Genocide.

     

      I repost the following article in full, simply because I am unable to put into my own words the inhumane horror that is unfolding before our eyes in a world already scarred with blood horror and destruction.The Israeli government has decided that all the people living in Gaza are animals and has decided to indiscriminately butcher them, young and old, healthy and inform, they are all being tarred by the same stick. Even although the UN and the Geneva Convention clearly state that "collective punishment" is a crime and the Israel government is well aware of this, the world's governments turn a blind eye, or worse still, support this genocidal action by apartheid Israel. 

The following article is from JVP

      

     The Israeli government has declared a genocidal war on the people of Gaza. As an organization that works for a future where Palestinians and Israelis and all people live in equality and freedom, we call on all people of conscience to stop imminent genocide of Palestinians. 

          Jewish Voice for Peace mourns deeply for the over 1,200 Israelis killed, the families destroyed, including many of our own, and fears for the lives of Israelis taken hostage. Many are still counting the dead, looking for missing loved ones, devastated by the losses. 

          We wholeheartedly agree with leading Palestinian rights groups: the massacres committed by Hamas against Israeli civilians are horrific war crimes. There is no justification in international law for the indiscriminate killing of civilians or the holding of civilian hostages. 

         And now, horrifyingly, the Israeli and American governments are weaponizing these deaths to fuel a genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza, pledging to “open the gates of hell.” This war is a continuation of the Nakba, when in 1948, tens of thousands of Palestinians fleeing violence sought refuge in Gaza. It’s a continuation of 75 years of Israeli occupation and apartheid. 

         Already this week, over 1,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed.  The Israeli government has wrought complete and total devastation on Palestinians across Gaza, attacking hospitals, schools, mosques, marketplaces, and apartment buildings.  

         As we write, the Israeli government has shut off all electricity to Gaza. Hospitals cannot save lives, the internet will collapse, people will have no phones to communicate with the outside world, and drinking water for two million people will run out. Gaza will be plunged into darkness as Israel turns its neighborhoods to rubble.  Still worse, Israel has openly stated an intention to commit mass atrocities and even genocide, with Prime Minister Netanyahu saying the Israeli response will “reverberate for generations.”  

         And right now, the U.S. government is enabling the Israeli government’s atrocities, sending weapons, moving U.S. warships into proximity and sending U.S.-made munitions, and pledging blanket support and international cover for any actions taken by the Israeli government. Furthermore, the U.S. government officials are spreading racist, hateful, and incendiary rhetoric that will fuel mass atrocities and genocide. 

        The loss of Israeli lives is being used by our government to justify the rush to genocide, to provide moral cover for the immoral push for more weapons and more death. Palestinians are being dehumanized by our own government, by the media, by far too many U.S. Jewish institutions. Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said that Israel is “fighting human animals” and should “act accordingly,” As Jews, we know what happens when people are called animals.

           We can and we must stop this. Never again means never again — for anyone. 

 We call on all people of conscience to stop the imminent genocide of Palestinians. We demand our government work towards de-escalation, that it immediately stop sending weapons to the Israeli military. A future of peace and safety for all, grounded in justice, freedom and equality for all, is still the only option.

 

Visit ann arky at https://spiritofrevolt.info   

Depravity.

Some of the less brutal results to civilian population from cluster bombs.

                                                Image courtesy of Borgen Project.

           There is no depth of depravity to which Western Imperialists will not steep to in an attempt to try to weaken any state that seems to threaten their hegemony on world power and resources. In the cross hairs of the Western Imperialists is the Russian state and they are quite prepared to sacrifice the last Ukrainian to their cause. Having poured billions of dollars in weaponry, so called conventional weapons, all to no avail, they are stooping to lower depths. The UK and the U$A in seeing that wasn't low enough lead the charge to depravity with their cluster bombs then UK started supplying depleted uranium weaponry followed by the U$A. The carnage caused by cluster bombs to civilian population years after the conflict has stopped, is well catalogued, and most countries in the world have banned such weapons. As for depleted uranium weapons, the damage to the health of those exposed to it and future generations is also well know to the authorities of all so called civilised countries. Information on the dangers of depleted uranium weaponry see HERE.

Some of the effects on children in Iraq after the use of depleted uranium.

                                        Image courtesy of Foreign Policy Journal.

 

Visit ann arky at https://spiritofrevolt.info    

Shafted.

          

Image courtesy of West Country Voices.

       Why do we the public put up with so much crap, duplicity, corruption, and greed from those we pay to manage our affairs? We have minsters fiddling their tax, funds stashed away in off shore accounts, over claiming expenses, while legislating austerity for us, the ones who pay their wages. You have members of Parliament going on the huff because they didn't get a seat in the House of Lords. Rishi £750 million Sunak fights hard to get a job that pays £164K a year, why? He could easily sign up with some merchant bank firm and probably earn about 5 times that salary plus bonuses and privileges. What was his real motive, could it be to get his hands on the control levers of our society and direct our affairs in the favour of his wealth and that of his cronies. We have ministers overseeing the building of schools, hospitals and social centres with our tax money, that are not fit for purpose. Why would you even considering building schools with a life expectancy of 30 years and then they become a risk to the lives of those who use them How many high private office buildings are built useing this weak cheap crap concrete? Is this material just for the peasants and tax payers money?

Image courtesy of Vox Political.

        Of course you could go on, they start and indulge in wars, apart from pouring billions of pounds of our tax money into this savagery for power and resources they kill thousands of innocent people, displace millions, then set up a "hostile environment" for those displaced because of their state terrorism called war. They push the irrational illusion of perpetual growth at the expense of all life on the planet, why?
         Since we stupidly accepted the state and capitalism, we have seen poverty mushroom across the planet, wars and destruction devastating the lives of millions and a few war mongering wealthy parasites get richer and richer. Still millions run to the ballot box to vote in more of the same. Surely insanity, we can't just go on the way things are, we have to call enough is enough and do our damnedest to bring this whole edifice to greed, insanity and selfishness crumbling down. There is a better way to organise our society, if only we would take control and shape our communities, workplaces and towns and cities they way we want them, to be fair, just and seeing to the needs of all our people. When will we ever learn.

Visit ann arky at https://spiritofrevolt.info 

Niger.

 

                                                      Image courtesy of BBC.

           Our imperial masters don't like the goodies they pillaged from the lands they stole in their imperialist wars to go anywhere except to their benefit. France is in a tizzy because the people of Niger decided that they no longer want the rich resources of their land to be plundered and pillaged to the benefit of imperialist France and the West. France and other Western countries are quite prepare to shed the blood of other nations to protect their golden goose. Hence they are encouraging, probably exerting some pressure on, the coterie of their puppet governments in that part of Africa, the (ECOWAS) Economic Community of West African States, to marshal up their forces and invade Niger, no doubt with a bit of help from the West. What is at stake is not the well being of the people of Niger not the defence of democracy, but the rich source of uranium, oil and gold. Niger is very rich country in resources, and all those riches go to feed the western corporations while making sure the resident population of Niger live in poverty. However, it is not all going to the imperialist's plan, on Wednesday 16th August (AU) the African Union stated that it will not support military intervention in Niger to return the ousted President. No doubt the imperialist nations of France and U$A will continue to push for war. For them it is a no loss situation, the citizens of Africa will supply the blood, death and destruction, the West will supply the arms, booty for the Western Military Industrial Complex. Shades of Ukraine. 

Image courtesy of AP NEWS.

 

Visit ann arky at https://spiritofrevolt.info  

Blood Money.

 

      

                                                   Image courtesy of UN News

          Ukraine, its been a good war, champagne corks are popping as rapidly as the artillery fire in that blood bath that is Ukraine. Western weapons manufacturers have been reeling in the big bucks since the start of this human catastrophe. Apparently these pimps of war, the Western weapons manufacturers, have seen their total revenues for the previous year, reach a staggering $400 billion, lots of shareholders bonuses and lots of new exploitation investments. What's more, they expect that figure to rise in the coming year by approximately a further $50 billion. So you see for capitalists, war is good for business, so why try and stop the slaughter. That $400 billion is paid for in the deaths of of thousands, the maiming and injuring of thousands more ordinary innocent people.

image courtesy of Reddit.

        Why in the name of the wee man in the sky would Western capitalists do anything that might bring about peace? The big banks and construction companies are also calculating how much they will earn in the rebuilding of the torn battered piece of land know as Ukraine. The insanity, make billions destroying a country, then make billions in its rebuilding.
       This is the economic system that shackles us to insanity and endless wars, a system that spawns poverty and destitution for the many, while the few live in opulence and obscene excesses, all at our expense.

Image courtesy of twitter.

       To harbour any illusion that we live in a democracy is political blindness. Governments are all now in the thrall of the world's financial Moguls and follow the dictate of the world's big corporations, we live in what Mussolini called corporatism. Until we recognise this fact and bring this insanity to an end by overthrowing and destroying forever, this insane man made economic disaster,  we will continue with endless wars, poverty, inequality and injustice, and sadly hand this legacy to our children and grandchildren. 

Visit ann arky at https://spiritofrevolt.info  

Iraq.

 

 

Image courtesy of Radio Free Europe.

 

        If your are able to get down to the Nottingham area around the end of September then this would be the place to visit. The Iraq war was probably the most brutal act of subterfuge and downright lying by any state in history. The callous description of "Shock and Awe" translated into the savage destruction of a country and the killing of hundreds of thousands plus the displacement of millions of innocent people. We must never let this brutal crime be lost in history, it must be continually brought to the public to make them aware of what our lords and masters are capable of in their quest for power, privilege and wealth.

Image courtesy of The Independent

From the Sparrows Nest

 

          Although our initial dates in July could not go ahead, the power cutting gremlins could not stop us for long - the photo exhibition re local opposition to the 2003 Iraq Invasion is back on!

          Regime Change Begins at Home - Nottingham Opposition to the 2003 Invasion of Iraq

https://peopleshistreh.wordpress.com/2023/08/01/rescheduled-regime-change-begins-at-home-nottingham-opposition-to-the-2003-invasion-of-iraq-21-24-sep-2023/

An exhibition of photographs and local campaign materials at Broadway Cinema.

21st to 24th September 2023 – Free Event.

             This exhibition marks the twentieth anniversary of the disastrous invasion of Iraq and looks back at the movement which opposed it. The anniversary seems to have passed with surprisingly little mainstream comment – something we want to go some way to addressing. We will display images of protests in Nottingham taken by local photographer Alan Lodge (aka Tash), contextualised with leaflets, newsletters and other materials, mostly from the collections of the Sparrows’ Nest Library and Archive.

Exhibition Opening Times

Thu 21st Sep 7pm-9pm

        Opening event with Alan Simpson, ex Labour MP who opposed the war.

Fri 22nd Sep Midday to 5pm

Sat 23rd Sep Midday to 7pm

           All day: deposit documents and record your stories. Donate relevant materials for posterity and share your memories of the campaign when you drop in to see the exhibition.

Sun 24th Sep Midday to 7pm

       All day: deposit documents and record your stories.

         2pm: Guided history walk Agitating the Lawless Rabble, starting at the Left Lion (Council House), ending at the back of Broadway Cinema.

Featuring Photographs by Alan Lodge (aka Tash)

https://alanlodge.co.uk

 

Visit ann arky at https://spiritofrevolt.info   

Failing.

 

         For how long will humanity accept the pimps and gods of war to dominate our lives. Slaughter in the name of power, wealth and domination over others has plagued humanity for centuries and we seem to have learned nothing. The following poem could have been written yesterday but sadly it was written circa 2285-2250 BCE by the first ever named woman poet Enheduanna and still the Gods of war are "raging like thunderstorms" when will we turn in our millions against the rising wings of war, once and for all.

Image courtesy of Canadian Dimension.

Lament to the Spirit of War

by Enheduanna

loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

You hack down everything you see, War God!

Rising on fearsome wings
you rush to destroy our land:
raging like thunderstorms,
howling like hurricanes,
screaming like tempests,
thundering, raging, ranting, drumming,
whiplashing whirlwinds!

Men falter at your approaching footsteps.

Tortured dirges scream on your lyre of despair.

Like a fiery Salamander you poison the land:
growling over the earth like thunder,
vegetation collapsing before you,
blood gushing down mountainsides.

Spirit of hatred, greed and vengeance!

Dominatrix of heaven and earth!

Your ferocious fire consumes our land.
Whipping your stallion
with furious commands,
you impose our fates.
You triumph over all human rites and prayers.

Who can explain your tirade,

why you carry on so?

                                          Image courtesy of Peace & Planet News.

Visit ann arky at https://spiritofrevolt.info   

Subterfuge.

        By stealth, subterfuge, and smoke and mirrors, that is how most states function. They pump out a phoney statement with innocent sounding misnomers, but the intention is slithering into place, and the powers that be hope it will not be noticed until it becomes an accepted fact and is too late to reverse. It has been the opus operandi for states across time and the planet. Sadly the result is usually horrendous bloodshed, death and destruction for the innocent. However, this fate is not heaped on the perpetrators of this callous, brutal deceit. When will we ever learn, the state is the enemy of the people, equality, peace, justice and freedom. Its demise is our only hope of a better world for all. 

From Struggle La Lucha.

July 31, 2023 Gary Wilson 

 

          

           U.S. troops in Poland, near the Ukraine border. In July, President Biden authorized an addition 3,000 reservists to join more than 12,000 troops in NATO countries surrounding Ukraine. Is this troop build up in preparation for “boots on the ground” in Ukraine? Newsweek reported that in July NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced a support package for Ukraine that would “result in the U.S. eventually sending soldiers to fight in the war against Russia.”
            U.S. troops in Poland, near the Ukraine border. In July, President Biden authorized an addition 3,000 reservists to join more than 12,000 troops in NATO countries surrounding Ukraine. Is this troop buildup in preparation for “boots on the ground” in Ukraine? Newsweek reported that in July NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced a support package for Ukraine that would “result in the U.S. eventually sending soldiers to fight in the war against Russia.”
        The Pentagon has approved hazard pay for U.S. troops serving in Ukraine, paving the way for a possible expanded presence. Military Times reported July 27 on the new hazard pay policy.
         Troops who qualify will get back pay as far back as April 24, 2022.
         “Grier Martin, who is temporarily serving as the Pentagon’s top personnel official, approved the change in a July 13 memo, which was posted to the unofficial ‘Air Force amn/nco/snco’ Facebook page,” Military Times says.
         The approval of hazard pay is seen as a sign that the Pentagon is preparing for a possible expansion of the U.S. military presence in Ukraine. The Biden administration has steadily increased the number of special forces “advisers” and trainers in the country. While calling them advisers and trainers, they actively participate in the war.
        Washington has a long history of entering wars this way, from Vietnam to Central America to Afghanistan. The U.S. initially claimed it was not sending “boots on the ground” to Vietnam, but eventually, there were over 500,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam. The U.S. also claimed that it was not sending troops to El Salvador, but eventually, over 500 U.S. special forces were operating in El Salvador, commanding the Salvadoran military dictatorship.
        Washington won’t say that it is directly involved in combat in Ukraine. It can be expected to stick to euphemisms (advisers or security details) to describe its activities. The euphemisms are its way of expanding involvement, hoping no one will notice the increasing numbers of troops on the ground.

Visit ann arky at https://spiritofrevolt.info     

Shafted.

Image courtesy of 124News.

 

            This government seems to find it easy to come up with money for any of its pet schemes. Take our Monarch Charles III at present he gets a present annually of tax payers money to the tune of £86.3 million, obviously struggle to keep up his standard of living, the state steps in and for 2025 he will receive an wee boost of tax payers money to the tune of £38.5 million, bring his tax payers gift to a tidy £124.8 million annually. Does he need it? Is he struggle to get by on a taxpayers gift of £86.3 million? Recent research shows that Charles III's personal wealth is in the £2 billion region. Who else in this country has a personal fortune in the region of £2 billion and receives a tax payers annual gift of £124.8 million? Obviously there is no shortage of tax payers money to help out billionaires, but not any for struggling health workers, teachers homelessness, child poverty, and others struggling to maintain some standard of living.

Image courtesy of Amnesty International.

 

 

         In another field where the government is extremely generous with your money is in what they call the "defence" budget, in actual fact it is a "war" budget. I can't think of a country on the planet that has any plans to invade the UK, except perhaps America, if we don't do as we are told in supporting U$A's endless wars.
         Our war budget for 2021/22 was £45.9 billion and our £800 million Prime Minister has stated we will "ramp up" "defence investment" (war preparation). Of course he doesn't mean with his money, but with yours. The war budget has in 2020 received a £24 billion "cash boost", again, your cash, and they want to feed it more of your money.
         When do we wake up to the fact that we are day and daily being continually shafted by the rich and privileged parasite class. While in public they shed crocodile tears about our dire situation, and privately laugh at us as they sip their champagne doing deals of pillage and plunder.

Image courtesy of Big Issue.

 

         That better life for all means we have to bring this whole stinking edifice to greed, corruption and self indulgence, this capitalism and state, joined at the hip, insanity, to an end.

Visit ann arky at https://spiritofrevolt.info      

Misery.

            It always amazes me how our government has money to throw around at making people's lives miserable or unbearable, but can't find any money to make people's lives better. There's no money to improve the quality of life for our health workers, our kids suffer because there is no money to improve the education system. It can however find money to higher a floating prison to house immigrants. The Bibby Stockholm, named after the founder of the company John Bibby, who made his money in the slave trade, is a barge designed to hold 200 and will be used by the UK government to house 500 migrants. Barge is a misnomer, prison is the correct name, as the inhabitants of this hellhole will not be allowed to walk about on the port. The government flags this up as money saving but are paying this private company a sum of £1.6 billion of our tax money, to manage this arrangement. Money to create misery

Image courtesy of Ripples.

 

         Then there is our "defence" budget, the UK government has announced it will spend an "EXTRA" £2.5 billion on army munitions, this comes on top of the £5 billion boost to our war spending. All that money will have no other purpose than to destroy other people's towns and cities and kill thousands of people we don't even know. More money to create misery.

Image courtesy of Middle East Institute.

 

         Where is the pouring of vast sums of our tax money on making the lives of the ordinary people better? We are continually faced with austerity, poverty shadows our children, our elderly, and our most vulnerable. wages stagnate or fall, living standards are continually eroded, and we are told by the wealth privileged, to "hold our nerve"
         We know there is a better way to shape our society, to one that sees to the needs of all our people. A society not based on war, exploitation and profiteering, but built on mutual aid, co-operation and sustainability. That change will not come from the wealthy and very comfortable privileged parasite class, but will only come from the people themselves. We are the ones that create all the wealth on the planet, we are the rightful beneficiaries of that produce, but we will have to stand up and take it, it will not be gifted to us. 

 

Visit ann arky at https://spiritofrevolt.info 

Dark Times.

Image courtesy of UN News. 

 

TODAY

In these mad times where cluster bombs are OK
where shattered limbs an acceptable price to pay
crumpled buildings cratered streets where people stay
cities of weeping children who forgot how to play
Our modern power driven world in rapid decay
we can but hope that soon sanity will have its say

 

Image courtesy of Hi.Org.

 

        In these dark days when pimps of war seem to hold the upper hand and bosses of the capitalist juggernaut grow fat on the bloody proceeds of those wars, I thought it world be fitting to post one of  Theodore Roethke poems, In A Dark Time.

 

IN A DARK TIME

 

In a dark time, the eye begins to see,

I meet my shadow in the deepening shade;   

I hear my echo in the echoing wood—

A lord of nature weeping to a tree.

I live between the heron and the wren,   

Beasts of the hill and serpents of the den.

What’s madness but nobility of soul

At odds with circumstance? The day’s on fire!   

I know the purity of pure despair,

My shadow pinned against a sweating wall.   

That place among the rocks—is it a cave,   

Or winding path? The edge is what I have.

A steady storm of correspondences!

A night flowing with birds, a ragged moon,   

And in broad day the midnight come again!   

A man goes far to find out what he is—

Death of the self in a long, tearless night,   

All natural shapes blazing unnatural light.

Dark, dark my light, and darker my desire.   

My soul, like some heat-maddened summer fly,   

Keeps buzzing at the sill. Which I is I?

A fallen man, I climb out of my fear.   

The mind enters itself, and God the mind,   

And one is One, free in the tearing wind.

  

 By Theodore Roethke

 

Visit ann arky at https://spiritofrevolt.info 

Class War.

 

          An interesting pamphlet from Trindni Valka free to download. Anarchist literature always welcome, spread far and wide, if you can, download and print and distribute, spread our ideas.
        

         In Ukraine, the Czech Republic, the UK, Italy, Syria, France etc… All over the world there is a voice against capitalist wars and also against capitalist peace. Only class war can end this terror and that is what we mean when we say No War but the Class War!

       The new pamphlet contains 14 texts by various groups and individuals. The aim is to explain and affirm the meaning of antimilitarism, internationalism and revolutionary defeatism. The publication will be presented for the first time at the Balkan Anarchist Bookfair in Ljubljana. The pamphlet is also available for download in PDF.

Visit ann arky at https://spiritofrevolt.info    

Anti-war.

            How low will the U$A war pimps stoop to prolong the blood bath in Ukraine? The latest statement of insanity from the prince of death Biden, is that he is considering sending cluster munitions to Ukraine, despite these weapons being banned by well over 100 countries, due to their extremely high risk of causing civilian injuries and deaths, years after the conflict has stopped. This is just another step in the U$A's desire to weaken the Russian military and ruin its economy to try and prolong Americas dollar dominance in the world. 

                                                       Image courtesy of Al Jazeera

             Day and daily we hear about the billions U$A is giving to Ukraine to prop up its dictator and his fascist regime. What is not made clear is that the money doesn't go to Ukraine. The way the system works is that U$A send Ukraine its old munitions and military hardware, the money then goes to the U$A military to hand over to the American military industrial complex to deliver new and more advanced weaponry to replace their dated weaponry that has been shipped to Ukraine. The con trick of getting tax payers money straight to the arms industry without touching the ballooning arms budget. So the arms industry gets two bites at the cherry and prays that the war continues, and it will, since most of those in power in the U$A are in love with the arms industry as it makes them millions.
         The blood shed in Ukraine could have been avoided if the U$A and NATO had wished so, and it could end likewise by negotiation. However that road doesn't suit the U$A's desire for world domination with the dollar the weapon, backed up by military might. 

Image courtesy of Tridni Valka

 

Visit ann arky at https://spiritofrevolt.info