Greenman's Occasional Organ

Blogging Break!

2008-07-11T12:23:00.003+01:00

I have been having all kinds of problems with my computer recently so I will not be blogging regularly for some time until I get things sorted out - most of the time I do not have access to my blog from other computers that I use, due to security issues.

Hopefully this will also give me some time to work on a few reviews and articles that I have been meaning to complete.

Apologies to any regular readers for the break in service - hopefully I will be back soon!

Greenman

Bonekickers - Expensively Recycled Garbage

2008-07-09T08:46:00.006+01:00

Good grief! BBC1's new Tueday night drama serial Bonekickers seemed like proof that if you get one TV success story under your belt you can pitch just about any old tripe and get funding. Bonekickers was like a cack handed lashing together of the archaelogical team of Time Team with the ludicrous plotline of the Da Vinci Code and the breathless running around and "shorthand TV" of adventure series like Primeval, Torchwood and Spooks. It managed to be less than the sum of its parts - appallingly cheesy dialogue, a plot that was easily predictable to anyone who has read Dan Brown's book or watched any of the above serials and a cringeworthy attempt to appear relevant in the first episode that involved anti-muslim christian fundamentalist bigotry.
We perhaps should have suspected this would have been the case after the disappointment that was Ashes to Ashes, the follow up to Life on Mars - the programme that made a name for Matthew Graham and Ashley Pharoah.

Where Life on Mars was original and witty, Ashes To Ashes was derivative and predictable. Where Philip Glenister's character DCI Hunt was a funny portrayal of a stock character from the 1970s in Life On Mars - with views that allowed viewers to have a laugh both at Neanderthal 70's males and the "PC" 21st Century views of John Simm's time travelling cop, situating themselves somewhere in between - in Ashes to Ashes the affectionate response people had had to Hunt was taken as carte blanche to present him and his views as a positive role model and the series came out with some appallingly reactionary crap, stereotypes and messages.

But Bonekickers managed to be even worse, you had to keep reminding yourself that this was expensive "quality" BBC TV you were watching and not some cheap lowest common denominator ITV pap. Hugh Bonneville had some lines that were supposed to be funny, but most of them fell flat, and the rest of the dialogue was painful. The far-right Christian character was so caricatured as to be unbelievable, but was given "topical themes" which may have meant that his oft repeated speeches actually got a sympathetic response from some of the audience, whilst allowing themselves to distance themselves from the ludicrous portrayal. If the message was liberal (as suggested by the "peace and love" portrayal of a Muslim community leader that one of the "soldiers of God" beheaded) then it was put forward in such a stupid way as to negate itself - likewise the treatment of the religious subject, all "woo-woo it's a miracle!" one minute showing the atheists in the team in a bad light, and then throwing the miracle into a more explicable light later to keep most of the audience on board regardless of faith. This just came across as tacky compromise - nothing wrong with being enigmatic and not offering solutions, but the way it was done here was just silly and obvious.
Sorry Life on Mars guys, we now know that the Emperor has no clothes!

Green Party Trades Union Group Conference Next Week

2008-07-06T20:17:00.004+01:00

GREEN PARTY TRADES UNION GROUP CONFERENCE
“Can Greens and Trades Unions work together?”

12 July 2008
(10am-6pm)

Venue
Friends' Meeting House, Ship Street, Brighton, Sussex BN1 1AF (10 minutes from Brighton BR)
TEL (01273) 770258 website http://www.brightonquakers.co.uk/

SPEAKERS
· Caroline Lucas MEP,
· Tony Kearns (CWU),
· Brighton Unison Speaker

Workshops

a. Migration/ Population policy and International relations (J.Healy)

b. Future strategies for links between Greens and TUs (P. MacCafferty)

c. Disability rights against workfare, (A.Wheatley)

Admission £8 / £4 concs
GPTU contact yrrumuk@yahoo.co.uk

Support Workers at Starbucks

2008-07-04T22:28:00.003+01:00

The international day of action called in response to Starbucks' victimisation of union activists in the USA and Spain has taken on a whole new significance in the wake of Starbucks' announcement of mass closures. Seen in the light of this, Starbucks' management actions against independent unions and activists were preparation for a massive attack on a large swathe of the workforce.

Support the global day of action on Saturday July 5th!

More info here - http://www.starbucksunion.org/node/2024

Ingrid Betancourt And Other Hostages Are Free

2008-07-03T17:44:00.003+01:00

In a mercifully bloodless security forces operation Ingrid Betancourt and other hostages held by the FARC in Colombia were freed last night. Let us hope that this signals a new era in Colombian politics and that Ingrid (former Presidential candidate for the Green-aligned Party in Colombia) can be a voice for peace, justice and freedom in the days ahead. As the FARC wanes the emphasis must be on the release of all other hostages, cessation of terrorist actions and the cessation of the fascist terror against trade unionists and progressives in Colombia, (that along with the Cocaine trade has fed the cycle of violence and hatred). There must be no repeat of the previous ceasefires and "normalisations" where the fascists and elements of the secret state used the cessation of armed conflict and leftist engagement in the electoral process as an opportunity to massacre former guerillas or anyone unfortunate enough to be seen by them as being on the left.

There is a real opportunity for normal civil society and free trade union activity to resume in Colombia and for openness about the effect of the drugs industry on the society and ecomomy. The hope is that this opportunity will be seized. It will entail an accurate appraisal of the Uribe regime which has hitherto not been on the agenda of many Western regimes and their tame journos who have presented him and the regime as a liberal bulwark against narco-terror rather than something more complicated and dubious, with various connections to the rightist terror and narcotics industry that complete the bloody equation of Colombia today. The West could in theory force Uribe to be more like what he likes to be seen as rather than this dubious reality, but let us not raise false hopes. What is needed is global political pressure, and solidarity with the Colombian people who have had enough of the narcotics dealers and terrorists and their apologists, "left" and right. Whilst Uribe and the dubious Pinochet-esque elements that hide behind him may today revel in the reflected glory of the hostage release operation, and whilst Ingrid and her supporters may be extremely grateful for the action of the security forces that rescued her; a time is coming for a more realistic appraisal of the way forward in Colombia and a popular democratic approach that addresses many of the remaining issues that have driven conflict there.

When this new situation comes about leading elements of the regime may have less reason to be cheerful - let us hope that these elements do not act to sustain the conflict, and the FARC, in an attempt to avoid their own position becoming less secure.

More on the situation from Richard Gott here

Timeline here

Global Greens Resolution from May on Ingrid Betancourt here.
( "Ingrid Betancourt, delegate to the 1st Congress of the Global Greens in Canberra 2001, founder of the Green Party Oxigeno de Colombia, member of the Federation of the Green Parties of America, is nominated President of Honor of the Global Greens and of the Coordination of the Global Green parties.")

NHS Protests This Friday And Saturday

2008-07-02T19:32:00.003+01:00

KONP (Keep Our NHS Public) have arranged a protest outside the HQ of the Department of Health on Friday 4th July at 4pm to mark the 60 th birthday of the NHS:

http://greenhealthservice.blogspot.com/2008/06/nhs-protest.html

There is also a rally at 11am on Saturday at the Royal Liverpool Hospital on Merseyside.

In the East Midlands the rally is at the Clocktower in Leicester at 12 Noon on Saturday 5th July.

Republic Spokesperson Attacks Charles' Green Spin

2008-07-02T19:04:00.002+01:00

Press release from Republic -

CHARLES' GREEN SPIN - AN ATTEMPT TO DODGE TAX QUESTIONS

Republic has called on the Duchy of Cornwall to pay full corporate
taxes as Prince Charles' personal income increases yet again to £16 million.

Spokesperson Graham Smith told reporters:

"The Clarence House PR team always attempts to divert attention from the Duchy's tax arrangements by pointing to the reduction in Charles' carbon footprint."

"This is 'greenwashing' at its worst. The truth is that the Prince's carbon footprint is still nearly 500 times the size of the average household."

"This is all an attempt to distract us from the real issue - that these year on year increases in Charles' income are greatly helped by the fact that the Duchy is not subject to the same tax rules as the rest of us."

NOTES

Prince Charles does not pay corporate or capital gains tax on the Duchy.

The Clarence House accounts refer to income generated by the Duchy, yet when asked about unpaid corporate taxes the Prince's press officers state that Charles is an individual.

Republic on Royal Travel Expenses

2008-07-02T09:26:00.002+01:00

The following was a press release from the Republic campaign following more revelations about UK Royals' travel expenses.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH - ROYAL GRAVY TRAIN MUST STOP

Republic has repeated its calls for reform of the Royal finances after it was revealed that Prince William's Chinook flights cost the taxpayer more than £50,000, including nearly £9,000 to attend his cousin's stag night.

The Freedom of Information disclosure came on the day that the Prince of Wales was due to publish his financial report, which was due to include details of his own excessive travel costs.

Spokesperson Graham Smith said today:

"This is a disgraceful waste of public money. In the last few days we have seen the extent to which the Windsors' exravagant lifestyles are funded by hard-working British taxpayers. £22,000 for a day at the races, £19,000 for a trip to the pub and now £9,000 to drop in at a stag night."

"These revelations demonstrate the need for urgent reform of the Royal finances. The Windsors simply spend what they like, charge it to the taxpayer and then tell us about it afterwards. There is no way for us to hold them accountable."

"We expect Charles will distract attention from his own extravagant travel costs by referring to his green credentials. But last year's report revealed the carbon footprint of his household to be 450 times that of the average home. He will have to have made some very drastic lifestyle changes to make a dent in that - changes he is clearly not willing to make."

NOTES

Republic's Royal Finances Reform Charter proposes some simple reforms to improve accountability, transparency and fairness in royal finances.

For full details of the Reform Charter and further information on the
Royal finances go to http://www.republic.org.uk/royalcosts/.

WHAT IS REPUBLIC?

Republic is a rapidly growing group of like-minded individuals
dedicated to working towards the democratic replacement of the
monarchy in Britain by an elected head of state. It is
non-party-political organisation with members and supporters from all
the main parliamentary parties.

Republic works to raise awareness of the need for these changes and to encourage informed debate. It keeps members and supporters informed by means of its website (www.republic.org.uk), a glossy magazine, e-newsletters, events organised by Republic and lively local groups which are springing up throughout the country.

Republic has recently seen encouraging signs of increased interest in
its case. Membership has more than doubled throughout 2005 and has
continuned to grow in 2006. Visits to the website rise dramatically at the time of royal stories.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION :

Visit our website : www.republic.org.uk

Weekly Links 30/06/2008

2008-06-30T08:24:00.005+01:00

Green Politics

Following the Green success in the Henley By-election (beating the Labour Party and the BNP to come third) the Green campaign for Howden and Haltemprice is well under way. Support Shan Oakes campaign here.

Indymedia has some pictures from the 23rd Green Fair in Sheffield, which seems to have been a success and avoided the rain.

Industrial
The latest from the National Blood Service Campaign is a big rave fundraiser being organised in London. More details here.

Meanwhile preparations continue for the wave of public sector strikes planned for Britain on the 16th and 17th of July.

The transport union, the RMT, have spoken out in favour of high speed rail links as an alternative to airport expansion, such as that planned for Heathrow. Workers in the RMT are also involved in a dispute involving cleaners on the London Underground, supported by the Campaign Against Tube Privatisation, who have a blog here.

Finally, a delegation from the IWW International Solidarity Commission is in Japan at the moment and are blogging their visit at http://iwwinjapan.blogspot.com/

Blogs
Interesting pieces on blogs this week include Aled reporting that the Unions have severed all links with the New Tory Mayor of London's de-gutted "Rise" festival, Septic Isle of Obsolete commenting on one year of Gordon Brown as PM, Janine of Stroppyblog on the RMT AGM, and Jim of Daily (Maybe) reporting on the Liberal Conspiracy blogging caucus.

Support Persecuted Turkish Conscientious Objectors

2008-06-28T13:49:00.003+01:00

The following is an action alert I received regarding Turkish conscientious objectors and their treatment by the Turkish state.

Action Alert: Mehmet Bal arrested & tortured

Turkish conscientious objector Mehmet Bal was arrested on 8 June 2008. He was held in custody in Beşiktaş Military Prison where he was beaten by duty officers, and denied water and toilet facilities. The next day, he was sent to the Hasdal Military Prison, where his hair was forcibly cut; the officers in charge incited other prisoners to "do what is necessary"; prisoners beat him with sticks that were almost half a metre long and thick as a human wrist. When he passed out from the beatings, he was dragged into cold showers so that he could regain consciousness and be beaten again.
After the attacks, Mr Bal was taken to Gümüssuyu Military Hospital. Although he could not move his neck, legs and arms from the beatings, he was not admitted to hospital, but taken back to prison on a stretcher. He is now in Adana Military Prison, hundreds of kilometres from his home in Istanbul. His “crime” – refusing to kill.

Turkey has a long history of persecution and torture of political prisoners in particular, including conscientious objectors. Even after release, COs remain “deserters” and their persecution may never end. The right to conscientious objection is not legally recognized.[1]

Osman Murat Ülke was imprisoned seven times for a total of more than two years between between 1996 and 1999. Halil Savda, a Kurdish CO, has been in jail since 27 March 2008, sentenced to 11½ months for refusal. Additionally, he has been sentenced to six months under Article 318 of the civilian penal code [2] for publicly supporting two Israelis who refused to serve in the war against Lebanon in 2006.

Mehmet Tarhan, a Kurdish gay CO, was imprisoned for 11 months in 2005-6, during which time he was tortured, including by an attempted lynching. In January 2006, in Mr Ülke’s case, the European Court of Human Rights ruled against Turkey for the repeated arrests of COs and for making COs lead semi-clandestine lives, amounting to “civil death”; and the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe time after time condemned Turkey for its human rights record. Due to international pressure, Mr Ülke and Mr Tarhan now are out of prison, but could be rearrested at any moment. Turkey promised to legalize conscientious objection but has done less than nothing. Michael Kalmanovitz from Payday which has campaigned with Mr Ülke, Mr Tarhan and Mr Savda said: “COs in Turkey are the tip of a huge anti-militarist iceberg, with perhaps half a million men refusing the draft. The Turkish military, backed by the US, does not hesitate to use torture to try to break their resistance; it needs men to serve in its decades-long war against Kurdish people, a war which is now spilling over into Iraq. We in the international anti-war movement must support Mehmet Bal and other COs. Soldiers’ refusal is vital to ending war. ”

Payday is asking people urgently to write to the Turkish authorities and Members of the European Parliament (see model letter ) to demand:

o Mr Bal’s torture and ill-treatment, including attacks or intimidation by staff and other prisoners, must end now;
o He must be given an independent medical examination and appropriate treatment promptly;
o There must be an immediate investigation, prosecution and punishment of prison staff and prisoners who organised and perpetrated the attacks;
o His immediate and unconditional release.

Furthermore, we demand that the EU make a precondition of any talks about Turkey’s entry into the Union the immediate end of the persecution of conscientious objectors and the recognition of the right to refuse to kill. All of us must have the right to refuse to kill, to live in a world free of war and dictatorship, a world which invests in caring, not killing. Refusing to kill is not a crime and this protection of human life must be supported, not punished.

NOTES [1] Turkey does not recognise the right to conscientious objection, in violation of article 9 of the European Convention of Human Rights, and article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of which it is a signatory. [2] “Persons who give incentives or make suggestions or spread propaganda which will have the effect of discouraging people from performing military service shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a term of six months to two years. If the act is committed through the medium of the press and media, the penalty shall be increased by half.”

Henley By-election Result

2008-06-27T06:42:00.002+01:00

Congratulations to Green Party Candidate, Mark Stevenson who has come third out of a field of twelve candidates in the Henley By-election, defeating the ruling Labour Party, the far-right BNP and the populist-right UKIP!

Result as reported by the BBC
* John Howell - Conservatives, 19,796 (56.95%, 3.46% increase on 2005 general election share of vote)
* Stephen Kearney - Liberal Democrats, 9,680 (27.85%, 1.84%)
* Mark Stevenson - Greens, 1,321 (3.80%, 0.54%)
* Timothy Rait - British National Party, 1,243 (3.58%)
* Richard McKenzie - Labour, 1,066 (3.07%, -11.68%)
* Chris Adams, UK Independence Party, 843 (2.43%, -0.07%)
* Bananaman Owen - Monster Raving Loony Party, 242 (0.70%)
* Derek Allpass - English Democrats, 157 (0.45%)
* Amanda Harrington - Independent (Miss Great Britain Party), 128 (0.37%)
* Dick Rodgers - The Common Good, 121 (0.35%)
* Louise Cole - Independent (Miss Great Britain Party), 91 (0.26%)
* Harry Bear - The Fur Play Party, 73 (0.21%)

This gives the Greens a very good start on the campaign for the Howden and Haltemprice By-election, where Shan Oakes is challenging David Davis.

Curiouser and Curiouser

2008-06-26T08:14:00.004+01:00

Those who have been following the curious story of the alleged Police provocateur on the recent anti-Bush demo in London will be interested to know that the story has taken a new twist with the intervention of George Galloway and a letter to the Home Secretary naming the alleged perpetrator.
The story seems to have originally emerged on the website of the Daily Mail of all places!
More from Socialist Unity Blog here.

Tatchell Urges Mandela To Speak Out On Zimbabwe

2008-06-26T08:01:00.004+01:00

Human rights campaigner and Green Party Parliamentary candidate Peter Tatchell has urged Nelson Mandela to speak out on the situation in Zimbabwe ahead of his birthday concert in London.

"Mugabe has murdered more black Africans than the British during
the period of colonialist occupation of Zimbabwe. He has murdered more
black Africans than the evil apartheid regime in South Africa.
"His slaughter of 20,000 civilians in Matabeleland in the 1980s was
the equivalent of a Sharpeville massacre every day for over nine
months. Once a freedom fighter, he is now Ian Smith with a black face
– only many times worse.

People around the world, including Zimbabweans, supported Nelson
Mandela's freedom struggle against apartheid. It is now time that
Mandela reciprocated this solidarity by calling for an end to Mugabe's
beatings, torture and murder. He should call for new,
internationally-supervised free and fair elections.

Other African leaders, including Thabo Mbeki, also need to speak out
against Mugabe's despotism. The people of Zimbabwe deserve a
democratic, representative government that ensures equality and
justice for all its citizens. These were the goals of the African
liberation movements of the last 60 years. They are still worthy goals
today," said Mr Tatchell.

”

More here.

European Leaders' Contempt For Democracy

2008-06-24T21:32:00.005+01:00

The following was included in the latest mailing from the I Want A Referendum campaign. The quotes from European leaders are very telling and similar in tone to the recent arrogance and bigotry displayed by the so-called "Green" Cohn Bendit.

EU leaders carry on with Lisbon Treaty regardless of Irish no vote
On 12 June, voters in Ireland rejected the EU Lisbon Treaty by 46.6% to 53.4% in a national referendum. Turnout was relatively high, at 53%.
However, despite the resounding no vote, EU leaders meeting in Brussels last week decided to press ahead regardless, agreeing that ratification of the Treaty should continue in other countries. They also agreed that Irish voters should eventually be asked to vote again, until they say 'yes'.
Despite claiming that they want to "respect" the Irish no vote, EU leaders across the whole of Europe have no intention of doing so. They are determined to press ahead with the Lisbon Treaty.
Here are just some of the extraordinary reactions to the Irish vote from Europe's leaders:

"They [the Irish] are bloody fools. They have been stuffing their faces at Europe's expense for years and now they dump us in the s***."
- Nicolas Sarkozy, French President (Times, 20 June)

"The Lisbon Treaty is not dead... It is imperative that they vote again."
- Valery Giscard d'Estaing, former French President and author of the EU Constitution (RTL, 19 June)

"I don't think you can say the treaty of Lisbon is dead even if the ratification process will be delayed."
- Jean-Pierre Jouyet, French Europe Minister (Reuters, 16 June)

"I am convinced that we need this Treaty. Therefore we are sticking with our goal for it to come into force. The ratification process must continue."
- Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German Foreign Minister (Reuters, 14 June)

"Of course we have to take the Irish referendum seriously. But a few million Irish cannot decide on behalf of 495 million Europeans."
- Wolfgang Schaeuble, German Interior Minister (Deutsche Welle, 15 June)

"We think it is a real cheek that the country that has benefited most from the EU should do this. There is no other Europe than this treaty. With all respect for the Irish vote, we cannot allow the huge majority of Europe to be duped by a minority of a minority of a minority."
- Axel Schäfer, SPD leader in the German Bundestag (Irish Times, 14 June)

The Treaty "will be applied, albeit a few months late."
- Lopez Garrido, Spanish Europe Minister (Forbes, 15 June)

"The Treaty is not dead. The Treaty is alive, and we will try to work to find a solution."
- Jose Barroso, European Commission President (Press Conference, 14 June)

To see more, click here: http://www.openeurope.org.uk/research/irelandbriefing.pdf
This is an extraordinary refusal to accept the democratic will of the people. Ireland has been the only country allowed to have a referendum on the Treaty, and has said no. By the EU's own rules, the Treaty can only enter into force if all 27 member states have ratified it. Therefore, the Treaty should now be dead. It is completely unacceptable that other countries are continuing to ratify the Treaty in the hope of forcing Ireland to vote again, under pressure from the prospect of 26 other countries having ratified it. EU leaders are proving once again that they are simply unable to take 'no' for an answer.

Weekly Links - 22/06/2008

2008-06-22T09:18:00.008+01:00

UK Politics News Stories
Lots of interesting, if sometimes a little depressing, stuff being reported this week. It seems all the millions spent by the climate change denial industry and the busy beaver efforts of their conspiracist right-wing errand boys on blogs and comments sections have not been in vain as a majority of Brits still "doubt the evidence" on climate change. Semi-reasonable comment (albeit from his establishment viewpoint) from Andrew Rawnsley here, but as usual the cynics, pessimists, liars and fascists are out in force on the comments section.

Meanwhile there is to be a much trumpeted "Green Energy Push" in Britain, but George Monbiot has picked out some of the flaws in the plan and its likely implementation. One thing I picked out was the lack of mention of the potential use of biogas from anaerobic digestion of food waste etc - let us hope that this is not a further signal of government "capture" by the big waste companies eager to incinerate 50% of Britain's waste and call this "sustainable" and "green" energy from waste. These firms have just managed to get the tame elements of the EU to pass legislation favourable to their plans in the face of Green opposition.

UK Royal financial reports are due out in the next few days, with the monarchist spin machine presenting it as "value for money" - the campaign group Republic is ready with the facts and arguments for an end to expensive and undemocratic hereditary offices of state. Republic are also running a campaign to challenge the oath of allegiance to the monarch.

Industrial
It is the British Isles Regional Organising Committee (BIROC) of the Industrial Workers Of the World (IWW) meeting this weekend, with preparations well under way for the international General Assembly of the IWW in London at the end of August. Before then, Wobblies internationally will be involved in a mobilisation to highlight the union-busting tactics of Starbucks. IWW members at Starbucks branches in the US have been under attack and now the IWW is linking up for action with the Spanish CNT union and the international organisation they are affiliated to the IWA/AIT (International Workers' Association) as a CNT member in Sevilla has been fired for union activity. The day of action is scheduled for July 5th.

It was the British public services union, Unison, conference this week and as well as warning the governing Labour Party over local government workers' pay they passed a motion on the situation in Palestine.

The RMT (transport) union has its' conference in Nottingham this week and there is a fringe meeting put together by the Campaign Against Climate Change Trade Union Group at 1.10pm at the Rope Walk Pub on Derby Road.

Green Issues

Despite all the campaigning by green groups over battery recycling the British authorities have failed to act and now face penalties under new EU legislation.

There is impressive mobilising and campaigning going on against incineration in various parts of the world, including the Basque country where 2000 demonstrated on the streets of San Sebastian last week. There was also a protest in Barcelona, Catalonia, where three weeks ago 1,000 people marched against a project from the Lafarge cement plant to burn different types of waste, including sewage sludge, tyres and solvents. The local "platform" against incineration also collected 6,200 signatures against this project.

Human Rights
The campaign for the freeing of Lovinsky Pierre-Antoine continues, with a new petition. The speech given by actor Danny Glover at a vigil for the campaigner, and for freedom for Haiti is on You Tube here.

There is a demo supporting the long suffering opposition to the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe in London on Monday 23rd June. More from Action For Southern Africa here.

Blogs

Aled has a blog piece on Paul Mobbs' Energy Beyond Oil.

Derek reports that the Greens are likely to run a candidate in the Howden and Haltemprice by-election to give a voice to all those who support the former MP's stance on 42 days detention but vigourously oppose him on just about everything else and so could not bring themselves to vote for him. By voting Green people will be able to register opposition to the detention without trial moves without allowing a socially reactionary and economically neo-liberal Tory to present his party as the sole guardian of our rights and liberties. Elsewhere, Labour Left Dave Osler has taken Tony Benn to task for backing the Tory campaign.

Jack Ray is following the European football, Liam MacUaid and Dave Osler reflect on the anti-fascist event in London on Saturday, and the Socialist Unity blog reports on a call for the abolition of prescription charges.

New Labour's Dr Pangloss

2008-06-20T08:38:00.004+01:00

It seems New Labour, in the electoral doldrums, with core voters deserting it and a whole host of economic and political problems to cope with, has its' very own Dr Pangloss who thinks we should all be happy smiley people grateful for our marvellous situation.

The Government Minister Tom Wood has opined on his blog that

'We live longer, eat healthier (if we choose), have better access to forms of entertainment never imagined a generation ago (satellite TV, DVD, computer games), the majority of us have fast access to the worldwide web, which we use to enable even more spending and for entertainment. Crime is down.'

He cannot understand why we are all so grumbly and "miserable".

Now some of this may well be true, for some people, particularly those who, a little research tells us "earn £92,100 as a junior minister and claimed £153,862 in expenses last year." Yes, life is good for such people. But does it not tell us a great deal about the mentality of New Labour that they are so out of touch with the struggling elements of the electorate in crime ridden estates, struggling to cope on benefits or two or three inadequately paid insecure jobs? More than this, even if Mr Wood is referring to the relatively prosperous elements of our society that the government has electorally pandered too, he surely must be aware, as many of these people are, that we are living on borrowed time in the face of looming economic, ecological and resource crises?

The Panglossian optimism and the failure to appreciate why so many are disgruntled reveals the vulgar materialism at the heart of New Labour - give the proles bread and circuses (or all day drinking and Big Brother on a big flat screen TV) and they should be happy! The likes of Wood seemingly cannot understand that humans cannot "live by bread alone" - there is a huge crisis of meaning, a huge deficit of purpose and a massive democratic deficit and disempowerment in Britain, and across much of the world now that neo-liberalism is being imposed or embraced by so many of the powers that be. Many of us cannot accept that the main purpose in life is to accumulate ever more gadgets, and to constantly remould our personal image to compete in some race that never ends and no-one wins. The destruction of much of the trade union tradition and the manufacturing base of the country have taken away the purpose of collective organisation and solidarity, the sense of belonging in many communities. There is a spiritual crisis, whereby the old religions have ceased to have authority and power (quite rightly, as they were more and more regarded as intellectually unsustainable and blatant servants of a particular section of the ruling class) but those communal, humanistic and democratic successors to religious communities and sentiments have not been allowed to flourish in the face of the imperatives of totalitarian and atomising capitalism.

More amazing still is that this enthusiastic former Blairite who voted for the Iraq war and sits in a government that has just started the process of introducing 42 days detention without charge cannot see that a climate of fear and hatred does not lead to smiley-happy-grateful citizens - either amongst the general populace or (particularly) amongst the target section of the community. His government wants us to live in fear and suspicion of our neighbours - and despite trumpeting about low crime feel they have to create ever more criminal offences (was it 3000 and rising?) and regularly announce (usually ineffective) headline grabbing "tough initiatives" and "clampdowns".

Despite all this, I think Mr Wood is wrong - most people are not miserable, those of us who can (and that is not all, even in this rich country) try to enjoy life and the benefits we have based on hard work and the hard work of our ancestors - no, what people are, is not miserable, but ANGRY. Angry that we have a bunch of incompetents at the helm in hock to the most right wing of US Presidents, state-building Eurocrats, nuclear energy companies, biotech firms and global media corporations - a government that worships the free market such that they know the price of everything and the value of nothing, a government that has mortgaged our children's future through expensive PFI and PPP schemes. Angry that every initiative, good or bad, is choked with bureucracy and red tape that confuses the public and demoralises the workers tasked with implementation. We are angry that we have a government that participated in launching an illegal war, sees fit to ignore and override public opinion in a patrician manner and runs shy of electoral contests that it knows it will lose. That 's how grateful we are!

Bloated Plutocrats Urge Restraint

2008-06-18T20:14:00.004+01:00

Grim economic news in Britain today over soaring food and fuel prices and inflation. The refrain from the media commentators and the politicians is the same as ever - "restraint" in working people's pay claims and the monetarist obsession with controlling inflation by forcing working class people to pay for every market difficulty, failure, crisis and slump.

We shall now see whether Thatcherism and its' Blairite continuation have really achieved a permanent hold on the perception of economic interests amongst working people. It has long been encouraging that whilst the yellow media have a certain hold on perception of some political issues like immigration, they have long failed to hoodwink huge numbers over basic economic interests - witness the failure of the Poll Tax. Some of the media even joins in populist attacks on "fat cats" (particularly politicians) awarding themselves huge increases whilst expecting others to cope with rises that do not match inflation.

The attempt by New Labour to force public sector workers to accept pay deals below the real rate of inflation - in the face of massive increases in food and fuel costs - is an attempt to make workers pay for the crisis. It is imposing pay cuts on hundreds of thousands of low paid workers. The rising costs are also impacting heavily on pensioners and claimants, but the government can only continue wittering about welfare "reform". Anger is rising. The Government are widely despised over a whole range of unpopular policies.

All this is a curtain raiser for a longer term and deeper crisis brought on by climate change, resource scarcity and global conflict. The rich and the ruling class the world over will seek to make the poorest and most vulnerable bear the heaviest burdens in this new era. On our side we must begin to organise and fight back. The demand for a "JUST TRANSITION" (to a lower carbon, lower energy, more sustainable and more localised economy) is beginning to be heard more widely - though like "sustainability" the phrase means different things to different people, and we should not expect too much of the TUC, tied as they are to the same Government that is adamant (even at the beginning of the downturn and first ripples of the economic and social Tsunamis to come) that the TUC's members must pay a disproportionate price. Work can be done inside TUC unions, but the task is larger than getting union bureaucracies to voice some watered down demands.

As ever, working people and communities need also to organise independently of political and economic bureaucracies, use their own tactics and strategies and raise their own demands. The rich history of struggle represented by the likes of the IWW is there to be discovered by a new generation.

Weekly Links - 16/06/08

2008-06-16T08:25:00.005+01:00

Pictures of Green Left reps at the "unwelcoming" event for George Bush in London are on the Green Left blog here.

Last week's issue of the online journal Climate and Capitalism contains some interesting pieces.

After linking last week to James Caspell's blog, this week I am happy to be able to link to the blog of Aled Dilwyn Fisher, the excellent LSE SU General Secretary-Elect and Green Party & Green Left activist. Aled has posted this timely corrective to some of the less critical responses to the David Davis campaign. I have added Aled's blog to my links column.

Support Bhopal Campaigners!

2008-06-14T07:27:00.002+01:00

I have reported before on the campaign by survivors of the disaster at Bhopal in India, including their recent march. The campaign has now entered a new stage with a hunger strike.

This week campaigners were subject to vicious treatment by security forces, as detailed in this action alert -

BHOPALIS BEATEN UP IN POLICE STATION
AXN ALERT
9 JUNE 2008. 11 a.m.
Plainclothes policemen and women and some uniformed police today beat up Bhopal survivors and their children inside the parliament street police station.
16 year old Imran was belted by policemen, including Yad Ram, a uniformed policeman from the Parliament Street police station. The belting has hurt his eye, and he has been taken to the hospital. Other policepersons whose names are known include Suraj Bhan, Mallik (a tall, big-set cop), Mahendra (in plainclothes), and the gun-toting Yad Ram.
27-year old Vikas was set upon by 13 policemen. Irshad, 20, was also beaten up badly. The police did not spare the kids. The youngest padayatri, 11-year old Yasmin, 6-year old Nagma, and 24-year old Meera More were also beaten by the police when they tried to prevent the police from dragging Rachna Dhingra, a padayatri, into the lock-up. Seeing the girls come in aid of Rachna, Plainclothesman Mahendra Singh screamed: "In Kaaliyon ke kapde fado." (*Tear the clothes off these blackies).*
All the while, the older women were forced into police lock-up.
Since the time that they were picked up from the Prime Minister's Office for demonstrating in a high-security area, senior police officials have talked tough. Callers who spoke to Mr. Nand Mohan, Deputy Commissioner of Police said the top cop said the Bhopalis will have to face the consequences this time. The Prime Minister's silence on the matter of demands has prompted the Bhopalis to protest in front of his house two times.
Mr. Muthukumaran, Director of Public Relations, Prime Minister's Office did not know that Bhopalis were being beaten up at the parliament street police station for a mistake of his boss, the Prime Minister. However, when intimated about it, he said: "I have heard about it. It is shameful. I have informed the authorities, and we'll see what can be done."
This is not a matter about a few angry policemen. The policemen had nothing to be angry about the Bhopalis. The rot spreads far higher.
With nine Bhopalis, including two women (Rachna and Meera) who are to go on a hunger strike tomorrow, please begin a neend udao.
Call the below people, and demand that a full-blown enquiry affixingresponsibility for today's deplorable incident is conducted:

Deputy Commissioner of Police Nand Mohan: +91 9818099041
Assistant Commissioner of Police Gurdeep Singh: +91 981033880
SHO Avinash Diwedi +91 9810046832
Muthukumaran. Director, Public Relations, PMO: +91 9871990019

for more information, visit www.bhopal.net
Nityanand Jayaraman
International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal

In Britain protests are being directed to the High Commission of India in London -

We are asking people to protest about the beating, arrest and detention of vulnerable children, women and men protesters which started on 9 June, to the High Commission of India in London:

High Commissioner Shiv Shankar Mukherjee

High Commission of India

India House

Aldwych

London

WC2B 4NA

Tel: 020 7836 8484

Three Cheers For The Irish "No" Voters!

2008-06-13T20:02:00.003+01:00

A big thankyou - from all lovers of real democracy and opponents of the arrogant European elite - to the Irish voters who torpedoed the Lisbon Treaty today!

In the face of an almost united political establishment (only Sinn Fein, non-parliamentary elements of the Greens and tiny fringe parties associated themselves with the No Campaign, whilst the Yes Campaign had the support of both opposition and Government - including the increasingly treacherous parliamentary leadership of the Irish Greens) a majority of voters decided to vote in favour of Irish independence and neutrality and against the nefarious plans of the European Business elite, their paid political agents and the useful idiots dreaming of a continental "social democratic" utopia.

The immediate response of representatives of the European political elite in both EU structures and the supine governments that have refused to give their voters a say on the re-badged Constitution has been illustrative of the arrogance and contempt for democracy that is becoming ever more evident to ever wider swathes of the European population. If the elites try to soldier on with the treaty ratification process in national parliaments and upper houses they will hopefully face a rising tide of anger.

The duplicity of the framers and promoters of this Treaty and its' previous incarnation as a Constitution are now legendary. Within the Green movement we have recently witnessed the contempt of the bureaucrats and "celebrities" of the European Green Party for views that contradict their dangerous mix of opportunism, bureaucratic utopianism and barely concealed desire for a new "Euro imperialism" to rival that of other power blocs. The appalling self indulgent sell-out and ex-radical Cohn Bendit apparently called the Irish "No" side "losers". I could not think of a better description of that vain, ageing egotist, perhaps now better described as "Danny the Brown" rather than "Danny the Red" given his support for creeping authoritarianism and corporatism.

Fortunately the majority of the English and Welsh Greens are on the same side as the majority of people in both Britain and Ireland and are resolutely behind ex Green MEP McKenna and the Irish No campaign. Green Left will continue to support demands for abandonment of the Treaty, and will continue to link with those radical and left elements in European Green Parties that wish to depose the bureaucrats, warmongers, timeservers and sell-outs that have brought our movement into disrepute.

42 Days

2008-06-11T21:32:00.003+01:00

Who, say 15 years ago, would have thought we would have a British Labour government, yes, a Labour government scuttling round begging for the votes of Ulster Loyalists, a Tory mouthpiece of Catholic reaction and a recent convert to the hard right populism of UKIP to get passed a bill to introduce in Britain the possibility of 42 (yes 42!) days detention without charge. Strange Days indeed. An appropriate moment, perhaps, for some of the last remaining principled and civil libertarian holders of Labour Party membership cards to tear them up and resign (as commentator Conor Foley announced in the Guardian yesterday that he was doing).
So the ratchet of reaction, corporatism and authoritarianism moves up another ratchet. (Although it could happen that the dogs breakfast of moves and concessions that this new detention legislation represents could get into all kinds of trouble once it moes out of the Commons into the Upper House and the Courts) We await the result of the Irish vote on the Lisbon Treaty to see whether any obstacles are going to be thrown in the way of this authoritarian corporatist process on a larger European scale.

New Ecosocialist Blog

2008-06-10T23:15:00.003+01:00

A big welcome to the Ecosocialist blogosphere to James Caspell whose blog is entitled "La Lutte Continue!"

James' latest post covers the Labour Government yet again acting against the best interests of agency workers.

Weekly Links - 09/06/2008

2008-06-09T15:08:00.004+01:00

Another quick few links this week :

Here is a short experimental film on the subject of wind turbines from Duncan Kenning, a fine art student at University College Falmouth in Cornwall. Yeah, yeah, we know they won't solve the energy crisis alone and will not give security of supply/baseload etc, but I'm getting a bit tired of the "they are a useless waste of money" brigade. Latest is Noel Edmonds (yes, that Noel Edmonds! The poor man's Jeremy Clarkson - or the rich(er) man's Jeremy Clarkson given his penchant for choppers and fat cheques from his TV employers?) who is mouthpiece for something called the Renewable Energy Foundation, and has a doom and gloom piece in the Daily Mirror. Now Noel makes some worthwhile points, but I am a little concerned about where he is coming from and where he is going! REF have form, uniting all the opponents of wind energy around a dubious negativist prospectus. I am no fan of the energy companies and corporate spin, but the agenda of many of the "private backers" of REF is all too transparnet and none too appealing either. Like the larger debate on climate change, the wind energy debate in the popular media is unfortunately now a minefield of competing corporate interests, reactionary agendas and conspiracism.

In the blogs this week, Jim reflected on the candidacy of Barack Obama, as does Septicisle at Obsolete whilst Derek saw his ascension in a more critical light.
SUB have a report on the Keep Our NHS Public AGM from Norma Turner, World By Storm started a debate on this week's Irish referendum on the Lisbon Treaty. (I'm for a No, but at least this appears to be a civilized debate. We shall see what happens later this week!)

Nuclear Errors

2008-06-07T19:55:00.004+01:00

The ill-advised rush towards a new generation of nuclear reactors in some parts of Europe (usually justified on grounds of emissions reduction or energy security, and conveniently ignoring reference to the unsustainable, hazardous nature of the energy source and its' uselessness in countering the decline of oil stocks/soaring oil prices) has hit further problems, as noted by Greenpeace:

French nuclear safety agency stops construction of 'flagship' nuclear reactor

The French nuclear safety agency, ASN, has ordered construction to be suspended on the new nuclear reactor being built in France – the same model that would most likely be built in the UK.

Flamanville's construction in northern France has run into the same kinds of problems plaguing the ongoing construction of the only other European Pressurised Reactor (EPR), Olkiluoto 3, in Finland.

The move by ASN follows the agency's discovery of chronic problems affecting the quality of construction work since building work commenced on Flamanville 3 in December 2007.

ASN's call to halt construction follows a series of letters from the agency to Flamanville's construction manager. In the letters, ASN inspectors highlighted a range of problems including non-conformities in the pinning of the steel framework of the concrete base slab, incorrectly positioned reinforcements, and inadequacy of technical inspections by both the construction companies and Electricité de France (EdF).

Inspectors also uncovered inconsistencies between the blueprint for reinforcement work and the plan for its practical implementation. The incorrect composition of concrete had been used, that may lead to cracks and rapid deterioration. Samples of concrete were also not collected properly, according to ASN.

Cracks have already been observed at part of the base slab beneath the reactor building. The supplier of the steel containment liner reportedly lacks the necessary qualifications. Fabrication of the liner was continuing despite quality failures demonstrating the lack of competence of the supplier. As a result, one-quarter of the welds of the steel liner of the reactor containment building were deficient.

Ben Ayliffe, head of Greenpeace's nuclear campaign, said: "The only two EPRs being built today are construction fiascos. The one in Finland is years behind schedule and billions over budget and only six months into the project in France building work has come screeching to a halt.

"This reactor design is fast becoming a by-word for incompetence, massive delays, spiralling costs and dodgy engineering. We only have a limited time and budget to stave off the most catastrophic effects of climate change and we should stop pouring money down the nuclear black hole."

Olkiluoto has been under construction for three years but has been blighted ever since the concrete was poured. Poor quality concrete, bad welds on the containment liner and low-quality reactor components are among its problems. The schedule for completion has been put back by more than two years and costs have nearly doubled to over Euro 5 billion.

Meanwhile, events in Slovenia have shown up the problems with the current generation of reactors in Europe :

A leak of coolant prompted Slovenia to completely shut down the reactor at its only nuclear power plant.

The European Commission said parts were still cooling after the shutdown, but the situation was under control.

It said there appears to have been no discharge into the environment at the Krsko plant, which supplies energy to Slovenia and Croatia.

The Commission alerted all 27 EU member states under its Ecurie early warning system for nuclear emergencies.

Slovenia's nuclear safety chief Andrej Stritar said there was a water leak from the primary circuit inside the containment area.

He said operators had shut down the plant safely.

"Situation is under control," he said in a statement. "The plant is in stable condition. There is no off-site impact and there is no need for off-site protective measures. "

The Krsko plant has a US-made pressurised water reactor.
Source - BBC

This comes in the wake of power cuts in parts of Britain after various nuclear and coal fired plants here shut down due to problems and maintenance. Gordon Brown, the beleaguered British Prime Minister has been loudly trumpeting his intention to ride roughshod over any objections to his leading the country down the hyper-expensive route to new nuclear plants. Maybe he feels he has to match the rhetoric of the reactionary regime in Italy. The following was an article by Alessandro Barbera in La Stampa:

Rome - Ever since 2001 there has been a breach among the centre-left parties. At that time those who favoured nuclear power plants were in a minority and afraid to come out into the open. During the electoral campaign, the option got into the programme of the Party of Freedom [PDL], and Giulio Tremonti [current economy minister] envisioned the building of nuclear power plants on the coast of Balkan countries. Now, seven years after the formal motions and 21 years after a referendum in which the Italians said no to the nuclear option, the new development minister, Claudio Scajola, definitively breaks the taboo at a meeting with Italian industrialists: "Before the end of this legislature, the cornerstone of a series of new power plants will be laid. Italy needs a shift in the energy field. And the shift must be made with determination and a sense of responsibility. Only nuclear power plants make it possible to have large-scale and secure energy at a competitive cost and with respect for the environment."

It is too soon to talk about sites, or investments, but there are already plans. The third Berlusconi government relies on third-generation power plants . These are not yet "at zero risk," but according to specialists, they come very close to it. It is this type of power plant that, under an accord the Prodi Government signed in Nice last fall, ENEL [Italian Electricity Corporation] has started building on French soil along with the EDF [French Electricity Corporation]. It is called the Evolutionary Power Reactor, and the first one is being built at Flamanville, Normandy. The real model of what the Berlusconi government proposes lies further to the north: at Okiluoto, Finland, where the Green-backed conservative government has said yes to the construction of a power station financed by a consortium of electric enterprises which have acquired exploitation rights in advance.

As was to be expected, major companies like ENEL, ENI [Italian Oil Corporation], or Edison [second largest energy company in Italy in the field of electricity and natural gas] say they are ready right away. On the other hand, thanks to an amendment passed by the then Berlusconi Government, since 2004 only ENEL invests in nuclear power plants outside Italy. Now, following its takeover of Spain's ENDESA [National Electricity Enterprise], ENEL is among Europe's major builders of nuclear power plants: it owns nine working power plants and is building five more. ENEL Deputy Manager Fulvio Conti is sure that five years would be enough for one to be built in Italy. Deputy Minister for Productive Activities Adolfo Urso, who had favoured nuclear power plants all along, is more cautious: "Let us say that, what with projects and licenses, it will take up to seven years."

If the Union of Christian Democrats and Centrists [UDC], through its secretary, Lorenzo Cesa, says that it has "all along been for" a return to nuclear power, the centre-left says no to Scajola's statement. For the first time in a long time, opposition to nuclear power plants runs from the Democratic Party [PD] to the Communist Renewal, and comprises the Greens, the World Wildlife Fund, and all the environmentalists. "At last the government has said something that will make it lose votes," Veltroni's [PD chairman] right-hand man Ermete Realacci says. Roberto Seta, the PD's man in charge of the environment, is even more explicit: "It is an old, ideological, unrealistic, and unpopular proposition." In the PD, however, there are people who, like Pierluigi Bersani, speak in a different tone: "It is the Prodi Government that has taken the first steps towards third-generation nuclear power stations," people on the staff of the former prime minister say. Actually, in the PD's programme there is a yes to this type of technology which, however, will not be available according to specialists, for another 15 years. Theoretically speaking, though, science may shoot ahead: yesterday, for example, Il Sole 24 Ore on-line recounted a successful experiment of cold fusion at Osaka University: the dream of all environmentalists. However, a possible nuclear power plant is the one Scajola proposes. It remains to be seen whether the cornerstone of a nuclear station will really be laid in Italy. Urso safeguards himself: "Let us not forget that, two years ago Albania, was available for this project."

Source: La Stampa website, Turin, in Italian 23 May 08

It seems once again that the ruling class of Europe are reaching for an expensively marketed technical fix that will not only not solve the most pressing energy related problems, but will create and sustain a whole series of new and continuing problems like waste disposal, security of supply, runaway costs, lack of resilience and vulnerability to attack.

Utah Phillips

2008-06-05T08:49:00.004+01:00

Sad news that the great IWW activist and songwriter Utah Phillips has died. More from David Rovics Songwriter's Notebook Blog here.

Here is the official family obituary posted on the IWW website.