For A Free Society, Prisons Must Be Destroyed.

 

        Prisons are one of the state's repressive tools, they are brutal places, where ever aspect of your life is at the whim of the repressive administration. Apart from over crowded and insanitary conditions, there is the abuse by the corporate bodies that use prisoners as very profitable slave labour, in this particular field I believe American leads the field. Now it seems they are going one step further in this abuse and exploitation with a rolling out of a new scheme which bans those incarcerated from receiving fresh fruit and veg from their families and friends. Packages for prisoners can now only be made through named vendors. This is just another cruel and vindictive aspect of this savage inhumane state repressive machine. Denying prisoners of healthy food and squeezing more money from families and friends while at the same time, increasing the profit of selected corporate bodies. True capitalism, profit before humanity.

          This from It's Going Down

      The thugs who run the NYS prison system (NYS DOCCS) has issued a new directive (4911A) that describes new, draconian package rules that they are testing in 3 prisons as a ‘pilot program’. This directive comes in the wake of petty rule crackdowns after the escape of two prisoners from Clinton prison in 2015. Reports have trickled in about long term prisoners losing their trailer visits, hoodies being eliminated and even more bitterness on the part of the guards. This past fall, political prisoner Herman Bell was beat down by 3 or more guards, others like Ramsey Orta had to deal with transfer way upstate and have been assaulted by staff. Basically, staff thinks they can do what they want.
     Currently, at most facilities, family and friends can drop off packages at the front desk when visiting, packages that include fresh fruit and vegetables that supplement the high carb/sugar, meager diet provided by DOCCS. Although you have to deal with the guards and their bullshit attitude about what can and cannot come into the prison, at the end, you know your friend or family member will be getting to eat some fresh fruit, vegetables and treats they cannot possibly get from DOCCS.
      These new rules are horrible in so many ways including:
1. Packages can be ordered only from approved vendors (so basically, some corporations will win out and have a guaranteed market to sell overpriced processed food).
2. Fresh fruit and vegetables are not allowed.
3. Family and friends cannot drop off packages while visiting. All packages must be shipped through the vendor.
4. Each person is limited to ordering three packages a month for him or herself and receiving three packages a month from others. Each package cannot be more than 30 pounds. Of the 30 pounds per package, only 8 pounds can be food.
5. Allowable items will be the same in all facilities. (No more local permits.)
6. There are far fewer items allowed than before and of the items that are allowed, far less variety. This includes additional restrictions on clothing.
7. The pilot rules are not clear about how books, media, religious items and literature, or other items subject to First Amendment protection will be treated. This could mean that prison book programs like Books through Bars will not be able to send free books to the 52,000 people in the prison system.
       The pilot program implements an “approved venders only” package system. This means that only packages from approved vendors will be accepted. The vendors appear to be companies that specialize in shipping into prisons and jails. There are currently five approved vendors identified on the DOCCS website. This amounts to a cash grab for these companies.
        The pilot program is starting at three facilities: Taconic, Greene, and Green Haven. Those facilities will stop accepting packages from non-approved vendors on January 2, 2018.

          A call to organise against this callous, vicious and vindictive piece of repression and money grabbing action:

       We have to make this package directive unworkable. These new rules are cruel; eliminating fresh fruit and vegetables and creating massive profits for the vampire companies that will fill the niche.

WE CAN ORGANIZE TO ROLL THESE RULES BACK.

Some ideas how:

1.) Sign the petition- share it with your address book, share it on twitter, share it on facebook. It takes two seconds. https://diy.rootsaction.org/…/no-package-restrictions-for-n…

2.) Get in touch with your people in NYS Prisons and let them know about this. Inform them, send them the info. Massive non-cooperation on the part of NYS prisoners will have to play a huge role in this. People inside know how to make things unworkable.

3.) Flood the politicians with postcards and letters. Send one to Governor Cuomo and one to Anthony Annucci, the acting commissioner of DOCCS.

Andrew M. Cuomo Governor of New York State NYS State Capitol Building Albany, NY 12224

Acting Commissioner Anthony Annucci NYS DOCCS Building 2, State Campus Albany, NY 12226

Some sample text:

Dear Governor Cuomo,
This holiday season is about giving, not taking away. I object to the new DOCCS package rules.
From,
(Your Name)
(Your relationship to people in prison, if applicable)

Dear Acting Commissioner Annucci,
The new DOCCS package pilot punishes innocent families. Having a loved one in prison is already expensive and difficult—the new rules make it worse. Rescind the package pilot!
From,
(Your Name)
(Your relationship to people in prison, if applicable)

4.) Call Cuomo’s office and leave a message about it. You won’t have to talk to anyone. Just leave your message. 518-474-8390

5.) Email
Cuomo: http://www.governor.ny.gov/content/governor-contact-form
Annuci anthony.annucci@doccs.ny.gov

6.) Tweet at Cuomo: @NYGovCuomo

7) Get friendly media to cover this issue, to talk to family members of people inside and spread the word.

       Though I agree that prison reform is a dead end, and the prison system must be demolished, we must always show our solidarity with those trapped in this brutal state system of repression.

Turn The Anarchist Within You Free.

 

        I always maintain that we are all anarchists at heart, but some are afraid to admit that fact. Nobody likes to continually be told what to do, we all want to choose our own way of life, we don't like to see people suffer without wanting to help, we all want to be treated equally and fairly, we don't want to see people being exploited for the benefit of the few. However, the vast majority forego these desires and comply with a system that day and daily curtails all these inner desires. It might be fear of losing what little they have, it might be that they are conditioned by the babbling brook of bullshit, our mainstream media, into believing that there is no other way than the greed driven system of capitalism. There is, it is to join with others in seeking the fulfilment of these inner desires, community based mutual aid, solidarity between those communities, thinking for ourselves and refusing to be constrained and fitted into little boxes that suit this system of authority and exploitation. Believing in your inner desires to be free, co-operative and fair, giving in to the anarchist that lives within yourself, and wishes to be free.

Happy New Year.

      Happy New Year to all the world.  Well 2017 has gone and 2018 comes with all our hopes and desires, the gift of tomorrow is ours if we desire it enough, but you have to admit, that was one helluva party!!

2017 New Year's Revolutions from Happy New Fear on Vimeo.

It's Very Simple, It's So Easy---.

 

      Following on from the last post on refugees, a beautiful moving poem, Thanks Loam.

The sea and the earth common pits,
the rain, acid, and the sun, thirsty;
the feet boots, the feet obstacles,
the shoulders load, the eyes tears:

invincible bodies passed out.

If your country did not have oil, coltan or any coveted wealth,
or if you were white or if you were rich,
if you were hetero or co-religionist,
if you wear a veil or if you do not wear it,

if you were what you are not and do not want and can not be,
if you were not you
you should not run away from your house and your landscape and from your air and your water.

Barbed doors and hosts
the soldiers, and, if there is no death, field
of extermination for men,
women, children and girls
refugees.

If we were human - I do not say yet in solidarity -
if we had a brain - I still do not say, thought-
if we were respectful - no, I do not say tolerant-
if we had heart, eyes and arms, and curiosity
- I have not said love, hug, look or desire to know-

if we were not what we are because we want
and because we can,
if we were not us
you should not run away from your house and your landscape and from your air and your water.

What is all this plot we have hatched
to create a problem that does not exist?
What is all this technical-economic gibberish
irrefutable?

Lie.
Nothing of that.
No, nothing.

It's very simple, it's
So easy
so much:

welcome
home, welcome,
let's share
bread and salt.

Isabel Rivas Etxaniz

The EU War Against Refugees.

        No doubt tonight, as the clock strikes midnight, there will be celebrations across the globe, parties, food and drink, much merry making and comradeship. However, not for everybody, poverty, deprivation, imprisonment and detention centres, don't evaporate, refugees don't suddenly find a home. The suffering continues, it's just that most of us shut it out for a spell, perhaps we need a break from the poison fruits of the capitalist system and from the various states' power-grid of phoney borders, but we should not forget, the EU war against refugees takes no holidays.

This from Enough is Enough:

The Militarisation of Lesvos:

             Sometimes you don’t know where to start. Maybe that  Twitter “temporarily” warns people for my personal Twitter account because of “suspicious activities” (Hey Twitter maybe I logged in with a Greek IP adress because I am in Greece right now..)???
        But to be honest that’s a typical first world problem in comparison to the war against refugees the EU member states are fighting here on Lesvos. If you walk along the harbor of Mytilini, the capital of Levos island, you still see them; the small picturesque fisher boats. But nowadays you have to focus on these beautiful small boats to see them. When you see the big canons of a British “Border Force” ship, you start to ask yourself are they going to shoot and sink the dinghy boats with refugees one day? The big navy and Frontext ships are dominating the little harbor of Mytilini.
           And yes these ships also rescued a lot of refugees, but the Greek coastguard ships were also involved in illegal pushbacks to Turkey. Something the Turkish coastguard ships were also involved in. Sometimes the Turkish and Greek coastguard ships also attack the people on the dinghy boats with sticks or even sunk them, as can be seen on footage in a documentary I made here in September
       In the harbor of Mytilini I saw navy and Frontex ships from Bulgaria, Great Brittain, Greece and Italy. They are patrolling the sea between Turkey and Lesvos island. But you also see a lot of military- and Frontext vehicles on Lesvos. They come from countries like the Netherlands, Italy and Greece (just to name a few). The whole island is full of cops and military. Refugees get randomly checked in the city center of Mytilini all the time. You can observe several of these racial profiling operations when you drink a coffee on Sappho square. Day by day.

       The mutual aid work that we are doing here is one part, but we also document the situation and try to support people who are in danger to get deported. This all takes place in a hostile and militarized environment. In September I was chased by cops while taking pictures of the Moria Camp and last week a cops also wanted to check me, but I was lucky both times and was fast enough. The long days of buying food, sanitary products and other things people need for their daily life, documenting the situation and the work on legal issues and political stuff take their toll. I planned to report every day, but often I am to tired to write anything after the long days of work on the island. 
      Today is the last day of 2017, many people will celebrate New Years Eve but I don’t feel like celebrating at all and I have to save energy for the coming weeks. As part of the Cars of Hope team I will celebrate a bit with some of the people who are stuck here on Lesvos. I have a lot of wishes for the coming year, but I am afraid the EU member states will intensify their war against refugees.

Read the full article and view more videos HERE:

Will 2018 Hear The People Sing?

         Well, you hit me with struggles, you set me some difficult problems, you gave me anxiety and you inflicted me with pain, but I never fell to the ground, I don't hold any of that against you. However you also filled me with hope, you let me find solidarity, circled me with strong comrades and you crowned me with some victories, for that I am forever grateful. But out you go, 2017, I'm ready to take on your sibling, 2018.

       What will the new year bring, for sure there will be bitter struggles, defeats and victories, but each year we learn, we adapt, we keep our eye on the target, and we move forward. Tomorrow will be ours, as they say, "hope springs eternal", and with that we can always continue the struggle. No matter how uneven the struggle may appear, just remember the words of the song Little People from Les Miserables.

Little People from Les Miserables:

GAVROCHE
They laugh at me, these fellas,
Just because I am small
They laugh at me because I'm not hundred feet tall!
I tell 'em there's aot to learn down here on the ground
The world is big, but little people turn it around!
A worm can roll a stone
A bee can sting a bear
A fly can fly around Versailles
'Cos flies don't care
A sparrow in a hut
Can make a happy home
A flea can bite the bottom
Of the Pope in Rome
Gaoliath was a buiser who was tall as the sky.
But David threw a right and gave him one in the eye.
I never read the Bible but I know that it's true
It only goes to show what little people can do!
ALL
A worm can roll a stone
A bee can sting a bear
A fly can fly around Versailles
'Cos flies don't care
A sparrow in a hut
Can make a happy home
A flea can bite the bottom
Of the Pope in Rome
GAVROCHE
So listen here professor,
With your head in the cloud.
It's often kind of useful
To get lost in the crowd.
So keep your universities
I don't give a damn
For better or for worse it is
The way that I am!
Be careful where you go
'Cos little people grow...
And little people know
When little people fight
We may look easy pickings but we got some bite!
So never kick a dog because he's just a pup
You better run for cover when the pup grows up!
And we'll fight like twenty armies
And we won't give up
ALL
A worm can roll a stone
A bee can sting a bear
A fly can fly around Versailles
'Cos flies don't care
A sparrow in a hut
Can make a happy home
A flea can bite the bottom
Of the Pope in Rome

Who knows, perhaps in 2018, we will hear the people sing.

The Virgin Vampire Of The NHS.

 

      While we sit in a cloud of illusions, and hear the false voices of the ruling parasite class, reassure us, that the "NHS is safe in their hands", silently, surreptitiously, it is being gobbled up by the vampires of the corporate world. Despite the phoney sickening syrup sounds falling from the mouth of the health secretary whose name sounds like a term that could be used to describe him, the Right Honourable Jeremy Hunt, is presiding over the wholesale privatising of the NHS.

        Vultures, vampires and parasites of the corporate world  are feasting on the inners of the NHS, with that self centred waste of space and tax dodger Branson leading the charge for plunder.

       From The Guardian:

       Richard Branson’s Virgin Care won a record £1bn of NHS contracts last year, as £3.1bn of health services were privatised despite a government pledge to reduce the proportion of care provided by private companies.
       Overall, private firms scooped 267 – almost 70% – of the 386 clinical contracts that were put out to tender in England during 2016-17, according to a new report. They included the seven highest value contracts, worth £2.43bn between them, and 13 of the 20 most lucrative tenders.
        The £3.1bn in contracts, a big rise on the previous year’s £2.4bn, prompted concern that profit-driven companies are increasingly involved in delivering care, in a development that undermines repeated assurances by the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, that they play only a marginal role.

        Don't listen to what they say, watch what they do, our bunch of Right Honourable Gentlemen, speak with forked tongue. Not only do lots of the vampires of the corporate world who snatch large chunks of the NHS, avoid paying tax, but when the lose a contract to a public, or charitable body, the sue. How dare public bodies tender for health care contracts, don't they know that the philosophy from the Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption is "privatise everything"?

        Virgin’s £1bn haul means it now has over 400 separate NHS contracts.
       Its growing role has prompted particular anger among anti-privatisation groups. It pays no tax in the UK and its ultimate parent company, Virgin Group Holdings Ltd, is based in the British Virgin Islands, a tax haven.
        In addition, it came under fire for suing six clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in Surrey, NHS England and Surrey county council last year after losing an £82m contract for children’s services to a rival bid involving a local NHS trust and two social enterprises. A settlement of the action appears to have involved the six CCGs paying Virgin an undisclosed sum.

        It is naive in the extreme to believe that by lobbying those Right Honourable Gentlemen, that sit in those Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption, to get them to "save our NHS" will reap any results what so ever. Most of them have friends, shares, contacts and possible future lucrative jobs in that self same privatised health care gravy train. Much better to start by closing down that cesspool of of pompous power and privilege, The Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption, and set about dismantling the destructive, exploitative corrupt, greed driven system of capitalism. Any attempt at reforming or modifying this cancer on the planet is doomed to repeat the injustices, poverty, deprivation and wars of the present variant. Capitalism cannot be reformed.

Ah, the Kyles of Bute.

       Heading off for about a week, so the wee blog will have a rest for a while. I'm deserting the city I love, Glasgow, for the tranquillity of Tighnabruaich on the shores of The Kyles of Bute. If you have ever sailed the Kyles of Bute, you have had a wee slice of paradise. We will be staying just two miles outside Tighnabruaich. It will be a case of books, paper and pen, and when weather permits a bit of walking, though that gets harder these days. Looking forward to the wee break, and from the madness of this time of year, midst the mayhem of consumemas.

A Revolution With A Laugh.

     There are lots of ways to get your message across, demos, protests, meetings, occupy, leaflets, discussions, forming groups, direct action, solidarity groups, etc., etc.. However, has it all become too po-faced and serious? Anarchists are people with a rough road map to that better world, but perhaps where a more serious approach fails, we should launch a giggle fest, and capture people's imagination with a laugh. Humour is a rich and fertile field, parody and satire are sharp weapons, ridicule can destroy the the persona of the pompous, and it can all be very enjoyable. Remember Emma Goldman's quote; “If I Can’t Dance, I Don’t Want To Be Part of Your Revolution”, though there is doubt she actually said those words, but you get my drift.

This article by @muse from Anarchist News:

Anarchists storm, occupy, helium factory

       Why are anarchists so serious all the time? Where are the flash mobs, the parodies, the theatre? Pranks are fun to execute with friends and also a great way to fuck with the State.
       Many are familiar with the Situationist concept of detournement, but what about when Crass spliced together audio from speeches given by Ronald Regan and Margaret Thatcher and released it anonymously and the tape was taken seriously by the government as legitimate soviet propaganda?
      Jello Biafra ran for mayor of San Francisco with the slogan "There's always room for Jello." All he needed was 1500 signatures or $1500 to receive equal airtime as other candidates, which he spent thoroughly mocking the entire political process. He finished third out of tenth place.
     Jello may have been inspired by the Yippies, who threw fistfuls of money from the balcony of the New York Stock Exchange. Imagine witnessing the traders, some of them booing, as others scrambled to grab as much as they could, clutching the notes in greedy fists.
      Not only were these pranks hilarious, but they earned political, social, and media attention in a way that in their frame of history protected them from the negative legal ramifications.
      Why don't we do more fun things? Must everything be so clinically serious and/or dangerously illegal? Is there room in the gray for cutting up and showing spoof to power?
     Oscar Wilde is incorrectly quoted as saying, "If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you." Regardless of whether this was said or not, there is a point: sometimes you can say things in jest that you can't say seriously. It's not currently illegal to make audio projects that challenge the boundaries of free use and copyright law, or to run for political office as an art stunt, or to parody famous figures to highlight their absurdity. Stunts like these are fun, and they also capture the attention of broader audiences because they disrupt assumptions on all sides–they make people laugh, and then they make them think. Is there room for innovation in the vacuum of dry, serious, deliberation?
       What are some of your favorite historically acknowledged pranks? Are there still opportunities for more? What fantasies might you unleash as pranks that seriously stick it to the State?

Revolt in Songs, A night To Remeber.

 

 

       Well last night's Spirit of Revolt, Revolt in Songs event, was a resounding success, a full venue, and a range of performers from all airts an' pairts o' the country, a wonderful night. I would like to thank all the performers for coming along and doing their thing with passion, skill and gusto, A big thank you to all those behind the scenes who made it happen, a special thanks to Brendan our MC for a great job, as well as entertaining us with some fine songs and excellent guitar playing. A special thanks to all those who turned up at the door, paid their money, and I know they had a great time. I'm sure we will do it again. The Spirit of Revolt calendar at £5, went well on the night, to all those unfortunate individuals who missed this great night, but would still like to purchase a calendar give us a wee call at john(dot)c(dot)at95@btinternet.com or through Facebook, and if you're local to Glasgow, we will get it to you in a couple of days.

 For some reason the 8 is missing on this photo, but it is on the calendar.

        Once again a great big thank you to all those involved, in which ever way.

        Unfortunately the lighting in the venue did not lend itself to good photos, at least not for an amateur like me, but Bob recorded it, so there will be a wee video of the event coming out soon, thanks Bob.

Some of the performers, I apologise for not getting them all, and sorry for the poor quality of photographs:

Solidarity.

     We have a problem, what's the answer,--solidarity. State repression is increasing, what's the answer,--solidarity. The corporate world is destroying the planet, what's the answer,--solidarity. Our people are being brutally exploited, what's the answer,--solidarity. The powerful and wealthy are screwing us, what's the answer, --solidarity. 

     I don't think we can ever over estimate the importance of solidarity in our fight to rid this world of the festering cancer of capitalism, it is our most powerful weapon, it doesn't recognise borders, like the poem says, "You are many, they are few", in solidarity we can reshape this world and create that better world for us all.

     So with that thought in mind, I thought I would go into over-kill, with some videos that bring a bit of a glow to the heart. Thanks Loam for the links.

There Can Be No Compromise.

 

         As the old year starts to fade and the new year beckons, it is a time for anarchists to reflect on the struggles of the past, our successes and how to improve on them, our failures and how to reverse them. It is also time to analyse the weakness and the strengths of our adversary, the economic system under which we live. Weakness there are plenty, its only strength is our apathy. We are all aware that the state is ramping up repression, as more and more people become not just disenchanted with the government, but disgusted by its callous support for the corporate world at the expense of the people. Deteriorating conditions among our people is encouraging more and more individuals to get involved in this battle for justice and equality. Our vision of justice and equality must see through all borders, we can never recognise those arbitrary lines drawn on the planet's surface by power mongers. Also we must not forget those comrades who have paid dearly in this struggle for a better world, some paid by being imprisoned, others paid with their life.
      These are very dangerous times, capitalist power blocks are vying to increase their dominance in certain areas, and are defending their bases in others, with the extremely high risk of existing wars escalating in to a globe catastrophe. A reshuffling of the power mongers territory is usually done by shedding the blood of millions of our people. 

      So let’s come together in the knowledge that the capitalist system is in turmoil, with chaos the main ingredient, and the various states are struggling as the illusion of their legitimacy evaporates like fog in the sun. It is an ideal time to increase our actions, but only after, with a critical eye, we reflect on where we are, and where we want to go, and how to get our communities more involved.
       Dangerous times, but times loaded with opportunities, their chaos and turmoil is our garden of opportunity, we have nothing to lose, and a world to gain, but that takes critical analysis, organisation, solidarity, community involvement and determination. It is their world, or it is our world, there can be no compromise.

 

A Night To Remember, And A Calendar!!

 

           The last count down to the musical event you will not want to miss, Spirit of Revolt's fund raiser, on Wednesday 20th December, at The Old Hairdressers, 20-28 Renfield Lane, doors open 6:45, the show gets under way 7pm. It is shaping up to be a night you will remember, see you there.

         Spirit of Revolt is run by volunteers, with no affiliation to political parties or trade unions, we rely on our friends and comrades donations and our fund raising efforts to keep this valuable resource growing and available to the general public. This year as well as our annual raffle, we have put together a special Calendar, (A4 size) that no self respecting anti-authoritarian would want to be without. It is unique and informative, it will be on sale at the event on Wednesday, but for those poor individuals who will miss the event, but would like the calendar, drop us a line, john(dot)c(dot)at95@btinternet.com and if you are local to Glasgow we will get it to you within a couple of days. This brilliant anarchist calendar will only cost you a miserly £5.   

The program for Wednesday evening: