By Jimmy Ross, Glasgow Council Candidate

Saturday 28 April    - We set up stalls in Argyle St outside Debenhams and Borders in  Buchanan St. There is a noticeable difference in the public's readiness to take our bulletins, reaching out for them rather than us forcing them on people. There is a brilliant reaction when Tommy speaks on PA. Crowds gather round and at the end of his speech not only is there great applause but also cheers. I've not heard this before and i have been on the campaign trail for weeks. When he stops it takes ages before he can start up again because so many people want to speak to him. Petitions on Carers' Allowance, Council Tax, the War in Iraq and Banning Airguns are being signed enthusiastically by lots of people. 

When George Galloway came to Scotland earlier this week to support Solidarity he memorably referred to Tony Blair as the Dr Evil of British Politics and to Jack McConnell as 'Mini-me'.  Now his quip has inspired the well known radical cartoonist Leon Kuhn, who regularly draws for the Respect website , to draw some images conjured by Galloway.  Solidarity is pleased to present the result. Click for Leon Kuhn's website .

Over 1200 at Solidarity meetings in one day

Wednesday was a tiring but very uplifting day as we welcomed George Galloway to Scotland to join the Solidarity campaign.  George took time out from RESPECT’s council campaign in England to come up and lend us his support.

It was standing room only at a Solidarity lunchtime meeting in Edinburgh with over two hundred and fifty people packed the St Augustine Church to hear George also give his reasons and motivation for coming to Scotland to support Solidarity's campaign.

"Tommy Sheridan and I go back 20 years and I would have walked here from London to support him. He is a class act, a working class act, indeed a working class hero - which is something to be. Solidarity is the credible progressive party in Scotland and I ask the people of Scotland to support and vote for Solidarity candidates wherever they are standing on May 3rd."

From there we traveled through to Glasgow for two afternoon meetings, one in Pollokshields and another with over 200 students at Glasgow University.  The day ended with a fantastic public meeting in Glasgow’s Royal Concert Hall, chaired by Glasgow Solidarity candidate and leading anti-war campaigner Angela McCormick,  where over 600 turned up to hear not just George and myself but also speakers from The Sunvic workers, PCS union and respected campaigner Mohammed Asif.

That Mohammed has chosen to support our campaign is a major boost for Solidarity.  Mohammed has quite rightly emerged as one of this country's leading voices for the rights of asylum seekers and refugees and against the illegal wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  He spoke emotionally of Bush and Blair’s war in his home country of Afghanistan and his experiences since arriving here in Scotland 7 years ago.

People often say that public meetings and political rally’s are a thing of the past and that the general public are not interested.  I think that the 1200 people who turned up at our meetings in one day shows that it isn’t the concept of public meetings that is the problem, it is who is speaking and what they are saying that puts people off.

George Galloway was in superb form,  highlighting how far Labour have come from their socialist roots to being the party of war and big business.  We are grateful; for his support and proud that George, Mohammed, and the trades unionists and working class people who took part in the rally have decided that Solidarity is the only option for socialist on Thursday May 3rd.

By John Wight

The upcoming Scottish elections on May 3rd undoubtedly hold an importance which far outweighs the reserved powers of the Scottish Parliament. The near certainty of the historic collapse of Labour’s stranglehold in Scotland, and the rise of the SNP as the majority party in Scottish politics, carries with it the serious proposition of the break-up of the British state.

Thursday, Lebanon, 6.05 am, GMT

We are now on the bus to meet the sister of the assassinated former Prime Minister, Rafik Hariri.  Her name is Bahiya Hariri and she is an MP, head of education and very well respected.  We will then travel south to the worst bomb affected areas.

Wednesday, quarter past midnight, local time

I arrived in Beirut on Monday evening full of questions, a desire to learn and a good bit of trepidation. This is, after all, the city that was war torn throughout the 1980s and a country that has been aggressively occupied for so much of it’s life.  The heavy presence of guys in uniforms with big guns at the airport was only to be expected.  This country has only recently expelled one of the mightiest military machines on the planet after a brutal aerial assault and invasion.  The relatively tiny Lebanon, with a population of only 3.8 million, took on and defeated Israel.  The death rate was over 1,400, 30% of them children, but this small, proud and too often divided Nation stood steadfast against the millions of munitions that seemed to be deliberately targeted against civilians.  Led, in resistance terms, by the much maligned Hezbollah, Lebanon has actually inflicted the first real military defeat on the state of Israel since it’screation in 1948.  The 33 day conflict was the longest in Israel’s history and the defeat may hold huge implications for the whole Region and beyond.  What was the extent of the devastation, was the country at war with itself, was it safe to visit, who and what is Hezbollah?  These were just some of the questions spiralling through my mind as we were collected from the airport and driven to the hotel Diplomat on Rue 55, Central Beirut, the street name a reminder of past French colonial rule.