Citizens United strike again

Citizens United managed to have their tuppence worth in the Inland Revenue  offices in Cochrane Street, Glasgow this week. Around 20 Citz United walked into the premises and demonstrated against the Revenue’s failure to chase corporate tax evaders and avoiders while the humble tax payer takes the strain.  Work was stopped for about one hour before the peaceful demonstrators left after police were called.

Some of the group had come from Fife representing the Black Triangle organisation which fights for the welfare and wellbeing of disabled people. Said Anne Martin who has Multiple Sclerosis and uses a walking frame: ‘I used to get home care which paid for someone to keep my house clean because I cannot do that myself. But that allowance has been stopped. If the Government chased some of the multi-millionaires who avoid paying the taxes they should, then allowances such as that one would not have to be cut.’

Louise McCleary who is registered blind said: ‘We are the scape goats. If the Government collected the corporate taxes they should – and even increased them a little – none of the cuts affecting people like me would be necessary.’

Catherine Lockhart who was accompanying her father Peter who is in a wheelchair, added: ‘I think it is very unfair the way disabled people are being treated. People who don’t have to live with a disability daily, don’t understand how hard it is. There are extra costs. It is often difficult if not impossible to get into shops or public places and there is only one hotel chain where someone like my father can get in easily.’

Citizens United leader Sean Clerkin told this website: ‘We consider the Scottish Government has a mandate to stop tax evasion. There is also around £200m lying in the Treasury offices in London earmarked for Scotland through fossil fuel levies. That money could be used to avoid the hardship of the cuts being suffered by disabled people and ordinary citizens who pay their taxes. If tax evasion and avoidance were tackled there would be no need for ordinary folk to bear the brunt of the government cuts.’

The group’s demonstration was part of a European wide series of events to highlight  a ‘Robin Hood’ tax being considered by the European Council in advance of the November G20 summit. Said Oxfam Scotland’s campaign manager, Malcolm Fleming: ‘A Robin Hood  Tax is about fairness. It aims to tax those who have created economic hardship so that they can help repair some of the damage they’ve done.’

A response to the sit-in was requested from the Inland Revenue, but at the time of writing, had not been received by the website.

Later an insider told this website that most of the people working in the office which the Citz United invaded, sympathised with the demonstrators’ cause.

Sly Slavonic Cuts

 The University of Glasgow omitted to mention in its ‘reshaping’ announcement yesterday (Wednesday 22 June) that the University Court has decided to close in 2012, the Slavonic Studies programme within the School of Modern Languages and Cultures.

 ’The Slavonic Studies cultural and inter-cultural programme deals with the cultures of Central and Eastern Europe. It is unique in Scotland. Slavonic Studies have been in existence at the University of Glasgow for sixty years, Russian Studies for more than one hundred years,’ said Senior Lecturer Dr Jan Culik.

 Earlier this month, Glasgow University Senate has expressed the view that the Slavonic Studies programme should not be closed down, however, University Court has now decided otherwise.

At the students’ rally during the start of the University Court meeting, Dr Culik said: ‘This University would become the laughing stock of the world if the unique cultural programme we provide about Eastern Europe is discontinued. ‘ He added: ‘We provide strategically important knowledge about the significant areas in Europe and Scotland will be much poorer if this provision is no longer available.’

 At least 26 senior academics across Scotland have raised a e-petition on the Scottish Government website, requesting ‘targeted funding for lesser taught language and cultural studies’ such as the East European languages and cultures at Glasgow University. Such funding exists in England and used to exist in Scotland. It is felt that without the Scottish government making a commitment to this important strategic resource, cultural and language studies of Central and Eastern Europe in Scotland will be lost. See websie: http://epetitions.scottish.parliament.uk/view_petition.asp?PetitionID=455

 Along with a detailed commentary on what the Court decided on each of the proposed cuts, retiring Students’ Representative Council (SRC) President, Tommy Gore, said: ‘I’m pleased that all the hard work put in by students has shown the University why their plans to cut and merge courses were wrong. Generally the outcomes of the Court meeting are proof of that. But there are still concerns over DACE, Nursing and Slavonic Studies, so we need to ensure students stay engaged and continue to argue the case for these subject areas which contribute hugely to the student experience at Glasgow.’

He added: ‘With the School of Modern Languages and Cultures, we’ve got a year to show the University how crucial Slavonic Studies is to other courses – such as Comparative Literature, Politics and History – across the University. We need to demonstrate the detrimental effect closing down Slavonic Studies will have on the student experience in these areas.’  

Across the campus – at all levels – there is an atmosphere of discontent. As one academic said: “I think the University only wants to do highly lucrative courses primarily for foreign students and has adopted a ‘pile them high, teach them cheap,’ mentality.”

At the time of posting this story, the University of Glasgow had not responded to the localnewsglasgow query about the omission of Slavonic studies cuts in their release. The University was  also asked for details of  the savings expected through the re-alignment.

Sounds of protest outside Court doors

An intrepid band of about 200 students continued their protest at Glasgow University cuts as the University’s Court met to decide on proposals on Wednesday 22 June 2011.

With drums and megaphone, the crowd made their concerns loud and clear outside the Senate room where the Court was meeting.

A range of speakers outlined the issues. Dr Jan Culik, Senior Lecturer in Czech Studies, who has been on the University staff since 1995, said: ’This University will become the laughing stock of the world if the broad based cultural education we provide is not continued. ‘ He said later: The School of  Slovak Studies has been here 60 years and is unique in Scotland.’

Liam Kane, a lecturer in the Adult and Continuing Education department (DACE) said: ‘There is a contradiction between the consultation process commending the good work being done and the taking away of all teaching grants to make the department self sufficient within the next three years. We don’t know the details yet, but if we are really to become self-sufficient, this would appear to be privatisation by the backdoor’

Louisa McMinn, a mature student in the crowd commented: ”I’ve already experienced the cuts. We were limited to fortnightly oral classes – in large groups – in first year French. It is very hard to build oral language skills on that basis. She added: ‘ How can you expect people to accept austerity that’s dished out by people earning six figure salaries?  There needs to be reform in university structures with academically elected bodies rather than overpaid management groups,  making the decisions.’ At the aged of 55, Louisa has just graduated with an M.A. in French and Music following part-time studies.  She said: ‘My children won’t be able to do what I’ve done, if the cuts go ahead.’

Mela monsoon didn’t stop the music

Despite frequent monsoon-like downpours over the weekend, the Mela delivered a good show and big sounds. Said one Indian living and working Glasgow: ‘It was a  really good Mela. It made me homesick!’

For the first time running over two days in Kelvingrove Park, the Mela drew in the crowds.

On Saturday 18 June, winner of the Best Urban Act Award at the UK AMAS and the Best British Asian Urban Act at the 2010 BritAsia awards, Mumzy Stranger, set the World Stage alight with his unique style of urban music.  Keeping up the tempo were Bass2base, the first-ever Bollywood band to perform at the O₂ Glasgow Mela.  They wowed everyone with their polished blend of new and old Bollywood styles with Bhangra, Hindi, pop, funk and urban sounds. 

On Sunday 19 June,  Manak-E, who has dominated the Bollywood and Punjabi music scene with hits songs including Paisa Paisa and Dhoor, delighted fans. On of the world’s top Bhangra bands, DCS, made a sensational return to the Mela five years after first performing at the event.  Frontman Shin said: “Glasgow is an awesome audience, I love being back.  Music is my life and I love sharing it with anyone who’ll listen.  That’s why I love the Mela, it is a great way to introduce new people to Bhangra music and music is a great way to introduce people to new cultures.”

International dance acts added colour and energy to the proceedings.  Dressed in elaborate masks representing gods, monsters and animals, the acrobatic Chhau Dancers from Eastern Indian thrilled the crowds with an awesome routine involving swords and shields to illustrate popular tales.   Tinku from Chhau Dancers said: “I have been looking forward to dancing in Glasgow.  I hope our dancing inspires people to learn more about Indian culture. That’s what the Mela is about after all – sharing the best parts of different cultures.”

They were joined by local acts showcasing the cultural diversity on offer in Glasgow, with performances from Scotland’s hottest Bollywood talent, Desi Bravehearts and ​Eletricat Brazilian Dance.

 New for 2011 was a collaboration with schools across Glasgow.  This gave hundreds of youngsters the opportunity to work with Priyanka Purohit, assistant to the legendary Bollywood choreographer Pratap Shetty, to learn Bollywood, freestyle and Bhangra dance, which they performed on stage during the weekend. 

 A second new element this year was Dance Dhamaka.  The aim of Dhamaka, meaning ‘explosion’, was to get Scotland dancing towards the Cultural Olympiads in 2012.  To underline the multi-cultural nature of the Mela some of the most exciting dance groups in the country entertained festival-goers with a mix of styles including Flamenco, Chinese, Brazilian and Scottish.

 Councillor George Redmond, Chair of Glasgow Life said: “In its 21 year history the festival has gone from strength to strength and continues to be a wonderful family event that highlights Glasgow as a multicultural and multi racial city. Moving to two days was definitely the right decision.  Despite the rain, thousands of people have enjoyed a fabulous weekend of free entertainment at the biggest O₂ Glasgow Mela yet.”

COURT DECIDES

The Court of the University of Glasgow has finalised the ‘reshaping’ of the University which has caused great unrest among students and staff.

With their budget decisions for 2011-12 made today (Wednesday 22 June 2011) Court accepted all the recommendations made by the panels that were established to consult widely with the academic schools as well as with student representatives.
This means that:
The School of Modern Languages and Cultures will maintain the teaching of the full current range of modern languages at the levels currently taught.
Anthropology, Archaeology, Classics and History will continue to be taught at the University of Glasgow.
Nursing and Healthcare will continue as normal, including admissions for academic year 2011-12 and 2012-13, pending the outcome of the Chief Nursing Officer’s review.
The Open Programme will continue to provide courses, but through an independent, self-supporting unit within University Services.
The Centre for Drug Misuse Research will close.
The University will continue to withdraw from the Glasgow School of Social Work.
The University will withdraw provision of the dedicated Liberal Arts programmes on the Dumfries Campus from 2012-13. In a statement, the University added: ‘The University is committed to a strong and positive future for the Dumfries campus as we develop our range of courses focused on environmental studies, health and social studies, and primary education, and liberal arts will continue to be a part of other interdisciplinary degree programmes at Dumfries Campus.’

Speaking later, the Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of Glasgow Professor Anton Muscatelli, said that the decisions made at Court meant that the University was now in a very strong position going forward: “The past few months have been extremely challenging and I want to pay tribute to everyone who took part in what was a vigorous and comprehensive consultation programme. The difficult decisions that have been addressed, coupled with the work that has been done to turn-around our finances means that the future prospects for the continued excellence of the University of Glasgow are extremely promising. We will continue to provide a world-class learning and teaching environment, and look forward to the future development and success of the University with considerable optimism.”

Students taken to task

OUR STORY of students holding an ‘austerity auction’  and raising 46p which they tried to present to the Principal of the University of Glasgow last week, has brought re-action. Since this website operates a freedom of speech policy we have verified these people do exist and these are their genuine comments:-

From Jane - a 3rd year student:

I’m afraid your article gives completely the wrong picture. I saw these so-called ‘campaigners’ last week. There were a small group of eight activists from the Free Hetherington occupation, making fools of themselves on Byres Road with curious passers-by wondering which planet they had come down from as they carried out a silly auction. They then wandered aimlessly with this cheque around campus, with other students laughing and jeering at them.

The anti-cuts ‘campaign’ which you refer to is dead. The University doesn’t have financial problems, as you would know if you read the Glasgow Herald a couple of weeks ago. They have made proposals and worked with the Student Representative Council (SRC) to come up with agreed solutions to the course closures, which will now not happen. That is all thanks to the SRC, not to these extremists.

The so-called ‘Free Hetherington’ is now being occupied by a small group of extremists who are loathed by the rest of the student population, who think they are bringing bad publicity to the University and would like them to get out of there.

At Glasgow, we students are represented by the SRC and they’re doing a great job in working with the Principal and his managers. That’s the real picture, not a a dozen or so anarchists who don’t realise that the campaign finished two months ago!!

The only people whose support is plummeting (in fact it’s already below zero) are these losers, some of whom are not even Glasgow students…

From Jill who is not a student:-

Children launch outdoor gym

Children in three Glasgow primary schools gave a new playpark a good work out on Monday. The outdoor gym at Dover Street in Charing Cross, was formally opened by Alistair Campbell, 10, from Anderston Primary; Shileas Nicgriogair, 8, from the Glasgow Gaelic School and Elisha Lal, 5, from St Patrick’s RC school who, together, cut the ribbon.

They and their class mates were the first to try out the new multi-purpose games court and play area which has been in informal use for several weeks.

Equipment enables users to do sit ups, leg and chest presses and play football, hockey, basketball and netball on the synthetic games surface.

This is the 57th play area to be built since 2005 as part of the Play Area Improvement Programme run by Glasgow City Council in partnership with Glasgow Housing Association (GHA). Additional funding for this project was provided by the Central and West Community Planning Partnership.

GHA’s West Area Director, Jacqueline Norwood, said: “Our partnership with the Council to build play parks has brought a real boost to dozens of communities over the past six years. Children can play safely and keep fit at the same time. The play areas are also a great way for the youngsters and parents from different backgrounds and cultures to mix.”

Local Councillor Philip Braat, who instigated this project, said: “I fought long and hard to get this play area up and running. I am absolutely delighted with what we have here now. It is a wonderful illustration of how a community, working together, can secure significant improvements and create a community space which is tailored to their needs. Everyone involved should be very proud of what they have achieved in making Dover Street/Kent Road greenspace what it is today – a fantastic resource for the community to enjoy for many years to come.”

The children were entertained by Bubbles the clown and a football session put on by A&M Training, a project part funded by GHA which tackles youth disorder, racism and gang violence through football and dance classes.

EDITORIAL

As the weather gets more wintry – typical Scottish summertime! – things are hotting up in various places around the city. The West End Festival still has dozens of exciting events to go, performances to be seen and happenings to be enjoyed. The Riverside Museum will open later this month as will the new motorway filling in the ‘missing link’ from Tradeston.  The Mela extends into two days this very weekend (Sat 18/Sun 19 June).

Pressure at the University of Glasgow is rising as the Court’s decision on cuts is expected from its next meeting.  There is still discord at the Accord Centre for people with multiple special needs.

In the midst of this, people are planting Commonwealth Gardens, walking new signed routes within Pollok Park and singing to raise funds for Malawi as well as running a 5k in old bridal gowns to champion another charity.

Where the good energy flows, the warmth of human kindness is felt. So the weather outside doesn’t really matter, does it?

More delights promised at West End Festival

 

Glasgow’s West End Festival runs till Sunday 26 June so there is still time to catch major and minor delights.

The Asian extravaganza of a Mela will be in Kelvingrove Park on Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 June. A whole series of Daniel’s Beard concerts continues till Friday 24 June at the Cottier. A vintage bus service will run from Victoria Park to the West End on Sunday 26 June. And on that final Sunday of the Festival, the Runaway Bride’s relay run – the Revenge of the Bridesmaid – will take place in Kelvingrove Park. Organised by the Hilton-Foundation charity fund in aid of the Williams-syndrome, the fun 5k run has everyone dresses as brides and bridesmaids and is a spectacle.

Film, cookery master classes, kids stuff, classical music, fiddle workshops, garden fetes and art exhibitions and more are all there for enjoying. Lots of events are free. Look for a paper copy of the 100+ paged programme in places such as libraries. But online information can be found at: www.westendfestival.co.uk

Here are some pictures from the opening parade and from FORK Gala day. Friends of the River Kelvin (FORKs) care about the environment of the river and had a very successful Gala Day. See info elsewhere on this website.

Global garden to celebrate the Games

Glasgow’s first Commonwealth Garden was formally opened this week when Councillor Archie Graham attended the event at North West Women’s Centre in Maryhill and helped plant heather to represent Scotland.

Created by women of the centre following a design by Jane Gibb, the garden was funded by a £10,000 grant from the National Lottery’s Awards For All Fund.

Plants represent the main countries of the Commonwealth and their continents.

On one side Asia blooms with bamboo, rhododendron and irises. India is represented with a herb tea plant section and Europe’s space uses beautiful geraniums, roses and other plants.

Flora from the Americas, Africa and Australasia includes a maple tree for Canada, large spiky bushes for New Zealand and America, grasses from Africa and a plethora of colourful flowers from all three areas.

Over the next two years the Women’s Commonwealth Garden will have a project for local children to help them learn more about Commonwealth countries and the Commonwealth Games which will be held in Glasgow in 2014. The children will make gold and silver ‘medals’ on sticks to put into the garden next to the plants or flowers of the countries which win them.

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