Call For Solidarity, Glasgow IWW.

         Panos Theodoropoulos of the IWW was arrested while attempting to prevent the harassment and unjust arrest of a 16 year old during the Glasgow Pride march. The 16 year old had been targeted for holding a sign with the slogan ‘This Faggot Fights Fascists’. The police used extensive physical force on Panos, tackled him to the ground, and subsequently held him in custody for over 30 hours. Thankfully, the police dropped all charges on the 16-year-old, though they still see the need to drag Panos through the courts, for attempting to prevent what they basically admitted was a wrongful arrest!
         The arrested comrades were participating in the ‘Red and Black Bloc’, organised by queer members of the IWW as an anti-capitalist, anti-fascist presence in an increasingly commercialised and depoliticized Pride.
        In the same Pride march the police arrested 3 trans activists protesting Pride’s decision to have police lead. These arrestees have not been issued court dates as the police continue to ‘search for evidence’. We know from experience that the police don’t like attempts to undermine them or their attempts at ‘community outreach’. We are committed to ongoing solidarity with these arrestees, along with all those in the trans community who face harassment from the police.
       At the same time, the fact that Panos’s court date is set for International Women’s Day gives us the opportunity to highlight how seemingly different struggles are intimately connected. Patriarchy, racism and heteronormativity are crucial elements of the system of repression we are living in. As imprisonment and social control increasingly penetrate our precarious lives, we extend our solidarity to the increasing number of women prisoners in the UK and to the members of the trans community who are not only imprisoned but also suffer from being misgendered by the authorities and disproportionately experience violence and harassment. We therefore encourage everyone to participate in the various events organised around Glasgow for IWD (provided below).
        When activists are targeted simply for protesting, court solidarity becomes a crucial part of the fight to defend our fundamental rights to protest. Let it be shown that the movement refuses to accept the criminalisation of protesters, whether now or in the future. Let us lay the foundations, in our budding movements, for lasting, practical political solidarity.

       As the IWW slogan goes, ‘an injury to one is an injury to us all’.

DROP ALL CHARGES!

JOIN US AT THE SOLIDARITY DEMONSTRATION OUTSIDE GLASGOW SHERRIF COURT ON THE 8TH OF MARCH AT 09.00!

More information:
Original statement released by Clydeside IWW following the arrests:https://www.facebook.com/clydesideiww/posts/1446956275339793

Original Statement by Anti-Capitalist Queers following the arrests: https://acqueescotland.wordpress.com/2017/10/26/anti-capitalist-queers-mission-statement/

Anti-Capitalist Queers/ Pride 5 Solidarity page: https://www.facebook.com/ACQueeScotland/

Visit ann arky's home at radicalglasgow.me.uk

 

International Women's Day Glasgow Event.

          An International Women's Day event, initiated by the Equality Officers of the Clydeside Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World, will be held on Thursday, the 8th of March.
            The rally and Walk of Pride will assemble at 4.30 pm at the La Pasionaria statue located on the north bank of the River Clyde next to Glasgow Bridge, opposite the Custom House on Clyde Street.
          This site was chosen because of the prominent role Dolores Ibarruri, called La Pasionaria ('The Passionate Flower') played in the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939, in defense of the Spanish Republic; and because the statue of her by sculptor Arthur Dooley so beautifully represents the revolutionary woman of courage that she was-- and that many of us strive to be.
            The rally will also honour the Scottish revolutionary, Ethel MacDonald, who was a key figure in the Scottish anarchist movement and in the Spanish Civil War. In 1936 she was sent by the United Socialist Movement to Barcelona where she became world-renowned as the English-speaking reporter for an anarchist radio station. She also remained an activist, daringly organising hunger strikes among the political prisoners, smuggling in letters, and helping some escape .

          The rally will feature a banner that says Celebrate International Women's Day For a World Free from Capitalism and Patriarchy, singing, and an open mic.
         At 5.30 pm we will start our Walk of Pride, with banner and placards, to George Square where we will join up with the Scottish Irish Abortion Rights campaigners for a #Solidarity4Repeal demo at 6 pm-- thus linking it to one of the most critical issues of the day: access to abortion as a woman's right. Throughout the afternoon, we will be proudly expressing our belief that Sisterhood, and Comradeship, are Powerful!

          All are welcome to attend. Please spread the word.
More information is available from
doraziosusan92@gmail.com
 

Visit ann arky's home at radicalglasgow.me.uk

UK's State Sanctioned Slave Labour Force.

            Slave labour is alive and well in the UK, though most people are unaware of its extent. What is more it is state sanctioned, and housed in special built units all across the country. It is big business, and makes millions for the corporate world and undercuts the living standards of the ordinary working population. This slave labour force is paid as little as 40p an hour, no paid holidays, no right to join a union, can be punished for not working hard enough, and has none of the workers rights that have been won by bitter struggles over the centuries.
        This vast slave labour army is housed at our expense of approximately £33,000 a year, of tax payers money, per individual, but produces massive profits for the corporate world. I am of course talking about UK system of encouraging the corporate world to use prisoners as a very cheap, captive, labour force.
         Prisons have always been used as a means of control and repression of the ordinary people, in the past they have been used to colonise occupied territories, but we no longer colonise other people's countries, so the state has switched prisons into cheap totally controlled, commercial units for their corporate buddies. Prisons built and run by private companies for profit and useing prisoners as a source of cheap labour is now the norm in this country. The UK has the most privatised prison system in Europe.
        Our babbling brook of bullshit, the mainstream media will from time to time highlight the use of prison labour by large corporations in other countries, but seldom shine a light on the subject of UK prison labour. However the UK prison slave labour industry is used by many well know brand names. Of course it is dressed up as "preparing prisoners for life outside prison" but paying them £10 for a 40 hour week to produce goods for rich companies to sell in the open market, seems to stink of raw greedy exploitation. Prison slave labour may not be the main source of our shrinking living standards, but it definitely is a very strong contributing factor, and is certainly a model the corporate world would love to expand.

From Another Angry Voice:

          Since the Lib-Dems enabled the Tories back into power in 2010, British workers have suffered the longest sustained period of long-term wage deflation in recorded history. The real terms value of British wages has slumped 10.4% since the economic crisis, a wage decline only matched in severity by Greece out of all of the most developed economies in the world.
         The Tories have been doing everything they can to reduce wages and the disposable incomes of ordinary people: They've reduced public sector wages in real terms by imposing below inflation 1% pay rises (whilst accepting an 11% pay raise for themselves), they've overseen an exponential rise in people employed on exploitative Zero Hours Contracts, they've repeatedly slashed in-work benefits like Tax Credits and Housing Benefit, they've massively increased the amounts charged for university education and the interest rates charged on this appalling form of Aspiration Tax, they've unlawfully used unemployed people as a massive pool of free labour to distribute to their corporate mates and they've massively expanded the number of prisoners working for private companies too.
        The economic effect of prison labour driving down the wages of ordinary workers is bad enough in itself, but there is evidence that the availability of prison labour is actually resulting in real job losses as unscrupulous companies lay off their paid workforces and replace them with prison labour.
Again from Another Angry Voice, some specific examples:

     DHL According to the One3One website the global distribution company employs over 800 UK based prisoners to receive orders, pick, pack and ship. Meanwhile they have been shutting distribution centres, laying off hundreds of paid staff across the country (including 330 jobs in Droitwich, 200 job losses in Swindon and further job losses in Scunthorpe and Corby), and slashing wages across their distribution network prompting strike action. This is how Chris Taylor, DHL General Account Manager described the scheme on the One3One Solutions website: "Once you are through the prison door we like to create an environment identical to any DHL workplace". 

Going Green
        A Cardiff based loft insulation and solar panel instillation company that laid off 17 workers at their call centre and replaced them with prisoners from Prescoed prison at an hourly rate of just 40p an hour. 

Speedy Hire A tool hire company that sacked 800 workers and shut down 75 depots in 2010. Since then they have massively increased the size of their prison contract to service and repair the tools they hire out, paying Erlestoke, Garth and Pentonville prisons £114,012 for the services of around 100 prisoners during the 2010-11 financial year. 

Timson Ltd
         The boss James Timson is happy to act as a propaganda mouthpiece for the government's prison labour scheme, but what he fails to mention in his praise for the programme is that his company's increased use of prison labour coincided with a wave of redundancies that wiped out some 30% of the paid workforce at the company.

CiscoCisco is mentioned by the Tory MP Andrew Selous as being a big player in the government's prison labour scheme. In August 2016 the company announced that it plans to lay off 5,500 workers worldwide. Perhaps they could prevent a few job losses in the UK by bringing the services they've outsourced to prison labour schemes back in-house?

From Incarcerated Workers Organising Committee: 

         Prisoners that work in prisons have no rights to organise, no contracts, no pensions, no right to to choose what they do – they have no use of the gains that workers have fought and died for over centuries. If prisoners refuse to work they are punished via the IEP (Incentives and Earned Privileges Scheme), and can have visits, association (time outside in a courtyard or out of cell) and other ‘privileges’ take away from them. They are the ultimate captive workforce for capitalist industries and have been used to break strikes, while simultaneously taking jobs out of communities and into prisons. Prison labour has been used as a tool for conquest and domination for centuries, from using convict labour to colonise countries, to putting prisoners to work in making goods for armies and war.

       This is state and capitalism working hand in hand to protect and enhance their power, privileges and wealth at our expense. They see nothing wrong in locking people up and turning them into cheap production units with no rights what so ever. The system stinks from top to bottom, it is a bubbling cesspool of greed and exploitation, far beyond reform. For justice, freedom and peace, its destruction is the only answer.

Workers Know Your History, Frank Little.

         To some 100 years seems a long time, but when you are approaching 84, it doesn't seem that far back. It was 100 years ago in 1917, that Frank Little was brutally murder, by what was probably collusion between the American mine owners and the US state. Frank's crime, he stood steadfast in organising and supporting striking miners, and was out spoken against America's entry to WW1. He advocated that the people of America should fight capitalism, not German workers. His life is an example of just how vicious the system of capitalism is, and how the state will always come down on the side of big business against the desires and aspirations of the ordinary people.

This extract is from Freedom Socialist, Voice of Revolutionary Feminism:

        Legendary labor leader Frank Little was assassinated 100 years ago to stop him from doing what he did best – organize workers. His life was defined by an unshakable conviction that you had to fight tooth and nail for the working class.
      Little was a child when his parents joined thousands who jumped at the chance of grabbing 160 acres in the 1889 Oklahoma Land Rush. An extended drought, coupled with a global economic crisis, made keeping a family farm difficult to impossible for many. As the Populist Party wrote in its 1892 Omaha Platform, “The fruits of the toil of millions are boldly stolen to build up colossal fortunes for a few. ... From the … prolific womb of governmental injustice we breed two great classes — tramps and millionaires.”
       By the time Little was twenty, he abandoned farming and followed his brother Walter to California where they mined for a living. Little discovered mine owners had only one objective — the acquisition of excessive profits in any way possible. They paid miserable wages. They spared every expense that might have made this work safer. They overworked the miners, squeezing out every last ounce of blood and sweat.

       Learning the hard way that capitalism was brutal, vicious and unforgiving, he threw himself into organising against this callous savage system. He paid dearly for his dedication to his class, the ordinary people, suffering beatings and eventual a horrible sadistic brutal death.

       His last days. In 1917, Frank Little travelled to Butte, Mont., to help the miners striking against the powerful Anaconda Mining Corporation. Tensions were high. Miners were waging a militant strike, furious about the recent Speculator Mine fire that killed 168 men. Additionally, the Russian Revolution, along with the U.S. entry into World War I that same year, had prompted a ferocious pro-war, anti-communist campaign by the U.S. government and big business.
       Though crippled as the result of a vicious attack in Texas, Little vigorously supported the Butte miners and continued to speak out against U.S. workers joining the war effort. He urged workers to “fight the capitalists but not the Germans.” On the night of Aug. 1, six men kidnapped him from his boarding house room. They roped him to the bumper of their car, dragged him across cobblestone streets and then hanged him above the railroad tracks with a note pinned to his chest, “First and last warning.” No one was ever convicted of this heinous crime.
        On Aug. 8, 1917, one week after his murder, ten thousand people filled the streets of Butte for Montana’s largest funeral procession in history. They knew who was on their side, who had put his life on the line. The city fathers forced mourners to carry the U.S. flag in the procession. But once away from the city, the flag disappeared, leaving only the IWW banner to honor this brave Wobbly’s life. On his tombstone is carved, “Slain by Capitalist Interests for Organizing and Inspiring His Fellow Men.”

Read the full article HERE: 

 
   

Glasgow Stands With Catalunya Against Police Brutality.

     A couple of days late with this post, but still worth displaying. Glasgow shows its solidarity with the people of Catalonia who sufferer some of the worst police brutality seen in Europe for a considerable time.

       Solidarity banner drop today in Glasgow, in support of the October 3rd General Strike called by the CGT, CNT and many other anarcho-syndicalist unions in Catalonia protesting police violence and repression. The text reads: "GLASGOW STANDS WITH CATALUNYA AGAINST POLICE VIOLENCE. SUPPORT THE OCTOBER 3RD GENERAL STRIKE." ¡Vamos!

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

May Day, May Day, May Day.

       In recent years Glasgow's May Day "celebration" has descended into a sedate controlled march through the city, to a hall where we are expected to sit and listen to our political ballerinas spout how the will lead us to the promised land, the word "celebration" seems to have been misunderstood. Well a group us think that it is time we took hold of the word "celebration" and returned May Day to what it was meant to be, a "celebration", a coming together to chat, mix, to create new friendships, to honour or past working class heroes, to strengthen our bounds of solidarity by communicating with each other, a fun day. We also believe that May Day belongs on The Green, or any other public space, where people can come and go as they please.

         To that end a group of us got together last year and held a May Day picnic on The Green, it proved to be a success, and we enjoyed an afternoon of music, poetry and face-painting, plus lots of chat and food. So this year we would like to see it grow to an even great "celebration" of our working class traditions. You can help us do this.

         The May Day on the Green Committee is organising a May Day picnic for May 1 at 2 pm on the Glasgow Green near the bicycle area (Free Wheel North). Our purpose is to revive a long-standing radical tradition in Glasgow; an event on the Green to celebrate May Day, the day to demonstrate our solidarity with the struggles of working people around the world and to reaffirm our commitment to a new and better world.
       Our picnic on the Green will include poetry, songs and fun for children. Everyone brings food to share with others in a communal meal.
      We want this to be an inclusive event with everyone who shares our perspective welcome to join us.
        We need your support to make the picnic a success:

         --The Spirit of Revolt and the Clydeside branch of the Industrial Workers of the World have endorsed the May Day picnic. Help us to get out the word and get more organisations endorsing the event and publicising it. Contact Eric at echester1943@gmail.com
         --We want to have bicycles carrying signs that can go around the city on the morning of May 1 to tell everyone to come to the Green. Contact Bob at bob@citystrolls.com
        --We are looking for poets and musicians who would be interested in performing at the picnic. Contact John at john.c.at95@btinternet.com

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

A Very Volatile Future.

         Anybody who looks around them must be aware that the political landscape is changing rapidly and the "far right" is on the rise. This should not surprise us, as every time the capitalist system starts to sink into one of its cyclical "crises" some how, from some where, the far right is released from its sewers, and slithers across the land. We have been here before. What might be surprising is the rapid rate at which this "far right" epidemic of vicious authoritarianism has spread. I believe we are in for a very volatile future, how it pans out will depend on how well the ordinary people organise to defend the meagre handful of rights they have, how much they wish to live in freedom, or how much they will buckle under to the bare knuckles of raw capitalism. As always, the future has still to be written.

An Appeal from Its Going Down:

Donate Here

        On the evening of Friday, January 20th, a comrade of ours was shot in the stomach in the most public place on the University of Washington’s campus in Seattle – a place called “Red Square” for the color of its bricks rather than its politics.
        This Fellow Worker (what members of the IWW call ourselves) and Defender (for GDC members) is a longtime anti-fascist and dedicated activist, a member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and the General Defense Committee of the IWW. He’s currently in critical condition at Harborview Hospital in Seattle. They have a Level One Trauma center, so it’s likely he is receiving the best quality care available, for which we are deeply grateful.
      How do we respond? We are building an expanded anti-authoritarian, anti-capitalist, anti-racist, anti-sexist, and anti-fascist presence in Seattle, and this person was spearheading that effort. Will others are willing step up and replace his effort while he heals? Our response will help determine that.
          There is a limited amount of time for us to make clear to the world what is clear to us: we are under armed attack. The fascist right knows where to find us – protests such as anti-Donald Trump events, or actions against police brutality. In the Twin Cities, the trial has just begun of Allen Scarsella, one of the white supremacists who came to the Fourth Precinct in Minneapolis in November, 2015 and opened fire, shooting multiple people.
        We don’t have confirmation that the person who shot our comrade was a counter-protester angry at those protesting Milo’s hateful white nationalist misogyny. We do know that he turned himself into the police several hours later, claiming ‘self-defense.’ This, of course, is exactly what Scarsella did as well.
        Our friend will have enormous hospital bills and undoubtedly some legal costs as well. There will be a significant loss of income. Let’s raise him so much that he won’t have to worry about that angle of things. Please give. All money will be controlled directly by them and their partner; none will go to any other cause, excepting any fees associated with the fundraising service used.
        Please don’t just give; please tell your friends and families and organizations to give. That may sound daunting, but here’s why they should:
         This isn’t just about one guy. Your friends and families know that the situation has changed dramatically. They know that things are changing fast, and have heard the word fascism a lot since Trump was elected. They may even suspect that the breakneck pace of media revelations and executive decisions is intended to distract them and make them feel helpless.

Continue reading:

Donate Here

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

ACE Events And More.

        Another very interesting list of events from ACE in Edinburgh. I'm sure if you read through the list you will find at least one, probably more than one, event to capture your enthusiasm. One of the events, not strictly an ACE event, is in Glasgow this Saturday, that's a must, The Anti-Racist March from Glasgow Green.

UPCOMING EVENTS. From Autonomous Centre of Edinburgh 

             * FRIDAY 25 NOVEMBER- Informal training session for all interested in accompanying people to benefits appointments and sickness/ disability benefits assessments. 11.30am – 1.30/2pm at ACE *Friday 25th Nov- Art as Solidarity. Talk by Euan Sutherland. 7pm- 9pm at ACE. https://www.facebook.com/events/997341147060638/

           *Saturday 26th Nov- I Daniel Blake Film Screening. Free showing of film I Daniel Blake at Cineworld, Fountainbridge with panel discussion, including screenwriter Paul Laverty and spokesperson from ECAP. 10.00 am – 1pm.Book via eventbrite, see https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/i-daniel-blake-qa-tickets-29… If any problems with link please go to Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty Facebook and scroll down to link on 12 November 

           *Saturday 26th Nov- Red and Black Bloc at St Andrew's Day Anti-Racism March. 10:30- 12pm at Glasgow Green. Hosted by Clydeside IWW and the Anarchist Federation. https://www.facebook.com/events/963411810429884/ * Saturday 26th Nov- International Women's Strike Discussion and talks. 3pm- 5pm at ACE. https://www.facebook.com/events/110075199474744/ 

        * Saturday 26th Nov- Fight for the Night. 6-8pm on the Royal Mile. Join us on the streets of Edinburgh on Saturday 26th November for a march to take back the streets and fight for the night! The Edinburgh University Students’ Association Women’s Liberation Group are organising events to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (November 25th). Folk of all and no genders are welcome to attend and the event is open to both students and non-students. https://www.facebook.com/events/1768262986762981/ 

         *MONDAY 28 NOVEMBER- Monthly ECAP meeting 7pm at ACE All welcome (meetings last Monday each month – but no meeting in December) * Saturday 3rd December- Disaster Communism, Mutual Aid and Solidarity. Talk and Discussion hosted by The Anarchist Federation. 2-4pm at ACE. https://www.facebook.com/events/1386277974738025/ 

          *MONDAY 5 DECEMBER- North Edinburgh Housing Action Group monthly meeting 5.45pm at Pilton Central Association, 28-30 Ferry Rd Drive EH4 4BR. All welcome. * Wednesday 7th December- Edinburgh IWW Branch AGM with presentation on Syndicalism. 7-8pm at ACE. All welcome but only IWW members can vote. https://www.facebook.com/events/536409926548582/ *Thursday 8th December- Scottish Radical library and archives work session.6pm - 8pm (2nd Thursday each month) at ACE. 

           *TUESDAY 13 DECEMBER- ACE monthly meeting 6pm at ACE All welcome (meetings second Tuesday each month at 6pm) *Saturday 17th Dec- Black Panthers in Britain. Talk by Carlus Hudson 7pm at Ace *Friday 20th Jan- Stand up to Trump. 6-7pm, US consulate. https://www.facebook.com/events/1336732683037959/

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

   

Slave Labour And Xenophobia, Diseases Of Capitalism.

        Weekdays are workdays at the Perry Correctional Institution in Pelzer, South Carolina, where Dee, a forty-two-year-old native of Georgia, has spent a decade serving time for a robbery. On typical mornings, he “commutes” from his cell to an on-site furniture factory, where he and other inmates assemble wooden tables and chairs for a private company. But when Dee’s cell door opened on September 9th, the forty-fifth anniversary of the Attica prison uprising, he did not respond as usual to the call to attention. Dee was on strike. “I quit,” he told me a few days ago, speaking via a contraband cell phone. “That was my last day of work.” Dee grew up poor and began committing crimes as a young man, but he had educated himself in prison and joined a group of “jailhouse lawyers” who assist other inmates with legal issues. More recently, Dee had begun to think of himself not just as a prison activist but as a worker. “We’re not compensated for our labor,” he told me. At Perry, inmates earn less than a dollar per hour in the furniture shop. “Slavery is inhumane, no matter its disguise.”

This from IWW member:

           As you might have come across, the IWW's Incarcerated Workers Organising Committee has been involved in an an ongoing prisoners' strike since the 9th of September in the United States (https://www.facebook.com/ incarceratedworkers/) . Companies profiting from the forced labor of prisoner include household names such as McDonald's and Victoria's Secret. I think that there is room for some solidarity actions that are not very time consuming or difficult to organise (such as picketing a central McDonalds and handing out leaflets) but which will nevertheless be effective in raising awareness of the strike and thereby actively aiding the struggle of IWOC and the prisoners. Even a small action, even if it has next to no impact, will be important for the morale of the persons involved in the strike and in the general picture of solidarity actions (that being said, obviously we should hope to have as big an impact as possible). A branch of IWOC exists for England and Wales which will I am sure give us lots of support -http://incarceratedworkers. noflag.org.uk/category/news/( leaflets, newsletters etc.).
            Additionally, a migrant strike is being organised under the title 'one day without us'- more information here https://www.theguardian. com/uk-news/2016/oct/10/ migrant-workers-plan-labour- boycott-to-protest-racism- highlight-contribution-to- britain
           Not much is known about this, but it is scheduled for the 20th of February, which gives lots of time for organising.

   Migrant workers picking daffodils in Linconshire. many people are alarmed by xenophobic attitudes to foreigners. Photograph: Alamy 

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Solidarity In Struggle Is A Winning Weapon.

 

       We should never forget those in struggle, more so those confined to the state's prisons, repression cages, or in America, Incarcerated Labour Corporation, facilities, solidarity is the winning weapon. Since September 9th. the prisoners in America have been on strike, making a stand against the blatant corruption, corporate greed, slave labour and brutality that permeates the entire prison system. They need all the support that we can muster, these are workers without conditions, locked away from the prying eyes of the public and used and savagely exploited by the state and greedy corporations. The vicious treatment that is handed out to them is all cloaked in secrecy, behind high walls and armed guards, so therefore can be more savage than might happen out on the public streets. We need to allow those inside to know, that they have the support of those on the outside, we need the facts to come out, we need to keep the pressure on the authorities.

       Louisiana State Penitentiary, otherwise known as ‘Angola Prison’, to this day compels prisoners to plant and pick cotton by hand, for as little as 4 cents an hour. Eighty percent of its prisoners are African-American.
       Long rows of men, mostly African-American, till the fields under the hot Louisiana sun while armed guards, mostly white, ride up and down the rows on horseback, keeping watch. It is the largest maximum security prison in America, bigger than Manhattan, sprawling over 18,000 acres of farmland dotted with barbed-wire enclosures, gun towers and concrete dormitories.
A History of Slavery
      The land on which the prison sits is a composite of several slave plantations -it is called Angola, after the homeland of the slaves who first worked its soil - bought up in the decades following the Civil War. From when it was converted from plantations, prisoners have worked the land in much the same way as slaves did, under conditions so brutal, prisoners resorting to cutting their own Achilles’s tendons in protest in the 50′s.
      After the plantation was converted to a prison, former plantation overseers and their descendants kept their general roles, becoming prison officials and guards. This white overseer community, is located on the farm’s grounds, both close to the prisoners and completely separate from them. In addition to their prison labour, Angola’s inmates do free work for these residents, from cutting their grass to trimming their hair to cleaning up Prison View Golf Course, the only course in the country where players can watch prisoners labouring as they golf.    Continue reading:

This appeal from IWW Incarcerated Workers Organising Committee:
URGENT!! Help Needed NOW to Stop Retaliation Against Prisoners. 

       Current stats based on the strike tracking that we have done so far:
-Number of prisoners on lockdown at least 1 day since 9/8: 23,849 minimum
-Number of prisoners on lockdown in facilities where we know organizing was happening or where strikes are confirmed: 15,310
-Number of prisoners on lockdown in facilities where we’re not sure about organizing: 8,484
        There are two things we really need help with. The first one is really easy. The second one is a bit more complex. Both involve calling prisons. Here is a great "how to" video for calling prisons if you are feeling nervous https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=251DPVDQ17A
       1. Very Easy Task: As we hear of individual prisoners or facilities that are being specifically targeted, we will add them to this phone zap list https://goo.gl/forms/ s4gBzsgvz6W9LQoN2 Please call all the numbers on this list as many times as you can and ask all your friends to do the same. Print the list and take it with you everywhere and call every time you can spare a minute. You can call day or night, weekdays or weekends, talk to a person or leave a voicemail, just call now and keep calling. The prisoners are on the front line and it is critical that we do everything we can to keep the administrators from torturing and killing them.
        2. Moderately Easy Task: The second thing you can do to help is call all the prisons in your state and ask if they are on lockdown:

Notes about the State by State Tracking:
- They aren't likely to divulge answers to all these questions, but you can try, anyway.
- If they ask, you can either say you're a concerned citizen, or that you want to schedule a visit, or that you're a student doing research. These things might not help.
- You can either give your name, or make up a name. It is probably not a good idea to give first and last name, or any other personal info of yourself or anyone else, especially not of prisoners.
       1. Look up the facilities' info. Make sure we know what state you're working on, so two people don't end up doing the same state at the same time. Every DOC has a different website, but most list basic info about the prisons.
- take note of whether or not they list current population on the website, if they do, you won't need to ask those questions.
- check and see if they have press releases or recent news or anything like that. Some DOCs will publicly announce lockdowns on their websites.
        2. call the prison, here's a script:
"Hello, are you on lockdown right now?"
If "yes" - "why?"
- "how many people are locked down"
- "how long have they been?"
- "what is your current population, are they all locked down?"
If "no" - "have you been on lock down at all in the last week?"
- "have there been any disturbances or trouble makers sent to the hole in the last month?"
        3. Write down any info you get on places that are / were locked down. Try and research info that wasn't available on the site (Wikipedia has entries for most prisons, which includes their capacities) a google search might bring up reports with more accurate info about current population levels, etc.
- Email anything you find to iwoc@riseup.net
Here's where it's getting posted:

https://docs.google.com/docume nt/d/1kyq-sEN5RRjWd9xDYp8Tq0U2 zwquqTYHkGptnL-ZNbw

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Walk of Pride, To Mark 1915 Rent Strike Victory.

       The Glasgow 1915 rent strike was a tremendous victory for working class solidarity. It forced the government to bring in the rent restriction act, freezing all rents in the UK until six months after the war. Only by their determined and heroic stand was this achieved. It wasn't compassion from the landlords, it wasn't concern for the welfare of the people by the government, it was co-operation and solidarity between the local women of the districts of Clydeside, and the men in the shipyards and factories that brought this struggle to an historic victory. 

Photo from www.leftcom.org
 

      A date for your diary to mark this wonderful victory and display of solidarity and determination. Organised by the Scottish Peace Network, and Clydeside branch of the Industrial Workers of The World.  

      In conjunction with this event, Spirit of Revolt is holding an exhibition In the Mitchell Library foyer, From November 2nd. to November 28th. The main theme of which will be the Rent Strike, 100 years on. There will also be a tribute to Joe Hill, marking the centenary of his murder by the US state, along side a display on the Peace Movement.
Two events not to be missed.

Tuesday, 17 November
    Walk of Pride, starting 12 pm, Dewar's statue, proceeding to the City Chambers
       A tribute to radical Glasgow on the 100th anniversary of the rent strikes and mass march of 1915.
      To honour the tens of thousands of Clydeside women and shipyard workers who united to defeat the rent rises; and to affirm the rent strike as a tool of struggle throughout the world.
      In conjunction with Spirit of Revolt's November archival exhibition at the Mitchell Library, The Glasgow Rent Strike:100 Years On; the Scottish Peace Network's Counter-Centenary Project; and the ongoing work of the Clydeside Branch of the Industrial Workers of the World

Free Film Show, Glasgow, Red Skirts.

        Just a reminder of a great free event taking place in Glasgow on Thursday June 4th. In co-operation with the showing of the Red Skirts film at the Pearce Institute in Govan Road, The Fairfield Heritage Museum will be staying open from 6pm to 7pm. The museum is just three minutes walk from the Pearce Institute and is well worth a visit. Pop in and see a wee bit of Govan's history before making your way to see this excellent film Red Skirts, about the 1915 rent strikes. Details of the Film event can be found HERE:

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

A Tremendous Victory, The Rent Stkike.

      Spirit of Revolt is proud to work alongside Clydeside IWW, Scottish Peace Network, Document Human Rights Film Festival, and Fairfield Heritage Centre, in producing this event. The Rent Strike was a tremendous victory in working class struggle, an important part of our heritage, an event we can still learn from, and feel proud of all those who brought that victory to fruition.

 

Document Human Rights Film Festival – Spirit of Revolt – Scottish Peace Network – Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)

Present

We are not removing! Two films and a blether for the centenary of the 1915 Rent Strikes

Pearce Institute, Thursday 4 June 2015, 7pm

Free / donations welcome / Refreshments provided / Free crèche (please book)

Fairfield Heritage Centre (located a short walk away) will be open before the event

The 1915 rent strikes, which started in the back-courts of Govan tenements, were a famous victory in the ongoing struggle for decent, affordable housing, and an example of working-class solidarity in action. While the workers were risking their lives at the front, or their health in the munitions factories of the First World War, the landlords tried to increase the rents. But the women were not having any of that. They didn’t have the vote yet, but they had each other’s backs when they said – We are not removing!

Films:
Red Skirts on Clydeside (1984, 43min)
Introduced by filmmaker Jenny Woodley

When this film was made, the importance of women in the history of social movements on the Clyde had been all but forgotten. The filmmakers bring this history back from the archives through interviews with women who knew Mary Barbour, Helen Crawfurd, and Agnes Dollan. Hear how the sheriff officers got chucked into the midden and how the tenement back courts echoed with radical ideas!

You Play Your Part (2011, 24min)
Introduced by filmmaker Kirsten MacLeod

Twenty-seven years after the original film was made, Govan women reflect on their lives and roles by the Clyde in a unique collaborative women’s history film project.

There will be some time and refreshments between the films for anyone interested in the rent strikes centenary or in contemporary housing issues to meet and chat.

Free crèche will be available, please contact the organisers to book a place.

Fairfield Heritage Centre will be open until 7pm on this evening. A short walk from the Pearce Institute, featuring displays on shipbuilding and local history, including the rent strikes, in A-listed shipyard offices: http://www.fairfieldgovan.co.uk/heritage/

Earlier that day there is an event at Glasgow University on film and history, including films about the UCS work-in, Pollok Free State, and the Govanhill Baths. Please click here for details.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

Reminder, Glasgow, Gallipoli Event.

Just a reminder on the Gallipoli event:  centenary event in Glasgow.

     April 25,Saturday, 1pm in the cinema room at the Centre for Contemporary Art at 350, Sauchiehall Street. This day marks the centenary of the World War I battle of Gallipoli, a disaster that cost the lives of hundreds of thousands. We will be showing part of a movie made by Peter Weir, and featuring a young Mel Gibson. The movie will be introduced by three short talks, one setting the context of the battle and the connection to Scotland, another on the enormous impact Gallipoli had on New Zealand and Australia and finally a talk putting this centenary event in the context of the counter program to the government's glorification of the war and of militarism. The movie will be followed by a discussion. FREE. All welcome. Sponsored by the Scottish Peace Network and the Industrial Workers of the World.

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

 

Gallipoli Centenary, Glasgow Event.

Just a reminder on the Gallipoli event:  centenary event in Glasgow.

     April 25,Saturday, 1pm in the cinema room at the Centre for Contemporary Art on Sauchiehall Street. This day marks the centenary of the World War I battle of Gallipoli, a disaster that cost the lives of hundreds of thousands. We will be showing part of a movie made by Peter Weir, and featuring a young Mel Gibson. The movie will be introduced by three short talks, one setting the context of the battle and the connection to Scotland, another on the enormous impact Gallipoli had on New Zealand and Australia and finally a talk putting this centenary event in the context of the counter program to the government's glorification of the war and of militarism. The movie will be followed by a discussion. FREE. All welcome. Sponsored by the Scottish Peace Network and the Industrial Workers of the World.

 

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk