No More A to B.

        The usual A to B, what did it achieve? A good promotional exercise for the party political system. Listen, do not be spontaneous, and go home and remember to vote at the next election.

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The Right To A Roof.

       The Bullingdon Boys sitting comfortably in those Westminster House of Hypocrisy and Corruption, when they are not shootin' and fishin' in their country estates, can spout all they want about how they are on course to “fix” the UK. What they don't make clear is what that “fix” really means. It means continuing to shift all the wealth in the UK upwards. It means getting rid of social spending, taxes can be a drag on profits, it means getting wages down and creating a subservient workforce, it means getting rid of decent working conditions, an attack on health and safety, and the privatisation of “everything” that can make their corporate buddies a buck or two. So you could say, they are doing well at “fixing” the UK. 

          One of the effects of their “fixing” doesn't get much cover in the babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media, evictions. So just for the record, during the first three months of 2015, bailiffs in England and Wales, evicted over 11,000 families, this is an increase of 8% on last year, and 51% on the same period of 2010. This equates to roughly to 126 families forced from their homes daily. Rising rents and benefit cuts are making rented accommodation unaffordable and has push evictions to a six year high. 2014 saw almost 42,000 families evicted from rented accommodation, the highest since 2000. 2015 is set to break that record. These eviction are spread across private and social landlords, with social landlords, including housing associations taking the lion's share.

        Stagnant wages and benefit cuts/caps leave many people unable to continue to pay their way. The latest figure for England and Wales is that over the last two years almost 59,000 families have had the benefits capped. 

       These figures are just for England and Wales, I have no doubt the picture will be similar in Scotland and Northern Ireland. This then is the basis on which the Oxbridge parasites claim victory in “fixing” the UK. Their vision of unfettered wealth and power to their class at the expense of the ordinary people, is moving steadily to fruition. Their class conduct a steady class war to stifle any resistance to the growth of their greed. It will continue as long as we continue to plead our case for them to be a little bit more generous to us, to treat us a little more kindly. It will only end when we finally decide to stand up and say, we have had enough, we are now taking control of our own lives and screw you, from now on, we will change the entire economic system. 

     It is long over due, over the last seven years or so we have seen unimaginable wealth generated and syphoned into the coffers of the rich and powerful. At the same time we have had "austerity" (translates as ideologically driven economics) slashing at the heart of the social conditions of the ordinary people, the very ones that create all that wealth in the first place.

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Profit From Illness.

      Just a glimpse of what privatisation of our hospitals will look like by glancing across at the Good ol' US of A. This from Truthout: For-Profit Hospitals Mark Up Prices Because There Is Nothing To Stop Them.

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UK Border Problems.

       Summer holidays coming up, off to somewhere sunny , somewhere exciting, visiting friends abroad, what ever the reason for your little excursion abroad, Bristol Defendant Solidarity have some good advice.

      Bristol Defendant Solidarity have published some important advice for activists travelling to/from the UK on our blog.
We have recently supported a number of people stopped and questioned at airports under “Schedule 7”, many of whom did not know their rights. As such we would be grateful if you would share this with your members, and any contacts you have – especially international contacts – so that the information can become more widely known.
      Police in the UK are allowed to question anyone entering/leaving the country about “terrorism” – without the right to silence. We have spoken to a number of anarchists who have been questioned under these powers, known as “Schedule 7”. Because of a lack of information on the law, most of those stopped have given more information than they had to. This includes people from outside of the UK who have not even heard of “Schedule 7” before. For this reason, we strongly recommend any activists travelling to/from the UK read our briefing beforehand.
       If you have been questioned under “Schedule 7”, please contact the Network for Police Monitoring, so they can keep track of how the police are using this power. Email: info@netpol.org

 

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

Control Is All That Matters.

         It is always easy to find examples of how the festering tentacles of the state creep in and poison ordinary people's relationships. In that "left wing" state governed by Syriza, the Greek state, they still lock you up for being related to someone they want punish for resisting their tyranny. Guilty by being related seems to be acceptable in Syriza's Greece.

       This report from Contra Info highlights what is going on in Greece. Though as  you and I know, all states do what they deem necessary to hold on to power.

     According to latest updates (June 2015), Evi Statiri – the life companion of anarchist prisoner Gerasimos Tsakalos – has been denied release from prison three times already by the special appellate judge Eftichis Nikopoulos (the same bastard who has repeatedly rejected applications for educational leave in the case of anarchist prisoner Nikos Romanos).
     Evi Statiri remains in pretrial detention on the basis of being emotionally related to the comrade Gerasimos Tsakalos, member of the anarchist urban guerrilla group Conspiracy of Cells of Fire. In the coming days, another motion for release filed by Evi Statiri will be examined by a judicial council.
       At the same time, a judicial council headed by Isidora Poga has dismissed the motion of Athena Tsakalou, mother of the Tsakalos brothers, for revocation of the restrictive condition that prohibits her from leaving Salamina (Salamis Island). Thus, not only is Athena Tsakalou currently unable to visit her two sons in Koridallos prison, but she is also not allowed to undergo necessary medical examinations (she is facing a serious health problem, and there are no appropriate hospital facilities inside Salamina limits).

      Left, right, centre left, centre right, they all fall back dictatorial authoritarian repression to prevent the people changing society to suit the people. 

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

Solidarity Is Our Weapon.

       I'm a bit late with this one, probably due to my stupidity of getting stuck in hospital. However, late, but still worth a viewing.

     WE should also bear in mind that the parasites that plant there arses on the plush seats at the Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption, those architects of austerity, workfare, benefit cuts and this attack on the poor and vulnerable, want to spend a minimum of £5.7 billion on having their private club refurbished. £5.7 billion to modernise that edifice to British establishment corruption. No shortage of money there, no long drawn out arguing about this, just a matter of selecting a timetable. Can you come up with a better way to spend £5.7 billion?

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

The NHS Is Doomed.

    Just out of hospital, and before I start my ranting, I would like to thank all those well-wishers who sent their thoughts and good wishes my way. Thanks to Mick, Ben, Anne, Keith, Roger, Nick, Euan, John, Janice, and others that slip my mind at the moment, thanks a million, see you all soon.
       During my recent misfortune of spending a spell in hospital, during which period I had plenty of empty time to observe and think. My conclusions were that the NHS is “doomed” , no ifs, no buts, no doubts, its is doomed. No matter which particular colour of tie you vote into those Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption, that rests on the banks of the Thames, it's doomed. All they do is follow the dictate of their lords and masters, the financial Mafia, which will allow the to modify the pace at which it will hit the buffers. 

      It is not the employees that are at fault, from my experiences I would say they are a dedicated and compassionate bunch. When you see a young person walking calmly and serenely done the ward with a pleasant smile, while carrying a cardboard container of somebody else's shit, and carrying it as if it were a bouquet of wild flowers, you kind of know, they will be there for you. That's not to say that the collapse will not be related in some way to the staff problems. Speaking to some of the nursing staff, it appears that some arsehole, has devised a scheme whereby nursing staff can work four 12 hour shifts in a row, with two days off, and then another two 12 hour shifts. Tell me how you can keep your dedication, compassion, attention to detail and concentration at 100% during those hours of work. Also what happens to you social life? It can't be done. Stressed, pissed off and over worked staff, will leave and be replaced by more to be trained all over again, or they will put up with it and be forced to work at a lower level of concentration.
      However, that is not where the foundations will be eroded, it is the economic system under which the NHS is supposed to live and thrive. Every item that comes into the NHS, from MRI scanner to Aspirin, only comes in if there is a profit for some large corporation. If the profit starts to disappear the goods will not come, or the price will go up. This continual squeezing profit from the NHS will eventually make it unsustainable.

       All those caring and hard working individuals that rally under the banner, “Save Our NHS”, who are you appealing to? Once you have your mass following, who will you be appealing to, to save our NHS? You will be appealing to a cabal of very rich lawyers, CEO, millionaires, and products from the Oxbridge sausage factory. Most of whom will not use the NHS, they'll be with BUPA or some other private health care corporation, and further more, a high percentage of them will have interests in private health care companies. Basically, they don't give a shit about your NHS, in actual fact a lot of them will gain immensely when it is finally sliced and diced among their corporate buddies. Do you think they will listen?
       The economic system under which we live will kill of the NHS. As costs rise and the system creaks more and more, the cry will go up from the greed brigade of the corporate world. that its only hope is to bring in private companies to make it more efficient. That which was once the NHS will be neatly sliced and dished out to the corporate buddies of the scum that comes out of the Oxbridge sausage factory. The only hope of saving the NHS, is to change the economic system under which we bleed. 

      So to all those marching under the “Save Our NHS” banner, why not have a bonfire of those banners and create a new one. A banner under which we can all gather, “Let's Change The Economic System”. Not only will you save our NHS, but you will save our libraries, our schools, our parks and public spaces, you could create an excellent transport infrastructure, end the housing shortage, and shape our villages, towns and cities they we the people want them.
       See you all soon under the banner, “Let's Change The Economic System”.
       For a wee glimpse at those sitting in those Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption and their sweaty fingers in the private health care profit machine, CLICK HERE. This list is a year out of date but it is still relevant.

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

The Real Question, Why Do Millions Migrate?

       That babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media, at the moment is focusing on the migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean, showing the “compassionate” West, saving thousands from drowning. Of course their “compassion” was more or less forced on to them by the shear numbers of deaths happening in that area, bodies washing up on the beach could be bad for tourism. But no focus on why there are so many trying to get out of Africa, and the part that the “compassionate” West played in that part of the problem. Not much research on why anybody would up-root themselves and risk their life to go to another country. Nor do we get much information of the conditions of those “rescued” migrants herded into camps in Greece and Italy.

      However, the Mediterranean isn't the only area where migrants are penned in and herded like cattle. Australia has a brutal system of dealing with migrants. Some of the figures coming from that, supposedly “good natured” land are just as shocking or more so than those in Greece.

       There have been 1,969+ deaths of asylum seekers associated with Australian border control between 2000 and October 2014. There are 7,784 people in immigration detention facilities as of December 31, 2014, of that number 2,111 are children. 50%+ of detained asylum seekers suffer significant depression, anxiety and stress. Rather than integrate asylum seekers in that vast land, during 2014 the Australian government spent over $1 billion on off shore detention. Crazy economics based on racism.
       States never want free movement of people, that makes things too difficult to control. Nor do they want integration, that may dilute their call to patriotism, when they decide to go and take a junk of some our state's turf. We know the problems, isn't it time we sorted them out?

 

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

 

The Warmth Of A Dream.

The Warmth Of A Dream.

He lay in a dark doorway, dreamed of home,

night frost locked his joints

morning rain chilled the marrow of his bone.

In the dream there was a sister,

a pram in a garden, a crowd of youngsters

who called him "mister", a time of little pain.

Are these youngsters the same young men, who

now laugh at him, throw beer cans,

piss on him as he lies drunk in some dark lane?

When was that first step down this slippery slope,

when was that first step to no forgiveness.

No will to rise to beg for food,

numbness kills the pain.

The dream brings a warmth that feels good,

dark fog shades out consciousness,

an ambulance carries off a body washed in rain.

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

Remembering Our Own.

       Oh dear, I seem to have missed it by a day, becoming quite common for me now-a-days. June 6th was the anniversary of death of Kenneth Rexroth, writer, poet, translator, teacher, and anarchist. He lived a well travelled and varied 76+ years. I like his comment, "the social lie",that societies are governed by tactics of deception in order to maintain a hierarchy of exploitation and servitude. He saw this as pervasive in all elements of culture, including popular literature, education, and social norms.  

Wikipedia:

       As a young man in Chicago, Rexroth was heavily involved with the anarchist movement (and was active in the IWW^[5]), attending and participating in politically charged readings and lectures. He was a regular at meetings of the Washington Park Bug Club, a loose assemblage of various intellectuals and revolutionaries. Such relationships allowed him to recite poems by other writers as well as gain experience with the political climate and revolutionary currents of the day.
      Lawrence Ferlinghetti recalled that Rexroth self-identified as a philosophical anarchist, regularly associated with other anarchists in North Beach, and sold Italian anarchist newspapers at the City Lights Bookstore.^[10]
        His ideas later fermented into a concept of what he termed the "social lie:" that societies are governed by tactics of deception in order to maintain a hierarchy of exploitation and servitude. He saw this as pervasive in all elements of culture, including popular literature, education, and social norms.
Rexroth, a pacifist, was a conscientious objector during World War II^[5] and was actively involved with helping Japanese-American internees.

We should always remember our own.

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

Mutual Aid, Not Charity.

         All of us with some political awareness, understand that large charities are not the answer, in this economic system, they are part of the problem. I have no doubt that some do great work, but collecting money from the people, to go and buy goods from the corporate world, is hardly anything approaching mutual aid. They help feed the banks, and big business, as well as paying fat salaries to CEO. They help oil the wheels of commerce with public money. Charities are in fact a symbol of system failure.

        When they do good work, that's a bonus, but mostly the fail miserable through a mixture of red tape, ineptitude, corruption and simply because economics is not the right tool in an emergency. 

         If the following report is true, and I have no reason to doubt it, then this must be the biggest example of that red tape, ineptitude, corruption and economic greed and madness, and further proof, that it is the entire system that has to be scrapped, and a system of true mutual aid built in its place.

This from Truth Out:

      The neighborhood of Campeche sprawls up a steep hillside in Haiti’s capital city, Port-au-Prince. Goats rustle in trash that goes forever uncollected. Children kick a deflated volleyball in a dusty lot below a wall with a hand-painted logo of the American Red Cross.
       In late 2011, the Red Cross launched a multimillion-dollar project to transform the desperately poor area, which was hit hard by the earthquake that struck Haiti the year before. The main focus of the project — called LAMIKA, an acronym in Creole for “A Better Life in My Neighborhood” — was building hundreds of permanent homes.
     Today, not one home has been built in Campeche. Many residents live in shacks made of rusty sheet metal, without access to drinkable water, electricity or basic sanitation. When it rains, their homes flood and residents bail out mud and water.
      The Red Cross received an outpouring of donations after the quake, nearly half a billion dollars.
       The group has publicly celebrated its work. But in fact, the Red Cross has repeatedly failed on the ground in Haiti. Confidential memos, emails from worried top officers, and accounts of a dozen frustrated and disappointed insiders show the charity has broken promises, squandered donations, and made dubious claims of success.
      The Red Cross says it has provided homes to more than 130,000 people. But the actual number of permanent homes the group has built in all of Haiti: six.

Read the full article HERE:

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

 

Destruction Of Authority.

     Sometimes you come across something and you wish you had thought of the idea, and carried it out in your own city. From Act For Freedom Now: Swiss poster in German and French found on Ausdemherzenderfestung, 2015/05/24.

 In this world of …

… borders and States, we are forced to follow rules that we have not
written ourselves.
These rules, mostly, do nothing for us. On the contrary, they benefit
the system.

Our decisions are confiscated at every level of our lives. And rights
are only granted when they are useful to the powerful. If we want to
break free from this oppression, it is this system that must be broken
by the struggle against those who profit by it and keep it going.

It is in destroying the structures of power that we can draw the idea of
a world that would be free of them, and so begin to live in it. We want
to freely decide our lives. Far from the norms of society, borders,
laws, and their representatives.

For the self-determination of our lives – down with papers, and the
authorities.

Perhaps I could still get round to doing it?? 

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

Captivity Comes In Many Guises.

       For those who can make it, Anarchist get-together, in Athens, June 11th. in support of long term anarchist prisoners. 

 This from Contra  Info:

Anarchist gathering in the context of the International Day of Solidarity with All Longterm Anarchist Prisoners (J11 /USA) & the Month for the Earth and against the Capital (from June 5th to July 5th /Uruguay)

Thursday, June 11th 2015, at 18:30 in Voutie Park – just below a small ring road at the foot of Filopappou Hill – in Ano Petralona, Athens

The discussion will revolve around opposition to every form of captivity and against the various projects of progress and domestication, providing updates about prisoners of social war and struggles in defense of the natural world. Translation will also be available on request.

‘Parko Voutie’ is ten minutes walk from the ISAP Petralona metro station to Merkouri Square (see map). The activity will start at 18:30 and be alcohol-free. There will be printed material and vegan food; feel free to prepare and bring something along, including acoustic instruments to make musical improvisations following the discussion…

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