Glasgow, Scotland – Donald Trump visited Scotland this weekend as part of his four-day trip to Britain. Trumps visit comes at a politically uncertain time, with Britain still in the process of negotiating exit terms with the European Union. With Brexit in mind, British Prime Minister Theresa May is keen to strengthen the U.S.-UK alliance, which the ruling class in Britain commonly refers to as the ‘special relationship.’ However, May’s Tory government is increasingly divided, with several of her cabinet resigning over the past week. The ‘Brexiteers’ who have resigned, including the Secretary of State Boris Johnson and David Davis, citing what they see as a ‘soft’ Brexit. In this backdrop, May will be keen to secure a trade agreement with the U.S. and cement Britain’s position as a junior partner to U.S. imperialism.

In Scotland Scottish National Party (SNP) leader and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has made her disapproval of Trump plain in the past and it appears will be keeping her distance during this visit. Instead of meeting with Trump, she helped to lead Glasgow's massive Pride march of 5000 people this weekend. The SNP’s depute leader, Keith Brown, before Trump’s visit said, “Scotland today stands united – with people from all backgrounds and all nations – against Donald Trump. We will send a message to Donald Trump that Scotland rejects the abhorrent treatment of little children on the U.S. -Mexican border. Scotland opposes his attempt to wreck the Paris Climate Agreement and his vilification of Muslims. We also oppose his barbaric language and treatment of women. Our message will be clear: Scotland rejects Trump’s politics of division and hatred and we stand with our friends in the U.S. who oppose him.”

As a result of Trumps visit, protests were held across Scotland including in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeenshire. In Glasgow’s George Square over 3000 protesters held up banners with messages against Trumps policies including, “Give the weans [children] Irn Bru [a famous Scottish soft drink] not iron cages” as well as many other inventive signs urging Trump to “Get tae fuck.” The crowd consisted of people from all walks of life, with the overwhelming majority there to protest against Trump. Many Scots in attendance were in a jovial mood with many people frequently using the colorful term “bawbag” to describe Trump.

#GlasgowScotland #Glasgow #AntiwarMovement #Brexit #AntiTrump #scotland #ScottishNationalPartySNP

Glasgow, Scotland – A group of major military weapons producers organized an international arms fair in Glasgow that included over 50 companies and over 1000 delegates. One of the major sponsors of the Underseas Defense Technology conference is BAE Systems, which produces fighter jets in factories on the Clyde that are sold to the Israeli government to continue their war against the Palestinians. Other sponsors of the event include Leonardo, an Italian weapons corporation that sells weapons to the Turkish government, which are used in their war against the Kurdish people. Some referred to this arms fair as a 'supermarket of death.'

A large group of people from groups across Scotland protested outside of the Scottish Exhibition Centre, June 26, to protest the arms fair. Carrying Palestinian and Kurdish flags, they shouted at the arms dealers as they entered, “You're not welcome in Glasgow!' and “Shame on you.” A few protesters tried to blockade the entrance of the arms fair, but the cops quickly removed them and one protester got arrested.

A few leaders of the Scottish National Party (SNP) were present and expressed outraged that the Glasgow City Council would allow such an event to happen in Glasgow. Scotland has a proud history of opposition to militarism, which can be seen at Celtic games in which Palestinian flags are present, as well in the large SNP-led campaign to shut down nuclear arms-producing factories in Scotland. Therefore, it was shocking to many peace-loving Glaswegians that such an event would be held in Glasgow.

Kate Nevens, of the Campaign Against the Arms Trade said, “People in Scotland are appalled that such a terrible event is taking place, and that Glasgow City Council is supporting it. Many of the companies in attendance have armed and supported human rights abusing regimes across the world. War, repression and injustice are fueled by arms fairs like Underseas Defense Technology. It’s time to shut it down for good.”

#GlasgowScotland #AntiwarMovement #Palestine #WorkersAndGlobalization #ScottishExhibitionCentre #CampaignAgainstTheArmsTrade

On March 14, Teresa May expelled 23 Russian diplomats and encouraged allies in the EU and the U.S. to do the same in their countries. She claimed the Russian diplomats are part of Russia's espionage network and their expulsion is a way to weaken Russian intelligence. In addition to this, May has frozen Russian state assets in the UK, suspended high-level Russia-UK contact, and declared that no royal family member will attend the FIFA world cup in Russia this summer. One of the few critics in British parliament was Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who was denounced as a 'Russian stooge' for criticizing May's harsh response.

President Donald Trump has sided with the British government and ordered the expulsion of 60 Russian diplomats from the U.S. The U.S. has accepted the British judgement that Russia was behind the poisoning without any questions asked. Leaders of the European Union have also sided with Britain with a statement of solidarity and have expelled a total of 33 Russian diplomats from 16 EU countries.

The Russian government has denied the accusations and condemned the poisoning of Skirpal. President Vladimir Putin called the incident 'a tragedy' and denied that Russia would ever do such a thing. Foreign minister Sergei Lavrov demanded a sample of the chemical nerve agent so that the Russian government could conduct their own investigation; the British government refused. In response to Britain's hostile actions, the Russian government has expelled 23 British diplomats from Russia and closed the British consulate in Saint Petersburg.

Although such diplomatic hostility against Russia is not new, we have not seen this level of antagonism since the Soviet era. It is difficult to say what is behind the UK's hostile acts against Russia, but there are a few possibilities. First, during the war in Syria waged by the United States and NATO, Russia has defended the Syrian government. Russia has provided military aid to Assad and defended the right of the Syrian people to defend themselves. The diplomatic war against Russia may be a reflection of the real war against Syria that Britain is participating in.

Another reason may be related to Russia's economic activities in Europe. Russia is in the process of building a pipeline that would ship cheap Russian oil to Germany and will pass through a number of EU member states. This would put Russia in a stronger economic position in the oil market, weakening British, European and U.S. business interests. The diplomatic hostility against Russia is very likely connected to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which many EU member states, including Britain, have been opposed to.

Regardless of what one thinks of Russia, it is important not to buy into the Russophobia of the British, European, and U.S. politicians. The measures taken by the British government against Russia are hawkish and should not be supported by anyone who supports peace.

#GlasgowScotland #Glasgow #Russia #Russophobia #Asia

Glasgow, Scotland – As of March 17, for the last month, lecturers across the United Kingdom have been on strike in response to changes in their pension plans. The employers’ organization, Universities UK (UUK) are attempting to abolish the lecturers’ existing pension plans, which guarantees retirement based on their salary. They want to replace this pension scheme with one that would be determined by the stock market, which is highly unstable and does not guarantee retirement. The University and College Union (UCU) has argued that this new scheme would make lecturers lose over £10,000 a year, and £200,000 by the time of retirement – equivalent to about $280,000.

After much debate and discussion, 88% of the membership of the UCU voted to strike, which has been ongoing at universities across the UK for the past month. They are demanding that universities keep the existing pension scheme and scrap the proposals for a market-driven pension plan. The strikers have faced intimidation by university administration, who have threatened to sue the lecturers for lost teaching hours. They have attempted to use alt-right students to agitate against the lecturers and scare them into capitulation. Their attempts to force the lecturers into surrender have entirely failed, as students at universities in England, Scotland, Wales and the North of Ireland have stood in solidarity with their professors. They have engaged in sit-ins, occupying lecture halls to force non-union lecturers to cancel class and prevent strike-breaking.

In Scotland, there has been a particularly high level of student participation with the strike. At the University of Stirling, students formed Stirling Students Support the UCU Pension Strike. About 30 students occupied the Logie Lecture Hall, in which many first-year introductory courses are taught. They have been occupying the lecture hall since March 14, and have successfully forced the university to cancel dozens of courses in order to strengthen the strike. Important labor leaders, trade union officials, and members of the strike have supported the students, bringing them supplies and helping boost morale. The university has threatened them and attempted to force them to leave by shutting off the heat during very cold weather conditions.

Wullie Cunnigham, one of the organizers of the occupation, said “Since our occupation began on Wednesday [March 14] the senior management of the university have ignored any and all calls for dialogue. We have been humbled by the support our striking lecturers have shown us and we are steely in our resolve to not leave until our demands are met. The loss of their largest lecture theatre a week before the 'prestigious' Williamson lecture is sure to be weighing on their minds. We will continue to stand in solidarity with both the UCU and any other industrial actions ongoing while we occupy!”

The strike is expected to continue, as the universities have not given in to the lecturers’ demands. If the universities refuse to capitulate, the UCU has threatened to continue the strike during the exam period.

#GlasgowScotland #Glasgow #strike #Strikes #UniversityAndCollegeUnion #UCU