GADAFFI'S DEATH ANOTHER TURNING POINT???

       

       Every death from the Western war on teror is another "turning point", there has been so many that it is obvious that the West is running round in circles.

       This from STOP THE WAR COALITION.

       The killing of Muammar Gadaffi in Sirte has been marked by a round of celebration by western governments over their intervention in Libya. As with the capture of Saddam Hussein in Iraq and the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, it will be described as a turning point and a further victory in the seemingly endless 'war on
terror'.

      There is little reason for the triumphalism. Nato's war on Libya was not a 'humanitarian intervention' but a war for regime change -- illegal under international law. It was about the western powers attempting to regain control of the region in the face of the Arab uprisings across the Middle East. Yet despite its overthrow of the regime in Libya imperialism faces many problems in the region.

       In Libya itself it is already clear that there are many divisions between the different elements in the new government, and not at all clear that a stable regime will emerge. Even if it does, the ordinary people of Libya will see their interests subjugated to the oil companies and other western business, backed up by Nato, which has no intention of vacating the scene.

       The consequences of the war on terror elsewhere are not outbreaks of peace and democracy but rather a spreading of the war. Afghanistan, ten years on, has just experienced its bloodiest two years of war. Iraq remains a society destroyed by war and occupation. Somalia remains war torn with Kenyan troops recently crossing the border. Pakistan suffers drone attacks which have killed thousands. The Israeli oppression of the Palestinians continues. There are threats of intervention over Syria.

        The recent alleged plot against the Saudi ambassador to Washington was blamed on sections of the Iranian government and Saudi and Israel are both urging attacks on Iran. Far from the west conquering all, it is deep in the mire of war. The gloating over Gadaffi should not become an excuse for further interventions that will only spread the carnage further.

SEE ALSO: JOHN PILGER -

With Libya, secured an American invasion of Africa is under way.

 http://bit.ly/qJ6PhP

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NOAM CHOMSKY ON AFGHANISTAN.

          A voice I always feel is worth listening to, Noam Chomsky, here he is with some more words to ponder. It never does any harm to have a look in the mirror.

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GLASGOW HUMAN RIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL.

Document 9 : International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival
Thursday 20th - Sunday 23rd October 2011
LAUNCH - Thursday 20th October, 7pm onwards, CCA Document 9 Film Festival launch with live music from Andrea Marini & opening film: Soy Libre I am free

8.00pm10.00pm CCA 4 & 5
OPENING FILM - Soy Libre: I am Free
Andrea Roggon, Germany, 2011, 86 mins
      The Cuba of Raoul Castro: a camera glides through the streets of Havana like the eye of a recording angel witnessing moments of interaction in the everyday lives of ordinary people. Off-camera, other voices talk about their feelings, hopes and fears, and the search for personal happiness in a country at a crossroads between the old revolutionary ideals of Fidel and Che and whatever changes the new economic realities of the 21st century will bring. Faces, voices, sounds. From its dreamlike imagery to the candid insights of the unseen, unidentified speakers, a strikingly beautiful and thoughtful film that becomes a kind of visual poem.

The Director will lead a Q & A with the audience afterwards.

http://documentfilmfestival.org/

@ CCA (Centre for Contemporary Art)
350 Sauchiehall Street
Glasgow G2 3JD
http://www.cca-glasgow.com/contact

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COMING TO A CITY NEAR YOU!!!

         Greece is shut down, the people have called a 48 hour general strike against the extremely severe “austerity” cuts being imposed by the financial puppets of the IMF, (International Mankind Fuckers), the Greek government. 70,000 on the streets of Athens, over 15,000 on the streets of Thesilonika, riot police fire stun grenades and tear gas into the protesters, running battles across the city centre. This is democracy Western style, the people don't want the policies the government is forcing on them, so they try to beat the shit out of the people to intimidate them in the hope that they will meekly accept poverty and deprivation.

       What the Greek people have had inflicted on them over the last 18 months or so, is unacceptable in any so called civilised country. They have faced massive pay cuts, not just one but in some cases two pay cuts, cuts to their pensions, if it is over 1,00Euros a month, it is cut by 20%, also lump some retirement payments cut, increased taxes, tax threshold lowered from 8,000 Euros to 5,000, VAT increased to 23%, plus new taxes. One such new tax is the property tax, whereby you have an extra tax if you have a house, it is worked out at so much per square metre. Prices are rising and unemployment is soaring, the health budget has been cut by 40%, health problems are mushrooming plus alcohol problems, drug problems and suicides are on the increase. Perhaps it wasn't the best health service in the world, but whatever it was has now been decimated. Students complain of not having books, 30,000 public sector workers have been put on “reduced” pay, 60% pay, with the possibility of being made redundant after a year. New reduced pay and conditions for all civil servants, and an end to pay bargaining, Still the IMF (International Mankind Fuckers) claim it is not enough, their puppets in Athens must do more. Apart from the savage dismantling of the social fabric of the country, they have been ordered the sell-off of 59 billion Euros of public assets. The IMF puppet government that is hell bent on pursuing these policies, will in no way suffer themselves, no, the “necessary” hardships they claim that must be imposed are for the people, not for the implementers. Western capitalist democracy at work.

       What we are witnessing is the Greek people being sacrificed on the alter of corporate greed, a blood curling and savage process to appease the world's billionaire bankers. The will not suffer any losses, if they can take the money from the general public, and if Greece is not enough then other countries will have to be sacrificed on that same alter. Spain, Italy, Ireland, Portugal, are all being prepared for the sacrifice. With the rest of Europe being held in the same trap in case that last list is not enough. France isn't far down the list, and so it will go on until they own everything and their coffers are secure. All this misery and deprivation to save the wanker bankers from losing their unearned billions that they gambled and lost.

        The fight that the Greek people are involved in is our fight, we are not immune from the greedy tentacles of the corporate greed machine. Whatever it can do and get away with, to protect its wealth and power, it will do. It has no nationality, it knows no borders, the only pain it can feel is the loss of money. People are of no consequence, wealth and power are all that matters. We have to think the same way, solidarity across nationality, solidarity across all borders.

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SHUT THE SCHOOL OF AMERICAS.

       We should never forget that the wanker bankers are not the only problem with this system, we have the state and its hit squad, the military apparatus. For many years now Fort Benning in Georgia USA has been the training centre for assassins, dictators and their henchmen, who, when they graduate move on and take their place in some of the most repressive regimes on the planet. When in place, they usually pay back their trainers by carrying out the dictates of the Western corporate greed machine and implement their  polices with a brutality that they were taught at the School of Americas, (SOA).  The following is an appeal from SOAWATCH.

Education Through Action!

       It's that time of year again to gather at the gates of Fort Benning, Georgia. For more than 20 years we've come together as a community to close the School of the Americas (WHINSEC) and to resist the culture of militarization through teach-ins, music, memory and direct actions. Be one of thousands who will mobilize this year to fight oppression and stand up for justice and self-determination!

        Read the October 17 Time Magazine article about the SOA. Some of us are called to put our bodies on the line and engage in civil disobedience. Direct action is one of the pillars of our resistance. It is an opportunity for all those who seek peace with justice to bring their grievances to the place where the killers are being trained to protect the policies that benefit the world's richest 1%, at the expense of the 99% throughout the Americas.

Federal Line Crossing
       Over the years, hundreds of activists have risked federal prison time because they "cross the line" onto Fort Benning, in order to draw attention to the US militarization of Latin America. If you are interested in exploring this opportunity, please contact directaction@soaw.org. You can learn more about the SOA Watch Prisoners of Conscience here.

Other Actions
       For those who cannot risk serving federal prison time but have the desire to bear witness, there is the opportunity for other creative actions (in the past, SOA Watch activists have employed tactics such as leaf-letting, banner hanging and visiting local church groups - see more ideas here). But don't feel limited to these actions alone - GET CREATIVE! Groups or individuals considering direct action should prepare ahead of time (please see these materials) and contact directaction@soaw.org.

     The witness of the occupation of Wall Street, the Summer of Human Rights in Georgia, and the Arab Spring reminds us of the possibilities that flow from disrupting business as usual. Join with human rights activists around the globe in making the Vigil this year another forum of speaking truth to power.

Schedule of Events, November 18-20

Friday, November 18
10-12pm Stewart Detention Center Rally and Vigil V *Please contact becca@soaw.org to coordinate transportation.
2-11pm Workshops
2-5pm Nonviolence Training (note: this is not preparation for the weekend, if you are considering civil disobedience at the vigil, you should contact directaction@soaw.org ahead of time)

7:30-8:30pm Direct Action Meeting (for people who are interested in learning more about possible creative nonviolent educational actions)
2-5pm Peacemakers Training
8:30-11pm Dreams of Peace Benefit Show

Saturday, November 19
9-10:30am SOA Watch Plenary
10:30am Women's Peace Convergence on Columbus
11:30am-4pm Rally at the gates of Ft. Benning
5pm to 11pm Workshops
5:45-6:45pm Interfaith Service
7-8:15pm Panel: Somos Una America! Connecting Our Struggles Across the Hemisphere
8:30-11pm Benefit Concert: Canta mi pueblo!

Sunday, November 20
7:45am Veterans for Peace March to the gates, meet at the Columbus Inn (formerly the Days Inn)
8:45am Vigil at the Gates, followed to funeral procession, speakers, puppetistas pageantry and more!

...and finally: WE NEED YOUR HELP!

         The November Vigil is made possible by the help of hundreds of dedicated volunteers from across the country. Please let us know if you can help with: Volunteering: We need people throughout the weekend to help set up tables, unload equipment, clean-up, and more! Contact Nico at nico@soaw.org or 202-234-3440. Peacemakers: We need twenty-five committed people to help direct Saturday and Sunday's rally and procession. Contact Kathleen at kathleend8@gmail.com to find out more. Medics: We need trained medical personnel to help provide any necessary first aid. Please contact Larry Egbert at egbertL4pj@yahoo.com.

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THEY STILL SHOOT STRIKERS!!!

                An appeal for solidarity from LabourStart. There is a lot going on at the moment in the form of the Occupy movement, but we should not forget that there are other struggles that go on day in day out, as people fight for a decent living standard as the try to earn their crust of bread from a totally corrupt and exploitive system. We are fighting a festering marriage of state and corporate greed. Please give a few minutes of your time to send a message to Suzuki that we are that 99% and we can fight on every front.

Striking workers at Suzuki in India.

Seven thousand Suzuki workers in India need our help today.

      Following an intense, and sometimes violent, month-long struggle, they finally reached agreement with the employer at the end of September. But when they returned to work, it turned out that Suzuki had changed its mind, and was not going to abide by the agreement it had signed.

The result has been a resumption of the strike, with a violent reaction from management.

Shots have been fired at the strikers.

And the government is taking management's side, declaring the strike to be "illegal".

       Those workers, with the support of the International Metalworkers Federation, are asking for us to send messages -- thousands of messages -- to the company demanding that it stop the violence, and respect the agreement it signed with its workers.

Please click here now to send off your message.

And then forward this message on to your fellow trade unionists.

        We've also been asked by the International Transport Workers Federation to show our support to the Philippines airline union -- please click here to learn more and send your messages.

       Finally, UNI Global Union is running an online campaign in support of workers in El Salvador - you can sign up here.

Thanks for your support!

Eric Lee

 

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WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON---.???

        To the cops hassling the protesters taking part in the world wide occupy movement, who and what are you protecting? Do you think that the corrupt oligarchs that sit in their plush offices counting their millions, give a shit about you? Do you think your pensions will be safe while the pensions of all others are cut? Do you think that your kids education will be fine as they cut the spending on education? Do you think that your kids will get a good job as unemployment keeps rising?

        You're on the wrong side friend, you are portecting the wealth and power of those who will in the end shaft you, just as they do everybody else. You are part of that 99%, you are not part of the 1% you are protecting, get onboard the right side, get among your own people, you are being used by a ruthless, corrupt, duplicious oligarchy, and to them you are just fodder for the machine, you are expendable.

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CHANGING TO A WOLRD OF POSSIBLE DREAMS.

          Never before in human history have we seen the people of the world rise up simultaneously on the same cause, all of the same mind, the system sinks, it is corrupt from top to bottom, it works against the interests of the majority of the people. Never in human history have people all across the globe wanted to change a world system and stood up to do something about it simultaneously. The mould has been broken, people across the world have seen through the smoke and mirrors of corrupt illusion and they will change it. Change breeds change, once people's minds open to new ideas the world becomes a new and exciting place with the possibility of realising dreams. Our dreams, not their nightmares.

From The Commune:

         In my opinion, it is very likely that the historians of the future will look upon yesterday as the day a truly global anti-capitalist movement was born. Following the example of Occupy Wall Street, Los Angeles, Boston, and hundreds of US towns and cities, a huge number of small and large occupations began on every continent except Antarctica (see Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America, South America).

         All proclaim their opposition to the capitalist status quo – with its obscene riches at one pole and sickening poverty at the other. All of this has been organised online, completely outside the clutches of the decaying trade union bureaucracies, for whom ‘international solidarity’ is just some words they used to say a few decades back. The old organisations of timid protest seek influence on the margins, but they are ignored and seen to be as irrelevant as they actually are. It is highly appropriate that this moment has been crowned by the apparently successful resisting of the attempt by New York’s mayor and second richest man to retake Liberty Park. There is a sense that the powers that be are losing control by the hour, if not the second if you follow it all on Twitter

READ ON.

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THE ANSWER - CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE.

What more can I say, John Pilger says it all.

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TAX MONEY, SOCIAL SOCIETY OR WAR??

       In the US 65% of all the governments available spending is on the military. At present America is fighting in seven countries across the world, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Libya, Somalia, Yemen, and its latest war machine adventure, Uganda. If we add the “war-on-terror” that is eight brutal ventures through which the military industrial complex is reaping tax payers money and feeding it to their shareholders bank accounts to the tune of more than a trillion dollars over the last ten years. In the UK, a much smaller country, this year alone we have spent £9 billion on two wars, Afghanistan and Libya plus maintaining that illegal missile system Trident.

      Apart from the death, destruction and misery these wars cause to ordinary people, every penny spent is tax payers money and it goes straight to the corporate world's shareholders. What kind of transformation would have taken place in America if that trillion dollars had been spent back into the service of the people who had donated it in the first place through their tax? What changes could we have made in the last year here in the UK, if that £9 billion of our money had been re-invested in our civil society, after all, it is our money, why should we want it to be used to kill and maim and in the process enrich the arms industry.

 

      How can we proclaim to be civilised when we spend such large proportions of our resources on death and destruction in other peoples home lands. It is not as if the world has not got problems of poverty and deprivation to be sorted out. The poverty and deprivation across the world is expected to rely on charity, while wars get the full backing of governments and all the resources they can muster. Ah, that's capitalism for you.

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OCCUPY.

RUDOLF ROCKER, image from wikipedia.

http://poumista.wordpress.com/2011/10/

Historically the oppressed and the disaffected have rallied to the standard of socialism because of its oppositional position within capitalism – an oppositional position which provides the appearance of a radicalism it did not possess. During periods of revolutionary potential, however, people see opportunities to go beyond attempts to ameliorate capitalism, and to instead abolish it altogether. It is important to realise, however, that this is not usually an apocalyptic conversion into revolutionary activity, but is an emerging process involving continual, but unsuccessful attempts to reconstruct a movement of socialist opposition, find new forms of organisation and activity as well as new forms of protest and expression.

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PEOPLE AWAKENING - A RADICAL SITUATION.

http://www.bopsecrets.org/recent/awakening.htm

"A radical situation is a collective awakening. . . . In such situations people become much more open to new perspectives, readier to question previous assumptions, quicker to see through the usual cons. . . . People learn more about society in a week than in years of academic 'social studies' or leftist 'consciousness raising.' . . . Everything seems possible -- and much more IS possible. People can hardly believe what they used to put up with in 'the old days.' . . . Passive consumption is replaced by active communication. Strangers strike up lively discussions on street corners. Debates continue round the clock, new arrivals constantly replacing those who depart for other activities or to try to catch a few hours of sleep, though they are usually too excited to sleep very long. While some people succumb to demagogues, others start making their own proposals and taking their own initiatives. Bystanders get drawn into the vortex, and go through astonishingly rapid changes. . . . Radical situations are the rare moments when qualitative change really becomes possible. Far from being abnormal, they reveal how abnormally repressed we usually are; they make our 'normal' life seem like sleepwalking."

--Ken Knabb, THE JOY OF REVOLUTION

http://www.bopsecrets.org/PS/joyrev3.htm#situation

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WE ARE AWARE.

What the ruling oligarchy must now be aware of is that we are aware. We are aware of their lies, we are aware of their corruption, we are aware of their unbridled greed, we are aware of their brutal exploitation of people and planet, we are aware of their money making wars, we are aware of the world wide poverty in the midst of plenty. We are aware that the police are not there to detect crime, but to protect their wealth and their power. We are also aware of the changes we want to make, we are aware of the fact that the present system cannot be sustained, nor do we want it to be sustained. We are aware of the society we want and will create, a society based on the needs of the all the people. We are aware of the fact that this can only be brought about by the destruction of the old profit driven system of greed. We are aware that this will be a hard and sometimes bitter struggle, but we are aware that we are the 99%, so, we are aware that we will prevail and our grandchildren will inherit a world that we are proud to hand them, We are aware that the awareness is global and the world is changing and we are aware that we are that change.

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GREAT OAK TREES FROM LITTLE ACORNS GROW!!

         Glasgow's Occupy protest at George Square on October 15, probably wasn't the biggest in the world, but never the less it was passionate. Speaking to different individuals and groups, the same thing came through, the system wasn't working, it was a rip-off, it was corrupt. They all wanted a change, though most weren't quite sure what that change should be, just that it should be a fairer system that saw to the people's needs and not those of the corporate or financial world. Most had no faith in any of the political parties and didn't trust them to bring about the desired change. In spite of Glasgow's cold and damp ground there were those who seemed quite determined to camp out in October, on the Square's inhospitable grass.

Though Glasgow's protest was small it should be remember that this is the first time in the history of the human race that there has been a protest in practically every city on the planet at the same time, on the same matter, all with the same desire, to change a corrupt system. Obviously the people are waking up to the fact that this world-wide corporate system does not work in their favour and has to be changed. By communicating and staying clear of political parties, they will arrive at how they want to change it and with growing numbers, co-operation and solidarity between the various groups and individuals involved, nothing on the planet can stop them.

Great oak trees from little acorns grow!!

FIRES OF THE FUTURE.

I

am fire,

I surge, I hiss,

sometimes bursting forth in a flame

that lights up the world

illuminating unimagined dreams.

Then the black cloak

blankets out the glow.

Again all is dark,

but, still

beneath the surface

I surge, I hiss,

I endure, waiting, seeking,

building up pressure.

One day I will explode

destroying forever

the Tartarean crust of oppression.

I am fire,

I am the people.

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THE NORMALITY OF MADNESS.

       This is taken from "thenormalityofmadness's blog" and is re-posted here in full, it was first posted 16 March 2011. We have all been there in varying degrees, some linger longer than others, some go further than others. It is a well trodden path.

Our Name:
We are the mad community and some of us are treated as second class citizens because of that. If we are ever to change that simple fact then we have to acknowledge our existence within ourselves.
We are the mad community, but we lack the courage to accept who we are.
We are the mad community; we have no dignity in that fact.
We are the mad community, we are ashamed.
Every human being experiences madness in their lives. Emotions are shared, misunderstood elements in all our minds. Does the severity of your experience of the highs or lows of life count as qualifying rank. Some state ‘We all have madness in our life’, but it appears those who have not been labelled ‘mad’ stand outside and judge those of us who have. Some who have been so labelled ‘mad’ exclude those who have not and parade their pain as a claim of ownership.
We are the mad community all of us equally, why can we not own that fact. If we did some of us would not be:
Buried in policy
Excluded by law
Denied justice
We are the mad community and we must demand equal civil and human rights. If abuse effected us all equally we would have no abuse.
Our Name:
Call it as it is, The Mad Community
Clear, concise, uncluttered, understood, plane speak; no doubt who our voices are raised on behalf of! Ourselves! The Mad Community!
All of us!
If we as a group agree that we are all normally mad then agenda’s disappear. We never again have a problem with our spokespersons except in the ability of those spokespersons to deliver our message.
We are the Mad Community. We are all of this community. We are wider society.

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