Debt.

         While we struggle with the cost of capitalist greed, re-named, "cost of living crisis" have trouble paying bills, getting sufficient decent food to the table and can't afford to cook some of the food we buy, our lords and masters tasked, by default, with looking after our welfare, keep telling us to hold our nerve and other hypocritical platitudes, there's pie in the sky- - - - SOON! Our government can still find millions to prolong the war in Ukraine by supporting a dictator. Yes Zelensky with his motley crew is a dictator. There will be no Presidential elections until the end of the war, he has banned opposition political parties, arrested political opponents, banned all unfriendly media, and he shut down Orthodox churches, so what else can you call him.
       It seems that this is standard behaviour for the capitalist system, whether it is at home or abroad. Here at home our poverty is created and managed by the political ballerinas who follow the dictate of the higher echelons of the capitalist system, IMF (International Mankind Fuckers), World Bank (Wayward Bandits) and others of that ilk, we have no say in that, a dictatorship?.

Image courtesy of Bangladesh Info

 

 

       According to the latest research by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR). UK households are about to be savaged by yet another capitalist manoeuvre as a result of the Bank Rate rising to 5 per cent, by the end of 2023 more than a million households (4 per cent of all UK households) will run out of savings because of higher mortgage repayments, taking the total proportion of insolvent households to nearly 30 per cent (around 7.8 million), 

        The IMF does not only tie Western countries to its debt ridden policies, It traps any developing country in its debt web and demands control of how that country will manage its affairs, never to the advantage of the recipient country. 

         In the early months of the pandemic in 2020, the IMF offered to open up new windows for borrowing that they said would come without conditionalities. The G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative and other such offers to pause debt payments suggested that the poorer nations would receive assistance to prevent total economic collapse and to gain access to vaccines. However, Oxfam found that thirteen of the fifteen IMF loan programmes during the second year of the pandemic (2021) required ‘new austerity measures such as taxes on food and fuel or spending cuts that could put vital public services at risk’. The Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index reveals that fourteen out of the sixteen countries in West Africa planned to cut their budgets by a total of $26.8 billion in 2021 to contain haemorrhaging national debt crises and that these policies have been encouraged by the IMF’s COVID-19 loans.
The evidence is clear: the IMF not only engineers austerity-driven debt crises, but its policies are designed to ensure and manage a permanent debt crisis, not to erase debt.

Image courtesy of Gauri Lankesh news

 

          Does it have to be this way, are we so dumb we can't think of a fairer system on which to build our society. Are we condemned to give our children and grandchildren an ever increasing debt laden country and an ever decreasing standard of living? That's what the present capitalist economics of insanity are constructing for our future generations. Only us the ordinary people can change this, don't expect those who gain so many privileges so much wealth and power from the present insanity to ever dream of changing to a fairer system.

 

Visit ann arky at https://spiritofrevolt.info  

IMF.

Image courtesy of Medium.

          I have often spouted about the financial Mafia, whose members include, the IMF, (international Mankind Fuckers) World Bank, (Weasel Bastards) and ECB, (European Criminal Brigade), these corrupt, wealthy and powerful groups dictate to nation states how they should manage their financial affairs, and it is always in favour of the big corporate pillagers and plunderers of the world. We can parade and march, protest and shout at our national governments, but they are just the managers of the financial Mafia's plans. The real power lies not in your council or parliament, but behind closed doors in the marble halls of of the financial moguls, whose plans have brought countries to their knees and populations into a world of starvation and deprivation.

Image courtesy of BBC.

        Until we grasp this fact we will be chopping a few leaves of the poison tree, it is the root we have to attack. No easy matter, but it is the only answer to end this system of economic insanity that feeds and fattens the vultures while starving the children

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

Ukraine.

  

        To most people viewing the present Ukrainian troubles, the history of that country is sketchy to say the least. However we still see people taking sides and they usually fall into two camps, the nasty evil Russia, or the vicious American imperialism. The truth lies somewhere else and is many faceted and extremely complex, but as usual boils down to interference from powerful outside forces with their own agenda, to expand their control and influence over the planet and its resources, A conflict between opposing power blocks, with little or no regard for the ordinary people of their target area. It would also be good if we note the powerful influence the IMF, (International Mankind Fuckers) have on these situations, no prizes for guessing on whose side they stand.

          By posting this video I'm not jumping into any of the camps portrayed, but I do feel it does show up the insidious and complex workings of the powerful players and their disregard for the people. We should look and learn, and open our eyes to the poison that is patriotism. War is power's answer to all its problems, but it is the people's blood that spills over the land.

         It is worth viewing the complete film, to get a clearer picture of the history of Ukraine.

 

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

No War.

          According to the various indexes, the world economy is not doing to well. Most reports are downgrading the economic growth of most countries from previous expectations. This doesn't please the big boys in the financial Mafia, and it seems obvious that they will reach for the big money option, the war button. Press that and you force governments to spend billions in the arms industry feeding into all those in the supply chain of the war machines across the globe. Corporations start to reap the benefits in profit and we the people pay for it in national debt and blood. No matter the desire from the financial Mafia, (IMF, World Bank, ECB, and the World Economic Forum,) we must pull together to demand that there is no war with Russia or any other large economic power block. all sold under the false flag of protecting democracy and freedom. The only freedom that the financial Mafia are interested in is their freedom to make as much profit as possible, no matter the consequences to the public at large.
         We can not stand idle by while they plot to get workers from one patch of the planet to kill workers from another part, under some phoney illusion that is all for our benefit and is a just and lawful war. When in fact it is all to do with economic growth, profit and power-bases, while filling the coffers of that small band of parasites that shape the world in which we live. Modern warfare stretches it vile fangs across cities and towns and their civilian population and does not confine itself to the so called battlefield. Our demands for "No War" must be loud, robust, persistent, on the streets and obvious, tied together with solidarity across all borders. Your sons and daughters blood may be that which is shed to jump start the world's economic growth. Don't sacrifice our youth for profit to the financial Mafia.

 

 

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

Organise.

          In this cesspool of an economic system, organised and managed by corrupt and repressive state apparatus, to cross, uninvited, one of their imaginary lines called borders, places you in the category of a no-human, a being devoid of rights, driven to live in the margins, to be invisible just to survive, or end up in one of the thousands of concentration camps dotted around the world. There you will be brutalised, devoid of basic rights, hygiene and health care, cramped into grossly overcrowded conditions, subject to arbitrary beatings. Because of the human desire for decency and freedom, these conditions inevitably lead to drastic measures by the imprisoned, in an attempt to end their pain and anguish. Hence the burning of the Moria concentration camp on the island of Lesbos, and similar actions in other camps across the globe. Desperate actions to try and alleviate desperate conditions.
      If only we the ordinary people were as well organised as our exploiters and oppressors, you have to hand it to them, they come together, discuss and organise and then ruthlessly carry out their grand plans. You have the World Bank, the IMF, Davos World Economic Forum, Bilderberg Group, then you have their International Arms Fairs where all and sundry of the power club come together to display their latest means of control and domination and offer them to the highest bidder. Then you have these imaginary lines called borders to be taken care of, so the experts on surveillance and border control mechanisms, all come together to discuss how they can tighten the controls of those imaginary lines, this year there will be one of these meetings of authoritarians in Athens, 24th.-26th. November. If we organised as they do, we would win hands down, as there are much more of us than there is of them, we could destroy this brutal insanity of a system and replace it with fairness, justice, freedom and sustainability, freed from the shackles of profit, endless wars, borders and the illusion of perpetual growth creating a structure that sees to the needs of all our people. Let's try.

The following from Act For Freedom Now:

PDF

 

Poster spread in Athens in Greek & English

 Camps are for burning…
           Inhabitants of the Moria refugee hell on the Island of Lesbos recently gave the most honest and firm response to the war that is waged against them by the European states. Arson within the camp caused two nights of fires finally leading to its total destruction. Faced with prison conditions some chose for a direct and non-negotiated attack. In Moria a completely unbearable situation was all these years imposed as normality by those in power. Intimidation was part of its management.
         Administrative blackmail was part of its management. Beatings were part of its management. Humiliation was part of its management. Starvation was part of its management. The refugee camp of Moria continuously showed us the uncovered face of the system we are all living in.
       Reminding us in harsh ways that people become dispensable once they are declared enemies by domination, unwanted by the ruling logic.

The merchants of misery work around the corner
        But in this society the loss of one is the other’s gain. Border control is key in the organization of a society which is based on exploitation and oppression. This control needs to be under constant development to retain some effectiveness. But who is doing this, how and where? A good example is an upcoming conference on the 24th till the 26th of November in the Divani Caravel hotel in Athens (www.world-border-congress.com).
         National and international politicians, high placed representatives of different policing institutions, but also business leaders of the security industry come together to discuss the advancement of the border control complex, of identification and registration, imprisonment and deportation. These are the merchants of misery, building their careers on the backs of imprisoned refugees everywhere, of those hunted and shot against the unwanted. Let us sabotage this gathering and those who participate in it, in all the ways and moments we see fit, using our creativity and determination as our compass.
        Because the fires that were lit in Moria light up our spirits and inspire our actions.

… Down with all borders!

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

Economy V People.

      Different countries respond to the coronavirus pandemic in different ways, it appears that the more capitalist developed a country is the more helping the economy is seen as a must, with the health of the people trailing behind. The more socialist orientated, then the more the health of the people is first and the economy trailing behind. Add to this the situation in the capitalist world of vested interests in the economy and crass stupidity of those in power, shaping the decisions made by our lords and masters and you can understand why some countries are facing a greater disaster than others.

     The following is an interesting article by Leonardo Flores from CODEPINK:

       Within a few hours of being launched, over 800 Venezuelans in the U.S. registered for an emergency flight from Miami to Caracas through a website run by the Venezuelan government. This flight, offered at no cost, was proposed by President Nicolás Maduro when he learned that 200 Venezuelans were stuck in the United States following his government’s decision to stop commercial flights as a preventative coronavirus measure. The promise of one flight expanded to two or more flights, as it became clear that many Venezuelans in the U.S. wanted to go back to Venezuela, yet the situation remains unresolved due to the U.S. ban on flights to and from the country.

       Those who rely solely on the mainstream media might wonder who in their right mind would want to leave the United States for Venezuela. Time, The Washington Post, The Hill and the Miami Herald, among others, published opinions in the past week describing Venezuela as a chaotic nightmare. These media outlets painted a picture of a coronavirus disaster, of government incompetence and of a nation teetering on the brink of collapse. The reality of Venezuela’s coronavirus response is not covered by the mainstream media at all.
      Furthermore, what each of these articles shortchanges is the damage caused by the Trump administration’s sanctions, which devastated the economy and healthcare system long before the coronavirus pandemic. These sanctions have impoverished millions of Venezuelans and negatively impact vital infrastructure, such as electricity generation. Venezuela is impeded from importing spare parts for its power plants and the resulting blackouts interrupt water services that rely on electric pumps. These, along with dozens of other implications from the hybrid war on Venezuela, have caused a decline in health indicators across the board, leading to 100,000 deaths as a consequence of the sanctions.
     Regarding coronavirus specifically, the sanctions raise the costs of testing kits and medical supplies, and ban Venezuela’s government from purchasing medical equipment from the U.S. (and from many European countries). These obstacles would seemingly place Venezuela on the path to a worst-case scenario, similar to Iran (also battered by sanctions) or Italy (battered by austerity and neoliberalism). In contrast to those two countries, Venezuela took decisive steps early on to face the pandemic.
      As a result of these steps and other factors, Venezuela is currently in its best-case scenario. As of this writing, 11 days after the first confirmed case of coronavirus, the country has 86 infected people, with 0 deaths. Its neighbors have not fared as well: Brazil has 1,924 cases with 34 deaths; Ecuador 981 and 18; Chile 746 and 2; Peru 395 and 5; Mexico 367 and 4; Colombia 306 and 3. (With the exception of Mexico, those governments have all actively participated and contributed to the U.S.-led regime change efforts in Venezuela.) Why is Venezuela doing so much better than others in the region?
      Skeptics will claim that the Maduro government is hiding figures and deaths, that there’s not enough testing, not enough medicine, not enough talent to adequately deal with a pandemic. But here are the facts:
      First, international solidarity has played a priceless role in enabling the government to rise to the challenge. China sent coronavirus diagnostic kits that will allow 320,000 Venezuelans to be tested, in addition to a team of experts and tons of supplies. Cuba sent 130 doctors and 10,000 doses of interferon alfa-2b, a drug with an established record of helping COVID-19 patients recover. Russia has sent the first of several shipments of medical equipment and kits. These three countries, routinely characterized by the U.S. foreign policy establishment as evil, offer solidarity and material support. The United States offers more sanctions and the IMF, widely known to be under U.S. control, denied a Venezuelan request for $5 billion in emergency funding that even the European Union supports.
       Second, the government quickly carried out a plan to contain the spread of the disease. On March 12, a day before the first confirmed cases, President Maduro decreed a health emergency, prohibited crowds from gathering, and cancelled flights from Europe and Colombia. On March 13, Day 1, two Venezuelans tested positive; the government cancelled classes, began requiring facemasks on subways and on the border, closed theaters, bars and nightclubs, and limited restaurants to take-out or delivery. It bears repeating that this was on Day 1 of having a confirmed case; many U.S. states have yet to take these steps. By Day 4, a national quarantine was put into effect (equivalent to shelter-in-place orders) and an online portal called the Homeland System (Sistema Patria) was repurposed to survey potential COVID-19 cases. By Day 8, 42 people were infected and approximately 90% of the population was heeding the quarantine. By Day 11, over 12.2 million people had filled out the survey, over 20,000 people who reported being sick were visited in their homes by medical professionals and 145 people were referred for coronavirus testing. The government estimates that without these measures, Venezuela would have 3,000 infected people and a high number of deaths.
         Third, the Venezuelan people were positioned to handle a crisis. Over the past 7 years, Venezuela has lived through the death of wildly popular leader, violent right-wing protests, an economic war characterized by shortages and hyperinflation, sanctions that have destroyed the economy, an ongoing coup, attempted military insurrections, attacks on public utilities, blackouts, mass migration and threats of U.S. military action. The coronavirus is a different sort of challenge, but previous crises have instilled a resiliency among the Venezuelan people and strengthened solidarity within communities. There is no panic on the streets; instead, people are calm and following health protocols.
      Fourth, mass organizing and prioritizing people above all else. Communes and organized communities have taken the lead, producing facemasks, keeping the CLAP food supply system running (this monthly food package reaches 7 million families), facilitating house-by-house visits of doctors and encouraging the use of facemasks in public. Over 12,000 medical school students in their last or second-to-last year of study applied to be trained for house visits. For its part, the Maduro administration suspended rent payments, instituted a nationwide firing freeze, gave bonuses to workers, prohibited telecoms from cutting off people’s phones or internet, reached an agreement with hotel chains to provide 4,000 beds in case the crisis escalates, and pledged to pay the salaries of employees of small and medium businesses. Amid a public health crisis - compounded by an economic crisis and sanctions - Venezuela’s response has been to guarantee food, provide free healthcare and widespread testing, and alleviate further economic pressure on the working class.
      The U.S. government has not responded to the Maduro administration’s request to make an exception for Conviasa Airlines, the national airline under sanctions, to fly the Venezuelans stranded in the United States back to Caracas. Given everything happening in the United States, where COVID-19 treatment can cost nearly $35,000 and the government is weighing the option of prioritizing the economy over the lives of people, perhaps these Venezuelans waiting to go home understand that their chances of surviving the coronavirus – both physically and economically – are much better in a country that values health over profits.

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

More Organising, More Talking, More Paper On The Street.

 

      Most people seem to be unaware that capitalism is on the brink of another crash, though anarchists should be aware of this, my own humble estimate is within two to three years, possibly less. All the signs are there, the world has past peak car ownership. (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-17/-peak-car-and-the-end-of-an-industry) World economic growth is in decline (https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/Issues/2019/01/11/weo-update-january-2019) The cohesion in the capitalist world is fractured, with nationalism on the rise, each country starting to replicate its own version of "America First", so the world plan to save the capitalist world is now broken into smaller power blocks, so the answer will not be the 2008, world austerity grand plan, it will be more a nationalistic scramble for survival. With the result that you and I will pay dearly for this collapse of the financial gambling casino. The two giant economies in the world America and China are slapping tit-for-tat tariffs on each other, a sure brake on the economies of those nations and those others who depend on them for their own economic survival. As poverty spreads and deepens, consumption, the life blood of capitalism, falls.

       So where does that leave us anarchists and other like minded people? For sure when the collapse comes people will be looking around for answers, and if ours are not at the forefront, on the table, they will not be picked up by the people. We can't expect them to come looking for us, and we can't wait until the collapse before we try to reach them, by then it will be too late, the usual political Messiahs will be promising them the usual pie-in-the-sky.

     I just repeat what I have always said, we need to raise our profile in the communities and work places, we need our literature, a wealth of ideas for that better future, to have a greater presence on the street, we need to find better ways of reaching that wider field of the apolitical, apathetic mass of ordinary people, who are too busy just trying to survive, without them we are going nowhere.  Of course it will not be easy, we know that the better world will not be delivered by InterFlora.

        The following extract, though it refers to America, applies equally as much here, or anywhere else for that matter:  extract from It's Going down: 

"-------Now, more than ever, it is critical that we address these shortcomings. We are entering an era of intense polarization, the rise of a genuine ultra-nationalist and fascist threat, and ecological catastrophe. Multiple indicators suggest that another recession is in the offering roughly in the next year or so. Many more people will be radicalized by the next recession and the coinciding electoral spectacle, and they will be looking for answers. If we do not reach these people, others will. In the best case, they will be reached by others preaching the dead-end roads of electoral reform or distant and ill-defined revolution. In the worst case, they will turn to the fascists. We have to recognize the present historical moment for what it is and behave accordingly.

       What must be done? We must make our movement an organizing movement. I am not arguing for the triumph of one tendency or another. If we want to build toward insurrection, we must have as many comrades as possible who share our vision and skills. If we want to create a powerful federation, we must have a popular base to draw new members from. If we want to build revolutionary syndicates, we must have organized strong unions and spread revolutionary consciousness in the broader working class. Whatever tendency we hail from, the days of isolation and sub-culturalism must end.

     How do we build an organizing movement? By focusing our energies primarily on organizing with the broad base of the people for the struggles of our era. What is organizing? Organizing is building a structure to increase the power of that structure’s members and enable them to collectively fight for their goals. Where we are exploited by the bosses, we must build revolutionary unions. Where we are robbed by the landlords, we must build radical tenant unions. Where we are brutalized the prison system and ICE, we must create networks of prisoners, migrants, and neighbors to resist the violence of the state. In each case, we must deliberately and consistently reach out to the unorganized, building relationships of trust with new participants, and create the capacity to resist where it was lacking. We must then link these organizations into wider networks capable of expanding our ability to support one another when it counts.

      There are already some encouraging signs in this direction. Comrades across the country have organized in support of the prison strike, organized tenant unions, done outreach with inspiring mutual aid programs, and carried on the anti-fascist struggle. Networks like the Revolutionary Abolitionist Movement and Symbiosis Revolution seem to be moving toward coordinating projects at the national level. But these efforts need to be significantly expanded if we are to meet the challenge that faces us.

        Our movement is uniquely positioned to succeed, if we chose to do so. We believe in the power of the oppressed; we do not waste our time canvassing for the next SYRIZA. Our comrades are extraordinarily dedicated and prepared to make real sacrifices when necessary. The key is for our movement to channel this dedication in a direction that will allow us to grow, spread our vision, and build power. But if we do not change the way that we presently operate, we will be left behind by less-promising forces.

      Wherever you are, I encourage you to start the hard work of organizing against those who are oppressing your community. Go out and speak with your neighbors, your coworkers, or those on the receiving end of the state’s violence. Link up with other groups in your area, get in touch with national organizations, or start your own group if necessary. There is much to be done and little time to waste.---"

Read the full article HERE: 

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

They Are International Mankind Fuckers, The IMF.

       On the previous piece I posted "A Truth From The IMF!!!" I feel the title may have confused some people as to my thoughts on this powerful member of the financial Mafia, though referencing them as IMF (International Mankind Fuckers), should have made that clear. So just to clarify my position even further, on this pro-corporate beast of power and wealth, here are a couple of photos that express my true opinion on this powerful member of the cabal that is intent on enslaving millions and destroying the planet, all in the name of benefits to the wealthy few. Photos and article lifted from 325:

          We are a group consisting of autonomous individuals who carried out some poster bombing and vandalism actions against Bank of Indonesia, ATMs, police posts, the Digulist roundabout, the West Kalimantan governor’s office and several other highly visible locations in Pontianak City. We carried out these actions as a response to the meeting between Global Capitalist organizations the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund that is being held in Bali from October 8-14, 2018.

       These spontaneous actions we carried out express our uncompromising rejection of a normal life full of daily submission. These actions are a manifestation of our hatred, anxiety and and anger against a system that requires us to accept a society where we have no control over our own lives. Their meeting is a clear sign that Global Capitalism has improved it’s position in controlling daily life with various disgusting economic schemes and investments.

             For us there are two options: taking action or remaining silent – and we will never choose the second option. Passively watching or reading the news about the IMF-WBG meeting, that is not an option for us. If we take a deeper look, we can see that all aspects in this world relate to economics, and yes, they are the people who are behind all of this bullshit.

           Here is a sentence that is appropriate for all those groups and individuals who condemn our actions as immoral and irrational acts: There is no system or morality that can hold us back when we reach the peak of our anger.

         And another thing you should know: you are all under their control. You just don’t realize that the concept of good / bad morality that you follow is what allows them to achieve their goals. You are all their obedient tools.
We are what you call Utopianists. We are Anarchists!

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

A Truth From The IMF!!!!

        It is not very often that I agree, if ever, with a statement issued by the IMF (International Mankind Fuckers). However, the statement issued recently that, “Britain's public finances are worse than Gambia, Uganda and Kenya, because of privatisation” does hold up under examination. It puts UK public finances at the bottom of the world’s economies. It also states that the tendency of governments to focus on debt “misses large swaths of government activity and can fall victim to illusory fiscal practices”. We ordinary folk in the UK are fully aware of the fact that the UK government, for ideological reasons, and much to the detriment of the well being the ordinary folk, has pushed full throttle one of the most drastic privatisations of any economy since the early 1980s.
      Over the previous three years the Conservative government has forced privatisation to run rampant, by coercing local governments and local authorities to flog off public assets, usually at knock down prices, to pay for the day to day running costs. This is pushed out under the lie that all this suffering of the ordinary people is necessary to bring down the national deficit.
      The IMF also states that selling off public assets may not in any way improve the public finances. It also states: “For instance, privatisations increase revenue and lower deficits but also reduce the government’s asset holdings,” and “Similarly, cutting back maintenance expenditure reduces the deficit and lowers debt, but also reduces the value of infrastructure assets, which could cost more in the long term.”
      Of course every Joe Soap knows this, and we also know that it is all done following an ideology to enrich the corporate parasites' wealth and power. The repeated mantra, that to survive it is necessary to bring down the deficit, is pushed in an attempt to get the public to see their suffering as necessary.
      Another statement this time by the GMB union, that makes this purloining of the public purse more glaringly obvious, the example they give is that, privatised water companies, over the last five years, paid £6.5 billion in dividends and interest to its shareholders. That could have been £6.5 billion into the public purse, and the asset still in public hands for future generations.
      Yes, the IMF has pointed out the illusion that privatisation helps the country as a whole, but don’t expect it any time soon to come to the logical conclusion, that therefore, we would all be better of if we took all the UK assets into public ownership. That’s a statement that the members of the IMF would choke on. Ah, if only they would make that statement, then choke and die.

 

 

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

 

When Is Enough, Enough?

         As I said before, the people of Greece have been put through the capitalist shredder by its bully boys, the financial Mafia. Now the vampires are back for more. Their puppet government in Greece are now humbly accepting the latest crippling demands from the Troika, (IMF, International Mankind Fuckers, ECB, European Criminal Bastards, EC, Exceptional Criminals,)
        With its health service in ruins, its education system disintegrating rapidly, wages slashed, pensions decimated, the Greek government is set to unleash more savage "austerity" on the unfortunate people of Greece. Here are some of the measures to be foisted on the ordinary people. There will be 14.32bn euros ($20.50bn; £12.82bn) cuts in public spending, tax rises of 14.09bn euros, over the next five years. There will be 2.32bn euros of tax increases this year, this follows on from 3.38bn euros increase in 2012, 152m in 2013, and 699m in 2014. There will be a levy to be raised twice next year from households of 1% to 5% of income. A vast swath of the poorest of families who were below the tax threshold will now find themselves paying tax. as the tax free threshold will be lowered from 12,000 euros to 5,000 euros, and property tax will be raised. Then there is that tax that hits the poorest most, VAT, 19% will go to 23%, the 11% rate will rise to 13% and the 5.5% goes up to 6.5%, restaurants will see their vat rate go from 13% to 23%.
        There is no end in sight for the people of Greece as long as this economic strangulation system of capitalism persists, the financial Mafia is not going to come over all compassionate and devise a plan to help the ordinary people of Greece, it is not in their DNA. However the people of Greece, as I said before, are not sitting down weeping and hoping for a return of the "good old days".

This from Act For Freedom Now:

       “We won’t live like slaves – The only lost battles are the one that they have not been given”. On Wednesday 17 May 2017 thousands of people joined the general strike protests all over Greece, against the new harsh financial measures of 4.9 billion euros incorporated in the 4th Memorandum signed by a Greek government, aimed once again against the lower income classes rather, than the banks and the wealthy.
       The self proclaimed left government of SYRIZA in co-operation with the right wing party of ANEL have unleashed a new class war, this time specifically aimed against people with disability and pensioners that have worked all their lives and paid their share under the false notion -as it seems- that during the time when they will be most vulnerable, they would have free public health services and subsidies that would help them get by. On the contrary after 23(!) severe cuts in pensions and allowances during the 8 years of the financial crisis in Greece (amounting to more than 50 billion euros in pension and allowances cuts during the last 7 years), that has forced people to live like beggars, a further 18% cut will be imposed on pensions under the 4th Memorandum being voted in the Greek parliament these days and a “freezing” of even the slightest raise in pensions until 2022.
      And as if a life with no future wasn’t enough, the streets of Athens have been filled with thousands of riot policemen to impose fear on people daring to protest during the general strike of 17 May 2017. Thus, during the protest in Athens anarchists attacked the riot police brigades in Syntagma Square around the Greek parliament, whilst inside politicians were discussing the new harsh financial measures to be imposed on the people, without the people. More protest will take place tomorrow 18 May during the voting of the measures in the Greek parliament.

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

With Sticks And Stones---.

       While the Greek political ballerinas in secret, discuss the continual screwing of the people of Greece and the plundering of their assets, with the financial Mafia, in the shape of the Troika, (EC, Expert Criminals, ECB, Europe Criminal Bastards, IMF, International Mankind Fuckers) the people of Greece continue to fight back. On Wednesday morning, 8th March, the ferries brought 1,000-1,300 farmers and stock breeders from the island of Crete to Athens. Here they formed up in front of the Ministry of Agriculture Offices, demanding a meeting with the Minster, who refused to accommodate their request. As usual the police and riot police moved in heavy handed, only to be met with an army of farmers retaliating with their long shepherds staffs. 

       What the people of Greece are facing is tax rates of 26% and pension cuts of 22%, unemployment of 24%, youth unemployment of 50%, a collapsed health service, and crumbling education system, a massive increase in homelessness, mental and physical health problems and suicides. Still the financial Mafia want more of the same for the innocent people of Greece. This is capitalism attempting to sort its problems by bleeding the ordinary people. Capitalism can't be fixed, it is a system of exploitation, the people's struggle can fix things, by completely removing capitalism from our lives. 

        What is happening to the people of Greece is happening to all of us, it is all a matter of degree, the direction is the same, the ordinary people are being fleeced to enhance the wealth and power of those who control the system. We can sit and wait until we reach the same position as the people of Greece, and then sink further with them, or we can start now and demolish this unfair, unjust, exploitative greed drive system of inequality. We can shape the world to our desires, rather than follow the dictate of a small army of parasites. 

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

"I Wont Pay".

 

       No doubt Greece will once again gain a little space in the babbling brook of bullshit, our mainstream media. The reason, well Greece has enough money to last until July, then it runs out. So another shuffling of billions through the various banks is necessary to keep the illusion of progress going, but for the people of Greece there is no progress. That band of robber barons that make up the "Troika", (IMF, International Mankind Fuckers, EC, European Conmen, ECB, European Criminal Bastards) are having their own problems. They can't agree on how to handle the mountain of gambling debt they have allowed to amass in Greece.  Each one of the three gambling organisations that make up that band of robbers is aware that their money, to a degree is lost, their squabble is about who has to take the biggest hit. The IMF is trying to look compassionate in saying that Greece can't make the conditions placed on it, and the debt has to be re-structured or written down. While the European wing of this criminal gambling organisation is adamant the Greece stick to the punitive policy already in place, as any change would mean that they, The European mob, would have to take the biggest hit.   

Protesters preventing a lawyer from presenting a case for repossession.

        Meanwhile, the people of Greece are experiencing ever falling living standards. The education system is in tatters, the health service has all but collapsed, unemployment is still running at around 24%, with youth unemployment at around 50%. Poverty is endemic, suicide is on a rapid increase, homelessness is at a level that no civilised country can accept, evictions are a daily occurrence. Of course the people of Greece are not sitting down and wringing their hands, they are fighting back in lots of ways. Squats, community feeding schemes, voluntary health centres and more. On the matter of Greek evictions, the group "I Wont Pay" is growing in strength and confidence. Much like the Glasgow 1915 rent strike, where the people in great masses, prevented Sheriff Officers from serving eviction notices, the "I Wont Pay" movement are cramming into the courts where landlords are attempting to get eviction orders, and making the court unworkable. They have had several successes, this we hope will give them greater numbers and greater confidence.

      While the billionaire robber barons of the financial Mafia, gamble and shuffle their ill gotten gains, we the people suffer, so that their gambling losses are recouped. How long will we put up with this blatant system of robbing the people to enrich the few. The choice is ours, do we sit and wring our hands, or do we organise to bring this festering cesspool of greed to and end?  

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

How Far Will You Let Them Push You?

 

         How far will the financial Mafia go in the decimating of people in their drive to re-capitalise their corrupt bankrupt system. Across the globe they have pushed this austerity plan hard, in some countries they have pushed it to the point of destruction. I have no doubt the will push it further if they can get away with their self-centred plan.

          Take Greece, it is now agreed that what the people of Greece are suffering is as bad as, or worse than, the 30's depression, and is expected to go deeper still. The policies forced on to the people of Greece have produced an unemployment rate of more than 25%, and among the under 25's that jumps to more than 50%, in some areas it is over 60%. The number of people in Greece suffering sever material deprivation has doubled since 2008, again sadly it is the 16-24's that have suffered the most.

           Greece is the only country in the Euro area where welfare spending has dropped, and it has dropped dramatically since 2008. A follow on from this ever decreasing welfare spending is a stratospheric rise in the suicide rate, which saw an increase of 35% between 2010-2011, with a further dramatic increase of 55% in 2012. This drop in welfare spending has also heralded in, among other horrors, an increase in substance abuse and HIV, at the same time as HIV clinics and needle exchange units have been closed..

        Homelessness and sleeping rough has seen a dramatic rise, the government's own figures, which some consider to be a modest estimate, put the number of homeless in Athens at 20,000 from a population of 660,000, with a massive increase in the 26-44 age group now homeless.

      Another effect of this financial Mafia extortion racket is the effect it will have on the future of Greece, as migration has soared. Greece has a population of approximately 11 million, since the financial Mafia's inflicted "crisis", around 400,000 have migrated. Of those who have migrated it is reported that nine in ten hold a university degree, with more than 60% holding a masters degree, and approximately 11% a PhD. How will that impact on the future of Greece? All this in a modern, supposedly democratic country in Europe, one of the richest parts of the world.

     Bearing in mind all these facts it is obvious to any individual with a grain of humanity, that the people of Greece need some assistance, What is that trio of inhumanity, the IMF, International Mankind Fuckers, ECB, Excessively Conning Banksters, EC, European Cartel, planning for the people of Greece? Why, more cuts to welfare, lower pensions, work longer to receive those diminishing pensions, higher taxes, work longer hours, and wage cuts. The people can bleed to death, the financial gambling cartel want their gambling losses back.

     This then is the general plan for us all, as the millionaire gambling cabal, the financial Mafia, continue their greed fest to recoup their gambling losses. The quality of life that you and I have is of no interest to them, we don't figure in their grand plan of plunder and looting, it is all about them saving their system and all the wealth, power and privileges that go along with that stinking bankrupt system. There is an alternative.

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

Tomorrow's World, A Privatised World!!

 

      No matter the words or the phrases used, in capitalism the aim and direction is always the same, increased wealth to the pampered parasites that control the system. "Austerity" is an avenue to privatisation, privatisation of all valued assets is the ultimate desire of that cabal that sits in those marble halls of power shuffling their money to the detriment of the planet and its people. No matter the policy, whether it is "reform", "efficiency", "austerity", "balancing the books", "growing the economy", it will always take us down the road to privatisation. Privatisation is a method of re-capitalising their bankrupt system, a way of making money from everything thing we do. Everything we need to survive, must produce a profit for the system. Mutual aid and social services are an anathema to the system, they are entities that could be transformed in to money making enterprises. 

       The methods to attain their dream of a money making world vary, but one method is to deprive a service of sufficient funds to function properly, complain about the falling service, demand reforms, finally coming up with the answer that private capital is the only remedy. It is certainly not that we can't afford the best social services, we are awash in wealth, we are surrounded by opulence, all produced by your labour, and we are the 5th richest country in the world, again because of your labour. 

      It is policy, it is ideology, that drives us down the road of "austerity" and privatisation, it is not necessity. However, if you are expecting the direction to change, you will be sadly disappointed. These decisions are not made in the Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption, they are made elsewhere, by the members of the financial Mafia, in the form of the IMF, International Mankind Fuckers, ECB, Excessively Conning Banksters, EC, European Cartel. Your local political ballerina, is merely there to carry out the dictate of the said financial Mafia.

      If you want justice, and a society that sees to the needs of all our people, then you are going to have to work very hard to get rid of this cancer that parades under the name of capitalism. The beast will not change its spots, nor will it give up it its privileges lightly. Revolutions never come with flowers alone.

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