Holyrood disrupted by G8 protest

BBC NEWS: "Holyrood disrupted by G8 protest

Socialist MSPs disrupted business at Holyrood with a G8 protest
Scottish Socialist MSPs have disrupted business at Holyrood by staging a protest over the G8 summit.

They marched to the front of the chamber brandishing placards reading Defend Democracy, demanding the right to protest at Gleneagles.

Presiding Officer George Reid suspended the sitting and warned the MSPs they would face penalties for what he said was 'a repeat performance'."

Welcome to Radical Edinburgh

'Radical history of Edinburgh' - Socialist Worker: "The city hosting many of the G8 protests has a long tradition of resistance, says Colin Fox MSP, national convenor of the Scottish Socialist Party"

SSP targets Royal Bank Of Scotland in G8 direct action

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit Press Release

SSP targets Royal Bank Of Scotland in G8 direct action


Edinburgh RBOS HQ

The Scottish Socialist Party today targeted the Royal Bank Of Scotland in simultaneous direct actions in Glasgow and Edinburgh. The action was taken to highlight the profits of RBOS in contrast to the crushing poverty that results in 625 children dying of poverty every 30 minutes across the world.

6 protesters entered the headquarters of the Royal Bank Of Scotland in St Andrews Square at 12 noon while SSP members accompanied by Frances Curran MSP staged a sit down protest in a branch of RBOS in Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow.

The protests lasted for 30 minutes during which time 625 children across the world died of poverty while RBOS made £465,000 profit.

Frances Curran MSP said today;

"In the week leading up to the G8 Summit at Gleneagles we are absolutely determined to focus on the obscene profits being made by companies in Scotland, particularly in the financial services sector.
"These companies are making profits which could themselves go a long way to ending poverty and hunger in the world today.
"A child could be saved from hunger for as little as a dollar a day, 30 minutes of RBOS profits could have saved the lives of 2,325 children.
"In order to make poverty history we need to make capitalism history."

Glasgow, Sauchiehall Street

G8 Scare Story Exposed As Bogus

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Press Release: 24/06/05

G8 Scare Story Exposed As Bogus

A G8 scare story run by the Edinburgh based 'Scotland On Sunday' newspaper has been exposed as bogus after the Scottish Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) issued a statement condemning the report as "misrepresentation". On Sunday 12th July SOS ran a front page story suggesting that G8 protests were likely to cause a "blood crisis"

A member of the public wrote to SNBTS querying the veracity of the story. The Scottish Socialist Party has been given a copy of the correspondence.

Lynne C Kidd of SNBTS replied;

"Thank you for your enquiry regarding the article which appeared in the Scotland on Sunday Newspaper.
"Contrary to the headline in the newspaper last weekend, SNBTS is not expecting a 'blood crisis' to coincide with the G8 Summit and is not expecting a blood shortage as a result of G8. "Unfortunately, we believe there was a misrepresentation of the conversation which our spokesperson had with the journalist.
"However, what we did actually say was that the demand for blood never stops and that we were more concerned about the blood stocks over the entire summer period.
"Summer is always a challenging time for SNBTS, as donations can drop by up to 10 per cent. This is because blood donors can be busy during the holiday period with annual leave, outdoor activities and generally enjoying the nicer weather.
"One thousand units of blood per day are needed to meet the Scottish hospital demand, therefore, a new target has been set by SNBTS which will require a large number of new or lapsed blood donors to come forward and help us to support Scottish healthcare.
"I do hope this clarifies the point you have raised and if I can be of any further help, please do not hesitate to contact me."

Scottish Socialist Party national convenor Colin Fox today commented, saying;

"Over the past months the Edinburgh newspapers owned by the Barclay brothers and controlled by Andrew Neil have run a constant stream of stories deliberately designed to whip up fear and panic around protests against the G8 Summit at Gleneagles next week.
"This Scotland On Sunday front page story has now been exposed as bogus by SNBTS.
"I urge every Scot who wishes to peacefully demonstrate their opposition to the policies of the leaders of the G8 to disregard the scare stories of the hostile Edinburgh press and join us in peaceful demonstration across Scotland at every opportunity available.

Call to scrap prescription charge

BBC News Online
An attempt is being made at Holyrood to abolish prescription charges.
Scottish Socialist Party leader Colin Fox introduced a member's bill earlier this year, claiming the charges amount to a "tax on the sick".
The SSP wants MSPs to follow the Welsh Assembly, which will phase out charges by 2007.
The bill has moved to the health committee for discussion by MSPs and is being backed by the public services union Unison.
Unison health organiser Jim Devine said cost was a factor in 75,000 prescriptions not being picked up every year in Scotland.

SCRAP website

We Will Not Be Silenced

Supporters of G8 Alternatives again lobbied the Scottish Parliament demanding the right to demonstrate at Gleneagles when the G8 leaders visit.
Tariq Ali (pictured above with Rosie Kane MSP) was among the speakers at the protest.

Perth and Kinross council, controlled by the Scottish National Party, have refused permission for a rally unless insurance cover of £5 million is provided.

Frances Curran MSP pledged that she, and fellow MSP's, would join other protestors in defying the ban.

BBC Report

Call to lift ban on Gleneagles march

The Guardian:'We regard this as a denial of the basic right of free speech and assembly,' they said in a letter delivered to the home secretary, Charles Clarke, yesterday. 'It is simply unacceptable that no march has been allowed where the G8 is meeting.'
Mr Benn said that a political exclusion zone 'confirms our worst fears about the state of civil liberties in Britain at the moment'

Bid to give all kids free school meals

Evening Times: "A NEW campaign to give free school meals to all Scottish children was launched today.
It is the second time the Scottish Socialist Party has lodged a free school meals bill.
If passed, the bill would require councils to provide every school child with a free school meal which meets strict nutritional standards.
In 2002 party leader Tommy Sheridan submitted a similar bill.
Although it received widespread public support and some cross party backing, the bill was defeated.
The SSP say they decided the time was right to try again after seeing the public reaction to Jamie Oliver's Channel 4 TV series Jamie's School Dinners, which exposed the low nutritional value of many school meals.
MSP Frances Curran lodged the bill today, backed by the Free School Meals Campaign, which includes One Parent Families Scotland, the Scottish Churches Social Inclusion Network and the EIS."

Free School Meals launch

EducationGuardian: "'The Scottish Socialist party's campaign for free school meals continued today with the launch of a consultation document seeking views from children as well as teachers and health professionals,' Frances Curran MSP, in whose name the bill will be lodged, said today. 'There has been a revolution in people's attitudes to the need to provide our school children with nutritional school meals over the past year.'"

Why we must have free school meals

I WRITE to offer unreserved support for Frances Curran's Free School Meals Bill. Apart from the obvious benefit this would have in helping to combat the increasing problem of obesity in our children (and consequently improving the health of our society for generations to come), this would be one of the most positive and effective steps that could be taken to reduce poverty. The following incident should illustrate the absolute necessity for such a measure, if indeed proof were needed.
SNP Councillor Jim Towers writes in The Scotsman

Rosie Kane in Cuba

Sunday Mail

Rosie Kane

CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR

WELL, I'm back on Terra McFirma after one of the most amazing weeks of my life.

The flights to Cuba took 18 hours. It was the longest journey I've made - but not just in hours and miles.

Socialism, Cuba, and Fidel Castro may not be everyone's cup of tea - but I'm a coffee drinker and savoured every drop and enjoyed the buzz.

Being in the same room and speaking from the same platform as Fidel Castro was bizarre. But it was the other people I met who made the trip so memorable.

The presiding officer from the New South Wales Parliament, a senator from Trinidad and Tobago and a leading American lawyer, were some of the representatives from 63 countries at the event focussing on the US and their war on terror.

But my encounters with the people of Cuba were the ones that mattered.

My first was with a hotel cleaner who greeted me by saying 'Hello comrade'.

I liked that. Right away I could see there was no 'them and us' between guest and the worker - exactly as it should be.

I met many schoolkids. Most of them were around 12 years old and all spoke excellent English.

I have never seen such confident and gentle young people. They have a thirst for knowledge and did not stop asking about Britain They wanted to know my thoughts on war, poverty and justice. I told them one in four children in Scotland is born into poverty. They were stunned and asked how they could help.

After the conference we were taken to the Karl Marx Theatre where we were treated to music and poetry from all over Latin America and Cuba.

It was a great evening in one of the most amazing buildings I have seen.

Cuba is no utopia. Nowhere is. For instance, prostitution in Havana is typical of any big capital city and every bit as degrading and dangerous.

I took a wee stroll through the streets of downtown Havana, found a bar and popped in for a drink.

Over a rum and ice, I got chatting with the locals. They wanted to know about Scotland, the parliament and Rabbie Burns.

We started talking about 'freedom' and the debate gathered a crowd of about 20people - it was amazing. And everyone had something to say.

Some loved Fidel others did not - and were not afraid to say so.

One man loved Cuba and Socialism but was critical of Castro. I asked if he was free to speak up like this and he assured me the days of silence were long gone.

I chirped up: 'Raise your hand if you have been imprisoned for publicly objecting to your government's policy?'

The only hand that went up was my ownI went to the market the next day and a little boy ran up and pointed at my bag. He was trying hard to tell me something.

I assumed he wanted money and handed him some change.

But he handed it right back and pointed at a pen sticking out of my handbag.

'Stylo?' he said. The wee lamb wanted my pen.

Turns out they are in short supply, thanks to the blockade.

It was a lesson. Never assume anything about Cuba without speaking - and listening - to the people

Imported police cause problems

Guardian Unlimited Politics | Special Reports | Long arm of the law grasps challenge with caution: "Aamer Anwar, a human rights lawyer representing the G8 protesters, feared legal niceties would be thrown out of the window if a riot erupted, and that it could prove difficult and costly to call English and Welsh officers to account.

Many Scots are uneasy about the long arm of the law reaching several hundred miles further north.

'It's about the style of policing as well as the legal differences,' said Frances Curran, a Scottish Socialist party MSP and organiser of a protest rally against the G8.

'Met officers and the like running about Perthshire will create huge tensions. We're told they'll receive full training in Scots law but we think any protester arrested by an English or Welsh officer will have grounds to question that arrest.'"

SSP pledge to exercise democratic rights, accuse SNP; "Bravehearts become Fainthearts"

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Press Release: 10/06/05

SSP pledge to exercise democratic rights, accuse SNP; "Bravehearts become Fainthearts"

The Scottish Socialist Party today confirmed the pledge made by West of Scotland MSP Frances Curran to exercise the right to protest at Gleneagles. Appearing on Newsnight Scotland, Frances said that no matter what she will be exercising her right to peacefully protest against the policies of the G8 governments who are meeting at the Gleneagles hotel.

All 6 of the SSP's MSP's are committed to exercising their right to peacefully demonstrate at Gleneagles.

There will be a meeting of G8 Alternatives, the organisation which the SSP is a part of, to decide a national strategy on Tuesday 14th June with a lobby and press conference at the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 16th.

Frances said today;

"The movement that demands the right to demonstrate our opposition to the policies of the G8 countries does not recognise the right of a local authority to charge a price for the right to demonstrate.
"We do not accept that democracy can be charged for and we will be exercising our right to demonstrate at Gleneagles no matter what.
"This is our country and the Scottish Parliament has already passed a vote upholding the right of peaceful demonstration at Gleneagles.
"It is now up to Perth and Kinross Council to recognise their mistake and reverse their decision not to allow the right of lawful demonstration.
"If we accept the idea that there is a price on demonstrating a precedent will have been set which will allow the crushing of democratic rights for generations to come.

"The idea that there is a danger of disorder from demonstrations is monstrous hypocrisy when on the other side of the fence will sit politicians responsible for the reduction of two countries to rubble in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Turning to the decision of Scottish National Party councillors on Perth and Kinross Council to effectively ban the democratic right of people to demonstrate at Gleneagles Frances said;

"What happened to the Bravehearts ?
"More like Fainthearts.
"You can't take our freedom. unless there's a bill for it.
"The SNP are in favour of independence unless unelected local council officials tell them they can't have it

"It's a disgrace and the SNP must hang their heads in shame that they are colluding with attempts to crush the basic democratic rights of the people of Scotland and those who come here from across the world to demonstrate their opposition to the policies of the G8 countries."

Defend the right to protest

The Herald editorial

I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it. That memorable statement, attributed to Voltaire, is as relevant today as when the French philosopher is said to have uttered it in the eighteenth century. In today's increasingly litigious climate, a new clause might be added: as long as the appropriate insurance cover is in place. The right to legitimate, peaceful protest is a democratic principle to cherish, but it appears to have become conditional on an ability to provide public liability cover. It is a dangerous, as well as a depressing, development which came to light yesterday when Perth and Kinross councillors agreed to permit a rally in Auchterarder on July 6, the day leaders of the world's wealthiest countries converge on nearby Gleneagles Hotel for the G8 summit... The council has an opportunity to allow Auchterarder to make its own mark on the summit and bring influence to bear on the developed world's most powerful men. Undermining the right to protest would stand in the way of such admirable objectives.

Daily Record

Organisers said they will come back to the council with a revised plan and are considering asking a sheriff to overturn the ban. Scottish Socialist MSP Frances Curran said: 'We will need to discuss an alternative route.

'If that involves closure of the A9 then we will have to discuss that and put an application in.

'It may involve applying for a demonstration on part of the A9.'

Democracy for sale and only the rich can afford it

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Press Release: 09/06/05

SSP: Democracy for sale and only the rich can afford it

Scottish Socialist Party MSP Frances Curran today said that people wanting
to protest about the fact that the poor of the world didn't have enough
money were being prevented from doing so because they didn't have enough
money.

Speaking after the meeting of Perth and Kinross Council that put a
precondition of £5 million liability insurance that will cost G8
Alternatives up to £30,000, Frances accused the authorities of placing every
possible obstacle in the way of those who wished to exercise their
democratic right to protest against the policies of the G8.

Frances said;
"This is a travesty, a threat to the democratic rights of the people of this
country; it means that democracy is for sale.
"In a civic society it is right that councils and the government waive any
financial constraints on protestors taking action.
"Children in Africa are dying because they don't have enough money to buy
food and we can't protest about it because we don't have enough money for
the liability insurance.
"I'm absolutely appalled.
"In theory we've got the right to protest but they keep putting obstacles in
our way.
"The right to freedom of assembly, of the right to demonstrate and protest
clearly comes at a price.
"Democracy is for sale and it looks like only the rich can afford it."
[ends]

Free Speech?

BBC NEWS | Scotland | Insurance condition on G8 march: "A G8 protest rally near the Gleneagles Hotel will only go ahead if insurance cover for up to ?5m is put in place.

The condition has been imposed by Perth and Kinross councillors who want the executive to pay the cost of the premium, which could be up to ?30,000.

The G8 Alternatives group says it cannot afford the premium for the rally in Auchterarder on 6 July and branded the decision 'democracy for sale'.

Scottish Socialist MSP Frances Curran said it was a 'travesty'.

'It's a threat to the democratic rights of the people of this country,' she added.

'Children in Africa are dying because they don't have enough money to buy food and we can't protest about it because we don't have the money for the liability.'"

Let us march at Gleneagles

Daily Record

PROTESTERS staged a rally at Holyrood yesterday to demand a right to hold a demo near the G8 venue, Gleneagles Hotel.

The group, who were backed by Scottish Socialist leader Colin Fox, gathered outside the parliament to protest at the decision to block them from the roads near the Perthshire hotel during the summit. Police claim a march at Gleneagles would be 'unsafe and unsuitable'.

Eurig Scandrett, from Friends of the Earth, said: 'We are responsible people. It is our democratic right to march

G8 Debate in the Scottish Parliament

"Gordon Brown is not telling the truth about what such policies will mean for Africa. Free trade is a disaster for Africa. Brown says one thing publicly and does another thing privately. How should we describe that behaviour? Is it a financial conjuring trick? Who would play a trick on the starving children of Africa? Is it just two-faced? Who would be so insincere in dealing with famine? Is it just spin? Who would use poverty for public relations? How cynical would that be?"
Frances Curran sums up for the SSP in Parliament debate on G8
Colin Fox moved the SSP's amendment to the Scottish Executive's motion on G8 in the Scottish Parliament.

Anger at Police filming of G8 protest meeting

Press and Journal: "Grampian Police were attacked last night for turning a video camera on delegates arriving for a G8 Alternatives meeting at Aberdeen University.

Aamer Anwar, a human rights lawyer and spokesman for the group, described the incident as 'a serious breach of their human rights' and will be making an official complaint.

Members of the group were arriving for one of their fortnightly meetings at the university when they spotted three police officers with a video camera filming their arrival.

Barry Reid and a friend were on their way to the meeting shortly before 7pm when they approached the officers.

After initially being ignored the 23-year-old Aberdeen College music student asked one of the officers why they were filming. He said: 'I remember his exact words, he said, 'we are compiling evidence'. I turned to the policeman who was holding the camera and he filmed me up and down. It's an invasion of privacy.'

He added: 'We have nothing to hide. If they wanted to send a representative to one of our meetings and find out what we are talking about that would be fine. But to film us without our permission, that's not democracy is it?'

Penny Howard, one of the organisers of G8 Alternatives, said that police officers spent more than an hour outside the meeting.

Members of Grampian Senior Citizens' Forum, university and college students along with teachers made up the 15-strong meeting."

G8 info blackout

Veil of official secrecy imposed on G8 - The Herald: "Frances Curran, Scottish Socialist MSP for West of Scotland and an organiser of the G8 Alternatives protest coalition, said she was shocked at the extent of the move. She said: 'The executive has cancelled people's rights under FoI. They have indefinitely cancelled the process of democracy and accountability because George W Bush is visiting Scotland."

Kane in Cuba invites Castro to G8 Counter Summit

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit Press Release: 04/06/05

Kane in Cuba invites Castro to G8 Counter Summit

Scottish Socialist Party MSP Rosie Kane yesterday raised a rallying call for all those in the world opposed to the terrorism of the US state to descend on Scotland for the G8 summit at Gleneagles, specifically inviting Fidel Castro to join G8 Alternatives Counter Summit in Edinburgh on Sunday 3rd July.

Rosie was speaking at the International Meeting against Terrorism , for Truth and Justice, at the International Conference Centre in the Cuban capital Havana Rosie is the only UK participant in a gathering of more than 300 Cuban and international delegates.

Rosie spoke with Cuban President Fidel Castro in the chair immediately after the former President of Nicaragua Daniel Ortega had addressed the conference.

The three day event includes contributions from intellectuals, artists, union leaders, social activists, parliamentarians and politicians from various regions of the world. The gathering in Cuba has been organised to highlight the United States ongoing involvement in terrorist atrocities across the world from the death squads of Argentina and Chile in the 1970's to current plans to assassinate President Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.

Speaking by phone from Cuba on Saturday evening Rosie said; "I invited Fidel Castro to attend our G8 Alternative summit in Edinburgh and the demonstration at Gleneagles because it will be the first time in decades that he will have the opportunity to be within 5 miles of a US President.

"I believe President Castro has an important message for the people of Scotland and the wider world, a message of peace and co-operation between the peoples of the planet.
"President Bush and the other leaders of the G8 have plunged the world into a nightmare in which vast amounts of money are used to create death and destruction.
"Although a tiny country, Cuba is playing a vital role in Latin America training doctors and medical staff and they have offered to instigate a literacy programme for the Dominican Republic.
"In my remaining time in Cuba I will be visiting hospitals and schools and speaking to Cubans about how their country has successfully defied the might of the United States since that historic day in 1959 when the revolution triumphed."


Sunday Mail June 5, 2005, Sunday

KANE IN CUBA: I'VE ASKED FIDEL TO BE MY GUEST; WORLD WILL HEAR TRUTH ABOUT US 'WAR ON TERROR'

Rosie Kane

HERE I am, all the way from Govanhill, Glasgow, to Havana, Cuba, on my own. I've crossed a timeline for the first time and met a man who is truly awe -inspiring, Fidel Castro. For 50 years, the US have wanted him dead. But when I joined 600 other delegates to see him address a conference against terrorism, there were no burly security guards.

Wherever George W Bush goes, there are five-mile exclusion zones and sea-to -air missiles at the ready. But, in Havana, I didn't even have my handbag searched when I went to listen to Fidel He opened his heart to tell the American people that they should be his biggest allies but they were being kept in the dark about the truth.

Despite being 78, Fidel was razor sharp, talking with raw emotion. I have always believed him to be a hero and when I saw what he and his government have achieved under such adversity, he's even more so. He has been accused by America of being a dictator. But what I saw was exactly the opposite.

Cuba is a country that doesn't know the meaning of the word poverty and I had to explain to them our Make Poverty History campaign. You seein Cuba, everyone is born equal. They can vote and stand for election at 16. And they have elections every two and a half years. Hardly a dictatorship, really. And the make-do-and-mend spirit they have due to the US sanctions imposed on them has made Cuba a first- class example of recycling.

There's hardly a new car in sight. Instead, roads are filled with 1950s vehicles we would stop and stare at in admiration if we saw them in Argyle Street today. And the lack of advertising means young people are not obsessed with McDonald's or designer trainers, all the daft things of our Western world.

Cuba is training 70 US students to be doctors - free of charge. And while I was there, Fidel Castro offered to instigate a literacy programme for the Dominican Republic. He's an impetuous man who examines problems, then gets down to it. That's why I've invited him to Scotland to address the G8 Alternative. I'm hoping he will accept my invitation, not least because it will be the first time in decades that he will be within five miles of a US president.

I believe he will have important things to tell us and it will be an unique opportunity to see just who is the real dictator, who is brutally honest - and who is just brutal. I know who my money is on. When I get home, I'll be letting everyone know Cuba is asking for Bush to keep his word about not sheltering terrorists. If Bush is true to his word, he should be doing all he can to ensure Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carriles, who openly admit their part in the 1976 plane bombing that killed 73 Cubans, are brought to justice.

If he does not, he must stand down from his so-called war on terror. He can't pick his terrorists. The US government last month rejected Venezuela's request for the provisional arrest of Carriles, a first step that could lead to his extradition, on grounds of insufficient information And, with US help, Bosch escaped imprisonment in Venezuela, entered the US, where he was granted asylum and pardoned by President George Bush on July 18, 1990.

I watched astonished as these men admitted on TV they were responsible for the deaths of so many Cubans - yet they remain free. Are their crimes any less than those of September 11 or different from Bin Laden boasting about the destruction of the Twin Towers? If Fidel accepts my invitation, the world will hear the truth of what has been done to his people

First Minister under fire for dismissing NHS cronyism claim

FIRST Minister Jack McConnell has come under fire for his dismissal of allegations about "corrupt" relations between Lothian health board and Labour politicians.
Scottish Socialist leader and Lothians MSP Colin Fox claimed in parliament there was a "highly questionable and even corrupt relationship" between the health board and the politicians.
Edinburgh Evening News

Colin Fox attacks Labour in the Scottish Parliament

G8 - Don't Stop at Edinburgh

SSP Research, Policy & Media Unit
Press Release: 01/06/05

MSP invites Bob Geldof to join demonstration at Gleneagles

Scottish Socialist Party MSP Frances Curran has today written to Bob
Geldof inviting him to attend the demonstration at Gleneagles on
Wednesday 6th July organised by G8 Alternatives.
[see notes below]

Frances has also lodged a motion in the Scottish Parliament
entitled `Don't stop at Edinburgh' welcoming Bob Geldof's call for a
million people to march against global poverty but calling on them
to continue the journey 40 miles north to Gleneagles.
[see notes below]

Frances will be having a meeting with Tayside police on Thursday 2nd
June as preparations continue for the G8 Alternatives demonstration
at Gleneagles which starts at 12 noon, Wednesday 6th July.

Frances said;
"Wednesday 6th July is an opportunity for millions of people to be a
part of history, to make their voices heard to the leaders of the G8.
"We welcome Bob Geldof's call for a million people to demonstrate
against global poverty but we ask them to continue their journey to
Gleneagles and join us in our mass rally on the doorstep of the G8
conference.
"I call on the people of Scotland to open their hearts and their
homes to protestors who will come from all over the world to protest
against poverty and inequality.
"Together we can change the world."
[ends]


Notes
Letter to Bob Geldof

Dear Bob,

One million people coming to Scotland for the start of the G8 Summit
on Wednesday 6 July! That would be fantastic, and an event that
those taking part would never forget. I think the people of
Scotland will open our doors and our hearts to accommodate those who
want to change the world.

I have taken part in a million person protest on the streets of
Florence and it was an inspiration made all the more memorable by
the warmth of the local people who were passing food and drinks out
of their kitchen windows and by the offer o a bed for the night for
5 of us from a complete stranger.

As one of the organisers of the G8 demonstration at Gleneagles on
Wednesday 6 July, an event that has been months in the planning with
the police and local authorities, I would like to invite you to come
a few miles further North and take part in this peaceful protest. G8
Alternatives is an umbrella of local grass roots organisations
including the Scottish Trades Union Council who have permission for
a mass rally on the doorstep of the world leaders at Gleneagles. Our
voices will be heard on the opening day of the Summit.

If a music event is part of the plan, there is a nearby venue in
Balado which is used for the music festival "T in the Park", which
protestors could make their way to after the rally.

This is once in a lifetime opportunity for ordinary people to make a
difference, to have our voices heard by the 8 leaders of the world,
please don't stop at Edinburgh let's take the message right up to
Gleneagles.

Frances Curran MSP
Scottish Parliament

The following motion has been submitted to the Scottish Parliament by SSP MSP Frances Curran.

Scottish Parliament - Business Bulletin: "*S2M-2897 Frances Curran: Don’t Stop at Edinburgh—That the Parliament welcomes the call by Bob Geldof for a million people to take a day off work or study to come to Edinburgh on Wednesday 6 July 2005, the opening day of the G8 summit in Gleneagles; calls on them, however, not to stop at Edinburgh, but to continue a few miles north to Gleneagles to take part in the mass demonstration called by G8 Alternatives against global poverty, climate change and fair trade; notes that G8 Alternatives is an umbrella for many of the Scottish grassroots organisations protesting at the summit and is already supporting the call for people to take to the streets of Edinburgh on 2 July for the Make Poverty History demonstration, and calls on all those coming to Scotland on 6 July to come to Gleneagles to let their voice be heard and extends that invitation to Bob Geldof and Midge Ure."

SSY Protest 'Hoodies' Ban

Scotsman

A group of youngsters are to hold a protest – over fears of a ban on “hoodies” and baseball caps in a city shopping centre.

Members of the Scottish Socialist Youth (SSY) will meet outside the Eastgate shopping centre in Inverness on Saturday to protest at Tony Blair’s “hats off” policy, which is being backed by Northern Constabulary.

...

Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) leader Colin Fox described the measures as an attack on young people.

He said: “It is time that young people were treated with respect instead of being criminalised.

“The SSP and the SSY have no time for loutish, threatening or anti-social behaviour, but the real solutions to these problems lie in offering a real future to our young people – not exploiting them as workers, ripping them off as consumers, or scapegoating them “en masse” for society’s ills.”