What Do You Expect?

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        There should be no gasps of surprise and raising arms in horror at the privatisation of the Royal Mail, it should have been expected. The ideology hasn't changed in years, it is the same direction as always, everything must be owned by the corporate/financial Mafia. We have been moving in that direction continuously, coal mines, railways, telephone company, gas, electricity, if it is deemed to be an essential service, it will be privatised, and if it starts to lose money it will be subsidised by the tax payer, or it will be handed back to the tax payer until it is profitable, and then hand back to the corporate greed machine. An example of this is Network Rail. Another is the banks, they were going bust, so time to subsides them or hand them to the taxpayer. Now that they are beginning to show a profit, hand them back to the Corporate juggernaut. This policy of privatisation will continue with education, more and more “free” academies, and with the health service, Hitchingbrooke Hospital in Cambridgeshire is already being run by a private company, with the George Elliot Hospital in Warwickshire being told to seek a partner in the private sector to run it affairs. All public assets are set to be sold off to the corporate/financial Mafia, education, NHS, libraries, museums, public parks, you name it, it will go, all that is ours has to be transferred to the corporate world, it is an ideology that wont change unless we the ordinary people call a halt, and destroy this capitalist cancer that is devouring all that is social and shiting out greed driven rotten corporatism.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

The Gaza Concentration Camp.

      A recent report by three international bodies, EuroMid Observer for Human Rights, Palestinian Return Centre in London and the Malaysian Consultative Organization, states that the Gaza Strip is living through dreadful shortages of medical supplies and extreme difficulties in freedom of movement. The also state that the situation is unsustainable. What this means to the people of Gaza is abject deprivation, deteriorating health and increasing injustice. It is easy to draw parallels with the way that the Nazis treated the people in their concentration camps, to the way that the Israeli state is treating the people of Gaza, it is illegal collective punishment. It is in effect a large concentration camp run by the Israeli military.

        This from  Occupied Palestine:

     Thousands of Palestinians and foreigners wanting to leave the Strip as well as thousands wanting to enter face major difficulties because of the closure of the crossing the report said. The report, which had a detailed look at the effects of the siege since its early stages, summarised the current deterioration in living conditions in Gaza as being at its worst since November 2008, when Israel launched a full-scale military operation, Cast Lead.
      The unemployment rate in Gaza has hit 35.5 per cent, according to the report, and the rate is set to continue to rise as more tunnels are being closed day by day. As a result of the shortage of fuel and electricity, only a quarter of households receive running water for a couple of hours on a daily basis. People started to feel the shortage of clean drinking water as mass filters cut daily work hours.

Read the full article HERE:

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Anarchism In Palestine.

       We hear of anarchist activity from countries across the globe but not a lot from that land that can be described as the world's largest open air concentration camp, the occupied lands of Palestine. However, since anarchism is a very natural approach to he way we want to live, it will obviously be there in daily actions. Though its anti-state stance will be directed not at the home grown state, since there isn't one, but at the  state of an occupying military force, but self determination is still the desire of the individual and the group. The Institute for Anarchist Studies has an interesting article by Joshua Stephens on anarchism in Palestine.

      In Palestine, elements of popular struggle have historically often been self-organized. Even if not explicitly identified as “anarchism” as such, “People have already done horizontal, or non-hierarchical, organizing all their lives,” says Beesan Ramadan, another local anarchist, who describes anarchism as a “tactic” yet questions the need to attach a label. She continues, “It is already there in my culture and in the way Palestinian activism has worked. During the First Intifada, for instance, when someone’s home was demolished, people would organize to rebuild it, almost spontaneously. As a Palestinian anarchist I look forward to going back to the roots of the First Intifada. It did not come from a political decision. It came against the will of the PLO.” Yasser Arafat declared independence in November 1988, after the First Intifada began in December 1987, Ramadan says “…to hijack the efforts of the First Intifada.”

Read the full article HERE:

The Right To A Union.

    An appeal from United Farm Workers for solidarity in a long hard fought campaign.

Workers are this close to a contract at Gerawan. Please help.

This is an urgent message for you because we don’t have much time. Workers at Gerawan Farming, one of the world’s largest fruit growers, are trying to resolve workplace mistreatment issues with a contract to guarantee fair treatment and wages. And the clock is ticking.

      They voted for a union in 1990 and have negotiated with the company without success. Now, thanks to a law that supporters like you helped us pass eleven years ago, the California Agricultural Labor Relations Board has assigned a Mediator to finalize the unresolved issues contained in a contract.

      Workers are close to gaining what they have needed and longed for. They’re asking the ALRB mediator to create a contract that ensures that:

• The company pays workers fairly and counts ALL the hours they work.
• The company provides adequate protection for workers working with TOXIC chemicals.
• The company does not REUSE disposable safety equipment.
• The company STOPS unreasonably pressuring workers.
• The company provides NECESSARY equipment like wheelbarrows for moving fruit.
• The company provides CLEAN bathrooms and GOOD water for drinking.
• The company does not discipline or discharge workers unless there is JUST CAUSE.

       These are just some of the issues workers have raised. You may have seen slick TV ads where Gerawan Farming claims to care about farm workers rights. If so, then why have charges been filed against Gerawan accusing its management of impeding ALRB agents from talking to workers and investigating claims of unlawful actions?

      Maybe it’s because workers don’t feel that their employer is as caring as it tells the public. In fact, Gerawan cares so little about its workers having a contract, that it has filed a lawsuit against the State of California so that that a court can declare that the State Mediation law is unconstitutional, even though a Court of Appeals has already ruled that the law is constitutional. Gerawan has spared no expense, hiring three separate high-priced law firms to represent it in court.

       That’s why we must stand with the workers of Gerawan to help them so Gerawan will implement and respect the contract the State Mediator decides.

     We need your help. Time is very short. Under the State Mediation process, the Mediator could issue his decision by about mid-September. Without your support, Gerawan workers will face the high-priced legal teams of giant agricultural companies alone. Thank you.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Paradox,

This from Not Buying Anything:

The Paradox of Progress: If life is getting better, why do we feel worse?

 

THE PARADOX OF OUR TIMES 

The paradox of our times

Is that we have taller buildings, but shorter tempers

Wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints

We spend more, but we have less.

We have bigger houses, but smaller families

More conveniences, but less time.

We have more degrees, but less sense

More knowledge, but less judgement

More experts, but more problems

 More medicines, but less wellness.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values.

We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often

We have learnt how to make a living, but not a life.

We have added years to life, but not life to years.

We've been all the way to the moon and back 

but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbour.

We have conquered outer space, but not inner space.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted our soul.

We've split the atom, but not our prejudice.

We've higher incomes, but lower morals.

We've become long on quantity but short on quality.

 

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

 

The European March Of Fascism.

       In Europe the continual rise of the far right is no more obvious than in Greece. There Golden Dawn. an openly fascist, racist party, who try to terrorise the streets of Greece, is now being considered as a partner in government. When the so called apparatus of law and order openly talk of a partnership with brutal street thugs, it lays bare the true face of the state. The slime of fascism always oozes through the corridors of power. We should see what is happening in Greece as a mirror, a glimpse at tomorrow, unless we, the ordinary people, start to change the course of history.

This from Teacher Dude:

       Last week the leading commentator at one of Greece's largest private TV stations raised the possibility of a political alliance between the ruling conservative New Democracy party and the Neonazis in Golden Dawn.
      "Why shouldn't New Democracy co-operate with a serious Golden Dawn?" asked Babis Papadimitriou, the head of the staunchly pro-government Skai TV. The statement was prompted by the latest opinion polls that show the continued rise of Golden Dawn, now at 13-15% and the poor showing of the other partner in the Greek ruling coalition, PASOK, whose fall from electoral Grace has seen support plummet from 42% to 7- 8% within the space of four years.
      Papadimitriou's remarks immediately provoked a storm of angry response from Greek Twittersphere and political commentators, many of whom believe that this is the first step in the process of "rehabilitating" Golden Dawn. Such was the reaction that Skai dedicated an entire hour the following day to giving Papadimitriou a chance to clarify his stance. His argument was that Golden Dawn, Greece's third most popular party now represent a large proportion of  the electorate and that a similar alliance between centre right and far right parties had already taken place in Norway.

Read the full article HERE:

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Student Unity.

This from Glasgow Anarchists website:

Call-out from the Autonomous Student Network

 

      We have been contacted by the Autonomous Student Network. They are keen to talk with student groups in Glasgow that would be interested in working with others using anarchist principals. If your group is interested being part of the network then their call-out and contact details can be found here.

From Autonomous Student Network.

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From The Mouths Of Babes---!!

      If only all 12 year olds thought and spoke like this, tomorrow would be bright.

Published on Mar 21, 2013

     This 12 years old boy is just stunningly, incredibly smart. Listen to him as he excoriates the Muslim Brotherhood, relentlessly dissecting their power grab for Egypt.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

World Wide Solidarity.

An urgent call for solidarity from Columbia by IUF, UITA, IUL unions:

    Trade union leaders and opposition politicians in Colombia have been the target of death threats in recent days.
      The Colombian national trade union centre CUT has denounced these threats against their leaders and leaders of the political party Polo Democrático and asks that messages be sent as a matter of urgency to the Colombian government, demanding that immediate action be taken to ensure their safety!

Click here to send a message Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

The Surveillance Society.

    We live in the surveillance society, cameras in pubs, on buses, in offices and other workplaces, in our streets, at buses stops and train stations. Now it seems that Google believes that gmail users have "no legitimate expectation of privacy".

    

  Google reads every word of every email you send to or from a Gmail account in order to target you and your friends with ads. They read about your personal relationships, your health information, your finances, and more.

     Tell Eric Schmidt, the Executive Chairman of Google, that you want Google to stop selling ads at the expense of your inbox! »

     It's illegal for someone to open and read your paper mail without permission, but Google reads every word of every single email you send or receive every single day.
     In response to a lawsuit against Google for snooping through personal Gmail, Google claims that users have "no legitimate expectation of privacy" when it comes to their email. But, common sense says that's ridiculous; clearly, when you send a personal email to a friend or colleague, either on paper or online, you expect that the message will not be read to target you with ads.

     Tell Google that you DO have an expectation of privacy and that you demand that they stop reading the contents of your private emails to sell you ads. »

Thanks for taking action, Natasha Care2 and ThePetitionSite Team   Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Protests In Poland, Sound Familiar?

      In country after country in Europe, the people are rising up against the financial/corporate Mafia and its drive to sweatshop Europe. Yesterday, September 14, in Poland, between 100,000 and 120,000 people took to the streets of Warsaw. Armed with banners, drums, whistles, smoke bombs and chants, they brought the city to a standstill. The marches started four days previously and marchers from all over the country converged on the capital Warsaw on Friday. Some of the protester had camped in front of parliament since Wednesday. The complaint is a familiar one, it was not a Polish problem, it was the European problem. They were objecting to the retirement age being raised to 67, the average monthly wage being among the lowest in Europe, and new legislation attacking working conditions, allowing longer daily and weekly working hours. No matter the country, no matter the government in power, be it Labour, Conservative, Christian Democrat, Liberal, or whatever, the policies are all the same, an attack on the living conditions of the ordinary people, the creation of a Europe wide cheap workforce. The European corporate machine has to compete with the Eastern sweatshop economies and you and I must pay the price. Of course there is another way, the demolition of this unjust, exploitative, greed and profit driven system called capitalism and the creation of a needs based society built on mutual aid, voluntary co-operation and free association, founded on equality and sustainability. It is up to us.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Sweatshop Europe Is Still The Aim.

      Like I keep saying, sweatshop Europe is the aim. Now that the People of Greece have seen their living standards trashed and poverty and deprivation is the norm for the ordinary people, it's time to invite in the big corporate plunderers. Time to start useing that poverty and deprivation as available cheap labour.  The puppets sitting in Athens, controlled by the Troika, (EC, European Commission, ECB, European Central Bank, IMF, International Mankind Fuckers), have now rolled out the red carpet for the corporate/financial Mafia to come in and do what they like with the environment.

This From Corporate Warch:

Public event, 

Thursday 19 September, 7 to 9pm,
Unite House, 128 Theobald’s Road, Holborn, London, WC1X 8TN.

Gold mining in Greece: stories of resistance and repression
       Under the pretext of a severe financial crisis Greece is reasserting its investor-friendly profile by opening up all goldmines across the country without regard to the threats that mining poses to the environment and to people’s livelihoods. Foreign investors are particularly welcome: fast track processes; tax relief; exception from damages; easy money; no royalties; no problems.
      But the true picture is not so rosy! Sham public consultations, questionable deals designed to advance specific corporate interests and the slow but steady destruction of the environment have been met with resistance. The struggle to oppose Eldorado Gold’s plans to create an enormous open pit mine on Mount Kakavos and within the ancient forest of Skouries has succeeded in capturing people’s imagination and inspiring waves of solidarity across the country.

Read the full article HERE:

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Syria, What Is Going On?

       For most of us, making sense of what is really going on in Syria, is extremely difficult. Our babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media, on the main, spews out propaganda supporting the stance taken by the Western Imperialist powers, whose main aim is to change the regime. I should add that this change of regime they have in mind, is not for the benefit of the Syrian people, but the benefit of the Western corporate greed machine. As far as the Western powers are concerned, the wellbeing of the people of Syria, is of no interest what so ever. Syria in chaos and bloodshed, mirroring Iraq matters not, the natural resources will be in the control of the Western corporate/financial  Mafia, and that is their aim.

      This article from Tahrir-ICN helps to throw some light on what is going on on the ground in Syria.

  

 By Leila Shrooms for Tahrir-ICN

       One of the most worrying developments during the trajectory of Syria’s revolution has been the rise of militant Jihadi groups. The danger that the increasing strength of such groups poses to both Syria and the region should not be underestimated. Yet a lot of misunderstandings exist about the nature and dominance of such groups which this article attempts to address. Only when fact is separated from mythology are we able to move forward collectively towards a strategy that addresses the threat of counter-revolutionary forces and have a better understanding of who is working for the original goals of the revolution so that they can be given the solidarity they deserve.---

Read the full article HERE:

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

The End Of The World As We Know It.

      

  Chemical weapons, Fukishima, Tokyo Olympics, Massive debt, Columbia, rebellion, is it the end of the world a we know it, and do you feel fine?

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

A United Human Race.

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       The British/Irish version of the Internationale sung by Alistair Hulett. Enjoy!

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Puppets Of The Troika.

       Who rules Greece? An email has come to light proving that the Troika,  (EC, European Commission, ECB,European Central Bank, IMF, International Mankind Fuckers.) is dictating to the Greek government what is to be done regarding some purely domestic affairs. If you believe that it is only the Greek government that the Troika put pressure on, you're being rather naive. Why just Greece? After all it is sweatshop Europe that they are trying to  create, not just sweatshop Greece. We are never informed what goes on behind those closed doors in the marble halls of power.

This from Borderline Reports:

       Nevertheless, the email addressed by Mr Kontolemis to the Greek government contradicts the Justice Minister’s claims: it not only requests that “revisions” be made to the proposed bill, an issue of domestic policy, but it also reminds the government that they have already committed to making these changes in July, and it also demands the legislature’s swift actions, under the threat that the October payment will be withheld.

Read the full article HERE:

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Death Of An 8 Year Old Bride!!

      Today, people are living in slavery in countries all around the world. Slavery is hidden away in factories, on farms, and behind closed doors, in homes and other places in the cities and towns of the world’s richest and poorest nations. But with the power of a worldwide movement, social networks, and technologies, we can expose these hidden crimes – so that ours is the last generation that needs to fight the trade in human lives.

An appeal from walkfree.org:

      The story is all over the news – days ago, Rawan, an 8-year-old Yemeni girl was sold by her parents, forced to marry a man five times her age and on her “wedding night”, her fragile young body sustained fatal injuries. 

      Right now, the collective horror of the world is focused on the devastating death of an 8-year-old girl. We’ve seen thousands of emails, Facebook posts and tweets from our community calling for action. We know that ending Forced Child Marriage everywhere poses big obstacles and yet, this may be one of few fleeting moments when millions of at-risk girls are counting on the support of a global movement of activists. We’re not going to let them down.

     Forced Child Marriage is a form of modern slavery, and in Yemen there is no law that makes it illegal. It’s common for girls as young as 8 to be forced to marry to settle debts. In fact, 50% of girls in Yemen are married before they reach the age of 18.

    The Yemeni Government has the power to bring an end to Forced Child Marriage forever; the first step is to ban the marriage of anyone under the age of 18, protecting children from a life of domestic and sexual slavery. The Yemeni government needs to know that the eyes of the world are watching and expect their swift response. Will you help?  

      Ask the Yemeni Government to end Forced Child Marriage by making marriage under 18 illegal.

     Rawan’s story has struck a chord with people everywhere.  As well as depriving girls of their right to a childhood, Forced Child Marriage leaves victims vulnerable to sexual, emotional and physical abuse at the hands of their so-called husbands and extended families.

    Now is the time to act. The Walk Free community is over 3.7 million strong and growing rapidly. Our collective voice is powerful – we can urge the government of Yemen to pass crucial legislation protecting children and young girls from the brutalities of forced marriage.

      Forced Marriage is modern slavery and can be stopped. Call on the government of Yemen to ban Forced Child Marriage.

      The idea of being sold into a life of domestic and sexual slavery seems unbelievable, and it’s sad that only extreme cases like Rawan’s gain attention. How amazing would it be if these cases never made the media – not because they were unreported, but because Forced Child Marriage no longer existed?

     Thank you in advance for your support. If you have a moment, please forward this email to 3 of your friends so we can become one step closer to building a world free of this form of modern slavery. 

In solidarity,

Debra, Nick, Mich, Kate, Ryan, Jess, Amy and the Walk Free Team

P.S. On Twitter? Follow us  

1. http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/09/10/yemen-end-child-marriage

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State Injustice And Persecution.

     Another piece of proof, as if we needed it, that we live in a world gone mad.

      This story is almost too awful to believe -- and it's taken a turn for the worse.  First teenager Justin Carter was jailed for making a bad joke on Facebook.  And now he's on SUICIDE WATCH. 
    Let's try to make things better, and be sure that Justin knows that thousands of us stand with him.
      According to his dad, while Justin was playing a video game "[S]omeone had said something to the effect of 'Oh you're insane, you're crazy, you're messed up in the head. To which [Justin] replied 'Oh yeah, I'm real messed up in the head, I'm going to go shoot up a school full of kids and eat their still, beating hearts,’ and the next two lines were 'lol and jk' [all sic]."

     Even though it was a clear joke -- underscored by the shorthand for "laugh out loud" and "just kidding" -- a woman who saw the post reported Justin to the police.  Now he's in jail for making "terroristic threats" and faces $500,000 for bail and up to 8 years in prison!

      And this weekend his dad told CNN: "He's very depressed, very scared, and ... concerned that he's not going to get out.... He's pretty much lost all hope."

      Please sign our petition to Justin -- we'll deliver it to his family, and also to the people who are persecuting him.

     PETITION TO JUSTIN CARTER: Justin, please know that thousands of people across the country are horrified by what you're going through, and will stand with you and try to make things right.

Click here to sign -- it just takes a second.

Thanks,
-- The folks at Watchdog.net

P.S. If the other links aren't working for you, please go here to sign: http://act.watchdog.net/petitions/3554?n=36445773.5K2imz

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

We Never Know The Spark That Ignites The Fire.

      The mechanisms of capitalism are always confrontational, the capitalists always want more from the workers, the workers always want more of what they produce, and rightly so, it is all ours. As well as exploitation, struggle is the fault line that runs through the capitalist system, it is devoid of the basic elements of human justice and liberty, namely mutual aid, free association and voluntary co-operation. It is a system of imbalance, the capitalists growing ever richer, and the workers growing ever poorer. Is it any wonder that from time to time the fault line flashes from passive resistance to violent confrontation. Just as it is a myth that anarchism is chaos and violence, likewise it is a myth that capitalism is order. Our past is littered with those flashes of bitter violent struggle, which, by the powers that be, are written into history as criminal disruptions, anomalies, blips in a perfect system, when in fact they are inherent within the system. They are however, flashes that illuminate our dream of a fair and just system. Whether it be large strikes that turn violent as the state tries to suppress the organised workers, or a "spontaneous" riot, that explodes in some city, town or country, it is the same expression of dissatisfaction with a system that doesn't and can't, deliver what we want. The reason I use "spontaneous" is that there is no such thing as a spontaneous riot. Spontaneous would imply that everything was fine and then suddenly out of nowhere came the riot. Every riot has underlying causes, and with the glaring imbalance of wealth and lifestyles and of daily struggles to survive in the midst of unbelievable wealth, that this system breeds, the tinder for an explosion is all around us, all it needs is a spark.

Another interesting article from The Commune:

     Violent riots have been an aspect of capitalism and class struggle against it throughout history. Eric Hobsbawn described the Luddites or machine breakers’ actions as collective bargaining by riot. (11) In contemporary history there are many examples. In Los Angeles’ Watts district in 1965 and in Detroit in 1967 there was mass looting on an industrial scale : Buildings were burnt to the ground. In the student riots in Paris in 1968, which sparked one of the greatest general strikes in history, many cars were torched for barricades. In Bristol in 1980 and Toxteth and Brixton in 1981, bricks and bottles were thrown at police, sometimes inadvertently injuring bystanders. There was also the famous Poll Tax riot which helped to bring down Thatcher and her tax. Now that was a positive result.
      Militant trade unionism has seen violence on the picket line and rioting during strikes. In the great unrest in Britain 1910-14 there was violence, looting and burning. (12) In Llanelli in 1911, rank and file miners trying to make their strike effective, in the face of scabbing organised by the pit owners, police and government, stoned scabs from railway embankments and placed obstacles on the railway line to stop the transport of black legs. Troops were dispatched to Llanelli,and two young men were shot dead. In the riot that followed, 96 Railway wagons were torched, and three tons of bacon and other things disappeared, as goods wagons were looted. A building was blown up, and four people were left dead. (13) In Tonypandy in 1910, striking miners driven away from a pit by the police and army, attacked shops in the village. One man Samuel Rays was shot dead by troops. Trade union officials and government ministers denounced the strikers as mindless hooligans. (14)

Read the full article HERE:

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Workers Know Your History, August 13, 1977, Lewisham.

The latest from Circled A Radio.

       Mr G interviews Mrtin Lux for this show. On 13 August 1977, the far-right National Front attempted to march from New Cross to Lewisham in South East London. Local people and anti-racists from all over London and beyond mobilised to oppose them, and the NF were humiliated as their march was disrupted and banners seized. That's what we like to see.

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9/11 Through The Ages.

       9/11 events are scattered throughout history. Another 9/11 event that marks our history was September 11, 1926. Italian anarchist Gino Lucetti, born in Carrara in Italy August 31, 1900, and killed September 17, 1943, in a German bombing raid, attempted the assassination of Italy's fascist dictator Benito Mussolini by throwing a bomb at Mussolini's car. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison but escaped shortly before being killed in 1943.

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Help Kick Start World War Three.

      Obama, the Prince of Peace, the Pope of Hope, the salvation of the world depends on him, you must believe in him.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk