Election, A Propaganda Vehicle!!

      This Crooks and Liars competition, (the general election) has seen Class War put up candidates, and there has been much criticism from certain anarchist quarters. I personally see nothing wrong in useing every means available to raise the awareness that we are in fact in a class war situation. There is no doubt from Class War's stance, that even if elected, a very big if, they would not be taking part in the charade that takes place in the Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption. They make it quite clear that this in no more than a propaganda event to help to bring the words, class war and anarchism to the fore of people's minds. I see it as a wonderful propaganda stunt and poking ridicule at the ridiculous. The same principles still apply, our dreams will never fit in their ballot boxes.

        Ian Bone can probably explain it better himself:

       Heckling at elections is more difficult now. Politicians are kept away from human contact by an army of minders determined to prevent any embarrassment and stick to the soundbite agenda with a slogan that will be pumped throughout the day. Paradoxically though – the harder it is to intrude into the election circus the more seismic is the effect when it does happen. Think Gordon Brown’s ‘that awful woman’ or the rictus look of terror on the politician’s face when confronted by a lone individual in front of the cameras. These lone individuals are modern propagandists by the deed – much feared and liable to blow the election apart with a few dogged words.

       A few of us in Class War have been heckling politicians on St. Stephens Green on important parliamentary days when the media set up camp. There, in front of you, are your enemies. You can be political or puerile: “I thought you were dead” has been said to David Steele, and the very wonderful “You made Peter Andre cry” to Kay Burley when interviewing Alastair Darling. We lamented in the pub afterwards that such occasions weren’t more frequent.

      But they are at election time, and to give it a national focus rather than a series of chance heckles we decided to stand candidates. By any means necessary means by any means necessary – not by any means necessary apart from voting.----------

Read the full article HERE:

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

Deported To Death.

   More on the latest death at Yarl's Wood, from Act For Freedom Now:

       Here in England, yesterday (Monday) a man died in Yarl’s Wood detention centre. According to a corporate media report: One female detainee, who asked not to be named, said the man who died was 33 and his wife was also in her mid-thirties. Both were on a visit to the UK from their home in India when they were arrested and detained in the family unit at Yarl’s Wood. The detainee said she thought the couple had children back home in India. “The man’s wife is in a state of shock. She was taken to the legal corridor but she is not speaking,” said the detainee. “The couple had just had breakfast and the man had been drinking an energy drink. Suddenly he collapsed and died.” She added that the couple had been in Yarl’s Wood for two months. “I think they came here with visitors’ visas. They said they wanted to see London but they were detained at the airport and brought to Yarl’s Wood. As far as I know he was healthy and not on any medication. He was very nice and so is she, they would make us all laugh. They were a lovely couple but now she is quite alone.”

   And what happens to some of them that are deported from detention centres?

  
    On Sunday, the islamic fascist scum of ISIS released a video claiming to show the killing of 28 Ethiopian christians by their soldiers in Libya. Today, three of the people killed were identified by their friends and loved ones as Eritrean refugees who had been deported from migrant detention camps in Israel. Media Report HERE.

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

Boycott Israel, Support The Protesters .

       We all know that the Israeli state is racist and is engineering genocide of the Palestinian people, but for their own selfish reasons, practically all the developed countries in the West, look the other way. This makes them complicit in one of the biggest crimes against humanity in recent times. What makes their despicable support even more inhumane and unjust is the fact that when people stand up and try to do something about the arming and supporting of this racist regime, they are the ones that are punished.

       This is a call out from Glasgow Palestinian Action for support and solidarity with a group who tried to draw attention to our government and its industries support of the racist Israeli regime. There is about two weeks to organise and drum up support, these courageous defendants should not have to stand alone.

       Show solidarity with Glasgow Palestine Action, both inside and outside the Sheriff Court on Midday of May 6th, as the outcome of their claim that there is no case to answer for their protest against Thales is likely to be heard.
         Thales makes components for drones which are sold to the Israeli Defence Force and were used in the assault of Gaza.
          Four people audaciously occupied the roof of the building and unfurled banners reading 'STOP ARMING ISRAEL. ANOTHER SCOTLAND IS POSSIBLE', 'UK GOV, THALES, ELBIT, COMPLICIT IN GENOCIDE' and 'HOMES NOT DRONES' while five others blockaded both the front and back gates with arm tubes reading 'Free Palestine' and 'Boycott Israel'.
        Despite the overwhelming support of passers by the Crown have pursued charges of breach of the peace. We say there is no case to answer for these actions and ask for anyone who can spare the time to come down and show your support.

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

Buried Treasure.

As life glides on, what do we really value?

Buried Treasure.

Rich,     man I'm rich.

this life, this treasure chest of mine,

crammed full.

Those moments of ecstasy with forgotten names,

burning loves that broke the rules,

quiet meetings that burst into flames,

short lived loves

sealed with brittle vows.

Passions that sparked and flashed

bring warmth,    even now.

Ruby red anguish that shaped my heart

diamond friendships this world can't part,

a son that changed this world to gold

adding pride to my treasure chest.

A daughter brought radiance beyond compare,

of precious gems,    they gave the best.

These jewels, these precious stones

this bounty beyond belief

all mine,

outshine a prince's throne.

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

Death At Yarl's Wood.

      The UK, a country that proclaims to be a democracy, yet has detention centres jammed full of migrants who are treated as less than human. No human is illegal, we are all citizens of this earth, yet we allow these unfortunate people to be caged like animals. People who in many cases are fleeing war, persecution and death, and all we can do is lock them up. Others are detained on the arbitrary decision of some officious pumped up uniform.

A special call-out for solidarity from The Unity Centre:

EMERGENCY DEMO End Detention Set Them Free.

Thursday, 22 April at 12:00pm - 2:00pm

Festival Court, 200 Brand St, G51 1DH (turn left out of Cessnock Underground)

      Enough is enough, no more DEAD in detention. Calling out all our supporters to join us to protest for the death of Pinakin Patel in Yarl's Wood's family unit (Hummingbird) that happened yesterday (20/04/15)
     The demo will be at Glasgow Immigration Reporting Centre, during lunch break so people can join us. This is nation wide emergency as deaths keep on happening due to lack of adequate medical care and an abusive immigration system that keeps criminalizing migrants.

Feel free to bring placards and musical instruments or similar

Info on Pinakin Patel
      Two months ago Mr Patel and his wife, Bhavisha Ben Patel, came to Britain from India lawfully, on visitors visas. Immigration officers simply decided not to believe that Mr & Mrs Patel were genuine visitors, even though they have an 8 year old son in India. They were sent straight from the airport to Yarl’sWood, where they have been ever since. Two day ago the Movement for Justice demonstrated at Yarl’s Wood and women gathered at the windows, waving and joining the shouts and chants to shut down Yarl’s Wood and end detention. Today Yarl’s Wood women are angry. They know that, like so many others, the Patels were victims of Britain’s arbitrary, racist immigration controls and immigrant-bashing policies.
      They saw police, forensics and an ambulance come into the centre while Hummingbird detainees were shut in their unit; Indian women were angry that they could not speak to Mrs Patel because her phone was taken from her and she was confined to a room. They all know the Home Office &
Serco are preparing a cover-up. Far too many people have died in immigration detention just as far too many have been allowed to drown in the Mediterranean. We are building the movement to tear down this barbaric Europe-wide racist policy.

PLEASE SHARE WIDELY!
LOVE AND SOLIDARITY

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

Rank And File.

       “Our duty, which was the logical outcome of our ideas, the condition with which our conception of revolution and re-organisation of society imposes on us, namely, to live among the people and to win them over to our ideas by actively taking part in their struggles and sufferings” —Errico Malatesta

     An interesting article, "If it isn't rank and file, it isn't anarchism" from Anarchist Materialism:

     In order for the Anarchist movement to mature in this country, we must address a particularly troubling dilemma. Are we to continue our historical struggle within the working class or do we evolve into a professional class of labor organizers and bureaucrats?? Addressing this question isn’t only about disagreements in methods but in affirming an anarchist conception of organization from the base. Whether in garment factories and ports or in hotels and retail, our focus on the rank and file has always been obvious– without the revolutionary self organization of the workers, we will never overthrow this unjust system of economic and political domination.

Read the full article HERE:

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

The Poet Has Words Of Love To Tell.

Sometime we need to stop, clean our glasses and see where we really are.

WHERE ARE YOU?

Where are you youth?
I remember you well,
You showed me visions of a new world
Where poverty died a sudden death,
Peace reigned so long
We’d forgotten where the last soldier fell.
People loved and people laughed,
People danced to the troubadour’s song,
People listened when the poet spoke
For he had words of love to tell.
Nature triumphed over barren lands
Its bounty shared by all,
Grasping greed withered and died
Caring and sharing sounded his death knell.
Where are you youth?
We seem to have lost our way.
Our planet is pillaged and plundered
and left to rot and bleed.
As loud beats war’s barbaric drum beat.
There’s ethnic cleansing and corporate greed
The “I, me, egotism and guile”
Today’s dominant creed.
Now more than ever, dear youth,
Your transcendent vision, your brave tomorrow
Is our tragic world’s compelling need.

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

Poverty surrounded By Obscene Wealth.

      America is the shining example of how capitalism works, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, because of the tremendous wealth of that country, the difference is so very glaring. Over the past six years of the “recession”, America's wealth grew by a staggering 60%, more than $30 trillion. Capitalism, being what it is, over roughly the same period, the number of homeless children grew by 60%, and there are 16 million children on food stamps. While the pampered parasites of American capitalism have been stuffing their carpet bags with loot, the standard of living for children has plummeted.

       According to a UNICEF report, the four countries with the lowest child well-being are Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and America, America being 26 out of 29, scoring badly on all counts. The UK of course doesn't score much better being 16 in the 29 developed countries of the world. In that land of plenty, the good ol' US of A, more than half of all public school pupils are poor enough to qualify for lunch subsidies. Of course race also comes into the equation, almost 50% of all black children under the age of six, live in poverty. To see a country with so much wealth and so much glaring poverty, surely tells you that the system is rigged against the ordinary people. Common sense, humanity and simple decency tells you that there is more than enough to go round to give everybody a decent standard of living. However, capitalism, doesn't have common sense, humanity and simple decency, it only has greed perpetuated through exploitation. America is only unique in its quantity of wealth, not in its unfair distribution, that's part and parcel of capitalism in all countries across this capitalist world. Don't you think we could do better if we, the people, managed our own affairs and handled the distribution of the wealth, and let's not forget, we create all that welath, it is by right, ours in the first place. 

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

Gallipoli Centenary, Glasgow Event.

Just a reminder on the Gallipoli event:  centenary event in Glasgow.

     April 25,Saturday, 1pm in the cinema room at the Centre for Contemporary Art on Sauchiehall Street. This day marks the centenary of the World War I battle of Gallipoli, a disaster that cost the lives of hundreds of thousands. We will be showing part of a movie made by Peter Weir, and featuring a young Mel Gibson. The movie will be introduced by three short talks, one setting the context of the battle and the connection to Scotland, another on the enormous impact Gallipoli had on New Zealand and Australia and finally a talk putting this centenary event in the context of the counter program to the government's glorification of the war and of militarism. The movie will be followed by a discussion. FREE. All welcome. Sponsored by the Scottish Peace Network and the Industrial Workers of the World.

 

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

 

The Undesirables.

        As technology increases the efficiency of capitalist production, more and more of us are becoming surplus to requirements. We are actually a drain on the profits of the corporations, as taxes have to be raised to maintain control of us. We are moving from "surplus to requirements" to "undesirables". It is an indication of how corrupt and unjust a system is when it produces more "undesirables" than "desirables". 

This from Act For Freedom Now:

TO THE UNDESIRABLES

Undesirables in this world of cash and power

      There are more and more undesirables in this world. Whether it’s the millions of refugees who roam the planet, or the millions herded into slums and poor neighbourhoods around the world. Whether it’s those sacrificed by wars and industrial devastation or the poor in European countries thrown overboard in the name of the economy. Whether it is the brave insurgents who have risen up with cries of freedom and dignity in many countries in recent years or those daring to fight here in the heart of the metropoli, against a world that suffocates them. More and more of us are considered superfluous, unnecessary, dangerous, unproductive and harmful by the masters of this world, who will stop at nothing to protect their system and save their power. They have turned the Mediterranean into a huge mass grave. They have set up hundreds of concentration camps for undocumented migrants. They have developed advanced technologies to better identify, monitor and control us. They brandish the threat of expulsion, imprisonment or the most abject poverty to make us accept the role of slaves that they have reserved for us. They stir up racial hatred and sectarian strife to divide us. In short, they are making war on the undesirables here and elsewhere.

Nowhere to run except …

Read the full article HERE: 

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

Walk With The Poets.

Never a believer in "what must be must be".

 

WALK WITH THE POETS.

My head has had enough of you,

you doomsday sooth-sayers, and

rationalists, that trap us in the world that is.

Go weave your tales of “can't be done”

to the dead, and those of no imagination.

I want to walk with the utopian,

the dreamer and the poet,

laugh with the child and sing with the wind.

Run with the deer, not with “the market trend”

Enough of, “this is the way it has to be”,

a world of poverty, wars and inequality.

Now, I'll create the world I want to see,

A world of sharing, peace and liberty.

I want the children to plan tomorrow,

the adult help them get there,

trees and flowers our treasured possessions,

with birds and animals their keepers.

Who wants a world that chains us to mortgage,

binds us to a labouring day, just to eat bread?

Who wants to spend their life, feeding fat-cats

while their own children go hungry?

No, this is not the world that has to be,

in our foolishness and misplaced trust,

this is a world that has slithered over us,

poisoning our mind, putrefying our spirit.

Let's call on the poet, let's welcome the dreamer,

let's take council with the utopian,

They'll help us create a better world for all.

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

Food, Cancer And Profit???

     Pump our food full of chemicals, to increase profit, but don't label what you pump into the food, then call yourself an ethical saver of the world!!! Monsanto's list of lethal concoctions that have been released on the world's population are legendary. With the blessing of the US government, the people of Vietnam were given the kiss of death by means of Monsanto's agent orange, the result, death and generations of deformed kids, but what the hell, they were commie kids, and it was great for Monsanto profits.

An appeal from Avaaz:

 Dear friends across the EU,      Top scientists warn the most commonly used herbicide in the world probably causes cancer! Monsanto is demanding the World Health Organisation retract their ground-breaking report. And experts say the only way to ensure the science is not silenced is if the public demands action, now.
         The regulatory system is renowned for being secretive and captured by the
agro-chemical industry. But we have a unique moment right now -- the EU is officially reassessing glyphosate, with similar processes underway in the US, Canada, and Brazil. And the Netherlands, Sri Lanka, and El Salvador are all looking at a ban. The threat is clear -- this poison is used on our food, our fields, our playgrounds, and our streets. Let's get it suspended. Join the urgent call and tell everyone:

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/monsanto_dont_silence_science_loc_eu/?bSlBIib&v=57274
      Monsanto is up in arms. Glyphosate brings in $6 billion per year. It is the basis of RoundUp, the chemical cornerstone of Monsanto’s Genetically Modified empire. The company says the WHO report ignored studies showing glyphosate is safe. But these scientists are 17 of the world's top oncology experts, not a bunch of crazies! They comprehensively reviewed independent studies, excluding those done by companies seeking product approval.
      Regulators rely mainly on tests done by the companies trying to sell the poisons! Key results are kept from the public because they contain 'commercially confidential information', and 58% of the scientific panels in the EU Food and Safety Agency are linked to the sector. It's nuts, but that is the system we have. And that’s why it's going to take all of us to make sure this crucial independent report isn't ignored.
Some countries have already put bans on glyphosate. Now with the EU, the US, Canada, and Brazil all reviewing it, we have an incredible chance to turn the tide
worldwide. 

        Fifty years ago Monsanto's pesticide DDT was everywhere until the seminal book Silent Spring showed it could cause cancer -- a decade later it was banned. If this could cause cancer, let's not let it be sold for ten more years. Let's demand
emergency precautionary action now. Join now and spread the word: 

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

A Dark Fog.

    A poem, light and gay, frivolous and fun, or deep and dark.

A Dark Fog.

I lived a winter's world

blind to spring and summer

a cold heart that shuddered to a halt

as times quarters fused to mist,

I knew not night nor day

fog dissolved my mind

I drifted in that fog

cold as the tomb,

heard no bell toll.

Neither ghost nor man

neither alive nor dead,

drowning in emptiness of anguish.

Shapeless as the fog and dumb

I drifted an eternity of nothing,

moving as if wrapped in a blanket of ice;

which is real, which is sleep,

a wandering spectre

to whom the tomb was closed.

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

Glasgow's Anti-TTIP Event.

     Saturday's event in Glasgow against TTIP was not very well attended, but the few did have an impact. A considerable amount of literature was hand out and well received, and there were a vast number of willing signatures gathered. When informed, about the secret TTIP negotiations and their ramifications, the people were both angry, and willing to add there name to the petitions. So it can rightly be called a success, it raised the profile of the dangers of TTIP and spread the awareness of the aims of the corrupt corporations and their puppets our "representatives". For those who didn't get to sign the petition at the event, you can still sign it HERE. Well done to those who took part.

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