Breaking News....FACT OR FEAR!

FACT OR FEAR

A famous role model of mine once said, "If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people that are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing!" The legend that spoke this haunting truth was of course Malcolm X. What Malcolm X referred to back in 60's America, still very much rings true to this very day. Mainstream media bias is something that greatly affects the masses who believe most of what they read in the papers and see on the news. Thankfully most of the people living in Britain are aware that a lot of the tabloids are full of nonsense but many have yet to still see through the devious tricks of the BBC for example. The BBC bias to me, was highlighted during the Scottish Independence referendum back in September but issues such as the conflict in Gaza are also painted in a different light to the actual goings on. Why is this the case? Why do the government and the media enjoy such a marriage? Well it is very simple. It all comes down to money.

Due to the path I am on at the moment and the reading that I do for the posts I write for this blog, I am constantly being made aware of new stories that crazily enough never make it into the news. I came across a crazy story from a very respected German journalist that should be making much more news than it got. Udo Ulfkotte's the journalist I refer to, has a story that is just the tip of the iceberg on what exists behind closed doors. He discusses how the CIA drafted up a lie on how Colonel Gadaffi had chemical weapons factories in Libya. They wanted the story published and asked Udo to do this under his name to gain credibility. He claims to have never seen any evidence of the particular allegations the CIA put forward but he signed off the story anyway because he didn't want to lose his job at the time and he had seen that happen before to colleagues. Recently he has decided to try and come forward about it and has had his home searched 6 separate times and he claims because he doesn't have a family, he no longer cares about repercussions. Sad indictment of the times. How many other articles have the CIA had involvement in you wonder.

Also, as I stated before, what about the media bais during the referendum in September? What about the BBC's role? The British Broadcasting Corporation, primarily funded by the annual television license fee, paid by the British public. Did it truly represent the 45% of the Scottish population that ended up voting yes? I think it is clear when you really look into it that it didn't. You see the BBC like any real media outlet with massive sway, will always, always, pick the corporate will over the will of the people. Now I don't mean by that comment that they should have solely backed yes, just that it merely should have ensured it was 50-50 in it's broadcasting of the issue. My point is demonstrated on you tube (click here). Moreover, another glaring example of the BBC bias can be highlighted by its take on the deadly Palestine v. Israel dispute. It is done very cleverly of course, and usually through the questions it asks politicians on the topic for example. It isn't just the BBC I wish to highlight, but it is something that disturbs me greatly due to the public money it receives. I am well aware that 45 percent of the Scottish people weren't actually represented by any of the newspapers bar one. They are privately owned so they can do what they want unfortunately, but that fact NEEDS to be remembered when the "news" is swallowed up by us readers. You must always look into what you read. There is always more to it than an edited version of events written in a paper owned by someone who has interests perhaps in direct conflict with the truth.

Rupert Murdoch is the perfect example of this point. The guy literally ran a paper that hacked into the phone of a dead little girl, so we know what lows Murdoch will go to for a bit of brainwashing. Yet, he is still allowed to run tabloids like the Sun which unfortunately influences some public opinion. I mean if you believe the Sun, a disease on society which callously blamed Liverpool fans for the Hillsborough disaster, then you need to look in a mirror (not the tabloid that's nearly as bad)! Fox news, which runs in America has their strings pulled by Rupert Murdoch and he actually is able to reach into the homes of millions and millions by using this propaganda to push his agenda. Now if any of you have read any of what I've posted before you will know my hatred of war. Well Murdoch blatantly hasn't been singing from my hymn sheet. Fox news is also a major denier of global warming. Why would they be for supporters of Israeli genocide, the war on terror and so against Global Warming in their programming I wonder. Ah you see, Rupert Murdoch is a major share holder in a company called Genie Energy (which also has interests in Israel and the USA). That has never been disclosed on FOX. Surely this is unethical?? Rupert Murdoch has a vested interest in war as he is a major shareholder in Genie Energy and through that company he will make a huge financial gain through the extracting of oil in the middle east. As long as it is safely occupied by Western troops and parts of it answer to the West I must add. He would also obviously not want to be promoting global warming as a problem. If the world all realized how bad an issue climate change is, that would cost his energy company huge money. He has fingers in a few more pies than the one I am highlighting, but exposing all of Rupert Murdoch's failings can be someone else's harrowing task. I merely want to show how the mainstream media always has an agenda.

These agendas are killing humanity but it can change. As I mentioned before the Sun were shown up to be the real abhorrent scribe they really are (picture above) after lying blatantly about the Liverpool fans involvement in the death of their own. This is a great example of a community unifying to boycott this garbage. It shows it can be done, the Scouser's have laid the foundations here. The thing is, so would more communities if the lies were exposed in these papers and news shows, but it is just very difficult to push people to look for the truth. If they did then a boycott of the Sun and these organisations that run this sort of filth, could be worldwide.

How about the fact that Tony Blair, who it has been revealed has made millions out of the Iraq war, isn't actually grilled by any mainstream media outlet when they interview him? On the other hand a guy like Russell Brand gets utterly slated for daring to mention inequality. He also mentioned tax avoidance and Murdoch's involvement in those legal schemes which sickeningly allows him to not pay his huge share of tax he otherwise would have to. It's legal but Murdoch certainly doesn't want chat of it, so Brand took the hit in the press for daring to utter the notion that types like old Rupert be more accountable. Talking of accountability, has a news channel ever gone to Tony Blair's mansion and said to him (after he has called for boots on the ground in Syria and Iraq again), "why don't you go because you seem to have such a thirst for it?" Or even just simply ask "You know that oil company you've invested in? Won't you make a bit of a fortune if they get access to the oil in a war torn middle east?" Don't count on those difficult questions being asked to types like Blair or our newest war monger Cameron, because they ensure big business are kept sweet when they are in power. What about the bloody CIA reports circulating about the torture they were dishing out to terror suspects in Guantanamo bay? Well so far some of the media have actually been able to turn this around and get people to think that this was some how justified because it kept America safe! Luckily not all the media went this way but there were actually plenty of ridiculous tabloids that barely mentioned it. Unreal stuff folks.

Another thing I cannot stomach is the fact that every single thing you see reported in the news terrifies you or is at least making you think a few things such as "Wow, it could be worse, I'm glad it's not me" or "Shit! What if that happens here to me or anyone I care about?!!" The majority of news is overwhelmingly negative! If it has to be negative then why doesn't it highlight cases about good people without much say, getting shafted. I mean as you read this right now, fire-fighters are actually fighting against the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) to improve the unworkable pension proposals they have had stamped on them. Crazy really but then there is Ebola. Why the frenzy over Ebola? Same as why there was a frenzy over bird flu, swine flu,SARS and foot and mouth. It keeps us terrified and allows the rich and powerful elites to keep picking up money as we don't question anything else that is going on. Our attentions are taken away. Through the ages there is a reason why any public figure who actually truly impacted real change and who had the ability to wholly unite people, rarely lived to see the free bus pass age. Nowadays it is a lot easier to hinder them because the media is so big there is isn't always a need to assassinate these figures, they merely need to assassinate their characters. It probably needs just a few days of front page hammering to do this. I could think of hundreds of things deserving of our attention in the news like the giant Chevron being exposed for the fact that they owe 9.5 billion dollars to the people of Ecuador living near the rainforest areas they have decimated.

The problem is that the elites who take the form of the corporations control the media. They have such a huge amount of wealth and will do anything to keep it. When the world began to become more civilised and the use of violence to gain control over minds clearly stopped working, the media was invented. By tapping into peoples psyche and to what terrifies them then the media are able to keep us from truly looking into what is going on in the world because we think they are providing us with the answers. Trust is something most people don't actually allow to come naturally but yet when it comes to news stories it is almost unwavering in some minds. Well what needs to happen is that you search for the real news yourself. You open your eyes to what is happening around you and you constantly challenge anything your fed. When we start to do this I guarantee the world would become a better place because the depths of scandal all over the planet are monstrous and people would need to unite to stop it. Borders, class strife, racism, fear and all of these things are pursued mercilessly in the media. Let's stop them becoming part of our mindset and get back into finding out things for ourselves through free internet and of those with zero agendas other than to make the planet better. Whenever there is a story in the media, look for the story they are distracting you from.

BY EM

Scotland's Sectarian Shame

Sectarianism

Sectarianism - Scotland's Shame. Not only exclusive to Scotland, but a shameful problem that continues to rear it's ugly head every now and again in our society. Sectarianism is defined as “Narrow-minded beliefs that lead to prejudice, discrimination, malice and ill-will towards members, or presumed members, of a religious denomination.” In Scotland it could almost easier be related to Protestants versus Catholics. The easiest example to use. Plenty of the Scottish people who practice these forms of faith, live in peace of course, but those that clash have hatred so ingrained into their psyche that rational thinking is completely overlooked. 

First and foremost I am Edinburgh born and bred and I am not religious in any way. The sectarian element that exists in Edinburgh is more of a mild headache than the migraine experienced on the west side of Scotland in comparison. Although personally, I have only ever witnessed a very few instances in Edinburgh, in contrast, my dad's side of the family are from a mining village in Ayrshire and he was raised in a society in the grip of a religious divide. I remember a story he once told me about his school days back in the 1950's when the Protestant and Catholic children would play football on different pitches. He said it wasn't so much that there was violence between the children, more an accepted order that they weren't going to mix with the Catholics and vice versa. A sad indictment of behaviours passed down through generations. Thankfully when my dad grew up he retained no religious hatred and I am forever grateful for that.

I wished I could say the same for what I witnessed on the 19th of September 2014 in Glasgow. What happened that day turned my stomach and in my eyes it wasn't a full representation of those voting no, more a breeding ground for religious hatred to be spewed out. "No" had always claimed to have been the less troublesome of the two opposing sides so the media was also extremely careful on how they approached and showed this issue. Instead of highlighting this as a hateful religious faction they wanted to limit the exposure this story got due to the fact they had backed the no vote. Sad times indeed. They missed the point entirely and I assure you from speaking with witnesses and from many friends living in Glasgow, the riots were far more severe with a much higher number of thugs than what was reported to us. This should have been exposed with the sectarian narrative explained to us. I knew that this bile wasn't a representation of the no vote but I knew it was representing those that wished to use religion as an excuse to fight. It wasn't simply Rangers v. Celtic to me or certainly not yes v. no, but it was brutal sectarianism punishing a city that had unified in voting yes. 



Creation

Now I want to share MY opinions on why we have Sectarianism in Scotland. Of course we know where it began. It was the colonisation of Ireland in the 17th and 18th Century by the British ruling class. This imperialist takeover in Ireland meant the problems it caused sailed back again to Scotland to affect her population. Another example of an imperialist war and invasion backfiring on the lower classes. In brief, the land was taken from the native Irish who were of course Catholic by religion and given to settlers from the Scottish lowlands and the English who were encouraged by the government. The predominant religion of these new settlers was protestant and due to the fact that Ireland was under British rule over the years then it meant it was members of these settlers that ended up becoming the ruling class. One of the few options left for the Irish Catholics was to leave Ireland. Industrial cities were a favoured destination for the Irish and so that is a huge factor as to why Glasgow in particular has become synonymous with Sectarianism. Over the years in Ireland, organisations to preserve the new protestant way of life were set up, and so groups such as the Orange Order came into being. It is important to note that a class system obviously existed within the protestant community in Ireland, but this was where the hatred for the Irish Catholic natives became key. Many conflicts later, some of the battle hardened soldiers coming home to Britain set up branches of the Orange Order in their communities. 

Throughout the 1800's as the immigrant populations in Scotland began to swell the continued divisions were emphasized and enforced by these types of bigoted groups without much of a hindrance from the law. Now instead of trying to tackle the root of the problem, the ruling class and our government pursued this hateful technique to divide and conquer. This meant that during the industrial revolution, working class protestants were blaming their own oppression and the squalor they lived in on the Irish catholic immigrants and therefore this caused a greater divide which inevitably would always lead to violence throughout the years. The Protestants were higher up the pecking order than the Catholics and this bred a belief that they were superior. The violence over the years in Ireland has led to forces such as the IRA and  UVF fighting back and forward. Like Hamas for example all terrorist factions had to have had a reason to expand and exist.

There isn't a wrong or a right religion or right or wrong form of it but I can only imagine how frustrating or difficult it must be at times to experience sectarianism and then try to exonerate the ignorance, but this is how our society must move on. I think genuinely it would help if agitators actually realised why there is Sectarianism. The greatest trick our British government and the elites have ever pulled is to keep our populations from looking up and instead to look to those even less fortunate than us to blame for any injustice or bad situation we are in. The ultimate example these days stressing this narrative is that immigrants are stealing all our jobs. Don't be naive enough to think this is a new concoction. The formula was experimented and almost perfected in our homeland and in Ireland some centuries ago.

Stick together

What exactly do you think has happened in Iraq? We have invaded that Country as part of our "war on terror", and our government allowed a sectarian divide between Sunni and Shia Muslims to continue to grow and engulf Iraq. Look into who our government left in charge of the Country if you think I speak nonsense here. Groups like Isis and Al-qaeda use this perceived and in some cases blatant sectarian bias as one of their recruitment tools. A large part of my motivation in life is to break down all barriers and borders because I think of everyone as human not types of human. I am not intending to take sides with this post. it is not about that. It's frankly that in Scotland over time, I feel elements of the Protestant faith have been convinced of a superiority over another smaller community. All due to one simple factor - there were and are more of them. Therefore it is essential for them to have been "kept sweet". (I also wish to add, when I say Protestant side I am of course merely discussing the sectarian parts of the population not ALL Protestant believers). I have stated before that plenty people both Protestant and Catholic have risen above and seen through this abomination). I am aware there are plenty anti Protestant, Catholic reprobates too. The truth is though, the Irish Catholics and their descendants have never been in a position in our culture to do the persecuting. 

It is almost laughable when you realise for all the encouragement of hatred these elites pass down they are possibly the least racist, sectarian or sexist in any way. They take the form of mega faceless corporations now and I'm pretty positive they would do business with anyone if it kept them rich, and because they control the media they can pursue any agenda they want. Sectarianism or any "ism" could be a priority for lovely Westminster to fix, but most Western governments answer to these corporate tyrants and so why stop a formula that has worked so well for them. Too much profit to be made at the expense of people and they cannot afford huge populations uniting to stand together against them. They realise that humans are naturally fearful and so what better method than to create or pursue existing minority groups to villainise and keep you afraid. Minorities that need our help to integrate are always the target. The only way they can integrate is with our help. Asking them to learn our language and our customs would be made easier a million times over if we actively encouraged it in a caring way. We can take things from their cultures too. That is part of being human we get to do that! How brutally hard it must be at times for these human beings hearing all this about how they are a problem though. They will see the same vitriol we swallow. Propaganda carefully designed to crucify them as the distant strangers that are here to take over.

The thing with Sectarianism in working class communities is it keeps communities divided that actually have so much in common. Those that have kept them separate and that have caused this cemented hatred are the same people that will always try to keep them from ever being united. Keeping the masses divided in any way they can. It will be realised one day as there are good people waking up to this horrific veracity. As soon as we look to the greedy corporations and those that profit from poor and helpless communities then a massive change will come. Of course Scotland has improved greatly when it comes to Sectarian behaviour and it is largely kept mainly to certain Rangers and Celtic fans, but it most certainly is still a problem underlined by the events on the 19th of September so there is work to be done to educate this element in society. A new threat in UKIP and right wing Britain pushes an anti immigrant agenda in much the same way as Scotland has experienced in the past that has created our problem they call Scotland's shame. Let us not be taken in by this and stand up to any of these horrible viewpoints so that they can't be allowed to fester. 

In the world there really should be no such thing as immigrants just neighbours. Borders are on man made maps but you see no lines to separate us when you look down on the Earth from space.

By EM

War! What Is It Good For? Absolutely ISIS!

War

One of the main things I feel strongly opposed to is war. I feel there is no place for it in any modern day society. As Edwin Starr once said so poignantly. War! What is it good for? - absolutely nothing! As most people have heard in the media lately, we are dropping missiles once again in the middle east. The aim is focused currently at a terrorist organisation called ISIS. Now this terrorist group are disgusting, they are a real deplorable, sick and inhumane bunch but I just can't see how bombing is going to solve this. The last time we went all trigger happy in Iraq thousands upon thousands of people ended up dead. No doubts countless more were injured and millions of lives have been ruined (from all countries involved). This is just part of a war that the West have undertaken against differing Muslim Countries in the middle East that has raged for some decades now, probably longer. Actually, America have now bombed 14 Countries around this region that have Islam as their principal religion since 1980. Britain have backed them in most cases too. 

Understanding

Now for me looking at a group like ISIS it's easy to just call them animals and put their aims down to the actions of mad men desperate to watch the world burn. I have to doubt it is that simple. Yes there will be those kind of crazy twisted individuals involved but there are many examples of young men with no past history of violence or criminal record joining up to this organisation. From reading their messages and watching their videos it is clear ISIS needs to be stopped and there are greater minds than mine out there in the world that surely have to come to a better conclusion than solving this with violence and that is what baffles me the most. Giving these guys violence is what they crave. The leaders of these haunting groups thrive on the West doing this. It confirms we are the bad guys. Masses of the recruits ISIS gain are from the cities and towns that WE in Britain and the West have decimated. Some of the people in these places don't know why their world is caving in, they just know they have had a roof blown from over their head, a family member and possibly friends killed. Their life broken. They are able to buy into the ISIS philosophy and thus are brainwashed into thinking fighting is the only option a lot of the time to gain revenge. Sectarianism has also crippled their towns thanks to the previous government in Iraq and in MY opinion they probably genuinely feel it is us against them and that is the mentality that fosters this hatred for us. These guys are experiencing a 9/11 type scenario all the time on their doorstep. I don't know about you but if that was a situation happening to me I would be very hateful. Especially if I possibly didn't have the education to know much of the outside world.

I once again say ISIS are disgusting. They are vile. I wished they didn't exist but we have to face up to the fact we also helped arm them, let us not forget that is what OUR government did. Same with Al Qaeda. Let me use the example of a weed. Cut it at the bottom of the stock and it appears to have gone, give it a few weeks and it will have regrown completely. I feel we need to look at the root of the problem. It seems to me it is the social situations at the moment in these Countries. Have we ever tried to tackle them. No we haven't! We haven't heard much about that though. The reason is the media isn't exactly very honest about what they report. They conveniently leave out information but that is also for another blog. 

If Britain and the US are the countries as hell bent on preserving democracy as they claim then why are they not tackling these social issues? Why don't we attempt to bring back more of an Arab identity to these places. Why don't we use some of the things that create these jihadist fighters to our own advantage. Start it at home. Social media and things like that are powerful recruitment tools. It's one of the main things that is used in recruiting our own fellow Britons to go out there and fight. What makes a young British Muslim go to Iraq and join ISIS? "Oh they've been brainwashed" people say. Well yes, of course they have. So why have they been able to be? Could it possibly be to do with the fact that they have problems integrating into society over here? I think it has a lot to do with it. This is something both Muslim's in Britain, us as citizens and the government obviously have a responsibility to sort out. I genuinely feel though that these communities have been allowed to grow alienated from the rest of Britain. We need to deal with this and that will stop a huge huge majority of young Muslim's perpetrating acts of terror and leaving our shores to join ISIS. They don't feel they are part of our Country and I genuinely feel we dare not underestimate that feeling of being left out and the need to belong to something. We have the money to deal with these problems if we have 3 billion or whatever it is to spend on air strikes. I just know that education surely is one of the answers. To me the government thrive on having minorities to blame. It keeps the rest of the population from looking above them as to why real inequality has happened. Under a capitalist regime every benefit more or less comes at someone's expense. If you can constantly shift the blame or focus on to those least able to defend themselves (minorities) then you keep people from standing together to improve their existence. We are all in it together but divided we will never see an end to inequality. UKIP have made successful inroads because they have successfully pushed blame onto the immigrants, which encourages racism, which alienates those suffering against the prejudices from the rest of the population. It's happened before in our Country. A baffling example I read was that it used to be witches hundreds and hundreds of years ago. The population were led to believe that they were suffering hardships down to the fact that witches were casting spells on them. Innocent men and women lost their lives due to this crazy notion, but it is worth recalling how a group can be made up and blamed for the ills of the day. Sounds ridiculous but really it was a cruder version of events in the present day.

Let us try and target the supporters of ISIS in the region too. The tribal leaders for one. The Sunni Muslims see the air strikes as the West sticking up for the Kurds and shia'a Muslims. If America is asking the Sunni's to turn their backs on ISIS, (mainly Sunni Muslims) then it's actions are not showing them this, because we all are aware ISIS base themselves between these civilians. These Sunni Muslims have suffered horrendously under the sectarian regime led by the former prime minister. They didn't get the help they needed then either. That means we must not ignore the atrocities carried out by our allies or by those who may not be officially our allies in the bombings of civilian areas. That must be acknowledged to show we are going to be neutral. The admission of mass murder isn't always easy to admit to I would imagine.

Now, surely allow diplomacy to win. Send a diplomatic group of some kind to speak with ISIS. That doesn't mean they have won, and don't tell me it definitely wont work because there is zero evidence we have tried it. Try to use the financial aspects to our advantage and communicate with these people to a higher degree. If they begin to meet conditions by helping themselves surely rewards to improve their current quality of life would go a long way. Repairing the damage for example. Look I might be a million miles off but I know for sure my examples are a lot better than just a simple bombing initiative that will stir up a hornets nest. Get back to trying to see what we can do to help these places rather than through violence. Negotiate with these places and don't tell me it cannot be done. They know it can because Israel do it all the time with Hamas. I don't mean negotiated through giving weapons but listen to what they have to say. Not every demand is going to be met but at least attempt to show alternatives to the demands perhaps. It's not going to get any worse for us doing that. We aren't going to come across as a soft touch. They know our weapons arsenal is unlimited. Show our human side for the refugees. More aid must be delivered to Countries we obliterate. It's our responsibility if we are bombing these places. The UN needs to ensure this happens on a greater scale, not just little pockets of aid.

Ignite Change

My point in this whole spiel is that there is always an alternative to blowing people up. There is a reason that Britain and America aren't bothering to negotiate. They need an enemy in ISIS perhaps. I personally feel that has to be the case. There is a reason why they are involved in Iraq. It isn't to preserve democracy. If it was they would be involved more heavily with China over Hong Kong for example. They aren't because they cannot win that battle. Capitalism is unfortunately the reason. There is money to be made in the middle east and until we the people truly open our eyes to this then ISIS will grow and so will the fear and tensions on both sides. It isn't far fetched to assume our government due to the corporate will of the West, want us to desperately fear these people. It keeps the cycle going and we need to start looking for the answers and reasons into why the Middle East crisis continues. If we all start looking into it and all of us protested our involvement in these areas then it would hopefully and surely eventually stop. Some people will say to me - is it such a bad thing us having the resources and not them? Well yes because the resources from their Country are needed to provide them with a better quality of life. Granted if it were to be used fair and rationally. One day perhaps the world can share resources equally I hope. We all must keep probing for a solution and and ask the right questions. I understand people want these ISIS beasts to be brought to justice but to see how they tick we me must think like them and then our government need to simply take a huge share of the responsibility for their resurgence and to some degree existence. Such groups wouldn't need to exist if the right conditions were created in their towns and villages. We can set up blogs, protest, but really what we can't do is nothing. There are innocent children and people being blown to bits. Whether you agree with my alternatives to bombing or not then fine, but don't disagree that civilians are dying. That alone should be enough to stop the atrocities I assure you are taking place. Just look at the facts. I'll post a link to it below. Our soldiers don't deserve to die either, I know a few and a lot of them are baffled as to our reasoning for being there. Keep the faith though folks and a change in the existing power structures will come. Believe me when I tell you, it's clear they need this continuing war and without a true passion for change, it wont come so lets all help to ignite it.

https://www.iraqbodycount.org/

BY EM

World War One, The Century Old Lie

I know writing this in some circles would be considered to be controversial but I think it is important that we all really know some truths. I have said in my profile of this blog, I will share ideas and posts of those of a similar persuasion and so I read some information that I would like to share about the First World War from the website counterfire that picks apart some mainstream media myths our government want you to believe.

I believe everyone that died must be honoured because they genuinely believed they were making the ultimate sacrifice to do the right thing more often than not but honour them in your own way. In my opinion the real way to honour people such as my great grandfather is to stand up against war of any kind and to highlight some of the real reasons as to why war is waged by a ruling class who will never ever seek to commit to battle themselves. Tony Blair wants boots on the ground in Iraq again. Will it be his or his sons boots we see? Not a chance. Why is that? Why is his life more valuable than mine or yours? It isn't but there is money to be made so that is what pushes conflict. That's for another post.

What I want to kick out at though is the pressure that is on us to believe in the military and that if you don't support war you hate the troops. I don't hate the troops and I don't think our rage should be directed at them. The army is a job lot's of working class folks have been urged to commit to because of little other opportunities or because they feel that they are saving Britain from some foreign enemy. That is why I stand up for them in a very different battle than they will face. I implore you to do the same to avoid a war like the one 100 years ago. Even if these brave souls that think they fight for us don't always see it themselves, we need to unite against war as anything is better than loss of life to line more pockets!

Here are the myths debunked below:

The war was fought in defence of democracy

- This is contradicted by the basic facts. Germany had universal manhood suffrage while in Britain, including Ireland, some 40% of men still did not qualify for the vote. In Germany also, there were attempts to justify the war on the grounds that it was being fought to defend civilised values against a repressive, militaristic state, in the form of Russian autocracy.

Britain went to war due to a treaty obligation to defend the neutrality of Belgium.

- There was no clear and accepted obligation on Britain to do this, and, in fact, before the Belgian issue appeared, the war party in the cabinet was already pushing for British intervention on the entirely different ground that there were naval obligations to France. These obligations had been developed in secret arrangements between the military of both countries, and were never subject to any kind of democratic accountability. The Germans even offered guarantees over Belgian integrity, which the British government refused to consider at all.

German aggression was the driving force for war.

- However aggressive the German leadership may have been in 1914, the British establishment was at least as determined to take the opportunity to go to war with its imperial rival. At one point the Foreign Office even seized on imaginary German incursions into France to justify a British declaration of war on Germany. The declaration letter had to be retrieved from the German ambassador and rewritten when it was discovered that the stories were false. The enthusiasm of the British ruling class for war undermines any justification for it based on German aggression.

The morale of British troops fighting on the Western Front remained intact to the end of the war.

- While Britain may not have suffered quite the same scale of mutinies as in the German and French armies, at times there were whole stretches of the front where troops became so unreliable that generals did not dare order them into combat. The evidence for widespread cynicism about war strategies, contempt for the military leadership, and grave doubts about the purpose of the war, cannot be wished away by the revisionists. In so far as soldiers carried on willingly fighting the war, the explanation needs to be sought in the habituation to obedience, as well as the threat of court-martial executions. There is no need to invoke either fervid nationalism or any kind of deep psychological blood-lust as explanations.

German imperialism was uniquely vicious and had to be challenged.

- The atrocities committed against the Herrero people in Namibia were indeed terrible crimes, but were hardly unique compared to the horrors committed by all those involved in the rubber industry in the Belgian Congo, to take but one example. Also, European opinion had only a few years before 1914 been horrified by the brutality of another colonial power when it was engaged in ruthlessly expanding its dominance over independent states in Africa. This was Britain in its wars of aggression against the Boer states in South Africa, during which concentration camps were first used in order to control a civilian population.

Public opinion was united in favour of the war, as shown by images of cheering crowds in 1914.

- It is now usually admitted that the degree of enthusiasm for the war was strictly limited, and the evidence is that the crowds who gathered at the outbreak of war were by no means united in martial enthusiasm. In fact sizeable and widespread anti-war demonstrations occurred in both Britain and Germany. Had the leaderships of Labour and Socialist parties across Europe not caved into demands to support their national ruling classes in going to war, it is quite possible that the conflict could have been stopped in its tracks.

The military leadership, notably General Haig, was not a bunch of incompetent ‘donkeys’.

- Attempts to rehabilitate the likes of General Haig founder on some of the basic facts about the tactics he relentlessly employed. Repeated infantry attacks on opposing trenches consistently failed to gain any clear advantage, while causing colossal casualties. On the first day of the battle of the Somme, 1st July 1916, 57,000 troops out of 120,000 were killed or wounded. Despite continuing carnage on an incredible scale, Haig carried on ordering further attacks. When any hope of a breakthrough against the German lines was clearly lost, the purpose of the battle was shifted to attrition pure and simple. The plan now was to kill more German troops than the British lost. Since there was no way of reliably measuring the casualties on the other side, Haig relied on estimating it through the losses of his own side. On this basis he began to be angered when the army suffered too fewlosses, as when he complained that one division in September had lost under a thousand men. There can be no defence for this kind of disregard of human life.

The end of the war saw the triumph of liberal capitalism, against collapsing autocratic Empires.

- In fact all states involved in the war were deeply destabilised. Even the United States, whose involvement was the most limited, experienced the ‘Red Summer’ of 1919, with unprecedented labour revolts, such as the Seattle general strike, alongside savage repression of socialists and black Americans. Britain saw the beginning of the Irish war of independence, and increasing unrest in India, which marks, in effect, the point at which the Empire began to unravel. Domestically, there was also a wave of radical working-class unrest, particularly in the ‘Red Clydeside’, which culminated in troops being sent into Glasgow to impose martial law.

The war achieved anything worthwhile whatsoever. 

- The war opened up a period of endemic economic dislocation, and outright crisis. In Britain there was a decade of industrial decline and high unemployment even before the Great Depression. In effect, it was only the Second World War which brought the major capitalist powers out of the slump. The First World War saw the point at which capitalism became addicted to war and to a permanent arms economy. The war demonstrated the capacity of capitalism to create industrialised waste, carnage and destruction on a colossal scale. The remembrance of the war is appropriately a time for mourning the horror, the loss and the waste of it all, but it should also provoke a determination to resist our rulers’ insistence on promoting war to further their interests. War can achieve nothing other than to create the conditions for further wars. Popular opinion has, ever since its ending, remembered the First World War as a time of horrendous and futile misery and slaughter, as epitomising political and military leaders’ incompetence and callous disregard for human life. That popular judgement, which has helped turn common opinion against war in general, was correct, and we must not let the war mongers dismiss this instance of the wisdom of ordinary people.

On October 3rd 2010. Germany officially made their last reparations payment that incurred after they signed the treaty of Versailles.Thought provoking reading I would hope you'd agree. I'll leave you to ponder the words of Wilfred Owen, as he speaks out against the great war in the epic poem Dulce Et Decorum Est:

"My friend, you would not tell with such high zest. 
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est Pro patria mori.

BY EM

Media, Nationalism, Patriotism, just look beyond it

Guest post by CP.

Obviously American media is worse than British, but this is a perfect example that proves as soon as people start critically analysing media (particularly corporate) instead of just swallowing their point of view, and instead trust more accurate information from educated people like big Reza here (video below), then the sooner bigotry, stereotyping, racism and other forms of discrimination can be wiped out and we can have empathy and togetherness in a global community. 

All media represents certain interests, especially the corporate media, mainly financial and political, and the narratives and information used supports those interests with the aim of getting society to adopt the same view. This doesn't mean all media is bullshit and you shouldn't watch, read or listen to it, but just consider what information you're getting and why. Politics, media and corporations have a dirty threesome that the internet and free media have exposed, spread the word.

Nationalism and patriotism is the biggest propaganda trick used to control masses of people. Nothing wrong with loving where you're from geographically, such as loving the beauty of Scotland, but socially all it does is create divisions between people, fuelling societies ignorance and indifference to how the world works. Corporations are basically money and power, and money and power have always controlled everything, politics and media is simply the modern way of controlling the masses. Throughout history brute force was always used but that method became obsolete, like the ants versus the grasshoppers, massed unity can't be physically controlled, so we moved to psychological control. All we know of the world comes through media, and media that is married to politics and corporations only promotes a way of thinking that people in power want. They want us to be talking about politics, financial markets, sport, x factor, celebrity gossip. They don't want us knowing about or being interested in the policies and decisions made that truly control how our world operates. E.g TTIP, corporate lobbying, corporate lawsuits. You will never hear about that stuff on mainstream media because if society actually began to care about these things it would lead mass unity again, which can't be controlled. Social divisions are key to controlling masses and media and politics promotes these divisions. See the world as one and have love and good will for everyone equally.

We Must Unite

(Guest post by FE.)

Three years ago, on a warm summers night, a small part of London exploded into chaos. Looting, mugging and arson resulted in a mass deployment of police onto the streets after a young black male was shot. This was to become known as the London riots. Please note, I'm not excusing these actions. Any individual willing to set fire to their neighbourhood needs to visit a psychiatric clinic, but this was the result of class struggle and, most importantly, a fine example of a global crisis. David Cameron addressed the nation: “The whole country has been shocked by the most appalling scenes of people looting, violence, vandalizing and thieving. We will not allow a culture of fear to exist on our streets. It is criminally pure and simple”. (These words would very well suit the behavior of the bankers, politicians and the corrupt capitalist masters over the past decades.) The media had no hesitation in pointing the finger in the direction of the weak and vulnerable, those who took advantage of a situation, but the reality was that this was not just a protest, this was an expression of anger and a statement. A hungry lion awakening after years of neglect, exploitation, struggle and abuse. A voice which was never heard. A minimum six month sentence was handed to looters, some of who had even stolen Argos catalogues. On the same planet, only 3 years later, Bernie Ecclestone (Formula One‘s chief executive) was accused of bribes. He paid £100,000,000 (bribe?) to a German courthouse for his freedom. Lets begin. 

We are well aware capitalism is in a deep crisis. The financial meltdown in 2007 was only the latest stage in a global crisis that capitalism has been trying to overcome for decades. Their strategy now is devaluing the working class by calling for wage/welfare cuts but even they know this is not a solution. The constant pedalling of proud ‘powerful’ speeches from the ruling class continue daily as they notify “our” nation that there is no money for housing construction or jobs because of benefit scroungers and the recession, but trillions are available for trident? Zero-hour contracts are becoming more popular meaning there is no job security and the standard of living is continuously dropping dramatically. They employ corporations such as ATOS on £300 million/year contracts to ‘clamp down on benefit cheats’ but are in fact put in place to boost profits. The objective is simple. Cut down the number of disabled and terminally ill on benefits and get them into work. A regime brought in by Tony Blair’s Labour and continued by the conservatives. Only three weeks ago, a Tory minister in the department for work, Lord Freud, opened his mouth and the following words came out. “Disabled people should work for less”. So, the message being sent is, “live to get shafted, and let us help you in doing so”.  

Politicians who prance around the commons are nothing more than puppets in this global crisis. We hear them pedalling the same cries before elections and illegal imperialist wars (or should i say invasions?). “Your free! You must vote! Your country needs you! We are in this together! Support your troops!”. This is all in their interest. Not yours. We are not all as free as Bernie Ecclestone. They will use phrases such as “this great nation” and will occasionally wave a flags. Flags which are essentially bits of coloured cloth, used first to shrink-wrap people's minds and then used as ceremonial shrouds to bury the dead after war. We must recognize that a real enemy of the working class is nationalism and an enemy of nationalism is the working class fighting for its own interests. If we do not, the bourgeois ruling class will continue to exploit. 

Those responsible for creating the exploiter/exploited relationship have no interest in building a classless society of common ownership, and why would they. They will use everything in their power (everything!) to brainwash the public and make them believe they are just like us. They like to address what they have in common with the public (this is usually an embarrassing affair). They own the means to production in every country and they will always go to war to protect its own property. Workers have no stake in this and anything even remotely approaching a politically conscious working class would see elections suspended. It wouldn't surprise me if capitalism just pulled a Pinochet out of its sleeve and disband the parliament and jailed troublesome MPs if workers ‘got in’.  

The working class are, and will always be victims. This can be seen across the planet today. We live in a system of exploitation and social impoverishment. The “all in it together” propaganda does not hold water. The suffering has been placed upon those who are not responsible and that must be made known. We, as the exploited workers, must stand up, educate and spread a message that a border less classless society of common ownership is possible. We have the knowledge and over 3 billion workers worldwide ready to fight for real freedom. We must unite. 

“The basic law of capitalism is you or i, not you and i” - Karl Liebnecht