Trident: Time To Move On.

       Most politicians will try to keep Trident and weapons of mass destruction of the agenda for the present Crooks and Liars competition, the general election, as it is sometimes called. However it should be shouted from the rooftops, and continually shoved in their faces, these weapons are unnecessary, illegal, immoral and are weapons against the civilian population, destroying cities in one fell swoop. On the financial side, they drain resources from social projects, billions of pounds being squandered on these mad men's status symbols. This is the 100 years anniversary of the 1915 rent strikes, then, practically ever window had a sticker, stating "We are Not Paying". Wouldn't it be great to use that same principle and cover our cities and towns windows with stickers saying, "We Will Not Have Trident", making sure each of the Crooks and Liars in the competition gets the message.

From Move On Trident:

Trident: Time to Move On has launched!

     Some of you may have seen the letter in the Observer on Sunday -
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/apr/11/letters-trident-not-desirable

     Together with a piece by Daniel Boffey the establishment of our website - including two promotional videos - and the petition hosted by 38 degrees, we are all systems go.

      Please do share the links - especially the petition - with your networks now as every single signature will count over the next three weeks as we attempt to demonstrate to politicians and the mainstream media that any complacency around this issue is sorely misplaced.

       We are still collecting high profile names to keep extending the list already committed here, so any further help with that will be much appreciated.

    Thanks again for all your warm support till now,

Indra
Compass
www.moveontrident.com

40 Days of Hunger Strike!!!

       The prison hunger strike in Greece, still continues, 40 days and lives are at risk, but still the Syriza government will not repeal the draconian measures introduced by the previous right-wing puppets of the financial Mafia. Syriza, where are your, for the people principles? No matter, if its left-wing, or right-wing, or middle of the road, the state and its apparatus in its many guises, will always attempt to crush any resistance, real or potential, to its power.

From Contra Info:

     On April 12th, anarchist prisoner on hunger strike Giorgos Karagiannidis, participant in the Network of Imprisoned Fighters (DAK), was transferred from Koridallos prison to the General State Hospital of Nikaia in Piraeus.
The comrade has now lost 19% of his initial body weight and presents with symptoms such as hypotension, bradycardia, weakness, hypoglycemia and severe dizziness.

Open letter from the hunger strikers:

       Below is an excerpt from an open letter released in the small hours of April 11th 2015 by hunger strikers of the Network of Imprisoned Fighters.
[…] When we started the hunger strike, we knew it would be an uphill struggle that would stretch us to our limits. And it’s true that some of us, after 40 days of tough struggle, run the risk of developing serious health problems. Nevertheless, we’re not going to concede any ground to anyone who’s taking advantage of the government’s strategy in their attempt to wear us down and annul the effectiveness of our struggle. Therefore, we reiterate that we continue the hunger strike until the fulfillment of our demands, despite the visible risks to our health. We owe it to all the comrades who’ve felt we are giving a joint struggle against the state of exception, but above all we owe it to our own selves and to the means of fight that we have chosen. We invite all comrades to reflect on the cruciality of the situation (four comrades have been on strike for more than 40 days) and turn Every Day of Hunger Strike into A Day of Action.
Every fight exhausts its potential only when we give up, and this fight has neither exhausted its potential nor completed its cycle.*
PS.1: Yesterday [April 10th], our comrade Tasos Theofilou stopped the strike as well. We walked together this far, and remain united in our common struggle. Tasos, we wish you a good recovery.
PS.2: We send our solidarity to the revolutionaries from Turkey [incarcerated in Greek prisons], who stand beside us in this battle. We wish Giorgos Inglessis [who suspended hunger strike] a good recovery.**
PS.3: Solidarity with the migrants who went on hunger strike at the concentration camp in Paranesti, near Drama.***
Until the End – Until Victory Not One Step Back
Network of Imprisoned Fighters

Translation notes:
* A reference to the opinion expressed by imprisoned comrade Nikos Maziotis.
** According to our information so far, the prisoners who remain on hunger strike are eight anarchists of the Network of Imprisoned Fighters (DAK), Andreas-Dimitris Bourzoukos, Antonis Stamboulos, Argyris Ntalios, Dimitris Politis, Fivos Harisis, Giorgos Karagiannidis, Grigoris Sarafoudis and Yannis Michailidis, as well as communists from Turkey & Kurdistan incarcerated in Greek prisons.
*** On April 10th, the No Lager Assembly in Thessaloniki, having established ties of solidarity and constant communication with the imprisoned migrants, reported that only one migrant is still on hunger strike in Paranesti camp, also noting that comrades from various collectives in Thessaloniki, Drama, Patras, Athens and other places supported and publicised the strike.
see related updates

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

The Mystery Of Life.

     Poetry, that place between conversation and song, a world of magic, mysticism, reality, hope and fears, loves, hates and desires, a secret world that can be made public, a public world that can become a secret.

My Foolish Heart.

Rich, gold encrusted autumn

most precious of the seasons,

though death hangs as a mist

on yon not far off horizon;

within my heart still burns,

unashamed and unabated,

that fire of eternal spring

the mystery of life created.

 

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

DPAC Wants Revenge.

       Since the Oxbridge millionaire gang of Cameron/Osbourne seized control of the Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption, people with disabilities have come in for some very rough treatment. First there was the Cameron/Osbourne mob's well paid hit-men, ATOS, who carried out a brutal reign of terror against anybody claiming disability allowance. However, due to a continuous and courageous campaign waged by those on disability allowance and their supporters, ATOS was forced to withdraw from its lucrative bullying job. Of course the brutal intimidation and terrorising didn't go away, a new mob of corrupt hit-men, Maximus, were given the contract, and so the terrorising continues. Undaunted, those of Disabled People Against Cuts, and their supporters, who campaigned and kicked ATOS out of the park, are still fighting back and are looking for "REVENGE", we should give them all the support we can muster. Solidarity wins battles, when it comes to these struggles for justice, as far as the ordinary people are concerned, we are all in this together.

From DPAC: 

     A fortnight of Fight Back and telling politicians throughout the UK what we think of them and what they MUST do if they want our votes.

    Everywhere from April 18th – May3rd. Select your favourite politician or issue to campaign on.

      Some funding is available for travel bursaries with priority given to members.

      April 23rd (Thursday) National DPAC will be going to Wirral West constituency to visit Esther McVey. Meet noon at the Job Centre, Market Road, Hoylake.

      Actual address is Town Hall Chambers, 1 The Quadrant, CH47 2EE just off Market Street.

      Esther’s constituency is very marginal and at the moment she looks set to lose her seat. We want to help facilitate that.

      April 25th (Saturday) National DPAC will be going to Chingford to visit Iain Duncan Smith. Meet 2pm outside Chingford Rail station. Trains from Liverpool Street.

       Please get in touch with us at mail@dpac.uk.net to let us know if you want to go to one or more of these events or would like help with travel costs.

       Please also arrange your own events and send us details.

Facebook event – https://www.facebook.com/events/726806607436136/

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

TTIP Is Still There.

      TTIP still growls away in the dark corridors of power, its proponents wheeling and dealing, slicing and dicing, between themselves and the corrupt politicians. We can only expect them to come up with a plan that will allow the corporate juggernaut roll mercilessly over any illusion of democracy that still remains. 

     There will be an international campaign of action on April 25th. Across Europe people will be coming together to voice their opposition to this attempt to cement corporatism on to our backs, giving the corporate bosses full control over any legislation that they may consider to be harmful to their profits. 

This from Global Justice Now:  

      On Saturday 18 April people across the world will be protesting against “free trade” deals that are undermining our democracy. In Europe people will be taking part in 100s of actions to stop TTIP, the “trade” deal between the EU and the US.

     With the election coming up in May it is important that we make sure TTIP is on the agenda. People are organising exciting actions across the UK to raise awareness about TTIP and stop this corporate grab of our democracy.

You can find out about existing actions or organise your own on our website.

     People are standing up to “free trade” deals globally. If we stand together, we can defeat these assaults on our democracy. Please join us to protest on 18 April.

Best wishes,
Guy Taylor
Trade campaigner at Global Justice Now

     Already the tobacco giant Philip Morris is suing Uruguay for having some of the best anti-smoking laws in the world, and there’s a good chance it could win, unless we strengthen the fight in court.

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Remember Iraq?

     As April, National Poetry Month glides along, I again through my tuppence worth in.

Remember Iraq?

Mammon, God of the New World Order

has spoken:

Any nation who blasphemies 

against the scriptures

of the Holy Free Market economy

shall find its people scorched by fires

that rain out of the western skies

and the people shall suffer perdition

through all eternity.

All the world shall see

Mammon's hi-tec retribution.

          

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Quebec Is Rising.

       In 2012, student protests rocked Quebec, Montreal became a battleground as students took to the streets in tens of thousands. At that time it was a struggle to defend education, mainly students with support from various groups. This year, 2015, the protests have again erupted, this time round, the protesters have learned, it is not just a battle to defend education, it is the system that is wrong. Students have linked up with other groups, environmentalists, indigenous struggles, workers, unemployed and others. They have formed a broad grouping and are organising in communities and work places and taking their struggle to the streets in a united front. This is an encouraging change, as individual groups battling their own little corner can soon be picked off one by one by the state. There struggle demands solidarity across all borders.

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

A Date For Your Diary, Glasgow.

       As the state apparatus continues to sell WW1 as a period of glory, and a victory for democracy, there is a multitude of people out there doing their best to propagate the truth. The truth being that WW1, was in fact a bloody, totally unnecessary, imperialist land grab. A war littered with bloody blunders by stupid, blinkered officers and parliamentary ministers, blunders that cost millions of young lives and blighted a generation. All for the power and glory of our imperial masters. One such horrendous blunder was Gallipoli, an idiotic plan, or lack of plan, by the UK fascist, First Lord of the Admiralty, Winston Churchill, which resulted in around 100,000 dead and almost 500,000 casualties, (Wikipedia) 

        If you're in or around Glasgow on the 25th. of April, you could take the opportunity to find out more about this particular disaster of war, and some of the many others, the Scottish Peace Network will be doing a film show and talk/discussion in the CCA, Glasgow.

      April 25, Saturday, 1pm in the cinema room at the Centre for Contemporary Art at 350 Sauchiehall Street. This day marks the centenary of the World War I battle of Gallipoli, a disaster that cost the lives of hundreds of thousands. We will be showing part of a movie made by Peter Weir, and featuring a young Mel Gibson. The movie will be introduced by three short talks, one setting the context of the battle and the connection to Scotland, another on the enormous impact Gallipoli had on New Zealand and Australia and finally a talk putting this centenary event in the context of the counter program to the government's glorification of the war and of militarism. The movie will be followed by a discussion. FREE. All welcome. Sponsored by the Scottish Peace Network.

 

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

A Vicious Faith.

Another day, another poem.

A Vicious Faith.

Pecuniary priests, the canons of faith dictate;

from pulpits of financial cathedrals proclaim

humanity must accept its fate

pawns in a free market game.

Its laws immutable,

its march inevitable,

a system with a purpose of its own,

human freedom expendable,

the mighty dollar on the throne.

Human need sacrificed to greed

all power to the market place,

you who make the people bleed

the scriptures of profit embrace;

your system breeds voracity

showers gold on a worthless few,

to the common-man aridity

the beauty of life all askew.

Raise loud your ritual chants

as all freedom you try to sever,

to your system our poverty yields,    But tyrants,

be warned,   our hearts,-----------never.

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

Cameron Fixed It For The Parasites.

     Our leader Cameron, that product of the Oxbridge sausage factory, while doing his rounds in the latest Crooks and Liars competition, our general election, has been spouting how wonderful our country is now that it has been fixed by him and his millionaire cronies. Well, I suppose from where he lives, in that bubble of pampered parasites, it has been fixed and the figures prove his point.

     Since Cameron was crowned king of the Crooks and Liars, all of us lesser mortals have seen our incomes depressed, while inflation kept on rising, and energy bills went through the roof. According to the Office of National Statistics, UK incomes have fallen by 3.5% in real terms.

     So here are the figures that prove the King Cameron is correct in his claim that he has fixed things.

Average Wages Rises Under the rule of King Cameron:

Bankers:                          35%

FTSE 100 directors:      14%

MP's:                                11% 

Nurses:                              1%

Teachers:                           1%

    So you can see, from his wee bubble, he has fixed things good and proper.

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

Workers Remember Your History, Orgreave.

        Workers must always remember their history, it is from that history that we learn who are our enemies, who continually exploits us. We learn from the struggles of the past, how to fight the battles of the future, we see the brutality our forefathers bore as the system attempts to crush any resistance.

    This film is in homage to the courage of the miners and their supporters during the 1984/85 miners strike, under the regime of the Thatcher dictator.

On behave of the Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign:

This video will not be available soon if you know how to make a copy please do so and share :)
Posted by Orgreave Truth and Justice Campaign on Wednesday, 5 March 2014

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

Latest On The Greek Prison Hunger Strike.

        It is quite amazing to see such strong, prolonged and mass support for the anarchist hunger strikers in the Greek draconian prison system.

From 325:

     Eight anarchist prisoners of the Network of Imprisoned Fighters (DAK) are still on hunger strike in different hospitals and Greek prisons, demanding the abolition of type C maximum security prisons; abolition of the antiterrorist legislation (articles 187 and 187A); abolition of the anti-hoodie law; abolition of forcible taking of DNA samples, abolition of analysis of DNA samples that contain a mixture of genetic material from more than two individuals, access to DNA samples for analysis by a biology expert witness trusted by the accused; and the release of the polytrauma patient, 17N prisoner Savvas Xiros. According to the latest medical report, all comrades are in critical condition.

:: ON HUNGER STRIKE SINCE 2/3 ::

Fivos Harisis has lost 22% of his initial body weight; currently treated under police guard in the hospital ‘Attikon’ in Athens, in life-threatening condition.

Antonis Stamboulos has lost 20.5% of his initial body weight; currently treated under police guard in the hospital of Larissa, in life-threatening condition.

Argyris Ntalios has lost 18% of his initial body weight; currently treated under police guard in the hospital of Nikaia in Piraeus, in life-threatening condition.

Giorgos Karagiannidis has lost 17% of his initial body weight; currently held in Koridallos prison, in life-threatening condition.

:: ON HUNGER STRIKE SINCE 9/3 ::

Grigoris Sarafoudis has lost 16% of his initial body weight; currently held in Koridallos prison, in very critical condition.

:: ON HUNGER STRIKE SINCE 16/3 ::

Dimitris Politis has lost an average of 10% of his initial body weight; currently held in Koridallos prison.

Andreas-Dimitris Bourzoukos has lost an average of 10% of his initial body weight; currently held in Koridallos prison.

:: ON HUNGER STRIKE SINCE 23/3 ::

Yannis Michailidis has lost 8% of his initial body weight; currently held in Koridallos prison.

see related updates

-

Tasos Theofilou, participant in the Network of Imprisoned Fighters (DAK), suspended hunger strike

       Anarchist communist Tasos Theofilou, held in Domokos prison, lost 20% of his initial body weight after 39 days of hunger strike.

     Today, April 9th 2015, the comrade suspended hunger strike, sending strength to his fellow participants in the Network of Imprisoned Fighters (DAK), eight of whom continue the strike.

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

Brazil General Strike.

"The PL 4330 bill sets no limits to outsourcing in private and public sectors. Activities, including those linked to the core business of a company, could be outsourced.

If made law, it could lead to a large-scale replacement of direct permanent workers by outsourced workers with poorer working conditions, less protection and fewer benefits."

Read the full article HERE:

     Sound familiar? Well it should, it is a trend throughout the developed world. However in Brazil the unions are doing something about it, they are calling a general strike from the 15th April. The neo-liberalism of today uses this method to bring down working conditions and suppress wages and smash organised labour, all in the never ending quest to drive up profits and fatten the bank accounts of greed driven shareholders. 

      We can show our support by spreading this around all the social networks. Solidarity knows no borders. 

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

 

Belonging.

    Continuing with my belated start to National Poetry Month, something short.

Belonging.

A gentle kiss that bears a promise

confirmed in the philtrf smile,

soft fingers like a breath on flesh

lingering, just a while.

Sweet words that caress

loving hands that speak,

these tell my wandering heart

here is the harbour I seek.

A closeness that needs no voice

a peace that stills the storm

this special human magic, can

an arduous world transform.

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

The History Of Oil.

       Oil, the sea on which imperial bloody wars float, oil the weapon of imperial domination, Oil the ecological disaster. Not a new video, but informative and still relevant.

And on the same theme, from the Freedom Socialist:

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

Past Conventions.

     Dearie me, here we are on the 9th of April and I had forgotten it was National Poetry Month. So I'll just throw this one in to get things started.

A Cage Of Past Conventions.

Life is passion ever surging,

we must grasp the moment

changing apathy to hope

dreams to life;

set freedom freely flowing,

fiercely remaining

a river of desire.

Seek freedom from the reverence of the past,

freedom from nation, name and caste,

let freedom drench the eager heart

changing our life to a living art.

Yet,   foolishly we seek false assurances

locked in a cage of past conventions;

bidding our heart take the safest stance,

afraid to dance a forbidden dance.

Afraid of beauty, remembering pain,

shackling tomorrow to yesterday's chain,

sowing seeds of regret;

living lives in rigid schemes

labouring to forget,

only freedom can free our dreams.

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

The Illusion Of Democracy.

       Our babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media, is in full tilt throwing out the usual crap concerning our latest Crooks and Liars competition, known as the general election. TV is giving us "the leaders' debates" where we hear the well rehearsed sound bites, or bursts of pointless growling and snarling between "the Leaders", ah, where would we be without "our leaders". The babbling brook of bullshit create the illusion that during the Crooks and Liars competition you are free to roam the streets spouting your particular message to the general public, they call it "democracy". But what if your message is contrary to the accepted views of the powers that be? Will you still be free, in this "democracy" to go about spreading your opinion? Well apparently not, you will find yourself and your supporters being put under the watchful eye of the system's minders, and threatened and harassed at every opportunity. 

This from The Void:

       Lisa McKenzie, who is standing for Class War  against Iain Duncan Smith in Chingford, was arrested last night in the latest petty police attack on the group’s election campaign.

      Lisa was accused of putting a small sticker on a wall two weeks previously and thrown into the back of a van, hand-cuffed and held for hours.  She has been charged with criminal damage. The arrest took place at last night’s Poor Doors demonstration, the weekly picket of the luxury tower block in Aldgate where tenants in social housing are forced to use a different door to the rich.  According to one onlooker police insisted her arrest was nothing to do with the election campaign against Iain Duncan Smith.  They must think we are fucking idiots.

     When Lisa and Class War recently went on the campaign trail in Chingford they were followed by police, repeatedly harassed and threatened with arrest.  Class War candidate for Croydon South, Jon Bigger, was recently followed around the constituency by up to a dozen coppers just for handing out leaflets.

       At previous Poor Doors protests police arrested high profile Class War supporter Jane Nicholl, threatening her with ludicrous arson charges after somebody allegedly burnt a small effigy of Boris Johnson.  At a later demonstration police seized a Class War banner they said had a rude word on it and arrested the person holding it.  One of Class War’s founders, Ian Bone, has also been arrested at the protests for equally trivial reasons.

Read the full article HERE:

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

Prejudiced, Crap Legislation.

       All states pass legislation that, to the rational mind, is just plain wrong. We all know why, simply to protect the status-qua. However, that "land of the free", the Good ol' US of A, takes the trophy for some of the most blatant, prejudiced legislation in the Western world. A recent article in the Freedom Socialist, (Voice of Revolutionary Feminism) highlights one such a piece of ignorant, blatant, prejudiced crap, that passes for law.

 Silence Mumia Abu-Jamal? Never!

     “Social change and social transformation form the raison d’etre of Goddard.”

     Mumia Abu-Jamal spoke these revolutionary words by phone from his prison cell during his commencement speech to Goddard College on Oct. 4, 2014.

     Abu-Jamal, a renowned journalist skilled at exposing crimes of the U.S. “justice” system, was framed for the killing of Officer Daniel Faulkner in 1981, and sentenced by a judge who vowed to “fry that n––––r.” Now, Faulkner’s widow Maureen claims she’s upset that Mumia, a “radical who hates America,” is allowed to speak to journalists and the public. That’s why the day after Mumia’s speech, Tom Corbett, Pennsylvania’s outgoing Republican governor, introduced the Revictimization Relief Act of 2014. The Act criminalizes public speech by offenders that causes “mental anguish” and punishes any journalist who quotes such speech.

       This new law reveals an appalling trend by cops trying to gag those who publicly criticize the U.S. justice system, especially political radicals. In December 2014, St. Louis police demanded an apology from five St. Louis Rams players who entered the field with their hands up, a gesture cops deemed “offensive, tasteless, and inflammatory.”

     Notably, not Faulkner, Corbett, or the St. Louis cops have tried to ban bigoted speech by the KKK or Westboro Baptist church to protect the feelings of their victims. This shows that Pennsylvania’s lofty Revictimization Relief Act has nothing to do with helping victims, and everything to do with silencing political dissent. (For more information, visit prisonradio.org.)

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