Lansbury's Lido

The Soul of Man Under Capitalism: NHS - Unwittingly Breeding Terrorism? Missed this one, well worth a read.

Image via Wikipedia I know I shouldn't but I take great delight in watching the rise in blood pressure that invariably develops amongst certain on the left whenever faith comes into the conversation. I'm reminded of the numerous occurrences from the Hammer films popular in my youth where Christopher Lee's Dracula recoils from the crucufix or clove of garlic held aloft by Peter Cushing's Van Helsing. There is somethng about 'faith' that many have difficulty grasping, of seeing beyond their typecasting or negative preconceptions or even dare I say, bigotry. There is a long and sweet history of faith working in the realms of the 'left in the UK. We can look back to the radical christian and faith movements that flourished around the time of the English Civil War, to the reformers calling for the abolition of slavery, to emancipation, to relief for the poor, to housing and employment and trade unions. We can look to the almost remembered past where icons of the ...

Image by Getty Images via Daylife The last British survivor of the World War I trenches, Harry Patch, has died at the age of 111. Mr Patch was conscripted into the Army aged 18 and fought in the Battle of Passchendaele at Ypres in 1917 in which more than 70,000 British soldiers died. Something he said a few years ago is worth repeating. Why should the British government call me up and take me out to a battlefield to shoot a man I never knew, whose language I couldn’t speak? All those lives lost for a war finished over a table. Now what is the sense in that, but still we send our lads to war. In Iraq, our young men are being killed and told to kill. Related articles by Zemanta Harry Patch last British survivor of First World War trenches dies (telegraph.co.uk)

Image via Wikipedia Listen to what Lance Corporal Joe Glenton says about the war in Afghanistan. He deserves all the support the progressive movement can provide if the authorities decide to go after him. Read more here Related articles by Zemanta British forces in Afghanistan face more casualties says Sir Jock Stirrup (telegraph.co.uk)

Image via Wikipedia Me and my wife tried to get a council house more than 20 years ago but were basically told that we haven't a chance in hell. So we had to purchase in a completely new area as where we lived is considered an affluent area and house prices reflected this. Basically even with both working we couldn't afford anything. We eventually moved about 18 miles away leaving family, friends and our roots. Move forward a couple of years and we considered moving house. A visit to a mortgage broker exposed us to what I then saw as an unsustainable aspect of the housing market. House prices were high and the ability for many to meet the lenders requirements was becoming more difficult. The lenders couldn't reduce their criteria any more than they had so they changed tack. We were offered what was called a 'self-certificated' mortgage. The upshot is that you lie through your teeth about how much you earn and then you lie lie about your ability to repay. It was a wa...

Clever, exceptionally clever! h/t Charlie Marks

Excellent sounds and visuals. Enjoy! Checkpoint 303 home page Checkpoint 303 myspace page

Image by Getty Images via Daylife Looks like Prime Minister Brown and Justice Jack have sprayed themselves in a sticky dose of irony. They plan to change the legal loophole where suspected war criminals and those accused of crimes against humanity before 2001 can remain at large in the UK and avoid prosecution. Speaking at the press conference, the PM said: My message to those accused is simply - your time is up. You may have run from responsibility but you can no longer hide from justice. I look forward to the day when Blair, Brown, Straw and the myriad of other world neo-con leaders and hawks have those words come back to haunt them.

Image via Wikipedia Well we've had the RMT out on strike recently and now Unite which represents 600 engineering, electrical, and management workers employed by London Underground has today (Tuesday) decided to reject the employer’s ‘final’ pay offer. The union will now be balloting it's members with regards to what action to take next. It will be interesting to see the response of the RMT with crossing picket lines. Can't remember if Unite members respected the picket during the recent RMT action. Anyone know? In 2008, job descriptions and salaries reveal that the average pay, benefits and bonuses of Transport for London (TfL) top management was £140,000. One hundred and twenty-three TfL managers earned more than £100,000 in 2007-08. I hope that the wider union movement can counter the expected foaming at the mouth of the press and media. We need to make people understand that actions such as this are always in response to actions by the management and to put the focus w...

Back in 1997 there were meetings between unions and local government representatives to discuss equal pay. The idea was to kickstart the process of ensuring everyone was paid an honest day's pay for an honest day's work and the result was the single status agreement. But things didn't go as quickly as planned. In 2003, six years after the initial meeting a revised deal was agreed with a deadline of 2007 to implement the agreement. Come 2007 only a third of councils had implemeted the equal pay agreements. Adding fuel to the fire there was an EU ruling in 2004 that the disparity could be back-dated up to 6 years allowing many people to claim this. It's now 2009 and in many councils the workers are still waiting to see the fruits of this agreement. But the councils would do well to view the recent tribunal outcome regarding Bury Metropolitan Borough Council. BBC News What the BBC don't mention is that the council execs squandered over half a million quid trying to f...

Image by Amir Farshad Ebrahimi via Flickr Cast Lead , Israel’s military offensive against Gaza killed more than 1,300 people, wounded many more, made tens of thousands of people homeless, and destroyed much of Gaza’s infrastructure. Six months later, the report says, its inhabitants have been unable to rebuild their lives due to Israel’s blockade. The UN estimate that $2.4 billion is needed to repair the damage. At a conference in Egypt $1.3 billion has been pledged for reconstruction in Gaza. The amount that the Israeli state has allowed into Gaza for reconstruction is a big fat zero. For God's sake, where is the humanity? Read more. Related articles by Zemanta A life in ruins (guardian.co.uk) Still crippling (news.bbc.co.uk)

Image by Getty Images via Daylife The 'Shrewsbury 24' were a group of union members who were involved in trying to maintain the national strike whch hit the building industry in 1972. Among the demands of the strike were a 35 hour week and an end to the 'lump', a way of employers avoiding financial and health and safety aspects for the workforce. In a clearly political move the Tory government made an example of 24 unuion members, known as the 'Shrewsbury 24' and had them arrested and sent to trial on charges of affray, unlawful assembly and conspiracy. Two of the 24, Des Warren and Eric ( Ricky ) Tomlinson were convicted of conspiracy and sent to prison. Des Warren died in 2004 from drug-induced Parkinson's, caused by the use of the 'chemical cosh' whilst in prison. Ricky Tomlinson was subsequently blacklisted upon his release and denied his trade but has managed to carve a career as an actor and comedian. For a long time there has been a call fo...

Image via Wikipedia I recently discovered what could be the reason for the apparent increase in the hijacking of ships off the coast of Somlia. There was a documentary or summat about the issue and the claim was made that piracy has increased because given the lack of an effective Somalian government the 'western' nations operating fishing fleets in the Mediterranean were treating Somalian waters as open season, reducing stocks and so denying the Somalian fishermen the catches they traditonally enjoy. So that could be why we are seeing increased Somalian piracy. But it doesn't explain how at the other end of the Mediterranean boats are being shot at and borded and the crew and passengers being banged up in a middle eastern jail. I'm reminded of Midnight Express at this point! For those who haven't twigged this is about the Israeli state thinking it's ok to arrest foreign nationals in international waters. The Respect Partys Yvonne Ridley puts it so much better:...

Had to be done!

Reading the Amnesty report into Cast Lead , Israel's criminal excursion into Gaza in late December 2008 brought to mind an apt song, Jenin by David Rovics . I remember listening to this for the first time a few months ago in the car. I remember it starting off and then getting darker and darker and as the last few verses appeared my mind was thinking: Oh My God No! I did actually turn it off before the end initially but a few minutes later managed to listen all the way through. A very powerful song. Do listen although I won't say 'Enjoy'.

Image by ISM Palestine via Flickr Amnesty Internation have produced their report into Operation Cast Lead , conducted by the Israelis in the Gaza Strip . You can download it here . It makes grim and tearful reading though, as this excerpt shows: One of the most shocking cases is that of the al-Sammouni family, who lost 31 members of their extended family in the al-Zaytoun neighbourhood, in the south-east of Gaza City. Most of those who perished were killed when one of the family homes, that of Wa’el al-Sammouni, was shelled, seemingly with tank rounds, on 5 January 2009, a day after Israeli soldiers had ordered dozens of family members to move there from a nearby house belonging to the same extended family. In addition to those killed in the attack, several other family members who had been wounded in it died in the following days as they remained trapped in the house because the army did not allow ambulances to reach the area. Several family members bled to death over a three-day per...

Image by Daniella Zalcman via Flickr The situation in Iran is tense, there's been a war of words between the Iranian leadership and those gentlemen and ladies of impeccable character in the UK government, so the BBC shouldn't be inflaming the situation as an 'impartial' reporter of news? You'd think so. So why the hell do they trot out a headline like this? Iran 'frees more British staff' See what they did there? A glance at the headline and it seems those dastardly turbanned johnny foreigner Iranimaniacs have taken hostage British citizens. Except they aren't British citizens, they are Iranians who work at the British Embassy. Propaganda and double-speak on behalf of the corrupt and immoral British government. Related articles by Zemanta EU Warns Iran To Release Brit Embassy Staff (news.sky.com)

An excellent song from Jah Wobble. Enjoy!