WW3.

          Just to clarify my position, I’ll start by saying, this piece in no way, manner, shape or form, supports the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, events are not happenings that just pop up out of nowhere, they are usually points on a chain of events.
        Let’s go back to WW2 and remind ourselves of the fact that is seldom admitted to in the West, Russia won the second world war. Russia managed to push the Nazi military machine more or less from Moscow to Berlin in less time that it took the allies to push them from Calais to Berlin. At the final stages of the war, the Americans realised that the Russians would reach Berlin before they did and could therefore lay claim to the capital. So the Americans sent a dispatch rider with the American flag to Berlin ahead of their forces so that he could plant the flag in Berlin and claim that they had also reach Berlin. Hence the split of the capital into East Berlin and West Berlin.
        From that day forward, America saw Russia as a threat to its global power, and labelled Russia as an enemy.
        Since then it has done everything in its power to weaken Russia, destroy its economy and remove it from being a threat to American hegemony, It has applied various sanction, and moved its military might ever closer to the Russian border in the form of its puppet organisation NATO. Everybody knows, push a tiger into a corner and it will pounce. Russia pounced and Ukraine is where the blood is shed.
 

 

       Call it what you will, but world war 3 is in progress and the American imperialism is winning and most of the public seem to think this is a good thing. What fails to register on the public consciousness is the fact that America has invaded more countries than any other nation on the planet. America has attempted to destroy more countries economies by sanctions and threat of force than any other country on the planet. America is an imperialist nation that has imprisoned a far great proportion of it own citizens that any other country on the planet. Every analysis of the American prison system comes up with the same result, it is nothing less than a cheap slave labour institution which makes billions of dollars for the corporate world.
        American imperialism is achieving what it has always wanted, the destruction of the Russian economy and it is succeeding with the co-operation and blessing of most Western countries. It can now turn its attention to its next rival for world domination, China. America has already surrounded China with a ring of fire in the form of missile bases, see John Pilger’s Coming War on China,
         American imperialism will go to any lengths to destroy any power group or country that should dare to challenge its hegemony. It will sacrifice populations in bloody wars, it will starve the population by means of sanctions, to maintain its dominant position on the planet. Not for the benefit of the people, but for the enrichment of the corporate world of billionaires and the protection of their wealth, power and privileges.
         Peace will only come when we get rid of nation states, national borders and see the world as one village where we all benefit from co-operation and mutual aid, freed from higher authorities and the profit motive. Our obedience to their rules and propaganda, to their flag honouring and the poison of patriotism is the foundation of their success.

Patriotism

No, I shall not die for the fluttering flag,
if truth be known, ’tis nothing but a multi-coloured rag
held aloft by some foolish hand
inciting worker and peasant to kill
on some green and wooded hill,
peasant and worker from some other land.
Nor shall I shed blood for the fluttering rag
that brings out fools to stand and brag
of brutal deeds painted grand,
deeds where rustic and craftsman lie so still
killed by my brothers' misguided hand.
 

No allegiance have I for the Nation
this man made autocratic creation
that divides my brothers in a world so small,
binds us to a country's cause, right or wrong,
bids us follow its drum, sing its song,
then sheds our blood in some border brawl.
No, I'll be no slave to flag or nation,
have no ear for power oration,
though its iron heel is on my breast,
my back feels its leather thong,
at patriotism's barracoon, I'll be no guest.

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

Fascists And Migrants.

      The situation at the European border in Greece has become a war zone. Turkey, to push for support from NATO and the EU has started to use migrants as bargaining chips to further its land grab into Syria. Migrants in the eyes of the state are not people in desperate need but a thing they see as a problem or a group that can be used to build on their poisonous patriotism.

     Meanwhile as the various states procrastinate on this flow of humanity, vigilante fascist groups do their dirty work for them. Along the Greek/Turkish border these right wing thugs roam the area hunting migrants, terrorising them and subjecting them to brutal beatings, while the authorities turn a blind eye. On the Greek island of Lesbos, these fascists have gather from other countries to to roam freely attacking anybody that's doesn't speak Greek. 

     all this goes on uninterrupted  under the surveillance system of the state. This freedom granted to the fascist groups to use migrants as prey for their demented hunting forays, tells you the true nature of the states that try to control ever aspect of our lives. As long as states exist, freedom will struggle for survival.

This from Act For Freedom Now:

 

      Athens, Greece: On Saturday, March 7, 2020, anarchists and antifascists, anti-authoritarians marched through the downtown of Athens in solidarity with the migrants struggle, against all detention centers, against fences and borders. Against war, nationalism and fascism.

Greek vigilante groups in Evros are roaming freely the borders, terrorising and arresting groups of migrants that manage to find a hole through the fence, while in the greek island of Lesbos vigilante groups act like a mob that has set check points at the edges and the centre of Mytilene town (the capital of Lesbos island), verbally abuse any migrants in dinghies that reach the greek shores, attack and terrorize volunteers or NGO workers aiding migrants, smash their cars or violently beat them. Fascists from several european countries have flown to Lesbos island to take part in the mob that attacks anyone not speaking greek, migrants, NGO workers or tourists.

A school for refugee children has also been burnt to the ground by this right wing racist mob. Tourists, volunteers and NGO workers are fleeing Lesbos island because it’s not safe for anyone not speaking greek, except of foreign fascists and nationalists aiding the vigilante mobs.
        And while you would think that these despicable acts would be condoned by the majority at least of the people, the contrary happens. Racists, nationalists, conservative, neoliberals, right wingers, social democrats, even some self-proclaimed lefties, have united in a front, backing these acts or turning a blind eye on them.
      And when you hear their narrative, that the migrants are invaders and not people and that this is a war on Europe, you can’t help but remember another time when people were treating others like they were inferior, like the enemy and were applauding the attacks on people based on different characteristics and were applauding the burning of the enemy’s schools, shops and books, and they were laughing with the gassing of the “enemy” and were applauding the deaths of the “other” and then you remember this:
“First they came for the Communists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out, because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out, because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak out for me”.
     On Saturday, March 7, 2020, thousands of anarchists, anti-authoritarians, antifascists and people in solidarity in Athens, Greece, did exactly that. They chose to speak out, in defence of humanity against fascism, in defence of a world without borders, in defence of those who don’t have a voice because it has been choked by the teargas, the guns and the barbed wire fences at the edge of “Fortress Europe”.
athens.indymedia

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

In Defence Of An Ideal.

       I was recently, reading on Anarchists World Wide, an interview with a defender of the city of Serekaniye in the district of Rojava against the second largest army in NATO and its air-power, the fascist Turkish forces and their co-patriots ISIS fighters. An extremely moving report on what it is like to be involved in the defence of a territory that is more than land but an ideal a vision of a better world for all.
     One passage stood out in my mind about the importance of creating a solid foundation for that ideal that you wish to fight for and defend.

From Anarchists World Wide:

        I think one of the most important things I’ve learned here is the value of commitment. The commitment to really decide to fight the rest of your life. To make a decision that is not easy and to dump all your energies and time in building a base, to do it in the long term and with perspective. Not wanting to do things too quickly, but having perspective of what the revolutionary construction of a territory means, including society, people. I am not saying that in Catalonia there is no commitment, I say that there comes a time when, in the face of oppression, there is no possibility or half measures, it is one thing or another. And sometimes we expected to respond, but if we respond without having built the entire base on a social, ideological and structural level, the response to the attacks will be very short. It will not be long because it will not be ideological, it will not be based on common and shared values.
       And then, of course…how to say it in Catalan? There is much talk here about bawerî, about faith. I believe that at home we have no faith in our own steps, in our structures, in our commitment, also at the vital level. Because if we do not start with ourselves, if we do not fight against our sexist personality, against the competitiveness that exists in us and the capitalist mentality that we have, if we do not learn to live collectively, how can we consider a real change? This is what I have seen here, that life and struggle are the same, that we have to get people to believe again, get organized again and not be afraid of difference, because the difference is what makes community.

Read the full article HERE:

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

The Crushing Of Democracy After WW2

       For an interesting look at the machinations of the western democracy farce and how it functions hand in glove with fascist groups, and pursues their agenda with callous brutality, the following article is well worth a read. Since the second world war the ideology of the meagerly disguised  Western Fascism has pillaged the freedom of the people across the whole of Europe with a ruthlessness that is only matched by its brutality and deception. Yet there are those who still accept that it waves the flag of freedom and democracy.

Worth reading in full, from The Transmetropolitan Review:

-------Like most North Americans, the anarchists of the US can be quite clueless. Living in the center of an empire has long been known to produce delusional thinking, entitlement, myopia, selfishness, and above all, ignorance. In this regard, North Americans are anything but exceptional. The crimes of the US empire are well cataloged, their details readily available online, and the atrocities archived in a thousand different libraries. Despite these facts, even the most radical US anarchists remain oblivious to the lasting impact of their country’s imperialism across the globe. To highlight this unfortunate pattern, and also reveal a way to reverse its effects, this essay will focus on the country that has influenced contemporary US anarchism more than any other: Greece.----

------- The fact that a nation-state of less than 11 million people came to shape US anarchism is certainly mind-boggling, especially if one tries to find direct links, but the explanation is very simple. On December 6, 2008, the Greek police executed a 16 year-old anarchist named Alexis Grigoropoulos in cold-blood, triggering a month-long insurrection that left the country scorched and smoldering. Unlike other global uprisings tied to the economy, this insurrection was fueled by a simple truth: the police think they can kill whoever they want and now we’ll punish them for it. There was no other reason for this revolt. Compared to the US, the Greek police kill relatively few people, making the ferocity of this insurrection nearly holy in its righteousness and justification. At the time, many US anarchists asked themselves, if our Greek comrades will do this over one murder, why can’t we do this for the hundreds murdered by police in the US every year.-------

      For details of how after the second world war, the US, Western Europe and NATO savagely went about trying to crush any attempt by the people to build democracy, read the full article HERE:

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

The Suffering Of The Libyan People, Part Of The Grand Plan.

       The destruction of Libya by the Western imperialist military wing, NATO, is no longer news. We are supposed to sit back and consider it a success and the people of Libya have been given democracy, thanks to our unselfish assistance. What a massive distortion of the truth, eight years on and Libya, and I'm not spouting praise for Gaddafi, far from it, what was a modern state with a national education system, health service and other modern facilities, has been reduced to a barbaric feuding tribal land, where poverty and bloodshed are co-joined twins. All part of the Imperialists' strategy to destroy any power structure in that part of the world, so that its resources can be freely plundered. Syria an on going process and Iraq, are similar scenarios, with Iran and Venezuela, marked for similar treatment. The callous savagery of Western imperialism knows no bounds. 

Democracy Western Style.

Some extracts from a Middle East Eye article: 

       NATO’s bombardment of Libya in 2011 was never about human rights. Rather, it was the wilful creation of a failed state, designed to ensure the country could never again re-emerge as a strong, united, independent power

       Of course there is not always unity between the Western imperialists, there is deep rivalry between the various power blocks within the power hungry cabal.

A blood-soaked chessboard

      At the same time, Libya continues to serve as a blood-soaked chessboard for inter-imperial rivalries between Western powers, with France and Italy backing different sides in the ongoing civil war, each vying to position itself as the "indispensable power" in the region. To this end, May saw a conference hosted by Emmanuel Macron in Paris – with the Italians cut out – while Italy held its own rival event in Palermo six months later.

     Neither produced anything concrete for Libyans, although the French president's promise of December elections may well have spurred further violence, as each side sought to create facts on the ground in the run-up. The elections, needless to say, never happened - nor could they have, in the absence of any kind of agreed constitutional framework for carrying them out. 

      Even when they come together to destroy a country, they can't always agree on dividing the spoils, greed dominates their entire individual ideology.

     - the progress of the LNA, the reconciliation with Gaddafi loyalists, and the success of the Libyan-led negotiations - were a blow to the US-UK policy of militia-led destabilisation.

Read the full article HERE:
   
      Looking at the Libya, Iraq and Venezuela situation, the logic should surely follow that with the mass protests in France and America, surely it is time for intervention to bring these poor suffering people democracy, NATO, where are you when you are needed.

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

A Game Of Chicken, With Civilisation At Stake.

       I'm no lover of the Russian state, or any state for that matter, but I do get concerned by this onslaught of vitriol that is being flung at the Russian state, with no evidence produced by the accusers. Would the UK state lie? Remember Iraq? Of course our babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media, throws its full propaganda expertise behind the campaign, instead of investigating and trying to reveal evidence to support or otherwise, of their claims. In this insane world of competing power blocks, all armed to the teeth with nuclear weapons, we the public, should be concerned, when one nuclear power group tries to push another nuclear power nation into a corner. Surrounds it with nuclear weapons and tries to destroy its influence in the world. A game of "chicken" between nuclear powers is insanity in the extreme, with civilisation the likely victim.  Does the cornered nuclear state back down or retaliate, continuing the escalation, in which case we the public across the globe are the losers, not the lords and masters of the nuclear war machines.

      In the following video John Pilger tries to blow away the fog and dispose of the smoke and mirrors of this worrying, if not terrifying, war mongering rhetoric. Thanks Loam for the link.

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

The Undemocratic Bombing The World Into Democracy!!!

        America along with its other members of that bully-boys club, NATO, stomp around the world bombing nations to destruction, maiming, displacing and killing, countless millions of innocent civilians. This the club spouts as, "bring democracy" to these people. Of course if you swagger around the world bombing them into "democracy", the assumption is that your own countries are "democratic". However, you don't have to look for long to see that "democracy" is very thin on the ground of the member states of the bully-boys club, NATO. 

      The previous post "The Viciousness Of Austerity" points to the injustice and inequality, and therefore, total lack of "democracy" in the UK. The following video displays how the "democratic" member state of Spain, deals with the legitimate protests of its people. Thanks Loam for the video link.

 

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

We Must Not Let History Repeat Itself.

       History repeats itself, just as the capitalist/imperialists in 1936 turned a blind eye or actively indulged in the destruction of the Spanish revolution, NATO, America, and Russia turn a blind eye while the dictator Erdogan  unleashes his Western kitted out military machine, against the people of Afrin. No alternative to capitalism will ever be allowed to survive, no matter the cost to human life, if the capitalist/imperialist cabal of this world has its way. In their rules it is capitalism or death. Surely the line must be drawn somewhere?

Insurrection News-Received on 09.03.18:

          For more than 6 weeks we have had to watch the Turkish state attack and occupy, together with Islamist groups like ISIS and Al-Qaida, Afrin, the most western canton of Rojava. In this extermination campaign, the invaders are neither deterred by the deliberate bombardment of civilians nor by the use of chemical weapons. The Islamist mercenaries and fascist Turkish soldiers leave a trail of devastation, plunder, rape and murder, they practice an ethnic cleansing of the territory of Kurds. So far, more than 300 civilians and many militants have given their lives, dozens of villages have been destroyed and hundreds of thousands of people have had to leave their homes.

          Despite the determined resistance of Afrin’s people and their YPG / YPJ / SDF defense units, the Turkish army manages to gain more ground every day. While the Turkish offensive was stuck in the border area of the canton for the first month, in recent days important small towns such as Raco and Shera have been conquered by the invaders. Their destination is Afrin City, the place where civilians have fled the villages and small towns they have conquered so far.

        This is made possible by the massive use of modern NATO technology such as fighter jets, artillery, tanks and drones. The fascist-Islamist war of aggression against Afrin is not only Erdogan’s attempt to destroy the Kurdish freedom movement; While Russia opens the door to the Turkish Air Force and the Syrian Assad regime is de facto inactive, NATO actively supports this war with intelligence information, military technology, weapons and ammunition from Western factories. The hypocritical messages from the palaces of power can not hide the fact that this war is nothing but the reckoning of the rulers with the revolution of Rojava. It is a reckoning with the attempt to counter the capitalist system with a self-determined alternative of radical democracy, women’s liberation, real gender equality, and social ecology.

         As radical left in Europe, we should be aware of the historical significance of these days. The attack on Afrin is an attempt to destroy the most promising revolutionary project of our generation. The Rojava Revolution is not only the only significant emancipatory perspective in the Middle East, but also one of the worldwide last remaining glimmers of hope for another world.

        Like no other revolution of the last decades, Rojava has inspired us and shown us how radical and beautiful the struggle for the liberation of a society can be. The heroic resistance of YPG and YPJ in Kobani and the self-organization of the population under the initiative of self-liberating women cast a spell over thousands of leftists, anarchists, socialists and feminists. Worldwide, this revolution was discussed, admired and given solidarity, hundreds of people made their way to Rojava and participated in the resistance against ISIS and the building of a new society. In spite of all the contradictions, the Rojava movement, with its determination, its attachment to the people and the concrete implementation of our utopias, has become the most important focal point of the global struggle against capitalism, patriarchy and racism.

         Today, this project is standing with its back to the wall. The war over Afrin is a struggle for existence or not-existence for the revolution in Rojava. If Afrin falls, Minbij will fall as well. With a victory for the Turkish state west of the Euphrates, American imperialism will also rethink its regional strategy and consider to hand over northern Syria to Turkey-affiliated Islamist militias under the FSA label aka ISIS and Al-Qaida / Al-Nusra. This would not only be the beginning of ethnic cleansing and the bloody end of the Rojava revolution, but also the beginning of a new phase in the development of Turkish fascism as a source of worldwide Islamism – Erdogan’s dreams of the new Ottoman Empire with him as Sultan at the head would no longer have any counterpart. The dictatorship inside would be consolidated for decades, the colonial expansion would be extended to the outside. The Middle East would be driven deeper into the chaos of war and annihilation without a force that can develop an emancipatory alternative.
        The fact that developments in the Middle East have a direct impact on political and social processes also in Europe and other parts of the world has not only been shown by the attacks of ISIS in recent years. The rise of racism, sexism and antisemitism in European societies, the new militarism and the ever-increasing calls for the authoritarian state and thus the comeback of the radical right, are directly related to this. We must be aware that the conditions under which we, the radical left, are struggling in the centers of power are also shaped by the international balance of power. And the same is true of the political conditions in the metropolises of capitalism, which influence the conditions under which our friends fight in Afrin.

        The people of Rojava are still standing, YPG / YPJ / SDF are opposed to these developments. And this resistance has so far only been successful because people have decided to give everything for it. However, they will not be able to defend against the brutal superiority of the attacking Turkish army and their Islamist helpers without international support. But despite weeks of worldwide protests, the states of North America via Europe to Russia hold on to their cruel decision to end this revolution, and seem to have sealed the fate of the people in Rojava. The resistance in Afrin will only succeed if we are ready to give it all, even if it is the most valuable.

         We will not continue to watch this injustice passively. We will not leave the people in Rojava and our fighting comrades alone, because the war against Afrin is just as much a war against us. The Turkish attack on Afrin is NATO’s political, economic and military push into the heart of our revolutionary struggles, dreams and hopes. We will carry this war back to where it is approved, supported, legitimized and produced. We will drive up the costs for those who benefit from this war. We will hold to account those who endorse the murder of civilians and legitimize them as a supposed “war on terror”. And we will make the deafened European public listen up and remind our societies that we all have a responsibility for what governments are doing on our behalf.

         In this sense, we call upon all emancipatory forces worldwide to break the silence and give a voice to the people of Rojava that no one else can ignore. If not us, who else will be able to remind our societies of their responsibilities? The situation in Afrin is an existential threat to all our revolutionary perspectives – when, if not now, is it time to risk everything? If Afrin falls, it will be too late. Only if we give everything, we will be able to win everything.

The past solidarity actions with the resistance in Afrin have been right and good. We greet all the comrades who have been organizing, demonstrating and carrying out direct actions for weeks. These were important moments, but they are not enough. In the current situation, the murderous silence and the support of fascist Turkey by the international community forces us to other means. We must exercise our right of self-defense of our hopes.

         Direct actions can not only be a concrete intervention in the war and propaganda machinery of the Turkish state and its helpers, but have much more potential to draw attention to the extraordinary urgency of the situation. Burning Turkish consulates, sabotaged armaments companies and mass militant actions against the symbols of capitalist and imperialist rule will break the silence and make the atrocities of Turkish fascism no longer ignorable. The system in Europe thrives on us to engage and stun, to pacify conflicts and contradictions – let this false illusion of social peace go up in flames. Let us show the rulers that we will resist the attacks with the people of Rojava and defend by all means the revolution in Rojava, which is also our revolution.

         We call on Monday, 12.3.2018 to start with this militant campaign wherever we can hit the rulers: Radical, creative and courageous, involve you and organize local actions as a prelude to a resistance that will show the powerful of this world that Afrin is not alone. Like the people of Rojava, we also say: “Together we will fight, together we will lose, or together we will win”.

Afrin will not fall!

Biji Berxwedana Afrin!

Long live the international solidarity!

Radical cells in the heart of the beast
8.3.2018

        We will collect all direct actions in solidarity with the Afrin resistance and possible targets at: fight4afrin.noblogs.org

Contact: fight4afrin[at]riseup.net

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

Policies Written In Blood.

         The following video is of West's powerful butchers, the power mongers of NATO, the brutal protectors of the West's corporate imperialists. Having wined and dined on our money, they display their arrogance by proclaiming their belief, "We are the world", their joyous and flamboyant display disguises their savagery, their blood socked past, and their brutal destructive vision. When will we rise up and rid ourselves of this militarised savagery and corporate greed. Their policies are written in the blood of ordinary people, and it is all about plundering of resources, corporate greed and state power.

Thanks Loam for the link:

       At the Istanbul meeting on 13 May 2015, NATO leaders finished a well-watered meal. They mock the cretins who believe in them by singing "We are the world". This video is of Jens Stoltenberg, General Philip Breedlove, Federica Mogherini and many of the West's Defence Ministers.

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

Where Is Our Righteous Anger?

      Why do we continually put up with our lords and masters' never ending desire to spend our tax money on the destruction of other people's countries. We are in an endless slaughter of innocents, authorised by our so called, democratic government. Cameron is now showing withdrawal symptoms as his sadistic Libyan adventure slides in to history. Come July we will see his excitement rate jump, as he and his imperialist cronies start episode two of his Libyan massacre.

       What most people don't recognise is the extent of the brutal assault on the people of Libya by that minder of Western corporatism, NATO. If we look at the bombardment of Syria, since 2014, not counting Russian air strikes, there has been just under 4,000 allied air strikes. In Iraq, air strikes against Daesh, have numbered approximately 8,500. If we combine these air strikes we have approximately 12,500.  The population of Syria is roughly 22.8 million and the population of Iraq 33.4 million and they have received an appalling 12,500 air strikes. Now let's look at Libya, with a small population of less than 7 million this unfortunate country felt the wrath of Cameron via NATO with an astonishing 26.500. A part from the human misery caused, it should be remembered that each missile fired cost between £500,000 and £1 million. How many hospitals went bang, and how many schools went boom, in  the batting of an eye?

 Syria.

       Not content with that, Cameron and his imperialist cohorts are planning another assault on the people of Libya. Why, well having destroyed the infrastructure of that country and turned it into a quagmire of fighting factions, it is difficult to control the oil efficiently. So they need a subservient, compliant government to run the place. Since there isn't one, they have shipped in a bunch of pro-Western/Saudi puppets, who are holed up in some western protected bunker, and this is what they call the legitimate government of Libya. So now we have to go in and blow the shit out of the rest of the country and build this Western chosen clique an army, so that we can do deals with them to more rapidly extract Libya's gas and oil. 

Iraq.

      They are planning to pour more of our tax money into the destruction of an already devastated country, with the result of countless more deaths of innocent people, we will be supporting a group of people whom the people of Libya have no part in choosing, all to help the Western corporate greed machine.

     We should be angry, we should be very angry, we are being made complicit in the murder of innocents, to feed the greed of Western imperialism. No where in this Dante's Inferno of greed is there a thought for the welfare of the people of Libya. The teachers, plumbers, drivers, grandparents and grandchildren of Libya will be the victims of this bloody greed fest.

Libya.

      Where is our righteous anger, where are the crowds on the streets, this slaughter will continue unless we the people stop it, the powers that be are all in favour of this continuing resource grab, by violence or any other means, and to hell with the people.

Time To Rage.

Time to rage, like a river running wild

Time to rise, to save the child,

Time to rage, like a mountain flood,

Time to rise, to stop the blood,

Time to rage, with righteous anger,

Time to rise, to point the finger.

Famine, misery, sickness,death

Stretch across these pleasant lands;

War, greed, hunger, blood

Sour the lovely desert sands,

Charity, chat, quiet dismay

Is not enough,

Prayers, thoughts,what PM's say

Is useless stuff.

Time to rage, like a river running wild,

Time to rise, to save the child,

Time to rage, like a mountain flood,

Time to rise, to stop the blood,

Time to rage, with righteous anger,

Time to rise, to point the finger.

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

Ukraine For The Ukrainians.

       Obama, mouthpiece for Western corporate power, aided and abetted by our own bunch of rabid pups, the Cameron cabal, are ratching up their rhetoric, in an attempt to prepare us for a blood bath in Ukraine, as they want a slice of that unfortunate country. Meanwhile the Russian imperialists are manoeuvring and manipulating to see that they are not outdone in this corporate land grab. Both empires are prepared to sacrifice the blood of the people of Ukraine and the blood of their own citizens to satisfy their power lust. It could be 1914, when the greed of imperialism dragged Europe into the bloodiest era of its existence, all for power and wealth for that psychopathic parasitic scum, that sits on our shoulders like a caked scab, the so called "elite".

      Millions took to the streets to try to stop the illegal invasion of Iraq, we should be prepared to take to the streets again to stop this re-make of that horror story, "The 1914 Land Grab".  

 

This from SACC:

 

Ukraine Crisis - Public Meetings in Scotland

 

       Ukraine is at the brink of war. It is being pulled apart by imperialist forces, from the East Russian forces and from the West NATO, the EU and the USA.

       SACC is one of the co-sponsors of a series of public meetings being held in Scotland with Zakhar Popovych from the Ukrainian Left Opposition. Zakhar Popovych will give an eye witness account of recent developments and offer a left analysis of events so far. Obviously Zakhar Popovych cannot represent the full range of left opinion in Ukraine, but we hope these meetings will contribute to a better understanding of the Ukraine crisis and will stimulate debate.

 

Please invite your friends and help to make these meetings a success

 

Fri 16 May - Eyewitness report from Ukraine (Dundee)

7.30pm, Queen's Hotel, Nethergate, Dundee DD1 4DU

On facebook

 

Sat 17 May - Eyewitness report from Ukraine (Edinburgh)

4-6pm, Augustine United Church, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1EL

On Facebook

 

Sun 18 May - Eyewitness report from Ukraine (Glasgow)

2pm, Jurys Inn, 80 Jamaica Street, Glasgow G1 4QG

On Facebook

 

More about the Ukraine Crisis

 

Manifesto: 10 theses of the Leftist Opposition in Ukraine (14 January 2014)

Zakhar Popovitch speaking in London (video, 12 March 2014) 

No UK troops for Nato's Ukraine war games - Statement from the Stop the War Coalition (23 April 2014) 

Ukraine’s ‘Dr. Strangelove’ Reality by Robert Parry (5 May 2014) 

A view on the Ukraine crisis from Scotland by Paul O'Hanlon (10 May 2014) 

In Ukraine the US is dragging us towards war with Russia by John Pilger (14 May 2014)

 

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

 

Two Rats From The Same Sewer.

       Two rats from the same sewer, finance and arms dealers, both are central to the festering abscess that is capitalism. They both feed each other, with death and misery being the result. The corporate financial Mafia are the driving force behind the "austerity" ideology that is responsible for the rapid declining living standards of the ordinary people everywhere. The arm industry, with the help of the financial mafia, the banks, feed the thugs, such as NATO, that create mayhem, death and destruction across the planet, in an attempt to protect the interests of their lords and masters, the corporate world.

       The ordinary people gain nothing from neither, but pay in blood and sweat to fatten the coffers of these, surplus to requirements parasites. Anything that can be done to highlight the true nature of their business and turn the public against them can't be bad.

 This from Act For freedom Now:

 

--------A local anarchist and member of the Stop NATO Cymru campaign group said: “We took part in the May Day march to draw attention to the struggles of workers all over the world against exploitation and violent oppression which is exacerbated by arms producers here in the UK.

       We targeted Barclays because it’s a major investor in Exelis Inc. the parent company of the EDO Corporation which is guilty of mass-producing arms to sell to oppressive regimes, exacerbating violent conflict and suppressing legitimate protest. Barclays Global Investors UK Holdings Ltd has 5,059,591 shares in Exelis and Barclays PLC has 63,071 shares.

       We entered the branch after leaving the May Day march and refused to leave until we had made an impact. Within half-an-hour the management decided to close, depriving the company of a busy Saturday afternoon’s profit through direct action. We sent our message to the public by plastering the front of the building with stickers which gave details of Barclays’ guilt and sent a clear message to the company that we won’t tolerate money from our communities being used to fund war.”-------

Read the full article HERE:

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

The Smoke And Mirrors Of Ukraine.

      It is difficult to get the truth of what is going on in the Ukraine, at work are vested interests, each with their own hidden agenda, the propaganda machines are at full throttle. On Ukraine, the mainstream media, that babbling brook of bullshit, has become a raging torrent of sewage. Figures and maps are thrown around, and all of them prove anything you want, or nothing at all. America accuses Russia of destabilising the country for its own interests, something the Americans should know something about, since they have been doing it across the globe for decades. Whatever information we may get from Ukraine, you can rest assured that it will not be the voice of the people of Ukraine. That story will not come through our corrupt, biased and corporate controlled media. 

       There is a very informative article by William Boardman, who writes for Reader Supported News, the article is worth a read, below is just a couple of short quotes:

     Before the Maidan began in Kiev in the fall of 2013, the Russians were allowed by treaty to have 25,000 troops in Ukraine, all in bases in Crimea. Once Russia controlled Crimea, early reports of Russian troops in Ukraine often confused this reality with other things that may or may not have been real, such as the March 7 report that the Pentagon estimated the presence of “20,000 Russian troops in Ukraine.” If true, the Russians would seem to have been under-massed by about 5,000 troops.  Whatever else was true during the Crimea takeover, there were no pictures of massive Russian troop movements. Video of Russian tanks moving to Crimea on trains were, if real, showing those tanks moving unmolested through southern Ukraine, the only rail route from Russia to Crimea.

      And there’s another constituency with a clear vested interested in pushing the Russian threat toward a new Cold War: arms makers (excuse me: “defense contractors”). As the NATO secretary general said quite plainly at the NATO Transformation Seminar, April 8:

“The reality is that Europeans have disarmed too much and for too long In NATO, we have agreed a defence spending guideline of 2% of Gross Domestic Product. Too few Allies meet this guideline. And too many have moved too far in the other direction. This is the time to stop the cuts and start reversing the trend.”

You can read the full article HERE:

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

The Next Chapter In The Philosophy Of Endless War??

 

      Destroyed Iraq, busted Libya, smashed Afghanistan, now it's Russia. Western war mongers prepare for the next chapter in their philosophy of endless war.

This appeal from Stop The War Coalition:  

As Crimea war talk escalates, here's how you can help

     Yesterday Nato's top military commander Philip Breedlove called on the West to prepare for military action "in the Baltics and other places". And in Britain Lord Dannatt, former chief of general staff of the British army, called for 3,000 soldiers to be maintained in Germany to send a clear signal to Russia.
      As the crisis is intensified, in no small part by the rhetoric of a growing number of war mongers in the West, help us reach our 2014 Appeal target so that we are ready to respond.
We have now raised £7568, which is over half of our target. That's a fantastic response to our call for support and thanks to everyone who has contributed so far.
      If you haven't already donated to the 2014 Appeal, please consider making a contribution now by clicking the donate button:

     Alternatively you can make a donation by phoning 020 7561 4830 or send a cheque made payable to Stop the War Coalition to Stop the War, 86 Durham Road, London N7 7DT

Stop the War Coalition | office@stopwar.org.uk | 020 7561 4830

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

No War In The Ukraine.

        We should have no illusions, what is being played out in the Ukraine is a clash of two empires. Since the break up of the Soviet Union, the Western corporate empire has grabbed more and more of the Russian empire, and they want Ukraine. Just as the First World War, with its unbelievable slaughter of young lives, was a land grab between empires, and the Second World War more of the same, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, wars fought on lies, we surely aren't foolish enough to swallow the present crap that is being pumped out by that babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media. State wars are fought for power and wealth, never for freedom and democracy, and this present conflict is no different. The Western corporate states don't give a shit about the lives of the ordinary Ukrainians, it is all about expansion, and control of resources. If it comes to a war, and we the people, mustn't let it, it is the ordinary people that will shed their blood and it is the corporate war mongers that will fatten their bank accounts with the plunder. 

UKRAINE
Say NO to another U.S. war!

Urgent call for anti-war actions

March 10 to March 17

      The threat is real. Sanctions, war build up, warships with guided missiles to the Black Sea, F-15 fighter jets on Russia's border are dangerous provocations. Washington has recognized and committed more than $10 billion to an illegal right-wing government that seized power from elected officials.

     Actions large and small are urgently needed -- informational picket lines, visits to congressional offices, protests at media centers against war propaganda, vigils, and challenges to government officials. Let's make our voices heard.

   In NEW YORK CITY 

No new U.S. war! Stop media lies about Ukraine
March from CNN to Fox News
Friday, March 14
5 pm to 6 pm -
Rally at CNN, 10 Columbus Circle
(Broadway & 59th St)6 pm
March down Broadway to FOX News,
49th St. & 6th Ave.

Facebook event: facebook.com/events/226160010906938

UKRAINE: What the media isn't telling you
WAR ALERT

      Corporate media have always lied about the reasons for war, from Vietnam and Iraq to Libya and Syria. If you turn on CNN or FOX News, read the New York Times or listen to NPR, you aren't getting the real story. Here are 10 things the U.S. corporate media won't tell you about what's happening in Ukraine.

1. Washington planned the coup in Ukraine.
      U.S. State Department official Victoria Nuland was caught on tape plotting who would be the next head of Ukraine. She bragged that the U.S. had spent $5 billion funding the so-called democracy movement there. Senator John McCain went to Kiev, spoke at rallies and was photographed with the leader of the fascist Svoboda party. Neo-Nazi forces took over buildings and threw out the elected government in a coup d'etat, then passed new laws with no quorum in the parliament.

2. There has been no Russian invasion.
      Washington officials have threatened Russia for "invading" Ukraine. It's a Big Lie meant to cover up U.S. involvement in the coup. Russia has a military base in Crimea, a predominately Russian ethnic area, and is legally allowed to station up to 25,000 troops in the country. Russia has said it may act to protect civilians if they are threatened by the neo-Nazis in Kiev. That is all.

3. The U.S. war buildup.  
      The Navy has deployed the USS Truxton, a warship armed with guided missiles, to the Black Sea. Six F-15 fighter jets and 60 military personnel have been sent to Lithuania, in addition to those already stationed there. The U.S. and EU are imposing sanctions and travel bans on Russian officials. Politicians from Hillary Clinton to John McCain have compared Russian President Vladimir Putin to Hitler. When preparing for war, the U.S. always uses this bogus comparison to demonize leaders of opponent countries.

4. Neo-Nazis dominate the new government.
     The openly racist, anti-Semitic and pro-Hitler Svoboda party is one of three major parties in the government. Svoboda led the street actions that forced elected President Yanukovych to flee. The Right Sector, armed fascists who have beaten opponents and vandalized public property, are now in charge of the military. Immediately after the coup, Ukraine's chief rabbi, Moshe Reuven Azman, urged Jews to flee Kiev. The government's first act was to ban the use of Russian and other minority languages. Opponents of the coup have been beaten, disappeared, or had their offices and homes vandalized and burned.

5. Coup leaders hired snipers to justify their takeover.
     A leaked call between Estonian and European Union officials reveals that people behind the new government hired snipers to kill protesters and police in Kiev. President Yanukovych was blamed for the killings and this was used to justify the coup.

6. Wall Street and Big Oil want to control Ukraine - and Russia.
      Oil and gas pipelines in Ukraine bring fuel from Russia to Europe. Big Oil wants to control the pipelines to cut the flow from Russia and hike their own profits. The U.S. has even offered the new government gas from dangerous fracking drilling here! Russia is the world's largest producer of gas, oil and industrial minerals. They want to break up Russia too. Wall Street would love to get its claws deeper into Ukraine and Russia - to drive up profits and push down wages for workers here and there.

7. NATO's drive to expand.
      As part of the Western drive to dismantle Russia, the Pentagon wants to establish military bases on the Ukraine/Russia border. The U.S. dominated NATO alliance has expanded aggressively into eastern Europe in the past 20 years, adding 12 countries to its roster so far. U.S./ NATO forces continue to occupy Afghanistan to the south.

8. Billions for coup in Ukraine, cuts for food stamps in U.S.
     In early February, Congress and the Obama administration agreed to cut SNAP food assistance benefits for hungry families by $8.7 billion, claiming there's no money. Yet just weeks later, they announced $10 billion in assistance to the neo-Nazis in Kiev. Secretary of State John Kerry personally delivered the first billion on March 4.

9. Power for the 1%, misery for workers.
      The new regime has appointed wealthy oligarchs as governors of rebellious regions of Eastern Ukraine. It's also agreed to an IMF austerity plan drafted by Washington to cut workers' pensions, unemployment insurance and social programs - just like the cutbacks workers from Detroit to Greece face.

10. People across Ukraine are fighting back.
      People in Eastern Ukraine and throughout the country are organizing against the coup. Some have taken over regional and city buildings and refused to hand them over to the new authorities. Others are marching on military bases and demanding that the troops not obey the commands of the neo-Nazis in Kiev. Some are calling on the Russian government to protect and assist them. The people of Ukraine remember well what Nazi rule was like during World War II, and they will not stand for it again.

Get informed!
Find more information on Ukraine and upcoming actions at
IACenter.org

Join us! Educate, organize and protest.
Let's stop the next U.S. war before it starts.

International Action Center 

Variety of downloadable signs helpful for
Ukraine No War demonstrations
www.iactucson.org/signs

 Statements & further reading   

United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC) demands
'U.S. hands off Ukraine and Venezuela"
http://nepajac.org/UNAC_030614.html

Veterans for Peace - San Diego:
"Preparing for war with Russia"
sdvfp.org/preparing-for-war-with-russia/

Glen Ford:
"Hillary and other assorted barbarians at Russia's gate"
www.blackagendareport.com/content/hillary-and-other-assorted-barbarians-russia%E2%80%99s-gate

Ajamu Baraka:
"Ukraine and the Pathology of the Liberal Worldview:
An African American Perspective"
www.counterpunch.org/2014/03/07/ukraine-and-the-pathology-of-the-liberal-worldview/

Transcript of leaked Victoria Nuland-Geoffrey Pyatt call
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-26079957

Leak : Estonian FM says Maidan snipers were not Yanukovich's
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/03/05/1282285/--BREAKING-Leak-Estonian-PM-says-Maidan-snipers-were-not-Yanukovich-s

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iacenter@iacenter.org

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