Crooks & Liars!!

 

Image courtesy of University College London.

        Once again, in this country, we are approaching what they call elections, what I prefer to call "National Crooks and Liars" competition. Having been aware of these competitions since my teens and now 90 years old it is obvious to see the pattern. The contestants raise themselves into a frenzy, spouting the most barefaced lies with such conviction as they can muster, wear a particular colour tie to denote which camp they are aiming to be part of hoping for a lucrative job and fat pay check with pension and expenses.

       Flunkies leading the Crooks and Liars to their new lucrative job.

                                                      Image courtesy of The Guardian.

          You have all heard the lies and should know them off by heart. "We will end child poverty in X number of years", "We will end the scourge of poverty across our land in X number of years". There other favourite lies they like to spin, "We will end homelessness in X number of years by building X number of house every year." Of course after the "Crooks and Liars Competition" is over things settled down to the usual backhanders to friends and cronies, double dealing and second and third jobs with the various companies that bought them during the competition to safeguard their wealth and profit making. So where does that leave you and I, well as usual right where we always end up, struggling for a decent life.

         The following information is taken from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation 2024 report.
            Poverty has increased, close to pre-pandemic levels
2021/22 22% approximately 1 in 5 UK population were living in poverty, that accounts for 14.4 million people.
Among them 8.1 million working age adults app 2 in 10 living in poverty. 4.2 million children (app. 3 in every 10)
It has been almost 20 years and 6 prime ministers since the last prolonged period of falling poverty
          In the 1980s, under the Conservative Government of Margaret Thatcher, there was then an unprecedented rise in poverty even at a time of high income growth, This has not been reversed, meaning current levels of poverty are around 50% higher than they were in the 1970s. 

            Lots of people will give reasons for The Thatcher push to poverty, but rest assure none of these reasons were for the benefit of the ordinary people.
          So, with these facts in mind, do you think it is worth bothering to support any of those in this ridiculous charade of "Crooks and Liars" Competition??

 

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9-11

          We should always remember the violence carried out and/or orchestrated  by the U$A against states that don't follow their rules. The list is long and the details horrific as catalogues of state terror heaped on innocent people. America's first imperialist adventure was the Philippines, 1899-1902. Since then it has invade countries across the globe on a regular basis.

                                              Image courtesy of Radio Havana Cuba.

          Today 11th September marks the 50th anniversary of the American orchestrated military overthrow of the legitimate elected government of Chile. The Presidential Palace, La Modena, was bombed by military jets, the legitimated elected president Salvadore Allende was killed. General Augustus Pinochet took the reins of power. What followed was years of brutal repression of the people of Chile with thousands killed and as many "disappeared". Dictator Pinochet ruled until 1990 but continued as Commander-in-Chief until 1998, when he became senator-for-life according to legislation he passed in 1980. He has a close friend of the UK Thatcher government.  Still it goes on, from Korea to Vietnam, Afghanistan to Iraq, Libya to Syria the U$A proxy war in Ukraine and the belligerent military attitude to China, a desire to maintain its dominant position in the world is a road to total destruction for civilised life on the planet.    

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Pinochet-Thatcher, Two Of A kind.

        Following on from my recent post on 9/11, it would be impossible to overlook the Pinochet-Thatcher relationship. Two beasts that that trampled the people in the name of neo-liberal polices of the multi-millionaires. While one slaughtered, tortured and butchered his way across the people, the other throw generations on the scrapheap of society, turned communities into garbage bins, crushed hopes, destroyed the potential of millions of individuals, and played her brutal imperialist card in the Falklands, However, we should never forget, they were not alone, they had the full backing and participation of presidents, Prime Minsters and dictators across the globe. who were following in their festering footsteps. That is the shape of the beast we live with, it's called capitalism.

Got this video from Loam at arrezafe:

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Workers Remember Your History, Orgreave.

        Workers must always remember their history, it is from that history that we learn who are our enemies, who continually exploits us. We learn from the struggles of the past, how to fight the battles of the future, we see the brutality our forefathers bore as the system attempts to crush any resistance.

    This film is in homage to the courage of the miners and their supporters during the 1984/85 miners strike, under the regime of the Thatcher dictator.

On behave of the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign:

This video will not be available soon if you know how to make a copy please do so and share :)
Posted by Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign on Wednesday, 5 March 2014

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As We See It.

Plain truth in plain language.

Post by John Couzin.

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Dark Curtain Of Establishment Secrecy And Protection.

        Everybody is aware and accepts, that those who walk the corridors in the Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption, are wading through a swamp of double dealing and deception, fiddles and old boys' networks. We know that the state is corrupt, however, sexual abuse of minors is a whole different type of corruption, and abuse of power. The murmurings of a paedophile ring in "high places" have been going on for years, and recently a few heads have rolled, but not those with the real power. The accepted perception is that they still lurk behind the dark curtains of establishment secrecy and protection. That has to end, paedophilia is an abuse, whether committed by a friend of the family, a plumber, a priest, a teacher, or an Oxbridge member of parliament. The truth must be lead bare for all to see, and victims must be protected and see justice. 

This from Care 2:

      In the 1980s, at least one senior minister was accused of paying underage boys to "entertain" officials at cocaine-fueled parties. At least one informant has referred to the behaviour as a "sex ring." Yet the government at the time took no action -- in fact, Margaret Thatcher herself allegedly tried to cover up the incident.
     As a result of this interference, many of the men said to have participated in this paedophilia are now dead. That doesn't mean that we shouldn't demand answers about the nature of their crimes.
      It's disgusting enough that the minister in question supposedly used to sexually abuse teenage boys. But if the government really did engage in a conspiracy to try to protect an abuser from the consequences of his crime, how many other similar offenses have been hidden? And how many children and adolescents have been suffering in sil ence since their assaults?
      David Cameron has stepped to launch a full-scale investigation into the historical allegations. The British people -- including the survivors of this paedophilia -- deserve transparency and justice in this disturbing case of government corruption. Tell David Cameron to publicly release the results of the Westminster sex abuse scandal and punish everyone involved!

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Margaret Thatcher Day!!!

       Recently a bonehead Thatcherite Peter Bone MP, (well named) put forward a private members bill to change the August Bank Holiday to Margaret Thatcher Day. Due to the widespread distaste, (putting it mildly) for Thacher, and the misery she inflicted on millions of ordinary people in this country, this private members bill is a slap in the face to those millions. A petition was raise against this proposal, and has passed the 10,000 signatures which means it demands a response from the government. It would be good if it passed the 100,000 signatures as this would demand that the petition be considered for debate and would send a slap in the face to the boneheaded dick who proposed the bill in the first place. 

      Apart from plundering the public assets and devastating the living standards of the ordinary people, is this all these arrogant, duplicitous, mob of tricksters have to do with their time? What a cesspool of pompous, arrogant, dickheads, those Westminster House of Hypocrisy and Corruption are, a home and breeding establishment for pampered parasites.
Sign it HERE:

The e-petition 'We oppose the proposal to change the August Bank Holiday to Margaret Thatcher Day' signed by you recently reached 45,630 signatures and a response has been made to it.

As this e-petition has received more than 10 000 signatures, the relevant Government department have provided the following response: The proposal to rename the August Bank Holiday as Margaret Thatcher Day has been put forward in a Private Members Bill introduced by Peter Bone MP. The Government receives many proposals to rename existing Bank Holidays in order to commemorate the achievements of particular individuals. However there is no precedent for naming public holidays after an individual and the Government has no plans to do so. Any changes to the names of Bank Holidays would be the subject of a full public consultation. This e-petition remains open to signatures and will be considered for debate by the Backbench Business Committee should it pass the 100 000 signature threshold.

View the response to the e-petition

Thanks,

HM Government e-petitions http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/

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Which Side Are You On??

      The following is a comment from a life long Glasgow activist, J. C. on the recent strike by PCS workers. If they expect solidarity from the people, they have to show solidarity with the people, and not forget that they themselves are WORKERS!!

 

To the Militant strikers of the PCS.

    Good Luck with your pension, pay and conditions by the way, ....But do you think you could stop fucking the unemployed about?

     Well it’s good to see that the PCS union members have the bottle to take strike action, - not unfortunately because they are no longer prepared to do the Government’s dirty work by implementing sanctions which means that claimants have no benefit to live on, not to prevent the needless deaths caused by Government contract killers ATOS, but to protect their own interests.

       Many PCS members seem to have managed without any problem to go along with Ian Duncan Smith’s vicious campaign of annihilation of the sick, disabled and unemployed. There was nothing they could do about it you see - orders are orders, and if they didn’t cut people’s benefits their Managers could have them up on a disciplinary, - Well boo hoo hoo!

     Have they no idea what they are doing to people when they implement these sanctions?

       Have they forgotten they are dealing with human beings?

      Can they not see they are playing the Bosses game, and that by toeing the line they are ruining the lives of working class people – their class!

      When they implement these sanctions they are throwing people into abject poverty; how are these claimants supposed to get by? How are they supposed to survive?

       Let’s look at it another way: What if it was your son or daughter on the receiving end of sanctions? What if it was you? Do you think you might be a bit more caring then?

      It’s no good trying to blame the Government- “The bad Tories made me do it”, or “The Management made me do it”, it’s no use trying to avoid responsibility for your actions – we all have a responsibility;- we have a responsibility for our actions and a responsibility to our class. Your actions are the final link in the chain of despair for many working class people. Have you read about the suicides? Have you read about the hardship and misery your actions are causing?

    How to stop the misery? Organise with your workmates and fellow Trade unionists and refuse to implement sanctions. If you can go on strike for pay, pensions and conditions, you can surely organise a strike to protect any PCS workers threatened by disciplinary action.

      Isn’t it better to stand up to the bosses than participate in actions that may cause people harm or even to take their own life?

     The Government are waging war on working class people and wittingly or otherwise you are helping them. It’s time the PCS reassessed their situation, it’s time they extended the solidarity expressed in their strike for pay and conditions to the rest of their class.

     During the Miner’s strike in the 1980’s Arthur Scargill made the point that despite being a despicable human being, Margaret Thatcher was at least standing up for her class - unlike the Labour Party who betrayed their working class members.

     In 1931 a young girl Florence Reece - the daughter of a mine worker, wrote a song in support of striking miners in Harlan County, Kentucky. She went on to become a social activist and songwriter, and spent the rest of her life campaigning on social and Union issues.

     The extraordinarily powerful song she wrote at 12 years of age asks the question, “Which side are you on?”

Well, which side are you on?

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Trafalgar Square Thatcher Party.

    I know, another Thatcher thingy, but the establishment is throwing so much of it at us, we have to throw something back. So here are some voices from the anti-Thatcher party in Trafalgar Square, brought to you via Circled A radio. Some opinions that you didn't hear on that babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media.

The Party Voices:

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Labour, Making The Cuts Nicer.

       We all know that the ConDems coalition of millionaires, is hell-bent on slashing benefits of the most vulnerable in society, social spending to them is an anathema, Sadly a high proportion of people see the next election as a possible end to this onslaught by voting Labour, (sorry "New Labour") They somehow have formed the mistaken opinion  that the Miliband gang will change this cruel market drive approach to health and welfare. Sadly they will be find that should the well-heeled Miliband mob get their grubby hands on the reins of power, nothing will change. This particular bunch of hypocrites are traveling around preaching how they will continue with all the trimmings of of Osborne's master plan, but make it fair!! How do you take away support from vulnerable people fairly? how do you cut the benefits of those living on or near the poverty line fairly? Thatcher, Cameron, Miliband, it doesn't make any difference, it is not the smile or the personality that matters, it is the system. Only when we start to dismantle, this greed driven system of capitalism, will we see the vulnerable being cared for as their needs dictate and the pain of poverty being removed.

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The Death Of A Badge!!

      There is a lot of hatred and venom spewing about at the moment and it is directed at Thatcher. So she's dead, what has changed? During the “Thatcher era” communities were devastated, people's lives were torn asunder, youth saw its future shredded and the spectre of poverty and deprivation loomed ever larger. It was an attack on the living standards of the ordinary people. So like I said, what has changed??

      Today we have a bunch of millionaires continuing that same policy, today our education system is being torn apart and offered up to the corporate world, our health service is being handed on a plate to the same big corporate market casino, from these actions, deaths and injuries there will be. This same bunch of parasitical millionaires must also take responsibility for those vulnerable and unfortunate individuals on disability allowance who died shortly after being found “fit for work” by the government funded ATOS. As far as I am aware, to-date that number is in excess of 1,700. Not an unfortunate accident but the result of raw ideological brutality, equally as savage as the “Thatcher era”. We have the “bedroom tax” holding the threat of eviction over thousands of ordinary families. This month the tax rate to the richest in the land was reduced, while social services are being slashed, and today the spectre of poverty and deprivation still looms large over the ordinary people. Like I said, what has changed???

       Shouting, dancing and partying like crazy over the death of a badge, a badge of a system that is still in place, inflicting the same savage injuries on the ordinary people, and gathering pace. Celebrating as if we had won a victory while still mired in the sewage of those same policies. All this hitting out at a symbol, is like lashing out at a punch-bag in the gym, just remember no matter how hard you hit, you are not in the ring, it is not the real fight, the real fight has still to come and it is outside the gym of symbolism. 

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The Thatcherite Era Of The Class War.

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    Our babbling brook of bullshit, the media, is in full spate at the moment, gurgling through its foetid channels is the stench of Thatcher. The praises ring loud and clear, they do however allow a little criticism to show its face, just to try to give the impression of balanced journalism. Balanced it is not. What has become known as the “Thatcherite” era, was an era of war, but it is never detailed like war, the deaths and injuries were not noted. In the case of the Belgrano, a ship needlessly torpedoed by a UK submarine, killing 323, many of them young sea cadets, it was detailed. A coal mine was shut, hit by an ideological missile, a town/village dies, the deaths and injuries are not detailed. In the case of the Belgrano, the deaths were more or less instantaneous, in the case of the destroyed coal mine, steel works, shipyard, the deaths and injures took place much more slowly, in some cases over years. But deaths and injures there were, those who fired that ideological missile have blood on their hands.       

     During this “Thatcherite” war era, there were many such ideological missiles fired at towns, villages and cities across the country, the resultant deaths and injuries were never detailed. Deaths from stress, addiction, overdoses, suicide and mental and physical problems, plus destroyed future generations, faced with poverty and long term unemployment, all the direct result of those ideological missiles fired with callous calculating coldness by those who had everything to gain and nothing to lose from the resultant war carnage. The “Thatcherite” era was a bloody era, for the ordinary people of this country, it was an all out war on working class communities and institutions, nowhere was there any gain in it for those casualties of the ideological missiles fired.

       Millions across the country suffered as the financial Mafia pushed ahead with their grand plan, Thatcher was merely the badge that they wore, she was their public face. Today that same grand plan is still being pushed, the rape, plundering and pillage of all public assets, grinding down of the ordinary people, preparing the correct recipe for corporate greed to take control of everything. Yes, spit venom at the image of a woman who symbolised an ideological plan, but she didn't write that plan, she didn't detail the targets, she was just simply put in the driving seat with her satnav already set. Yes she done it with force and pleasure, but remember, she has gone, but the plan is still in place and proceeding at an alarming pace.

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MORE BULLSHIT FROM AN EXPENSIVE SUIT.

       As a rule, every time a politician opens their mouth there is a mixture of bullshit, arrogance and ignorance. The flag carrier for a “compassionate capitalism” the Labour Party leader, Ed Miliband, is no exception. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph he said he had nothing against the rich, as long as they made their money, “the hard way”. This of course perpetuates the myth that in this society all you have to do to get rich is work hard. Well Ed, my father was a miner all his life and worked extremely hard. He never took a holiday, in those days the mines closed for the “Fair Holidays” but they always needed a crew to go down the mine on a daily basis during the holidays to check on gas, flooding and roof collapses. My dad took that job year after year. I don't know of anybody who worked harder, he didn't drink nor gamble, but we were poor, we never got rich. Get wise Ed, to get rich in this type of society you have to exploit people somewhere along the line, hard work doesn't get you rich. Another bullshit outpouring from Ed, during his interview was, "My dad was sceptical of all the Thatcher aspirational stuff, but I felt you sort of had to recognise that what she was talking about struck a chord. I want to save capitalism from itself," so Ed is one of those, “there is no such thing as society, only individuals” What he and Thatcher considers “aspirational stuff” is just an unleashing of personal greed and to hell with the community. A society of “me” “I” and “what can I screw from this deal”. Ed also wants to “save capitalism from itself”, well, please Ed don't bother wasting your time, it can't be turned into a nice compassionate system where we are all rewarded for our efforts. Don't bother trying to save capitalism from it self, it is a lost cause, capitalism is exploitation, capitalism is corruption, capitalism is injustice. You and your “fairer capitalism” bunch are perpetuating a system the breeds deprivation, corruption and greed, there is no way you can build a fair society on those foundations. Ed you and your bullshitting mob are the problem, get out of the way and let the people control their own communities and society in a non-capitalist way.

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THE PEOPLE'S FLAG, PART ONE 1914/31

       The People's Flag, part 1. The first betrayal, 1914 - 1931 the period that includes the general strike. Another gem from RMTV.

         Originally screened on Channel 4 television in 1987, The People's Flag is a five-part history of the British labour movement in the 20th Century. Part 1 covers the period of World War I and the election of the first Labour governments, the General Strike, the onset of the Great Depression and Labour Party leader Ramsay MacDonald's betrayal. Produced by Platform Films (55 minutes)

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RAW CAPITALISM - PEASANTS BEWARE.

    

        Capitalism doesn't change it's spots, it is a system of exploitation of the many for the advantage of the few. At the end of WW2 and the existence of the Soviet Union creating a threat of Communism across Europe, and other places in the world, capitalism modified slightly. In the West it made concessions to the working class and the middle class, grants to higher education, a health service, social housing, a welfare system, to help the poorest etc.. With the collapse of the Soviet Empire and Thatcher's subsequent destruction of the trade unions, the threat of communism had gone. The need to appease the workers no longer existed. Capitalism could get back to its true form, it was time for raw capitalism with the gloves off. What we are living through is the system of capitalism mounting an all out attack on the working class and the middle class. For the majority real austerity will be the order of the day, with education an expensive luxury for the rich, a health service that will cater for those with the most money, charity your only hope of social services. Bankers, CEO and their sidekicks will live in ever increasing luxury. Our billionaire landed gentry and nobility are back in full control, peasants beware.

         Our children will be denied a decent education, without which it will be impossible to understand the complexity of the geopolitical system that is draining their lives, let alone organise to change its structure. Society will be fragmented with petty crime on the increase, communities will become ghettos. A rather frightening picture but the only out come from an unchallenged system driven by one overriding desire for profit, a system where human beings are no more than expendable resources. The gap between the ordinary people and the billionaire ruling class will be unimaginable. The answer for the majority of people on this planet does not lie in capitalism and time is of the essence.

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