Future Suspended.

      This video by Ross Domoney, may have been post before, but is well worth a second viewing, as it show some very basics of how the system works. Privatisation, plundering public assets and exclude the ordinary people. Creating poverty, breeding racism, dividing the people, while the financial Mafia walk off with the loot.

Future Suspended (2014)

Filmed and edited by Ross Domoney
Co-edited and script by Jaya Klara Brekke
Music composed, performed and recorded by Giorgos Triantafyllou
Assistant editing by Antonis Vradis, Christos Filippidis and Dimitris Dalakoglou
Research by Christos Filippidis, Dimitris Dalakoglou and Antonis Vradis

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

The Barras Comes Up With The Goods.

    A handful of events the should interest the good people of Glasgow and beyond.

Hi all, These events below at the Pipe Factory in the Barras on Thursday night and Saturday afternoon may be of interest. A member of the Games Monitor is presenting on the relation between 'ruins' and deliberate urban devalorisation (disinvestment) on Saturday afternoon.

Glasgow Games Monitor 2014 http://gamesmonitor2014.org/

The Pipe Factory are hosting two new events this week as part of the curatorial project East End Transmissions, curated by Francesca Zappia.

http://www.thepipefactory.co.uk/    42 Bain st Barras/ Calton
Thursday November 27th at 7pm we will present a screening and performance by Virginia Hutchison.

PLEASE ADJUST YOUR DRESS - A film produced for Accidental Mix, 2013
 Post scriptum
Today I Learned to Jump Like a Man
 It really struck me when we were talking earlier and you said that it had been prohibitively difficult to find local footage in the BBC archive. (My mum says that’s deliberate and not really that surprising). I have to agree. I then go on to tell her that I have to write an essay on the East End foundry industry to sit alongside a text I wrote about identity. (She buries people. Mostly folk from the East End. She tells me about the cremations, about pushing the button. When she first started she went to the furnace and watched through the window. I understand this necessity.)
Saturday 29th November, from 2pm, a series of lectures with Neil Gray, Vikki McCall, Kirsteen Paton and Johnny Rodger will analyse the regeneration in the East End in the last few years, and its consequences for the future of the area.
 Programme
2pm -  Exploring the lives of people living in the East End of Glasgow
By Vikki Mc Call and Kirsteen Paton

There has been an on-going and consistent focus on the East End of Glasgow at a UK level by the media, politicians and wider powerful elites. These have applied powerful discourses and assumptions on the people living in the East End, especially in areas such as Easterhouse, Parkhead and Shettleston (Mooney, 2009; Gray and Mooney, 2011). Gray and Mooney (2011: 5) especially point out that the narratives around Commonwealth Games 2014 have been constructed around the idea that they will ‘transform the East End of Glasgow’, and will work to help address long-standing social and economic problems. But how are such assumptions being received in the East End itself? The only way to know this was to explore the voices of those living within these targeted communities, which have so far been neglected. This project explored the gaps between narrative and reality of stigmatised urban areas by looking at the perceived impact of Commonwealth Games 2014 on the lives of the people living within the East End of Glasgow.
2.45pm - All history was once in the East End of Glasgow. But now it is gone. Or is it? The appearance and disappearance of Douglas Gordon’s artwork ‘Proof’ at Glasgow Green.
By Johnny Rodger

3.30pm - Spectres of Dead Labour: The Materiality of Ruins
By Neil Gray

The study of 'Ruins' has become extremely widespread in the arts and humanities of late. One tendency has been to evoke ghostly spectres, absent presences and uncanny experience in industrial ruins. These emanations, it is argued, resist rational interpretation. While not wishing to destroy ruins as sites of imagination or pregnant liminality, Neil Gray wants to demystify this reductive hauntology by evoking the 'vampire-like' spectres of 'dead labour' in the built environment of the East End of Glasgow. In doing so, he will show how ruins are an inherent and necessary part of capital accumulation cycles and how listening to these fragmentary 'transmissions' might help us detonate the slumbering time of the present with the fractious constellations of the past.
 Speakers’ biographies

Neil Gray is a writer, researcher and sometime filmmaker. He is currently completing a PhD at the University of Glasgow on 'Neoliberal Urbanism and Class Composition in Recessionary Glasgow'. He is a member of the Strickland Distribution, is on the Variant magazine editorial group, and is co-founder of Glasgow Games Monitor 2014.
 Vikki McCall is a Lecturer in Social Policy and Housing at the University of Stirling and is passionate about researching and helping improve social policy to be more effective for those most impacted by it. Part of this work has been around bridging the gap between policy and practice.
Vikki's work has included extensive research on the role of front-line workers, users and volunteers and the policy process. This has included exploring front-line worker discretion, interpretations, activities and actions. Vikki has a broad portfolio of social science teaching and research with the University of Stirling. Expertise includes housing, volunteers, devolution, poverty, inequality, gender, social problems, urban society and the cultural sector. Vikki has experience in lecturing on and conducting social research, comparative social research, qualitative and quantitative methods.
Current projects include exploring the role of volunteers in dementia care, housing and older owner occupiers, partnership and collaboration in the cultural sector, work and learning transitions of looked after children in Glasgow and Beyond Stigma: Exploring the lives of people living in the East End of Glasgow.
Kirsteen Paton is a Lecturer in Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Leeds. Her research is situated under the broad category of urban sociology, taking in cities, urban space, class, crime and social policy. This is underpinned by a theoretical interest in the phenomenological and material relations of class within the context of urban restructuring which are explored through theories of neoliberalism, Western Marxist theory and new theoretical approaches in stratification: New Working Class Studies and Cultural Class Theorists.
Paton’s research draws from Gramsci’s concept of hegemony to understand the political project of neoliberalism and the reciprocal relationship between urban restructuring and the remaking of contemporary working-class culture. Recent research involves looking at the formation of modern patterns of consumption considered risky (drugs and gambling) in relation to class.
 Johnny Rodger is a writer and critic, and editor of the The Drouth quarterly Literary/Arts journal. He is Professor of Urban Literature at the Glasgow School of Art and his published books include Contemporary Glasgow (Rutland Press, 1999), andGillespie Kidd &Coia 1956-87 (RIAS, 2007), Tartan Pimps: Gordon Brown, Margaret Thatcher and the New Scotland (2010),The  Red Cockatoo: James Kelman and the Art of Commitment (2011).
 The Pipe Factory and curator in residency Francesca Zappia want to warmly thank all the donators and supporters on our Kickstarter fund project. We have reached the sum and we are preparing special gifts for you!

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

Glasgow Games Monitor.

A wee message from The Glasgow Game Monitor 2014:

Hi all,

      We've updated the Housing Monster event page on the site. It now has youtube clips of all the films, a list of non-academic (accessible) reading materials, and some photos of the event. Please circulate to anyone who might be interested in viewing the films or accessing the reading material. http://gamesmonitor2014.org/fighting-the-housing-monster-film-and-discussion-event-sat-nov-1st-kpc-11am-4pm/

     We've added people who gave their names at the end of the event to the Games Monitor 2014 list. The traffic is very light at the moment but if you don't want to be on the list, our apologies, just unsubscribe at the bottom of the page. Also this is an announcements list, so if anyone wants to contact the group please contact us personally or use the contact address: gamesmonitor2014@googlemail.com Thanks to everyone who came, we all enjoyed the event! We'll let you know if anything else is planned. Cheers, Glasgow Games Monitor 2014

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

A Disappearing Population.

      Glasgow was once a city of just over 1 million people, it is now down to around 600,000. It seems to be a city of a disappearing population. Lots of densely populated areas were cleared to make way for motorways, shopping malls, large office blocks and expensive apartments. Its people were dispersed to new towns, overspill areas, and housing schemes on the periphery of the city. Areas of vibrant communities became deserts, before being handed to the big money developers. What's more, it is still going on, Glasgow's East End has seen its local communities banished, to allow big money to make a quick buck on the back of the Commonwealth Games.

A date for your diary, from Glasgow Games Monitor 2014:

KINNING PARK COMPLEX

(next to Kinning Park Subway),

Sunday 25th May, 2-4pm. FREE

      Second instalment of screenings from a series of films about Glasgow, originally aired on BBC in 1982. The series is a vital document of Glasgow, and the East End in particular, and gives a crucial historical context for understanding present-day social and environmental problems in the city.

     These episodes (3 and 4) focus on housing policy and life in the once notorious Barrowfield estate next to Parkhead stadium, and culture, religion and community belonging in Glasgow, both positive and negative. The screening will be introduced by members of Fight Racism Fight Imperialism (FRFI) and Glasgow Games Monitor. Open discussion to follow. All welcome!

  http://gamesmonitor2014.org/2014/05/16/glasgow-1982-film-screening-2-2/

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

Gentrification, Eviction And Big Money.

       Council capers, gentrification, eviction and big money. An update from Glasgow games Monitor 2014.

       1. "Commonwealth City" was on BBC 1 Scotland last night and shown some of the impacts of the games plus footage of the brutal eviction of the Jaconelli family: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0444wqv/commonwealth-city-episode-1 

       2. A new Primer is on the website on sport and participation impacts: http://gamesmonitor2014.org/2014/05/20/sport-and-participation-primer-5/ 3. We are co-organising a film showing and discussion about Glasgow's social/environmental history at Kinning Park on Sunday, 2-4pm, all welcome. For more details see: http://gamesmonitor2014.org/2014/05/16/glasgow-1982-film-screening-2-2/ Please share this information widely. Cheers, http://gamesmonitor2014.org/

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

Where Have All The People Gone??

        The only way to get to grips with what is happening to Glasgow's East End, is to get down there and find out. I would imagine that if you do, and you should, the first thing you'll probably say is, "where have all the people gone?". Busy, bustling East End has been replace by a series of grandiose schemes that will push up land and house prices, excluding the ordinary people from the area. The ever creeping disease of gentrification spreads it tentacles, feeding the corporate mob and pushing the ordinary people into ghettos, out of sight of the tourists and those who can pay top dollar for their homes.

Glasgow City Council's plans for the people of Glasgow.

This from Glasgow Games Monitor:

FREE PUBLIC WALK IN THE EAST END

Saturday, 26th April, 1-5pm (12.45 for 1pm start). Meet at Bridgeton Cross Umbrella, Bridgeton

Organised by Glasgow Games Monitor 2014: http://gamesmonitor2014.org/

Regeneration is always imposed from above by local councils, government, land developers and property agents. The organisers of the Commonwealth Games 2014 and Clyde Gateway regeneration projects tell us that everyone will gain a social and economic legacy from the Games and redevelopment in the East End. But is that true?

What is that claim based on?

We say that 'regeneration' is just a sugar-coated name for gentrification: the working of land and property markets and the displacement of poor people with the aim of supposedly 'higher end' values. Large mega-events and regeneration projects like the Commonwealth Games and Clyde Gateway are prime examples of that process. Find out for yourselves! Join Glasgow Games Monitor 2014 and local residents on a public walk to investigate these claims.

In a collective 'territorial inquiry', or investigation from below, we will examine the power relations and money behind planning and policy documents, regeneration agencies, land ownership, housing privatisation, welfare 'austerity', and the organisations that claim to represent community members.

Rather than looking above for solutions to these problems, we aim to discuss and organise collectively with all those who struggle against urban injustice. We will emphasise first of all the experiences of those most directly affected by urban development (through compulsory purchase, displacement, closure of vital services, environmental disruption, road-building, etc). The lesson from similar large-scale

urban projects is that people get the best gains (in terms of social housing, services, public space and amenities) when they resist the privatising logic of 'regeneration' and organise effectively for better conditions.

ALL WELCOME. ESPECIALLY LOCAL RESIDENTS

Glasgow Games Monitor 2014: http://gamesmonitor2014.org/ Contact:

gamesmonitor2014@googlemail.com

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

Glasgow Diary Date.

From Glasgow Games Monitor:

       Neil Gray is doing a talk at the centre for human ecology 6.30, tomorrow night (wednesday), Pearce Institute, Govan: http://www.che.ac.uk/2014/02/beyond-post-politics/
      The talk will include discussion on the games and the wider gentrification of Glasgow so may be of interest to people on this list. come along add to the discussion (RSVP essential - see below).
cheers, neil http://gamesmonitor2014.org/

      Beyond Post-Politics and ‘Soft’ Urban Fixes: Developing A Politics of Space- with Neil Gray Wednesday 5th March 6.30pm The Pearce Institute, 840-860 Govan Rd, Glasgow G51 3UU (near Govan underground station)
    Join us for our latest ‘library chat’, an informal roundtable conversation in the convivial surroundings of our library in the Pearce Institute.There will be space and time for general discussion and input from all participants. Light refreshments provided.Please email info@che.ac.uk to confirm attendance. RSVP essential

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

The Glasgow Looting Games 2014.

    The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow are now 40% over budget and at present the cost is £500 million. Of course you and I know that every big project ends up well over budget, as the rip-off merchants and the corporate greed machine milk the system, pushing the costs ever higher and higher. The corporate bodies walk away with the loot and we are left with the bill. Cheap land grabbing, gentrification at the expense of the local people, and fat-cats having a ball as they lap up the cream, that's what the games are all about.

This from Glasgow Games Monitor 2014:

        What he doesn’t say is that private investment in large-scale Games Events has for some time been predicated on making profit from land and property development. Now that the easy profits of the property boom are over – only hanging on through billions of state subsidy, ‘help-to-buy’ policies, and the continuing privatisation of social housing – private capital is showing it doesn’t give a fuck about the Commonwealth Games and sport. No wonder that no city is willing to host the Games in 2022: they know that they will only be subsidising the private property market, defending failed ‘legacy’ objectives, and having to deal with the growing public complaints and resistance over land-grabbing, gentrification and displacement.

Read the full article HERE: 

      The Glasgow Games Monitor will be speaking at the Unite Community Union Branch meting on Wednesday, 12 February, John Smith House, 145/165 West Regent Street, Glasgow G2 4RZ.

       Subjects to be discussed will be the necessity of political organisation related to the Games and Clyde Gateway projects, and building for a meeting on the East End, and citywide social housing crisis, planned for March.

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

How Long Before It All Explodes?

      Spain is home to almost one third of the Euro regions unemployed, with an unemployment rate of over 25% and it has been at that for six quarters in a row. That's a lot of misery, poverty and deprivation, while the financial Mafia keep screwing the people and muttering about adjustments and growth.

         “I’m glad I don’t have any children, because I don’t need to worry when I go to bed without dinner,” says Nieto, a Madrid native who last drew a salary in 2010.

This from Anarchist News:

Riots in Madrid, Barcelona, Zaragoza,

Victory in Burgos

Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 01/19/2014 - 13:04

     On January 10, riots began in the city of Burgos, Spain, when police attacked a protest against the gentrification of the working class neighborhood Gamonal.
http://anarchistnews.org/content/revolt-burgos-spain
     Riots continued for 4 consecutive nights, and afterwards opponents of the project to construct a ritzy boulevard through Gamonal continued mobilizing to block the construction.

   People in dozens of other cities organized solidarity protests. Protests were held in Madrid on the 14th and 15th, turning into riots both nights in response to the typically heavy handed response of Madrid police. On the 16th, solidarity protests also turned into riots in Barcelona and Zaragoza. In Barcelona, masked protesters smashed over a dozen banks, luxury hotels, Starbucks, Burger Kings, and other businesses, setting fire to a number of them, and pelting police with trash, bottles, and unprecedentedly potent fireworks that set the police jumping (in a city where riot police don't flinch when quarter sticks of dynamite go off at their feet). The protest/riot went all the way to the Generalitat, the seat of the Catalan government, where people continued to throw objects at police. Police reinforcements arrived, dispersing protestors, who subsequently attacked a police station on Las Ramblas and smashed more businesses in Jardinets de Gracia, a significant distance away.

Madrid
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wXfagNGgLM
Barcelona (videos show attack on police station, don't show the heaviest damages)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mcLvurz9Mv4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1o-tSNnqQA
Burgos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oSDWJuOr9vY

   The same day, authorities in Burgos announced that the construction project was suspended.

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

Glasgow In The 60's and 70's.

        Looking for an interesting and cheap night out? Well look no further than the Kinning Park Complex, and find out a little about Glasgow's history.

GLASGOW (1982) FILM SCREENING
THURSDAY 12 DECEMBER, 6.30 FOR 7PM START
KINNING PARK COMPLEX (next to Kinning Park Subway)

       A rare screening of episodes from a series of films about Glasgow originally aired on the BBC in 1982. The series constitutes an amazing document of Glasgow, and the East End in particular, and provides a crucial historical context for understanding present-day social and environmental problems in the city.
       Episodes focus on the blight left behind from the mass demolitions of the 1960s and 1970s – the era of Comprehensive Development Areas; the closure of Beardmore’s Forge at Parkhead and with it the end of large industry in the East End; and a portrayal of the infamous Barrowfield Scheme next to Parkhead. For those interested in current ‘regeneration’ plans associated with the Commonwealth Games 2014 and Clyde Gateway, it is unmissable.
     Margaret Jaconelli, who was evicted by CPO on the site of the Commonwealth Games Village, and Neil Gray from Glasgow Games Monitor 2014, will talk about the films in relation to the present era. Followed by open discussion. Donations on door welcome.
Organised by Glasgow Games Monitor 2014 and Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism!

http://gamesmonitor2014.org/2013/11/28/glasgow-1982-film-screening/

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

Gentrification Evictions?

This from Glasgow Solidarity Network:

Losing your home thanks to ‘house improvements’

Posted on August 18, 2013 by plattenbauglasgow

    Multi-national corporates buying swathes of late 19th century flats and ‘modernising’ them by installing air conditioning, triple glazing and lifts. The consequence is that current tenants can no longer afford rents which often double as a consequence of ‘luxury refurbishments’. The anti-gentrification German campaign “We Are All Staying” recently reported about yet another case in Berlin’s ‘trendy’ Prenzlauer Berg district and is building a direct action coalition to stop ‘modernisation’ and evictions. The Council, always great on promising rent caps, is doing nothing.
     Who has similar experiences in Glasgow? Are there particular companies involved in the destruction of affordable homes? Who benefits from the profits? Can we name and shame them? We’d like to hear your stories and your thoughts about gentrification and displacement and what can be done to halt it.

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