This is a superb example of CultureJamming! Counter-militarism graffiti has been found on and around Glasgow monuments which celebrate British colonialism and empire. The graffiti which appeared last week is an image of a red remembrance poppy and the words ‘Remember: Militarism is Murder, Colonialism is Theft’. The counter-militarism slogan can be seen at the 1888 ‘Doulton Fountain‘ in Glasgow Green […]
It is indeed peculiar that Trump can be elected President on 47.4% of the popular vote. But not nearly as peculiar as that the Conservatives can have untrammelled power in the UK on 36.9% of the popular vote. Both electoral systems need reform, but the UK’s is absolutely indefensible. There is a tiny blogroll down the bottom right hand margin […]
Joe Glenton, who, as a soldier, was jailed for refusing a second tour of Afghanistan, is the author of Soldier Box and a member of Veterans For Peace UK. The following piece was written in May 2016 as a commentary on the Invictus Games, but we feel it’s particularly resonant on this, Armistice Day: Veterans and soldiers have no champion […]
It is always interesting to observe if any corporate media outlets report information like this UN statement: The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, has said that he is “appalled and shocked” by the high number of rockets indiscriminately launched by armed opposition groups on civilian suburbs of Syria’s western Aleppo in the past 48 hours. “Those […]
12. The choice is bullets or ballots, so it’s a no-brainer. The Department of Homeland Security has just used the authority that you delegated to the government when you voted, to purchase 450 million rounds of hollow-point ammunition that cannot be used in combat by law and therefore can only be used against US citizens. Your ballots authorized those bullets. There is a third option: not voting, not fighting, but simply withholding our consent. That has the result of delegitimizing a government that doesn’t represent us and demonstrating that it does not have the consent of the governed. It is a legal, nonviolent, effective option called noncompliance. Noncompliance can take other forms, such as not paying taxes or creating alternative systems, but these cannot delegitimize a government. Since governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed,” withholding our consent is the only way to nonviolently delegitimize a government that fails to represent us.
Wayne Sharrocks served in the British Army and is a member of Veterans For Peace UK. http://www.waynesharrocks.com/ I joined the Army at 17 years old and acquired 7 year’s experience. During those 7 years I served in The Rifles and The Special Forces Support Group (SFSG) where I was deployed in front line operations in Afghanistan (twice), where I was shot […]
Awkward facts that erode the ‘benign humanitarian’ self-image of the West are routinely side-lined or buried by the corporate media. Consider, for example, the severe impact of sanctions imposed on Syria by the United States and the European Union. An internal United Nations assessment, revealed on September 28 by Rania Khalek in The Intercept, makes clear that the sanctions are […]
A Guardian piece last month described: ‘How September 11 revealed the real Hillary Clinton.’ While even supporters recognise that Clinton’s campaign has been notably cold, passionless and bereft of conviction, ‘The Clinton who emerges from the WNYC [New York Public Radio] tapes is passionate, raw and unrestrained.’ The Guardian quotes sources who reveal how Clinton ‘showed herself to be a […]
Not since the eve of the U.S. invasion of Iraq has Official Washington’s political/punditry class clamored more single-mindedly – and openly – for the U.S. government to commit a gross violation of international law, now urging a major military assault on the government of Syria while also escalating tensions with nuclear-armed Russia. And, like the frenzied war fever of 2002-2003, […]
National newspapers were ‘unimpressed by Jeremy Corbyn’s victory’ in the Labour leadership election, Roy Greenslade noted in the Guardian, surprising no-one. Corbyn secured almost 62% of the 506,000 votes cast, up from the 59% share he won in 2015, ‘with virtually no press backing whatsoever’. In reality, of course, Corbyn did not just lack press backing. He won in the […]
“The role of the corporate media is to protect, promote and legitimize the destructive and amoral aims of profit-seeking private power. Any journalist or columnist working within that system is actively aiding the corporate media achieve this goal. These gatekeepers, especially those regarded as liberal, are therefore culpable in the illegal wars and rapacious, planet-destroying actions of the worst corporations.” […]
Volunteers of the White Helmets civil defense organization have a double life: they are ‘volunteers’ by day and terrorists by night. Photos, published online, reveal ‘the second life’ of volunteers of the White Helmets civil defense organization that operates throughout the Syrian territory, controlled by the ‘moderate’ opposition. According to the photos, the volunteers spend one part of their lives, […]
