Imperialism the highest stage of capitalism

I am pleased there is a Kindle edition of this Marxist classic. It is an illustration of the old adage that the last capitalist on earth will sell you the rope to hang the second-to-last.

In one sense, Lenin's work is dated. A lot has happened in the last hundred years! On the other hand most of what has happened seems to confirm Lenin's analysis:

1) The concentration of production and capital developed to such a high stage that it created monopolies which play a decisive role in economic life. Most of the economy of countries like Australia is dominated by giant corporations and "Free Enterprise" is a myth or a sick joke.

2) The merging of bank capital with industrial capital, and the creation, on the basis of this "finance capital," of a "financial oligarchy." The authors of the present financial disaster being the unrestrained and irresponsible bankers.

3) The export of capital, which has become extremely important, as distinguished from the export of commodities.

4) The formation of international capitalist monopolies which share the world among themselves. Many of them have turnovers greater than the GDP of nation states.

5) The territorial division of the whole world among the greatest capitalist powers is completed. You can count the number of imperial conquests taking place at the present time (Iraq and Afghanistan today - perhaps Syria and Iran tomorrow?)

Crowdfunding to help a plucky young choir get to America

Beth McMillan writes:

The choir I'm currently in are trying to get together enough money to go out to Washington and Boston to sing this July. We're quite unusual as Oxford college choirs go - Somerville College was one of the first women's colleges to open, but it's actually one of the newer colleges, because women weren't allowed into Oxford until 1920. It's not particularly famous or well-funded, and it doesn't have much of a choral tradition.

Our singers come from a lot of different backgrounds, and for most of us, this is our first opportunity to travel so far afield.

We're trying to raise part of the money for our tour through gifts from our friends and family. If you'd be willing to consider helping us reach our goal (I'd be really grateful!), you can donate at https://hubbub.net/p/somervillechoirtour/ .

Alternatively, you could buy a copy of our excellently Christmassy second album "Advent Calendar".

If you can't make a financial contribution to our project, it'd be great if you could spread the word about what we're trying to do to anyone who you think might be interested.

Interview in Worthing Herald

My interview with Worthing Herald is published online here

I
was born in Croydon in 1951, the youngest of seven children. In 1959 our world was devastated when my father died. Roland McMillan was a remarkable man and I get my interest in reading and poetry from him.I have always written. I was employed for three years by The Socialist newspaper and I still write book and TV reviews for them. A collection of them is published on Kindle.

My mother could recite poetry from memory and she spurred my ambition to become a teacher. For 33 years I was a teacher in East Grinstead and for 16 years I ran a helpline for stressed teachers in West Sussex. After retirement I turned to writing full time, mainly short stories, some of which have been published online by Alfiedog.com and everydaystories.com. In a short story “The Mirror of Eternity” I created the character of Xavier Hollands who was the main character in my novel “Salt Wars”

You don't need a Kindle to read Kindle books

I had an email from someone who wanted to read Classroom Teacher Manual but didn't have a Kindle.

There is a Kindle Reader for iPad and iPhone. It is free. Don't feel bad about taking advantage of Amazon, after all we pay their taxes for them :)

There is also a free Kindle Reader for PC which I have downloaded.

I have read Kindle books on these devices. The iPhone is a bit awkward because it is too small for these old eyes but it is possible to use it. The iPad seems to be as easy as using a Kindle and the PC works adequately.

There is a Kindle Reader for Android devices as well. I have not had cause to use it.

IDS shoots himself in the foot :)

 

Iain  Duncan Smith has a bit of a thing about Freedom of Speech.

His attacks on the disabled and people on benefits - while he lives in the lap of luxury at our expense - brought into being a twitter feed called @UKJCP or "UKJobCentrePlus NOT" which satirises his department and exposes its machinations.

He was not pleased.

He was not pleased at all.

He was so displeased that he started throwing his toys out of the pram and tried to force Twitter to close it down. The man described as the DWP Brand Manager Jon Woodcock said "The account has been set up with deliberate and malicious intent to devalue and criticise the work of Jobcentre Plus." The fact that they have no money for the poor but can employ an expensive "Brand Manager" is beyond satire.

Twitter obeyed Mr Duncan-Smith. 

They were, according to The i newspaper, convinced that the suspension of the account amounted to censorship by 'effectively silencing criticism of UK Government'.. Twitter didn't realise this for themselves? A bit slow on the uptake perhaps.

Now @UKJCP is back at work. The final result of Mr Smith's crackdown is that they had coverage in the mainstream media which makes Iain Duncan Smith look an idiot and a consequent boost to their audience. 

Freedom of Speech 1

Iain Duncan Smith 0

Will be free to Socialists on 15 February

Click here

Home Office: People's lives are worth more than Gift Vouchers

I received this from "Justice and Peace". I think the purpose of the petition is to draw attention to the cruel practices of the home office. They can see no end to their wickedness because they assume the general public are ignorant.

The UK Home Office is bribing its employees to send asylum-seekers back to potentially deadly situations.

For asylum-seekers, finding safe residence in Britain can literally be a matter of life and death. But for Home Office employees, it's a matter of a gift voucher for high street.
According to official documents, when Home Office employees win the fight to deport asylum-seekers, they're rewarded with gift vouchers, cash bonuses or extra holidays.
More than undermining confidence in the fairness of the system, the incentives program supports a policy of cruelty -- sending asylum-seekers back to countries where they can face persecution, torture, imprisonment or worse.
It also motivates UK Home Office to delay cases they think they might lose, wasting taxpayers' money and other employees' time.
Rewarding people for jeopardizing the lives of others must not be tolerated. Tell the Home Office to withdraw these cruel incentives at once.  

http://derekmcmillan.com/

Give Gove a bloody nose

There are plenty of reasons to vote for Martin but seriously pissing off Gove is definitely one of them :)

Support Avenue Primary School Teachers

Last term the governors at Avenue Primary School in Newham adopted the local authority pay policy which introduces half points into the main and upper pay scale. The school union had communicated a request to remove the half points in order to achieve a policy which complies with nut/NAS pay policy guidelines and in the interests of retention and recruitment. The chair of governors responded with a letter to individual staff telling us if we went on strike we might come back to an academy and he could not guarantee we would all have jobs! The secondary schools in Newham did not include half points in their pay policies but all the primary schools have adopted an unamended model policy with half points. So far we are the only school taking action to protect our pay and within the nut/NAS guidelines. All messages of support to our rep Louise Cuffaro at loucuffaro@hotmail.co.uk.

http://derekmcmillan.com/

Dear Prime Minister

Dear Prime Minister  Teachers, writers and educational experts across the country are driven to distraction by the unstable behaviour of Education Secretary Michael Gove.  He is single-handedly wreaking havoc on the morale and practice of school learning, apparently unchallenged by anyone within his own party. Quite simply we urge you to get this misguided man to step down from government office.

Why is this important?

Education is the practice of learning in which knowledge and skills are transferred from one generation to the next through teaching, training, or research.  Michael Gove refuses to abide by the wisdom of generations by ignoring research findings; by denying expert opinion; by deriding expertise in the field; and by deliberately demoralising our teachers.  Any pupil or student similarly and willfully ignoring research, expertise and secure knowledge in the same way as Michael Gove would fail any examination.  Any inspected school doing so would be found "Inadequate".    To save the future of education in this country  and to prevent further damage Michael Gove must be persuaded to resign.

https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/remove-michael-gove-from-office

Martin for General Secretary

If you know any teachers. If you even know someone who knows a teacher, they ought to know about this!

Defend Public Education from cradle to grave

Report on UCU Conference "Defend Public Education from cradle to grave”

NUS President Tony Pearce

The cuts are preventing disadvantaged students from accessing higher
education. Much of what we want to defend in public education no
longer exists. We will need to build a public education system from
cradle to grave. The co-operation of UCU and the NUS is an example of
what the trade unions can do if they put their mind to it.

Bonnie Greer

When Bonnie Greer was in first grade in her Catholic School, her
teacher was convinced that she could not understand the holy trinity
"because it is a mystery." She believed she could. Water exists as
ice, liquid and vapour - three different forms but it is still water.
She bases her work on the assumption that even the most disadvantaged
people can understand a sight more than they are given credit for.

She has worked using Shakespeare as a tool of basic literacy with
pupils who are at the bottom of the pecking order in society. She
mentioned a group of refugees from Somalia with whom she used Othello
as a way in to literacy. They understood what it was like to be an
outsider.

Intelligence tests cannot tell us about people's intelligence, an MIT
physicist who was joint winner with Bonnie of a Horizon test of
potential intelligence, asserted that the tests were crap. "You really
need 4 billion different tests for intelligence!"
Education for democracy is about creating a human being "fit for
purpose" who can stand on their own two feet and help other people to
do the same.

Paul Gethyn member of the Welsh Assembly

Paul Gethyn was standing in for Hew Lewis and made a good job of it.
His speech was very good but he was not the most exciting of speakers.
Since 1999 Wales has diverged from England on educational policy.
Consequently they have, for example, retained the EMA and opposed the
privatisation of education. "We do not want a Darwinist education
system based on competition and "the devil take the hindmost". The
early years are critical and money will be weighted towards the early
years. In an atmosphere of cuts, this does mean other sectors will
suffer however.

They will be bringing in a Wales-only GCSE in English, Welsh and Maths
in September 2015.

Max Hyde NUT President

“Education is the most powerful weapon which we can use to change the world.” according to Nelson Mandela. That is the reason the government is so concerned to impose their model of education. Further Education has been a test bed for many of the things which are taking place in schools. Turning schools into a cash cow for big business concerns makes the government the enemies of promise..

Max stressed the importance of early years education and the need to have qualified teachers so that pupils get a wide repertoire of skills and play. The government seem to idolise the South Korean system and the appalling pressures put on children. “Childhood is not a race to see how quickly a child can read, write, and count. Childhood is a small window in time to learn and develop at the pace that is right for each individual child.”

Politicians believe they understand education because they once went to school. In most cases they went to public schools and have no idea what happens in real schools.

The unions have to fight to win as they did in the Stem 6 Free School where they gained union recognition against a vicious employer. The defeat of Michael Gove over the Ebacc was a result of the union working together with other campaigners. 'The more often the words “Humiliated Gove” appears in the newspaper, the happier teachers will be.'

http://derekmcmillan.com/

FOR REAL RESISTANCE TO AUSTERITY!

THURSDAY 20^th February

Socialist Party Public Meeting:

Brighton and Hove Council Budget 2014:

NO CUTS! NO COUNCIL TAX RISE TO PAY FOR CUTS! FOR REAL RESISTANCE TO AUSTERITY!

Brighton and Hove’s Green administration intend following up last year’s attack on the city’s bin workers’ wages with further cuts in the council’s 2014-15 budget. If successful, this would mean that this administration, elected on a mandate to ‘resist austerity’, has cut £50 million from jobs and services in the city in three years.

Primary responsibility for cuts in local government services lies with the Con-Dem government’s austerity programme. The proposal by the Greens to increase council tax by 4.75%, however, is no defence in the face of this attack.

This tax increase would raise £2.75 million more than December's draft budget. But that budget proposed £22.56 million in spending cuts threatening the jobs of 100-150 council workers.

The Socialist Party calls for second question in the referendum: asking the electorate in Brighton if they would rather the council defied the government and refused to implement the cuts, instead of choosing between tax increases and slightly smaller cuts or cuts alone.

All Welcome 8.PM Phoenix Centre

Sawant responds to Obama

Pete Seeger: We Shall Overcome

Pete Seeger is best remembered for popularising "We shall overcome" and for his role in anti-fascist and anti-capitalist action.
He performed with Woody Guthrie in the 1950s and marched with Occupy Wall Street protesters in his 90s, leaning on two canes. He wrote or co-wrote If I Had a Hammer, Turn, Turn, Turn, Where Have All the Flowers Gone and Kisses Sweeter Than Wine.

He renounced Stalinism in 1951 but that did not stop the McCarthy witch-hunters from attacking him. They knew perfectly well that the Communist Party were not the main enemy. The working class and all those who fight for them were.

The establishment have sought to make Seeger "safe" by heaping him with praise now that he is safely dead. They hated him like poison when he was fighting against them.

I hope you take to time to relisten to some of his work. He is an inspiration to young and old. Anyone who wants a role model for a resilient lifelong fighter need look no further.

We shall overcome.

http://derekmcmillan.com/

Agitate Educate Organize - American Labor Posters

"All art is propaganda but not all propaganda is art." Agitate Educate Organize - American Labor Posters is an excellent collection of some of the best union posters. They put across a straightforward message in vivid ways and they have the power to counter the lies of the mass media. .

The unions and the working class have been "decisively defeated" many times. Everyone from Benito Mussolini to Margaret Thatcher claimed to have destroyed the unions. The unions are still here. We will never give up.

Get your local library to get a copy. And hurry before the Right wing destroy all the libraries!

Click here for the book 

  See also

The Iron Heel

If you believe Socialism can be achieved without the  opposition of the capitalist class it is a salutary experience to read "The Iron Heel". Socialists have always regarded "The Iron Heel" as an antidote to  social collaborationism. The capitalist class is holding back the development of society. Jack London accused them of having failed in their stewardship of society's resources.

The fact they have exhausted their historical role does not mean (as some Socialists believed) that they would simply fade away from the stage of history. On the contrary they would use their power to protect their wealth. The twentieth century and the present one are full of examples. The Iron Heel was not written as a prophecy but as a warning. The warning has full force today.

Expropriate the One Percent!

Just 1 percent of the world's population controls nearly half of the planet's wealth, according to a new study published by Oxfam ahead of the World Economic Forum's annual meeting. The study says this tiny slice of humanity controls $110 trillion, or 65 times the total wealth of the poorest 3.5 billion people.

The report also points out the incredible statistic that the world's 85 richest people own as much as the poorest 50 percent of humanity. Curiously the tabloid press chose to lead on a story about Coronation Street when this news was released.

70 percent of the world's people live in a country where income inequality has increased in the past three decades. Governments have been making "hard choices." But it turns out they were not all that hard for the millionaires.

In the USA the gap between rich and poor has grown at a faster rate than any other developed country.

And why Oxfam? Oxfam is remembered as a safe charitable concern collecting money for the poor while the rich get comfortably richer. Why the difference? One reason has got to be the complete failure of the political elite to address this issue. The Labour Party used to have equality at the heart of its professed philosophy. Now it is indistinguishable from the Conservative Party.

The reason given by the Labour leadership and their apologists is that "Socialists cannot win elections." That is the reason Socialists all over the world have hailed the victory of Kshama Sawant in Seattle. A Socialist campaign can win in the heart of the United States. Though cowards flinch and traitors sneer, fighting for the working class, fighting against poverty is likely to be more effective than writing to your MP! In my case Oxfam suggested I ask what millionaire Peter Bottomley is doing to address inequality of wealth. I look forward to his answer but I am not holding my breath :)

http://derekmcmillan.com/

Snowden defends democracy

 

Obama's pathetic attempts to make cosmetic changes to the spying on US citizens and foreign nationals which Edward Snowden has brought to light will not convince anybody.

A democracy would give Snowden a congressional medal of honour and put the NSA traitors on trial. The US is not a democracy. Its spies flout the constitution every day of the week. And they justify themselves because everybody they spy on "might be a terrorist". How long will that childish lie work?

Our homegrown MI5 wouldn't dream of doing any such things of course. They would get the American spooks to do it for them!

"I would love to put a bullet in his head," one Pentagon official told BuzzFeed. The NSA leaker is enemy number one among those inside the oddly named "intelligence" world.

And let's not forget that their lies helped Bush and Blair commit mass murder in Iraq.

A party of the working class would give the people a hope of justice. Democracy has been described as a society in which "The People Distrust the State." Politicians are our servants not our masters.

Amazon Reviews

Today I have been mostly writing reviews for Amazon.in where people have been kind enough to buy Salt Wars :)

 Click here It includes a review of Peter Taaffe's Rise of Militant which is on sale in India now.

Conservative Party Fraud

To arrest a Conservative for fraud is a bit like arresting a duck for quacking. The Kings Science Academy in Bradford is backed by Conservative vice chairman Alan Lewis and was visited and praised by David Cameron in 2012.

The Kings Science Academy is at the centre of allegations of "serious failings" in its financial management. Sajid Raza, the Tory genius who set up the school, has now been arrested. We have to add that he is innocent until proven guilty. So is every other Tory :) If one Tory goes to prison for fraud what about the rest of them?


It is one of three high-profile free schools to be at the centre of a controversy, with the Discovery New School in West Sussex being ordered to shut due to poor standards and the future of the Al Madinah Free School in Derby in doubt following two scathing Ofsted inspections.

Somebody is making a complete Gove-up of the education system.

Who could it possibly be?

Rowing Machine

Many thanks to all the people who have commented on this story. I am
very pleased to have "broken into" Everyday Fiction. It could be the
thin end of the wedge or a flash in the pan. The cliches just keep on
coming!

The link is http://www.everydayfiction.com/the-rowing-machine-by-derek-mcmillan/

I am awfully proud!

Fwd: Every Day Fiction - Story of the day: THE ROWING MACHINE • by Derek McMillan

Everyday fiction sends out the best in flash fiction. (Well I would say that!) Today they chose my story 'The Rowing Machine

Every Day Fiction - Story of the day: THE ROWING MACHINE • by Derek McMillan

---

THE ROWING MACHINE • by Derek McMillan Posted: 06 Jan 2014 12:05 AM PST "I'm not using it to tow penguins to the moon," was all Dave ever said about the contraption he was making in the shed. He was not a talkative chap, Dave. He worked as a surly shop-assistant in McTavish's fish shop. Old man McTavish liked his shop-assistants surly. "Folk come here to buy fish, not to pass the time of day. And you wouldn't want to pass the time of day with those half-wits anyway." was his considered opinion on the matter. So time went by and Dave got on with constructing his contraption. People noticed parts arriving at the cottage, electronic parts, metal parts and most intriguing specialist latex parts. He was buying the best, it was assumed in the village, that a surly shop-assistant's salary could buy. Dave had lived in Homely Cottage ever since his parents had died. I remember asking old Phil, who was acknowledged to be the village expert on everything, about Dave's parents. "Well, they married for love, as people do. Then they settled down to forty-seven years of rowing with each other. Neighbours couldn't help hearing their rows. Now, as you know, village folk are fond of knowing everybody's business at the best of times but people passing in the street could pick up Dave's dad's opinion of Dave's mum and vice versa. "I always assumed that Dave is so good at the surliness because of his upbringing but he's become significantly surlier since he has been in Homely Cottage all on his own." After the completion and installation of the contraption in Homely Cottage, Dave became marginally less surly. I must emphasise the "marginally" because Dave still seemed the surliest man in the village. Dave had a great habit of talking to himself which was fortunate because nobody else was interested in talking to him. The fifteenth time he met you with abuse or a stony silence you tended to get the message. People didn't think anything about the voices coming from Homely Cottage although they did notice that they seemed to be raised in anger more often of late. Some joker had the wheeze of putting a cuddly toy penguin outside Dave's door. This caused some hilarity because his denial of any penguin involvement in his contraption was well-known. Unfortunately Dave tripped over the little plaything and turned the street blue with his invective against the person or persons unknown who deposited the penguin… I don't know if this would be a good time to admit that I was the culprit. No, perhaps not. The upshot of this was that his Aunt Edith came to stay with Dave because his broken ankle was preventing him from his accustomed activities. While she was there, she accidentally — well, perhaps not all that accidentally — turned on Dave's contraption. "That was a bloody stupid thing to do," said a voice from the contraption. "You're a fine one to talk. If I had a pound for every stupid thing you've done I would be rich," said a different voice. The exchange became more and more heated and it became apparent that parts of the contraption were capable of landing blows on other parts of it, which then apparently cried out with pain when it did so. So at last we found out the secret of Dave's machine. Missing his parents, he had constructed a rowing machine. Derek McMillan is the author of Salt Wars which was published on Kindle in December 2013. It is a fantasy inspired by Salzburg and its Prince-Archbishop Wolf-Dietrich von Raitenau. It is also available in German and French. You can "try before you buy" on Kindle so why not have a look? Derek is a retired teacher and his editor is his wife, Angela McMillan.

Podcast EDF151: The Grim Rufus • by Peter Wood • read by Folly Blaine Posted: 06 Jan 2014 12:00 AM PST   Listen to "The Grim Rufus" by Peter Wood, read by Folly Blaine: Peter Wood is an attorney in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he lives with his surly cat and patient wife. He has had stories published in Daily Science Fiction, Bull Spec, Stupefying Stories and Every Day Fiction. His favorite type of story to write is southern fried science fiction and fantasy. Last year he and his wife ran out of gas on the road between Sanford and Raleigh. As he waited for his brother-in-law to drive down from Raleigh with some gasoline, Pete started to wonder… Folly Blaine is a writer living in the Pacific Northwest. "The Grim Rufus" by Peter Wood was originally published on October 29, 2013. This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

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Everyday Fiction

The website everyday fiction provides readers with a short story every day, as the name implies. They are the most helpful website for writers, offering constructive criticism in the same way Alfiedog does. And today they are publishing my story "The Rowing Machine" which speaks for itself. They have very good taste obviously :)

 

 

Triple lock or double cross

Cameron's promise to keep the 'triple lock' on state pensions has two problems. 1) it is as much use as anypolitician's  'cast iron promise' such as Clegg's hollow promise over university tuition fees. . 2) This government has launched an unprecedented attack on pensioners and anyone who receives benefits of any kind  

I would trust them as much as any confidence tricksters. The Labour traitors are demonstrably no better. Most of the worst Tory policies were trialled by New Labour. A plague on both their houses. We need a new party of the working class. 

http://www.derekmcmillan.com/

Gove wants to glorify war

Michael Gove has chosen the Daily Mail to launch his defence of the indefensible slaughter of the first world war. Gove is probably alone in thinking "Blackadder" was intended as a documentary about the war rather than a comedy.

The senseless slaughter of a generation by generals and politicians was extremely lucrative for the arms dealers. No serious historian believes that the British Imperial General Staff were fighting for freedom and democracy. At the same time as they bleated about "gallant little Belgium" they were quite happy to see the indigenous peoples of India and South Africa oppressed by their white "superiors".

Gove thinks that enough time has passed and he can rewrite history. He must not be allowed to succeed. An astonishing 400000 died because of the criminal incompetence of Field Marshall Haig. If Gove succeeds in rehabilitating this upper-class twit then truly "War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength!"

www.derekmcmillan.com

BBC lies about Bulgarian and Romanian migrants

The BBC news on New Year's Day looked like a party political broadcast for UKIP or for that matter for the BNP. The disgusting hatred against Bulgarians and Romanians ignored one simple and easily verified fact.

There are over 5 million Brits working abroad. So a policy of "British jobs for British workers" could saddle us with a further 5 million unemployed as others respond with "Spanish jobs for Spanish workers" or "Argentine jobs for Argentine workers" etc etc.

Much has been made of the "pressure on services". What is not mentioned is that a quarter of all doctors and half of all nurses were born outside the UK. The health and welfare services would collapse if the UKIP "send them back" policy were carried out.

Yet again we have a government which has made a mess of the economy and the right look around for a convenient scapegoat. The economic crisis, they assert,  is not the fault of the government and the banks it is all mysteriously caused by Romania and Bulgaria. And the BBC think we are stupid enough to believe such nonsense.

The BBC has given up the whole idea of journalistic integrity in favour of kissing the backsides of the Tories and the scumbags of the far right. Is this in our best interests? I wonder if it is in theirs :)

Linux rocks!

More evidence if evidence were needed.
Due to the procrastination of BT we have been forced to invest in a one month rolling contract with 3 for a dongle.

Will Windows work with this dongle? Au contraire all it gives me is a load of messages saying "The BT broadband isn't working" which is not news.

Switch to Linux via knoppix and the problem just goes away.

BT: Fail 

Windows: Epic Fail 

Linux: game set and match 

Happy new year to all my readers. I am looking forward to the two lunar eclipses due this year and who knows the eclipse of Michael Gove and all his works too - I hope and pray :) http://derekmcmillan.com

Synopsis of Salt Wars

Salt Wars

Salt Wars is a science fiction book. It contains mild sex and violence. It also contains some humour. The target market is older teenagers.

Xavier Hollands is an eccentric technologist. Using his father's theoretical work he has found a way to create a hard astral projection. After testing this out with his girlfriend, Tilly, he is dragged into the Salt Wars by Wolf-Dietrich von Raitenau who wants to secure the future of Salzburg and his own future as its Prince-Archbishop.

They travel back in time to the town which will eventually become Salzburg. Xavier's astral projection is so strong that he comes up against the best man of the town whom he defeats at the May Fair. He also develops a relationship with Krystyna, the daughter of his employer in the town and betrothed of the erstwhile best man.

Using Xavier's methods, Tilly intervenes to save Xavier and to thwart Wolf-Dietrich. Magus – a medieval Satanist – tries to use Krystyna to seduce Xavier and thus tie him to the town forever. When this plot fails because of Tilly's intervention there is a battle through time and space.

Wolf-Dietrich is hunted down like a literal wolf. Xavier meets his claustrophobic nightmare on a submarine which is then depth-charged and flooded with water. Tilly meets her fate in a school where she cannot control her class or stop them bullying a young boy called Gabriel. When Tilly realises that Gabriel is trying to push her towards suicide, he is unmasked as Magus.

The trio return to the town to fight the first salt war. Wolf-Dietrich brings about a successful conclusion by playing on the superstitions of the attackers.

The book also has diary entries from the characters which give an insight into their thinking.

The book ends with a teaser for the next Xavier Holland's story "The Archbishop's Torturer".

http://derekmcmillan.com/

Socialist Reviews free until Xmas

Will be free to Socialists on 15 February

Click here

First ever sale in Brazil

My first ever sale in Brazil. Someone has downloaded The Role of the Hero.
Still no luck with Australia though.


--

http://derekmcmillan.com/

Gove still relaxed

Education secretary Gove is notably relaxed. He is relaxed about profiteers running schools, relaxed about the PISA results which he of course blamed a predecessor for, relaxed about unqualified staff teaching in schools.
And today there is something else for Gove to be relaxed about. The National Audit Office has produced what is described as a "damning" report. They can join the teachers then. We have been damning Gove for a while.
The Free School scheme, it seems, had cost twice as much as predicted. Still it has provided friends of Gove such as Toby Young with a nice little earner. Comedienne Elizabeth Truss (Education minister) has responded, "I am pleased the NAO has recognised the progress we've made in opening 174 schools. Free Schools are one of the government's success stories." Clearly she didn't read the same report as everyone else because one of the criticisms has been that the government has been opening free schools without regard to the educational needs of the areas in which they are opened. The NAO is concerned about the lack of control over Free Schools. They can get away with murder. I am speaking metaphorically. I hope.

Classroom Teacher Manual Click here to try before you buy

MP's snouts still in the trough

Here is a little petition you might like to consider. http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/44225
MPs have the audacity to talk about the need for fiscal responsibility. When it comes to their own money however,apparently the poor dears cannot live on their 66K+ salaries so we have to pay for their travel, for their relatives to work for them, for their moats and duck houses.
It is beyond satire.
www.derekmcmillan.com

Work until you drop

Some people work until they are seventy years old and beyond. They are generally admired as exceptional individuals.

The National Pensioners Convention commented on Osborne's plans - "Politicians can work beyond their mid-sixties and they have got a home for them called the House of Lords. You compare that with people who have worked all their life doing manual labour on low pay in a care home or digging up the roads and then ask them to keep working. It is just not right."

Life expectancy has increased, largely thanks to the National Health Service. This is not regarded as as cause for celebration but as "a problem" by the politicians. The likes of George Osborne are quite happy for their own life expectancy to improve but the lower classes insist on living too long and they have to be punished.

The result of the change is not that people will actually be able to go on working in demanding jobs up to the age of seventy. All that will happen is that they will be robbed of their pensions.

In a breathtaking piece of logic, the i newspaper's "analyst" has said that occupational pensions will take up the slack. Tell that to any public servant if you are fond of the sound of hollow laughter. The same government which is attacking the state pension has effectively robbed the occupational pensions of millions. 

You can trust them as far as you can comfortably spit a rat.

And Labour, well cynics are saying they will follow Osborne's lead on this "fairer" system because of the sums of money which can be saved by robbing pensioners. The money can be used for important stuff like wars, bankers' bonuses and MP's expenses so it wont be wasted :)

We need a party of the working class.

http://derekmcmillan.com/

More on Salt Wars

So far Salt Wars has attracted interest in
Germany
The USA
The UK
Japan
Italy (the French version)
Canada
And sod all in Australia. Oh well.

Thanks to all my readers. If you like it, write a nice review on Amazon. If you don't write to me :)

Salt Wars - Guerres de Sel - Salz Kriegen

How did "gallant little Salzburg" retain its independence? What was Wolf-Dietrich von Raitenau really like? What kind of Archbishop has a torture chamber?

Comment "brave petit Salzbourg" n'a conserver son indépendance? Quel a été Wolf-Dietrich von Raitenau aiment vraiment? Quel genre de l'archevêque a une chambre de torture?

Wie haben "wenig galant Salzburg" behalten ihre Unabhängigkeit? Was wurde Wolf-Dietrich von Raitenau wirklich? Welche Art von Erzbischof hat eine Folterkammer?