£125 Lunch Or A Food Bank!

       My fair city of Glasgow was once a city of skilled industrial workers, who built ships, locomotives, and other products of heavy industry, it had miners and steel workers. Now it is a city of low wage workers in the service industries, who exist on on part-time or zero hours contracts, or "self-employed" cyclist scratching out a living delivering bits and pieces. Our city has been turned into a playpen for tourist, a city of shopping malls, cafés, restaurants, hotels and expensive "events", a place for those with too much money and not enough common sense. The city's latest plaything for the rich is the idiotic eating experience of "The Event in the Sky".  George Square, which was once a green and pleasant square in the city centre with trees and grass, in good weather it would be covered by people sitting around, mums with their kids, or people having lunch on the grass, now it is a tarmac rentable space for the corporate juggernaut. The latest one of these events is the afore mentioned "Event in the Sky", they have dumped an large industrial crane on the square and attached to it is what looks like one of those large contraptions you see at some fairgrounds, where you get swung and twirled around in, for a couple of pounds. Only this one has seats around its outer edge an island in the middle where chefs will serve you food. So for £50 you can sit there and be lifted to approximately 60 feet or so and enjoy your breakfast. Lunch comes in at £125, I have no idea what the idiots pay for an al a carte dinner floating above the exhaust fumes of the city centre. This event attracted some many idiots that its stay was prolonged for a few days more than planned. 

        This is a glaring example of the inequality endemic in our city, and others across the planet. Glasgow is a city with areas of high deprivation, low life expectancy, child poverty and food banks, but we have brainless idiots happy to pay £125 for lunch swinging above the city centre, on the end of a crane. This is the shape of the world that this economic system of capitalism has built, frivolous and fancy expensive experiences on which the rich can spend their ill gotten gains, while the ordinary citizens struggle from day to day to scratch out a meagre living at best. Of course they can only live this phoney life of excess with our complicity, despite the fact that we create all that wealth, we serve the rich exploiters for a few crumbs off their table. We built that crane and that swinging basket, we grew their food and delivered it to them, and then went home to poverty and deprivation, what are we thinking of??

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Solidarity Is Our Weapon.

       I'm a bit late with this one, probably due to my stupidity of getting stuck in hospital. However, late, but still worth a viewing.

     WE should also bear in mind that the parasites that plant there arses on the plush seats at the Westminster Houses of Hypocrisy and Corruption, those architects of austerity, workfare, benefit cuts and this attack on the poor and vulnerable, want to spend a minimum of £5.7 billion on having their private club refurbished. £5.7 billion to modernise that edifice to British establishment corruption. No shortage of money there, no long drawn out arguing about this, just a matter of selecting a timetable. Can you come up with a better way to spend £5.7 billion?

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Scrap Trident Rally And March, Glasgow.

Scrap Trident Weekend of Action - Saturday, Sunday, Monday

 

Saturday 13th April  - Scrap Trident Rally and March    

 

Assemble George Square, Glasgow 10.15am
March starts  10.45am, Rally George Square 11.45am to 1.15pm

 

The plan is for people to walk in blocs calling for Scrapping Trident and Funding Education, the NHS, Pensions, Disability Benefits, Sustainable Energy and more. We invite you to get together a bloc or group to join us. How does Trident affect you? Whatever your reason for wanting nuclear weapons to be scrapped, get together with like-minded people and join us.

 

SPEAKERS
Sandra White MSP SNP, Patrick Harvie MSP Greens, Dave Moxham Deputy General Secretary STUC

Youth/Student: Stacey Devine NUS Scotland Womens Officer, Suki Sangha STUC youth committee
Education workers: Susan Quinn President EIS
Pensioners: Cathy McCormack Easterhouse Anti-poverty Community Activist and author
Disability Rights: Susan Archibald Disabilities Rights campaigner
Faith groups: Peter Macdonald Leader Iona Community
Health Workers: Judith McDonald – Medact
Welfare: Cat Boyd Youth Young Trade Unionist and PCS Member

And: Krista van Velzen  Former Member of Netherlands Parliament, Marion Nisbet  Bedroom Tax Federation, Leonna O ‘Neill  Faslane Peace Camp

MCs: Pat Smith/Angela McCormick/ Jonathon Shafi

 

More information: http://scraptrident.org/demonstration/

 

Travel from Edinburgh: Meet up to travel through to Glasgow on the 8.45am or 9am Scotrail trains. If you get to the station 15 or 20 minutes before the departure time it’s possible to team up and make use of the 4 travel for the price of 2 tickets. See you there.If you plan to travel by car and can offer a lift, email edinburghstw@tiscali.co.uk to let us know. Similarly let us know if you need a lift.

 

Travel from Aberdeen: Bus eaving from Spa Street (at the back of His Majesty’s Theatre) 7.30am. Return from Glasgow at 4pm arrive back in Aberdeen around 7.30pm. £12 waged / £8 unwaged. Contact Jonathan on 07582-456 233 or email: jhamiltonrussell@hotmail.co.uk

 

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NOVEMBER 14 PAN-EUROPEAN DAY OF ACTION.

There will be demonstrations in all major cities in the UK and across Europe on Wednesday 14. Glasgow will have two demonstrations in the city centre on that day as part of the pan-European day of action. It is encouraging to see that the people of Europe are beginning to mobilise on continental basis rather than a city or country wide manner as in the past. It will take a united European working class to change this money and market drive system to one of justice and equality. We have had enough of being told the markets this and the markets that, and the markets are unhappy or the markets are happy, who the fuck are the markets? They are no more than a bunch of extremely rich and very greedy individuals who want more of the public purse. The first event will be:  Glasgow George Square, 12:30 to 1:30.      On Wednesday 14th November trade unionists in Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Malta, Portugal and Spain are joining a southern European General Strike against Austerity. Workers in other countries are organising protests too. It is important that we here in Britain show solidarity as we face the same attacks Glasgow City UNISON, UNITE Scottish Housing Association, UNITE Scottish Rank and File M & E Construction Workers and UNITE 7/600 branches are calling upon all trade unionists and campaigners to join lunchtime leafleting and petitioning in George Square, opposite the City Chambers, to show support for the European strikes and to demonstrate our own opposition to welfare and public spending cuts here. So come along, bring your sandwiches and say no to Austerity!       Supported by BARAC, Black Triangle, Coalition of Resistance, Defend Glasgow Services, Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees, Right to Work Campaign, Save the Accord, Stop the War (Glasgow), Youth Fight for Jobs. Bring your banners. Trade union and campaign speakers. 12.30 to 1.30pm       For more info/ to add your organisation's name to the list of supporters/ sponsors contact Glasgow City UNISON, 84 Bell Street, Candleriggs, Glasgow, G1 1LQ Tel: 0141 5527069 or enquiries@glasgowcityunison.co.uk The second event will be: *CHANGE OF EVENT DETAILS* EMERGENCY ACTION:  George Square under threat of privatisation! On November 14th there will be general strikes in Spain, Portugal, Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Malta. The ETUC [European Trade Union Confederation] is calling for solidarity action throughout Europe. At the same time, a panel will be selecting the winner of a design competition for the effective privatisation of George Square on Monday, with a rapid schedule of ‘redevelopment’ in place thereafter. The council itself has admitted that such development will potentially shut off the square to the public for two years.     Across Europe people are taking action in squares against austerity - we need to keep George Square as a place for protest. George Square has been a historic sight of protest going back to 'Red Clydeside' in 1919 George Square 1919.         We have changed the rally to a march from Donald Dewar Statue to George Square. The Glasgow Defence Campaign has been holding meetings about the 'redevelopment' of George Square. For more information check out their website at: http://glasgowdefencecampaign.blogspot.co.uk/      This includes the council's sham 'consultation' document which clearly outlines their aim to prevent public assembly in the square.

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SAY "NO" TO ACTA.

              Saturday 11 February saw a demonstration in George Square Glasgow. Though not the largest protest I've seen on the Square it was colourful, enthusiastic and mainly young people. This protest was against ACTA the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement, which many believe will be a direct attack on our basic human rights and the fundamental freedom of the internet. What was significant about this protest was not that it took place at all, but the fact that the same thing was happening across Europe on the same day, city after city. This was a pan-European protest. It is a tactic that those protesting against the system should employ. Just as the ACTA is more or less global, so is the attack on our conditions by the corporate Mafia, global, our response can only succeed if we act globally.

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GREAT OAK TREES FROM LITTLE ACORNS GROW!!

         Glasgow's Occupy protest at George Square on October 15, probably wasn't the biggest in the world, but never the less it was passionate. Speaking to different individuals and groups, the same thing came through, the system wasn't working, it was a rip-off, it was corrupt. They all wanted a change, though most weren't quite sure what that change should be, just that it should be a fairer system that saw to the people's needs and not those of the corporate or financial world. Most had no faith in any of the political parties and didn't trust them to bring about the desired change. In spite of Glasgow's cold and damp ground there were those who seemed quite determined to camp out in October, on the Square's inhospitable grass.

Though Glasgow's protest was small it should be remember that this is the first time in the history of the human race that there has been a protest in practically every city on the planet at the same time, on the same matter, all with the same desire, to change a corrupt system. Obviously the people are waking up to the fact that this world-wide corporate system does not work in their favour and has to be changed. By communicating and staying clear of political parties, they will arrive at how they want to change it and with growing numbers, co-operation and solidarity between the various groups and individuals involved, nothing on the planet can stop them.

Great oak trees from little acorns grow!!

FIRES OF THE FUTURE.

I

am fire,

I surge, I hiss,

sometimes bursting forth in a flame

that lights up the world

illuminating unimagined dreams.

Then the black cloak

blankets out the glow.

Again all is dark,

but, still

beneath the surface

I surge, I hiss,

I endure, waiting, seeking,

building up pressure.

One day I will explode

destroying forever

the Tartarean crust of oppression.

I am fire,

I am the people.

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OUR SECOND CHANCE!!!

                                          Glasgow George Square 1919.

    Since the failure of the 1936 Spanish Revolution the working class movements have battled on a more or less reformist agenda and it is fair to say that they have won major reforms to their advantage. However at the same time they have become integrated into the modern capitalist system of production. From the late 19th century through to the middle of the 20th century pre the Spanish Revolution there were mass movements with a more revolutionary agenda, In Europe this continued up until the start of the second world war and it was probably this war that saved the European capitalist class. Since then there has been no real revolutionary mass movement in Europe. However with the corporate class making a massive push to devour all the public assets in Europe there has been considerable anger among the working class as the pain to be inflicted on the ordinary people begins to become apparent. The corporate world are probably looking at this as their final victory to take control of anything and everything that can turn a profit, from health to prisons, from social welfare to education and more. This anger can and should be the start of what can only be called the second chance of the working class revolutionary movements. The ordinary people are beginning to see that no matter the government they vote in, nothing changes and that what is happening in this country under a Con/Dem coalition government is happening all over Europe with a 57 varieties of governments from Social-this to Christian Democrats that, from left of centre to right of centre. They all preach a different agenda but follow the same grand plan, the corporate plan.

      There is more pain to come from the corporate plan, and before it decimates the working class population, we have to organise a Pan-European mass resistance to this attempt to plunder all public assets. We mine, make and distribute everything in this world, it is our world paid for by the toil, sweat and blood of our forefathers, we are idiots if we let it fall from our grasp in to the hands of a bunch of pampered parasites. We have this second chance we can't lose it without the mother of all fights. They will do what ever they think is necessary for them to attain victory, our defeat. We likewise, must do everything in our power to achieve that final victory. We owe it to our children and our grandchildren.

                                           France, 2010. 

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