Bookshops.

            As anarchists we never have enough autonomous spaces, bookshops and info centres, some come and go, some persist for years. All however exist in a hostile capitalist environment, which means that at various points in their existence, they come up against the need for money to survive. Spartacus Books is one of the long running centres, 50 years in Vancouver BC, but now finds itself in the need of financial support, it would be very sad to see it fade away because of lack of support and solidarity.

The following from It's Going down:

         Call to support long-running radical infoshop and bookstore Spartacus Books in so-called Vancouver, BC.
          Spartacus Books is a non-profit, volunteer and collectively run infoshop on unceded Coast Salish territories. We have been running for almost 50 years and provide access to radical books and zines that are hard to find anywhere else in so-called Vancouver, and operate as community resource centre and (pre-covid) event space.
        We are moving to a new location and the move has brought up many unexpected delays and costs, and has put us in a precarious financial position, such as renovations, mould removal, paying rents at two locations for two months. We’re seeking help from the community to help us with the move and all these changes by donating to our campaign and funding some of the unexpected costs that moving has brought.
        As we say in our basis of unity, despite the odds being against us, we understand that the struggle is continuous, and we persevere. We want to persevere! Please check out our fundraiser for more information and share it as much as possible. If you’d like to learn more about Spartacus Books you can check out our website

Love and Solidarity,
Spartacus Books

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk   

A Choice?

 

        Do you ever imagine living in a style of life that allows you to come and go as you please, to go where you wish to go, to live your life as you desire, as long as you don't abuse and exploit others? A life of freedom in a world of mutual aid, co-operation and respect for each other, a life based on humanity, compassion and empathy. Of course it is all impossible as long as we live under the ever watchful eye of the state and its need for control, as long as we tolerate our lives to be dominated by the corporate world and its never ending drive for profit and perpetual growth. The two styles face opposite directions and are incompatible, which direction we take is our choice. The state/corporate road requires our obedience and the surrender of our personal desires, it may seem the easiest road to take but leaves you an impoverished human, devoid of who you really are, the other requires a struggle to free our humanity with the prize of that better world for all.

The following from Act For Freedom Now:

STATE CAPITAL MEDIA AND SPECIALISTS 

THEY HAVE FUCKED UP OUR LIVES

STOPPING: house arrest, written petition to get a pre-trial hearing, curfew and assembly, certificates of sanitary legality.
“FREEDOM BUSINESS”: third dose, forced vaccination, and for non-compliant, fines, mandatory rapid tests, work suspensions, firings.
DIVIDE AND CONQUER: imposing a new social division between vaccinated and unvaccinated, between compliant citizens and unruly plebes.
ECONOMIC DIVIDE: telecommuting, working around the clock, wage cuts, unemployment, poverty, price increases in everything that concerns our living (rent, food, electricity, etc.).
WE WILL TAKE IT BACK TO THE BARRICADES
We will take them back to the streets.

 – Rabid for life
Source: Athens Indymedia
via: darknights

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Virgin?

           It's that time of the year when the holy people get rather excited about the guy that they say founded their religion, a guy called Jesus, one of the greatest gifts to capitalism and consumerism know to the world, (we could of course go back to the Cynics, some 300 years before Jesus's most unusual birth for that sort of teaching without the carp bullshit of magic) It is amazing how these people swallow this nonsense with a serious face, taking the words in that book called the Holy Bible as facts, the supposed words of their god. Even as a child, I couldn't swallow the tales of women being turned into a pillar of salt, dead people coming alive again, turning water into wine, it all seemed so much crap and put me at odds with my family, who were Church of Scotland, except my eldest sister, who at 21 got baptised and became a member of the Baptist Church, all very weird and rather silly to me. Then in later years the virgin birth became some form of joke, and just another snippet of carp bullshit from that book that has plagued the human species for centuries, being the foundation of the perpetuation of ignorance, authoritarianism, blind obedience, sadistic cruelty, barbarity and bloody wars. 

       Just as a reminder of how this annual plague of consumerism was generated, I'll leave the last words on the virgin birth to a fellow Glaswegian Kevin Bridges.

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Ideas!

       I've just received the new book "Between Thought and Expression Lies a Lifetime, Why Ideas Matter" by Noam Chomsky and James Kelman, PM Press ISBN: 978-1-6296-3880-5. Described by one reviewer as Brilliant, Incisive, Fearless. A quick lick through it and it looks both informative and interesting, but like all books written for and by the radical left, it shouldn't be taken as some sort of sacred gospel. It is the considered opinion of those involved drawn from personal experience, thoughts, discussions and readings and should always be seen a such. No matter the differences you may have, I'm sure you will find something new, interesting and even controversial, but you will come away with some new thoughts and insights, what more can you ask of a book.

      I should add that all the proceeds from the Scottish end of this production will go to support, the Spirit of Revolt Archive. We at Spirit of Revolt are extremely grateful for the authors' support and generosity. You can also help support Spirit of Revolt by purchasing the book and spreading this info far and wide. 

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Rip-off.

         I'm always surprised that most people don't see the daily rip-off of public funds to capitalist businesses. The pandemic has been the largest rip-off in recent times, though there have been many. Billions have been thrown at big businesses during the pandemic, clothed in the illusion of saving jobs, but in actual fact, saving bosses lifestyle. Where was the saving people's jobs when they closed steel works, coal-mines, shipyards, etc? The other big rip-off was the selling off of public assets, Royal Mail, BT, Gas, Electricity, Railways, public transport, all revenue raisers for the public purse to help pay for social services etc. They were all sold to make money for the corporate world, denying the public that income. Now we are told that we can't afford social services, our health service is at breaking point and our education system is crumbling, and they see private capitalists as the answer to those problems, rip us off when we get sick.

Image courtesy of AlterNet:

 

        Greene King manages 1,700 pubs and rents out 1,000, now complaining that times are difficult and the government will need to come up quickly with financial help, ie, tax payers money, to protect the lucrative business. Having milked the public for years and now finds it difficult to do so, asks the government to do it for them, in the form of shovelling tax payers money into their business. Don't these people realise that it is a capitalist system, you open a business, milk the public make a lot of money at their expense, to create a lucrative lifestyle, then you can't make any more killings, you go bust, that's how this insane system is supposed to work. Not milk the public for your own greedy benefit and then when times are hard get the government to keep you in the style to which you have become accustomed. That's called greedy exploitation. It's insanity if we continue to accept this greedy rip-off, by the rich, with the help of the government. We are an extremely rich country, the problem is we obligingly give all our wealth to a small cabal of parasites.

 

Visit ann arky's home at https://spiritofrevolt.info    

Reflection.

       I wrote the following words four years ago, December 2017, before the pandemic and before the state vastly accelerated its authoritarianism. I think the words resonate more now, than they did then, so I'll spew them out again.  

 

         As the old year starts to fade and the new year beckons, it is a time for anarchists to reflect on the struggles of the past, our successes and how to improve on them, our failures and how to reverse them. It is also time to analyse the weakness and the strengths of our adversary, the economic system under which we live. Weakness there are plenty, its only strength is our apathy. We are all aware that the state is ramping up repression, as more and more people become not just disenchanted with the government, but disgusted by its callous support for the corporate world at the expense of the people. Deteriorating conditions among our people is encouraging more and more individuals to get involved in this battle for justice and equality. Our vision of justice and equality must see through all borders, we can never recognise those arbitrary lines drawn on the planet's surface by power mongers. Also we must not forget those comrades who have paid dearly in this struggle for a better world, some paid by being imprisoned, others paid with their life.
      These are very dangerous times, capitalist power blocks are vying to increase their dominance in certain areas, and are defending their bases in others, with the extremely high risk of existing wars escalating in to a globe catastrophe. A reshuffling of the power mongers territory is usually done by shedding the blood of millions of our people. 

      So let’s come together in the knowledge that the capitalist system is in turmoil, with chaos the main ingredient, and the various states are struggling as the illusion of their legitimacy evaporates like fog in the sun. It is an ideal time to increase our actions, but only after, with a critical eye, we reflect on where we are, and where we want to go, and how to get our communities more involved.
       Dangerous times, but times loaded with opportunities, their chaos and turmoil is our garden of opportunity, we have nothing to lose, and a world to gain, but that takes critical analysis, organisation, solidarity, community involvement and determination. It is their world, or it is our world, there can be no compromise.

Visit ann arky's home at https://spiritofrevolt.info   

Dignity.

 

       The British establishment are always spouting about how we are leaders in the civilised and democratic world. Apart from the imperialist policies abroad, racism here in these UK establishment institutions, there is the appalling treatment of those enmeshed in the UK state's loaded justice system, (Julian Assange), I use the word "justice" with reservations. Of all the wrongs and injustices in this patch of the planet, the prison system ranks among the worst. These institutions of intimidation and repression, lack any form of humanity, compassion our even human decency. they are an anachronism in any free and democratic society. Prison walls are symbols of oppression. 

          British jails have been inhumane, violent and degrading for years. Now other countries are noticing

                                             Image courtesy of Guardian

 Barlinnie prisoners still held in cells condemned 25 years ago

                                              Image courtesy of Herald Scotland.

      One such example from UK prison system, make up your own mind.

From Enough is Enough:

I didn’t know I was Harry Houdini
  26/11/2021
       Today I was taken from the cells of G-wing, Bristol prison to the City Hospital under a security escort. This was to detect any reoccurrence of cancer in my abdomen and pelvis. In the reception area of the prison, I had the usual strip search, and I was forced to change out of my own clothes into prison-issue clothes.
       This offended my dignity as even when I was being held in Wandsworth prison in London under “antiterrorist” conditions I could at least go to the hospital in my own clothes. Whilst I was waiting for the screws to finish the paperwork, I got a glance of my cover sheet at my file – “escape list” marked in red. I was shackled to a screw with an escort and another two and I was driven by four screws in an unmarked van to the radiology unit. Along the way and back, of course, I was a witness to the pathetic, belittling ,racist, misogynistic “chats” of the screws who consider themselves experts of all aspects of life. At the radiology unit there were discussions between the medical staff and screws with some referral to their superiors, as, without any foresight on the screws part, they hadn’t realised that I couldn’t be shackled inside the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) machine. Despite the MIR machine being within a sealed room with a single door, I was forced to wear a pair of plastic zip tight cuffs which were tightened so tight they cut into my wrists.
         Due to my loud protests and demands for them to be removed, the screws cut them off with difficulty and pain and placed a second pair almost no less tight on my hands. I was then bound like so inside the MRI in considerable pain and discomfort and in no point in time did the medical staff ask if I was ok or raise any issue of me being treated like this while being told to “be calm” by the screw who had put these cuffs on me and who had remained inside the procedure room. If you have ever been inside an MRI you will know that you are already confined inside an impossibly narrow tiny tube wrapped up in sensitive equipment whilst a torus of magnets whirls around you at deafening volume.
        Hardly an easy place to escape from at the best of times. To add an insult to this injury the MRI technician gave the “panic button” which is a kind of pad the patient squeezes to indicate that there is an emergency, not to me who was undergoing the test, but to the disgusting screw who had remained into the room to observe me. One of the screws waited outside the room and one other, for unknown reasons, was asked by the technician to attend INSIDE the adjacent imaging room where the scans were being processed and the technician acted. This final fact is the most angering since these screws are not even medical staff nor technicians but merely lock and unlock doors, shout and abuse the imprisoned every day. I am not writing this as a “victim of oppression” nor to “establish my rights”. I write this to denounce the situation and to explain to others what to expect and especially for all the other prisoners who confront cancer.
       It is this civilization that makes us all sick. Strength to all those prisoners who have dreams of freedom in their hearts!
Toby Shone
HMP Bristol

Visit ann arky's home at https://spiritofrevolt.info    

Research.

 

         December seems to be a month when everybody gives everybody a gift, so we at Spirit of Revolt thought we would join in this custom. So for December, as our gift, we are giving you a second “Read of the Month”. We have chosen as our gift a bulletin from September 1989, Bulletin of Anarchist Research, No.18. Enjoy and perhaps learn and feel driven to delve into our wonderful Pandora’s Box of anarchist history, photos, memorabilia and much more. 

READ ON LINE HERE:

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http://strugglepedia.co.uk/index.php?title=Main_Page   

Idiot.

 

       Hi, my apologies to lots of those readers who commented on this blog, as by my incompetent and blundering fingers, I seem to have deleted a couple of years of comments, I again apologise and regret my idiotic hasty blunder. I welcome and look forward to any further comments you care to make.

 Sometimes an anarchist can behave like an idiot.

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk 

Lawful??

         The law is not there to be obeyed by all, it's there to intimidate the plebs and defend the rich and powerful parasites of this exploitative class system. It will be brought into play as and when when it suits the powers that be. No matter the the obscenity of the situation created by those powers, you can rely on their weaponised thugs, the police, to support them. Once again this absurdity of the law and the unlawful being used in conjunction to try to crush an autonomous space. In their self serving rule book, all must be brought under the watchful eye of the state, by any means possible. This attempt at intimidation and eviction of an autonomous space demands our support and solidarity. Freedom is ours for the taking, just as shackles and obedience are ours by acceptance.

The following from Enough is Enough: 

 

        Pertuis. France. This morning Roger Pellenc carried out his threats at the ZAP (Zone à patates), where we are occupying several houses to fight against a project to extend a commercial zone and the capitalist world that engenders it. A shovel escorted by six municipal policemen came to destroy the gate of the common house as well as the fence and the hedge along the street and seriously damaged the reception hut that we had built in the last few days. All this under the hilarious look of the municipal police.

Originally published by Squat Net.

Some people from the ZAP witnessed these actions, a comrade tried to get between the shovel and the gate. The driver of the machine threatened him and continued his work while putting him in danger. Then the police tried to arrest him. In the morning, prolonging the pressure of the municipal police, a helicopter of the gendarmerie turned a lot around the houses.

We remind you that since the procedure is still in progress, the inhabitants of this house cannot be evicted. This destruction is therefore totally illegal and breaks domestic peace. It demonstrates once again the mafia methods of Roger Pellenc. It confirms to those who still doubt that the police have no shame in acting against the law to serve the interests of an autocratic, all-powerful mayor, ruling like a kingpin over the city of Pertuis.
We will not be intimidated. We will react on all fronts. We will file a complaint. We will rebuild in more solid what was destroyed. And above all we will defend with determination and determination these houses that we occupy.
Today we need support: material, financial for the procedure, and especially, your presence. We need to be more numerous, so we call on all of you to join us at the ZAP. May the force be with us!

La ZAP (Zone à patates)
Pertuis, France
lazapdepertuis [at] riseup [dot] net
https://zappertuis.noblogs.org/

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http://strugglepedia.co.uk/index.php?title=Main_Page 

Keelie.

 

           Despite the usual Glasgow dull, cold, dreich, drizzly rain type of weather, the Glasgow Keelie folks were out today on the street doing their thing. They set up at the corner of Sauchiehall Street at the large, now closed BHS building. As usual the free Glasgow Keelie was well received, with a considerable number disappearing with passing Glesca Folks being eager to get their hands on a copy. Did you get one? if so how about letting us know what you think, or better if you would like to help with the distribution, just get in touch through The Glasgow Keelie webpage.

Visit ann arky's home at https://spiritofrevolt.info   

Organise.

            So many strikes called by unions end up as a sell-out by the unions, they seem to see themselves as part of the system, and negotiate from that position, so I doubt they will do anything to bring the system down. The case of the striking metalworkers in Cadiz, Spain, is just another sell-out by unions. This strike not only had the support of the workers but also the support of the local community and wider afield, but the unions settled for what most consider an insulting deal. So the workers with reluctance go back feeling once again the union has sold them out to the bosses.

The following from Angry Workers:

         But the die is cast: the media celebrate the ‘agreement’ in style, and confusion and frustration, if not demoralisation, reigns.
         Nobody is happy with the agreement, but the workers come back to work resigned, treating the unions treason like business as usual. At this point, it can’t even be considered a treason anymore.
         However, the 220 CYMI workers, a Dragados subcontractor with some of the most precarious contracts with not even union representation and left out of the infamous agreement decided to keep striking for almost two weeks in total until they got rises of between 200 and 400 euros.
        There has been some more strikes all over Spain that normally end with similar results but it feels like more workers are starting to get pissed with the whole situation. The question is if the workers will find the way to self-organise in a way that allows them to put up a fight on their own terms. Some union bureaucrats are having a hard time to keep the workers in line, like this CCOO representative telling this group of cleaners that the strike has been called off and them telling him to fuck off. Instant classic.

          Perhaps the road to take for those workers wishing to take control of their conditions would be to follow the example of the Clyde Workers Committee from the Clydeside in 1915.

Visit ann arky's home at https://spiritofrevolt.info    

Keelie 25.

   

         The December issue, No. 25, of the Glasgow Keelie is now out and finding its way on to our streets, look to grab your copy, we will be out and about the city centre handing out the best wee free newspaper in the city. We will also be dropping them of at pubs and cafes around the city, so look out for this wee gem. The Glasgow Keelie is the voice of the ordinary Glesca folks, you can add you voice and and turn our whisper into a roar of protest at what is wrong with our society and who is responsible. Drop us a note, get in touch, let's hear your grips, moans and anger.

 Visit ann arky's home at https://spiritofrevolt.info   

Fascism.

  

             I'm puzzled at the quiet streets here in the UK, lots of chatter about a bunch of of arrogant wealthy parasites having a party and spouting they don't know anything about it but insisting no rules were broken. When quietly and surreptitiously our cabal of those who believe they were born to rule, are moving us steadfastly into an authoritarian state. The legislation being passed to prevent any form of protest, with extra powers to the police that will massively restrict your right to protests, form groups, lock arms or make a noise. inconveniencing corporate business, annoying anybody by making a noise can now land you with a fine or imprisonment. These laws will be set in stone as far as the establishment is concerned. Your freedom of movement and freedom to protest at what you see as injustice could see you criminalised, all the true hallmarks of fascism, yet our streets are quiet. We are quietly walking into a prison cell and applying our own shackles and handcuffs. This is serious, once on the statute book, it is there for keeps, they have got you to accept the death of protesting, so whatever they throw at you, to protest could end any shred of freedom you had as an individual. Remember, fascism doesn't come with jackboots and street thugs, it comes with wealthy individuals in chauffeur driven limousines. 

Thanks Loam for the following link to this video:

Visit ann arky's home at https://spiritofrevolt.info   

Assange.

         Our mock democracy is always spouting about our free press, and how fortunate we are in having such freedom as to publish facts, no matter come what may. However, if you ever get round to publishing the dark deeds and violent doings of the state, then your freedom to publish rapidly evaporates.  When you make public the brutality and lying of the state, the state apparatus moves into overdrive, and ignores the information and shoots the messenger. That is the shape of our so called Western freedom. The case of Julian Assange is living proof of this methodology. The state will not tolerate anyone who dares to reveal the nasty, brutal activities it indulges in to protect and further its power and wealth. The UK judicial system, which comprises mainly of wealthy, privileged pro-establishment figures, today has by granting U$A the right to extradite Julian Assange, more or less sentenced a journalist to a life in an American prison, for telling the truth. Those who claim we live in a democracy, are either blind and naive, or one of the privileged parasites that control our lives. Where is the uproar from all those journalist that spout about our free press? If they are honest reporters, they could be next.   

Image courtesy of David G. Silvers, Cancillería del Ecuador - Wikimedia.

 

The following from Wikipedia:

             Julian Paul Assange (/əˈsɑːnʒ/;[3] born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. WikiLeaks came to international attention in 2010 when it published a series of leaks provided by U.S. Armyintelligence analystChelsea Manning. These leaks included the Baghdad airstrike Collateral Murder video (April 2010),[4][5] the Afghanistan war logs (July 2010), the Iraq war logs (October 2010), and Cablegate (November 2010). After the 2010 leaks, the United States government launched a criminal investigation into WikiLeaks.[6]
            In November 2010, Sweden issued an international arrest warrant for Assange over allegations of sexual misconduct.[7] Assange said the allegations were a pretext for his extradition from Sweden to the United States over his role in the publication of secret American documents.[8][9] After losing his battle against extradition to Sweden, he breached bail and took refuge in the Embassy of Ecuador in London in June 2012.[10] He was granted asylum by Ecuador in August 2012[11] on the grounds of political persecution, with the presumption that if he were extradited to Sweden, he would be eventually extradited to the US.[12] Swedish prosecutors dropped their investigation in 2019, saying their evidence had "weakened considerably due to the long period of time that has elapsed since the events in question."[13]
         During the 2016 U.S. election campaign, WikiLeaks published confidential Democratic Party emails, showing that the party's national committee favoured Hillary Clinton over her rival Bernie Sanders in the primaries.[14]
         On 11 April 2019, Assange's asylum was withdrawn following a series of disputes with the Ecuadorian authorities.[15] The police were invited into the embassy and he was arrested.[16] He was found guilty of breaching the Bail Act and sentenced to 50 weeks in prison.[17] The United States government unsealed an indictment against Assange, related to the leaks provided by Manning. On 23 May 2019, the United States government further charged Assange with violating the Espionage Act of 1917. Editors from newspapers, including The Washington Post and The New York Times, as well as press freedom organisations, criticised the government's decision to charge Assange under the Espionage Act, characterising it as an attack on the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees freedom of the press.[18][19] On 4 January 2021, District Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled against the United States' request to extradite him and stated that doing so would be "oppressive" given his mental health.[20] On 6 January 2021, Assange was denied bail, pending an appeal by the United States.[21] On 10 December 2021 Britain’s Court of Appeal ruled that Assange can be extradited to the USA to face the charges.[22][23]
         Assange has been confined in Belmarsh maximum-security prison in London since April 2019.[24]

 

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk  

State.

          The "State", a small word with gigantic influence over our lives. A mechanism created and evolved into a forceful defender of wealth, power and privileges for the few. A self perpetuating machine for total domination over the population. However it was not God created, nor is it written in tablets of stone, never to be dismissed, it is simply a man made system of control welded to an economic system of greed and inequality. It can be dismantled and replaced with a humane system of fairness, based on co-operation, mutual aid and a driving force to see to the needs of all our people, free from the profit motive. The more we realise this, the quicker we can bring it down and create that better world for all, and relegate the state/capitalist system to history under the label of Humanity's Darkest Hour.

The following from from Anarchist Agency

A New Animated Video Primer From Agency & AK Press

        As we collectively face an increasing level of social and environmental crises around the world, many people are questioning how the State—a system that wreaks so much destruction—even came to exist and why it has such a stranglehold on us. As anarchists we feel that it is important to acknowledge that the State is the framework for ordering and controlling relations among human society, the economy, and the natural world, and that we have the power to create a better world.
        Recently, Agency’s Eric Laursen published The Operating System: An Anarchist Theory of the Modern State—a groundbreaking look at the State and how it performs like a digital operating system, providing a framework for every part of our lives and rendering itself essential to functioning in human society. Not only does Laursen’s book provide a rare anarchist analysis of the State, but it also calls on us to recognize that the State is something that was intentionally created and can just as readily be replaced with something better.
        We are excited to share with you a new animated video, What is the State? (3:44), which we produced with Eric Laursen and illustrator Seth Tobocman to capture the essence of The Operating System. We highly recommend that you check out the book from AK Press, and please share the video with your friends.

YouTube video link here:

https://youtu.be/u1y_dDfkjrc

 

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk