State.

            The state would wither away if it didn't continually tighten its control over it citizens. anything that might try to shift the power away from the establishment, the rich and powerful, towards the communities and the ordinary people will always be seen as the real enemy. To expect other than this is failing to understand the true nature of the state. It fights to have the monopoly on power, the sole right to create laws and regulations, which will always be there to protect the status quo. The state has a whole box of tricks in its various appendages, its loaded judiciary, specially constructed "laws" its uniform thugs and its inhumane prisons, all there to protect the state and its privileged and powerful managers.

The following from Enough is Enough:

          Lyon. France. “We must rely on the state to contend with fascists!” liberals will tell you. “To fight bigotry and fascism, we have to give the authorities the legal powers to combat them for us!” they say. So what happens when a state has the legal authority to decide whether a political group has the right to exist in society? Who will the state wield that power against?

Originally published by International Anti-Fascist Defence Fund.

          If you’re an anarchist or if you live in Lyon then you already know the answer. The French state reserves for itself the right to ban or “dissolve” any group it deems to be “extremist.” The dissolution laws have been criticized by radical, extremist organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch for their incompatibility with French republican values like freedom of association.
          The city of Lyon has been a hotbed of fascist violence as of late. Last year, les fachos mobbed up to attack a pro-choice/pro-LGBTQ+ march; destroy a Kurdish community centre, injuring the volunteers working there; and wreck a left-wing bookstore (something the International Anti-Fascist Defence Fund stepped in to assist with afterwards). So it would stand to reason that those would be the groups the French state would target for dissolution, not the groups opposed to them.
        Wrong. Last month Groupe Antifasciste Lyon et Environs (GALE) were informed that the state had dissolved them. Their rationale? GALE had been involved in a concert months before where a hiphop artist performed got the crowd to join in chanting “toute le monde detestes les flics!” (“everybody hates the police!”). That was literally all it took for the state to target GALE and ultimately declare them dissolved. This is the first time we have heard of an anti-fascist group being “dissolved” by the state.
        GALE plan to appeal this draconian crackdown via the French courts and have set up a crowdfunder to help pay for that appeal; the International Anti-Fascist Defence Fund unanimously decided to make a sizeable contribution to that appeal. If you support the values upon which the French republic was established, you should do likewise.

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Thoughts?

     

      I, and many others, have always claimed that this pandemic, irrespective of cause or seriousness of the illness, has been a wonderful opportunity for the state to increase its authoritarian legislation, and tighten its control over our lives. An opportunity that they certainly were not going to let pass. Gathering the population like sheep, training them to wait for their every move to be indicated to them by the shepherd and his dogs. All for our own good of course, but the deed is done, people wait for the next directive, people are split among themselves, vaxxers and non-vaxxers, when we should be focusing on our freedoms and how they have been striped away, how that the state has more data on you and your daily life than it ever had, and of course will use it for its aim of a total submissive population. It is harder to win back that which you have lost than to fight to keep what you have. freedom is ours by right, not a demand we request from others. 

The following "food for thought" from Act For Freedom now:

           In order to “convince” people to be vaccinated, but above all to loyally follow the imposed rules and be obedient, the State through its Governments with the support of its technicians and the media, has terrorized and blackmailed, taken away rights and freedom, threatened, humiliated, denigrated and ridiculed, censored, suspended work, prevented work, divided society in two, nourished the epidemic, pointed the finger, condemned, criminalized, lied, misled, confused, created anxiety and fear. Still before and even worse, it murdered 14 prisoners in March 2020, prisoners who were demanding not to die like mice in a cage by rebelling along with many others.
          The State chose to eradicate the problem by murdering some so that it would be clear to everyone that the so-called emergency phase that was opening up would take on precise connotations. Restrictions on freedom and abundantly spread terror, but with the leitmotif of “everything will be all right”.

Read the full article HERE: 

 

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

disconnect

            It is now becoming ever more obvious that the system is falling apart, for generations we have been subject to our rulers rampant aggression and utter contempt, yet the populace at large, continued to hold onto that mythical thought of some sort of alliance between rulers and ruled. Now the truth is so blatantly obvious that this myth has evaporated, leaving bare the true nature of this incompatible relationship. The powerful rulers of society are aware of this now complete disconnect between ruled and ruler, aware that the illusion no longer holds, and the populace see the glaring truth. This makes them extremely dangerous, if they can’t hold onto their power by smoke and mirrors, by weaving illusions, then they will try to do so by force, we must prepare for this inevitability. The disconnect between ruled and ruler is now complete, the glaring inequality and disparity inherent in the system shows that their reality and ours is completely incompatible. We the public can no longer march to their tune, no longer pick up the sword to defend their wealth, no longer shed our blood in their petty power struggles, no longer sweat our lives away cementing their privileged position. Across the globe people are showing that they have finally grasped this irrefutable truth, open rebellion is in the air. The attempted containment will become more brutal, ever increasing restrictions, ever greater surveillance, ever greater punishments for dissent. We organise in solidarity and face it full on, or we revert to that illusion that there is compatibility between rich and powerful rulers and the ruled and once again accept our serfdom, in a tighter and more frightening new world order.

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Obey!

 

        I find it odd that on the main, the anarchist groupings have fallen in line with the state's dictate of isolation, separation, wait for further orders from the state before you decide how to live your life. Yes I am aware that we are still in a pandemic and have been for approximately two years, but was there really no alternative? No possibility of communities organising to protect themselves and in co-operation with other communities in a manner deemed best for them? Did it have to a state decision which in lots of instances was based on political ideology rather than medical expertise. The state will always have priorities that don't put the well-being of the people first, but somehow it convinced us to obey and to show solidarity with the state and its agenda. The state will always seek ways to control the population, our acceptance of its dictates in this case of the pandemic and our submissiveness gave the state an open door and straight road for population control, and they have seized it with both hands and vigour. Despite what we might be fed, this was and is a medical emergency, so why did we allow the politicians to be the main controllers of the decisions?

The following is an extract from an article in Act For Freedom Now:

         While “we” stay #home, the state offers the only alternative out of the lock-down, managing the situation and organizing the “solidarity”, with “our” tacit consent. Since when has delegating – especially to the state – been part of the anarchist toolbox? The gap left by the “radical left” in not criticizing and opposing the state measures is now mostly filled by fascist and other reactionary bullshit propaganda.
         In this context, the question arises for us whether people in the circles of the “radical left” are aware of the real consequences of the often used slogans? “Against capitalism” “Against the authorities” “for a self-organized and self-determined life” (for some also “destruction of state, borders, prisons”). Are these things that people want to fight for and stand by, whatever happens? Or are they empty words that look cool on stickers or t-shirts and are just a required part of a subculture?
         Because dear people, the struggle for another world, a revolution or revolutionary moments, in real life, will probably be so beautiful and full of emotions, but also full of suffering, difficult moments, losses, and will force us out of our comfort zones. Making the proposal to #Stayathome or to isolate ourselves and rely on the measures prescribed by the state, in our opinion, is not a good start if we want to learn how to struggle, live a self-determined and self-organized life and how to support each other in “times of crisis”.

Read the full article HERE: 

 

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Our Right.

 

         At the moment Glasgow is in lockdown, nothing to do with covid19, we are in a city under siege simply because the powerful and privileged have descended on our fair city to waffle their way through this period with their art of illusion weaving, and we all know that the powerful and privileged are so loved, they need a wall of armour wrapped around them. This military style police wall snaking its way throughout our city, has another purpose, to stifle and abort protests and intimidate protestors, they want to give the impression that we are all happy with this cop-out-26 carnival of illusions. However, all they are doing is increasing the ever growing public view of the police, that they can't be trusted, to one of a complete sense of loathing. Our right to protest is not a privilege, it is a basic human right, to openly protest at what you see as wrong, unjust, or manufactured lies, at policies and actions that you believe will damage your life or that of others in some way. To stifle this is raising the banner of fascism and confirming, we don't live in a democracy.

COPS & the Right to Protest 

 

Short Reports from NetPol & Scalp
        When the ‘Rail to the COP’ train arrived in Glasgow yesterday evening with young activists from all over Europe, some campaigners holding a ‘Welcome to Scotland’ were reportedly threatened with arrest.
         On the Pilgrims March police threatened all its stewards as "organisers" of an unauthorised procession. One was then picked, had their details taken and told they would be considered for possible prosecution.
        We have heard reports of police increasingly stopping & searching people in Glasgow. Officers are refusing to give a written receipt, even though everyone has a right to receive one.
        Abuse of power should come as no surprise, but now is a good time to memorise the info on our bust card around stop & search.

Police don't keep us safe, we keep us safe.

         One example yesterday involved Metropolitan Police officers, who often pull the excuse that they have "run out of forms" back in London – but how does this meet Police Scotland’s “commitment to upholding human rights”?
        Police are all over Glasgow filming campaigners and Forward Intelligence Team officers (deployed to identify and gather information on activists) have told individuals that “no protesters are allowed” in a number of pubs when there is no protest taking place. 

 

 

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To Touch---

        It is obvious to most that the pandemic has allowed to state to create a submissive population, a population that sits and waits for the next set of instructions. Scanning news broadcasts to see where we can go, who we can meet, what parts of society are open to us and what parts are closed. With remarkable ease the state has created what it always strives for, total control over the citizens. Yes we are living through a pandemic, could it have been handle better with a more community inclusiveness? Of course it could, but this is capitalism and decisions are made on the best way to handle the economy, how to save the economy, how to get the economy "back on track", which we all agree is a track to environmental destruction. The needs of the people will follow after these priorities have been seen to be handled in the best method to suit the system.
       Now there are remarks about the damage to the mental health of many of our people because of isolation and lose of human contact, those with other illnesses are now suffering long delays and possible death. Was this all unknown, of course not, medical and scientific experts were well aware of the effects of isolation and the denying of social contact, but our decision makers, who claim to be following the scientific advice, cherry pick that advice according to their mindset that the economy is paramount.
        The result being a society of submissive citizens, with anger simmering under the surface, an increase in poverty and its attendant illnesses, an incredible strain on the health and care services, which have been denied proper funding for years. Despite this our lords and master will puff out their chest and try to convince you of how well they have done. Of course in their eyes they have done exceedingly well, they have transferred billions to large rich corporations, the parasite billionaire class has seen it obscene wealth grow at an incredible rate. Where does that leave you and me?

The following extract from Salish Sea Black Autonomists: 

 

 

          Quarantine isn’t coming to the US, it’s already here. Like everywhere else It does not arrive as a social peace treaty but comes crawling from the decaying corpse of the welfare state as a monstrous racial policing apparatus. Prison has never been a singular place but a particular collection of techniques of social control and that is most apparent under the logic of quarantine where every good citizen is both, and happily we may add, captive and warden. What this says for physical prisons is even more grim as they are transformed into the most pure expression of capital: workhouses where prison slaves manufacture our hand sanitizer[1] and PPE[2] so that we may live, and on the flip side mass graves, human warehouses packed to the brim under hostile conditions, a fertile field for both the virus and their captors to run wild[3].
         Crisis is here, as it always is, and it doesn’t put a hold on all the other crises unfolding, it just both obscures and amplifies the intensity of them. Still the police are executing black people in the streets, still riots are breaking out[4], still black people are enduring and dying from medical neglect[5]. Still, still still! We are struggling and suffering and dying – and now the old ways of holding together the social peace reveal themselves for what they are – absolutely nothing. Reforms, inclusion in institutions, ‘community policing’, and paltry hand outs mean fuck all, just as they ever did but even more so now. Even what they offer us now is more insulting than anything: a paltry, one-time, 1200$ that will maybe cover one or two months of rent, and only for some of us at that[6][7][8]! All the promises of our masters turn to dust in our hands.
        The state recognizes what’s going on and whats falling apart and in order to ensure it’s continued existence is using the logic of quarantine to wage all out war against the entirety of the social body to ensure social cohesion. The life giving and death giving institutions of the state – the police, the medical industry, the carceral institutions, the military – are working overtime now. But where other technique of capital and governance have failed and are now failing to absorb the social body into it’s logics, health and pandemic have mutated into one sinister, paternalistic technique of governance that has managed to absorb the social body into the nation and the economy. What’s healthy for the nation, whats healthy for the economy, is healthy for us because we are them. With this one trick the social body has become a weapon wielded against itself. From discourses willing to sacrifice more vulnerable people for “our” collective health [9][10] (that of the nation and the economy), to neighborhood snitches calling the police on those violating the imposed rules of ‘social distancing’.[11] How long before those neighborhood snitches become neighborhood shooters enforcing a hardened border of social distance? Everyone knows behind the walls of our healthy neighborhood are the hoards of sick others…

Continue reading HERE:

 

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Acceptance.

       Where are we now in this new world wide control system, where have the little freedoms we had gone, where are our choices? We seem to have accepted the state's open prison approach to this pandemic without much of a public discussion. We willingly abandon our right to be involved in formulating the solutions of our problems, to our political ballerinas, with their economic value structure and their sole interpretation of the "science". Now we walk in a world of weariness, fear, confusion and mistrust, pinning our hopes on the big capitalist pharmaceutical companies to come up with the magic bullet, a vaccine. Could it have been different if we the public were involved in helping formulate the solutions, would the economy have outweighed the health and welfare of the people? Too late now, we are where we are, not so, we could still take control of the situation, taking the politics and economy out of the equation, and concentrating on the health and welfare of the people, allowing the experts in the fields of pandemics, public health and medicines to guide us, all free from the weight of saving the economy.
        The following an extract from an interesting article originally in El Critic 

 

Barcelona.

 Translated by Autonomies: 

 

         The social malaise spreads moment by moment. The endless sequence of confinement – de-confinement – re-confinement – is the rope that slowly asphyxiates us. It is the rope that a State, incapable and seized by panic, holds to, to try to impose its new normal. Now we know that the announced new normal is nothing more than the continuation of this nightmare. When it all started, it seemed that we were in a science fiction movie, and that we were masked protagonists. The contained emotion of the first month was made up of fear and relief; the fear of dying and the relief of not having to work. The balconies strove to open up to the sky. Now there are no songs. The slogan “Everything will be fine” sounds even more stupid, and we have learned that we are only the useful fools of a moment in the history of capitalism. The plot can be summed up in a few words: unbridled capitalism – what is usually known as neoliberalism – produces a virus that capitalism itself reuses to control us. In the silence of the night subjected to a curfew, the cry of “Enough!” is heard. We are tired, fed up with so much uncertainty, fed up with so many falsehoods and, above all, fed up with so much arbitrariness.

Read the full article HERE 

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

Pandemic.

         You can call this pandemic what you will, hoax, grand conspiracy, over exaggerated bad flu or whatever. However, what we can all agree on is the the state/corporate system has taken full advantage of the situation. Massive increase in surveillance, greater state control over our activities and movements, curtailing large groups from meeting up, and creating a general submissiveness among the general public, while we all wait for our next instructions, all for our own good of course. Meanwhile the corporate greed machine has been getting the government to pay billions of pounds into it already stuffed coffers, money that we, the tax payer, will be forced to pay back. Then there has been their shedding of labour switching everything to online, and slashing at working conditions, while creating a large pool of unemployment, which in turn will keep wages down. 

       For those who struggle for freedom and justice in this unjust system, where should our focus be. I suppose some things will always hold good, organise mutual aid programs in you community open up discussion groups in your workplace and communities, but then there is the direct action to try and undermine, short-circuit and circumvent the system, and that I suppose is where individual and group choice comes into the affair. 

 

A Pandemic

 
C onfined to barracks no end in sight
O rdinary socialising now forbidden
R eality that doesn’t seem quite right
O pen house all invites hidden
N o hugs, no squeezes, no gentle kiss
A ny close contact, tinged with fear
V oices received through social media
I nvisible enemy prowling near
R epressive laws come with doubt
U ndying desire to be out and about
S ocial contact now told to disappear

The following from 325:

       As we’ve seen during the Covid-19 pandemic, the State takes advantage of the situation with (offline and online) monitoring, controlled by police and also through technological devices, for example CCTV, smart phones, etc. Their reasons for this situation are, as we know very well, is in the name of public safety, which is an illusion repeated over and over.
       We are faced with a situation that is uncertain, we do not know when the pandemic will end and at the same time the State is intensifying its control technology, on which the use is augmented and enhanced, CCTV for example. At the start of the pandemic we found that surveillance of urban space with CCTV increased and active police-army patrols as well. This situation makes the resistance movement decrease, we are “required” to stay put, to isolate oneself. But is this any logical reason not to follow up with the rebels on the streets? We are sure and our answer is no.
      We refuse to be passive in the midst of the control and seizure of living space by the State, government and police. However, due to this pandemic and the situation of contamination, we must seek a gap – without meaning to be arrogant – and to simultaneously maintain the health of oneself and with shared affinity and continue the rebellion (albeit minimal and inadequate). We believe it can be done. Because of this attitude, on November 13 on one of the roads of Pontianak city, we sabotaged the CCTV and take responsible for this action.
      And lastly, we are in solidarity with fellow Italian anarchists in Operation Scripta Manent, Panico, Prometo, Ritrovo, Lince, Renata, Bialystok, Scintilla, who were repressed by the public prosecutor and Brenner Court. And for fellow Belarusian anarchists, and to Monica and Francisco, also to Gabriel Pombo, also to Tanggerang and Makassar fellow anarchists, and for all imprisoned anarchists all over the world. Our attacks are dedicated to you, without terms and conditions.
Fight Control Technology!
Fight the Prison and For the Release of All Prisoners!
Long live anarchy, long live the insurrection!

Maverick Cell – Informal Anarchist Federation (FAI)

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

Libertad.

      Prisons are state institutions that are meant to subdue dissent, create subservience, breed submission. History has proved that these institution have, very often failed in their purpose. The human spirit so often overcomes attempts to shackle its desire for freedom and justice. I have no doubt that this desire will eventually win, and we will pull down the walls of these symbols of state control and cruelty, along with the system that requires them for its very existence. There is no place for prisons in any civilised society, they are there to protect the status-quo, to keep wealth and power where it is, clasped in the greedy hands of the pampered, privileged, parasite class. 

The following from Anarchists Worldwide:

Santiago, Chile: Letter from Anarchist Prisoner Mónica Caballero
Palabras de la compañera Monica Caballero desde la cárcel de San Miguel ($hile)
       For those opposed to this system of terror, prison is always a bitter pill and it always hurts.
      Prison and I are old acquaintances, on more than one occasion I have sat at his table, over the years we have changed and we have both learned from one another… but no matter how much time I spend in prison, I remain the same. Prison is still the monstrous phagocyte of power that grows with submission and repentance, and I continue with the same seditious desires of yesteryear.
     The powerful succeeded in locking up my restless body, they tried to guard it for many years, but even though it is caged, my heart is still out there far from fences, high walls and watchful eyes… the grey of this place only touches me superficially.
      The prison is another place of struggle on the road to confrontation, the anti-authoritarian confrontation for me has not finished, it has only changed shape.
Dear Juan Aliste, Joaquín García, Marcelo Villarroel and Dinos Giagtzoglou‘s words are a breath of fresh air in this cell.
       There is still much to build and to destroy!
Active solidarity with the Mapuche political prisoners on hunger strike

Long live Anarchy!

Monica Caballero S.
Anarchist prisoner.
Santiago Chile
September 2020.

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

Lives Matter.

       "Black Lives Matter" was a call that was long over due and certainly a worthy cause. The injustice and brutality that this group of people suffered because of the colour of their skin was vicious and blatant inhumanity. Then again, this entire system is based on injustice and inhumanity, I fear however that the cry for justice for one group, no matter how deserving, takes the focus off all the other injustices that riddle this flawed system. We have gross child poverty, extreme over surveillance, out of control policing, persecution of "whistle blowers", a judicial system that favours the wealthy, homelessness, evictions, unemployment, over crowded prisons, detention centres for migrants fleeing death and persecution, crumbling social services, a decaying education system, we have highly mechanised armies of our youth dying while creating havoc and bloodshed in other countries, at the dictate of the pampered and privileged few. We have a class of wealthy, powerful parasites who manage this system, are aware of the savagery, inequality and injustice, but they rely on them to uphold and bolster their over privileged position. We may get "justice" for black lives, to the phony standard of justice within this unjust system, then what? It would be another paracetamol for the people, making them feel better, but doing nothing to cure the ills that plague them.  

    Isn't it time we all cried, "Human Lives Matter", and start to dismantle this entire system of injustice, inequality, inhumanity and brutality, and get rid of that class of pampered, privileged parasites that grow fat from these cogs of their inhumane system.

 Quote from John W. Whitehead:

     The powers-that-be want us to believe that our job as citizens begins and ends on Election Day. They want us to believe that we have no right to complain about the state of the nation unless we’ve cast our vote one way or the other. They want us to remain divided over politics, hostile to those with whom we disagree politically, and intolerant of anyone or anything whose solutions to what ails this country differ from our own.
     What they don’t want us talking about is the fact that the government is corrupt, the system is rigged, the politicians don’t represent us, the electoral college is a joke, most of the candidates are frauds, and, as I point out in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, we as a nation are repeating the mistakes of history—namely, allowing a totalitarian state to reign over us.

    Former concentration camp inmate Hannah Arendt warned against this when she wrote, “Never has our future been more unpredictable, never have we depended so much on political forces that cannot be trusted to follow the rules of common sense and self-interest—forces that look like sheer insanity, if judged by the standards of other centuries.”

     As we once again find ourselves faced with the prospect of voting for the lesser of two evils, “we the people” have a decision to make: do we simply participate in the collapse of the American republic as it degenerates toward a totalitarian regime, or do we take a stand and reject the pathetic excuse for government that is being fobbed off on us?
      Never forget that the lesser of two evils is still evil.

       His description of the state system and its operators  fits equally this country or any other country on the planet, not just the US.

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Slowly, Slowly.

 

       If you observe the way our society is drifting it is difficult not to mention the word fascism. We would do well to remember Hitler and fascism in Germany didn't arrive with two guns blazing. It was little increments at a time, slowly, slowly, that people didn't pay too much attention to all those little changes. Only with hindsight can we see the monumental change that took place over time in Germany.

     In Haffner’s telling, the collapse of freedom and the rule of law occurred in increments, some of which seemed to be relatively small and insignificant. In 1933, when Nazi officers stood menacingly outside Jewish shops, Jews were merely “offended. Not worried or anxious. Just offended.” But Haffner insists that Hitler’s brutality and the ongoing politicization of everyday life were clear from the outset. In the early days of the regime, a self-styled republican advised him to avoid skeptical comments, which would be of no use: “I think I know the fascists better than you. We republicans must howl with the wolves.”

       Whatever the reason, lately we have seen some dramatic changes in the way we are legislated to live. As time goes by, lots of these changes will be absorbed into the "new" way of living, and there will be controls in place to see that you adhere to these "new" rules. Your freedoms and choices will become more limited than they are at present. The direction is always the same, more legislation, more rules to be obeyed, less freedom of choice. How far down that road will we go willingly, and how far before we rebel and reverse that ever tightening control. Shall we wait until that fascism is so blatantly obvious and its vicious grip too tight? 

        Under such circumstances as we are living with its ever increasing lurch towards more control over our lives, the only real answer is to turn our direction the other way, to be a rebel, to be aware of the link by link that is being created to tie you down and refuse to accept the drift to an ever tighter state controlled environment.  

The Rebel

Rebel rebel break the rule,

What does it matter that a “wise” man sees a fool.

Not for you the herd’s dull beat

Making tomorrow, yesterday’s repeat,

Living out the life of a clone

Marching with the crowd but always alone.

Shaping your life from some dusty tome

Playing it safe, staying at home.

Rebel rebel break the rule

Swim in the sea, never the pool.

Live your emotions, feel the surge

Follow your dreams, chase the urge.

Make life though short, an exciting game

Not a mad march for fortune or fame.

Capture the moment, live it now

Being alive your only vow.

Rebel rebel break the rule

In the end, you’re humanity’s jewel.

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Opportunity.

      At the very start of this pandemic I stated that this was a golden opportunity for us to reshape society, I also said that it was a golden opportunity for the various states to push the boundaries of their control over the civilian population. It would give them a wonderful avenue to create that submissive population. I still believe that  and I know I am not alone in that line of thought. What we have to come to terms with is that the state has seized upon that opportunity with a determined single mindedness, but we seem to have fragmented our aims and therefore are failing to to make the most of our opportunity. This could be a disaster for  us all, as the few freedoms that we have will be drastically diminished, to regain them, let alone increase them, will be a monumental and brutal task. 

The following from 325:
By Gianfranco Sanguinetti

        We are sharing, with many thanks to the author, this English translation of an important article written in April 2020.
      The conversion of the Western representative democracies to a completely new form of despotism has, on account of the virus, assumed the juridical features of a force majeure (in jurisprudence, as is well known, force majeure is a case of exonerated responsibility). And so the new virus is at the same time both a catalyst for the event and a distraction for the masses through fear. (1)
      For all the hypotheses I have put forth, since my book On Terrorism and the State (1979), regarding the manner in which this conversion (ineluctable, in my eyes) from formal democracy to despotism would be made, I must confess that I never imagined it would happen on the pretense of a virus. But the ways of the Lord are truly infinite. As are those of Hegel’s cunning of reason.
     The sole reference, it can truly be said, as prophetic as it is disturbing, is one I found in an article by Jacques Attali, former boss of EBRD [European Bank for Reconstruction and Development], written for L’Express during the epidemic of 2009: (2)
     If the epidemic becomes a little more serious, which is possible, since it is transmittable by humans, it will have truly planetary consequences, both economic (the models suggest a loss of three trillion dollars, that is a 5% drop in global GDP) and political (due to risks of contagion). It would therefore be necessary to establish a global police force, a global stockpile, and therefore a global fiscal policy. We would then—much sooner than economic reasons alone would have allowed—come to establish the basis for an actual global government.

     The pandemic was thus already envisioned: how many simulations were run by the major insurance companies! And by the protective services of the states. Just few days ago former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown again returned to the need for global government: “Gordon Brown has urged world leaders to create a temporary form of global government to tackle the twin medical and economic crises caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.” (3)

Continue reading:

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New Normal!!

       I hope the public are alive to the possible outcomes of the legislation being put in place and experimented with by the establishment. They are not thinking of your welfare, they are not taking care of you, they are doing their best to protect the business world, the millionaire/billionaire/shareholders that is where the bulk of taxpayers money is going, yes there is a spin off and we get some wage support, but that is to keep their partners and shareholders afloat, and to placate public anger from spilling over.   

     They are putting in place a world where congregating in numbers will be limited and controlled, social distancing will be the norm, total surveillance will be a way of life. Let's not sleepwalk quietly into the new advanced 21st century Orwellian world, let's not blindly accept that the state knows best and will protect you. It is a state controlled world once entered, it will be extremely difficult to exit.

The following is an extract from Acorn:   

 No to the "New Normal"

        Looking beyond the immediate measures being taken to “control the virus”, there is also criticism of the “new normal” which seems to be on its way, a post-coronavirus world of “biosecurity” and virtual “connectivity” which looks very much like the beginnings of a nightmare high-tech dystopia.

        “We’re accelerating into a future in which a digitally connected privileged class performs virtual labor in isolation while a massive police state protects them from an expendable underclass that takes most of the risks. In this context, there is bound to be revolt. It is likely that we will see some social reforms aimed at placating the population—at least temporary ones to mitigate the impact of the pandemic—but that they will arrive alongside the ever-increasing violence of a state that no one can imagine doing without, insofar as it is misunderstood as the protector of our health”.

         “This outbreak is the dream and an experimental laboratory for the expansion of surveillance and control and the enforcement of power”.

“Once the pandemic is finally over, we don’t want to see a permanent shift to cashless payment and the eventual elimination of cash”.

             Among the details of this “new normal” now emerging are “terrifying” plans for a mobile phone app that tracks people to check if they have been in contact with someone testing positive for the virus – initially optional, this may become obligatory in the post-crisis smart-fascist world.

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Wrong Turning?

      It seems that the covid 19 has given the state what it will always strive for, complete control and a submissive population. A population that will police others for the state and report the rule breakers. I don't have the answer to where we are, but I do get a nasty smell from the road we are walking down, a feeling of unease that we have taken the wrong turning and it might be very difficult to find our way back. I believe the following article is well worth pondering.

     A leaflet from Italy:

How to make an invisible enemy become “visible”

           In order to be functional to the State, one doesn’t need to ponder too much on the more general causes of the appearance of this virus, such as globalization and the lack of adequate immune defences thanks to, for example, pollution and the unhealthy lifestyle imposed by the production system; on the contrary one needs above all to look for a common enemy to be fought everywhere, and this can be a person walking in the street, a wayfarer on the road or anyone who doesn’t live in the neighbourhood.

     Why stop and think of how many hospital beds have disappeared over the last thirty years…? I’LL STAY AT HOME!
      Why think about the fact that only those who have the economic possibility can afford to live without wages…? I’LL STAY AT HOME!
      Why consider the fact that even if there is the obligation to stay at home, there are some who don’t have a home…? I’LL STAY AT HOME!
       It’s sufficient to think a little bit more to understand how it’s not a stroll in the streets that increases contagion, but everybody is now ready to report anyone who doesn’t comply with the emergency rules made by the government. It’s not really important to find a way to reduce the possibilities of contagion, what counts is to accept power acritically, going as far as turning into disgusting policemen. All this with the purpose of protecting “public health”, but at what price?
       In a dark period such as the time of the racial laws, a part of the “Italian people” reacted to deportations by closing their shutters so as not to see. On the contrary today, in a similar situation, almost all the “Italian people” open their shutters to see if someone isn’t sticking to the rules.
      Perhaps many deaths will be caused not by the virus but by the liberticidal measures clearly put in place by the State. The real price of the contagion, if we want to submit to the imposed laws, will be precisely the loss of ourselves, of the ability to look at ourselves in the mirror, in the name of something that is supposed to represent us, the State.
       Are you really sure this is worthwhile?
      After all there is a worse evil than the Covid, and this one is really difficult to eradicate… once we absorb all the worst of authority, will we still have a life worth living?

Anarchists

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Our New Normal.

      We have to be ever vigilant to make sure this new framework that has been imposed on us does not become the "new normal". These new measures that we were first asked to comply with and now have to obey by enforced legislation, like all controls brought into being by state legislation, have a habit of remaining on the statute book. They remain there in the tool kit of the state to ensure control over the population. It is up to us to make sure that, when this is over we reclaim our lives and live them as we wish, but with society structured differently to ensure that we finally see the shackles of this present oppressive and exploitative system dumped in the bin of history with the label, "Our Darkest Hour", after all, having exploited us for centuries, it failed us drastically in our hour of need. We know we  can build a better and fairer world, we just have to come together in communities of co-operation and mutual aid, freed from the cancerous profit motive. We the ordinary people must create our own "New Normal".

This from Acorn, Winter Oak:

    We don’t want your “new normal”.
    We don’t want the “smart” fascist future you have been trying to sell us for so long and which you are now trying to force upon us with lies, fear and all your infrastructures of control.
     We don’t want to be little submissive cogs in your machineries of greed and exploitation.
      We don’t want to be told how to live and what to think.
     We don’t want to be locked up indoors at your majesties’ pleasure, only allowed out of our cells to labour for your profit.
      We don’t want to be distanced, isolated and alienated.
     We don’t want to be the individually-wrapped slices of human flesh on which you gorge.
     We didn’t want your first industrial revolution – when you threw us off our land and caged us in your dark satanic mills – and we certainly don’t want your fourth.
     We don’t want to be cut off from the living world and confined to your sterile fake reality.
     We don’t want to be policed and preached at by your drones and robots.
     We don’t have to ask your permission to enjoy the world in which we belong – we will do so whenever, however and with whomever we choose.
    We are not prepared to be patronised, humiliated or microchipped.
    We refuse to plug ourselves meekly into the matrix of your total control.
    We want you to bear in mind that you do not own us, that you cannot buy us and you will never control us.
      We want you to know that we are free and will remain so unto the grave.
      We want you to realise that when our time comes, we will make you pay for what you are doing to us. And we want to remind you that there are very many more of us than of you

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Whose Narrative?

      I stated when this pandemic started  that the state would use it to further its control over the population, and to preserve the power structures that ensure wealth and power stay where they are. It would use the situation to try and bolster  an economic system that was crumbling at the seams, and so it has panned out. One of the tools the state always falls back on is "we are all in this together" they will draw references to the "British Spirit" during the blitz, and try to shape you into one homogeneous entity wrapped in the flag of patriotism. What they fail to mention is that during the 2nd WW there were strikes, peace movements, conscientious objectors, and mutinies, among other differing views on the situation. We were not one flag waving nation of "all in this together" mob. 

     In a system where there are such glaring inequalities with some having gross opulence with a risk they might lose some of it, and the majority struggling just to have a half decent life, it is impossible to claim that "we are all in this together". We are not, the two groups, the pampered privileged and the ordinary people have opposing values and opinions on what to protect and how to do it. Why we should allow the pampered privileged group to dictate what we all should preserve and what must be sacrificed, seems bordering on insanity. We the vast majority, must be in control of these decisions, working for the greater good of that majority. Protection of the vulnerable, yes, but protection for the privileged, most certainly no.

The following is an extract from North-Shore Info:

Ask a Different Question: 

Reclaiming autonomy of action during the virus

 

        A big part of the state’s narrative is unity — the idea that we need to come together as a society around a singular good that is for everyone. People like feeling like they’re part of a big group effort and like having the sense of contributing through their own small actions — the same kinds of phenomenons that make rebellious social movements possible also enable these moments of mass obedience. We can begin rejecting it by reminding ourselves that the interests of the rich and powerful are fundamentally at odds with our own. Even in a situation where they could get sicken or die too (unlike the opioid crisis or the AIDS epidemic before it), their response to the crisis is unlikely to meet our needs and may even intensify exploitation.
      The presumed subject of most of the measures like self-isolation and social distancing is middle-class — they imagine a person whose job can easily be worked from home or who has access to paid vacation or sick days (or, in the worst case, savings), a person with a spacious home, a personal vehicle, without very many close, intimate relationships, with money to spend on childcare and leisure activities. Everyone is asked to accept a level of discomfort, but that increases the further away our lives are from looking like that unstated ideal and compounds the unequal risk of the worst consequences of the virus. One response to this inequality has been to call on the state to do forms of redistribution, by expanding employment insurance benefits, or by providing loans or payment deferrals. Many of these measure boil down to producing new forms of debt for people who are in need, which recalls the outcome of the 2008 financial crash, where everyone shared in absorbing the losses of the rich while the poor were left out to dry.
       I have no interest in becoming an advocate for what the state should do and I certainly don’t think this is a tipping point for the adoption of more socialistic measures. The central issue to me is whether or not we want the state to have the abiltiy to shut everything down, regardless of what we think of the justifications it invokes for doing so.
       The #shutdowncanada blockades were considered unacceptable, though they were barely a fraction as disruptive as the measures the state pulled out just a week later, making clear that it’s not the level of disruption that was unacceptable, but rather who is a legitimate actor. Similarly, the government of Ontario repeated constantly the unacceptable burden striking teachers were placing on families with their handful of days of action, just before closing schools for three weeks — again, the problem is that they were workers and not a government or boss. The closure of borders to people but not goods intensifies the nationalist project already underway across the world, and the economic nature of these seemingly moral measures will become more plain once the virus peaks and the calls shift towards ‘go shopping, for the economy’.

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