Unity is Strength

I have been expelled from the Labour Party. 

Mass-murdering war criminal, Tony Blair, has not. Likewise, Lord Mandelson and Alistair Campbell have yet to receive their marching orders although they persistently denigrate Labour in the press and on TV.

I write book, film and TV reviews for The Socialist. These have been collected in a book, "Socialist Reviews". Any rank and file Labour member could read it from cover to cover and think it was fair comment. They would find a lot to agree with.

The bureaucratic mind finds my membership and support of the Socialist Party an open and shut case. But is it?

Socialism has a long tradition in this country and internationally. "For the many not the few" is one of its cornerstones. "Unity is Strength" is another

Attacks on Socialism by Labour play into the hands of the Tories as Kinnock found out. He devoted an election campaign to attacking Socialists and lost the election in 1992.

Socialists actively support the trade unions in which members from many political backgrounds work together for a common cause.

The Socialist Party support a Corbyn-led Labour Government for the same reason they opposed Blair. Blair was for cuts, privatisation and war. Jeremy Corbyn is not.

I will continue to support Jeremy Corbyn's socialist policies. An attack on Jeremy Corbyn is an attack on all Socialists.

Likewise, witch hunts against Socialists weaken Labour. 

Socialist Reviews

Xia-Gibbs Syndrome Awareness Week

Xia-Gibbs Society, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation formed to provide support to and advocate for those with Xia-Gibbs Syndrome and their families and to foster hope for the future. The Society also aims to raise awareness about Xia-Gibbs Syndrome among the medical and general community and to support, fund, and promote scientific and medical research.

According to the US National Library of Medicine, "Xia-Gibbs syndrome is a neurological disorder characterized by weak muscle tone (hypotonia), mild to severe intellectual disability and delayed development. Expressive language skills (vocabulary and the production of speech) are particularly affected; children with this condition usually do not speak their first word, a milestone typically achieved within the first year, until age two or later, and some never learn to talk. Development of motor skills, such as crawling and walking, can also be delayed."

The reference is here

The NHS website does not appear to have a reference so raising awareness would seem to be a good idea.

 

Ingenu/e Magazine

The Spring edition of Ingenu/e magazine is out now. There are a lot of interesting articles but I turned straight to the review of Death in Durrington. They liked it! They even liked the jokes. 

The magazine has articles and art relating to Art Trails such as the one in Worthing; Visual Arts, Contemporary Crafts, Performing Arts, Seasonal Festivals. It also showcases poetry ... In other words "If it's not in Ingenu/e is it actually happening?"

Lord True hates pensioners

Skinflint Tories attack pensioners

The oddly-named Lord True has recommended that pensioners free bus travel, TV licences and winter fuel payments should be next in line for skinflint Tory cuts. 

He has the audacity to scapegoat pensioners for the lack of affordable housing for young people. 

As an unelected parasite, presumably he has forgotten that pensioners have votes.

The Miranda Revolution 

Socialist Reviews 

Trump visit is a calculated insult

While Prince Philip is polishing up his Mexican jokes in preparation for Trump's visit, the rest of us might consider the following:

The visit is a calculated insult to women as well as to any men who think women should not be the subject of that abuse and derision which are the Commander in Chief's stock in trade.

It is a calculated insult to the muslim community who have been branded as terrorists and worse. The charged suspect in the Christchurch killings of unarmed muslims cited Trump “as a symbol of renewed white identity and common purpose” (though he also said he rejected Trump as a policymaker and leader). Trump has set up a database to "track muslims in the United States" according to the Washington Post.

It is a calculated insult to anyone who criticises Israel, to anyone who is from a racial minority, the list goes on. You can bet your bottom dollar you are on it somewhere.

If Bercow is browbeaten into allowing Trump to address Parliament, we should demand Labour MPs join the protests on the streets instead of acting as lickspittles.

Trump's visit will unite many who voted Remain with many Brexit supporters. Trump is beyond the pale for practically everyone in the UK. His racist misogynist rhetoric has no place here outside the extreme right.

The BBC has sought to discourage any protests. They bring up the fact that Trump did not personally see any of the protests against his previous visit. This is irrelevant because media coverage meant that everyone in the UK and the USA knew the protests were going on. It is rather strange for a broadcaster not to realise something as basic as that.

The protesters are more representative of the people of this country than a bunch of Parliamentary sycophants.








The Miranda Revolution 

The Conscience of the Rich

Rich individuals and corporations have rushed to pledge hundreds of millions to rebuild Notre Dame and salve their consciences. No doubt they expect to go to Heaven.It is more likely that a camel will pass through the eye of a needle!

Under Macron one in five French families do not eat three meals a day. He is committed to restoring Notre Dame as a matter of prestige. His amour propre is worth any amount of money.

The most recent report by Secours Catholique states that "poverty is not diminishing. The number of vulnerable families with children — mainly, but not exclusively single parent families — continues to increase. The poorest amongst them, more than others, express a need to be heard: poverty is not only material and isolation is felt with increasing severity. New families who are closest to the poverty line are no longer able to make ends meet, between meagre resources and growing essential expenditure. Finally, the percentage of foreign nationals in vulnerable situations encountered by Secours Catholique in France is significantly increasing despite their overall number being stable. This confirms their increasing insecurity in our country."

In total there were around 8.8 million people living below the poverty line in France in 2017. In France this means they are living on an income of less than €1,026 a month, and many of them live on considerably less.

The rich preside over an increase in poverty and Macron, the 'president of the rich' does nothing. The face-saving pledge to rebuild Notre Dame is hypocritical in the extreme.

As Anatole France said ‘In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread.’

That is the ‘equality’ Macron defends. 

The Miranda Revolution 

Killer twists in Daisy White's "Before I Left"

This is a whodunnit and Daisy White strews a half dozen red herrings across our path before revealing the murderer. There are plenty of murders and hints at witchcraft and Satanism. The book is set in Brighton with a number of recognisable locations which make it more vivid.

Secondly, it is a thriller and there are parts of the narrative which will have the reader on the edge of the seat. There are a number of twists in the tale and surprises.

I suggest you keep the title in mind while reading the story because a great deal of the back story is revealed during the narrative.


It is set in the 1960s and there are pieces of period detail which are spot on. Homosexuality was a criminal offence at the time this story is set and the prejudice against gay men, in particular, has a role in the unfolding story.

Read this book.

 

My page on Amazon

Amazon Reviews 

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Apparently, Amazon does not differentiate between book and other reviews, so you will find a review of my shoes here too!

Scrooge and the tax dodger

When they were young, my children's favourite Christmas TV video was "A Muppet Christmas Carol". As a teacher I could always tell whether a book report on "A Christmas Carol" was based on reading the book or watching a video because the pupil would refer to the Marley Brothers. For those who don't know, in the book there was just the one.

Michael Caine played the role of Ebenezer Scrooge. Michael Caine is one of the famous actors who were tax exiles. He was a tax exile for ten years and is "worth" an estimated £58 million.A partial list of tax exiles is available on Wikipedia. The link is here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_exile#Famous_tax_exiles

What would Scrooge have said about taxes? "Humbug" probably.

However, in the movie Scrooge also talks about his taxes going to fund the workhouses and the prisons. We no longer have workhouses (at the time of writing). Tax exiles and tax dodgers want the police to lock up criminals and the prisons to house them. They want other people to pay for the police and the prisons.

Arguments about poverty causing crime are irrelevant to them. After all, they are not poor.

And if poor people die, Scrooge had an answer to that too. "They'd better die then and decrease the surplus population." Half the Tory Party would probably agree with that sentiment, and the other half would refrain from saying it out loud.

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Apparently, Amazon does not differentiate between book and other reviews, so you will find a review of my shoes here too!

Line of Duty

The TV series ‘Line of Duty’ is a work of fiction. Consequently, undercover police officers are not targeting trade unions and environmental campaigns.

Instead, they are involved in the rather more hazardous activity of infiltrating ‘OCGs’. That is one of many acronyms in the series, and stands for ‘organised crime gangs’.

The series is full of unexpected twists and turns which keep viewers on the edge of our seats. This review does not contain spoilers.

The show addresses the issue of how far an undercover officer has to act like a criminal in order to infiltrate a gang. They would be spotted and probably killed if they failed to join in with robberies. But what about killing other police officers to gain credibility?

Adrian Dunbar plays police boss Ted Hastings, and leaves the viewer wondering what is going on behind his bluff exterior. Martin Compston plays subordinate Steve Arnott, whose apparent abduction is one of many “shockers” in the series. Vicky McLure plays fellow detective Kate Fleming, whose struggle to succeed in a sexist environment is a theme of the series.

Stephen Graham plays undercover-cop-gone-native John Corbett, alongside Rochenda Sandall as crime boss Lisa McQueen. The organised criminals are portrayed as a business venture - gangster capitalism, in fact.

Interesting as the series is, it should be a matter of concern that the only unit pursuing police corruption is a fictitious one. Corrupt senior police officers routinely retire on fat pensions. People die in custody with no questions asked.

Perhaps the truest line in the series is spoken by police lawyer Gill Biggeloe (Polly Walker): “Sometimes we have a non-exclusive relationship with the truth.”

Parliament’s home affairs committee commented on the former Independent Police Complaints Commission that it was “woefully underequipped and hamstrung in achieving its original objectives. It has neither the powers nor the resources that it needs to get to the truth when the integrity of the police is in doubt.”

It’s a far cry from ‘Dixon of Dock Green’, and I hope no one is fooled into thinking the police have the issue of corruption in hand. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Instead of letting the state mark its own homework, the Socialist Party calls for democratic working-class control of police policy and staffing, and independent, trade union-led inquiries into police misconduct.

And only through workers’ struggle for socialism, where wealth and the state are controlled democratically by the working class, can we eradicate organised crime, and police repression in defence of profit.

Tax dodgers

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Apparently, Amazon does not differentiate between book and other reviews, so you will find a review of my shoes here too!

Classroom Teacher Manual

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B075MN463V

Kindle version free from Amazon for four days only. Paperback free to borrow from your library every day of the week.

Answers to questions asked by teachers. Teaching is a very stressful job. I spent 16 years running a helpline for stressed teachers. Here are some of the answers I gave to their questions.