A City Council Meeting

Hamed Saber–

Meeting room of Islamic City Council of Tehran

Tehran Islamic City Council (شورای شهر تهران)

The meeting room was full of crowd today. Some people didn’t have any seat. They were families of arrested, disappeared and killed politicians, journalists, lawyers and normal people who was arrested during the election aftermath.

Families introduced themselves and talked about their problems, and the fact that they are unable to contact their son/daughter/sister/brother/father. And that they are under physical, neural and mental torture. Even a mother told that she heard that her daughter is being raped in jail.

[More]

Student Bursaries Frozen

The good news is though people who want to study betrayal won’t need to attend university to learn about it, all you need to know is manifested in New Labour’s every move-

Bursaries for England’s poorest students will no longer have to cover the gap between grants and fees. The Office for Fair Access (Offa) has decided the minimum bursary universities must offer if they charge fees should be 10% of the fee level. Currently it has to make up the difference between the £3,290 annual fee and the maximum grant of £2,906. For next year grants are frozen but fees go up. The bursary will be £55 short of the £384 difference. Offa’s move follows revised guidance from the Higher Education Minister, David Lammy.

NUS vice-president Aaron Porter said: “Today’s announcement is nothing short of shameful. “In 2004, we were told that universities would only be allowed to charge top up fees if they guaranteed that poorer students would not be out of pocket. The government has now gone back on its word.”

Sally Hunt, the general secretary of the University and College Union, said: “I cannot understand why a government that is looking so hard at social mobility has taken the decision to charge the poorest students more money to attend university.”

Vestas Occupation Continues

A Statement From the Vestas Workers Inside the Factory
‘Another eventful day yesterday as everyone knows from yesterday’s newsletter, Vestas imposed a food ban but they didn’t stop our great supporters getting food to use and in the right way, walking calmly and peacefully and throwing food to us, thanks guys.

Despite Paddy Wier being in meetings for most of the day yesterday with other senior management, the network reps and the island’s MP Andrew Turner, it seems they appeared to have achieved very little, their only option was to issue a last chance ultimatum for the fourth time, ‘come out or lose your jos and your redundancy’ to which we declined. Afterwards we recieved a letter from Paddy Wier stating we are now liable for temination and no redundancy package.

Vestas are however allowing us some food, as from today Vestas have stated they will supply us food but they will not allow any outside food onto the premises.

The rally at 6pm last night was very sucessful it was great to see so many people showing their support and a big thanks to everyone out there organising these events.

All our supporters are doing a fantastic job and it is you guys who are going to win this for us and with all the hard work and support and the huge publicity we are generating it shouldn’t take too long.’

Thanks For Dying

More British and American troops will die in Afghanistan, but the war against the Taliban is in the national interests of both countries, the US vice-president, Joe Biden, said today.

Biden refused to be drawn into the row over resources – particularly helicopters – for British forces, but he praised British soldiers.”I think they are among the best trained and the bravest warriors in the world,” he said.

“This is the place from which the attacks of 9/11 and all those attacks in Europe that came from al-Qaida have flowed – between Afghanistan and Pakistan … It is a place that, if it doesn’t get straightened out, will continue to wreak havoc on Europe and the United States.”

Wow, were some of Bush’s speeches left over, after all we know he likes to recycle other politician’s work. But hey Afghans, thanks for being killed, it’s all for our benefit, our ‘security’ etched in your blood (or whatever excuse this week is). Oh wait he didn’t mean that, he meant the troops, who volunteered (well other than stop loss) and are paid to kill you, such compassion.

Afghan’s deaths are the means for our warriors to be heroes, how’s that for being a useful cypher, c’mon you didn’t think you’d be treated like humans did you? And you get that, the controversy here is we haven’t given our killers enough means to kill you. Marvel at our sophisticated Western civilisation!