Lies.

          We are facing the worst crush on our standard of living in many a year, a throw back to Victorian times, with all the repercussions that this entails, drastic effects on the health and well being of our children and ourselves, increase in stress and anxiety, an increase in mental health problems also leading to an increase in poverty, destitution and homelessness. We live in one of the richest counties on the planet and our lives are controlled by a rich group of privileged parasites.

                                             Image courtesy of World Socialist Web Site

      We have a Chancellor of the Exchequer who spouts that he understands the hardship the ordinary people are facing, he is lying, he doesn't, he can't possibly know how to juggle with decisions of whether to skip a meal to buy your kid a pair of shoes for the winter, making the decision of whether to turn the heating on or go cold so that you can put food on the table. He lives in a bubble that insulates him from the reality of the ordinary people. This man who states he understands our problems is a multi-millionaire, he and his wife have a personal fortune of around £730 million between them. Last year, his wife, daughter of a billionaire, received approximately £11 million in dividends from her 9% share in her fathers multi-billion pound company. How they can have the audacity to say, they understand our problems, when they don't even know anything about our lives and daily struggles. Two different worlds, one of opulence and excess the other of daily struggle to have a half decent life, with the ever present risk of not making it even to that level.

Image courtesy of The Journal.

       Why do we tolerate this subservience to this bunch of rich, selfish parasites? They need us to make their fortunes for them, we don't need them. We the ordinary people have made everything, distributed everything, but always do it to the dictate of the rich and powerful, all to the advantage of the rich and powerful, why?  

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Infants.

 

          If there was any doubt that capitalism kills, perhaps the following will convince you that it does, and we must kill capitalism before it kills us. What sort of society would tolerate companies that attempt to thwart legislation that could help prevent babies from infection. After all selling products to families that are intended to be fed to infant babies, must surely have the most stringent safety regulations and any producer of these products should welcome all safety regulations that can protect their customers. However, that is not how capitalism works. First and foremost, profit is paramount, shareholders bonuses are sacred and the governing policy will always be to increase those bonuses. Not the basis for an ethical system and a dangerous one when it comes to food for children and infants.  

The following extract from The Intercept: 

    

The Abbott Nutrition facility in Sturgis, Michigan, which produces much of the U.S. supply of baby formula, shut down in February, bringing production lines to a grinding halt. Following a voluntary recall and investigation by the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the stoppage stemmed from a bacterial outbreak whose effects would be felt months later. Starting last September, five babies who had consumed the plant’s formula contracted bacterial infections. Two of them died.

           The production pause is now contributing to a national shortage of formula, a crisis that experts believe will continue for months. Abbott, however, disputes that there is any link between its formula and the infant illnesses.

         Questions are now swirling about alleged problems at the Abbott-owned factory, which produces popular brands such as Similac, Alimentum, and EleCare. A recently disclosed whistleblower document claims that managers at the Sturgis plant falsified reports, released untested infant formula, and concealed crucial safety information from federal inspectors.

           But eight years earlier, the formula industry rejected an opportunity to take a more proactive approach — not only for increasing supply capacity, but also for preventing a potential outbreak. Records show that the industry successfully mobilized against a 2014 proposal from the FDA to increase regular safety inspections of plants used to manufacture baby formula.

           At the time, the FDA had proposed rules to prevent the adulteration of baby formula in any step of the process in order to prevent contamination from salmonella and Cronobacter sakazakii, which led to this year’s Sturgis plant shutdown.

          The largest infant formula manufacturers quickly stepped up to delay the safety proposals. The International Formula Council, now known as the Infant Nutrition Council of America, is the lobby group that represents Abbott Nutrition (owned by Abbott Laboratories), Gerber (owned by Nestlé), Perrigo Co., and Reckitt Benckiser Group, the companies that control 89 percent of the baby formula market in the U.S.

Read the full article HERE:

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Anger.

 

            Back from a wee break in the wilderness I thought I would re-start my rantings with a video from Sub Media. Here they bring together a series of May Day happenings across the world. It is impossible today to find a country where the people are not on the streets in anger at the system that shackles millions to poverty, destitution and war, and where the public's opinion of politicians has sunk somewhere low in the sewage system, from Sudan to Sri Lanka, from Paris to Montreal, from Berlin to Chile. The people are angry, the privileged parasites are nervous, expect the unexpected.

A note from SubMedia regarding this video:

         During the production of this episode we were working with the most up to date information at the time when we had said nobody had died at the May Day protests in Chile. Unfortunately we have since learned that Francisca Sandoval, a journalist age 29 died several days later in the hospital. Our condolences go out to her family and loved ones.

We're sorry for any confusion this may have caused

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Away.

 

           Hi friends, associates, comrades, my rants will be silenced for a week or so as I off to a cottage on the shore of Loch Goil at the back of beyond, for some nice family time. Believe it or not it seems we will have nice weather as a bonus. In the mean time, keep stirring the shit.

Loch Goil

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Ref & Black.

            Glasgow's Red and Black Bookfair on Saturday May 7th. was a great success. A good variety of interesting and colourful stalls and was well attended with lots of young folk, which is also very encouraging. So a bit of a pat on the back for those who organised and took party. Let's hope it can become a welcome annual affair in the city. So if you attended, or missed it, and would like to see it a repeat annual get together, get in touch with any of the groups involved and make your voice heard. It's up to you. 

Some photos from the event.

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Illusions?

           As is usual in this world of illusions, we in the West are always on the side of good, freedom and democracy. So any conflict the West indulges in must be for the good and those who oppose this are obviously on the side of evil. So in the Ukrainian situation we are expected to take the side of the righteous good West and stand against the evil that is Russia. If only it was that simple. The West lead by the self righteous U$A, has achieved the decimation of more countries than Russia can ever hope to achieve. The Western nation states, like Russia, are power mongers, all vying for control of the world's resources, all attempting to seize the largest market share, and all ready to spill the blood of their respective populations to defend or expand their dominance in the field of resources and market share. They will gladly go to war and shed the blood of millions if they feel their dominance is threatened or they believe they can gain an advantage over the other. They consider that your blood is a price worth paying for their advantage. I don't recall a war ever starting because bus drivers of one country wanted to kill plumbers in an other country, or shop workers from one country wanting to kill teachers from another country. It is always the rich and powerful that call for war when they think that their wealth and power might be threatened, full well aware that they will not be on the killing fields, that's up to the bus drivers, teachers, plumbers and shop workers, who will gain nothing from this insanity.

The following from Act for Freedom Now:

SABOTAGE
          The way in which events in Ukraine are presented can deceive us. They call it a war of democracy and freedom on the one hand, with dictatorship and oppression on the other. It is supposed to be the time to stand as one, on the ‘right’ side of the barricade, in this battle between good and evil. But if we look behind the lines of spectacle, we see propaganda from all sides to enlist our bodies and minds for another round of geopolitical chess. The presented juxtaposition between freedom and oppression is false. Every country is at war in one way or another.
        Through military operations outside its borders. By driving refugees to their borders to their death. By manufacturing weapons systems or technologies for military use and selling them to anyone who buys them. Every State oppresses. By imposing its dominant system on its population and punishing its dissenters in an exemplary manner. We can fight the war. Not by being soldiers, but by being saboteurs. Directly, by attacking the war industry that makes war possible.
More broadly, by breaking the social peace on which every State depends for its continued existence.

 

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Profit War!

         To the corporate world every crisis has a silver lining. The Ukraine affair might be a disaster for the people caught up in the bloodshed, as is usual in war situations, the ordinary people pay in blood and trauma. However, to the corporate world it is seen as a bonus. The corporate/financial world of parasites has been creaking near breaking point since 2008 when the "Market" gambling bubble burst. They have been searching for ways to recapitalise the system and have used austerity on the people as the main source of that recapitalising, but the system was still struggling. Along comes the pandemic, and states throw money at the corporate word, money that the people will be tasked with paying back through lower standard of living. 

 

 

However the corporate economics was still in a bit of a mess despite all that tax payers money, suddenly we have a war, yippee shouts the corporate bosses, the arms industry moves into top gear with taxpayers money flooding in as the West throws billions of £s of weaponry into Ukraine. The oil and gas markets seize the moment and shoot the price of energy somewhere beyond the moon. Another golden opportunity to recapitaise the system with our money. Energy giant Shell has reported its highest ever quarterly profit, a staggering £7.3 billion in the first three months of this year. Other energy giants, BP and Total have also reported a sharp rise in profits. There is a cash waterfall rushing into the share holders bank accounts while you and I face eating or heating, cutting down on life's necessities, seeing kids go hungry. This is the moment the Bank of England decides to raise the interest rate for the second time in months. This will hit mortgages, payments on loans, credit cards, etc.. In the meeting rooms of the bankers, financial Mafia and corporate robbers, they no doubt will raise a glass to Russia, with the toast, "long may the war last, because of it, we are doing wonderfully, thank you".

 

        Why do we tolerate such an insane, greedy parasite driven system, why do 

we just suffer and watch the shareholders laugh all the way to their new luxury yacht? 

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Books War.

 

         Perhaps I'm beginning to appear like the BBC, I keep putting on repeats. However, I think some things are worth repeating, so here I go again. The next two big events coming up in Glasgow are two "must not miss" events. The first is the Anti-war rally, Saturday May 7th. 11.30am, Blythswood Square Glasgow. Spread the word bring your friends and family it affects us all.

 

        This very important event finishes in nice time for you to wander down to the CCA 350 Sauchiehall Street and enjoy the  Red and Black Clydeside Bookfair 3pm to 9pm. With war and savage attacks on our living standards there has never been a more important time for us all to get together and organise how we will tackle these horrendous affairs.

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Insanity Or?

 

         This world we live in, a mixture of a possible paradise and living in an asylum. We have beauty and co-operation struggling to survive midst greed and brutality We have people's dream of that better world for all and the parasite class voraciously devouring the world's resources for personal power and wealth. A world that functions on the basis of economic insanity. However, it is always in a state of flux, which way will it go, victory for the parasite class and destruction of the planet, or the realisation of that better world for all, the choice is ours, but time is not in our favour. 

          This latest rendering from SubMedia shows the insanity of this world and the forces that struggle for that better world for all.

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May Day Ethos.

            So May Day is over, but the ethos of May Day lingers on. There is more to come, more organising ,more getting together if we want to change this system of greed and profit for a better world for all. The next big thing in Glasgow will be the anti-war rally, May 7th and then the Red and Black Clydeside Bookfair, May 7th.

         Details for the Anti-war rally, Saturday May 7th. 11.30am, Blythswood Square Glasgow. Spread the word bring your friends and family it affects us all.

          The anti-war rally will end in good time for you to wander down the road to the CCA 350 Sauchiehall Street  for the Red and Black Clydeside Bookfair from 3pm to 9pm. and an opportunity to find out more about organsing your community/workplace, to meet old friends, make new friends, pick up literature, enter discussions, see a film, chat or just browse, all welcome.

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Choices!

           As the world stumbles and lurches inextricably to a world war situation, what should we the ordinary people of this broken and bleeding world do? We have to find that answer quickly as time is running out, the choices being offered by the system will not bode well for us the ordinary people, or for the planet. We have to think outside this corrupt, unjust and brutal system of capitalism.

A message from Liverpool NWBCW

 

No War but the Class War
LIVERPOOL
          Russia's invasion of Ukraine is bringing the world ever closer to its boiling point. Once again the working class across the world are being asked to take sides in a conflict from which we have nothing to gain and everything to lose. On the one hand Russia, attempting to reclaim what it has lost since the collapse of the USSR. On the other hand NATO, attempting to draw Ukraine further into its sphere of influence. In the background, imperialist line ups are solidifying, with the EU states rallying behind the US, and Russia turning to China. While the war in Ukraine represents an escalation in the drive to generalised war, it is not the only battleground right now. Whether it's Syria, Yemen or Palestine, the capitalist class are pitting workers against each other across the world. All in search for financial revenues, raw materials and cheap labour power.
        Nationalism – that ideological weapon of divide and rule – calls us to kill and die for a cause which is not ours. Alongside military conflict, we are in the midst of a class war with our living and working conditions as the sacrifice on the altar of profitability. Through austerity we were forced to pay for the 2008 financial crash. But the global economy has never quite recovered. Even before the pandemic properly arrived, billions were being pumped into markets every day to keep them afloat and another recession was being predicted. The pandemic was only the spark that lit the flame. Now under the cover of restructuring, we are once again expected to pay for the crisis. Across workplaces we are seeing wages falling behind inflation, sackings, fire and rehire, pension and benefit cuts, and various other assaults on our class.
        Meanwhile at home we face food and fuel price rises, higher rents, more bills and more taxes. All the while the rich grow richer. And the war, as it upsets supply chains even further, will make the situation even worse. Finally, let's not forget the climate crisis. Floods, fires and extreme weather events are gradually making whole swathes of the planet uninhabitable. The ruling class continues to treat the planet like their private backyard with little consideration for the biodiversity and environmental underpinnings of life on earth. And, let's face it, the capitalist conditions which created Covid 19 and allowed it to spread, killing millions, are still in place. The threat of future pandemics looms large. War, poverty, crisis and disease are creating whole generations of people scarred by a system tending towards barbarism: refugees, friends and families of those fallen ill, maimed and killed, the unemployed and the homeless. This is a war on multiple fronts against all workers and the future of humanity. But we can resist. Attempts to defend our living and working conditions can sow the seeds of a wider movement which recognises that capitalism – the current system of production characterised by the existence of private property, wage labour, money and states – is the source of the problem.

Read the full article HERE: 

 

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May Day 2.

  More Glasgow May Day 2022 photos.

May Day 2022 Berlin.

 

Visit ann arky's home at https://spiritofrevolt.info