The Sham Of Austerity.

       So a fourth health board in Scotland is facing a financial nightmare and is attempting to balance the books by making savings of tens of millions of pounds. No doubt those "savings" will impact on the service the people receive, and the staff who have to deliver that service. Meanwhile, our lords and masters, tell us there is no other way, we have to swallow austerity to "balance the books". This "economic plan" is no more than a smokescreen for their economic ideology. The ultimate aim is privatisation, privatisation of everything that they can squeeze a profit from. The strategy is the same across the range of social services and councils, under the guise of efficiency and "balancing the books" all are starved of funding, making it more and more difficult to deliver those services, things start to collapse, complaints rise, and then the call goes up, the only answer is to introduce the knight in shining armour, "private capital". With a gush of humanity, in rushes the big corporate Mafia, and with a few flicks of a bankers pen, voilà, privatisation across the board.

      There is no need for "austerity" even under this stinking system of capitalism, we are a very, very wealthy country, we have billions upon billions to spare for nuclear weapons and continuous wars, but seemingly, not enough for the welfare of the people. It is an ideology driven by the financial Mafia to transfer all public assets into private hands, asset stripping on a vast scale. No matter what they say, or what they come up with, the end aim is privatisation, and this will continue until we, the people decide enough is enough and take matters into our own hands by taking control of our lives, in the communities and in the work places. Until we decide we will shape our society the way we want it, we will have to swallow the punishing regime of every tighter "austerity" until we are shorn of all our assets and at the mercy of the big corporate greed machine. 

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

Workers, Know Your History, Ben Reitman.

       Ben Reitman was an anarchist, born 1879, died from a heart attack in Chicago 1943. During his life he was kidnapped, beaten, tarred and feather and branded and later, 100 years ago tomorrow, in January 17th, 1916, imprisoned for the horrific crime of, distributing leaflets on birth control. That's democracy for you. These heroes of the working class are airbrushed out of history, the establishment  would rather they never happened, or at least are forgotten. We have a duty to remember and record those who fought on the side of the ordinary people for that better world for all.

From Wikipedia:

        Reitman was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, to poor Russian Jewish immigrants in 1879, but grew up in Chicago. At the age of ten, he became a hobo, but returned to Chicago and worked in the Polyclinic Laboratory as a "laboratory boy".[2] In 1900, he entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Chicago, completing his medical studies in 1904. During this time he was briefly married; he and his wife had a daughter together.[2]
        He worked as a physician in Chicago, choosing to offer services to hobos, prostitutes, the poor, and other outcasts. Notably, he performed abortions, which were illegal at the time.[2]
      Reitman met Emma Goldman in 1908, and the two began a passionate love affair, which Goldman described as the "Great Grand Passion" of her life.[1] The two traveled together for almost eight years, working for the cause of birth control, free speech, worker's rights, and anarchism.
        During this time, the couple became involved in the San Diego free speech fight in 1912–13. Reitman was kidnapped by a mob, severely beaten, tarred and feathered, branded with "I.W.W.,"[1] and his rectum and testicles were abused.[3] Several years later, the couple were arrested in 1916 under the Comstock laws for advocating birth control, and Reitman served six months in prison.[4]
        Both believed in free love, but Reitman's practice incited feelings of jealousy in Goldman.[5] He remarried when one of his lovers became pregnant; their son was born while he was in prison.[2] Goldman and Reitman ended their relationship in 1917, after Reitman was released from prison.[2]
         Reitman returned to Chicago, ultimately working with the City of Chicago, establishing the Chicago Society for the Prevention of Venereal Disease in the 1930s.[2] His second wife died in 1930, and Reitman married a third time, to Rose Siegal.[2] Reitman later became seriously involved with Medina Oliver, and the couple had four daughters — Mecca, Medina, Victoria, and Olive.[2]
      Reitman died in Chicago of a heart attack at the age of sixty-three. He was buried at the Waldheim Cemetery[6] (now Forest Home Cemetery), in Forest Park, Chicago.

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

Death From A Loving Religion.

         For centuries religions have persecuted those who would dare to disagree with their mythological fantasies. They have handed out horrific and barbaric punishments, from burning at the stake, to beheading, the cutting off of hands or feet, to other unbelievable tortures. We like to think that we live in an enlightened age, where we have tamed the beast of religious fundamentalism, but sadly the monster still stalks the earth. There are lands where the only law is the barbaric law of a so called loving good. In Saudi Arabia during 2015 there were at least 151 executions, the highest number since 1995, when there were 192. These executions can be for crimes as petty as drug use, in the case below, where a young man is facing the death penalty, it is for writing poetry. No matter what the poetry contains, what humane, sane individual, can say, hand on heart, the poet deserves to be executed? 

Free Ashraf, poet facing execution in Saudi Arabia

Help us reach 50,000

       Ashraf Fayadh, a Palestinian poet and artist who lives in Saudi Arabia, has been sentenced to death for ‘apostasy’. The Saudi Arabian authorities claim that his poetry has questioned religion and spread atheism.
      Ashraf has committed no crime. He is a prisoner of conscience. Ask the Saudi Arabian authorities to free him now.

      Ashraf, a 35-year-old poet and artist, is sentenced to be executed by Saudi Arabian authorities for his art. On 17 November, the General Court in Abha, south-west Saudi Arabia, found Ashraf guilty of ‘apostasy’ – renouncing Islam – for his poetry and sentenced him to death.

Arrested for poetry and pictures on his phone

      Ashraf was initially arrested on 6 August 2013 following a complaint registered against him by another Saudi citizen, who said that the poet was promoting atheism and spreading blasphemous ideas among young people. Ashraf was released the following day, but then rearrested on 1 January 2014, when he was charged with apostasy – he had supposedly questioned religion and spread atheist thought with his poetry. He was at the same time charged with violating the country’s Anti-Cyber Crime Law for allegedly taking and storing photos of women on his phone.
      On 30 April 2014, Ashraf was sentenced to four years in prison and 800 lashes for the charges relating to images of women on his phone. The General Court accepted Ashraf’s apology for the charges of apostasy and found the punishment to be satisfactory.
     However, the court of appeal recommended that Ashraf should still be sentenced for apostasy, and his case was sent back to the General Court, which in turn sentenced him to death for apostasy.
     Throughout this whole process, Ashraf was denied access to a lawyer – a clear violation of international human rights law, as well as Saudi Arabia’s national laws.

A death sentence for ‘apostasy’

Apostasy (Riddah, in Arabic) is the renouncing of Islam. Saudi Arabia follows Sharia (Islamic) law, and ‘apostasy’ can be punishable by death. Yet ‘apostasy’ is not a crime – it is a violation of someone’s right to belief or choose our own religion. It should never incur punishment.
       In addition to that, the death penalty, according to international law, may only be used for the ‘most serious crimes’ (recently interpreted by UN experts to refer to ‘intentional killing’). Apostasy is not a crime at all, let alone a serious one.
       The death penalty is a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment – it violates our right to life and our right to be free from torture. At Amnesty, we believe the death penalty should never be used.

What we’re calling for

       Quite simply, we’re calling for Ashraf to be freed. He has committed no crime, and as such should not be imprisoned, let alone face execution. We’re asking the Saudi Arabian authorities to drop Ashraf’s conviction and all charges against him. We’re also asking for them to stop executing anyone for ‘apostasy’.

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

We Will Never Forget.

 

Guernica after the Nazi bombing April 23rd.1937.

      Still on the subject of the Spanish Civil war, I thought this was worth re-posting, from comrade Loam at arrezafe.

Guernica by Pablo Picasso

http://todoslosrostros.blogspot.com.es/

       This is a blog that anyone who wants to know about the Spanish Civil War should visit. Its title is very significant: All Faces. In it, we can find plenty of written and graphic information. Of course it is not written in English, but the eloquence of the images coupled with the help of Google translator can approach the reader to the historical reality of this horrible episode.

We will never forget. We will never forgive. Death to fascism!

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

The Wound That Will Not Heal.

         The Spanish Civil War is a subject most people know something about, but nobody knows everything about, it is also a subject we should all know more about, and a subject that we should never forget. For that reason I thought this would be of interest to a considerable group how read this blog.

This from ASN

Dear Colleagues,
I hope this event will be of interest to some of you.
Best wishes,
Ruth

Spain's Civil War 80 years later: The wound that will not heal?

an IAMCR 2016 pre-conference 

Canterbury Christ Church University
18-19 July 2016

       The Centre for Research on Communities and Cultures at Canterbury Christ Church University (UK) invites submissions for this IAMCR pre-conference, which will mark the eightieth anniversary of the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.
     During this two-day conference, we will examine the intersections between memory, truth, justice, ideology, the state and conceptions of the future, considering the role of the media, notions of collective identity and the place of new generations in relation to the continuing struggle over public memory in Spain.
      In addition, we are delighted to host a participatory workshop, co-sponsored by the IAMCR Emerging Scholars Network, which will focus on the methodological opportunities and challenges of conducting research into Memory.
     We invite contributions from scholars, researchers and practitioners from around the world to submit proposals on topics that may include, but are not limited to, the following:

- The significance of the conflict in contemporary Spain
- National, regional and local memories of the conflict
- Ideology and the state
- Representations of the conflict in the news, film and television
- Spain’s memory movement
- Memory, truth and justice
- Memory and the future
- Methodological opportunities and challenges IN researching memory
- Postmemory and new generations

    Please submit a 250-word abstract and 100-word biography at http://iamcr.org/leicester2016/preconf/spanish-civil-war by 12 February 2016. Proposals will be peer-reviewed and decisions will be communicated by 28 February. We expect to facilitate the publication of the conference papers as either a special issue of a peer-reviewed journal or as an edited book.



       Pre-Conferences; Spain’s Civil War 80 Years Later: The Wound That Will Not Heal? Spain’s Civil War 80 Years Later: The Wound That Will Not Heal? Iamcr.org
      For any questions about the event, please email Dr Ruth Sanz Sabido at ruth.sanz-sabido@canterbury.ac.uk

Best wishes,
Ruth

Dr Ruth Sanz Sabido
Senior Lecturer in Media and Communication
School Coordinator of International Chair,
Convenor, Canterbury Media Discourse Group  

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

Solidarity In The Community, Solidarity Between Communities.

        The people will make progress when there is solidarity within the community and solidarity between the communities. Here is a opportunity to show that solidarity.

Support the Meadows community space!

Community Gathering + Bonfire @ North Kelvin Meadow & the Children's Wood Saturday, 16 January at 10:00am - 10:00pm
North Kelvin Meadow, Sanda Street / Kelbourne Street / Clouston Street, G20 8PU
        In anticipation of the council's site visit on 26th January to determine the future of the meadow and woods, we're organising a large gathering on Saturday the 16th to bring the community together in support of the space. The Children's Wood will be running the event from 10am until 2pm. Afterwords there will be a bonfire starting around 3pm and continuing into the night. 

      During the day there will be big marquees set up and attractions include home baking from the local community, tea and coffee and various workshops. Knit Wild will be running a knitting workshop making items for yarn bombing the meadow on the day of the council site visit, and there will also be a banner making workshop taking place. The usual outdoor learning group will be running with outdoor play activities open to all children, and there will also be storytelling happening, as well as a capoeira workshop.
      In the evening there will be an open jam session around the fire - please bring along your instruments if you play! There will be several tarpaulins around the fire area for rain cover, and we also hope to provide hot drinks.

       The children's wood will be running a stall during the day providing campaign info and adding people to the mailing list (the list will be around all evening too). There'll be folk around all day from morning until late: come along for half an hour or the whole day - bring your children, parents, dogs, grannies, friends etc.

See you all on Saturday!

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

Social Care And Money!!!

         It looks good when legislation is put in place to see that people in need of social care receive that care. Everybody applauds, and we change the subject, moving on to the next problem. However in this money based society, the problem hasn't been solved. It has come to light that people assessed as in need of social care don't always receive that care. In this dehumanised capitalist society assessing and delivering are to totally unrelated aspects of the problem.
 

      Figures received after a Freedom of Information request show that in Scotland last year 270 people assessed as in need of care, died before receiving that care. The figures also revealed that in some cases those deemed to be in need of care, had to wait over a year for that care to begin. Another shocking revelation has been that in a single week last year, more than 12,000 hours of approved social care was never delivered. Imagine the individual suffering these figures portray.

      The failing of course is not due to the lack of humanity in those trying to provide that care. Those at the front-line of delivering that assessed care, are a dedicated and caring group of people, the root of the problem is the lack of money. Not that we are a poor country, the UK as a whole, can find billions to bomb Syria, billions to maintain and renew Trident, billions to upgrade that symbol of British imperialism, the Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption. We are a very wealthy country, it just that to the powers that be, caring for the ill, the infirm and elderly is not a priority. 

      Sadly the problem will persist as long as the capitalist system we live under persists. Until we bring about the demise of capitalism and replace it with a system that has the need of its people as the fundamental base of society, the sick, the elderly, the poor, the infirm, the disadvantaged, will have to continue to scramble for some of the crumbs that fall from the parasites table. 

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

 

The State's Justice Machine, Guantanamo Bay.

        I doubt if there is anyone in the developed world today who doesn't know of Guantanamo Bay, who doesn't know of the brutal injustice that emanates from its walls. Guantanamo Bay epitomises the brutal authority of the state, it is the states final answer to resistance, justice put in the hands of the military. No civil courts, no due process, no public scrutiny, simply brutal military rule. It is fourteen years since its creation, fourteen years of secret brutality beyond the prying eyes of the public, a state gone mad with authority.

       Obama came to power seven years ago with the promise that he would close this abomination, his reign at the helm of the world's biggest empire has accounted for 7 years of overseeing Guantanamo Bay, 50% of its time in existence. He leaves office in approximately one year, and it looks like he will leave the rod of empire, and the keys of Guantanamo Bay to the next emperor. I have no doubt that this symbol of repression and brutality will continue to stand, belching out its foul stench of state authority and human degradation, for as long as the powers that be think they can get away with this, their weapon of choice.

       This video is distressing, but as far as we know accurate.

This from Code Pink:

       “Despite the rhetoric saying he would close Guantanamo as almost the first act of his Presidency, President Obama has had clay feet from the beginning. He has refused to take actions to actually close the prison. Let's remember: seven of the 14 years that these men have languished in Guantanamo have been under Obama.
        “Don't let President Obama blame others. A reluctant Pentagon is no excuse. Obama is Commander in Chief. The fault is not in the stars, but with him. One day of unlawful detention is an outrage, 14 years is an abomination. If Obama is to close the prison before he leaves office, he must move to do so NOW.”

–  Michael Ratner, attorney who represented Guantanamo detainees before the US Supreme Court

       TODAY is the fourteenth anniversary of the opening of the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Join us in calling on President Obama to use his executive powers to close down the prison (and return the base to the Cuban people!).

CODEPINK National Coordinator Alli McCracken led the last delegation to Guantanamo, and the 60-person group visited Caimanera – a small town of 11,000 people that abuts the US Naval Base on the southeastern coast of Cuba. The US naval base, they were told, is an illegal occupation of Cuban land that violates the territorial sovereignty of the island. The base sits on a critical part of the bay that would vastly improve the local economy if the land were returned. They believe that the closure of the base is a condition for the full normalization of relations between the two nations.

       It is unconscionable that the prison in Guantanamo remains open 7 years into the Obama presidency. Call on President Obama to make good on his campaign promise to to close the prison TODAY!

        President Obama can’t make up for the last seven years of failed leadership, but he can live up to his campaign promises and finally end this shameful chapter of American history. Please join us to ensure that he does.

Toward a more peaceful world,
Alli, Andrea, Ariel, Chelsea, Janet, Janna, Jodie, Lisa, Medea, Michaela, Michelle, Nancy, Sam and Tighe
P.S. Make sure to sign the petition to see our video of then President-elect Obama promising to close Guantanamo seven years ago today!

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

Nuclear Weapons Passing By Your Homes.

 

         Warwickshire is a fairly long way from the Clyde, lots of roads winding they way through towns and villages. No doubt the people living along this route sleep easy at night, unaware that rolling slowly past their humble abode are convoys of deadly weapons of mass destruction. Convoys of nuclear weapons for the trident submarines based on the Clyde at Faslane, trundling past homes, schools, and hospitals, unannounced, escorted by police and armed marines. The state doesn't give a monkeys about your opinion on this matter. Your concerns will not be considered, you will not be informed. Some of the deadliest nuclear weapons in the world, being carted the length and breadth of our land, with all the inherent dangers of an accident, and you have no say in the matter. They call it democracy.

       January 9th. 2016, nuclear weapons convoy in Warwickshire transporting Trident nuclear weapons between the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Berkshire and HM Naval Base Clyde.

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

Success.

Jailed Philip Morris Pakistan workers released!

       I have no doubt that solidarity won the day in this case, as it has done in countless thousands of cases around the world. The state apparatus, and its vile partner, large corporations, can pick off individuals and small groups with impunity, if we don't stand up and support those being abused, oppressed, and imprisoned, they win. We have the numbers to overcome all oppression, it just requires our coming together in solidarity, global solidarity.

This from IUF: 

On January 8, we informed you of the arrest and jailing of 35 workers who were peacefully protesting the brutal, illegal termination of 141 workers at the Philip Morris International factory in Mardan, Pakistan. Thousands of you responded to our appeal for messages, and we are very pleased to inform you now that the 35 workers with their union President were released from jail on January 10, and the union is determined to continue their struggle.  The union has warmly thanked the IUF and all those who responded to our appeal. We thank you for your solidarity and support.

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

Net Neutrality Violated By T-Mobile.

From demandprogress.org

       T-Mobile has been caught red-handed violating Net Neutrality. Will you chip in $5 to help demand the FCC crack down?

Dear Friend,
         For possibly the first time since the FCC adopted Net Neutrality last year, an ISP has been caught red-handed breaking the law.¹
        T-Mobile is throttling video content from select websites as part of their new "Binge On" feature, and when confronted about it, T-Mobile's CEO lashed out at internet freedom activists, asking "Who the f*ck are you?" and "Who pays you?"²
         It's clear T-Mobile has no shame about violating Net Neutrality. And if the FCC doesn't crack down, other companies are sure to follow their lead.

Will you chip in $5 to help demand that the FCC crack down on T-Mobile's blatant violation of Net Neutrality?

       Here's what’s happening: Late last year, T-Mobile automatically enrolled all their users in a service they're calling Binge On, which allows users to watch video from certain select websites, like Netflix, without counting against their data cap.
       The problem is that sites not enrolled in Binge On, like YouTube and Vimeo, not only count against the data cap but are being pushed onto a data slow lane, causing buffering and poor playback.³
       This is a clear, systematic violation of the Net Neutrality rules we fought so hard for. And it's one of the first big tests of whether Net Neutrality will actually be enforced—or will exist only on paper.
       We're launching an urgent push to demand the FCC take swift action to crack down on T-Mobile. Will you donate?

Yes, I'll donate to help stop T-Mobile from violating Net Neutrality.

Thanks for taking action on this at a critical time.
David, Daniel, Kurt, Mark, Sara, Victoria, and the rest of the Demand Progress Team

DONATE

---

Sources:

1. T-Mobile 'breaks' net neutrality rules with Binge On, BBC News, January 5, 2016
2. Twitter blows up after T-Mobile CEO drops anti-eff f-bomb, Wired, January 7, 2016
3. EFF Confirms: T-Mobile’s Binge On Optimization is Just Throttling, Applies Indiscriminately to All Video, Electronic Frontier Foundation, January 4, 2016

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Wealth And Poverty, Two Sides Of Capitalism.

       This winter may have been mild, but it is Scotland, and it is winter, cold and damp, not the sort of conditions anyone should find themselves homeless. While our parasitical politicians tell how well everything is doing, spouting, everything is on the up and up, some facts contradict that propaganda. The number of homeless people is rising, rising homelessness can never equate with an improving society. Glasgow City Mission, a charity that helps provide temporary shelter for homeless people, claims to have had a 60%+ increase in the number of rough-sleepers seeking a bed for the night. The charity claimed that, December 2015, saw 711 individuals came to them seeking a bed, compared with 437 December 2014. The quietest night this December saw 14 individuals seek a bed for the night, last December that figure was 4. While the busiest December night this year the figure was 31, compared with last December when there were 21. 

      Not a very flattering picture of Glasgow, Scotland's largest city, and an indictment of the system we live under. Glasgow has an abundance of glossy, glitzy, shopping malls, lots of fancy expensive restaurants, car parks littered with luxury cars, yet hunger and homelessness stalks its streets. Under the neon lights a doorway can be a shelter from the cold and damp, a dark lane, a bed for the night. There is an invisible army of enforced hungry, lurking in the shadows of abundance. It is totally unacceptable that hunger's vicious claws tear at an individual a hands throw away from a warehouse of food. It is totally unacceptable that someone should lay their head on cold wet stone for a bed, when the city abounds in empty accommodation. 

      This cruel injustice is the law of capitalism, no matter your needs, you will have to do without, if you can't pay. You can't be provided for if there is no profit in it for somebody. In this insane system, you can die from hypothermia and/or hunger, while shelter lies empty, and food rots next door. Why do we tolerate this?

The Homeless

Tenebrous spectres, they exist,   out there,

on the crumbling edge of chaos.

A father, a son, a brother,

a daughter, a sister, a mother.

Fragments of some shattered family structure;

waste products

from a society being driven to destruction

by a hurricane of greed,

living a life that wears out life,

dying,

the devious death of exhaustion from existence.

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