stroppyblog

The Return of the Post Strikes?

2009-11-21T11:14:00.002Z

Forwarded by National Shop Stewards Network
-------------------------------------

Postal Workers' Dispute - London Update 20.11.09

At this afternoon's meeting of the London Divisional Committee it was reported that after some six meetings with London Royal Mail they are still refusing to honour the full terms of the interim agreement.

All they want to do is make more cuts and introduce "absorption" without re-engaging about the changes they have already imposed with regard to job cuts, revisions, part-timers, belated hours, rest day hours, 4-day weeks etc in line with the agreement.

It is clear that London Management want to continue to punish, bully, intimidate and harass our members for daring to stand up to them and defend our terms and conditions.

The London Division has therefore unanimously agreed to demand that the national union, when it meets on Tuesday, announce national strike action. This is a national agreement they're breaking, it's a national union, therefore it requires national action.

Hopi AGM 28th November

2009-11-19T18:04:00.003Z

Info from Hopi :

Somers Town Community Centre, 150 Ossulston Street, London NW1 1EE (near Euston station). Registration from 10am.

Since the June 2009 elections, the situation in Iran has dramatically changed. Thousands have taken to the streets in defiant protest – despite the Iranian regime’s history of brutal repression. Initially, they were commonly portrayed as middle-class backers of the leading ‘reformist’ candidate Mir-Hossein Moussavi, but as protests have continued, and Moussavi himself has repeatedly shown his timidity and ties to the theocratic state, the mood has radicalised dramatically and this anger has embroiled wide swathes of the society. Many of those who were initially protesting against the election outcome now question the entire basis of Iran’s Islamic republic and there are daily strikes and protests. Come along to our AGM to discuss this and many other issues.

Motions:
All Hopi members can submit motions, which will be taken during the relevant part of the agenda. Deadline for motions: Friday, November 20. Deadline for amendments: Wednesday, November 25.

Agenda:

from 10am

Registration: £10 waged/£5 unwaged

11am-11.30am

Report of Hopi secretary Mark Fischer, incl. campaigning priorities for the next 12 months

11.30am-1pm

Imperialism’s need for conflict and the situation in the Middle East
With Moshe Machover (Matzpen founder) and Mike Macnair (CPGB)

1-2pm

Lunch

2pm-3.30pm
Why sanctions are not a ’soft alternative’
With Cyrus Bina, author ‘Modern Capitalism and Islamic Ideology in Iran’

4pm-5.30pm

Iran’s workers’ movement since the June 2009 elections
With Yassamine Mather, Hopi chair
incl. Launch: Day of solidarity with workers in Iran

There will also be a fundraising event in the evening at the same venue. To find out more, or to reserve your place, send an email to office@hopoi.info

A much needed education in Feminism for Dave Osler

2009-11-18T14:57:00.004Z

Honestly, I despair sometimes.

Over at Dave's blog he states :

In the interim, it looks to my outside eyes that the organised womens’ movement has all but collapsed. As this blog frequently laments, the British far left is in a bad way. But at least it is still just about visible. Feminism seems to have gone entirely subterranean.

What can have happened to all those deeply earnest young women, clad in black leggings and DMs, who once drunkenly argued that penetrative sex is inherently oppressive and that all men are rapists, sometimes only an hour or prior to an entirely voluntary temporary suspension of their political lesbianism? Or to put it another way, when was the last time any town in Britain staged a ‘reclaim the night’ march?

These days, feminism – if it means anything at all – seems to mean raunch culture on the one hand and the right of women to compete on equal terms on City trading desks. Progress? Maybe, but this is not the way my generation thought it was going to turn out.

Which brings me back to Bea Campbell, or Beatrix Campbell OBE, as she is more properly known. A heroine to some and derided by spikier proto-Riot Grrrl types, especially after denouncing male violence in the miners’ strike, the erstwhile eurocommunist has now been adopted as the Green candidate for Hampstead and Kilburn. She explains her evolution here.

How far this is a good thing, I suppose I am not best qualified to say. But Campbell’s life story nicely encapsulates the trajectory of a whole layer of women, who started out angry and ended up somewhere on the soft left, stopping only to pick up a gong from the Queen on the way.

Oh dear.

My comment over on his site was this:

Well there are still Reclaim the Night Marches, in fact I think there is one in London this weekend.

The F word is a very good starting point and has covered recent marches and a Feminism in London event a few weeks back.
http://www.thefword.org.uk/blog/

There is also an event each year organised by feminist Fightback, this year around the theme of anti capitalism.
FF tends to be mainly students, so younger women getting involved.

Women are often involved in campaigns, such as ones around reproductive rights and abortion.
Like the left there are differences. Issues of pornography and feminism still divide. There are different groupings , such as rad fems, socialist feminist etc.
There are lots of feminist blogs, many on rad fem lines. I have myself been sent to the 'naughty room ' in one !!

There are more links now with issues such as sexuality, queer politics (as there always was, but a bit more complex than the old 80s political lesbianism).
Some feminists work closely with transgender women, sadly others such as Greer and Bindel attack them.
There are women challenging the role of fundamentalism , such as WAF for example.

A I say there are many blogs, groups , campaigns and websites going.

Its not dead, its just the left seem to have little use of feminists or queer activists these days (did they ever really),

Lots of feminists just get on with their own campaigns around women who are at the rough end of capitalism, such as low paid cleaners, abortion rights for women, sex workers etc .

Oh there was also a London conference on feminism a few weeks ago, Waf has a 20th anniversary event on the 28th.

Lots is happening .

It is not ideal and still too much navel gazing or bickering over sex workers etc, but don't buy the Daily Mail crap that its all binge drinking and flashing off tits raunch culture.

Osler, you should know better !

So it seems Dave needs some ideas for books , blogs and generally what is going on with feminism since his days of coming over all 'new man feminist' to get into 'chick's' knickers .

Suggestions please .

Happy Birthday Cat !!

2009-11-17T17:10:00.003Z

Cat, who blogs and comments here, is 40 today.

Apparently , according to Cat on Facebook, this was no 1 the day she was born :

Have a great time , I'm sure if Eddie has anything to do with it there will be cakes ...and lots of them :-)

Marsha-Jane for LRC Vice Chair

2009-11-13T18:52:00.005Z

MJ is an occasional contributor here, but always a "Stroppy" bird and member of this blog :-) She has posted this on her site, and i'm cross posting here as she is busy today and not about to upload it .

Here is her statement as to why she is standing for Vice Chair:

I am standing down as Chair of the Socialist Youth Network in order to put more time into the Labour Representation Committee, to the National Committee of which I am seeking re-election at Saturday's Conference.

I am also standing for one of the two positions of Vice-Chair. I am not doing this out of personal opposition to either of the incumbents but to advance a political argument about what the Labour Representation Committee should be doing.

The LRC organises those of us on the left with an orientation towards the Labour Party as the party established by our class and sustained by our movement.

That orientation may vary from the heartfelt commitment of those born into the Party and expecting to die in it to the sound pragmatic calculation of those outside the Party (whether by choice or otherwise) who recognise that for the foreseeable future the prospects of constructing a UK wide electoral alternative on the left are even less favourable than the distant prospect of socialist advance within the Party.

The LRC is viable as a coalition of those with these different orientations to the Labour Party because - for the foreseeable future - these various perspectives lead to the same practical conclusions.

The LRC needs to be a vibrant voice for the Labour Left and for our movement - as well as being the distinctive voice of the Labour Left (in the broad sense) within the wider plural left of which we are and will remain an active part.

Therefore we need to be clear about our orientation to the Labour Party - that we are the LABOUR Representation Committee and that we are a voice of and for the Labour Left.

I believe that the welcome innovation of a job share candidacy for LRC Secretary will embody the alliance between those with different perspectives.

My candidacy for Vice Chair is an expression of the unequivocal orientation to the Labour Party and trade unions which I believe anchors the LRC to its wider constituency and gives us the distinctive political voice necessary for us to play a constructive role in the wider left.
MarshaJane
xx

Little Hope, and not much use against Hate

2009-11-12T19:40:00.007Z

Today I received through the post a leaflet from 'Hope Not Hate', urging me to oppose the BNP. But frankly, it's a dreadful leaflet which serves only to illustrate what a mess mainstream anti-fascism has got itself into.

The leaflet, entitled NEVER FORGET, attempts to denounce the BNP for abusing and offending the memory of Britain's war dead. I'm all in favour of remembering those who died in wars - preferably with the long-term aim that in future, no-one else will need to do so. But the terms of the HNH leaflet go beyond remembrance of war dead and buy into nationalist and imperialist ideology about those wars.

For example, it refers to those who "gave their lives for this country". The appalling truth is that most of those who died in wars may have thought they were doing so "for this country" (which is a highly debatable phrase anyway), but were in fact doing so having been sent by ruling-class generals and politicians on an imperialist adventure, defending one nation's profiteers against another. Even in the case of wars with some point to them eg. the Second World War, the worthiness of the war was in defeating fascism, rather than in serving some specifically "British" interest.

The leaflet also denounces the BNP for thinking that Winston Churchill was a traitor. I'm not sure I give a toss whether Churchill was a "traitor", as it is not a word that means a lot to me. But I do know that he was a sexist, anti-working-class, imperialist Tory, who before he took on sainthood for his "leadership" in the Second World War sent thousands of young men to unnecessary and unspeakable death at Gallipoli. The working-class people who turfed Churchill out of office at their first opportunity in 1945 might not share HNH's deference to him.

But there is a more significant reason why this leaflet will be not very helpful in the fight against the BNP - its headline description of the BNP as "Not a normal political party". For goodness sake, that's exactly the reason why people are bloody voting for them! They don't want a "normal political party" because normal political parties stink! Hope Not Hate may not have noticed this, but normal political parties are enjoying their worst-ever popularity levels.

Can you imagine arguing with a BNP voter on the doorstep? They are telling you about how no other party gives a toss about them, how run-down their estate is, how they've lost their job, and probably blaming it on immigrants. You're getting nowhere until you say "They're not a normal political party, you know", at which point your interlocutor says, "Oh right, well now I know that, I won't vote for them any more". Honestly, a more unlikely scenario I can not imagine.

This leaflet may have persuaded comfortable people who hold politically-mainstream views and already oppose the BNP to oppose the BNP. But wake up - the BNP is not building among comfortable people with politically-mainstream views. It is building among people who are alienated and ignored by the political mainstream. Condemning them as 'extreme' or 'not normal' for voting BNP may make mainstream anti-fascists feel better, but it will do nothing to contest the BNP's political territory. And that is what we have to do . It is high time for an urgent rethink.

Tuesday Tosser: Alan Sugar

2009-11-10T12:59:00.003Z

Women are their own worst enemies, says Lord Sugar

... in which Sir Sexist "hinted he would be reluctant to give a full-time job to a pregnant woman". Now that is an admission of inclination to unlawful sex discrimination, is it not? I strongly recommend that any woman who suspects that Sugar or his companies have refused her a full-time job because she is pregnant make a sharp note of this comment and ring her trade union's legal department.

Sugar is also apparently conisdering resigning his post as a government adviser. Note to government: push him before he jumps.

Fall of the Berlin Wall

2009-11-09T18:20:00.004Z

Today's news has been dominated by the fall of the Berlin Wall twenty years ago.

Of course, there is something repulsive about political leaders from around the world triumphally marking the occasion as though it proves the superiority of their blessed capitalist system. Superior perhaps in terms of longevity, but there is little to celebrate about capitalist poverty, inequality, exploitation and war.

But socialists should celebrate the fall of the Wall - albeit in our own celebrations, not alongside Angela Merkel et al. Those, such as Gorgeous George Galloway, who consider it some terrible tragedy, do socialism a great disservice by continuing to wrongly associate socialism with dictatorship and state repression.

Galloway et al might like to explain why the vast majority of people who tried to cross the Wall - a thousand of whom died in the process - were going from East to West.

Anyways, when I heard the news, I was DJing at Salford Tech (as was) Students' Union, and played this record, which deserves another airing now:

Sign This Petition Against Uganda Death Penalty for Homosexuality

2009-11-09T10:41:00.004Z

Hat tip: Clive

*Uganda to legislate 'death penalty' for Homosexuals!*

Dear Friends and Activists,

Please see below a petition for our Ugandan brothers and sisters and against the 'Anti-Homosexuality Bill'.

A draft of the "Anti-Homosexuality Bill" was introduced by Ndorwa West MP, David Bahati on October 14, 2009.

Paragraph 3 of the draft bill sets out provisions on what it names as "aggravated homosexuality," which will incur the death penalty, contradicting the global trend toward a moratorium on the use of the death penalty.

Homosexuality is already a crime in Uganda (introduced into the penal code by the British), but the Minister of Ethics and Integrity, Dr. James Nsaba Buturo has been complaining that the law is inadequate to curb homosexuality that is reported to be on the increase in Uganda.

I trust you may be able to sign the petition and circulate around

Click here to add your name.

Thank you
Dennis Hambridge
dhambridge@btinternet.com

Uganda: 'Anti-Homosexuality' Bill Threatens Liberties and Human Rights Defenders

"This draft bill is clearly an attempt to divide and weaken civil society by striking at one of its most marginalized groups"

Human Rights Watch, October 15, 2009
http://tinyurl.com/yjl7pvw

Struggle not submission 20 Years of Women Against Fundamentalism

2009-11-08T18:34:00.001Z

Plug for a meeting celebrating 20 years of Women Against Fundamentalism:

Struggle not submission
20 Years of Women Against Fundamentalism
A public meeting organised by
Women Against Fundamentalism
3 - 6pm, 28th November 2009
Room 3A, University of London Union,
Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HY
Entrance £5
All welcome
Today, the need to challenge the rise of religious fundamentalism in all religions is more critical than ever. At the same time we need to safeguard secular spaces (both physical and intellectual) where people of all religions and none can participate in public life and express themselves on equal terms.
This meeting will look back over the past 20 years
since WAF was founded and assess the challenges
we face now and in the future

Speakers
Gita Sahgal will show her film Struggle or Submission and talk about changes in the political scene over the past 20 years.
Peter Tatchell will discuss the Single Equality Bill and the exclusion of sexual minorities from the scope of its protection.
Julia Bard will talk about faith schools, the agendas being played out and the impact on religious/minority identities.
Chair
Clara Connolly

Women Against Fundamentalism
Women Against Fundamentalism (WAF) was formed in 1989 to challenge the rise of fundamentalism in all religions. Its members include women from a wide range of backgrounds and from across the world.
By fundamentalism we mean a modern political movement which is using religion to gain or consolidate power. We do not mean religious observance, which we see as a matter of individual choice.
Fundamentalism and the role of women
Fundamentalism is found in all religions throughout the world, sometimes holding state power, sometimes in opposition to it. But whatever their relationship to the state, all fundamentalists see women’s role as crucial in representing and transmitting
the supposedly unchanging morals and traditions of the whole community.
Women who fail to conform to so-called traditional family values are portrayed as placing the wellbeing and future of the whole society or community at risk. The control of women’s minds and bodies is, therefore, at the heart of fundamentalist agendas everywhere.
Join us in building a secular movement
Women Against Fundamentalism believes that only secular institutions – which have no religious agenda – can begin to bring about equality for people of all religions or none. We oppose the delegation of public funds and responsibilities to religious leaders and institutions.
Join us in building a secular movement to challenge the rise of fundamentalism in all religions worldwide.

www.womenagainstfundamentalism.org.uk
info@womenagainstfundamentalism.org.uk

Musical interlude and guilty pleasures

2009-11-06T12:36:00.003Z

Well actually I don't really do guilt about pleasure.

Anyway, for one reason and another I haven't been blogging of late and this is a bit of a filler.

To cheer myself up I bought the new Madonna DVD of her videos. Back in the day I rather fancied Ms Ciccone, and although she can still shock, I find the faux English lady persona a bit of a turn off now.

So here are a few of my favourites. Oh and for those who want to gripe about what I should post about and why I aren't I writing about blah blah blah, well tough, move on by.

First off "Into the Groove" and a video from "Desperately Seeking Susan". I remember seeing the film with a group of lesbians at the Screen on the Green in Islington. In fact the cinema was mainly woman lusting after Madonna. I loved her look and admit my style then was adapted from it .

OK, next Like a Prayer. No surprises there that I'd choose that, Madonna offending people and looking pretty good while she does it .

Finally, the uncensored video of Justify my love . Madonna channelling a trashy Marilyn look , no bad thing in my book.

"Poor is the man whose pleasure depends on the permission of another."
Indeed.

Event : Rising from the East .15th November.

2009-11-04T07:25:00.004Z

Received this by e-mail and giving it a plug, especially as I notice Janine is speaking :

A day to explore communities,

culture and politics in

London’s East End

11.00 Registration

Session 1: Rebels with a cause

11.30-12.10: East End Jewish anarchists before WW1 –

lessons for the 21st century (Ben Gidley)

12.15-12.55: Minnie Lansbury – feminist, socialist and rebel

Poplar Councillor (Janine Booth)

Lunch / Book signing by Bill Fishman, author of many books

on East End history and a Cable Street veteran

Session 2: The struggle for better lives

1.35-2.15: Self-help, solidarity and socialism: the Workers’

Circle (David Mazower)

2.20-3.00 Doctors and Politics in East London (John Eversley)

Break for refreshments

Session 3: Bengalis and the East End – a continuing story

3.15-3.55 The East India Company and the silencing of East

End histories (Georgie Wemyss)

4.00-4.40 Bengali politics in London's East End

(Ansar Ahmed Ullah)

Sunday 15th November

Toynbee Hall, 28 Commercial Street,

London E1 6LS

Entrance £5 (£3 concs). Places limited to 90.

Book in advance by sending a cheque/PO to “JSG” at:

JSG, BM 3725, London WC1N 3XX

Organised by the Jewish Socialists’ Group

www.jewishsocialist.org.uk

Make-Up and Contraception

2009-11-02T11:13:00.004Z

Queueing up at the doctor's this morning, I saw a poster the text of which was something this:

Most women know 20 different types of make-up ... But only two types of contraception ... [smaller print] There are lots of types of contraception as well as the condom and the pill, and more on the way.

This was accompanied by pictures of various lipsticks, blushers, mascaras etc.

Now, was I just feeling over-sensitive this morning, or is this actually patronising, sexist tosh?

I don't claim to be "most women", and fully accept - with pride, indeed - that I probably know less about make-up than most men, let alone most women. But most women I know, however many different types of lippy they are familiar with, know very well that there are more than two types of contraception. This poster, sadly, perpetuates the idea that unwanted pregnancy is simply the result of women's ignorance.

I would love to know what research formed the basis of this poster's claim, presented as it is as a statement of fact.

Disappointing, the publisher of this poster is the Family Planning Association, which has done some good work and is often condemned by opponents of sexual and reproductive freedom.

It may be a minor matter, but in this case, it has let itself, and women, down.

Another Chance to See Me Talk About My Book!

2009-10-31T10:39:00.005Z

Janine Booth gives a presentation about her new book, Guilty and Proud of it! Poplar's rebel councillors and guardians 1919-1925.

Wednesday 4 November, 7pm
Venue: Pages of Hackney bookshop, 70 Lower Clapton Road
Sponsored by Hackney TUC

Free entry. Refreshments provided. The book will be on sale at this event at the reduced price of £10 (RRP £12.95)

Please email Eleanor at Pages of Hackney to book your seat.

=====

In the aftermath of the First World War, thirty Labour councillors went to prison rather than accepting an unfair funding system. With unemployment rising in 1921, Poplar Borough Council could not help provide relief drawing only on the limited wealth of one poor London borough.

Poplar councillors, including future Labour leader George Lansbury, demanded that rates from richer areas should help. So Poplar refused to pay over rates to the London County Council, and thus began the Poplar Revolt. In contrast, Hackney Council - led by Herbert Morrison - refused to confront the law and insisted on remaining 'respectable'.

This book tells the story of the support mobilised by Poplar Council, beginning when newly-enfranchised working-class voters elected Labour to run the Council in 1919. For the next two years, it improved life for Poplar residents, coming into ever-increasing conflict with the central authorities and the local government funding system. The crisis came in 1921, when Poplar Council refused to levy a portion of its rates.

Poplar's fight took its Councillors to prison in September 1921. After six weeks, the courts released them from prison and the government changed the law to redistribute funding from richer to poorer boroughs: they had won!

With local councils today once again preparing to cut services and/or increase rents and charges, this book - and this event - tells a story that is very relevant and inspiring today.

=====

The author is the former President of Hackney TUC, and Secretary of RMT's London Transport Regional Council.

MPs expenses, piffle compared to Sarkozy

2009-10-28T13:07:00.004Z

Duck houses and moats , small fry compared to some of the French President's expenses:

French financial watchdogs slammed Nicolas Sarkozy for spending £160m during his country's six-month stint in charge of the EU – including £250,000 on a personal presidential shower that he never used.

The vast expense is set out in a report blaming poor management and a lack of transparency by the president's staff.

Costs soared because so many of the EU-related events were organised at the last minute, said the report.

On one occasion Sarkozy triggered the cancellation of an entire EU event he was due to host in Evian, because he wanted to sleep in his own bed at the Élysée palace. By then, hundreds of journalists, EU officials and national delegations had either already arrived in Evian or were on their way.

A flood of complaints prompted compensation payments – adding more to the eventual presidential bill.

For one three-day event alone, Sarkozy sanctioned an elaborate upgrade of the Grand Palace in Paris for an EU-Mediterranean summit – one of his pet initiatives to mark his turn at the EU helm.

The event was one of his final EU presidency flourishes last July, and involved hundreds of workmen and millions of pounds.

"The Grand Palace had to be completely refitted for the occasion. Five hundred technicians were mobilised every day, including 300 at night," said the report. Spending included nearly £1m for one dinner for more than 40 government leaders and heads of state who attended the event.

Nearly £300,000 was spent building a conference podium, nearly £200,000 upgrading the gardens and grounds, and a total bill for the Sarkozy shower of almost £250,000.

The audit report said the cost soared because of the complications of installing a state-of-the-art shower to the president's specifications in a listed building.

The president never used it – instead going back to the Élysée palace during the three-day summit to freshen up. The shower has since been dismantled.

OK, not all personal expenditure, but it shows a certain cavalier attitude to money to cancel an event on a whim of wanting to sleep in his own bed. I mean it sort of goes with the job that he has to travel .

And £250 ,000 for a shower , never used and then dismantled. How the fuck can anyone spend that amount ?

MPs, read and weep, you're amateurs .

Johnson Loves Monks

2009-10-25T08:34:00.008Z

Unlike some, I am not a regular reader of The Guardian - or The Graun to comrade Denham - but the other arf purchased a copy yesterday, so I dutifully did the puzzles, read a bit of news and browsed the magazine.

Along with some strange household tips, and a mildly disturbing guide to whether you should consider moving to Dalston, there lies a Q&A with Home Secretary Alan Johnson, in which he reveals that the living person he most admires is John Monks. For those of you who can't remember, or never noticed, John Monks used to be General Secretary of the TUC. Alan admires him for being "an ego-free visionary who is kind and self-deprecating".

Never having met Monks, I can not comment on his personality, and he may well deserve Johnson's praise for his kindness and lack of ego, for all I know. But if he was a "visionary", then his vision was that of a trade union movement subservient to the employers and the government, content to plead deferentially for a few crumbs in return for exploitation and anti-union laws, and all in the name of "partnership". So he deprecated not just himself but the workers' movement, and while the former may be admirable the latter certainly is not. But it does, I guess, explain why postie-turned-bureaucrat-turned-Cabinet-minister Johnson likes him so much.

Mind you, Johnson's Most Embarrassing Moment was "Wetting myself in class", rather than "Selling out my former workmates", so I guess that tells us where his conscience does not reside.

Happy (belated) birthday to Janine

2009-10-23T13:57:00.002+01:00

This is for Janine, as I know she likes The Jam :

And one more :

See , Tube related song titles as Janine works on London Underground :-)

Nick Griffin on Question Time

2009-10-22T18:52:00.003+01:00

Just watching clips of this on Sky,released by the BBC before the main programme later tonight.

First impressions are he seems on the backfoot , grinning inappropriately (that was picked up by Dimbleby re holocaust denial) and defensive.

I'll watch the full programme and comment more.

If you watch the programme, comment on how you think it went .

Update :Will post about the programme, and the media/internet responses, over the weekend. I have had a quick look round and to be honest, one I'm too busy to post and two I have read/heard enough about the slimy Nick Griffin for the time being .

Support the Post Strikes

2009-10-20T11:37:00.004+01:00

We should all do what we can to support the national post strike due to take place later this week.

Just as with the firefighters' dispute seven years ago (yeah I know, doesn't seem that long, does it?), the employers are banging on about the need for "modernisation", a term which sounds like an inarguably good thing, but actually means whatever the people advocating it want it to mean. In this case, it means "attacking jobs and working conditions", just as it did with the firefighters.

The "modernisation" propaganda is supplemented by a dollop of cant about "Spanish practices". I've no idea what the Spanish have done to deserve this particular term, but you will notice that the employer's side has very little to offer up in the way of specific examples of the allegedly bad practices. The only one I have seen specified is that you can go home when you've finished your work. Blimey, what a terrible thing. Obviously, people should sit around the sorting office doing nothing instead. Or perhaps they should just walk more slowly when out delivering.

Neither can we fall for Mandelson's line that the strike is "suicidal" because it will damage the Royal Mail as a business. Follow that argument and pretty much no workers would ever go on strike, and we would all be powerless to defend ourselves against the employers' attacks.

Mind you, threats by clients, especially big ones, to take their business elsewhere are an issue for strike strategy. Those threats would be seriously undermined if workers in the alternative distribution companies refused to handle post which should go out by Royal Mail. There is a tradition of such solidarity, for example when posties refused to handle scab post from Grunwick in one of the most important disputes of the 1970s. I don't know in detail which of these companies are unionised and if so, by which union - but, as one exmaple, Initial CityLink workers are in RMT.

With Royal Mail planning to take on 30,000 casuals to help break the strike, people who support the CWU's fight can help out here too. Student unions should oppose recruitment campaigns around colleges. JobCentre and benefits workers should refuse to promote scab jobs or to coerce unemployed people into taking them under threat of losing benefits.

But first off - everyone to the picket lines on Thursday morning!

New Term, New Refusers

2009-10-19T15:40:00.001+01:00

Click here for news of more Israeli teenagers refusing to serve in the army.

Canvass for John McDonnell

2009-10-18T18:14:00.008+01:00

As mentioned in an earlier post , today was the start of fortnightly canvasses to build support to re-elect John to Parliament. Having set up a facebook group, and harangued others to go, I thought it best if I went along myself :-) rather than have a lie in. I have never been to Hayes and Harlington, and having a poor sense of direction allowed plenty of time. I must admit I almost walked past the constituency offices, believing it was a cottage owned by a dotty old lady with cats . I imagined inside there were old copies of The Lady piled high in every room and a strong smell of lavender. This was on the basis of a very very overgrown garden (hmm, is this perhaps a metaphor for the left, having to battle past the brambles to get to the door ?) and a very vivid imagination. Worse was to come though when I saw the inside of John's car, Mary P had to clamber over LRC bits and bobs and compost !

Now I am a bit of an anorak and actually like canvassing, elections and all the nerdy stuff that goes with it. I enjoy knocking on doors and chatting to people , which makes a nice change from reading the blogs and sitting in meetings where lefties vie for who has read the most obscure Trotsky and still, sometimes debate the nature of the old Soviet Union.

I digress. Today was a good start. We handed out letters inviting people to come along to a public meeting on an estate where there are some problems . Generally a good reaction. Some undecided, a few no thank you's , but no abuse. Some of the responses I got was that John was a good MP, done a lot for the area and one who said he hadn't done her any harm! One woman a tad confused said yes, she would vote for John , believing him to be a Conservative. Hmm.

Highlights included a wide range of dogs, I suspect there are as many dogs on those three streets as people, and 'dressing gown man.'

What struck me was that quite a few people were aware of the hard work John has put in .Not one said anything about him being a greedy politician on the make with expenses or pointed out to me the short comings of New labour (of which I would have had to agree.) This I found heartening at a time when New Labour politicians are so out of touch and run scared of standing up for socialist values .

Afterwards it was all back to the cricket club for a well earned drink and post mortem. Lots of enthusiasm and hopefully more will turn up in future canvasses.They are every fortnight, details here , plus check out the facebook group.

Whatever people think of New Labour, I'd hope most lefties would want to see John back as an MP after the election, we can't afford to lose a strong socialist voice in the Commons. Many will be unable to even hold their nose to vote Labour, let alone campaign for their local candidate. Given this I'd argue, and this is what i'm doing,that people should lend support to those few Labour MPs and candidates that back halfway decent socialist policies . As Mary P said to me today, if your Labour candidate is a tosser, then come and help out with John. Exactly !

Oh and if that doesn't work, John was buying the drinks after and not on expenses !

Come And Hear Me Talk About My Book!

2009-10-17T13:54:00.005+01:00

And wish me a happy birthday too ...

Radical History Network of NE London, c/o PO Box 45155, London N15 4RW

Radicalhistorynetwork.blogspot.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
celebrate our history, avoid repeating our mistakes”

Janine Booth speaks on her book
"Guilty and Proud of it!: Poplar's rebel councillors and guardians 1919-1925"
[on sale at this event at £10.00]

Wednesday 21 October at 8pm

Venue: the Postmen's Office at the North London Community House. Its address is 22 Moorefield Road, London N17. The venue is almost next to Bruce Grove British Rail Station, where Bruce Grove meets the High Road in Tottenham.

Jan Moir, Friday fuckwit

2009-10-16T13:55:00.009+01:00

The Daily Mail seems to have excelled itself at nasty homophobic hatefulness today. Yes, I know, what do I expect and yes I know I could fill this blog with rants about it forever more . This article though, is low even set against its daily attacks on women (too thin, too fat, let themselves go, not ageing gracefully, how dare they have a life) and its trumpeting of the values of net curtain land, where all would be well if women got back in the kitchen and LGBT people in the closet. Arghh, my blood pressure is rising as I think about it.

Jan Moir, with no regard for his loved ones at this time and lacking in medical knowledge it seems, decides his death was sleazy and unnatural :

All the official reports point to a natural death, with no suspicious circumstances. The Gately family are - perhaps understandably - keen to register their boy's demise on the national consciousness as nothing more than a tragic accident.
Even before the post-mortem and toxicology reports were released by the Spanish authorities, the Gatelys' lawyer reiterated that they believed his sudden death was due to natural causes.
But, hang on a minute. Something is terribly wrong with the way this incident has been shaped and spun into nothing more than an unfortunate mishap on a holiday weekend, like a broken teacup in the rented cottage.
Consider the way it has been largely reported, as if Gately had gently keeled over at the age of 90 in the grounds of the Bide-a-Wee rest home while hoeing the sweet pea patch.
The sugar coating on this fatality is so saccharine-thick that it obscures whatever bitter truth lies beneath. Healthy and fit 33-year-old men do not just climb into their pyjamas and go to sleep on the sofa, never to wake up again.

Err, yes they do, but hey lets not let facts get in the way of bigotry and muck racking .
An autopsy report differs from Ms Moir, who from what I can tell is not medically trained :

This means that Stephen Gately's death was not caused, as some have been speculating, by either alcohol or drugs: he most certainly did not inhale his own vomit.

“There is nothing to indicate the death was caused by alcohol or drugs,” said a spokesman at the Court of Instruction in the island’s capital.
The official denied earlier reports that the star may have choked to death on his own vomit. “That did not cause his death,” she said.
“Preliminary results of the autopsy found acute pulmonary oedema indicating Stephen Gately died of natural causes.”
Medical experts said such a finding was common in those who had suffered a fatal heart attack.

Obviously it's sad that he died and slightly mystifying to us all that someone so young and apparently healthy can simply fall over dead, one minute to the next. But it does indeed happen as it has done here.

Now the headline states "Why there was nothing 'natural' about Stephen Gately's death." The facts dispute this,so what is her point , what is 'unnatural'? Well she goes on to show that gay men cannot live happily ever after :

Whatever the cause of death is, it is not, by any yardstick, a natural one. Let us be absolutely clear about this. All that has been established so far is that Stephen Gately was not murdered.
And I think if we are going to be honest, we would have to admit that the circumstances surrounding his death are more than a little sleazy.
After a night of clubbing, Cowles and Gately took a young Bulgarian man back to their apartment. It is not disrespectful to assume that a game of canasta with 25-year-old Georgi Dochev was not what was on the cards.
Cowles and Dochev went to the bedroom together while Stephen remained alone in the living room.

So fucking what. They had an open relationship, they seemed to have been honest and not sneaking around or lying to each other. Lots of so-called monogamous heterosexual couples 'cheat' on one another. That to me is sleazy.

Even when presented with medical evidence, Moir just keeps on :

A post-mortem revealed Stephen died from acute pulmonary oedema, a build-up of fluid on his lungs.
Gately's family have always maintained that drugs were not involved in the singer's death, but it has just been revealed that he at least smoked cannabis on the night he died.

Again, he smoked a joint , so fucking what. He did not die with a needle in his arm, from the medical reports drugs did not play a role. In Moir's world perhaps no one sips more than a sweet sherry, but sorry a few joints does not make him sleazy and does not appear to have lead to his death.

Oh but she leaves the best, or should that be worst, to last :

Another real sadness about Gately's death is that it strikes another blow to the happy-ever-after myth of civil partnerships.
Gay activists are always calling for tolerance and understanding about same-sex relationships, arguing that they are just the same as heterosexual marriages. Not everyone, they say, is like George Michael.
Of course, in many cases this may be true. Yet the recent death of Kevin McGee, the former husband of Little Britain star Matt Lucas, and now the dubious events of Gately's last night raise troubling questions about what happened.

Well first off , just like heterosexual people, relationships come in all shapes and sizes. Some LGBT people may want a monogamous civil partnership and there are plenty of happy ones around. Lets not though hold up heterosexual marriage as some perfect institution, that just by fancying the opposite sex you lead a life of idyllic bliss. There can be abuse, violence, divorce, 'cheating' and lying in any relationship .

Some LGBT people, and some heterosexual people, don't want to follow the idealised model of marriage and lead more 'unconventional' lives. They though are able to love and care for each other. Its not sleazy , whatever that means anyway.

How does the death of Stephen and Kevin in any way 'raise troubling questions?' Kevin seems to have had drug problems and the relationship broke down because of them. News flash, that happens to heterosexual people as well.

How was Stephen's death 'dubious' and in what way was it linked to his relationship ? Where are her facts that civil partnerships lead to a 'sleazy' death ?

Oh and gay people wanting tolerance and understanding , well not from this unpleasant woman.

It is important that the truth comes out about the exact circumstances of his strange and lonely death.
As a gay rights champion, I am sure he would want to set an example to any impressionable young men who may want to emulate what they might see as his glamorous routine.
For once again, under the carapace of glittering, hedonistic celebrity, the ooze of a very different and more dangerous lifestyle has seeped out for all to see.

What truth is she wanting ? The medical facts seem to have been established, so what else needs to be known? Ahh, muck racking and some sort of proof that 'unnatural' relationships lead to 'sleazy' deaths.

And how was his death 'strange' and 'lonely?' It has been established that sudden deaths do occur in healthy people. How was he lonely, he was on holiday with his partner ? Again, facts seem not to be a priority here.

The facts show this to have been a tragic death, I don't believe the death certificate states being gay or in a civil partnership as its cause .

Brighton - most godless city in Britain ...

2009-10-16T12:20:00.004+01:00

...and he says it like it is a bad thing !

A priest has declared it his mission to transform "the most Godless city in Britain".

Reverend Archie Coates' comments about Brighton and Hove have prompted a concerned reaction among residents.

He made them following his arrival in the city to head the off-shoot of London's evangelical Holy Trinity Brompton church being set up at St Peter's Church - the landmark building dubbed Brighton's Cathedral – in York Place.

The new parish has been "planted" because St Peter's dwindling congregation could no longer afford to maintain the building. It will hold its first mass on November 1.

...

He said his church could transform Brighton.

Rev Coates said: "Our vision is not just to fill the church but it's to build in the heart of this city a community and do whatever we can to sow our best years into playing our part in the re-evangelisation of Brighton and transformation of this society."

Somehow I think he has his work cut out, but who knows, you might find Stropps a born again Christian this time next year. Hmm, about as likely as a united left by then.

For those who want to see the team taking on the challenge of shifting Brighton from its godless hedonism , check out this video. Yep, they are down with the kids with their U2ish Christian rock soundtrack that accompanies the happy shiny people , all cheery and bubbling with enthusiasm.

Wonder what the odds are on Brighton corrupting them before they show us the light ? Yep, can see them crawling out of the gay clubs singing I will survive any day soon.

A Gude Cause maks a Strong arm

2009-10-15T00:44:00.006+01:00

In October 1909 thousands of women took to the streets in Edinburgh to demand suffrage - their right to be be seen as people in their own right and with the right to suffrage. In 2008 some women got together and decided to re-enact the march and set up the Gude Cause (good cause).

On Saturday thousands of women, some men, children and dogs took to the streets and I honestly can't tell you how many but I think it was between 3,000 to 5,000.

It was a great parade, not as many trade union banners as I would have liked but still may. I marched with the Scottish Socialist party, carrying the banner with PPC for North East Glasgow for the Scottish Socialist Party, Kevin Mc Vey. You can read Kevin Mc Vey's blog here.

Photos taken by Eddie Truman on the day

Scottish Labour Party on the Gude Cause - just so I am not partisan on the matter.

It was great to see the march and be part of it I saw people from my history who I literally haven't seen for decades and the sun shone. Whilst there were no political demands on the march which I think was a mistake even a safe one like Equal Pay would have been good, but as a cultural event it was superb. It was great to see the efforts people went to by getting dressed up, making beautiful banners and learning loads of songs.