Farewell To The Pope Of Hope.

     Recently the babbling brook of bullshit, our mainstream media, has been giving us snippets of Obama, in the last few days of his stint as big chief of the imperialist world, touring the world's capitals for a round of red carpet and banquets. Obviously as he hops from country to country, helping the climate to change in his big jumbo jet, he receives a variety of welcomes and protests.

      In Greece, where the people, mired in poverty, with shattered social services, and who are among those worst hit in Europe by the polices of the neo-liberalism regime that he presided over, showed their thoughts when he arrived in Athens, though the babbling brook of bullshit didn't show much, if any, of that welcome. The people of Athens certainly gave The Prince of Peace, The Pope of Hope, imperialist boss-man, Obama, a rousing display of their feelings.

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Kate Sharpley Library.

     Kate Sharpley: During the war she left her job with a baker and worked in a Woolwich munitions factory. She was among the first people active in the shop stewards movement. Her father and brother were killed in action and her boyfriend (active in the anarcho-syndicalistic Horse Transport Union) was listed as missing believed killed. She suspected, though she had no proof, that he had been shot for mutiny. At the age of 22, when called to receive her family's medals from Queen Mary (wife of George V) she threw the medals back at her, saying "if you like them so much you can have them". The Queen's face was scratched, Kate Sharpley was beaten by police, and imprisoned for a few days, though no charges were brought against her. She was fired from her job at the factory.

      The Kate Sharpley Library is a wonderful asset to anarchists and libertarian socialists across the world, it is an Aladdin’s cave of our history, to learn from and enjoy. A wealth of information that we can dip into, indulge in, or wallow in.

      Their latest bulletin, October No.88, is now on line for all to enjoy. We should always support such rich veins of our history, we can't expect the establishment to record our history for us.

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What If------!

 

      As always, Not Buying Anything, comes up with something thought provoking.

"What if the spider you just killed in your home had spent its entire life thinking that you were its room-mate? 

Ever think about that? 

No, you only think about yourself."

I read this recently, and laughed. Then I thought, and thought some more. It makes sense. I might think differently if I lived in Australia, but I hope not.

Since reading this I have seen it it in other places, unattributed to any author. To me it has the life-positive, anti-violent vibe of Buddhism, or Jainism. It has caused me to be even more aware of the preciousness of life, and how everything just wants to live.
This level of sensitivity to the needs of others can be applied to all situations.
How about,

"What if that computer you are typing on was made by child labour, or is toxic to workers, or destroys the habitat of wild creatures? 

Ever think about that? 

No, you only think about yourself."

Or,

"What if that flight you are taking increases your carbon footprint dramatically and adds to potentially catastrophic climate change? 

Ever think about that? 

No, you only think about yourself." 

What if our habits and desires are killing not only spiders, but the very Earth itself? Ever think about that?

"Rest easy spider

My broom

Does not sweep that far."

- Issa Kobayashi

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The Trophies Of War.

 

      In Exarchia Square in Athens, they do things differently, apparently they have a rather endearing tradition. They decorate a statue in Exarchia Square with the spoils of their encounters with the state's hounds, the police. The latest artwork is formed from police riot shields and helmets.

      17/11/ Exarhia: Traditional decorating of the statue in the square with riot cop helmets and shields.
     A group of comrades this morning trapped a police van transferring riot cop gear, the comrades managed to grab 2 shields and 2 helmets, before being attacked by the riot cops. The shields and helmets then traditionally decorated the statue in Exarhia square, as happens with all loot that is grabbed by the cops.

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Hands Off!

     State repression goes on day and daily, sometimes dressed in wigs and gowns, wearing the mask of "law and order", sometimes the mask is of and it is raw, savage brutality, but it is always there. The form it takes will vary from state to state, but the aim remains the same, defend the established power structure, and control the population.

     A new zine from 325, Hands Off is worth a read.

Hands Off !

     Two unsolved robberies in Aachen lead to an international anarchist witch-hunt involving cops, laboratories, judges and screws. As a result, three anarchists, incorrigible dreamers of freedom and bitter enemies of all power, are arrested in Spain and the Netherlands and extradited to the dungeons of the German State. Let’s seize the challenge of this very contemporary repressive design and transform it into an attack on the existent, each in their own way, with their own means.

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Solidarity With The Water Protectors.

        The fight goes on to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline, the number of determined protesters, "Water Protectors", grows by the day, but now they are heading into the winter, and it will make their defence all that more difficult. They need all the support they can get to win this important struggle against the juggernaut of corporate madness.

       This report from The Freedom Socialist Party

  Patrick Burns and I arrived at Standing Rock this morning after flying in to North Dakota from Seattle. We were very moved by the vast panorama of teepees, tents, yurts, a large white geodesic dome and thousands of people. The energy was thrilling! It is clear that the water protectors are strong in their fight to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline and they aren’t going anywhere!
      While many people at the camp were glad about the recent news of the U.S. Department of Army and Interior calling for a delay on further construction of the pipeline, they know that this may not even slow down the drillers and that the movement must keep up the pressure. Several people were justifiably skeptical after experiencing hundreds of years of broken promises and lies by government officials. The camp is in it for the long haul and is preparing for the bitter winter ahead.
       Today, Patrick used his skills to assist in the assembly of over 25 wood stoves for the campers. I talked with many people who have flooded in from all over the country to provide solidarity. I also helped the support team and saw the leadership role many Native women are playing in getting donations sorted and distributed, orienting volunteers, preparing food, and providing security.
     Standing Rock has broad support. You can see it in the hundreds of flags flying at camp from many tribes and countries, and in the banners and signs from feminist, environmental and labor organizations. People greatly appreciated the concrete help and beautiful banner we brought from Radical Women (RW) and the Freedom Socialist Party (FSP). Today’s massive international day of action raised spirits of those on the ground here, despite continued government repression, arrests and pepper-spray targeting the hundreds of people putting their bodies on the line for safe water and the rights of indigenous peoples.
        We look forward to what else this week will bring!

      Gina Petry, the Organizer of Seattle Radical Women, and Patrick Burns, a union carpenter and activist with the Seattle branch of the Freedom Socialist Party, responded to the urgent call for on-site support to stop the Dakota Access Pipeline, which will jeopardize the country's water supply by running toxic oil conduits under the Missouri River. They will be in North Dakota through November 20.
       To contribute to the delegation’s expenses, please donate by clicking here. If donations exceed the $2,000 needed for the trip, additional funds will be sent to the Water Protector Legal Collective, which desperately needs money to cover bail and legal costs for arrestees.
        Please contact Radical Women or FSP, RadicalWomenUS@gmail.com or 206-985-4621 (ask for Doug Barnes), if you would like to interview Gina or Patrick after their return or have them make a presentation to your union or community organization.

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

    

A New Messiah From The Sewers.

 

        Yea, we are still trying to work out the eventual outcome of the fact that roughly a quarter of Americans, yep, just a quarter of Americans, gave the driving wheel of the most brutal and powerful imperialist country in the world, to a feckless dipshit egotistical, power crazy, TV showman. I still think that on the world stage it will be the unbridled power of the greed driven corporate military complex that will call the shots, with, of course, the blessing of their new figurehead. On the lower scale of what happens on our streets, well that is a different picture. All the right-wing vermin will now crawl out of the sewers, emboldened by their new Messiah. We are in for some very troubling times. We are living in an era of devastating wars, unprecedented inequality, unimaginable population displacement, an era of ever mounting world crises. we are haunted by environmental disaster of our own making, and now we are to receive a tsunami of divisive right-wing, xenophobic, fundamentalism. We are indeed, living in very troubled times

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Live Music, Poetry, Fun And Solidarity.

 

        The good people of Castlemilk Against Austerity, have been putting on a series of community events, and they are growing in popularity, helping to bring together the rich strands of the community. They range from talks/discussions, poetry and music as well as philosophy and food sharing. They are now putting out the word of their next get-together, and looks as good and rich as the previous.

       This is our next Event please come along and let people know about it they're brilliant nights 

  Live Music Night Fundraiser By the people, for the people A night showcasing local musical talent, should be fun and once again we need the support of the people to make the night a success.
Tickets are available through the page and are a snip at £2.50.
      This will be our 4th Music Night the previous 3 have been great wee nights with amazing talent we even had the Brilliant Gerry Cinnamon do his stuff at the last one. We want to encourage all of us to share ideas about how we can stick up for each other and campaign to change the unfairness, inequality and poverty we are all facing. We know what the issues are and believe that only the people in the community pulling together can really change things. The Live Music Event brings together all that in the most creative way. Everything is original from all the participants with their own music and words with a few auld favs added. It’s not just raising community spirit and unity but also reminding people it’s us who create things not the millionaires.

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Truth In An Image.

        I love this image, taken from arrezafe, a simple image but it tells a true story powerfully.

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War Is Not a Game.

        Any observer of our society would be well aware that we are a warring society. Through the onslaught from the babbling brook of bullshit, that is our mainstream media, with its war movies, stories of "great" battles, and war heroes, their justification for every war in which we have ever been involved. Then there is the "games" fed to our kids, super-human heroes, winning fierce battles over the bad guys, games of war, killing sprees where the player enjoys killing and never feels the pain of hot shrapnel tearing through their flesh, and knows that at the end of this violent indulgence, they can walk away unscathed, a million miles from the real killing sprees into which the state throws our kids. 

Of course we should not forget those callous military recruiting teams that infiltrate our schools, targeting the poorest areas.

 This is war.

      All the state has to do is reap this harvest and dispatch them to fight the imperialist wars that it indulges in at the behest of the corporate giants, who are ever hungry for more resources and markets, all gained from the blood of our youth.

 This is war.

     The armed forces make around 11,000 visits to secondary schools and colleges schools in the UK each year, and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) spends around £26 million each year on school Combined Cadet
Force (CCF) units, both of which have a strong recruitment agenda behind them, contrary to the repeated denials of this in recent years by the MoD

      Marlborough science academy is one of thousands of UK schools to invite in the military. Today, as part of an Insight Into Industry event, the army and other organisations – including the fire and rescue service, Marks & Spencer, and Hertfordshire University – are giving students an insider’s view of their work. Next to the assault course is a display showing salary scales for all military ranks, and male and female soldiers from different units are on hand to answer questions.

         We recommend that the Welsh Government considers whether further research is needed into the reasons for the apparently disproportionate number of visits to schools in areas of relatively high deprivation.

  Concerns over how many visits army officers make to schools in deprived areas will be debated by assembly members on Wednesday.

 The British Regular Army visits schools as a major part of its recruitment programme and a third of new soldier recruits are aged under 18. These recruits may face serious personal risk and challenging moral dilemmas, yet their terms of service can prevent them from leaving the army for up to six years. Given that minors are less able than adults to make free, informed and responsible decisions about enlisting, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the House of Commons/Lords Joint Committee on Human Rights have recommended raising the minimum age of recruitment to 18. Both Committees also recommend that the UK ensure that disadvantaged communities are not targeted for recruitment.

 This is war.

      If we wish peace to be the main picture of our society, then we have to stop the military from the callous recruiting of kids, which happens mainly in poor and deprived areas, all with the blessing of the state. We have to ban all military recruiting teams from anywhere near a school. Schools are supposed to be a safe and welcoming environment for the enlightenment and development of our kids, allowing them to make balanced and informed decisions as adults, they are not to be a conveyor belt of cannon fodder for the interests of a profit greedy corporate world.

This is war.

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Our Only Help Will Be Self Help.

      Anybody who lives in the world of the ordinary people is well aware that we are going through very difficult times. Poverty is rife among our communities, and it is no accident, it is the result of ideology, an ideology that sees big business as the most important entity on the planet. All legislation is shaped to help big business, and that is always at the expense of the individual. So appealing to that machinery to help sort your problems will reap little if any gains. The world is now corporate orientated, the people are to be used to feed that entity. In the grand corporate plan of things, the people are on a downward spiral, as the drive for ever increasing profits, which fuels this greed driven juggernaut, is the root of their ideology.

     As the poverty grows and the powers that be, move ever further away from the people, we have to realise that we are on our own, no body is coming to help us. We have to develop self defence systems within our own communities, in co-operation with other communities. we have to devise strategies to empower our communities and the individuals within those communities, we have to grasp solidarity as one of our weapons, the only help we can expect is self-help.

     So it is congratulations to the people of Castlemilk, one of Glasgow's large housing estates where, like the rest of them, poverty is endemic. Community spirit and solidarity within the community is growing, community events are on the increase, thanks to the drive and initiative of individuals within the community. Let's see if this attitude and spirit can become infectious, and spread like an epidemic across our city, and other cities.  

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A Capitalist Sytem Can't Save Our NHS.

      So the Branson brand gets a massive £700 million slice of the NHS, shock, horror, well no, I, like many others have been shouting for years that the NHS is to be privatised. Slice by slice, bite size bit by bite size bit, it will be gobbled up. If you are appealing to the capitalist system, to please don't privatise our NHS, you're wasting your time. If you accept capitalism, then accept that everything that can make money will be privatised, that's what they are about, that's the system you are tolerating. All that is termed essential services, gas, electricity, the postal service, all gone into the broth-pot of the corporate world. More and more councils are handing over what were services that they delivered, to private companies. Part of the prison system is in private hands, care for the elderly, the DWP assessment of the sick, is in private hands. So what makes you think that the NHS will be treated differently, considering they have already punted large sections of the NHS to their mates in the corporate world.

     Stop shout at the government to "save our NHS", they have already bankrupted it, making it ready for "private capital" to come rushing to the rescue. Start acting against the root cause of all this privatising, (plundering of public assets) and concentrate on getting rid of capitalism, only when that is done, will our NHS be safe.

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No One Is Coming To Help Us!!

 

         I have not said much about the Trump affair, as it is difficult to grasp what has happened and why. One thing we can be sure of, there is a emboldened and growing far right, not just in America, but here in the UK and across Europe. We can debate the reasons why and come to different conclusions, but what we can't do is ignore this rise. To me it seems obvious that the people would be come disenchanted with the system, as it was never intended to see to their needs in the first place. The problem seems to be that in looking for answers, people have not picked up our ideas, we have to ask ourselves, why not? Resolving that question would be a good place to start. 

       We will have to find answers in our communities  and to a degree do what the far right is doing, tap into that anger and disenchantment. The following extracts are from an interesting article by First of May Anarchist Alliance

       The surprise victory of Donald Trump this past Tuesday has quickly presented people in this country (and around the world) with a vastly different political landscape than we had expected. We are seeing a rise in right-wing attacks as the far right is emboldened by the victory, much like what happened earlier this year after the success of the Brexit referendum in the UK. The incompetence and capitulation of the Democratic Party has forced many of its former supporters to recognize that the fight against the far right cannot be won by liberal electoral politics. This new reality forces anti-authoritarians of all stripes to rise to the challenge of building strong movements for working class self-defense in this new atmosphere.

Why the turn form neo-liberalism to xenophobic nationalism?

      Another narrative states that in the rust belt as in Europe, the devastating effects of decades of austerity, neoliberal trade agreements, and an orientation towards multinational corporations have been challenged. That challenge in the U.S. and elsewhere has come in the form of xenophobic nationalism. There is a significant amount of truth to this as well, but it can’t explain much of Trump’s success without acknowledging the serious appeal that open white nationalism and misogyny has gained in this election.Perhaps the most revealing aspect of this moment is that after spending months describing Trump as a grave threat to the lives of women, people of color, queer and trans people and the disabled, the entire Democratic Party has immediately capitulated to him. They have made clear that they always held preserving their broken system to be far more important than our lives. Many among their base are for the first time seeing the party’s true colors, and are reaching out to radical organizations in the interest of carrying on the fight that the Democrats so quickly abandoned. Already we are seeing attacks on muslims, immigrants, people of every color besides white, queer and trans people. This is not abstract, it is already happening. We should expect more of this and must make organizing to oppose it a top priority.

So, what do we do?

 We are encouraged that so many have taken to the streets across the country. We hope more will do the same. Trump’s attacks in the form of policy and his supporters physical attacks and intimidation, must be opposed from day one.

Our organizations must be effective. The sense of despair many are feeling is grounded in the reality of an ascendant far right. Right now, they face little resistance. The sense of urgency many of us have felt is a recognition of the need to build that resistance. It is time for us to take up that task, to find new comrades ready to fight, and to fight. No one is coming to save us–we cannot use the electoral system to fight the far right effectively. It’s time to stop waiting and defend each other in the streets!

What Needs to Be Done: 1. No to National “healing”, working with, or a grace period for the Trump Regime 2. Take to the streets – build a militant resistance 3. Build working-class defense organizations that resist racist attacks, sexual assault, immigration and homeland security raids and deportations, police brutality and state repression 4. Agitate and organize for workers actions – including a general strike against Trump 5. No to containment of the struggle back into the Democratic Party, electoralism and the Non-Profit Industrial Complex

A PDF of the full article can be read HERE:

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Permanent State Of Emergency, Permanent Revolution.

        It is approximately a year since the introduction of the "state of emergency" in France. All states jump at the opportunity to introduce a "state of emergency", if they feel that there is the possibility of increase protests against their ideology. The state of emergency in France was supposedly introduce to prevent terror. However, it has been used against all manner of protests, those protesting the new labour laws in France have come in for some very brutal treatment, with the judiciary drawing on the new emergency powers to bring down its heavy hand on those who were involved in those protest. Youth have been at the receiving end of this increased repression.Thousands of arrests, hundreds of thousands injured, hundreds of homes searched, and increased police repression in the neighbourhoods. It all adds up to more control over the population, dressed up as protecting them from terrorists. Of course France is not unique in this respect, with any state, it is always control at all costs.

This from Revolution Permanente.

Rather a poor translation from the French, but still readable: 

        Almost a year after the events of November 13 become the permanent state of emergency as it celebrates its first anniversary. A year state of emergency that Bernard Cazeneuve detailed figures on Monday during a working meeting "against terrorism and radicalization." Not surprisingly, it is in terms of the effectiveness of repression in preventing the attacks that Interior Minister wished to emphasize. War weapons seizures, number of "radicalized" expelled, everything is good to justify the state of emergency. A yet all relative efficacy to prevent attacks, but extremely effective to suppress the protesters against the Labour Law and strengthen the security noose in the neighborhoods. Here is our statistical assessment of the state of emergency. Damien Bernard Before an audience of prefects and prosecutors, Cazeneuve presented a quantified assessment of its state of emergency. More than 4,000 administrative searches, nearly 95 house arrest still in force, nearly 600 firearms seized "with 77 weapons of war." Moreover, nearly 500 arrests were carried out which resulted in 426 police custody. Nearly 430 prohibitions from leaving the country, and 54 websites blockages making "apology for terrorism" and a twenty mosques and prayer rooms closed because "radicalized" are also counted.
         Effective against terrorism. Really ? The figures announced by the Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve on Monday 7th November at a meeting on counter-terrorism, aim to demonstrate the effectiveness of counter-terrorism measures taken by the government as part of the state 'emergency. An address especially for reassurance about the terrorist threat. We would then be in good hands, the measures taken by the government have borne fruit. Yet to become permanent emergency, inherited his exceptional measures of the war in Algeria, the extension of police powers, the acceleration of judicial procedures, are in no case prevented the attacks, as the illustrated those of Nice, or priest murdered at the Eglise Saint-Etienne du Rouvray. In his book A president should not say this, Hollande himself confessed having used the state of emergency to rein in environmentalists during the Cop21. And to our camp, what assessment of the state of emergency? Yet while Cazeneuve completeness boasts with its "results" on combating terrorism, he fails another assessment of the state of emergency. Thus, in the June 17, according Bastamag, they are at least 753 people, including a hundred people under 18 who have been pursued since the beginning of the mobilization against the Labour Law end of March. Among these procedures, 135 were cleared away. Overall, two-thirds of lawsuits aimed violence to the police, 79 damage, 133 relate to "participation in an armed gathering." The state of emergency is also the brutal police repression during the protests, including youth, more than 5,000 arrests, and hundreds or thousands of injured, a figure at least difficult to determine as the census make invisible by the media most often injured from our side.
       Justice at two speeds. For the protesters, it is accelerating, for the police slowed down! After the police repression, it was the accelerated justice that fell on the protesters, in the form of double punishment. Under the effect of the state of emergency, justice was at least expeditious. The judicial institution has distinguished itself for its rapidity in putting the demonstrators in prison, sometimes reserving a reprieve by chance. Under police pressure, immediate appearances were legion often leading to heavier penalties, including for persons with a criminal record. On the other hand, cases involving police forces dragged on, and ended most often by non-places. Exceptionally, suspended when the aggression is too big, filmed and seen by millions of people, as for the policeman who struck the young student of Bergson. Strengthening the repression in the neighborhoods, trade union repression is not to be outdone! The state and its police forces did not wait for a state of emergency to repress young people from working-class neighborhoods. Techniques of repression that are inherited from the colonial era and structurally affect racialized people. The state of emergency resulted in an increase in the police presence in the neighborhoods, an increase in the controls on the facies, and led to an increase in Islamophobic acts, the tracking of the "radicalized" Muslims encouraging it. But it is also the trade union repression that has leapt, post-Labor law. In particular, trade union repression took place on SNCF railway workers, with the cancellation of two railway workers in Strasbourg, and numerous cases of judicial repression. They are also ex-employees of the CGT Goodyear, who are subject to two years of suspended prison. Many UL secretaries are under the patronage or judicial repression, as for Reynald Kubecki, co-secretary of UL CGT Le Havre. State of emergency until when? One year already. The "state of emergency" which was "not to last" was extended following the bombing in Nice on 14 July. On 21 July, deputies and senators voted to extend the state of emergency for six months, until January 2017. This state of emergency has become permanent and the government has reinforced it lately following the Police demonstrations, with an additional 100 million, to strengthen the means of repression of the police. At the same time, where Cazeneuve boasted his record of the state of emergency, Manuel Valls was at the same time doing everything possible to convince the tourists who deserted the Hexagon to return thanks among other things to the release of 15 million Of additional euros supposed to allow the security in Ile-de-France, notably through the installation of surveillance cameras. So that this government does not pass the relay of the state of emergency to the right, which could succeed it, it is indeed to the construction of a front against the state of emergency and for the defense of our rights Democratic processes to be organized.

Continue reading, (in French):

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