IANSREDLOG

Pension strike cripples France

2010-10-12T22:01:00.000+01:00

RIP Solomon Burke

2010-10-10T09:54:00.003+01:00

Aged 70, another sad loss to soul music.

Back the Bill

2010-10-10T08:46:00.003+01:00

John McDonnell's 'extremely modest' Lawful Industrial Action (Minor Errors) Bill.

Write to your Labour MP. I understand that the debate is being held on a friday afternoon when all MP's will be rushing back to get home in time for a long weekend.
Ask them to stay a get the law changed.

Keith Ewing makes the point of the bill here

Below is a draft template for Unite members sent to me the other day.

-------------- MP

House of Commons

London

SW1A 0AA

Dear ----------------- MP

Please support the Lawful Industrial Action (Minor Errors) Bill on 22^nd October

I’m writing to you regarding the Private Member’s Bill the ‘Lawful Industrial Action (Minor Errors) Bill’ that is tabled for its second reading on Friday 22^nd October.

The Bill is being sponsored by at least four members of the Unite Parliamentary Group and I am asking you as a member my union’s group in Parliament to be in the House on that day so that the Bill can progress.

I understand that you will have many constituency demands on a Friday but the aim of this Bill – to put a stop to the recent trend for employers to challenge legitimate, democratically decided strike action in court on the basis of minor errors and technicalities – is something which union members have raised time and time again as being of concern to them. The bill represents a fundamental human rights issue.

Indeed, Unite members at British Airways were prevented from striking after the employer went to the courts on the basis that union members were not notified of 11 spoiled ballot papers, despite the fact that our members have voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action.

The Bill will not increase the circumstances under which trade unions are entitled to strike, but it will make sure that when a strike is legal, legitimate and has been subject to the ballot of members, then employers cannot use minor errors to stop trade union members from exercising their rights.

I hope that you will support this Bill and in doing so support the rights of members of your union.

Yours sincerely,

Interesting fact about Adam Smith

2010-10-10T08:32:00.004+01:00

While hundreds of Tories run around their front rooms pulling at their hair and screaming 'the debt, the debt, we haven't any money left' clear headed socialists should be sanely analysing the Capitalist Crisis that got us here and campaigning for an alternative to the anarchy. Part of that process should be organising trade union and community opposition against the ConDem cuts and focusing on defending good democratically controlled public services and the hard earned terms and conditions of all public sector workers.

So, while the Tories carry out their ideological war it is worth remembering that when they start quoting the so called benefits of the free market in replacing public services (you know, all that small state, 'big society' bollocks) and worshiping at the altar of Adam Smith that it was Smithy himself who supported the very type of unions opposing this crap.

Worth using those arguments eh?

Football and Free Enterprise

2010-10-10T08:25:00.002+01:00

I have long since held the belief (like millions of others) that football is being slowly strangled by Capitalism. Fans are being ripped off weekly and less wealthy clubs are being marginalised by the big clubs spending power.

It comes as no surprise that two of the biggest clubs in the Premiership who dominated football in the 2nd half of the 20th Century are experiencing difficulties. It will be a case of watch this space. Ultimately it will be the fans who are already paying the price, paying the price.

Privateer Connaught facing bust

2010-09-07T21:02:00.002+01:00

10'000 job losses isnt anything to celebrate. But Connaught was a company like many other fighting for valuable Public sector contracts. ConDem cutbacks have pulled the rug out from under this company.

I believe it will be the first of many.

Unions have to fight the cuts and bring outsourced work back in -house. Private contractors arent safe anymore.

The Tax Dodgers Alliance and TU Facility time

2010-09-05T20:28:00.002+01:00

The TPA have been after the Unions for a long time. This and this (explained) has been brewing since before the General Election when the TPA were acting as the 'Storm-Troopers' of CaMorons Big Society reaction.

There is one way for Reps to challenge this. If the Employers in Local Authorities and the NHS want disciplinary and grievances to be handled fairly, if they want redundancy consultations and pay negotiations to be meaningful, they would be well advised to ignore the rantings of the rich boys and girls in the TPA.

My advice to reps would be to insist that if facility time goes we hold all formal meetings in the middle of the night or at weekends. That will f*ck the managers off enough to grant facility time.

Another thing for the snobs in the TPA to investigate would be the amount of time our members are suspended on full pay due to dubious allegations, pending disciplinary hearings or for the amount of time bullying managers send our members on sick leave due to their bullying methods. I am sure some money can be saved here.

I believe most managers in the Public Sector value the role of Trade Union activists. In fact most sensible private sector companies (eg Fords) allow decent facility time so the luddites in the TPA cant use the excuse that the Private Sector dont do it. The reality is that the TPA arent really interested in saving money. They and their Tory pay master's want to break the democratic will of workers organised in the Public Sector to oppose their discredited programme of cuts that will affect the low paid inside and outside the Civil Service, Local Authorities and the NHS.

What is it about this obsession with Leaders?

2010-09-05T08:15:00.002+01:00

I reckon the left groups are the worst here.

How often do you hear left groups supporting this candidate for leader or that while at the same time championing rank and file power or lay member democracy?

Take Union General secretary elections for instance? Both in Unison and in Unite you have had the hard left pushing leadership candidates as individuals who they argue come from the rank and file and yet will sort out the ills of the union entirely on their own. They have very little representative/shop steward 'rank and file' support apart from individual unrepresentative activists, mainly from hard left political tendencies with their own agendas, a lot of them from workplaces with no union recognition agreements or employed in the third sector (not that I have anything against the third sector, it just seems to be a dumping ground for lefties entering the world of work after a few years at Uni. You don't see many lefties coming from Uni going to work for cleaning companies do you?)

Anyway, to try and keep this from becoming too much of a rant, I think the left have got it all wrong. Its all top down rather the bottom up which oddly they all seem to be arguing for. Take my Union Unite. The Jerry Hicks camp supporters are I expect all for bottom up lay member control. Yet they have taken a position that, it seems to me, in order to facilitate this you first of all need the left rank and file leader. Never mind if you haven't any credible rank and file organisation in the union or the tiny fact fact that if you do get in you will have the opposition of a hostile lay executive to deal with not to mention those vile and evil trade union bureaucrats!! Even the small inconvenience of rules and policy conferences, you know the democratic bits seem to escape them.

Is Jerry seriously arguing that if he gets elected the his rank and file organisation will suddenly appear and sweep the Executive elections next year? (Jerry's supporters frequently cite the PCS and the Mark Serwotka's election victory. While Mark was an outsider in the election the PCS is an industry specific union with an established left executive organisation. The difference with Unite is that it is a huge non industry specific general union with an established left executive the majority of whom support the other left candidate!!)

Where left groups have got it wrong is because of this. They have given up the patient work of building a left from the bottom up in the unions. If they are trying they seem to be not good at it. (Maybe trying not to pretend you are a reflection of the democratic centralist organisation you belong to would help gain broader support)

This is clearly evident to me in Unite. The left groups for a long period have neglected this work and in the main have opportunistically piggy backed support for leftish candidates when it suited them (with the credible exception of the Militant/Socialist Party who have argued in the main for the building of lay member left organisation in the Unions where they have supporters and I suppose the CP/Morning Star left, ever present in some way in most unions)

So for a lot of the hard left its all wait till we have this or that militant leader and then all the problems will be sorted. We can have election of officers, secondary action and new workers parties until they come out of our ears. Seizing the state after manning the barricades after a 1970s style reawakening of militancy will be just around the corner! Meanwhile the genuine representative left union activists will continue to patiently build left wing grass roots organisation steeled in the realities of what is happening in the workplaces rather than what is viewed as debate in the various central committees of the UK far left!!

To conclude lets stop this obsession with heroes. Lets build from the bottom up, strengthen lay member democracy to make leaders accountable and more importantly guide the industrial direction of the union. Heroes will be made through the battles we fight not by imposing would be heroes through the process of badly turned out general secretary elections.

This tactic is built on sand.

Rover Bosses crooks, but they are getting away with it!

2009-09-11T06:56:00.002+01:00

And under a Labour Government no less.

This makes depressing reading. Not just did they pocket millions but the cost the country millions by sacking thousands of skilled workers and chucking them on the dole.
Personally I feel that there was a strong case for the company to be put in public hands. A real Labour Government would have done but unfortunately with cries of 'remember what it was like in the 70s' New Labour left it to the market.

That brings me to the banks..............

Trade Unionism in the Middle East

2009-09-10T21:53:00.001+01:00

This report here underlines the extreme difficulties of being a trade unionist in the Middle East.

Organising in Unison

2009-09-10T21:43:00.002+01:00

Very pleased to see Unison taking the Organising idea seriously. I think the whole TU movement need to take on this issue. This time next year we could have a Tory Government and the only way to fight back will be through the Trade Unions.

A long break

2009-08-31T11:22:00.004+01:00

I have been on a short 'intermission' of late. I got a bit tired of blogging to be honest but also got entirely depressed about a number of things that dont seem to resolve itself, namely

-The inability of the left to unite around common issues and to understand the working class

-The inability of Labourites to understand the economic/cultural changes that have happened in the last 2 years and adapt

-The inability of the Trade Unions to completely modify their organisations, in light of the economic recession, and become hard hitting fighting unions.

!'ll get 'me coat!!

Hopefully I'll be back soon.

Lindsey Workers walk out over Redundancies

2009-06-13T08:20:00.003+01:00

Total have bitten off more than they can chew at Lindsey. Total are dictating organisational change to the contractors which has been condemned by the workforce.
I will post more info when I find it.

Update. Morning Star.

Rob Williams reinstated!! Militancy pays

2009-06-10T21:28:00.001+01:00

From the Unite website

Workers' unity secures Linamar convenor's job
10th June 2009

Unite convenor Rob Williams has been reinstated to his post at the Swansea plant of car components maker Linamar, the company and the union announced today (Wednesday).

The decision reverses last month's dismissal of Mr Williams by the company and means that the strike planned to secure his reinstatement, due to start tomorrow, has been called off. Unite and Linamar will now work together to ensure the plant's future success.

Unite assistant general secretary, Len McCluskey, who led talks with management to secure Rob Williams' reinstatement, said today: "We are delighted at this outcome, which represents a victory for the solidarity of the workforce at Linamar. It is also a tribute to the wider support for Rob expressed by the labour movement throughout Wales in particular.

"I hope that employers throughout the country will take note that Unite will always be prepared to stand behind its elected representatives and will not accept attacks of this kind against union organisation.

"Now this dispute is behind us, we are looking forward to working constructively with the company to help secure the future of the Swansea plant in the very difficult worldwide economic environment."

New Labour Meltdown

2009-06-06T07:53:00.003+01:00

The results on the 4th June were no shock. They were a reality to the depths New Labour has sunk steadily to over the past few years. 'Its policy, stupid', that matters but instead of shouting about the decent policies that labour brought in the issue has centered on a power struggle between the Blairite and the Brownite wing of New Labour. As an active Trade Unionist who pays the political levy I would share with grassroots Labour campaigners the treachery of Purnel, Flint, Hoon and Hutton with disgust. These chancers represent the real heart of New Labour in my view. Their loyalty to the Labour Party has been really demonstrated by their actions over the last couple of days. They should leave the Party.

What really summed it up for me though was the treatment LDV workers got by the Government. A planned lobby and meeting with relevant ministers at Westminster was canceled due to a cabinet reshuffle!! This because of the antics of these charlatans who entered the Labour Party to pursue their careers and claim expenses. The LDV workers and the 4000 employees of supporting trades that would be affected by closure a far more important than the non-entities (some unelected) put in the cabinet!!

The only good news is that Conservative vote dipped 6 points. Wow!!

Thoughts about todays news

2009-05-31T08:30:00.002+01:00

I think Paxman has a point here. UK workers do work the longest hours in Europe and are at the beck and call of employers.
Here is one Employer who likes his workers at his beck and call, especially women!!!
What an arse!

Euro Elections

2009-05-31T07:36:00.002+01:00

Its going to be impossible to envisage Labour doing well at this election on 4th June.The last year has seen a sharp decline in support as evidenced by many of the polls that are released on a weekly basis. The expenses row , while hitting the Tories especially hard, will also be expressed by an anti vote for Labour.

It will be interesting to see the turn out come the 6th or 7th when the results are announced. I think we could be in for a surprise with a higher than normal turnout due to the slagging off all politicians have been getting in the press. I fear though we could also see a sharp rise in support for the 'minority' parties such as the UKIP and the increasingly barmy BNP. A vote to look out for will be the NO2EU candidates (I can really call it a party, more an electoral front) I am sure they will pick up disaffected Labour voters who would otherwise go to the right wing nationalist parties. Out of interest I know a number of Labour Party members who have expressed support for NO2EU on 4th June.

The real issue I see for voters is to give the Government a drubbing. Together with the Council Elections on the day the question will have to be asked, would the results be enough to make the Government change course?

I doubt it. They seem to be deliberately preparing the way for Cameron's lot to continue where New Labours brand of Neo Liberalism leaves off, in a years time at the General Election. No amount of posturing and pontificating around Obama's victory in the US will dig up the required support needed to keep the Tory wreckers out.

Its the economy stupid is a refrain I hear from some quarters of the LP. Yes quite true and it is for that reason that many workers at the sharp end of the recession are going to give Labour a kicking. Unfortunately New Labour just don't see it. Now it is all too late and cries of 'it can only get better' will be a thing of the past.

The only choice at the GE will be to vote Labour despite the fact that New Labour have wrecked things. I'm not talking about the minimum wage and the other minimally pro workers policies the government have introduced in the last 12 years. NL have wrecked things by the way they cling on to this perception of middle ground which is a throwback from the mid 90s. This has made them make huge cock ups (10p tax rate, dithering over an election and Northern Rock etc)which have drowned the important gains. Unfortunately the leading lights are so blind the cant see it.

Alternatives to Labour coming from the Left have been dismal failures. In main this is because most left groups have an inherent inability to unite around issues which clearly matter to working people. At a time when the best opportunities for the left are out there to be taken, working people clearly have no one to represent them. Working people deserve much better.

The key to change comes definitely from the Trade Unions. They have the power and resources to organise around the issues affecting working people and are clearly in a position to take advantage. But they need to be fit for purpose and have a clear organising agenda. There is still some work to be done here. My union, Unite are beginning to take advantage but have clearly a long way to go. Others such as the GMB and the smaller unions such as the RMT have shown that organising to fight back benefits members. (Its a shame that the left still cherry pick unions to work in while ignoring the principle to organise where they are. I am also still surprised by the size able group of lefts still not involved in any union and fail to see the importance of organising in their own workplaces)

With the very real prospect of Cameron coming to power the Unions clearly need to look at organising. How the unions behaved in the 90s around servicing clearly doesn't work and we cant go along again with New Labour telling us to keep quiet and wait for Labour to get back to power.

That is not an option and should be held up by the TUs to the Labour Party in how not to do things. The next period will see fundamental changes in the relationship between the TUs and the Labour Party. Principles of power for working people should and must take over from the principle of power just to be in power.

Round up

2009-05-28T10:22:00.005+01:00

Good TUC brief about Middle England (ME) here. New Labour still go on about Middle England but the ME they knew in the 90s has changed dramatically.This is an area now where Unions could clear up for support. If only we had a political party that could match ME interests.

Why arent the Government involved in the discussions to keep Vauxhall jobs in the UK?

Seumus Milne comments about strikes here in the Guardian. Gregor Gall highlights how employers are using the recession as an excuse to have a go at Terms and Conditions. The GMB has been having a go about the expenses row while the Tories are just as bad if not worse as Labour when it comes to expenses claims.

Interesting paper here about the enforcement of awards from Employment Tribunals. While the days lost by stike action is at a low point individual action through the ET system doesnt guarrantee an award. In my view Union members should not rely on the courts but rely on strong work place organisation. Unfortunately many workers still have great illusions in the law. As long as individualism is encouraged by employers and governments there will be a lot of workers let down by the ET system.

Apparently the Government are going to do something about it.

Lastly Unite Convenor Rob Williams has been boosted by 88% in favour of Strike Action at the Linamaar Factory in South Wales where Rob was blatantly dismissed for Trade Union duties. Just heard the news so will post a link later.

Here is the link!!

Foreign Office Minister praises Chavez

2009-05-21T18:42:00.003+01:00

Havent blogged about Chavez for a while.

Received this email today.

Subject: Foreign Office Minister praises Venezuela's anti-poverty measures and
calls for closer co-operation at Parliamentary reception

Dear colleague,
Please find below a brief report on the recent parliamentary reception for
Venezuela including positive remarks by the Minister with responsibility for
Latin America.

Foreign Office Minister praises Venezuela's anti-poverty measures and calls for
closer co-operation at Parliamentary reception

British Government Foreign Office Minister Gillian Merron and over 40
Parliamentarians attended a House of Commons reception on 13 May to mark a
decade of social progress in Venezuela under the Hugo Chávez-led government.
They were joined by more than 100 personalities from the media, trade unions and
wider Labour Party.

At the reception, Gillian Merron MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State,
Foreign & Commonwealth Office said:

"We all welcome policies that help the most vulnerable and the poorest people in
our communities -- wherever those communities might be. That is why we very much
welcome the efforts of President Chavez, democratically backed by the people, to
help the most needy in Venezuelan society. Those efforts undoubtedly have our
support."

She explained that the British governments engages "with Venezuela on many
social justice initiatives" and called for more "communication and co-operation"
so that both countries "work closer and better together for the benefit of both
of our peoples."

Tony Lloyd MP, Chair of the Parliamentary Labour Party, describing a visit to
Venezuela in the 1990's prior to the election of the Hugo Chávez government
said:

"Anybody who went to the barrios outside of Caracas and saw the abject miserable
poverty in which people were spending their lives, would understand why change
was so necessary in Venezuela"

He explained that the Hugo Chávez government "is supported by the majority of
the people in Venezuela. He added that "what is taking in Venezuela is a
beacon...that every one of us wants to look up to and to embrace".

Colin Burgon MP, Chair of the Labour Friends of Venezuela group of MPs, which
organised the reception, explained that "in Parliament we have been able to
build a strong group on MPs that expresses an interest in the progressive
developments in Venezuela." He explained that this is necessary "to combat the
incessant propaganda that has been unleashed by the right-wing throughout the
world against Hugo Chávez and his government in Venezuela"

He added that "Latin America has been subjected to neo-liberalism longer than
almost any other Continent in the world - and it is truly heartening to see how
the masses of the people have risen up against it."

Venezuelan Ambassador to Britain Samuel Moncada addressing the reception
explained that his government was seeking "to change for the better the livings
conditions of the Venezuelan majority" and that this has been done "through
democratic means, expanding political freedoms and strengthening social and
economic rights."

He praised the support that exists in British society for the progressive change
in Venezuela adding that "It will be with your solidarity that we shall continue
to work together for social progress."

Over the past decade, under the Hugo Chávez government, Venezuela has undergone
a social transformation including the eradication of illiteracy to international
standards, making health care freely accessible to millions of people for the
first time in their lives and dramatic reductions in poverty levels. This is
matched by an extraordinary democratic record, with the Chávez government
holding 14 sets of national elections over the past ten years.

For further information contact Colin Burgon MP on burgonc@parliament.uk

Australian Labour Government going the same way as the British one

2009-05-21T10:21:00.002+01:00

Aussie Unions are understandably putting pressure on their Government to put in a host of pro Union legislation. This is after the resounding victory Labour got over the Howard government and their infamous anti Union Work Choices. Labour won a few years back with huge Trade Union support. It will be a huge shame and incredibly damaging if the ALP goes the same way as the LP here and alienates all card carrying Union members with concessions for employers rather than workers.

Like in the UK the balance in Australia has gone too far in favour of employers

Workers walk out in Wales over Social Dumping

2009-05-20T16:09:00.002+01:00

Workers walked out at the South Hook Terminal at Milford Haven in South West Wales.
Again the issue is employers using European law to undercut the Naeci terms and conditions all workers on the site work under.

MS reports on the issue here.

Workers at Lindsey have walked out in support. It all kicked off yesterday and it is very clear that the issue isnt the Polish workers that have been brought in by a sub contractor but the underminning of T&Cs that is the issue.

BNP photo f*ck up

2009-05-17T06:13:00.003+01:00

Those geniuses in the Master race party have assisted their British Jobs for British workers demand no end by using foreign workers in their picture on their website. No wonder their website gets so many hits, probably to laugh at all their cock ups!!

Unite for Jobs Demo

2009-05-17T05:53:00.005+01:00

Good day out. I reckon about 7-8000 marchers attended. Got a bit wet during the speeches as it pissed down. That though, didnt dampen the determination of the marchers.

Seemed to have got reasonable coverage on the TV. Most TV interviews seemed to have centred on Digby Jones attendance. Interestingly it didnt deflect from the broader message of the march.

Speeches were good. In particular Tony Woodley pressed all the right buttons. I thought the inclusion of a Steel Worker from Corus and a Car Worker from Halewood was good. Both inspiring spealers.

Went to the NSSN meeting afterwards to listen to Rob Williams, victimised TU militant from Linemarr in South Wales. No Trade Unionist is safe if this kind of victimisation occurs. Rob was the victim of an illegal action by his employer yet its the unions who have the laws stacked against them with the Tory anti trade union laws still in place. Personally I would always prefer a shop steward like Rob representing me in my workplace than some of the moderate so called 'sensible' reps we have in some workplaces.Those days have now gone as employers go on the offensive against terms and conditions. In times like these you have to fight.

Guardian report here.

Unite for Jobs March Birmingham

2009-05-16T05:30:00.002+01:00

Will be at the Unite demonstration today with my daughter. Im hoping for a good turn out.

This march will represent the real world away from the disgusting expenses sleaze of all our Parliamentarians.

Private Equity bosses sulk about 50% Tax

2009-05-10T22:05:00.001+01:00

Bye!!

Inequality in Britain

2009-05-10T21:58:00.003+01:00

This article says it all and buries firmly the claim that 12 years of New Labour created a more equal Britain. Its ok apologist going on about the gains but they are bread crumbs in comparison to what this article demonstrates.

It is not surprising that this got hidden amongst the 'expenses' revelations in the press over the last week. Not a priority I suppose and it certainly nothing 'Hi Im Dave' can really get his teeth into seeing that all the Tories will do is give more of the same and make it worse.

MP's Expenses

2009-05-10T21:38:00.006+01:00

Like the huge majority of the population I have been disgusted by the expenses revelations leaked this week by the Telegraph.

Labour are taking a big hit on this and quite rightly to. But the Tories cant take any comfort from a moral high ground. Anyway most of them are f*cking millionaires and so you wouldnt expect them to take advantage of parliamentary expenses claims.

Or would you?

Here are two I found equally disgusting to the Labour claims.

Alan Duncan and James Gray.

Apparently Duncan oversees Tory Party Policy on expenses!!!!

(SU covers Tory MPs 2nd jobs)

Wankers!!

Expect more revelations soon as receipts going back to 2004 are revealed.

house builders sell up to Housing associations shocker

2009-05-10T08:32:00.002+01:00

This made me laugh today!!

I bet the residents are all Daily Mail readers!!

The FT has more comment on the housing crisis here.

May Day France

2009-05-02T09:19:00.003+01:00

Huge demonstrations in France yesterday. Celebrating May Day by confronting the neo liberal agenda of the Sarkozy Government and the Bankers crisis caused by ruthless unregulated free enterprise policies around the world.

(piccie Telegraph)

World round up here from the NYT.

Visteon Workers improved offer. A Victory for workers in the Car Industry.

2009-05-02T09:12:00.004+01:00

Unite negotiators seem to have concluded a deal, currently being put to balot, that vastly improves on what was originally offered. Basildon and Enfield have accepted and Belfast are voting this Sunday.

The occupation has paid off. The union mobilised and got what it deserved for its members.

Militancy isnt dead but is the only way to fight the Bankers crisis.

Guardian report.

Commons cleaners strike threat

2009-04-26T09:54:00.002+01:00

While MPs squable over expenses, and lets face it it, ALL parties are as bad as the others, cleaners are being refused a 45p rise in their hourly rate. The cleaners organised by Unite have worked very well in organising the cleaners in the city and have built a powerful, campaigning, activist based union.
If they dont get their pay rise it will be MPs who get the 'shitty' end of the deal!!

Post Office Pay Freeze

2009-04-26T09:42:00.005+01:00

Posties everywhere will be disgusted by the arrogance of their employer in even suggesting a pay freeze. This is using the recession as an excuse for dampening down terms and conditions of hard working posties. All this act is going to do is further toughen an already demoralised workforce into giving a solid 'yes' vote in an industrial action ballot. It will also assist the CWU in completely severing its financial ties with Labour.

Battle against what Post Office bosses call 'modernisation' is still continuing in Scotland.

Unite thwarts de-recognition

2009-04-26T09:26:00.004+01:00

Hard nosed bosses of car delivery firm Autologic have been halted in their attempt to de-recognise Unite. Car delivery companies have to be careful as they are coming up against probably the best organised section of the UK working class,Unite's Car Delivery drivers otherwise known as the 'Car Council'.

While the Car Industry suffers due to the downturn the last thing any Car Delivery Employer wants is to pick a fight with these guys. This is real power in the workplace organised by effective shop stewards accross the whole Industry.

(picture is not an Autologic vehicle!!!)

Copy of threatening letter here.

Jack Jones RIP

2009-04-23T07:02:00.002+01:00

Tributes in MS, the Guardian and from Tony Woodley.

Great TU leader and inspiration.

BBC says a few words.

Tesco's. The news you wont see splashed out in the media

2009-04-21T20:38:00.003+01:00

Tesco workers in Cork, Ireland are giving the proverbial two finger salute to Leahy and his gang of profiteers. This is the way Leahy makes £3Billion this year by cutting back on terms and conditions of its workers and monopolising the retail sector by forcing every corner shop into liquidation.

Harriet Harman opposes Cutbacks

2009-04-21T20:23:00.002+01:00

Is Harriet breaking ranks?

The prospect of Darling doing the Tories dirty work by starting cuts in the public sector needs further clarification. He may argue that front line services wont be affected or the government priority areas in Health and Education will remain untouched but when you start alomng this rocky road you are bound to open yourself up to pressures from the CBI and other business influences who seek the complete carve up of the public sector.

The STUC conference is proving to be a good barometer to the strength of feeling in fighting for well funded Public Services.

Likewise Unison members are being guided to the most effective way to defend services in the NHS.

Panorama versus the HSE

2009-04-20T20:45:00.004+01:00

Those 'barmy' prankster's at Panorama could be having a go at the Health and Safety Executive tonight. Unfortunately I have to wait an hour or so before I see it, but in the meantime in case they come all 'Daily Mail' on us here is the truth.

Round up

2009-04-19T15:35:00.010+01:00

I really, really haven't had the time to do much blogging lately so I thought I would comment over recent events in what will be my 400th blog!!

Firstly I will get the smelly slime bit out of the way first. I was appalled about the email/McBride/Draper scandal. This has done Labour a lot of damage and given the Tories a lead that they don't deserve. Still I would take heed with who I make friends with if I was a Tory. This blogger Guido Fawkes/Paul Staines is as slimey as they come and the Telegraph do an expose about him today. Morning Star does a piece about the email scandal here.

Lets just hope this clown does not get into power with all the publicity they have been getting. Mind you the Tories never let me down and before the next election one of them is bound to drop a clanger of shit hitting fan proportions.

There is something seriously wrong with the Labour Party if good honest socialists like Alice Mahon decide to leave. I was particularly disgusted by the years she spent being shouted down by the upstarts who have taken over the Labour Party and wouldn't look out of place in their real home with Cameron's Tories!!

Back in the real world, Budget day is looming and this will give Brown and Darling a chance to further ignore the Trade Unions. Unite are in the middle of organising a Unite for Jobs demo in Birmingham on the 16th May. This is being pushed big time so all lefts and Trade Unionists should make it a priority to attend.

The Work Foundation echo the TUC demands for what the chancellor should do here.

Over in Obama land the Unions are stepping up their campaign to get the Employee Free Choice act implemented. This Act will assist Unions organising and now we have an apparently union friendly president it shouldn't be a problem. Shouldn't it?

Cant go any further without mentioning Visteon. Huge battle taking place against this employer. The occupation tactic is going to be crucial to stop employers using the recession to attack workers. News bits here, here, here, here and here. The campaign to give these workers what they want must escalate. The workers have set up a blog here.

Trade Unionist in the old Soviet Union are being treated with the greatest contempt by the pro capitalist thugs that hassle Trade Unionists. Furthermore previously 'loyal' MOD trade unionists are showing their devotion to the capitalist restoration here.

Attacks on the minimum wage back in the UK are being touted here and here. The bosses want everyone to pay for their crisis but themselves.

Nadine Dorries, You are SO boring.

2009-04-16T19:40:00.002+01:00

Hat tip to lefty girl. Havent commented about the email saga because it hasnt anything at all to do with the economic depression caused by Capitalism.

This particular Tory MP just wont let it rest.

She just drones on and on and on and on and on and on and on....and on and on..........and on and on and on.....

She reminds me of the Monty Python sketch where Graham Chapman plays a Conservative Candidate who goes on and on until he foams at the mouth and falls down backwards!!!

Shut up!

Militant French Workers kidnap British bosses

2009-04-08T22:21:00.003+01:00

Self explanatory really.

Quite understandable as well if your a worker with debts to pay.

Where do the Visteon bosses live?

1944 Liberation of Paris 'Whites Only'

2009-04-06T20:46:00.003+01:00

Hat Tip to Lenin here.

The Establishment during the last War wanted an 'Aryan' army liberating Paris from the so called 'Aryan' race!!

If you dont believe me read this.

Expenses

2009-04-06T08:00:00.005+01:00

Glad to see the reactionary Mail having a go at the MPs expenses issue. In the Indy last week there was a chart on who was the most expensive Mp and to which party they belong to. I may have been mistaken but it seemed to me that Labour MPs had the most to lose if tighter regs came into play. Interestingly the Tories have least to lose as they are mostly made up of f*cking millionaires anyway. The Mail link interestingly pictures two Tories, one of whom is Eric Pickles who was ripped to pieces on Question time the other week for his slime trail. Link is on the BBC site if you want to see the embarrassed leading Tory squirm.

The Mail has another expose about a leading Tory Unionist having a 'good life with his wife.

Expect low turnouts at the next election.

Meanwhile in Southampton Museum staff are on strike over the Tories plan to cut services ie employees terms and conditions. The Tories reckon it will make an annual saving of £15'000 a year. Well if the 26 Tories on the Council each gave less than a thousand pound a year of their expenses back they wouldn't have to do this!!

Hurrah for Capitalism! Visteon workers shafted.

2009-04-05T11:58:00.004+01:00

Have been following this dispute all week. Good commentary on most decent Trade Union and left blogs. Seems the G20 talks have forgotten Visteon workers.

Fords say they are under no legal or moral obligation to assist.

How can you trust the word of an employer?

The French seem to have the right idea!!

Another report here about European workers and the fight back

Cameron sorry???

2009-03-14T10:03:00.003Z

Cheap attempt at political point scoring by the inept boy, trying to force Brown into making an apology here.

Sorry my arse!! This party started the deregulated anarchy that eventually became the credit crunch. What Cameron should be doing is offering what the Tories would do to sort it out. Tumbleweed blows through the desert at that suggestion, I'm afraid, meaning if the boy Cameron gets in with his gang of upper class spivs , we can expect at best more of the same as now or alternatively a total economic collapse as the free enterprise backwoodsmen that contaminate the Tory Party appear to force their utopian economics on the working population of this country.

Will Cameron still be sorry then?

I think not.

The blame though for letting this bunch in will fall on Brown and the New Labour Idea for continuing in some ways a diluted form and in other ways more blatent,monetarist policies, in other words the legacy of Thatchers bankrupt rule.

(BBC's take on Thatcher's economic legacy with a picture of one of the 'backwoodsmen' I mentioned earlier from the nutty Adam Smith society!!)

Blacklist Part 2

2009-03-08T00:41:00.003Z

I'm really annoyed about this issue. What the f*ck gives employers the right to organise against employees in the form of blacklists? This is a political issue and the companies involved in this should be held up and targetted in the same way unions are held up and targetted by the Tories , today and in the last 30 years, as to interfering with the political process.
The link here provides detail of the culprits. This practice is absolutely outrageous and I find it astounding that Labour promised to deal with the blacklisting scandal pre 1997 election but have done f*ck all about it.

Construction Blacklist

2009-03-06T17:54:00.003Z

I have posted about this before. From an email list I belong to

FIRMS FACE LEGAL ACTION OVER 'BLACK LISTS'

An investigation by the Information Commissioner' s Office (ICO) has uncovered a database containing details on 3,213 construction workers, which was used by over 40 construction companies to vet individuals for employment.

Information Commissioner' s Office

The information commissioner, Richard Thomas, has published a list of the companies he believes may have broken data protection laws, after an investigation by his office that was sparked by fears that many workers were being unfairly "blacklisted" .The information includes sensitive personal information such as construction workers' personal relationships, trade union activity, as well as people's employment history.The information has been seized by the ICO during a raid in Droitwich, West Midlands.

Ian Kerr, the owner of a firm known as the Consulting Association, appears to have run the database for over 15 years.The ICO has uncovered evidence at Kerr's premises that named construction firms subscribed to Kerr's system for a Â£3,000 annual fee. Companies could add information to the system and pay Â£2.20 for details held on individuals. Invoices to construction firms for up to Â£7,500 were seized during the raid.

The ICO has served an Enforcement Notice ordering Mr Kerr to stop using the system. Mr Kerr is to cease trading by the end of this week and he now faces prosecution by the ICO for breaching the Data Protection Act.Deputy Information Commissioner, David Smith, said: "This is a serious breach of the Data Protection Act. Not only was personal information held on individuals without their knowledge or consent, but the very existence of the database was repeatedly denied."The covert system enabled Mr Kerr to unlawfully trade personal information on workers for many years helping the construction industry to vet prospective employees."Trading people's personal details in this way is unlawful and we are determined to stamp out this type of activity."He added: "The Data Protection Act clearly states that organisations must be open about how they process personal information, and in most cases those processing personal information must register with the ICO - Mr Kerr did not comply with the law on either count."We will prosecute Mr Kerr and we are also considering what regulatory action to take against construction firms who have been using the system."www.ico.gov. uk

These people need to be made an example of.

Jail 'em!!

Its that bloody Karl Marx again!!

2009-03-05T07:16:00.006Z

"Owners of capital will stimulate the working class to buy more and more of expensive goods, houses and technology, pushing them to take more and more expensive credits until their debt becomes unbearable.
"The unpaid debt will lead to bankruptcy of banks, which will have to be nationalised and the state will have to take the road which will eventually lead to communism."

Karl Marx Das Kapital 1867 (Spoof quote!!!)

The 1980s and 1990s were a period when the ideas of Marxism were fought, defeated and allegedly laid to rest. The 2000s saw a so called new labour government that peddled a 'third way' idea that came crashing down with the credit crunch further poo-poo the ideas of Marxism with their support for neo-liberal ideaology.

Now with the world recession caught tobogganing towards a deep depression caused by the economic policies evangelised by Reagan and Thatcher we see the appearance of capitalists rediscovering Marx.

Here is the view of Stephen King, the chief economist of HSBC.

Tax Havens. How the Rich are NOT pulling their weight during this recession

2009-03-01T18:06:00.002Z

Good, informative article on the TUC site.

I dont really think that the Capitalist Class care two hoots about how the rest of the UK population cope with the recession they have caused. It shows by the figures that while workers struggle with redundancies, short time working and cuts in pay the Capitalists can rest easy that their significant investments are safe.

The loop holes need to be blocked.

Builders Strike last Tuesday???

2009-02-26T07:19:00.005Z

Apparently there was supposed to be one. If you didn't blink you might have noticed it. Well that is what this quote was meant to be suggesting.....

"A blizzard of text messages on mobiles all over the country seems to herald the first serious grass-roots effort to mobilise a national building site strike in the campaign for British Jobs for British Workers.

The texts read “A national strike has been called on Tuesday 24th Feb in protest over how we are being ignored. We call on all sites across the country to down tools and walk. This concerns the whole country or we’ll soon have nowhere to work! The L O R Committee. Please pass this on”.

Saying how much he and the BNP support the aims of the protesters, BNP leader Nick Griffin suggested that the Tuesday effort could be a ‘dry run’for a bigger protest on a Friday or a Monday early in March: “Fridays or Mondays are always good days for a one-day walk-out. They extend the weekend, and also make it harder for employers to disprove the excuse of sickness that workers in some places may have to come up with to avoid victimisation for taking unofficial industrial action”.

“We certainly wish those involved all the very best. It’s a shame that the greed of the banksters, the stupidity of the political elite, and the short-termism of some big employers have combined to force ordinary decent British workers to such desperate measures to protect their jobs. But it’s far better to see people standing up and fighting back than sitting moaning into their over-taxed beers. And the fight is only just beginning!”

I got the quote from u75 discussion board. Its accuracy? No idea. But if it is true and I have heard that the BNP site mentioned it pre Tuesdays' massive show of anger (Not that I visit the BNP website, of course) the words 'organise', 'piss up' and 'brewery' come to mind.

Or it could be that there is a media conspiracy of silence?

Full Employment Rights for Agency Workers now

2009-02-17T07:12:00.005Z

The treatment of Agency workers at BMW's Cowley plant underlines the brutal side of the economic downturn. The Union at Cowley it seems took the brunt of the flak from these vulnerable workers who 'enjoy' worse rights than their full time colleagues they work along side.

Tragically the law is on the side of the employer and they can dismiss the Agency Workers at a moments notice. A lot of them probably realise this weakness after all they signed contracts and were given terms and conditions that outline their weakness. Remember as well, the employer of these workers is, I assume Manpower, who were given the nod to release the 850.

There is an important lesson for the union. Negotiate an agreement with the client company, in this case BMW, that gives notice periods and lay off/redundancy pay no less favourable than the rest of the workforce. Make sure the Agency workers are represented by elected shop stewards and force the client to recognise them along side the BMW stewards. Once an agreement is in place it would be enforceable by collective action if necessary.

No one wants to work for an agency by choice as BERR have stated. The flexibility that the government and employer worship is completely meaningless in the current economic downturn and while there will be always a steady stream of applicants forced into an employment relationship with an Agency, let us be clear that without full employment rights workers will be used and dumped at the click of a finger.

The Government should have dealt with this problem years ago. To their shame we are still waiting.

(PS I was very surprised that the only action taken by these workers was to have a go at the Convenors and scratch a few cars. A wildcat occupation would have soon got the Employer and the Government to sit up and take notice.)

Titian and the Tories

2009-02-12T08:04:00.002Z

Sign of desperation to me. They have been out of power for so long its really beginning to hurt the spivs who run the Conservative Party.
It will be mind boggling what they will do if they get voted in!!

Workers pay for the crisis caused by Capitalism.

2009-02-07T08:04:00.003Z

Every week the economy gets worse. Free enterprise has been completely discredited.

Cars remain unsold world wide causing lay offs and redundancy.

Personal bankruptcies are at highest level.

Manufacturing is sliding so fast it could be far worse than the early 80s.

Pay freezes are becoming fashionable since Ford renege on theirs.

Still, some Bankers might do all right. I thought Mandelson was ok about people getting stinkingly rich?

New Offer.

2009-02-04T20:58:00.003Z

A new offer will be put to the strikers tomorrow. Unite has put a release on their website here.

IREM the Company at the centre of this dispute need to come clean on a number of issues. Why arent they signed up to the NAECI agreement which is supposed to operate on the Lindsey site? Why havent TOTAL, the client, ensured this has happened?
Why dont IREM be transparent and show the unions the rates they pay their workers and the terms and conditions the are under? To just say its the same, as Mandelson believes, is bollocks.

My view is that to go to the trouble of moving a company and its workforce from the otherside of Europe, the client must make it worth their while, and considering that pay, terms and conditions are the most expensive outlay for any business, signing up to the NAECI would not have made business sense. This company in my view were undercutting the workers here and using European Law to do it, and unless someone can show evidence to the contrary..........

.......er, the contracts are confidential!!!

This offer does not solve the problem of social dumping. Only strong , organised Trade Union opposition can stop it.

Mark Seddon in the Guardian yesterday. (Hat tip Socialist Unity)

Offer rejected!!

2009-02-04T10:33:00.002Z

Just heard the news here.

Will give my thoughts later.

Polish support for the strike here puts paid to all that bollocks peddled by the 'mad' BNP (look at the comments box in the link to see how detached from reality these people are!!)

Left positions on the Refinery Strikes

2009-02-03T21:34:00.006Z

Thought I would list left positions I would agree with outside of the Union remit.

Firstly I would bring your attention to the LRC position here. The Socialist Party , who have done some very credible work amongst the strikers and deserve applause can be found here.
The CPB position can be best demonstrated by buying the Morning Star and due to the miracles of modern technology the MS view can be found here and here.
Permanent Revolution have a good position here.
Andy Newman has blogged on the issue in a consistent manner here.

I have been extremely let down by the SWP and the normally good Lenin, the AWL and the Workers Power micro grouplet who have taken confusing and extremely unhelpful positions.

My apologies to anyone I have forgotten including the Labour Party who have just, well , forgotten!!

BNP activist being ask to leave Strikers Picket line

2009-02-02T14:10:00.002Z

Courtesy of Channel 4 News here.

Sellafield Workers Out.

2009-02-02T08:50:00.004Z

Report here.

Keep up to date on some of the discussions going on amongst Construction Workers here.

Mandelson pisses off Construction workers.

2009-02-01T10:51:00.001Z

This is surely not a constructive way in making sure workers vote Labour at the next general election.

This guy is a liability.

Albert Einstein and Capitalism.

2009-02-01T09:25:00.003Z

The economic anarchy of capitalist society as it exists today is, in my opinion, the real source of the evil. We see before us a huge community of producers the members of which are unceasingly striving to deprive each other of the fruits of their collective labor - not by force, but on the whole in faithful compliance with legally established rules. I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals.

The World As I See It, 1949.

"Bloody Egghead with his head in the clouds. What does he know?" Tories would say.

Pretty relevant today, eh?

Brown just doesnt get it

2009-02-01T08:52:00.009Z

The Observer today

In an interview with the BBC's Politics Show to be broadcast today the Prime Minister condemned those threatening wildcat strikes, saying "that's not the right thing to do and it's not defensible." He also said that when he had talked about British jobs for British workers he was referring to "giving them the skills" so that they could get jobs that were going to foreigners.

I am amazed but not surprised by this reaction. He doesn't understand that this dispute is about Trade Union Organisation and protecting agreed terms and conditions. Brown gives the green light to any company employing what-ever nationality from any part of Europe to , lets be clear here, undercut the existing terms and conditions on site.

This is not an argument against the 'free movement of labour', it is about the ability of a company to use EU Law to make bigger profits.

Here is what Employment Law Solicitors advise Employers .

You can now see that with increased outsourcing and sub contracting in both the private and the public sector COMPANIES CAN COME FROM WHATEVER PART OF EUROPE WITH CHEAPER LABOUR AND TRASH EXISTING TERMS AND CONDITIONS. THERE IS NOTHING THE UNIONS CAN LEGALLY DO ABOUT IT. BROWN KNOWS AND CLEARLY SUPPORTS THIS 'SOCIAL DUMPING'!!

UNITE is a big donor to the Labour Party. This is the detail of the campaign they are running.

Unite the Union launches petition against social dumping

Unite the Union has launched a new petition against social dumping within the European Union.

Following three rulings by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) which have potentially dire consequences for workers' rights across Europe including the undermining of collective action and the right to strike.

ECJ rulings in the cases of Laval, Viking and Ruffert have determined that

* Unions cannot take action against companies employing imported workers at rates below those agreed with local workers

* workers' rights to collective action are less important than market freedom of access for cheaper workers

* Union members are prevented from being able to take collective action to defend industry agreement

* Outlawing action aimed at 'levelling up' wage rates of imported workers.

The campaign website is promoting a Europe-wide petition for the following

* An amendment to the posted workers directive to at least clearly spell out how mandatory standards can be guaranteed through collective agreement and also defended through collective action.

* An agreed temporary agency directive as quickly as possible.

* A social progress clause making it clear that the fundamental right to organise and the right to strike are in no way subordinate to the economic freedoms.

Unite aims to persuade the Commission to honour their commitment. The purpose of their petition is to build up a groundswell of support for action.

http://www.lavalvikingruffert.eu/

Hope not Hate on the dispute here.

Refinery walk-outs. Petty Nationalism??

2009-01-31T08:04:00.009Z

Quote from Scaffolder at Lindsey Oil Refinery, Daily Star (great 'socialist' paper!!!! I think not)

“we need to make a stand now. This is not a racist protest. I’m happy to work hand-in-hand with foreign workers, but we are not getting a look in. There are guys at this site who had been banking on that work and then it gets handed to an Italian firm. It’s about fairness.”

This dispute has been brewing for years. Only 3 years ago were discussions being held with employers at Fawley refinery over the use of foreign contractors OUTSIDE of the existing Blue Book agreement. the employers used the excuse that there was no skilled or unskilled local labour to employ. Employers cant use this excuse now. Its important to also point out that while there may be a few racist individuals taking advantage of these current walkouts I fail to see that extreme nationalism in any form dominates.

The strikes for example have affected the whole of the UK including Ireland which shows that the character is not totally British or about British workers. There are many Polish construction workers who have also been affected by this and undoubtedly some are supporting this action.

The BNP have tried to take advantage of the issue as you would expect them to but I haven't seen any reports of them having success even though I expect you will see some workers latching on to some of the shit they peddle. One thing thing this dispute is not and that is the London Dockers walk-out in support of Enoch Powells Rivers of Blood speech. That was of an entirely different character.

Today UNITE, UCATT and the GMB have been consistently campaigning against the tendering process that operates in major construction projects. It is the Employers who are the problem and of course the Government who allow it to happen. The use of migrant Labour by these employers, taking advantage of a de-regulated Europe wide labour market, has led to a substantial undercutting of terms and conditions. This is clearly deliberate and needs to be clearly pointed out to the more reactionary elements.

The Employer is the Enemy not fellow workers!!

The EU has always been something workers could rely on to enforce progressive Labour Laws. This was seen in the election of New Labour in 1997 when the government started to introduce watered down versions of the EU social chapter that the Tories wouldn't touch with a barge pole. But since then the EU has presided over legislation which presents a serious problem to workers in respect of collective action. I refer here of course to the Viking, Laval and Ruffert cases which shows that EU is a capitalist club that cannot be relied upon to assist workers.

This brings me to the point that legally unions would be fighting an uphill battle in order to stop foreign firms coming to the UK and undercutting the local terms and conditions. Unions cant rely on Europe any more.

As socialists we should support these walkouts. But we support them on the basis of clear class policies to strengthen collective agreements on the sites and to negotiate clear recruitment programmes sensitive to the local areas which are suffering badly because of the credit crunch. Most importantly we need a political party sensitive to class policies which we clearly haven't got at the moment. Included in this would demanding the raising of the minimum wage to at least £7.50 ph, the outlawing of bogus self employment, more robust regulation of employment agencies and the scrapping of the Tory anti trade union laws. Clear socialist class policies would cut across any of the racist crap that contaminates the extreme fringes of this dispute.

Lets also remind ourselves that the petty nationalism came from Gordon Browns 'British Jobs for British Workers' gaffe.

Article in the Guardian today by John Cruddas which makes some surprisingly good points.

UNITE Statement.

Good blog comment here.

Oil Refinery Walkout over use of foreign labour

2009-01-29T17:19:00.004Z

News today. I will put my thoughts to this later. This issue has been brewing for a few years now across the Industry. Another report here.

Is Mandelson really helping the UK Car Industry?

2009-01-28T07:50:00.004Z

I dont think so. Its too little too late. If this is the sole assistance that all Industry should expect then we really are in for a rough time.

This backs up the stance the Government has always taken as to what is 'affordable'. We are dealing with the biggest economic crisis since the 1920s/30s. The question is what is going to be unaffordable for millions of workers in the UK during this recession as the unemployment figures rapidly rise.

Its a question of priorities. I see Directors pay rises are still 'affordable' here.

How Mandelson can cheer up Car Workers.

2009-01-25T06:34:00.004Z

Further to my recent post on the Car Industry its been made clear in Unite's campaign to save the UK car industry that a substantial investment has to be made to weather the current downturn in order to put the UK industry on a level footing when trade picks up. This is of particular importance if you consider that European competitors who benefit from public finance help will retain the skills of their workers in order to continue full production when the opportunity arises.European Car Firms will have a clear head start on the UK industry if this happens.

The current heads in the sand/rely on the market/give the redundant new skills-re-train, current approach will get New Labour nowhere.

It feels like car workers in this country are being hung out to dry.

Here is how 'free marketeer' Sarkosy is dealing with the issue in France.

Personally I think the whole UK Car Industry should be nationalised. The current economic situation the Industry is in is far, far worse than anything you could point to that happened in the 'bad-old-seventies'. This is now a political issue and not just an economic one.

By the way , just to remind ourselves, this is how bad UK Car Manufacturing is now.

Same old Tories......

2009-01-24T08:09:00.001Z

The rich will always look after the rich. Its always interesting that the stench caused by the people partly responsible for the economic mess we are in can be traced back to the Tory Party.

Obama and the Chicago Boys

2009-01-24T07:57:00.004Z

Once all the rah-rah-rah of the US Presidential Election has died down the economic realities will have to be faced so while I recognise the importance of the US first Black President being elected, the change promised unfortunately for most working Americans and indeed a lot of the Capitalist world will be the same old, same old. This report here last year and more recently this year in the Wall Street Journal (cant find link) doesnt fill me with the elan expressed by many on the 'liberal left'.

Free Enterprise offers no solution to this crisis and never will. Building links with this notorious group of Monetarists is a major mistake which he will pay for. A clear break is needed and socialist solutions offered to the economic madness peddled by this group of nutters.

Mandelson pisses of Car Workers

2009-01-18T15:56:00.002Z

First thing you should think of when you read this, if you are a Labour Party member is how many Trade Unionists who work for Ford, Honda, Toyota and their contractors are paying the political levy. This is the type of news which will make ordinary Trade Unionists think what is the point!!

What Mandy fails to realise is that the Car Industry isn't the Industry that had the 'bad name in the 70s' anymore.These workers have bent over backwards for the employer and adopted every new practice or 'flexibility' the employer dictated. This was done on the basis that if they didn't they would lose their jobs. Well their jobs are under threat, in fact there is a danger that Vehicle Manufacturing could completely disappear from the UK in this current economic crisis.

A real Labour Party wouldn't be pandering to the excesses of the Capitalist System but ensuring we have something left to produce, vehicles being a case in point. But not only vehicles. A real Labour Party would realise that to have a successful economy we have to produce things to sell. If we are not doing that how can we build future economic wealth? Through the Service Industry?

Unfortunately we havent got a real Labour Party!! If Mandy thinks these workers need retraining if they lose their jobs then training in what? The UK has lost well over 1 million jobs in manufacturing. More will go with this current recession unfortunately. So maybe the training he is looking at is for the 50 year old Honda worker to learn IT skills so he can work in the MacDonalds IT department. Or maybe there is a redundant Toyota worker who could retrain to put shelving together at B&Q? Maybe there is a training programme to put all these workers to work for Kwik-Fit? Maybe they could all be retrained to go into care work. Now there is a growth Industry. People are getting older. Public care is being privatised. No redundancy threat. Jobs a good-un!!

Meanwhile these political levy paying car workers are looking at the billions being thrown at the banks for mistakes THEY MADE THEMSELVES in the banking glut that caused the credit crunch. They will draw the relevant conclusion. It is when I hear comments from people like Mandelson , I wonder why I bother with the Labour Party.

The Effects of Privatisation in the former USSR

2009-01-15T06:52:00.003Z

No one can deny the crimes of Stalinism back in the 1930s and the oppressive nature of the old Soviet bureaucracy. The world Marxist movement was thrown back centuries by the crimes of Stalin and his followers and many people still today wrongly associate Stalin's dictatorship with Marxism and label its followers as the same.

Its interesting to see though how the effects of the so called privatisation which started in the early 90s is having what in my view is an equally 'murderous' effect. This report here is self explanatory. Some of the most violent revolutions are actually capitalist ones.
Such was the rush to carve up the old state run industries that the human cast was completely forgotten.

For a State Bank

2009-01-10T17:26:00.001Z

What a brilliant idea!!

"A year ago such a demand from a left-wing politician would have provoked a 'loony left' response. But no more - after the extraordinary self-induced implosion of the financial system, the future of the market system now rests in the hands of governments."

The Rt Hon John McFall MP

'No Irish' on Polish Construction Sites

2009-01-10T09:59:00.003Z

Not a totally unexpected backlash to the abuse meted out to Polish Construction workers who had been working in Ireland for the past few years. I think the Trade Union movement warned about ensuring Migrant workers were paid decent rates and treated with dignity. Unfortunately cash hungry employers took complete advantage of the cheap labour coming from Europe. They will continue to do so until the Government accept the need for tight regulation and strong Union agreements in the vulnerable areas such as Construction and the Food Industry.

Taxpayers help Lloyds pay fine to US

2009-01-10T09:53:00.004Z

That 'special-relationship' thing again. The Guardian has a take on it here.

Just as well the Banks have been bailed out then, hasn't it. Otherwise I expect this fine wouldn't have been paid. Its another case of the Taxpayer paying for the fault of the banker.

Tory expelled for dressing as Maddy for a New Years Eve Party

2009-01-09T19:31:00.004Z

I didn't believe it either at first but they never in the end fail to let you down!!

The problem is this wacky middle class prick is still a Tory, whether he is in the Tory Party or not.

US Labor Unions to Unite

2009-01-09T19:12:00.002Z

Good news this. After over three years of division , the heads of the US Labor Unions are uniting to take advantage of the change of President to come together.This will be a be a powerful force that could organise to win for members.

Lets hope Obama doesnt let them down.

BNP supports Israeli attack on Gaza

2009-01-07T07:46:00.002Z

This is one for all those like here who believe being anti Israel is anti semetic.

Tony Greenstein has blog about it here (HT to Tony of course)

Ron Asheton RIP

2009-01-06T20:11:00.003Z

Sad death of the great Stooges guitarist.

Snouts in Trough; Construction Bosses lead the way

2009-01-04T10:55:00.004Z

The Credit Crunch hit the UK Construction Industry first as we experience high unemployment amongst building workers and in many places complete halts in building programmes both commercial and residential. At the the same time a drop in house prices towards early 2000/2001 levels is expected with further drops predicted making home owners very jittery.

While this is going on its nice to see Building Bosses sharing the load about and tightening their belts in solidarity to the thousands of bogus self employed workers, contractors and sub contractors they probably used to employ.

Proctor and Gamble, Reading

2009-01-03T17:47:00.003Z

HT to Ian's Unite Site.

Organising campaign at Proctor and Gamble, the formally Gillete site by Reading.

Send messages of support. Please link.

Unite Statement; Close Tax Havens

2009-01-02T10:18:00.002Z

While thousands of workers in the UK face very uncertain futures as the boss class is allowed to make them pay for the crisis that the Banks have caused, the UK's largest Union, Unite have outlined the responsibility the market has in assisting during this recession.
All tax loop holes should be closed now and as for the argument that it would cause Industry to up sticks and leave the UK, remember the recession is Global. There is no escape.

This is a long overdue statement that needs to be heard by the Government and acted upon.

Factory Occupations? Thing of the Future?

2009-01-02T09:59:00.002Z

This question is being posed in the Trade Union movement in Canada.

Ever since the incredible events in Chicago where an occupation drew significant consessions out of the employer the debate has raged over the value of occupations. It makes sense especially during a recession to pursue a form of Industrial Action that puts the central demand of working at the top of the agenda. Walking out during this current time just encourages the boss to lock up and relocate. An occupation would generate a positive view of the union comitting the action as the Chicago strike demonstrated.

In these current economic times I think we will see more imaginative forms of collective action.

Sirius Strike. South Korea.

2009-01-02T09:48:00.002Z

Found this on LabourStart today.

Now I'm no fan of North Korea. Lets get this straight right away. But what kind of alternative does capitalism pose when this kind of tyrannical behaviour by bosses is experienced. As the link demonstrates , these low paid female temporary workers are treated abysmally. They are then made to feel grateful because they could be living in the 'Communist' North. Just because you have a democratic vote every few years doesn't make society perfect as this case and thousands others worldwide clearly demonstrate. Especially when the ruling parties that support this kind of shit get in.

Who backs Mugabe?

2008-12-29T09:26:00.002Z

Wanted to comment on this thought by John.

I have demonstrated before on this blog about the Capitalist Class who feel quite comfortable with the odious regime in Harare. It seems easy to have a go at Mugabe, and rightly so, but often our 'humanitarian liberal' friends forget the real levers to this dictatorship.

Take this charmer for instance. He is currently being taken to court by the Zimbabwean Transport Union (ZITAWU). It is obvious from the links that this Capitalist is a racist with an aversion to dictators and a business ethic that sees him getting involved in 'deals' with other dodgy African regimes, such as in the Congo. When are the liberal capitalist nations going to wake up to the influence characters like this have and act? Take away this guys business, it is clear his business influence goes deep into the worlds major financial markets, and you would bring Mugabe down.

Then maybe the problem isnt Mugabe but the system that creates chracters like Billy Conrad Rautenbach.

(I see UK highstreets favourite Barclays Bank is elbow deep in supporting repression as well. Sadly the fury demonstrated by Western Government in particular will ignore the big business influence.)

More Iranian Trade Unionists arrested over Christmas.

2008-12-29T08:01:00.002Z

Bit of a fuss over the Iranian President doing the Channel4 christmas message. While at the same time this atrocity takes place. Maximum solidarity must be given to the brave women and men of the Iranian Trade Union movement.

Sign up to protest now, here.

Thanks to LabourStart for the info.

Raise Redundancy Threshold to £50'000.

2008-12-29T07:51:00.002Z

The TUC has made this call to the Government. The Threshold is still at £30'000 and hasnt been raised since Thatcher was in power (back in 1988)

This would assist the long term employees who face unemployment during this recession. Bear in mind that we wont be seeing many employers or rich shareholders taking their brunt of hardship due to the capitalist mismanagement of the world economy so raising the threshold should be 'bearable' for them!!

Iraq daily death toll down.Who really wins?

2008-12-29T07:45:00.003Z

Saw this in news today. I really dont see peace and stability in Iraqi for a generation or more. The invasion and occupation has not ushered in a period of European style democracy and peace but a period of poverty, murder and religious fundamentalism while at the same time big business looks to carve up the country for its own interests. Is this what 'humanitarian interventionism' brings?

Prospects for 2009

2008-12-29T05:34:00.002Z

Didnt have a bad Christmas I suppose. Eat too much, drunk too much, the usual. There seems to be an atmosphere of living for now at the moment, with people not being in any way prepared for the coming period of hardship undoubtably most people will suffer from. I went down into Southampton the other day and it was busy but a typical Saturday afternoon busy as opposed to a few days after christmas stuck in shopping qeues busy.Pubs and Cafes seem to be getting the punters in still. Punters seem to be oblivious whats going on in the economy. The reality though will hit in the first week of January when people return to work.

A few things for people to expect in the New Year. This is just me guessing so lets see how things turn out.

Bosses puting on the squese to their workers. Short time working and wage cuts with redundancies thrown in for good measure. The usual suspects start whingeing about the minimum wage. I expect unemployment in real terms to be close to 1991 levels before Easter.I also expect the Bosses to beunaffected by the rec

ession as they usually are. I dont expect company shareholders to refuse their divvy this year in solidarity with workers taking job and pay cuts.

Internationally Christmas has been marred by the annual Gorefest in the Middle East. The Israeli Government is losing sympathy/support at such a rate even those daft aplogists who support counter terrorism/so called 'humanitarian intervention' must be wondering how to get out of this one. While Im not a supporter of Hamas I cannot side with the devastation that is being imposed onto Gaza. 2009 I believe will see an escalation in the conflict. Well at least there is a pull out from Iraq later in the year to look forward to.That will be good news for the families of all squadies. With the current Economic climate its completely barmy to be involved with foreign wars.

The Tories are still struggling to impose themselves onto the UK electorate with their brand of pseudo New Labour spin, promises of tax cuts or no tax cuts and no clear economic strategy. The reality is the Tories just want power at any cost. That will come more apparent as the year goes on.

From a left point of view firstly I see Labour consolidating its position in the polls while the Tories flounder. There will be a shit turn out at the Euro elections. I will urge all lefties to vote for Labour though. The Euro Labour MEPs have been to the left of the government over issue such as working time. Fair play to them. Unfortunately though I think we will see the idiots in the BNP make significant inroads in these elections. Prepare for a circus clown similar to that twit Barnbrook to embarress the country in the euro parliament.

From a far left perspective can we see a prospect for opposition outside the LP? I doubt it. Most attempts to form a 'New Workers Party' have floundered. The left is still hopelessly split and unfortunately will continue to be so. I suppose its wishful thinking to expect all groups on the left to orientate completely to work in the unions while the economic situation worsens. If they can cooperate around this kind of work with a common strategy and perspective maybe there is still hope.

On that point, I would like to see some form of 'workers solidarity group' set up in each town and city where lefties can discuss and coordinate action to defend and support workers at the arse end of the recession. If the left can put aside differences and their 'democratic centralism' for 5 minutes it might work. No political party seems to be campaigning out there at the moment (the big three are still bickering over the disappearing middle ground whatever that is) so its a gap that can easily be filled with all thats going on.

(On that point I provide a link to a campaign that I have been modestly involved in. We had some good news last Monday. The Labour Party were absent from this campaign; in fact I hear there has been some suggestion of local Labour councillors being involved in attempting to call the decision in!! Pratts!!)

Britain sells off Nuclear Arms manufacture to the US

2008-12-20T12:43:00.002Z

Talk about selling off the family silver!! Its not a special relationship anymore, its all about being in the pocket of US Capitalism!!

Link.

The Car Industry and the Recession. Monbiot talks b*llocks!!

2008-12-20T08:35:00.007Z

Has George Monbiot lost the plot? The person who called on Unions to dump Labour and form a new party has antagonised Union members the world over with this piece of wank. Unite members working for Honda, Jaguar, Land Rover, Vauxhall, Ford and Rolls Royce will be quickly reconsidering their view on this dilitant.
Meanwhile the CBI is urging the UK Government to consider a bail out of equal proportion to the cash given by the Bush administration in the US to the big three. Normally the government bends over backwards for the CBI when it comes to anti union/worker legislation. Lets see if they listen this time.

But here is the catch that Bush put in to the deal

'Under the deal, GM and Chrysler must cut workers' wages and benefits to the level of counterparts at Japanese manufacturers by the end of next year, a timetable which employees view as unfair.'

There must be NO erosion in terms and conditions for al workers employed!!

Of course what is really needed to save the Car Industry in the UK is real workers control in the form of genuine nationalisation by this Labour Government. If the car industry is allowed to go to the wall it would be a disaster for thousands of workers and their families.

The Unite view about saving manufacturing here and the car industry here.

Bernard Madoff; Fraud or Free Enterprise?

2008-12-16T07:50:00.001Z

This news just about puts the icing on the cake over the Credit Crunch. Not just have bankers f*cked up the world economy, they have some crooks in the mix as well.

Tory tries to rig election

2008-12-15T22:01:00.004Z

What is it about the Tories?

They have smugly wandered around the last ten years trying to claim the moral hugh ground and then along comes one of their 'natural' supporters who lets the side down.
Now, remind me, when Labour was under investigation in some areas about alleged voting 'irregularities', werent the blue rinse/rural hillbillies, cock a hoop about the revelations?

Of course they were!!

The silence is deafening with this latest news.

Question is, why did it take so long for this obnoxious little Tory twit to get done?

The Ugly face of Capitalism

2008-12-13T14:28:00.003Z

Talk about throwing your toys out of the pram because of the democratic will of the people. The outrageous actions by the recently knighted Barclay brothers nails the idea that capitalists are friends of democracy. Just because their 'approved' candidates got beat by the 600 strong electorate they have now announced that they are withdrawing their financial investments in the Island. This will throw a large percentage of the working population into poverty. The Sark population have lived under a fuedal system until recent changes brought in democracy.This f*cked off the B Brothers big time and finally they have their revenge.
Bastards!!

Letter to Obama from Jello Biafra

2008-12-13T12:04:00.003Z

Below is a letter from Jello Biafra to President Elect Obama. Those of a certain age will remember Jello being the front band of the brilliant Dead Kennedys.The link was provided through the Alternative Tentacles email list.

OPEN LETTER TO BARACK OBAMA

PREAMBLE GAMBLE

Dear Mr. Obama,

Congratulations on your recent victory, and for helping build such a strong mandate for change. In that spirit, please do not forget the other aisle you need to reach across. All the relief and publicity for the middle class won't do anything for the 40-100 million Americans who are starving, unemployed or just plain poor.
You have gone out of your way to build a bridge to those of us fed up with war, pollution, inequality, corporate lawlessness and business as usual. You have energized a whole new generation who is far ahead of their elders in knowing what urgently needs to be done. I have never seen such an outpouring of heartfelt emotion, hope and support for an American politician in my life, and I remember Kennedy well. You are the first president in my lifetime to have a bona fide grassroots movement behind you and ready to rock. I hope those crowds' hope and urgency has penetrated deeply enough that you won't let that bridge be washed away.
I remember another person who had the audacity to exploit and toss aside people's hope, and his name is Bill Clinton. Democrats fail time and again when they shirk responsibility and settle for being dealmakers instead of leaders. As important as it is to find common ground and build consensus for change, our situation is so dire we cannot afford any more dealmakers. The people voted for a leader. Anything less risks breaking the hearts of an entire galvanized generation who may then decide it is not worth it to get involved and participate any more.
Strong medicine is needed. Here are some ideas:

IRAQ – TRY THIS!

The closest thing to a solution I have heard was offered clear back in April 2004 by the Organization of the Islamic Conference (www.oic-ico.org). The OIC is comprised of 57 Islamic countries ranging from West Africa clear over to Southeast Asia. At their annual meeting they found six member nations (Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Yemen and Morocco) willing to pony up enough of their own troops (approx. 150,000) that our troops could have gone home! Who slammed the door on that one? Colin Powell, on the grounds that having the Islamic soldiers under UN command instead of Americans was out of the question.
WHY??!? Wouldn't a neutral force of Muslim peacekeepers make a lot more headway than the disaster we've made? Wouldn't they at least command a lot more respect, resulting in a huge drop in violence? Surely the non-stop carnage and Iracketeering we have spawned is Exhibit A that we need to get over this colonialist illusion that other countries' problems can only be solved by Americans. The OIC's proposal for US withdrawal and peace in Iraq must be revisited immediately, and also considered for Afghanistan.
We must end not just our military occupation of Iraq, but our economic occupation NOW. Iraq is not ours to sell, and neither is its oil. Your promise not to leave any permanent US military bases in Iraq is a good start. But you have also backed leaving US troops in Iraq to "protect American assets like the Green Zone." The Green Zone is not our "asset." We stole it and we have to give it back. I hope you don't seriously believe we can get away with that giant feudal fortress of an embassy we are building, ten times the size of any other in history. We cannot afford to waste any more money on this, or down the black hole of the Bush administration's crony backroom deals with corrupt, incompetent private contractors like Blackwater, KBR and Halliburton. We need to fire them and they need to leave—NOW.
We do owe the Iraqi people help, and we have an obligation to clean up the mess we have made. That goes double for Afghanistan. But I can't see this getting done unless someone other than the United States is in charge. Let us also not forget the 2 million-plus refugees stuck outside Iraq who are draining the economies of Iraq's neighbors, especially Jordan and Syria.

TERROR – STRATEGY AND DIPLOMACY, NOT WAR

Even if we kill off every insurgent and terrorist-sympathizer from sea to shining sea, what will their kids be like? And theirs? Wake up. The major cause of terrorism is not evil, it's poverty. Michael Moore said it best after 9/11: "Will we ever get to the point that we realize that we will be more secure when the rest of the world isn't living in poverty so we can have nice running shoes?" What do we need an empire for anyway? Ever notice how much happier the British and Europeans are now that they don't have to worry about policing colonial empires anymore?
Many experts and heads of state, in the Middle East and beyond, agree that the best way by far to pull the rug out from under the terrorists and reduce their attacks dramatically is a just and humane resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Israel's right to exist is threatened most by the fact that hardcore zealots are running the show on both the Palestinian and Israeli sides. If we don't have the courage to stand up to them, who will? As painful as withdrawal to Israel's pre-1967 borders will be, our future depends on it. So does Israel's. As Reagan said to Gorbachev, "Tear down this wall!"
Threatening Iran made for great red meat on the campaign trail. But any attack on Iran—by us or using the Israelis as a proxy—will blow up in our face worse than Iraq and Afghanistan combined. It will wipe out any good will and benefit of a doubt we have left in the eyes of the rest of the world. Iran is three times the size of Iraq and much more mountainous. The people there already hate our guts, thanks to our overthrow of their democratically elected leader Mohammed Mossadegh in 1954, ushering in 25 years of torture under the Shah. Backing and aiding Saddam Hussein in the eight-year Iran-Iraq war that cost a million lives did not help either.
So, alas, we will not be "greeted as liberators." But we could run straight into a worldwide "Day the Earth Stood Still" if Iran responds by blocking all oil shipments out of the Persian Gulf. Iran knows full well they wouldn't even have to blockade the narrow Strait of Hormuz. All they would have to do is sink a tanker or freighter or two and no other ships will move. Not from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Iraq, nothing. Surely we can do better than this. Even Robert Gates seems to think so. Reckless threats against Pakistan will not solve anything, either.

JUST SAY NO TO TORTURE

Closing Guantanamo Bay is not enough. All torture, detentions without trial, kidnappings ("renditions") and illegal and unnecessary spying must end—and end with transparency now. Otherwise we are no better than Saddam Hussein or the Nazis. The whole world knows this and the whole world is watching. What about the 20,000 people we still have locked up without charge in Iraq, and thousands more in Afghanistan???
The USA PATRIOT Act is just about the worst mistake our government has made since FDR threw over 100,000 Japanese-American citizens into concentration camps during World War II. Even you panicked and voted to make the PATRIOT Act permanent. It should be repealed and flushed down the toilet immediately—all of it. Even worse is the Military Commissions Act, in which Senators who should know better, such as Robert Byrd, Sherrod Brown, Ken Salazar and even John McCain voted with the majority to legalize torture, kidnapping and secret trials with secret evidence, wiping out the centuries old human right to habeas corpus. Again, isn't this what our "greatest generation" fought so bravely in World War II to stop the Nazis from doing to us?
What galls me most is that all this iron-fisted trashing of our basic human rights has not caught and convicted one significant terrorist! Even the FBI admits that torture doesn't work.
Meanwhile, if we're serious about preventing another terror attack, why is only 10% of the cargo entering our ports on ships ever inspected? Sure, no airliners have been hijacked by a terrorist wielding the wrong-sized shampoo bottle. But those cargo containers are big enough to smuggle in a small arsenal of rocket launchers and shoulder-fired missiles that could actually bring down a plane; dirty bomb material; or even Bin Laden himself. I sometimes wonder if he's driving a cab in Manhattan right now.

RESTORE THE RULE OF LAW

This means investigating and prosecuting each and every Bush administration official and their cronies who may have committed crimes while in power. Otherwise the lesson learned is you can get away with anything you want because the next administration will be too spineless to take action. For crying out loud, DO NOT make the same mistake Bill Clinton did when he let the rampant corruption, perjury and even terrorist acts of the Reagan and Bush I regimes go unpunished in the interest of moving on from the past. The crime here is this: Not only does everyone involved assume they have license to break even more laws the next time they hold power, but those who should be in jail for the lying, arms smuggling, assassinations and drug dealing in the Contra-gate scandal (like Elliot Abrams, Colin Powell, Richard Armitage and Robert Gates among others) are instead handed even more powerful positions where they have done even worse damage. Can you imagine the havoc and hooliganism if we put our heads in the sand after Watergate, let bygones be bygones, and G. Gordon Liddy wound up as director of the FBI? Secretary of Defense Haldeman? Attorney General Ehrlichman? Karl Rove's chair occupied by Colson, Magruder or Segretti?
Watergate and even Contra-gate pale in comparison to the wholesale lawlessness this time around. From Jack Abramoff's bribes, to outing Valerie Plame; from lying about weapons of mass destruction and getting thousands of people killed; from wholesale fraud and attacks on the right to vote, to the gutting of the Justice Department, to torture and other possible war crimes—this can't be allowed to go on.
Cheney and Rumsfeld were bad enough. But it is equally critical that lower-echelon culprits lacking household names like John Yoo, David Addington (nicknamed "Cheney's Cheney"), and General Geoffrey Miller be held accountable for their alleged involvement in torture and other serious crimes. Otherwise, they could one day rise to Attorney General, Secretary of Defense, or even the Supreme Court and pick up right where they left off in their blood-soaked shredding of the Constitution.
Even a South African-style Truth Commission would be an important step in preventing this from ever happening again. Otherwise, why should I or anyone else obey the law when my own government does not even pretend to? Even if Bush pardons the most blatant war criminals, all we have to do is fulfill President Clinton's promise to join the rest of the world in the International Criminal Court and they might not get away with it after all. We must come clean and drain the swamp now or it is just going to get dirtier. A lot dirtier.
Rule of law must also be restored when it comes to the NSA, FISA and domestic spying. The Internet revolt by your own followers was right. Your vote for letting the NSA, and even the phone companies, off the hook for massive illegal spying on American citizens was a very bad mistake. These are the exact same crimes that got Nixon thrown out of office for Watergate. Now Watergate is legal too? I have to say it—this doesn't remind me of Nixon as much as Italy's ordeal under Silvio Berlusconi. In Italy I have heard the joke again and again that "Berlusconi has to stay in power or else he'll go to jail." Sure enough, every time Berlusconi gets indicted for yet another crime, his majority in Parliament simply changes the law and he goes free. There should be zero tolerance for Berlusconi disease.
Plus, does this much spying even make sense? What are we gaining here besides a bigger avalanche of useless data? If 9/11 was an inside job, it was not one of conspiracy but colossal, runaway incompetence. We were already spying on way too many people, collecting way too much data that no one had time to analyze. Thus finding the real terrorists before they struck was like looking for a needle in a football stadium.
I have a feeling you may sign an important bill or two right from the podium during your inauguration speech. It might be an economic stimulus package or lifting the ban on stem cell research. How about also signing your first executive order declaring all of Bush's presidential signing statements he added on to bills he signed to be null and void. These things will go a long way toward restoring the rule of law.

STAMP OUT ELECTION FRAUD – RESTORE THE RIGHT TO VOTE

I never thought that after all these years we would once again find ourselves fighting for our right to vote. In the United States of America? It is well-established now that every election at least since 2000, including the midterms, has been marred by widespread vote fraud, especially via the hacking and manipulations of electronic voting machines. But these widespread crimes have never been fully investigated, let alone prosecuted. Even the US Civil Rights Commission recommended prosecuting then-Governor Jeb Bush over all the fraud and voter intimidation in Florida during the 2002 election. But his brother's Justice Department declined.
It is obvious the Help America Vote Act has backfired and done the opposite. Optical scan machines are not the answer at all. They have now been proven to be just as hackable as the notorious paperless touch-screens. They should all be junked once and for all. Digital is not always better, and voting should not be privatized. Any system where the people's votes are counted in secret behind closed doors has no place in a democracy. Nor is there room for contracting out the verification of our registration forms to the same corrupt biased companies that manufacture the phony voting machines.
We can't just let this massive, widespread vote stealing go on and pretend it isn't happening. It may be too late to reverse the wreckage of all the stolen elections. But again, a Truth Commission to prove how it was done and who did it is essential to the survival of our democracy. Anyone in Congress with a spine for this? The people have a right to know.

CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM – THE EASY WAY

I am sure you would agree that this election campaign was way WAY too long. Other countries, including one just north of us, limit campaign time to between 30 and 60 days. Election fever is much more focused so voter participation is higher. Why can't we do this? Sure, these other countries use parliamentary systems (another change I hope for) where the party in power calls an election and it takes place a short time later. But think of what we could save—and what we would gain—if we limited campaign time to 90 days. There could be 30 days between announcements and the primaries, followed by a 30-day primary season, then a 30-day home stretch to Election Day. Anyone who jumps the gun by jockeying, soliciting contributions or electioneering too early is automatically disqualified.
I hope you would also agree that campaigns for high office have become obscenely expensive. We now have a full-blown Election Industrial Complex. Wouldn't it be great if you didn't need $750 million to run for President? The way our campaign contributions and lobbyists work today has another name in other countries. It's called bribery.
Another way to restore sanity is to go national with a law enacted by popular vote in Nevada. If you don't like any of the candidates for an office in Nevada, you are allowed to vote None of the Above. If N.O.T.A. wins, they have to re-run the election with all new candidates.
You say you want more people to get up and get involved? Lower the voting age! To get people's attention I have suggested lowering it clear down to age 5. But more realistically, I suggest showing people they have a stake in our democracy by allowing ages 14 and up to vote on school boards and school bond issues, 16 and up for local offices and ballot measures, and 18 and up for everything else. Overcoming voter apathy is hard, but when young people cast votes and see results, they'll stick with it long term.

RETHINK AND SHUT DOWN THE WAR ON DRUGS

Prohibition is as absurd and fruitless today as it was when Eliot Ness ran around shooting up Chicago trying to stamp out illegal beer. The world is laughing at us while real people are being robbed, jailed, assaulted and even killed. We have more people locked in prison than any country in the history of the world. But our drug use rate has barely dropped at all. The blood and violence from gangs and narco-traffickers that have left Colombia and Mexico on the verge of becoming failed states is spilling across our borders. This is no country for old men—or old laws.
Could we do worse than to at least try the Harm Reduction programs used most successfully in Holland and other parts of Europe? As unorthodox as this sounds, decriminalizing (not legalizing) even harder drugs, making them available on prescription from the government for free, along with a safe place to use them, has led to a much lower crime rate—and even addiction rate—than ours. Why? The free prescriptions mean the addict does not have to rob and kill people to pay the drug gangs' high prices, and the gangs are put out of business. Dealers are still treated harshly and rehab is strongly encouraged. This could also save up to $50 billion a year for rehab and education that is otherwise wasted by throwing people in prison.
This also frees up billions and billions of dollars to treat the addicts when they want to get off drugs—which will be sooner rather than later. Rehab costs 2/3 less than prison. Our mushrooming prison-industrial complex is draining our money so badly that state after state is slashing funds for education—education!—to pay for throwing more and more people in prison. In California, a prison guard now makes more money than a teacher. So much for family values.
What is wrong with this picture?!??? As president I suggest the commuting of federal prison sentences of all small-time non-violent drug offenders to time served and releasing them immediately. Then strongly urge governors to do the same at the state level. Again, think of all the wasted taxpayer dollars this will free up for more important things like education and rehabilitation. Estimates run as high as $50 billion nationwide.
This does not mean any of these drugs should be legalized, just decriminalized. That is, strictly regulated like alcohol and tobacco, with big-time dealers and gangs treated as harshly as ever. For another way to fight the drug lords, consider this. In 2005 the United States spent $780 million on drug eradication in Afghanistan. Where on earth did it all go? It worked so poorly that $600 million of poppies and heroin escaped into the market anyway.
Do the math: We could have saved a whopping $180 million if we had simply gone to the suppliers and bought the drugs, and then destroyed them so they won't keep making people sick and killing my friends. As sickening as it is to even think of doing business with drug cartels, can anyone think of a better way to cut off the supply? A counter-argument is that this will actually force the gangs to drive the street price way up. But with Harm Reduction programs already in place they will have nothing to sell, no place to sell it, and no suckers willing to buy.
And for crying out loud, isn't it time to finally get real and decriminalize marijuana? If current strains are more potent than the old days, so what? Study after study still proves that marijuana is less harmful—and less addictive—than alcohol or tobacco. Nowadays, going overboard against marijuana has not only flooded our prisons to the breaking point, it has driven the price of cannabis so high that young people are going straight into crack cocaine and methamphetamines. Is this wise?
On top of that, it is not just oil we are dangerously low on, we are running out of wood. If we ever hope to turn the tide on global warming and save what is left of our forests, we must remove all bans on the cultivation of cannabis for its many industrial uses—including the strain of hemp that has no THC in it to get anyone high but is still banned anyway. Recycling is not enough. Why chop down millions of trees to make paper when we can use hemp or kanaf and then grow another crop of paper a few months later? It does not get any greener than this. It will also help rescue a lot of family farms.
Finally, the Joe Biden-authored Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act (formerly known as the RAVE Act), passed as a rider to the Amber Alert Bill, is as big a disgrace as the PATRIOT Act. It has no place in a free society and should be repealed immediately. Long-term rescue of our social fabric and society, not to mention our southern neighbors, depends in major part on enacting humane drug laws.

RESTORE BALANCE TO THE SUPREME COURT

Even George Will complained that Bill Clinton's Supreme Court nominees were too moderate; that the court needs a good progressive or two for the full and thorough consideration of each issue. Balancing the court means choosing a justice or two with the passion and spirit of a Thurgood Marshall, John Marshall or William O. Douglas, even if you do not fully agree with them. You may only have a two-year window before a mid-term Congress cramps your style.

MEDIA REFORM

The Federal Communications Commission should get off their high horse about Janet Jackson's "wardrobe malfunction" or naughty words that everyone says anyway, and instead focus on the rampant hate speech and outright lies that are falsely broadcast as impartial news. Sure, celebrity bullies like Rush Limbaugh, Lou Dobbs, Glenn Beck, and Ann Coulter have a right to say what they want. But when no one—even the target of a personal attack—is allowed the right to reply, the very idea of an informed democracy goes out the window. Was that their goal in the first place?
Nowadays, mainstream corporate media deliberately dumbing down the news, omitting key facts and sides of the story, or neglecting to report the story altogether is the worst form of censorship going on in America today. Since the big mergers, most debate that gets aired at all is restricted to right wing versus ultra-right wing, while the rest of us are allowed to laugh along with Stewart and Colbert. What kind of democracy are we when freedom of speech—or the equally important right to communicate—belongs only to the oligarchs who control the airwaves?
There used to be a law called the Fairness Doctrine that guaranteed the right of reply, without Bill O'Reilly yelling at you to shut up every 15 seconds. It was allowed to expire late in the Reagan years, and urgently needs to be renewed. Your stated opposition to this puzzles me. What better tool is there for "opening up the airwaves and modern communications to as many diverse viewpoints as possible" than making sure they are allowed to be seen and heard in the first place? And how about some enforcement of the laws guaranteeing that the public, not corporations, owns the airwaves. Even the big corporate media barons should again be required to renew their FCC license to broadcast every five years, complete with public hearings.
I also do not think anyone should be allowed to graduate from high school until they pass a class on media literacy. Sadly, we do not yet have the curriculum. In the meantime we must all pitch in with the teaching—to both adults and children.

ECONOMIC STIMULUS – START WITH PEOPLE WHO NEED IT MOST

I'm glad there seems to be a sense up top that national security, the economy, climate collapse and the environment are all intertwined. Think about it. No rogue state or terrorist threatens our national security nearly as much as our collapsing economy. The growing gap between the rich and poor is what is tearing apart the lives of average Americans and their families.
National security means:
• Everyone has a home.• Everyone has enough decent food to eat.• Everyone can drink the water without having to buy it in a bottle from Coke or Pepsi.• No one has to worry about getting their hand cut off at work or having their job outsourced overseas.• Everyone can be who they are without fear of being detained and tortured without trial.• Everyone can vote without fear, knowing their vote will be counted—accurately.• Every woman has the right to choose what to do with her own body.• Everyone has enough money for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.• Everyone, even if they don't have money, has the right to see a doctor if they're sick or hurt. In so many other countries this is a guaranteed human right by law.
Stimulating and reviving the economy will only succeed from the ground up. This means getting a lot more money quickly to the people on the bottom who need it the most. When they finally have some cash in their pocket they will be more than eager to spend it. Stores perk up, jobs are saved, and the train is finally rolling out of the station. This is why leaders as diverse as Martin Luther King, Milton Friedman and even Richard Nixon have at different times proposed a guaranteed annual income so that everyone can participate and keep our economy humming. Raise the minimum wage to a living wage: $9.50 an hour helps, but $12 an hour is closer to a true living wage. Welfare should not be a dirty word, especially after PBS reported last month that if you count all the Americans who have given up looking for work because they can't find any and dropped off the radar screen, unemployment is actually around 12%! So please remove the time limits on unemployment compensation, welfare benefits and Aid to Families with Dependent Children that were slapped on the least fortunate during the Clinton years.
But where will the money come from when we burn it all up shoveling it down the mouths of the dragons on Wall Street? You are right to point out that trickle-down supply-side economics never trickled down. It wasn't supposed to. How will this be any different? To the average taxpayer this so-called bailout looks more like the last great looting of our treasury before Bush and his cronies get the hell out of dodge. There is also growing concern about the appearance of self-dealing by officials with connections to Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.
So far your own economic team seems alarmingly slanted toward the robber barons who helped create this mess in the first place. Where is Joseph Stiglitz? Where is Robert Reich? Are we still all in this together? Your Economic Advisory Council is supposed to be a council, not a choir! You say you want a support staff that debate and give you diverse ideas. So even if you do not agree with them, how about adding William Greider or Doug Henwood or even Naomi Klein as well?

GREEN JOBS THROUGH GREEN AID

Let's move even faster on climate collapse. The clock is ticking…
Your proposal to spend $150 billion on our crumbling infrastructure is a good beginning. But it is only 10% of the $1.5 trillion in urgent repairs the American Society of Civil Engineers says we need right now to avoid more disasters like the freeway bridge collapse in Minnesota. This does not even account for restocking the Bush-depleted Superfund to clean up toxic waste, or creating affordable housing for everyone. Your plan states, "We'll put people back to work rebuilding our roads and bridges, modernizing schools that are failing our children and building wind farms and solar panels, fuel efficient cars and the alternative energy technology that could free us from our dependence on foreign oil and keep our economy competitive in the years ahead." Therefore, it makes a lot of sense to spend whatever it takes to weather-strip and winterize old homes and buildings now if the owners can't afford it. It will reduce our swollen carbon footprint dramatically and save tens if not hundreds of billions of dollars over the next few years. How about aid for solar panels? Home windmills too? Not just tax breaks, aid. Most people just don't have the money for this. Time magazine reported in 2001 that an American farmer could get $50 for an acre of wheat and $2000 for an acre of wind power. We either pay to do this now or pay a lot more later. Europeans are already way ahead of us on this one.
Also, look for ways to accomplish two or three things at once with every renewal project. Replacing the water or sewer lines? Lay fiber optic cable! Our not-so-liberal mayor in San Francisco, Gavin Newsom, nixed that idea because there was not enough graft in it for telecom companies. His own silly plan for wi-fi towers fell on its face, so a smart opportunity was wasted.

AUTO AID – REQUIRE GREENER CARS

Ever seen a documentary film called Who Killed the Electric Car? They worked so well their owners did not want to give them back. But when their leases came up, Detroit snatched them away and destroyed them. Now Detroit wants a great big handout? Then another? Then another? There should be no bailout for carmakers if all they are willing to offer in return is more fuel-hogging clunkers like the Ford Flex. No aid until they bring back the electric cars! If the Chevy Volt is so great, why aren't they selling them now? For almost 30 years, people who go to design schools have told me that the car designers almost always pursue jobs overseas because Detroit is still unable to adapt as quickly to fresh ideas for the future.
So far "clean coal" seems to be about as clean as our mountains of "clean nuclear waste." Again, no aid to big coal companies unless they end their environmentally devastating "mountain top removal" plundering once and for all.

TRAINS MAKE SENSE – PEOPLE ARE READY

Another crucial way to fight global warming and reduce our dependence on foreign oil is to wake up and get serious about a nationwide high-speed rail system and better rapid transit in the cities. Again, Europe, Japan, and even China are way ahead of us. When I do my speaking tours in Europe it is so much easier and less expensive than traveling here: Just take my backpack and go. Even a normal train is often faster than flying. No traffic jams getting to the airport, no long security lines, no baggage claim wait, no traffic jams back into the next town. I just get on the train and get off the train, right downtown. The scenery is pretty cool too.
Amtrak has hemorrhaged money year after year. But ridership is finally going up, in spite of the decimated service. People have finally grown so fed up with traffic jams, fuel prices and the arrogance of our bumbling airline industry that a proper train system would now do very well. Just ask former Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson, another intriguing choice for a high position in your administration. Californians finally passed a bond issue to begin work on a long-overdue bullet train system between San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles. People I have talked to in random conversation are almost as excited about this as they are about your own election. A similar initiative passed in Florida in 2000, but Governor Jeb Bush impounded the funds.
Surely we can find the money by canceling a few aircraft carriers, tanks and planes we don't need, and by shutting off the faucet for the hundreds of billions wasted on Reagan's star wars fantasy—now known as "missile defense." Are those new installations in the Czech Republic and Poland really worth all the grief they're stirring up with the Russians? The Czech and Polish people don't even want them there!
Green energy technology should also be shared, even given, to the Chinese ASAP. Here on the West Coast I have to wipe a brown sooty film off my windshield every couple of days—and my car is in a garage! It is coal dust from Chinese factories. They open a new coal plant ever few days. According to Mother Jones, sustaining an American lifestyle for a Chinese middle class predicted to reach 600 million will require the resources of several more Earths!

COMPETE GLOBALLY – TAKE BETTER CARE OF OUR PEOPLE

Other countries prefer a healthy workforce and are willing to pay for it. Here we stick our workforce with fat, greedy insurance companies who serve no purpose but to act as a tollbooth or a gatekeeper and charge exorbitant fees before a person can even see a doctor. The result, of course, is the most expensive healthcare system with the least benefit for the buck of any in the industrialized world. You say the big insurance companies "should have a place at the table." Aren't these companies the problem?
Other counties want their workforce to be as well-educated as possible to better care for themselves and compete in the global economy. So they are willing to pay to make sure this happens, instead of kicking them in the face with back-breaking student loans and cutting school funding to the bone.
Other countries want their children to grow up well-nourished and loved instead of dysfunctional. They are happy to pay welfare for single parents to stay home with their little ones, and for 12-18 months maternity leave with 80-90% pay for either parent to make sure no child is left behind.
Traveling overseas it is not hard to notice that many European countries, and not just Scandinavia, have a higher standard of living than we do, and the gap is widening. The reason is they are willing to pay for it.

HUMANE TAX REFORM

Please do not break your promise to raise income taxes on the wealthy and close those Titanic-sized loopholes that allowed two-thirds of US and foreign corporations who do business here to pay no tax at all between 1998 and 2005. We used to have a tiny tax on security speculation and stock transactions. Britain still does. If the annual amount of wheeling and dealing in the stock market really amounts to the reported $500 trillion a year, a mere 1% tax could raise $5 trillion per year and Wall Street would not even feel it! Other ways to raise badly needed revenue without hurting Joe the Plumber would be to tax companies who pollute, divert funds overseas, and ship jobs out of the country, as well as taxing stock windfalls rewarded by Wall Street for balancing the bottom line with employee layoffs.
Last September the Bush administration quietly dynamited Section 382 of the tax code allowing big banks to run off with as much as $140 billion dollars in new tax breaks that many suspect are illegal. Was this illegal? Please enforce the law and stop the bleeding now.
We could also follow the lead of Berlin, Moscow, Beijing, and even the state of Maine and encourage cities to start their own municipal or community banks. Being a non-profit, these banks would provide low-cost loans for homes and small businesses. They would also save cities millions of dollars apiece that they now waste on private banking fees.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D - IL) proposes generous tax breaks and shareholder advantages to "patriotic corporations" who limit management salaries to 100 times the lowest-paid fulltime worker. I think 10 times is better. Shareholders need better legal tools to limit runaway CEO pay and looting by top executives.
Schakowsky would also give tax breaks to corporations that: produce at least 90% of their goods and services in the United States; spend at least 50% of the research and development budgets here at home; stay out of employee organizing drives; are clean with the EPA, OSHA and the NRLB; and provide their employees with generous and portable pension funds and health insurance. They must also agree not to price-gouge consumers.
So how do we convince Americans that it is in our best interest to help pay for all of this? It would help if you use your power to inspire and persuade, to get through to people in this country that not all taxes are automatically bad, especially when spent in a way that benefits them directly. Starting with the Boston Tea Party in kindergarten, it is drilled into us that taxes are this terrible violation of our freedom. As adults we have had 30 plus years of media sermons from both parties that we are no longer a community, but a marketplace, and that competitiveness is more important than caring about one another. Isn't it interesting that the people least interested in paying taxes are often the first to complain when a government service they take for granted doesn't work any more?
To wise people up and chip away at this I suggest pointing out what happened to California when voters passed Proposition 13 and gutted what was once the number one education system in the country, if not the world. It is now almost dead last. According to the ACLU, some schools in Los Angeles are not only short on books and desks, they don't even have toilet paper. Californians also voted down an initiative guaranteeing universal healthcare after the Disease Industry ran a blitz of TV ads claiming it would raise people's taxes. They banked on people failing to do the math and see how a slight tax increase would dramatically reduce their own medical bills.
Another example is the tale of two of the Quad Cities on the Mississippi River. In the 1990s, Rock Island, IL voters were willing to raise taxes to build a floodwall. Voters in Davenport, IA rejected a wall three times because it would raise taxes. Guess whose town was devastated the next time the Mississippi flooded? To raise local money for local and state projects voters have to be shown that it is worth raising taxes to pay for these things.
Taxes also wouldn't hurt so much if the people had more say in where their money went. How about placing 12-15 categories in US income tax forms so people can vote what percentage of their tax money they want spent where? I'll bet education, the environment, infrastructure, and services would go straight up and our bloated military cash cow would go straight down.

HELP PEOPLE RESIST FORECLOSURES

To fight the plague of foreclosures, I suggest following the lead of the Cook County Sheriff in Chicago by declaring a moratorium on foreclosure evictions. Debts to predatory lenders should be forgiven at once. Many families are fleeing their homes because they are so frightened of the cruel Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, they are willing to default on their mortgage just to keep up with their credit card debts. You voted against this law. Now let's get rid of it. I am inspired by City Life/Vida Urbana in Boston who have said "Yes We Can" to reviving the Depression-era practice of volunteer rolling brigades who show up to defend people's homes from eviction, and if need be take all the furniture and belongings back from the curb into the house. In addition, they alert the media to help shame the banks and predatory lenders from coming back. In many cases it has worked.
The most intriguing proposal flying around the Internet is for everyone who files an individual tax return to be given $1 million dollars on the condition that they use it to pay off their mortgage in full (thus bailing out the banks) and buy an American car within the next three years. Whatever is left over is theirs to keep and invest. Unfortunately the math does not add up. Even the staggering estimated total of $8 trillion thrown at our collapsing economy would only bring $57,971.01 for each of the 138 million individual tax returns filed each year. Too bad, it is an interesting idea.

"THIS MOVEMENT IS NOT JUST ABOUT ONE PERSON…"

I'm glad to hear you say that, but I keep waiting for you to expand and take it further. To point out how much it also matters who is in the Senate, who is in the House, the Governor, the State legislature, mayors, city councils, school boards, ballot initiatives, county commissioners, you name it. To say that if a person is not satisfied with what is going on in their community, they should get involved. If they are not satisfied with how they are being represented, they should consider running for office themselves. A lot of inspired people would. What else can we do in the meantime to make things better? What simple, easy steps can we take in our own lives? You have two more chances—Inauguration and the State of the Union. Before people return to the slumber of Soundbite McNews.
Bill Clinton could have won back Congress in 1996 if he had used his popularity, convention speech and pulpit for something besides his own shoo-in re-election. But he didn't. I was in the room for Al Gore's acceptance speech in 2000. He didn't bother either. It was just about one person.
I'll be amazed if Mr. Obama or anyone close actually reads this, so this last part is for you folks who have. To me, if there is an Obama movement, it is more like the Pope-mobile. You know, that cage of bulletproof glass on wheels that rolls around with the Pope inside, waving at his adoring flock, "Yo! I'm here! Look at me, I'm the Pope!" Then everybody goes home. But who is driving the Pope-mobile? Can a crowd organize to block the wrong turns and steer it in a better direction?
I did not vote for you, but I dearly want you to succeed at delivering the change you have promised. We have very little time and may not get another chance. Recent history shows we have eight years maximum before the pendulum swings back the other way—and hard. She may lose once or twice, but I fear the Pitbull with Lipstick will one day be bigger than Reagan.
In many ways, people seem to be looking to you as their new great-and-powerful Oprah as much as they look at you as their President. This can be useful too. To revive people's sense of community and what it entails. To persuade people that voting for small local tax increases brings much greater benefits for everyone down the road. To encourage people to not just recycle but look for ways to stop wasting so much. Those same European countries whose standard of living seems to be higher than ours use a fraction per capita of natural resources we do. How do they do it? Think of all the forests we could save just by showing people how much paper they can save just by writing on the other side before they throw it away? Imagine if lawyers figured this out.

HONOR AND RESPECT YOUR MOVEMENT

Please don't ever forget why so many people who had given up hope are investing so much of their hearts and hope in you. If that hope is shattered and they feel betrayed, a great deal more will collapse for good.
So to keep your movement alive—and help it grow beyond you—keep those texts and e-mail lists alive! Keep your Blackberry. Does it matter if it all becomes public record? How about a posting a daily log of what you did and who you and your staff met with, including lobbyists. Why not keep all those campaign offices you opened all over the country alive too? Convert them to branch offices. Senators and House members have branch offices all over their districts. You now represent the whole country. Keep the branches.
Above all, be a leader, not a dealmaker. There are times when cutting a deal is the same as cutting and running. To put it mildly, we can't afford that anymore. There are no sails left to trim.
And if this is a movement about change and not just about one person, it is up to the movement to drive the President, not the other way around. Please do not stand in the way.
Sincerely,
Jello Biafra

Boris under scrutiny over Damien Green affair

2008-12-07T10:11:00.000Z

Oh dear. This is all Dave needs.

Tories to use snooping powers to spy on the unemployed.

2008-12-07T10:08:00.001Z

No surprise in this news. As the economic crisis unfolds the real Tories come clearly into view.

Recent News Update

2008-12-07T09:44:00.003Z

Not been posting much recently but a number of things have recently caught my eye.

The reccession has been quietly and swiftly creeping into all sections of Industry as the effects of the credit crunch bite.
The shock of seeing high street favourites Woolies in dire trouble takes the headline in my view. Attempts to save it seem to be failing. Feared job losses have already started. Not a very merry christmas fo Wolworths workers then. MFI are having similar problems.

Glad to see the pathetic attempt to set up an employee blacklist is failing.

The credit crunch has having an effect on vulnerable people getting into mainstream employment.

In the Public Sector an uneasy truce is made with the PCS but trouble is brewing with the POA.

Major Retailors in the UK talk Bollocks!!

2008-12-05T22:04:00.002Z

There is massive wage slavery going on in the world. Do we stand by and let it happen??

This article makes me completely shun the business influence, organisations like Tescos and Asda have.
Is there any chance of moving the Labour Party away from these organisations?

They cant be trusted.

If you want a Public Holiday, how about a Day to commemorate the English Revolution?

2008-11-30T07:53:00.005Z

The 17th Century isn't a period that is popular any more. I asked my kids about what they study in History at School and they reply that its all modern history and give my that glazed look that you get from a youth not really interested in the subject matter. Yet when a historical drama comes on TV like for example Rome, the Tudors or over the last couple of weeks, The Devils Whore, interest and enthusiasm is sparked and the kids are engaged in discussion about the subject matter and searching the Internet over the characters involved.

The Devils Whore is a story based around historical fact. The characters and events around the lead role inspire many a google entry by kids with a hunger to find out what the period was about. It certainly made me reconsider the importance of the period and after reading this in today's Observer share the call for making January 30th, the date Charles the First was beheaded as a national holiday. After all if the USA can have an Independence Day couldn't we have a English Revolution Day?

Labour does something right, shocker!!

2008-11-14T08:17:00.001Z

Post office news here. The cynic in me says that if it wasnt for the credit crunch and the complete collapse of the unregulated banking system this wouldnt have happened.

Lets have proper investigations into work.

2008-11-07T06:53:00.002Z

There have been reports about the slight fall in accidents/fatalities at work. Obviously the celebration of less accidents is normally to be clebrated but this report by Unite shows that there has been a significant drop in HSE investigations for a variety of reasons.
This is completely unacceptable.
The Government has to ensure enough resources for the HSE to investigate all workplace accidents and injuries. There has to be a halt to any cutbacks in the power of the HSE to do its job and where necessary to prosecute dangerous employers.

UKIP rejects BNP alliance offer

2008-11-04T07:36:00.005Z

The British 'Nutjob' Party have been attempting to play at being special friends with the ex Tories in UKIP. Two views here and here. Wisely UKIP have avoided getting their shoes covered in smelly dog shit!!

In the meantime Conservativehome have posted this interesting poll on IQ levels!!

Will Clarkson get away with it?

2008-11-04T06:57:00.002Z

I havent commented on the Ross/Brand witchunt as many other bloggers have done a far better job than I would. I view this fiasco as an organised attempt by the right wing press to knock the BBC and while I think the comments made by the two DJs to be ill considered, there are plenty of TV personalities who get away with far worse as explained by Peter Tatchell here.

I read this about arch Tory Jeremy Clarkson today and thought its about time this pratt got his cumupence. Of course the millionaire press will jump to protect their pet. I think we should start sending in the complaints now to get this idiot kicked off the telly.