Guards.

 

           More poetry from His Majesty's Prisons. Taken from the book Chains of Hate, The Prison Poetry of Sammy Ralston, published by Random Factor, Edinburgh and distributed by Edinburgh Black Cross, 

 

 Who Guards The Guards.

Enquiries were held, everyone agreed
The prisoner was murdered - a terrible deed.
Three prison guards charged into his cell
A vicious onslaught, a defenceless man fell,
Kicked him and punched him, broke flesh and bone,
Left him there to die all alone.

Who Guards the guards? The question was cried.
Who guards the guards? But no-one replied.
Who guards the guards? His last dying breath.
Who guards the guards that beat him to death?

Court was assembled, culprits brought to book
Statements were given, the oath it was took -
But killers went free - no retribution,
'Not Guilty' verdicts - a legal execution.
They say justices is blind, that much is plain,
She would have wept to see what was done in her name.

Who guards the guards? the question was cried.
Who guards the guards? But no-one replied
Who guards the guards? His last dying breath.
Who guards the guards that beat him to death?

Hey mister screw! Help us understand
How your conscience justifies blood on your hands.
Do you still sleep at night, do your kids fear your touch?
Can you look into your wife's eyes, does it bother you much
That a prisoner's been murdered and no-one's to blame......?
Just clean up his blood......and score out his name.

Who guards the guards? his last dying breath.
 Who guards the guards the beat him to death? 

 

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Fail 22.

  

      System Fail 22 just released and as usual packed with information that the mainstream media turn a blind eye to, to bring you bubble gum, popcorn and celebrity frivolity, with an overdose of Western propaganda.
       This episode of System Fail has a wide coverage, highlighting the tensions between Indigenous communities and the settler colonial state in Brazil. The lower house of Brazil's congress passed a bill, PL 490, which aims to open up Indigenous territories for mining and capitalist development, subjecting established Indigenous land claims to legal challenges. The Indigenous communities have resisted the bill through blockades and protests.
       Next it cover the Bwa Kale movement in Haiti, where residents take up arms against gangs terrorizing their communities, liberating their neighbourhoods and building up organization of community self-defence.
       Lastly, riots erupted in Cardiff, Wales, following the deaths of two teenage boys who crashed their e-bike while being chased by police.

For more on the Bwa Kale movement in Haiti:

https://twitter.com/arismateno
https://twitter.com/HaitiInfoProj/
https://archive.org/details/dekan_05.06.23/dekan_05.06.23_A.mp3

Visit ann arky's home at https://spiritofrevolt.info  

HMP.

            I reproduce this poem here as I think it is important to remind the general public that His Majesty's Prisons house human beings with talent and creative and independent minds and a desire for love and peace.
            It is taken from the book Independent Minds, New Poetry from HMP Kilmarnock, edited by Kevin Williamson and published by Luath Press, Edinburgh, ISBN 978-1-910021-00-2

Forgive and Forget,

Can we now forgive humanity
For all its abuse and brutality?
Wars in the east; wars in the west
For politicians, 'cause they know best.

It's in our interest or so they say
Those power games they make us play.
Fight and kill in the Lord God's name
So who is guilty and who's to blame?

Be it opium, gold, diamonds or oil
There's been so much blood soaked into the soil
And brain washed minds now rotten to the core,
So how can mankind take much more?

It's time to forgive, but do we forget
Or forever live in the shadow of threat?
So Mother, Father, Sister and Brother
Live now in peace and love one another.

David. 

 

Visit ann arky's home at https://spiritofrevolt.info      

McLibel.

 

         Spirit of Revolt, for June Read of the Month, brings you a battle of the ordinary against the corporate juggernaut, This is when a brave young couple took on the might of MacDonalds and cost the company a fortune in cash and gave them a mountain of bad publicity. It became famous as the McLibel case. Delve in and enjoy more of the material held in Spirit of Revolt’s extensive array of history of our common struggles against this oppressive capitalist system of insane economics, injustice and inequality. Spirit of Revolt is probably the largest collection in Scotland  of anarchist, libertarian socialist and struggles of the ordinary people, your history of struggle for that better world for all.

                                                READ ON LINE

Visit ann arky's home at https://spiritofrevolt.info   

Caged.

 

But a caged bird stands on the grave of dreams
his shadow shouts on a nightmare scream
his wings are clipped and his feet are tied
so he opens his throat to sing

The caged bird sings
with a fearful trill
of things unknown
but longed for still
and his tune is heard
on the distant hill
for the caged bird
sings of freedom.

Maya Angelou

                                            Image courtesy of Brtiannica.

             Do you "stand on the grave of dreams" long for "Things unknown but longed for still" Do you sing of freedom and a desire to break free from your cage of conventions?
            We all have that burning desire to be free, yet most accept to be caged in the strict confines and dictates of a human devised system of greed and selfishness, shackled to the confines of the financial markets and the parasite class that owns it and controls it to their own advantage. Why?
          That cage can be broken, its bars torn asunder, and that better world for all created. It is up to us, our solidarity and determination to be free to come together in communities and workplaces and take control of our lives and the society in which we live. We are the creators of all the riches of this world, we can and should take control of all those riches to see to the needs of all our people. Let's break that cage of conventions, grasp our freedom and create that better world for all. We owe it to our children and our grandchildren. 

 

Visit ann arky's home at https://spiritofrevolt.info    

NHS.

 

Image courtesy of Keep Our NHS Public

         The NHS is our service, it is there to see to our health needs, our accidents and our elderly. It is obvious that the political ballerinas that shape our lives are hell-bent on driving us to private health care, where they and their rich financial cronies can make lots of money from our misfortunes. It is our service and it should not be up to the staff to fight for its survival. We all must join the fight to save our NHS, to rely on staff strikes and pickets to do our job for us isn't good enough. We have to take to the streets in vast numbers demanding fair and decent conditions for all NHS staff and sufficient funding to put it back on its feet, and stop the rot that is a deliberate policy and not an accident of fate. There is not an man, woman, our child in this country, that will not rely on the NHS at some point in their lives, as it is being managed by the government to fail, all our lives are being impoverished. It is our duty to our sick, injured and elderly, as well as future generations that we stand together and stop this destruction of a vital part of any civilised society. It is our service, let's fight tooth and nail and do all that is necessary for its survival as a free excellent resource for us all. Don't allow the political ballerinas, the financial Mafia and their private health care to demolish our NHS, solidarity wins the day.

                                                     Image courtesy of inews.

 

                                                       Image courtesy of WION

Visit ann arky's home at https://spiritofrevolt.info  

Bullshit.

         Capitalism, a system that has always represented only the uppermost echelons of the financially affluent and their parasitical banks. This coterie of self seeking financial fraudsters, though chicanery and bribery convinced the political menagerie, that no matter for what purpose it may have been set up, government is in thrall and dependent on this financial cabal and must follow its bidding. So finance dictates what can and cannot be done. The will of the people must bend to the demands of the financial Mafia, or the threat of societies collapse will ensue. Well that is their mantra that is shouted loud and clear. This preached bullshit is treated by the powers that be, with reverence and respect, with the belief that there is no alternative.
       However, you and I should know that there is an alternative way to structure our society. One based on mutual aid, co-operation, sustainability and community, freed from the greed drive profit motive. The injustices and inequalities of capitalism are not set in tablets of stone. It is a human devised system of selfish greed and can be replaced with a human devised system of fairness. All it requires is the will of the majority of the people to take matters into their own hands and do that restructuring. We can’t wait for the powers that be to do that restructuring, they are very happy in their little bubble of affluence, and to hell with you.

 

 

Image courtesy of The Guardian.

 

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Our Streets.

Image courtesy of Daily Mail

         A comment I received form an unknown source so can't certify its validity, but thought it was of interest.

THEN
        A reminder to those whose memory fails them.....
On Saturday 13th June 2020 large numbers of people defied lockdown restrictions to resist the eviction of Glenfrome Road. GRC Baliffs attempted to clear a big traveller site on the old gas works site in Bristol.
        Despite the large police presence, and the increased use of state power through the 'Coronavirus Act', the eviction went on for over 12 hours and solidarity was strong. GRC failed to evict the site.
NOW
        The company that paid for the eviction was Wales and West Utilities. They have just built a new £4 million Gas Haulage Depot on the Glenfrome Road site, and its up and running so we thought we'd pay them a visit.
        In the early hours of Friday 26th May, shots were fired with a slingshot over the perimeter fence of Wales and West Utilities, taking out two large first floor windows... A small reminder that we hold grudges, and that there are many ways to resist.
       Wales and West Utilities talk of 'sustainability' (the site is part of their "commitment to biodiversity") and new gas tech... Bristol City Council have helped fund the site. Wales and West own 35,000km of gas pipeline.
        Near the depot (unconnected to us) we noticed some graffiti: "Power to the Peaceful!" but we don't buy that concept.... and have no time for "pacifism"....... in the face of ecological collapse.... we call for rage and rowdy responses. Not peacefulness...
        The police were not peaceful when they used grenades at Saint-Soline against those who resisted the mega-basin. Solidarity with Serge Duteuil-Graziani who is in a coma and sustained major head injuries due to the grenades.
        The police were not peaceful when they killed Kyrees Sullivan and Harvey Evans in Cardiff this week. Solidarity with the Cardiff rioters!
         Many companies with a shiny public image like Wales and West Utilities pay baliffs to do their dirty work.... Evicting people is big business, and there will be many more in Bristol this summer.
         There were beautiful riots when the 'Police Crime Sentencing and courts Bill' (PCSC) was passed (strength to those inside or awaiting trial!).
         This action is a reminder that the bill doesn't just effect those resisting, it also criminalises people's way of life if they choose not to live in homes made of bricks.

For a summer of disobedience and anarchy!
See you on the streets!

Visit ann arky's home at https://spiritofrevolt.info 

Liberation.

 

        We live in hard times, poverty is increasing, more and more children go hungry, food banks are multiplying, destitution multiples, basic food is galloping out of reach of many, but hard times should be fertile soil for anarchists. It is so much easier to point to the anomalies and inequality of the system and should be obvious to most people. However, that is not always enough to rouse the people to anger and direct action. So what should anarchists do, perhaps Errico Malatesta points us in the right direction.

Quote from Great Anarchists by Dog Section Press, chapter on Malatesta.       

        "The important thing is not the victory of our plans, our projects, our utopias, which in any case need the confirmation of experience and can be --- developed and adapted to the real moral and material conditions of the age and place. What matters most is that the people--- lose their sheeplike instincts and habits which thousands of years of slavery have instilled in them, and learn to think and act freely. And it is to this great work of moral liberation that the anarchist must specifically dedicate themselves."

 No mean task but sounds like excellent advice.

                                                     Image courtesy of Libcom.

 

Visit ann arky's home at https://spiritofrevolt.info  

In Memory.

 

The following from Act For Freedom Now.

¡Punky Mauri Presente! In memory of Anarchist Mauricio Morales, 22 MAY 2009 -22 MAY 2023.

Before Going to Sleep

Before going to sleep I reflect on modernity
and I don’t get used to the artificial smell
Nor to the plastic that envelopes water,
nor to machines nor to military helmets,
Nor to ties and their suits.

My hands don’t get used to the artificial connection in virtual universes
Connected lives in wireless networks, my eyes search for the eternal fire of
rebellion among the multitude of corpses and only in isolated gazes, the
conscious individual emerges with dagger eyes that resist dying in the
democratic cemetery.
Before going to sleep I embrace chaos
as an idea that liberates my body and my mind
Because after all, it makes me feel alive.
I do not want to search for the grail that will liberate future societies.
My fingers search for the bloody flight of the destruction of the chains of
the rhythmic fire, of the close fire of power and its masters.
Upon sleeping, my actions are designed so that tomorrow, after waking up,
I will
Break the routine, in a solitary action, with my chest like a swollen stone,
by the destruction of this and of any society.
Do me a favor: see to it that anarchy lives.

---

Before dying in the sludge of the street we will imitate Mauricio Morales!

“Love yourself and be violent, beautifully violent, until everything is des- troyed. Remember that whatever violent action against those who promote equality is completely justified for the infinite amount of violence they sub- mit us to.

.…. Love yourself and combat terrorism, burn, conspire and sabotage and beviolent, beautifully violent, naturally violent, freely violent.”
-Mauri

 Comrade Mauri
You are with us!

Visit ann arky's home at https://spiritofrevolt.info   

Keelie 41.

           Issue 41 of the Glasgow Keelie is out. As usual you'll find it at pickets, protests, demos and on the street, grab your free copy. Again it brings you all the dirt that the mainstream media brushes under the carpet. Catch up on how to get involved in making that better world for all, find out about the underhand dealings that are everyday occurrences for councils and businesses. You can also send in your personal stories on this insane economic system that shackles us to crap jobs, lousy wages and a never ending struggle for a decent life. Contact us here at Glasgow Keelie.

Read The Glasgow Keelie on line

 

 

Visit ann arky's home at https://spiritofrevolt.info.  

Bookfair.

          One week to go until the Red and Black Clydeside Bookfair and Gathering, the culmination of their May Week Celebrations. it takes place on Saturday 27th May, at the CCA 350 Sauchiehall Street Glasgow. This is an event not to be missed. 21 stalls, discussions, talks, films, a chance to ramble through a variety of view all fighting for that better world for all. A chance to meet old friends, make new ones, chat, learn what is going on in our city, get involved.
         One of the stalls to look out for would Spirit of Revolt Archive, probably the largest collection in Scotland of anarchist and libertarian socialist history, comprising of, letters, post cards, banners, photos, serials, memorabilia and much more. Why not pay their website a visit before dropping in to have a chat with them at the Bookfair on Saturday. 

 

 

Visit ann arky's home at https://spiritofrevolt.info  

Thoughts.

  Thoughts.

Image courtesy of Do Something

WAKE-UP CALL.

As the West grows fat
the Third World squirms and dies,
poverty devours their tomorrows
while the West swims in a sea of lies.
Look,   see their lacerated lives,
their pot bellies and spindle limbs
with hands stretching out towards you?
They’re not begging,
they’ve earned the right to demand.
Their poverty has kept us fat and warm
as we shaded our eyes from the light of reality,
well,    now they’re demanding.
Demanding we wake from our soft slumber
see their suffering,   grasp their hand,
 pull them from the blood sucking morass of poverty
inflicted on them by our sightless greed.
Our blindness stole their dad’s bowl of rice
our lassitude slew their brother
our flights of fashion starved their sister
our arrogance maimed their mother.

Image courtesy of Quora

 

FIRES OF THE FUTURE.

I am fire,
I surge, I hiss,
sometimes bursting forth in a flame
that lights up the world
illuminating unimagined dreams.
Then the black cloak
blankets out the glow.
Again all is dark,
but, still


beneath the surface
I surge, I hiss,
I endure, waiting, seeking,
building up pressure.
One day I will explode
destroying forever
the Tartarean crust of oppression.
I am fire,
I am the people. 

Visit ann arky's home at https://spiritofrevolt.info  

Shafted!!

          If you are one of those who are still trying to work out who this government and system works for perhaps the following wee article will help you make up your mind.
         While the powers that be repeat their mantra that there is not enough money to pay NHS workers and others a decent wage, they can find plenty of money for propaganda for UK imperialism. Take Queen Elizabeth II's funeral, tax payers forked out £162 million of tax payers money for that pompous circus to please the parasite class. Then shortly after that we had the pomp to celebrate British imperialism with the circus coronation of Charles III costing the tax payer somewhere in the region of £100 million +. On the matter of this extortionate over the top lavish pomp and circus, Cabinet Officer minister Oliver Dowden had the audacity insisting the government and the king were 'mindful of ensuring that there is value for the taxpayer' and there will not be lavish or excess. So this is his idea of modest normality. All in all the The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) estimated that the addition of an extra Bank Holiday weekend would cost the Government £2.39 billion. Of course you have to factor in the cost of the massive security operation that these two circuses required in the eyes of our lords and masters.

No wonder they are laughing.

 

Image courtesy of GraziaDaily.

         Of course the parasite class are boasting about the fact that The British Beer and Pub Association estimates the coronation will generate an extra £120 million for pubs across the country with the hospitality industry also expecting a significant boost. So be happy, your money has helped the hospitality industry as it will gain immensely from you generosity.
       Away from the imperialist propaganda machine, other facts on who this system supports. While we all struggle to pay our bills and heat/fed our families, ASDA is consulting on cutting the wages of 7,000 workers, BT is paying off 55,000 workers and replacing them with AI.

      With a crumbling NHS, a decaying education system, a totally broken social service system, an increase in poverty and the an increase in the resulting mental illness, where in this jamboree of spending and job/wage cuts do you see anything that is for you benefit or well being? Enough is enough, we must support all workers taking strike action, their fight is our fight. We have to create that better society that is based on fairness, mutual aid, and freed from the profit motive that sees to the needs of all our people. 

 

Visit ann arky's home at https://spiritofrevolt.info