Regular readers of this site will know of two attempts by the so-called “Scottish Defence League” to march in Glasgow in Edinburgh to demonstrate against Muslims in this country. On both occasions the SDL have been kettled, unable to march – and in Edinburgh unable to make even a token static protest. On both occasions democratic, grassroots and broad anti-fascist organisations have been formed, with SSY members working with different anti-fascist campaigners to physically stop the SDL from marching. These organisations have been responsive in nature, and have only formed in the cities where the SDL have planned to march – but it has left us with a network of anti-fascists, in Glasgow Anti-Fascist Alliance and Edinburgh Anti-Fascist Alliance.

This Saturday both groups will be coming together to have a national anti-fascist meeting to discuss the way forward for anti-fascists in Scotland. The SDL have been convincingly thrashed both times they have attempted to march or demonstrate but it is now clear the SDL are changing tactics and the anti-fascist alliances must respond to this. They have shut down their facebook, bebo groups etc and now are reliant on a hardcore of their members to come out and demonstrate. They have given up trying to publicly advertise their demonstrations and are now reliant on contacting those who have already been on previous demonstrations.

This in itself is a victory, as it severely stunts the possible growth of the SDL as an organisation but it also makes it harder for anti-fascists to combat them. After the Edinburgh disaster for the SDL, they announced they would be having a memorial event in Lockerbie on the 27th of March. Again this shows they have been thrown out of the cities in Scotland and marks a retreat for them. However instead of demonstrating on the 27th the SDL organised a demo last Saturday – this was entirely in secret, with no press coverage of any kind. Again, a blow considering the media coverage they obtained in both Edinburgh and Glasgow.

What it does raise though is the possibility of “lightning demos” – where the SDL contact a few dozen of their trusted members to organise a brief, static demo in major cities in Scotland – possibly outside key targets for them, such as Mosques or the Parliament. The anti-fascist movement needs to be able to respond to this effectively, particularly as the conditions will be very different from in the past in terms of policing etc.

We also need to discuss how we deal with other fascist organisations, such as the National Front. Long dormant across the UK – and in particular Scotland, where they never had anything like the base they had in England – they are now planning a “Kriss Donald memorial” later this month. The NF is trying to stoke up racial tension and exploit the tragic murder of a young boy for their own fantasies of racial war.

The biggest threat we need to face is not forces on the street however – its the established party of the far-right across the UK, the BNP. The BNP took 2 MEP’s last year, alongside their dozens of councillors and GLA seat. They are trying to make the break into political respectability, and with Griffins infamous appearance on Question Time are making some inroads. While the BNP have no councillors in Scotland, and have never picked much support north of the border its clear they are now trying to break on to the Scottish political scene. In the Glasgow North East by-election they came 4th, not far off beating the Tories and holding on to their deposit.

The BNP are now talking about standing in up to 12 seats across Scotland, which would be their largest set of candidates in any General Election in Scotland. While the BNP do not have any chance of winning the seats – and are very unlikely to hold their deposit in any of these seats either – these elections will be used to boost their profile for the 2011 Holyrood Elections. The BNP will be trying to get a PR seat by winning 5-6% across a region, most likely Glasgow.

At the moment this appears unlikely, particularly as Scottish Elections don’t give the BNP media coverage on the basis of their successes down south. What their strategy most likely will be is to boost their profile in national elections across Scotland in preparation for the 2012 council elections. All the BNP need here is 16 – 20% in one council ward to take a councillor. The BNP built their base in council halls in England, its logical they would use the same tactics up here – where they do not need to win a FPTP election.

The anti-fascist movement not only needs to deal with the far-right in their political organisations but with a wider acceptance of racist views in society in general. It’s now commonplace to hear migrants being blamed for taking jobs, and attacks on Muslims as being disloyal, terrorists etc. Most of the people who make these kind of comments would never vote BNP, but they can influence the major parties through voting for them to accept these ideas.

If the organisations, and more importantly the ideas of the far-right are going to be beaten anti-fascists have to evolve a strategy beyond “Don’t vote Nazi”. We need to flesh out, and campaign as for a strategy that undercuts why people are attracted to racist parties and ideas. That means uniting working people for positive demands around housing, education, employment and wages. SSY hopes that the national anti-fascist meeting this Saturday begins that process, and helps to build a national Scottish Anti-Fascist Alliance.

Saturday, March 13, 2010
6:30pm – 9:00pm
upstairs in the Forest Cafe, 3 Bristo Place, Edinburgh

So apparently the original press statement Glasgow’s Labour Council were going to release regarding Stephen Purcell’s resignation described a “chemical dependency” of his as being the reason for his standing down. Of course, SSY is in no position to make any informed comment regarding such accusations. We can however, make informed speculation as to what the chemical dependency may or may not be. Of course we have to make clear that the chemical dependency could be one, many, all or none of these things.

1) Stephen Purcell is obsessed with making model volcanoes.

We all know someone who has fallen into volcano addiction. First it begins with small models, perhaps only the size of a molehill but eventually expands to the size of a back garden, swamping friends and loved ones in baking soda. The process of lies begins with an excessive amount of bicarbonate soda – all to be used in “baking cakes” which never seem to materialise.

But was Purcell a Volcanolic? Was his abscence during the Save our Schools campaign due to an obsessive desire to recreate Krakatoa in the bathroom of central chambers? Labour sources have revealed nothing.

2. Bunsen Burner fetishes.

Most times a bunsen burner is a vital piece of scientific equipment which should be dealt with caution in youth as a source of burny flames. However in the hands of a hardened bunsenaholic like Purcell the burner becomes an altogether more sinister piece of equipment.

Purcell could have spent literally days locked in his office burning various transitional elements, alkali metals and, given the correct equipment various noble gases. There is a time and a place for science but when the leader of Scotland’s largest council spends days conducting scientific experiments already extensively confirmed by various scientific institutions it is time for concerned families to ask questions.

3) Mentos and Coca Cola.

It begins as a joke – perhaps dropping one mento into a bottle of Diet Coke in someones front room at a house party, and watching as the room is covered with fizzy shite. But even this simple pastime can drag someone down the dark, souless road of an addict.

Did Stephen Purcell amass gigantic quantities of Diet Cola – up to 3 metric tonnes according to some sources – and subject it to mentos? Despite a lack of evidence, we can say with confidence almost certainly yes.

4. Fabric softener.

Take a look at Stephen Purcell. I think we can all agree he’s a well dressed man, ready to go out and do his best for the people of Glasgow. But did certain cleaning substances go beyond the realms of appropriate hygiene and into a murky world of fabric softener obsession? Did Purcell take regular half hour breaks from important council meetings to plunge his head into baskets of freshly laundered clothes, to get off on the smell of febreeze? Certainly not on taxpayers time and money, SSY hopes.

5. Distillation.

Distillation is essential for separating crude oil into various fractions which can be used for various purposes – fuels etc. But Stephen Purcells interest in this chemical process is rumoured to go far beyond either an amateur or even higher chemistry student interest.

Sources at Grangemouth say someone matching Stephen Purcell’s description has been secretly infiltrating the plant to oversee important chemical processes. Sources say that so far it has only been due to Purcell’s extensive obsession with safety that a major disaster at Grangemouth and several other plants has been avoided.

***

Of course we have no idea which of these chemical dependencies could be accurate or not, hopefully this has simply been an error made by Glasgow City Council and it has in fact been Stephen Purcells tireless fight against schools, binmen, and trade unions across the city which has got him so tired and exhausted.

After all, whenever SSY is exhausted there’s nothing we like better than having a sit down, cup o tea, watch a dvd and tell a high profile legal team to absolutely cut the shit out of anyone who even suggests weve been up to anything dodgy whatsoever like.

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

Anjem Choudary in happier times

Fundamentalist nutjob Anjem Choudary’s bottled it. After a week of hysteria in the British press over a planned Islamist march through Wootton Bassett, he has cancelled the demo – as many already predicted he would do. Choudary previously claimed to be organising a march for Shariah Law in London before bottling it, unfortunately not before the Daily Express ran with the story “Now Muslims Demand Full Sharia Law”.
In both cases the reasons for shitting it are obvious; Islam4UK has a membership base of only dozens and would be outnumbered in the hundreds if not thousands by far-right counter demonstrators.

Full credit must be given where it’s due however. While the Left and secular Muslims can hold sizeable demonstrations against war, terrorism and in defence of secularism they are lucky to get any coverage. Islam4UK on the other hand can picket a homecoming march with a couple dozen demonstrators holding placards and make national headlines.

People who demand that more secular Muslims speak out against Choudary, or that their voices are not being heard because they have sympathy for Islam4UK should remember how the media works. Choudary is given more publicity than any other religious Muslim leader (and possibly anyone of Muslim background in the UK) not because his ideas are popular but because they sell newspapers. A bearded lunatic raving about the flag of Allah flying over Downing Street, flogging drunks, attacking British Soldiers and generally acting like something Chris Morris would cook up is someone much more interesting to read about than some nondescript spokesperson for the Muslim Association of Britain – particularly when he’s on 25k of YOUR taxes Great Britain!

It’s this massive outpouring of hatred for Islam4UK that’s probably resulted in their banning. After being banned in their previous incarnation Al Muhjahiroun, they rebranded themselves as Islam4UK. Expect them to do the same in a couple of months – Jihad4Anglia? Scouser Muhjahadeen? Nice Cup of tea and a sit down Martyrs Brigade? The potential name changes for British Islamists are almost endless.

As much black humour Choudary and Islam4UK can provide with calls for a fundamentalist Islamic programme across the UK they are much more dangerous than their small numbers suggest. The coverage they obtain provides crucial justification for a variety of “think tanks” and a growing cottage industry of anti-Muslim bigots. Every time Islam4UK carry out a demo it can be used as evidence for massive, concealed sympathy for Islamist ideas among British Muslims. This is almost certainly Islam4UK’s strategy; punch above your weight with some mental slogans then when these are used to justify an anti-Muslim backlash pose as the defenders of Muslims.

One such organisation which has used Islam4UK to bolster it’s own anti-Muslim bigotry is the Centre for Social Cohesion. Their spokesperson agreed to debate with Anjem Choudary but then pulled out when he demanded the audience be divided into male and female. Who would have thought a religious fundamentalist would be so unreasonable. The Centre for Social Cohesion snatched headlines recently by conducting a poll claiming that one third of Muslim students supported killing in the name of religion.

The reality was that the poll showed completely different results. Only 4% of Muslim students thought it was acceptable to kill to “preserve and promote religion”. 28% thought it was acceptable to kill “only if that religion was under attack”. The second question was specifically designed to be vague enough to get the results the poll wanted.

In other questions asked, only 6% of Muslims believed that those who became apostates (converted from Islam) should be punished under Sharia Law. The poll reveals that there are only about 4-6% of British Muslims who support Islamist ideas. There were some disturbing results however – there were significant minorities who had “little or no respect for homosexuals” for instance. Also large sections of Muslims polled said they would welcome the introduction of an Islamic Caliphate, and Sharia Law in the UK. Unsurprisingly though the poll did not ask if they thought it should be forced upon non-Muslims through violence.

The only Sharia Law that is present in the UK has no legal standing whatsoever, where Muslims go to an Imam to receive a religious judgement on aspects of their lives. The Imam has no legal power and his authority is based on Muslims deciding to accept his judgements. This is not unique in the UK – Jewish Religious courts arbitrate on affairs in the Jewish community, but can only act when Jews recognise it’s authority.

Religious law shouldn’t be whitewashed – there is often pressure in marriages, families and communities to accept arbitration from religious figures even if they carry no official power. Deciding to reject it can come at a high cost in terms of personal relations with your friends and family etc. But the people who will suffer that will be Muslims and not non-Muslims in the UK, and Muslims won’t be able to challenge religious authority if there is a cloud of suspicion cast over all of them. Instead a siege mentality will develop, with these religious figures finding their authority in the community increasing.

Polling consistently shows tiny support for hardcore Islamist ideas in the UK – only 4-6% of the Muslim population support killing in the name of Islam even if its not attacked or punishment of apostates. And this is 4-6% of a religious minority. Across the UK Muslims make up 3% of the population. In Scotland it is only 0.8%. The base of support for turning the UK into an Islamic Republic would not be able to organise in telephone boxes – matchboxes would be more appropriate.

When people like Choudary are promoted throughout the media it’s not just to laugh at his ideas, or because of his sexist, and bigoted ideas. He is used by many anti-Muslim newspapers and commentators as a stick to bash all Muslims in the UK with, and to raise a nightmare scenario of Britain becoming an Islamic State. Once you have that nightmare vision you can go on to justify any kind of attack on Muslims that wouldn’t be suggested for any other minority in the UK. That makes Anjem Choudary very dangerous, but not in the way he or his opponents in the tabloid media would think.

First Gerry Adams reveals his father was a child abuser and calls for his brother to come out of hiding and hand himself in to the police. Now it’s been revealed a 19 year old toyboy has been firing into Iris Robinson, the Christian fundamentalist wife of Democratic Unionist Party First Minister Peter Robinson. And this is after the Robinsons were revealed to claim 30k in food costs as MP’s earning them the moniker “Swish Family Robinson”. The north is looking more and more like an episode of Hollyoaks every week, albeit with a couple of dodgy looking guys in the background with balaclavas setting off the odd bomb or two.
Its another fantastic step forward for the peace process. It’s now normalised the political set up in Northern Ireland to the extent that proper political scandals now consist of shagging and dodgy money on expenses instead of being former commanders of paramilitary organisations and trying to decapitate the British Government by blowing up hotels.

While folk on the Left enjoy the Swish Family Robinson’s comeuppance, we should take a look at the political situation in Northern Ireland after the Good Friday Agreement. A lot of people have had a distinct lack of sympathy for Iris’ predicament due to her own moralising in the past. She’s denounced gays not just as an “abomination” but also that said they were worse than child abusers, commenting that “There can be no viler act, apart from homosexuality and sodomy, than sexually abusing innocent children”. Her husband defended her, saying she was just echoing Christian scripture. None of this is that much of a surprise though, it was Ian Paisley who led the “Save Ulster from Sodomy” campaign against the legalisation of homosexuality.
The worst folk in the modern Tory party today can’t get away with anything close to the Robinson’s comments on gays and lesbians. Far from it, now they’re speaking at Stonewall demos and apologising for Clause 28. Even Nick Griffin can only shift uncomfortably in his seat and tell folk the gays make him a bit queasy. So why is it, after the supposed success of the peace process the DUP can not just get away with it, but be popular with it?

Northern Ireland is now the most right-wing part of the UK in terms of the politicians it elects. It’s the only part of the UK where full on Christian fundamentalism, the likes of which you get in the USA, can make hay. The gay bashing is just the tip of the iceberg. The Democratic Unionist Party, who Iris represents also have also called for teaching materials on creationism to be available in schools. Another of their MP’s, not to be outdone by Pete or Iris in the nutter stakes opposed letting Catholics become the Monarch as they owe their first allegiance to the Vatican. Which is of course in the same vein as Ian Paisley denouncing the pope as the antichrist in the European Parliament. If nothing else the DUP should be thanked for reminding Catholics in Scotland how they were treated when they were immigrants.

Alongside this favourable environment for the right is an extremely unfavourable one for the Left. While the SDLP and Sinn Fein have left of centre programmes (and in Sinn Fein’s case, anti-war and anti-imperialism) they make zero headway among the Protestant half of the working class in Ireland. This is in stark contrast to the movement in the Republic, which has seen success for former Socialist TD Joe Higgins in winning a Euro seat and decent votes for other Left groups like People Before Profit and the Unemployed Workers Group. Northern Ireland is also one of the few (if not the only) statelet in Western Europe not to have a mainstream political party which has it’s roots in the trade union movement.

You can see what the lack of a trade union based party means for US politics, and the same goes for Northern Ireland. Even if every party in Western Europe which used to give genuine political representation to Trade Unions has betrayed them, they at least contributed to the development of some basic progressive, Socialist and Left ideas in their countries, which the radical Left has in some cases been able to capitalise on. The lack of a political party representing trade unions in Northern Ireland is largely due to the fact that national and religious divisions are unfortunately much more important than class divisions when people take an interest in politics. Ultimately a political party in the North has to decide whether it is for a United Ireland or for the UK, and whichever decision is made will leave it isolated from one half of working people in the province.

Irish Socialist and Republican James Connolly had it spot on when he said that dividing Ireland “would mean a carnival of reaction both North and South, would set back the wheels of progress, would destroy the oncoming unity of the Irish labour movement and paralyse all advanced movements whilst it endured. To it labour should give the bitterest opposition, against it labour in Ulster should fight even to the death, if necessary, as our fathers fought before us.”
Creating Northern Ireland meant that one half of workers, Catholic and Republican would be pitted against the other Protestant and Loyalist half. Any attempts to foster class unity are made very difficult by an institutionalised sectarianism in Northern Ireland, which the peace process has not changed. Contrast this with the position in the Republic where the voting lines are not broken down between Catholic and Protestant, but where religion is largely irrelevant and left wing politics have an opening.

If Socialists are going to have an impact in Northern Ireland and roll back the power the DUP has it’s not just necessary to argue for a United Ireland so the political environment becomes more similar to that of the Republic. There needs to be some way of working with Protestant workers who the Left has not been able to attract because of its position on a United Ireland.
Connolly called Socialists who didn’t want to talk about the national question in Ireland were “Gas and water Socialists”, who only wanted to fight on issues surrounding the economy and poverty. But there should be some organisation uniting working people from both backgrounds in Northern Ireland even if it is just on those “gas and water” issues . Large sections of Protestants in the North will never agree with a United Ireland but many could support a campaign alongside Catholics for a decent minimum wage, defence of public services and workers rights. If even a small minority of Protestants came round to backing a United Ireland on a platform of workers rights, it would fundamentally change the political situation in the North.

As it is just now the Christian Right parties like the DUP are able to take them for granted largely on the basis that they are fighting for their communities interests against the Catholic community. One example of this was during last years Euro Elections were the DUP faced a challenge from Traditional Unionist Voice, a splinter of the DUP who split because the party went into Government with Sinn Fein. The DUP tried to maximise it’s vote by raising the danger of Sinn Fein topping the polls for the first time in Northern Ireland’s history (which they did). As the TUV pointed out, how could the DUP raise this as a nightmare when they were in Government with them?
The DUP didn’t try to defend their coalition with that argument, they fought to get more votes by raising the fear that the other community’s representatives would benefit. Now there are fears Sinn Fein could nominate a First Minister for Stormont if the DUP vote collapses due to the scandal. Expect the DUP to raise that nightmare a lot more than actually trying to defend the actions of their representatives.

The North is one of the poorest parts of the UK, with the spectacular levels of poverty, unemployment, crime and low pay. The DUP’s Christian fundamentalism do nothing to change or improve the lives of working class Protestants. All they do is keep them locked into a battle with the other half of the people, desperate to hold on to privileges they once held over Catholics – instead of demanding an increase in the quality of living for everyone in the North. As difficult as it is, the Left can improve the lives of working people if it is able to challenge the DUP on these issues without dropping a commitment to a United Ireland.

Iraq, Iran, North Korea and Cuba. Ever thought the list was too short? A collection of old troublemakers who are well past their prime days of mischief making? Or maybe you just want a level in the next Call of Duty game set in an arctic environment?

Well today we get to add a new and unexpected contender to the Axis of Evil, so Ahmadinejahd and Kim Jong-Il better run for their money cos there’s a country holding the UK to ransom……..ICELAND!

Iceland is refusing to pay up £3.5 Billion to the British and Netherlands treasury. Icelands President Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson vetoed a Bill that would have repaid the debt, and there will now be a referendum in Iceland on whether or not to pay the money back.

The roots of Iceland’s debt crisis lie in an online subsidiary of the Icelandic bank Landsbanski. This online service was called Icesave and as it was internet only it did not have the same costs that other banks had and could offer higher interest rates that it’s competitors.
Many individuals in the UK and the Netherlands put their savings into Icesave to take advantage of these interest rates but more importantly so did many local councils in the UK. Icesave was consumed by the international crisis in banking last year, and savers were unable to access their money, resulting in the UK using anti-terror legislation to freeze (see what I did there) the assets of Icesave in the UK.

The UK and Netherlands Governments then secured the savings of individuals (and councils) in their countries by loaning £3.5 Billion to the Icelandic banking system. Unsurprisingly they expect to be repaid, and have used their clout in the IMF to demand Iceland’s tax base – ie Iceland’s workers – pay back this colossal sum at massive cost to Iceland’s public services. Iceland is a country of only 300,000 people which means that every man woman and child owes the world’s banks £116,000 each.

There is already massive opposition to repaying the £3.5 billion – a quarter of Iceland’s citizens have already signed a petition against the bill and supporting a referendum on the issue. Unlike many other countries in Europe the Left has managed to benefit from the collapse in capitalism.

The Left-Green Alliance saw it’s vote increase by 50%, and is now the third largest party in Iceland and in Government with the Social Democrats. That the Left-Green Alliance has only been in existence for 10 years makes their gains all the more impressive. In a blow to the Right, which cheered on the banking madness, The Independence Party which is the Icelandic equivalent of the Tories were also booted out of Government after being in power for 18 years.

Iceland will probably be demonised and isolated by the world’s Governments and Banks when it refuses to subject it’s population to pay off the fantastic debts that the banking system created, and which the vast majority of it’s population did not benefit from. While the loss of the cold hard cash is obviously a major concern for the worlds Banks what is a lot more dangerous is the political message being sent out from Iceland – that the workers of Iceland did not create the financial crisis, did not benefit from it, and should not be asked to pay for it.

The fact that the UK General Election will be fought on the basis of who can cut the deepest into public services, it is very dangerous for the Tories and New Labour when another Government led by the Left will not repay money to the UK and bankrupt it’s people as a consequence.

After all, if they can do it…why can’t we?

After being convincingly routed last month the SDL are talking about having another march, this time in Edinburgh on February 20th.

The last time the SDL marched they were outnumbered 1,500 to 80 and were unable to march anywhere. They spent the day cooped up in a bar, a totally different situation from other parts of the UK where the EDL ran riot, intimidating Muslims outside Mosques.

SSY is supporting a planning meeting this Wednesday, December the 9th at 7pm in the Meadow Bar on Buccleugh street. I’ll be speaking and giving a brief background on the EDL/SDL and we can discuss and plan openly and democratically how to no platform the fascists – the same way Glasgow Anti-Fascist Alliance did in the run up to the SDL’s Glasgow demo.

Lets keep Edinburgh Fascist free, no pasaran!

Facebook group for the event

Joan Humphries receives her SSP membership card from SSP co-Convener Colin Fox

The Grandmother of Kevin Elliot, a Soldier from the Black Watch killed in August has joined the SSP, due to the party’s staunch opposition to the war in Afghanistan.

Joan says, “Having toyed with the idea of joining the SSP for some time, it is their strong anti-war stance, especially against the immoral Afghanistan invasion by the US-led coalition, plus the realisation that the views held by the SSP on anti-racism, women and children’s rights, public ownership and fighting poverty ran parallel to mine.”

The SSP has had several public meetings across Scotland with Colin and Mohammed Asif of the Scottish Afghan Society speaking, from Edinburgh, Dundee, Penicuik etc. The issue of Afghanistan is one where the party has picked up members alongside Joan, who oppose the senseless waste of lives.

The SSP has also succeeded in attracting serving Squaddies to public meetings highlighting that despite the official press releases of the MOD there is increasing opposition among ordinary soldiers themselves to fighting an unwinnable war, to defend a corrupt warlord Government without the proper equipment.

Despite an overwhelming opposition to the war in Afghanistan – 71% of people want the troops back home – none of the four mainstream Scottish political parties support withdrawing the troops. The SSP in contrast has been consistent in opposing the war in Afghanistan right from the very start – even when it was not popular to do so.

The SSP has worked to build links with the families of those who have serving soldiers or who have lost serving soldiers in Iraq or Afghanistan, most recently Joan but also Rose Gentle who tragically lost her son Gordon in Iraq.

It’s time to demand that Scottish Soldiers are brought back from Afghanistan unharmed, and end an unpopular war which is immoral and doomed to failure, and for those veterans who do return to have proper medical and psychiatric care if they require it. As it stands today, there is a disproportionate amount of vets who are homeless or imprisoned, who are dependent on charity for survival.

The British state is coming into the poorest areas of Scotland to recruit soldiers into a job which chews them up and spits them out, and sends them to their death for a Government that legalises rape and has warlords on its payroll. Its time to end this madness, bring them home, Save Scottish lives and Afghan lives.

This poster was used by the anti-Minaret campaign in Switzerland

Switzerland eh, the most peaceful country in the world – four hundred years of brotherly love and all they produced was a cuckoo clock and an overdraft for Pablo Escobar. Unfortunately today it looks like Switzerland isn’t as nice and neutral as folk thought it was.

Despite opposition from the Government, and previous polls showing opposition to the proposal the Swiss have voted to ban the construction of Minarets in Mosques across Switzerland.

This is despite the fact that Switzerland only has four Minarets in the whole country, none of which are used to call Muslims to prayer.

The proposal was initiated by the far-right Swiss Peoples Party, who have followed the rest of the European far-Right in attacking migrants but specifically Muslims. They called for a ban on Minarets as it resembled “Islamic dominance” and was a step towards Sharia law.

The People’s Party has led other initiatives in the Swiss Parliament against immigrants – for example proposing a law that would allow the entire family of an immigrant who had committed a crime to be deported, following the same principle of “kin responsibility” the Nazis used to attack the families of criminals.

Switzerland – and all countries – are right to try to defend a secular society, and not let religion interfere with the state. But the proposal on Minarets was only made relating to Muslim places of worship. There is no similar law regarding any other religious group in Switzerland. Muslims have been singled out for attack, because the war on terror has made them a convenient scapegoat.

This vote shows that unfortunately it doesn’t really matter what Muslims do in countries they stay to avoid being attacked – there were only four Minarets in Switzerland, and no history of extremist preachers in these institutions. Most Muslims in Switzerland emigrated from Turkey or Yugoslavia. As Derek Wall pointed out on Socialist Unity it’s likely many of these Muslim immigrants had their Mosques destroyed by Serb Fascists in the 90s. No doubt they will join with the Swiss Peoples Party in defending “Christian civilisation”.

Another anti-immigrant poster the Swiss Peoples Party has used, subtlety obviously isn’t their strong point

It’s important that while the Left can recognise religious fundamentalism and oppose it – as the SSP’s comrades in the Labour Party of Pakistan write about in the latest edition of the Voice – that we also recognise where a scapegoat has been made. The singling out of Muslim places of worship today is no different than when Catholics were singled out as a danger in Glasgow by bigots.

Who would you want to investigate if the Government had lied about going to war in Iraq? Columbo? CSI? Jonathon Creek? If your answer was 4 Knights of the Realm and a Baroness, congratulations you have won and can now become the Government of the UK.

The Government announced earlier this year, at long last an inquiry into the decision to invade Iraq would be conducted. In true New Labour fashion however, the people leading the Inquiry were all picked by the Prime Minister. As Craig Murray points out on his blog, several of these “independent minds” were on record as backing the war.

Its a unique case of the guilty selecting the judges they want to put them on trial. Those leading the inquiry are also, along with being Knights and a Baroness, Privy Counsellors. The Privy Council itself is an undemocratic medieval hangover, so quite suited to the kind of “investigation” the government would want.

It’s likely there will be damning testimony against the Government throughout the Inquiry. There simply was no case to answer on Iraqi WMD and this was known before the invasion itself. The head of the UN weapons inspections Scott Ritter was vocal in opposing the invasion for example, arguing correctly that no Iraqi weapons programme existed.

Nevertheless this is an Inquiry and not a trial. There is no penalty for lying at any point in this inquiry. The most likely result will be some “recommendations” to the intelligence services to pay more attention in future, but that the UK Government just made an honest mistake and it was probably Saddam’s fault anyway. Or as one foreign office official, Sir William Ehrman put it in an unfortunate turn of phrase, “Saddam was black and he had to prove himself white. He did not do so”.

As fellow civil servants the honourable Knights and Baroness, will cover up for the establishment like all Privy Counsellors are trained to do.

Even these guys would be far more damning Judges than them…