Posts Tagged “protest”
 On 8 March, International Women’s Day comes around once more.
As the Scottish Socialist Voice explained in a previous IWD special (scroll down to centre pages):
For over 150 years, women and men across the world have demonstrated on International Women’s Day. On that day in 1857 in New York, hundreds of women workers in the textile industry went on strike, protesting casual labour, low wages and poor working conditions. The women were attacked and beaten by the police – their stand was one of the reasons 8 March was officially recognised as International Women’s Day in 1910. So why do we still mark the day now in the 21st century?
The multinational bank HSBC is a major sponsor of the ‘official’, or at least biggest, International Women’s Day celebrations in Britain now. Their website explains:
“Many companies have actively supported International Women’s Day… This is essential if they are to recruit and retain the best female talent, sell their products/services to them, and see more women investing in them.”
But for others, including the Scottish Socialist Women’s Network, the reasons we march on International Women’s Day are the same as why the New York textile workers marched – because we are still fighting low pay, exploitation and oppression.
 Photo by Eva Merz Socialists in Scotland will be marking the occasion with our annual International Women’s Day protest outside HMP Cornton Vale.
Cornton Vale is the only women’s prison in Scotland, and it is notoriously overcrowded – despite the fact that most of the inmates shouldn’t be there in the first place. Just one per cent of women in Cornton Vale are there because they have committed a violent offence. Previous reports have found that 90 per cent of women imprisoned in Scotland have committed crimes related to poverty – through drug and alcohol abuse, non-payment of fines, or just struggling to cope with living below the breadline.
In 2006, it was found that 98% of the inmates were struggling with addiction; 80% had mental health problems and 75% were survivors of abuse.
Former Scottish Socialist Party MSP Rosie Kane was held in Cornton Vale in 2006 for non-payment of a fine. One of her fellow inmates was there for nothing more than throwing some candles and a James Blunt CD out of a window during an argument. You can read about Rosie’s experience in Cornton Vale here.
 It costs £37,000 a year to keep one woman in Cornton Vale – that’s money that could be investing in helping women with drink and drug problems, helping poverty stricken women from having to turn to prostitution or theft to feed themselves, their families or their habits. That is money that could help women rebuilt their lives after abuse and trauma. Instead women are being locked up and mistreated over and over again.
Socialists and feminists protesting outside womens’ prisons is often misunderstood or deliberately misconstrued. We DON’T think women are inherently good and gentle and should therefore don’t belong in jail. The fact is that women receive disproportionately high sentences when compared to men who have committed similar crimes. As previously reported in Leftfield, shoplifters (mainly women) are more likely to be imprisoned than sex offenders (mainly men). Women taking a tiny bit of profit-making opportunity from private companies are considered more dangerous criminals than men who pose a serious risk to the safety of women and children. That’s FUCKED UP.
Stop the war on women!
Join us this Sunday, 7 March at 12 noon at Stirling Train Station, to march on Cornton Vale and PROTEST.
Please bring ribbons and flowers to decorate the fence.
If you are a driver, your help ferrying protesters from the train station to the prison would be much appreciated.
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Despite choosing the slightly more family friendly title of “Why must our children pay? Invest in their education” SSY members, particularly those still in high schools support the EIS teaching union’s campaign against cuts. Whilst many other unions have either decided to accommodate to cuts, or fight them solely through industrial action the EIS are opening another front and trying to win over public support. The logic of their argument is clear – cuts in education are due to a financial crisis not of teachers or students making, and will result in poorer education for a generation of young Scots.
These cuts are being made at the same time that almost a billion pounds, £900 million is being cut from university funding across the UK, with SSY members being involved in anti-cuts campaigns like ACAN at Glasgow University.
The EIS site outlines the cuts below,
Already cuts are taking place in local council education budgets.
* 2,500 fewer teachers in classrooms than 2 years ago
* Teacher support numbers reduced
* Books, paper and photocopying materials etc. reduced
* The decision to cut the number of students to train to become teachers.
In the future this will mean
* Teacher shortages
* Increased class sizes
* Impact on teaching and learning, including the new Curriculum for Excellence
* A cut in equipment (including computers) and materials in schools
* A reduction in specialist provision, e.g. classroom assistants, learning support and music instructors
* Fewer opportunities to access further and higher education
They are also being proposed is the same time that its been revealed that inequality has increased under the Labour government – David Cameron and his Eton pals might have a chance to escape public sector cuts for his kids, but ordinary working people will see less teachers and therefore less attention for their children. In both high schools and further education, there is an attack on funding which will attack jobs and young peoples right to a decent education.
The SSP supports a “20’s plenty” campaign, for a maximum of 20 children to each teacher in class. Following this programme would have kept enough teachers employed to stop any of Labour’s previous cuts of Glasgow’s schools. The SSP was recently involved with the Save Our Schools campaign, which fought hard against these cuts.
Support the campaign against cuts in education, turn up to the rally,
THIS SATURDAY – MARCH THE 6TH
ASSEMBLE KELVINGROVE WAY, KELVINGROVE PARK 10.30AM
MARCH AT 11, RALLY AT 12 AT THE SECC
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Every single one of the German party The Left’s 76 members of the Bundestag (the German national parliament) have been expelled after a protest against the war in Afghanistan.
 Die Linke holding up the names of killed Afghan civilians The left wingers, who are members of a new party attempting to unite German socialists and that has had rapid success in elections, held up signs with the names of Afghan civilians killed in a German-ordered airstrike last September.
The protest was during a debate on extending Germany’s mission in Afghanistan. Some 429 MPs voted for and 111 against the new mandate – 16 fewer votes in favour than last time – allowing troop numbers to be increased by 850 to 5,350, and keeping German troops in Afghanistan for another nine years.
This is despite the fact that as much as 80% of the German people oppose the war, and in fact it flouts the German constitution, which orders German armed forces to only be for national defence.
Die Linke know that they can make loads of brilliant speeches in the debate and won’t get covered by the mainstream media. What this protest did was capture the imagination of TV and the news, communicating quickly and visually to millions of Germans that socialists stand up against the war.
The draconian response by parliamentary officials was ridiculous, and is reminiscent of the scandalous way Scottish Socialist Party MSPs were treated in 2005, when they held up signs demanding the right to protest against G8 leaders who were meeting in Gleneagles.
 SSP MSP's protest for the right to march on Gleneagles MSPs from all other parties then voted to ban the SSP members involved from the parliament, and deny their wages and allowances, denying hard working socialist researchers and workers behind the scenes their income as well.
When socialist parties stand in elections, we do it to try and fight to change things as much as is possible within the limits of parliaments and councils that are still overall part of the capitalist system. But that doesn’t mean that sometimes you shouldn’t stand up and show people just how ridiculous what goes on in our parliaments really is. When sign holding is treated as a more serious crime than the killing of 142 civilians, is it any wonder that so many people don’t take parliament and mainstream politicians seriously?
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Awrite mah wee muckers? Here’s the Glesgie style lowdoon oan the demo opposin’ the SDL oan the 20th ay February.
Fucken… So yisterday me n aw the crew went oot tae Edinburger, right? We wur there tae tell ‘ay SDL mob whit we thoat ay their bolloks.
So, we spent fucken days staunin in the cauld waitin tae find oot where they wur. The blood wis jist aboot congealed in mah feet whin we heard this they were in some pub. Jenny Ha’s wis the name. An ahm hinkin “In a fuckin’ pub again?”
Bit that disnae matter. So wuv flew ootae there lit’ a bat oota hell if ye catch mah drift. Straight up this steep fuckin hill and the Polis ur lit’ “STOAP STOAP YUR NO GETTIN BY YA RADGES!” And we’re lit’ “Get yursel tae fuck, ya high-vis wanker.” So we’ve joost went jeggin oan by. But then, this radge, Amar Anwar wis lit’ “MOAN! WUR NO GONNAE DAE ANYTHIN USEFUL – LET’S JOOST GO FORTY-TRILLION MILES AWAY AND CHAT ABOOT HOW MUCH WE DON’T LIKE THUM.” and everycunt’s lit “Aw naw man… he’s dead posh, like. Should we joost go?” N’ they start turnin roon tae go wi him. So Ahm lit’ “Aw whit man,” an me and aw the other good cats wur like “SHUT IT YA WANKIN’ RADGE YE. MOAN PEPO! MOAN KICK THE SDL MOB’S HIEDS IN!”
So some pepo wur like “Aye man, fuck Amar Anwar, he’s a coward.” An we charged up tae the Royal Mile n then the polis wur pure bastards. They fucken kettoe’d us! They joost boaxed us in away fae the SDL’s fucken pub. An ah wis like “Aw naw man,”
Bit then, this fucken genuis, Arty, the cunt’s name wis, starts walkin’ backwurds taewards the polis! N he’s bangin oan aboot “Just let yerself fall backwards, feel the experiance clensing your lower charkrah,” n aw that shite, an that fair pissed the Pigs oaf.
Bit it never worked cause no everybudy would dae it. Fair play tae thum though, cause Arty, as good as he wis, did look like a wee bit ay a nutter dayn it.
So wuv joost fell back fur a bit, decidin whit tae dae. An low an behold! The polis tried tae kettoe us in again. They even hud a go at some young wumin, puhshin hur aboot an that. Pigs, that’s aw they ur man.
Then, It’s Arty tae the fuckin rescue again! While we’re aw fartin aboot worrying an tryin tae think, he just hits oot way
“If ye want tae stoap the SDL RUN DOON HERE!”
Fucken genuis, that boy.
So aboot fifty or mer ay us fuck off roon the coarner and doon a wee street. Nae cunt knows where wur gaun, cause maist ay us wur weegies tae be honest. Bit wur joost running any wey. Ahve no goat a clue, but ahm still aw lit’ “GO GO GO GO YA RADGES!” So roon aboot this time, some cunt gets a phone call fae Carly, who’s a fucken god send, cause she tells us where the SDL cunts ur. So wuv charged doon tae the crime scene and we bump intae her.
Bit then we kinna shat wursels a wee bit, cause the SDL walk oot right in front ay us, bit then we clock thit thur aw practically greetin. So wuv aw follayed thum, laughing an chantin at thum as thuv been caught way two Polis, who’re geein thum the hame-time treatment.
An we’re aw lit’ “CHERIO CHERIO CHERIO! SEE YE LATER! AWAY HAME YA BUNCH AH UGLY DAFTIES.”
An they ur aw like no sayin anythin cause thur shiten it fey the Polis bein there.
So the polis make thum go up the sterrs tae go tae the train station, an some big massive cunt throws a smoke grenage, an the Baldy Mob chuck it back, an the massive guy throws it back again. The big High-Vis Polis dafties don’t even say anythin. Pure fucken radge mate.
 Anywey. Later oan, we aw goat split up, an ah wis burstin fur a pish, bit ah wisney leavin, cause, see, the wey we goat split up wis like, sum ay us wur doon the hill fae Jenny Ha’s an sum ay us were up the hill fae Jenny Ha’s with this big fat High-Vis Polis barrier between us. So ah thoat tae mahsel “The Polis wulnae move fae this side if we stey here, so they’re loacked in, the Manky Mob.” So ah didny move.
So then mere people get roon oor side an we joost aw bunch up an there’s fucken hunners ay us eventually. At wan point, the Polis brought some SDL cunts up this wee side bit an put them in the pub, but some ay thum started getting a wee bit radge and tried tae take a swipe it us. So a big giant Anarchist guy took a swing it thum an goat arrested. A well think’ gentleman, if ye get me?
So then nothin happend fur aboot twenty-billion years cause the SDL wur shiten thumsels in Jenny Ha’s, so we just nicked aboot chantin an annoyin the Polis. Eh, the Polis wur oot ay order, by the fucken way. Sum ay theum wur joost gettin too fucken lippy fur yur humble narrator’s likin. An ah wis like “You’re wanhntin a burst fucken lip, ya wank.”
So then thurs buses fur the SDL cunts, an we wur aw laughin cause there wis aboot twelve ay thum, so they sent a bus away cause they didny need it. That made us aw go “If ye canny fill a bus yese ur fucken shite, ya radges,” So we sang aboot that. Fucken pishin mahsel.
So then the Polis ur lit “Yese wahnt tae move oor there the noo, cause we’re awfay busy daein fuck all.”
An we wur lit “Naw.”
So we joost steyed where we wur. Ahm still bustin fur a pish, mind, bit ah wis set oan gein wan last finger tae the SDL wanks. So wuv steyed. We hud a laugh, loast wur circulation, goat piles fae sittin oan a freezin fence, an hud a wee round ay ‘I will survive’. Bit we wur aw starvin an maist ay us wur needin a pish quite fucken bad bi’ this point.
Bit then the victory wis sealed, mah wee chummos, cause the big stupit lookin wankers were paped oan eh bus, not a word fae thum, an they wur shipped oot, tae a hail ay’ “SCUM SCUM SCUM” fae us, an we gave ‘em a wee wave wi wur middle finger. Nice tae see yeese away ya cunts.
 SDL, Wank Wank Wank! So it wis a good day. Proves thit they ur joost wankers. Oan oor wey hame, we goat stalked by some wee weedy cunt wi a camera, and my wee chummo Andrew hits oot wey “He’s follayin us,”
So wan ay the crew turns roon an goes “Good shots, ay mate?” An this wee weed goes “Aye I like gettin shots ay Antifash wanks,” an he’s turned roon an slabbered “sieg Heil” an ah wis like “Aw naw man, you’re a pure spud, get yerself hame.”
An that’s the story toops, follay oor lead an tell eh racists tae get tae fuck, cause thur no welcom in mah sceme, mate.
Wee Lydia Tee signin aff, mah muckers.
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It’s fast approaching the end of the year, which for any self-respecting magazine, newspaper or um, leftie satirical current affairs yoof blog, can only mean one thing… Yep, it’s time to start compiling mundane, identikit and altogether quite predictable lists of the best ’stuff’ that’s happened over the past 12 months, as if anyone actually gives a fuck about the media’s self-important judgement of um, anything, anymore.
Anyway, in this spirit, we’re happy to present to you Leftfield’s list of the…
TOP FOURTEEN PROTEST SIGNS/PLACARDS/BANNERS OF TWO THOUSAND AND NINE…!
Many wonderful, and some less wonderful, things happened this year. And there was plenty to protest about, as we’re about to find out…
 The two biggest controversies the US saw this year – healthcare and Beyoncegate - IN ONE AMAZING SIGN!
 Ha ha ! Omg, I totally see what they did there!!!
 The American Right: hundreds of think-tanks, tens of millions of voters, trillions of dollars, and this was the best they could come up with?
 Hmm, I’m not sure. Tanker? Anchor?
 There are no wrods to describe how great this is.
 It’s funny cause it’s true.
 See, it’s people like this guy that give violent anti-Arab fascist-zionist politics a bad name.
 If any good came out the Gaza occupation at Glasgow Uni this February, it was undoubtedly this graffiti. Genius.
 Difficult one there.
 Aww, if you look closely, you’ll see a little ‘zionist’ has been added above the ‘juice’! How thoughtful. Zionist juice.. erm, Zion Bru?
 yes!
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Millions – okay, maybe nearer hundreds – of protestors marched through Springburn on Saturday 7 November, for the Youth March for Jobs, organised by the SSP and SSY.
The demonstration provided a sharp dose of reality in a by-election otherwise dominated by ex-Big Brother contestants (two of them!), tabloid columnists, former newscasters and the ever reliable Charlie Baillie, of creepy youtube videos and being a nasty Nazi fame .
The march wound its way from Springburn shopping centre through the housing scheme to Springburn park, where it finished in a rally and speeches from SSY’s Andy Bowden and Kevin McVey, the SSP by-election candidate.
With youth unemployment reaching 1 million – and reputedly at 30% within the Glasgow North East constituency – it’s proving to be the most pressing issue in the election, as reflected in the overwhelmingly positive response local people have given the SSP’s recent campaigning, and Saturday’s demo.
bottom two photos: eddie truman
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