Internationalism.

          There has been a lot written about the volunteers that went to fight fascism in Spain, 1936/39, but I personally haven't read anything about the Chinese contingent, that may be due to my ignorance. So it was interesting to come across this article giving some details of this, small, but dedicated group of volunteers from a country, on the other side of the world, that was facing its own problems from imperialist Japan.

         In the autumn of 1937, Zhang Ruishu was enjoying a rare break from his 14-hour days on the frontline. One of very few, if not the only, Chinese in Madrid, he hadn’t asked for time off – there was so much to do – but his commander had insisted he take a break. The Spanish capital was decorated with defiant if raggedy banners reading No pasarán (“They shall not pass”) and Madrid será la tumba del fascismo (“Madrid will be the tomb of fascism”). Zhang had seen many such signs before. At a newsstand, however, a large promotional poster for Spanish news magazine Estampa caught his eye.

        The intriguing poster featured a man’s face in profile. It wasn’t a handsome face, but ruddy and weathered, with tightly cropped hair, hollow cheeks and a muddle of crooked teeth in a mouth set slightly agape – the face of a no-nonsense man who had known hardship. Suddenly, a crowd was gathering around Zhang; eyes were widening and fingers pointing. “That’s him!” they cried, lunging forward to shake the stranger’s hand.

Read the full article HERE:

         Xie Weijin (left) and Zhang Ji (right) with a fellow Chinese in Spain, in 1938. Photo: courtesy of Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives.

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

Anti-Trident Protests.

         For others who didn't know about the July 16th. Protest against Trident, it was happening across this country, mainly in the Glasgow and Clyde area, where these weapons are situated. These are not defensive weapons, all we have to do is remember Hiroshima, one bomb, and a city with its inhabitants incinerated, civilians, men, women and children.

Published on July 16, 2016
        As the 'British' Parliament prepare to 'debate' the renewal of the trident missile weapons system based at the Gareloch in west of Scotland, concerned citizens throughout the country express their dissent. This is Dumbarton, 15 minutes from the base which houses these weapons of mass destruction. The 'debate' takes place on Monday 18 July and although all but one of Scotland's MPs will vote against it, there is no doubt that the Tory Government and its Red Tory cohorts in the so-called Labour Party will vote to impose this horror on Scotland and its people. Shameful affront to democracy.

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

 

Planting Seeds.

       Saturday July 16th. saw demonstrations across the country against the abomination that is the Trident nuclear weapon system. Glasgow held its protest against these weapons of mass destruction at the Donald Dewar statue, at the top of Buchanan Street. The usual colourful array of banners, posters and leaflets were on display, Greens, Unions, anti-detention, refugees welcome, anti-austerity, Communist Party and various socialist groups. Alas I didn't see any anarchist presence, I did chat to two anarchist in the crowd, but no leaflets, no papers, no literature of any sort.

       I always feel these events are ideal places to put out our ideas, these are people who have a gripe with the system, people who are prepared to stand up and protests against what they see as a wrong. If we don't put our ideas on their table, then when they are looking for answers, they wont pick up ours. At these events it is not just the committed that you can make contact with, but the general public, the passers-by, the curious, it is a most fertile ground to plant your seeds. We should be there, putting our ideas out there with the myriad of material that surfaces at these events. We have to meet other's ideas with our ideas when ever and where ever they surface. After all it is the ordinary people that we have to reach, those on the street. 

THE PROPAGANDISTS.

When the hordes run with their flaming torches,
When they light the torch of freedom
Burning all injustices
Scorching all hypocrisies
Making a bonfire of poverty
Throwing dogma, patriotism and religion on the flames,
I’ll be there, among them with my box of matches.

Some photos from Saturday.

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

A Failed And Doomed Species????

           The following are a few excerpts from a speech made in court  by Athena Tsakalou during the case of CCF escape trial. Deep down I can empathise with the words and feelings, perhaps that comes with an ageing mind and a feeling of weariness, however, foolishly or otherwise, I keep pushing those thoughts away and replacing them with that infernal and eternal optimism, but they are still there, lurking in the background, with the events in the world feeding them.

This from Contra Info:

          There comes a moment when you take a look back at the years in your life, and you realise you’ve left to live far fewer than the years you’ve already lived; that is, if everything goes well. And this is a strange but intense sensation, which makes me ask myself to be sincere. Not in the simple way we often think about it, but in an essential, deeper way.

I don’t like to say: where is this world going? It’s something that we – people at an older age – often do, but such a phrase conceals some sort of innocence that I refuse to accept. I prefer to ask myself: how do you yourself walk through this world?------

As a species, how do we measure our success?

Assuming that, throughout the centuries, people have intended to live, if not a life of happiness, at least a joyful life, their history to date shows that they’ve failed. History books, either the official, inspected ones, or the secret ones that it’s hard to come by, show that people have failed. It may be that the conditions for survival or living standards got better – although ‘better’ is relative, as this is not the case in some parts of the earth – but the pain, the horror of wars, of hunger and oppression continue to rise.

Of course there’s a difference; a nightmarish difference. Nowadays, death is no longer caused just by hand-to-hand combat on the battlefields where, even from a distance determined by a firearm, you’re able to see the falling body and hear the cry of pain, and regardless of how much dehumanised you’ve become, this sight and sound leaves a peculiar imprint within you that, at some point, might make you not want war anymore. On today’s battlefields, we find ourselves in the era of smart bombs, and one is able to retain ‘their innocence’ by pressing a button which brings mass death; that’s the difference.

For some time now, more than 10,000 refugee children who were travelling unaccompanied have disappeared in Europe over the past 18–24 months. There are fears that many of them have fallen victim to exploitation by organised crime networks…

The world’s 62 richest people hold as much wealth as half the population on the planet…

The earth’s products are enough to feed its entire population, yet millions of people, millions of children die of hunger.---------

Do we hold on to hope and optimism, or as a species, admit that we failed?

And it’s about time we said: after so much human blood watering the earth’s soil every day, after all this lament filling the earth’s air, if there’s no change of course for the human species, if the human mind isn’t crossed by a lightning at some point, so that we see everything differently… then indeed it’d be a brave decision if people eventually said: ‘for so many centuries, we’ve been unable to find joy; we might as well admit that as a species we aren’t capable of something like this; we might as well admit our failure and leave calmly; let us be the last of the humans; let us admit that only trees deserve life, continuity, eternity as they’re free of the instinct of war, of horror.’

Lately all I want to do is plant trees. And someone might ask me: but is this truly your deepest desire? No, I haven’t done well; I’m still determined by the ability to see as far as my eye can see, to keep my mind off things by taking pleasure in small joys; but when I open the eye of my mind to a worldwide wandering, a worldwide looking, and I see how small a share joy has in people’s lives, I say once more: if the dream doesn’t enter people’s lives, if there’s no change of course for the human species, only trees deserve continuity, life, eternity.

Athena Tsakalou

Read the full article HERE:

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

A Call To Rape!!!!

         What would you do if you entered a fast food chain and it was decorated with the following slogans?

A CALL TO RAPE:

“LOVE IS A SPORT, ESPECIALLY WHEN ONE OF THE TWO DOESN’T WANT IT”

MACHISM :

“THERE ARE 3 CATEGORIES OF WOMEN: WHORES, SLUTS AND PAINS IN THE ASS”.

Whores sleep with everyone, sluts sleep with everyone except with you, the pains in the ass only sleep with you. “

“I’VE HAD ENOUGH OF THESE GAYS! “

       That couldn't happen in this day and age, I hear you say. Sorry you're wrong, commercialism will pander to any depth of depravity to make a buck. Obviously, in the circumstances, you would ask for it to be redecorated, politely of course. Apparently there is such a chain in France, Le Bagelstein, and when four students complained to the manager, he called the police and the students were arrested. What a perverse society we live in, when objecting to a call for rape gets you arrested.

This from Act For Freedom Now:

         On the night of Saturday, June 18, the Bagelstein of Old Lille was suddenly redecorated with multicoloured paint and its lock was sabotaged echoing the Rennes demo and the Nantes action that took place the same day.
IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE IMPRISONED OF BAGELSTEIN IN RENNES
         In Rennes May 26, 4 people get jail after an altercation with the manager of the fast-food “le Bagelstein”. Following accusations by feminists of the “deco” of the fast food chain with serious sexist and homophobic propos affixed to the walls and restaurant accessories, four students come to see this “decoration” for themselves, that goes as far as to call to rape. After some of the students’ remarks, the manager insults them and threatens them right till the arrival of the BAC. The four young people are embarked unceremoniously, direction custody, court, prison.
        The judge sentenced them to months in prison for the “violence in numbers during demonstration” (? !! ??? !!) because of their involvement in the protests against the labour law. The trial does not even talk about the reason for their presence at the scene (to denounce the sexist and homophobic communication of “bagelstein”). Once again, the court of Rennes has instructed a political trial, aiming to make these four students pay for the “malaise”, the “blues”, the “fatigue” of traders from the city centre because of the mobilization against “Job Law!” which has gone on for three months.

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

  

Trident No More.

An appeal from The Scottish Peace Network. Please share widely.

 TRIDENT NO MORE :

 

Flash-demos across Scotland 16th July

       David Cameron has announced MPs will vote on whether to renew the Trident nuclear weapons system on Monday 18th July. This in spite of the fact that he has resigned and a new Prime Minister is yet to be elected and that the country is still reeling from the Brexit decision. No doubt these things have lead to this rush to squeeze a vote on Trident in before the summer recess but a selfish desire to unite the Tories and split Labour is no reason to take such an important and expensive decision in haste. People across Scotland will be braced for yet another decision by Westminster politicians to be imposed on us. But it must be challenged and not swept away from public scrutiny or media attention. We won’t be silenced!
         The Scrap Trident Coalition message is TRIDENT NO MORE so help to send it out from every town & city across Scotland on Saturday July 16th. Gather together at noon for an hour or longer to say it loudly and clearly. Local action everywhere can speak louder than mass demos in cites (they can be good too!)
        Some locations have already decided on a place to meet. Check the Scrap Trident.org website as we add more. If your community is not on the list please contact us and suggest a location. We need everyone working together, from local CND, SNP, Green, Scottish Labour, SSP, Yes groups, Radical Independence, Women for Independence, faith communities and trade unions, not forgetting MPs, MSPs and Councillors to have a huge turnout across the country.
       Please JOIN and SHARE the Facebook event widely to insure as many people as possible come out.
          Scrap Trident media group will do national press and communications work (and we are asking The Proclaimers to help out) and please ask if you need help with the really valuable local media work contacting local papers and radio. On the Saturday we need people to take - and tweet and post - photos and also to share them to the Scrap Trident Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. Please Use the Hashtags #TridentNoMore and secondly #ScrapTrident. We have support from The Proclaimers who wrote 'A Letter To America' … ' Bathgate no more, Linwood no more, Methil no more, Irvine no more.' This time, it's TRIDENT NO MORE!
         There are also plans underway for a Scottish contingent to go to the CND lobby of parliament on 13 July. 12noon – 6pm. Houses of Parliament. http://www.cnduk.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=2434&Itemid=26 Scotland is supporting the lobby with representation from every constituency in the form of a written submission to all Scottish MPS. You can make an appointment with your MP via: http://act.cnduk.org/lobby/95 (not essential  but strongly advised in case your MP is busy). During the Lobby, CND will be in Room W2 between 12 & 6pm for leaflets & support before you meet your MP. Scottish materials will also be available there.
At 6pm there'll be a Stop Trident public meeting in Committee Room 10, House of Commons.
         For more info if you are planning to go to this or want your message to your MP to go with the Scottish delegation contact Janet Fenton - janetscotlands4peace@yahoo.co.uk

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

Choices???

Our Political System.

Wanker bankers, with their bundles of booty,
Sleazy solicitors, spewing slimy words for pieces of silver,
Lying lawyers, licking posteriors in the corridors of power,
Pompous politicians, products of posh fee paying schools,
Fraudulent financiers, fiddling the fruits of our labour,
Movers and shakers, false dream makers,
Weavers of illusions, creators of charades,
Perfidious pedlars of devious deals,
Nauseating narcissistic brainless mouths,
The candidates offered up to lead us to the promised land???

 

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

 

No Toll-gates On The Internet.

            The battle to control our lives is an on going war, the corporate bodies of this capitalist world are continually seeking new ways to control every aspect of our lives, and it is all just for profit to their shareholders. The multi-national telecom giants are no different, they see the internet as something they can squeeze more money from, if they can just get their grubby hands on some sort of controlling mechanism, and they are working hard at it all the time. They have the money, the political connections, the lawyers and the time and they will use them all to get that advantage. What they should not have is the power to break the will of the people, that's up to us.  

This appeal from OpenMedia:

       We have just one week to stand against a plan, put forward by giant telecom conglomerates, to put a toll booth on the Internet. Please take a moment right now to use our high impact tool to put a stop to this horrible idea. Regulators in the European Union are about to review key Net Neutrality rules that fundamentally impact how the Internet works. Telecom companies are using this process as an opportunity to push for a scheme that would give them the power to put a toll booth on the Internet — making websites they don’t like slower and more expensive to access. Please, we have until July 18th to get on the public record — take quick moment to send a message to key decision makers while we still have time.

       The Body of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC) are responsible for these key rules[1] and they should enable equal access for all. But we know the telecom companies have powerful friends and lobbyists that have the ear of decision makers.[2] We have to make sure that so many of us speak up that we’re impossible to ignore.[3, 4, 5] We can’t afford for our favourite websites to become more expensive to access and slower to load — and whatever happens in Europe will will fundamentally impact how the borderless Internet works. We have to act now — we only have until July 18th to to get on the public record. Tell regulators: the Internet shouldn’t have a toll booth. The powerful chorus of open Internet supporters have won the battle for an equal Internet in India,[6] in the United States last month,[7] and are speaking out in droves in Canada.[8] We should get to decide how we use the Internet, — not powerful telecom gatekeepers with vested interests.[9] A free and open Internet levels the playing field for all and fosters incredible innovation, and if we don’t speak out now, we’re going to lose it. Tell regulators you’re willing to fight for an open Internet before the July 18 deadline.[10]

— Katy, and your OpenMedia team

P.S. At OpenMedia we’re always working to keep the Internet open, equal and surveillance-free. If you haven’t already, please chip in $10 a month to keep our small team fighting for your digital rights.

Footnotes:
1. Draft BEREC Guidelines on implementation by National Regulators of European net neutrality rules: BEREC
2. 10 reasons not to trust BEREC on Net Neutrality: Strand Reports
3. Net Neutrality: A Victory for Digital Innovation: Recode
4. EU Internet Users Can Stand Up For Net Neutrality: Mozilla
5. Like FCC, BEREC bows to activists on open Internet: Tech Policy Daily
6. Big win for net neutrality: Telecom regulator prohibits discriminatory tariffs for data: Times of India
7. Tom Wheeler defeats the broadband industry: Net neutrality wins in court: Ars Technica
8. We have a huge opportunity to end data caps in Canada: OpenMedia
9. EU telcos offer to ramp up 5G effort in return for watered-down net neutrality rules: Total Telecom
10. Learn more at SaveTheInternet.eu, a coalition of which OpenMedia is a proud member: SaveTheInternet.eu

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

Guernsey, "Inconvenient Truth" Of Child Povertry Gap.

 

        Just back from a wee break on the island of Guernsey. When you get there you can't help fall in love with its beauty. Its rocky jagged  coastline, its beautiful beaches, narrow winding tree lined roads and a pleasant climate. What is there not to love? The one thing you notice early on, is that there are an abundance of restaurants, most on the pricey side, obviously they are not trying to attract the ordinary Joe. So, apart from being a up-market tourist destination, what is Guernsey. Like the rest of this capitalist world, it is two worlds, the surface shiny polished one, and then the under side, the usual grinding poverty. One taxi drive we spoke to, they are great for info, said that he worked on the roads, but worked 5 nights a week on the taxis to make ends meet. It doesn't sound much like the idyllic way of life. 

So, my take on the island.

Guernsey, ‘Inconvenient truth’ of child poverty gap

             Idyllic island, lots of beaches, walks, and a mild to warm climate, a rich island that earns a lot from tourism. Island population approximately 63,000, with a work population of roughly 32,000. The largest employer on the island is the finance sector, employing around 21% of the workforce. It is a haven for the rich with a low tax regime, virtually no corporation tax, and Guernsey levies no capital gains, inheritance, capital transfer, value added (VAT / TVA) or general withholding taxes. Conditions that make it a desirable abode for the rich to plant their loot and a home for such business giants as Specsavers Optical Group, and Healthspan, among others. A bubbly, champagne fizzy place for the rich. However, like all surfaces in capitalism, scratch the surface and you see just how thin that bubbly surface goes.
       Unemployment in numbers seems low, but remember the workforce is only around 32,000, recent figures put it at 411, an increase of 15% on the previous year, but up 46% since 2011. The islands chief medical officer Dr. Stephen Bridgman stated, between 5,000 and 10,000 islanders currently live in relative poverty. He said many had restricted access to health services because they simply could not afford it. The recent released Parry Report into Children’s Social Care in the Island, stated that child care was inadequate, and there was a lack of social mobility and a highly visible poorer population.
       So there you have it, a “rich island”, a bubble created to cater to the rich, lots of fancy restaurants, expensive houses, and luxury yachts in the harbours, flourishing on the back of inadequate child care and the poor. Ah the wonders of capitalism.

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

Aching For The Sun

        Hi, to my friends, comrades, followers, readers and critics, a big thanks to all those who read my "stuff" and comment. Stasia and I are off on a wee holiday, a nice wee break. No doubt both of us will be expecting different things from this escape, but I will be looking for some kind warm sun to gently caress my ageing body. It will be a chance to re-charge batteries, after what has been a very busy and at times stressful period. I will be be parting company from my dream machine, my bike, and this blog will probably fall silent for another wee spell. Though I expect both bike and blog to re-start when I return. 

           A photo from my run  last Thursday. Just peeping through the trees is a favourite watering hole of mine, The Aizle Tearoom. at Ballott Toll, on the Aberfoyle Road. It is not expensive and they do a lovely plate of lentil soup. All cycle runs should end at a good tearoom.

See you soon.

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

Forgotten Women Warriors.

         Women have always played a very important part in the struggles of the ordinary people, but so often there contribution and their names, fade into the fog of history and are forgotten. Glasgow remembers some, Ethel MacDonald, Helen Crawfurd, Mary Barbour, to mention a few, but how many have we forgotten? For those, myself among them, who feel we should do everything we can to bring these lost and forgotten warriors back into the forefront of our history, there is an interesting site, The Beautiful Nihilist. Though it refers to Russian Nihilists, it still makes interesting reading and shines a light on some forgotten warriors of struggle for freedom.

Vera Zassulitch.

       Welcome to The Beautiful Nihilist: Representations of Revolutionary Women. The goal here is to gather material from the popular press depicting radical and particularly militant women, in all its sensationalist and often exploitative glory. The articles and tales collected here document a familiar fascination with a political variety of femme fatale, often with a great deal of emphasis on the sexual desirability and social status of the women portrayed in presumably “unwomanly” acts of violence. At the same time, however, the tabloid presentation often allows important bits of history and biography to show through. Indeed, in many cases, this spectacular journalism is all that we have to document the lives of women who were on the front lines of the most militant sorts of struggles.

Continue reading HERE:

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

From Despair To Admiration.

 

        Looking at the affairs of this world my emotions sway from tremendous optimism, to abject despair. You look towards the Middle East and North Africa, and you see a swath of the world that is awash with blood and suffering, with daily deaths and destruction on a massive scale, the hand of the new era of capitalist imperialism. Trying to grasp the scale of the suffering and deprivation seems to be beyond our minds. How can we allow such misery to be the sum total of so many people's lives? War, power, greed and destruction, seem to be the only tools this rotten system can bring to bear on people's lives.

Winter

Dark malefic clouds crowd the sky
winds carry the stench of carrion to every nostril,
the crazy ape has followed the faculty of hawks.
All around stand crows, magpies, jackdaws, vultures,
edacious eyes anticipating their putrid feast.
A weary Cassandra laments;
doves, hearts weeping for a better yesterday
forsake their olive branches.

 

       Then of course we direct our eyes to the relentless struggle of those ordinary people, to shatter the grip of this cancerous system. From all corners of the world people are standing up and defying the power of neo-liberalism and its imperialist intentions. People are coming together and linking across borders in what they know is one struggle, one war, the war of the will of the people against the greed of raw capitalism, You have to stand back and gasp in admiration at this power and solidarity, and know within your heart, we will succeed. We can look at each other with pride knowing that this war is like a relay race, we take the baton and run with it, knowing that when we have run our lap, there will be somebody else there to take the baton and run further.

I’m Proud

I’m proud of my people, proud to be one of them,
that great mass on society’s bottom rung.
Those who, with coal-dust under their nails
in their eyes, in their lungs
claw at the earth's entrails.
Their brothers,
cement in their hair
in their mouth, in their ears,
oil ingrained in their fingers,
on their face.
Sisters, glistening with sweat
midst the ceaseless noise of machines
that throw out shirts, shoes, toys, carpets
for other people.
Those with soil and sweat stuck to their skin
smelling of the earth, feeding the multitude,
grinding out their lives in a harsh pitiless system
weighted down
with a sack load of half-dead dreams,
sometimes brought to their knees
by a tidal wave of despair,
never defeated,
groping in the dark to find tomorrow,
keeping hope alive;
they amaze me.
Somehow, from somewhere
in this cold, cruel
unforgiving scheme of things
they find love for their children.
Not a teaspoonful, not a cupful,
but buckets full, to bathe them in,
to pour over them.
They seem to know
that one day this world will be ours
and to take care of it
we will need those who have been loved. 

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

Freedom!! What Freedom?

        The usual common sense words from Not Buying Anything:
 

        Our much touted freedom in so-called democratic countries is an illusion. It is an over hyped lie. Except for one area - we are free to do as much consuming as our bank accounts will allow.

       Where else is the freedom?
      Are we free to protest without harassment? Free to travel a world without restrictive borders? Free to live anywhere we want? Free to quit work and live off the land?
       Are we free to put into our bodies what we want, or keep out of our bodies those things we don't want? Free to marry whom we wish? Free to use the bathroom we feel most appropriate for our gender situation? Free to read about the truth in the mainstream media?
       Instead of gaining any freedoms, we are increasingly being stripped of any vestiges of liberty that we have left. In some parts of the world you are not free to harvest rain water, or grow a garden where you neighbours can see it, or without being taxed for the privilege of putting a bit of distance between you and the system.
        Our system is broke. Unless you are rich, in which case you are more free than those less monetarily blessed. In today's world money is the way to freedom, not the ballet box. And if you don't have money you don't deserve to be free because you just aren't trying hard enough.
Now whole countries are being forced to accept the freedom to be plundered, privatized and pirated. How are you enjoying all that Western capitalist consumeristic freedom Iraq? Libya? Syria? Honduras? Brazil? Argentina? Egypt? Are you feeling it yet, all that juicy freedom? When we stop the violence, you can go shopping.
        Robin Mathews, author of “The Trans Pacific Partnership: Canada and Imperial Globalization”, describes our current situation: 

"A characteristic of Imperial Globalization is criminal manipulation of people and events for the profit of a few. It includes massive ‘disinformation’ about equality, benefits, social development, law, improved standards of living, etc.

The disinformation is spread by ‘authoritative’ news sources. In the hands of gigantic, wealthy, private corporations, globalization is a process which works to erase sovereign democracies and replaces them with ‘treatied’ sub-states, economic colonies ruled by faceless, offshore, often secret, unaccountable powers."

       You see, it is all about enriching the few as a result of the consumption of the many. Have money? Want stuff? This new world was made for you. Your dollars will buy you the freedom to consume, plus a bit more, depending on how much cash you have. More cash - more freedom.
        I don't know about you, but that is not a system I am interested in joining or supporting, and I will do everything I can to ensure that I am doing nothing to contribute toward this dismal distortion of our infinitely good and abundant planet.
       Freedom can not really be bought. Or given. Or forced. It just is, and we have to actively live it for ourselves. After all, consumption is not legally mandatory. Yet. We still have a choice.
        I am free to consume, but, well, no thanks. Consuming is enslaving us all. Therefore, I see unconsuming as the answer. As always, simplicity yields true freedom, and if more of us adopted such a lifestyle, we could negate the power of the criminal manipulators, and turn this thing around.
I'm not buying anything. Not their stuff, or their bullshit, for I am free to unconsume.

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

Bubble Gum And Candy Floss News.

         The way our babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media, spews out its vile bubblegum and candy-floss pulp, it is difficult to get a true picture of what is happening in other parts of the world. France for example, weeks of mass protests, violent clashes with the minders of the system, the riot police, tear gas and water cannon, and we get wall to wall coverage of football and mad supporters. America, well its Trump and Clinton and mass shootings, and so the public build a distorted picture of the world we live in. There is another world, the unreported world of ordinary people, of struggles across the globe, as people tackle the brutality, exploitation, injustice and poverty of a world system of capitalism, the real world, the one that we all live in.

         This short video from Anarchist Radio Berlin, Sur Negro, helps to blow away the fabricated fog, the mist of illusion, created by that babbling brook of bullshit, that continually attempts to obscures our vision.

 Sur negro-No Borders: New anti-authoritarian Web Series, 1st. session: Social struggles in USA.

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

No Borders!!!

          No Borders! People tend to see borders as those imaginary lines drawn on the surface of the planet by various power-mongers. However within those “borders” that surround “your” country, there are borders. There are areas of “no-go” territory, places of confinement, prisons are borders, those in can’t get out, those out can’t get in. Schools are borders, again once in, your not supposed to get out until the authorities tell you, you can go. They are all around us, detention centres, military property, places of employment, you can’t just walk in, and once in you can’t just walk out, you need somebody’s authority, or you pay a price. Even the glitzy shopping mall, you may go wandering in and leave, in fact you will be encouraged to come in, and you can just walk out, but the owner controls the right of entry, you can be banned from entering and you can be removed, if you don’t function as “expected”, it is not a public space. 

         Then there are the other type of borders, things you can't have, places that you can't go, barred for financial reasons, these borders are probably the most insidious, they slither through our society, separating the "haves" and the "have-nots", herding the poor into areas of deprivation, and making sure they stay there.

        Borders have become so entrenched in our psyche that there are borders we don’t even recognise, they become part and parcel of our life, an accepted fact of this society. This makes it all the more difficult for people to see the dropping of those imaginary lines that the power-mongers drew on the surface of the planet with our blood, but fall they must. 

 

         We can never claim to be free when we live in the midst of so many lines we cannot cross without a “higher” authority. We have to recognise all the borders within borders, a place of work should not be a place of confinement, but a place of willing creativity, schools should be an integrated part of our society, not a camp for shaping people to suit the needs of a capitalist “economy”. Prisons should be seen as what they are, an abomination and a scar on humanity, a system of repression. 

       Freedom means just that, freedom of movement, but must be linked to freedom to stay, with or without “documentation”. Borders are an anathema to freedom, our love of freedom means they will always need to be enforced, by a "higher" and "powerful" authority.

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

 

It's Your Pension They're After.

        We all know that in this society, big business comes first. Small businesses can fall by the wayside, but big business in trouble, they’ll see how they can get their grubby hands on taxpayers money, one way or another, to bail them out. It is usually a government subsidy, (taxpayers subsidy), or a tax break, some way in which we, the tax payers, can help keep the corporate beast alive. Now though they are sinking to an even lower level of duplicitous greed and depravity. It’s your pensions they are after. The government is considering giving Tata Steel the green light to cut people’s pensions, to save the shareholders money. Of course all the other big businesses will realise that this is a one-of arrangement, my arse. They will squeal “unfair”, they will claim that they need the same rules to make it a level playing field, and bob’s your uncle, open season on your pensions. Capitalism is ruthless, depraved, exploitative and favours the few, but they need our money to continue to screw us. It’s a crazy world, and we allow it to go on, when we could bring the whole thing crashing down. Workers of the world, take a months holiday, all at the same time.

This from 38 Degrees:

          The government’s trying to rush through new laws that could let big businesses put millions of our pensions at risk. [1] We've got 48 hours to stop them. In the rush to save a failing company, Tata Steel, the government’s planning to give them the power to cut staff pensions. Experts are warning it could open the floodgates for other companies to follow suit. It could put millions of pensions at risk. [2]
       But 38 Degrees members could stop them. The government’s consulting on their plans right now - but they’d probably prefer to keep them quiet. [3] If thousands of us sign a huge petition today, then deliver it on Wednesday we can force the plan out of the shadows.
       We’ve not got much time. The consultation closes in 48 hours so we’ve got to act fast. [4]

So please can you add your name right now?

SIGN THE PETITION

         Pensions are the safety net that let us sleep easy knowing that we’ve prepared for later life. Most of us spend years paying into them, but this new law could give big business bosses the power to go back on their promises and empty the pot.
       The government prides themselves on being good to pensioners. They know it’s a vote-winner. The last thing they want is a huge to-do over pensions that could anger a huge number of people they need on side. If tens of thousands of us sign a huge petition to stop the government rushing through these dangerous laws, it could make them back down to avoid the embarrassment.

 Please can you sign the petition now?

SIGN THE PETITION

Thanks for being involved,
Lorna, Rachel, Maddy and the 38 Degrees team
 NOTES:
[1] The Guardian: Tata Steel: warning that pensions restructure could set risky precedent: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/may/26/tata-steel-warning-that-pensions-restructure-could-set-risky-precedent
The Telegraph: Warning that Tata steel pension plan sets dangerous precedent: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/05/26/government-consults-on-legal-change-to-pension-rules-to-speed-ta/
[2] The BBC: Tata steel pension changes 'unique' to firm: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-36388178
[3] The consultation can be found below. It closes on 23rd June at 11:45pm.
Government.uk: British steel pension scheme: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/british-steel-pension-scheme
[4] See note 3.

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