9/11?

         As most Westerners remember 9/11, a dreadful tragedy in which almost 3,000 people died, a disaster which was a retaliation for Western imperialism from those who resent it most. It was an incident that marred so many innocent lives and those are the people our hearts must go out to in sympathy. However 3,000 deaths are dwarfed by the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, that have died at the hands of the Western imperialist foreign policies. From the Philippines, 1899-1902, Vietnam, 1969-1973, Iraq, 2003-2011, Afghanistan, 2001-2021, are just some of the Western imperialists foreign policies that have turned so many against the West.

                                                              Afghanistan.

                                                                   Chile.

                                                                   Iraq.

Vietnam.

        However, when we pay our respects to those who died in the American 9/11 we should also remember that other 9/11, the Chilean 9/11. September 11th. 1973, the U$A supported the overthrow of the elected Chilean government of Salvador Allende in a military coup by General Pinochet. This brutal dictator’s rule ushered in an era of savage state repression and brutality against any opposition, and didn’t end until 1990, by which time more that 3,000 Chileans were dead or missing, while thousands more had fled into exile. All this under the helping hand of the U$A imperialists.

 

FOREIGN POLICY.

Listless eyes, lifeless face
motionless body with hanging limbs
carried by a mother fleeing
foreign policy’s vicious whims.

No toys, no laughter
no playing in the sun,
a short pitiful life;
an Afghan child, 2001.

No plans, no choices
no hope by any name,
collateral damage
in the big players game.

 

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

US Imperialism.

         An accepted fact, the American imperial empire distorts, circumvents and over rules justice in country after country. It is the pattern of empires through the centuries, its citizens are seen as superior to those of other countries. That attitude usually persists even after empires have lost a lot of their power, this manifests itself in the state's attitude to migrants and other facets including that disease called patriotism.

The following from Struggle-la-lucha:

 

        All of Jennifer Laude’s friends called her “Ganda” or “Beauty” in Filipino. Laude’s friends described her as selfless, generous and confident about her sexuality. She was murdered for being a transwoman, and her murderer was never brought to justice because of the neocolonial relationship between the U.S. and the Philippines.
         On Oct. 11, 2014, a custodial worker found Jennifer Laude dead in a motel bathroom, naked, her head shoved in a toilet, with strangle marks on her neck. Earlier that night, Joseph Scott Pemberton, a 19-year-old U.S. Marine, brought Jennifer to a motel in Olongapo City after meeting her at a bar. The doctor who performed the autopsy testified that she was beaten, strangled and drowned to death.
        Over a year later, on the first day of December 2015, Pemberton was found guilty of homicide, not murder, and was sentenced to 6 to 12 years in prison, later reduced to a maximum of 10 years.
        Because of the Visiting Forces Agreement between the Philippines and the U.S., Pemberton remained in U.S. custody throughout the trial proceedings, and spent his prison time on a U.S. military base, rather than in a Philippine prison.
         On Sept. 8, 2020, only five years into his sentence, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte granted Pemberton an absolute pardon. Days later, Pemberton was deported back to the U.S. Recent reports say that he is now stationed in Hawai’i.
         LGBTQ2S rights organization Bahagari released the following statement condemning Duterte’s pardon:
         “Pemberton violently murdered our sister, transwoman Jennifer Laude, six years ago. Even with the admission of his brutal, hateful killing, the courts upheld that Pemberton’s conviction was to be commuted from murder to homicide, for which he was sentenced to 6 to 12 years of imprisonment. That alone was a massive slap to Jennifer’s family and the movement for justice for our slain sister.
         “The feeble conviction set a terrible precedent for the LGBTQ+ community and the Filipino people: under the VFA, if a U.S. soldier brutally murders a transgender woman on Philippine soil, they would ultimately roam free after as little as six years of incarceration.
         “In Pemberton’s case, it was ‘incarceration’ in an exclusive Joint U.S. Military Assistance Group compound inside Camp Aguinaldo, where only American personnel and Philippine officials with clearance may enter. It is no stretch to assert that Pemberton has, in fact, been serving ‘jail time’ comfortably, at ease and with impunity.
         “Pemberton’s release is two-pronged. Firstly, it represents the unfettered violence and injustice the LGBTQ+ community continues to face. Moreover, it symbolizes the Philippine government’s continued submission to U.S. imperialism. Justice for Jennifer cannot exist without both being decisively ended.
           “Duterte suspended the VFA’s termination in exchange for military aid from the U.S., and for its support of the Anti-Terrorism Law. The VFA and ATL are, in fact, quid pro quo for continuing U.S. military aid for Duterte.
           “Hence, we assert that the Visiting Forces Agreement, which has enabled and exacerbated injustice for Jennifer Laude to the greatest extent and which continues to serve as Duterte’s offering in his ploy for continued U.S. assistance, must be finally abolished to bring justice for our slain sister.”

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

Hypocrisy And Crocodile Tears.

        Our babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media, is all a flutter, shouting “outrage”, “despicable” “savagery turned loose”, and filling papers and TV time with the alleged murder of journalist,  Jamal Khashoggi. Yes, if true, this is a despicable act, though not the worst act carried out by any state, and should be condemned. However, the coverage, to me seems out of all proportion when compared to the vicious, brutal, savage acts carried out by states across the globe. Where is the “outrage”, “despicable” “savagery turned loose” regarding the unbelievable brutality that is happening in Yemen? Where are the reams of paper, the hours of TV coverage on what is turning out to be the worst humanitarian crisis since the second world war. A country being reduced to conditions beyond belief, famine, cholera, daily mounting deaths, maimed and displaced millions. Men, women, elderly and children being encapsulated in unbelievable brutality on a daily basis. All this with the blessing of the imperialist West, it couldn’t happen without the arms from the UK and the US. We pile in the latest weapons of mass destruction into the hands of a medieval, autocratic, dictatorial, brutal regime and turn our eyes away from how they are used. Because it is good for business, large profits can be made from fostering this type of savagery.

        Nor is there much coverage of the Philippine psychopath Duterte’s war on drugs, being floated under the euphemism of “Philippine Drug War” known also as “Operation Double Barrel”. Nothing more than a vicious operation to silence dissent and intimidate the population, giving a free hand to the state minders to beat, terrorise, and kill at will.
       On these matters our babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media barely raise an eyebrow, these items of savagery don’t fit their propaganda script. 

On the Philippines, this from Freedom News: 

 

 

  World, Oct 18th
        As most of you probably heard, Philippines’ president Rodrigo Duterte, who assumed office in July 2016, had launched the “Philippine Drug War” known also as “Operation Double Barrel”. The disgraceful campaign aims at “the neutralization of illegal drug personalities nationwide”.
      The policy gave a green light to cops to routinely execute drug suspects and then plant guns and drugs on them. What’s more, there is evidence that the police is using hospitals to hide their killings. Duterte also urged the citizens of Philippines to lynch suspected drug addicts and criminals.
     In Summer 2018, four Food Not Bombs volunteers have been killed, and one has been framed for drug possession and is in jail awaiting trial. The families and friends of the victims believe that both the murders and the arrest are the result of Duterte’s war on drugs.

The four murdered activists are:

Chris Jose Eleazar (aka Mokiam)
Food Not Bombs Bukidnon/Davao volunteer
Born: Nov.17, 1990 Killed: Sept. 15, 2018

Jan Ray Patindol (aka Pating)
Food Not Bombs Davao volunteer
Born: January 2, 1989 Killed: Sep.15,2018

Jessie Villanueva De Guzman
Food Not Bombs Baliwag Volunteer
Born: June 2,1990 Killed: July 6, 2018

Patrick Paul Pile
Food Not Bombs Baliwag Volunteer
Born: December 10, 1988 Killed: July 23,2018
      Chris Jose Eleazar and Jan Ray Patindol were tortured and killed during a police raid on the home of a Food Not Bombs volunteer on in September 2018. Their bodies were covered with cigarette burns and bruises. The police claim that they “fought back”, however, the victims’ friends said the two did not resist and that the wounds on their bodies indicated that the two young men were tortured.
      Jessie Villanueva De Guzman and Patrick Paul Pile were murdered in separate incidents in July 2018. They were very active members of Food Not Bombs Baliwag. Both made their living as night-time tricycle drivers.
      Jessie was killed by the police in Baliwag, Bulacan. A week after his murder, Patrick took a passenger on his tricycle. At the end of the agreed route, a group of police were waiting. Patrick was killed by one gun shot to his back. He is one of many tricycle riders killed in similar way.
      In all four cases, the police claimed that the victims were killed during “legitimate operations” and that they resisted arrest and “fought back.
       In August 2018 in the municipality of Bantayan, Cebu, a Food Not Bombs volunteer Marco was arrested and is awaiting trial after apparently being framed for drug possession. Marco is a long standing activist: he initiated the Food Not Bombs project in Bantayan.
       He is enduring hellish conditions in prison. Despite of the political situation in the country, his supporters would like to do anything it takes for Marco to get a fair trial in what they know first hand is a corrupt state.
      In a crowdfunder website created to help Marco fight his charges, Food not Bombs organiser Chris writes: “A kind person called Marco (Cram) who I met on a quiet island called Bantayan to the north of Cebu was arrested in early August for allegedly using and selling drugs. During this arrest a packet was planted on him. He is innocent of the charges. It seems that he was set-up and if left unaided will become just another jail statistic.”
      Human rights organisations estimate that up to date, Operation Double Barrel lead to the death of more than 12 thousand people. In the first year, the victims included 54 children. Lawyers who defended drug suspects have also been targeted.
      The Amnesty International report from January 2017 details “how the police have systematically targeted mostly poor and defenceless people across the country while planting ‘evidence’, recruiting paid killers, stealing from the people they kill and fabricating official incident reports.” In the report, AI expressed deep concern “that the deliberate, widespread and systematic killings of alleged drug offenders, which appear to be planned and organized by the authorities, may constitute crimes against humanity under international law.”

You can support Marco’s campaign here.

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

The Price Of Resistance.

    Most of us take belonging to a trade union as a safe activity, but there are parts of this corporate world where you could pay with your life if you are an active trade union member. The state and the corporate world don't like organised people, and overt and covert dirty tricks will be undertaken to discourage the ordinary people from coming together to improve the living conditions.

     This is an appeal from Labour Start on behalf of one of the many trade unionists who have paid with their lives for attempting to be organised.

    Antonio "Dodong" Petalcorin, the leader of a transport workers union in the Philippines, was shot dead on 2 July 2013 right in front of his home.

      The gunman was caught on a CCTV camera calmly escaping in a motorcycle. Dodong was the fifth transport workers union leader killed during the current presidency. We are calling on the Philippines' president, Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III, to ensure that Dodong's killers are caught and brought to justice.

Please help - it will take you just 30 seconds to send off your message of protest:

http://www.labourstartcampaigns.net/show_campaign.cgi?c=1879&src=lsmm

     And please share this message with friends, family and fellow trade union members.

Thank you.



Eric Lee

ann arky's home.

THEY STILL SHOOT STRIKERS!!!

                An appeal for solidarity from LabourStart. There is a lot going on at the moment in the form of the Occupy movement, but we should not forget that there are other struggles that go on day in day out, as people fight for a decent living standard as the try to earn their crust of bread from a totally corrupt and exploitive system. We are fighting a festering marriage of state and corporate greed. Please give a few minutes of your time to send a message to Suzuki that we are that 99% and we can fight on every front.

Striking workers at Suzuki in India.

Seven thousand Suzuki workers in India need our help today.

      Following an intense, and sometimes violent, month-long struggle, they finally reached agreement with the employer at the end of September. But when they returned to work, it turned out that Suzuki had changed its mind, and was not going to abide by the agreement it had signed.

The result has been a resumption of the strike, with a violent reaction from management.

Shots have been fired at the strikers.

And the government is taking management's side, declaring the strike to be "illegal".

       Those workers, with the support of the International Metalworkers Federation, are asking for us to send messages -- thousands of messages -- to the company demanding that it stop the violence, and respect the agreement it signed with its workers.

Please click here now to send off your message.

And then forward this message on to your fellow trade unionists.

        We've also been asked by the International Transport Workers Federation to show our support to the Philippines airline union -- please click here to learn more and send your messages.

       Finally, UNI Global Union is running an online campaign in support of workers in El Salvador - you can sign up here.

Thanks for your support!

Eric Lee

 

ann arky's home.