Them & Us

Protest at Bush

US PRESIDENT George Bush is visiting the UK on Sunday 15 June. The police have banned a protest march organised by the Stop the War Coalition from Parliament Square, London to Downing Street, where Gordon Brown is 'entertaining' Bush. The Coalition is defying the ban and meeting at Parliament Square at 5pm.

Challenge this ban on peaceful protest at the warmonger's farewell appearance in Britain as President. The Coalition are asking for messages of protest at the ban to be sent to the Home Office on 020 7035 0198 or email at indpublicenquiries@ind.homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

New threat to schools

NOT CONTENT with selling off hospitals, this government is now threatening to close up to 270 'failing' schools in the next three years. Schools secretary Ed Balls aims to replace them with the government's divisive and unpopular academy schemes, with their big business sponsors, and a new generation of trust schools.

This 'initiative' is aimed at schools where fewer than 30% of pupils secure five A to C GCSEs, including English and Maths. It will increase the anger amongst teachers, pupils and parents, who have launched campaigns across the country to stop academy schools.

Academies, rather than improving education, often damage children's education chances. Anti-academy campaigners in Barrow won a seat off Labour in the recent council elections. We now need to build a serious fight, led by the teachers' unions, to keep our education public.

More in future issues.

Diamond mine

A RICH City banker, aptly named Bob Diamond, has made £15 million profit by selling his Kensington house for £25 million, having bought it for £10 million in 2005. Diamond has quite enough money already.

Last year, he got a £36 million pay, bonus and share option deal for his job heading Barclay's bank investment banking section. At that time, Barclays had to write off £1.6 billion of bad debts. He coolly made millions while others suffered.

That didn't stop London's Tory mayor Boris Johnson appointing him to run his Mayor's List, whose aim is to raise money for young people in underprivileged areas!

For Diamond, most of London is underprivileged - his seven-bedroom Georgian townhouse has 8,000 square feet of space, an indoor swimming pool, a gym and an underground garage for seven cars. This 'diamond geezer' could just put his hand in his pocket to solve much of the capital's poverty.