civilian infrastructure – the heroic resistance to imperialist conquest in Libya has continued.
         All the corporate media lies claiming mass surrender, the fleeing of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, the arrest of his sons and more have turned out to be nothing but lies and psychological warfare. After 159 days of bombing, incredibly, the residence continues.
        The continued resistance also exposes the lie of the so-called democratic “rebel” forces – forces that have been set up by Britain, France and the U.S. to facilitate the imperialist invasion of the oil-rich country. Meanwhile, arms have been distributed by the Libyan government to the whole population – something a hated dictator would never do.
       As in Iraq and Afghanistan, an arrogant declaration of U.S. victory and “mission accomplished” does not mean an end to local people's resistance, which takes many forms. The Libyan people have heroically withstood not only half a year of bombing, but also a hail of racist corporate media propaganda seeking to portray the U.S.-NATO military machine, both preposterously and once again, as great white liberators.


         While resistance continues in Libya, we in the center of U.S. imperialism must continue our resistance to the criminal war there – even as the prolonged economic war against poor and oppressed people continues within the U.S.
       An IAC-organized truth tour featuring former Congressperson Cynthia McKinney – who traveled to Libya to be an eyewitness to the U.S.-NATO attack – has built major opposition meetings in 21 cities across the country. At each meeting, which was undertaken by a local coalition of forces, hundreds of anti-war and anti-imperialist and community activists attended.
       These meetings against U.S. war in Libya have been the largest series of anti-war meetings held in years. At the same time, the IAC has been in the streets, organizing protests across the country.
         The U.S. war in Libya is a first aggressive step in the expansion of wars of colonial conquest in Africa. It means new U.S. threats against Sudan and Somalia. It means more belligerent targeting of other countries in Middle East, especially Syria and Iran.

Help us continue resistance to U.S./NATO war on Libya.

Contact us at www.iacenter.org/comments 212-633-6646 www.iacenter.org

Donate to help us continue resistance to U.S./NATO War on Libya and support the expenses of the Cynthia McKinney Truth Tour at www.iacenter.org/africa/donatemckinneylibyatour/

See full LIBYA TRUTH TOUR with Cynthia McKinney schedule at www.iacenter.org/africa/mckinneylibya080511/

ann arky's home.

Friday 26 August 2011

WOULD YOU ACCEPT A 20% PAY CUT?


        As Cameron and his millionaire cabal go on about creating "THE BIG SOCIETY" it is becoming abundantly clear what exactly that means. More volunteers doing the work that was paid work before and those who are still being paid will have to accept what is no more than expenses in place of wages. Wages will be continually pushed down and more and more work offered up to charity. It is what I call raw capitalism, capitalism with the gloves off. Below is just one example of what is going on across the country, but sadly it all seems to be taking place in isolated pockets with workers having to fight thousands of small battles across the country. Let's all realise, this is one big battle, this an attack on the living standards of the ordinary people of this country, so it should be one massive show of solidarity against this siphoning of all the wealth up to those over privileged parasites at the top.

SOLIDARITY.

NEWS From UNISON
Date:26 August 2011
Quarriers staff vote yes to strike action to oppose 20% pay cuts.
The men and women who care for some of Scotland’s most vulnerable adults anddistressed children have voted massively for strike action. UNISON members at Quarriers are determined to resist brutal pay cuts on staff which will see over 560 staff take a pay cut of 10% while others will lose as much as 23%. The postal ballot for strike action returned a 76% yes vote for strike action and aan even higher 85% result for action short of a strike. When the ballot result was announced UNISON repeated their ofer totake the ongoing dispute to Acas for arbitration, but Quarriers management have spurned the offer. In addition to pay cuts, which will see some members lose £400 a month. There are also proposed cuts to sick pay, increased pension contributions and other protections removed. 

Stephen Brown, UNISON Quarriers branch Secretary said today, “The attacks Quarriers are making on our members are unprecedented. No one can cope with a 23% pay cut and for Quarriers to suggest that they will set up a Hardship Fund for their own staff funded out of their own pay cuts shows how much the organisation has lost touch with its values. William Quarrier set up Quarriers in the 1870s to help underprivileged children not to use wage cuts to drive staff into poverty”.
SOLIDARITY.

Speaking today Simon Macfarlane UNISON Regional Organiser said “ Our members want to be doing their jobs caring for people- not arguing with Quarriers management. But the proposed pay cuts will force people out of the job and impact on the work that they do with the people they care for.“ A 3 to 1 vote for strike action must surely send a message to Quarriers that their proposals are unacceptable. We call on Quarriers to get back round the table and to remove their threat to dismiss and reengage all their staff – let’s take this to ACAS and see if it can be resolved In recent weeks Quarriers have seemed to be more intent on attacking UNISON instead of negotiating. We call on these attacks to stop and for Quarriers to get down to the real work of trying to find a way forward.

FREE HEALTHY EATING!!!



         One of the most cynical aspects of our society is the fact that we throw away tons of good food, and across the world millions are dying from starvation. All it would take is a bit of re-organisation, but in this world it is profit first based on calculationg in the waste. Unethical, immoral, inhumane, but part and parcel of corporate capialism. We can help cut the waste, this short documentary from Camcorderguerillas tells you how.



ann arky's home.

Thursday 25 August 2011

RADICAL WOMEN.

     

       This is a call from Radical Women to mark the 91st. anniversary of women getting the vote in the USA, 1920, approximately 8 years after their sisters in the UK. The problems the people face in America today are not unique to America, they are the same problems that the ordinary people the world over face. Where capitalism exists, the ordinary people are being exploited. As capitalism hits one of its recurring crisis the gloves come off and it is raw capitalism with all the brutality needed for it to survive. It can't survive without gross exploitation of the people. Like the article says, there is still much to fight for, the battle is not over yet, but with a mammoth effort of solidarity it could be.

        Happy Women's Rights Day! This August 26 celebrates women winning the vote in the U.S. 91 years ago. Today Radical Women honours the suffrage movement and its militant, multiracial fighters. These women--Sojourner Truth, Clara Lemlich, Francis Ellen Watkins Harper, Sarah Grimke, and so many more--rebelled against enforced second-class status to organize courageously for equal rights. We will be forever grateful for their work.



      Gaining access to the ballot did not eliminate oppression, however. The battle for justice continues. Many hard-earned gains of the feminist movement are being targeted in today's atmosphere of increasing bigotry and scape-goating.

        In response to the economic quagmire in the U.S., the right wing has launched a full-scale attack against women, queers, immigrants, people of colour, labour unions, and the working class as a whole. They label immigrant mothers an "invasion by birth canal," oppose gay marriage, and try to destroy ethnic studies. Politicians on both sides of the aisle advocate cutting funding for abortion and reproductive health services while eliminating the right of public workers, who are predominantly female and people of colour, to bargain collectively.


         It is no surprise that the Tea Party and Republicans have ridden this wave, but Democrats, who captured many women's support with campaign promises of relief, have blatantly exposed themselves as complicit promoters of these slash-and-burn politics. Congress' bipartisan debt-reduction super committee, for instance, is simply a cover to cut Medicare,
Medicaid, Social Security, education funding and a host of human services. Both capitalist parties are quick to abandon the facade of representing working class interests to cater to the wealthy and large corporations.

      The poor, women and people of colour are disproportionately among the hardest hit when services are reduced. Women, of course, bear the greatest burden for the welfare of their families and are forced to shoulder more tasks at home to compensate for service cutbacks.

        During these difficult times, organized fight-backs--with women at the forefront--are breaking out. Taking a cue from the rebellions in the Middle East, teachers in Wisconsin sparked a series of protests against Gov. Scott Walker's anti-union onslaught. Support from across the world poured in as intrepid unionists shut-down business as usual in Madison. Demonstrations and sit-ins at state capitals across the nation have demanded an end to union-busting, corporate give aways and balancing the budget on the backs
of poor people.


     Radical Women (RW) is deeply immersed in building this fight. In California, RW initiated Sisters United Front for Survival that calls for steeply taxing the rich and big businesses and shutting down wars to pay for vital services. Similarly, Sisters Organize for Survival, a grassroots project of Seattle Radical Women, led a "Flip the Funding" fight in Washington State. SOS issued an alternative budget based on the state meeting its obligation to help people survive, not boost corporate profits.

      Nationally, RW supported the Save Our Schools conference and march in Washington D.C. in July, where thousands of teachers, parents and community activists gathered to demand full funding and support for public education. RW garnered endorsements from over a dozen unions in four states and sent a contingent to D.C.

      Radical Women's strategy is to encourage united labor and community mobilizations to fight budget cuts and defend workers' rights. RW members have gone door-to-door, spoken at union meetings, made presentations to community groups, initiated demonstrations, hosted forums, mobilized people to testify before city, county and state
committees, launched petition campaigns, and more.
SOLIDARITY.


     Since Republicans and Democrats are part of the problem, the only way to exercise our democratic rights is to build an organized, militant, and feminist working-class movement that goes beyond voting for capitalist politicians. We need labour unions to step up to leadership and shake things up across the country, from taking capital buildings to calling general strikes. And how about building a feminist labour party that genuinely represents all workers' interests?

      We workers, union and non-union, female and male, create the wealth, and we should control it, too! There is no reason for us to tolerate the existence of a class of exploiters who use our labour just to enrich themselves at our expense. As long as capitalism is king, women, queers, people of colour, immigrants, and the entire working class, will get an ever shortening end of the stick.


     Radical Women has been engaged in the grassroots, feminist fight for an egalitarian socialist society since 1967. Join the struggle! You can learn more about RW's theory and program by reading The Radical Women Manifesto. Check out www.radicalwomen.org to learn what the chapter in your city is doing, and get involved. If we don't have a chapter in your area, contact RadicalWomenUS@gmail.com about building one. You can also
help us continue our work by
donating here. A solution to these rocky times is within reach! We will save our future through a united labour and community struggle for a just, worker-controlled economic structure, and the time is now.

In solidarity,


Cee Fisher
Radical Women

UK ARMED POLICE??



            I am alarmed at the number of people who, recently, have died when confronted by the police. The shooting of Mr Duggan by an armed police unit that sparked the recent disturbances across England, has been followed by another spate of deaths. In the short period since the shooting two men have died after being hit by police tasers and another died after being pepper sprayed. We are supposed to pride ourselves in the fact that we have an unarmed police force on our streets, but with this evidence, it doesn't look that way. I'm sure that this recent spate of killings will do nothing to raise people's confidence in the police. As far as I am concerned these recent events indicate that we have an armed police force in this country, tasers are known to be lethal in a number of circumstances.


AN EMPTY COMPOUND???

           

             Just a thought, I don't know about you but the information being reported from Tripoli doesn't seem to add up. It was being reported that there were fierce gun battles raging to take the "Compound" with strong resistance coming from those defending it, then there is the beakthrough. The "rebels" enter the "Compound" and we  don't see any Gaddaffi fighters surrender or wounded or dead, where did they go? All we see is the "rebels" looting an empty place and firing their guns in the air. Was there nobody in the "Compound" defending it? Did they all just march out through the doors before the "rebels" arrived? Where did they go with all their weapons, their wound and their dead, did they leave in a convoy through the occupied streets? As usual, in the fog of war, we never get told the truth, we get the usual media spin.

Wednesday 24 August 2011

DEADLY CARGO.



         Through the night, through our narrow country lanes a deadly nuclear cargo rolls from one end of the country to the other. Did you consent to have this illegal convoy of nuclear weapons of mass destruction pass by your home, your kids school, your local retail park? Are you told when it is going to pass, or are you, like most of the public, completely unaware of this government illegality? Perhaps one night you will go to sleep and that will be that, a little accident on the road and oblivian for an entire city. There are records of many small accidents with these convoys, but up until now we have been lucky, no nuclear explosion, but how far would you push your luck when dealing with the lives of thousands of people?
 Sleep well my love.




DEADLY CARGO from Camcorder Guerillas on Vimeo.
19 mins - Scotland / UK 2008


There's been some collateral damage!!


          Fully assembled nuclear convoys are regularly transported in secret convoys on ordinary roads, day and night right across Britain. The authorities are asking us to keep an eye out for suspicious looking bags at train stations. Nukewatch is asking us to keep an eye out for suspicious looking trucks carrying weapons of mass destruction on our motorways.
        Find out the chilling truth about these lethal convoys, how they are tracked by the people in the Nukewatch network.

Sound track by Zoviet France (en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Zoviet_France)

DVD Available with Spanish, Dutch, German, Finnish, Swedish and English subtitiles

nukewatch.org.uk

ann arky's home.


EVERYBODY DESERVES A COUNTRY??


Dear friends,

             In 48 hours, the UN Security Council will meet again to discuss Palestine's bid to become the 194th country.
Already 700,000 of us have joined the campaign. But we need more of us to shift key countries to vote in favour.
          Avaaz has made a powerful short video that tells the real story and why this is the best chance for peace.As violence sparks again and tensions rise in the Middle East, a new proposal for Palestinian independence is gaining steam across the globe -- if we can push it through the UN, it could open a new path to peace.
           But key governments are still on the fence and to tip them to support independence we need to ramp up public pressure. Many people don't feel they understand the situation well enough to take action. To help, Avaaz has made a new short video that tells the real story about the conflict. If enough people see it, sign the petition and forward it to everyone -- our leaders will be forced to listen.
          Almost 10 million of us are receiving this email. Let's change the conversation about the Middle East and build a tidal wave of support for Palestinian independence before the UN Security Council meets to discuss this initiative next week. Click below to watch the video, sign the petition, and forward this email to everyone:


http://www.avaaz.org/en/middle_east_peace_now/?vl

           While the majority of Palestinian and Israeli people want a solution to the conflict based on two states, the Israeli extremist government continues to approve the building of settlements in contested areas -- fueling hate and bloodshed. Despite repeated efforts, decades of US-led peace talks have failed to rein-in the peace killers and get an agreement. Right now, this independence proposal could be the best chance for years to break the stalemate, avoid another spiral into violence and level the playing field between the two parties to favour negotiations.
           Last month, the Palestinians presented their bid at the Security Council. Over 120 countries support them, but the US rejects the proposal, and is sending a clear message to its European allies that supporting the legitimate Palestinian bid will strain bilateral relations. It is now up to us to tell key European leaders that public opinion is behind this diplomatic non-violent push and that citizen opinion should influence policy choices, instead of the preferences of the American government.
Our campaign is exploding across the world -- Almost 700,000 of us joined the call in the first days! It has been on the front page of major news media, cited at the UN Security Council, and tweeted by the Palestinian president himself! Now let's make sure it resounds in the ears of key European leaders whose support is critical. Click below to watch the video, sign the petition if you haven't yet, and forward this email to everyone -- let's reach 1 million signers:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/middle_east_peace_now/?vl

         There is much misinformation about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and many of us feel unsure about getting involved. But this short film lays it out clearly and can empower us to act. As a nearly 10 million-strong global network in every country in the world, we have the chance to provoke a vote that could turn the tide on decades of violence.
With hope,
Alice, Pascal, Emma, Ricken, David, Rewan, and the Avaaz team


MORE INFORMATION:
Israeli settlement plan earns ire of U.S., Palestinian Authority (CNN)
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/08/16/israel.settlements/

Palestinians to present statehood bid to UN General Assembly (Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/14/palestinian-statehood-un-general-assembly

Israeli minister: Cut ties with Palestinians (Associated Press)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ibKJgqvlCr_xCGw5Xb0kXhOiagjQ?docId=0b01e969e8504d42823abd51c2abf8fc

UN calls on Israel not to build new settlements in East Jerusalem (Ha'aretz)
http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/un-calls-on-israel-not-to-build-new-settlements-in-east-jerusalem-1.378218

Tuesday 23 August 2011

ONLY BAD GUYS GET KILLED.


       The following information is taken from Wikipedie  where you will find links to all the detail given. The Western press never seem to notice casualities caused by there actions or those of their "rebel" group. According to our fair media, it is only Gaddafi that does the killing, we are always surgical and painless in our war efforts, and the people we support are good guys and would never do anything to harm anybody. It is the usual "fog-of-war" lies that the media peddle to keep you supporting the brutal wars, it is only bad guys that get killed. This will continue until we get rid of the state, its war machines and the partner in its festering marriage, corporate capitalism.

Deaths caused by anti-Gaddaffi forces.


        Among the security forces there had been more than 1,700 dead, including civilians in support of the government, alleged mercenaries and government soldiers. There have been many reports that members of the security forces have been killed by both the government and the opposition. Obviously as the fighting intensifies, so the death toll will riseon both sides, that's how we protect civilians.
        On February 18, two policemen were hanged by protesters in Benghazi. Also, on the same day, 50 alleged African mercenaries, mostly from Chad, were executed by the protesters in al-Baida. Some of them were killed when protestors burned down the police station in which they locked them up and at least 15 were lynched in front of the courthouse in al-Baida. The bodies of some of them were put on display and caught on video. By February 23, the government confirmed that 111 soldiers had been killed.On February 23, a group of 22 government soldiers attempted to make a breakout from an air base near Derna, which had been under siege for days by rebel fighters. Within hours, all of them were captured and eventually 12 of them were shot execution style while a 13th was hanged by the opposition forces. Between February 15 and May 22, 37 former government loyalists were killed in Benghazi in revenge killings by some opposition groups.

     Toward the end of the Battleof Misrata (February 18, 2011 – May 15, 2011), at least 27 sub-Saharan Africans from Mali, Niger or Chad, who were accused of being mercenaries, were executed by rebel forces.

Deaths caused by Coalition Forces. 
There's been some collateral damage?

        The Libyan official sources claimed that at least between 64 and 90 people were killed during the bombardments on the first two days of the U.N. intervention and another 150 had been wounded. The Vatican news agency confirmed that in Tripoli alone, at least 40 civilians died as a result of the bombing campaign. According to the Libyan Health office, the airstrikes killed 1,108 civilians and wounded 4,500 by July 13.
  • On April 1, NATO airstrikes killed 14 rebel fighters and wounded seven more on the frontline at Brega.
  • On April 7, news reports surfaced that NATO bombers killed 10–13 rebels and wounded 14–22 near the eastern oil town of Brega.
  • On April 27, at least one NATO warplane attacked the Libyan rebel forces position near the besieged city of Misrata, killing 12 fighters and wounding five others.
  • On May 13, 11 religious imams were killed and 50 others injured when a NATO airstrike struck a large gathering in Brega praying for peace in conflict-ridden Libya.
  • On June 19, at least nine civilians were killed in a NATO airstrike on Tripoli. Reporters saw bodies being pulled out of a destroyed building. NATO acknowledged being responsible for the civilians deaths.
  • On June 20, 15 civilians including three children were killed by another NATO airstrike on Sorman.
  • On June 28, eight civilians were killed by a NATO airstrike on the town of Tawragha, 300 kilometres (190 miles) east of Tripoli.
  • On July 25, 11 civilians were killed by a NATO airstrike on a medical clinic in Zlitan.
  • On July 30, 3 journalists were killed and 15 wounded in Nato attacks against the Libyan state TV Al-Jamahiriya, which continued to broadcast after the attacks.
  • On August 9, the Libyan government claimed that 85 civilians were killed in NATO airstrikes on Majer, a village near Zlitan. A NATO spokesman confirmed that they bombed Zliten at 11:45 p.m. on August 8, 2011 and 2:34 a.m. on August 9, 2011 but said that he was unable to confirm the casualties. The Libyan government declared three days of national mourning. Reporters were later taken to a hospital where they saw at least 30 dead bodies including the bodies of at least two young children. The Libyan government claimed that the bodies of others killed in the airstrikes were taken to other hospitals. Commander of the NATO military mission in Libya, Lieutenant General Charles Bouchard said "I cannot believe that 85 civilians were present when we struck in the wee hours of the morning, and given our intelligence. But I cannot assure you that there were none at all".