Are We Getting Angry?

        Are we getting angry? Workfare, where thousands of people are forced to work for multinationals and receive no pay. Are we getting angry? ATOS, in its quest to make money from ticking boxes has seen almost two thousand disabled people it claimed were fit for work, die within moths of their decision. Are we getting angry? The governments “bedroom tax” is threatening to break up families, force homes into debt, and have the threat of eviction hanging over the heads vulnerable people. Are we getting angry? The six big energy companies are making billions of pounds and are increasing their prices this winter, while there are almost 4 million people in the UK living in fuel poverty. Are we getting angry? 4 million children in the UK, one in every three, are living in poverty, this is the highest of any developed industrial nation in the world. Some districts in this country have a much higher rate, with Springburn in the north of Glasgow topping the league with a criminal rate of 52% of children living in poverty. Are we getting angry? Zero hours contracts are growing like weeds in an unkempt garden. Meaning you are employed but have no guarantee of hours, so no idea how much you will earn. You sit with your phone handy, hoping your boss will phone and offer you a few hours work, but you are off the unemployed figures. Are we getting angry? Here in the UK, average wages have, in real terms, fallen by approximately 10% since 2008, while the gap between rich and poor gets wider by the month. Are we getting angry? While ordinary families are squeezed by “austerity measures” meaning lower incomes and rising prices, the number of millionaire households in the UK grew by 98,000 in 2012. Whose recession? Are we getting angry? We are being driven to the deprivation of the Victorian era, by our lords and masters, as they plunder our public assets, Royal Mail etc., as gifts to their friends in the financial/corporate Mafia.

 

     Are we getting angry? If not why not? There is an old Korean saying that I think we should ponder during these times. Enjoy the ecstasy of your righteous anger. Our anger in the present circumstances, would most certainly be righteous.

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"Support Our Troops".

      I find it a strange cry, "support our troops". Most people are vehement in their condemnation of those power mongers who don the robes of the rabid dogs of war. They will heap vocal abuse on those sabre rattling Presidents and Prime Ministers, etc. who call for military intervention, invasion, aerial bombardment, or whatever their military plan may be. But somehow fall in behind those who say, “support our troops”, I find this a contradiction. Those rabid dogs of war would be impotent ,if it were not for those people willing to put on the uniform, pick up the gun, pilot the fighter bomber, put in the co-ordinates for the missile launch, and do their master's killing. There can be no wars without an army, no matter how loud the power mongers shout for blood.

    “Colorful demonstrations and weekend marches are vital but alone are not powerful enough to stop wars. Wars will be stopped only when soldiers refuse to fight, when workers refuse to load weapons onto ships and aircraft, when people boycott the economic outposts of Empire that are strung across the globe.”
 Arundhati Roy, Public Power in the Age of Empire 

  

    Look closely at the modern army, is it designed strictly for the defence of your plot of land on this earth? Wars are fought for economic reasons and composed of two main parts, the advocate for war and the army prepared to do the actual klling. Sabre rattling dogs of war would be no more than ranting idiots in the market square, if there was no army. To advocate the removal of the war mongers but leave the tools of war in place, is like asking a surgeon to remove half of a tumour. The whole tumour must be removed. The best way to “support our troops” is for the people to refuse to support the state's military machine in any way. Those who make the bullets, transport the bombs, build the tanks, are in the state's military machine and just as responsible for the killing of the Afghan child, the Iraqi bus driver, as the uniform with the weapon in their hand. To “support our troops” means supporting the killing of ordinary people across the globe. There is a tremendous difference between self defence, and a mighty state military machine that is used to wreak havoc in other people's homeland. 

Patriotism.

No, I shall not die for the fluttering flag,

if truth be known, ’tis nothing but a multi-coloured rag

held aloft by some foolish hand

inciting worker and peasant to kill

on some green and wooded hill,

peasant and worker from some other land.

Nor shall I shed blood for the fluttering rag

that brings out fools to stand and brag

of brutal deeds painted grand,

deeds where rustic and craftsman lie so still

killed by my brothers' misguided hand.

No allegiance have I for the Nation

this man made autocratic creation

that divides my brothers in a world so small,

binds us to a country's cause, right or wrong,

bids us follow its drum, sing its song,

then sheds our blood in some border brawl.

No, I'll be no slave to flag or nation,

have no ear for power oration,

though its iron heel is on my breast,

my back feels its leather thong,

at patriotism's barracoon, I'll be no guest.

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

Is Golden Dawn A Sunset?

      Is Golden Dawn now a sunset? I don't think so just yet, but without the oxygen of "good" propaganda, they start to shrivel and die. Since their cowardly and brutal murder of Pavlos Fyssas, that babbling brook of bullshit, the media, as well as politicians, have started to distance themselves from the fascist thugs. Demonstrations and protests have and are taking place across Greece with one idea in mind, to drive the Nazi scum of the streets. With determined confrontation by the people, I'm sure they will succeed in returning the scum to the sewer from where it came.

This from Teacher Dude:

anti-fascist demonstrators protest murder of singer in port city of Thessaloniki

     A week, as the saying goes, is a long time in politics and the last seven days have seen an apparent sea change in the Greek political scene with the once triumphant Golden Dawn now backed into a corner following the murder of singer by a man, allegedly belonging to the party.Hounded by political opponents, both on the streets and in parliament they have been forced onto the defensive. Even Greece's mainstream media which was till recently suggesting that the party could form an alliance with the ruling conservative New Democracy party has made a U-turn concerning their stance towards Golden Dawn.
      The far right Proto Thema newspaper is a case in point, till recently reporters have been more than willing to welcome Golden Dawn MPs on their pages, with lifestyle pieces that glamourised them in much the same way the media glamourise sports or pop stars. Now that has all changed following the killing of Pavlos Fyssas in the port city of Piraeus and now the Sunday front pages and TV news broadcasts are full of condemnation of the party and the killing with daily revelations also alleging financial impropriety by party functionaries are also adding to their woes.

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No Borders, One World.

One world, no borders. Enjoy;

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We Are Further Down The Road Than You Think.

      Though poverty and deprivation have always been with us under capitalism, just a few years ago lots of people lived in the illusion of democracy, they considered that they were doing not too badly. Now the illusion has been shattered and the true vision of capitalism is hitting them between the eyes. In country after country, people are showing their anger and disgust as capitalism rips their lives apart. Not only is capitalism in its bare-knuckle stage, shredding the living standards of the people, but it is shifting the so called "representative democracies" towards fascist regimes, as it forces its ideology universally. In Europe, the Greek state is probably furthest down the line in that change, but all the others are moving in the same direction, it is all a matter of pace.

      The latest from Hungary paints a similar depressing picture, this appeal is from a watchdog.net campaign:

       Don't Let Hungary Go The Way Of Nazi Germany: Demand EU Action Today!  Blink and you've missed it: Hungary is no longer a democracy.

President János Áder has just signed away the rights of all that was left of Hungary's opposition parties after years of gutting legislative powers, crippling the free press, and eliminating all mention of a "republic" in the country's constitution.

      If this trend doesn't sound familiar, here's something to jog your memory: along with criminalization of the homeless and attacks on women and the LGBT community, Hungary's seen a horrific spike in state-sanctioned antisemitism and racism, including the decoration of three men known for their connection to the pro-Nazi Arrow Cross Party.

      We've seen the steps Áder's taken before. We know these signs. And while the European Union continues to stay silent, the situation for women, ethnic minorities and religious groups in Hungary becomes deadlier by the second.

      Please, join us in calling on the member states to act on Article VII of the EU Treaty, which demands they intervene to prevent any state from being robbed of its democratic freedoms. We still have time to stop Áder's men from stripping Hungary's people of more rights and protections -- but we cannot afford to stay silent for long!

     PETITION TO EU MEMBER STATES: We cannot afford to sit by while another European country represses state protections, targets minorities, and spreads antisemitism while eliminating free speech. Don't let Hungary go the way of Nazi Germany -- act on Article VII to ensure Hungarians' rights and freedoms!

Please, click here to sign now!

     We are being frog-marched rapidly into a world of corporatism, Mussolini's name for fascism, the further along the road we go the harder it will be to turn back. There is no middle road, capitalism can't be made into some sort of system that delivers fairness and justice. You either accept it, and abandon any hope of a society based on the needs of the people, or you destroy it, and start to build that better world based on those needs of all our people, mutual aid and co-operation, built on a foundation of sustainability.

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

Fascist Thugs And Police, What's The Difference?

 

      In Greece, doctors call for a halt to the police brutality and repression. However, peace will only return to the streets of Greece when the people break free from that festering marriage of the state and the Troika. Only then will fascism slither down the sewer where it belongs.

This report from the Greek streets:

Doctors dennounce the police violence in Athens (Denouncement of the G.H. Tzanio committee)

19/09/13 Denouncement of the G.H. Tzanio five-member committee of the Union of Hospital Doctors of Athens and Piraeus

        As doctors of the Tzanio general hospital, we express our strong concern, as yesterday night 18/09/13, after the protests against the murder of the young Pavlos Fyssas by a member of Golden Dawn, 31 protesters were brought to the surgical department, all with blows on the head. The injured people reported blows by batons, helmets, shields and kicks from ”Delta” and ”Dias” teams (motorcycle police), whereas there were reports of rocks being thrown from the side of the police towards the protesters, aiming for the head, from members of Golden Dawn. One of the people who got injured, after being operated, is hospitalized at the ophthalmological department of the hospital, with a ruptured bulb from a stun canister. He reported being aimed directly on the head and is in danger of suffering a permanent loss of vision in one eye. We urge for a halt of the policy of intensification of the state and parastate repression in order not to mourn any more victims.

G.H. Tzanio five-member committee of the Union of Hospital Doctors of Athens and Piraeus

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Greenpeace Activist Arrested By Russian Authorites.

      An appeal from Greenpeace concerning the arrest of some of their activist by the Russian authorities.

      At least 15 armed Russian Coast Guards have just illegally boarded and taken over our ship the Arctic Sunrise. They immediately seized every crew member except three people who locked themselves inside the radio room as the guards tried to break in. We had a satellite phone link to them and they were speaking to international media, trying to stay there for as long as they could. As far as we know, everyone else is being held under armed guard.

        Please send an urgent email to the Russian Ambassador in London and demand the Russian Coast Guard release our crew immediately. The ship had been part of a peaceful protest against energy giant Gazprom which is poised to drill for the first oil to come out of the icy waters of the Arctic.Yesterday there were guns pointed at the protesters, shots fired and two other crew members were arrested as they protested Gazprom's Arctic drilling. The Arctic Sunrise was circling Gazprom’s Prirazlomnaya platform inside international waters and outside the jurisdiction of Russian authorities, making the boarding of the ship unlawful.

       Your support - right now - will make a difference to how these protesters are

treated, with the eyes of the world on them they won’t be able to act with impunity. They are taking incredible risks and you can stand up for them.

I'll let you know as soon as I hear more.

Ian

E-Mail Russian Embassy London:
info@rusemb.org.uk - Consular queries
citizenship@rusemb.org.uk - Citizenship and adopted children queries
notariat@rusemb.org.uk - Notary queries
passport@rusemb.org.uk - Passport queries
visa@rusemb.org.uk - Visa queries
press@rusemb.org.uk - Press and culture queries
science@rusemb.org.uk - Scientific queries
economy@rusemb.org.uk - Economy queries
bilateralrelations@rusemb.org.uk - Russia-UK relations queries
foreignpolicy@rusemb.org.uk - Foreign policy queries
agriculture@rusemb.org.uk - Agriculture queries

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When Is Enough Enough?

        This is a wee speech that we should all learn and repeat on a daily basis and when ever we come face to face with that bloated political class and any of their corporate/financial Mafia friends. Reblogged from arrezafe:

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Unacceptable And Illegal Collective Punishment.

        The Palestinians are humiliated on a daily basis, life in a concentration camp is unacceptable in today's world, but this goes on, and the world looks the other way, or worse, just waffles on about peace discussions that never go anywhere.

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Tomorrow's World???

     Sometimes when I read stuff I think, tomorrows are going to be shit. Then my optimism raises it foolish head, and I say, NAW, we can change it." Then on the other hand-----  "Biotechnology is plainly advancing rapidly, and by 2020 there will be thousands-even millions-of people with the capability to cause a catastrophic biological disaster,” Rees said. “My concern is not only organized terrorist groups, but individual weirdos with the mindset of the people who now design computer viruses.”

      Drones and other automated weapons systems are common on the battlefield - and even for police surveillance. But Human Rights Watch warn that Terminator-style robots - which can “decide” to kill - will be feasible in decades.
Human Rights watch claims several governments are working on the technology now. The U.S government in particular has admitted to working towards robotic weapons systems with ‘total autonomy’.
“There is an ongoing push to increase UGV - unmanned ground vehicle - autonomy, with an ultimate goal of full autonomy,” said a U.S military report in 2011.
       A U.S Air Force report in 2009 said, “Increasingly humans will no longer be ‘in the loop’ but rather ‘on the loop’—monitoring the execution of certain decisions. “Simultaneously, advances in AI will enable systems to make combat decisions without necessarily requiring human input.”

Read the full article HERE:

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The Root Of The Problem Is The State.

     Due to the murder of Pavlos Fyssas by Golden dawn supporter, Giorgos Roupakias, Golden Dawn are drawing a lot of fire from the wider public, but as explained in the following article, Golden Dawn are not the real cuprits, they are simply one of the many tools of a fascist state.

This report is from Borderline Reporters:

        It is not Golden Dawn who created concentration camps for immigrants. Centre-left and centre-right politicians did that. Concentration camps for immigrants, drug users and homeless people were first talked about in pre-Olympic Greece, in 2004, with the purpose of “improving” the image of the streets of Athens. The Olympics were planned by the centre-left government of Kostas Simitis and took place during the centre-right government of Kostas Karamanlis. The first concentration camp was to be constructed in the old NATO army base, in Aspropyrgos. The plan never materialized due to the reaction by NGOs and left-wing parties. It was discussed again when Christos Markogiannakis took over the Ministry of Public Order, in 2009, but again was not put into practice. The one who finally gave life to the idea that a modern democracy should imprison immigrants without due process or trial in containers fenced off with barbed wire was Minister of Public Order Michalis Chrysochoidis, a “socialist” with centre-left PASOK, currently Minister of Transport in our coalition government. The creation of concentration camps was hailed as a major breakthrough by Andreas Loverdos, Minister of Public Health at the time, another “socialist”. And the practice came into full bloom under the direction of current Minister of Public Order Nikos Dendias, an MP for New Democracy, a self-described “liberal”.

Read the full article HERE:

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Choices.

      As the cold Scottish weather draws ever closer, we start to think of something Margaret Thatcher said, "society is all about choices". Many of us will be faced with making some of those choices, do we eat, or do we heat? The cruelty and injustice of this system is apparent all around us, all the year long, but in winter it shouts loudest. Thousands of our people die each winter from avoidable cold related illnesses, fuel poverty is a mass killer. It is difficult to imagine why we tolerate this winter killer epidemic in the knowledge that the corporate energy companies are making hundreds of millions of pounds annually. Scottish Power, which is typical of those companies, raised its prices last year by 7%, this year it made over £700 million pre-tax profit, and hand its parent company Iberdrola, almost £900 million. Despite this, they are talking about increasing prices again. That's a lot of money siphoned from us to hand to a bunch of greed driven shareholders, while the price we pay, is living with the mass killer, fuel poverty and the resultant misery and deaths. Like everything in this society, it's not that there isn't enough, it's just that you are excluded, because you can't afford it, be it luxury or necessity. I call it financial apartheid.

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

Do The Plebs Really Need An Education!!

        The Greek education system, (what's left of it) is a preview of the European education system of tomorrow. In Greece the education system has been savaged beyond all recognition, budget cuts and teacher lay-offs have seen to that. In cities across Greece teachers and students supported by parents and other workers have been taking to the streets and the latest round of sackings and transfers to other areas, have again brought them back onto the streets. 

This from Teacher Dude:


Greek educators extend strike action in protest against further spending cuts, a photo by Teacher Dude's BBQ on Flickr.

      More than 15,000 Greek teachers, students and supporters took to the streets of the northern port city of Thessaloniki today in protest against further cuts in jobs and funding for the country's beleagured educational system.
      With thousands facing lay off or enforced transfer to other districts, teachers and other public sector employees are now striking for a second days running.
      Tensions ran high when riot police units blocked roads so preventing marchers from approaching the local offices of the neo-nazi Golden Dawn party.
    After last night's fatal stabbing of left wing singer and activist Pavlos Fyssas by Golden Dawn member political passions are running high and tonight's nationwide series of anti-fascist demonstrations are likely to see clashes between protesters and the police.

    Apart from Greece's crushed education system, their health system has also been decimated and is in a state of collapse. Chemists are frequently running out of medical supplies and people can no longer afford their medication. This is in Europe, in one of the richest parts of the world, and to imagine that we and other parts of Europe are some how protected from the ravages of the ideology of the financial mafia is delusional. Finance has no loyalty to people or country, economics sees no culture but accountancy.
      What kind of system is it that in a supposed civilised society, we can't afford health care or education, while carrying on our backs parasitic billionaires, millionaires and bloated greed driven politicians, who live in the lap of luxury? This system fails on all counts, on moral, on justice, and on sanity.

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

The Rabid Dogs Of Fascism.

      This is the new Greece, manufacture by the financial Mafia in the Troika, (EC, European Commission, ECB, European Central Bank, IMF, International Mankind Fuckers), gangs of rabid fascist dogs roaming the streets, beating and killing. In most cases, with the blessing of the fascist police, an organisation of thugs left over from Greece's brutal military junta. 

      This report on the murder of Pavlos Fyssas, a 34 year old anti-fascist hip-hop artist, is from Athens Indymedia:

       Pavlos Fyssas, a 34 year old antifascist and hip hop artist (Killah P), was murdered by Golden Dawn neonazis in Keratsini, a working class neighborhood in Piraeus. 

      From eye-witness report: "Around 24:00 a group of 15-20 fascists, wearing black t-shirts and military pants and boots, was deployed on P. Tsaldari street. During that time, Killah P was walking with his girlfriend and another couple when he was spotted by the fascists shouting "what are you looking for here, you know there is no place for you in this hood". The fascists hunted the two couples down P. Tsaldari street towards Gr. Lampraki avenue, where from another street, a new group of around 10 fascists came out and surrounded the guys. At that time, a car drove opposite in an one-way street, stopped, the driver came out and stabbed Killah P once in the heart and once in the abdomen (the stabbing on his abdomen had an upside-down "L" shape).

     The whole scene took place in the presence of DIAS motorbike police, that only afterwards and only as soon as most of the fascists had already dispersed, arrested the murderer (according to some witnesses Killah P while still in shock kept pointing at the murderer and this is how the cops arrested him - a 55year old holding a knife, described by other eye-witnesses as a known Golden Down associate). The ambulance took 35 minutes to approach and Pavlos was pronounced dead at Nikaia general hospital."

Read the full article HERE:

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

Glasgow Social Workers Walk-Out.

Re-blogged from the Glasgow Anarchist site.

 

        Last Friday members of the Glasgow Homeless Casework Team walked out on a wildcat strike following the suspension of a colleague who refused to cover the work of vacant posts. Then on Monday another 60 people walked off the job in solidarity with their striking co-workers after Unison talks with management over workload broke down. The number of striking workers has been increasing and a group of 70 strikers went to the City Chambers to call for the re-instatement of their sacked co-worker and against the high workloads and staff shortages. The walkout continues.

Solidarity.

    You can send a message of support to the striking workers via: enquiries@glasgowcityunison.co.uk

     Donations towards their strike fund should be addressed to: Glasgow City Unison, 84 Bell Street, Glasgow G1 1LQ.

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The Growing Police Repression.

      Recently a group calling themselves the Angry Foxes Cell destroyed a nearly complete police firearms centre in Portishead near Bristol. Since then it appears that the Bristol police, with the help of the babbling brook of bullshit, the media, are branding all activists as extremists, "the enemy within".

This report from The Vast Minority:

     "The police and the state, as always, try to fracture us, they will try to prey on our weaknesses. We stand in unity and solidarity with all those who fight against oppression, capitalism and the state. We must create a culture of mutual aid and solidarity and most importantly: Resistance. We will support each other through whatever the state throws at us because we know that no matter what we will come out stronger."

Read the full article HERE:

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19 Years In Dispute!!

      This must rank as one of the longest running employee/employer disputes in modern times. 19 years battling for a response to your claim and still fighting. This dispute cries out for world solidarity, their determination deserves our support.

This from The International Journal of Socialist Renewal:

       For 19 years, they have met every Sunday in Ivory Park/Tembisa “in significant numbers, and often in excess of 120, to hear progress in their dispute, and to share whatever meagre resources they have”.

For many years, they did so with no help from outside, relying entirely on their own resources, which were meagre but treated collectively. In 2009, SAMWU assumed a more active role. With the full support of the 283 remaining ex-Midrand strikers, the union resolved to launch a “political intervention” to secure a just resolution.

Read the full article HERE:

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

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.

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