British democracy has lost its meaning. The political and economic system has come to serve the interests of a tiny elite, vastly wealthier than the run of the population, operating through corporate control. The state itself exists to serve the interests of these corporations, guided by a political class largely devoid of ideological belief and preoccupied with building their own careers and securing their own finances.
A bloated state sector is abused and mikled by a new class of massively overpaid public secotr managers in every area of public provision – university, school and hospital administration, all executive branches of local government, housing associations and other arms length bodies. All provide high six figure salaries to those at the top of a bloated bureaucratic establishment. The “left”, insofar as it exists, represents only these state sector vested interests.
These people decide where the cuts fall, and they will not fall where they should – on them. They will fall largely on the services ordinary people need.
Meanwhile we are not all in this together. The Vodafone saga only lifts the lid for the merest peek at the way the corporate sector avoids paying its share, hiding behind Luxembourg or Cayman tax loopholes and conflicts between international jurisdictions – with which our well provided politicians are very happy. The often excellent Sunny Hundal provides a calm analysis of the Vodafone case here:
Let me tell you something else about Vodafone. Vodafone took over Ghana Telecom three years ago. They paid an astonishingly low price for it – 1.2 billion dollars, which is less than the value of just the real estate GT owned. The value of the business was much higher than that, and there was a substantively higher opening bid from France Telecom.
The extraordinary thing was the enormous pressure which the British government put on Ghana to sell this valuable asset to Vodafone so cheaply. High Commissioner Nick Westcott and Deputy High Commissioner Menna Rawlings were both actively involved, with FCO minister Lord Malloch Brown pressurising President Kuffour directly, with all the weight of DFID’s substantial annual subvention to Ghana behind him.
What is the point of DFID giving taxpayer money to Ghana if we are costing the country money through participating in the commercial rape of its national assets?
And why exactly was it a major British interest that Vodafone – whose Board meets in Germany and which pays its meagre taxes in Luxembourg – should get Ghana Telecom, as opposed to France Telecom or another company? Was privatisation at this time the best thing for Ghana at all?
This Vodafone episode offers another little glimpse into the way that corporations like Vodafone twist politicians like Mark Malloch Brown around their little fingers. It mioght be interesting to look at his consultancies and commercial interests now he is out of office.
BAE is of course the example of this par excellence. Massive corruption and paying of bribes in Saudi Arabia, Tanzania end elsewhere, but prosecution was halted by Tony Blair “In the National Interest”. BAE of course was funnelling money straight into New Labour bagmen’s pockets, as well as offering positions to senior civil servants through the revolving door. Doubtless they are now doing the same for the Tories – perhaps even some Lib Dems.
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2009/01/jack_straws_cor.html
It is therefore unsurprising the BAE were able to write themselves contracts for aircraft carriers which were impossible to cancel and that their New Labour acolytes were prepared to sign such contracts. It is, nonetheless, disgusting. Just as it is disgusting that there is no attempt whatever by the coaliton to query or remedy the situation. There is no contract in the UK which cannot be cancelled by primary legislation.
Meanwhile, bankers’ bonus season is upon us again and these facilitators of trade and manufacture are again set to award themselves tens of billions of pounds to swell the already huge bank accounts of a select few, whose lifestyle and continued employment is being subsidised by every single person in the UK with 8% of their income. This was because the system which rewards those bankers so vastly is fundamentally unsound and largely unnecessary. Money unlinked to trade or manufacture cannot create infinite value; that should have been known since the South Sea Bubble.
Yet even this most extreme example of government being used to serve the interests of the wealthy and powerful at the expense of everyone else, has not been enough to stir any substantial response from a stupoured, x-factored population, dreaming only of easy routes to personal riches, which they have a chance in a million of achieving.
Conventional politics appears to have become irretrievably part pf the malaise rather than offering any hope for a cure. But political activity outwith the mainstream is stifled by a bought media.
I see no hope.
Watch and weep:
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/britains-trillion-pound-horror-story/4od#3139408
There are agents provocateur working within protest organisations/ bodies. They are often the ones who urge violence. I also agree with Ruth about the ‘incompetance’ smokescreen wrt security organisations. I think it is a possibility that their agents may have stimulated the violence, and that the police may have allowed it to happen, very deliberately.
Having said that, I think there have been lots of peaceful demos against the Govt’s policies hardly reported in the media. The media too must share responsibility – they tend to report demos only when violence occurs; this sensationalism not journalism; but it means that people know that to get attention, they need to be violent.
Also, 1 million marched peacefully against the Iraq invasion, I suspect partly deluded (understandably; I realise not everyone who joined was so deluded, but it was a cultural factor) by pictures of the Colour Revolutions into believing that such demos by themselves can achieve results. Result? Complete failure and – and this is crucial – demoralisation.
Poll Tax, late 1980s: Violent demos in London. Result: Thatcher fell (it was the beginning of the end for her).
However, in the Miners’ Strike, 1984-85: violence was committed by the state (Army-in-disguise and Police) mainly, deliberately attacking and provoking the miners. But as we know, the miners failed for other reasons.
People draw conclusions wrt violent disorder. But the strategic context is crucial.
anno, all power to your pen – and your paint-tins!! The fire extinguisher alleged incident will now become the focus, not the trillion dollar crimes of the Govt/ ruling elite.
Ruth, Anno and Suhayl – Right on.
Two or three other things of interest.
…We were told that the NHS was ‘ring fenced’ yet cuts are taking place and 25,000 jobs are to go. Therefore the pressure on the remaining staff to carry the workload will be enormous and stressful. NHS Surrey have to find ‘savings’ of £125m and will introduce a system of Fast Steady Stop. Amazing is’nt it. ‘The NHS is safe is our hands’ or some such lie – Cameron.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-surrey-11737318
…I read that Sir Malcolm Rifkind is the new chairman of the Intelligence Committee
…Laissez nous faire @7.54am
Trillion pound horror story – a fact free polemic/tripe and onions. See the thread on medialens beginning http://members5.boardhost.com/medialens/msg/1289516327.html
@Ruth at November 12, 2010 8:24 PM
My thoughts precisely. I also note the scare word ‘anarchist’ being thrown around. All the anarchists I know are pacifist pussycats. Perhaps ‘anarchist’ is being positioned to become the domestic version of ‘al qaeda’ – team terror playing at home. Or will they be called ‘insurgents’? It’s all increasingly deja vu: tinyurl.com/3568zy4
“My thoughts precisely. I also note the scare word ‘anarchist’ being thrown around. All the anarchists I know are pacifist pussycats. Perhaps ‘anarchist’ is being positioned to become the domestic version of ‘al qaeda’ – team terror playing at home.”
I think you’re about one hundred years too late for that. Ever read “The Secret Agent” by Joseph Conrad? Or remember the assassinations of President McKinley, Alexander II, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, King Umberto (I think?). The Anarchist concept of “Propaganda of the deed” was often widely interpreted by many anarchists to mean violence against society in order to destroy governments. I suppose in some ways it has a parallel with the concept of “jihad” in that many who self-identify as believers have wildly conflicting interpretations from peaceful to terrorist violence.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propaganda_of_the_deed
It has long been considered that “anarchism” means complete disorder and chaos even though the original meaning was of a unicorn-and-rainbow-society-without-government.
It doesn’t help, of course, that some self-styled anarchists positively revelled in chaos, disorder and violence:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bash-Rich-True-Confessions-Anarchist/dp/0954417771
I’ve not read the whole book but the excerpts I did read were hilariously written celebrations of violence. Completely irresponsible, of course, but very funny.
Here’s a few excerpts:
“The details of all the events in this book are a true and accurate record to the best of the the [sic] author’s recollection. However, in order to protect the guilty, some names have been changed. Also, we have substituted names to protect the identity of individuals where they could be charged with acts of riot, conspiracy and public order offences resulting from their attempt to overthrow the state or from having a good old ruck with the law. In particular, when Class War caused damage to property through riot we have substituted the names of those responsible for the majority of the trashing and violence…”
“We’re part of a mob charging down Fenchurch Street with black flags flying like a Makhnovist column ?” unfortunately, unlike the Makhnovists, we ain’t got any weapons. There’s not many weapons that come to hand in the city, and the cops have taken care to remove street furniture and builder’s rubble. But look! I kid you not ?” a … lorry load of bricks hones into view. A swarm of anarcho-locusts strip it bare within minutes, windows caving in like dominoes along the street. There’s some … huge bank windows about 50 foot high, but some proletarian typists are sitting behind them, blissfully ignorant that they’re about to be guillotined by huge shards of glass. Charlie does his Marcel Marceau bit, bangs in window to get typists’ attention, points to brick in his hand, steps back and mimes throwing brick through window. Typists scarper sharpish. Charlie’s brick arcs its mime through the window. A … huge whoop at such ethical brick-throwing and we’re off.”
“We are now surrounded by the cops outside the Red Lion pub but the toffs are still too scared to cross the bridge. We launch into a few choruses of The Rich, The Rich, We Gotta Get Rid of the Rich and assorted battle cries of ‘rich scum.’ The bridge is blocked by cops and their tow-away vehicles. The cops pick me out and threaten to arrest anyone who doesn’t move on. We’ve got to break out of here before we get corralled in. We filter away in twos and threes to resume our guerrilla marauding around Henley. A BMW is turned over to cheers, the Tory Club window goes in, fists start to fly, and some hoorays decide to sunbathe fully clothed in the streets. First celebrity victim ?” a straw boatered Rick Wakeman is knocked out cold and hospitalised! Bricks and bottles fly over back lanes into the gardens of the rich mansions as startled sunbathers flee inside. Now a Mercedes has gone over, all its windows caved in. Posh cars are booted as their drivers try to speed pass us, cops vans sirens blazing are racing around trying to keep up with the action. A few vicious little rucks break out with the steroid-rich rowing crews… ..”
http://hurryupharry.org/2010/04/10/class-war-remembered/
Oh look!
http://ianbone.wordpress.com/2010/11/10/tory-hq-smashed-up-fucking-brilliant/
Oh look!
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Goldman/
Yes, Vronsky. Very interesting.
How’s the weather in Osaka today?
http://angrysoba.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html
A brave and principled woman Vronsky.
http://sunsite.berkeley.edu/Goldman/
Ruth, I agree with your sentiments over agent provocateurs. It is unlikely that the intelligence was not available, unliukely that they did not know of 50.000 students and unlikely that they thought 250 coppers were sufficient.
It si also unlikely that any of these few officers saw the student loosing grip on the fire extinguisher and accidentally dropping it to the ground, thankfully missing all and sundry.
It could have killed on of his fellow students or passers by. The specualtions that it could have hit a policeman are far fetched as there were only a few on duty that day.
If anyyone keeping contact with NUS students or branches, please, forward my regards, please suggest that they discuss their next efforts to be a decentralised demonstration, rather than making it very easy for the police.
If we all join in in our respective regional localities, we can maker an impact. Ideally with suggestions on how to cut management and tiers of councils, who needs the same amount of councillors and officers for lesser services?
Do councils nationally still serve subsidised food to staff?
Can district councils task be taken over by county councils? Cuts should not be heaped on the tax payer, the wretched goo’ed up system needs reforming, but it won’t happen, so we have to make em’ sit up and listen, our way.
“How’s the weather in Osaka today?”
It was a bit cloudy and a little chilly but no rain.
How’s the weather with you?
“Ruth, I agree with your sentiments over agent provocateurs. It is unlikely that the intelligence was not available, unliukely that they did not know of 50.000 students and unlikely that they thought 250 coppers were sufficient.”
?
I don’t think that any “agent provocateurs” were necessary. Do you? It looks like there were plenty of people there who were up for smashing in a few windows. It’s a bit daft to think they were all on the government payroll.
Mind you, that could explain why there weren’t many filf there. Maybe they were understaffed because so many of them were on agent provocateur duty.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUzKh5bX0tg&feature=related
Just checking! Much the same here but quite mild.
This is a good letter. The writer has swallowed a dictionary but Clegg as a ‘wolf-eyed replicant’ is marvellous.
http://chinamieville.net/post/1361955242/letter-to-a-progressive-liberal-democrat
Is capitalism pushing us all towards the end of times? Are we being herede into oblivion and amageddon?
This professor seems to think so.
http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/rizkhan/2010/11/201011111191189923.html
Angrysoba A propos of nothing your weather report doesn’t match this. I call these temperatures mild.
http://www.weather-forecast.com/locations/Osaka/forecasts/latest
“I call these temperatures mild.”
And so does your weather report.
I call those temperatures chilly compared to this:
http://tinyurl.com/3xzwdhe
“Is capitalism pushing us all towards the end of times? Are we being herede into oblivion and amageddon?
This professor seems to think so.”
Careful, you might out Fear-peddle the Fear-mongering MSM.
On my God! You 911 Truthers are finally figuring out our deception!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qYQq0QnZnU
Did anyone watch the dreadful Downton Abbey series, class ridden and harking back in time?
This is a good take on it. I like Cable as the butler.
http://www.private-eye.co.uk/pictures/covers/full/1275_big.jpg
Is it because he’s foreign, or renown, or should we just bent over and stick our heads into that hole, no hear no see, no nthin’…
Except, hang on, whats that long shaft up our backsides….
Angry, Zizek, if you have listened to the interview with Riz Khan, is raising the eceptre of fatalism at the heart of our capitalist system.
he raises the conundrum that, although recognsing all the signs of global warming, we are hopelessly unable and feeble to deal with it, in utter denial.
Democracy and capitalism, always mentioned as the panacea of western systems, are not mutually exclusive to each other, indeed, they are moving away from each other the more globalisation takes hold.
We accept others in the world, undemocratic countries, with tolerance, but is it not insecurity and the fact that we do not want others to shine a light on our own intolerances, that makes us accept these norms?
His points are valid and he is open to debate, why don’t you angry, it might widen your readership.
No, it doesn’t require agents provocateur to be at work, but there is no question that the history of protest movements – even small, local ones about rubbish-tips, etc. – demonstrates that not only do the various agencies of the state almost obsessively and sometimes comprehensively (it helps to justify their budgets and in essence work generates work) infiltrate such groups, such agents often are involved.
In the end, in a farcical situation, the spies end-up reporting largely on the activities of other spies, because organisations end-up almost being run by agents of the state and because sometimes these agents are being run by different organs of the state (Special Branch, MI5, the nuclear industry, whatever) and/ or work in isolation or as part of small cells (just like terrorist groups) and are kept in ignorance about any other infiltrators.
The ‘secret’, then, is to assume infiltration and to continue, regardless (but cleverly) and to operate on the assumption that everything is known and that everything will be open and known to all. And also to be very wary indeed of anyone, esp, if they have risen rapidly to a senior position, who seems consistently to be exorting people to violence.
The fact is, in most demonstrations, most often violence comes from the representatives of the state (in or out of uniform) and is planned.
“Is it because he’s foreign, or renown, or should we just bent over and stick our heads into that hole, no hear no see, no nthin’…”
No, why on Earth would you think I think that?
It’s because when I read, “Is capitalism pushing us all towards the end of times? Are we being herede into oblivion and amageddon?”
I tend to think, “no”. And when I walk past someone with a sandwich-board that reads “The End of the World is Nigh!” I don’t start panicking, copulating in the streets and scaring the horses.
Sensationalism is a good way of selling books and I doubt Zizek would sell so many if he had called his book “A Few Rather Troublesome Developments I See on the Horizon” and after a lifetime of postmodern scribblings on Lacan and Derrida and whoever else I expect he could write a whole book on how to write unpickupable books so he probably needs a kick-back from the anti-market market which is, as you know, quite marketable in these here end of days.
Suhayl,
I am not saying infiltration doesn’t happen. It certainly does and those who infiltrate groups tend to commit plenty of violence. I know.
But anyone with eyes to see knows that that building wasn’t being smashed up purely by undercover cops and MI5. There were far too many of them for that. And it is quite clear that there was plenty of support for their actions.
It would of course be ironic, and perhaps make a good novel or film, if the government was overthrown by an opposition made up entirely of agent provocateurs and infiltrators put there by the government who become wildly popular with the public they hoped to suppress and molify with pantomimes of street violence.
“perhaps make a good novel”
‘The Man Who Was Thursday, a Nightmare’ (G K Chesterton)
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1695
Of course, it may well have been wholly ‘genuine’ (if that’s the right word), ‘authentic’. But it only takes one agent to trigger a riot (good title for a memoir!).
Another good book, btw, is Stuart Christie’s ‘Granny Made Me an Anarchist’.
Of course, ‘the anarchists are coming’ has been a scare tactic used by UK authorities for a century or more.
“‘The Man Who Was Thursday, a Nightmare’ (G K Chesterton)”
Aha! It’s all been done before, it seems.
In fact, I seem to remember that the book is often spoken of in the same breath as “The Secret Agent”. I haven’t read Chesterton’s book, though.