Heroes?

      I received this from a friend, how the system managed to turn dedicated experts into mythical beings, workers into heroes, what happens when the fight is over? I was delighted to hear that the following article went out on BBC R4. I hope it gets a much wider audience, so share and spread.

         "I heard this guy on 'Inside Health' on BBC R4"
         He's Dr Michael FitzPatrick, a gastroenterologist in Oxford and Co-chair of the Royal College of Physicians Trainees Committee
          He said:
          'I want to talk about heroes.
Doctors & nurses are not heroes. Calling them heroes (or saviours or angels) is well-meaning, but unhelpful. I also worry that this narrative is being co-opted deliberately by some who seek to undermine the professionalism of the medical workforce, & to silence their voice.
          A hero is defined as "A person who is admired or idealised for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities”In the ancient myths, Heroes were nigh-on invincible. Those same themes live on, in war movies, in comics, in the Marvel cinematic universe.
         Many of these heroes are unpaid, rich volunteers. Thor is a king and a god. Tony Stark has more money than he knows what to do with. Batman is a rich recluse. They don’t work to pay the bills, feed the kids. They are also (semi) invulnerable. Bruce Wayne has his fancy armour. Iron Man his suit. Cap America his vibranium shield. There are no PPE concerns here - these guys bring their own to the party. And when they die, they do so - well... heroically. It was their job, their lot, to die in battle.
         And how do we reward heroes? Not with cash, that’s for sure. We clap, we cheer, we hold parades. We place them on a pedestal, one that does not allow them to come down to our human level. They don’t need appropriate working conditions, work-life balance, lunch breaks, or a mug of tea.
       And if a hero is struggling psychologically, what do they do? How does Ironman deal with his post traumatic stress and flashbacks following the battle of New York? How does Thor deal with his food binges and problematic drinking after Infinity War? By more work of course! More fighting! Bring me Mjölnir!
       So, as we can see, heroes are almost entirely the wrong comparator for healthcare workers. But does this matter? Aren’t the public and the newspapers and the media, just being kind and supportive? Am I just being a bit grumpy?
         I worry there’s a darker side to this.
        Because there’s another thing about heroes. They're only ever loved in the crisis. Batman goes back into hiding. Thor returns to Asgard. The heroes hide, they slink away. They're a threat now. No one wants to hear their thoughts on social inequalities or healthcare funding models.
      The hero metaphor is therefore a useful tool for those who don't want to hear from healthcare professionals afterwards. Don’t talk about PPE. Don't talk about student debt Don’t talk about public health or working conditions. Don’t talk about healthcare funding. Go back to the shadows.
       Now this is very different if we change that narrative to one that centres around professionalism: Because their views matter, both during the crisis, but importantly afterwards. They don't need medals, they need PPE and equipment and training. They don't work for claps, they work for remuneration commensurate with their expertise.
       So that's why I don’t think my colleagues are heroes. They are more than heroes, more real, more important, more valuable. They are highly trained, dedicated, caring professionals.
       Thank you to all my colleagues who are working so hard in this epidemic. My heart goes out to the families of those professionals who have died, both here and abroad. Thank you for your work. Thank you for your service. And I hope a grateful society will listen to you after this.'

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Righteous Anger.

 

        I doubt few can dispute the reasons for their anger, nor their description of the system. What surprises me is that there is not more displays of anger on the streets, after all the injustice and inequality and the brutal suppression of dissent is glaringly obvious.

The following from Act For Freedom Now:

        In the night of 19th May, 2020 some bottles full of paint were smashed against the façade of the Bullenpostens in Oberstrass. Why?
Well, I think the question is why not. After all, the barbaric injustice of the dominant system during the pandemic is coming to light in strident colours. Applause for nursing staff in contrast with the billions given to Swiss/Lufthansa; lack of medicines in contrast with record arms exports; distribution of food supplies in contrast with the blessing of profit shares. Overcrowded refugee camps in contrast with empty luxury hotels. Just to give a few examples.
        Ok, it would be wrong to blame the Zurich police for all the devastation of capitalism. But what is true is that here as everywhere else the police are there to protect the system of exploitation and oppression. They do it every day: when they put on their uniforms in the morning, turn on the blue lights or go slow to terrorize our neighbourhoods with racist controls and other dirty tricks.
On May 1st they recently demonstrated yet again how seriously they take their task of being the armed wing of the State. While various forces took to the streets in diverse and creative ways against the pushing of the crisis towards the base, for solidarity and internationalism, the police – not being very successful – were only concerned to expel, arrest, confiscate and block everything moving.
     These bottles of paint are one of the many responses to the repression of the 1st of May. But even more than a response they are promises for the future: in spite of the rubber bullets and prison, revolutionary resistance will continue! And it will win because the order that the police protect is built on sand.
Solidarity means: together against capital and its lackeys!
Translated from Italian by act for freedom now!
via: frecciaspezzata

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The Illusion.

      I must thank Paul Cudenec for this article. It seems he has been inside my head and put into words the thoughts I have harboured for years but have never been able to put into a decent article. All the insanity of this system, the illusion of money, wealth is good, the rich should be respected for all their hard work, etc.. They have managed to turn that illusion of money into the only key to a decent life, and money as the key to happiness.
      During this pandemic the wealthy are having a ball, billions of that stuff you pay the government from you meager wages to create a social structure is now pouring into the coffers of the billionaire parasite class, more than the government has at the moment. When it is sorted out, the financial Mafia will be knocking on your door to pay back all the debt we handed to the super rich to help them keep their shareholders happy. Enter a decade or two of severe austerity. I have always liked Frank Zappa's quote used in the article, it is such an accurate description of the purpose and ruthlessness of the powers that be in our system of insanity. 

     The following is an extract from Paul Cudenec's article taken from ACORN:

 

 

          We all know that money is what makes this commercial world go round.
      The cult of money has swept away the traditional ethical codes of humankind and become the sole indicator of “value”.
        If something makes money, it is good. If it doesn’t, it is useless. If someone accumulates money, by whatever means, they are “successful”. If they don’t, they are a “failure”.
       But we also all know that money is not real. It consists of nothing more than pieces of paper, or electronic figures, which are universally agreed to represent something.
        For most of us, money is the whip that keeps us in line. Because we need it in order to survive, we are forced to spend the best decades of our lives working for money.
       Most work does not directly give us what we need or want. It is merely a means to another means, a way of earning money so we can buy various goods and services.
      The vast majority of people use money to pay for food and drink, shelter, clothing, leisure activities and whatever little luxuries are affordable in the part of the world in which they live.
     What about the really “successful” people, though, the people who have accumulated unimaginably vast amounts of money, at the expense of the rest of us? What does money do for them?
      It provides them with their lavish lifestyles of course – all their mansions and private jets and designer clothes and furniture and cars and plastic surgery. Money can buy people too, whether to work for their interests, massage their egos or satisfy their sexual desires.
      But most of all, and most worryingly for the rest of us, it brings them power.
     Lies are another important part of their domination.
      There is the lie that they “deserve” their wealth because they are somehow better than the rest of us – a total inversion of the truth since the obsessive pursuit of money speaks only of ruthless and sociopathic greed.
      There is the lie that all of this is somehow normal, that it is right and proper that a tiny elite are sitting smugly at the top of a pyramid of global exploitation which sees those at the bottom condemned to lives of abject misery.
      And there is the lie that this world of theirs is “democratic”, that we have the freedom to collectively determine the way we live.
      Anyone who is the slightest bit awake will have noticed that today this last lie is looking hollower than ever.
      With the totalitarian measures being introduced on the back of the Covid panic, it looks as if the ruling class have decided to finally ditch the pretence of “liberal democracy” and its illusion of freedom.
       As Frank Zappa warned: “The illusion of freedom will continue as long as it’s profitable to continue the illusion. At the point where the illusion becomes too expensive to maintain, they will just take down the scenery, they will pull back the curtains, they will move the tables and chairs out of the way and you will see the brick wall at the back of the theater”.
      I am beginning to wonder if money will be the next illusion that is ditched by the ruling class.
       This is not going to happen quite yet, of course. The Covid crisis promises to be a bonanza for the richest of the rich, who will be greedily hoovering up all the wealth previously in the hands of small-scale businesses and individuals, as well as ramping up their relentless robbery of the working classes.
      Not only will the ultrarich benefit from “emergency” spending by the world’s governments, but their banking branch will be happily harvesting the interest on the debts run up to pay for it all.
     And of course there is all the Fourth Industrial Revolution technology in which they have invested, which will now be forced on us under the pretext of public health, and the planned monetisation of everything alive through the so-called “New Deal for Nature“.
      But, as we have seen, money is just a means to an end. It is the key to the door of power and, after a few more years of what we are seeing now, the ultrarich and their vitaphobic death-cult will have all the power that they crave.

 Continue Reading HERE:

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Profit Or A Future?

       It is amazing to think that activists were fighting to save the forests in the 1990's, and here we are in 2020 and watching probably the biggest forest on the planet being logged and burnt. We seem to have learnt nothing, the corporate parasite class are still plundering and destroying the planet for no other reason than greed for profit. It is obvious that this would not be able to continue without the blessing of the various states involved. The state and the corporate body are two sides of the same coin, and dialogue and negotiations seem to have failed to stop their plundering and destruction. It will take organisation, solidarity and direct action by the majority of the people to crush this system and bring this murder of the planet and killing of the human species to an end.
     I personally have never been at ease with the policy of spiking trees, however I wasn't there fighting that particular battle, perhaps if I had been, my opinions might have been different.

       The following article is from It's Going Down:  

      This weekend marks the 30th anniversary of the bombing of Earth First! organizers Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney.

      The 30th anniversary of the bombing of Judi Bari and Darryl Cherney is May 24, 2020. Usually, Judi’s comrades in the Bay Area commemorate that event every year by going to the place where the bomb exploded under Judi’s car seat as she drove through Oakland, to mark the moment, as well as bringing people together for discussions of radical activism and solidarity. This year will be different in the time of the pandemic. But the date will be marked, nonetheless, as a memory against forgetting.

Judi Bari said, many years ago:

Starting from the very reasonable, but unfortunately, revolutionary concept that social practices which threaten the continuation of life on Earth must be changed, we need a theory of revolutionary ecology that will encompass social and biological issues, class struggle, and a recognition of the role of global corporate capitalism in the oppression of peoples and the destruction of nature.

I believe we already have such a theory. It’s called deep ecology, and it is the core belief of the radical environmental movement.

      Her perspective and analysis shed light on why she was considered dangerous to the corporate status quo and targeted. On May 24, 1990, a pipe bomb planted in the car of Earth First! activist Judi Bari exploded, sending her and fellow activist Darryl Cherney to the hospital in Oakland—Judi with life-threatening injuries, since the bomb had been hidden directly under her driver’s seat. Judi and Darryl were on their way to a roadshow event, organizing for Earth First! Redwood Summer. That explosion, and the subsequent attack on Earth First! as well as Judi and Darryl, by the FBI and Oakland police would forever change the face of forest activism in the redwoods and elsewhere. The bomber was never found, partly because the FBI never conducted a serious investigation, choosing instead to blame and harass Earth First! activists, attempting to frame Bari and Cherney for bombing themselves. A lawsuit filed by Judi and Darryl against the FBI and OPD for violation of Constitutional rights was ultimately successful in 2002, vindicating Darryl and Judi, but coming five years after Judi’s untimely death from breast cancer at the age of 47.

       Redwood Summer was a mass mobilization of students and others who came from across the U.S. to protest the deforestation of the redwood region in Northern California, being decimated by the corporate chain saw. It was modeled after civil rights mobilizations in the south in the 1960s. The summer of civil disobedience and protest in the forests did proceed, in spite of the monumental disruption caused by the bombing and attempts to frame and tear apart Earth First!, and changed the face of direct action organizing at the time.

         There was a planned exhibit dedicated to Judi at the Mendocino County Museum that would put the bombed car and other artifacts of the time on display, to have opened May 1. The pandemic has postponed all of that, but we encourage people to watch the feature-length film, Who Bombed Judi Bari? on YouTube. It tells the story of the bombing, Redwood Summer, Earth First! and much more.

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Death Masks!!

      Your lords and masters are telling you to get back to work, the parasite class need you. Of course they will tell you that your boss will put in place safety measure for your protection. One of those protections may be compulsory wearing of face masks. Sounds all well and good, but under certain working conditions the wearing of face masks could be contributing to your own death. I for one, with chronic restrictive airways disease, would be reluctant to wear a face mask under certain conditions. Working conditions and the environment you work in are just as important as wearing a face mask, but face masks are cheaper.

     If the conditions you are working under are not right, face masks are a danger. Strenuous work, poor ventilation and too hot an environment make face masks a real danger. Fight for these conditions to be remedied before you return to work with your face mask.  

     The following article posted on Enough is Enough, is from Poland:

 

 

        Poland. A few days ago, in an Amazon warehouse near Poznań (Poland), one of the workers died of a heart attack during a night shift. Other employees associate this death with hypoxia and heat – the obligation to wear face masks at work.
Originally published by Indymedia NL.

      People find it harder to breathe in masks and hence – work harder. Employees wear face masks for up to 10 hours a day. They cannot take them off, because they face the consequences – says Maria Malinowska from the Employee Initiative Inicjatywa Pracownicza IP at Amazon in Sady near Poznań.
       Two years earlier, the Labor Inspectorate was to carry out research on the energy expenditure of Amazon employees near Poznań. According to trade union reports, some departments came across very large exceedances. – Despite this, Amazon has not reduced standards.
      According to Radio Poznań, one of the employees of the magazine said: “Many of us complain about hypoxia. However, we do not take off the masks, because there are threatening reprimands and sanctions. “
      Initially, Amazon, despite the virus threat, did not provide employees with masks at all. After detecting COVID-19 infection in the company’s warehouse near Łódź, carrying them during work became mandatory.

OZZ Inicjatywa Pracownicza (warning Facebook Link), May 23, 2020

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Free Pack.

      To all those who took up our offer of our free anarchist packs, I hope you have enjoyed them and perhaps learnt something as well as feeling more inclined to get more involved in that fight for the better world for all.

     The offer was a success, but there are still a few left and we would love to see them get into a nice home where they will be appreciated, rather than sitting on a shelf at our place. So why not take up our offer and send us an email to get your free info pack, postage free. 

     Here is a repeat of the bumph just to remind you of the details:

         Some comrades and my self in conjunction with Spirit of Revolt have put together a handy pack for those interested in anarchism/libertarian socialism. This is a real education, it contains events from Glasgow's radical past, including a short explanation of May Day and what it stands for, issues of the reborn Glasgow Keelie free newspaper, lots of links to further information and much more info. These packs are a wealth of interesting information and free to those interested, but confined to UK only, and will be posted out post free, but they are limited in number.
     If you are interested, please drop your details in an email to annarky at annarky(at)radicalglasgow(dot)me(dot)uk and we will get your pack to you as soon as possible. Also information on Class War Facebook page.

       As there was quite a fair bit of interests on my recent post on Glasgow's radical history pack, I thought I would put up this little piece of my work on Glasgow's radical history. Hoping that it might help feed your appetite in that subject matter. Enjoy.

      Just click on the link below and learn and enjoy. 

  https://radicalglasgow.me.uk/?page_id=33

 

       To further enhance your knowledge of Glasgow's radical history you could visit my Strugglepedia, where I have amassed an array of radical characters and events that helped shape our city of Glasgow. Again, click, learn and enjoy.

http://strugglepedia.co.uk/index.php?title=Main_Page

        So go for the last few packs we have, and treat yourself to some very interesting info.

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

Vindictive Cruelty.

 

    To lots of people, the state of Canada has managed to create around it the illusion of a civilised country, possibly because of comparisons with it nearest neighbour America. However, like all developed capitalist countries it has within its institution the savage claws of authoritarianism, and has no qualms about useing them. Ask its indigenous population, they will be able to reel off a catalogue of cruel and savage injustices perpetrated on them by the state for centuries.  

        Another section of the population of Canada, that continually feel the effect of those claws of authoritarianism is the prison population. This report from Quebec tells its own story. Across the world during this Covid19 pandemic, prisons have been one of the places where their populations have been left to rot. Callous, vindictive actions resulting in unnecessary deaths.

This from Act For Freedom Now: 

 

     Noise Demos Outside Montreal-Area Prisons Following Death of Prisoner and a Hunger Strike ,Canada.

Read also : Bordeaux Hunger Strike
Manifesto of Bordeaux Prisoners
Family Members and Advocates Call for Action after the Death of a Prisoner at Bordeaux

       10 May, Montreal – At 2pm today, a caravan of over 30 vehicles visited the Federal Training Centre prison in Laval and the Bordeaux jail in Montreal, demanding the immediate release of all prisoners in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The vehicles, decorated with slogans such as, ‘Prison Should Not Be A Death Sentence,’ & ‘Free All Prisoners,’ honked their horns, made noise, and held banners in solidarity with those inside.
      “We’re here today to show people inside these prisons that they’re not forgotten and that we’re out here working for their release,” said Ellie Santon, a participant in the demonstration. “What’s happening in these prisons is a crisis created by the government. If they wanted to, they could solve all this tomorrow. For some reason they seem intent on letting people die.”

      On May 5th, Correctional Services Canada (CSC) announced that a prisoner held inside Laval’s Federal Training Centre had died from COVID-19, the second death inside a federal prison due to the pandemic. 138 prisoners have now tested positive for COVID-19 in the Federal Training Centre, making it the largest outbreak in a Quebec federal prison.
      “The government has spent months refusing to act and now the virus has exploded inside prisons and people are dying,” said Virginia Boucher of the Prison Support Committee. “There is no justifiable reason for this. People should be released from prison, now. People in halfway houses should be allowed to live at their own homes full time. Everyone released should have access to safe housing and healthcare.”
      On May 5th, prisoners in Quebec’s Bordeaux jail also began a hunger strike that has since spread to multiple sectors of the institution. There are over 60 cases of COVID-19 associated with the Bordeaux jail, where 75 percent of prisoners are being held pre-trial, making it the 2nd largest outbreak in a provincial prison.
      “I’m worried about my partner, who is in one of the infected sectors,” said Jean-Louis Nguyen, a participant in the demonstration. “He finally got tested on Friday, but we don’t know the results, and his parole hearing just got postponed by two weeks. Quebec needs to provide public information about what’s happening in its prisons and expedite bail and parole hearings to get as many people as possible out of prison and back with their communities.”
      “Quebec’s jails now have the highest infection rate of any province, but they’ve refused to act,” said Ted Rutland of the Anti-Carceral Group. “Provinces like Ontario and Nova Scotia have released thousands of prisoners by speeding up bail hearings and releasing people close to the end of their sentence, but Quebec refuses to follow their example.”
       Social distancing is impossible inside prisons and prisoners are at high risk of contracting COVID-19. Health care in prison is abysmal. Guards have employed pepper spray and force against prisoners across the country who have taken action to protest their situation. There are now over 500 confirmed cases of COVID-19 linked to prisons across Canada.
#liberezlestou.te.s
#grevedefaimbordeaux
#bordeauxhungerstrike
#FreeThemAll
#FreeThemAllCaravan
#FreeThemAll4PublicHealth

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Organise Now.

       Now that our lords and masters believe that they have got you all eager to get back to get their tills ringing again, their thoughts are shifting. They and their partners the financial Mafia are now turning their thoughts to how you will pay for all those billions borrowed and given, to their corporate friends to keep them afloat.

     If you all opt for returning to "normal" then you are in for a very nasty shock. If you think that the last 12 years of austerity was brutal in stripping down the NHS and social services, well you ain't seen nothing yet. The amount that the government borrowed in 2008 from the financial Mafia simply disappears into insignificance compared to what they have borrowed this time round. Make no doubt about it, the financial Mafia will demand their money back, and you and I will have to pick up the tab, just like the last time. 

    A little taster of what could be on the cards is what the Egyptian Government is implementing. They are taking 1% off everybody's salary and 1/2% off all pensions, that's just for starters. We can expect similar plans here, plus what they call "cutting Government spending" this will be savage slashing of social services and NHS spending, stopping any pay increases to public sector workers, increased privatisation to rise cash, good by public libraries, hello private library. It is difficult to get inside their money infested minds, but rest assured they will have plans you never thought of to get every penny of your tax payments into their coffers and making sure it is not spent on the general public, despite it being your money.

    This is what to expect if we are foolish enough to go back to their "normal". Surely we have learnt something from this pandemic, the state system and capitalism doesn't work for the benefit of the people. It is a failed system in creating a decent society for all. We turned to mutual aid during this crisis, as it was the only way for many of us to survive and it worked. We have to continue this success by bring it into our mainstream lives. What we mustn't do is run back to the dependency system of perpetual growth and consumerism while grafting to make the tills of the parasite class ring faster.

      Organise within your communities on those foundations of mutual aid and skill sharing, organise to take control of all necessary working spaces, and distribution centres, organise to share between communities. Free ourselves from the corporate greed machine and its profit motive that has shackled us for generations, and is destroying our planet. The decisions have to be made now, next month or next week could be too late. Remember, they are organised, but not for your well being.

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

Failed System.

        I always find SubMedia, informative and interesting, I'm looking forward to their new series which starts in June, below is the trailer to get you interested.

      The crew at subMedia have been hard at work for the past few weeks on our new show concept, which will be dropping early next month.  Until then, check out our first teaser trailer.

System Fail:

      It’s a time of pandemic and universal anxiety. The economy is in free fall. The geopolitical order is in flux. And as the old world burns, a 5G-fuelled cybernetic dystopia waits in the wings.
        Buckle up, comrades… this is going to be a bumpy ride.

Website: https://sub.media/video/system-fail-trailer/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKKxVQjeRvo
Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/421093896

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

Scrap Normal.

       Now that the minders of the large corporations, the state, have decided that you the ordinary people should get back to work, as their buddies tills haven't been ring much over the last few months, it is time we all done some real serious thinking. Most of you will be obliged to use public transport, those who dictate the return will not. Are you positive that your boss will have in place all the necessary safety precautions for your well being and good health? Of course not, so why rush back? The only reason you are being urged to get back to work is to save the shareholders from losing any more money. They don't give a damn if you die or carry the infection into your home and loved ones. The economy is more important to them that your well being. Let the tills stay silent, let the shareholders sweat as their little world of profit and exploitation dwindles.

       Over the last couple of months you have got used to not rushing to the shops to buy their very latest crap, only to be told in a few months that it is now out of date and you need to up date.

     There are so many unknowns in this rush to feed the shareholders. Let's assume you go to a clothes/shoe shop, you wish to try on some of those clothes/shoes. You go to the fitting room, has it been properly disinfected since that last person used it? The clothes you are about to try on, how many people have tried them on before you? Are you willing to take that chance for some sweatshop created item? Public transport, even with social distancing, that seat you sit on, was it disinfected since the last few people sat on it. Remember hard surfaces hold the virus for days, handrails etc.. People will be entering and leaving hundreds of times on each journey, you'll have no idea what surfaces they handled and whither or not they carried the infection.
     For you own and family and loved ones safety, tell them you're not interested in saving their greed driven economy at a risk to you and your family. Concentrate on mutual aid, and taking control of your communities and work places. We can run this country better without the parasite money class and their profit orientated, planet destroying, ideology.

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

Short Sleeves.

    Well, well, what a beautiful day, how could you not want to get on your bike? It was warm enough for me to do a wee cycle in my favourite dress mode, cycling shirt with short sleeves. It has been quite a while since I was able to do that, felt great.

    It was just the usual wee spin round my home patch circling and figure eight, trying to remind the legs what they used to do. Happily the answered not too badly at all. Though if you saw the last couple of wee videos you will have noticed the increase in traffic on the road. Sadly it looks like it is all coming back.

    Tomorrow is forecast to be another fine day, might manage out two days in a row. Wow.

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

Let's Hear You.

       Everybody should by now be aware that the reason the UK has more deaths from the coronavirus pandemic, than most countries in the world, was simply due to Neo-Liberal policies, orchestrated austerity to suit the financial Mafia, gross ineptitude of the government for more that a decade. The evidence is everywhere, hospitals with staff shortages, equipment shortages, shambles of a testing program, neglect of care homes, and an unbelievable chaotic system of ordering essential PPE. All this adds up to dereliction of duty resulting in untold misery and avoidable deaths, especially among the poor and vulnerable.
       I received the following from a very reliable source, for obvious reason wishing to remain anonymous. Whistle blowers can and do receive a forceful backlash from the powers that be. Front line workers are supposed to be submissive and keep silent, the opposite should be the case. Let's hear your voice.

News from the Front Line.

      As an front line NHS worker who was unfortunate enough to catch the Covid19 virus and was laid low for 4 weeks, it became obvious that the continued cuts to public health and social care over the last three decades was beginning to take its toll on the population.
      This coupled with over a decade of Tory “austerity” cuts has devastated the vulnerable, the poor and the elderly.
      The total unpreparedness of the NHS to deal with an emergency has been highlighted by the outbreak of the corona virus and the chronic under-funding of public health and social care departments has meant that staff in all sectors have been put in an impossible position of trying to care for patients and clients without the benefit of protective equipment or a lot of personal equipment that was out of date.
     And while the virus tore through the elderly in care homes (the vast majority now privatised after Thatcher’s “Care in the Community” programme, putting private profit before public health) Boris and co. sat on their collective hands, and did nothing.
     The crocodile tears of the Tory government, who don’t forget had voted and CHEERED last year about not giving public sectors a wage increase in England, beggars’ belief. Their hypocrisy of Clapping for the NHS is an absolute disgrace as they have been part of a government Cabal since the 1980s to run down Social Security and destabilise the NHS for privatisation.
     When the threat of the virus has finally taken its toll on our poorer and most vulnerable, lets again take to the streets and tell them hands off of our NHS and lay the foundations down to control our workplaces and communities.

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

Healthy Cities.

       There is no doubt that this pandemic has brought about lots of changes in the way people think and act. Of course some of that will disappear after this covid19 thing is behind us, but some will stay. hopefully we will start to put together that better world we all talked about, and hopefully organised for, while our lives were suspended to a degree. Of course for our "frontline workers" life was never suspended, it was thrown into warp speed.
      One of the changes that came about during this lockdown was the booming cycle business. People started taking to their bikes big time, new bikes old bikes all started to be seen streaming through our streets and parks. If that continues it instills a wonderful feeling of joy, as we start living in cities and towns where we can breathe much cleaner air, and see a healthier population. Of course that is only one small change we will have to make to get to the better new world we want.
     As a keen cyclist can applaud this short piece from Not Buying Anything, it has started a little glow of hope that perhaps we are seeing the demise of the car jammed roads, each vehicle belching out poison and turning our living spaces into poison pods. Here's hoping, it's a start to that better world.

Overheard the other day:
     "What is something you are looking forward to doing after the pandemic is over?"
     "Continuing the family bike rides that we have started while staying at home."
        Does anyone else feel the Earth moving under their feet?
Is that the rumble of people giving up driving for riding? Right now car sales are down, and bicycle sales are up. Guaranteed no one saw that one coming just a short while ago.
       Not only are bike sales up, bike servicing is as well as people drag old bikes out of basements and garages and bring them in for a tune up.
       Whether it is to get out of the house, get exercise, spend more time with family and friends, or have a less expensive way to commute that doesn't involve being in close proximity to other commuters, people have been turning to the glory that is the bicycle.
One of the best headlines I have read recently is "Bike Business Booming During Pandemic". That booming you feel is a mass turn toward simplicity.
        The acquisition of a bicycle, after all, is one of the most simple (and wonderful) acts a modern person can engage in.
          To alter the H.G. Wells quote a bit, I can say that, "when I see an adult get set up on a bike, I no longer despair for the human race".
And when I see large masses of adults buying new bikes, and repairing old ones, I start to think, "Hey, we might actually turn this thing around."
        Here's to riding our way to a new, better world.

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Land Of The Free!!

      This is an extract lifted from arrezafe it's from a book written in 1992, and things have deteriorated since then, poverty has increased significantly. Also this is a translation from English to Spanish and back to English, it is not the original English copy, though full English copy can be read here: http://www.michaelparenti.org/HiddenHolocaust.html thanks Loam for the link. The richest and most developed capitalist nation on the planet, and this is the miserable life it produces for millions of its citizens. What chance have the rest of us got if we follow the same Neo-Liberal policies of the capitalist master.

From the book Dirty Truths , [1992], by Michael Parenti
Translation from English: Arrezafe
       "I have seen strong men tear the floor, begging for a job. With some of them we have to do our best to avoid suicide. Many say they just want to die," says Charlie Tarrance, director of a private social agency. . Their task is to deal with the growing queues of desperate people looking for work, housing and food. The place is Gadsden, Alabama, but it could be anywhere in the United States.
      It could be Washington DC, at a Safeway supermarket just a mile from the White House, where an old man holding a can of dog food is crying. When asked what is wrong, he replies: “I am hungry. I'm hungry."
     It could be New York City, where a woman yells at the landlord to evict her from her home along with her children, whom, to her greatest distress, the Office of Child Welfare takes away. Desperate and sobbing, she is rushed to a New York psychiatric hospital to be treated by all-knowing psychiatrists and diagnosed as "paranoid schizophrenic."
      How much misery and cruelty on earth. As American leaders move decisively toward their Final Free Market Solution, stories of hunger, grief, and despair abound. Such tragedies exist a long time ago. Social pathology is part of this society as much as crime and capitalism. For a multitude of people, life becomes increasingly difficult.
Some grim statistics
      Conservatives like to proclaim how wonderful, happy, and prosperous our nation is. The only thing that coincides with their love for the country is the remarkable indifference they show towards the people who live in it. For them, the anguished cries of the dispossessed are nothing more than annoying whimpers of discontent. Those who criticize the existing living conditions are labeled as "complainers" and that we show some concern for our fellow citizens. But the dirty truth is that there is an alarming amount of inequalities, difficulties, abuses, afflictions, diseases, violence and pathologies in this country. The figures reveal a list that reaches millions of victims. Consider the following estimates for any given year:

27,000 Americans commit suicide.
5,000 suicide attempts. Some estimates are higher.
23,000 are killed.
85,000 are wounded by firearms.
38,000 of these die, including 2,600 children.
13,000,000 are victims of crimes including assault, rape, armed robbery, theft and arson.
135,000 children carry weapons to school.
5,500,000 people are arrested for various crimes (not including traffic offenses).
125,000 die prematurely from alcohol abuse.
6,500,000 use heroin, crack, speed, PCP, cocaine, or some other hard drug on a regular basis.
37,000,000 , one in six Americans, regularly use medical drugs to control their mood. Users are mostly women, medical sponsors, pharmaceutical company providers: astronomical profits.
2,000,000 outpatients receive powerful mind control drugs, sometimes described as "chemical straitjackets."
5,000 die from psychoactive drug treatments.
200,000 are subject to treatments of electrical shock damaging to the brain and nervous system.
From 600 to 1,000 people, mostly women, are lobotomized.
25,000,000, or one in 10 Americans, seek help from psychiatric, psychotherapeutic, or medical sources to address mental and emotional problems, at a cost of more than $ 4 billion annually.
6,800,000 turn to non-medical services, such as clergy, welfare agencies, and social counselors, for help with their emotional problems. In total, some 80,000,000 have sought some form of psychological counseling in their lives.
1,300,000 suffer some form of treatment-related injury in hospitals.
2,000,000 undergo unnecessary surgical operations, 10,000 of which die as a result.
180,000 die from adverse reactions to medical treatments, more than those who die from combined plane and car accidents.
More than 14,000 people die from overdoses of legally prescribed medications.
45,000 die in car accidents. However, the number of cars and highways is increasing while funding for safer forms of public transportation is shrinking.
Of the 1,800,000 victims who suffer non-fatal injuries from car accidents, 150,000 suffer permanent disabilities.
126,000 children are born with significant defects, mainly due to insufficient prenatal care, nutritional deficiency, environmental toxicity, or drug addiction by the mother.
2,900,000 children are subjected to gross neglect or abuse, including physical torture and willful starvation.
5,000 children are killed by their parents or grandparents.
More than 30,000 children are permanently physically disabled due to abuse or neglect. Child abuse in the United States affects more children each year than leukemia, car accidents, and infectious diseases combined. Cases of abuse by unemployed parents are increasing dramatically.
1,000,000 children run away from home, mainly due to abuse, including sexual abuse, of parents and other adults. 83 percent of fugitive children sexually abused come from white families.
150,000 children are reported as missing.
50,000 of these simply disappear. Their ages range from 15 to 15. According to the New York Times, "Some of these children are dead, perhaps half of them, buried annually in this country, are unidentified children."
900,000 children, some as young as seven years old, are engaged in child labor in the United States, serving as underpaid farm workers, dishwashers, laundry, and housework for up to ten hours a day in violation of child labor laws.
From 2,000,000 to 4,000,000 women are battered. Domestic violence is the leading cause of injury and the second leading cause of death for American women.
700,000 women are raped, one every 45 seconds.

And so the list goes on read the full list HERE: 

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