MORE ON BENEFIT CUTS.

       
       For all those on benefit these are very worrying times as our millionaire public school thugs set about cutting and hacking at any form of social benefits. People on Disability Living Allowance are probably among the most vulnerable of those being targeted. Apart from living with their respective health problems, they now have to go through a worrying and stressful process of re-assessment, a process that is no more than an attempt to get them off benefit, saving the government money, irrespective of the effect on the individual concerned.

        Those on benefit and facing cuts should not have to fight this alone, it is important that they are furnished with as much information and support as possible. It is important that they are aware of their rights in all situations. There is a website set up for that very purpose, where you will find a wealth of information on all aspects of benefits and the intended cuts, and how to handle re-assessments. You can find it HERE.

 Solidarity.

      Please spread the word of the help that is available, come together in support, nobody should be alone in these circumstances, unity is strength.

      Everything you need to know on the benefit cuts situation ; http://antibenefitcutsglasgow.wordpress.com/

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A WORLD OF MUSIC.

       Today more than ever, it is important that we use every means at our disposal to raise people's awareness of the political situation in today's society and the struggle that will be required to hold on to, let alone improve, our living conditions. Activists trying to get people involved in these struggles will use leaflets, meetings and free papers in that attempt. However one medium that I believe is not used to its full potential is music. Songs can tell a story, inspire, inform and unite, participation in music can can, by inclusion, empower. We need those rousing choruses, we need to remember our past, and there is no better way to see to those needs than by the song.

      A website dedicated to the political song and with the aim of empowering people is, Giving Voice Workshops and with the following statement, it is certainly worth a visit. “This mission is achieved by providing a wide range of workshops delivered to diverse groups across the life long learning spectrum, as well as facilitating access to a large collection of relevant resources, and consultancy and support for researchers and the media. The work of Giving Voice Workshops is inspired by a belief in participatory learning, empowerment through inclusion, and an ethos of social justice for all.”

       I'm sure you will be encouraged and enriched if you delve in and participate.

 

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ANTI-BENEFIT CUTS LEAFLETING.

It isnae' fair, let's dae sumthin!

ANTI-BENEFIT CUTS LEAFLETING
GLASGOW
THURSDAY 10TH MARCH     1.30-2.30PM

ATOS HEALTH CARE
CORUNNA HOUSE
29 CADOGAN STREET
GLASGOW
G2 7AB

Followed at 3pm by:
       Group organising meeting including a go round of problems with benefits, services etc, other ways of promoting the public meeting and discouraging medical professionals from working for ATOS.

The Free Hetherington
The Glasgow University Occupation
13 University Gardens
Just off University Avenue,
Glasgow University Campus

http://freehetherington.wordpress.com/find-us/
 

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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2011.

“Women need not always keep their mouths shut and their wombs open.” Emma Goldman.

     

      March 8 is celebrated across the world as International Women's Day (IWD), a day when we can come together to honour women world wide. In 1910, the Second International held the first international women's conference in Copenhagen and an 'International Women's Day' was established. It was suggested by the German Socialist Clara Zetkin, although no date was specified. The first IWD was observed on March 19, 1911 in Germany.

       It is a day when we can pay homage to all those women who selflessly fought to improve the conditions of not just women, but all humankind. Women who struggled to improve working conditions, for justice, for peace, for unity of all ordinary people.

      Every country, every city, has its role of honour of such women, perhaps not publicly displayed but it will be there, in folklore, in song, in theatre and poem. Glasgow can be proud of its list of women who fought injustice where they saw it, some struggled away in obscurity, some in the limelight of publicity, all paid their part in improving our lives. Today more than ever we need our women heroes, we need the unity of all men and women to combat the savage onslaught against our living standards. Today more than ever people have to stand up and join hands in solidarity with all people's across the globe.

     Here are just a few of Glasgow's women from our recent past that are worthy of being honoured today.

Mary Barbour,   Ethel MacDonald,    Helen Crawfurd,    Agnes Dollan,    Jenny Patrick,  who would you add to this list, there are hundreds from which to choose. Where are our modern Mary Barbour's, where is today's Ethel MacDonald? Can you name them?

 

 
"It is not by changing ministers - such guilty men! - or issuing declarations that fascism will be conquered. The problem is more complex than that. We do not intend to add our voice to those who delude the workers that their 'leaders' will get them out of the mess. The problems need a complete transformation in the present attitude of the working class."  Marie Louise Berneri From; War Commentary, December 1940.

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TWO FACED LIARS AND ENEMIES OF THE PEOPLE.

  

        How anyone can believe a word that comes out the mouth of the our big society millionaire Cameron, is always a surprise to little old me. When the Middle East protests started, he, like the rest of his political cabal, sat silent until he thought he saw the winners emerging, then loudly called for democracy in the Middle East. One of his recent statements, and I quote, “When Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister, this party stood by those who wanted to reject Communism and embrace freedom, and today, this party stands by those reaching for that same freedom in the Arab world,--” So we should now hear from him an unequivocal condemnation of the brutal autocratic Saudi dictatorship, which has now banned all protests and demonstrations in their authoritarian Western petrol station. He has also been completely silent on the protests in Iraq, where the people have been protesting against government corruption, unemployment and dreadful conditions. But then again, that's a Western installed puppet government that does business with the West. Like all politicians, their support for democracy depends on how much our Western corporate world can make out of it. Dictators are fine if they're good for business, dictators are bad if they're bad for business. As for the people and their aspirations, well, quite frankly they don't give a shit.

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INTRODUCTION TO ANARKY, PAGE 4.

    With this, page 4, we continue with the wee booklet "Introduction to Anarky" by the teapot collective.

People with power don't want to give it up and the laws reflect that. But throughout history people have tried to do just that. to live freely. Sometimes on their own, sometimes in small groups, sometimes in great popular movements. From the peasants revolt to the Poll Tax people have come together in grass roots movements.

Brief History of Anarchy in Action.         History reflects the values of the people writing it, in the mainstream usually the ruling class. Looking at history with an anarchist perspective reveals something more interesting than the Kings and Queens we got bored by at school.
         "Has all this anarchy shit ever been tried at all?" you might ask. Actially about 99% of human existance has been shaped by tribal society, small collectives--- To be continued. It is a small book.

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WHERE TO PLACE YOUR BETS???

      

        For more than a month there have been large protests in a Middle Eastern country and there has been some brutal repression of those protesters taking place. The figures we are give is 16 killed and 130 wounded. The protesters are calling for greater democracy, an end to corruption and better services. The powers that be, are labelling the protesters as having links to Al-Qaeda, just as Gaddafi is saying about the Libyan protesters, The protesters claim no such link, and state that they are ordinary people wanting an end to their poverty, an end to mass unemployment, government corruption and are seeking better services in their communities.

     

        However, our two knights in shining armour for democracy, Obama and Cameron are not in this case, backing the protesters and calling for the leader to step down and accept the will of the people. They remain silent about the protests and offer no criticism of the leader and his coterie. The reason being that the protests are taking place in Iraq. This is the country that is meant to be the shining example of the West building democracy in the Arab world. We bombed the country back to the stone age and killed hundreds of thousands of its people, so that we could bring them democracy and Mr. Nuri al-Maliki is our man in the driving seat.

       

         It must be extremely difficult for this bunch of hypocrites to try to keep up with when to support their favourite dictator and when to dump him in favour of their favourite people's uprising. Dictators are embraced when it is good for business and we have access to their resources, but are dumped when it looks like being their friend will damage our business interests. In this corporate value structure, dictators and the people are expendable, the main criteria is profit for the corporate world. We in the West should be following our Arab friends and en masse be calling a halt to the corruption that festers throughout this type of society. Change may be sweeping through the Middle East but it will continue to be a corrupt system if it continues to do business with the corrupt and hypocritical West.

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FREE PAPER, GLASGOW.

       Every month or so, over the last 7 years or there abouts, ann arky has produced a free paper and handed it out on the streets of Glasgow. It is now available as a PDF HERE. At the moment only the most recent ones are available but I hope to get them all up for downloading if you're interested. Have a look and let me know what you think.

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ZEITGEIST ANARCHISM?

       The following is taken from the Zeitgeist Movement site, anarchists have been pointing in this direction since the birth of anarchism. I don't know much about The Zeitgeist Movement though I find myself in agreement with “most” of their aims. However the vision of the Venus Project looks a wee bit too much like Dubai. Where have the mountains gone and where is the lousy Scottish weather? Do we flatten the earth and control the weather to give us eternal sunshine?

An Introduction by Jacque Fresco, project director of the Venus Project.

          Imagine a world without war, poverty, misery or money. Imagine a world where all people work together in a spirit of cooperation and not competition. Imagine this safer saner world and you are closer to understanding what the Zeitgeist Movement is about.

      

      A close look at our present social systems which are built upon fundamentals which produce war, poverty, murder, crime, violence, compromised healthcare, media monopoly, corporate corruption and indifference for the environment, greed, apathetic self interest and desensitisation from others suffering, obsolete and archaic political systems based on subjective opinion (guesswork) and not on scientific and empirical certainty.

     

     Its abundantly clear that we need to adapt our thinking because it will definitely be to our collective detriment if we do not. If we carry on so carelessly and wastefully into future, our future generations will pay the price for our mistakes.

 

 

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SECRET BLACKLISTS, ILLEGAL, BUT HERE IN UK.

   

     We can assume that with rising unemployment and cost of living rising, most people that have a job will try to hold onto that pay packet. So imagine that your are punctual, your work output is above what is expected of you, and your disciplinary record is clean, you would feel that your job is secure. Well not necessarily so, you may have taken part in some union activity in the past and your name might be on a blacklist that you know nothing about. Employers pay big money to gain access to an illegal blacklist and hire and fire according to who is on the list. This is happening all over the country and recent cases have come to light at the London Olympic site. Workers have been fired, harassed and threatened on the strength of this secret and illegal blacklist. You can read the full story HERE.

        Today, Tuesday 1st March, there was a demonstration at Pudding Lane DLR against this victimisation and secret blacklists.

       This is just one more piece of evidence that the class war is in full swing as far as the employers are concerned. They will try to neutralise any individual that they think might stand up for their rights, there aim is to have a subservient workforce with no organised defence against attacks on their conditions. Giving them a free hand in hacking away at what they see as an impediment to their profits. Things like health and safety, wage rates and overtime rates, all these are seen as lost profit to them.

       The only answer is for us, the ordinary people to see the situation we live under for what it really is, total class war. Your working conditions and living standards are constantly under attack in the name of profit for the greedy pampered parasites that try to control every aspect of our lives. It doesn't have to be that way, there are alternatives, think anarchism.

 

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CORPORATISM AND HYPOCRISY.

        As Gaddafi kills his own people in a last grasp at power, Obama, Cameron et al demand he stops killing the protesters and steps down, and nobody can complain about that. Of course it is not the people that they are concerned for, but the price of oil. This becomes obvious as we look at a country not a protesters stone's throw way in another part of the Middle East. A country where protesters have taken to the streets and the leader of that country orders a crack down on the protesters, and at least 29 are killed, without a murmur of complaint from the Obama/Cameron duo. Why, well because the killer in this case is the West's puppet in Iraq, namely Maliki. You see, if we put him there, then he must be a good man killing bad guys. In the hypocritical set up of Western politics, the last thing they want is to see is the people of Iraq take control of their own country. After all we have just spent a lot of time and blood setting up a pro-Western puppet government, the last thing we want is for the Iraqi people to be in charge of their country. So all protests in that country must be bad and have to be put down with whatever force it takes. Power, oil and profits first, people and democracy somewhere down the list. The system of corporate capitalism with its various governments prepared to use their military might to increase those sacred principles of power, oil and profits, will never work for the benefit of all our people. In the eyes of the corporate developed world, people are dispensable. However, we know that it is the corporate world that is dispensable and the people can create a world of mutual aid, based on the needs of all our people, founded on peace, co-operation and sustainability. The only question is WHEN.

 

More on this HERE:

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WORKERS KNOW YOUR HISTORY; CLYDESIDE 1937.

    

      Throughout the entire time capital;ism has been in existence the plight of the workers has been a mixture of poverty and struggle. The struggle to try to improve their standard of living, and at times, like at present, a struggle to try to hold onto what living standards they have. It has been a never ending struggle as the desires of the two groups involved are completely incompatible. The bosses want every increasing profits, and more effort and production from the work force. The workers on the other hand just want a decent life for themselves and their friends and family. The workers will not see that decent life for themselves, friends and family until they resolve that incompatibility by getting rid of the employers. We the workers don't need them, they on the other hand do need the workers.

THE CLYDESIDE APPRENTICES STRIKE, 1937.

WAGE RATES.

       Apprentices for some time had felt that they were drastically under paid, and were no more than a form of cheap labour. Apprentices' wages ranged from 8/- to 19/- a week. In his first year he would be paid from 8/- to 12/- per week and a last year boy would receive 16/- to 19/-. Apprentices of 23 years of age would be paid 20/- per week. Boys in their last year would on most occasions be doing the same work as a skilled man but were paid 19/-. An apprentice plater in his last year would be paid 19/10 a week while two labourers working with him would be paid £2:7/- each per week. In some cases a boy could use up to two thirds of his wage in transport just getting to and from his job together with his insurance, the remainder was to go towards his keep and put some money in his pocket.

STRIKE.

          The strike started on March 18th 1937 when 70 apprentices at Lobitz engineering factory took strike action. On Wednesday March 31st 500 apprentices walked out at the Fairfield Shipyard, at Govan in Glasgow. The involvement of Fairfields apprentices proved to be a catalyst for the strike as they were able to form mass pickets and encourage other apprentices to get involved. By Saturday 5,000 apprentices from over 60 firms had joined the strike. By the end of the following week 90% of the 14,000 apprentices from 130 firms in the Clydeside area were out on strike. The newspapers attempted to portray the strike as some sort of childish juvenile prank which would soon blow over. By the end of April the Govan apprentices had taken over an abandoned shop as their headquarters. The boys were aware of the fact that inactivity would erode support for the strike. An extensive communication system kept hundreds of apprentices involved in maintaining the strike. They organised the "Apprentices Olympics" and there was also a daily football league with 48 factory teams to help maintain enthusiasm for the strike. The original view that the boys' strike would collapse because of lack of organisation was no longer held with any certainty. One union official stated that, "organisation among the boys was something wonderful". Employers started to send letters to the parents of the boys worded in a similar manner to:

       "Dear Madam, Your son John ceased work last week. We would like to draw your attention to the fact that unless he returns his action may endanger his future career" They also stated that the boys indentures made it unlawful for them to strike."

The apprentices stated their demands in a Charter:

A standard rate of wages and an increase in wage each year; 1st year, 15/- a week, 2nd year, 17/6 a week, 3rd year, 20/- a week, 4th year, 25/- a week, 5th year, 30/- a week.

A reasonable ratio of apprentices to journeymen. In addition, they demanded a proper trade training, and no sacking at 21.

          By April the 7th many firms were in difficulties because of shortages of components normally produced by older apprentices. The situation was made worse by many journeymen refusing to do apprentices' work. The engineers in Govan threatened to join the apprentices on the street if any adult was suspended because of hold-ups caused by the strike.

EDINBURGH, MIDDLESBURGH & NEWCASTLE.

        The strike was now spreading out from Clydeside. In Edinburgh apprentices with support of the unions, having endorsed the Clydeside Apprentices' Charter, sent their demands to the employers and joined the strike; apprentices in Middlesburgh and Newcastle followed. On April 12th the Clydeside District Committee of the AEU, and the Confederation of Shipbuilding & Engineering Unions offered support and strike pay to the apprentices. On Friday April 16th they added to that support by calling a one day general strike, and on the Clyde 100,000 men stopped work in support of the apprentices. The Glasgow Trades Council printed a special bulletin for sale to the public allowing the apprentices to put forward their case and counter the misrepresentation in the capitalist press. Glasgow City Council granted permission for the apprentices to organise street collections. £320 was raised on the first collection, and the sale of the "Bulletin" raised a further £120.

OFFICIAL RECOGNITION.

        The Confederation of Shipbuilding & Engineering Unions together with representatives from the Apprentices' Strike Committee asked to meet the employers to discuss the apprentices' demands. The employers refused, insisting on negotiating with each shipyard and each workshop separately. The unions decided to ban all overtime until the apprentices returned to work in victory. This put at risk the completion of £20 million of armaments under production on the Clyde. The strike's aims gained considerably in strength when the AEU and other unions gave the strike official recognition. In the May 1st issue of the "Challenge" the Apprentices Strike Committee stressed that the apprentices would not return until their wage demands had been met and the right of the unions to negotiate for the apprentices had been won. The employers refusal to negotiate with the apprentices' leadership more or less changed the strike into a lock-out.

AGREEMENT.

           On the 30th of April local union officials urged a mass meeting of strikers to resume work so that their grievances could be pursued through established channels. Failing this the officials predicted a gradual disorganised return to work, in which case the boys' spokesmen would be victimised. In these circumstances the apprentices had no option but to reluctantly return to work. They agreed to re-start work on May 5th 1937. The employers responded by introducing a new minimum apprentice wage scale ranging from 12/6 to 27/-. While the employers conceded wage rises, the apprentices' strike had confirmed their aversion to trade union representation for apprentices.

SECOND STRIKE WAVE.

         In spite of hostility from the AEU leadership, the Clydeside Apprentices' Strike Committee remained active through the summer of 1937, maintaining a skeletal organisation ready for any event. In September 1937 apprentices' frustration at the failure of industrial relations procedures to resolve the issues raised by the Clydeside apprentices sparked a second wave of strikes, which swept through many main English engineering centres. The English apprentices failed to generate the cohesive organisation shown during the Clydeside strike. English apprentices were more willing to settle at a factory level thereby abandoning the "Apprentices Charter". The 1937 apprentices strike transformed the status of apprentices from separate individuals with practically no employment rights, to unionised workers. The apprentices were not forced back to work on the employers' terms; they succeeded in forcing major concessions on earnings and trade union rights from the employers.

More on Glasgow's working class history HERE:

SOLIDARITY.

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CLEAN UP PAISLEY'S STREETS.

Colleagues,

      We have just had it confirmed that the racist SDL (Scottish Defence League) are planning to have one of their "flashmob" static demos in Paisley, Dunn Square on Saturday 26th February. We need to stop them trying to bring their rascist poison to the streets of Scotland. We know that they have strong associations with the BNP and the fascist British Freedom Fighters and they no doubt want to stir things up before the Scottish elections.

      UAF and other anti-racists will be there to stop them, please come along. If you know anyone in Paisley, or anyone who would like to help, please contact uafscotland. We hope to have a presence in Paisley on Saturday at the Cenotaph at 10.00am. 

SOLIDARITY.

uafscotland@gmail.com

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PEASANTS AND PITCHFORKS---WHERE ARE THEY!!!!

       Listen carefully and think what is being said. Where are the peasants with their torches and pitchforks?

Nice to get this perspective on the corporate fascism that we live under given an airing.

       It is obvious that running to the ballot box to change the smiling face at the podium doesn't remove the power behind the throne. It is the system that stinks, it is the system that does the damage, not the prince on the throne. It is the system that we have to get rid of and replace it with a system  based on people's needs founded on mutual aid and sustainability.

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UNREST IN THE MIDDLE WEST???

     

      Massive demonstrations for over a week, municipal buildings occupied, spreading to other areas??? You've read it in the papers, saw it on the telly, sorry, no you haven't. I'm not talking about the Middle East, I'm referring to that land of the free, land opportunity, the good ol' US of A. Though these events don't seem to register on the Western media radar.

UK.

      It is happening in the state of Wisconsin where they are facing draconian cuts and on top of that the Governor is trying to pass legislation that would abolish collective bargaining for all public sector workers. The workers have not taken it lying down, there have been demonstrations of 70,000+ and they have continued for approximately a week, the municipal building has been occupied and the demonstrations are spreading to other states, read more details HERE. However you will have to look hard and long to find it reported on our “open and fair” media. After all, they don't want to convey the idea that there is unrest here in the West, oh dear no, everything is fine here, we are the model for the rest of the world.

GREECE.

      The cuts and the legislation that is causing the anger among the ordinary people over in America, is exactly what is going on here and in most of the developed world. Not only is the very fabric of our society being decimated to safeguard the financial sector, allowing them to seize all public assets, but they are doing their damnedest to introduce legislation to hamstring the workers from fighting back. It is only a few weeks since we had the Institute of Directors over here spouting the same venom, namely that all collective bargaining should be abolished within the public sector.

FRANCE.

      Though the focus is on the Middle East, and I agree, their problems are massive and in most cases, a matter of life and death, that doesn't mean that people in the rest of the world are satisfied with the system. In fact there is growing disgust and anger at the continual siphoning up of all the wealth to a pampered parasitical elite, while at the same time seeing what living standards we have being shredded to protect that pampered elite. Make no mistake, the parasites want even more, and are making a grab for all the public assets that can turn a profit.

USA.

       Most of us are living under a government that is putting in place legislation that nobody mandated them to carry out. We have a right to take to the streets and remove those who usurp the will of the people in favour of their millionaire friends. We have a government of parasites legislating to enhance the wealth and power of the parasites.

IRAN.

      A unified resistance to this corporate fascism is required, not a piecemeal, in our own back yard type of response. The attack is on the working class across the globe, the least we can do is to hit back with a pan-European attack on this system of greed and exploitation, while at the same time supporting in what ever way we can all those in other areas who are rising up against injustice and oppression.

CORPORATE MANSLAUGHTER???

AN INJUSTICE TO ONE IS AN INJUSTICE TO ALL.

       Two disability claimants, both from West Dunbartonshire, who were deemed fit for work during a work capability assessment, have both died of their disability while waiting for their appeal to be heard. Both had their incapacity benefit withdrawn while waiting for their appeal. It is obvious that their assessment was wrong and it is difficult to imagine the stress added to their lives by having to face this type of work assessment, but to have your benefit cut while waiting for your appeal to be heard is a totally unnecessary and further injustice heaped on vulnerable people. The organisation and the people that carry out these work assessments have a duty of care for those they are calling to be assessed. In the corporate world there is such a thing as corporate manslaughter, the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 is a landmark in law. For the first time, companies and organisations can be found guilty of corporate manslaughter as a result of serious management failures resulting in a gross breach of a duty of care. Surely this can be applied to a company that is acting on behave of the government. It would be fair to assume that the wrong assessment of these two poor individuals and the further difficulties they faced through lose of benefit could be a contributory factor to their deaths. Where was the duty of care for these two cases, it would seem that the company failed in its duty of care in both these incidents. Could it be a case of corporate manslaughter? Perhaps the duty of care was to the shareholders of the company responsible for the assessments and the government that pays them handsomely. How many more people deemed fit for work, will die of their disability while waiting in dire poverty for the appeal to be heard?

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GROWING ANTI-PEOPLE LEGISLATION.

     

        In one of my recent posts, “Anti-people legislation”, I stated that the Institute of Directors has called for collective bargaining to be scrapped for all public sector workers. Some may think that this is too far fetched to come about. However, just cast your eyes across the pond to that land of freedom, the good ol' US of A, and you will find that the Governor of Wisconsin has included in his budget proposals, legislation that would more or less remove collective bargaining from all public sector workers. Fortunately the people are having none of it, as they have taken to the streets in their tens of thousands and are being joined by workers in other states and across the border in Canada. You can read a full report HERE. Of course our media is not big on reporting mass demonstrations in the western developed countries, they prefer when it is happening in other countries. The only way we will ever turn around this greed driven corporate world to a federation of sustainable needs based societies, will be for the workers across all borders to link hands and fight in unison. It is a common enemy, the state and its companion the corporate world, no matter the country. An injury to one is an injury to all.

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