A People's Man

       This wee video made me think, "Where have all the people gone"? He wasn't an anarchist, but his heart was in the right place and he certainly had a following of ordinary folks.

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The No-Change Party Of Change.

A quote from a satirical article by Mark Steel in The Independent:

       "At last, the Labour Party leaders are revealing their election strategy. They’ve announced they’ll stick to the current Government’s spending plans, and the current Government’s welfare cap. Next week, Ed Miliband will announce:“The British people are sick and tired of the way this Government runs the country, and that’s why we promise to do everything exactly the same. There are so many things they’ve ruined, which is why I assure you categorically we will keep ruining the same things. THAT is the exciting prospect we will be putting to the British people in 2015.”

Read the full article HERE:

    Though I and millions of others don't see it as satire, we have no doubt that the Labour Oxbridge mob will continue to steer the good ship UK Corporate Dream to a safe port, leaving us stranded on Deprivation Island.
    If you want real change, then you will have to look outside The Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption. We are the only real change.

Why Not Wobble Along.

Invitation from the Clydeside IWW to their monthly open meeting.

Wednesday, 19 June 2013

19:00 until 21:00

 

Unitarians Hall, 72 Berkeley Street, Glasgow G3 7DS. 

(At the side of the Mitchell Library near Charing Cross.)

       If you would like to learn what makes the Industrial Workers of the World different from a trade union or the party political left, or if you don't know anything about us and would like to find out, then please join the Clydeside general members branch of the IWW for an informal evening of short videos, presentations, and a group chat with our members. We'll supply refreshments so if you have any dietary requirements and are planning on heading along then do let us know.

      And why yes, we will happen to have plenty of membership applications forms on-hand now that you ask ;)

 

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For The Love Of Poetry.

    Like the title says, for the love of poetry.

For The Love Of Poetry.

To you who love poetry,

whose eyes I try to see,

whose mind I try to reach,

whose heart in tune with mine,

see the weeping, the wounded,

I don't offer the grand plan, the blueprint,

only a heart, a hand.

Like you, I know our world as a beautiful garden,

a bounteous Olypus,

exploited, abused.

Like you, I see vicious claws of poverty

tear the dreams of youth,

pillage the pride of age.

Like you, I hear the heavy tread of tyranny,

shake the humble heart,

crush the human spirit.

I don't offer the grand plan, the blueprint,

only a heart, a hand.

Perhaps, with enough hands, enough hearts

we can at last

stop the weeping, heal the wounded.

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How To Get Rid Of Taxes.

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      If your one of the ordinary citizen of your country, and one of that dwindling band who still have a job, you'll have no option but to pay your taxes. Even if you are not working, you are still taxed via VAT, you pay tax on practically everything you buy, you are even taxed when you cook and heat your house. We are told that we pay taxes to make society a better place, our taxes pay for social services hospitals and such. There is probably enough taxes paid by you and me to end poverty in our country and see to the needs of the vulnerable. However, our taxes also pay for the state to arm itself to the teeth and send armies across the globe to kill other ordinary people who pay their taxes, and that's a big slice of our money. So we put up with poverty allowing the state to rob us so that it can play its game of power and control.

      There are however, those in this society that don't bother with that crap of paying taxes, they just keep their money and spend it on themselves, I'm talking about corporations, that band of greed merchants that at the moment control our world. Apple, just one of those corporations, in recent years paid practically no tax on $78 billion simply by setting up shell corporations in low-tax countries and posting profits abroad. It is considered that across the globe, the corporate world avoid paying taxes to the tune of $1 trillion every year. That's a fair slice of money, it is reckoned that it could end poverty, it's enough to give every family on the planet $1,000 every year, or put every child on the planet in school, it is almost as much as the military budget for every country on the planet, and bigger than the total budget of 176 nations. But instead, it goes into expanding corporate power and keeping an army of parasites in unimaginable luxury.

      We know that those duplicitous suits, the political class, will not do much, if anything, to prevent this bonanza for the rich, as they are part and parcel of the same corporate world, they are the puppets of their corporate masters. The only real answer is for the people to take control of those corporations, change the production from crap trivia for fashionistas, to producing what the people of the world actually need. In one fell swoop we would end poverty and deprivation, get rid of that army of parasites and the need to bother trying to get them to pay their taxes.

 

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Occupied Taksim.

       For those wishing to keep up to date on what is happening in Turkey can visit the new site, Occupied Taksim.

 

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Not A Hope In Hell.

       Europe is a rich capitalist continent, it is a big slice of the developed world, and yet visit any country in that continent and poverty is rife and growing. If capitalism can't eradicate poverty in its richest and most developed areas, what chance is there of poverty being tackled in the poorer areas. No matter which country you pick, take Germany, Europe's biggest economy, held up as an example to the rest of Europe. In this paragon of capitalist efficiency, 15.5% live below the poverty line and would be nearer 25% if it was not for public assistance, (2010 figures but have increased since then), while child poverty has doubled since 2004.
 

        France, Europe's second biggest economy, sets another fine example of capitalist efficiency with youth unemployment at 26% and rising, and 23% of 18 to 24 year olds living in poverty, on top of that, there are approximately 11 million people in France living in poverty. In that second biggest economy there are 2 million people living on less than €640 a month.
 

       Here in the UK we have 3.6 million children living in poverty, that's 27% of all children. In some local council areas the figure is in Third World realms with 50% to 70%. My own local area of Springburn in Glasgow has 52% of children living in poverty. Poverty in the UK has seen the number of people seeking help at food banks soar by 170% from 2010 to 2013, the number is put at over 500,000 people needing a hand out with their food. 28% of adults state that they scrimp on food to feed others in the family.

 

      Italy, has millions too poor to heat their homes and almost 2 million children living in poverty, the highest child poverty % in the 25 European nations. In May, Italy's National Statistics Institute, (ISTAT) stated that 25% of Italians were heading towards deprivation, while the number already living in poverty has doubled in the last two years. The ISTAT report also found that 14.3% of the population was seriously deprived in 2012 up from 6.9% in 2010. It also stated that 14.9% were heading towards poverty.
 

        Spain, 27% unemployment, those under 25 and not studying the figure for unemployment is 57%. If you move south in Spain the unemployment reaches 40% in some areas. 1.9 million households have no breadwinner, 10% of the population have had no work for two years or more and 3 million live in extreme poverty with less than €3,650 a year, and a further 3 million get by on less than €7,300 a year.

 

        All of these figures are dwarfed when we visit Greece which has taken a full frontal attack from the financial Mafia that rule the European capitalist world.

       For the whole of Europe the unemployment rate is a little over 17%, that is approximately 84 million people can't find work in Europe. If the rich developed heart of capitalism carries so much poverty, and the misery that goes along with that poverty, only an idiot would believe capitalism can solve the problems of the ordinary people. There is not a hope in hell that capitalism can eradicate poverty in any country, it was not intended to, it was a system devised to make the business class rich and that is what it will do until we the people dismantle this exploitative and repressive system of injustice and greed.

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The Veneer Has Cracked.

      Across the internet there are lots of reports of what is happening in Turkey, some very graphic, others very emotional. I found this one to be graphic, ringing with both sincerity and feeling. I don't think we can give enough cover to what is happening in Turkey at the moment. It is the perfect example of what is on the face of things, a perfectly functioning capitalist consumer society, but just under the surface lies a plethora of discontent, a rumbling of resentment at inequality and daily injustice, now the veneer has cracked and truth is pouring out. Each country in Europe shines with the same illusion and harbours those same resentments just simmering under the surface. How long will their veneer hold?

 

 Photo taken from Occupy Gezi Facebook page. Also used by Reuters.

This from Insanlik Hali:

To my friends who live outside of Turkey:
      I am writing to let you know what is going on in Istanbul for the last five days. I personally have to write this because at the time of my writing most of the media sources are shut down by the government and the word of mouth and the internet are the only ways left for us to explain ourselves and call for help and support.
     Last week of May 2013 a group of people most of whom did not belong to any specific organization or ideology got together in Istanbul’s Gezi Park. Among them there were many of my friends and yoga students. Their reason was simple: To prevent and protest the upcoming demolishing of the park for the sake of building yet another shopping mall at very center of the city. There are numerous shopping malls in Istanbul, at least one in every neighborhood! The tearing down of the trees was supposed to begin early Thursday morning. People went to the park with their blankets, books and children. They put their tents down and spent the night under the trees. Early in the morning when the bulldozers started to pull the hundred-year-old trees out of the ground, they stood up against them to stop the operation.
    They did nothing other than standing in front of the machines. No newspaper, no television channel was there to report the protest. It was a complete media black out. But the police arrived with water cannon vehicles and pepper spray. They chased the crowds out of the park.

Continue reading HERE:

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We Are On A Downward Spiral.

      Remember when Gideon, Mr Osborne to you and I, predicted in 2010 that he would balance the budget in four years. Then our tough spell of austerity would be over and we would be awash in the lush green shoots of growth and the entire population would sing hallelujah Gideon. Then there was a slight re-think about those magical green shoots of growth, and it seemed that we would have to suffer a little more austerity, through to 2017/18. So from a four year fix to an eight year fix, that's quite a miscalculation. Now, Gideon's fix seems to be getting pushed a little bit more into the future, Two economic “think tanks”, (I love that phrase, it seems to imply that we have found some people in economics who can actually think), have come up with another wee disappointment for Gideon. The Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Institute for Government have warned that the austerity measures in the UK could still be trying to work their magic when the 2020 election comes around, with austerity being the plans for that election, and Gideon's mythical balancing act still out of reach. Beyond that requires a very special crystal ball.

       What does all this missing targets and austerity continuing mean to us the ordinary people? Well there has already been agreements by a number of government departments to make cuts of between 8% and 10% for year 2015/16. This is on top of the massive cuts we have had to Government spending, since Gideon and his gang first mugged us in 2010. So all those who think that the worst is over should think again. Ten years or more of cuts in benefits and social spending, wages frozen or cut, inflation running at almost 3%, and you can see deprivation staring you in the face for a generation or more.

      What these two “think tanks” are actually saying is, that there is no hope of any improvement in the living conditions of the British people for the foreseeable future, on the contrary, it is a future of more cuts and the risk of higher taxes. Even if in the 2020's those mythical green shoots of growth do start to appear and that magical balanced budget materialises, how long will it be before we the ordinary people even get back to where we were in 2008? The answer is never, it is a downward spiral and our battles and struggles over the last couple of hundred years to improve our standard of living will have to be re-fought. Improvements in wages and working conditions will have to be wrestled miserly bit by miserly bit from the capitalist greed merchants, as they were in the past. We could of course organise to bring an end to the capitalist economic system that is the root problem of our economic woes, and start to restructure society on the basis of the needs of all our people. We can create a society free from bankers and corporate control, based on communities, built on mutual aid.

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Circled "A" Radio On Turkey.

       Over the past week, what started as a protest against plans to turn Gezi Park in Istanbul into a shopping centre has started to look like a popular uprising across the country, with large protests and attacks by the police reported from numerous cities. Donnacha is joined in the studio by three young activists from Turkey to discuss what's happening, why it's happening and where it might go - the show also includes a pre-recorded interview with an activist in Turkey. 

 

The latest Circled "A" Radio broadcast is interviews with Turkish activists. 

 

Listen to Circled "A" Radio HERE:

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Guantanamo Greece.

      In times of unrest the state will always find a scapegoat, the usual choice is immigrants. According to the vomit spewed by the apologists of the system, immigrants are the root of all evil within the system. The hope is that the people will focus on that situation and allow the system to continue to screw them stupid. In Greece, since the onset of the financial Mafia's rape of the country, immigrants have been treated to horrific and brutal treatment at the hands of the jackboot scum that roam the streets of Greek cities doing the state's dirty work, and at the hands of the state apparatus. Detention in appalling conditions with no end in sight, children separated from their parents and detained in mass dormitories. Conditions that would draw the attention of the babbling brook of bullshit, the media, if it were happening in some Third World country, but ignored when it happens here in so called civilised Europe.

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A Swamp Of Injustice, Inequality And Repression.

       Seven days of police brutality and the people are still there. It is no longer just Istanbul, it has spread to other towns and cities across Turkey. Of course while the people were resisting the brutal force of authoritarianism on the Turkish streets, their babbling brook of bullshit, their national media, was showing a film about penguins. The usual crap, stay at home and watch nice tele. Turkey is just like the rest of Europe, a capitalist cauldron about to bubble over, a swamp of injustice, inequality and repression. There is not a country in Europe that is not on the edge of exploding. The normal inequality and injustice has been exacerbated by the financial Mafia's  plundering of the public purse via their "austerity" plan. Do they see the threat as big enough to ease up on their plundering, or will they push ahead with their drive for a sweatshop Europe. Either decision should be unacceptable to us the ordinary people, our only hope of draining that swamp of injustice, inequality and repression, is to end the present economic system. A system of profit is incompatible with a system for the people. We have to accept exploitation or get rid of capitalism, there is no middle road in this particular struggle.

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The Righteous Anger Of The People.

     To say that the trouble in Turkey is over the building of another shopping mall is surely missing something. A week of widespread protest in the face of extreme brutal police violence, only comes from an underlying anger by the people, at the authorities who ride roughshod over them. Turkish people know, like the rest of the people in Europe, that there is something rotten at the heart of, so called, "Western democracy". The system tramples the living standards of the ordinary people, shreds their rights and stifles peaceful dissent, while at the same time increasing and protecting corporate wealth and power. It continually transfers public assets and space to the corporate world, with no real benefits to the people. It is only a matter of time before people who are treated like this stand up and fight back. What we are witnessing is the righteous anger of the people, their anger will find the target eventually.

Another excellent photo from Teacher Dude.



Two short videos from Contra Info, read the full article HERE:



TURKISH REBEL IN 90 SECONDS! from Memento Mori on Vimeo.



TURKISH REBEL IN 70 SECONDS / DAY 5 from Memento Mori on Vimeo.

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Open Letter From Turkish Anarchist.

 

Photo from Policymic.

This from Infoshop News:

Open letter from a Turkish Anarchist

Dear Infoshop.org,

       I feel obliged to let you know about the ongoing clash in Turkey, between the state and the protestors who were peacefully protesting until the police attacked them. The situation is getting worse and the Turkish media is not covering ANY incidents related to the events. Even we can retrieve information via foreign media. Currently, there are major protests all around the country.
      These are the words of a fellow protestor:

    "Dear friends all around the world,something brave and significant is happening in Istanbul, Turkey. A late blooming Occupy wave one might call it.Citizens tired of a bullying government with its corrupt management of public spaces and reckless abuse of land are coming together to protect a public park in the heart of the Istanbul which is under the threat of being demolished so the 94th shopping mall can be built in its place.

      People are holding in spite of the brutal attacks by the police (today's attack was at 5am in the morning one shall point out! including tear gas bombs, burning the tents, hospitalizing a person...). It is the 3rd day now, more than 10,000 people have gathered in the park!Meanwhile, public spaces are being sold to hotels, precious ecosystems are being wasted for more industry, power plants, 3rd bridge over Bosphorus!

      This has become a matter about more than just saving trees. This is an 'I can do whatever I damn well want', fascist mentality that not only supresses but attacks its own people.

     To make matters worse, media channels are being censored so as not to display the news.#direngeziparki is now the 2nd worldwide trending topic on Twitter. Please help us to share this message and stop Erdogan's ruthless, inhumane acts.

      What you can do:- Forward this message to everyone you know- Send your support messages through twitter with the #direngeziparki hashtag- Tag @bbc @cnn @reuters and other large media channels in these posts- Post this message on facebook- Let your local and national media channels know, please help spread the news globally.

      We need all the support we can get now."

      PLEASE spread the word AND ask people to call the Turkish Embassy in their country now and ask why police is gassing demonstrators in Taksim (Istanbul) and whether Istanbul is safe anymore. Please protest and condemn the use of force against peaceful demonstrations.

- A Turkish anarchist

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An Appeal For Solidarity.

      An appeal from Labour Start for solidarity with the protestors in Turkey.

 

 Police Brutality in Turkey. Photo From Policymic.

     Two national trade union centers in Turkey have announced general strikes in the wake of police violence and widespread arrests of protestors.

    The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), which represents 175 million workers in 156 countries has called for union members to support our brothers and sisters in Turkey by signing up to the online campaign we launched yesterday.

You can read the ITUC statement here.

      I know that thousands of you reading this message have already sent off your messages -- to you I say, thank you, but let's do more. Please get your union on board -- help us get the word out that we need thousands more supporters.

     This is the web address we should be sharing with all our members:

http://www.labourstartcampaigns.net/show_campaign.cgi?c=1840

     In addition to the nearly 7,000 of you who responded in the last twenty-four hours, I want to make a special appeal to the more than 70,000 who will read this message but have not yet responded. It will take you only a minute to show your support for our brothers and sisters in Turkey.

Please don't wait -- do this right now.

    The workers on strike, the young people behind the barricades, the hundreds of protestors now in jails -- they all deserve our support right now.

I know I can count on you. Thank you.



Eric Lee

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The People Are Angry.

       European city after city is seeing the anger of the people, the latest uprising is in Turkey's Taksim Square and has lasted several days and there is no sign of the people's anger abating. For the latest and photos from Taksim Square Turkey. See Policymic.

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Don't Stare At A Policeman.

     From published figures it would appear that to be a "black male" in the US, you run a greater risk of violent treatment by the police. When a 14 year youth carrying a puppy is seen as a threat to two large armed police officers, you have to scratch your head and shout, "what the hell is going on", or should it be "racial psychopaths at large"?

This from Care2:

       It’s hard to disagree with that he was not guilty. Even if everything the police officers said is true — he was roughhousing with another youth, walked away after they spoke to him, clenched his fists, and looked at them funny — he didn’t do anything that merited a violent arrest. If a white 14-year-old were thrown around, choked, and cuffed, I suspect the officers would find themselves on “administrative leave” and any charges against the boy would be dropped.

It’s not too late to get the charges against McMillan dropped. To ask the police to do just that, please sign our petition.

Read the full article HERE:

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