After a bit of wrangling with the council and the police, SSY/SSP has confirmed details for the March for Jobs we are organising.

The march will take place on the Saturday the 7th of November, assembling at 12 outside Springburn Shopping centre

We will be marching through Springburn to Springburn Park, where we should have a few bands and DJ’s playing.

With youth unemployment predicted to reach one million we hope you will join us in fighting for jobs for every young person in Scotland who wants one, and stopping another generation being sacrificed on the altar of the free market.

When I wrote a thing on here a few weeks ago about the English Defence League, the far-right football casual cum ‘we’re not racist we just hate muslims’ group, I made a passing comment that if they ever do come to Scotland, we better be ready for the fight back. I didn’t seriously believe they were about to announce their first demonstration north of the border a couple of days later, though.

Balaclaved Nazis holding a swastica? SHOCK HORROR. Hang on… they’re setting it alight? Cause they’re most definitely NOT RACIST, that’s why. Why they had the fucking swastica in the first place remains unknown. Hmm…

But so they have. From what Leftfield understands, they’ve applied to the council for a route which will, on 14 November, see their demonstration assemble at Clyde Street, then go over the bridge at Gorbals Street to Glasgow Central Mosque . Sorry, did I say demonstration? My mistake. The Scottish Defence League (for that’s what their calling themselves) have made it clear that they are ‘not asking for a parade’  but will ‘walk around on the pavement’.
Walk around on the pavement? Yeah, if that doesn’t show those pesky extremist terrorist muslim bombers to get back to their own country and stop enforcing that sharia law stuff onto us, stealing our women and wearing those burqas, I don’t know WHAT will. And to really emphasise the point about not covering faces, we’re all gonna wear balaclavas, right lads!

Of all the streets the SDL could have chosen to assemble their wee fash protest on, they chose the street with a fucking statue of La Pasionaria. No Pasaran on Clyde St!

It’s still not known whether they’ll actually get permission for their march, sorry, I mean, ’peaceful pavement excursion’, from the council. In Manchester, for instance, they have - for what looks likely to be the EDL’s biggest show of force yet. The intinery goes something like this: meet in Wetherspoons at 12, drink for 5 hours, and then have what I’m sure will be a peaceful pavement-based saunter to Piccadilly Gardens (as ever, the UAF demo will have fucked off by then – they’re holding it 5 hours earlier in the same location). Islamophobia, racism, nazi salutes and muslim-baiting will not be tolerated, the EDL website reassures us. Yeah… right.
Back to Scotland… so they, the SDL/EDL/combat 18/UDF/scum are coming, and whether they get council and police permission or not, they’ll almost certainly show up, whether that’s in Glasgow, or, as the rumour goes, Kilmarnock. Probably not Edinburgh though, where there’s a massive anti-NATO demo going on that day, so at least we can rule that one out..

The newly formed Left Society at Glasgow Uni are calling for mass, militant action to stop the SDL march from going ahead. The far-right must be prevented from taking to our streets. And our pavements.
This week, we’re holding an open meeting with representatives from a number of different student groups and trade unions, to discuss how we can oppose the EDL and organise actions to stop them on the day. 

OPEN MEETING —- organising to oppose the Scottish Defence League:
Tuesday 6 October, 7pm, Boyd Orr building: room 412, Glasgow University. ALL WELCOME.
Meeting initally called by Glasgow Uni Left Society – contact leftsociety@gmail.com

Let’s stop them crossing the fucking river! No pasaran!

With a media circus about to descend on Glasgow North East, for a by-election triggered as the consequence of political and personal corruption in Westminster its time to remind the politicians about the communities they have abandoned.

Youth unemployment in the UK has now risen to a staggering 20% for 18-24 year olds, and is 30% for 16-17 year olds. These are only the national averages. In hundreds of housing schemes, estates, towns and cities the levels of unemployment will be much higher.

One such area is Glasgow North East, where unfortunately its not just been disgraced Speaker Michael Martin whose been put out of a job in the last 6 months.

All of this is taking place is one of the poorest areas in Scotland, with a lack of social housing, a lack of facilities for young people, a lack of public transport and one of the poorest life expectancy rates in the UK.

There is no reason for anybody to be unemployed in Scotland when there is so much need to resolve issues of housing and poverty.

The only reason there are millions on the dole and millions without decent, affordable housing is because the market doesn’t find it profitable to use the two to resolve each other.

Thats why the Scottish Socialist Party, and its youth wing Scottish Socialist Youth is organising a MARCH FOR JOBS – NOT ANOTHER LOST GENERATION in Springburn, on October 31st. Details have still to be finalised on the route and rally points for the march.

Make the bankers pay for their crisis, not working people

The SSP/SSY is calling for a 10% greed tax to be levied on everyone in the UK with “liquid assets” of £1 million – that is a million quid lying in the bank, not in property etc.

This would raise £7 Billion for Scotland, which could provide decent, unionised, socially valuable jobs for thousands of young people in places like Springburn, Ruchazie, Carntyne and hundreds of other communities Labour and the Tories have ignored.

The march is demanding the greed tax be enacted to fund,

* Apprenticeships for young people, to build social housing in Glasgow North East, and improve existing housing,

* A massively expanded free public transport system across the constituency,

*Facilities like sports clubs, discos, parks etc for young people to enjoy in the constituency,

*An expansion of health services to improve the quality and length of peoples lives across Glasgow.

New Labour and the Tories are busy fighting over who can cut the deepest and the harshest into public spending.

The SSP says communities like Glasgow North East have had enough stolen from them for the bankers over the past 30 years, its time to provide a voice for working class people who have been abandoned and betrayed by the mainstream parties.

GIVE YOUTH A FUTURE – NO TO ANOTHER LOST GENERATION

SUPPORT THE MARCH FOR JOBS IN SPRINGBURN ON OCTOBER 31ST!

The Glasgow Festival of DIY Culture is currently underway with loooads of good shit happenin’ before it finishes on Sunday. What’s even better is that everything taking place is free slash not-for-profit!
The organisers have taken over premises on Renfield Lane (opposite Stereo) for the duration of the festival, with other events taking place at the new Glasgow Social Centre (on Osbourne St, near Mono), at Glasgow Sculpture Studios, and across the city.
There’s hunners and hunners of stuff happening, from knitting workshops to guerilla gardening and film showings and gigs to a subway ‘flash musical’ and a fair amount of pretentious arty stuff. There’s a bunch of activistey goings-on too, with workshops and a critical mass bike ride through the city this Friday.
the full programme can be viewed here:  http://www.diyglasgow.co.uk/explore/