Glasgow May Day Rally, 2019.

      May Day across the world saw marches, rallies and protests, their is no doubt that a vast amount of people across the globe are angry enough to take to the streets on May Day to show that solidarity and vent dissatisfaction which bubbles inside them for most of the year. 

      In Europe cites across the continent from Moscow to Turin, from Gothenburg, to Instanbul from St Petersburg to Paris, and many more cities saw massive rallies and protests, and on occasions the police came down hard and there were many arrests.

This from The Independent, Athens:

      In the Greek capital of Athens, three separate May Day rallies took place, organised by rival groups. A series of strikes by trade unions across the country to mark international workers’ day has left the capital without bus and metro services, and the whole country without national rail and island ferry services – leaving some municipalities isolated from the rest of the country. 

  St Petersburg May Day Rally (photo Independent)

       Here in Glasgow it was a much more family, fun celebration and what it lacked in numbers it made up for in enthusiasm and passion. Despite the usual Glasgow lousy weather there were stalls, musicians, singers, poets and speakers, and a receptive and pleasantly surprised passing public. All thanks to that small and  dedicated bunch of Glaswegians, The May Day Organising Group, well done. Rather ironic, our feisty little celebration took place just next to an army recruiting stall!! Its white van and blue tent can be seen in the last photo.

Some Glasgow May 1st. 2019 photos and videos:

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk

The Judiciary Doesn't Know The Meaning Of Justice.

        The judiciary is the machine that fastens the chains fashioned by the state for its own protection. Its purpose is set in stone, nothing to do with compassion, humanity, or human dignity, it is ruthless in its pursuit of defending the state and its powerful and wealthy masters. It is devoid of justice and is relentless in its drive to protect the establishment and all the unearned privileges that are heaped on its masters. The judiciary is the state's most powerful weapon against freedom and justice.

Following Extract from Roar Magazine.

       After spending five years behind bars as a political prisoner, Greek anarchist communist Tasos Theofilou reflects on life in prison and prison’s role in society.

Open Letter on the Commencement of the Trial at the Court of Appeal

November 2, 2016
        On November 21, after a nine-month postponement, my trial commences at the Court of Appeal. It’s been two years since the completion of my trial at the Court of First Instance, when I was sentenced to twenty-five years imprisonment for the charges of common complicity to homicide and robbery in connection with the events on Paros Island on August 10, 2012. I was acquitted of participation in the Conspiracy of Cells of Fire as well as of direct perpetration of homicide by a majority opinion.
      It was a political (not judicial) compromise, resulting from a conflict between the manipulation of the case by the police in cooperation with the mainstream media during the first days after my arrest, the lack of any evidence, the solidarity expressed by the community, and the reaction of independent media.
      From this emerged the temporary Solomonic solution of my partial acquittal of the charges, deferring the prospect of a conclusive decision until a trial at the Court of Appeal. There was an appeal initiated by myself, in which I upheld a full acquittal of all charges. There was also an appeal initiated by a gentleman called Δράκος [Dragon] — a public prosecutor whose surname obviously adds further symbolism to the witch-hunt orchestrated by the Anti-Terrorist Unit. Eventually, the division of opinion between the presiding judge, Mr. Hatziathanasiou — who voted for conviction on all charges — and the two other members of the court — who chose the more moderate option that eventually prevailed — made room for further manipulation. Mr. Δράκος, it would seem, felt that twenty-five years of imprisonment based on no evidence is not enough and went on to turn my trial at the Court of Appeal into a repetition of the initial trial. His appeal opened up the possibility of me not being fully acquitted or even facing a sentence harsher than life imprisonment. I believe that the event of my arrest, its manipulation by the mainstream media, my detention and initial conviction high-lighted certain issues that do not have to do with me personally.
    Rather, they bear a wider social and political importance. It is a manifestation of how a ruthless police state attempts to solidify the most extremist doctrines of judicial repression: from the medieval nature of my public castigation and the attempt to squeeze premodern criminal stereotypes into a fabricated pro-file; to the criminalization of friendship, comradeship or social relationships; as well as the use of supernatural or pseudoscientific evidence such as the notorious DNA on a hat, which forms the basis of this otherwise tragic story.
[…]
       My arrest is part of a crusade against the anarchist movement, launched and orchestrated by the law-and-order milieu: journalists, the Anti-Terrorist Unit, prosecution investigators, and wannabe Supreme Court judges. It is a crusade that dates back to 2009, when the dismantling of Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire was put forward as a pretext. A “vacancy” arose from the case of Nea Smyrni back in 2010. 1 A vacancy that the Anti-Terrorist Unit thought I “rightfully deserved,” when in August 2012 a citizen was fatally injured in his attempt to prevent the escape of the robbers of Alpha Bank in Naousa of Paros Island. They based my “informed appointment” on an actual meeting I’d had back then [in 2010] with my friend and comrade Kostas Sakkas at an eatery in the neighborhood of Kallithea, as well as on an imaginary meeting with the then [in 2010] unknown to me but now comrade, friend and co-prisoner, Giorgos Karagiannides. It was a golden opportunity to slander the anarchist movement by profiling it as a mob of ruthless and bloodthirsty individuals.
       It took the mobilization of all the mainstream media outlets broadcasting my arrest exclusively, striving to make the scenario appear plausible for a few days. For an entire week they presented me as a ruthless murderer. Photos of me went viral on the Internet while my commission to the courts on Loukareos and Evelpidon Streets, respectively, were broadcast live on all TV channels. In the name of law and order, judges, the media, and the police violated my rights and disgraced the famed presumption of innocence in every possible way. The media-cannibalism I was subjected to breached the aesthetic limits of the postmodern Dark Age we now find ourselves in.
      Of course, it was not just the authority of the media that pursued my conviction by means of abusing even my written works and my private life, cramming criminal stereotypes into my fabricated profile (especially that of the paranoid murderer); jurisdiction followed suit as well. It’s precisely the enforcement of media authority, after all, that made the lack of any evidence appear insignificant. Even the provocative statement at court: “Who knows, perhaps this man was not at the robbery,” which came from the then-commissioner of the Anti-Terrorist Unit, Mr. Hardalias, was thought of as less of a scandal and more of a statement that shouldn’t be noted in the minutes. It is a scandal because it was not just a statement that came out of his mouth spontaneously. It was a display of the power of a man and the service he represents in the space and time of a public trial.
       It is a scandal because he chose this arrogant way to manifest the absolute power that his service enjoys. He actually implied with cynicism: “I don’t care if he was or wasn’t at the robbery. I don’t care about minor issues like evidence. I have my reasons to want him in prison. And he shall be in prison.” This development came as no surprise given that the suppression of the anarchist movement had been assigned to the Anti-Terrorist Unit as its sole and exclusive responsibility.
    The Anti-Terrorist Unit is a police service that enjoys provocatively preferential treatment by the media, to the degree that crime news informs case files and is considered valid evidence of guilt. Of course, we shouldn’t have expected much more from the presiding judge, Mr. Hatziathanasiou, whose argument for my conviction on all charges went as far as to include the fact that I tend to use an electric razor — not a blade — during the freezing winter in Korydallos prison (meaning that, since one perpetrator appears to have no facial hair on the pictures taken by CCTV cameras and since he’s disguised, then it must certainly be me!). He also felt the need to include that I haven’t served in the Army and that I haven’t read Genet’s books.
     Needless to say he concurred with the draftsman of my criminal indictment, that my collection of fiction stories, Παρανουαρικό [Paranoir], as well as the crime reportage found in tabloid press of the poorest quality, such as Proto Thema, should be considered valid documents substantiating my guilt. Likewise, we shouldn’t be taken aback by the prosecutor, Mrs. Oikonomou’s, attitude. She simply thought it was . . . appropriate or even in line with her responsibilities perhaps, to nap during most of the proceedings. It came as no surprise that she ended up reciting the document of my indictment when she was called to declaim her proposal.
      These were, more or less, the conditions of my trial at the Court of First Instance. The political circumstances had placed the anti-terrorism witch-hunt at the top of the previous far-right government’s agenda. The Minister of Justice and former public prosecutor, Mr. Athanasiou, announced his intentions to introduce high-security prisons for terrorists within the first one hundred days of his appointment. The Anti-Terrorist Unit arrested Kostas Sakkas every other day with silly pretenses, forcing him to become a fugitive.
[…]
      I see my legal battle against all charges at the Court of Appeal as part of a wider battle against a ruthless police state, against judicial repression and its extremist doctrines. It is a bizarre existential battle in which adjudicators and prosecutors are parts of a single body — that of jurisdiction.
      As I did at the Court of First Instance, I would like to highlight yet again that I don’t pledge innocence and I will not plead with any judge to believe me. I am not innocent. In the class war, I’ve chosen a side. I stand with the underprivileged and the suppressed, the marginalized and the prosecuted, the transgressors and the accursed. I decided to take political action in the anarchist movement with the admittedly ambitious goal to strike down the social, political, and economic foundations of capitalism and its state. However, I denied, I deny and will deny again all the accusations of the actions they’ve charged me with. I never was a member of the Conspiracy of the Cells of Fire, I didn’t participate in this robbery and, above all, I never killed and wouldn’t have ever been capable of killing an unarmed citizen for any reason or under any circumstances.

For anarchy, for communism,

Tasos Theofilou

Read the full article HERE:

Glasgow's May Day Week Events.

          To encourage all you lovely Glaswegians to come and join in this years May Day celebrations, the May Day Organising Group, had a stall in Argyle Street outside the Argyle railway station entrance. Lots of leaflets giving info on the May week events were handed out and well received.
         So just to refresh your memories here are the details once again. Hope to see you all at one or all of these vents, let's make May Day a people's day, as it should be, and not a politicians platform as it seem to have become.

Details:

Wednesday May 1st.
         Celebrate Global May Day. Festive parade from George Square 11.45 to Buchanan Steps for 12.15 Rally - Music, poetry, stalls, brief speeches, and open mic.

Thursday May 2nd.
        Britain on film, activism and protest across the country. Mary Barbour Suite in the Pearce Institute, Govan, 1:30-4pm. Near Govan tube station. Organised Plantation Productions.

Thursday May 2nd.
        The Seniors Film Club Plantation Productions, Mary Barbour Suite in the Pearce Institute, Govan, 1:30-4pm. Near Govan tube station. Organised Plantation Productions

Thursday May 2nd.
         History Walk 5.45 to 7:00pm app. start George Square going to Glasgow Green to end at 7pm via 4 other stops relevant to working class history and libertarian socialism.

Thursday May 2nd.
         Ludlow: Greek Americans in the Colorado Coal War Film Screening. The story of the Ludlow Massacre and the Ten Day War in 1914 Colorado with a special focus on the Greek strikers and their leader Louis Tikas. 7:30-10:00pm
Glasgow Autonomous SpaceUnit 11, 53 Kilbirnie Street, G5 8JD Glasgow.

Friday May 3rd.
        Talk workshop. What have we to learn from Los Angeles, with activist, author and educator, Andrea Gibbons. A former tenant organiser in LA. Speaking about her work in LA, as well as her activities in the UK. 7:30-9:00pm. Kinning Park Complex, 43 Cornwall St, Kinning G41 1BA

Saturday May 4th.
          Showing of “Salt of the Earth” (1954), about women's militancy in support of the miners strike of 1951 in Zinctown, New Mexico-- one of the first pictures to advance the feminist social and political point of view; screening, 2:00pm. organised by Glasgow May Days https://www.facebook.com/groups/416201145855377/f. The Quaker Meeting House 38 Elmbank Cres, Glasgow G2 4PS

       Then there is the culmination of these events, our now well known and well attended, Picnic on The Green, where there will be singers, musicians, poets, stalls, etc. and what ever you fancy bringing. There will be food to share, so bring what you expect to find, bring the kids, bring your family, bring your street. We are still wanting more performers, so if you or someone you know fancy doing a wee turn, song, instrument, juggler, poet, or what ever, please do get in touch so that we can slot you in. We want this to be bigger and better than last year, a great fun day for all the family. You can get in touch with us at annarky@radicalglasgow.me.uk or turn up and make yourself know to one of the organisers, you'll be made welcome.

Details:

Sunday May 5th.
        Sunday 5th May at 2.30 pm a traditional family and friends food-sharing picnic on the Glasgow Green next to Wheel North bicycle park, east of Peoples Palace; music, poets, stalls, and open micFree Wheel North, Glasgow Green, At Templeton St, Glasgow G40 1ATMay PicnicStalls Shared food. Music. Dance. Bike rides Mask Making and Cardboard club. Tardis Project. Technology http://mayday.link/2019/04/04/may-day-picnic-2019/Free Wheel North From 2:30 Music, A variety of performers through out the day.
        So there you are, a wonderful selection of May Day Week events to fill your week. Talks, walks, films and picnic, so come on dive in and enjoy, your day, Worker's Day, our day of celebration, May Day.

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk         

To Be Free In Our City Wear A Mask!!

       Once again Glasgow leads the way, we are the champions of surveillance. Our streets, transport network, shopping malls, pubs, etc. are festooned with CCTV. Now our fair city is going one better, "facial recognition" cameras. The new system has been installed but has yet to be activated. It is being sold as a possible aid in finding a lost child, but has many other possibilities. It will profile the face of someone who is "loitering" in parks, lanes or where they should not be loitering?? What is loitering, perhaps some one standing in a park just watching the ducks or swans, sitting on a bench longer than the powers that be consider acceptable. Who gets to decide who is loitering, who is where they shouldn't be, who is looking suspicious? This adds another draconian tool to the already big brother  society. No mater what you do, where you go, who you meet in our city, you are logged. Have pint, draw some cash from your bank account, pick up some grocers and you will have been monitored. Now stand "too long" in the one spot and you will be deemed to be loitering and you will have your facial features logged for further investigation. 

      This goes under the name of democracy in this society, a little band of state employees will probably know more about your movements than friends and family, and they will sift this information for anything they deem "dubious". Is this the type of society we wish to inhabit? 

Following Extract from The Herald:

--------“Standard” uses, it says, would be to detect intrusion in identified areas “such as parks (nights), Glasgow landmarks (fountains), or areas identified by communities causing concerns (lanes, play areas).”

The technology will also be used to set up cameras so they alert officers if someone enters a specified area, and to identify individuals deemed to be loitering. CSG also stresses the use of the system in locating criminals, identifying vulnerable people and tracking and locating missing children. 
       But Ms King is unconvinced. “They may not call it facial recognition but it is certainly capable of recognising faces,” she said. She is also not persuaded by the fact the document stresses any use will be logged, and “at no point will the system be used to track or monitor individual not involved in any crime or ASB”. 
     “What defines anti-social behaviour and who decides?” she said.----- 

 Read the full article HERE:
Read more: Row over proposal by councillors to install CCTV in classrooms

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk

The Truth Is Out There, But Will We Grasp It?

     The truth is out there, but don't expect the mainstream media to bring it to you. This particular article refers to the American war machine, but every state has its military and they all stick the label on it that says "For Defence". To a degree this is true, the military is always for the defence of the wealthy and powerful in each of the states. It will be brought into action in protecting/expanding the corporate empire of that particular state, or group of states, that have come together in defence of their plunders. 

      Any act of "defence" by any state's military, results in a civilian population being slaughter in vast numbers and resources changing hands between corporate monsters and their minders, the state. Wars and war machines are never for the protection of people, they are always about resources and power, people are just the cannon fodder to achieve the corporate juggernuat's aims, and these are managed and paid for by the state. The state supplies the financial support and the people supply the blood.

Is This Why We Raise Our Children?
Watch.

Ed Note - This video should only be viewed by a mature audience.

     April 25, 2019 "Information Clearing House" - This video of a U.S. soldier killed in the Republic of Niger, shows his last moments via his attached body webcam, This is something that needs to be viewed by as many folks as possible.  
     We see what this injured soldier sees, as his lungs grasp that last breath, what thoughts and prayers are passing through his mind as his life comes to an end. Ask yourself this question, why should our sons and daughters die in our endless wars for the elite oligarchs and their families, who own and control our corrupt government.
       Is it for freedom and democracy or the expansion of the empire and control of natural resources throughout the world. https://vk.com/video-107187851_456239930

Note from Tom
       Our thanks to John. E. Hagan an ICH community member who forwarded this video and text to us so that we may share it with you. To the families of all who have lost loved ones in this insanity our government calls "War On Terror", we send our sincere condolences. Regardless of whose propaganda led them to their deaths we share in your sorrow, anger and disgust with a government who see our children and those of foreign lands and cultures as nothing more than an opportunity for profit and ego aggrandizement.
         It's the bare ugly truth, someone’s son dying as an invader in a foreign and unfamiliar land where no one knows him except the guys dragging his body to the cover & protection of a vehicle, hoping and praying to get out of the mess they find themselves in via our totally corrupt and dysfunctional government. 

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk

Save The Planet, Stop Wars.

       At the moment environment destruction is now moving to the headlines. People are becoming more aware of the need to sort out our energy supplies away from fossil fuels to renewable energy. They are taking to the streets, "extinction rebellion", and the dedicated kids having a one day strike a week, all points to this awareness. Then there is the drive to get companies to vastly reduce their use of plastics. Then of course the blame game, it is up to you to just boil enough water for one cup of tea, turn your central heating down a degree, take a shorter shower, take a shallower bath. All well and good, after all, each little helps.

     Meantime, airline companies are doing their best to increase passenger numbers, Travel agents are trying hard to ship more and more people to further and further "exotic" holidays. Cruise liners are pushing hell for leather to increase the numbers that float around the oceans, merrily polluting, CEO and other billionaire buy ever larger and more luxurious yachts and private jets. 

       Sort out that lot and you would make a big impact on environmental pollution. Then of course there is war, probably the most devastating polluter on the planet. Wars and the backup companies that are necessary for developing, manufacturing and delivering the implements of wars, plus the logistics of carrying out these endless wars, out strip most other polluters on the planet.

     But so often, wars don't appear on the environmentalist's list, and governments all make pleasurable sounds about cutting greenhouse gases, but doing next to nothing, and the same time arming themselves to the teeth and supporting these endless wars.

      Then there is the pentagon, without a doubt, the world's worst polluter.

This extract from Liberation, 

(newspaper of the Party for Socialism and Liberation): 

Navajo land contaminated with uranium

        Large swaths of Native lands have been contaminated by the military. U.S.-funded mining companies blasted 4 million tons of uranium for atomic weapons out of more than 500 mines on Navajo land between 1944 and 1986. The mines are now abandoned, leaving the Navajo nation with poisonous waste from the mines, and radioactive drinking water. Many Navajo people have died of kidney failure and cancer, conditions linked to uranium contamination. And new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show uranium in babies born now. And then there’s the contamination that waging war brings. Iraq is littered with high levels of nuclear and dioxin contamination, the Guardian notes. Additionally, after the bombing by the U.S. in its first war against Iraq in 1991:

 “Sewage flowed into the streets and rivers. Refineries and pipelines leaked oil into the soil. The economic sanctions imposed on Iraq meant little was repaired and land and cities have been poisoned. One observer in Basra in 2008 said people “live amid mud and faeces. … Childhood cancer rates in Basra are the highest in Iraq. The city’s salty tap water makes people ill. And there is more garbage on the streets than municipal collectors can make a dent in.”

       U.S. use of toxic and radioactive depleted uranium weapons in Iraq have lead to an unprecedented number of birth defects there. These same U.S. weapons that poison people and the earth were used in Bosnia, Serbia, Kosovo, Lebanon, Gaza, Iraq in both Gulf Wars, Afghanistan, North Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, and Libya.

War-makers reject science, plan more polluting

      But the U.S. Department of Defense is not done polluting. In November 2016, the U.S. Navy announced its plan to release 20,000 tons of environmental “stressors,” including heavy metals and explosives, into the coastal waters of the U.S. Pacific Northwest. It also plans to release every year some 4.7 to 14 tons of “metals with potential toxicity” into inland waters along the Puget Sound in Washington state.
     In response to public concerns, a Navy spokeswoman said that heavy metals and depleted uranium are no more dangerous than any other metal, a statement that represents a clear rejection of scientific facts.

Read the full article HERE: 
 
       If we really wish to save the planet and the species that live on it, then we have to take a holistic view of the situation and environmentalists have to put war at the top of their list.

Visit ann rky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk

The West's Fiction Narrative On Syria.

      I have stated several times before that the conflict in Syria was World War iii. A blood bath that brought all the major powers into open conflict. The only difference between this world war and the other two was the fact the the slaughter was more or less contained to one specific region. The result was much the same, the major powers readjusted their areas of influence. Of course, as usual, this was at the expense of the civilian population, who suffered unimaginable misery, death and deprivation, as well as the total destruction of a country's infrastructure.

      Most of us agree that the reporting of this slaughter of civilians was distorted, massaged and trimmed to suit the western power mongers. We know or should know, that the mainstream media is the propaganda mouth piece of the rich and powerful, to facilitate their grotesque and greed driven agenda. It is always heartening when you find a reporter that ignored the handed out script and pried for themselves to find out what was really happening in this well orchestrated slaughter for power.

      The following are two extracts from a very detailed and informative article on the Syrian conflict. If you are interested in the truth of that crime against humanity, I can't emphasise enough, this is an article you must read in full.

This from Information Clearing House: 

The Secret History Of America's Defeat In Syria.

 
After years covering the "main battlefield in World War III," Narwani says everything you think you know is wrong. By Patrick Lawrence.

As you’ve just suggested, Syria has long seemed to be a different kind of war, a new kind — a war fought with images, information and disinformation, true and false portrayals of events, people, organizations, and so on. Based on what you’ve written over many years — and from inside Syria, on the ground — I would think you agree with this.

In some ways, Syria wasn’t that different. All modern Western wars have been fought with manipulated imagery and disinformation. We call it propaganda and accuse the Nazis and Soviets of doing it, but the U.S. does it better than anyone. It’s literally the main tool in America's military kit: Otherwise, Americans would never accept the never-ending wars. There used to be laws forbidding the U.S. government from propagandizing the American people. The Obama administration undid many of those legal barriers. If you ever have a chance to read the U.S. Special Forces’ Unconventional Warfare manual, you will see how fundamental propaganda is to U.S. efforts to maintain hegemony. Everything starts and ends with “scene-setting” and “swaying perceptions” to prepare a population to support invasion, occupation, drone wars, “humanitarian interventions,” rebellion, regime change.
It was no different in Syria. The U.S. government imposed key narratives from day one — that Assad was indiscriminately killing civilians in a popular, peaceful revolution. Was this true? Not particularly. Eighty-eight soldiers were killed across Syria in the first month of protests. You never heard that in the Western media. That information would have altered your perception of the conflict, wouldn’t it?
The Syrian opposition used to burn tires on the tops of buildings to simulate shelling for TV cameras. Did you see that footage here? The only reason Syria seems like a “different kind of war” is because we had Twitter and Facebook and alternative media punching holes in Washington’s storyline every day — and because Syrians had the audacity to resist for eight years. You can’t keep up an act for eight years. People catch on.------
      ----  


Another area of interest is the question of when and how the opposition — supposedly unarmed at the start — came to be armed. The question of proportionate responses to violence comes into this, as you’ve just suggested.  
Elements of the opposition were armed from the very start of the conflict. We have visual and anecdotal evidence of weapons caches, armed gunmen infiltrating the Lebanese border, and “foreign” gunmen appearing in Daraa, the city [in southern Syria] where protests first manifested. In the early days, it was hard to prove this because efforts were made to hide evidence that the opposition had weapons — and anyone claiming so was instantly marginalized. But then the Arab League (which had suspended Syria and was therefore viewed as an impartial body) sent in an observer team that produced a stunning report — one you did not read about in the Western press. The observer mission detailed the opposition’s bombings and terrorism and attacks on infrastructure and civilians. 
I also know the opposition was armed from the start [March 2011] because of my own investigation and discovery that 88 Syrian soldiers were ambushed and killed across Syria in the first month of the conflict…. I have their names, ages, ranks, birthplaces — everything. Then in June 2011, over 100 Syrian soldiers were murdered in Jisr Shughour, in Idlib Province, many with their heads cut off, and nobody could dispute this anymore. Yet we continued to hear “the opposition is unarmed and peaceful” in the media for a good long while.
But you asked about proportionality, and to that I would simply ask: What if there were armed men in Washington who killed a few cops in the last week of December? In January, these unknown shooters began a campaign of ambushing American servicemen coming and going from their bases in Fairfax, Newport News, Arlington, killing 88 in total. Then, in March, over 100 U.S. soldiers are killed in a single day, half with their heads cut off. What is a “proportionate” response for you…? That answer about proportionality will be different for different people, I can assure you.
The next question is obvious. Who armed the opposition? Are we able to say?
We know today the U.S., U.K., France, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the U.A.E. and Turkey are the main countries that armed, trained, financed and equipped the militants, and that they found intricate ways to avoid detection, especially at the beginning. Weapons came into Syria from all five border countries at different parts of this conflict — Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq, Israel — but I would say the most weapons probably arrived via Turkey, arms transfers that were very much coordinated with its NATO partners.
Read the full article HERE: 

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk

Our Anger Is Righteous.

     Total disenchantment with the present system, total mistrust of all politicians, is the natural progression from living in this corrupt and exploitative system. It functions by attacking the living conditions of the many, in the name of profit for the few. The natural thing to do when attacked is to defend yourself. Well we have been attacked for generations, and because of this our families are torn apart, our friends and family die younger than they should, our kids' potential is stunted. We are surrounded by poverty, homelessness and low wages for crap jobs, in the midst of unimaginable wealth, that we created, but never share in. At the same time, when some rich corporate employer slots you into  one of its menial low paid jobs, to make more money for them, we are supposed to be grateful.

     Under such conditions, anger is the natural response, but stomping around in pointless individual anger is not the answer. We have to organise and direct that anger at those responsible for  the avoidable poverty, deprivation, injustice and inequality that mires our lives. All the laws and legislation that ties us to conform to these injustices are formulated by that band of corporate protectors, the politicians. They are all part of this cancerous system of capitalism. Direct your anger at the institutions that formulate, manage and enforce these unjust conditions on us, our friends and families. Self defence is not a crime, I will repeat an old Korean saying which translates as "Enjoy the ecstasy of your righteous anger". After all anger at mass avoidable injustice and inequality is justifiable and righteous. 
Thanks Loam for the video.

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk

We Have A Right To Be Angry.

      As any observer can see all capitalist economies create unimaginable wealth, but the ordinary people are continually mired in poverty, inequality, poor housing, homelessness, poor wages etc.. However, most of the time the people struggle on the best they can, but that underlying anger simmers away, France is no different. For more than twenty weeks now the people of France have been taking to the streets to vent that anger. Though the numbers may have been slightly diminishing during that period, it takes a lot of anger to sustain that level of activity on the streets, for that period of time, in the face of fierce police brutality.

      The recent event in France of the fire and destruction of a vast symbol of religious wealth and power, changed things. This symbol in a few days received almost a billion euros for its restoration. Yes, ordinary people probably threw in some of that money, but the bulk of it came from the rich parasites and the state, the same rich parasites that are responsible for those low wages, crap low paid jobs and the inequality the the people are angry about. Proving once again that to the establishment of this society, the symbol is worth more than human dignity.

       This lavishing almost a billion euros on a symbol of religious wealth and power, was another spark to the fire of anger that fills the people of France. So week 23 of the Yellow Vests protests saw the numbers soar dramatically. With the increase in numbers came an increase in anger. The shear hypocrisy of this society is blatantly laid before the eyes of the struggling poor. You are worth less than a piece of architecture that symbolises religious power. Yes in the eyes of some, a fine looking building, but worth more than your dignity?

     I have always maintained that real change in our society will only come when enough of us get angry enough, to openly vent that anger. A revolution may be based on love, freedom and equality, but can only come to fruition and the back of extreme anger. Anger displayed openly and in large numbers. So to people of France I say, enjoy the ecstasy of your righteous anger, maintain it until you get what you want, and to the rest of Europe, look and learn. In the face of avoidable injustice, misery, poverty, deprivation, homelessness and inequality, we have a right to get angry, and defend ourselves.

      Protestors warned that troops will open fire!!! Another symbol of our so called democracy.

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To Stop Armageddon.

         We live in very dangerous times, what with the corporate world decimating the environment to the point of human extinction, Then we have the American imperialists surrounding China with missile bases, and NATO moving missiles ever closer to the Russian border, threatening a war of unimaginable destruction. To top this insanity, we have the psychopaths Pompeo and Bolton trying hard to engineer support for an attack on Iran. All this sabre rattling by the nuclear armed imperialists brings the possibility of a nuclear war ever closer and the strong possibility of a nuclear Armageddon bring about the extinction of the human species quicker than the environmental disaster that awaits us down the road a piece. 

       All the more reason to pay homage to that band of dedicated and courageous people who have kept alive for more than 30 years, the world's longest running peace camp. The anti-nuclear peace camp at Faslane, The Faslane Peace Camp. They don't get much in the way of good publicity from our imperialist supporting millionaire owned media, but they have kept the protests against these weapons in the public eye, and lots of them have felt the harsh fist of the state's minders, the judicial system.

        At Spirit of Revolt we are proud to be the custodians of the Faslane Peace Camp Archive, to get a little more insight to this important and necessary endeavour, visit their collection at https://spiritofrevolt.info/faslane-peace-camp-collection/ Perhaps this will encourage you to pay the camp a visit, and support it in what ever way you can.

       Spirit of Revolt would also like to appeal to present and ex Faslane Peace Camp campers to contact us about any material relating to the activities of the Camp they might have, with a thought to depositing it with Spirit of Revolt to help create a fuller picture of this magnificent campaign. You can get in touch with us at:  info@spiritofrevolt.info

Other helpful info:

https://faslanepeacecamp.wordpress.com/

https://www.facebook.com/faslanepeacecamp/

Visit Faslane Peace Camp from Camcorder Guerrillas on Vimeo.

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk

True To Form.

       Belgium, like all states, continually is on the outlook for those who would try to change the shape of society to a egalitarian society of communities. Then they move in and try to intimidate, silence and repress such thoughts taking root. They will label those so minded as conspirators or terrorists and through their loaded "judicial system" attempt to subdue them by means of prison or some other form of restriction. It is the nature of the beast.

This from Act For Freedom Now:

      As has been explained various times already, between 2008 and 2014 the Belgian State conducted an extensive investigation aimed at the multiform struggles – with no concessions – which attacked detention centres, borders, prisons and this world based on authority and exploitation.
       Initially charged with “participation in a terrorist group”, it is now on charges of “criminal conspiracy” that the 12 comrades will be judged during the whole week beginning 29 April 2019.
        For those who would like to keep in touch, support comrades (accused and others), show their solidarity, be there in one way or another, an info point will be held every day of the week of the trial at 20.00 at the Acrata library.*
And as we are not Cathos the week will start on Sunday April 28 with a first encounter at 17.00 for a drink /bring-and-share snacks at the Acrata library.
For a world without exploitation and borders
Against all authority
On to the bitter end !
*Acrata – 32, rue de la grande île – 1000 Bruxelles

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States Kill Freedom Of Thought.

      Those who are aware of the machinations of the varies states, will accept that any movement to the left of the political spectrum will be seen as a threat to the establishment, the real state. That bunch of extremely rich and powerful parasites that control all aspects of our life, understand fully that a truly left organising  of society would be an end to their unearned privileges and power. The state will always wave the flag of democracy but will do all within its power to thwart any move to a left thinking population.

       The hypocrisy of all states is astounding, they will trade insults at each other and condemn each other over human rights abuses, but will, behind the scenes, co-operate with these same states in silencing and destroying any move to the left in the thinking of their populations.

     So the information released in recent US documents should come as no surprise. It is just another aspect of the undemocratic subterfuge of the so called "Western democracies", in their defence of the power, wealth and privilege of the parasites we carry on our backs.

This from Mint Press News:

 Western democracy at work.

     SANTIAGO, CHILE — A recently declassified CIA document has revealed that members of the intelligence agencies of France, the United Kingdom and West Germany discussed how to establish “an anti-subversive organization similar to [the CIA’s Operation] Condor” in their own countries. Described by the CIA as “a cooperative effort by the intelligence/security services of several South American countries to combat terrorism and subversion,” Operation Condor was a campaign of state terrorism originally planned by the CIA that targeted leftists, suspected leftists and their “sympathizers” and resulted in the forced disappearances, torture and brutal murders of an estimated 60,000 people, as well as the political imprisonment of around half a million people. Around half of the estimated murders occurred in Argentina.
       The document, released last Friday as part of a release of newly declassified U.S. government documents related to the U.S.-backed military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from 1976 to 1983, states that:
      Representatives of West German, French and British intelligence services had visited the Condor organization secretariat in Buenos Aires during the month of September 1977 in order to discuss methods for establishment of an anti-subversion organization similar to Condor” due to their view that “the terrorist/subversive threat had reached such dangerous levels in Europe.”
      The representatives from the three countries then stated that they felt that pooling “their intelligence resources in a cooperative organization such as Condor” would be an important way of combating the “subversive threat.” Notably, England at the time was already involved in an international “intelligence sharing” program known as ECHELON, a program between the “Five Eyes” intelligence pact between the U.K., the U.S., Canada, Australia and New Zealand that continues in a different form today.
      The document, which was written in 1978, came two years after Operation Condor targeted left-wing Latin American exiles living in Europe. Several other documents in the recent release discuss a decision made by Condor member countries in May 1976 to train and send a military unit to “conduct physical attacks” against left-wing Latin American exiles and their supporters in France, in what was codenamed “Teseo.” Several Condor countries, aside from Brazil and Bolivia, were eager to participate and the training of the “Teseo” unit did occur, though the CIA was apparently unaware whether the unit was actually sent to France.

Operation Condor: Made in the West

       European interest in bringing home a state-sponsored terror campaign may seem shocking, given Europe’s publicly stated concerns at the time regarding Condor member countries’ mind-boggling human rights abuses and state-sponsored murders. But it will hardly surprise those who have studied Operation Condor, as the operation itself was a Western invention that was imposed on Latin America through a series of military coups, which again were backed by Western governments.

Read the full article HERE: 

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Why Anarchism?

 

    

       From the home page of Radical Glasgow's Anarchist Critic:

WHY ANARCHISM?

Freedom and Equality

     Fundamentally, anarchism is the struggle for freedom. Freedom from rulers and corporations who dominate our lives and are destroying our earth. Freedom for workers, women, and all oppressed people in all parts of the world. We believe that this sort of freedom can only be achieved together with equality and a fair distribution of resources.

Individual and Collective

     Anarchists believe in the inherent dignity and humanity of the individual. But this dignity and humanity can only be fully realised in a co-operative, egalitarian society. This is why we are in favour of working together collectively and being organised. It is incorrect to equate anarchism with individualism or chaos.

Revolution

     Anarchists understand that this truly free and equal society can only be achieved through revolution – meaning a complete transformation of society. This society cannot be ‘given’ to the people by politicians or bureaucrats. It must be built by people from below.

Change by Direct Action

     Anarchism opposes the violence which is an integral part of capitalism and the state (this violence comes in many forms: war, patriarchy etc.). We believe that means shape ends – in other words, the way we struggle will shape the outcome of the struggle. This is also why we do not support the seizure of State power by authoritarian political parties. However, anarchists do believe in direct action – action taken by everyday people to address the power imbalance in present day society. This includes strikes, boycott’s, work-to-rule’s and occupations.

The Past

     Both authoritarian communism (as in Russia, China etc.) and ‘labourism’ (ie. The labour parties of the world), have failed to solve our global crisis. We need a different path to a better world. Anarchism offers itself as a guide on that path.

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Again, Migrants At The Harsh End Of The State's Heel.

        Anarchist and migrants seem to be the preferred target of the day for most of the European states at the moment. The Greek state, of late, has been particularly active in attacking migrant squats. As in most cases it is usually the vulnerable that are the first to feel the hard heel of the state in its authoritarian drive for complete control of the its captured population. Such harsh treatment of migrants deserves our full support and solidarity.

This from Enough is Enough, first published in Athens Indymedia:

 https://enoughisenough14.org/2019/04/18/refugeesgr-athens-clandestina-and-cyclopi-squats-evicted/#more-54517

                  CALL for an open assembly tonight at Gkini at 19:30 for the EVACUATION OF 4 MIGRANTS SQUATS and an ANTIAUTHORITARIAN QUEER FEMINIST SQUAT.

       This morning two squats were evacuated. Clandestina, on Mpoumpoulinas street, a building housing migrant families. 68 people were transported to Petrou Ralli. The other squat is Cyclopi, antiauthoritarian queer feminist squat in Zoodochou Pigis. Two comrades were arrested in the second one. The comrades are accused of disturbance of house peace, weapons possession and denial of fingerprints. All these are minor accusations.
      We see a repetition of last week’s evictions of New Babylon squat and Azadi squat, both migrant squats. From these evictions, approximately 70 people were taken to Petrou Ralli and some of them are in the process to get deported. Again, in today’s opperation they didn’t find any drugs in the squat, but in order to link their operation with the anti-drug war, they entered in a private apartment that had weed inside.
       The information about the number of prosecutions and arrests was gathered from mass media.
        Some months ago another eviction of another migrants squat took place, the squat of Single Men in Arachovis 44.
        We see a straightforward stategy of the state to “clean” te neighborhood of Exarcheia, as an anti-drug/anti-mafia operation. However, it is clear that this as a war against squats and the migrant population.

ASSEMBLY FOR SOLIDARITY ACTION THURSDAY 18/4 at 19:30 in GKINI

 

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