For Their Sakes, We Must Do Something.

Figures for 2014.

      The never ending downward spiral of poverty continues at an ever increasing rate, and still our political ballerinas spout their crap about a strong economy. Figures from the Office of National Statistics, (ONS) show the extent to which we in this country are sliding down the toilet, though I have no doubt, under the insane capitalist system, the picture is repeated in countries across the globe. According to the ONS figures, in 2015, 7.3% of the UK population, approximately 4.6 million people were living in persistent poverty, (Persistent poverty described as living in relative poverty in the current year and at least two of the three preceding years) this is an increase of 18% on the previous year 2014. In human terms, this means an extra 700,000 individuals joining the ranks of the misery and anxiety of persistent poverty, in the 6th. richest country in the world.

       With this insane capitalist system, of those in poverty some groups are hit harder than others, women are showing a more rapid increase in persistent poverty than men. Women in persistent poverty, 2015, registered 8.2%, as compared to men which was 6.3%, the biggest gender gap since this data was first gather in 2008. Everywhere we look, we see inequality, and policies that divide. 

       We the ordinary people continue to generate wealth on a massive scale, keeping the UK ahead in the league of wealthy nations, but we never see any of that wealth. By sleight of hand, and a loaded system, the largest slice, by far, of that wealth ends up in the hands of a small powerful cabal of parasites. While we the real wealth creators, continue our grinding path down the dark corridors of poverty and deprivation.

         Does anybody honestly believe that this system of capitalism will ever remedy this mass poverty in the midst of opulence? History tells us, the system has failed miserably to come even close to eradicating poverty and deprivation, but has produced an over abundance of wealth for the small band of parasites who control the system. How much longer will we condemn our children and grandchildren to a life of wrestling with poverty in the midst of abundance? For their sakes and for justice and equality, we must destroy capitalism, the system that creates mass poverty, deprivation and wars. 

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk
 

The Savageness Of Full Spectrum Dominance

       Only an idiot would believe that the brutal bloody disaster that is the Middle East is not a direct result of American lead Western foreign policy. We are asked to believe that the endless wars, the slaughter of millions of innocent people, the destruction of entire countries, is all for the benefit of the people of those countries. How much longer must we maim, traumatise and brutally kill the civilian population of that area to make their lives better? We have been in Iraq since 2003 and still the brutal slaughter goes on and on, that is almost three times longer than the second world war. It is the thought process of the insane, or devious, corrupt, ruthless power mongers, but not the actions of rational humane beings.

        The charade of the civilised West putting its self in harms way to protect the ordinary people of the Middle East, is created by the propaganda wing of the established Western power structure. With limitless finances the babbling brook of bullshit that is our mainstream media, spews out the toxic vomit of the West as the world's knight in shining armour, while in fact it rides blood stained and mercilessly tramples innocents across the globe, all for its own wealth and power.

      In a mad insane world of lies, subterfuge, double speak and spin, the truth will sound insane, but the truth is the only weapon that will bring an end to this carnage of people for the purpose of power.  

      Thanks for the link Loam.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

There's Trouble Ahead, How Do We Solve It?

        As anybody who has had a look at how the capitalist system works, is well aware, it is a system with inherent flaws. It inevitably goes into convulsions, as those with the money look like losing lots of it. This happened in the pre thirties, giving us the hungry 30's, it happened again in 2008, giving us a decade of austerity. When these convulsions happen the way the system "corrects" itself, is by plundering the public purse, giving us bail-outs and austerity. The government hands the corporate juggernaut and the financial Mafia lots of public money in the form of "bail-outs" amassing mountains of debt, and then applying "austerity" to reduce that debt. Of course austerity only happens to the ordinary people, to those rich parasites, austerity is some kind of disease to which the ordinary people fall foul to periodically.

       Claudio Borio, the head of the BIS monetary and economic department, said a new recession could come “with a vengeance” and “the end may come to resemble more closely a financial boom gone wrong”. The BIS, which is sometimes known as the central bank for central banks and counts Bank of England Governor Mark Carney among its members, warned of trouble ahead for the world economy.

      We are not yet clear of the previous convulsion, and the gnomes of the financial Mafia are starting to shit their pants, as there appears to be warning signs that the next is about to hit them. No doubt, in their marble halls of greed and opulence, they will already be looking at how else they can plunder the public purse to retrieve their new massive gambling losses. They will be looking hard to see which part of the social fabric of the planet can they rip-off to recoup their greed gotten losses. This week Italy has been forced to bail out two of its banks to the tune of €5.2 billion, of tax payers money.

       Such luminaries as Mark Carney and other members of the BIS, (The Bank of International Settlements, sometimes referred to as the central bank of central banks. Though I like to refer to them as Bandits in Suits. ) are already ringing their alarm bells, and saying it could be worse than the last convulsion.

       While the vultures, and parasites of the financial Mafia will be preparing to grab what public assets they can get their hands on, to regain their gambling losses, what will we be doing? Will we accept another decade, or more, of "austerity", will we see ourselves pushed as far into deprivation as the people of Greece, with no end in sight? Or will we get serious about organising to bring down this flawed system of greed and exploitation, and put an end to capitalism, that is the root cause of the poverty and deprivation of millions of people across the planet?

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Two Punctures And A Few Showers.

 Stathis preparing to cook the gourmet meal.

        On Sunday we had arranged with my daughter's family to have a barbecue at Firkin Point, it lies on the west shore of Loch Lomond between Invebeg and Tarbet. The plan was they would make their way there by car and I would cycle up the loch to Tarbet, turn and head back to Firkin Point to join them. Their part of the arrangement went to plan, my part of the plan however, was a little different. The day proved to be one of wind and some heavy showers, not my ideal cycling weather, so my wee yellow cape was on and off a few times. A short distance from Luss I got a puncture, normally not much of a problem, as I carry two spare tubes. However with my back and hip problems, I can no longer just sit on the grass verge and sort it out. If I sit down that low I have great difficulty in getting back up unassisted. If I stand and try to do things, my back aches something awful, so I walked up a farm path and found some large rocks I could sit on and get the job done. Back on the bike and about a mile further on, I got another puncture, now faced with the same problem, I decided to walk to Luss where I found a bollard at the entrance to to the village, where I could lean my back against as I stood at the side of the road and sorted the problem. Now well behind in time, another heavy shower, the wee yellow cape back on, I decided to skip Tarbet and just head for Firkin point and food. On arriving, I also decided to put the bike in the back of my partners car and abandon the run back, that's a first for me. 

One of the sunny spells between the showers and overcast sky.

     Never the less, the barbecue was a great success, even although it was punctuated by showers. It was also a wee birthday celebration for my grand daughter's 11th birthday, though that is in July, but she will be in Greece by then, so we had it a bit early.

During one of the dark overcast moments, my partners total failure to fly the kite.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk.

Protest June 29th. at The Scottish Parliament.

        Lots of groups and individuals are coming together to protest outside the Scottish parliament this coming Thursday June 29th.. This will be the culmination of a week of  lobbying and protests, June 23rd. to June 30th. regarding the introduction of PIP and its assessment system, I hope it is a massive turnout. I'm all in favour of protesting and lobbying at the seat of power, but we should never lose sight of the fact that tinkering around the edges of this corrupt and exploitative system, will not end the struggles of the ordinary people, nor stop the plundering of the public resources. We have attack the root cause of our problems, capitalism, the need is to organise to bring the system down. We need to by-pass it, circumvent it, short circuit it, strive for control of our communities and workplaces. We don't need the boss class and their politicians, but they need us. 

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Death At The Hands Of The Police.

          I suppose there are some naive people out there who still believe that the police are there to protect us from "bad guys", to make sure you don't steal something from your neighbour, or become drunk and disorderly. This is the wonderful illusion created by the propaganda spewed out from our babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media. Make no mistake, the police are there to protect the established order of power and wealth, the main line of defence before the army takes to the streets, if need be. Yes they lock up the odd abuser, and rapist, but this is a spin-off not their main purpose. Killings by law enforcement officers in the UK from 1920 to 2000 is listed as 27, but that number rockets after the year 2000, from 2000 to March 2017 there are listed 42 such deaths. They act with impunity, and literally, "get away with murder".
       We now have another killing by those who pose as the protectors of the public, to add to those horrifying statistics, this report from Libcom, the details speak for themselves.

 

 

         Twenty five year old Edir Frederico Da Costa, known as Edson, died yesterday having sustained multiple injuries during a police stop in Beckton, East London. Update 23rd June - there will be a #JusticeForEdson demonstration this Sunday at Forest Gate station at 2pm.
       [content note: police violence, description of injuries]
        Edson was one of three people in a vehicle stopped by police in Beckton around 10pm on June 16th. Police used force to arrest him and pepper sprayed him at the scene, he had a heart attack and was pronounced dead. Edson was revived by paramedics on scene who put him into an induced coma, but he was brain dead. After being kept on life support, this was turned off Tuesday.
       The Newham Recorder reported that a post mortem has concluded there were no injuries to suggest severe force was used on Edson.
       In a statement on Facebook however, a family member wrote that his injuries included a fractured skull, fallen voice box and ruptured bladder amongst other injuries.
        A friend of the family on twitter mentioned that Edson's vertebrae had been snapped, and that while he was foaming at the mouth police had said he was 'OK'.
       Family have not been told the name of the officer involved. The case has parallels to the police killing of Freddie Gray in a police van in Baltimore in 2015, leading to mass protests over his death. Prosecutions of the officers involved in Freddie Gray's death did not result in convictions.
       Julian Cole was left in a vegetative state after being carried to a police car in Bedford in 2013. The CPS announced it would not be charging the police involved in Julian Cole's arrest earlier this year.
        Police brutality is a regular occurrence in the UK as well as in the US. The IPCC and CPS rarely prosecute police officers and there has been no conviction for a death in custody since 1969. This requires mass protests and organisation in order to gain even basic accountability of the police, but in the end the only accountable police force may be no police force. Movements towards complete police abolition are gaining pace as the limits of reform become increasingly stark.

Rising Homelessness In A Rich Civilised Society???

           There is something rotten at the heart of UK, and it is the economic system. While the babbling brook of bullshit, our mainstream media, attempts to get us all into a lather over Brexit spewing out how we must get a good deal for businesses, a smooth path for our corporate lords and masters, here in the lives of ordinary people we have seen conditions rapidly deteriorate. And that has nothing to do with Brexit, it is all down to ideological choices within the capitalist system. Apart from wages being ten years behind, social care disappearing, our health service cracking under the strain of under funding, homelessness is rocketing.
         A country that is the sixth richest on the planet and doesn't house its citizens adequately is obviously involved in a failed system, or is waging class war, or both. It is not by accident, nor is it inevitable, that thousands of people in this country are homeless, it is by economic choices. By deliberate government policy, the number of council houses in the UK has fallen by 165,000 since 2010, and while in the year 2014-15 the number of millionaires in the UK has grown by 12%, the number of homeless has grown by 34% since 2010. In capitalism, we live under a system of extreme inequality and injustice, it can't be remedy to improve the lives of all, it can't be modified to be compassionate and fair, it has to be destroyed for justice and equality to flower. 

 

 

        The number of families being declared homeless has rocketed by more a third since the Conservatives took power in 2010, analysis of new official statistics by The Independent has revealed.
      Between April 2016 and March 2017, 59,100 families were declared homeless by local authorities in England – a rise of 34 per cent on the same period in 2010-11.
        The statistics paint a bleak picture of the UK housing crisis and the impact a lack of decent, affordable homes is having on thousands of families.

        Obviously in a capitalist society, as opposed to a civilised society, a safe place to lay your head and raise a family, is not a right or even a priority. Your safety and comfort is solely dependent on the wealth you accumulate, and the system is loaded against the ordinary people. 

     Conservative housing policy since 2010 has prioritised the privatisation of social housing, both by extending the Right to Buy scheme and by forcing councils to sell off their most valuable council homes to private individuals and companies.
      At the same time, ministers have mandated that social homes available at heavily discounted rents should be replaced by a new type of affordable housing that has more expensive rents much closer to market rates.
      The newly released data shows a huge rise in the number of people being made homeless as a result of losing their social home. In the past 12 months, 4,010 families were declared homeless after losing a home rented in the social sector – a 56 per cent increase in six years.

Read the full article HERE: 

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

The Mediterranean Graveyard Is Overflowing.

         We claim that we humans are "civilised" and have brought advanced civilisation to the world. Of course in the developed world it can be easier to swallow that illusion, than in vast swaths of the planets surface. However in this "civilised" world we have created more than 65 million displaced individuals, that is approximately the entire population of the UK being moved out and told to move on. Most of these displaced persons are fleeing raging wars perpetrated by those "civilised" human beings. Of that 65+ million displaced persons, approximately 12 million of them are from just five areas: Syria, Afghanistan, the Lake Chad basin, South Sudan, and Somalia. 

      Of course "displaced person" is a very sanitised way of expressing what that means, it almost sounds like somebody being moved from their home to an apartment that they don't particularly like. The true picture is very different, it is one of desperation, savagery, brutality, misery, trauma, death and destruction. In the year 2016, more than 5,000 of those "displaced persons" trying to flee the raging wars, ended their lives in the water grave that is the Mediterranean. They were fleeing lives that were so horrifying that death seemed a reasonable option. The reason for such death and destruction fades into the fog of propaganda and misinformation. Can anybody really say why we are in Syria, tearing the country apart, destroying its infrastructure, killing its people? Or how we can justify the 4.9 million "displaced persons" that have fled that country? Our babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media, will record the various battles, heroically and fairly fought by "our" boys, and other battles fought with inhuman savagery by the "bad" guys, but why we are there, not much on that subject, probably we'll get some shit about a bad guy we are trying to get rid of, to save the Syrian people from misery. It is obvious, for the Syrian people, the cure is much worse than the illness.

       We can take it that practically all today's wars and the ensuing trauma, death and destruction, are about wealth, power and resources, and capitalism is the driving force, none of them are being waged for the benefit of the people. As long as we tolerate this system of capitalist greed, we will be mired in wars, death, destruction, fleeing refugees, "displaced persons" poverty and deprivation. Unity among all people's is the necessary prerequisite to ending this capitalist "civilisation", and creating a world free from borders, exploitation and wars, a world that sees to the needs of all our people, free from the profit motive.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk   

"Austerity", Just One Trick In Their Box.

       An excellent video that highlights the brutal effects of "austerity" on the most vulnerable in our society. It also points out that it is a class policy, since it favours the rich at the expense of the poor, it is an ideological choice and not a necessity. However, in attacking "austerity" and calling for an end to that particular ideology, they fail to grasp that any such change will still leave the same exploitative system in place, wealth generation by the many, and wealth grabbing by the few. Yes, "austerity" is a savage brutal attack on the poor, but it is just one trick in their box, just one method of wealth plundering employed by the capitalist system. Capitalism is by it very nature, an exploitative system with little or no place for compassion if it gets in the way of profit. Tinkering with the methodology of capitalism still leaves the beast alive to savage the poor and vulnerable, it still leaves us all at the mercy of the corporate juggernaut and the financial Mafia. It is not its methodology that we have to change, it is the capitalist system itself we have to destroy.  

Visitr ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Memories.

 

        Another beautiful day, 20 degrees, practically no wind, a clear blue sky, and that wonderful short term Scottish memory, after a couple of days like this we start to think, what a fantastic climate.

     So I set off to complete what I didn't the last time out on the bike, go to Balmaha. It is a beautiful spot, if the weather is kind, it was today, very kind indeed. It is another spot I used to take the kids to, though in those days it wasn't quite so popular, just a place for some walkers, cyclists and a few cars. Today it was awash with walkers, lots of parked cars, though I seemed to be the only cyclist there today. 

      It was also the place, in my younger days, we walked through heading for Rowardennan and then up Ben Lomond. Lots of wonderful pleasant memories as I sat in the sun.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

£125 Lunch Or A Food Bank!

       My fair city of Glasgow was once a city of skilled industrial workers, who built ships, locomotives, and other products of heavy industry, it had miners and steel workers. Now it is a city of low wage workers in the service industries, who exist on on part-time or zero hours contracts, or "self-employed" cyclist scratching out a living delivering bits and pieces. Our city has been turned into a playpen for tourist, a city of shopping malls, cafés, restaurants, hotels and expensive "events", a place for those with too much money and not enough common sense. The city's latest plaything for the rich is the idiotic eating experience of "The Event in the Sky".  George Square, which was once a green and pleasant square in the city centre with trees and grass, in good weather it would be covered by people sitting around, mums with their kids, or people having lunch on the grass, now it is a tarmac rentable space for the corporate juggernaut. The latest one of these events is the afore mentioned "Event in the Sky", they have dumped an large industrial crane on the square and attached to it is what looks like one of those large contraptions you see at some fairgrounds, where you get swung and twirled around in, for a couple of pounds. Only this one has seats around its outer edge an island in the middle where chefs will serve you food. So for £50 you can sit there and be lifted to approximately 60 feet or so and enjoy your breakfast. Lunch comes in at £125, I have no idea what the idiots pay for an al a carte dinner floating above the exhaust fumes of the city centre. This event attracted some many idiots that its stay was prolonged for a few days more than planned. 

        This is a glaring example of the inequality endemic in our city, and others across the planet. Glasgow is a city with areas of high deprivation, low life expectancy, child poverty and food banks, but we have brainless idiots happy to pay £125 for lunch swinging above the city centre, on the end of a crane. This is the shape of the world that this economic system of capitalism has built, frivolous and fancy expensive experiences on which the rich can spend their ill gotten gains, while the ordinary citizens struggle from day to day to scratch out a meagre living at best. Of course they can only live this phoney life of excess with our complicity, despite the fact that we create all that wealth, we serve the rich exploiters for a few crumbs off their table. We built that crane and that swinging basket, we grew their food and delivered it to them, and then went home to poverty and deprivation, what are we thinking of??

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Roads Festooned With Colour.

       Sunday was another warm but very humid day with a light wind, obviously my thoughts turned to those winding roads around my patch. This time my dream machine took me to Drymen, (Billy Connolly stayed there for a spell.) I had thought of going on a few more miles to Balmaha, but a late start and having to get home early as I was being treated to a father's day dinner at my daughter's family home, that idea was shelved.

      The weather certainly brought out the Lycra brigade, the roads were festoon with brightly coloured bikes and people, all seemed to be pushing hard, obviously trying to improve their times. Not like me, just delighted to be able to cover some miles, I've done all that trying to beat the clock.

      Tuesday is forecast to be a scorcher, so perhaps that visit to Balmaha might happen then.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

The UK's Crime Of The Century.

 

         In Glasgow on Saturday 17th June a demonstration in support of the victims of the Grenfell Tower man-made disaster took place. There were similar demos and protests in cities and towns across the country, the entire population is moved by both compassion and anger, we should not let either of these emotions fade. Showing support and solidarity with the victims of this crime is not only important, but necessary. However, we must direct and increase our anger, not just at the "strong and stable" May's and wealthy Oxbridge educated Hammond's, who has fingers in the private health business, but at a system, that for as far back as you care to go, has provided rabbit warrens for the "plebs" and mansions for the wealthy. The entire distress, trauma, misery and deaths of Grenfell Tower, is the direct fallout of a deliberate policy of scrimping on money being spent on the people who create all the wealth in this country. It is not as if the Kensington and Chelsea council was short of a bob or two, as far as I know, this bunch of money orientated sharks, had built up a surplus of £240 million, but it never crossed their sick thick skulls to listen to the citizens and sort out their fears and needs.

       Forget treating the Grenfell Tower inferno as an accident, treat it as a crime, not just of greed driven power hungry individuals, but the inevitable consequences of a system driven by profit. We will be fobbed off with inquiries and meaningless phrases such as "lessons will be learnt", "we will follow the findings of the inquiry", "those responsible will be held to account", which by the way, is government speak for "finding a scapegoat" The entire capitalist system is a festering cancer that grows on the misery and deaths of millions across this planet. It is not a system of compassion, it is a system of greed, where money is more important than the lives of people. Until we sort that problem, we will face ever increasing numbers of Grenfell Towers of larger or smaller proportions.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Let's Talk World Wide.

        Information is valuable, the more we talk to each other, the more we can show solidarity. Bad News, a new world wide anarchist radio network started its broadcasts on June 15th.. If you can set up podcasts you can have your struggles broadcast to the anarchists and others, across the globe, learning from each other and showing solidarity when possible.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Crap Dangerous Housing For The Plebs.

       I have avoided mentioning the Grenfell disaster until now, the horror is overwhelming and it is difficult to grasp the horror and agony of the last few minutes of those ordinary people who were caught up in that inferno, through no fault of their own. On seeing the videos of this tragic incident, the first reaction is on outpouring of horror and a welling up of compassion and a desire to do something to help. Then rationalism creeps in, and anger rises, a righteous anger at an unjust system that allows such an avoidable tragedy to happen, and knowing the root cause was money. All across this country incidents of this nature happen, though on a much smaller scale, all down to putting cost and profit before human life. Our babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media usually ignores them, they are not big enough to be classed as news. Grenfell was different, it could not be ignored. On seeing the disaster unfold the 9/11 tragedy flashed through my mind, we could point the finger at terrorists for that event, but this towering inferno of the Grenfeell Tower, where do we point the finger, at money, it was not an unavoidable accident. Both these incidents have a human element in their cause, one was hatred, the other was ideology of profit.

        I have no doubt, somewhere along the line in the building and maintenance of these tower blocks, scrimping and money, shaped the decisions, rather than human safety. This is symptomatic of this economic system we tolerate. Those who work to create all the wealth, see it lavished on others, while they scratch out a living in damp, dangerous, substandard, lousy accommodation. The UK, the sixth richest country in the world, can afford to house its population in decent safe accommodation, but chooses not to, in accordance with its ideology. Those who legislate and enforce the legislation on health and safety, are the very ones who profit from cutting corners, your MP's are made up of people who have investments in property, letting agencies, building contractors, and maintenance firms, and they are in it for the money. Until we sort that problem, there is another Grenfell tragedy waiting in the wings.

     Lousy unsafe housing conditions for the ordinary people is nothing new, it is part and parcel of this corrupt economic system, as far back as you wish to go, and it is still with us. It is not the lack of skill or resources that keeps us in crap unsafe housing, it is the economic system that festers all around us, profit first and foremost, human life a poor second.

     This video of the Kirby rent strike back in 1972, tells you nothing has changed, we are still struggling for decent homes to live in, and bring up our kids. As the woman in the video says, nothing will change unless we change it ourselves.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk