Unfair.

 

 

            GREAT Britain, well I suppose it all depends on which side of the fence you sit. To the ordinary citizen of Great Britain the the word GREAT is a joke. Every day we have more reports of buildings with crap RAAC concrete all nearing the end of their lives, from schools, hospitals, public buildings and who know what else. We have an education system in meltdown, a transport system that is not fit for purpose, a health service that is falling apart at the seams, poverty is on the rise, homelessness is on the rise, child poverty is on the rise. More and more families depend on food banks and can't afford to heat their homes, while struggle endlessly to pay their way. We have social services that fail miserably to look after the elderly, infirm and those in need.

                                            Image courtesy of Trussell Trust.

            However, on the other side of the fence in GREAT Britain, the millionaire/billionaire class has added unimaginable amounts to their personal wealth. Large corporations are roping in mountains in profit and handing out millions to their CEO and their shareholders. Great Britain, a divided society with opulence, privileges and power for the few, and a harsh struggle with poverty and deprivation always a close neighbour for the many, who know all to well that there is nothing GREAT in these conditions.

 Image courtesy of Compensation Cafe.

          All this happens with our consent, we pay the managers of the system to handle our affairs and this is the hand they deal us. They won't change the system as it benefits them and their cronies immensely. If we want to change the system, then it is up to us the ordinary people. We must in solidarity, take control of our communities, our workplaces, our towns and cities and bring this insanity that spawns poverty, inequality and gross injustice, crashing down, we can build a better world if that is what we really want.

                                      Image courtesy of Economic Policy Institute.

Visit ann arky at https://spiritofrevolt.info      

NHS.

 

Image courtesy of Keep Our NHS Public

         The NHS is our service, it is there to see to our health needs, our accidents and our elderly. It is obvious that the political ballerinas that shape our lives are hell-bent on driving us to private health care, where they and their rich financial cronies can make lots of money from our misfortunes. It is our service and it should not be up to the staff to fight for its survival. We all must join the fight to save our NHS, to rely on staff strikes and pickets to do our job for us isn't good enough. We have to take to the streets in vast numbers demanding fair and decent conditions for all NHS staff and sufficient funding to put it back on its feet, and stop the rot that is a deliberate policy and not an accident of fate. There is not an man, woman, our child in this country, that will not rely on the NHS at some point in their lives, as it is being managed by the government to fail, all our lives are being impoverished. It is our duty to our sick, injured and elderly, as well as future generations that we stand together and stop this destruction of a vital part of any civilised society. It is our service, let's fight tooth and nail and do all that is necessary for its survival as a free excellent resource for us all. Don't allow the political ballerinas, the financial Mafia and their private health care to demolish our NHS, solidarity wins the day.

                                                     Image courtesy of inews.

 

                                                       Image courtesy of WION

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

Criminal.

           During this so called cost of living crisis, (really an exploitation crisis) the Western nations have been pouring in a virtual avalanche of weapons and ammunition to this American war with Russia, being fought on Ukrainian soil. So much so that some military experts are claiming that the West has depleted its defence capabilities and will have to make military spending, (they call it defence spending) a top priority. UK's Ben Wallace has stated that the military will get an extra £52 billion, and the pentagon has already sent $18billion on prolonging the Ukrainian blood flow, with the U$A planning to up its military budget once again.
      The European Union, in total aid, financial, humanitarian and military, has spent the most, however the U$A has by far, supplied the most in military hardware. The Kiel Institute calculated that between January 24th and November 20th, 2022 £96.7 billion flowed into Ukraine from Western countries, I have no doubt there is more we don't hear about.

Image courtesy of Energy Intelligence.

 

        So it is obvious that as far as the so called free democratic West is concerned, there is never a cry of "not enough money" when it comes to war.
         Contrast this with the cry that there isn't the money to fund the NHS properly. The flow of funds for destruction while our people die waiting for an ambulance, die waiting for treatment, die waiting for an appointment. We have reached the level of third world countries where people languish in hospital simply because there is no community social service to look after them and hospital staff are forced to take strike action to try and improve their working conditions and pay.

Image courtesy of The Mirror.

 

       In this society the government is supposed to have a duty of care for the citizens in their keeping. Failing to do this and allowing people to die because of the lack of proper funding while spending billions on destruction and death of another country's citizens, is surely criminal, and those responsible should be held to task and face criminal charges. It is our money, and we the ordinary public have no desire to see our money being used for the killing and maiming of ordinary people in another country. 

 

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

NHS.

 

         It always astounds me how out of touch those posh prats are that frequent The Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption. It seems our millionaire leader, Sunak, is rather shy about stating if he uses private health care, refusing to give a straight answer on a recent TV interview. However last year a newspaper reported that he used a private health care GP, who gives on the day appointments and charges £250 for a half hour consultation. Sunak and his rich cronies make such statements that choosing private health care is a personal choice. How many ordinary people can fork out £250 for a half hour GP consultation? How can anybody expect these people to even understand the life problems of the ordinary people, why should we even expect them to value the NHS when they cocoon themselves in private health care. These people see everything as a business opportunity, and under capitalism there is a lot of money to be made out of people's ill health and other health problems, what price is a child's life. Why do we let those rich parasites, who don't give a shit about our health, make the decisions on the NHS. Isn't about time we got rid of them and made these decisions on community based mutual aid and co-operation between communities? As I've said before, they are laughing at us.

                                              Image courtesy of Nuffield Trust.

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

Mutual Aid.

 

           Our Health Service and care facilities are a shambles, creaking at the seams underfunded, over worked. The reason is that they are tied to the state and capital, imagine a health service free from the constraints of state and capital. Imagine a health service run by health professionals and their patients. In a society based on mutual aid and co-operation it would all be possible. As long as we run our society on a system of profit, it will remain impossible. The choice is ours, continue being the slaves to the financial Mafia, live with broken health care, poverty and an eternal struggle for a decent life, or through solidarity and mutual aid break free from this insane, unjust system that caters for the rich and powerful. The choice seems a no brainer.

An interesting article from Anarchist News. 

         From https://www.healthautonomyconvergence.com/ Durham, North Carolina • Coming May 2023 •

        A convergence about healthcare and beyond❋
        Anti-authoritarian, abolitionist, and anarchist healthcare workers Re-imagining and undermining the medical-industrial complex together✹

Conspire with us…

        An invitation to deepen connections for health autonomy together. We invite healthcare workers, caregivers and all who are aligned with our principles to converge in Durham, North Carolina in May of 2023 to find and support one another while creating exits from exploitative medical mazes.
        Are you are a healthcare worker or caregiver who wants to share skills and knowledge, plug into an educational track, propose a discussion, screen a film or discuss something we haven’t even mentioned? Submit a proposal!
        Interested in tabling for the event? Click submit proposals. Interested in volunteering during the weekend? Register and shoot us an email.

About the convergence, What to expect…

         Three days and nights of discussion, workshops, speakers, hands on learning, films, food and fellowship!
         We seek experts in their respective experiences, fields, and communities to share skills and knowledge that may be difficult or impossible to access outside of the space we create together.
         For those looking to orient around specific fields for the weekend, we will experiment with tracks to (optionally) follow in order to foster self-organizing and reinforce long-lasting networks.
        We will create space to vent and grieve all we have lost in the last few years and will provide ample time to nourish ourselves together.
       Coming to Durham in May 2023 ❋ The Hospitals belong to the people
 

       Who we are
        We are anti-authoritarian, abolitionist, and anarchist healthcare workers re-imagining and undermining the medical-industrial complex.
        We look towards a future that prioritizes collective care over individualized exploitation. We honor expertise and undermine professionalism.
        We believe that all humans should have access to knowledge of their bodies, unmediated by the hands of state and capital.
         We work towards a future wherein all human and planetary life has intrinsic and non-exchangeable value, where we are able to live and die on our own terms.
         We look to deconstruct the lines separating patient and provider and hope to collaborate on truly shifting the way power flows in these systems.
         We are pro-autonomy, anti-individual, pro-intimacy, anti-commodification, and so joyful to be coming together to do this work.
         We are an evolving network. If these values resonate with you, we invite you to conspire with us.

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

Our Money.

        The NHS is crying out for funding and staff, our education system needs a massive increase in funding and teachers, our social services are being slashed, our libraries and community centres are being closed, but we are always told that there isn't enough money for this things. However when you see the volume of money that was flung into Afghanistan in the form of military occupation, you have to scratch your head and ask, why do we let these extravagant psychopaths run our lives. A billion pounds for a camp in the middle of a desert to house a force for the violent occupation of another country.

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

Toothache.

        Yea, I'm saying it again, Covid19 has been, and still is, the greatest opportunity in a generation for our corporate big boys and those hellbent on privatisation. While the corporate beast slashes away at working conditions and wages, and they gobble up billions of our taxpayers money as a wee helping hand from their friendly government, the privateer mob have been busy grabbing contracts from the NHS via a privatisation oriented government. Just one example, millions spent on crap test and trace contract jamborees, all handed to friends and buddies of the powers that be. If there is taxpayers money to be got rest assured the corporate world will be ahead of the queue with the NHS far down the line, even if it is their field of expertise.
          Not to be out done, your friendly neighbourhood dentist is in there with the grabbing fist. Needing some treatment for that tooth problem, want treated on the NHS, wait outside in the rain, but go private, please have a seat, the dentist will see you shortly. Of course there will be excuses, regulations, costs etc. but that doesn't help your toothache if you wish it to be treated on the NHS.

The following from The Herald:

 

      MORE dentists in Scotland are refusing to treat NHS patients than in England, dental leaders say, leaving many struggling to access even basic check-ups.
       An investigation by the Herald found there is wide variation across Scotland and some confusion over what treatments dentists can or are willing to provide if patients are not private due to the impact of coronavirus.
      Currently only emergency ‘aerosol generating procedures (AGPs) can be provided on the NHS, which for example involve the use of a drill, but there does not seem to be consensus on what treatments are permitted.
        More procedures are available privately because dentists are not governed by the same sanctions and dentists’ leaders say they are able to recoup the costs of enhanced PPE and other safeguards.

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

Tax Money.

       Covid19 might be a stressful period for most ordinary people, but to the government and large companies it’s an opportunity to shift taxpayers money into the corporate coffers. March this year our financial wizard, Chancellor Rishi Sunak, came up with, Covid Corporate Financial Facility, CCFF for short, a scheme to help what he considered large companies that were important to the UK economy, small companies were not included, just the big rich mob. This handout was given with minimum conditions. 

 

       While receiving billions from the taxpayers, through the CCFF scheme, these rich companies saw fit to pay out approximately £11.5 billion to shareholders and investors, and in gratitude for this taxpayers handout, they paid off thousands of employees. It is reckoned that of 26 companies involved in this CCFF taxpayers gift to big rich companies, have paid of approximately 43,000 workers.
       While this money plundering was going on the NHS was desperately crying out for PPE, struggling with staff shortages and lack of equipment. Care home residents and the staff were being denied testing facilities and left to suffer and die. This is capitalism, the economy is sacred, the corporate is valued above the well-being of the people. Every penny of the billions spent by the government in handouts to big business will have to be paid back to the financial mafia by you and I, the taxpayer. We will pay for it with unemployment, severe cuts to social services and the selling of public assets.

 

         No doubt, bumbling Boris and his rich coterie will be shouting about investing in massive infrastructure projects, to get the economy growing, what this translates as, is handing more billions of taxpayers money to large corporate very rich companies to build a host of showpiece entities that will be of little or no use to the ordinary people. HS2 springs to mind. 

 

      Surely if people look at how the system works they must draw the conclusion that this has to stop, this insane economic system of greed that feeds a small clique of parasites to the detriment of the many, has to be destroyed.

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

Claps Don't Pay Rent.

 

        Support the nurses demonstration on Glasgow Green today, Saturday 8th August, certainly got the weather. Glorious sunshine and not much wind, though there was a fair turn out, I was a little disappointed at the numbers. Where were all those who stood outside their doors and clapped, and those that put support images up on the windows, just remember, images and claps don't pay the rent. Surely now was your opportunity to come out in numbers and show some real support for the nurses.

     Just looking and having a guess, I would say that a high percentage were nurses, this was a protest with social distancing, carried out by responsible people who know what Covid19 can do, we should all take a page out of their book.

       Here are some photos for those who didn't make the demo.

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