tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82131543470267259672024-03-13T13:43:53.957+00:00Neither Labour nor ToryThis blog contains the opinion of Anthony Karl Page, of Clowne, to recent news and political events.Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.comBlogger113125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-58802722083545029642012-05-19T23:34:00.002+01:002012-05-20T00:33:56.924+01:00The Public's cheese and whine partyThe <i>Metro</i> is one of these papers that I, and doubtless many other people, read for one simple reason - it's available free on the buses. I certainly wouldn't pay for it, as its politics are horrendously right wing. And they plumbed new depths on Wednesday 16th May, with <a href="http://www.metro.co.uk/news/899332-toff-haters-force-closure-of-royals-kings-road-nightclub-public" target="_blank">an article about the closure of The Public nightclub</a> which made up for in vicious scapegoating what it lacked in accuracy ...<br />
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To start with, it's very convenient for the Metro to bring the Royals into the story, at a time then the mainstream media have been fawning over the Royal family and too many people have bought into the pro-Royal hype. As it approaches, the Jubilee is already starting to feel like an anti-rabies injection - long and drawn out, excrutiating and absolutely inescapable !!!<br />
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Yet, for better or for worse, the closure of Public had nothing to do with 'Toff haters'. The article admits people had "complained about people fighting, being sick, urinating and swearing in the street outside" - the kind of anti-social behaviour which, understandably, attracts complaints in a very much un-posh, post-industrial village like Clowne!<br />
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Then the article takes a tone bordering dangerously on being disablist, when it implies that people with disabilities were killjoys whose complaints led to Public's closure. Well, I - and the vast majority of people with disabilities - have no problem with able-bodied people having fun, conditional upon the 'fun' not being at the expense of people with disabilities or any other oppressed minority. Besides, many night clubs nowadays <i>are</i> accessible to people with disabilities, and there is a thriving art of wheelchair dancing - both positive effects of the inclusivity which right wingers bemoan as 'political correctness' (whether 'gone mad' or otherwise).<br />
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Then there's the comment which would be hilarious if it wasn't so toxic: "If someone with a disability complains, it has ten times the weight of an able-bodied person’s complaint." Yeah, right. In the same parallel universe, the sky is orange with purple dots, Cameron is the most popular prime minister ever, Atos Healthcare are in charge of Army recruitment, and we're all listening to the current number one hit ("Those Were The Days Of Our Lives" by Eminem feat Michael Jackson) on cylindrical CD's :P<br />
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At the end of the day, the council didn't actually shut Public down anyway, the owners decided to do that for whatever reason. What the council did was cut the permitted opening times, so Public could only open until midnight, instead of 2:30 am. Considering some of their clientele were acting in a way which would get working class people decried as 'chavs', it could be argued that Public actually got off lightly.<br />
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Ah well, they would probably argue, it is an irresponsible minority of customers who are being anti-social and spoiling it for everyone else. They may well have a point there. But the same is also true in many other cases; when pubs and clubs are forced to stop under-18s nights or stop admitting young people, due to anti-social behaviour or even just 'under age' drinking, you never see the mainstream press up in arms about freedom to have fun!<br />
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But why let the truth get in the way of a good story? Especially one which helps brainwash people into prejudice against people with disabilities, at a time when the government, supported by the capitalist Establishment, have declared war on disability benefits, Remploy, and many important services for people with disabilities.<br />
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Not that we can really expect any better from the Metro, which is run by the same company as the Mail - the same Mail that, in the 1930's, supported the British Union of Fascists with the headline "Hurrah for the Blackshirts" :/<br />
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For news from a working class viewpoint, which supports unity across the class - not the scapegoating of minorities - you are best off reading the <a href="http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/" target="_blank">Socialist Worker</a>. This is free to read online, and paper copies can be bought in many large towns and cities on Saturday mornings. You may even wish to join the SWP, and help us sell our paper and get the truth across to a wider layer of people.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Socialist Worker is your paper - Buy it, read it, sell it!</span>Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com0Clowne, Derbyshire S43, UK53.27422 -1.265269953.2552295 -1.3047519 53.2932105 -1.2257879tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-5496862978302940732010-10-30T22:35:00.009+01:002010-10-30T23:15:16.264+01:00Unhealthy obsession with dangerous policiesI feel I must decry Ed Miliband, for his condemnation of the London firefighters strike. They are striking to defend not just their pay, conditions and jobs, but those of <span style="font-weight: bold;">all</span> public sector workers. Of course the strike is set to cause disruption - the whole idea of a strike is to have the maximum impact, in order to make the bullying bosses back off. So expecting the firefighters to postpone their strike is a bit like expecting Christmas card makers to go on strike in August :P<br /><br />But my main condemnation must go to the Con Dems themselves, both in London - currently run by Boris Johnson - and nationally, who are attacking public services, including the fire brigade. And it's not surprising the fire brigade are not being taken seriously by the Con Dems, who have recently launched <a href="http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=22790">an attack on Health and Safety</a> itself.<br /><br />The Establishment media go out of their way to ridicule health and safety, by citing ridiculous examples - which often have little to do with health and safety, but possibly have a less savoury underlying motive (eg when cinemas used to cover up disability prejudice against people in wheelchairs by bleating 'fire risk'). Indeed, the Health & Safety Executive website even has a section dedicated to <a href="http://www.hse.gov.uk/myth/">debunking many of these pernicious myths</a>.<br /><br />The real root cause of the capitalist Establishment's hostility to health and safety is that it costs money. Extra time must be taken to ensure safe practices are carried out, and investment must be made in safe equipment. But the cost of dangerous practices is far greater, in terms of human life - as the sinking in the 1980s of the Townsend Thoresen ferry Herald of Free Enterprise, and the Potters Bar train disaster, show only too well. On an international level, this year alone we have seen the environmental catastrophe caused by the Deepwater Horizon oil platform in the caribbean, and the trapping underground of Chilean miners. If the Con Dems have their way, how many more lives will be sacrificed on the bloody altar of profit?<br /><br />Also of note are plans to restrict the operation of personal injury lawyers - as if workers who are injured, as a result of negligence in the pursuit of profit, ain't entitled to compensation. This is often justified by the capitalist Establishment pointing to a 'culture of litigation'. Well, if it's litigious lawsuits they really want to stop, allow me to suggest a few they could clamp down on:<br /><ul><li>Record and film companies suing the kegs off teenagers who file-share a few records and videos online</li><li>Establishment radio stations suing free (aka "pirate") radio stations for alleged 'loss of advertising revenue'</li><li>Draconian use of the libel laws to stifle the truth about capitalist businesses, as epitomised by the <a href="http://www.mcspotlight.org/case/index.html">McLibel</a> trial</li><li>Last but certainly not least, the anti-union laws must be repealed, to stop bosses bullying unions to end lawful and necessary strikes!</li></ul>As Halloween approaches, I must say, I'm not scared of the ghosties. But I am scared of the ghoulies (typo) which the Con Dem government are talking :/Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-78105956038577833412010-10-26T15:34:00.003+01:002010-10-26T16:31:16.691+01:00Healthcare may cure us, but Atos make us sick!Probably one of the worst measures being pushed forward by the Con Dems, is attacking people on disability benefits and forcing them to look for work. In typical privateering style, one nasty piece of work (ie the Con Dems) have got the DWP to contract out this nasty piece of work to a private company called Atos. So far, Atos' claim to fame has been to <a href="https://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=21694">force people with conditions such as multiple sclerosis, terminal cancer and heart failure to look for work</a> :/ (Perhaps it's just as well Atos weren't around in 1666, or the entire population of Eyam would have been deemed 'fit for work'! And none of this staying within the town to stop the plague from spreading, they would <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-11605318">have to travel to look for work</a>!)<br /><br />In and of itself, this is a cold-blooded act by an evil Tory government hell bent on trampling on basic human rights, let alone workers' rights. But the repercussions of this move go further still. Such measures paint a false picture of disabled people as being lazy, unproductive 'drains on society' - a lie backed up by endless media brainwash designed to prop up this capitalist atrocity, with newspaper reports stating that only 6% of Incapacity Benefit claimants are 'genuine'. What they really mean is that very few people who need the benefits they deserve, are actually entitled to them under this regime :(<br /><br />No wonder, then, people with disabilities, including those who are looking for work (not easy at the moment!), are suffering increasing amounts of prejudice and discrimination. This means that people who have been forced off (the already meagre) Incapacity Benefit are far less likely to actually find work, and far more likely to end up staying on the (even more stingy) Jobseekers Allowance.<br /><br />A heavy dose of hypocrisy also applies. There have been cases of people laid off from work due to ill health, only to be told by Atos that they are "perfectly fit for work". This has additional repercussions when it comes to claiming for necessary adaptations, mobility payments, and non-state related benefits like payment protection insurance. (Unemployment payment protection insurance is so ridden with loopholes that you can lose it for taking temporary work, for sucks fake :/ ). No wonder there is a campaign to have Atos sacked - such as the <a href="http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/sack-atos-healthcare.html">Sack Atos online petition</a>, which I urge readers to sign!<br /><br />Atos Healthcare (sic) is a division of Atos Origin, an IT company. So it's hardly surprising their staff are mostly number-crunchers, making assessments on a 'points system' based on questions. Following a policy which seems to be created by mad social-scientists, who seem hell-bent on pushing sick people into work and seeing who survives. Well, since they love medical tests so much, maybe the Con Dems and the bosses of Atos should volunteer as guinea pigs for Huntingdon Life Science, and take the place of a few poor animals, in having medical experiments carried out on them :P<br /><br />Certainly, you can't call these people doctors. The real role of doctors is to rid us of the parasites, such as viruses and (unfriendly) bacteria which make us ill.<br /><br />Meanwhile, the role of socialists is to rid us of parasites (such as the Con Dems and the Atos bosses) who make us sick !!!Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-60987701665532014202010-10-24T15:46:00.004+01:002010-10-24T16:07:22.515+01:00Broken recordsSo Nick Clegg, leader of the LSD and deputy PM in the Con Dems, has been on <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11613929">Desert Island Discs</a>. Dunno how much his choices say about him, although David Bowie "Life On Mars" is kinda appropriate - after all, he doesn't seem to live on this planet :P<br /><br />It got me thinking, what records do we think could be dedicated to this lover of capitalism and lap-dog of Cameron? Well, here's a few suggestions:<br /><br />Phats & Small "Turn Around" - he's certainly done a 180 on his pre-election promises!<br /><br />Crazy World of Arthur Brown "Fire" - like the bonfire of public services he is overseeing.<br /><br />Carol Bayer Sager "You're Moving Out Today" - could be dedicated to the council house tenants who will be shafted by the Con Dems' ending of council homes for life.<br /><br />Soul II Soul "Keep On Movin'" - on a bus, <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-11605318">dedicated to the unemployed</a> :/<br /><br />Jonathan Butler "Lies" - he told enough of those prior to the election!<br /><br />Luther Vandross "I Really Didn't Mean It" - what he could now say about his pre-election promises!<br /><br />Simply Red "Money's Too Tight To Mention" - well, unless you're a banker, boss or Con Dem fat cat!<br /><br />Kaiser Chiefs "I Predict A Riot" - well, I certainly can, the way this government's pissing on us.<br /><br />Finally, I think a certain record by Ivor Biggun kinda suits him. I think you know which one ...Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-86017937643202262782010-10-17T17:08:00.004+01:002010-10-17T18:04:38.318+01:00A plague on both housesWell, when asked why I'm so pissed off with the Con Dems, I don't really know where to start. So I'll start with their policy on housing, notably their stupid idea of <a href="http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=22104">forcing out of council houses people who they think don't need social housing anymore</a>.<br /><br />On the one hand, it is true that the lack of social housing is a problem. But it's not the fault of people who currently live in social housing. I'll take this opportunity to clear up a few other myths while I'm here; the shortage of decent housing is also NOT caused by:<br /><ul><li>immigrants - who too often are forced into substandard, overcramped and overpriced accommodation.</li><li>asylum seekers - the lucky ones who are not in detention centres, end up in hostel accommodation.</li><li>disabled people - we don't cause any more damage than the average person, and most damage to properties is due not to the tenants, but to neglect and cost-cutting by the landlord.</li><li>gay people - I'm not even sure what excuses landlords give for discriminating against gay people. And whatever excuses they do have, I don't wanna hear them anyway :P<br /></li></ul>The problem of a lack of affordable housing is one which has been caused by decades of under-investment in council house building, and the selling off of council housing that started in the 1980's under Mrs Thatcher. This has escalated over the years, with whole swathes of council housing being privatised in the past 10 years. Sadly, the only winners have been privateer landlords who are now more able to abuse their power over tenants. And control-freak parents whose grown up kids have little choice but to stay at home. And the bureaucracy in charge of homeless charities :(<br /><br />In any case, forcing people out of social housing, and into the clutches of anti-social private landlords, will not solve the problem. And I don't use the term 'anti-social' lightly; I have personal experience of private landlords accusing tenants of non-payment of rent (despite payment being easily provable), and even borrowing money off their own tenants!<br /><br />It will be even worse for people in oppressed minorities who are turfed out of their council house, on a whim by the Con Dem scum. I have experienced overt disability prejudice while looking for accommodation, and know of gay people who have been evicted by homophobic landlords. I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Private landlords fall well within the middle class, and it the middle class have a far greater interest than workers, in perpetuating ideologies which benefit the capitalist system - such as prejudice. One of the reasons why the bulk of the Nazi BNP's membership is made up of the middle class.<br /><br />At the same time, I certainly don't expect the Con Dem gits to do anything to mitigate this prejudice. Even before the election, Tory bastard Chris Grayling said that guest house owners should have the right to turn away gay people. And John Major's Tory government deliberately scuppered the Disabled People's Civil Rights Bill, so we instead ended up with anti-disablism legislation which is so weak and pitiful, I'm surprised it's not the star of Children In Need :P<br /><br />The only answer to the lack of social housing is to increase the supply of decent, affordable council housing. Apart from the obvious funding solutions, such as taxing the rich and scrapping Trident, I have a few additional proposals:<br /><ul><li>A supertax on empty properties (which would also encourage landlords to rent out their housing at a lower rate, to get tenants in). And a superdupertax on properties which have been neglected to the point of dereliction, such as those left boarded-up for months on end.</li><li>The ending of privatisation of social housing, in the form of PFI or ALMO's. Since privatisation adds the extra cost of profit for parasitical bosses, it is far cheaper for councils to build the housing themselves.</li><li>The compulsory nationalisation, without compensation to the owner, of all properties belonging to landlords who abuse their position - whether by overcharging tenants or by discriminating against oppressed minorities.</li></ul>All these measures, and more, we will have to fight tooth and nail for. A good campaigning organisation I can recommend is <a href="http://www.defendcouncilhousing.org.uk/dch/">Defend Council Housing</a>.<br /><br />Only by fighting on this issue, and against every attack on our living standards, can we make sure that people get to stay in their homes, as well as their jobs.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">And make sure the Con Dems get chucked out of the House Of Commons !!!</span>Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-5355898077665894932010-10-13T15:20:00.007+01:002010-10-13T16:39:53.366+01:00Use your Ed, Miliband!Well, it's been a year since I last posted on this blog. A hurricane of a year, both politically and personally. But now the dust has (sort of) settled, it's time to look at where we stand now politically ...<br /><br />Considering the viciousness of the Con Dem attacks on our benefits, services and civil rights, it's easy to forget that the Con Dems really have no right to have power, let alone abuse it like they have. Despite the massive unpopularity of New Labour under Brown, the Tories did not get a landslide - more like a slight fall of dust :P In fact, the election results weren't a massive move to the right; the Nazi BNP failed to win a single seat, as did the hard-right UKIP. In fact, in some areas there was a shift to the left; Labour regained Chesterfield from the Liberal Democ<span style="font-weight: bold;">rats</span> and, probably more importantly, the Green Party won their first MP in Brighton Pavilion.<br /><br />Back to the point, the Tories did not win a majority, and can only govern with the collaboration of the LSD, sorry, Lib Dems. And many, possibly most, people who voted Lib Dem did so because they thought the Lib Dems were actually to the left of Labour, let alone the Tories. Indeed, some of the Lib Dems' election promises - which have now been thrown out of the top window of a tower block - were quite left wing, such as scrapping Trident. Many Lib Dem voters will now be bitterly disappointed.<br /><br />While this disappointment is perfectly understandable, an analysis of the Lib Dems shows it is probably misplaced. After all, the Lib Dems are the result of a merger (back in the 1980's) between the nakedly capitalist Liberal Party on the one hand, and the proto-blairite SDP wich consisted of ex-Labour members who split because they considered Labour too left-wing. Hardly the credentials for a progressive anti-capitalist party :\<br /><br />Following the election fiasco, came the contest for the new Labour leader. Although I personally backed Diane Abbott, I was glad Ed Miliband beat the nakedly Blairite David Miliband. So it is a shame that, having become Labour leader, Ed seems more interested in pandering to the same middle class, and <a href="http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=22713">kow towing to the same right wing</a>, that Bliar et al pandered to, rather than standing up for the unions and for socialism.<br /><br />Small wonder, then, that Ed's idea of opposing the Con Dems' proposed hike in tuition fees involves him <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11510463">reaching out to Lib Dem MPs</a> who may rebel. Yet the Lib Dems have so far been no more than the Tories' lap dog, allowing the Tories to get away with slashing and burning jobs and services, forcing sick and disabled people to look for work, while continuing to squander fortunes on the bankers and Trident. With this in mind, at best, hoping for disaffected Lib Dems to stop a hike in fees seems to be like watering the lightning tree :(<br /><br />What Ed should really be doing is not reaching out to a bunch of opportunists who would sell their @$$ for a tiny slice of power. Instead, he should be reaching out to the unions who built and continue to fund Labour. He should unconditionally support strikes by the students' NUS union, the lecturers' UCU union, and the unions of all workers affected by this attack on the right to education. And less of the carp (typo) about "irresponsible" strikes, when strikes are the only thing which can now stop this utterly irresponsible Con Dem government!<br /><br />Indeed, it is imperative that we support<span style="font-weight: bold;"> all</span> strikes by<span style="font-weight: bold;"> all</span> unions, and <span style="font-weight: bold;">all</span> protests by <span style="font-weight: bold;">all</span> community groups and organisations, against<span style="font-weight: bold;"> all</span> cuts and attacks by this coalition of Tory vermin and Lib Dem backstabbers :P<br /><br />The recent protest outside the Tory Party conference in Birmingham must be just the beginning. The Con Dem government aims to ramp up its attacks on workers, students, immigrants, disabled people, etc etc. So we must ramp up our resistance to the Con Dems. And condemn the Con Dems to hell !!!Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-26406233829733538732009-09-07T17:40:00.004+01:002009-09-07T18:31:00.878+01:00ASBO's all round!Much comment has been made on Drinking Banning Orders, also known as 'booze asbos', which recently came into force (BBC News: <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8230406.stm">New 'booze Asbos' come under fire</a>). This legislation has been under fire from across the political spectrum, for various different reasons.<br /><br />Some of the criticisms can be easily dismissed, notably the plaintive cry that the law should instead be targeting young / teenage / underage drinkers yet again. As if 'underage' drinkers haven't already had endless crackdowns upon them, for donkeys' years. And as if yet another crackdown on said will, by now, have a significant impact upon underage drinking - let alone, upon problem drinking as a whole.<br /><br />If anything, it does make a refreshing change for the Establishment to finally be looking beyond the usual scapegoat of young people, and be trying a different approach to the problems associated with excessive drinking. But here my praise for the measures ends. And is outweighed by genuine criticisms of the legislation, as made by groups such as Liberty.<br /><br />Most obviously, like any ASBOs, the Drinking Banning Orders are another way of 'short circuiting' the process of law by using civil orders to criminalise behaviour. ASBOs are also tainted by their reliance on unreliable, even hearsay, evidence. And by their use in petty circumstances - pirate broadcasters, kids playing football, even pensioners feeding birds, have all been subject to ASBOs. Can we really be certain that Drinking Banning Orders will not be used in similarly petty circumstances?<br /><br />And how will these orders be enforced? The only way I can see them being enforced is by every pub and off licence checking the identity of every customer, of any age, to check they're not on a 'banned' list. Yes, everyone who is or appears to be under 25, already has this to put up with. But I really don't see 'levelling down' our civil liberties as a step in the right direction! Then, there's going to have to be a register of banned drinkers, which would have to be accessible to every alcohol outlet and the workers therein - with all the privacy issues that entails.<br /><br />It is also ironic that the Drinking Banning Orders can be used on anyone aged over 16, despite the legal drinking age being 18. Seems yet another case of the Establishment's double standards, which mean someone aged 16 is deemed responsible enough to be punished for alcohol-related offences but not responsible enough to be allowed to buy alcohol in the first place.<br /><br />But perhaps the most important point to make about Drinking Banning Orders, is that much of the anti-social behaviour associated with binge drinking can already be dealt with by existing laws. Violence, threatening behaviour, criminal damage, harassment (including racial and sexual harassment) were all criminal offences, the last time I checked! If these laws are not being enforced, how would yet another gimmick like booze asbos make us any safer ???<br /><br />Then again, I guess it all comes down to the system's priorities. Violence - whether drunken or otherwise - tends to be a crime against the individual. And crimes against the individual tend to be, in the eyes of the system (which includes the law and its enforcers), a poor cinderella compared with crimes against the Establishment and crimes against the system itself.<br /><br />Small wonder, then, we now have the grotesque situation where soldiers returning from Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder, are told by their Army bosses to 'get pissed and have a fight' rather than seek counselling (Daily Mirror: <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/09/06/the-scandal-of-our-troops-who-are-with-no-support-for-traumas-suffered-115875-21650671/">The scandal of our troops who are left with no support for traumas</a>). Maybe, among the laws the Armed Forces have opted-out from, are the laws banning common assault :P Seriously, though, it is telling that violence is sometimes encouraged as a way of 'letting off steam'.<br /><br />And not just within the Army. Every community is blighted by recession, job insecurity and hyper-unemployment, and many poople are only too eager to drink as a means of escaping the stress. At the same time, the Establishment would much rather see workers batter each other after a few drinks, than see us unite against them and their capitalist system which is ruining our lives.<br /><br />We must not fall for the Establishment's crocodile tears about lives 'ruined by drink'. But at the same time, we must realise that drinking can never be a permanent solution to our problems. Only unity against the capitalist system can truly make things better. And leave the Establishment, rather than us, suffering the following morning!Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-42022034436281999322009-06-21T13:28:00.011+01:002009-06-21T14:34:14.981+01:00British workers must support StalinThere are at least two important industrial struggles taking place in the UK at the moment. One is the brave fight of the Lindsey Oil Refinery constuction workers, who were sacked following a wildcat strike against redundancies. (Socialist Worker 20th June 2009: <a href="http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=18237">The sacking of the Lindsey workers is a challenge for the whole working class</a>) All socialists must give our full backing to the Lindsey strikers, and to all sympathy walkouts across the UK - such as those at several power stations, other oil refineries and a biofuels plant (BBC News 19th June 2009: <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8108941.stm">Oil plant sackings spark walkouts</a>).<br /><br />At the same time, however, we should be sceptical about the slogan used by some (by no means all!) supporters of the strike, of "British jobs for British workers". Such slogans pander to nationalism, and risk exacerbating the problem of racism towards immigrants. This is especially unwelcome following the rise of the Nazi BNP - I'm not saying the Euro Election results were frightening, but after watching the Euro election broadcast I had to watch <span style="font-style: italic;">A Nightmare On Elm Street</span> for a bit of light relief ...<br /><br />We must always remember that immigrant workers are <span style="font-style: italic;">never</span> the problem. Where British workers' pay and conditions <span style="font-style: italic;">are</span> being undercut - whether by foreign workers or by other British agency workers - the problem lies with the fat cat bosses who are cutting costs and boosting their fat profits by employing the cheapest labour possible. So the answer - far from attacking immigrant workers - is to fight for immigrant labour to be employed alongside British labour, on exactly the same, decent, pay and working conditions. This would not only eliminate the under-cutting of existing workers' pay and conditions, it would also eliminate the ruthless exploitation of new workers.<br /><br />The key to this being achieved, is the struggle by immigrant workers for decent pay and conditions, as seen in another important struggle - that of the SOAS cleaners in London. A strike has been taking place against the sacking of Jose Stalin Bermudez, a Unison union official who was sacked by management. Stalin invoked the wrath of SOAS' management after he helped low paid Latin American cleaners demonstrate against non-payment of wages and for a London Living Wage (Socialist Worker 6th June 2009: <a href="http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=18031">Strike in defence of victimised union activist at Soas</a>). Since then, the SOAS cleaners have been treated just as, or even more, diabolically than the Lindsay strikers; SOAS management gave no resistance to, perhaps even collaborated with, a raid by immigration officers which led to the arrest and deportation of several cleaners - who had taken part in action for decent pay and conditions and in support of Stalin (Socialist Worker 20th June 2009: <a href="http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=18224">Soas: Did bosses target their cleaners for deportation?</a>). On a positive note, this raid and its aftermath led to occupations by SOAS students in support of the cleaners.<br /><br />What we need is for the white working class, such as those striking at Lindsay against redundancy, to link with immigrant workers, such as the SOAS cleaners striking against low pay and exploitation. The workers' struggles must then be linked to struggles by students fighting against education cuts and tuition fees, and unemployed and disabled workers fighting against cuts in benefits and unreasonable conditions for claiming benefits.<br /><br />If such unity could be forged, not only could it undercut racists such as the Nazi BNP. It could create a perfect storm which could sink not only the so-called Labour government and its plastic opposition in the form of the Tories, but the entire capitalist system.Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-26612746794437566172009-03-20T16:33:00.005+00:002009-03-20T18:04:35.928+00:00Economic League, economic hooligansI'm very glad to see the shutting down of the Consulting Association, an employment blacklisting organisation which kept files on political activists and trade unionists, and even people who raised health and safety concerns (Socialist Worker: <a href="http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=17327">Construction blacklist: Bosses pay £2.20 to destroy lives</a>). And I will be very interested to see what legal action is taken against those who ran, and those companies which subscribed to, the Consulting Assholeciation.<br /><br />If you think you may be on the Construction Association blacklist, you can check with the Information Commissioner's Office. Their <a href="http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_the_public/topic_specific_guides/consulting_association.aspx">Consulting Association info page </a>tells you not only how to check your details, but also lists the companies which suscribed to the CA.<br /><br />Personally, I'd like to see every company who subscribed to them raided, and their bosses prosecuted for not only blackisting but also for aiding and abetting a blacklisting organisation. Let's face it, 'just looking' is absolutely no excuse in the case of, for example, kiddie porn. And a number of organisations, including the NSPCC, have cited a link between unemployment and poverty - the end result of blacklisting! - and child abuse. So I'd just love to see all involved locked in a cell with Gary Glitter, Ian Huntley et al. And the key recycled!<br /><br />I know, that's hardly likely to happen. Especially when you bear in mind that the state has an unhappy history of keeping files on political dissidents; back in the 1980's (and probably more recently), MI5 kept numerous files on socialists and even used to infiltrate left-wing political parties.<br /><br />At the same time, the laws passed in 1999 banning blacklists <span style="font-style: italic;">are</span> welcome - even if it did take a f***ing decade for them to be enforced! Back in the 80's and before, a blacklisting organisation called the Economic League used to operate legally. And, whereas the Consulting Association seems to have most of its subscribing companies in the construction industry, the Economic League had a much larger range of subscribing companies, including Ford motor cars, Tate and Lyle sugar (who also subscribed to Caprim, the first 'son of Economic League'), and McDonalds (<a href="http://www.mcspotlight.org/case/thisweek/index.html">citation on McSpotlight</a>).<br /><br />One of the major factors which brought down the Ecch-onomic League in the early 90's, was consumer boycotts of products made by subscribing companies. In the case of large construction companies, direct consumer boycotts are less practicable. But that does not mean there is nothing we can do.<br /><br />Pressure must be put on councils and public service bodies, through the unions, to stop using the services of companies which use blacklists. Such companies should especially be banned from PFI projects - such as Academies. If such a company ends up running an Academy (construction firms have already sponsored academies), how would we know that kids attending such schools, who showed signs of not agreeing with the capitalist Establishment (and who could blame them ???), wouldn't end up on such a blacklist ?!?<br /><br />Apart from anything else, this is yet another argument against academies and the creeping privatisation of education! And we shouldn't stop at re-nationalising our schools, hospitals, etc.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Every company which has used such a blacklist should also be nationalised. Without compensation to their criminal bosses!</span>Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-6952829560398885292009-03-07T15:44:00.005+00:002009-03-07T16:42:42.893+00:00Radio pirates and Establishment raidersIt seems to be open season again on pirate radio, or free radio as I prefer to call it (BBC News: <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7919748.stm">Pirate radio 'puts lives at risk'</a>).<br /><br />The allegations of pirate radio causing interference go back to at least the 1980's, probably before that, and are as grossly exaggerated now as they were then. Besides, the constant crackdowns on free radio stations can, if anything, have a counter-productive effect where it comes to the elimination of interference. As penalties for 'illegal broadcasting' increase and the severity of studio raids increase - now even records and CDs can be confiscated, as well as broadcasting equipment - free radio operators take steps to avoid the studio being located. One is the use of 'link transmitters' on non-broadcast frequencies, which massively increases the risk of them being on a frequency used by emergency services or aircraft. As is the case with drugs, criminalisation has created a risk which really need not have been there.<br /><br />In any case, the Establishment are being hypocritical, whining about free radio 'putting lives at risk' while, at the same time, the maintenance of emergency service radio equipment is being cut back. For example, one of the companies involved in the maintenance of radios for the emergency services, Arqiva, has just made a large number of people redundant (including myself :-( ). I fail to see how scaling back the maintenance of such vital radio equipment can increase the reliability of emergency services' communications :-P<br /><br />There are also constant - again grossly exaggerated - reports from the Establishment media, about pirate stations being involved with illegal drug-related rave parties. Again, when the mainstream broadcasters continue to irresponsibly promote alcohol, which kills more people and causes more violence than illegal drugs, the stench of hypocrisy is overpowering!<br /><br />The real reasons for the crackdown on free radio are twofold. The most obvious one is that the legal stations - which, despite calling themselves 'local radio', are increasingly owned by a handful of medis giants - don't want competition eating into their fat profits.<br /><br />The less obvious, but maybe more important, reason for the Establishment's hatred for free radio, is also to do with competition - for ideas. The mainstream broadcasters have, over the past few years, increasingly become a mouthpiece for Establishment propaganda. For example, the broadcast media played an important part in encouraging people to support the Iraq war in 2003, and during the Gaza conflict, the mainstream news reports were heavily biased in favour of Israel. Then there's the endless adverts for military recruitment, against 'benefit fraud', etc. The last thing the Establishment want is alternative broadcasters eroding the ability of their media to indoctrinate the masses.<br /><br />Not that all pirate radio is inherently progressive. In my time on the free radio scene, I came across a few characters who were just as alienated and brainwashed as many in wider society. But at their best, community-based pirates can and have given a side of the news not generally heard on the mainstream stations, and helped promote local activity against racism. For example, in the 90's, the Birmingham pirate PCRL had a phone-in programme about the threat of the BNP and how to deal with it.<br /><br />What we need is broadcasting by the community, aiming to inform and serve the community. Not by big business, aiming to promote the Establishment's agenda and maximise profits.Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-86791346266703887252009-02-23T22:21:00.005+00:002009-02-23T22:47:49.633+00:00Armless presenters and brainless moronsA number of parents have been campaigning to have Cerrie Bernell, a one-armed TV presenter, removed from CBeebies (Digital Spy: <a href="http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a147553/disabled-bbc-presenter-scaring-children.html">Disabled BBC presenter 'scaring' children</a>). Apart from this being a horribly right-wing disablist campaign, I have a number of other issues with it ...<br /><br />First of all, I fail to see how pre-school children are 'scared' by a disabled presenter. Young children are not prejudiced, for one simple reason. The Establishment's indoctrination which creates and reinforces prejudice, of any kind, is a slow, gradual, 'drip-drip' process rather than a rapid one. So young children simply haven't yet been exposed to enough of the subtle Establishment propaganda, to yet be brainwashed into oppressive thinking!<br /><br />Secondly, if they were genuinely interested in stopping kids being scared, they would be far better off campaigning for the complete abolition of corporal punishment, which is still used to instil fear into kids. And the abolition of the SAT tests, which create undue worry among kids who become scared of failure at a very young age. Unlike any TV programme (including the likes of DeadEnders, whose violent storylines are far more scary than any portrayal of disability will ever be!), the belt or the exam result do not have an 'off' switch!<br /><br />Last but not least, it is not kids who will end up 'having nightmares'. It is disabled people, indeed people of any oppressed minority, when these bigoted gits' campaigns bolster the support of murderous far-right Nazi parties. Indeed, the racist fire whose flames have been fanned by New Labour's increasing attacks on immigration, has led already to the BNP winning a council by-election in Sevenoaks, Kent.<br /><br />Thankfully, prejudice can be countered and anger redirected against the real enemy. Intervention by the left in recent strikes against foreign labour has successfully won many workers to see that their real enemies are the bosses, not migrant workers who are being exploited while British workers' wages and conditions are undercut. And that the real answer is not to say 'British jobs for British workers', but to instead demand equal and decent pay and conditions for <span style="font-style: italic;">all</span> workers.<br /><br />It is this message of unity which we must use to counter not only the Nazis' message of hate in the run up to the European elections, but also to counter the capitalist Establishment's divide-and-rule tactics which weaken us all!Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-67640239792364830752008-12-26T15:10:00.004+00:002008-12-26T15:45:45.332+00:00And I believe in Santa Claus tooMerry Christmas to one and all, or so the cliche goes. If only that were true! While the Establishment are trying to use Christmas to get us to put our class conflicts aside and join together in celebrating this contrived 'season of goodwill', the fact of the matter is that Christmas is a time when class differences are as stark as ever. This year more so than most.<br /><br />While the capitalists are using Christmas (or should that be Cashmas?) as a marketing ploy, ramming TV adverts down our throat which scream 'have a merry Christmas if you buy our seasonal offers', many people facing redundancy in 2009 - such as Woolworths, MFI, Arqiva (myself included) , HBOS and many other companies' employees - will be welcoming Christmas about as much as the average turkey :-(<br /><br />To add insult to injury, this closet Tory so-called Labour government - which has poured so much money into protecting the capitalist Establishment's profits but done sweet FA to protect workers' jobs - is now hell-bent on punishing those who will become unemployed and have to claim benefits. Especially insulting is the attack on disability benefits; forcing people to look for jobs which they may be able to do, while doing more or less exactly nothing to force employers to adapt so that people with disabilities are able to do more jobs, is putting the onus once more on the individual rather than society to adapt. In short, it is a blatant return to the medical model of disability, rather than the much-preferred social model.<br /><br />Even for those in work, saving for next Xmas will be a pain. Following what happened to unFarepak, and with even banks such as Northern Rock and HBOS going belly up, where can we keep our money? We could put it in Under The Mattress Bank, but there it will be at risk of being taken by thieves. A bit like saving with companies like Farepak or putting it in a bank, really :-P<br /><br />Yet it is perfectly possible to save jobs. Failing companies should be nationalised, and priority should be given to saving workers' jobs not bailing out the fat cat bosses.<br /><br />At the same time, a shorter working week and more holidays, with no loss of pay, would create jobs. On that score, I do have a lot of respect for the Labour MEPs who recently defied Brown and their own Labour government, and voted in Europe to end Britain's opt-out from the 48 hour maximum working week. This would also improve safety, as tired workers are unsafe workers; as someone whose car was recently badly damaged by an accident involving a truck on the A1, a comment by a union leader that overworked drivers can be as dangerous as drunk drivers really struck a chord with me. But not, it seems, with the bunch of jerks who call themselves 'our' government :-(<br /><br />Yet just as depressing, is the fact that the left - which could be offering a real alternative to the McReformism of New Labour - is currently fighting like cat and dog. So, despite how I started this blog article, I am ending it with a plea for peace and goodwill. The whole left - both factions of the SWP and Respect, the Socialist Party and other socialist parties, Greens, left-wing Labour, anarchists, trade unionists - must put our differences aside and fight the real enemy. Namely, the capitalist Establishment and its client System.<br /><br />Then, and only then, can we really wish for - whether we have had a merry Xmas or not - a happy New Year!Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-34390535843153994862008-12-02T17:48:00.007+00:002008-12-02T18:48:38.818+00:00Warning: BBFC ruling contains Establishment prejudiceWhile reading DANmail today, I came across a thread about how the BBFC have given the label "disability themes" to the disability-related film <span style="font-style: italic;">Special People</span>, along with a 12A rating (The Independent: <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/directors-anger-over-comedy-films-disability-warning-1020484.html">Director's anger over comedy film's 'disability' warning</a>). So not only have the capitalist Establishment brainwashed people into seeing disability as a negative, they're now also expecting us to view it as being just as taboo as "sex scenes", "violence" and "bad language" :-(<br /><br />Well, while they're at it, I can think of a few more deserving "warnings" they could put on films. Films from <span style="font-style: italic;">Top Gun</span> to <span style="font-style: italic;">BFG</span> could include "Warning: contains glorification of militarism". A few, such as <span style="font-style: italic;">Who Dares Wins</span>, could include "Warning: contains blatant right-wing propaganda". Many old Western films could include "Warning: contains negative images of American Indians". While countless more should warn that they contain negative or patronising images of a racist, sexist or - last but not least - disablist nature.<br /><br />As well as challenging prejudices about people with disabilities, the fact that <span style="font-style: italic;">Special People</span> is a relatively low-budget film (presumably by an independent company) can't have done it any favours among the capitalist Establishment, whose numbers include the bosses of the big Hollywood film companies. Not to mention overpaid actors, and writers. (Maybe <span style="font-style: italic;">Harry Potter</span> films could have a "Warning: proceeds from this film may help fund a sell-out right-wing pseudo-workers' party" :-P )<br /><br />For a more rational and more detailed description of <span style="font-style: italic;">Special People</span>, check out <a href="http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/reviews.php?id=6310">Eye For Film's review</a> of the film. Even better, it may be worth watching it for yourself.Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-35167457883512831942008-11-22T16:26:00.005+00:002008-11-22T17:49:27.071+00:00Anti-fascists should not be bleary eyedIn the wake of the BNP's list-leak disaster, Labour MP Hazel Blears is quite right to lay the belt into the BNP by describing them as 'playing on people's apprehensions and peddling "pernicious but plausible lies"' (BBC News: <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7743290.stm">Blears sounds warning about BNP</a>). She also rightly claims that the BNP has been successful because working-class people feel 'ignored by mainstream politicians'. At the same time, however, she seems very vague about how we should deal with this problem.<br /><br />Why is this important? Because there is also a pernicious argument within the mainstream parties, Labour included, that we should try to undercut the BNP's support by pandering to some of its demands. This has seen Blears' own New Labour government bring in ever tougher rules on immigration and ever more draconian crackdowns on asylum seekers, while harping on about 'Britishness' and the need for ethnic minorities to become more assimilated into 'British society'. Yet far from undercutting the BNP, such measures have boosted them by legitimising their racist beliefs, and allowing them to set the political agenda.<br /><br />At the same time, the New Labour government is introducing measures, such as further attacks on benefits at a time when unemployment is increasing (BBC News: <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7740943.stm">Welfare plan 'may cause poverty'</a>). Such actions not only increase people's alienation from mainstream politics, they also fuel the misery and despair on which the fascists feed.<br /><br />In order to attack the fascists and their racist ideas - which handicap our ability to unite against reactionary measures such as welfare cuts - we need to take on their myths, not pander to them. However much British people's living standards have been attacked, they are - contrary to the right-wing myths peddled by the capitalist media and Establishment - still better than those suffered by asylum seekers. Asylum seekers <span style="font-style: italic;">do not</span> get council houses, they are housed in spartan accommodation reserved for asylum seekers, forced to live on benefits (increasingly in the form of vouchers) of less money than that given to British nationals, and are subject to constant surveillance - even having their possessions checked to make sure they don't own 'luxuries'. For the truth about asylum in the UK, check out the <a href="http://www.refugeecouncil.org.uk/">Refugee Council</a> website, which has a section devoted to refuting myths about asylum seekers. And the theatre show "They get free mobiles, don't they?" by the <a href="http://www.bannertheatre.co.uk/">Banner Theatre Company</a>, gives an excellent insight into the <span style="font-style: italic;">real</span> lives of asylum seekers.<br /><br />Speaking of unappealing 'safe havens', the BNP certainly ain't a safe haven for people - white people included - who are disillusioned with the Establishment parties. Even leaving aside their racist, oppressive and violent politics and behaviour, let us not forget how the BNP's membership list ended up online. It is widely believed to have been caused by an internal dispute within the BNP, in which one member who was forced out decided to execute a 'scorched earth policy' on the BNP. This is not an aberration, the BNP have had a simmering feud since last year (Searchlight Hope Not Hate: <a href="http://www.stopthebnp.org.uk/index.php?location=news&art=787">Internal splits threaten BNP's chances in London Assembly poll</a>). Indeed, the anti-democratic nature of fascist parties, internally as well as externally, tends to create splits and splinters; the BNP itself formed in the early 1980s from a split within the National Front. And the intolerant nature of fascism tends to make such disagreements erupt pyroclastically - the epitome of such loose-cannon behaviour was the Night of the Long Knives purge, back in Nazi Germany, when Hitler murdered his own SA storm troopers!<br /><br />So what can we do when we become bitter and disillusioned with our government and its Establishment rivals? What we need to do is build a left wing alternative, which can unite workers, regardless of colour, sex, sexuality or disability, into a movement which can challenge the capitalist Establishment and its puppet politicians from below. Then we can effectively challenge cuts in benefits, job losses etc without blaming the most marginalised within society. What's more, by creating unity against the such acts of the capitalist system, we can sow the seeds of a movement which can eventually destroy the capitaist system itself. And create a socialist society which is free of racism, prejudice, poverty, unemployment and misery.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Black and white, gay and straight, able bodied and disabled - UNITE AND FIGHT!!!</span>Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-53482601627034041272008-11-21T17:56:00.004+00:002008-11-21T19:19:39.489+00:00Blundering Nazis Pwned!We've all been enjoying schadenfreude over the BNP's membership list ending up online (Love Music Hate Racism: <a href="http://www.lovemusichateracism.com/news/2008/11/19/fascist-public-servants-exposed-as-bnp-chickens-come-home-to-roost-love-music-hate-racism-statement/">Fascist public servants exposed as BNP chickens come home to roost</a>). And LOLing as the BNP's reactions are hilariously hypocritical - bleating about their members being placed in danger (one word: Redwatch!) and wanting to use the Human Rights Act (which the BNP wants to repeal) against those who posted the list online.<br /><br />Having said that, I would not like to see a witch-hunt against those on the list for a number of reasons. Firstly, it may give false creedence to the pernicious myth that anti-fascists are "as bad as the fascists". Yes, this myth ignores the fact that, unlike the fascists, we <span style="font-style: italic;">do not</span> target people on the basis of unchangeable characteristics such as colour or disability, in fact we <span style="font-style: italic;">only</span> target their poisoned ideology. What's more, UAF has welcomed former National Front and BNP members who have seen the error of their ways, ie it is perfectly possible for people to stop being fascists. Whereas I've never seen a black man become white (with the possible exception of Michael Jackson, LOL). Nevertheless, the "as bad as they are" myth continues, and has been parroted by the less aware in the wake of the BNP list leak. So we should not encourage it.<br /><br />Even more importantly, there are questions about the accuracy of the list. Even if names haven't been deliberately added (let's fact it, we've only got the BNP's "highly trustworthy" word for that), there are people on the list who naively joined the BNP briefly and who now condemn what the BNP actually stands for - such as the Reverend John Stanton (Searchlight: <a href="http://www.hopenothate.org.uk/slog+57">Church leader withdraws support for the BNP</a>). Others may never have actually been members at all, like a worker at Windsor Castle (BBC News: <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7736794.stm">BNP members 'targeted by threats'</a>). Even in the case of the Merseyside policeman, maybe the Police need more accurate evidence than the online membership list before sacking him ... perhaps they could obtain such evidence by raiding the office of the local BNP branch where he is apparently a member :D<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Where the list will come in useful, however, is for locating areas where there is a cluster of BNP members, or areas near a BNP organiser, and leafleting these areas with anti-fascist literature and building a movement in said areas against the BNP and its toxic ideology.</span><br /><br />BTW The laughs at the BNP's expense don't stop here ... check out the <a href="http://lolgriffin.blogspot.com/">LOLGRIFFIN blog</a> :-)Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-81999401758995884312008-11-10T21:26:00.008+00:002008-11-21T19:21:06.096+00:00Total eclipse of the brainItalian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has really dropped a clanger (more like the Bells of St Clements :-P ) with his description of Barack Obama, the next president of the USA (for those who've been on holiday on another planet!) as "tanned" (BBC News: <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7715016.stm">Berlusconi says Obama is 'tanned'</a>)<br /><br />Berlusconi was quick to deny that he was being racist. That's as maybe, but I'm afraid his defence really isn't made any easier by the fact that his Forza Italia party is governing Italy in coalition with the fascist MSI party and the horribly right-wing Northern League. (Ironically, although the Northern League want separation of their 'Padua' region from Italy, their closest UK equivalent politically is probably the Ulster Unionists). Or the fact that his government has taken a hard stance against immigration, and attacks on immigrants and Roma gypsies in Italy have increased massively under his rule.<br /><br />Besides, I always thought there was something a bit dodgy about a party (Forza Italia) which is named after a football chant. Then again, it's perhaps just as well Berlusconi wasn't English, or he'd probably have named his party 'You're Shit And We Know You Are' ...<br /><br />Over to America, I'm glad Obama won the election for a number of reasons. Firstly, the election of a black man as US President has given 'the bird' to America's racist past (epitomised by the 'Jim Crow' apartheid laws in the southern US during the early half of the 20th Century). It also proves beyond reasonable doubt that racism is not, as many on the right allege, an indelible part of 'human nature'. But perhaps even more importantly, Obama's election owed at least as much to grass-roots local campaigning by working class activists as it did to rich donors. Hopefully, the high illusions among many in Obama will be translated into activism to shift his administration, and America in general, to the left.<br /><br />Back to Berlusconi, he is best known as a media baron who owns several TV and radio stations in Italy - a factor which no doubt helped his election campaign. Yet back in the 1970's, when he took on and broke the Italian RAI state monopoly in broadcasting, he was considered by some to be almost a liberator of the airwaves. By the 1990's, he was coming rather close to creating his own national TV monopoly - so, hardly surprising that soon after he came to power, Italian broadcasting was re-regulated and the first raids in decades took place on a number of unlicenced TV stations.<br /><br />Yet, despite Berlusconi's media empire, he is not all-powerful. He was voted out of power after his first term in office, only to be re-elected when the centre-left Olive Tree coalition let down its supporters (sound familiar?) More importantly, his government and the Italian capitalist Establishment of which he is a part, can be broken by Italian working class activity such as strikes and protests.<br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><br />Stuff Forza Italia - I'd rather be singing Bandiera Rossa :-)</span>Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-42273238935631051222008-11-08T12:05:00.004+00:002008-11-08T12:49:41.817+00:00Blog off, Blears!Ah well, I guess we should be flattered that political blogs are obviously a big enough thorn in the side of the government, for a government minister to attack us (BBC News: <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7711562.stm">Blears attacks political bloggers</a>). But Blears' knee-jerk attacks on those who disagree with her, and the way her government is going, do nobody any favours - least of all herself and her government!<br /><br />Far from "fuelling disengagement" with politics, as Ms Blears alleges, blogs are one way in which ordinary people can re-engage with a political scene which many feel is becoming increasingly remote from working class people. If anything is fuelling disengagement, it is the flood of reactionary right-wing policies which are often driven by the needs of the capitalist Establishment, and the out-of-touch rantings of government ministers in tabloids like <span style="font-style: italic;">The Sun</span> and the <span style="font-style: italic;">News Of The Establishment, sorry, World</span>. Indeed, one government minister even pitched his reactionary immigration legislation at Sun readers (BBC News: <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7696019.stm">Woolas ' looking to Sun readers'</a>). If you ask me, Blears' attack on grass-roots blogs while remaining silent on ministers spouting, even signalling new legislation, via the tabloids, seems to be a case of the Establishment's "seeming hypocrisy" which Blears berates us for unearthing :-P<br /><br />Ms Blears does have a point when she says some blogs are right-wing - even some blogs which are allegedly left-wing (notably those of the so-called 'decent left'), in supporting wars on Iraq and Afghanistan and (in the case of Harry's Place) even 42 days detention for 'terror suspects', often have de-facto reactionary right-wing undercurrents. But there are many left-wing blogs out there, many some way to the left of Blears and her fellow New Labourites (easy I know!) - such as Snowball's excellent <a href="http://histomatist.blogspot.com/">Adventures in Historical Materialism</a> blog. Blogging is also invaluable in getting across news which is not covered by the Establishment media, which Blears' friends are so in love with. Especially in more repressive regimes (eg Burma during the military regime), or areas under foreign occupation (eg Iraq and Palestine).<br /><br />Yet, at the same time, it is true that blogging on its own is very limited as to how much social change (or 'added value' to use Blears' Newspeak) it can bring. For real social change, we need to confront the capitalist Establishment in real space.<br /><br />Which is why this blog urges all readers (that means you!) to actively support, and get involved with, every strike, every protest against cuts in services and attacks on our living standards, to become actively involved in your trade union, and - last but not least - become actively involved in politics by joining a truly working class political organisation, such as the <a href="http://www.swp.org.uk/">Socialist Workers Party</a>!Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-6301630595471360352008-11-04T17:26:00.002+00:002008-11-04T18:00:57.313+00:00A stinky Trump in the face of conservationIt beggars belief that the Scottish government has given planning permission for Trump International to build a massive golf course, which will result in the environmental rape of a Site of Special Scientific Interest (RSPB: <a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.asp?id=tcm:9-202241">"Greener Scotland" is sold down the river</a>). Especially considering Trump's immature attitude that the site is developed exactly as he wishes or not at all - he even turned down an alternative design commissioned by the RSPB, which would have saved the SSSI!<br /><br />Now I've nothing intrinsically against golf as a sport (although I don't play it myself), but I do have a problem with the creation of golf courses when it involves the destruction of wild habitats - just as I dislike the endless building of supermarkets, yuppie houses and PFI projects when they involve the destruction of wild spaces, kids' playing fields, etc. I also dislike the way many golf clubs have astronomical membership fees which effectively exclude working class people (indeed, some operate as a clique with an invitation-only membership policy which the Freemasons would be proud of! ) The Trump International development, a playground for the rich (and, seemingly, the pet project of Mr Trump himself) seems to epitomise both the environmentally destructive and socially exclusive aspects, which give golf a piss-poor name.<br /><br />The Scottish government's granting of planning permission for this monstrosity also says it all about how the Scottish National Party can be every bit as bad, when it comes to kow-towing to the rich and powerful, as the other Establishment parties. Especially when we contrast their incredibly permissive attitude towards Trump, with their refusal to overturn the homophobic rule which prevents gay people from giving blood (BBC News: <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7707335.stm">Gay blood donor appeal rejected</a>). No wonder homophobic bosses like Stagecoach magnate Brian Souter feel at home in the SNP :-(<br /><br />Don't get me wrong, I'm in favour of an independent Scotland. But if its rulers continue to allow the capitalist Establishment - whether American capitalists like Trump or Scottish capitalists like Souter - to run the show, such independence will feel very hollow for working class people in Scotland.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Which is why, in the coming Glenrothes by-election, I will be cheering for Louise McLeary, the <a href="http://www.solidarityscotland.org/">Solidarity</a> candidate.</span>Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-74630637702294361652008-10-21T17:23:00.004+01:002008-10-21T18:01:57.244+01:00Immoral Monetarist FoolsDespite his apology for having an affair (BBC News: <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7681382.stm">IMF chief apologises for affair</a>), I have no sympathy for the director of the International Monetary Fund. But my grievance with the IMF runs far deeper than this sex scandal, whatever its implications.<br /><br />The IMF is a tool of the international capitalist Establishment, largely controlled by the rich and powerful G8 countries (including Britain and the US), which effectively holds the purse strings of poor countries which are heavily in debt. And uses this power to impose destructive neoliberal policies, such as privatisation and cut backs in essential services such as health care and subsidies, in return for limited debt relief and even more limited aid (which often has more strings attached than Tracy Island :-P )<br /><br />But even in terms of the sex scandal, I don't feel any sympathy for him. Especially not while teachers who have affairs with students over the age of 16 are still put on the Sex Offenders Register (BBC News: <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7653326.stm">Sex laws are 'unfair to teachers'</a>). If it is the case that teachers are a special case because of their position of power over students, why should it stop with teachers? I am incredulous that any boss, of any organisation, does not have a position of power over his or her employees. (That includes MPs who have affairs with their secretaries!) But whatever the outcome of the investigation, the IMF boss is extremely unlikely to suffer such hardships as being labelled a sex offender.<br /><br />And before anyone accuses me of making light of 'child abuse', I must point out that the IMF, and the policies which it imposes on the Third World on behalf of rich capitalist countries, are responsible for mass child abuse. Malnutrition of children is still widespread, as poor countries sell crops which should be used for feeding their population, in order to meet debt repayments. Children still die from easily preventable diseases, as healthcare budgets are slashed as part of 'restructuring', and large pharmaceutical companies fix prices beyond the reach of millions of poverty stricken people (while making profits which would make the average Mafia drug cartel jealous :-P )<br /><br />Then again, removing the boss of the IMF is not really the answer, either. The entire institution, along with other proxies for the international capitalist Establishment such as the WTO, should be shut down. And capitalism internationally must be overthrown, and replaced with a socialist system which is run for people not profit, need not greed.<br /><br />On the one hand, we must not let the capitalist Establishment fool us into placing all the blame on corrupt Third World dictatorships. But on the other hand, we <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">must</span> at the same time support the workers in Third World countries who are fighting against their own corrupt regimes, while at the same time building a workers' fightback against the corrupt regime at home!<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">As Marx said: "Workers of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains".</span>Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-67617977310826501562008-10-03T17:27:00.003+01:002008-10-03T18:09:01.743+01:00Return of the living deadIt was bad enough Brown surviving past the recent Labour Party conference; despite the unease within Labour and calls for him to go, nobody in Labour has yer backed this up with any serious attempts to force a leadership contest. Yet to add insult to injury, his recent cabinet reshuffle - which would, at best, have been "watering the lightning tree" - he brought back the arch-Bliarite Peter Mandelson. What next, a return of Bliar himself?<br /><br />Then again, the resurrection of Mandelson's rather chequered political career does seem eerily appropriate. With not only Brown and his Labour government, but even the capitalist system, seeming to be "dead men walking".<br /><br />Meanwhile, the attempts to rescue capitalism itself - not only in the UK and Europe, but even in the US - appear on the surface to be a return to old-fashioned state investment in the economy. Yet this international rescue package is far from F-A-B for the workers; billions of pounds, which could have been spent on public services and welfare, have instead been spent on protecting the bankers, the capitalist Establishment and, above all, their beloved capitalist system. The nationalisation of Bradford and Bingley epitomises how nationalisation is often in the interests of the capitalist system - while the government has nationalised B&B's debts, the assets, including B&B branches, have been sold off to Santander (sounds like reverse-asset stripping to me!) So B&B workers' jobs are still at peril, the privateers continue to make profits while workers will end up paying for the crisis in the form of higher taxes and/or cuts in public services.<br /><br />Small wonder, then, right-wingers like George W Bush have backed this international rescue (not so much Thunderbirds as Chunderbirds :-P ) of capitalism. As has the Tory leader, David Cameron.<br /><br />Speaking of the Tories, after a brief period in which they sometimes seemed to be attacking Labour from the left (!?!), they seem to have resurrected their reactionary right-wing policies. Like being even tougher on benefit claimants than New Labour, and wanting to improve discipline in schools by encouraging people leaving the Army to re-train as teachers (I'm all for 'swords into ploughshares', but I don't think this idea is anything of the sort!) Meanwhile, I heard on the radio earlier today that there are renewed calls to bring back the cane in schools. Welcome to Abu Ghraib High ...<br /><br />But what's really scary is the potential revival of a really grotesque corpse. As the Establishment parties lay the belt into immigrants it can only lead to more racism, while their attacks on incapacity benefit claimants have already been leading to an unwelcome rise in disability prejudice. Such prejudice is what feeds the Nazis, who - despite their ideas being utterly discredited in 1930s Germany - were never properly buried. The stinking corpse of Nazism has been stirring for some time, and must be stopped before it terrorises entire communities.<br /><br />Yet there is also hope. Not so long ago, strikes, industrial action and trade union power were written off for dead. Yet there has been a revival of strikes over pay in recent years. And as the credit crunch bites harder, there is a good chance that workers' militancy will return to haunt the Establishment.<br /><br />But it must not stop with strikes over pay. While encouraging industrial action in our own workplaces and supporting other workers who are on strike, we must generalise these strikes into a political movement which can take on not just individual employers, but also the capitalist system itself.<br /><br />As Marx wrote in The Communist Manifesto: A spectre is haunting Europe. The Spectre of Communism.Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-59425147960903058692008-09-19T17:43:00.004+01:002008-09-19T19:17:01.840+01:00Personally, I prefer AndrexA vile leaflet has been distributed across Yorkshire, Cumbria and Lancashire, grossly libelling Muslims by accusing them of being responsible for the heroin trade. To add insult to injury, the Crown Prosecution Service has dismissed any chance of prosecuting the perpetrators by claiming it does not constitute incitement to racial hatred (BBC News: <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7624523.stm">Muslim Police anger over leaflet</a>). F**king hell! I bet the German Nazis would have wished that bunch of prats were in charge of the Nuremburg War Trials :-|<br /><br />However the heroin comes to the UK, its trade has a long and sorry history of Western collaboration - from the 19th century Opium Wars, in which Britain went to war for the right to push opium in China (which is how Britain gained control of Hong Kong, which we didn't relinquish until 1999), through to the CIA turning a blind eye to the Mujahedin (precursers of the Taliban) in Afghanistan selling heroin to finance their war against their (at the time) Russian occupiers. And the main areas in the UK for heroin addiction are those which never fully recovered from the loss of jobs caused by the pit and steelworks closures in the 1980s and early 1990's (such as my home village), which left a pool of despair on which drug pushers profit. The culprits for this are the Tories (who were in government at the time) in particular, and the capitalist Establishment in general - not Muslims.<br /><br />Yet this is far from the first time Muslims have been slandered by Nazis - Muslims are constantly vilified as "terrorists", "woman oppressors" and have even been blamed for child prostitution. And Islamophobia is, sadly, not confined to Nazis - all the Establishment political parties, even some who claim to be 'left' (notably the so-called "decent left") have opportunistically slagged off Muslims, misquoting the Koran and mis-representing the Establishment in oppressive middle-eastern regimes (such as Saudi Arabia) as typical of Islam. All this feeds prejudice against Asians, let alone Muslims, and gives a false credence to the racist rantings of Nazi groups like the BNP.<br /><br />I personally am very grateful to the decent majority of Muslims, who have given enormous backing and help to the Stop The War Coalition and to the Respect Coalition. And before slagging off Islam, we should remember that extremists within Christianity have committed some repulsive acts of repression towards women (such as the Magdalen Laundries in Ireland), and even terrorist acts (such as bombing abortion clinics in the US). And the biggest danger to world peace is George W Bush, a born-again Christian :-P<br /><br />Well, if the CPS and Police aren't going to stop Nazis stirring up racial hatred against Muslims, it's up to ordinary working class people who abhor racism to act directly. You can help build the campaign against fascism by joining <a href="http://www.uaf.org.uk/">Unite Against Fascism</a>, and taking part in action such as leafleting to expose the truth about what the Nazis stand for.<br /><br />A big demo is taking place tomorrow against the BNP's rally in Stoke On Trent, where the Nazi BNP have 9 councillors and even have all 3 councillors in one ward (scary or what!)<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">I urge everyone reading this blog to come to this demo, and any future demos against the Nazis where they organise. And help drive the Nazis back into the gutter where they belong!</span>Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-88022543362704769792008-09-11T22:17:00.003+01:002008-09-11T23:00:31.230+01:00Penguin protesters and kangaroo courtsIt's not every day the Home Office attacks a local council for eroding civil liberties - yet that is exactly what has happened due to Telford & Wrekin Council's policy regarding adults without kids in parks (Shropshire Star: <a href="http://www.shropshirestar.com/2008/09/09/home-office-attacks-park-policy/">Home Office attacks park policy</a>)!<br /><br />For once, I agree with the Home Office. It is a dangerous erosion of freedom of movement, when council staff are able to question, even expel, people from public spaces. It also adds weight to some people's concerns that single people are an oppressed group - there is a pernicious myth that single men over a certain age (often around 40) are more likely to be paedophiles (there is nothing really new about this - back in the 80's, when homosexuality was much less tolerated than today, the same group was often labelled "gay"). Not only is this oppressive, it ignores the fact that most sexual (let alone physical) abuse of children happens within the family.<br /><br />As for the Telford case, it seems to have a political edge. The policy came to light when two Stop The War campaigners were handing out leaflets about climate change, dressed as penguins (to symbolise those in most danger from climate change). Now I've heard of <span style="font-style: italic;">paediatricians</span> being confused with paedophiles, but never <span style="font-style: italic;">penguins</span> :-P<br /><br />On a more serious note, the park was not only a convenient place for the protest, it was also quite appropriate; anyone doing any outdoor activity this (and last) summer will have been all too aware of how climate change has caused the British summer weather to be increasingly unpredictable (and miserable to boot). <br /><br />Yet not only were the protesters told to move, they were also told they needed Police CRB checks to hand out leaflets! At this rate, we'll soon need an Enhanced CRB disclosure to go birdwatching :-| If, that is, the poor old robins, blackbirds, blue tits, etc don't all go extinct due to climate change :-(<br /><br />The council later tried to back-track, saying they only question people "acting suspiciously" in parks etc. Yet"acting suspiciously" is so ill-defined as to be a weasel-word, covering a wide range of behaviour. Including, it seems, peaceful protesting :-(<br /><br />Also worthy of note is the fact that Telford and Wrekin Council is effectively Tory controlled (the Tories have 27 seats there, exactly half the total, according to their website's <a href="http://www.telford.gov.uk/Council+democracy/Councillors/Political+Make+Up.htm">political make up of the council</a> web page). Ah well, so much for the Tories' hypocritical bleating about the "nanny state". And their equally shallow environmental pretensions - which already took a knock earlier this week, when a coalition of environmental groups - from Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, to the RSPB and the National Trust - produced a report stating that all 3 of the UK's main Establishment parties are failing on the issue of climate change (BBC News: <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7607500.stm">Parties 'fail on climate change'</a>)<br /><br />So, the capitalist Establishment are attacking both the environment and civil liberties. So it's up to civil libertarians and environmentalists to unite. Anong with trade unionists, anti-racists, gay rights activists, and <span style="font-style: italic;">all</span> groups under attack from the system.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">Then maybe <span style="font-style: italic;">we</span> can launch a successful attack on the capitalist system, and the capitalist Establishment who it serves. And kick them out - of power!</span>Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-28548780905836895322008-09-09T17:30:00.002+01:002008-09-09T17:49:16.334+01:00When love and hate collide?Despite the scare stories about the Large Hadron Collider, this will almost certainly not be my last blog article. In fact, the chances of the LHC creating a black hole which will swallow the world are virtually negligible, and I am more scared of the world ending as a result of the capitalist Establishment's obsession with warfare, in the shape of nuclear weapons (such as Trident) and the "son of Star Wars". At the same time, however, I wonder just how disconnected the LHC really is from the Western military machine.<br /><br />There has been a long and bloody history of scientific discoveries, which could have greatly benefited humanity, being hijacked by the military - for example, would Einstein really have approved of his work in atomic physics being responsible for Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Cold War arms race, and the continuing waste of resources in new, potentially even deadlier, nuclear weapons???<br /><br />What's more, the military continues to be one of the main funders of scientific research in universities, as well as having its own research facilities (eg Porton Down in the UK). And wouldn't the western imperialist war machine just love the ability to research into using artificial black holes as a super-weapon ...<br /><br />It also seems kinda odd that the LHC was built at a cost of £5 billion (BBC News: <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7604293.stm">CERN collider ready for power-up</a>), while public services and welfare across Europe are suffering cut-backs. But whether or not the LHC has any military connection, it is clear that imperialist militarism has created a black hole of its own.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">The cost of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the £76 billion being squandered on replacement Trident nuclear weapons, have left a black hole in funding for welfare and public services!</span>Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-48132465467779906562008-09-02T21:36:00.002+01:002008-09-02T21:39:15.184+01:00Will depression turn to anger?Depression, recession, credit crunch, slowdown ... whatever word you use, the British economy's stuffed, or soon will be. And even this capitalism-loving New Labour government knows it, as shown by Chancellor Alistair Darling's admission that we are in for a severe recession. What I'm more sceptical about, is the apparent belief that the UK is in a better position to weather the storm than elsewhere.<br /><br />Recessions are not some natural event, like the weather (although the weather this year seems less natural, and more the result of climate change, but that's a topic worthy of a discussion all of its own!). Recessions are built into capitalism. For capitalists to make profits, ie exploit their workers, they must pay their workers less than the money they make by selling the goods which the workers produce. Since capitalism forces all companies to do this (or go bankrupt), a situation is soon reached where more goods are produced than workers have money to buy.<br /><br />As time goes on, it is also no accident that booms are becoming shallower - ie with smaller increases in living standards - and busts are getting more severe. This is because it is also the nature of capitalism for the capitalists' rate of profit to fall - due to increased investment in machines and technology. In a rational world, the advances in technology would make life easier for us, liberating us from work. Yet under capitalism, technology has forced the capitalists to exploit us more, making us work harder and for longer hours while paying us less :-(<br /><br />This time around, the recession is likely to be made especially severe by the one thing which has allowed the system to avoid recession for a relatively long time - debt. Capitalist companies have been able to drive real wages down and still make profits, because relatively cheap loans have been relatively easily available to workers. Trouble is, a growing number of people are now unable to pay these loans back - hence the "credit crunch".<br /><br />Other factors have come into play, such as the rising fuel prices. Oil is still at a high price, largely aggravated by the illegal and murderous Iraq war and the west generally p**ing off the other oil producing countries (such as Iran) in the Middle East. Meanwhile, the gas prices can't possible be helped by the West hypocritically sabre-rattling with Russia, a large producer of gas. Notably over Russia's invasion of Georgia. After all, the West would never launch an un-provoked invasion of another country, would we Bush and Bliar :-P<br /><br />A recession will doubtless cause massive hardship, as millions of people are made unemployed and plunged into poverty. Yet the sickening thing is, although goods will no longer be profitable for capitalists to produce, they won't be needed any less by workers. So any job losses must be resisted by strikes, and we must support any and all workers who take strike action to defend their - and our - jobs and livelihoods.<br /><br />But most of all, we must generalise these economic strikes into a political movement. Only then can we achieve the ultimate goal of getting rid of the capitalist system, which is obviously failing even by its own standards.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">And replacing it with a socialist system, based on human need not corporate greed, on people not profit!</span>Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8213154347026725967.post-33306616680869631522008-08-28T21:54:00.007+01:002008-08-28T23:29:23.667+01:00All that GlittersBefore I go any further, I'd like to point out that I have absolutely no sympathy for Gary Glitter, or any paedophile. His actions were grossly exploitative of children, and as such are indefensible. Yet, as the media feeding-frenzy on his less-than-welcome return to the UK subsides, there are issues raised which need addressing (and, despite the endless coverage of the Glitter story, weren't addressed by the mainstream media).<br /><br />Most notable was Home Secretary Jacqui Smith's riding the wave of revulsion of Glitter's crimes, by announcing the populist measure of extending the ban on convicted sex offenders travelling abroad. Yet, as Ecpat UK have stated, "British law enforcement has the tools to protect children abroad, they just don't use them" (Ecpat UK: <a href="http://www.ecpat.org.uk/press_01.html">New Report Shows Government Failure in Combating Child Sex Tourism</a>). Besides, concentrating exclusively on child sex tourism overlooks the fact that <span style="font-style: italic;">all</span> sex tourism is undesirable, as adult prostitutes in the Third World (and sometimes in the West) are vulnerable and often heavily exploited and abused. Surely the best way to reduce the problem of child prostitution is to enact measures to protect the welfare of <span style="font-style: italic;">all</span> sex workers. (My views on prostitution in general have been covered in an earlier blog article, <a href="http://akp-politics.blogspot.com/2007/05/pimping-alternative.html">Pimping an alternative</a>).<br /><br />Since the increased restrictions on foreign travel appear un-necessary, this begs another question: Is the Sex Offenders Register primarily designed to protect children from abuse (as it was originally touted), or as a punitive measure? And if it is designed to be punitive rather than protective, should it perhaps be used more sparingly?<br /><br />True, some necessary restrictions are punitive by nature; such as the travel bans already available in British law, and the restrictions on what employment people on the Sex Offenders Register can have. But occasionally, this goes well beyond the scope of protecting children; last year, a contestant was removed from ITV's Britain's Got Talent show because he was on the Sex Offenders Register, for a crime so heinous he was given a Conditional Discharge in court. (The irony is not lost on me that ITV has also shown <span style="font-style: italic;">I Smack And I'm Proud</span>, despite protest from the NSPCC)<br /><br />Indeed, not everyone on the Sex Offenders Register is a paedophile, or even a molester. People have ended up on the Register for acts of consenting BDSM activity among adults, for example.<br /><br />There is also the situation of people being placed on the Sex Offenders Register after receiving a formal caution, for offences not considered serious enough to go to court. Yet many people will agree to a formal caution rather than end up in court, with the publicity and stigma that often entails - especially when it comes to an offence as taboo as sex crime.<br /><br />The Sex Offenders Register seems to have much in common with ASBOs, also originally touted as a means of "protecting the community" rather than as a punitive measure. Likewise, people often end up with ASBOs, which often carry heavy restrictions, for behaviour which would not necessarily result in a court conviction. Finally, both ASBO's and orders to sign the Sex Offenders Register seem to be handed out like flyers :-P<br /><br />What is also scary is the way "child abuse" has been hijacked by the Establishment, almost to the point of it becoming a weasel-word. In previous blog articles I've talked about how photographing even your own kids in a public place is now about as socially acceptable as telling sick jokes at a funeral :( More recently, there was talk by local authorities of getting social services to investigate the families of overweight kids. Around the same time, there were local news reports of kids being sent warning letters for playing games on the street. Well, maybe I'm missing something, but preventing kids from getting exercise outdoors sounds to me like a very funny way of tackling childhood obesity!<br /><br />But perhaps most importantly of all, epitomised by the Glitter coverage is the way the media portrays child abuse as solely the act of sick individuals. Yet, in reality, most child abuse occurs within the family. And, far from an aberration, it is often institutionalised within the capitalist system.<br /><br />Physical abuse traces its roots back to the Industrial Revolution and child labour; children were forced to work for long hours doing unpleasant work, and had to be forced into doing so by beatings. Even as child labour was largely abolished, "reasonable chastisement" continued to be promoted as a way of keeping kids subservient to the rules of the system. Even to this day, the government still refuses to outlaw smacking completely :(<br /><br />Child sex abuse is more complicated, and has never been directly encouraged by the Establishment. But that does not let the capitalist system off the hook. The perversion of sexual relationships into a patriarchal situation where the man dominates the woman (as mentioned in my <a href="http://akp-politics.blogspot.com/2008/06/iris-cant-see-truth.html">Iris can't see the truth</a> blog article), mixed with the situation where children are similarly dominated by adults, is a fertile breeding ground for sick individuals to take sexual pleasure by exercising their domination on the most vulnerable people in society, ie children. People like Glitter are sick and obnoxious monkeys, but let's not take our eye off the organ grinder...<br /><br />Capitalism is the main sex offender. As such, it should not be allowed anywhere near our schools and youth services. Nor should it be allowed, via war and imperialism, to travel abroad.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">If I had my way, it would be permanently taken out of circulation!</span>Anthony Karl Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13901326422934448780noreply@blogger.com0