THOSE WERE THE DAY'S!!!

           An appeal for help, all those old anarchists, socialists and communists who might have some info on the sadly missed Socialist Sunday Schools, well now's the time to pass it on for the present and future generations. Our kids should have an alternative to the bland pro-establishment pulp that is pumped from ever avenue of media, education and political parties. However, it is up to us.

Socialist Sunday School Project by Ruth Ewan, A Call For Information.

        For Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art (GI) 2012, Scottish artist Ruth Ewan will be investigating the Socialist Sunday School movement, prevalent in Glasgow in the first half of the twentieth century.

A SOCIALIST Sunday school, I'd  go ti tha'.

       The movement's aims were designed to counter the dominant influences of Liberalism, Conservatism and ultimately capitalism, thought by many to be promoted by both church and state schools at that time. The Socialist Sunday Schools had no formulated curriculum, although guidelines were circulated on ethics, morality, love and social responsibility. Throughout the UK these schools flourished in tandem with the Independent Labour Party up until its decline in the early 1930s. Glasgow however avoided this fate with some of its Socialist Schools remaining in operation throughout the 1950s and 60s, and, according to some sources did not cease completely until the 1970s.

Wi' dis socialist mean?

       For the GI Festival 2012, artist Ruth Ewan will create an exhibition, publication and programme of public events reflecting on her research into the Socialist Sunday School Movement in Glasgow. She will include and draw on material from city archives such as Mitchell Library, People's Palace and Scottish Screen.

My book's called "Mutual Aid".

        Importantly, Ruth is keen to hear from and meet as many people who attended, or knew others that attended, the Socialist Sunday Schools, to provide new oral histories and material to add to the archives. Ruth hopes that these contributions will form a major part of her project presented at Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art, which will take place from Friday 20th April - Monday 7th May 2012.

       If you or a friend or family member attended the Socialist Sunday Schools and you would like to offer your knowledge or memories please contact curators Siobhan Carroll and Kitty Anderson on sundayschool@glasgowinternational.org or call the GI Festival office on 0141 276 8384.

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BAGRAM - GUANTANAMO,

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE??

         Bagram detention facility, (prison) is bigger than Guantanamo Bay prison yet it receives no coverage in the Western media. It holds some 1,700 detainees, all held without charge or trial, and no way to prove their innocence, despite a Marine Corps General's 2009 report stating that many should be released. Nor has there been any in-depth news coverage of practices at Bagram, that if widely known, would no doubt add to a call for the removal of US and NATO troops from Afghanistan. You SHOULD  read this detailed report.

Afghan detainee's cell Bagram Prison March 2011    (A.P. photo.)

        Of course what we should all realise is that across the globe in country after country, as the various states try to control their populations, such facilities are wide spread. Guantanamo and Bagram are just two of the so called developed Western democracy's facilities aimed at control. It matters little which country they are in, it is always the same, state power trying desperately to control  the people.

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LET'S DANCE.

 

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The reason I like this video is because I believe that the one thing authority can't handle is spontaneity and fun. Everything has to be planned, ordered and at the right time, no room for the frivolous. So folks let's dance, in great numbers and in places of our choosing.

CHANGING FORM OF CAPITAL CRISIS.

      
         Some interesting details on the on-going crisis that's, according to the optimistic, is over and we are now looking for GROWTH, the capitalist's panacea. You can read the full article at LINKS Internation Journalof Socialist Renewal.

         "---Perhaps the first indicator that the capitalist crisis is still unfolding is the rise in unemployment in many advanced capitalist countries.

         How many are affected by this? According to the latest figures of the International Labor Organisation, 205 million workers are jobless and the capitalist crisis has destroyed 30 million jobs since 2007.

        Unemployment in the United States rose from around 4.5% in late 2006 to 10% in 2009. In March 2011 it had slightly fallen to 9%. In Europe, the crisis has restored mass unemployment in a number of countries: in Spain (20% in 2010), Ireland (14%), Greece (12.5%), Portugal (11%). Millions of people are thus reduced to idleness since the unfolding of the crisis.

        The second form of the continuing capitalist crisis is the crisis in state finance. Sovereign debt has thus become the centre of the crisis since 2010 and the default of Greece.

       The global recession, but also state intervention to save the banking sector, led in the advanced capitalist countries to a significant increase of the weight of sovereign debt in national economies. This does not concern only the peripheral economies of the eurozone since the same phenomenon affects the US, Japan and the core EU countries. Hence, the austerity measures adopted by governments (“left” and right) to reduce public spending and satisfy the demands of financial markets (whose criteria is a more or less 60% of GDP in public indebtedness). ---"    READ ON---

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SPAIN: ANARCHISTS AND MAY 15 MOVEMENT, REFLECTIONS.

HOW DEMOCRACY WORKS IN SPAIN. 

   

     The following is a short extract from a very interesting article posted on that excellent site LibCom It is well worth reading the full article.

        A reflection article written by anarchists in Madrid on the occupation at Puerta del Sol, leading up to the neighbourhood assemblies which took place on May 28.

        This text was written in Madrid, so many of the descriptions and reflections may not match the reality of other locations, especially given the heterogeneity of the 15-M Movement. Even so, we think that it could be useful as a point of departure for reflection for all the comrades involved in the assemblies, regardless of the site. The text was written and corrected hastily so that it would be ready before the convocation of village and neighbourhood assemblies on May 28. Keep this in mind while reading it and excuse any mistakes that it may have.

-Some Anarchists from Madrid.

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       CAPITALISM OR JUSTICE? YOU CAN'T HAVE BOTH.

       According to a recent article by the BBC, the World Bank is warning that food prices are close to pushing millions more into extreme poverty. Since June 2010 an additional 44 million more people have been pushed into poverty. The bank claims that a further 10% rise in food prices would push 10 million more below the extreme poverty line of $1.25 a day, while a 30% price increase in the price of staples could lead to 34 million more poor. It is estimated that at the moment there are about 1.2 billion people living on less than $1.25 a day. The bank also warns that the prices of wheat, corn and soya all rocketing.

      While this disaster is unfolding the so called “financial crisis” (gamblers and spivs gone bust) is still with us and will unfold over the next year or so with the possibility of chaos and civil disobedience on a massive scale. Greece, at the moment, has almost daily mass demonstrations in most of its cities, with a general strike planned for this month. Spain has the Squares in its large cities occupied, and every other country in Europe has demonstrations and more planned on a unified front. The real pain has still to hit.

      Meanwhile the IMF is hell bent on screwing the people of various countries, most of Europe included, by handing governments loans, Of course we all know that nothing the IMF or the European Central Bank does, helps to alleviate the poverty in the world. On the contrary, for their loans they demand “deficit reduction” which translated into ordinary speak, means, cut all social spending, privatise everything in sight and send the money to the busted banks and bond market.

       This is capitalism, a system where the parasites with the money gamble and con their way to greater wealth for their little club, and when the gamble doesn't pay off, then they turn to the ordinary people and plunder their assets, decimate their standard of living to ensure that the gamblers and spivs don't lose out for their greed.

      How much longer can we afford to allow such a system of greed and exploitation to decimate our world, a world that we will leave to our children and grandchildren. Do we leave them a future of poverty and greed, devoid of hope and opportunity, or do we leave them a world that will allow them to develop to their full potential, free from the fear of deprivation, a sustainable world that sees to the needs of all. The choice is ours!!!

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CHALLENGE TO SPAIN'S POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC STATUS QUO.

         The following was lifted from IndymediaScotland. It is always good to get some information on what is really happening in protests across Europe and the rest of the world for that matter. Let's make no mistake, these are not lots of protests, this is the one global protest against an economic system that plunders the Earth and condemns millions to abject poverty and millions more to a life of stunted desires devoid of opportunities. A system that has failed the people of the world and yet is being pushed down their throats by an small bunch of thuggish parasites. It will only stop when power is wrested from their hands into the hands of the ordinary people across the globe.

     ann arky is alwys interested in hearing from people on the ground, those involved in the various aspects of this world protest, drop a wee note.

EDINBURGH.

Interview with Michael Albert, co-founder of Z Magazine , conducted by Scott Harris.

SPAIN.

The economic crisis gripping Europe and government austerity measures have triggered angry demonstrations in major cities across the continent, including Athens, Paris and London. More recently, young activists in Spain poured into the streets, and taking inspiration from the popular revolts in the Middle East and North Africa, have occupied Madrid’s Puerta del Sol Square. There, Spaniards from all walks of life have gathered in unexpectedly large numbers to protest an economic and political system they say has given them no hope for the future. Activists in the Square, who call themselves “Indignados,” or the outraged, have organized themselves into a small city run by democratic councils. Police attempts to forcibly remove the demonstrators only swelled their numbers. 

ATHENS.

Story continues HERE.
 
 

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IUF Uniting food, farm and hotel workers world-wide

      Four years after punishing lockout, one year after OECD agreement, Unilever Assam workers still waiting for their union to be recognized.

      Business is doing well at Unilever’s personal products factory at Doom Dooma in the Indian state of Assam. But nearly 4 years after management tried to destroy the union with a punishing 6-week lockout, and almost one year since the IUF and Unilever formally concluded an agreement to settle the dispute under the auspices of the UK government, the workers are still waiting for their union to be recognized as their collective bargaining agent. The workers’ mood is one of deepening frustration. How has this happened?

Read the full story here

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THE LAW IS THE LAW, SO DON'T YOU DARE BREAK IT!!!!

       We all know that the law is an ass, and that common sense should prevail, but sometimes along comes something that proves it beyond a shadow of a doubt. This guy deserves hero status. DOH, I'm only doing my duty!!!!

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SYRIA - TAKING SIDES vs IMPERIALIST INTERVENTION.

         An extract from an interesting article from The International Centre, it is well worth reading the whole article as it does throw some light on the very complex situation in the Middle East and the even more complex and seemingly contradictory attitude of the West.

         U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ declared on March 25, 2011 – that there are 3 repressive regimes in the Middle East that must be condemned – Syria, Libya and Iran. Why is the U.S. targeting these particular countries? The progressive political movement must avoid being just an echo and a justification of Pentagon war policy, especially whenever any developing country is in the cross hairs of a U.S. attack.

        Consider: isn't Israel a criminally repressive regime against the Palestinian population? Aren't Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Jordan, Yemen, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Pakistan, Iraq, Afghanistan repressive regimes, military dictatorships and/or corrupt monarchies? All of these brutally repressive regimes have killed of thousands of their own population and could not survive one day with out decades of U.S. military, economic, diplomatic and political support. Is the U.S., with the largest prison population in the world and more weapons than the rest of the world put together, a repressive regime? It is the source of repression, destabilization, dictatorships and wars.

 

         It is within this context that progressives must view the demonstrations that have been taking place for two months against the Bashir Assad government in Syria. The regime has both acknowledged that reforms are essential and responded with force. The actual character and the social forces involved in these demonstrations remains unclear, as does the political direction of the Syrian opposition.

          The events in Syria are connected to the social explosion shaking the Arab world. Washington and all the old regimes tied to it in the region are trying desperately to manage and contain this still unfolding mass upheaval into channels that do not threaten their domination of the region.

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   "EXTREMISTS" AND UNIVERSITIES. 

       Recently the Cameron/Clegg millionaire cabal have been shouting there mouths off about universities not doing enough to crack down on extremists. To most people in this country, this is interpreted as meaning violent Muslim extremists, but however that is not how it will unfold. It will encompass all “extremists” as defined by that narrow band of pro-establishment public school thugs. If you advocate radical change to society away from the profit motive and towards a sustainable, needs based society, you no doubt will come under the heading of “extremist”. We should be very vigilant when we hear those in power talking about clamping down on “extremists”. Who draws the line between acceptable view and “extremist”, how narrow should acceptable be defined?

ACCEPTABLE AND UNACCEPTABLE EXTREMISTS???

 

       The other point that is very important, is that if universities are suppose to be at the cutting edge of research in all fields, how do you do that if you exclude those views that don't fit the mainstream acceptable views of the establishment. In forbidding “extremist” views, you neuter any debate and confine it sterile ground and the future is barren. Of course for a number of years universities have been moving away from that position of, the centres of cutting edge debate and research and moving towards being factories that turn out units needed for “the economy” (big business).

       If your accepted ideas can't hold up in open debate, and to defend them you ban all those who disagree with those ideas, then I believe you are an “extremist”. Then we already know that the Cameron/Clegg millionaire cabal and their cohorts are indeed, right wing “extremists”.

 

 

 

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POLICING THE POLICE!!!

      Next month in London there will be a demonstration by at least 2,000 police officers. They will be demonstrating against cuts to the police service. How ironic??

   
     I believe that all politcal activists, trade unionists and students should come together and organise to police this event, just in case there is any trouble. You have a month to rehearse your kettling tactics and snatch procedures.

       If this is a free and fair democracy, then there is no other way to police this event. If the police insist on policing it themselves, then fair and democratic procedures demand that all other demonstrations should be policed by those, and only those, who organise the demonstration. Or does our democracy not work like that?

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WORKERS KNOW YOUR HISTORY,--

WILLIAM C. McDOUGAL 1894-1981.

EARLY YEARS.

       Born on the 22nd. of January 1891 in the district of Partick in Glasgow, William C. McDougal spent nearly seventy years actively promoting Libertarian non-sectarian Socialism. He joined the Glasgow Anarchists around the age of nineteen. Willie served as secretary to the Glasgow Anarchist Group and held Sunday meetings at the foot of Buchanan Street. At this time anarchists groups were growing in number in and around Glasgow.

GLASGOW ANARCHISTS 1905.

PRISON.

       Prior to the first world war anarchist groups received relatively little interference from the police. The war changed all that, with meetings being disrupted by police and patriotic groups. At one such meeting in Botanic Gardens, Willie was speaking and referred to the King as a parasite. A crowd rushed the platform and threatened to throw him into the nearby River Kelvin. In 1916 Willie was arrested for refusing the call-up, he was beaten by the local police and handed over to the Military. He refused military orders, was put on trial and sentenced to two years imprisonment. He was sent to Wormwood Scrubs Prison, then on to Denton Camp, eventually ending up in Dartmoor. While at Dartmoor he was involved in prison disputes and tried to organise a strike. He then decided to slip out of the camp by means of the camp bicycle, cycling part of the way he eventually reached Glasgow where he resumed his anti-war and anarchist propaganda. This activity also included holding classes on economics in the rooms of the Herald League and speaking at open-air meetings.

ANTI-CONSCRIPTION GLASGOW GREEN 1939,

RUSSIAN REVOLUTION.

     After the war the Russian Revolution considerably increased political activity on the streets of Glasgow. Most anarchists were enthusiastic about the Revolution, some of Willie’s meetings indicate this with titles like, “Lenin’s Anarchy”, “Revolution of Necessity”, and “Dictatorship, democracy and Government”. It was not long before Willie and the Anarchists lost faith in “Lenin’s Anarchy”, by 1920 it had turned to hostility.

      At this time the Glasgow Anarchist Group became the Glasgow Communist Group, in 1921 it changed to the Ant-parliamentary Communist Federation, this group was kept alive right through the 1930s by Willie McDougal, Guy Aldred, Jenny Patrick and other anarchists. Guy Aldred left in 1933, Willie kept it going until 1941.

GUY ALDRED.

GLASGOW GREEN FIGHT.

        Willie was also involved in the fight for freedom of speech and assembly on the Glasgow Green. This struggle came to a head in 1931 by the arrest and imprisonment of the Tramp Preachers. The major players in this struggle to repeal the bye-law forbidding public speaking on the Green were Guy Aldred, Willie McDougal, Harry McShane, and John McGovern. Willie was among those arrested and tried for speaking on the Green without a permit, many other activists played a part in this important Glasgow struggle. The bye-law was repealed in 1932 thanks to the excellent case put by Guy Aldred.

GEORGE SQUARE BLOODY FRIDAY 1919.

SPANISH CIVIL WAR.

       1936 to 1939, the years of the Spanish Civil War, saw a remarkable rise in the activity of Glasgow Anarchists. During this period Willie’s public speaking activities were to peak, the events in Spain also drove Willie to print, publish and edit a number of papers. The first to appear was “Advance”, 1936, then came “The Fighting Call”, 1936-37, “The Barcelona Bulletin” 1937, followed, next came the “Workers Free Press”, 1937-38, and then, “Solidarity”, 1938-40. Apart from trying to give an anarchist view point on the Spanish Civil War, these papers were trying to provide an open forum for anarchist and other voices of the left.

TANKS IN TRONGATE GLASGOW AFTER BLOODY FRIDAY 1919.

WORKERS OPEN FORUM.

        During the 2nd. world war Willie McDougal with Dugald Mackay formed the Workers Revolutionary League to follow on from the Anti-parliamentary Communist Federation. Later on with others he formed the Workers Open Forum, this was again an attempt to provide a platform for all the views from the left and try to create unity. The “Form” rented rooms at 50 Renfrew Street and continued until the late 1950s. The end of the Workers Open Forum marked the end of an era, an end to regular working class political meetings in dingy little halls dotted about the city.

PROPAGANDIST TO THE END.

      After this period Willie McDougal continued his struggle to spread anarchist views by publishing papers. In 1970s there was the “Industrial Republic”, and the year up to his death, “Sense”. Along with these he produced many pamphlets, among them, “Marxism Made Easy”, “An Open Letter to Mr Callaghan”, and “Anthology of Revolt”.

       Willie McDougal continued his propagandist activities right up to his death. The last issue of “Sense” being at the printers at the time of his death. He always tried to put his ideas in the simplest form possible. Willie never lost faith in the belief that the struggle to end the insanity of capitalism could and would develop towards Socialism. William C. McDougal together with other Socialist activists kept alive the Anti-parliamentary Libertarian Socialism that demands real change in society not the tinkering reforms of Party Politics within the framework of Capitalism. His life was an advancement of that cause, his death a loss to the fight for human liberty.

 More on Glasgow's working class history, HERE.

 

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