Ambiguity and Armistice Day

After the first world war a weary population greeted the end of the war and celebrated peace. Armistice day became a day for commemoration of those who had died in that senseless slaughter. The Flanders poppy was a symbol of that. Millions still commemorate the fallen in that way.

Armistice day for them is not a chance to glorify war but to remember the fallen and celebrate peace. The ANZAC memorial in Sydney is dedicated to “all the victims of war”.

The politicians, monarchs and generals who send better people than themselves off to die have a different view. For them, remembrance is a celebration of war and hypocrisy. Millions of pounds each year are taken from the public and handed over to the millionaire arms merchants. The politicians who do this wear their poppies with Satanic pride.
 

Nobody is allowed to appear on TV without wearing a poppy. John Snow dubbed this attitude “poppy fascism”. News readers who have been forbidden to wear badges for World Aids Day are dragooned into wearing what is seen as a symbol glorifying war.

Harry Leslie Smith, a World War Two RAF veteran, has not worn a poppy since 2013 because he believes "the spirit of my generation has been hijacked" by latter-day politicians to "sell dubious wars" in Afghanistan and Iraq. 

Some have responded by wearing a white "Peace" poppy instead.

Socialists take no issue with those who genuinely want to commemorate the fallen or celebrate the end of a war. Those who use remembrance to score cheap political points while doing nothing to put an end to war are beneath contempt. 

Boris and the NHS

The Daily Mirror revealed back in September that "Boris Johnson's '40 new hospitals' is actually just six and they're not all new."

In all likelihood he wants them all named after him.
The Boris Johnson Sexual Health Hospital
The Boris Johnson Rectal Hospital
The Boris Johnson Home for Incurables

and so on

All the proposed new money for the NHS is just a promise. And how much is a promise from Boris worth? Also, the proposed new spending on Schools, NHS and other public services do not compensate for the cuts the Tories have introduced. They take with one hand and (pretend that they might one day) give with the other!

Here is how the Lewis Bonfire Celebrations celebrated Johnson

  It looks as though the election will be between Prorogue and Anti Rogue 

Corbyn can win with socialist policies!

 

 

Derek McMillan author page

Alun Cairns MP - typical Tory

Alun Cairns is a Tory. He denied knowing a Tory Welsh assembly candidate had made claims about a woman's sexual history in a rape trial in April 2018, causing the case to collapse. The BBC has found that he had an email about it a year ago.
The fact that he engages in such activities comes as no surprise. He is a disgrace but as I said in the first place, he is a Tory. What do you expect?

He loves Boris Johnson though.

Corbyn can win with socialist policies!

 

 

Derek McMillan author page

Not so clever

James Cleverly, Conservative Chairman, had a tough time on the Today Programme on Radio Four.

First, he had to defend Jacob Rees-Mogg for his casual insult to the victims of Grenfell Tower. Cleverly said it was OK because Rees-Mogg had apologised.

Next, he had to defend Francesca O’Brien, Tory candidate for Gower, who said that people on the reality TV show Benefits Street needed to be "put down". He brought out the somewhat tired Rees-Mogg defence that she had apologised.

Finally, he had to defend a fake video which the Tories used to attack Labour. On that there was no apology and he finally managed to get in his key phrase "Get Brexit Done". He said that the real video was also available as well as the fake one.

Not a good day for him. It was a good day for Boris Johnson who managed to get his ludicrous comparison of Jeremy Corbyn with Stalin published in a nice impartial article in the Daily Telegraph written by one Boris Johnson.

Corbyn can win with socialist policies!

 

 

Derek McMillan author page

unprincipled alliance

What principles do Plaid, the Greens and LibDems have? Their unprincipled alliance says it all. 

Plaid and the Greens support a vicious capitalist party which kept the Tories in power, betrayed everyone who voted for them and licked David Cameron's backside to keep in power.

Derek McMillan author page

Europol are not that daft.

Observer story about Europol excluding Britain is extremely daft if Europol want to catch criminals they will cooperate with countries outside the EU. 

Derek McMillan author page

Hostile Environment costs lives

The hypocritical effluence coming from Priti Patel and Boris Johnson in the wake of the discovery of 39 bodies in a container in Essex is sickening. It is an attempt to deny the Tory Party's responsibility. The anti-immigrant hatred of the Conservative Party led to the deaths of those 39 people.

People who want to claim asylum have to arrive illegally in order to join their family in the UK. The 'hostile environment' was created by the Conservative Party in order to gain votes from the openly racist politicians of UKIP and the Brexit Party.

The hatred has consequences. 39 people have died thanks to this hate campaign. The crocodile tears of the Prime Minister and Home Secretary raise hypocrisy to a new level.

Derek McMillan author page

In Defence of Trotskyism

The title reminds me of "In Defence of Marxism" in which Trotsky had to defend the basic ideas of Marxism against the revisionists around Burnham and Shachtman in the American SWP. Burnham and Shachtman and their ideas have long been confined to the dustbin of history but Trotsky's work remains a book which can educate anybody of any age - unless they think they already know everything of course.

The four books which most influenced me were:

The Communist Manifesto (I read my father's copy of this when I was ten). I've read it again since. At ten it was the flow of the language which kept my attention but later on the ideas became more important.

The Iron Heel by Jack London. I have written a book about the role of the hero in this book. Trotsky reviewed it favourably when Jack London's daughter sent him a copy. I think the main message is that you are as likely to appeal to the "better nature" of the capitalist class as you are to persuade a pack of wolves not to eat you! Jack London was a great writer. I also recommend his short stories.

The Role of the Hero

In Defence of Marxism which clarified many issues for me. The degeneration of the Soviet state under Stalin was something my father never came to terms with. We went on getting Soviet Weekly in our house for years after his death in 1959. The main reason for his thinking was that the people who were bad-mouthing the USSR were the same people who cursed the poor and the unemployed in the 1930s. Trotsky explains why this is so and a lot more besides.

The Transitional Program which - in 1938 - gave a much-needed message of hope which is still relevant today. The idea of a "transitional program" which starts from the consciousness of the working class right now and moulds a movement for the overthrow of capitalism bridges the gap between consciousness today and the historical task for which the working class is best suited.

The Transitional Program for Kindle and paperback

Derek McMillan author page

West Sussex Library cuts

West Sussex County Council has engaged in a fake consultation over library cuts. They are, in effect, asking voters to become their accomplices in cutting vital services.

The mobile library service, for example, is very important for people who are housebound and cannot afford to buy books from Amazon all the time. Tory Councillors may be swimming in money but most service users are not.

It is disingenuous for West Sussex to ask the public "which services shall we cut" when there should be no cuts. If West Sussex councillors do not want to vote through a no-cuts budget they will have to stand aside for anyone who will do so.

The Tories cut library services for the same reason the far right burn books. They are frightened of ideas.

The link is here
Make your voice heard!

Derek McMillan author page

Old Etonian Shysters

Tony Little, former head of Eton said that the nation would have been “better served” if Boris Johnson, David Cameron and Jacob Rees Mogg had not all been educated at Eton College. They were giving Eton a bad name.

Here are some old Etonians:

Jonathan Anwyl, 44, was part of a scheme, believed to be the biggest direct tax fraud in British history, which convinced the rich and famous they could cut their tax bill by investing in "ethical" environmental projects.

Andrew Picard was spared jail after creating and sharing thousands of 'appalling' child abuse images.

The Honorable Thomas Cholmondeley (honourable indeed!) was imprisoned for manslaughter after shooting a poacher. The leniency of his punishment was a relief to his family, according to the Daily Telegraph.

The list goes on and on.

I fail to see how leading Conservatives can be ‘giving Eton a bad name’. When you consider how many shysters can name Eton as their alma mater. It is a bit like giving Wormwood Scrubs ‘a bad name’. 

One Man and His Machete

This is the opening of a story from Darkness in Durrington

There was a time when a decent burglar (if there is such a thing) would wait until the family was out or at least try to burgle the house quietly without disturbing anybody. Not any more. Machete man will break into a house, usually with a friend; he will demand money, cards and pin numbers and he will start hacking off body parts if he doesn't get them.

Of course, this couldn't possibly happen in Durrington. Except that apparently it had.

“A couple in Dartmoor Close, Durrington were robbed by two thieves wielding machetes who broke into their house and demanded money with menaces on Monday night between the hours of ten and eleven. The police are appealing for witnesses,” More Radio announced.

Micah and I were sitting in the Black Cat having breakfast.

“It would have been dark and the street lights are coming on later and later as part of an economy drive,” Micah observed. “I live here because it is a nice place where this sort of thing does not happen. Be quiet, Craig.”

I hadn't thought of saying anything at this point.

“It's not our case obvs, but we can't let this go.”

She had picked up the use of “obvs” for “obviously” from a niece and I was quietly waiting for her to drop it again.

“So what can we do?”

“Well we could at least ask around.”

For me “asking around” usually meant a phone call to Sekonda. To Micah it usually meant illegally accessing police information. Still, each to their own.

That evening as we were tucking into spaghetti bolognese (my spag bol is of surpassing excellence if I say so myself) we compared notes.

“The man's name is Lech Bocks. That is to say the victim's name. I don't know Machete man's name. Not yet.” Micah began.

“He was bullied at school by people who wanted to see if he could box. Children can be very cruel,” I added.

Micah nodded.

“His partner is called Tayla Match.” Micah was making notes.

“Actually his wife. She just kept her maiden name for obvious reasons. Too many jokes just begging to be told.,” I said.

Micah also had their dates of birth and various other data.

“Machete Man had a strong Glaswegian accent. His accomplice was the silent type. Average height, average clothes, average everything really. The balaclavas were knitted.”

“Anything else?”

“Well a lot of people use their date of birth for a password and this couple were no different. Their bank account confirms that they took out all the money from it on the day of the robbery,” Micah paused.

I waited and eventually she continued.

“I looked back over the last few months. The lion's share of their incomes from the County Council (Tayla) and from Barclays (Lech) were transferred to a numbered account with Nationwide. The name of the account-holder was a money-lender, Simon Dangerfield. His rates of interest would make Shylock's eyes water.”

“Does that make him a suspect?”

“Yes and no. If they defaulted on a payment then he would have to make an example of them. On the other hand, if they kept up the payments he would be the last person to rob them. Added to which he is a nasty little man.”

I “accidentally on purpose” bumped into Lech at the Crown. It is not a pub I would frequent for choice. The carpets squelch.

I couldn't take Barker because they ban dogs. In any case I think he would need a bath after contact with that carpet. Nevertheless we did discuss dogs. Lech owns a Staffie called Jaruzelski. Jaruzelski had a number of little habits which were cute or irritating depending on your perspective.

We went on to talk for a while about Brexit and the state of the nation but he was bound to mention his recent experience as an example of the latter.

He did.

To be continued in Death in Durrington

Kindle edition  very reasonably priced

Paperback edition Some people prefer paperbacks and you can borrow them from libraries which is a plus.

Jacques Chirac

When Jacques Chirac stood against Le Pen in the presidential election of 2002, the slogan which sticks in my mind was "Vote for the Crook not the Nazi". The BBC showed voters who ritually disinfected themselves after voting for Chirac. Hardly a ringing endorsement.

The slogan was in fact prescient because in 2011, he became the first former president to be convicted of corruption following embezzlement charges in a party funding scandal when he was mayor of Paris.The courts were exceptionally lenient, letting him off with a token suspended sentence. This contrasts with the detention of the "sans papiers" who faced time in jail when they had not committed a crime.

France is no stranger to corrupt politicians but Chirac managed to stand out as a hideous example.



Socialist Reviews
Death Agony of Capitalism

Brevity is the Soul of Wit

The phrase "Brevity is the soul of wit" comes from Hamlet and it is spoken by Polonius. He is one of the most long-winded and tedious characters so there is an element of irony in his use of this phrase.

However, the phrase is a good summary of the value of flash fiction. In some definitions, flash fiction can be anything up to 1000 words. 

If you take two of the best loved poems in the English language, "The Charge of the Light Brigade" and "If" by Rudyard Kipling they do not total 1000 words between them. In poetry, as in flash fiction, every word has to count.

I would add to Polonius's stricture that if you can't be witty you could at least be brief!

A woman wrote a letter to a magazine in which she recounted the fact that her father used to respond to the electricity bill by quoting "The Charge of the Light Brigade". He would say, "Oh the brave charge they made, all the world wondered."

She finished the letter with three words which recontextualise the story. She said, "Every single time."

Suddenly it is not about an exasperated consumer protesting the cost of living. It is about a child's response to the repetitive discourse of a parent.

If you want to try your hand at flash fiction (anything from 85 to a 1000 words) please email it to worthingflash@gmail.com because we can always use one more story. 

 

Pot Pourri

Criminal Prime Minister

Boris Johnson apparently broke the law by shutting down Parliament to prevent scrutiny of his dealings. The gutter press leapt to his defence.

 If a Labour government closed Parliament to force through a Socialist programme, I wonder if the right wing press would be saying it was fair enough.
 
Labour policy is to reject "no deal", negotiate a deal then put it to a referendum. The BBC act stupid and pretend they cannot understand this. Their assumption is that the electorate are stupid and will fail to understand something which is transparent enough.

Socialist Reviews
Death Agony of Capitalism

Voodoo Doll

This is the start of a story from Darkness in Durrington

I knew Zac Moyes. He was a Eucharistic Minister, which means he administers the Eucharist if that's clear. He was also a Justice and Peace co-ordinator and, as far as I knew, an all-round good person. It was a double shock, therefore, when Micah discovered on social media that he had died from a heart attack and that the internet was awash with images of a voodoo doll with a tiny stake through the heart which the police had dug up in his garden.

The police don't normally go in for gardening so we assumed that they were treating his death as suspicious. Micah soon got the reason for the suspicion from browsing Inspector Ben Tillotson's laptop remotely.

“There was an anonymous tip-off that there was a voodoo doll buried in the garden. It didn't give any more details. Mind you it is very difficult to be anonymous these days. Phones and email are monitored, handwritten or typed notes are subject to all sorts of tests to prove their origin. This anonymous person knew their business. They used a spoof IP address to send a message to Sergeant Joanne Thallman's twitter account and she passed it on to old Ben.”

“I doubt if old Ben knows what a twitter account is,” I ventured to suggest.

“Neither do you,” Micah responded.

I was interested enough to ask Sekonda about voodoo dolls. She laughed.

“I think you need to talk to Yolanda, she is the expert on Voodoo in these parts but be careful, Craig, she is a very clever woman.”

Sekonda had her address. She is a mine of information.

Yolanda turned out to be a charming pensioner who welcomed me into her home. I cannot recommend her tea however.

“I am from the Worthing Journal,” I showed her my press card. It was a complete phoney but looked very impressive.

“Tell me, how is your brother getting on?”

She bustled about making tea for us.

“He's very well, thank you.”

“Quite over his illness then?”

“Yes, how did you know...”

“Craig McLairy, don't take me for a fool. I know about you and your detective agency. I know you've come to talk to me about voodoo dolls. I know your brother had a serious abdominal illness and was in hospital for a week. I'm pleased he is on the mend by the way.”

“Now show me these pictures and no more lies please.”

I showed her the pictures of the voodoo doll which had been on twitter and facebook.

“And this was found buried in the garden of poor Mr Moyes?”

“Yes.”

“He was a fine man. A man with no prejudices, Mr McLairy. I can bet you a hundred pounds he wouldn't have believed in voodoo dolls for a single minute and I'll tell you why. Voodoo dolls only exist in fiction. They are in books and films the white supremacists used to raise up hatred against people like me.”

She grinned. I can't recommend her dentist either.

“They don't like people of colour and they hate women in particular. The poppet was a figure in folklore in Europe long before there was such a thing as Louisiana or the enslavement of Africa. A doll was baptised with the name of the person they wanted to harm. Anything done to the poppet would happen to the person it represented.”

“Voodoo is about keeping in touch with the spirits of our ancestors. What you believe is not that different.”

“You must understand that the person who told the police about the doll must be the person who put it there. And Mr Moyes wasn't frightened to death nor is it a case of natural causes either.”

“You see, I could be a detective too,” she added.

“Will you help us?” I found myself asking.

“I've been helping you. If there is anything else I can do for you just tell me. Pray for me, Mr McLairy and I will pray for you.”

I told Micah that I wasn't sure what to make of all this.

“Whatever I'd been drinking it wasn't tea.”

“What do you mean?”

“I had the feeling if I'd stayed much longer I'd have agreed with anything Yolanda Moughan had to say. I might even have signed up to the voodoo religion.”

“I imagine Father Simon would have been less than pleased about that,” Micah smiled, then she was all businesslike again.

“I think you established quite a lot. The doll was intended to implicate Yolanda Moughan or her co-religionists. I agree with her that the planter of the doll and the murderer could well be one and the same person. I haven't been idle while you've been away. Let's take Barker for a walk and I can tell you all about it.”

To be continued

Kindle edition  very reasonably priced

Paperback edition Some people prefer paperbacks and you can borrow them from libraries which is a plus.

Welcome to Bookworm

A spreadsheet which is a resource for any word game but specifically for the online word game "Bookworm"

Click here 

Bookworm has a lot of educational benefits in developing vocabulary and spelling for pupils. There is also the small detail that they will enjoy using it. The spreadsheet gives some useful words found by someone who became addicted to the game! 

http://www.crazygames.com/game/bookworm

Classroom Teacher Manual

Climate Emergency

The Emperor Nero was accused of fiddling while Rome burned. Our politicians are so busy fiddling with Brexit that vital changes to combat climate change have gone by the board. 


In an emergency the state can mobilise its resources to invade countries and kill hundreds of thousands of people. Yet that can't get off their collective backsides to deal with a climate emergency.

No wonder people protested.

 Photo from the Worthing Climate Change protest on Friday 20th September

This letter was published in the i newspaper. They managed to get my name wrong but you can't have everything.


Socialist Reviews
Death Agony of Capitalism

Brighton and Hove Libraries

I have been emailing libraries to encourage them to take copies of my book, Darkness in Durrington. So I was delighted to get an email from Brighton and Hove Libraries to say they had already ordered it because it was great to have a book set locally!

TES Resources

Worksheets and other resources on the TES Website. All free. 

 Click here

Classroom Teacher Manual 

Click Here

No One is Too Small to Make a Difference

Greta Thunberg's 2019 publication "No One is Too Small to Make a Difference" sets out her views on climate change and the reason why she sparked off a massive student protest all over the world.

It contains some ideas which Socialists will find sympathetic. In one speech, for example, to the UN Climate Change Conference, she said, "We are about to sacrifice our civilisation for the opportunity of a very small number of people to continue to make enormous amounts of money, we are about to sacrifice the biosphere so that rich people in countries like mine can live in luxury. But it is the sufferings of the many which pay for the luxuries of the few."

The Chapter about addressing the Houses of Parliament in April shows her rising frustration. It is entitled "Can You Hear Me?" and repeatedly makes plain that the existing political order is incapable of listening to the demands of the youth because it would mean tearing up their most hallowed beliefs, free enterprise, the profit motive and the divine right of the Corporations to wreck the environment to make a fast buck.

If you are looking for a worked-out detailed Socialist analysis of how capitalism drives climate change this is not the book for you. If you want an insight into the passion which drives the hundreds of thousands of people who are seeking to fight for a future then it is.

No one is too small to make a difference.

Reviews written for the Socialist and Socialism Today #socialistreviews 

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Huffington Post apparently

In a smug self-satisfied article in Huffington Post, Peter Winkler, Contributor seeks to rubbish self-published writers. To nail my colours to the mast, I am a self-published writer. So was Virginia Woolf.
Does that make me as good as Virginia Woolf? No.
Did I ever claim it did? No.

She did have a rather more sympathetic attitude to other writers than Peter Winkler though.

King Boris

King Boris came a cropper in Parliament yesterday as every TV viewer saw. The Rebel Alliance insisted that Parliament should take back control of the agenda. This was a blow when he had intended to dispense with Parliament altogether in a move which had been called a coup.

He has as much respect for Parliament as King Charles 1. At least the story of King Charles had a happy ending (though not for him perhaps).

Johnson also saw his Parliamentary majority walk across the floor of the house when Dr Philip Lee joined the Liberal Democrats.

The PM is now in the ludicrous position of threatening the opposition with a general election. This is similar to the position of the comic character Major Neuheim (played by Ian Richardson) in Private Schultz who is always ringing Schultz and threatening to shoot himself.

Dominic Cummings Eugenic theory

Dominic Cummings, special political adviser to the Prime Minister, believes that the rich have superior genes. He said so in a tedious lengthy paper he wrote when he was an adviser to Gove.  Gove was an education secretary best known for his ignorance of education.

The theory is a rehash of the long-discredited concept of eugenics. Eugenics was popular with the Nazi Party

Is Boris Johnson an example of the superiority of the rich? If so I am very satisfied with my inferior working class genes, thank you.

Audio One Man and his Machete

Darkness Project

Good Lord!

Today the i newspaper reports that the Prime Minister will show his commitment to democracy by stuffing the House of Lords with his cronies.

Labour's best response would probably be to abolish the House of Lords. Perhaps they should apply the guillotine although preventing the Peers from parading in fancy dress would be an adequate punishment.

I would be tempted to include the oxymoron "Labour Peers" in the cull. They spend every hour of every day attacking Labour and their natural home is the Tory Party.

Death Agony of Capitalism Kindle Version 

Socialist Reviews Kindle Version

Kashmir Repression

China is the world’s biggest dictatorship; India, the biggest democracy. I wonder if it feels like that to people in Kashmir? 

 

Wikipedia says:

“Human rights abuses in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir state are an ongoing issue. The abuses range from mass killings, enforced disappearances, torture, rape and sexual abuse to political repression and suppression of freedom of speech. The Indian Army, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Border Security Personnel (BSF) and various separatist militant groups have been accused and held accountable for committing severe human rights abuses against Kashmiri civilians.”

Chapter and verse are to be found here

 The response of the CWI (Committee for a Workers International -  Socialist organisation) can be found here 

Kashmir crisis: Attack on democratic rights must be opposed

NSSN TUC Congress Rally

Brighton: NSSN TUC Congress rally

Fight together to defeat the Tories!

• The annual lobby of the TUC by the National Shop Stewards Network

Sunday 8th September 2019, 13-00

Holiday Inn, Kings Road, Brighton BN1 2JF

 

 

 

Strike Against Privatisation

The link is here

Privatisation is an unmitigated disaster for jobs, and services. Can we mention the immorality of making money out of people’s suffering?

Bradford health workers are standing up for their rights. 

People don’t often say this, but it’s an issue where Jeremy Corbyn is right! 

God Save the Queen?

Perhaps the solution to fans booing the anthem would be a better National Anthem. "God Save our Gracious Queen" does not appeal to people who disbelieve in God or the Queen or both.

"You'll Never Walk Alone" has a lot to be said for it. It's hopeful and positive and does not involve grovelling to a monarch.

Of course there's The Red Flag but perhaps that's the music of the future.

Letter to the i newspaper

 The pitiful increase in NHS spending will 
not compensate for the hostile environment the Tories created for the NHS.

It is a bit like someone stealing a twenty then expecting credit for 
giving me a fiver.

All the best

Derek McMillan

Labour and Anti-Semitism

The gutter press and the BBC compete to see how often they can put "Labour" and "Anti-Semitism" in the same sentence.

They don't need facts or figures. So far they have produced neither. They just repeat their version of events ad nauseam.

It is not journalism. It is time some journalists sought to get to the truth behind the smears and innuendo.

Reviews written for the Socialist and Socialism Today

  Click here

Monsters

According to the media, Harold Wilson was a left-wing monster. They branded Neil Kinnock as a left-wing monster. They even called the inoffensive Ed Miliband a monster. Now they have the same attitude to Jeremy Corbyn.

Can't you giants of journalism come up with a new idea between you? 

 

Reviews written for the Socialist and Socialism Today

  Click here