Quality Of Life = Length Of Life.

       If life expectancy is an indicator of quality of life, and it is, then we in Scotland can be worried. Scotland has the lowest life expectancy levels in the EU. Men in Scotland have a life expectancy of 76 and women 80, but in the most deprived 15% of areas in Scotland, (2007/08) it is 57.5 for males and 61.9 for females. Whereas the European average is 79.7 for men and 84.8 for women.

In that very low average for Scotland, Glasgow languishes at the bottom as the lowest in Scotland, with 71 for men and 78 for women.

 Cartoon by Frank Boyle:

         Of course across Glasgow that average rises and falls as you move from the more affluent areas to the more deprived. The area with the lowest life expectancy is the Calton district of Glasgow, with a life expectancy of 54 for males. While not many miles away just on the outskirts of Glasgow we have Lenzie with a male life expectancy of 82. If we move south of the Scottish border to the London district of Kensington and Chelsea, we have the highest life expectancy in the UK with a figure of 89 for males.

        These vast fluctuations are an indictment of a system that not only tolerates such wide variations in quality of life, but fosters and perpetuates a grossly unequal society. Why should one person expect to die younger than another born just a handful of miles away? These variations in life expectancy also show the callousness and injustice of the raising of the pension age to 70. What does that mean for those living in the 15% most deprived areas in Scotland whose life expectancy is in the 50's?

        There is no democracy, there is no justice in the midst of such disparity in quality of life, and we can't expect a band of millionaire parasites to put matters right. It would be against their own personal interests. We will have to do that ourselves.

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

Does Utopia Exist?

        Does Utopia exist? Well, there is a small town in Andalusia in Spain called Marinaleda, with a population of just over 2,700 and they have no municipal police, another feature of this small town is that every week or so they declare a “Red Sunday” when the citizens go out and clean the streets and do odd jobs about the town that need doing. Marinaleda runs a 3,000 acre farming co-operative, employing 2,650 people, the farm is about 7 miles outside of town, as well as olive groves, they grow artichokes, broad beans, broccoli and peppers and has a section growing wheat. This didn't come about with a grand plan in some central office, but was born from the struggle of the people of the town, and their belief that planning the future is not enough, the future has to be built here and now, in the present, brick by brick.

     The mayor of this remarkable town is one, Juan Manuel Sánchez Gordillo and is quoted as saying,

     ‘The myth of capitalism has crumbled,’ he announced, ‘that the market is an omnipotent God that fixes everything with his invisible hand. We’ve seen this is a great lie, a stupid fundamentalism: we’ve seen that in times of crisis, markets have had to resort to the state, and that states are putting money into the banks.-----If there were any justice in the world the big bankers, and the governments that allowed them to perpetrate their economic terrorism, would be in jail. And those same people who caused the crisis are the ones who now want to fix it. The pyromaniac wants to play the fireman! Mrs Merkel and Mr Sarkozy want to speak for the banks and fix what they caused.

    You can read more on this human endeavour for justice in the book The Village Against The World.

      An interesting fact about Spain is that in 2008, Spain's financial situation was well withing the Eurozone's fiscal rules. In fact, Spains government debt as percentage of its GDP, was lower than Germany's. The debt was created out of the crash, it was not the debt that caused the crash. Hundreds of billions of Euros were poured into Spains banks after the crash. It was the financial market's collapse that caused the debt and the resultant “austerity” (read poverty) across the whole of Europe.

      We the people are still paying for the greed of that parasite army, the financial Mafia. Perhaps we should be taking a leaf out of Marinaleda's book, and building our future here and now brick by brick, outside this festering mess of capitalism. 

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

Our Friend Bahrain.

      Our friendly nation Bahrain, of course the fact that it is home to a vast US naval base might have something to do with that.

Post by Occupy Bahrain.

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

What Is In a Name?

       Thousands of brands but just a handful that control them all. Are you being conned?

Infographic from: Popular Science

INTERESTING???

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Monsanto, Birth Defects And Soybeans.

        Monsanto has been involved in the US and UK chemical warfare research back during the second Word War and was involved in the production of Agent Orange used to devastating effect across Vietnam. Now it is poisoning the people of Argentina, a land once known for its grass lands and grass fed cattle. Now Argentina is a soybean growing chemical factory, where birth defects are soaring by the month. The land is being poisoned and so are its people.

      In this April 1, 2013 photo, Aixa Cano, 5, who has hairy moles all over her body that doctors can't explain, sits on a stoop outside her home in Avia Terai, in Chaco province, Argentina. Although it’s nearly impossible to prove, doctors say Aixa’s birth defect may be linked to agrochemicals. In Chaco, children are four times more likely to be born with devastating birth defects since biotechnology dramatically expanded farming in Argentina. Chemicals routinely contaminate homes, classrooms and drinking water. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

This from AVAAZ:

    Monsanto's extending its power over the globe, with a massive new frankenseed factory in Argentina. Sofía Gatica and local neighbours have spoken out, and she has received death threats and a brutal beating. The threat is urgent -- let's stand with them and stop the plant. Monsanto manufactures the genetically modified seeds that, when combined with toxic pesticides, create the devastating 'monocultures' -- where nothing grows but a single plant -- that increasingly cover our planet. Now they plan to build one of the world's largest GM seed factories in Malvinas.
     Sofía, worried about health risks from the plant, has joined the protests, backed by nearly 70% of the area's residents. If 1 million of us join the people of Malvinas in the next 3 days, we can raise the profile of the issue in local media, feature the petition in an ad campaig n , and push the unpopular Argentine President to shut down the plant and roll back the spread of Monsanto's toxic agriculture:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_monsanto_in_argentina_global_/?bwqhjab&v=32981
      Sofia and the people of Malvinas have been lying in front of bulldozers to block the construction of the plant. If we can amplify their protest -- we can help them win. President Kirchner is facing a wave of unpopularity right now, and she can't afford to be seen to be choosing Monsanto's profits over her own people.
The mega-plant will use toxic chemicals to engineer seeds, which sounds weird because seeds are supposed to come from plants right? Not in Monsanto's scary new world, where plants are genetically designed to be sterile, and the only way farmers can keep planting food is by buying seeds every year from Monsanto! In the US, up to 90% of some types of crops are planted with Monsanto seeds, and with its new mega-plant in Argentina, the infamous company is extending its power over the globe. The threats and beating of Sofía and her fellow protesters are the last straw -- let's stop Monsanto's invasion of South America, and start rolling back the devastat ion wreaked on our ecosystems by their products:
https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stop_monsanto_in_argentina_global_/?bwqhjab&v=32981
      Some argue that genetic modification holds great promise for increased agricultural efficiency. There may be many such benefits in the future, but often the gains are hyped by corporate PR (such as the line that GM seeds 'feed the world' by being far more productive than normal seeds -- in fact there's little evidence of that), and GM technologies often put profit over people and planet. Governments should adjudicate the public risks and benefits, but Monsanto is skilled in undermining democratic governance. They even passed a law in the US that says that a judge cannot order a recall of Monsanto products, even on grounds of public safety!
       Our planet is being rapidly transformed by genetically modified, industri al agriculture, and our governments are far too heavily influenced by the American mega-corporation at the center of it all -- a corporation that is gradually coming to control the world's food supply. Let's not force our children and grandchildren to deal with a world fed by Monsanto, when we can stop it now.
With hope,
Ricken, Meredith, Laura, Nick, Alice, Luis, Marie, Nadia and the whole Avaaz team

More Information:
Anti-Monsanto activists assaulted in Argentina (RT)
http://rt.com/news/argentina-monsanto-protest-clashes-483/
Pesticide illness triggers anti-Monsanto protest in Argentina (DW)
http://www.dw.de/pesticide-illness-triggers-anti-monsanto-protest-in-argentina/a-17013525
Birth defects, cancer in Argentina linked to agrochemicals: AP investigation (CTVNews)
http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/birth-defects-cancer-in-argentina-linked-to-agrochemicals-ap-investigation-1.1505096
Sofia Gatica (The Goldman Environmental Prize)
http://www.goldmanprize.org/recipient/sofia-gatica
Photos from Argentina’s farms, documenting an agrochemical plague (Denver Post)
http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2013/10/21/photos-argentina-agrochemicals/6446/
Argentina's Bad Seeds (Al Jazeera)
http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/peopleandpower/2013/03/201331313434142322.html
Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear (Vanity Fair)
http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/05/monsanto200805

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

Living With The Fear Of Homelessness.

       Across the UK people are being penalised because of a government hell-bent on pursuing the policies of the financial mafia. You can pick any village, town or city and there will be people being pushed into poverty, or worse, facing homelessness. If its not low wages, it's zero hours contracts, if it's not disability benefit cuts, it's being sanctioned and having your jobseekers allowance stopped, then there's the bedroom tax.
       With the bedroom tax there are approximately 50,000 people living with the threat of homelessness because of this vicious attack on ordinary people. Homelessness has rocketed in the last year, up 62% in London alone, and other massive rises across the country as a whole. Why should anybody have to fight for a home? We are in a society where the fear of homelessness is becoming part and parcel of life.
       This is the picture of capitalist progress, this is us "on the mend", this is the vision of the mythical growth, that the millionaire cabal of pompous parasites keep mouthing off about.
       You could pick one of thousands of cases that bring home the viciousness and callousness of these policies, each one a display of the injustice and inequality that riddles this capitalist system, each one genuine and unacceptable.Though we should campaign to have the bedroom tax scrapped, the real answer is to destroy this system that has these policies inherent within its very fabric, a system built on power and exploitation.

 This is just one case put forward by Care2:

 

 

      For fourteen years Danielle Heard has fought cancer -- a disease that has left her disabled.
    Despite everything she's been through, she's now got another fight on her hands: avoiding homelessness because of the bedroom tax.
The cruel, unfair "Bedroom Tax" means that Danielle's parents must now pay an extra £80 a month in rent; they're now worried that they could lose their home if they can't stretch the budget to make ends meet.
      Right now, a staggering 50,000 people across Britain like Danielle and her family face losing their home because of the bedroom tax.

That's not right, and it's not fair.

Take action today: Join us in calling on David Cameron to repeal the bedroom tax and stop penalising hard working families like Danielle's.

 

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

The Osborne Workfare Regiment.

        Come April next year there will be a new slave army in town, the Osborne Workfare Regiment. This will not be a volunteer army, it will a conscripted force. Thousands of mainly young people, but not necessarily so, will be conscripted, not to fight on foreign soil to secure and increase, our corporate masters oil assets, but here at home to boost the coffers of the corporate greed machine. These unemployed conscripts will be forced to do six months under the command of an over paid parasitic CEO. They will be posted to various organisations under the misnamed, operation, “Community Work Placements”. What ever it says on the the packet, this is not volunteering, it is conscription, under the threat of acute deprivation, destitution and homelessness. Being forced to work for six months without wages, is nothing short of forced slavery, no matter where that “placement” happens to land you. Osborne and his millionaire, Eton educated cabal, should look up the word “volunteering” in a dictionary. Of course they don't need to, they know full well the meaning of the word, and they know full well that what they are doing is forced labour. But it all goes to helping their millionaire corporate buddies to keep down wages and has the side effect of lowering the unemployment figures. This in turn will allow them to spout their usual delusional crap about growth.

This from The Void:

       “There has been a lot of talk recently about the latest scheme to help people who are unemployed, with mention of “compulsory volunteering” as part of the “Help to Work” programme.  DWP do not refer to it as volunteering, but others are starting to, which is muddying the waters.  These “Community Work Placements” are NOT volunteering, as people are not freely choosing to participate in them, but rather will be faced with benefits sanctions if they do not engage in the compulsory placements.

Read the full article HERE:

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

International Migrants Day.

   Today, December 18 is International Migrants Day. While this date is recognised as such, the UK state still works hard at stopping migrants from entering the country and does its best to deport as many as possible, as individuals and in large groups, unless of course they happen to be very rich.

     So today we should spare a thought to those individuals who have left, and in lots of cases, fled from their home county, friends and families and find themselves now among strangers and fighting the British state for the right to live as a free human being.

 From Popular Resistance:

     International Migrants Day 2013 is a day to recognize and celebrate the millions of people around the world who have left their homeland in search of a better future or a new opportunity. First proclaimed by the United Nations in 2000, December 18th invites countries to celebrate International Migrants Day “through the dissemination of information …and through the sharing of experiences and the design of actions to ensure their protection.” In this spirit, based on the latest Pew Research study, Latin Times has compiled  7 Facts And Statistics About Migrants In 2013.

Read the full article HERE:

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

The Dispossessing Of The People.

      This quote is taken from the introduction to the chapter of The Barbarian called "Crisis".

       The concept ‘crisis’ has indeed become a motto of modern politics, and for a long time it has been part of normality in any segment of social life. The very word expresses two semantic roots: the medical one, referring to the course of an illness, and the theological one of the Last Judgement. Both meanings, however, have undergone a transformation today, taking away their relation to time. ‘Crisis’ in ancient medicine meant a judgement, when the doctor noted at the decisive moment whether the sick person would survive or die. The present understanding of crisis, on the other hand, refers to an enduring state. So this uncertainty is extended into the future, indefinitely. It is exactly the same with the theological sense; the Last Judgement was inseparable from the end of time…Today crisis has become an instrument of rule. It serves to legitimize political and economic decisions that in fact dispossess citizens and deprive them of any possibility of decision…We must start by restoring the original meaning of the word ‘crisis’, as a moment of judgement and choice.

-Agamben

Read the full chapter HERE:

      Today we are certainly seeing the dispossessing of the citizens under the banner of "crisis", and it is not just on a national scale, but an international, global scale. The present "crisis" has seen the largest dispossessing of general public ever. What meager to acceptable standard of living you once had, has been shredded. In spite of rapid increase in production efficiency, across the planet the ordinary people are poorer now than they were ten years or so ago, all due to the "crisis". In actual fact, those who saw it as a "crisis", and caused that "crisis" are all doing fine, they are not being dispossessed, they are doing the dispossessing. 

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

The Abuse Of Zero Hours Contracts.

      The use of zero hours contracts is on the increase, and from the employer's point of view, it is obvious why. You can dump workers for a few days and then call them back for few hours, when ever you feel the need. The employer simply has no responsibility to the worker, but the worker has a responsibility to turn up when demanded or get fired. A one sided system that greatly benefits the employer, but simply abuses the employee. It removes the possibility of managing your financial affairs, since you have no idea how much you will earn from week to week. You could be hit with weeks or months on a few days wages a week, but the bills keep coming in at the same pace and are increasing week on week as energy and food prices keep climbing.

 

      If we keep the same economic system then you can rest assured the zero hours contracts are here to stay and will become the norm, no matter where you are employed. We can boycott the employers that use this serf style employment system, and campaign against it. However the only way to guarantee the end to employer abusing employee is to get rid of the system of capitalism and create a workers controlled economic system, that sees to the needs of all our people and not to the greed of a bunch of parasitic employers.

Abercrombie: 

Stop abusing zero hour contracts

Sign the Petition 

 

      I have been working at the Hollister store now since May. What I have witnessed has been a clear violation of workers’ rights. The companies Hollister and Gilly Hicks are sister companies of Abercrombie and Fitch. I work for the flagship Hollister store in Regent Street. Being a flagship store, it should be setting an example to all other stores about its employment ethics, but it’s not.

At the beginning of December all overnight staff were told their shifts are being dropped to one a week and the hours shortened to four hour shifts instead of five hours.

        People working twenty - thirty hours a week have now been told they will only work four hours, eight if they're lucky. Staff who have been working for up to three years have been told to "get on with it" and accept the change. All of these people are on zero hour contracts, meaning the company has no obligation to them and that the employees have very little rights.

This is completely unethical. Abercrombie are standing by this injustice, in the name of zero hour contracts.

      People that work for Abercrombie are dependent on the reliability of shifts that have been given to them over the year. And without notice this has been taken away from them, because they were forced to go on zero hour contracts. Some were forced on zero hour contracts with no formal consent.

No information was given as to why these cutbacks have happened, just that the workers, me included, have to get on and accept it. This has left people worried about paying rent and bills. So close to Christmas. It’s saddening and completely unethical.

      Most of the overnight work force are migrants relying on this job as their main income. Young people and mothers will now be spending Christmas in London with no financial security.

     What’s worse is that Abercrombie are employing more overnight staff. Twenty were employed last week. Surely with cutbacks being made, employing more staff is the last thing they should do?

     A zero hour contract is supposed to give people flexibility, but Abercrombie are abusing this and taking advantage of their powerless staff. They have abused legalities to suit them, with no care for the workers which depend on them, this is cruel and saddening.

In order to give people that feel silenced a voice at Abercrombie I have set up this petition, please join our fight for ethics and the abolishment of the exploitative zero hours contract.

What we want:

     Abolish the zero hours contract and adopt a part time contract. Provide at least a months notice of any drastic changes to the workplace and schedules

Sign the Petition

By Charles Mason, London.

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

Our Christmas Message.

    It seems only right that we should put up our Christmas message, this one from Crimethinc.com

Listen HERE: The Ex-Worker Holiday Special.

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

It's Our World.

 

       I received this article, "A World Divided" and thought it fell in line with my own thoughts, and something that should be said and repeated until it is universally accepted. We are citizens of the one world, it's our world, and we the ordinary people have to put it right. I have said something similar in my poem Patriotism.

Patriotism

No, I shall not die for the fluttering flag,

if truth be known, ’tis nothing but a multi-coloured rag

held aloft by some foolish hand

inciting worker and peasant to kill

on some green and wooded hill,

peasant and worker from some other land.

Nor shall I shed blood for the fluttering rag

that brings out fools to stand and brag

of brutal deeds painted grand,

deeds where rustic and craftsman lie so still

killed by my brothers' misguided hand.

No allegiance have I for the Nation

this man made autocratic creation

that divides my brothers in a world so small,

binds us to a country's cause, right or wrong,

bids us follow its drum, sing its song,

then sheds our blood in some border brawl.

No, I'll be no slave to flag or nation,

have no ear for power oration,

though its iron heel is on my breast,

my back feels its leather thong,

at patriotism's barracoon, I'll be no guest.

A World Divided

    After working at the University of Sussex over the summer, myself and two of my best friends embarked on an interrailing trip around Europe. The trip was a wonderful experience and a fantastic chance to visit iconic cities and locations. We managed to see, and do, so much, as is evidenced by this brilliant video my friend made of our time on the continent. As well as the memories, and the photos of our experience, the trip proved to be incredibly thought provoking. It gave me a wealth of ideas and topics which I wanted to write about. Travel really does broaden the mind and I would defy anyone to venture across Europe for a month and come back the same person as when they left. I learned many things on the trip, and many of my beliefs were re-affirmed. None more so than the belief that this world is divided into unrepresentative and irrelevant categories.

     It was in Austria, whilst staying with more friends of mine in Vienna, that it became apparent. The only divide I had with these people was that of nationality. In almost every single way we were identical. We were around the same age, we held the same interests, had the same views and beliefs, participated in the same leisure activities and were concerned about the same things. My two friends from the UK and my friends in Austria were only separated because of the land mass that they happened to have been born on. There was no difference between “British” and “Austrian”.

     I try not to define myself as any nationality. I don't believe I owe allegiance to any flag, or country in particular, I certainly don't take pride in being a nationality, for a start I am not really sure what that even means. Does it mean that I should feel good about what other people have done? Other people that just so happened to have been born on the same land mass as me? The accusation of traitor has probably been levelled at those that have expressed similar views as these in the past. With regards to being told “you’re betraying your country”, I believe that its an empty insult. As cliche as it sounds, I have no country. The world is my country and all its people are my brothers and sisters. This is something I truly believe. I will not discriminate against someone due to their nationality, and I will not immediately support someone just because they are of the same nationality as me. Nationality to me is a creation. Its a concept that everyone buys into, and because of this, the concept is legitimised. In my opinion nationalities and nations are obsolete. That though, is for another article, and is another argument.
Read the full article HERE:

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

The Crime Of Agent Orange, Lingers On.

      In that babbling brook of bullshit, our mainstream media, the true horrors of war are soon of the front page and all is forgotten. Dates and battles are remembered, for a while, especially if our lords and masters can claim them as a victory. However the suffering and permanent damage that wars do to the ordinary people, is seldom reported after the war is over, and we are supposed to carry on as before. But what about the victims of the longterm damage all wars cause. Most people will have heard of Vietnam, lots will know of the Vietnam war, and some will be aware of America's 20 year battle to subdue the people of that small nation, Vietnam. Lots will also know the fact that “agent orange” was used, but be unaware of the extent of its use and the vast area affected, by this chemical warfare on the ordinary people of Vietnam.

      What may be a little less known is the longevity of the chemicals in “agent orange” and the dioxins that come with the substance. Nor will they be aware of the fact that the research that produced this toxic nightmare, goes back to the second World War and was part of the UK and USA's chemical warfare program, with Monsanto at the heart of the project, even away back then it was redundant of any morality.

    Today the Vietnamese people are still suffering the effects of the dioxins released during that criminal action of spraying the crops and vegetation with “agent orange”. They have suffered a host of cancers, birth defects and other illnesses. Even today, certain estimates state that over 5 million Vietnamese are still being exposed to “agent orange” and its cancer producing dioxins.

This from International Journal of Socialist Renewal:

       The Vietnamese government estimates 5 million people were killed with hundreds of thousands still missing and 500,000 children born with birth defects as a result of its use. There are also estimates that up to 5 million Vietnamese are still exposed directly to Agent Orange. The Red Cross of Vietnam estimates that up to 1 million people are disabled or have health problems due to Agent Orange.

Exposure to TCDD (dioxin)

      There are two different health effects that must be considered when dealing with dioxin. One is the effect of direct exposure to the individual and the second is the effects on the germline of the individual, both maternal and paternal. The latter is far worse as it signifies there is a permanent effect on the human genome and all future generations. This is one of the horrific legacies of dioxin, only now being understood. (It will be dealt with in a later article).

Read the full article HERE: 

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

Government Crack Down On Trade Unions.

An appeal for solidarity from Labour Start:

      Two weeks ago I asked for your support as Korean railway workers were about to launch a strike.  They were concerned back then that their government might attempt to break the strike.  They wanted the solidarity of workers around the world.  They wanted a clear message sent to their government and nearly 9,000 of you sent off messages of protest.

Today, their worst fears are coming true.
     Just a few days into their strike, the Korean government has launched a savage crackdown. 

• A few hours ago, the offices of the railway workers union were raided by dozens of police.  Computers and other equipment were seized.
• Arrest warrants have been issued for the top union leaders -- who are currently hiding in a safe place.
• Korean media are reporting that the military is prepared to send hundreds of soldiers to work as strike-breakers.
• Tomorrow morning, the subway workers in Seoul are set to launch a solidarity strike, shutting down the capital.
  
        It is our job now to mobilize the widest possible support for the Korean railway workers.
  
       Those workers are on the front lines today of the fight against neo-liberal policies such as privatisation -- and they are defending the basic human right to have independent trade unions with the right to strike.
  
        If you've not yet done so, please send off your message of protest today: http://bit.ly/1c8Uao8
  
  If you've already supported the campaign -- thanks.  But let's do more: 

• Post this link to your Facebook page: http://bit.ly/1c8Uao8  Tell your friends there that you support this campaign and urge them all to do so.
• Tweet this: Hands off the Korean railway strikers! http://bit.ly/1c8Uao8 @labourstart
• If your union has a mailing list of its members, make sure they are all informed about this important struggle.  There are many millions of organized workers out there who aren't aware of this fight.  Please email your fellow union members.
         Finally, LabourStart is being continuously updated with news about this strike and others.  Make sure it's the place you start your day on the net:  http://www.labourstart.org
  
  Thanks.
  
  Eric Lee
  
   Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

It's Illegal, Then It's Legal.

      In the illusion of representative democracy, the government is supposed to act out the will of the people. When the people break the laws of that government, they are punished. However, when the government breaks those laws, it simply changes the law. So when the people go through the process of the law and win, it is pointless. First the government will appeal, and if that appeal is rejected, then it is just a matter of changing the law. How do the people beat that sort of democracy? All their laws are just arbitrary statements written down by pompous parasites to suit the ideology, nothing to do with the will of the people.  

 

 This from Boycott Workfare:

     In August 2012 it was ruled in the high court that the letters given to claimants mandating them onto workfare schemes of up to 780 unpaid hours did not communicate to people what was required of them on these schemes. This meant all the benefit sanctions that had been awarded through a range of different workfare schemes were unlawful and had to be repaid. The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) went about appealing this ruling, but in February 2013 the decision was upheld.

     After this the DWP rushed through the retrospective Jobseekers (Back to Work) Act, making the unlawful withdrawal of benefits from an estimated 179,000 people now apparently legal – although obviously this Act did not change the fact that people were not fully aware of what was required of them at the time. This Act was supported by the Labour Party and deprived people who would have suffered significant hardship of a total of £130 million that was unlawfully stolen by the government.

Read the full article HERE: 

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

Stop Mass Expulsions.

URGENT ACTION APPEAL.
Stop the mass expulsion of Nigerians 

 

     Man who needs kidney dialysis is due to be put on charter flight to Nigeria tomorrow. Benjamin [not his real name] has End Stage Kidney Disease and has been told that his medication cannot control the symptoms of anaemia and hypertension that he has without dialysis. Without medication he is in real danger that he could suffer a stroke. Dialysis could potentially pro-long his life for 30 years, without dialysis, Benjamin has been told he will die soon.
       Benjamin only discovered his medical condition after he arrived in the UK and although his first asylum case was refused his was detained after he made a fresh submission. The Home Office (despite giving him Section 4 support on the basis of his fresh submission) claim to have no record of him submitting new evidence.
      Kidney dialysis is only available at private medical clinics in Nigeria. Renal failure ranks high among killer illnesses in Nigeria, but unlike malaria and HIV/AIDS, it is ignored. Cost of treating the ailment is high. Nigeria has only 75 neurologists and about 50 functional dialysis centres and it has been estimated that at least 32 million Nigerians had chronic renal illnesses

Stop this Charter flight to Nigeria: 

22.20hrs Tuesday 17 December 2013
      Nigerian man Isa Muazu who recently was on hunger strike for over 100 days has been given fresh removal directions for Tuesday 17th December. This will be the third attempt to remove Isa from the UK after the Home Office spent up to £108,000 chartering a private jet two weeks ago in a failed attempt to fly him back to Nigeria. The Home Office have given him fresh removal directions and are now going to try to return him on a mass charter flight as part of a regular Home Office exercise called Operation Majestic.
     We are currently waiting for the determination from Isas recent application to the Upper Tribunal which is due to be given at 10am tomorrow morning giving his lawyer only 12 hours to fight the decision. As well as Benjamin and Isa, Unity are in contact with at least another 6 people who the Home Office are trying to put on the same flight. We urgently need you to take action to try and stop this charter flight by faxing and calling the Nigerian High Commission, Nick Clegg and Theresa May

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

1. Call the Nigerian High Commission
      We are calling for anyone who can to call the Nigerian High Commission and urge them to try to stop the current charter flight. Recently Nigeria has refused planes to land because the proper procedure has not been followed phoning, faxing and emailing them can work.
     Please call the number below and let them know of your concern for many of the individuals on this flight and urge them that they do not have to be party to this inhumane method of mass exportation.

Nigerian High Commission
Phone: 0207 839 1244 extension 277, alternatively just press 0 during the main menu of options.
Fax: 020 7839 8746
Or online message http://www.nigeriahc.org.uk/enquiries
http://www.nigeriahc.org.uk/enquiries

Or contact Mr T.G. Adenyi Minister / Special Assistant to the High Commissioner 0207 839 1244 Ext 205 or email adeniyi@nigeriahc.org.uk mailto:adeniyi@nigeriahc.org.uk
Or Mrs J.C. Ejere Administrative Attache TEL: 0207 8391244 Ext 298
ejere@nigeriahc.org.uk  mailto:ejere@nigeriahc.org.uk

2. Lobby Theresa May
      Please contact Home Secretary Theresa May to let her know this degrading mistreatment of people cannot go on.
Rt Hon Theresa May MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Fax: 020 8760 3132 (00 44 20 8760 3132 if you are faxing from outside UK
Email: UKBApublicenquiries@UKBA.gsi.gov.uk
https://newyear.aktivix.org/horde3/imp/message.php?mailbox=INBOX&index=5555
CITTO@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
https://newyear.aktivix.org/horde3/imp/message.php?mailbox=INBOX&index=5555
Privateoffice.external@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk
https://newyear.aktivix.org/horde3/imp/message.php?mailbox=INBOX&index=5555

3. Also ask Nick Clegg what he thinks about mass expulsions
Parliamentary office: House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA
Tel: 020 7219 3000 mailto:nick.clegg.mp@parliament.uk
nick.clegg.mp@parliament.uk
Constituency Office: 85 Nethergreen Road, Sheffield, S11 7EH Tel: 0114 230 9002
Fax: 0114 230 9614 mailto:nickclegg@sheffieldhallam.org.uk
nickclegg@sheffieldhallam.org.uk
Departmental Office: Cabinet Office, 70 Whitehall, London, SW1A 2AS
Tel: 020 7276 1234 mailto:publiccorrespondence@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk
publiccorrespondence@cabinet-office.gsi.gov.uk

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

Why Not To Buy Kellogg's

       An urgent appeal from IUF for solidarity. Please take a minute to send a message.

Say no to disposable jobs -
tell Kellogg's to end the Memphis lockout! 

     Transnational cereal maker Kellogg's has locked out 220 members of the IUF-affiliated BCTGM since October 22 at its factory in Memphis, Tennessee in an effort to force union acceptance of a plan to radically increase the use of casual workers. With this plan all newly employed workers would be employed as casuals with no guaranteed hours at significantly lower pay and benefits, effectively transforming over time the entire employment structure at the facility. The company calls this "The New Workforce of the Future". The workers are fighting back.

CLICK HERE TO SEND A MESSAGE TO KELLOGG'S!

E-mail: iuf@iuf.org
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www.iuf.org

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