OPINION: Why the G8 is bad for all of us

The G8 are meeting at Camp David this weekend. The world's leading industrialised nations supposedly sorting out the economic woes of the world and finding a path to recovery following all the turmoil of recent years.

But they won't.

The G8 is a club. It is a club of capitalists and all they will achieve over the next few days are a few bland and, ultimately, meaningless statements, some nano disagreements to make it look like they explored a range of ideas, and then a plan which will anoint to nothing more than papering over the cracks and then continuing with the same failing policies.

There will be no vision for a better future, because the imbeciles who attend benefit personally from more of the same no matter what hardship it imposes on the rest if society.

The G8 needs to accept that capitalism and consumerism have failed. They fail every few years. They fail more and more often and each time is worse. Each fail is more detrimental to the majority of people but the G8 leaders don't care. They adopt policies that protect themselves from the fallout of their own failures and, in doing so, they divide all societies more and more.

And they not only divide their own societies, they also divide the world further. Sure, each G8 nation makes token contributions to the third world but they won't ever do anything to balance the inequalities of nations. Why would they? It might mean their personal power and wealth would be dissipated.

The G8 fear democracy. In the UK we, supposedly, have 3 major political parties, but, in reality, they are different wings of the same capitalist/consumerist party. They have no interest in making things better for society. All they care about is appeasing the proles so that they don't rise up and overthrow the abhorrent system that keeps them in the lap of luxury.

The Eurozone crisis is a perfect example of the inequality of nations and the evil of the big ones. It shouldn't be seen as Greece's problem, or Spain's, or Italy's. The solution is simply but, to the greedy parahias of the G8 elite, it would make the champagne and caviar in their stomachs to go rancid.

We need to accept that capitalism has no future. It makes a few wealthy whilst shackling the majority of people, and nations, to a yolk of virtual slavery.

All debt needs to be cancelled. After all, money is purely notional. Let's just zero it all.

BUT we can't then just go back to the nonsense of capitalism. A different, fairer international system beefs to be used. It must enshrine equality of all people and it must make sure that no one is living a life of luxury while others starve.

Yes, we need, at the very least, genuine socialism but, better still would be a global communism. Not soviet style communism (that wasn't real communism) but everyone working together for the better, to genuinely improve everyone's lot

Sadly, I accept that the public are too blind and too stupid to act. They will continue to elect clones of the same politicians who will run their nation and the world for their personal benefit.

It is time for a revolution. It is time to throw capitalism on a bonfire of greed. It has no place in a modern world. Capitalism fails. Let it die.

COMMENT: The UK is still a medieval country with modern nick-nacks

Most living in the UK would say that it is a modern nation, with modern politics and freedoms, with a modern world view and with a modern outlook.

I'm one of those who disagree.

I think the UK is still little better than a medieval country with a population that is being conned.

Yes, we don't have an absolute monarchy but the monarch and heir to the throne are given vetoes over new laws. Elected officials bow down to the Royals who have done nothing more to be given their position of privilege than pass through a particular vagina.

We still have umpteen unelected peers in the House of Lords, including umpteen unelected bishops, who oversee what laws are passed. The bishops ensure that the church has a voice way beyond the size of the nation's "faith community". Quite why any superstition is given legal powers is beyond me.

The UK has a large aristocracy, headed by the Royal Family, for whose benefit society is organised. "The Establishment" isn't just a silly Hale and Pace joke but a real strata of society who look down on the rest of us while they reap the benefits of passing through various birth canals or licking up to the right people.

Don't be fooled by our democracy - it is tokenism. It is a fraud. It is electing different flavours of the same crisps.

And then there's the UK's foreign policy. Surely it's to just me that sees recent involvements in Afghanistan, Iraq and, in particular, Libya as nothing more then modern day Crusades - spreading "our" way of life because "we" know best - oh, and, of course, oil!

Commentators and newspapers often look at other nations and refer to them as "third world" or "medieval" in the way things are organised - the UK is hardly different. Yes, in the UK we have a wealth and have developed in many ways - the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution enabled this, plus the evils of the Empire which, thankfully, has now ended - but this is nothing more than a generous dose of blusher on the bad skin of our society.

The UK needs fundamental change: we need a genuinely democratic system of government; we need to remove the powers of the Royal family (and their numerous hangers on and yes men) completely; we need to stop the insanity of religion from imposing it's nonsense to the rest of use; and we need to have a more sensible, caring and grown-up world view.

The UK is ready for change. Stop being conned!

OPINION: Are we heading for a UK revolution?

As Bob Dylan sang: The times they are a'changing!

 Most democracies evolve, often very slowly, over hundreds of years. In the UK there are signs that the need and desire for change is accelerating.

1. Earlier this year, we had a referendum about a new voting system (it failed but it was only the second referendum in the history of the UK).

2. Today, MPs will debate calls for another referendum, this time about membership of the EU, brought about because 100,000 people signed an e-petition.

3. For 10 days protestors have been camped outside St. Paul's Cathedral in the City of London making their voice heard on issues including corporate greed, banking dishonesty and societal inequalities.

These are just three examples of the political balance being edged slightly away from its historical roots.

There's always been protests and marches but the past decade has seen a million or more on the streets of London to oppose the war in Iraq - it could be argued that, ultimately, this lead to Tony Blair's downfall. Other huge marches have happened about issues such as fox hunting.

And then there were the riots of summer 2011; a 5-day orgy of anarchy in some areas, the police ineffectual against seemingly organised gangs whose behaviour "inspired" a swathe of lawlessness.

Is this all just a blip - the proles rattling the cage of those who truly rule - or is this something more significant?

In the UK we were the first major nation to have a revolution. More than a century before the French or Americans ditched their monarchy we had the English Civil War and over a decade as a republic. Sadly, it was a false dawn and we had the Restoration which returned everything to its previous status and with bells on!

This isn't just an anti-monarchy rant. They are just the figurehead that highlights the inequalities in society. There is a wider "elite" that keeps power and privilege in their grubby hands whilst keeping the rest of us very much in our place.

It's nearly 100 years since the Russians got rid of the Czars but it would be wrong to suggest their troubled century has given everyone their fair share.

The UK government (and opposition) makes great efforts to highlight our great "democracy" - but it's a token democracy with whip-controlled MPs doing exactly what their pay-masters tell them (most of the time!).

Next year will see both the Olympic Games come to London and the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. The government will be keen to make the Olympics the "people's games" but
they will have a bigger problem celebrating Liz Windsor's jubilee while there are families struggling to put food on their kids' plates and keep their houses warm.

Maybe #OccupyLSX should have an annexe set up outside Buck House, or any of the other castles and homes we, as a nation, loan to our monarch for free?

Maybe we need marches in every city around the country demanding a new Britain with a new constitution, a new bill of rights and an end to the corruption and privilege that has been the roadblock preventing the UK from being a truly civilised and democratic nation.

The problem is the majority of the population are too apathetic - or is that just plain pathetic.

The time has come for a new start. 2012 could be that be start - the tipping point when the UK actually becomes a democracy.

Let's stop cow-towing to the Windsors and their cronies.

Let's stop putting up with a parliamentary democracy that isn't very democratic.

Let's stop accepting the inequalities in society and give everyone the equality of opportunbity they deserve and should be their right at birth.

We need a new beginning - a nation of rights AND responsibilities, where anyone COULD be Head of State, where everyone can earn a good living for themselves and their family and where nobody goes cold or hungry.

Let's stop letting those in power manipulate the rest of us for their benefit and let's take control.

Vive la Revolution!