We Tolerate Avoidable Mass Death And Deprivation.

         I wrote the following piece about 9 years ago, and I doubt if anyone can see any difference to this world 9 years on. Perhaps the figures have changed a percentage point here and there, but the overall picture is still the same, avoidable gross misery, injustice, and death for vast swaths of the world's population. How long will we not only tolerate, but continue to be party to the system that is the root cause of all that misery, deprivation and death?
        The system will not correct itself and become a benevolent system of justice and equality. No amount of petitioning the Czars of the corporate juggernaut, or their minders, state governments, will change the unchangeable. The entire system is built on greed, exploitation and plundering of natural resources, for the benefit of the few at the expense of the many. The system has to be destroyed and a new way of thinking developed that creates a system that sees to the needs of all our people, in one simple word, the answer is anarchism, think about it.

 

 

I Want to Believe!

I want to believe

All that is good is out there

Sleeping in hearts that live in dark valleys,

About to blossom like some magic woodland,

In spite of war, in spite of greed

The essence that is humanity struggling to be free.

All around death arrives in many guises,

Silent as the frost poverty kills,

The ruthless march of war

With every drum beat seeks God’s blessing,

While the God fearing kill the God fearing,

Slaughter in the name of the greater good.

I want to believe

All that is good is out there

Sleeping in the hearts that live in dark valleys

About to blossom like some magic woodland,

Not just as the dream of poets.

A blast from the past, 9 years ago:

         It is difficult to grasp the state of the world that we have created. A world where there is an abundance of almost everything conceivable and yet to the vast majority of the world’s population it is all out of reach. A world where a small elite live a life of obscene and wasteful wealth while millions die of starvation and millions of children die from the lack of clean drinking water. In this capitalist made world there are small enclaves where the rich, in safety, play games with their expensive toys, private jets, luxury cars, yachts and several holiday homes in “exotic” locations. While just over that financial apartheid wall there is the stench of squalor and death for countless millions living in total deprivation and endless wars,
         In this capitalist created world, 8 million people die every year from poverty, One billion children live in abject poverty, 640 million do not have access to appropriate shelter, 140 million have never attended school, 400 million do not have access to clean uncontaminated water, 500 million do not have basic sanitation, 270 million have no access to health care, and 90 million are severely food deprived. Approximately 12.3 million people worldwide live in conditions of “modern slavery,”while over one billion people live on less than one dollar of income per day and over three billion live on less than two dollars per day. Then there is the strata in between that manage to scrape a reasonable existence that seems to keep them from revolt.
        All this misery in spite of the fact that the world economy actually produces one and a half times the amount of food necessary to provide the entire human population with adequate and nutritious meals. The fact that the capitalist system will not allow this to be shared out to those in need tells us that it is not a natural problem but a political problem. Perhaps the words of Derrick Jensen come close to capturing something of that world.
         “We are members of the most destructive culture ever to exist. Our assault on the natural world, on indigenous and other cultures, on women, on children, on all of us through the possibility of nuclear suicide and other means—all these are unprecedented in their magnitude and ferocity ... What this means is that corporations and those who run them cannot stop exploiting resources and amassing wealth until they have...I cannot finish this sentence, because the truth is that they can never stop; like cancer, they can only continue to expand until they kill the host ... For us to maintain our way of living, we must tell lies to each other and especially to ourselves. The lies are necessary because, without them, many deplorable acts would become impossibilities.”

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

Support For Anarchist Prisoner On Hunger Strike.

        Those who speak out against state repression and its bed companion capitalism will always feel the iron heel of its loaded judicial system, and deserve our unreserved support and solidarity. That support should be loud and visible.

The following from Anarchists News:

        In the afternoon of May 21st 2019, anarchists of “Rouvikonas” collective “invaded” the grounds of the greek parliament (the most “secured” building in Greece) in the center of Athens and attacked the main parliament building with red paint and flares, in solidarity to prisoner Dimitris Koufodinas, who is on hunger strike since May 2nd 2019 (his health is in a critical and serious condition), whilst despite the fact that he has been jailed since 2003 and he is entitled to a temporary leave of two days, his petition has been denied on the grounds of his political beliefs (a revolutionary left advocate).
       During the past few weeks there has been a barrage of dozens of attacks on high-profile targets in solidarity to hunger strike Dimitris Koufodinas, including the U.S. ambassador’s home, banks, luxury shops, political offices and police stations.

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

The Revolving Mind.

       As a rule, I'm an optimistic guy, always confident that we will find a way, my glass is always half full. Of course now and again those dark pessimistic thoughts send their poisonous tentacles into the labyrinth of my mind, and a different set of thoughts come out. 

      Looking at the ecological disaster that stands before us and the blind greed of those at present, in control of the reins of power, my thoughts went back to a little piece I wrote about a couple of hundred years ago, well it seems like that.

Tomorrow’s World!

See the fat cat’s grinning smile

as Corporate Capitalism runs amok,

Chasing profit as it goes

firing millions of ordinary folk.

Raping and polluting land after land,

starting bloody wars.

Toxic waste, sweat shop wages

and oil covered sea shores.

Where have all the flowers gone

beneath this ozone free sky?

To join the birds, to join the fox

on yonder plutonium field to die.

Mercury fish, strontium lamb

trees that never show a leaf,

radio active beaches, toxic streams

good lean BSE-antibiotic beef.

In a world of epidemic, plague and famine

it’s bottled water and chemical food.

Of course, it’s all tested on rats and mice

so you know its got to be good.

Beneath a sky that’s always black,

hurricane winds and endless drought,

its oxygen masks for the toxic air,

corporate profit’s what its all about.

      Of course I always try to kill those pessimistic poisonous tentacles, but they do warn us of what might lie ahead. So, without forgetting the warning those thoughts send us, I'll try to dispel those dark clouds and close with some thoughts I scribbled down in more recent times.

WALK WITH THE POETS.

My head has had enough of you,
you doomsday sooth-sayers, and
rationalists, that trap us in the world that is.
Go weave your tales of “can't be done”
to the dead, and those of no imagination.
I want to walk with the utopian,
the dreamer and the poet,
laugh with the child and sing with the wind.
Run with the deer, not with “the market trend”
Enough of, “this is the way it has to be”,
a world of poverty, wars and inequality.
Now, I'll create the world I want to see,
A world of sharing, peace and liberty.
I want the children to plan tomorrow,
the adult help them get there,
trees and flowers our treasured possessions,
with birds and animals their keepers.
Who wants a world that chains us to mortgages,
binds us to a labouring day, just to eat bread?
Who wants to spend their life, feeding fat-cats
while their own children go hungry?
No, this is not the world that has to be,
in our foolishness and misplaced trust,
this is a world that has slithered over us,
poisoning our mind, putrefying our spirit.
Let's call on the poet, let's welcome the dreamer,
let's take council with the utopian,
They'll help us create a better world for all. 

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

Public Park And Broken Glass, Bad Combination.

       Another lovely day, isn't our climate wonderful. I have a short memory problem when it comes to our wet and windy, cold and drizzly Scottish weather, because of which, I am always optimistic about our climate. So another wee run out on the bike, again one of those embarrassing short runs. This time very local, headed for Springburn Public Park, my local park. It is not that large but was a maze of tracks and paths lots of them shrouded in trees and shrubs. You can merrily cycle around twisting and turning under the impression that you are going somewhere. It is the public park I played in as a school kid, many centuries ago. As well as football pitches, a bowling green, kids play area, and what is a large green space, used as a cricket pitch, it has three ponds. One is labelled Duck conservation pond, another is a beautiful wild life pond, the third, when I was a boy, used to be the boating pond, where you could hire small paddle boats and for a short period, be a pirate. It is now another wild life pond. At the moment as well as lots of mallard ducks there are swans standing guard over their cygnets. Most of the tracks are smooth tarmac, good for the bike, a few stretches are rather in need of repair.

 

       What started off as a great day went all wrong after about 8 miles or so of pleasant pedaling. Sadly the park has a couple of spots where some idiot has smashed a bottle and left it there for kids to fall on, dogs to walk over and cyclist to get punctures. Yes, you guessed it, I got a puncture, back wheel. Walking is not my thing any more, nor is sitting on the grass fixing a puncture. It's not the sitting on the grass, its the getting back up, arthritis and all that jazz. So I walked a bit, found a tree stump, sat there and fixed the puncture. stumbled back to the path and went to get on the bike and discovered that the front wheel was also flat. Too much bother to fix it, so ended my wee cycle, the rest was a slow rather painful walk pushing the bike. Ah well, there's always tomorrow.

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

 

The State And Repression, Interchangable Words.

 

        Repression will be endless until the state and capitalism are buried deep in the dustbin of humanity's disasters. Dissent and desire for justice and equality will forever be in jeopardy as long as we tolerate the state and its bastard twin, capitalism. Under the existing system you are only free from repression if you are subservient, obedient and submissive, if that is the life you seek, then stay with the present greed driven cancerous system. If you desire a life of equal opportunity, freedom, equality and justice, then you must stand up, speak out and do what you can to erode this exploitative system that breeds deprivation, poverty and endless wars, and is well on the way to making the planet uninhabitable.
       Pick your state, and you will find that those who speak out against this savage inhuman system will be feeling the heel of brutal repression, all stamped with the badge of legality. Those who do feel that brutal heel of repression demand and deserve our support and solidarity.

Published in Enough Is Enough, This from Madrid:

        The following is the statement of the compañeras arrested in Madrid on May 13 in an “anti-terrorist” operation carried out jointly by agents of the Information and Riot Squad of the UIP in two squatted spaces in the district of Tetuán, a house and the Anarchist Space The Ambush ( La Emboscada ).
        Originally published by La Rebelión de las Palabras. Translated by Abolition Media Worldwide.
        “Guilty” or “innocent”, for them our solidarity, complicity and affection.
      On the morning of May 13, an anti-riot unit, together with the group 21 of the Provincial Information Brigade of Madrid, dedicated exclusively to espionage and hunting, burst into our homes and into the anarchist space La Emboscada, three weeks after its inauguration.
        They informed us that they were bringing a warrant for the arrest and detention of two of us under the charge of terrorism.
      During the registration, which lasted approximately 6 hours, comrades from all over Madrid came to show their support.
      Meanwhile, the police seemed especially interested in taking clothes: colored and black coats, scarves of concrete colors, foulards, flower handkerchiefs, specific footwear; they were also interested in agendas, calendars, some notebooks, some notes, notes between the pages of books, computers, hard drives, memory cards, usb, mobiles, cameras and video, CDs and DVDs, construction tools and, in particular, hammers; as well as stickers, patches and T-shirts of the brand M.A.L.P; posters and propaganda in relation to the counter-summit of the G20 2017.
       During the investigation, which has been ongoing since March 2017, they have intervened in emails, ordinary mail, mobile phones, tablets, whatsapp, icloud, dropbox and communications in general. For now, we do not have more information, since the investigation continues under summary secrecy.
        We were detained 32 hours and, although there were times when the situation was confusing and did not seem favorable, any sadness or fear became insignificant when we left and saw the support and solidarity we received from our friends and friends.
       Because even if the State comes for us, the ideas and practices that they pursue are irrepressible and multiply in every gesture of solidarity. And although we do not know what we are accused of, we are very clear about what we are and why we are being persecuted: and we do not ever regret being anarchists.
        Repression has always been on the lookout for those who fight but throughout our lives it has given us strength and encouragement to know that there were anarchists all over the world and people who shared our affinity and, living this in the first person and finding so many people, it has been very beautiful and meaningful for us.
      No anarchist will be alone as long as there are comrades who continue to fight.
        A hug to Embers, arrested on May 1 in Paris and still in prison along with many others. And to all the other anarchists and prisoners in struggle, we do not forget.

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

ACE In May, Edinburgh.

        When in Edinburgh, visit ACE, (autonomous.org.uk ) there is sure to be something of interest going on, that's ACE for you. Here are some events during the merry month of May to get you chatting and acting.

Some Upcoming Events in Edinburgh

Information from the Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh
ACE Public Opening Times:
Every Tuesday 12:00 – 15:00
The last Thursday of each Month 18:00 – 20:00
The first Saturday of each month 13:00 – 16:00

Monday, 20 May 2019
Sisters Uncut Edinburgh - Open Meeting

       Sisters Uncut is holding a open planning meeting where we will be discussing upcoming actions and events and deciding where we want to take the group next. Come along and organise with us!
     Sisters Uncut is an intersectional, feminist group taking direct action to defend domestic and sexual violence services. We're organising information evenings, actions and reaching out to local communities.
       Meetings are open to all women (trans, intersex and cis) and all nonbinary, agender and gender variant people. All skills and experience levels very welcome - help us fight the violence of austerity.
18:30 - 20:30 at Autonomous Centre Edinburgh.
Link to facebook event page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/615424472272172/

Wednesday, 22 May 2019

Common Ground - Homeless-led Action & Advocacy

What rights do you have if you are homeless? Terrible conditions in the B&B – what can I do? Feeling isolated and don't know where to turn for support? Been there and done it, and want to help others who are experiencing homelessness?

speaking about and sharing your experiences
learning about homelessness rights and entitlements
challenging stigma and labelling
supporting each other and information-sharing
taking action together for positive change
Wednesdays from 14:00 – 16:30 at Autonomous Centre Edinburgh.
Sisters Uncut Edinburgh - Lessons from Scotland

     Sisters Uncut have organised a demostration outside the Scottish Parliament to coincide with MSP Joan McAlpine hosting transphobic blogger Meghan Murphy.
Gathering from 5pm with speakers starting from 5:15.
Link to facebook event page:
https://en-gb.facebook.com/events/2379727025638311/

      The event page includes detail of the Parliament protest code of conduct and Sisters Uncut's safer spaces policy.
Friday 24 May 2019

Edinburgh Youth Climate Strike
11am at the Meadows, marching to the Scottish Parliament
https://www.facebook.com/syclimatestrike/
Part of the global youth strike for climate, strikes Britain and world-wide
Advice for adult supporters
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LZiKSZP1CoYaTcBqPanEADDsZvxD_h7T/view

Weekly Strikes - every Friday
Contact: sandy@sycs.org.uk, dylan@sycs.org.uk or neelu@sycs.org.uk

Time: 11:00 - 13:00 Location: Outside Scottish Parliament, Horse Wynd, Edinburgh EH99 1SP

Sunday, 26 May 2019
Intro to Climate Colonialism

         From displacement to genocide, land clearances to build plantations and extract fossil fuels and other materials (and therefore slavery), from social Darwinism to mass disparity in resources in adapting to climate change. The origins of climate change are rooted in the origins of colonialism, and the impact of climate change plays out in the same way.
Workshop at St. Margaret's House
14:00 - 17:00
Tickets are pay what you can afford.
Link to facebook event page:
https://en-gb.facebook.com/events/2208778575872641/

Wednesday, 29 May 2019 Common Ground - Homeless-led Action & Advocacy

What rights do you have if you are homeless? Terrible conditions in the B&B – what can I do? Feeling isolated and don't know where to turn for support? Been there and done it, and want to help others who are experiencing homelessness?

Speaking about and sharing your experiences.                           Learning about homelessness rights and entitlements.           Challenging stigma and labelling.                                             Supporting each other and information-sharing.                             Taking action together for positive change.

Wednesdays from 14:00 – 16:30 at Autonomous Centre Edinburgh.

Thursday, 30 May 2019

ECAP Advocacy Stall
Solidarity with claimants.

       ECAP organises to combat poverty on the principle of solidarity and self-activity in communities and workplaces, actively rejecting influence by any political parties.
       We work and fight alongside individuals facing poverty related problems and oppressive behaviour from the authorities. We also conduct wider campaigns on specific issues using the same principles of solidarity and self-activity. High Riggs Jobcentre 10:00 - 11:30

Friday, 31 May 2019
      Nae Pasaran: Solidarity Benefit Gig for ACE and Edinburgh Antifa
Benefit for the Autonomous Centre Edinburgh & Edinburgh Antifa at the Argyle and Cellar Bar.
Doors at 7:30pm.
£6 waged, £4 unwaged, donation/ free if skint.

Featuring:
The Irresistible Urges
Loud South Ladies
Moving Statues
Euan Johnson
Link to facebook event page:
https://en-gb.facebook.com/events/498684344000198/

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

The Molendinar Burn And Glasgow.

      I have been out on the bike a few times recently, but haven't bothered to stop and take a photo. The reason being the runs are so embarrassingly short, a mere 10-15 miles, the 60+ to 90+ miles two or three times a week seem to be over. The weather hasn't been too kind to me, short spells of good weather and then a return to cold and showery. Since I am now a fair weather cyclist, that limits me quite a bit. Actually I no longer refer to myself as a cyclist, but more an old guy who goes out on his bike now and again.

     Today, despite the overcast sky and a bit of a cold wind, Stasia and I headed for Hogganfield Loch. A small loch to the east of Glasgow, a popular walking, cycling, dog walkers area and kids play area. It only measures approximately 1.3 miles going round the loch, but there are paths that you can deviate from the lochside and meander to change the scenery.

     Though a small loch, I suppose you could say that if it was not for this small loch, Glasgow may not have been the city it is. It is from Hogganfield Loch that the Molendinar Burn runs towards the Clyde, and it was on the banks of the Molendinar Burn that St Mungo set up his little Christian sanctuary, at the site where the Glasgow Cathedral now stands. This attracted people to the area and the rest is history as they say.

    Today the Molendinar Burn has all but disappeared, in the late 1800's it was contained in a culvert and now runs towards the Clyde somewhere under Wishart Street. Though there is still a small bit just about visible to the Gleswegians that want to have a wee look. At the west side of a fine looking building, 100 Duke Street there is a patch of trees and shrubs and through that growth there is a part of the Molendinar that is still open to the sky.

     The building 100 Duke Street started life as a rather ornate mill, belonging to R F and J Alexander, and is reputed to be the first building in Scotland that was built to be fire resistant. The mill and its workers disappeared as technology changed, and the building then became a home for homeless men, known as the Great Eastern Hotel. Now it is a "residential redevelopment", Still an impressive looking building. 

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

No Comment!!!

        This is a little appeal for some help on a matter of this blog. I have run this blog for years and up until a couple of years ago I could respond to comments and make comments through the usual comment section. However for these couple of years now it will not allow me to publish anything through the comments, it means I am unable top respond to any comment that is left on the blog. It might give the impression that I don't appreciate comments or can't be bothered to respond, that isn't the case. I have tried several avenues and approached several people but so far nothing has changed. So any info that might help me resolve this problem would be much appreciate. I'm no geek, but can usually work my way through things, but obviously not in this case.  I'm listening.

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

The Monarch Democracy!!!

       The establishment and its mouthpiece, the mainstream media keep referring to the UK as a democracy, but a democracy with a monarch. This edifice to imperialism may get labelled as a “constitutional monarchy”, but a democracy? I’m sure anyone with a modicum of rationalism must see this as a contradiction, who voted them in, how do you vote the monarch out? Built on that template only an idiot would refer to the UK as a “democracy”. Somewhere else this fantasy democracy falls down is in how it treats it citizens. I would imagine that in a democracy those in most need would receive the most care. Well how does the UK “democracy” fair in that aspect? Well for starters we have lots of privileges heaped on those with lots of money, while at the other end, those in need suffer in poverty. 

         In this UK “democracy” while wealth and plenty is displayed for all to see, it is out of reach for the majority. The fact is that more than 14 million people live in poverty in the UK. Of that army of disadvantaged, 4.5 million are children, while a further 1.4 million are pensioners. Mired in that swamp of avoidable poverty, 7.7 million are deemed to be in persistent poverty, meaning that they have suffered this deplorable condition for four years or more. Then there is those with greater needs, the disabled. Of the unacceptable army of poverty stricken, 6.9 million are in families with a disabled member.
       If you live in this fantasy UK "democracy" and you are a family with a disabled member, you are far more likely to be living in poverty than a family with no disabled member. In fact approximately half of those living in poverty in this land of milk and honey, are disabled, or living with a disabled person.
        Now how do we equate these facts with the word and idea of “democracy? It seems that in this UK fantasy “democracy”, the greater your need the deeper you sink into poverty.
     If we want a "democracy", a real "democracy", we have to get rid of the pompous circus of monarchy and privilege, we have to get rid of the party political system and its inherent corruption, self interest and privileges, we have to dismantle the capitalist system that fosters and is fostered by a brutal, callous, greed driven indifferent drive for profit and growth for the few, at the expense of the many. Or we can continue to live in the self destructive illusion that we are equal participants in a democracy, and that getting shafted is part of the deal.

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

Spirit of Revolt Big Day.

       Friday May 10th. 2019 was an important date for Spirit of Revolt, of course we have lots of important dates at SoR, but this one marked the occasion of our first collection being entered into the Mitchell Library Archive Catalogue and will now be available in the reading room of the archive department on the 5th. floor. Spirit of Revolt has 38 collections listed on its website, and others in the pipeline. Most of them contain thousands of documents and most have a considerable number of those documents scanned and on line to read on the website https://spiritofrevolt.info However the Allan Burnett is the first collection to be completely, scanned and on line. Hence our pride in seeing it now being readily available for the public through both our own website and the Mitchell Library Archive Catalogue.
         The scanning process is slow and time consuming, but the backbone of getting our material on line to make it easily accessible to the public at large. Have a look at our website and see what we stand for, and if you feel you would like to volunteer to be part of that operation then you can contact us at info@spiritofrevolt.info

 

       Our archivist, Paula, in the middle, and wrinkly old me, handing over the completed Allan Burnett Collection to a Mitchell archivists. 

     A proud Paula handing over to wrinkly old me, the SoR catalogue, that will be available in the reading room of the Mitchell Library Archive Department.

      A proud moment when I sit down and peruse the Spirit of Revolt, Allan Burnett Collection catalogue that will be available to the public in the reading room of the Mitchell Library Archive Department.  

       A big thank you to all those who made this possible.

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

Shooting Us Like Partridges.

       It didn't take a crystal ball to predict the fate of anarchists in Russia after the Bolsheviks came to power. Though the Bolsheviks have gone, the persecution of anarchists continues to this day, and not just in Russia. 

From Enough Is Enough:

       Here is an extract from the new PM Press edition of Voline’s anarchist history of the Russian Revolution, The Unknown Revolution (with a new introduction by Iain McKay), describing Voline’s encounters with Leon Trotsky, before and during the Russian Revolution. It goes well with Emma Goldman’s “Trotsky Protests Too Much,” which I posted earlier. The excerpt can also be found in Daniel Guérin’s No Gods, No Masters (Ni Dieu Ni Maitre), published by AK Press.

Encounters with Trotsky

           In April 1917 I met Trotsky again. (We had known each other in Russia, and, later in France from which we were both expelled in 1916.) We met in a print shop which specialised in printing the various publications of the Russian left. He was then editor of a daily Marxist paper Novy Mir (New World). As for me, I had been entrusted with editing the last numbers of Golos Truda (Voice of Labour), the weekly organ of the anarcho-syndicalist Union of Russian Workers, shortly before it was moved to Russia. I used to spend one night a week at the print shop while the paper was being prepared. That is how I happened to meet Trotsky on my first night there.

      Naturally we spoke about the Revolution. Both of us were preparing to leave America in the near future to return home.

       In the course of our conversation I said to Trotsky: “Truly I am absolutely sure that you, the Marxists of the left, will end up by seizing power in Russia. That is inevitable, because the Soviets, having been restored, will surely enter into conflict with the bourgeois government. The government will not be able to destroy them because all the workers of the country, both industrial workers and peasants, and also most of the army, will naturally put themselves on the side of the Soviets against the bourgeoisie and the government. And once the Soviets have the support of the people and the army, they will triumph in the struggle. And once they have won it will be you, the Marxists, who will inevitably be carried into power. Because the workers are seeking the revolution in its most advanced form. The syndicalists and anarchists are too weak in Russia to attract the attention of the workers rapidly by their ideas. So the masses will put their confidence in you and you will become ‘the masters of the country.’ And then, look out anarchists! The conflict between you and us is unavoidable. You will begin to persecute us as soon as your power is consolidated. And you will finish by shooting us like partridges. . .”

        “. . .Come, come, comrade,” replied Trotsky. “You have a stubborn and incorrigible imagination. Do you think we are really divided? A mere question of method, which is quite secondary. Like us you are revolutionaries. Like you we are anarchists in the final analysis. The only difference is that you would like to establish your anarchism immediately without a preparatory transition, while we, the Marxists, do not believe it possible to ‘leap’ in one bound into the libertarian millennium. We anticipate a transitory epoch in the course of which the ground for an anarchist society will be cleared and ploughed with the help of the anti-bourgeois political powers: the dictatorship of the proletariat exercised by the proletarian party in power. In the end, it involves only a ‘shade’ of difference, nothing more. On the whole we are very close to one another. We are friends in arms. Remember now: we have a common enemy to fight. How can we think of fighting among ourselves? Moreover, I have no doubt that you will be quickly convinced of the necessity of a temporary proletarian socialist dictatorship. I don’t see any real reason for a war between you and us. We will surely march hand in hand. And then, even if we don’t agree, you are all wrong in supposing that we, the socialists, will use brutal force against the anarchists! Life itself and the judgement of the masses will resolve the problem and will put us in agreement. No! Can you really admit for a single instant such an absurdity: socialists in power shooting anarchists? Come, come, what do you take us for? Anyhow, we are socialists, comrade Voline! We are not your enemies."

         In December 1919, seriously ill, I was arrested by the Bolshevik military authorities in the Makhnovist region of the Ukraine. Considering me an important militant, the authorities advised Trotsky of my arrest by a special telegram and asked for his instructions concerning me. The reply, also by telegram, arrived quickly, clearly, laconically: “SHOOT HIM IMMEDIATELY—TROTSKY.” I was not shot, thanks to a set of circumstances particularly fortunate and entirely fortuitous.

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

Hunt The ****.

       I don't as a rule, often slate individual political ballerinas, they are all dangerous charlatans in my book, and all deserve the same level of contempt. However sometimes something appears in the "news" that seems to set me off on a rant, and Jeremy Hunt's call for a massive increase in war spending, just tipped me over the edge, though it shouldn't have, as it is just true to form. 

      Jeremy Hunt, our foreign secretary, admirer of Trump, has come out with an appeal for the government to vastly increase its spending on its war machine, in line with Trump's demands and sabre rattling. I'm surprised he can talk at all, due to the very large silver spoon he was born with in his mouth. Deemed to be the richest member of the cabinet, is quite a claim among a bunch of very rich and privileged parasites.

      This privileged prancing political ballerina, making such demands, is obviously unaware of the increasing poverty among our children and working families, he will not have noticed the homelessness, areas crying out for more resources. How could he be aware of these facts, he is from a different world. He has an excellent pedigree for his class, a product of the Oxbridge sausage factory, a distant relative of Queen Elizabeth II and Oswald Mosley, and from a Royal Navy background, what more could his class ask for.

     These are the types of other world privileged parasites that we allow to shape our lives and our communities, they shape society to the benefit of their class and to hell with the population at large. No doubt his bold militaristic demands is to win the hearts and minds of his party's backwoods, shooting and fishing landed gentry, in an endeavour to land the big job, party leader. 

     Why do we let them take our wealth and turn it into a war machine for their benefit only? Why do we allow those from another alien privileged world to keep us under the yoke of poverty, while they play war games for the benefit of their class and their class alone? Surely we can see through their subterfuge, illusions and lies. We don't belong in their world, and they certainly don't belong in ours.

From Wikipedia:

Early life and education

        Jeremy Hunt was born in Lambeth Hospital, Kennington,[5] the eldest son of Admiral Sir Nicholas Hunt,[6] who was then a Commander in the Royal Navy assigned to work for the Director of Naval Plans inside the recently created Ministry of Defence,[7] and his wife Meriel Eve née Givan (now Lady Hunt), daughter of Major Henry Cooke Givan.[8] Hunt is a descendant of Streynsham Master, a pioneer of the East India Company.[9]
       Hunt was raised in Shere, Surrey, near the constituency that he represents in Parliament.[10] He is a distant relation of Elizabeth II and Oswald Mosley.[11]
      Hunt was educated at Charterhouse where he was Head of School.[6] He then read Philosophy, Politics, and Economics at Magdalen College, Oxford, and took a first class honoursBachelor of Arts (BA) degree. He became involved in Conservative politics while at university, where David Cameron and Boris Johnson were contemporaries.[12] He was active in the Oxford University Conservative Association (OUCA), and was elected to serve as President in 1987.[12]

 Early career
       After university Hunt worked for two years as a management consultant at OC&C Strategy Consultants, and then became an English language teacher in Japan.[13]

      On his return to Britain he tried his hand at a number of different entrepreneurial business ventures, including a failed attempt to export marmalade to Japan.[14] In 1991, Hunt co-founded a public relations agency named Profile PR specialising in IT with Mike Elms, a childhood friend.[13] Hunt and Elms later sold their interest in Profile PR to concentrate on directory publishing.
       Hunt had been interested in creating a 'guide to help people who want to study rather than just travel abroad'[15] and together with Elms founded a company known as Hotcourses in the 1990s, a major client of which is the British Council.[16] Hunt stood down as director of the company in 2009, however still retained 48% of the shares in the company which were held in a blind trust, before Hotcourses was sold in January 2017 for over £30 million to Australian education organisation IDP Education. He personally gained over £14 million from the sale and in doing so became the richest Cabinet member.[16][17][18]

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

The "Untouchables".

          Simple questions for today's society, who polices the police? How do you get redress against police "misdemeanors"?

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

The UK, Land Of Monarchy And Child Poverty.

          The UK, fifth largest economy in the world, it is awash with wealth, it carries on the back of its people the imperial edifice of a pomp swamp of monarchy and all the aristocratic parasites associated with such a menagerie. Wealth flows freely, but only in certain quarters.

      Since the 2008 "crash" the UK, like lots of capitalist countries, embarked on a policy of "austerity". This was the acceptable euphemism for the scheme to allow the rich financial Mafia to regain their massive gambling loses, by plundering the public purse. Eleven years on and we are told, "austerity is over" but where do we stand?

Well has "austerity" worked? You bet it has, with UK's billionaires having seen their net worth rise by 112% from £258billion to £547 billion since 2009. The previous 12 months saw the biggest jump in the UK super rich in six years, the City of London now boasts 80 billionaires up from 72 last year, more than any other city in the world.

       Well while this "austerity" plan has worked for the super rich, how do we at the other end of this master plan fare?

     Well it is not quite the same story, we the people got clobbered. We have suffered an ever decreasing standard of living, child poverty is increasing, workers in poverty has been increasing. What has been plunder from our social services has fed the super rich as they prance around the world in their private jets and super yachts.

         Joseph Rowntree Foundation research reveals that in the UK child poverty has been rising since 2011/12. with 4.1 million children in the UK living in poverty, a rise of 500,000 in the last five years. 4 million of those in work are living in poverty, a rise of more than half a million over five years. In work poverty has been rising faster than employment, driven almost entirely by increasing poverty among working parents. Two sides of the capitalist coin.

      These appalling figures among the ordinary people of this country are not just statistics, they are lives. Lives stunted in health and well-being, the potential of our children destroyed, an increase in stress among families, the breaking up of families, people pushed to homelessness, hard working people put under strain to the detriment of their emotional and physical health. All this, not as an unavoidable set of circumstances, but by the deliberate policies of the chosen few who play the corrupt game to the advantage of their rich cronies. It is called capitalism, and any attempt at trying to turn this exploitative, profit driven system into something with a shred of humanity is doomed to failure, it is not in the nature of the beast. It has to be totally dismantled and replaced with a system of justice, fairness, co-operation and sustainability that sees to the needs of all our people, in a word, anarchism. 

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

"Writers For Miners" Free CD.

        Spirit of Revolt is anarchist/libertarian-socialist archive dedicated to preserving and making easily accessible to the public at large, Glasgow/Clydeside grass-roots history of struggle. We are not connected to any political party or trade union nor do we receive any funding from any of these organisation. We are a volunteer group who give our time freely, however in a capitalist society funds are a necessary evil to survive and grow. We rely on our various outreach programs to raise funds, and the much appreciated supporters who have signed a direct debit to help sustain this project, to them, a great big thank you.
         In an endeavour to increase our funds and help secure the project, we are, for a limited period offering a CD and booklet, Writers for Miners, to anyone who signs up a direct debit for £5 or more, to Spirit of Revolt. It will be free delivery in the UK, further afield we would have to look at the cost. Have a look at our website https://spiritofrevolt.info, if you like what we are doing and think we are doing a good job, then the price of a couple of coffees a month would be much appreciated.

Details of the CD and booklet:

The Writers for Miners Events, 1984

      In 1984-85 events known as “Writers for Miners” took place on consecutive Saturdays in Glasgow’s 3rd Eye Centre to raise funds for striking coal miners at local pits in one of the most significant industrial disputes in world history.
      With 140,000 out on strike the Thatcher Government planned to break the power of the NUM union, the most well organised group of workers in the country. With 11,291 arrests and lasting 1 year it unleashed massive state repression, brutality and violence. The other unions largely did not show solidarity and the strike failed, opening the door to the destruction of working class communities, job insecurity and privatisation.
      Performers, poets, visual artists and others decided to support the striking miners in Scotland and formed artists-in-Solidarity which organised fundraising for the miners’ families by holding events. This CD is a recording of those events. James Kelman explains, “Radical history is marginalised by the State and events of this nature should be recorded otherwise they are forgotten. The STUC offered to part-fund the project but on this occasion failed to come up with the money. We still went ahead. It was hoped that a selection of songs, poetry and prose-readings might be produced eventually in the form of a couple of albums (all proceeds to the miners’ strike fund). It didn’t happen, for one reason or another…The original project was launched in support of the miners and their families. Those days may have gone but solidarity and comradeship haven’t. All proceeds from the sale of the Writers for Miners album will go toward the Spirit of Revolt (S.O.R.) Archive, in appreciation of the crucial work carried out by the S.O.R. volunteers in the preservation of radical history”.

In 1984, those involved were,

Norman McCaig, Freddy Anderson, Hamish Henderson,

 Duncan Maclean, Kathleen Jamie and Robert Alan Jamieson,

 Donald Saunders, Peter Nardini, Rab Noakes,

Nancy Nicolson, Alasdair Gray, Jeff Torrington, Agnes Owens,
Carl MacDougall, James Kelman, Archie Hind, Donald Saunders,

Tom Leonard, Edwin Morgan, Edward Boyd, Danny Kyle, 

Tom McGrath, Jeff Torrington, Agnes Owens, Archie Hind. 

Where will you get such a fabulous collection of performers on one CD?

         You can contact us at our donate page, https://spiritofrevolt.info/donate/ or at  info@spiritofrevolt.info Set up your Direct debit, send us your address and we will forward the CD and booklet. In anticipation we thank you for your support.

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