Disabled people fighting the cuts

Disabled people are in the front line of the government's attacks on the welfare state. The government has made a critical error. One of many. They assumed that disabled people would be a pushover and they had no allies. Wrong on both counts.

Employment of disabled people is especially vulnerable to public sector job cuts. To add insult to injury the government is seeking to slash the invalidity benefit bill by using procedures to "prove" disabled people are scrounging and forcing them to work .... in non-existent jobs!

Sickened by the government's cowardly attack thousands of disabled people joined the TUC's march on 26 March and thousands took part in the "Hardest Hit" rally on 11 May.

The TUC disability conference on 25th and 26th May showed both the extent of the government's attack on disabled people and the courage and anger of the trade unionists who will stand in their path.

The Daily Mail attacks on benefit claimants echoing the Tories' lies in a cruder form have had the consequence of increasing hate crime against disabled people. The conference heard from John McArdle of Black Triangle on their work opposing defamation and victimisation of claimants.

It was guaranteed that any speaker who mentioned a public sector general strike would be applauded. John also suggested if Labour would not defend the National Health Service then unions should withdraw funding. He stopped short of saying what they should do to seek a political alternative but it was a very popular suggestion.

The NUT was there in force as you would expect and the project of a disabled history month championed by Richard Riesser received enthusiastic support.

IT was a very good conference and will inspire activists to forge the links between disabled groups and the mass of the trade union movement which can bring this government to its knees.

Pensions. How much will you use if you don't strike?

Their or his/her

I have just written a book review for Education Review. In it I had to face the problem of using "his or her" or "their".

It was once the case that "he" would be accepted. So that "Everyone in the nunnery was expected to do his best" was regarded as good grammar even if totally bonkers!
Now generally we have a choice:

Everyone wants to do his or her best.

or

Everyone wants to do their best.

Although the second sentence violates the general rule requiring agreement with the antecedents, many writers and speakers prefer to use forms of they because these forms are not gender specific. This is a common practice, but it is still criticized by grammatical purists.

And of course, Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Walt Whitman and the King James' Bible all used "their" as a gender neutral singular or plural possessive pronoun.

So "their" it was :)

Upcoming event

Hypocrisy over Bin Laden

Nobody is all that sad Osama Bin Laden has kicked the bucket. It was however hypocritical of Orange Tony to boast that "anyone who kills innocent civilians will be hunted down and killed." Does that include you and your chum Bush by any chance Mr Blair?

It also seems a bit premature to claim the world is a safer place. Especially as the immediate response was to declare a "heightened state of security alert" which suggests less safe really!

From our Royal Correspondent

The Roman Emperors dealt with economic crisis with a policy of "bread and circuses". The Con Dems are determined to leave out the bread and just give us the circuses. Witness the media torrent of sickly sentimentality over the royal wedding.

Much has been made of Premier Cameron's deliberations over whether he looks better as a lounge lizard or a stuffed shirt. Serious stuff. It makes Cameron look a fool which is no bad thing but it diverts attention from the realities of
the state of the Con Dem Nation.

We should be grateful that although the country cannot afford health, welfare, education, libraries or pensions, at least we can afford for two overprivileged parasites to live like pigs in clover. It's romantic isn't it?

And of course the media Royal Correspondents stress that Middleton is "a commoner". About as common as hen's teeth in fact. The Middletons are from an elite every bit as remote from the common people as the Windsors. The significance of "blue blood" is that in the past the royals and the aristos had pale skin because they did not work outside like the peasantry so their blue veins were more likely to be visible. None of the millionaire Middletons has to turn an honest day's work and indeed they look to expand their business empire with their royal connections.

On the other hand it is important for the Windsors to bring new blue blood into the family because the perils of inbreeding are all too evident in Prince Charles and Prince Philip. Daft as a pair of Poundland brushes.

So watch the royal circus and enjoy it. After all you paid for it!

Derek McMillan
Royal Correspondent
Mid Sussex Socialist Party

Andrew Lansley Tosser - self-explanatory

China air overbooking

We turned up at the check-in to the unexpected news that despite having booked seats months ago there was only one seat on the plane. Then we had a lot of discussion with Mr Sorry
Whose only job was to say sorry to passengers and give us the number of head office. Head office is not available of course

March 26 -WE ARE MANY: THEY ARE FEW

Today the a new generation of trade unionists rediscovered the fundamental truth:
WE ARE MANY: THEY ARE FEW


It would be a pity if this power were sidetracked into re-electing the Labour traitors. The working class is powerful. Its leadership is frequently weak. Marx referred to them as lions....led by donkeys. What do you think?

Libraries, education, welfare...the list goes on.
Everything is being cut except bankers' bonuses
and MP's expenses.



The cuts are entirely unnecessary. Billions are squandered in expensive military adventures. Billions are handed over to bankers in bonuses. Billions are cut from corporation tax and billions are siphoned off in tax evasion. A government of millionaires can be sympathetic to the plight of the fat cats.

As for the Political Elite – even the ones who don't have moats might as well have, they are so remote from the concerns of ordinary people. Cameron, Clegg, Miliband and their ilk have a privileged and protected lifestyle.

The capitalist class has failed. It is only the corrupt political elite that keeps them going with billions of pounds of public money.


Back in the day, the trade unions in the UK created a political party – the Labour Party. It was a party of peace, equality and public ownership. Hijacked by careerists it has become a party of:

War – not one bloody colonial war but two...and they have voted overwhelmingly for gunboat diplomacy in Libya.

Inequality – with leading Labour figures like Lord Hutton working for Cameron. Hutton is in the front line of cutting public sector pensions.

And privatisation. Usually in the guise of public private partnerships – which put public money into private pockets.

The Socialist Party does not believe trade unionists will be content to sit and wait for a Labour government. A Labour government will doubtless have good reasons to continue the cuts, just as Blair and Brown continued Margaret Thatcher's legacy of attacking the trade unions.

We believe that the unions can create a political alternative.

A new workers' party. The various socialist societies have worked together in - for example - the socialist alliance. It is only the big guns of the trade union movement - in short the people who showed their power today - who can transform the political landscape. This is desirable for socialists. It is a dire necessity for working people.


Details of the meetings of the small but perfectly formed Mid-Sussex Socialist Party are available on
http://crawleysocialistparty.blogspot.com

Lord Hutton's "nice Labour cuts"

If anyone pretends to believe the Labour Party would cut less than the Tories, they have only to look at the Labour Peer (and lickspittle to Cameron) Lord Hutton.

Martin Powell-Davies (NUT Executive member) writes:

Lord Hutton's second report into public sector pensions has confirmed the attacks that we have been expecting.
He has recommended:
a) An end to final salary pension schemes - to be replaced by 'career average' schemes in order to cut the value of pensions.


b) Retiring older - the 'normal pension age' would rise first to 65 for all but increase further to 68 in future to track the rising state pension age.
This comes on top of the attacks we already know about, particularly:
c) Paying more - with the government wanting to increase pension contributions by 50%. This will rob £100 a month or so from teachers just as we are about to be clobbered by a pay freeze and rising inflation.
Lord Hutton's interview on Radio 4 this morning contained a series of distortions designed to confuse and divide opposition - we must not be fooled.
First, he claims that 'there is no alternative', that we're all living longer and so we have to work longer to pay for it. The financial statistics don't back this up.
As the NUT press release has stated: "The National Audit Office has confirmed that public sector pension costs are falling as expected due to the reforms already in place.
"Teachers are already paying more, the normal pension age has been raised to 65 for new entrants and employer contributions have been capped ... Their plans are based on politics, not economics.
"Pensions have already been cut by changing their link from RPI to CPI inflation. As a result of this, next month's pension increase will be 1.5% less than it should have been".
Second, Hutton claims that public-sector workers can't expect to carry on with final-salary pensions when most private-sector workers aren't getting them.
But why should we allow ourselves to be ripped off in the same way that many private companies are ripping off their employees? The best way to defend all workers - in both the public and private sectors - is for someone to put up a fight, and we are going to!
Lastly, as well as trying to divide public sector workers from private sector colleagues, Hutton wants to divide classroom teachers from promoted colleagues by claiming that 'career-average' schemes will be 'fairer' to those lower down the scale. But what he intends will be unfair to all of us.
He hasn't made any recommendations on the technical details of the 'accrual rates' in any career-average scheme - and thereby hides the truth. In principle, a career-average scheme can be constructed in a way that maintains pension levels - but Hutton's aim is to cut pensions.
These schemes will be constructed to give us less pension even though we'll be paying in more. There's nothing 'fair' about Hutton's proposals - they are just another part of this government's agenda of cuts and privatisation.
Hutton did have to admit that there would have to be consultation and changes to legislation to bring in these changes. That means we have a window - although it might be a short one - to organise the united action needed to stop these attacks.
Hutton's report must be met with a quick response - coordinated ballots across the public sector for strike action to defeat this pensions robbery.

City financing of the Conservative Party doubles under Cameron

Journalism is publishing a story the rich and powerful want kept under wraps. Anything else is just advertising.

The Bureau of Investigative Journalism put the sleazy fleet street canaille to shame by uncovering the depth of city financing of the Tory Party. On the same day the tabloids headlined a celebrity divorce and what was happening in Neighbours.

Last year City money made up over half of all Conservative Party donations, a leap from a quarter five years previously, when Cameron and Osborne took over the helm.

The City has donated a total of £42.76m since 2005. Last year City money accounted for £11.4m, compared with £2.75m when Cameron took over.

The revelation comes as the Chancellor’s move to increase a levy on banks was criticised for being inadequate.

A spokesman for the Conservative Party quoted on Radio 2 said that it was "ridiculous" to say that the donations affected the government's policy. It is hardly ridiculous to say that the policy elicited the donations though!

If you have ever come across a greedy banker who handed out massive wads of cash with no prospect of a return, I haven't.

The "Leader's group" are a group of rich individuals who buy the right to bend the PM's ear on any issue of their choice.

Bureau research shows that 57 individuals from the financial services sector made a donation of more than £50,000 each last year.

This level of funding would entitle them to membership of the Leader’s Group. According to Conservative Party donor literature published on the party’s website members of this group are given numerous opportunities to meet “David Cameron and other senior figures from the Conservative Party at dinners, post-PMQ lunches, drinks receptions, election result events and important campaign launches”

And he who pays the piper calls the tune.

City financing of the Conservative Party doubles under Cameron

Law and Hugh Orde - brute force and ignorance

Hugh Orde, the head of the Association of Chief Police
Officers, criticised the "lack of willingness of new protest
groups" that have sprung up around the internet to engage
with police before protests. In fact police have
"co-operated" by "kettling" protestors.

Orde is determined to go back to the days of the miners'
strike when the boys in blue were regarded as Maggie
Thatcher's private army.

Orde admitted that kettling was a violation of human rights.
Then he gave a shrug. So what? It's "for the greater good,
and that's the really complex part of policing."

He said if protestors continued to refuse to co-operate,
then police tactics would have to become "more extreme."

The police themselves face the same problem as have arisen
in the health service and education - unqualified and
underpaid staff replacing qualified officers as a way of
cutting costs. Community Support Officers bringing in
policing on the cheap. What next? Sherlock Holmes being
replaced by Inspector Clouseau? He may be crap but he is
dead cheap.

And the sons and daughters of police officers are having
their future taken away by this government. The introduction
of sky high fees will affect them as much as anyone else.

Hugh Orde's policy of brute force and ignorance is hardly
likely to address these issues.

Crawley against the cuts

There is now a blog for Crawley Against the cuts. The first post is about a protest against the council:

Council meeting to cut jobs and services
Wednesday 23rd February
Town Hall
7.30
Tax cuts for the rich
Job cuts and service cuts for the rest of us.

Don't let them get away with it.

Give the fat cats a piece of your mind!

Tucson shootings

The shootings of six people including a US senator a federal judge and a 9 year old child in Tucson sent a shock wave around the country and created a media storm. Everything in sight was blamed including the fact that not enough American politicians carry guns!

The deadly shooting in Tucson has not deterred a nearby gun show from continuing as scheduled exactly one week later. Organizers of the Crossroads of the West gun show say their event will proceed at a site just 13 miles from where the shooting took place. The gun show was moved to Pima County after Los Angeles officials decided organizers have promoted irresponsible gun use. Crossroads’ logo depicts a crosshairs inside the letter "O" of "gun show."

Palin has called it a "blood libel" that her extreme rhetoric is a factor in the violent attempt on one of her opponents. Palin has not been a shrinking violet when it comes to explicitly inciting the killing of political opponents.
For example she wrote about Julian Assange:

"First and foremost, what steps were taken to stop Wikileaks director Julian Assange from distributing this highly sensitive classified material especially after he had already published material not once but twice in the previous months? Assange is not a "journalist," any more than the "editor" of al Qaeda’s new English-language magazine Inspire is a "journalist." He is an anti-American operative with blood on his hands. His past posting of classified documents revealed the identity of more than 100 Afghan sources to the Taliban. Why was he not pursued with the same urgency we pursue al Qaeda and Taliban leaders?"

It's worth noting that there is no evidence that Assange has "blood on his hands." In a review of a previous round of leaks on Afghanistan, the Pentagon found no evidence that anyone had been endangered.

Palin having "blood on her hands" is a more apt figure of speech.
For the gun lobby in the USA it is an understatement.

Pound of Flesh anybody.

There are lots of lovely websites around offering helpful loans to people with a dodgy credit history - usually people who are really hard up. And the rate of interest these good samaritans are offering?

Typical APR 1286.2%

and presumably a pound of flesh if you can't pay.

Driving teachers?

A teacher at a school "somewhere in Sussex" was given a performance target of "driving" not cattle or the school minibus but other teachers!

They are clearly unaware of the traditional Sussex ballad:


Some folks as comes to Sussex,
They rackons as they knows
A darn sight better what to do
Then silly folks like me and you
Could possibly suppose.
But them as comes to Sussex,
They mustn't push and shove'
For Sussex will be Sussex,
And Sussex won't be druv.

Cable v Murdoch

Vince Cable talks a good war. He declared war on Rupert Murdoch to a couple of undercover hacks from the Telegraph. Then instead of going on the offensive he retreated with his
tail between his legs. The first war in history to be fought by unconditional surrender.

There have been calls for Cable’s resignation from newspapers owned by a certain Mr Murdoch. Now there’s a spooky coincidence.

Those who watched the debate on tuition fees will remember battling Cable’s role in that farce. Cameron and Clegg might as well have been pulling his strings as he mouthed their policies and tried to look sincere.

Interestingly the Jeremy Vine Show on Radio Two specifically asked listeners to call in with comments supporting poor Mr Murdoch. There were none.

Some recalled the lies Murdoch told about the Hillsborough disaster – lies insulting and demonising Liverpool fans. Lies which which the Sun later withdrew.

Others drew attention to Fox News which is a continual right-wing rant rather than a news channel.

Listeners also drew attention to Berlusconi in Italy who used his media empire to silence opposition to his corrupt repressive government.

Another said Dennis Potter had the right idea when he named his pancreatic cancer “Rupert”

Perhaps the best comment appeared on the Sky News own website: “I love SKY. What ever they say, i believe. Tell me what to think next Mr Murdoch?”

"North Korean" Gove

“We will give teachers power over how money is spent”
was the rather surprising remark of Michael Gove on the Andrew Marr show on 21 November.

Even more surprising was his assertion that spending on education would be increased. At the same time here in West Sussex 50 teachers supporting the most vulnerable pupils with hearing and vision impairment are facing the sack.

The “increase in spending” does not in fact involve any new money, they are robbing Peter to pay Paul, But Peter will still need paying!

To celebrate the 2012 Olympics 162 million pounds of government spending on Sports Partnerships is being cut. Yet again the “teacher autonomy” and “more spending” of Mr Gove's doublespeak actually means more cuts. Emma Greenough, Brighton School Sport Co-ordinator, now facing the sack, commented in the Observer “You are going to be left with two-tier sports – it'll be sport for children whose parents can afford it.

And even Andrew Marr thought Gove's attitude to the curriculum was “North Korean.” Gove protests that teachers will be given autonomy. However Mr Gove who has no knowledge or experience of teaching will decide how little Willie in Willesden will learn to read [“Synthetic phonics for you laddie”] and How Harry in Hastings learns History.

The NUT opposes loss of 50 jobs. You can help

This press release about the loss of jobs in West Sussex should appear in your local rag this week.

* If it does not, why not send it to them?
* If it does then why not write in supporting it?

If you agree the union should fight job cuts then you can email

Chair of WSCC, Mark Dunn:
Mark.Dunn@westsussex.gov.uk

Cabinet Member for Education: Peter Griffiths:
Peter.Griffiths@westsussex.gov.uk

David Sword, Director of Learning:
david.sword@westsussex.gov.uk

***The union is as much YOU as it is ME ***

Derek McMillan
President
West Sussex Teachers Association

Press release follows:

West Sussex NUT is gravely concerned over the intention of West Sussex County Council to restructure the support services to schools from centrally employed staff as its response to central government?s cuts in funding.

These cuts will hit some of the most vulnerable children in West Sussex; they will inevitably result in the reduction of services to the most disadvantaged, including those with special needs.

This action, if unchallenged, will result in the loss of almost 50 jobs in front-line services and we believe it will inevitably reduce the quality of the service provided. The jobs lost will be those of specialist teachers, psychologists, educational advisers and other professionals who provide invaluable support to our most needy children, their families and schools
This will be contrary to the government?s declared intention to protect front-line services in vital areas such as education. It is also inconsistent with West Sussex?s declared intention to deliver good quality services to all, especially the weakest and most vulnerable in our society.

West Sussex Teachers' Association urges all concerned parties, such as the parents of vulnerable children who are most likely to be most disadvantaged by this policy, to communicate their concerns to WSCC as a matter of urgency.

Teachers’ pensions are under attack. But the NUT is going to fight to defend them.

The November NUT Executive agreed unanimously that we prepare a campaigning timetable building up to a ballot for strike action in the spring term.

The Government are trying to claim that our existing pensions’ scheme is ‘unaffordable’. The most recent valuations of the Teachers’ Pensions Scheme confirm that’s just not true. They just want to rip-off our pensions to pay for their debts.

The first Hutton report made quite clear what the Government intends – to make us retire older and pay more for less pension.

October’s Comprehensive Spending Review made the threat clearer. The Government plans for all teachers to be paying another 3% of our salaries in pension contributions. That’s a big pay cut. It’s a cut that we cannot accept.

On top of that, the Government have switched the indexation of pension benefits from the Retail Price Index to the lower Consumer Price Index. That change alone could cost a teacher tens of thousands of pounds in retirement.

When the Hutton Commission issues its final report in March, it could include further attacks. Changed pension calculations – like using ‘career-averages’ – could cut pension payouts. Our retirement age could go up – to 65 for all of us – but perhaps to 67 and beyond – unless we make a stand.

We can’t wait for Hutton’s Final Report in March to reveal the full details of these attacks. To make Hutton and the Government think again, we have to take action before then – hopefully co-ordinated with other teaching and non-teaching unions too.

That’s why the NUT Executive agreed unanimously to produce a timetable for:

• Distribution of campaigning materials

• Meetings, rallies and demonstrations

• A ballot for strike action in the spring term.

We will approach other unions to seek maximum co-ordination in all of the above activities and then confirm our action timetable at the December meeting of the NUT Executive.

Get the news out to every school – the fight to defend our pensions is on!

Do it to Julia!

In the book 1984 Winston Smith is threatened with savage
cuts from the claws and teeth of a rat. The state do this to
him so he will plead with them to "Do it to Julia" and thus
betray his lover and himself.

Representatives of the New Labour canaille have similar "do
it to Julia" plans. They wish to appear reasonable by saying
"of course some cuts are necessary but vote for me and I
will oppose this particular cut."

They have the cheek of the devil. New Labour kowtowed to the
bankers and gave them billions to keep the gravy train on
the rails. They expect us to pay the fare. The bankers would
benefit from a short sharp shock - perhaps six months in
prison for profiteering and economic sabotage - far more
than the bonuses which are simply not good for them.

The anti cuts movement will welcome support from any quarter
but anyone from the Labour Party should be asked whether
they would vote against "nice Labour cuts" as well as "nasty
Tory cuts"

Richard Venton and Rupert Murdoch

Let's imagine for a moment that Richard Venton is telling the truth. Let's imagine that Tommy Sheridan actually did visit a sex club.

Where is that "crime" in the scale that includes Blair's mass murder in Iraq, Rupert Murdoch's disgusting slanders against Liverpool supporters at Hillsborough or the common or garden corruption of 99 percent of politicians.

Yet Richard Venton chooses to side with Rupert Murdoch - apparently without even the bad excuse of being bribed!

Andy Burnham's two faces

Andy Burnham was interviewed by Andrew Marr on his new role
as shadow education secretary. He started by distancing
himself from those who got the Labour Party in the soup by
deriding "bog standard comprehensives." He strongly defended
the role of comprehensives and denounced the Tory plans for
academies. He went on to roundly excoriate the Con Dem
government for their ill-conceived plan to raise fees
through the roof and he opposed the Con Dem cuts in public
spending.

So far so good.

Then he felt he had to be statesmanlike. He condemned Tory
academies but praised Labour academies. He condemned Tory
fees but he defended Labour fees. He had the gall to admit
that he went to college on a grant but had no shame
whatsoever about kicking away the ladder now he no longer
needed it.

And as for cuts? Well no prizes for guessing. He was against
Tory cuts but strongly favoured Labour cuts because he was
tough and macho! So it looks as though the Labour opposition
will be as much use as a chocolate teapot when it comes to
fighting against the cuts.

We need a party for the common people – a new workers’
party.

Crawley against the cuts

West Sussex Teachers' Association is urging all of its members to support campaigns by trades councils and community groups against the cuts. The WSTA opposes cuts regardless of which political party is initiating them.

The Mid Sussex Socialist Party is backing the campaign. When leafleting with the Trades Council in Tilgate today the only adverse comment we got was from someone who thought we were backing the Labour Party. We soon cleared that up!

North Sussex Trades Council oppose cuts

On Wed 15th September the North Sussex Trades Council meeting was an open meeting to discuss a campaign against the cuts. There was a wide ranging discussion.

Although there is apparent public support for "cuts" in the abstract, when people realise that the cuts are unnecessary and will affect front line services they will have a change of heart.

For example, Phil Clark from Brighton Trades Council pointed out that Connexions staff - who cope with the most difficult pupils and seek to get them into work and/or off of drugs - are facing cuts and the next target was likely to be mental health nurses. This gives the lie to the bluff of the coalition that no front line services will be hit.

This will only matter if the trade unions are seen as willing to fight. The TUC has already been more vertibrate than is commonplace. They talk a good fight but it will be up to the ranks of the unions to make sure they actually fight one. The trades councils can play a key role as is shown by the success of Brighton Trades Councils launch meeting attended by 250 people on Thursday.



Next Meeting Tuesday 2nd November
Time 7.30 pm
Place St John's Church Hall in Crawley
Be there

Oppose cuts - whichever gang are in power!

New Labour began the policy of robbing the poor to give to the rich.
The Con Dem coalition are no better.
There are plenty of "efficiency savings" to be made by confiscating the bankers' bonuses and making millionaires pay tax but the rich want to make the poor pay for a crisis created by the greed and incompetence of the bankers.
One member of the public came up to us and said "we should be like the french - come out on strike and on the streets until the government say 'give them what they want!'"

U.S. Troops Accused of Killing Afghans For Fun, Collecting Fingers As Trophies

From Democracy Now

The Guardian newspaper reports twelve U.S. soldiers face charges over forming a secret "kill team" that allegedly blew up and shot Afghan civilians at random and collected their fingers as trophies. Five of the soldiers are charged with murdering three Afghan men who were allegedly killed for fun in separate attacks this year. Seven others are accused of covering up the killings and assaulting a recruit who exposed the murders when he reported other abuses. All of the soldiers are members of a Stryker infantry brigade based in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan. Meanwhile the father of one of the men charged has told the Associated Press he tried nearly a half dozen times to pass an urgent message from his son to the Army that troops in his unit had murdered an Afghan civilian and planned more killings. Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell addressed the charges on Thursday.
Geoff Morrell: "I don’t believe the allegations here against these few individuals are representative of the behavior or the attitudes of the entire force. That said, it clearly—even if these allegations are proved to be untrue—is unhelpful. It does not help the—you know, the perceptions of our forces around the world. And so, the sad part about this is, even if these individuals are vindicated, even if they’re not true, the damage will have been done."

Megalomaniac Murdoch

News Corporation - the misnamed Rupert Murdoch empire - is launching a million dollar lawsuit against Skype. The lawsuit concerns the first three letters of its name.

Murdoch's lawyers claim this word is Murdoch's personal property and want money from anyone else who uses it! To quote the Sun - another Murdoch property - "you couldn't make it up."

The inhabitants of the Isle of Skye could be in trouble here and Murdoch's lawyers will have their sights on "The Sky's the Limit", "Blue Skies thinking" and the Skye Boat Song.

So next time you sneak a peak at that thing...you know that blue thing up there...Murdoch could be after your money.

And as for you Trotskyists...watch out!

Forget twanging bowstrings in Sherwood Forest and men in tights. The "Robin Hood Tax" is being proposed by Oxfam and others as a means of making the bankers pay for the crisis they created.

For years Oxfam and Cafod have made valiant efforts to feed the poor in the third world. At the same time unfortunately the fat cats in the city have been making valiant efforts to feed *off* the poor in the third world through criminally extortionate interest repayments. Oxfam and Cafod raised thousands. The bankers clawed back millions.

Their website claims "The 'Robin Hood Tax' is a tiny tax that would have a massive impact. It would raise enough money to help poor people, protect public services and tackle climate change at home and abroad.Oxfam, along with many partners, is working to make this tax happen. Politicians around the world are already beginning to consider it as a serious possibility,"


These are very modest beginnings. The video by Bill Nighy makes the point in a humorous way that a tiny proportion of the bankers' profits would be a massive sum and could repair some of the cuts in spending on the poor and the damage brought about by climate change.

Oxfam and Cafod are taking this up because the politicians are useless. So busy collecting their own expenses and so scared of offending the bankers they are completely inert.

However Robin Hood went a lot further. He didn't tax the rich. He expropriated them. It is a tradition we need to revisit.

The TUC is listed as supporting the Robin Hood Tax. Perhaps that is what they wanted to chat with David Cameron about? It is time the TUC got off its knees.

The following 48 organisations are supporting the Robin Hood Tax Campaign: ActionAid, Action for Global Health (UK), ACTSA (Action on Southern Africa), Africa Europe Faith Justice Network - UK, Article 12 in Scotland, ATD Fourth World, Barnardo's, Cafod, Centre for Alternative Technology, Chigwell Justice and Peace Centre, Christian Aid, Christian Medical Fellowship, Christian Socialist Movement, Church Action on Poverty, Church of Scotland Church and Society Council, Commonwealth HIV & AIDS Action Group, Forum for Stable Currencies, General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches, Health Unlimited, Housing Justice, Interact Worldwide, International HIV/AIDS Alliance, National Justice and Peace Network, National Union of Teachers, NCVO, nef (the new economics foundation), Oxfam GB, ONE, People and Planet, Plan UK, Results UK, The Salvation Army, Save the Children UK, Stamp Out Poverty, Stop AIDS Campaign, Student Partnerships Worldwide, TB Alert, Tearfund, Trades Union Congress, UNA-UK, Unicef UK, Unite, University and College Union, Urban Forum, War on Want, World Development Movement, World Wide Robin Hood Society, Zacchaeus 2000 Trust.

Click here for more information

Tolpuddle 2010

Two members of West Sussex NUT (President and Equalities officer - Derek and Angela) went with Crawley Trades Council to Tolpuddle this year.

There are a series of events celebrating the release of six trade unionists - the Tolpuddle Martyrs - arrested and transported in 1834 for joining a union.

It was a good occasion and an opportunity to see the three teachers' unions taking part in the same march and under the same slogan "Save our Schools".

It came as a surprise to see the Labour Party gracing us with their presence and talking about "this dreadful academies programme" - I expected to see a few pigs flying around but no.

The Labour Party is pro-war, pro-privatisation and viciously anti trade union.
I imagine if New Labour had been around in those days they would have locked up the Tolpuddle Martyrs without the formality of a trial and probably carted them off to Guantanamo for good measure.

The Trades Council coach only cost a tenner and we will seek to get more teachers (history teachers for example) involved next time.

Beckham on the Jonathan Ross show

To celebrate his final programme on the BBC Jonathan Ross spent the remains of the budget on luring the millionaire footballer to speak on his program.

As you can imagine he had something to say about the football. "The England team lost because the players played badly." Where would we be without his insightful expertise?

However, leaving his area of specialist knowledge, he went on to talk about two other issues.

He spoke in lyrical terms about "this earth, this realm, this England" omitting to explain why, like many millionaires, he neither lives here nor pays any tax here.

He then turned his incisive intellect to the war in Afghanistan. The war was justified because "our English soldiers are heroes." And there is nothing like a dead hero to sell a war. Unlike everyone else Beckham knew the objective of the mission. You might well scratch your heads at that one. Apparently they are there to win.

So there you have it, football, nationalism and complex international issues all summed up a la Beckham. The world is very simple for millionaires like Ross and Beckham. A bit more complex for the rest of us.

Report on the National Shop Stewards Network conference 26 06 2010

Margaret Thatcher always advised her friends only to employ a gardener who had patches on the knees of his trousers. Thatcherites like the working classes on their knees and the present coalition is no exception.

The NSSN is potentially very useful for public sector unions to co-ordinate actions and simply to exchange information. Various unions have produced data on the “gold plated” public sector pensions one reads about in the media. The median pension for PCS members is 8000 pounds a year – you couldn’t get gold-plated cufflinks on that.

There was a wide range of participants from pensioner activists who reported on the number of OAPs who are up in arms about the government’s plans…down to the Youth Fight for Jobs representatives who are seeking to secure a future for school-leavers.

The representatives of the BA cabin crews got a standing ovation – as you would expect really.

The NUT’s own Linda Taaffe moved the keynote resolution . She is using her so-called retirement to invigorate the NSSN.

The resolution aimed to get the TUC off its knees. The suggestion is that union branches and individual members should be urging them to organise a national protest against the cuts. This is in contrast to their current plan of inviting David Cameron round for tea. Matt Wrack of the FBU said this was about as useful as having a chat with the hangman about what kind of knot you want.

Contact the TUC by email, phone or via the web page:

http://www.tuc.org.uk/the_tuc/about_form.cfm

Tel 020 7636 4030
Fax 020 7636 0632
Email info@tuc.org.uk

Trades Union Congress
Congress House
Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3LS

A number of trade unions support NSSN at the highest level – the PCS, POA, RTM and FBU for example. The NSSN will work with the official Trade Union Congress when possible but without it when necessary. We have no plans to invite David Cameron to our next conference.

The big bang and mythology

“I believe in one God. The Father, the Almighty, The creator of heaven and earth and of all things seen and unseen.”

“I believe in the almighty big bang., The creator of heaven and earth and of all things seen and unseen. (dark matter)”

People believe in all sorts of things. The big bang is a theoretical construct based on a lot of painstaking research over decades. Every year volumes of research are added to the existing information about the big bang.

The Nicene Creed – quoted above - was the “best guess” of Christians in AD 325 in an attempt to explain the fundamentally unexplainable. However as an explanation it is different in kind from the Big Bang theory.

When a child asks you “why does the sun shine?” you might answer “it is like a flame giving off heat and light” If they are a bit older you can tell them a lot of fascinating stuff about hydrogen fusing to form helium. This does not answer the question. The question was “why” not “how”.

The big bang – as a theoretical construct – tells us a lot about how. It tells us nothing about why.

Bertrand Russell’s clinching argument for the non-existence of God was this: if you say God created the universe – after all the universe “must have come from somewhere” – this just pushes the question back a stage. God “must have come from somewhere” too.

And the Big Bang? Well AFAIK it came out of nowhere…

Belief in the Big Bang does not carry any moral implications. I believe in the Big Bang therefore I should forgive those who trespass against me? Not logical captain! Logic and science do not lead you to that conclusion.

Jesus believed you should treat other people as you would have them treat you. St Paul said it was the one commandment which contained all the others. That’s good enough for me. (and for Abraham, Lao Tse, Buddha, and the prophet Mohammed). But I can't prove it.

There is an Arthur C Clarke story in which an entity enters the solar system and immediately begins to communicate with Earth scientists. During the time of its stay in the solar system (it is using the slingshot effect of the sun to continue on elsewhere) it astounds scientists on Earth with knowledge which advances Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Biology by decades.

Just as communication is fading out, they explain the concept of God to it and ask for an opinion. The response? “I understand there is an answer to this question. Unfortunately it is far beyond my capability to understand it!”

God bless :)

Labour leadership election

I have to say the leadership election of the Labour Party shows the
depths to which the party has sunk. Noticing that they have a plethora
of white gentlemen in suits the right wing consciously used their votes
to include Diane Abbott on the slate on the assumption that a snowball
in Hell would have a better chance than she will.



Diane Abbott does not do herself any favours by cuddling up with Portillo - the most hated Tory after Margaret Thatcher - or by her championing of the "excellent academies programme" on her website.



I am not at all sure we should be "building bridges" to the Labour Party.
They have cut all the bridges just as they proposed to cut everything
else - except bankers' bonuses of course.

I joined the Labour Party in the 1960s because I believed in peace, social justice and public ownership.

People who have joined Labour in the last decade have done so because of a belief in war, privatisation and inequality. If you seek hatred and vituperation of trade unionists you need look no further. Ask the Firemen. Ask the BA cabin crews.



We need a party for the common people:
a party of the working class.

Genius with his hand in the till - David Laws

Chief Treasury Secretary David Laws, described as "a genius" by colleagues, is planning cuts in public spending which will impoverish millions. He has apologised after it emerged he had been claiming MPs' expenses to rent rooms in homes owned by his partner.

The Daily Telegraph blew the whistle on Laws. They said this scam totalled £40,000 of the public money this "genius" is so careful with.

He said his motivation was to keep the relationship with the man private and not to reveal his own sexuality.

So having his hand in the till is OK but being gay is something to be ashamed of?

Liberal values indeed.

The rottenness and corruption is not solely the preserve of the two main parties it seems. They really are all the same. "A workers' MP on a workers' wage" was the slogan of our TUSC candidates.

(TUSC = Trade Union and Socialist Coalition)

OMG What is the matter with the SWP?

Now that it appears talks between BA and Unite have collapsed the Socialist Party has released the following statement concerning the actions of the SWP and the cabin crew dispute.

Occupation A Mistake

The defeat of Willie Walsh and the brutish BA management is the most important aspect to this dispute. It is therefore unfortunate that the reported decision of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) members at the end of the Right to Work Conference to invade talks between British Airways management and Unite has partially obscured this issue. This occupation was completely mistaken.

Whatever the nature of the deal being negotiated it is not for a group like the SWP to decide to break up talks. A decision to accept or reject a deal is solely the property of cabin crew and their democratically elected representatives.

In an industrial dispute the final decision on tactics to confront the employer must always rest with the strikers themselves. Socialists can assist by sharing experiences and ideas in past disputes and building support and solidarity for the strike among the general public. This has always been the method of the Socialist Party. We will offer our opinion on the course of a dispute to workers but we believe that any initiative taken in support of a dispute should be taken in consultation with the workers themselves.

A key task for socialists and trade union activists is to raise the confidence of workers to fight not to substitute themselves for workers in struggle. This will mistakenly create the impression that a special minority of activists will do the fighting leaving workers as bystanders. The Socialist Party stands for the maximum control of workers over their dispute.

It is the view of the Socialist Party that the actions of the SWP on Saturday was not in the best interests of striking cabin crew workers. Such tactics will prove to be counter-productive. It is the mass action of cabin crew through their union that is the key to defeating Walsh, not the actions of a self appointed minority. Despite this we are totally opposed to any victimisation of those who took part in this mistaken protest.

The priority for all workers in the trade union movement now is to support the cabin crew workers against Walsh and BA management.

FT let the cat out of the bag

Has anybody got any lingering doubts of the government's intentions? The Financial Times – house journal of the capitalist class – let the cat out of the bag in an article on 20 May 2010


“ Before the election, the coalition parties aimed to avoid a direct confrontation with the unions. They now appear braced for a pitched battle.

“The unions were always bound to figure prominently in this parliament. The government must rein in a fiscal deficit of 11.1 per cent of output. Public jobs and pay must bear the brunt of spending cuts. In the state sector,68 per cent of employees are bound by collective pay agreements.

“The parties’ manifestos suggested plans to outflank the unions. They wanted to force through tight pay settlements while undermining the unions by contracting out an increased share of public services to private providers. The coalition agreement sets out a path to direct confrontation.”

Of course the “must” in this article is disingenuous. They take as read that the working class, starting with the public sector, “must” pay the price for a crisis not of their making. There is no “must” about it.

The government will throw down the gauntlet to the trade union movement. The nice Cameron/Clegg mask will be torn off to reveal the Thatcher within.
In particular for teachers, the national pay and conditions agreements will be torn up. The FT puts it like this

“More explosively, the new government intends to attack national pay bargaining. It wants to “reform the existing rigid national pay and conditions rules…” for schools. If anything, the coalition’s ambition should be greater. National pay bargaining is a problem well beyond education.”

They have a touching faith in the combativity of the trade union leaders. Yes this should be “explosive” but it is up to the rank and file to make sure it actually is “explosive” Trade union leaders of “left” and “right” may seek delay and compromise as they have always done in the past.

And as the FT clearly understand, a defeat for the teacher unions will be the harbinger of a defeat for workers with national pay bargaining unless they are prepared to fight back.

NUT Executive member Martin Powell Davies' call for the June executive to indicate that a strike ballot will be the response to any such attack from the government is timely.
And we are fully aware that strike action is not enough, this is political attack requiring a political response.

And New Labour has always sought to destroy national pay bargaining through precisely the tactics laid out in this FT article. Those union leaders who continue to back New Labour are acting against the interests of their members.

Anyone who voted for the LibDems to keep the Tories out will be reconsidering now. We need a party for the common people – a party of the working class.
Derek McMillan

TUSC The only way is up!

The brand new Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition has made a start on the long march to create a workers' party after the shameful betrayal of New Labour.

Election results for TUSC in the 2010 general election


England and Wales:
Region
Seat
Candidate
Result
% of vote
East Mids

Leicester West
Steve Score.
157
0.4%
East Mids
Wellingborough & Rushdon
Councillor Paul Croft
249
0.5%
Eastern
Cambridge City
Martin Booth
362
0.7%
London
Lewisham Deptford
Socialist Party Councillor Ian Page
645
1.6%
London
Walthamstow
Nancy Taaffe
279
0.68%
London
Greenwich and Woolwich
Onay Kasab

267

0.6%

London
Tottenham
Jenny Sutton
1057
2.6%
Northern
Gateshead
Elaine Brunskill
266
0.7%
Northern
Redcar
Hannah Walter
127
0.3%
North West
Wythenshawe and Sale East
Lynn Worthington
268
0.65%
North West
Bootle
Pete Glover
472
1.1%
North West
Carlisle
John Metcalfe

376

0.9%

North West
Liverpool Walton
Darren Ireland
195
0.57%
North West
Manchester Gorton
Karen Reissman
337
0.9%
North West
Salford
David Henry
730
2%
Southern
Southampton Itchin
Tim Cutter

168
0.4%
Southern
Spelthorne
Paul Couchman
176
0.4%
Southern
Portsmouth North
Mick Tosh
154

South East
Brighton Kemptown
Dave Hill
194
0.5%
South West
Bristol South
Tom Baldwin


206

0.4%

South West
Bristol East
Rachel (Rae) Lynch


198

0.4%

Wales
Cardiff Central
Ross Saunders
162
0.4%
Wales
Swansea West
Rob Williams
179
0.5%
West Mids
Coventry North East
Dave Nellist
1592
3.7%

West Mids
Coventry South
Judy Griffiths
691
1.55
West Mids
Coventry North West
Nikki Downes
370
0.8%
West Mids
Stoke Central
Matt Wright
133
0.4%
Yorkshire
Colne Valley
Councillor Jackie Grunsell.
741
1.3%
Yorkshire
Hull West + Hessle
Keith Gibson.
150
0.5%
Yorkshire
Doncaster North
Bill Rawcliffe
181
0.4%
Yorkshire
Huddersfield
Paul Cooney

319

0.8%

Yorkshire
Sheffield Brightside
Maxine Bowler

656

1.7%


Scotland:

Seat
Candidate
Result
% of vote

Glasgow South West
Tommy Sheridan
931
2.9%

Glasgow South
Brian Smith
351
0.9%

Glasgow North
Angela McCormack
287
1%

Glasgow North East
Graham Campbell
187
0.6%

Edinburgh East
Gary Clark
274
0.7%

Edinburgh North & Leith
Willie Black
233
0.5%

Midlothian
Willie Duncan
166
0.4%

Dundee West
Jim McFarlane
350
1.2%

Motherwell & Wishaw
Ray Gunnion
609
2%

Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey
George McDonald
135

Making a complete Griffin of himself again

The BNP frequently complain that the many pro-Nazi
statements of Nick Griffin are “all in the past” and not
relevant to his current squeaky clean image.

The Jeremy Vine show on Radio 2 on 30th April 2010 had the
BNP leader making a complete Griffin of himself yet again.
He repeated his claim that “the bravery of the SS kept
Europe safe from Bolshevism.”

The bravery of the SS consisted of herding Jewish men, women
and children, gay men, trade unionists and communists into
gas chambers. This is not called bravery by most people.

It also gives you a vivid picture of what life (and death)
would be like if these people were given power.

Real life Avatars?

Apart from being a 3d film of astonishing effects, Avatar tells the story of the Na'vi people fighting back successfully against the mercenaries of the global corporations which want to exploit the natural resources of their home planet "Pandora". For some reason the American military thought it was having a dig at them :)

Director James Cameron is not content to leave the film to change public perceptions. On the american indy internet news programme "Democracy Now!" he said he had begun a campaign alongside indigenous peoples to bring to light real life "Pandoras" on this planet.

"The success of Avatar triggered an interesting chain reaction, which is a lot of groups that are involved with indigenous issues and the environment and energy and so on have come to me saying, you know, “How can we use the success of the film to continue to raise awareness, not just a generalized kind of emotional reaction, but a very specific awareness on different battles that are in progress right now around the world?” And I thought, well, OK, fine, this is an opportunity to maybe do some good, beyond just the film itself. I mean, I thought, you know, as a filmmaker, as an artist, I put my story out there, you know, and people react to it, and they draw their own conclusions, and that’s it for me. I’m over and out, you know? "

"But I don’t think that’s enough in this situation, because Avatar doesn’t teach you anything specific. It only gives you an emotional reaction, a sense of moral outrage, if you will, about the destruction of nature, about the, you know, destruction of indigenous people, culture and so on. So I think people need action items. You know, they need specific things. They need specific information about what’s going on, and they need specific action items about what to do about it. So you’ve got to talk about it. There’s got to be a dialogue. So I think there’s a whole dialogue going on now in the wake of this film that’s beneficial."

For the people of the Amazon there is nothing fictional about the Belo Monte dam project. 25,000 people will be displaced if this project goes ahead and they literally have nowhere to go. The film has aroused an emotional response (and sent Rupert Murdoch's avatars at Fox News into apoplexy which is no bad thing!). The high profile support of James Cameron for the real life victims of capitalism is important but at the end of the day the corporations will only be brought to book by the working class movement.

The Hobbit and the great debate on the election

(From Classroom Teacher)

Did anybody else remember "The Hobbit" while listening to the "Great debate" on ITV? Did you feel as if you were overhearing three trolls arguing about whether to boil you alive or mince you up?

There was nobody to say the war in Afghanistan is unwinnable and unjust and we should withdraw. Instead they talked about the quality of the troops' equipment. This is about as useful as discussing the quality of the deckchairs on the Titanic.

Nick Clegg did mention ditching Trident but otherwise failed to differentiate himself from the others.

When it came to cutting public spending - and thus our jobs and the jobs of all public sector workers - the devils were only discussing the detail. The principle of robbing the poor to give to the rich was a "given."

Thank God there is an alternative http://www.tusc.org.uk/

Dash to Digital leaves the poor behind

Digital radio is a great advance in scientific technique. Unfortunately under capitalism even the best scientific advances can be manipulated to the advantage of big business and the detriment of the working class.

So the changeover to digital is likely to leave hundreds of thousands of the poorest in the community – especially old age pensioners – with no access to the wireless. A massive leap backwards.

In the UK most people regard the radio as their prime source of news. Over 90 percent of the population listen to the radio. Many of them listen in the car and most cars of course have analogue radios. These will all fall silent in five years time and will need replacing with massively overpriced digital sets. Many people cannot afford the changeover and will simply be left behind.

Yet the electrical shops are still cynically selling off analogue radios to old age pensioners without any warning of their limited lifespan.

At the same time Mandelson (or whichever Conservative Party clone takes over from him in May!) is also seeking to cut off the internet from anyone who cannot afford the extortionate prices charged by the CD and record manufacturers. File sharing technology is another modern miracle which capitalism is incapable of accommodating it seems.

The profiteers corrupt and hinder every advance in science and technology which gets in the way of their greed. The politicians aid and abet them. After all they can all afford digital radio... or at least charge it to their expenses :)

Opt out forms for NHS summary care record

The introduction of summary care records does not fill me with confidence. The number of recent cases of personal information being left on trains and the government's general lack of concern for personal privacy suggests it might be a good idea to opt out. Naturally they have made it fiddly and difficult to opt out.

Click here for an opt-out form

To quote Joe Hill

From Democracy Now:

Utah lawmakers have approved a measure that would allow women to be charged with murder if they commit an “intentional, knowing or reckless act” that causes a miscarriage. Critics fear the measure could target women for all kinds of actions, including staying with an abusive partner.

Trade Union organiser Joe Hill was killed after a judicial frame-up in Utah. His last words are well-remembered "Don't mourn, organise". Less well known is his plea "take my body over the state line. I wouldn't be seen dead in Utah"

Education not Censorship.

Big Brother and censorship

Linda Papadopoulos was the in-house psychologist on Big Brother . You cannot accuse New Labour of lacking a sense of irony. Her report for the Home Office on young people's sexuality contains an outline of a problem – and an Orwellian “solution” which would have Big Brother choosing which books and TV programs we are permitted to see..


Advertising treats the bodies of women, and increasingly of young children, as commodities to be exploited for profit. Children have easy access to pornography: Rupert Murdoch's newspapers are in the sweet shops. Linda's very own Big Brother was not entirely bereft of nudity and crude language.

Censorship is running away from the problem not tackling it. Education in the role of advertising and sexuality is more important than increasing the power of the state to censor. Money could be put into teaching resources instead of lining the pockets of media celebrities like Linda Papadopoulos!

There is also the practical problem that the British Home Office would have to constantly monitor and close down websites all over the world. If you do not want an internet as restricted as that available in China, which is Mandelson's dream, then you will oppose such a move.

Teachers are well aware of the problem but hampered by constant tests, targets and deadlines. We need an education system responsive to the needs of the children and young people rather than driven by centralised testing programmes.

Education not Censorship.

Changes at blogger

All blogs with addresses like derekmcmillan.com/weblog have to be transferred back to blogspot as ftp (file transfer protocol) will no longer be supported. A link to this effect will be put into derekmcmillan.com/weblog.

The disadvantage is that some schools block all blogspot sites indiscriminately.

A voice for those who don't want cuts, privatisation and war.

There is no party of the left in Britain at the present time. The coalition of trade unionists and socialists provide a voice for those who oppose cuts, privatisation and war.

http://cnwp.org.uk/news.80.htm

Join the Classroom Teacher Network

Action and Change for Teachers
A group of teachers who backed Martin Powell-Davies’ recent stand in the NUT Vice-President election

For action on workload
To defend public sector schools
To defend the rights of classroom teachers in academies and trust schools
And to resist the attacks on education whichever canaille wins the general election!

Click here to join the facebook group.
Click here for the blog

Vote for Kevin for Deputy General Secretary

From the WSTA blog
It is important that members in West Sussex play a full part in the
National Union of Teachers and voting in the Deputy General Secretary
elections is part of that. By now you should have received your ballot
papers.

Kevin Courtney was overwhelmingly endorsed by the West Sussex NUT and
we are supporting his campaign to be elected as DGS.

Veronica Peppiatt writes:

Although Kevin is a leading light of one of the political groups on
the Executive, as a "non-aligned" Executive member I am convinced of
his absolute integrity and commitment to the Union as a whole and am
confident that if elected to the post of DGS he has the strength of
character to rise above old allegiances, if need be, in order to put
the best interests of the whole membership first.

Veronica Peppiatt, Executive Member for Surrey and West Sussex


'I have known Kevin for many years and in that time have been hugely
impressed with the energy, vision and commitment he has brought to
such campaigns as the defence of educational funding, opposition to
Academies, reducing workload, fair pay for teachers and many others.

I know he believes fervently in working alongside other trade
unionists and takes the same view as me that we are unlikely to win
future battles over issues such as the defence of our pensions,
without an inter-union perspective. He has already developed
invaluable links with other public sector unions.
In my view he is the candidate most likely to enable the NUT to defend
the future interests of teachers and the education profession.
Dave Thomas (Secretary, West Sussex Teachers' Association)'

You may also receive this as an email later in the week. Apologies for
the duplication but we get full marks for enthusiasm!

Derek McMillan
(Helpline Co-ordinator West Sussex Teachers' Association)

9 Questions about the BNP

1. Why has the BNP consistently (Stoke, Burnley Pendle) voted for above-inflation increases in council taxation, despite its claims against council tax increases and property-based council tax in general? 

 

 2. Why did Broxbourne BNP vote to block free bus passes for pensioners against their pledge that "pensioners should get free bus passes"? 

 

3. Why did Halifax BNP councillors abstain from voting to block the closure of a primary school in Mixenden despite election literature promising to defend all primary schools in the area. 

4. Why did BNP in Kirklees agree to council service cuts in Sep 2009 declaring "a lot of the silly posts can disappear. I've always advocated that you get rid of 25% of council staff and no-one would notice. We won't be able to guarantee early retirement and gold-plated pensions."? 5. You, Griffin, have expelled certain BNP members for their political actions (including ex-Conservative BNP councillor Geoff Wallace in Halifax for supporting greenbelt housing) but not those who have implemented these above actions which harm the majority whose interests you claim to further. Why is there this discrepancy? 6. Why did you oppose the firefighters' strike of 2002-2003, asserting that firefighters should not have the right to withdraw their labour to renegotiate terms and conditions of work? You declared firefighters "must be placed on the same level as military personnel and police officers and ... forego their ambiguous position of using strike action". Do you still agree with it? 7. Why did Stoke BNP exonerate chief executive Wayne Nutbeen for closing (in 2005) Royal Doulton's last factories. Nutbeen's explanation was the "company isn't owned by Stoke-on-Trent. It is owned by the shareholders. The board has to ensure it does right by them". 8. Why has Stoke BNP agreed to budgets (2004, 2005, 2007) that cut social spending including Citizen's Advice Bureaus, old people's services? 9. Which aspects of the "national good" in "Oriental countries" would you emulate in Britain first - a 2000% increase in work-related suicides, mass dismissals of workers for attending anti-government meetings or homeless nomad families working in low-wage sectors? (Your manifesto (2009) claimed "Oriental countries such as Japan, South Korea and Singapore have managed their economies to combine private enterprise competition with the national good, and these are the models the BNP would emulate.")

British Airways Dirty Tricks department

The British Airways dirty tricks department have won a victory for every bullying employer and few are more prone to bullying than our employers. Every action we take against SATS, over workload or the proposed attack on teachers' pensions runs the risk of being declared illegal on one technicality or another.

On the decision of one judge and at the behest of British Airways bosses, the workers of Britain and their trade unions have been told that the democratic right to strike has been cancelled.

This "disgraceful legal judgment" as the union Unite correctly called it, makes voting in any union ballot almost irrelevant if it does not suit the wishes of the bosses and their friends in the judiciary. Any strike can be declared 'illegal'.

Every commentator has admitted that the so-called ballot irregularities would not have made a blind bit of difference to the outcome of the strike ballot. Unless the whole trade union movement faces up to what is required then the unions face the danger of being put back in legal terms to the infamous Taff Vale judgment of 1906 which made unions liable for commercial damages following the effect of any strikes they organised.

It was the Taff Vale judgement which convinced the trade unions that they need a political voice. That is something what is laughingly called "the Labour Party" will not provide. We need a new workers' party.

Let it snow

Well missing the last day of term because of snow was not the worst tragedy in the history of education :)

On the whole closing the school was probably the right move. Snow is educational.

My pupils did miss seeing me in the school panto (and the opportunity to hiss) but they were all out throwing snowballs at each other - unless there is a Wii snowball fight by now.

The ambiguity of "Don't go into a fight you can't win"

Martin Reed made a rather telling point at the WSTA meeting . His father was a miner and always used to say "don't go into a fight you can't win". This is the kind of argument the right wing always use when the union is faced with an attack like the one over pensions and actually we have no choice but to fight.

What Martin Reed's quote probably means is "if you don't go into a fight you can't win". You can certainly lose by not fighting the erosion of the public sector.

The WSTA meeting overwhelmingly supported Kevin Courtney.

Unity against Academy at Weston Favell School

Members at Weston Favell School in Northants are striking against the proposed academy. In this NASUWT and NUT are working together.
Messages of support would be very welcome.

The NUT rep is Paul Cutts
pcutts@weston.rmplc.co.uk

You can also copy to the NAS rep, Amanda Brett
abrett@weston.rmplc.co.uk

If you want to support them there is a model letter:

I am writing in regard to the teacher’s strike at Weston Favell School. As a parent/member of staff/local resident/member of the public/local councillor I feel that the school is a brilliant and improving asset to young people in the local area.
I disagree with plans for Northamptonshire County Council to allow United Learning Trust to take over the school, and as a result take the funding, curriculum and working conditions into their control. Those changes lead to high staff turnover at the Academies.
I am proud that we have a community school here which focuses on the needs of all its students. Academies are at best an unproven system, which have not yielded the high results that have been suggested.
Indeed ULT has recently been told it can not open any more Academies anywhere else because its standards are not high enough. However it appears the Government thinks they are still good enough for Weston Favell.

I am concerned that Academies are not holistic or cooperative, and that they attempt to ‘cherry-pick’ students and leave disadvantaged children behind – despite selective entry being against the rules. I wholeheartedly support the strike of the NUT and NASUWT unions, and am pleased that UNISON has instructed its members not to cover the work of striking workers. While Roger Webb, the chair of governors, is correct that a strike is disruptive to the students, I believe that it is Northamptonshire County Council who is responsible for the much greater disruption in stretching this consultation and uncertainty over a year. The changes any transfer would bring would also disrupt our children’s education.
The teachers unions have made it clear that if these part-privatisation plans are withdrawn they will not strike. The teachers, after all, are striking to save fully accountable local education provision, and they should be supported by all in the community.

Yours Sincerely/Faithfully

Spooks

Spooks is described by the BBC as a “tense drama series about the different challenges faced by the British Security Service as they work against the clock to safeguard the nation.” It began life as a rather transparent attempt to rehabilitate the “spooks” after their role in compiling a pack of lies to justify the Iraq War.

It is a very well-written series of thrillers with a cast of interesting characters with rather more depth than you would expect in the oddly named “intelligence community.” Like its distant predecessor “The Professionals” it portrays them as human beings with a social conscience about the jobs they are asked to perform for the safety of the nation. And there you were thinking they were all old Etonians with a conscience bypass!

In a recent episode (Episode 3 of Series 8) the whole issue of hostage taking and negotiating with terrorists is explored in an exciting narrative in which a group of high-powered capitalists (a thinly disguised fictional version of the Bilderberg group) are kidnapped by terrorists who have no intention of getting a ransom but instead put the capitalists on trial for mass murder in the third world and video the evidence, while uploading incriminating documents on the internet. . The Spooks are powerless as tens of thousands vote “guilty” on the internet and the terrorists carry out the death penalty online.

This feeds the common fantasy that anti-capitalists are all potential terrorists and of course justifies the 'spooks' real life policy of monitoring everyone to the left of Peter Mandelson – about half the population,

The plot also showed that the anti-capitalists were actually naïve tools of a russian gangster-capitalist (definitely not called Abramovich , there are libel laws after all!) who wanted to eliminate his rivals.

The program definitely does not whitewash the dirty tricks the Spooks get up to but seeks to justify them. One scandal of the last decade has been the use of torture by the British secret service “by proxy”. They have been accused of using evidence provided by third parties such as the Americans at Guantanamo. In the show Lucas North (played by Richard Armitage) is shown torturing the Russian Mafioso in his own swimming pool in order to save the lives of the hostages. This is a far cry from the real life “Spooks” torturing Omar Deghayes for five years at various camps with no realistic prospect of getting any information or saving any lives. Nevertheless it is the justification of torture.

Spooks is an excellent program which maintains the tension and excitement all through. It does deal with the real life issues in the secret service. You might want to take its representation of the real life “Spooks” with a pinch of salt though!

Holocaust Education Development Programme

The Holocaust Education Development Programme (HEDP) seeks to transform teaching and learning about the Holocaust. It is leading world-class research on Holocaust education, delivering targeted and effective teacher education across England and building an interactive community of enquiry and exchange.

The Continuing Professional Development (CPD) programme in Holocaust Education, launched in the autumn term of 2009, is delivered by internationally recognized experts through innovative workshops in every region across the country. It will be supported by the highest quality teaching and learning materials through multiple channels of ongoing support.

Underpinned by the latest developments in learning theory, leading edge research and scholarship in Holocaust education, the CPD programme addresses students’ key questions about the Holocaust and the challenges and opportunities faced by teachers exploring this subject in the classroom. The programme takes a historical, disciplinary approach but can also help teachers address issues of diversity, social cohesion, and social and emotional aspects of learning.

Click here for more information

LOL - BNP on Any Questions

Primary review: a 'damning indictment' of Government policy

Ever since New Labour was elected, they have sought to dictate to schools what to teach and even how to teach it. Policed by the threatening machinery of OFSTED inspections and league tables of SATS and GCSE results, schools have been bullied into following each new instruction imposed by Ministers and Whitehall officials.

To see more visit
http://electmartin1.blogspot.com/2009/10/primary-review-damning-indictment-of.html

Socialism 2009

Click here to book online

General Dannatt

General Dannatt

General Pinochet


General Franco




The history of generals in politics is not a happy one!

Dannatt's only solution to the unwinnable war in Afghanistan
is to send in more troops. At the time when George Osborne
wants to cut teachers, nurses and firemen we need more
soldiers like a hole in the head.

It cannot be denied that Dannatt has guts but it is a pity
that 18-20 year old soldiers will have to spill theirs in
the sand of Helmand province to prove it.

And "politicising the army" at a time when the corruption of
politicians has reached an all time high is a clear message
that the rich and powerful are toying with the idea of
ditching democracy altogether.

They expect the working class to roll over and let them.
They have another think coming.

Martin4VP video on YouTube

Chess in Concert

Chess in Concert was on in Horsham yesterday.

Although it is a concert rather than a musical it presents the plot in a non-realistic way and has some great performances in it.

The plot is based on the goings on in the chess world in the 1960s and early 1970s. At the height of the cold war, chess became a non-violent battlefield mined with dirty tricks and brinkmanship.

Josh Groban plays the lead role of Anatoly Sergievsky - who defects to the West but is persuaded to return to the USSR to get the father of his girlfriend (Idina Menzel (Florence Vassy)) and there is a plot twist which will take you by surprise.

Adam Pascal is so good as the obnoxious American Frederick Trumper it makes you wonder what he is like in real life!

David Bedella (Anatoly Molokov) plays a sinister Stalinist to perfection

The music (Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson) and lyrics (Tim Rice) are excellent.

Democracy Now

Banksy at Bristol Museum

Banksy who has gone from being a graffiti artist to the quasi-respectability of having an exhibition at Bristol Museum and Art Gallery. His picture of a spiky-haired anarchist having his mask adjusted by his mum probably suggests what his attitude towards this is.

When you first approach the Museum you can see a figure of Ronald McDonald on the facade. If you think another public service has succumbed to corporate sponsorship - the clown cries tears of blood and has a bottle by his side and a clear intention to commit suicide.

Some of the pictures are lighthearted such as the Wizard of Oz picture of Dorothy saying "I don't think we're on Canvas any more."



Others are less so with a KKK member hanging from a tree to comment on the fine old Southern Tradition of lynching.


The exhibition is thought-provoking and interesting and well worth a visit. It is also free.

Edinburgh Fringe and all that Jazz

On Saturday we went for lunch at a jazz venue to listed to Ian Millar (tenor sax) and Dominic Spencer (piano) for a relaxing time with the best pop video ever - evidently Dominic Spencer is a keen photographer and the video was videos of the highlands and islands.

The big Cambridge University Jazz band were completely different - very fast paced and engaging. The MC said they were not music students, "many of us are scientists....and one is a biochemist!"

And the Oxford Gargoyles were an a capella jazz group - a highly original performance including a take on Austin Powers.

"Four Poofs and Piano" might sound like a show about furniture but in fact it is the much underused band on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. Their repertoire is extensive and varied and at times absolutely outrageous. They have a song about the question you need to ask on a third date ("Do you take it up the ****?") and then said they wanted some audience participation. In the event they only wanted us to sing along.

Shappi Khorsandi's show was well worth seeing. She adapeted it to the audience and toned it down a bit because of the 12 year olds in the front row.

The street performers were a mixed bunch - the most spectacular act was Frankie G who also does a different act under the name Derek Derek - his act included escaping from bondage while balancing a lighted torch on his nose.

Brighton Pride

Members of WSTA attended Brighton Pride. This is the first time WSTA has attended this event and we have learnt some useful lessons for next year.

The morning started sunny and we set up the stall (which was fortunately covered) before the rain set in in the afternoon.

When we had exhausted our supply of whistles and pens we got a good response from the public to the anti-SATS petition. There were a lot of good discussions about SATS and the response was overwhelmingly positive.

They sited us next to the Conservative Party who were handing out sweets to children (shades of the gingerbread house!)

Other groups in our area included HM prison service, the inland revenue, the NASUWT and Unite the Union.