Cesspool.

        So health secretary Hancock acted unlawfully while dishing out government contracts, and a government contract given to his neighbour is being investigated, while Boris's chum Cummings, say that the fact that two of his mates got a government contract had nothing to do with him. Sort of makes you hold your nose, doesn't it? These are just the ones that come to light at the moment, but we all know that the handing out of government contracts during this pandemic has been a wonderful opportunity to throw taxpayers money at the rich and powerful friends of Her Majesty's Government. Let's not be to harsh in singling out Hancock, he is just one of an army of greed driven parasites that hold the reigns of power.
       Hancock, of course says that what he and his cronies did was the right thing in the circumstances. So in his eyes it's alright to act unlawfully if you think it is the right thing to do in the circumstances. Boy does that open the door for lots of our actions at protests and direct actions etc. If you find your self in court after protesting against injustice, you can claim the "Hancock" defence, it was necessary under the circumstances. He gets off with that defence, why not you.
        Of course we all know that's not how it works, there is one law for you and another for that wee bunch of powerful parasites. Let's face it, this society with its power and privileges for the wealthy is nothing more than a suppurating cesspool, which is poisoning all walks of life. It is pointless to call for Hancock or those of his ilk, to be replaced, as they will just be replaced with another one of the "Old Boys" network.

 

        The ordinary people have to be ruthless and completely drain and demolish that cesspool, forget trying to clean it up, that has never worked in the past and it will never work in the future. It may be difficult, but we have the road map, it's called "Anarchism" 

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Coiled Spring.

 

       One of our government pundits stated that the economy was like a coiled spring, and would bounce up quickly. I believe that the underlying anger of the people is like a coiled spring, and that as this lockdown and pandemic comes to an end, and unemployment and slashed working conditions start to make their mark, that anger in the coiled spring will be released. In so doing it will bounce up and reverse that submissive attitude that has affected all our actions like a thick gum. Some of the coils are already releasing their energy, all for different aspects of this type of society. Spain, against the arrest of rapper, Pablo Hasél, in India, the largest strike in the world, because of the government pushing its neo-liberal free market policies. There may be different reasons but the anger is there and will thrust itself up like that released coiled spring.

     There will be plenty to vent that anger on, child poverty, homelessness, unemployment, inhumane treatment of migrants, police brutality against public protests, the privatisation of the the NHS and other public assets, and the myriad of population controls introduced during the pandemic, which our lords and masters will attempt to retain. Then of course there will be the anger against the oncoming austerity engineered to pay back the billions handed to their corporate friends, to keep their luxury yachts well stocked. 

       We should never pull back from showing our anger at the injustice and inequality that is the bed rock of the capitalist exploitation system. What we must try to do is link up all this anger with that of other countries, we must organise across borders. Our corporate overlords, are well versed in that cross border organising, in conjunction with the various states. The ordinary people of this world must never recognise borders, we are all in the same struggle against the same state backed corporate juggernaut. Only unity across these imaginary lines will end this world of wars, exploitation, injustice and inequality. Let's release that coiled spring of anger, and in the words of an old Korean saying, "Enjoy the ecstasy of your righteous anger".

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Bailout Scam.

        How long will it be before the public at large get really pissed off with being shafted generation after generation? In this capitalist system the bigger you are the less you play by the rules. In capitalism, when a small business runs into financial difficulties, it goes bust. However if you are a very large capitalist business, and you run into difficulties, then there is every chance that the government will bail you out with tax payers money. This is not new due to the pandemic, it is standard practice and has been for generations. The pandemic has just opened the sluice valves that bit wider. Of course it is not just happening here in the UK, it's part and parcel of the capitalist system the world over. America is probably where the largest hand over of tax payers money to big businesses is happening.  

 

 

        Here in the UK we try to mimic the U$A in this bailout scam.  

    While SMEs struggle to gain access to government-backed loans, large corporations have already been bailed out to the tune of approximately £7.5bn via the Bank of England’s newly created Covid Corporate Financing Facility – and it’s all being hidden from public view. ------
----- The most concerning aspect about the CCFF however, is that neither the Bank of England nor the Treasury are being transparent about which corporations have access to the facility. The Bank explicitly states that “the names of issuers and securities purchased or eligible will not be made public” and recipient companies are even required to sign a confidentiality agreement regarding their participation in the scheme.
       A few companies however have seemingly broken this agreement by publicly announcing the support they’ve received through the CCFF. This includes EasyJet, Redrow, and Greggs who have secured £600m, £300m, and £150m respectively. With these sums amounting to £1.5bn, that leaves another £6bn already doled out to some of Britain’s biggest businesses completely in secret. 

       This is just the tip of the bailout iceberg, and all this while the NHS is struggling for more staff, equipment and funding, councils are slashing services to local communities and vulnerable groups are flounder in a morass of  poverty stricken services and facilities, and food banks grow by the day. It is glaringly and blatantly obvious that we the real wealth creators in society, are being plunder and pillaged by the rich and powerful, through the auspices of Her Majesty's Government, yet we tolerate this generation after generation, while watching the ever growing poverty among our children, why? 

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Profit & Misery.

           I wonder when we will grab the bull by the horns and create a civilised society, a society where the locking people up in cages is finally recognised as barbaric and inhumane. When will we see a society where the only reference to this savage activity is in our history books.
         The fact that these degrading institutions are more and more being run by large corporations for profit, makes them even more unacceptable to civilised people. Inflicting misery and violence on fellow humans for corporate gain condemns them beyond the pale. Profit will always strip away at conditions, making prisons even more damaging to the mental and physical health of those caught up in this human crushing machine. In these inhuman institutions there is never enough money for medical care, security and profit come first. So it comes as no surprise that there have been approximately 260 people infected with covid19 in Kilmarnock prison. This particular human degradation institution is run by SERCO, a company that is no stranger to useing human misery to enhance its profit margins. Apart from prisons, Serco have been grabbing a slice of public money to harvest a profit from the misery of migrants.
        As long as we follow the economic madness of the capitalist system, making money from human misery will be an acceptable method of enhancing shareholders' bank accounts. If we dare to call ourselves civilised, then we have to erase any possibility of this type of enterprise entering the human chain of thought. A civilised society will only grow from the dust of demolished prisons and an end to the profit motive.

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Bias?

       Isn't it interesting how the Western mainstream media are always showing the police violence in places like Russia and Hong Kong, yet police violence in the EU doesn't seem to get much of an airing. Do you think there might be a wee bit of bias there? Police violence is part and parcel of the state system, not as the media would try to have you believe, that it's a product of bad evil states, who, by some strange coincidence, don't fit into the Western capitalist model.
      States and police are co-joined twins, and the job of the police is to dish out what ever violence they deem necessary to protect the power and privileges of the state, no matter the shade, shape or other characteristics of that state. What kind of person takes on the job of beating up their fellow citizens to protect the rich and powerful, who don't give a shit about their paid minders, or the citizens.

 

  

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Failed System.

            The rich developed West, overflowing with wealth, a parasite class living in obscene opulence side by side with outrageous child poverty. The UK, 5th or 6th richest nation on the planet belongs to that unique club where child poverty is above 26%, we are in keeping with other countries that fail miserably to see to the health and welfare of the next generation. In that rich conglomerate of nation states belonging to the world's largest trading block, the EU, (I know that UK is no longer a member, but these figures were compiled shortly before we left.) there are 12 nation states where child poverty is above 26%, with Bulgaria and Romania champions of European child poverty, with Bulgaria at approximately 46% and Romania approximately 49%.

 

 
          This is modern capitalism at work, luxury yachts, grand mansions, tax havens, power and privileges for a small band of leeching parasites and struggle and poverty for the many with children bearing the blunt of this greed driven system of exploitation for profit.
         Large corporations dictate economic policy to the various governments and they put the stamp of legitimacy on them, then enforce the implementation on the population, all to the detriment of the people and the benefit of the corporate parasite class.
         Child poverty will remain with us as long as we tolerate this capitalist system where the holy grail is the economy, where the only reason for any form of production is for profit. Common sense tells us that it would by much better and fairer for all in society, if we built it round a state free public ownership and co-operatives, organised by the communities in co-operation with each other, and all free from the profit motive. However don't expect our prancing political ballerinas and their corporate paymasters to arrange that for you, that task will have to be up to us, to throw their rule book in the bin and take control and shape society to see to the needs of all our people, only then will we see child poverty turn into something your read about in the history books.

 

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Assassination?

          Did President Trump order the assassination of an American citizen on American soil? That's the question some people are asking after the killing of activist and antifascist Michael Reinoehl.

It's Going Down reports on the incident:

        A look at the evidence surrounding the State killing of Portland-area protester Michael Reinoehl – which begs the question, just who directed what seems to be – his execution?
By John Teufel
        That Michael Reinoehl was murdered is hardly in doubt. Whether he was assassinated remains an open question.
         We know the events of September 3rd with some certainty. Five days earlier, Reinoehl had killed a man named Aaron Danielson in downtown Portland. Local police had already publicly named him as a suspect – Reinoehl was a fugitive, and feared that his own death was imminent. Now, Reinoehl was trying to hide at an apartment in Lacey, Washington, a suburb of Olympia. At this, he was failing, as FBI agents watched silently outside.
Murder
       At approximately 6:45 PM, Reinoehl finished a phone call with a friend and left the apartment, walking toward his car parked outside. As he did so, a contingent of U.S. marshals and local police in SUVs approached him at rapid speed. Reinoehl had a cell phone against his ear, and popped a gummy worm into his mouth. He opened his car door and started to get inside. The SUVs reached Reinoehl and, before coming to a complete stop, federal agents and cops descended with weapons drawn. No commands were issued. Within seconds, law enforcement opened fire. Reinoehl tried to duck for cover behind his vehicle, but the barrage of shots – 37 rounds in total – was relentless.
       Medical aid was half-heartedly administered (chest compressions, with the officer still standing) eight minutes after Reinoehl had been pumped with bullets. It wouldn’t have made a difference even if done right. Reinoehl died fast – likely in seconds, according to the coroner.
        Of the 22 civilian witnesses present at Reinoehl’s death, 21 stated that police never issued any commands or announced themselves before opening fire. Five eyewitnesses stated that the gunfire began as soon as the vehicles arrived on the scene. None saw Reinoehl with a gun. One witness initially assumed he was watching a drug-related gang hit, until he noticed the bulletproof vests worn by the shooters.

Read the full article HERE

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       Stuart Christie, who dead recently was a remarkable man, an anarchist, with incredible  skills, resilience, and a remarkable history, it is wonderful that his family and friends are creating an archive of his life and work. We must always remember and record our own, the society we live under would rather such people were erased from history, we must never let that happen, we have a rich and remarkable history we should be very proud of, Stuart Christie made it that bit richer. 

The following from Kate Sharpley Library.

Stuart Christie

The Stuart Christie Memorial Archive

       Friends, family and comrades of Stuart Christie have come up with a plan to commemorate his life by creating an archive at London’s Mayday Rooms and online.
      “Stuart’s life may have been plastered with headlines, Britain’s most famous anarchist was the usual description, but the small print of it was what was important. His courage, imagination, his loyalty, not just to what he believed in, but to his friends and family, his remarkable intelligence, his self-deprecating, droll and spiky humour. He was a man of parts, each one of them remarkable.
     “To reveal the richness of Stuart’s life and the many histories he was a part of, we intend to establish a memorial archive in his name. The Stuart Christie Memorial Archive will be housed at the MayDay Rooms in Fleet Street in London.”
      Read more about the project (and donate!) at
https://www.gofundme.com/f/stuart-christie-memorial-archive

 

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Incompatible.

          It is now becoming ever more obvious that the system is falling apart, for generations we have been subject to our rulers rampant aggression and utter contempt, yet the populace at large, continued to hold onto that mythical thought of some sort of alliance between rulers and ruled. Now the truth is so blatantly obvious that this myth has evaporated, leaving bare the true nature of this incompatible relationship. The powerful rulers of society are aware of this now complete disconnect between ruled and ruler, aware that the illusion no longer holds, and the populace see the glaring truth. This makes them extremely dangerous, if they can’t hold onto their power by smoke and mirrors, by weaving illusions, then they will try to do so by force, we must prepare for this inevitability. The disconnect between ruled and ruler is now complete, the glaring inequality and disparity inherent in the system shows that their reality and ours is completely incompatible. 

        We the public can no longer march to their tune, no longer pick up the sword to defend their wealth, no longer shed our blood in their petty power struggles, no longer sweat our lives away cementing their privileged position. Across the globe people are showing that they have finally grasped this irrefutable truth, open rebellion is in the air. The attempted containment will become more brutal, ever increasing restrictions, ever greater surveillance, ever greater punishments for dissent. We organise in solidarity and face it full on, or we revert to that illusion that there is compatibility between rich and powerful rulers and the ruled and once again accept our serfdom, in a tighter and more frightening new world order.

 

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Black Square.

     Lifted this from ANARCHISM on Facebook

★ I am an anarchist in my very own essence ★

Kasimir Malevich.

       "In 1913, trying desperately to liberate art from the ballast of the representational world, I sought refuge in the form of the black square."
Revolutionary anarchist artist and founder of the Suprematist movement, Kasimir Malevich (Казимир Северинович Малевич) was born on Feb. 11, 1878, in Kiev. He is credited with having painted the first geometric, totally nonrepresentational picture.
He was a regular contributor to Anarkhiia, under the pen name Anti - a Russian weekly, then daily newspaper published by the Moscow Federation of Anarchist Groups.
It was first launched in September 1917, but was suspended in the confusion arising over the Bolshevik seizure of power. It reappeared in March 1918 as a daily newspaper. The last issue, the 99th, was published on 2 July 1918.
The paper had a section devoted to Tvorchestvo or "creativity". It featured many prominent Russian avant-garde artists such Aleksei Gan, Aleksandr Rodchenko, Aleksei Morgunov, Ivan Kliun, Olga Rozanova and Nadezhda Udaltsova.
      The Revolution of the Black Square: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lozgR-z2Sck...
Malevich's Black Square: Symbol of Russian Anarchism: https://nulluslocussinegenio.com/.../malevichs-black.../
The Aesthetics of Anarchy : Art and Ideology in the Early Russian Avant-Garde by Nina Gourianova [Book review]: https://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/83bm3h

 

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An Appeal.

       States act with impunity when handing out brutality and do so with the greatest force when it come to those who would dare to demand a change to this authoritarian system that has locked humanity in its grip. A system built on exploitation, by the powerful and privileged, a system that demands submission from the population. Of course they talk of checks and balances on the use of power, however that is always backed up by pieces of paper they have written in their favour, then stamped with their little symbols that is meant to give it legitimacy, therefore binding and can be enforced by what ever force they deem necessary. To appeal to those among the wealthy and privileged to give up some of those privileges and spread that wealth more evenly, is naivety in extreme.
        The Greek state is ahead of the game in Europe, when it comes to trying to crush dissent, though not by much, most states are walking the same path, all at their own pace.
       The following two articles apply to the Greek state, but similarities will be found across the globe.

          At the end of last December the Greek government approved a reform of the national penitentiary system that, in addition to other measures that worsen prison conditions, establishes that those convicted of terrorism cannot access “rural prisons”, more “open” institutions to which long-term prisoners have access. The approval of this law has led to the immediate transfer of political prisoner Dimitri Koufontinas from the rural prison of Kassevitia.
       Dimitri is a comrade convicted for participating in the revolutionary organization 17 November, in prison since 2002. The new set of laws stipulates that inmates in rural prisons are reclassified and then transferred to the last prison they were in. In Dimitri’s case it should have been the Athenian prison of Koridallos. However, the prison administration decided to transfer him, manipulating the transfer papers, to Domokos prison. Although there are no differentiated circuits in Greece, in recent years, the prison administration has turned Domokos into a “hard” prison.
       Such a punitive transfer is aimed at striking a comrade who has always struggled: as a free man, in courtrooms, in prison. Since his capture he has participated in numerous protests and has been on four hunger strikes. This repressive manoeuvre is not only aimed at annihilating Dimitri Koufontinas but also forms part of the Greek’s state repressive project: crushing the most radical and combative parts of society to
avoid the hypothesis of future and general conflicts.
       Faced with the transfer, Dimitri Koufontinas decided to strive once again, using his body as a weapon and last resort. Since 8 January he has begun a hunger strike which will continue indefinitely until he is transferred to Koridallos prison. As the strike continues, the comrade is in a critical and precarious condition in Lamia hospital: according to the doctors he could collapse at any moment. During the strike there were many initiatives and solidarity actions throughout Greece and beyond:
protests, demos, wall writings, banners, attacks against multiple objectives (politicians, banks, post offices, etc.). But time is running out and now we think extra efforts are needed. Dimitri’s struggle is also the struggle of each of us.
        The creation and expansion of international ties is as crucial as ever so we are calling for an INTERNATIONAL day of solidarity and action on FRIDAY 12 FEBRUARY to support Dimitri Koufontinas.

THE DEMAND OF HUNGER STRIKE MUST BE IMMEDIATELY ACCEPTED
INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY IS OUR WEAPON

Athens, 7 February 2021
Solidarity Assembly with Dimitri Koufontinas

And regarding the same case of repression:

           On Monday, February 1/2021 the ′′ Solidarity Assembly with the hunger striker D. Koufontinas ′′ intervened with the participation of dozens of comrades at the Athens Bar Association (solicitors general offices union).
      The intervention included hanging a massive banner on the building and gathering in front of the Board of Directors offices with banners, On Monday, February 1/2021 the ′′ Solidarity Assembly with the hunger striker D. Koufontinas intervened with the participation of dozens of comrades at the Athens Bar Association (solicitors general offices union).The intervention included hanging a massive banner on the building and gathering in front of the Board of Directors offices with banners, texts, flyers, and slogans. At the same time, they handed out texts on all floors of the building to the workers and lawyers who were there. Comrades involved in the intervention then left shouting slogans in Academias Street. 

THEY WANT HIM DEAD, LET’S NOT ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN
VICTORY TO THE STRUGGLE OF D. KOUFONTINAS
Solidarity Assembly with hunger striker D. Koufontinas
THEY WANT HIM DEAD, LET’S NOT ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN
VICTORY TO THE STRUGGLE OF D. KOUFONTINAS
Solidarity Assembly with hunger striker D. Koufontinas

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2,000 Dead!!

          Time and time again this pandemic is seen to have been handled by our political ballerinas, lead by bubbling Boris as an economic crisis. Their shut, open shut again, half open and half shut, was obviously driven my thoughts of their corporate friends and a desire to see that they didn't lose too much money. Health and safety of workers was away down the scale. Only when it was seen to be getting out of control did they come up with another prolonged lockdown. However even in these circumstances they still wanted to keep some business earning, so construction was allowed to continuing working as the number of case spiked. 

        The result being that it has meant that those working in the construction industry had to pay a heavy price for this economic decision. According to the Office of National Statistics, the number of construction workers who have died from Covid19 between March 9th, 2020, and December 28th, 2020, is over 2,000. This figure doesn't take into account all the ancillary staff, security guards, delivery personnel, cleaners etc. Nor does it take into account how many of the construction workers' family and friends fell fowl of this disease because of this government's cavalier attitude to the health and welfare of workers.
        Surely this and all the other bungling decisions made with one and half eyes on the economic and half an eye on the medical during this pandemic is a case that must be brought into the open, and justice brought to all those who died unnecessarily through government bungle ineptitude and economic greed. There must be a reckoning or we insult those and their families who died unnecessarily. 

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Back Door.

        Lots of large companies are rubbing their hands with glee and taking this pandemic as a wonderful milk-cow. During the pandemic, millions of pounds of tax payers money has been handed to friends and buddies of the Tory Party, in the form of contracts, without any tendering or public scrutiny, and some have made a right dogs dinner of that contract, but of course held onto the money. Of course it is not just the Bumbling Boris brigade that are guilty of this throwing tax payers money at companies without as much as tendering process or a wee squint of public scrutiny, why here in Bonnie Scotland the same rather dodgy process is alive and well. The recent contract to KMPG being one that we are are aware of, another little slice of the NHS moved into private hands, without the public getting a sniff of the process.

the following extract from Consultancy UK 

       Scotland's health service has awarded a contract worth more than £2 million to Big Four professional services firm KPMG for "management and advisory services" on the nation’s coronavirus vaccine programme.
       According to reports in the Scottish press, three months before the first vaccinations began in Scotland, a contract for "extended flu and Covid vaccination programme management and advisory services" was handed out to KPMG. The deal, worth a total of £2.32 million, was given to the advisory and accounting firm without any other competing bids in September, with the Government citing the "extreme urgency" of the vaccination programme.
       A contract award notice published at the start of 2021 added that the Government’s justification for directly awarding the contract on behalf of NHS Scotland was due to "unforeseeable" events. Statements from the Governments since defended the process, which it said are standard practice in the current pandemic.

      Slice by slice, our NHS is being handed to private companies, sooner or later they will be the ones that call the shots on what kind of care you get and what it will cost you. That is if we allow this back door entrance to big business to continue.

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Eagle Stew.

        The babble and furore of what happened on January 6th in America has now more or less disappeared from the media, no longer able to create sensationalism from that event so it slides down the scale. Of course it is not forgotten by the powers that be, they will milk it for all it's worth to tighten security, ever greater surveillance, passing ever tighter legislation, to clamp down on any form of protest, putting all protests under the umbrella of "domestic terrorism".  We should have no illusions, the establishment in the U$A and here, as elsewhere, is fascist in intent, but wears the cloak of liberalism. This steady march to fascism will not stop, either it will result in a total submissive population, bound to the rigid rules of corporate greed, or it will come to an end when the people finally stand up and grab freedom and justice for all, bringing an end to the whole corporate/state system of greed and exploitation. 

Lots of interesting videos on Kolektiva HERE: 

The latest episode of  System Fail:

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