ACTIVISTS IN the PCS civil servants' union from the Left Unity group were to meet in Birmingham on Saturday. They will know the result of the membership ballot for more democracy in the union.
FIREFIGHTER SYD Platt received nearly 5 percent of the vote for the Socialist Alliance in a council by-election in the Haverstock ward in Camden, north London, last week.
WITH THE majority of the world's population opposing war, Tony Blair now says that people don't understand the "moral case" for attacking Iraq. It is another lie born of desperation. Blair said of last Saturday's anti-war demonstration, "If there are one million, this is still less than the number of people who died in the wars he Saddam started."
It was the biggest march in British history, and that's official. Only once before have such numbers been on the streets - back in 1945 when millions partied to celebrate the end of the Second World War. Last Saturday up to two million marched in London to protest against another war.
In Glasgow last Saturday Tony Blair fled from the anti-war anger that swept towards Labour's spring conference. Around 100,000 people marched through Glasgow to the exhibition centre where the Labour Party was meeting. It was the biggest demonstration in the city since the 19th century. Tony Blair was scheduled to speak at 2pm - the demonstration was scheduled to be outside the centre to meet him. Instead Blair sneaked into Glasgow at 10am, spoke to a closed meeting and scurried off before the march began. Margaret Thomson was on the march, carrying the "Sighthill United Against War" banner.
It was the day the world said no to Bush's war. Demonstrations took place in over 600 cities and towns. The numbers of demonstrators far surpassed the most optimistic forecasts of ten million. In some countries people marched in their millions or hundreds of thousands.
Turkey | Luxembourg | Ireland | Australia | Austria | Czech Republic | Malaysia | New Zealand | Switzerland | Malta | Poland | Cyprus | Norway | Germany
Hyde Park was filled with people as far as the eye could see listening to speech after speech attacking Bush and Blair's drive to war. Hundreds of thousands of people stood in the freezing cold for four hours intently listening to the speakers at the rally.
ONE OF the sickest and most dishonest arguments of supporters of Bush's war is that it is about liberating the people of Iraq, especially oppressed groups like the Shi'a Muslims and the Kurds. Commentators say that the Kurdish area of northern Iraq, which has been free of Iraqi government control since 1991, shows the kind of democracy and human rights the US will bring to Iraq.
A QUIET market town in Leicestershire was rocked last week by the announcement of 900 job cuts. Ashby de la Zouch is known on the tourist trail for its medieval castle, used for a battle scene in the 19th century novelist Walter Scott's book Ivanhoe. But one of the town's biggest employers, United Biscuits, put Ashby in the news for another reason after announcing its McVitie's factory will close. The news has devastated the workers.
AROUND 3,500 workers at the massive Ryton Peugeot plant near Coventry walked out on strike for 24 hours last week. They brought the plant to a standstill. The first shift to strike began picketing at 5.30am on Thursday of last week, the day after the car giant announced yearly profits of £1.2 billion.
