Since the "Greek Affair" it is more obvious now than ever before that the EU is not a democratic institution. It never was, it has always been an organisation to allow capital to flow freely across the continent and therefore exert greater power over that area. As time goes on that power will be exerted with greater force and authority in an attempt to continually maximise the profit from their capital and to protect that capital when it runs into problems. The people don't enter the equation. The people can organise a Europe for the people, but it has to be created outside the rules and regulations of capital. The two are totally incompatible.
Syriza’s strategy to end austerity within the Eurozone has
failed. What does this mean for the future of the Greek left and the
anti-austerity movement in Europe?
In the past weeks, the masks have really fallen: the structures
and legitimacy of the Eurozone are now thoroughly broken. Has the
time come for the left to abandon the single currency, or even the
EU? And what role are grassroots movements to play in the
reconstruction of a radical transnational project against austerity
and for a democratic and socially just Europe?
These are some of the questions discussed in this episode of
#TalkReal, recorded in Athens during the GCAS World Conference,
Democracy Rising. Featuring: Costas Douzinas,
acclaimed Greek intellectual close to Syriza; Margarita
Tsomou, Greek performer and commentator based in Berlin;
Jerome Roos, writer and founder of ROAR
Magazine; and Srecko Horvat, Croatian
philosopher and member of the board of European Alternatives. Host:
Lorenzo Marsili, director of European Alternatives.
The International Union of Foodworkers launched an online campaign
last week to support workers on strike at global brewery giant
SABMiller. The company had been refusing to negotiate and was
engaging in union-busting practices at its subsidiary in Panama.
The
company's reaction was to block all email messages coming in.
Thousands of campaign supporters received error messages in their
inboxes. You may have been one of them. SABMiller
has to learn that they can "blacklist" our email servers,
but they can't silence our voices.
The IUF has
forwarded on all the messages to the workers on strike, and is going
to present all the names to the company in the form of a
petition.
So the vile paedophile child abuse in "high" places keeps trickling out. It seems another overlooked file has been found, giving us four names. Of course they are all dead, it would seem that we only discover "mislaid" files after the people concerned have died. The names of the four in this "recently discovered" file are former Cabinet
minister Leon Brittan, Peter Morrison, who was an aide to Margaret
Thatcher, ex-diplomat Sir Peter Hayman and former minister William
van Straubenzee. Hayman, Morrison and Brittan were all products of the Oxbridge sausage factory, while Straubenzee was from that other establishment where rich people dump their kids, The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster. This establishment was recently in the news regarding one of its senior teachers and sexual abuse of pupils.
Investigative journalist Nick Davies reported in The Guardian that Morrison received a caution for cottaging with underage boys in public lavatories.[10] Former Conservative minister Edwina Currie
stated that Morrison regularly had sex with 16-year-old boys – whilst
the legal age of consent (for same-sex relations) at the time was 21.[11] In 2002, Currie described Morrison as a "notable pederast".[12]
In October 1978, Hayman left a package of paedophilia-related
materials on a London bus. The police traced the package and discovered
that Hayman, under the pseudonym "Peter Henderson", had used an
apartment in Bayswater,
London, to conduct obscene correspondence. In the apartment, police
found 45 diaries describing six years of "sexual fantasies" concerning
children and activities with prostitutes, articles of female clothing
and obscene literature. He was investigated by police but released
without charge after being given a warning not to send obscene material
through the post.[7][8] In 1981, Private Eye magazine revealed this event. Then, using parliamentary privilege, MP Geoffrey Dickens asked why Hayman had not been prosecuted.[9][10] The Attorney General's
reply indicated that, while Hayman had been found to have received
pornographic material through the post, it was not of an extreme nature,
was non-commercial and in a sealed envelope, so did not warrant
prosecution.[11] In April 1981 Sir Michael Havers, the Attorney General, said in parliament that, while Hayman was a member of the Paedophile Information Exchange, he was never a member of the executive committee, so was not prosecuted as others were for publishing contact advertisements.[12][13] In 1984, Hayman was convicted for an act of gross indecency in a public lavatory.[1][9]
He was a keen churchman and served as Second Church Estates
Commissioner (dealing with Anglican Church matters in the House of
Commons) from 1979 to 1987. In government documents released in July 2015, he is named in connection to child sexual abuse.[2]
In 1984, in his capacity as Home Secretary, Brittan was handed a 40-page dossier by Geoffrey Dickens MP that detailed alleged paedophile activity in the 1980s at Westminster.[26] The whereabouts of the dossier is currently unknown, along with other files on organised child abuse previously held by the Home Office.[26] Brittan denied any knowledge of the incident in an e-mail to a Channel 4 News reporter in 2013,[27] and later replied that he had no recollection of the matter to a query from The Independent newspaper.[28]
Brittan later declared in 2014 that Dickens had met him at the Home
Office and that he had written to Dickens on 20 March 1984, explaining
what had been done in relation to the files.[27]
So, as they say in certain places, all four had form!! Of course all dead, are we offered up these morsels of depravity in an attempt to create the impression that all the bad men are dead, and the living group of parasites are all squeaky clean? We do have one living member of that bunch of corrupt hypocrites named, one Lord Janner, however, he is stated to be too sick to stand trial.
These are the people who decide what shape our lives should take, from their gilded cage, these privileged, corrupt parasites dictate the quality of our lives, while abusing some of our most vulnerable children. We give them the power over our lives, we are governed by our consent, we can with draw that consent, and they are powerless. When do we start.
Posting again as a reminder, as I think it is important that we come together to discuss the society we live in, and what we can do to change it in the interests of the people, and away from the plundering of the public purse by the corporate greed machine.
2015 national speaking tour... ‘YOUR CLASS NEEDS YOU’
The National Secretary of the IWW, Dave Pike, introduces the
fighting union, what it stands for and how it is winning victories for
the working class - like higher wages for cleaners, permanency for temps
and safety at work for fast food workers. The IWW sees the world as
divided by the boss class and the working class, and no-one will fight
for our class other than us. We organise so that workers can win for
themselves and are not reliant on Union full timers or politicians to
fight for them. Come along to this event and find out what the IWW is
doing in Europe and around the world, and how you can get involved.
Fight for your class.
CCA, Clubroom. 350 Sauchiehall Street. Glasgow City centre - G4 9AJ
Today, anti-parliamentarians can give a little sigh of relief, the reason being, the Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption are empty. Admittedly it is not a permanent feature of the place, just the summer recess. From the 21st. July until 7th. September, we get a break from the hee-hawing, hear, hear, parasites, chuckling and giggling in the UK's most exclusive establishment club. In place of the farce we call Parliament, the babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media, will have to look around for more trivial bullshit to spew over us. Meanwhile, most of the "Right Honourable" members, will be taking themselves off to their holiday homes to enjoy their ill-gotten gains.
A welcome sight to all lovers of freedom.
Of course though we will be bereft of a government for a couple of months, what will continue is the poverty, the food banks will be unable to take a recess. Children will still go hungry, those on benefit will still have to juggle with their pittance in an attempt to survive. Those on workfare will still have to turn up and do their stint of slave labour for some rich corporate greed machine.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if, during this spell without a government, we could take control of our own lives and send all "The Honourable Members" their P45's informing them to report to their nearest job centre, as their services are no longer required. I know we could do a better job of seeing to the needs of all our people, than any bunch of rich hypocritical parasites, most of whom are riddled with corruption. They may not all be rich when they enter that cesspool, but they will be rich by the time they leave. Can you say that about any other job open to you?
For those in and around Glasgow a date for your diary this coming Saturday, walk, talk, look and learn, in a friendly fun way.
TRANSECT WALK COMMON GOOD THE GOVAN PROJECT Saturday 25th,
July 15, 1 to 3:00 p.m.
Meeting point: Fairfield Heritage Govan
1048 Govan Road Glasgow G51 4XS
What is a transect
walk?
A transect walk is an information gathering
exercise. This simple tool is easily adopted and replicated at the
community level. It involves outdoor activities, on-field observation
and discussions It is collaborative research, education and action
used to gather information to use for change on social or
environmental issues. It involves people who are concerned about or
affected by an issue and taking a leading role in producing and using
knowledge about it.
What does it tell you? Public
resources, land use, social
differentiation and mobility in
urban communities.
• What resources are abundant or
scarce?
• What constraints or problems are in the
different areas?
• What possibilities or opportunities
are in the different areas?
Love music? Heading to Greece this month? Well you should give the the village of Vergina, near Veria, in the north of Greece a visit.
The biggest DIY Festival in Greece is coming back for the 6th
consecutive year with a great variety of bands from the UNDERGROUND
music scene.
A 3 days DIY festival which helps us organize our
needs and promote our culture through music and other activities. OUR culture which speaks about freedom, solidarity and the
struggle against our oppressors and the society of obedience!! We
stand opposite and hostile in the commercialization of our lives.
The
fest aims to raise money for…
-The solidarity fund for
imprisoned and persecuted fighters -The judicial costs of persecuted fighters in Veria
-The
self-managed studio »GIAFKA» records
-The creation of a
self-managed photocopy in Veria
-The typographic collective
»DRUCK» in Thessaloniki The fest takes place in Platanakia, an open area outside Vergina,
a village close to Veria (North Greece), a wooded location with a
small river that gives opportunities to relax and enjoy the
nature.
There will also be free campsite and lunch for everyone.
«Campers should take note that it is quite cold at night..»
War is state terrorism inflicted on people in another country, war is the expansion of imperialism, and the defence of the power of the imperialists. In this insane capitalist system, war is also a massive creator of profit for a conglomeration of corporate interests. War is never in the interests of the ordinary people.
"A Bundle of Bloody Rags"
But twenty summer suns had past since his first breath
was drawn,
An upright, clean, and manly boy, with hope and vigour
born
Afresh each day, and in whose eyes the light of
knowledge shone---
But now a torn and bleeding thing it was I looked
upon
As he in fearful torment lay beneath a ruined bridge,,
Where he had crawled on palsied knees that morn at
Vimy Ridge.
I saw him clutch the air and fall, I heard his awful shout,
A jagged piece of riven shell had torn his entrails out;
I knelt and whispered in his ear at that accursed place,
And painfully he turned his head and stared into my face;
His eyes were eyes of hunted brutes, his mouth had
gnawed the sand,
And at his ghastly wound in pain he clawed with frenzied
hand.
Although I knew his day of hope had changed to hopeless
night,
I said, "Cheer up, old comrade, we will patch you up
all-right.
Come, let me get you out of this"--He looked with
frightened eye,
And murmered, "Jim, don't touch me. Christ! O,
Christ, why don't i die?
Jim, Jim---you've got a bayonet there----if you have pity
too,
Then send me west, old Jimmy, pal-----for God's sake,
Jimmy do"
Then a madness came upon him----it was madness that I
knew----
For he cursed the one he loved the most, as madmen
always do,
I listened, for I loved him, though my body burned with
shame,
When he with one despairing shriek pronounced his
mother's name;
I say with shame I listened, for I knew the boy of old,
And the love of kin was graven deep upon his heart of gold,
But now with hatred in his voice he screamed, "No dying
kiss
for you, you fiend in human form who shaped my soul
for this;
Who fed my growing body in your lust-empoisoned
womb,
And wove my mind with crooked lies upon a twisted
loom;
Who sent me here with honeyed words to slaughter or to
maim,
That you in empty pride might boast one hero in the
game,
"Heroes! God! more like are we the spawn of hellish
hags,
"Heroes! Piles of broken bones and heaps of bloody
rags.
Your handiwork, your devil's deed, for this you gave me
birth,
Your contributio to the flames of this foul hell called
Another lovely ride round the Campsie area, unfortunately got my first puncture in three years. A sharp tiny granite chip embedded itself in my tyre. Still a great day.
Saw this image on arrezafe when reading his article on the new headquarters of the European Central Bank, and thought it was an extremely powerful symbol of capitalism in the developed world. A world where the poor are hidden away, while business continues to function as if everything is fine. Brush that which might shatter the illusion of "everything is fine", under the carpet.
Palatial air conditioned shopping malls, city centre gentrification, grand spectacles to woe the tourists, shop windows a blaze with designer labels. Then side streets with people sleeping rough, dark doorways that are home to damaged human beings, crush by a pitiless system. Housing schemes where the vicious teeth of poverty bites at the lives of the many. Capitalism, a compassionless system of contrasts, inequality and injustice. Why do we tolerate this brutality heaped on our own people?
A monumental feat of engineering, on the banks of the River Main, the seat of the European Central Bank. Spectacular, cold, imposing. 185 meters high, 45 floors. 110,000 square meters. More than 4,000 tons of steel.
"The symbol of the best that a united Europe can achieve," said ECB President at his inauguration. "A great new home for the ECB to fulfill its mandate" , according to Draghi.
The world of capitalism and debt is a very strange world. Debt as a percentage of your GDP seems to be taken as a bench mark of a country's viability. Hence Greece gets clobbered, plundered and its people driven into deprivation as its debt, 2013, sits at 177% of GDP. Others are not that far behind, Italy is sitting at 132% of GDP with the USA at 105%. The UK, though low as a percentage of GDP is seeing that percentage rise considerably. When the "crisis" hit in 2008, UK debt was 51.9% of GDP, but has now, 2013, shot up to 90.6%, are we heading towards a Greek situation? Another fact we should remember, after the WWII, the UK was bankrupt, but managed to create the National Health service!! We don't hear a lot about Japan but it seems to survive with a staggering debt of 256% of GDP, why? To whom do all these countries owe that debt? If the Greek economy was devastated and plundered with debt of a mere 177% of GDP, does this mean that the world is heading for a "Greek crisis", as the world debt, 2014, was sitting at an eye-watering 286% of the world's GDP. So in this insane capitalist asylum, the world's debt outstrips all its wealth, who are the banksters and financial Mafia that will call this debt in, and turn the world into another present day Greece?
All these crazy figures prove, is that the whole system of capitalism is built on an illusion, a world of shuffling figures, a world where a bunch of people tell us that the world owes more than it is worth, where that bunch of people have the power to destroy an entire country and its people, because we are lead to believe that the illusion is a reality.
The world belongs to us, the people who live on it, there is nobody above us to whom we owe anything. The debt is an illusion by those who produce nothing, in an attempt to enslave those who produce all the wealth on the planet. Let's stop talking economics, and start talking people's needs, let's stop looking at balance sheets, and see to those needs. Let's shatter the illusion of perpetual growth and create sustainability and mutual aid. It is our only hope of fairness and justice for all our people, it is the only hope of saving our home, the planet.
I begged no tyrant for my life, though sweet it was;
Though chained, I go unconquered to my grave,
Dying for my own birth-right-----and the world's.
Ricardo Flores Magon.
* Written just before his death, (1923) while incarcerated in the federal prison, Leavenworth, Kansas. Magon was an active Mexican rebel, and at the behest of the Mexican government, the US government seized him, its agents beat him up fiercely, and afterwards held him for years until his death.
Even the vapourish illusion of democracy has long since disappeared in Greece. The people of that country are forced to live their lives at the vagaries of greedy corporatism and brutal authoritarianism As the living standard of the people is plunder beyond anything seen in Europe since the end of the second world war, the powers that be, in an attempt to keep control of this situation, have only one tool, savage repression. I'm sure in time, that tool will fail, and the people of Greece will win through to take control of their own lives.
The story of Evi Statiri is just one of countless victims of that savage repression.
Greece: Evi Statiri still in prison for being the life companion
of a captive anarchist urban guerrilla
On
July 14th 2015, it became known that the latest motion for
release filed by Evi
Statiri (the life partner of CCF imprisoned member Gerasimos
Tsakalos) was rejected by the competent judicial council.
Despite the fact that Evi has never been a member of the
Conspiracy of Cells of Fire, nor had she any involvement whatsoever
in the Conspiracy of Cells of Fire escape plan, which was uncovered
in January 2015, she is nevertheless being held in pretrial detention
in Koridallos prison since March 2nd.
