THE BROADEST SHOULDERS!!!

“it's fair that those with broader shoulders should bear a greater load” (David Cameron, justifying the cuts, Conservative party conference 6 Oct 2010)

'The Broadest Shoulders?'
By Camcorder Guerillas - Scotland 2011 - 4 mins.

They gambled an' lost, an' we've to pay??

         How cuts in benefits will affect disabled people “we are not cheats… we are not scroungers… it’s us who need supporting not the banks” In October 2010 the coalition Government announced public sector cuts of £81 billion, including £18 billion cuts to benefits. Whilst the rich avoid £120 billion of taxes and bankers continue to award themselves huge bonuses, “disabled people are facing the biggest attack on their rights since the 1930s”.

Join us in speaking out against the cuts.

        Share the film with others, Post the film to your facebook, twitter or myspace site. Click on the “Share” Icon. More info on how to share the film vimeo.com/​275807
        Embed the film in your website or blog. Click on the “Embed” icon. More info on how to embed the film vimeo.com/​help/​faq#what_is_embedding

      Distribute our poster at your workplace, college, union and neighbourhood. Get in touch info@camcorderguerillas.net to discuss organising a screening event.

          

The Broadest Shoulders? from Camcorder Guerillas on Vimeo.

ann arky's home.

MEDIA = PROPAGANDA.

       Those who know me will be well aware of my loathing for what is generally called "mainstream media".

        It is of course, no more than the propaganda machine for our wonderful billionaire corporate fascism, a mouth piece for our Western imperialism. I have spouted my mouth off about it, written about it and even written poems about it. While browsing I came across this "media dictionary" it makes very enlightening reading.

        I have posted a couple of wee poems that might help to give a better desription of the mainstream media.

By John Hartfield.

ENDLESS BABBLE.

The questions arise. Why war and hunger?

Why does poverty continue to linger?

Why such need in a world of wealth?

Why put a price on a child’s health?

Confused and angry the public stand

gazing in disbelief at this pathetic band.

Those shiney politicians designed by spin

their street credibility paper thin,

the great persuaders looking the mood

struggling so hard just for our good!

Masters of the art of wheeling and dealing

exceptional experts at legal stealing.

Enter the Media, drowning us all in trivial text,

everything you need know

of scandal and sport, crime and sex.

Together they create a world of confusion

all fashion and style, a vicious illusion.

So no matter how often we point at need,

we always drown in a sea of greed,

no debate entered into, no answers found,

the waffle the babble goes round and round.

ROBOTS.

With spin doctors now in full flight

we’ve entered a new era, a brand new age,

no need to think just follow the plan

experts will guide you through the difficult stage,

soon dear consumer, you’ll see the light.

Let Fashion Gurus dictate your style

the colour the length where to be seen

the music you buy the games you play

who to worship from the silver screen

the latest icon, just for a while.

The Media teaches us all we need know

of scandal and sport, crime and sex

who slept with who and where,

who kiss and tell just for the cheques,

depicting society as a smutty peepshow.

Mindless telly invades your home

banal boring bromide, cliched crap

trifling trite trivia and petty pulp

sport, sex and violence always on tap,

churning your brain to a frothy foam.

Programmers with programmes you must pursue

specialists have advice you must take,

freethinking at all cost must be avoided

spontaneity is obviously a mistake

our Leader’s voice the only view.

Each of us, a programmed dual-purpose robot

some to serve, some to produce,

all to function as constant consumers

our first, our last, our only use

in this cabal of cambist’s insidious plot.

ann arky's home.

MONOPOLY FOR MILLIONAIRES.

        As I keep spouting, this “financial crisis” is the corporate world's opportunity to plunder all public assets, and further proof comes in the words of committee secretary Eric Pickles, who has called on all councils to make a list of all their public assets. Land, buildings, art treasures, etc. and to have a look at them to see what can be sold off to raise money to help the council through these hard times. On the understanding that the councils are suppose to represent the people and to look after their assets, how can selling them off to millionaire spivs benefit the people in the long run?

         This is just another opportunity for the millionaire cabal in the Westminster Houses of Corruption and Hypocrisy to sell off what is left of the country to their millionaire chums in the corporate world. The know their class and they will be loyal to their class, they know how to fight a class war. This is a continuation of the public school thugs 1980's game of monopoly, sell sell, sell, but what they are selling to their millionaire chums is not theirs to sell, it is ours and we are not even invited to the game.

          We are heading rapidly to a corporate world where there will be no public spaces, no public assets, where society will have a notice, if you can't afford the price, then stay out. Welcome to corporate fascism. Is this what we want to bequeath to our children and grandchildren?

   ann arky's home.

EDINBURGH ANTI-FASCISTS.

Dear Friends

         You may have heard that the Scottish Defence League want to march in Edinburgh on the 10th September. Below is a Unity statement we would ask you to sign personally or if possible on behalf of your organisation, also please circulate for support. By uniting against the SDL we prevented them
marching or congregating in Edinburgh before, we must do the same again.

Best wishes
Graham
On behalf of UAF Edinburgh

Edinburgh Unity Statement

        We the undersigned strongly oppose plans by the Scottish Defence League (SDL) the Scottish arm of the racist English Defence League (EDL) to march in Edinburgh on 10 September 2011.

       The EDL was a group admired by the Norwegian far right terrorist Anders Breivik. As well as attending a number of EDL events, meeting EDL leaders etc. Breivik openly expressed his wish to start a racial war and praised the EDL’s strategy and tactics.

        The latest rally by the SDL in Irvine on 30 July 2011 saw members hold placards aimed at stirring up hatred against Islam and sporting Blood and Honour (Nazi) tattoos.

         Islamophobia - bigotry against Muslims - is as unacceptable as any other form of racism. It divides and weakens our society by making scapegoats of one community, just as Hitler's Nazis did by targeting Jews in the 1930s. Today the SDL threatens Muslims; tomorrow it could be Jews, Hindus, Sikhs,
black people, lesbians & gay men, travellers or Eastern Europeans.

       There is no place for racists or fascists in Edinburgh’s multi-racial, multi-cultural and multi-religious community. That is why we stand in solidarity with Edinburgh's Muslim community and against the poisonous bigotry of the SDL.

Initiated by Unite Against Fascism-Edinburgh.
Email: uafedinburgh@riseup.net if you would like to add your name to this
Unity Statement.

ann arky's home.

TWO FACED MEDIA.

           Some years ago during a demonstration in London, Churchill's statue had a piece of green turf placed on its head, giving it a sort of punk hair cut look. The media here referred to it as a shameful act of vandalism. However on Wednesday 3 August The Times had a photograph of a a statute of Hosni Mubarak which had been defaced. The comments were not a reference to vandalism but how this shows the feelings of the people. When ever any protests take place in this country the media always focus on what violence they can find on the demonstrators side and portray the authorities as the victims. Shift the scene to any country we are meant to dislike and they reverse their point of view. The protesters are always the victims and the authorities the purveyors of violence. The usual double standards of the media, you simply can't believe what you read. We should know by now that authority is always the purveyor of violence when ever the people decide to show their anger or even dislike of what that authority is up to. Authority, i.e.; the state, can only remain the authority by calling on force as soon as the people wish change, more say in their affairs, or control of their own lives. Until the people have control over their own lives and remove the state, we will always have this confrontation of authority and the desire of the people to be free, with the media backing up the authority.

ann arky's home.

THE EPIDEMIC DISEASE OF CAPITALISM.

       The propaganda from the proponents of capitalism continually spout that capitalism will bring prosperity to all. Yet across the globe poverty is on the increase. As poverty increases so does all the health problems that go along with poverty, mental health problems as well as physical. Figures show that suicides and depression are on the increase, there is no doubt that enviromental problems of the individual play a big part in bring about these conditions, the sort of things that are part and parcel of capitalism, unemployment, competition, the illusion that happiness comes in nice fancy wrapped boxes at a price, and the constant fear of deprivation, diseases that could be called the capitalist epedemic. The following is an extract from an article published in LINKS International Journal of Socialist Renewal the full article makes excellent reading.

By Mark Harris

July 23, 2011 -- www.resistance.au -- There is no denying it, depression is on the rise across the world. The World Health Organization says depression will be the second largest contributor to the global burden of disease by 2020. For young people this is already the case. Depression leads to about 850,000 deaths every year.

But why is depression on the rise? In some instances it is a product of more readily available methods of diagnosis and public understanding of the disorder. But increases in suicide rates and other indicators suggest that the increase in depression is well beyond this statistical readjustment.

Depression is not always caused by a chemical imbalance or as a result of human biology. It is a result of social factors such as loneliness, lack of social support, financial strain, lack of purpose and unemployment. These are endemic under capitalism.

Even in a wealthy country like Australia, youth often look to a future that is at best unfulfilling. Furthermore, capitalism is based on competition. In all sorts of ways we can only succeed if someone else fails. Obvious examples are job interviews or exams to get into uni.

BLOOD ON HIS HANDS.

       Since the British troops have left Iraq our mainstream media tends to put Iraq in the after-thought category. The fact that the country is now a shattered country where violence is endemic and the infra-structure is in tatters is of little concern to our media pundits. However we should not forget that the Iraq war has resulted in over a million dead, four million refugees and left the Iraqis with a totally devastated country, while the corporate West has managed to commandeer Iraq's huge oil reserves. Probably the largest and most brutal plunder in 100 years. We can continue to look at the disaster that is Iraq but we should also be pointing fingers.

       Mogul Murdoch's media empire have supported all the US/UK wars over the last 30 years or more. From Thatcher's Falklands ego trip, 1982, through G. Bush Snr's first Gulf war 1990/91, Clinton's Yugoslavia venture1999 plus his undeclared war against Iraq 1998, The support continued through the Bush Blair twins', Iraq and Afghanistan brutal wars, and at present is still throwing his media muscle behind the present day Obama Afghanistan and Iraq wars and Obama and Cameron's Afghan and Libyan wars. That is 30 years of cheering leading 7 or more wars.

By John Hartfield.

       Murdoch doesn't hide his support for war, he more or less admitted this at the World Economic Forum in Davos when during a televised debate he said that his media empire had tried to shape public opinion in support of the Iraq war. This makes him guilty of contravening Article 20 of the UN International Covenant on Political and Civil rights which states, “Any propaganda for war shall be prohibited by law.” Without a doubt, there is blood on the moguls hands.

 ann arky's home.

ANARCHISM, A CRIME????

          It seems that the police have decided that being an anarchist is a crime, and if you know of any you should immediately report them to the police. Last week according to the Guardian the Metropolitan Police issued to businesses and members of the public in Westminster a leaflet asking for anti-anarchist whistleblowers. It went on to say “Anarchism is a political philosophy which considers the state undesirable, unnecessary and harmful, and instead promotes a stateless society, or anarchy. Any information relating to anarchists should be reported to your local police.” Well at least they got the aims of anarchism correct. I doubt if any anarchist would disagree with the first part of that statement. However should holding that belief mean you automatically fall into the criminal category? By linking anarchists with Islamic fundamentalists on their leaflet it would appear that they are attempting to create an impression in the public mind, that there is a connection between Islamic fundamentalist terrorists and anarchists. Of course anybody that has an inkling of an idea of what these two groupings are about will know that is utter gibberish.

        Anarchists have always stood with the people against any authority that would attempt to restrict the freedom of the people, whither that be the churches in their various guises or the state in its many shapes and forms or corporatism in its greed quest, it makes no difference. No group has a right to to restrict the freedom of the people of any country. If any authority stands up and says, that is a crime, it lays bare it own desire to control and restrict the freedom of the people. Today's state does not represent the people, it is a festering marriage of wealth, religion and corporate fascism, that represents wealth and big business and protects the status quo. To say so is to state the facts as we see them, but in this society stating such facts is now becoming a crime, verifying the beliefs of anarchists.

You can read Ian Bone's take on this  HERE. 

ann arky's home.

BANKS GAMBLE - YOU OWE THE MONEY??

    

       " To understand why each Greek owes €30,000 in debt requires an understanding of the role of credit in the capitalist system. Fractional reserve banking allows banks to lend more money than they actually have. In boom times everything looks rosy to the capitalists and credit is extended and profit rates look healthy. But this expansion of credit fuels overproduction. It then starts to dawn that debt-saturation means not all loans will be repaid. Banks become reluctant to lend to one another and credit dries up. This is a credit crunch. As capitalists retreat to cash, effective demand in the market reduces and a recession occurs."

     The above is a short extract from an interesting and informative article in that excellent paper and website, THE COMMUNE. Take a peek and grasp a firm understanding of how and why we are being screwed by the wealthy, the name of the game is capitalism. 

ann arky's home.

ARREST AND TRIAL - WITNESSES.

      Omar Ibrahim, a comrade from Glasgow, was charged with violent disorder following his arrest outside Topshop in Oxford Street London on March 26th. during the anti-cuts demonstration. Since then he has managed to get some very restrictive bail conditions reduced with curfew hours being lessened, so that he can take up work offers.

      His trial date has been set for Thursday 22nd. September at Kingston Court and is expected to last two days. The police are trying to portray the incident as more violent than it actually was. Were you near Topshop on March 26th. around 1-2pm? Could you act as a witness and describe the mood of the demonstration and events that took place?

     If found guilty he could face a prison sentence of one to five years. Omar would appreciate any messages of support left as replies or as comments. They will be forwarded. Or send messages to:

omgigotnickedforprotesting@hotmail.co.uk

Omar would like to ask any supporters to attend the trial.

ann arky's home.

PRIVILEGES FOR SOME, FEAR FOR OTHERS!!!

       

       One of our over lords, Oliver Letwin, Policy Minister for the millionaire cabal, has stated the old upper class mantra that, public sector workers should be afraid of losing their jobs because it will make them more productive. His comments were made at a meeting with a leading consultancy firm. This is the same Oliver Letwin who reportedly agreed to repay a bill for £2,145 for replacing a leaking pipe under the tennis court at his constituency home in Somerset after having claimed it on his parliamentary expenses. The same guy who once said  that he would rather beg on the street than let his children go to an inner city comprehensive school.

         It never fails to amaze me how the arrogant bunch of Oxbridge millionaires and their lackies see people as units to be worked harder, to live in fear of losing their job and a constant fear of deprivation. While they themselves feel they are entitled to any and every privilege that they can lay their grubby sweaty little hands on.

   We need to put the fear of death into those bloody workers.

  

     Do we need them? They cost US a fortune to keep THEM at a priveleged standard THEY believe THEY are entitled. They produce nothing except hot air and spend their time passing legislation that will slash the living standards of all the ordinary people in this country, but will not affect them one little bit. They call it democracy!!! 

ann arky's home.

 

HEALTH CARE OR STICKING PLASTER??

        

    I keep saying that the millionaire cabal sitting in the Westminster Houses of Corruption and Hypocrisy, know who there friends are. It seems that the millionaire public school thugs have changed the funding arrangements for the primary care trusts. Previously areas which have higher incidences of poor health were given a higher per-capita funding. However our millionaire controllers have decided to end that arrangement of special weighting. The result of this clever slight of hand means that poorer areas such as Manchester and Tower Hamlets will lose out in the funding process, while the more prosperous parts of the country, for example, Hampshire and Surrey will gain considerably.

I was treated in Manchester!!

        As the NHS moves to privatisation it will become obvious that the poorer areas will be unable to afford the super-duper care on offer, while the toffs can. So market forces dictate that you put the better, more expensive facilities in the richer areas and have a sort of good sticking plaster care system for the peasants. It is all falling nicely into place, our lords and masters are looking after their own, isn't about time we did likewise?

ann arky's home.

THE PEOPLE'S FLAG, PART ONE 1914/31

       The People's Flag, part 1. The first betrayal, 1914 - 1931 the period that includes the general strike. Another gem from RMTV.

         Originally screened on Channel 4 television in 1987, The People's Flag is a five-part history of the British labour movement in the 20th Century. Part 1 covers the period of World War I and the election of the first Labour governments, the General Strike, the onset of the Great Depression and Labour Party leader Ramsay MacDonald's betrayal. Produced by Platform Films (55 minutes)

ann arky's home.

FREE ANARCHIST CRITIC NEWSPAPER.

The latest issue of the Anarchist Critic can now be viewed and downloaded as a PDF HERE.

ann arky's home.

EXCESSIVE SENTENCE FOR EARTH FIRST ACTIVIST.

Some information that was omitted from the previous post regarding Earth First in Amarica.

Tim DeChristopher was sentenced to 2 years in prison at the Salt Lake City federal courthouse. He was taken immediately into custody, being denied the typical 3 weeks afforded to put his affairs in order and say goodbye to his friends and family. Following his being taken into custody, 26 more people were arrested while occupying the Federal court house of Salt Lake City, Utah, in solidarity with him.
       Meanwhile Earth First has been active in Oregon 

ann arky's home.

EARTH FIRST, USA.

     
         A posting from our friends across the pond. It should be shouted from the street corners and from the roof tops, resistance to this system of capitalist exploitation, and the rape and plunder of the planet is growing day by day.

Earth First!: dancing on the tables of bureaucracy and greed for 30 years and counting


By Panagioti, co-editor of Earth First! Journal 

         Earth First! has been a pain in the ass to industrialists for over 30 years now in the US. Despite serious repression from the Green Scare over the past decade (where eco-activists have been labeled 'terorists' and threatened with life sentences for acts of sabotage) the movement of ecological direct action looks to be getting back on its feet again. The stories below gives a glimpse of this summer alone... Last week in Montana, Earth First! activists in the US stormed the Capital of Montana in resistance to new fossil fuel infrastructure  This week tree sitters halted mountaintop removal coal mining in West Virginia  Last month, a direct action campaign of indigenous activist and allies kicked off in the San Francisco Peaks of Arizona And the resistance continues:  Earlier in the summer, Earth First!ers in Maine took their case against industrial wind power clearcutting endangered species habitat to a 'criminal' trial for their road blockades of a year earlier. While some charges were dropped, and some resulted in jail sentences, their fight continues. And in Florida, forest defenders opposing the construction of a new biotech animal testing laboratory by occupying the tree canopy this spring were summonsed to court for their alleged involvement in this 6-week occupation (which has played a major part in delaying the construction thus far)  All across the US eco-resistance is back on the rise, and the trend seems to be present in several other countries as well. With the ecological crisis expanding, the need has never been greater. We intend to rise to the challenge.

P.S. Don't forget to check out the latest Earth First! Journal, for a more in-depth look at news, strategy and analysis around the world

P.P.S Don't forget to start plannin' to celebrate the 200 year anniversary of the Luddite Uprisings starting this November... 

Oh, and the Earth First! Journal may be planning a trip across the Atlantic next spring/summer. We are hoping to make a stop-over in Glasgow... So keep an eye out for us!

ann arky's home.

RAW CAPITALISM - PEASANTS BEWARE.

    

        Capitalism doesn't change it's spots, it is a system of exploitation of the many for the advantage of the few. At the end of WW2 and the existence of the Soviet Union creating a threat of Communism across Europe, and other places in the world, capitalism modified slightly. In the West it made concessions to the working class and the middle class, grants to higher education, a health service, social housing, a welfare system, to help the poorest etc.. With the collapse of the Soviet Empire and Thatcher's subsequent destruction of the trade unions, the threat of communism had gone. The need to appease the workers no longer existed. Capitalism could get back to its true form, it was time for raw capitalism with the gloves off. What we are living through is the system of capitalism mounting an all out attack on the working class and the middle class. For the majority real austerity will be the order of the day, with education an expensive luxury for the rich, a health service that will cater for those with the most money, charity your only hope of social services. Bankers, CEO and their sidekicks will live in ever increasing luxury. Our billionaire landed gentry and nobility are back in full control, peasants beware.

         Our children will be denied a decent education, without which it will be impossible to understand the complexity of the geopolitical system that is draining their lives, let alone organise to change its structure. Society will be fragmented with petty crime on the increase, communities will become ghettos. A rather frightening picture but the only out come from an unchallenged system driven by one overriding desire for profit, a system where human beings are no more than expendable resources. The gap between the ordinary people and the billionaire ruling class will be unimaginable. The answer for the majority of people on this planet does not lie in capitalism and time is of the essence.

ann arky's home.