CORPORATE HEALTH SERVICE!!!

         

       As all the establishment figures debate the NHS “reforms” all the arguments are around, too much, too fast and too deep. None of the notables entering the debate even hint at the real problem with these “reforms”. What is actually happening is the privatisation of the health service. GPs control the finance, they will have to select services from a variety of “providers” among these will be the big corporations, who no doubt will work hard at undercutting here and there, just to get their feet in the door, and then the usual corporate rip-off. Hospitals will be obliged to open their doors to private “providers” and those hospitals that don't make a profit will have no alternative but to close. Competing ambulance services all trying to make a profit, instead of one efficient ambulance service properly funded. The GPs will be bound to get what is normally called “best value for money”, after all they can't be seen to be wasting money by buying care from a dearer source when big brother corporate world is there offering a cheaper version. By the time of the next election there will be no NHS as we know it, it will be a complete free market affair similar to the American system. If you have the money you'll get the care you need, if you have good insurance, well you'll be OK. However if you fall into the category of the ordinary person and have a long term illness, well you'll simply be away down the list. After all what profit making concern wants a load of people that need expensive long term treatment, there's no profit in that. Perhaps the charities will help out. Welcome to 21 century Victorian Britain.

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BLAIR'S WAR - BLAIR'S LIES.

Protest 21st January 8am Queen Elizabeth 2nd Centre, Broad Sanctuary, Westminster, SW1P3EE

http://stopwar.org.uk/content/view/2217/1/

         Tony Blair is back in front of the Chilcot inquiry. The hearing comes against a background of the statement from his chief legal adviser which effectively says that Blair ignored his advice over the legality of the Iraq war. Lord Goldsmith, who was attorney general in the Blair government, has said that he felt uncomfortable with Blair's public statements in the run up to war.

It is clear that Blair had a strategy of not asking for legal advice from his legal adviser, trying to avoid it being put in writing, and in general ensuring that he heard nothing which might hold him back in his determination to follow George Bush into the war.

        Blair deliberately went to war despite knowing that the lawyers thought the war was not legal. He is now giving evidence for a second time at Chilcot, to try to explain the discrepancies between his original evidence and that of Goldsmith.

      Stop the War, along with CND and BMI, is calling a demonstration outside the Chilcot inquiry this Friday, 21st January, at 8 am. We are asking everyone who can be there to attend. He is scheduled to be in the hearing from 9.30 to 2pm but there is now talk of him being there all day because of this latest statement. We would especially encourage people to come from 8 till 10.30, but there will be people there for the duration of the hearing.

Other things you can do to highlight Blair's lies:
1. Call a local protest/set up a STW stall on Friday if you can't make it to Westminster.

2. Hold a meeting on Truth and lies about Iraq - we can help find speakers for you.

3. Donate to Stop the War to help our campaigning, and take out a direct debit/membership to contribute to our work over the coming year

Protest 21st January 8am Queen Elizabeth 2nd Centre, Broad Sanctuary, Westminster, SW1P3EE

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WORKERS KNOW YOUR HISTORY - GLASGOW.

GLASGOW'S RADICAL WOMEN:       JANE HAMILTON PATRICK, 1884-1971.

EARLY YEARS.

            Jenny Patrick, as she was known, was born in Glasgow in February 1884. Her father had a “Ladies Costumier” shop in Sauchiehall Street, the family lived in nearby Garnethill. Jenny’s mother died in childbirth, and her father married almost immediately. Her stepmother did not treat Jenny the same as her own, she would dress her own in finery and Jenny in cast-offs. Jenny left Garnethill School at 14 and started work with a printer in St. Vincent Street Glasgow, as a copy-holder. At 16 she became a typesetter and later was employed as a printer by a footwear company. Jenny joined the Glasgow Anarchist Group, in 1914, and became secretary in 1916. After the 1914/18 war the Glasgow Anarchists, Jenny with them, joined with the Communists of Guy Aldred’s group and in 1920 the group was renamed the Glasgow Communist Group. This group had three branches in Glasgow, Central, Springburn and Shettleston, there was also an association with other groups in Lanarkshire. In 1921 these groups were coming together to form an Anti-Parliamentary Federation which would have its own new newspaper called “The Red Commune”, Jenny Patrick would be the secretary. The new paper appeared on the 1st. of February this was before the new group had been formally finalised. The Anti-parliamentary Communist Federation came into being at Easter 1921 and Jenny was a founded member.

ARREST AND PRISON.

             On the 2nd of March, Guy Aldred was arrested in London and a police raid on Bakunin House in Glasgow saw Jenny Patrick arrested with Douglas McLeish, a group member and a printer named Andrew Fleming. All four made a formal appearance before the Sheriff on the 7th of March 1921 and were remanded in custody for a fortnight before appearing before the Lord Justice Clark. Andrew Fleming was released on £200 bail, Jenny Patrick and Douglas McLeish on bail of £150 each and Guy Aldred was remanded in custody. until the case against them came up for a hearing on Tuesday the 21st of June, 1921, at the Glasgow High Court. The indictment covered eight pages and involved charges of urging anti-parliamentary action, employing a Sinn Fein tactic and conspiracy to cause disaffection among the populace. The trial lasted two days and received wide publicity in the press. The jury took a only a few minutes to return a verdict of “Guilty”. Lord Skerrington passed sentences of Guy Aldred one year, Douglas McLeish, three months, Jenny Patrick, three months, Andrew Fleming, three months and a fine of £50 or another three months. Aldred and McLeish were taken to Barlinnie Prison, Fleming and Jenny Patrick were taken to Duke Street Prison.

DISOWNED.

               When Jenny came out of prison her family disowned her and she moved into Bakunin House. When Guy Aldred was released from prison there had been a split between himself and his partner for a number of years, Rose Witcop. Rose returned to London to continue with her family planning campaign while Guy remained at Bakunin House in Glasgow. Rose Witcop died in 1932 aged forty two. Jenny and Guy moved into a tenement flat in Baliol Street Glasgow, became partners and remained so until his death in 1963. Although Jenny Patrick did not approve of Guy’s Parliamentary Election tactics she continued to support him in all his campaigns.

SPANISH CIVIL WAR.

                July 1936 saw the start of the Spanish Civil War and an upsurge in political activity among the socialist groups in support of the Spanish workers and their struggle. The Glasgow Anarchists were asked to send a representative to Barcelona, but in fact sent two. Ethel MacDonald went as the Glasgow Anarchist representative and Jenny Patrick as the representative of the Anti-Parliamentary Communist Federation. Both women, with very little money, left for Spain on the 20th. of October 1936. they reached Paris with one franc between them. Jenny and Ethel with no papers and only the help of comrades, hitch-hiked across France and eventually reach Spain. Ethel was sent to Barcelona, Jenny to Madrid to the Ministry of Information, where she served with the CNT-FAI’s Comite de Defense, editing the English edition of their paper Frente Libertario, there she experienced the siege of Madrid. In 1937 she moved to Barcelona in charge of CNT’s English radio bulletin.. While there Jenny and Ethel experienced the momentous May Days. Her eye-witness accounts of the Communist Party counter revolutionary conspiracy against the Anarchists were rushed into print in Glasgow by Guy Aldred in a special Barcelona Bulletin. Both Jenny and Ethel, while in Barcelona, helped to fill the soldiers clips with bullets and gather information . She returned to Glasgow on May the 20th. 1937, Ethel remained until November 1937.

STRICKLAND PRESS.

              After returning from Spain, Jenny joined with Guy Aldred, Ethel McDonald and John Caldwell in setting up the Strickland Press in 1939 at 104-106 George Street Glasgow. Her experience as a printer was invaluable, among other jobs she set up the headlines, something she had done since her days as a young woman. For 25 years Jenny with others worked long wageless hours, printing socialist and anarchist literature, notably the USM’s The Word, In 1945 due to a dispute with the Scottish Typographical Association the work could not be contracted out, Jenny and Ethel did the typesetting themselves.

DEATH.

            Jenny a small woman, she was respected for her dynamic personality and persistent and courageous character. She never sought the limelight, but endured poverty and hardship for the sake of her anarchist principles. A few years after Guy’s death she became ill and very frail and was nursed at her home in Baliol Street by John Taylor Caldwell, a comrade of long standing. Eventually she had to be moved to hospital where she died a few days later, Jane Hamilton Patrick was cremated at Maryhill Crematorium where John Taylor Caldwell said the tribute, sadly only a handful of mourners were present.

More of Glasgow's working class history HERE.

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ANTI STRIKE - PRO PARASITE.

           Everybody knows that the so called “financial crisis” was caused by the unprecedented greed of the financial sector, even the millionaire cabal sitting in the Westminster House of Hypocrisy and Corruption know this to be a fact. However, we should not lose sight of the fact that the “financial sector” is not something out there with a life of its own. It is nothing more than a bunch of arrogant, self-centred, greedy parasites, with too much power, all friends of the millionaire Con/Dem coalition. Recently the Cameron half of the public school thug duo, showed his true colours with a statement of his intent. As the “austerity cuts” begin to bite and the ordinary people start to organise to fight back in an attempt at avoiding a return to an era of Victorian poverty, the millionaire Cameron stated that he will introduce legislation to prevent strikes. After all you can't have the workers trying to hold onto what benefits they gained over years of hard struggle. At the same time his response to those responsible for the “financial crisis” in the first place, is to state that he hopes to get rid of the 50% tax rate as soon as possible. So while the greedy parasites gorge on fat salaries and monopoly style bonuses, with the promise of a tax cut, we at the other end who are expected to take the brunt of the misery being handed out are to have restrictions on our ability to defend ourselves.

         One of his suggestions to restrict the ability of the unions to organise a strike is to insist that the call for a strike must be passed by more than 50% of the total union membership. Everybody knows that there are a lot of union members who don't or can't vote but will support the union decision. It would be almost impossible to get a 100% turnout at any vote so a strike ballot is likely to declared invalid. If the Cameron/Clegg public school thug duo want to be so democratic then perhaps we should apply the same rule to election of MPs only being voted in to Parliament if they receive the support of more than 50% of the total voters in their constituency. Likewise, no law or legislation could passed unless more than 50% of the total number of MPs in the House of Hypocrisy and Corruption vote in favour of the motion. Think how that would work when you consider that on most occasion there are only a handful of members present in the Chamber.

         However we know that as for democracy, it is what they preach, but will do everything in their power to make sure that we never see the real thing. True democracy will only come about when we the ordinary people take control of our communities and work in federation with all other communities building a needs based society founded on mutual aid, co-operation and sustainability. In a word, anarchism.

 

 

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WORKERS KNOW YOUR HISTORY - IRAQ.

  

        January 16 marks the twentieth anniversary of “Desert Storm”, a massive American bombardment against the Iraqi civilian population, mainly around Baghdad the Iraqi capital. The bombing consisted of more than 100,000 sorties dropping more than 85,500 tonnes of bombs. It was the precursor to the the first American lead invasion of Iraq. After this first invasion the people of Iraq suffered more than 10 years of American lead economic sanctions, during which it is estimated that over 500,000 Iraqi children died as a result of these sanctions. This was followed by Operation “Southern Watch” which began in August 1992, operation “Vigilant Warrior" began 1994, then “Desert Strike, 1996 which expanded the “no-fly zone over parts of Northern Iraq, then of course there was operation “Desert Fox” which was a 4 day bombing campaign that started on December 16 1998.

          It is estimated that between 1992 and 2001, 2 years before the so called war on Iraq is supposed to have started, American and allied pilots flew over Southern Iraq some 153,000 times. The Americans have never stopped military operations in Iraqi over the last 20 years and have been meddling in Iraqi internal affairs since they helped put Saddam Hussein in power in 1963. That is 48 years of the Iraqi people have been suffering because of American Imperialism. So don't accept the myth that is peddled that the Iraq war is heading for its 8^th anniversary, it is 48 years of American meddling of which 20 years has been brutal military oppression.

         They are still there, still exerting their military might on the Iraqi people. Think of a generation growing up their entire lives spent under these conditions, will they have any love of the Western world? The people of Iraq must be allowed to determine the future of their own country without the interference of Western Imperialism lead by the American military machine. The Iraqi people have suffered a brutal hell because of US policy through four different US Presidents, George Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and now Obama. The Iraqi people have suffered more than enough, they have the right to SELF determination, not forced to live their lives according to some Western ideology.

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CAMERON-CLEGG INFESTATION.

                                                                                                

  

          At the moment there is an infestation sweeping through Britain. It is an unusually dangerous variant and can at times be lethal. It is an extremely virile variety, and can attack individuals, families, homes and workplaces. The universities and hospitals in the UK have already been devastated by this infestation, with schools and libraries being high on the risk list. Other varieties of this infestation are running rampant across the western world but it is here in the UK that the most virulent species has made it home.

                                                     

                                                                                                                                                                       

            It is important for the health and well being of the people of this country that we rapidly eradicate this vile and deadly infestation of the Cameron-Clegg.

       Wherever it appears it must be vigorously exterminated before its effects bring misery to those unfortunate individuals who have been targeted by this deadly breed of parasite.

We must open up all the dark corners of our society where the repugnant Cameron-Clegg breeds and wash them clean with the strength of people power. It is the only real answer to the destructive infestation of this menace to the welfare of our people.

The Cameron-Clegg close up.

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NECESSARY HASTE.

       While we the public slowly try to organise against cuts here, there and everywhere, the millionaire cabal is racing ahead with its plans to demolish the NHS as we know it. Of course the Cameron/Clegg duo rhetoric, may not sound like that of wreckers, but what they are doing is wrecking a public service irreversibly and leaving the pieces to be picked over and devoured by greedy profit seeking corporations. The introduction of market forces and competition into the NHS will make it subject to EU competition law and the Gatt free trade agreement, which suits the big corporations but removes any form of control away from representative and volunteer bodies. Fair dealing between the faceless corporations will be the aim, not the health and well being of the people it was set up to attend to, it will be another product to be milked for the benefit of shareholders.

     The same process is being carried out with considerable haste, in education, penal system and defence, with market forces being in the driving seat. Higher education has more or less been privatised with university grants cut by up to 80% and students having to fund the shortfall.

     Of course the millionaire cabal are not unduly worried about the anger of the people as we have a mainly right wing media that does not inform but spits out the free market ideology, the mainstream media is the propaganda unit of the free market millionaires and should be ignored.

      We should, with necessary haste, try to grasp the truth behind the smooth, “all in this together” and “fair and necessary austerity cuts” rhetoric, once all has been privatised, public services, health, education, penal system and anything else that can be turned into a profit, what control will we have over any aspect of society? If it doesn't produce a profit, it will wither and die. How long will it take to get back some semblance of control over the things that matter in our lives? Remember, it took us hundreds of years to get some of the benefits that we currently enjoy, relinquishing them into the hands of the corporate world will turn us into slaves of the corporate beast. A beast more ruthless than most slave masters of the past.

      Nothing short of a pan-European general strike will halt this daring dash of the free market ideology. It is not a country wide problem, it is a pan-European problem and will only be solved when we bring an end to the corporate fascism that is infesting every aspect of societies across the planet.

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GLASGOW MAFIA STRIKE AGAIN.

Subject: North Kelvin Meadow.

       “Time is running out to save an award winning community green space in Glasgow’s West End from Developers”.

        North Kelvin Meadow, a well used and supported green-space in the heart of Glasgow’s West End is now the subject of a planning application to build 115 flats, which if successful, will mark the end of this well loved community initiative.

       The developer New City Vision Ltd (NCV) chosen by Glasgow City Council has now kicked off their drive to gain planning permission for their housing development by holding two public meetings allowing the community to comment on their design. However the fundamental question of whether any housing development is right for this green space will not be up for discussion (1). They expect their main planning application to go in by March 2011.

      Even after two and half years of hard work by the community, GCC have chosen “to carry on regardless with the sale process” and to bulldoze North Kelvin Meadow. They have never consulted with the local people about what should happen to this land. Local people have been looking after this land in the absence of any management by the Council. And this work has been recognized for two years in a row with an award from Beautiful Scotland. They have cleared dumped rubbish off the land, regularly pick up litter, run a community composting service, and have set up community allotments so that local residents can grow fruit and veg. This green space is in constant use by dog walkers, children, and others who appreciate it as a

wild park. They would like to extend their work to provide a permanent resource for the benefit of the whole community. The development by New City Vision will destroy this work and ensure there is one less public resource for the people of North Kelvinside.

     *Douglas Peacock Chairman North Kelvin Meadow Campaign:*

      “This planning application if successful will result in a Meadow and community Allotment being bulldozed, 100s of trees being cut down and a successful award winning community initiative ceasing. Thats not a great legacy to leave the next generation to say the least! This land has never been built on and always used for the local community and that should continue.”

     “Glasgow City Council are out of step on what people are looking for on this issue, this is backed up by the number of politicians voicing their support plus 1000 people to date have signed the petition, that and the overwhelming support from local people asking that this green space not be built on.”

      *SNP Depute Leader Nicola Sturgeon* has recently mentioned, in Dec 2010, the plight of North Kelvin Meadow: http://www.snp.org/node/17556

*Notes*

       1. A pre planning application was recently introduced by the Scottish Government to help communities, understand and get up to speed with what a developer is planning in their area prior to its main application for planning consent. This period last 12 weeks. North Kelvin Meadow is one of the first in Glasgow to be in this new process. Crucially though people aren’t being asked, and have *never* been officially asked, what they like to happen to this land. This pre planning consultation is mainly about what should happen to the small amount of open space which currently is shown as a small roundabout within the housing complex e.g. should it be grass, trees, seating, BBQ area, tarmac etc?

      2 *North Kelvin Meadow web site* http://www.northkelvinmeadow.com/ for further information email northkelvinmeadow@gmail.com  

     3. *Images for publication* available for download and use from  http://www.flickr.com/groups/northkelvinmeadow/
     4. *New City Vision Ltd* http://www.cloustonstreet.co.uk/
 
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IT'S A FAIR SOCIETY!!!

    

      According to The Telegraph the “average” UK household spends £24,100 annually on utility bills, rent/mortgage, shopping etc, but the “average” annual income is £23,244. The same survey shows that household bills have risen by approximately £650 in the past year. So it would appear that the “average” UK household is sinking fast into a swamp of debt. This year we are facing increase fuel bills and increase VAT, will the average income be increased to cope with these events? After all, our Millionaire public school thugs keep telling us that they are being fair. Malcolm Tyndall of the grant-giving charity, Elizabeth Finn Care stated, “We have seen first hand that over the past 18 months there has been a substantial rise in the cost of living, but that few people have had their salary rise at anything like that rate. Huge rises in food, fuel and household utilities have left many people struggling financially.”

       Of course this being capitalism, it therefore follows that not all are suffering from this millionaire ConDem's fair society. For example in the Alternative Investment Market, (AIM) listed companies the CEOs have managed to push their “average” salary through the £200,000 barrier up from £168,860 last year. That is an increase of slightly over 6%. Where else would you get a 6% salary increase in this country? So though we have been told of tough economic conditions, lower profits and low wage inflation for you and I, the CEO of AIM companies think that is a good reason to increase their salaries by over 6%, now that's fair!!

Of course we should say something about “average” salaries, it is not quite all like it seems. Take gender, the salary for male is £30,000+ but if you are female then your average drops to £23,000+. Then again how you work, permanent worker average is £23,000+, temporary worker £19,000+ and part time £13,000+, and there are lots of those who drop below the average. So our fair society puts prices up for everybody but your income can be static and below £13,000 or can see massive increases and be above £200,000, now that's fair!!

       The inequalities within this society can never be resolved, the system is built on the exploitation of the many by the few and the state structure is designed to make sure that nothing changes that pattern. Poverty will be the lot of the many, unearned affluence for the few pampered parasites feeding of our labour, unless be destroy the capitalist system of greed for profit. There are alternatives, after all capitalism is a relatively new system and it is man made, not written in tablets of stone. We have the imagination, the resources and the ability to take control of this society and shape it to serve the needs of all those involved in society. We can create a needs founded society based on mutual aid, free association and voluntary co-operation with sustainability at its foundation. We can of course continue to face deprivation while we beg and struggle, and fight over the crumbs the parasites throw our way. It seems an easy choice!!!

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THOUGHT FOR TODAY.

     

      There are many ways of saying that to get the best from humanity we must treat each other with affection, tenderness, love and respect. These principles are at the root of anarchism and are encapsulated in the terms mutual aid, free association and voluntary co-operation. However to get people to listen to or read long winded statements on political theory can be a daunting task. It would be nice if we could find a phrase or paragraph that said it beautifully, simply and sincerely that perhaps could lead to that change of consciousness and opened people's eyes to the possibilities within anarchism. The following, though far from perfect, does come close and is worth reading over a few times. 

       Most men, even in this comparatively free country, through mere ignorance and mistake, are so occupied with the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors of life that its finer fruits cannot be plucked by them. Their fingers, from excessive toil, are too clumsy and tremble too much for that. Actually, the laboring man has not leisure for a true integrity day by day; he cannot afford to sustain the manliest relations to men; his labor would be depreciated in the market. He has no time to be anything but a machine. How can he remember well his ignorance--which his growth requires--who has so often to use his knowledge? We should feed and clothe him gratuitously sometimes, and recruit him with our cordials, before we judge of him. The finest qualities of our nature, like the bloom on fruits, can be preserved only by the most delicate handling. Yet we do not treat ourselves nor one another thus tenderly."     Walden-H.D.Thoreau

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BLOODY AFGHANISTAN!!!

   

     Afghanistan, the war that no two state officials can come up with the same reason for us being there. Afghanistan, a strip of land on this planet that has been steeped in blood for generations as two empires at different times have tried to make it their own and failed miserably. Afghanistan, a pointless slaughter of innocent people and it appears to be endless. What this costs in human suffering when we take in to account the dead on both sides of the slaughter and the countless physically and mentally damaged is something that is beyond measure.

      Official figures are always on the conservative side as the war mongers try to down play the real extent of this avoidable tragedy, but even these conservative figures stand as an indictment against the state system and its endless wars to bolster the power of its corporate bed fellows.

      For the UK the deaths have risen to 350, 350 young lives lost, 350 families and countless friends lashed by anguish and torment. Then there is those who come home, injured in various degrees both physically and mentally. The figures for UK injuries in Afghanistan for the second half of the of this invasion, 2006 to the end of 2010 is approximately 11,000, then add those suffering mental trauma, that could stay with them for the rest of their lives. Of course what doesn't get much coverage in the media is the deaths and injuries of Afghans, and it is not just those Afghans involved in the fighting, we are talking about innocent women, the aged and children. They have been suffering this sort of bloodshed since the Soviet occupation right through to the present ongoing Western Empire occupation, or should that be, attempted occupation. The West invaded Afghanistan in 2001 and a conservative figure of Afghan deaths since 2006 is put at approximately 7,000. That works out that, for the second have of this bloody campaign the Afghans have lost 20 times the total number British deaths for the entire ten years fighting. Who, with any human compassion can still say, this is a price worth paying?

      Then of course there is the financial cost to the British people. Recent figures put the cost of the UK's Afghan excursion at £190 for every man, woman and child in the entire country, totalling a staggering £12 billion. At a time when the millionaire public school thugs are hacking away at our welfare system, such a total would provide around 23 new hospitals, we could fund an extra 77,000 new nurses or 60,000 new teachers and who knows what difference it would make to any other part of our social services. £12 billion for destruction, slaughter and misery, or £12 billion to improve the the fabric of our society. In this so called democracy, if you had a say, and you don't,yet, which would you choose??

 

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THE PARTY'S OVER!!!

        

       On 29 June 2010, I posted the idea that nothing less than an indefinite Pan-European general strike would be needed to change the shape of society for ever. To free ourselves from the grip of corporate greed and build a society based on mutual aid in a sustainable fashion we have to take control of all those corporate institutions. In a word, occupy, transforming them into institutions that are truly democratic, sustainable and run for the benefit of all in our communities, working in federation with each other.

       There is no point to forming a mass organisation to ask our “Lords and Masters” (the parasites) to please give us back some of our pensions and please don't decimate our health service and could we please have a half decent education system, but leave the greed mongers and millionaire parasites in charge. We created all the wealth on the planet, we own it by our forefathers sweat and blood and by our own efforts. They on the other hand have contributed nothing but control it all. The present economic climate may be our last chance to grasp control and change society for ever. Every ordinary person will feel the effects of the millionaires “austerity cuts”, ever ordinary person has to realise that there is a better way to organise our society without feeding the plundering parasites of the corporate world. We have nothing to lose, they are attempting to take every public asset into private hands and completely out of your control. Social services will be private business, you pay or you do without or rely on charities. This system of leaders, presidents and corporate greed has given us nothing but wars, poverty and deprivation, we can surely manage our lives much better than that.

       Organising to take control of our communities and our workplaces is the only hope left for the ordinary people to create a decent life for themselves and their children. As long as we accept the present system of plundering and exploitation of the many by the few, then we are on an ever accelerating downward spiral to ever greater deprivation.

        The UK Trades Unions recently called for a co-ordinated defence of our conditions, the members should be calling not just for UK co-ordinated action but for that Pan-European general strike, not to protect our conditions but to create that better society which is run for the benefit of all. A truly free and democratic society based on free association, voluntary co-operation, mutual aid and sustainability. To hell with the misery of being exploited to hand greedy shareholders a life of unearned luxury, to hell with Chief Executives firing thousands of workers and walking away with millions of pounds for their efforts. The need for that pan-European struggle is now greater than ever, it is the last line of defence before the millionaire's corporate world grasp every public assets into their greedy profit seeking clutches. 

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GLASGOW'S RADICAL WOMEN.

       Well, the party's over, as the words of the song go, and today that could be literally, as the year ended and also figuratively, as the millionaire public school thugs rip our welfare system apart. Of course in ordinary life when the party's over, we have to get back to the daily grind. In this case it will be realising that we have a helluva fight on our hands if we want a world in which all can live with dignity and free from the fear of deprivation. We now face a period where the thoughts will be of survival, not of parties. However in times of adversity the ordinary people have always shown tremendous resolve and when the come together they are an unstoppable force that can re-shape the world. Glasgow, like most cities, can be proud of its radical history of struggle and at times like these we can perhaps learn from those past battles when we took on the establishment and won. We can also take inspiration from some of those members of the working class that showed selfless dedication to the cause of the ordinary people. One of Glasgow's many working class heroes was Mary Barbour, at a time of tremendous deprivation she organised with other women in the city and took on the British government and won. The battle is known as "The Rent Strikes", perhaps now we can again call on the strength and determination of all those Mary Barbours' that are living in the city today.

    The following is a page from Radical Glasgow's Strugglepedia, where you will find more of Glasgow's heroes and some of the city's struggles.

MARY BARBOUR, 1875-1958

EARLY LIFE.

      Mary Barbour was born on the 22nd of February 1875 in the village of Kilbarchan. She was the third child of seven, her father was a carpet weaver. In 1887 the family moved to the village of Elderslie. Mary worked as a thread twister eventually becoming a carpet printer. The year 1896 saw her marry David Barbour and settle in the Govan Burgh of Glasgow. She joined and became an active member of the Kinning Park Co-operative Guild, The first to be established in Scotland.

GLASGOW RENT STRIKE & WOMEN’S PEACE CRUSADE.

      Mary joined the Independent Labour Party and the Socialist Sunday School. The Glasgow rent strike during the first world war brought her to the forefront of local political activity. Because of large rent increases by the Landlords, the Glasgow Women's Housing Association was born in 1914. It was in Govan that the first active résistance to rent increases appeared. Mary Barbour was instrumental in forming the South Govan Women's Housing Association. As a working class housewife with two sons and her husband an engineer in the shipyards she was well qualified to be energetically engaged in all its activities from the organising of committees to the physical prevention of evictions and the hounding of the Sheriff's Officers. This type of activity soon spread to the whole of the Clydeside area. The situation climaxed on the 17th of November 1915 with one of the largest demonstrations in Glasgow's political history. Thousands of women marching with thousands of shipyard and engineering workers paraded through the streets of the city to the Glasgow Sheriff's Court where the demonstration was near riot proportions. Out of this defiant stand came the "Rent Restriction Act" heralding in a change in the housing system of the city of Glasgow. The act also benefited tenants across the country. Mary's involvement in this struggle had made her a working class hero in Govan and much further afield. Together with Helen Crawfurd and Agnes Dollan, Mary, in June 1916, was instrumental in founding the Women's Peace Crusade in Glasgow. She was a frequent and regular speaker at its many rallies on Glasgow Green.

FIRST WOMAN LABOUR COUNCILLOR.

      1920 saw Mary stand as one of three candidates for the Fairfield Ward of Govan, and elected to the Glasgow Town Council as its first woman Labour Councillor. It was mainly the women's vote that gave her the 4,701 votes that marked her success. During her term as a Labour Councillor she fought for many causes to help the poorest in the community. The range of policies that she pushed for covered a very wide spectrum but all for the benefit of the working class community. Among them were such things as washhouses, laundries and public baths, free milk to school children, child welfare centres, play areas, pensions for mothers, home helps and municipal banks, she also pushed for a campaign against consumption.

FIRST WOMAN BAILLIE.

       The years 1924-1927 saw her serve as Glasgow Corporation's first woman Baillie and appointed as one of the first woman Magistrates in Glasgow. Her council work allowed her to develop her commitment to the welfare of women and children. In 1925 she was chairperson of the Women's Welfare and Advisory Clinic, Glasgow's first family planning centre. Mary worked continuously and energetically to raise funds to support its team of women doctors and nurses. Mary Barbour retired from her council work in 1931 but never relented on her work load in committees for welfare and housing and remained energetically involved in Co-operative Committees. In her later years she continued her commitment to the welfare of the poor by organising trips to the seaside for children of the poor. At the inaugural meeting in Glasgow of the Scottish National Assembly of Women she was the guest speaker. At the age of 83 she died on the 2nd of April 1958. Her funeral took place at Craigton Crematorium in Govan.

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ONE BIG UNION.

       Building a new society in the shell of the old. Continuing the necessary policy of a pan-European struggle it makes sense to have that great big ONE union. I keep saying how the opposition, the corporate world and its minders the state are well organised and work together to achieve their aim, control of all assets on this planet, which would be a disaster for both the planet and all of humanity. We have to fight like with like, they are organised across national borders, so likewise we must do the same. From London to Glasgow, to Berlin, to Madrid, to Rome, to Brussels, to Athens and the rest. One way to achieve that would be ONE BIG UNION, focused on the creation of a society that sees to the needs of all, and gets the pampered parasites of our backs.


One Big Union:
* A union that’s open to all workers.
  Controlled by members in their own class interests, rather than by bureaucrats or politicians.
  Membership dues to suit wages for part-time and full-time workers.
* Information, solidarity and the will to win.
* Members throughout the country and across the globe.
Contact us through iww.org.uk

From the IWW constitution:

Industrial:
The industrial process is simply the production and distribution of goods and services. Whether you clean the office at night, serve coffee over the counter, stand behind a desk or sit in front of a computer screen, feed a press, sit in crane, drive a taxi, a truck, a van, or study for qualifications that could put you in a job, you are part of that process. In jeans or apron, overalls, uniform or suit, you are an industrial worker.

Workers:
We define workers by their relationship to how things are produced and distributed. If you don’t hire and fire other workers, if you are looking for work, studying for work, or retired from a lifetime of work, then you are a worker, and do not have the same economic interests as those who control jobs.

of the World:
The ownership of the means of production and distribution of all the essential goods of life is being drawn into fewer and fewer hands, and our lives are increasingly controlled by global corporations. Wars are directed to control natural resources, raising profits regardless of the real cost. Political democracy seems to be part of the problem rather than the solution. Only the working class has a vested interest in building an international organization based on workplace democracy to administer society in the interests of all. join us. Help build a new society in the shell of the old.

Download the application form at iww.org.uk

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LIVE ON £10 A WEEK???

       How would you live on a £10 food voucher a week and no cash? Add to that the fact that you don't have a place to stay, and you are not allowed to work, then think, how do you survive. Of course you would say that it doesn't happen in this civilised country, it must be some other poorer country in the third world. Of course you are wrong, it is here, and it is now, in one of the richest countries in the world, the UK, and don't let the crap they pump out about the need for “austerity cuts” fool you into thinking that we are not a rich, very rich country. This is the situation of asylum seekers who are going through the appeals process. They receive no state benefits of any kind and are not allowed to work to support themselves. So they sleep rough, here, there and anywhere they can find, the lucky ones get bedding down on a friend's couch or floor for a night or two.

        Mr Joseph Nibizi, Manager of the Red Cross destitution clinic where the weekly food vouchers are given out, said that he has seen the number of destitute asylum seekers queueing up for emergency help grow from 860 in January to 1,400 in July. This type of treatment of a human being is a slow form of state execution, no body can survive such conditions, especially in the recent winters we have had. Mr Nibizi, stated that, “These are human beings. They should be given their basic needs.” Of course we all know that in a civilised society they would be allowed to work and contribute and their needs would be seen to, that's what you call being civilised. Any society that treats a human being in such a fasion is away off the civilisation radar, and if we stand by and allow this without a protest and a demand for justice and humanity for all, then we also are away off the civilisation radar.

     You can read the story of one such asylum seeker at Guardian UK.

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