Austerity My Arse.

 

       Austerity is the cry from governments across the world, but that only applies to the social side of society. Every budget gets trimmed, benefits get cut, wages get frozen, social services get decimated and their costs go up. However this all looks ridiculous when it comes the that side of the state apparatus called “military”. The case of the super-duper, F-35 “do-everything” fighter, makes you scratch your head and wonder, why do we tolerate such idiots running our affairs. This power monger's toy is estimated to cost the US almost $400 billion and rising. It was to be operational in 2012 but is now thought to be 2015/18, what a wonderful money spinner for the arms industry, no austerity there. It will be available to their NATO buddies and some other “friendly” nations, who will chip-in to the development fund, some of their taxpayers money for the privilege of being able to buy a few of these toys. Once you buy this money eater, you are lumbered with astronomical costs just to keep the thing running. Norwegian Rear Admiral Arne Roksund estimated the his country's 52, F-35's, will cost $769 million EACH, over their operational lifetime. When the state apparatus talks to us about “austerity”, they are really just laughing at us, and taking us for a bunch of idiots. And we are if we tolerate this unbelievable waste of time, energy and resources to be spent on the toys of empire, while millions live in poverty, millions starve and others die from preventable diseases. What will the people of the world gain from this multi-billion dollar state status symbol?

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Blood Money.

      The UK state, like all states, works not so much with double standards but with multiple standards. As the UK state sits on its throne built by past colonialism and brutal exploitation and corruption, it passes judgment on other states criticising their human rights record and their civil rights abuses. While at the same time selling them weapons with which to repress the local population. According to The Independent, the UK state has issued more than 3,000 export licences for intelligence and military equipment to countries which it has put on its official list of, guilty of human rights abuses.

      Of course this shouldn't surprise us as the present system has nothing to do with human rights or civil rights, it's all about capitalism. Profit for the corporations overrides all other human concerns. In our greed driven thirst for profit we deliberately turned Libya into a land of warlords, factions and militia, but still manage to sell them more than £54 million worth of military equipment. Our "Honourable Gentlemen" in those Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption, are always banging on about those evil countries of Zimbabwe and Iran, but we still managed to sell the former £3 million worth of military equipment, while selling Iran a whopping £803+ million of military equipment, which if our lords and masters have their way will be used against UK troops when we decide to attack that country for its oil and gas.

       Then there is that bastion of democracy and equal rights for women, Saudi Arabia, our UK purveyors of death managed to sell them a staggering £1,863+ million of weapons and equipment. If we turn our eyes to that land of genocide and apartheid, Israel, well you need a lot of military muscle to maintain such a brutal system, so we were able to sell them an eye watering £7,879+ million of military equipment, which the Zionists and settlers, (stealers of Palestinian land) will be truly grateful. 

      Weapons may seem alright in self defence, but only an insane system of greed would make money from arming yourselves and then selling arms to those you are supposed to be arming yourself against. That's the crazy, greedy, brutal and destructive system that we tolerate today.

       The state is the enemy, the state creates wars, the state needs the arms industry. We the people don't need the state, we don't want wars, we don't need the arms industry. We can create a world of co-operation, mutual aid, and sustainability, free from the corrupting influence of power and profit.

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SCRAP TRIDENT.

       As you all know, those millionaires in the Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption keep mouthing off about austerity, (for you and me, not them), this message from Faslane Peace Camp once again highlights there blatant bloody warmongering and two-faced hypocrisy. As quick as a wink, or a nod and a nudge-nudge and they can pour £160 billion to the pockets of their mates in the arms industry. Ah, that's capitalism for you.

Faslane Peace Camp

31 January 15:14

      The MoD (Ministry of Disregard-for-the-basic-principles-of-democracy) strikes again... they really are a law onto their own.
            "The Ministry of Defence has revealed how it intends to spend £160bn over the next decade on new weapons systems, including a fleet of Trident nuclear missile submarines, two large aircraft carriers, helicopters, armoured vehicles, and unmanned drones.
          The MoD says the money has been signed off by the chancellor, George Osborne, even though parliament will not vote until after the general election on whether to give the go-ahead to a new Trident fleet which, it is estimated, would consume at least a third of the MoD's equipment budget after 2020."

FULL ARTICLE: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2013/jan/31/trident-uk-military-shopping-list

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WE ASSIST IN BOMBING GAZA.

          On 14 November 2012, the Israeli army began attacking Gaza with drones, Apache helicopters, F-16 fighter jets and naval vessels. For 8 days, civilian areas of Gaza were bombarded by Israel from air and sea with over 150 men, women and children losing their lives. 

Tell the British government to stop funding Israel's brutal attacks on innocent people.
This attack was only made possible through the continued financial, military and diplomatic support Israel receives from Western states - including the British government. Take action to help end this suffering for good.
By selling arms to Israel, the British government is giving direct material support for Israel's aggression against the Palestinian people and sending a clear message of approval for its actions.
Call on Foreign Secretary William Hague to introduce an immediate arms embargo on Israel until it ends its violations of international law.

Thanks you for taking action.

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A RIGHT ROYAL SALES TEAM.

         The British Royal family is sold to the British public as some sort of benign institution with a spin off that it helps our GDP by bringing tourists to this country. A friendly, if somewhat bumbling family, that brings a bit of colour and splendour into our lives. However we all know that it is far from benign, it is the foundation of the power structure that is the establishment, the bedrock of our class system. What we should also be aware of is that it is also the arms industry's best sales team. Flying princes around the world opens doors to the heads of state for our ever hungry arms manufacturers, allowing billion pound deals to be done. This is also a sales team that is paid for by the British public and not by the arms industry.

Extract from Scottish LEFT Review:

          With a tightening of military budgets in the UK and much of the western world, the arms industry aggressively mines old and new export markets. The largest and fastest growing are in Asia and the Middle East and North Africa. It is for this latter region that Prince Andrew, with his royal connections and military background, best fits the UKTI DSO agenda. His personal presence opens the doors of the kings, princes, emirs and sheikhs of the Gulf kingdoms to the arms company executives who negotiate the export deals.

       A Buckingham Palace spokesman was quoted in the Guardian (9/3/12): “Middle East potentates like meeting princes. He comes in as the son of the Queen and that opens doors that otherwise would remain closed. He can raise problems with a crown prince and four or five weeks later we discover that the difficulties have been overcome and the contract can be signed. He brings immeasurable value in smoothing the path for British companies. We don’t send him to developed countries like France and Sweden, where a member of the royal family would not make a difference, but in developing countries, or the far east, a prince can get in because of who he is.”

      But it is not just royals but quasi-royals such as dictators and their family members where Andrew’s presence works wonders. He supposedly had a close friendship with Saif Gaddafi, son of Colonial Gaddafi, and hosted a lunch at Buckingham Palace for Sakher el Materi, son-in-law of Tunisian dictator, Ben Ali, despite being warned of his corrupt activities by the British Embassy in Tunis. Both dynasties have now fallen.---

Read the full article HERE:

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BEHEADING, CORRUPTION AND THE UK'S BLIND EYE.

       The arms industry is a true capitalist enterprise, devoid of any morals. Since 1960 the regime of Saudi Arabia have been a major purchaser of UK made arms. This is not just a series of corporate manufacturers selling to the highest bidder, the hand of the UK state is involved in most of these deals as they are government to government contracts. Governments are expert at putting nice names to despicable affairs, recently BAE arms manufacturer sold 72 Euro fighters to Saudi Arabia, at a cost of £4.4 billion, the project was named The Salam (Peace) Project. UK corporate business with the help and blessing of the UK government, makes billions supplying all manner of weapons to what is probably one of the most repressive regimes on the planet. This regime of Royal despots rule over a country that as well as brutal repression, is in the eyes of most observers is rife with corruption on a massive scale. The Guardian has ran numerous reports of allegations of corruption at the highest level.. In 2004, following revelations about a £60 million "slush fund", the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) began an investigation. There were further allegations in June 2007 that BAE, with approval of the UK’s Ministry of Defence, had made payments worth hundreds of millions of pounds since 1985 to bank accounts under the personal control of Prince Bandar, the son of Prince Sultan. On 14th December 2006 the SFO announced that it was stopping its investigation. CAAT and The Corner House challenged the decision in the courts. In April 2008 the High Court ruled that the SFO had acted unlawfully in curtailing the inquiry, but this ruling was overturned by the House of Lords on 30th July 2008. More information about the case and documents which were released during it can be viewed here.

The whole thing stinks.

      Saudi Arabia is also a country that beheads people, for among other things, the crime of sorcery. The latest case of this was a 60 year old woman who was headed for the crime of sorcery, and recently a man was beheaded for the same crime, it seems he told fortunes. This year alone the Saudis have executed 79 people, 5 of them women, compared to 27 for the whole of last year. It is obvious that they are stepping up the repression with one eye on the “Arab Spring”. It is criminal, but to be expected, that the UK state considers Saudi Arabia to among its “friendly” allies.

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WAR = PROFITS.

       

         Ten years of death and destruction in Afghanistan and still it goes on. Hundreds of UK troops killed and thousands injured, plus billions of pounds spent on maintaining this inhumane, pointless slaughter. Where does all that money go? It pours into the arms industry who are delighted to see tons of munitions being exploded, creating a need to have them replaced, at the same time allowing the other psychopaths in power across the globe an opportunity to see these destructive weapons in use. A war is like a trade show to the arms industry and it doesn't cost them a penny.

         There are urgent and pressing needs across the globe, they are not being seen to, the usual excuse is lack of resources. How much of the capitalist world's resources are spent on destruction and killing, what impact would there be if all those resources were directed at people's needs? Of course for that to happen we need to get rid of the capitalist system itself. As long as we have the present system of corporate capitalism and national governments, we will have wars and destruction, suffering and deprivation, as the parasites engineer everything to their own benefit.

STOP THE WAR 

       The Antiwar Mass Assembly in Trafalgar Square on 8 October is going to be one of Stop the War's most important events.  Thousands of people have pledged to be there (see  http://bit.ly/pBlNMI), transport is being organised around the country (see http://bit.ly/oM17x9), the timetable for the event
has just been published, with a very impressive list of speakers, musicians, artists and performers (see http://bit.ly/poSQPd).

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