07.10.10 - Big business

Cons of..... 

Food shopping with big businesses:

Huge amounts of rubbish created from waste packaging. Think about all the packaging, plastic and other synthetic stuff that ends up coming out of our (and businesses) bins and being buried, inevitably causing big problems for the environment somewhere down the line. 

Ok, here's an effective way to think about it: think about how nasty your bin is before it gets collected; the smells, the juices, the chemicals etc.... That goes in to the ground....... On which, one day, our relatives might have to live, to suffer the consequences of poisoned drinking water, unstable earth that could cause a building to collapse, seeping hazardous gases and mutant rats that grow to the size of double decker buses. Plus, it is a nuisance for us to have to empty the bin as frequently as we do, especially when it's cold and raining outside and you've not got any shoes on. There's also the additional risks of getting bin juice on your trousers - probably the worst. 

check this out:

Putting a tiny bit more effort into sourcing your food can prevent all of these nasty things.

Here's the alternatives and some benefits:

Food shopping at independent places:

- It is a different and altogether much more fulfilling experience than the monotonous drudgery of walking up and down the lifeless isles  of the corporate product chambers, where nobody wants to be, where every employee hates their job and their employer and everybody hates everybody else, simply because everybody hates the shop their forced to go and the whole process their forced to endure; when you're there, it's only natural to turn to your product slave subordinate counterpart and lash out viscously in a fit of trolly rage.

          I digress; this doesn't occur in your local, friendly green grocers or marketplace. People are generally sincerely polite, the products are usually of a higher quality, you may well learn something about a different culture, have a conversation, improve a recipe, try a completely new product that you'd never even considered using before, and the environments are much more mentally stimulating and interesting - envision a bustling saturday morning market. 

          So, to summarise, socially speaking, NOT shopping with huge corporations is a much more healthy and enjoyable social experience.

- Food is usually grown locally, supporting small growing businesses and individuals, as opposed to giant, community crushing corporations and their big wig, fat salaried executives, who get paid more to handle money - which you can't eat.

- Buying food from independent retailers helps provide for the families or people running the organisation, which is a great service provided enabling power and independence to be kept within communities.  

-

Building for our future..

Well.... it has been predicted, discussed, speculated upon, and in some cases contested to be having any significant detrimental impact; but now, if you can keep your mind withdrawn from the nonsense of infidelity scandals and election hysteria, it's very difficult to ignore that accumitively the effects of the recession have been pretty aweful so far. I'm not entirely sure in detail on how the rest of the world stands, but even for the likes of those of us not fully engaged in politics, it is absolutely clear that people are beginning to suffer. I've had conversations with people at the Job Centre; they are becoming demoralised at the lack of work available to them, desperate at the farce of temporary and part time contracts that barely cover the costs of travel and basic living, and fed up with living a life where you're made to feel useless because of the uselessness and partiality of our economic and political systems.

Some more job losses for the mix: the Corus steelworks plant in Teesside being closed will see that 1600 people loose their jobs, as well as British Airways waving goodbye to 2000 cabin crew and introducing pay cuts in their place. I'm sure there's probably more going on too, and as it stands there is currently more unemployed than there has been since Labour got into power, and that statistic is worsening weekly.

Now, the way I see it, things are going to continue in this fashion of swift economic decomposition, financial tension for the vast majority, and systemic suffering for the poor majority as a consequence of this. If this is the case, we collectively need to start considering a new game plan, and instigate it with immediate effect. Even if it's not that case, let's just do it anyway; capitalism is a viscious beast that needs to be neutralised and locked away forever!!!

Ahem..........

There's recently been a big push nationally to boost Union activity and encourage people to join up and stand up where ever necessary to demand their rights, and this is undoubtedly something that needs to continue and build momentum as economic conditions deteriorate, but I feel that as important as these activities are, there is more that needs to be done.

As companies continue to strive for more and more profit, and more people loose their jobs because of this, with a limitted number of jobs available to people, and the benefit system straining as more people become jobless, we are undoubtedly going to have to look elsewhere for provisions and security. This is where real social networks need to come in, and community building is something that is going to have to become a part of the day to day realities of the near future. As much as speaking to new people, working with strangers and co-operating productively is a terrifying prospect for most of us, these are just things are we're going to have to get used to.

There needs to be a concrete network of support in every city available for people to depend on, and a way in which people can find out about and experience alternative ways of living; because the way things are going - there is no alternative. If there's no jobs there's no work, if there's no conventional work there's no money, if there's cuts to the benefit system people need to get by on less. Most people don't realise that all you need to live and be content is food, water, shelter, friends / a community, routine and activity ( plus culture and creativity for the ultimate balance). So for those of us that are able to, these are some things we should all be looking into being able to provide for one another - the resources are out there, and we have the people; now it's time to prioritise those of us that are suffering RIGHT NOW and work together in EVERY capacity we can to protect those made to suffer by the greed and ignorance of the ruling classes and the crippling self riteousness of social and political 'activists'.

Depending on the Nanny State, Corporations and politics as we know it is not good enough.

[iLL] Citizens Advice: iLL Citizen - Cycle lyrics - Get ORGANISED!!

Jed:           When shit's messed up
Guy:          the best thing is to organise,
Gra:           if you don't try
Jed:          then you might just fall behind,
Guy:          with no direction,
Gra:          then you've got no agenda,
Jed:          these are the reasons,
Jed & Guy: we need to remember

Gra:          When shit's messed up
Jed:          the best thing is to organise,
Guy:          if you don't try
Gra:           then you might just fall behind,
Jed:             with no direction,
Guy:          then you've got no agenda,
Gra:           these are the reasons,
Jed & Guy: we need to remember

(allergy)

 

so when I get upon a track, one third of that, it breaks my back, the journey to the stage from the rap,

it takes alot of pulling weight and organized chat, in the face of a flakey world that talks crap,

bring it on now ill take it,...you can scribble on my straight line but im still gonna make it,

in an orderly fashion, nothing will ever happen around you unless you rub shoulders with passion,

 

let me translate, a studio sess with no regreting, now my plans set in, ... motion my toes tapping,

Suppose that is a side effect im organic, my words painting a picture of people as they plan it,

 

(grace)

from the
pressures of lifetime there's no hidin,
points coming at you straight as the crow flying,
if you're in a mess then i bet you wont like it, you
need organisation, so go try it, you

don't need to be a genius or a psychic, to
find fire burns best, when you ignite it,
    so get a spark flying in your mind, find it
and write it down quick time, we're in a crisis,

 

you need to fix up and stop being fine with the
state of affairs that's not really righteous,
      how'd you get to that place in your life, where you're
waiting to die and you don't really mind it, ya

blind with the inner politics and the fighting,
    the motivationless egos are frightening,
why have you not quite grown sick n tired of 

retiring you mind of your vital assignments

(canB)

 

adapt to my habitat

analyse management

if i aint satisfied i meet with my cabinet

stand for the matter keep my fam and my plans tight

raise my head to giraffe height

scan the horizon

believe your eyes I double L arriving the grand uprising

we strategise, formulate,

file and coordinate

organising forces to augment, orchestrate

change in our own age

homemade movements or global cause it goes both ways

on a world stage

or on a local basis maintaining chaos means no change

manaman can b battleplan

till the day the average man

overthrow the capitan

what we teach longer reach than orangutan

sure to make the cause snowball like an avalanche

6,000,000 plus another 900! Workers hit with a Bosch!!!

Somehow, through the grapevine, we hear the news that economies are beginning to recover from the recession. Nobody knows how, but it's happening, we're on the ascent! All of a sudden, to people across the world, what is happening is becoming abundantly clear: the rich are getting richer with healthy salaries being supplemented by yummy bonuses refined from the souls of their impoverished minions; and the poor get even poorer, suffering the effects of companies "tightening their belts" and draining the lifeblood from the lower halves of their organisations.

Cuts to benefits, services and pensions for employees can be felt nationwide, cuts in funding for education, the social system, public transport are being implimented by central and local governments alike, and redundancies are hitting employees nationally and internationally. The kick in the face about this whole arrangement is that the people that ACTUALLY run the country i.e. clean the toilets, make the toasters, collect the revenue, provide the services - are being made jobless and made to suffer, while the executives and fat cats continue completely unaffected in salaries and privileges, for doing an extremely bad job. Is this really fair?

What is completely MAD about this is people thinking that this is just what happens; that being messed about by 'authority' is something that we can't change and something that happens for the benefit of us all. WRONG! They make it sound reasonable - but it's not. They make it sound like it's for the good of everyone and the country and the economy - but it's not. They make out like you will be ok - but chances are that you wont. People are loosing their jobs and being made to suffer because we think it's for the benefit of us all - well it isn't.

The answer is simple: We are equal, and should not be made to suffer for the sake of the bosses incompetence, and we should no longer fuel a system that is driven by inequality. This system survives because people do not object and realise their worth; so realise it! We must stand with our colleagues, unite with our unions, follow the movements of the fight for jobs nationally and internationally, become part of the fight, demand our rights, demand others demand their rights, forward an e-mail, attend a conference, hold a conference and do whatever we can to work with one another to make sure we are all treated fairly and can live, breath, eat, sleep and think in comfort as our entitlement as living beings.

The situation with Bosch should hopefully see a huge mobilisation of people demanding their rights be met. The upcoming "Right To Work" Conference being held in Manchester on the 30th of January should help inspire that action, and inspire similar actions across the nation. It is down to us all as the driving force of civilisation to realise this, and demand due compensation for our commitments.

Lessons in debt for 5 year olds

Kids are soon to be given 'financial education' that will commense as early in a child's life as 5. Now this seems wrong to me. The idea that the concepts of the money system - like debt - will be engrained in a child's consciousness from such an early age is really worrying to me. 

I think it will be equipping children with a mental framework for the unfortunate route of  economic slavery before they've even had a chance to learn that there are alternatives available to life on credit. The ever increasingly linear nature of education, and the ruthlessness of advertising combined is already a toxic mix. These things make it very difficult for young people to explore the diversities of society in lifestyle and financial freedoms, and ensure that there is not a fair representation of all of the available options to people as they begin to decide what it is they want from life, and what it is they want to do with theirs. Democracy you say??

Presumably this a move from the government, or whoever controls syllabus in schools, to ensure that there will be as many future investors in the wealth of the economy as possible, regardless of any dreams, hopes or aspirations that young people may have that don't involve money; but those things aren't a priority when there's profit in the equasion, ay?