Legalised Plunder And Murder.

        The Greek situation has fallen of the agenda of that babbling brook of bullshit, our mainstream media, their short concentration span has moved on to “the refugee crisis” to terrorism in Europe then on to that dangerous nut-case Trump. That doesn’t mean that things in Greece are fine and dandy, far from it. The people of Greece are still suffering poverty and deprivation at the hands of the financial Mafia. Some of the figures are staggering. Take the population of Greece, since the financial Mafia took dictatorial control of Greece, the population has gone from 11.1 million in 2011 to 11.0 million in 2015, for a small country, that’s a remarkable drop. Unemployment shows an equally devastating trend in the opposite direction going from 17.9% in 2011 to 25% in 

2015. Looking at the volume of money the Troika, ( EC, European Commission, ECB, European Central Bank, IMF, International Mankind Fuckers) have poured into Greece, you would imagine that its problems should be sorted. Of course we all know that the money shuffling is an illusion, though they say they are giving it to Greece, it doesn’t actually stay there. Around approximately 80% goes back to the financial Mafia in interest payments, so the problem of Greece’s debt remains. In fact the amount of public debt, (state debt) has risen from 172% of GDP in 2011 to 177% of GDP in 2015.

         To show how little concern the Troika have for the people of Greece you just have to look at their response to the Greek government’s meagre Christmas handout to to pensioners earning less than €800 a month. They have said that Greece has broken the conditions of its loans and they will have to look at what to do.

          To grasp the reality of the situation of the people of Greece, all you need do is focus on the fact that the poorest 20% of Greece’s 11 million people have suffered a 42% drop in disposable income since 2009, and during the “Greek crisis” the country has lost over 25% of its GDP – the biggest downturn to be experienced by an advanced western economy in peacetime. All this because the European banks, mainly German, threw too much money into the gambling casino that was Greece’s “economic bubble”. It was all done to make lots of money for the financial Mafia, and when the bubble burst, the gamblers started to cry, and wanted their money back. In steps the Troika, and under the banner of austerity, it starts to stripe all the wealth out of Greece, plunging the people of that unfortunate country into poverty, deprivation, unemployment, stress and trauma, with the resultant effects such as massive increase in suicides, substances abuse, homelessness, mental and physical health problems, confounded by the collapse of social services, including health and education. This year will see more cuts to salaries and pensions in real terms, as far as the people of Greece are concerned, the storm is gathering pace. All of this is a human tragedy happening here in super rich Europe, but to our babbling brook of bullshit, it is old news and not worthy of reporting.

         To compound the situation of the people of Greece, while the financial Mafia is mercilessly plundering all assets from that unfortunate country, we should remember that Greece is the main landing point of those hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the imperialists’ blood curling adventures in the Middle East. Greece is now home to thousands of refugees who are herd up like cattle and detained in concentration camps. Greece, a country because of the financial Mafia’s brutal policy of austerity and plunder, is probably the least able of the EU countries to cope with this traumatising, and avoidable human tragedy. The agony of the people in Greece is nothing short of legalised plunder and murder.

This from Act For Freedom Now:

         Nine months after the EU-Turkey refugee agreement and the official closing of the Balkan route towards north Europe, thousands of refugees and migrants are being forced to live indefinitely in concentration camps across Greece, in horrendous conditions, with no hope for tomorrow, being exposed to below zero temperatures, in inadequate and unacceptable dwellings or even tents.
         The tragic images of refugees living in tents covered with snow and barefoot toddlers in the muddy water of the camps, waiting in long queues for a plate of food under unbearable temperatures, are still fresh. Despite government claims that the measures for the protection of refugees from the adverse weather conditions have been successfully completed, the preparation for protecting migrants and refugees who are trapped in the Greek islands has failed, despite the millions of euros that have been given to prepare for the winter, which recently has been harsh even for Greek weather standards. And it’s no wonder, since the Greek government, local municipalities and NGO’s see refugees as a business opportunity.
        And for these reasons for many months since the initial wave of refugees coming to Greece in 2015 the government and the police -through media propaganda and arrests- managed to demonize and barred all the hundreds of volunteers that in a self organized manner were helping the thousands of refugees arriving to Greece. Then they imprisoned the refugees into camps guarded by the police, from which they are allowed out of them for few hours a day, (which is pointless in most cases since they are situated far away from villages or cities, so that contact with people and necessary services is avoided or prevented), forbidden outsiders to visit the camps, even reporters or photojournalists without supervised permission and directed all the money to NGO’s to run the camps (many of them were set up just a bit after the first refugee waves sensing the flow of money to the European entry point of Greece). There have even been situations were local authorities used the money they got to hire people to help the refugees indeed to hire employees but use them for completely different duties serving the local authorities, based on the excuse that greece is under financial crisis, thus we see these appealing conditions in camps were already to refugees have died in January.

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

This Is Not a Dialogue.

          I have always maintained that this society will always encourage you to debate anything, but punish you if you try to change things. As long as we fail to see this society as a class war with two diametrically opposed sides, and one side holds all the power levers, we are doomed to enter into an endless and pointless conversation that goes under the label of dialogue. If you are bound by the rules of your opponent, then you are not in a fair and equal dialogue. If the ground rules are shaped by your opponent, and backed up by threat, you are not in a equal dialogue. You cannot discuss capitalism into a fair and just system, that’s not how the system works. Under capitalism, the reality is that the majority will always have to struggle to get a reasonable standard of living, while the corporate bosses and their henchmen, will live in unimaginable opulence, that’s how the system functions. We can’t enter into a dialogue under such conditions, it is an illusion created by our opponents to weave passivity over society, a trick for continuity of the system. What we want is to frame the argument in our value structure, equality, justice, freedom and sustainability, realise that we can’t have those conditions under capitalism, forget the illusionary, action sapping dialogue, and organise to destroy the existing system. 

On Anarchist News from Crimethinc:

         This is not a dialogue. How could you be so naïve? A dialogue—from which some of the participants can be deported at any time? A dialogue—in which one side keeps shooting and incarcerating the other side? A dialogue—in which a few people own all the networks and radio stations and printing presses, while the rest have to make do with markers and cardboard signs? A dialogue, really?
          You’re not in a dialogue. You’re in a power struggle. All that matters is how much force you can bring to bear on your adversaries to defend yourself from them. You can bet that if you succeed, they will accuse you of breaking off the dialogue, of violating their free speech. They will try to lure you back into conversation, playing for time until they need no more stratagems to keep you passive while they put the pieces in place for tyranny.
          This isn’t a dialogue—it’s a war. They’re gambling that you won’t realize this until it’s too late. If freedom is important to you, if you care about all the people marked for death and deportation, start taking action.

Read the full article HERE:

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

"Fastest Growing Economy In Europe".

        A little bit more of my thoughts on the “fastest growing economy in Europe”. a phoney growth built on a mountain of personal debt. While this is held up as a success story by our corporate minded lords and masters, its fruits to you and I are nothing like a success story. As I mentioned in my previous post on this illusion, child poverty is on the increase, homelessness is on the increase, those in temporary accommodation are on the increase, those sleeping rough is on the increase. We can add to that, this year saw an increase in insolvency and bankruptcies. Then we have the number being locked up in our vastly over-crowed prisons is on the increase, with obvious resultant riots. So the dystopian vision materialises with other details such as a massive increase in prisoners suicides and self-harm. All this is the world of the ordinary people in this the fifth richest country in the world. Where is all that extra wealth generated from this “fastest growing economy in Europe” going? Certainly not to our National Health Service, as it crumbles under the stress of under funding and under manning, in preparation for its slicing and dicing for sale to the corporate greed merchants. Our education system is falling apart for much the same reasons as our NHS, with the result that the future potential of millions of kids will be stunted. Yet we are supposed to feel satisfaction, and take comfort in the fact that we are the “fastest growing economy in Europe”. 

        The crap coming from the mouths of our lords and masters sitting in the Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption, is that ever increasing trade will solve all our problems. Hence their scurrying around post Brexit, screaming about trade deals with all and sundry, dictators, fascist regimes and despots, as long as the corporate world can make money from the deal. As long as we frame the problem in these terms of ever increasing trade, we will lose the argument. Ever increasing trade is the life blood of the corporate world and will only widen the gap between rich and poor, will only fatten the bank accounts of the corporate greed merchants. Instead of pushing for ever increasing trade, we should be framing the argument in terms of building self sufficiency, with a decent life for all, seeing to the needs of all our people, and what ever surplus we have distributing in the form of mutual aid to those communities still struggling for self sufficiency. Removing profit from the equation and allowing the corporate world to die is the only road to equality, the only way to end poverty and deprivation. We should be aiming for a world where all the wealth that is created should be delivery to all those who created that wealth and those who are in need. We should see the phrase, “the fastest growing economy in Europe” as the slogan of the greed driven corporate world and as the death knell of equality.

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

Growing Economy, Growing Poverty,

       That babbling cabal that infests the Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption, are continually telling us that we are living in the fastest growing economy in Europe. They trumpet, employment is up, unemployment is down, wages are rising, and we should all be feeling yippedy doda and be extremely grateful. All smoke and mirrors, all illusion and lies. That “fastest growing economy” is not based on making things and exporting, it is made up of consumerism and ever growing personal debt, hardly an economic success story.
       What does this “fastest growing economy” look like to you and I? Well let’s look at children, The number of children in absolute poverty has increased by 0.5 million since 2010. At present nine children in a class of 30, will be living in poverty. Of course the babbling cabal are always making adjustment to taxes and benefits, supposed to be for our benefit, but according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, as a direct result of tax and benefit decisions made since 2010, the number of children in relative poverty will have risen from 2.3 to 3.6 million by 2020. Our babbling cabal of the money class, will always spout, “get a job you lazy poor and that will sort everything out”, well not so, Two-thirds (66 per cent) of children growing up in poverty live in a family where at least one member works.
       Let’s look at homelessness, during the period 2014- 2016 the number of those accepted by councils, (England) as homeless rose by 6%, while for the same period, those housed in temporary accommodation (England) rose by 23%. Sadly, and shockingly, those at the bottom of that poverty/homelessness crime, those sleeping rough, saw a massive increase 16% from 2015 to 2016(England).
        These are the facts on the ground, in the real world where you and I live, a million miles away from that babbling cabal of money, greed and privilege. While you and I struggle to get a decent living, they on the other hand, spend their time waffling and babbling in endless pointless circles, making sure nothing changes. Their main purpose is to make sure the wealth and the power remains securely in their hands. Ah, the wonders of capitalism. 

Endless Babble.

 

 The questions arise, why war and hunger?

Why does poverty continue to linger?

Why such need in a world of wealth?

Why put a price on a child's health?

Confused and angry the public stand

gazing in disbelief at this pathetic band.

Those shiny politicians designed by spin

their street credibility paper thin

the great persuaders looking the mood

struggling so hard just for our good!!

Masters of the art of wheeling and dealing

exceptional experts at legal stealing.

Enter the media, drowning us all in trivial text,

everything you need know

of scandal and sport, crime and sex.

Together they create a world of confusion

all fashion and style, a vicious illusion.

So no matter how often we point at need,

we always drown in a sea of greed,

no debate entered into, no answers found,

the waffle the babble goes round and round.

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

Insanity Reigns.

        I don't suppose you would get this information from your morning feed from that babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media. People are rightly concerned about our local area being the cesspool for dodgy nuclear weapons of mass destruction, that don't work properly. Apart from these monstrosities going off on their own whim to where ever they please, they are not even under our control, we are just storing them, manning them, and paying for them, to help the Americans attempt to control the world. On top of this fiasco of nuclear weapons that go off in the opposite direction from their instructions, we have just received the information that a number of years ago, a Russian nuclear submarine and an American nuclear submarine collided in the waters of the River Clyde. A incident that could have reaped disaster for the whole of the Clyde estuary and beyond, but was signed off to the secrecy file. Where will this madness end, especially now we have a weirdo, maladjusted, mentally unstable, narcissist, sitting on  the throne of the American empire.  

From 325:
Anti-nuclear activists interrupt the routines of HMNB Clyde (UK)

UPDATE: 07.45 AM
        The two remaining anti-nuclear activists have now been removed from the road leading to the south gate of HMNB Clyde and arrested by the MoD police. As far as we know, all three arrested activists are being taken to Clydebank and expected to be released later.
       This morning, (25th. January) at 06.45 AM, four anti-nuclear activists blocked the ongoing morning traffic at the south gate of HMBB Clyde in Faslane. Action was recorded by activists from the nearby Faslane Peace Camp, a protest site dedicated to campaigning against nuclear weapons since 1982. The protesters interrupted the morning routines by walking into the line of traffic and pulling a banderol over the road.
        Three activists formed a sit-in blockade, shutting the entry and soon causing a traffic jam of estimated 300 cars. The undercover MoD police car and a regular police vehicle arrived to the scene soon. The protesters are being cleared from the road. Three arrests are to be expected.
         The action is in response to the revelation of the Royal Navy misfiring of a Trident II D5 ballistic missile from the HMS Vengeance last June. Several sources reported that the missile, rather than heading towards Africa as intended, veered towards the Florida coast. There was also a discrepancy in the awareness of the event among elected officials who weeks later, voted in favour of renewing the missile defence system. It also emerged that Prime Minister Theresa May was briefed about the test and its results and did not inform MP’s.
        Besides the political issue, there is also a technical issue as the Trident missile is identical for both the US and UK. In turn, most of the tests are carried out by the US Navy.
       “How can UK’s nuclear destiny be claimed to be in safe hands when the country is surrendering its power structure to the Chinese, allowing the Americans to build these haphazard missiles and freely sharing vital secrets to a President whose views and opinions are as vague and inconsistent as they are bizarre and provocative”, says the activist Nick Timer, participating the action.
      As a result of the parliamentary vote last July, the decision was made to spend £40 billion to renew Trident. According to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), the figures could well be in excess of £200bn.
      “With austerity hitting the majority of UK citizens, it causes immense concern that such sums of money continue to be ploughed into this bloated, ineffectual and unpopular white elephant. Indeed, we have to ask how effective a deterrent Trident is when the world’s superpowers can’t be assured that any retaliatory strike would even reach its intended target. Instead of heading towards a new arms race we need to simply find a way to scrap the nukes: and getting rid of Trident would set a good precedent“, says another activist Molly Garfield.
      The Faslane Peace Camp is a permanent protest camp dedicated on campaigning and protesting against nuclear weapons. The camp, located next to the HMNB Clyde, is celebrating its 35th Anniversary this year.

Contact:
faslanepeacecamp@protonmail.com
07376 188216
https://faslanepeacecamp.wordpress.com/

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

Protectors Of Unearned Privileges

         Is it justice when the prosecution withholds material from the defence, stating that it is not relevant to the defence. Of course the prosecution is making that decision, not the defence. Is it justice if even the judge admits that he hasn’t seen all the relevant material. Well I suppose that is what we should expect from a judicial system that is there to protect the establishment’s power and privileges. 

This from Act For Freedom Now: 

  [update] Aachen: short report from the first day of trial           Today, 23rd of January, the first session of the trial took place against our anarchist comrades accused of robbing a Pax Bank branch in November 2014 in the city of Aachen.
         In the room there was the representative of the Prosecutor’s Office, the judge, the defendants with their respective lawyers, a “people’s jury” (which does not take decisions), journalists, who were not permitted to record inside the courtroom in compliance with the request of the defense lawyers (although their cameras were rolling outside the courtroom), and the public composed of family, friends and comrades of the defendants, who occupied the 30-40 seats available.
       After the procedural formalities and the reading of the accusations by the prosecutor (armed robbery and illegal weapons possession), one of the defense attorneys requested a deferral of three-weeks of the trial on the grounds that they did not have access to a part of the investigation files because the prosecution had not yet provided it. The lawyers argued that this hindered their ability to give a full and fair defense to their clients.
         After hearing the arguments of both the prosecution and the defense, the judge ordered the audience to leave the courtroom a total of three times to deliberate in private with both parties before rejecting the postponement.
       Among their arguments, the prosecution alleged the non-relevance of such documents for this case. Only in the end did they admit that there was an other part of the files that is related to the ongoing investigation, which they will not reveal.
       Even the judge acknowledged that he did not see a big part of the files that the defense demanded, but countered this by noting that this is common in many trials. However the lawyers insisted that the relevance or not of these documents should be decided by the defense not by the prosecution.
        Finally, the judge rejected the three-week deferral, but suspended the session on Thursday, January 26, to give the defense time to read the part of the investigation files to which access was granted (which is not all). The next session will be on February 9th, in principle the program of this day already includes some witnesses taking the stand, including a police officer of the Spanish state.
        Several supporters of different countries were present to show their support during the 4 and a half hour session. Our comrades received our warmth in cold Germany, while an exchange of glances and gestures of complicity were passing back and forth all morning, transmitting force, demonstrating once again that in the face of repression and confinement, solidarity among those in struggle defies walls and borders.
[found here: https://solidaritatrebel.noblogs.org

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

The Eyes, And Voice of Jusrtice.

           I have always believed that those who have any talent such as a poet, musician, artist, actor, writer, have a duty to use that talent to record, display and highlight the truth, to inform and take sides on the side of justice and freedom. To do other, seems to me to be a waste of that talent, a dereliction of our responsibility to others.

We The Poets.

We the poets

must rise to hold the mirror,

not at romantic moon

dressing trees in silver web

but, at sadness in a child's eyes

helpless face festooned with flies,

the listless look of hunger.

We the writers

must rise to hold the mirror,

not at hopes of super stars

pandering to an ego of selfish greed

but, at misery of the world's maimed

duty done by smart bombs, computer aimed;

peoples crushed by pitiless power.

We the artists

must rise to hold the mirror

not at views from penthouse windows

of meadows green and lush

but, at peoples broken by starvation,

at war, its brother deprivation,

capitalism's bastard twins.

If across the planet as a whole

we don't stand up and play our role,

poet; heart of compassion,

writer; voice of conscience,

artist; eyes of justice,

we've cheated tomorrow's generation,

hurried the planet to extinction. 

 

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

 

These Dangerous Women.

       Because of the male dominated political parties and the male dominated babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media, women have often been airbrushed out of history. However if you ever poke your nose into the history of working class struggle, you'll find that, not only were women there, but often they were major players at the forefront of that struggle. Women played a major role in the WWI peace movement and continue to be a force in the peace movement of today. In the struggle to improve working class conditions women have stood tall. We in Glasgow have a legion of women working class warriors that of which we can be very proud. Names such as Mary Barbour, Helen Crawfurd, Ethel MacDonald, Rita Milton, Jane Hamilton Patrick and too many to mention here. So any exhibition that highlights these women warriors and helps to redress the position, is worth supporting.  

Subject: Audacious Women festival:

Scottish WILPF Exhibition at Ocean Terminal

Dear All,
       If you haven't seen the Exhibition yet it will be at 'The Little Shop of Memories' Ocean Terminal 1st February to 3rd March.
      Please share the attached flyer with your friends and encourage people to go and see the exhibition.
       If you are not in Edinburgh and would like the Exhibition for a local venue please contact Scottish WILPF.

In peace
Anne Scott, Secretary Scottish WILPF

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

The Mainstream Media, Weaver Of Illusions.

 

         Our perceptions of the world around us, our value structure, our vision of reality, is built on the information we receive. What happens if that information is false? If you rely on the bulk of your information from that babbling brook of bullshit, our mainstream media, the chances are that you will have a false vision of the world around you, a distorted view of reality. The babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media, is no more than a propaganda machine for the establishment. It is owned and controlled by a handful of very rich conglomerates, who obviously have a vested interest in protecting their wealth and power. For almost  the last couple of centuries, it has never been a source of accurate information, and it never will be. Those who own the babbling brook of bullshit have an agenda, apart from making money, and that is to shape public opinion, to shape it in favour of their idea of how the world should be run, and to protect that wealth and power.

In the following video, John Pilger lucidly points this out, quoting obvious lies that flourished as "news" and by disclosing facts regarding that babbling brook of bullshit.

Thanks Loam for the link. Just click on the "Watch on Vimeo" button below.

John Pilger at Off The Shelf Festival of Words, Sheffield, 27th October 2016 from Dartmouth Films on Vimeo.

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

Stay With Us, On The Streets.

 

         It was very heart warming to see the hundreds of thousands of women from across the UK marching against Trumpism. The coming together of all those of different backgrounds to voice their anger at the vicious danger in this new wave of far right authoritarianism. My only concern is, where were you when Libya was being pulverised, where were you when the government was attacking, and still is, the disabled with its "assessment" scheme, where were you when benefit sanction drove people to suicide, and still does, where were you as hundreds of thousands of migrants, men, women and children, fleeing death and destruction, were being herded like cattle all across Europe, and still are. These injustices, and many more, are still with us, now that you have found your voice, please, stay on the streets, please, stay with us, we need you.  

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

A Very Volatile Future.

         Anybody who looks around them must be aware that the political landscape is changing rapidly and the "far right" is on the rise. This should not surprise us, as every time the capitalist system starts to sink into one of its cyclical "crises" some how, from some where, the far right is released from its sewers, and slithers across the land. We have been here before. What might be surprising is the rapid rate at which this "far right" epidemic of vicious authoritarianism has spread. I believe we are in for a very volatile future, how it pans out will depend on how well the ordinary people organise to defend the meagre handful of rights they have, how much they wish to live in freedom, or how much they will buckle under to the bare knuckles of raw capitalism. As always, the future has still to be written.

An Appeal from Its Going Down:

Donate Here

        On the evening of Friday, January 20th, a comrade of ours was shot in the stomach in the most public place on the University of Washington’s campus in Seattle – a place called “Red Square” for the color of its bricks rather than its politics.
        This Fellow Worker (what members of the IWW call ourselves) and Defender (for GDC members) is a longtime anti-fascist and dedicated activist, a member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and the General Defense Committee of the IWW. He’s currently in critical condition at Harborview Hospital in Seattle. They have a Level One Trauma center, so it’s likely he is receiving the best quality care available, for which we are deeply grateful.
      How do we respond? We are building an expanded anti-authoritarian, anti-capitalist, anti-racist, anti-sexist, and anti-fascist presence in Seattle, and this person was spearheading that effort. Will others are willing step up and replace his effort while he heals? Our response will help determine that.
          There is a limited amount of time for us to make clear to the world what is clear to us: we are under armed attack. The fascist right knows where to find us – protests such as anti-Donald Trump events, or actions against police brutality. In the Twin Cities, the trial has just begun of Allen Scarsella, one of the white supremacists who came to the Fourth Precinct in Minneapolis in November, 2015 and opened fire, shooting multiple people.
        We don’t have confirmation that the person who shot our comrade was a counter-protester angry at those protesting Milo’s hateful white nationalist misogyny. We do know that he turned himself into the police several hours later, claiming ‘self-defense.’ This, of course, is exactly what Scarsella did as well.
        Our friend will have enormous hospital bills and undoubtedly some legal costs as well. There will be a significant loss of income. Let’s raise him so much that he won’t have to worry about that angle of things. Please give. All money will be controlled directly by them and their partner; none will go to any other cause, excepting any fees associated with the fundraising service used.
        Please don’t just give; please tell your friends and families and organizations to give. That may sound daunting, but here’s why they should:
         This isn’t just about one guy. Your friends and families know that the situation has changed dramatically. They know that things are changing fast, and have heard the word fascism a lot since Trump was elected. They may even suspect that the breakneck pace of media revelations and executive decisions is intended to distract them and make them feel helpless.

Continue reading:

Donate Here

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

The Coming Winter!!

Winter

Dark malefic clouds crowd the sky

winds carry the stench of carrion to every nostril,

the crazy ape has followed the faculty of hawks.

All around stand crows, magpies, jackdaws, vultures,

edacious eyes anticipating their putrid feast.

A weary Cassandra laments;

doves, hearts weeping for a better yesterday

forsake their olive branches.

    There have been protests in America and elsewhere against the Trump presidency, with the usual calls that the protesters are just sore losers. However, this election was different, this is the gloves off, bare knuckles, raw capitalism at the fascist end of the spectrum. It is a flag waving triumphalism that will embolden the far right across the globe. They are already raising their ugly heads above the gutter in Europe and elsewhere. You can be sure that when fascism snakes its way into our lives it will not be wearing jackboots, it will be lead by men in suits. Now more than ever, is the time for those who want freedom and justice for all, to come together and make their presence felt, from the workplace to the community, and on the streets. If not us, then who? If not now, then when? Just remember, all of the meagre rights we have were not won in the corridors of power, they were won on the streets, the factories and the communities, those in the corridors of power had to be dragged kicking and screaming to accept these rights.

 This from The Agency:

      On January 20, Donald J. Trump will be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States. There to protest the know-nothing real estate mogul’s ascent to office will be many of the people he’s insulted and denigrated over the past year and a half: women, people of color, Muslims, immigrants – representatives of the majority of the population of the U.S.

Many of us protesters are anarchists.

Why anarchists?
       Because this election really was different. It fed off and helped spread a new strain of racism, misogyny, and ultra-nationalism that’s receiving answering salutes from countries all over the world, from France to Hungary to the Philippines. We’re not here to protest just another in a long line of American warlords. We’re here to call a halt to New American Fascism and the hatred at its heart.
       In the 18 months since Donald Trump announced his candidacy for the White House, we’ve seen Muslims and Hispanics terrorized. We’ve seen the legitimate anger of Black Lives Matter countered by a vicious backlash. We’ve seen a concerted and expanding effort to roll back the social acceptance that transgender people have just begun to make. We’ve seen a wealthy white man flaunt his privilege in ways that demean women – with only the mildest and rare peeps of protest from the Washington political establishment.
       Trump didn’t create this ugliness, but he’s become its focal point, its megaphone, and its chief recruiting tool. He’s made racists and xenophobes feel powerful. He’s made sexists and homophobes feel justified. He’s given the corporate agenda to disempower and impoverish working people a smoke screen of phony populism to hide behind.
       We’ve seen it too many times before in too many places to ignore it this time: a right-wing demagogue manoeuvres into power. Sensing the opportunity of a lifetime, a greedy and ruthless economic and political elite falls into line behind the new leader. Minorities and the economically vulnerable are the first to suffer. Eventually, everybody does.
        This election could be just the beginning. France, Germany, and Hungary are just a few of the countries with national elections coming up in 2017 where the racist right is expected to make big gains. Now is the time to send an unmistakable message that fascism is not the answer. But we won’t do that in a voting booth. We’ll do it in our homes, our communities, and in the streets. We’ll do it by promoting the vision of a society without the State, without bought-and-paid-for politicians, without capitalism. The opposite of what we’ve got now.

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

The Problem

This from Crimethinc:

The Problem

     …is that anyone could wield so much power in the first place. A man like Donald Trump could never be so dangerous if government and the market didn’t concentrate power in the hands of a ruling class.
Putting another party in power won’t fix this. All the faith invested in Obama’s promises of Hope and Change just legitimized the government long enough for a more ruthless tyrant to take the reins.         All the taxes paid by hopeful citizens just put more bullets in the guns of the police that will go on profiling, imprisoning, deporting, and murdering people under Donald Trump.
       We have to stop ceding our strength to these institutions. Instead, let’s build networks to meet our needs directly and defend ourselves against everyone who wants to rule us. The only way to freedom and equality is through self-determination, mutual aid, and collective resistance.

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