History!!

Words of wisdom from the past.

An extract from an undated article by Bobby Lynn.

“War is the health of the state” wrote Randolph Bourne.

--------- When the Labour fakirs took the reins of government in 1945, within six days it sent conscript troops into the Surrey Docks in London to break a ten week old strike against a wage cut. Three months later a national dock dispute brought more than 45,000 militant port workers out on strike. In both these cases as with many others the workers left their battle stations, their place of work. The Labour government took advantage by again sending conscript troops to break the strike. A fair percentage of workers now realise that the point of production is their fortress. There will always be a vertical bar between the haves and the have nots as long as the working class is “legally robbed” by the captains of industry. -------

 

Image courtesy of LibCom.

 

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Joe Hill.

          

         Mark your diary, the next free Spirit of Revolt event is Thursday 7th March, 6:30 to 9:00 in the Electron Club, CCA 350 Sauchiehall Street. As usual we keep the variations going in the past free monthly events we have covered such subjects as occupations, Calton Weavers strike, veganism, punk do it yourself music scene. This Thursday's free event is a short film about Joe Hill, followed by the usual talk/discussion/questions/chat. Come along and have your say, hear other people's views, get to know some new friends.
        Since its formation, 12 years ago by a small group of unpaid volunteers, Spirit of Revolt has put on numerous events from talks to exhibitions in The Mitchell Library and other venues, also had stalls at other groups events. Along with exhibitions in the Mitchell Library we have run a series of events in the Mitchell Library called "Show and Tell" where we arranged events round material in the archive with relevant material on display for people to examine. Today it is still the same small group of unpaid volunteers plus the occasional help from, very welcome supporters who give us a few hours of the time to help out, all very much appreciated.
        Since the beginning we have always been part of the Anarchist, Libertarian Socialist Movement, and proud to be so, doing our utmost to preserve the history of the struggles of the ordinary people and the activists in their midst. We also try to digitise everything we can, and make it easily and freely available on our website.
       Why not have a browse through the website, check out Our Catalogue, Audio-Video section, Read of the Month, Strugglepedia, see the wealth of information available. Sadly we live in a capitalist system and all this cost money. If you like what we do and think we are doing a good job and would like to see this archive grow, then perhaps you could see your way to make a small donation. A one off, or a monthly direct debit, say the price of a pint or a couple of cups of coffee, every little helps us build on what we have already done.

        To help out, visit our DONATE page. Thanks. 

        Below is a photo of one of our poster from an earlier exhibition on "The Rent Strikes". 

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Memories!!

          I've lived a long time, 90 in about 3 weeks time, and all my adult life I have listed to election and party political speeches and broadcasts. Why politicians hate old folks, they have memories, and lots of my memories are of those political out bursts by the pompous political ballerinas. Along come an election and out they spout, "We will end child poverty 5 years" "We will eliminate poverty if 5 years." "We will end homelessness by building 300,000 new homes a year over the next 5 years". I've heard this so often, the number of years quoted may vary, but the vacuous promise is usually there.

Image courtesy of Salvation Army.

 

        Here we are 2024 approaching that 90 mark and what I see is child poverty is increasing, poverty across the population is growing, homelessness is growing, more and more household are anxious and stressed as they try to make ends meet, food banks have sprung up and are overwhelmed. With all these phoney promises doing nothing to change this situation, why do we keep repeating the same mistake of voting for them. They say that the first sign of insanity is to keep doing the same thing but expecting a different result, are we really that insane? 

Image courtesy of Metro.

 

       Why in the name of any logic or rational should we even listen to this bunch of so called representatives, who in actual fact only represent themselves and their rich cronies.

Image courtesy of The Guardian.

 

       Let's prove how sane we are by pulling the plug on this burden and restriction on our lives, stop voting, become ungovernable, organise within you communities and workplaces to take control of own lives and shape society they way we want it to be. Fair, just, co-operative based on mutual aid, and seeing to the needs of all our people. Tell me "why not"?

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Tomorrow!!

    

 

Image courtesy of Al Jazeera.

             Gaza today, Palestine for 70 years of ethnic cleansing, unimaginable bloodshed suffering and deaths in an act of genocide in which the Western imperialist are totally complicit. The future as seen by those Western imperialists, domination by hi-tec devastating armaments. Is it the future the people want? I doubt that very much, so we have to assert ourselves and become the dominate power on this planet, people of peace and equality, sharing, mutual aid, co-operation and seeing to the need of all our people.   

This from SubMedia. 

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Democracy??

 

 

Image courtesy of The Independent.

 

Representative Democracy?

Day in day out without a doubt there they yelp

Inside their privileged Hallowed Halls of pomp

safe in their protective bubble of lavish pensions

extravagant expenses fat salary and backhanded perks

with theatrics, arguing nuances of deprivation and poverty

with straight faced skill weaving illusions to fool the populace

using genocide and ethnic cleansing for scoring party points

ignoring the blood of innocents that is a land’s poison

with composure complicit in the slaughter of a population

Right Honourable Gentlemen, Members of Parliament

“Representative Democracy” truly a misnomer ,so please,

spare us your devious vacuous fanciful platitudes

self indulgent arse licking pimps of pomp and power. 

 

Image courtesy of The Independent. 

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Murder?

        

Image courtesy of Counter Fire.

              So we are in recession, should we be worried? I say be very worried, as this means that most business are shrinking, rather than growing, which in turn means that the government will be looking at ways to boost big business. The only way they know how to do that, is plunder the public purse of tax payers money and hand it out to the big businesses. So look forward to more poverty, harder struggles to pay your bills and feed your family. Despite this "recession" some business are doing very well thank you. British Gas has announced that its profits for the year have grown 10 fold, thanks to our hard struggle to pay our bills. Will this vast increase in profit mean that our energy prices will drop 10 fold, my arse. Another attempt to plunder the public purse is the Chancellor, he is considering a squeeze on social service to fund tax cuts, to help his corporate cronies. All their plans are to help big businesses and to hell with the effect on the general public The public purse is there, in their opinion to be used to feed their corporate cronies in the wealthy parasite class.
           With this system of corporate capitalism, we the general public are only there if we can earn money for the corporate bosses and pay taxes to help fund their continuous plunder of the public purse. When we are not doing that, we are disposable, we can scratch a living as best we can, live a life of dire poverty, watch our kids lead a stunted life and slowly move to an early grave. Any government that forces this on the public when it can be avoided is surely guilt of killing them, not by bullet or bayonet, but by denying them a decent life when that government could remedy the situation with the resources of our tax money. However, that will never happen unless we, the public, take control of all the wealth we produce and see that it's fairly and justly distributed to see to the needs of all our people. We don't need the parasite class, they need us, but we let them plunder and abuse us.

                                            Image courtesy of Independent.

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Glasgow??

So you know Glasgow? Well, do you!!

Glasgow, the name.

        Glasgow can trace it history back to at least the 4th century, it was at that time a certain St. Ninian stopped by the Molendinar Burn, where the Cathedral is today, and consecrated a piece of land there as a Christian burial ground. Some hundred years or so later a St. Kentigern brought the body of a holy man Fergus to be buried at the St Ninian spot. St Kentigern stayed and set up a Christian community in the area. He later became known as St Mungo patron saint of Glasgow.

        The name 'Glasgow' has gone through considerable changes over the centuries. The earliest Charters refer to the city as 'Glaschu', while the earliest seals give several different spellings. In the seal of 1180 the spelling is 'Glesgu', and the seal of 1325 it is 'Glagu'. In 1297 the Earl of Warrenne and Surry to the English King refers to 'Glasgeu' in another letter from the same Earl it becomes 'Glascu'. In a letter from Hugh de Cressingham in 1297 to the King of England it has the spelling 'Glasgu'. In the Charter of 1324 by Robert the 3rd it is written as 'Glasgw'. Another Charter of 1419 by John Stewart, Lord Darnley has it as 'Glaschow'. Yet again the spelling changes in the will of Archbishop Betoun where he refers to himself as Archeuesque de Glasco.
 

Origins of the name

           It is generally accepted the name is not from Gaelic, as at the time of its formation this area was a Welsh settlement. It is probably from the Welsh 'Glas', and 'cu' or 'gu'; translates as 'Beloved Green Place' and is referring to the spot where Kentigern met Columba thus Kentigern becoming the Patron Saint of Glasgow. 

Radical Glasgow.

Mention Glasgow and various stereotypes jump to mind, dreadful slums, hard drinking, random violence, razor gangs, shipbuilding, locomotive makers and other heavy industries. What else is written about the city usually refers to captains of industry, architects, inventors, and medical men of note. Scratch the surface however, and you find another Glasgow with a long tradition, the real Glasgow, 'Radical Glasgow'.

          Glasgow can boast of a long tradition of radical movements growing from the ranks of ordinary people. People struggling not only to improve their own conditions but that of all working class people.

          Glasgow can lay claim to a series of firsts. Besides being the birthplace of the 'European Temperance Movement', the following are just some other firsts that can be added to its roll of honour: Birth of the Scottish Labour Movement.
First effective trade unions formed.
First trade union papers printed.
Scottish Co-op movement first established.
Scottish Labour Party founded.
First Trades Council in Scotland.
History of Glasgow Green

         The Glasgow Green has always been a focal point for the people of Glasgow and a cradle of social movements throughout its history. The following list is but a hint at the history of the Green: Through the 1700 and 1800s, the various reform movements.
Pre-1914, the woman’s suffrage movements.
1916, rent strikes.
1938 anti-fascist movements.
1971 U.C.S. crisis.
1984 miner’s strike.
 

Conclusion

        Both the above lists could be expanded depending where you place your focus, and no doubt will continue to expand as the people of Glasgow go on to face new challenges.
        I hope the following articles give at least some insight into that other Glasgow, the Glasgow that does not always find its story in the mainstream literature about the city, but is the true heart of the City of Glasgow, the city of compassion and vision. 

This article was lifted from Strugglepedia at https://spiritofrevolt.info 

 

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Veganism!!

 

             Spirit of Revolt continues with its Thursday evening open night. The next event will be Thursday 8th. February in the Electron Club at the CCA 350 Sauchiehall Street Glasgow, 6:30pm to 9:00pm. The subject matter will be veganism and its politics. Speakers will be there but it is an open night, so bring your thoughts and your question and any snippets you wish to add. These event are free and all are welcome.

 Image courtesy of Quote Fancy.

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Class War.

 

            The poor get poorer and the rich get richer, and it is not by accident or act of some god. It is because the system is built to ensure that's the way it goes. You can put it under several titles, a cull on the poor, class war, plundering of the poor, re-capitalising the corporate system, but no matter the label, the result is poverty and deprivation for the many and opulence for the few. What that entails for the vast majority on this planet is early avoidable deaths, ill health, stunted youth, lack of social service for the needy and a daily struggle for a half decent life. It is not that there isn't enough to go round, it is the fact that money and profit determine distribution, human need doesn't appear on the radar screen. This economic system of insanity is a human devised system and it is up to the majority of humanity to dismantle it as rapidly as possible, or our future generations will sink further into the mire of deprivation, ill health and early death. 

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Organise Now.

 

 

                   A bit late with this, the Kellie 45 has been out for about a week. Why is this important? perhaps because we are facing a possible Armageddon as the genocide in Gaza continues unabated with the blessing of most of the Western puppets of the imperial U$A empire. An empire of psychopaths who arrogantly believe they have the right to rule the world and plunder where and when they want. They have done so with impunity since the end of WW2. However, their power is slipping away and being psychopaths, they won't let that happen without a suicidal fight, using the devastating nuclear arsenal at their disposal, no matter the consequences to millions upon millions of innocent civilians.
          So it is of the utmost importance the papers such as the Keelie are on the streets, in the workplaces, in the communities trying to impress on everyone with peace and well being on their mind to come out onto the streets, to organise in their communities to come together in their workplaces and stop this genocidal, suicide by the power crazy psychopaths who it this moment in time hold the reins of power. It is up to us to seize those reins of power for the sake of all humanity. Get out there, get your Keellie at demos, street meetings, peace events, pickets and be part of the fight back for sanity and humanity.

 

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It's NO righ'.

Image courtesy of Youtube.

             It all flows under the bridge like a river in spate, inequality, greed and the rip-off society. Though some things are glaringly obvious, they always seem to get away with it, as they sip their champagne. One such glaring inequality that will pass without a ripple is the recently released fact that in the first 3 days of this year 2024, FTSE 100 bosses earned the annual average UK salary. If the average annual salary is enough to live on then these FTSE bosses should retire for the rest of the year. However, they wont, they.ll keep the rip-off cash rolling into their already fat bank accounts, pension funds and other tax dodging ventures, they can never get enough, their greed is insatiable.
           Another glaring greedy grasp that will pass without a ripple, while millions struggle to heat their homes and feed their family, is the fact the the boss of Bet365, one Denise Coates will see her pay check leap to £221 million. I know she feels she needs that sort of salary to allow her to live her self indulgent worthless life style, all paid for by all those how try to make a little extra cash, to help them out.
         When will we ever learn, we struggle while these rip-off merchants plunder every penny of the wealth that we the population create, and it us that creates every nut and bolt, every truck load, every building ever created, every ship and all their bounteous cargo, all fashioned and built by our hands, only to see it plundered by the parasite class that we carry on our shoulders.

                  Essential toys for the parasite class, paid for by you!!

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Punk.

 

      The next Spirit of Revolt event is this coming Thursday, 6:30pm, 11th. January, in the Creative Lab at the CCA 350 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow. It will be the usual talks by various speakers/chat/questions/discussion affair. This is one that I'm sure will interest lots of you, punk and the DIY music industry. So come along and have your say on this vibrant, creative brand of expression.

Image courtesy of Punkuatiom Mag.

 

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Corporatism.

         Some people foolishly refer to our society as a democracy, when in fact we live under a system of corporatism. A society where the corporate world dictates the shape of the economic distribution of wealth and our political Ballerinas always dance to their tune. The Tories, the ballerinas on stage at the moment, spout that they are the party of tax cuts, and this is supposed to make you and I feel good, when in fact it just makes less tax revenue available for the social fabric of our society and the poorest will carry that burden. The latest in tax cuts is inheritance tax, so how much do you think you will save by this "generous" Tory action? Well here is a sample of how those savings work out. 

Rishi Sunak £282m
Jacob Rees-Mogg £60m
David Cameron £16m
Jeremy Hunt £6m
James Cleverly £3.5m
96% of people £0
 

            While the system protects the wealth of the very rich and turns a blind eye to tax avoidance, it has decided that it will now snoop on the bank details of the poorest and most vulnerable. Data Protection and Digital Information Bill gives government unhindered access to bank accounts of 22.4m people. No court order is needed, government does not have to notify anyone. Be afraid, very afraid. Our liberties are vanishing like an early morning mist.
           Our political ballerinas have now dictated that our energy bills will rise by 5% this coming term. Can this be justified when we consider that one energy company, Scottish Power, managed £487 million in profit for year 2022, a considerable jump compared to the previous year. Just another step in the plundering of the poor for corporate profit. The system continues to push more and more people into poverty and the resultant misery and deaths that these actions bring with them.       

          When society places hundreds of proletarians in such a position that they inevitably meet a too early and an unnatural death, one which is quite as much a death by violence as that by the sword or bullet; when it deprives thousands of the necessaries of life, places them under conditions in which they cannot live – forces them, through the strong arm of the law, to remain in such conditions until that death ensues which is the inevitable consequence – knows that these thousands of victims must perish, and yet permits these conditions to remain, its deed is murder. (Engels)

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Insanity.

        Writing about what has gone wrong in this world is easy. We could start locally, the rising child poverty in the UK, increasing hardship on families due to rocketing mortgages, and food prices, the increase in homelessness, and rough sleeping, the collapsing health system by government agenda, to drive it in to the hands of large corporations to let them make millions for the suffering of ordinary people, the crumbling education system. All of these are a brutal indictment of a system that has miserable failed to see to the needs of people of this country.
        However, all this fades into insignificance when we look at what the American empire and its cronies are doing in supporting the genocide taking place in Gaza under the the hands of the psychopathic Zionist nutcases sitting in the Israeli government. A deranged bunch of insane religious headbangers who believe they are special, the chosen people and have the right to ethnic cleanse the country of Palestine because their wee mythical man in the sky gave them this land more than 2,000 years ago. Insanity and religious fantasy as government policy. What is more shocking, that the leaders of the so called developed West go along with this savage insanity. Instead of their humanity, which they all seem to lack, instead of calling for a ceasefire to this brutal genocide, they bleat on about more humanitarian aid instead of a ceasefire, WHY, do they believe that the Palestinians must be well fed and looked after before they are slaughtered?

Image courtesy of North Jersey

 

 

        Over 21,000 civilians killed in less than three months, more than half of them children. Will those who are against a ceasefire, please explain how this can be, in all humanity be acceptable. Those orchestrating this bloody genocide and those supporting it, must be held to account and soon if humanity has a chance of survival in this troubled world. 

 

An extract for an interesting article by Caitlin Johnstone in conjunction with her husband Tim Foley. 

        There’s a single news story about international conflicts which keeps repeating itself again and again in different iterations, and that story is this: “US-centralized empire fights to secure domination of planet Earth, and some populations resist this.”
           You’re seeing this story with Hamas, Hezbollah and Ansarallah today. That’s what you’ve been seeing with all the standoffs with Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. That’s what you see when the US-centralized power structure terrorizes nations in Latin America like Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua.
           It’s a giant empire attacking nations who have the temerity to insist on their own national sovereignty rather than being absorbed into the imperial blob. It uses full-scale wars, proxy conflicts, starvation sanctions and blockades, drone wars, CIA coups and deliberately fomented color revolutions to subvert any government which defies the US agenda of securing total planetary domination.
       If you can understand this, you can understand pretty much any major international conflict in modern times.

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Archives.

         

           

          Anarchist archives, libraries and bookshops are an important and integral part of anarchism. If we don't record our own history it will disappear and the next generation will have no idea it ever happened. Orwell once stated that the best way to destroy a people was to destroy their history, we should always be wary of that fact. Anarchist archives, libraries and bookshops are our quiet information centres, there for all to see, browse and learn from. Scotland is fortunate that it has Spirit of Revolt Archives of dissent, probably the largest anarchist libertarian socialist archive in Scotland. In England we have The Sparrows Nest, Tyneside Anarchist Archive, and May Day Rooms, all valuable assets of the anarchist world. They say loud and clear, we were here yesterday and we are still here today, and these are our ideas and actions. I believe all anarchist should support these groups for the work they do to further anarchist ideas and preserve our history. So if you like what they are doing, why not support them, buy the a cup of coffee now and again, it would be much appreciated and it would help preserve and enlarge our rich and vibrant history. 

      Support our Anarchist Archives and libraries by a small donation.

             No doubt there are other anarchist archives and libraries seek them out in your area and support them, let's not forget Kate Sharpley.

Visit ann arky at https://spiritofrevolt.info