Utah Phillips

Sad news that the great IWW activist and songwriter Utah Phillips has died. More from David Rovics Songwriter's Notebook Blog here.



Here is the official family obituary posted on the IWW website.

Weekly Links - 12/05/2008

Blogs
Critical Labour Left blogger Dave Osler has started a discussion on the class nature of Ken Livingstone's "progressive alliance" following Ken's latest Guardian article.

Green Left blogger Jim has an article on the Green-Ken "alliance" from the Green perspective (responding to the Independent publishing a critical letter on it from a "former" ultra-rightist, political tourist and all round dodgy individual), and also talks about Burma.

Sian Berry, the Green's Mayoral candidate posted her response to the result of the campaign on her New Statesman blog on Friday.

Meanwhile, GPEW Male PS Derek Wall posted an appeal for support for Zimbabwe's persecuted trades unionists on the Socialist Unity Blog.

Human Rights
The Amnesty International short film The Stuff Of Life exposing the reality of the torture known as "waterboarding" has been creating a real stir. You can watch it (not for the faint hearted or squeamish) here.

Nuclear Issues
An interesting analysis of some of the reasons why the British Government's enthusiasm for nuclear new build is misplaced by a member of the ruling party and former Cabinet Minister was published in the Guardian last week.

The Left
Former Soviet dissident and Socialist Boris Kagarlitsky had an article published by the CPGB this week giving his take on the choices facing the Left in Europe. Basically he diagnoses a fatal combination of utopianism and then disastrous alliance with the neo-liberal captured "centre left" in the name of "realism".

International
The Australian Green Left magazine last month had an article on the global food crisis and the role played in that by Biofuels.

Green Politics
The Crewe and Nantwich By-election is scheduled for next week on 22nd May and campaigning is well under way. The Greens have a young candidate, Robert Smith, fighting on a progressive platform with a focus on transport and the issue of the disaster that has been rail privatisation.

Weekly Links 05/05/08

This corner of the blogosphere
Jim at Daily (Maybe) has an excellent round up of green and left responses to this week's election results.

Also on this subject, Septic Isle at Obsolete takes a sober look at why Boris beat Ken.

Meanwhile over at Socialist Unity Blog, Labour left winger Louise looks at the poor Labour performance last week, Phil BC looks at the post-election situation in the Potteries and Andy Newman looks at the relative success of Plaid Cymru.

May Day Events
Lots of May Day events over the last few days. Here is a report and pics from the Nottingham event. West Midlands IWW had a May Day celebration on May Day evening, reported here. There were major confrontations in Istanbul (where the state tried to cruch the demonstrations) and in Hamburg where there was a three cornered fight between fascists, anti-fascists and police. In the US there was a dock strike against the war in the face of legal and bureaucratic opposition.

May Day Greetings, 2008.

May Day greetings to all my readers, particularly those involved in struggle around the world to defend themselves against neo-liberalism, authoritarianism and discrimination.
Solidarity Forever!

Weekly Links - 20/04/2008

Blogging
This week Duncan Money reports on the latest inanities of the leadership of the Oxford Union.
Labour Left bloggers continue their fight against the direction of the party that holds them captive, now in the face of the latest 10p Tax row, commented on by Dave Osler. Susan at Grimmer Up North reports from the coal face.
Derek Wall this week blogged on the campaign of Noel Lynch to join the Greens Darren Johnson and Jenny Jones on the London Assembly.
Green From Below commented sensibly on the latest bad news from European Green parties.

British Politics

The British campaign for the abolition of the monarchy, "Republic" held their Spring Conference in Cardiff this weekend and launched their new campaign to Challenge The Oath.
Republic have also launched a new Republic Scotland website.
Left wing Republicanism should perhaps be centre stage in any new vision for these islands - perhaps Paul Kingsnorth could consider this in the light of his interesting article in the New Statesman this week about the Left and an English Civic nationalism similar to those present in Scotland and Wales. This forgotten initiative from a few years ago may contain ideas towards such a vision.

Preparing for May Day
The London May Day March this year assembles at Noon at Clerkenwell Green on May 1st, and veteran socialist Tony Benn is due to speak at the rally in Trafalgar Square.

A lot of "May Day" events elsewhere in Britain actually take place on the weekend following, or on the Bank Holiday Monday. In the West Midlands, however, the local General Membership Branch of the IWW (Industrial Workers of the World) are holding a May Day event on May Day itself. They are showing films at the Lamp Tavern, Digbeth from 8 'til late, including Chaplin's Modern Times, the film "An Injury To One" about the slaying of union organiser Frank Little in Montana and film from Birmingham Indymedia on recent social and industrial struggle in the West Midlands. More here.

In the East Midlands, meanwhile, the traditional Chesterfield and District TUC May Day march, rally and celebrations in the market place take place on Bank Holiday Monday, 5th May from 10.30am. Nottingham's May Day march is on Saturday 3rd May.


In the USA there will hopefully be workplace action against the continuing war on May Day.

Unions and Work
Here is a report on the National Blood Service Demo I mentioned last week.
Meanwhile the international solidarity action of the South African dock workers was an example for us all this week.

Green Politics
The Biofuels issue is getting more coverage, particularly as the evidence grows for what Greens, Ecosocialists and many other commentators suggested was likely to happen - food prices pushed up and the poorest hit hardest.
South East MEP Caroline Lucas this week slammed the latest "Green" credential claims of David Cameron and his Tories.

Cohn-Bendit and the Hamburg Greens - Traitors.

There is no point in beating about the bush, in apologetics or justifications. The actions of the Hamburg Greens in allying with the CDU and of the egotistical careerist Cohn-Bendit, sucking up to the detestable reactionary Sarkozy, amount to treachery. This is one of those moments - like the Czech Greens backing the siting there of tracking radar for the USA's missile programme and the Irish Greens compromising over Tara and US "Security" flights to get a small say in the administration of the dubious reactionaries of Fianna Fail - it is one of those moments where, like George Orwell's farm animals, we look from pig to man and from man to pig (from dubious opprotunists to slimey reactionaries) and have difficulty in telling the difference.

So I will not mince words - these people are traitors to the original ideals of the Green movement. Those of them that are veterans of 1968 have jettisoned the good things of that epoch (idealism, concern for others, suspicion of hierarchies and the establishment) and kept the negatives (egotism, selfishness, arrogance, a weakness for sucking up to authoritarians and dreaming of a well-ordered Utopia - EUtopia?). They are no longer worthy of being described as of the "left", and like the bought-and-paid-for-apologist for a US and European Imperial New Order, Joschka Fischer, they are now best classified as part of the enemy.

It is time for a fightback. It is time to say no more right shifting, pro imperialist, pro corporate Europe, arrogant stuffed shirts. Like Lou Reed said, "Stick a fork in their asses and turn 'em over, they're done"

The Green Left are organised in England and Wales and the Ecosocialist International is now in operation. Links need to be built across the green movement in the whole of Europe and across the world to forge a united resistance and opposition to the bureaucrats and timeservers, the "Opera Class" Greens as a German journalist called them. A global recession is in the offing, major resource crises and massive climate related problems are growing. The existing ruling class will respond by making the majority population - the poor - pay, by drawing up the drawbridge on "fortress Europe", by insisting on poll-tax like "equal sacrifices". They will seek to divert unrest into attacking scapegoats, and build war and terror hysteria to advance their aims. Fischer, Cohn-Bendit and the reactionary "Blue/Black Greens" are already well advanced in apologising for the current and coming excesses. Such people are living proof of the corruption inherent in our existing power structures.

There are plenty of us who are not about to leave the Green movement to the careerists and reactionaries - and we are not about to leave and join the authoritarian left, we are radical democrats and left-wing greens, not Leninists - it is the careerists who now demand expulsions, who seek top-down discipline and Europe-wide "Party Lines" based on their agenda. But we will fight for the original radical left vision of the European Green movement in a democratic way, because that original radical left, democratic and egalitarian vision is now more relevant than ever. It is those who are tying their chariot to Corporatist Euro-Federalism, to NATO imperialism and rampant neo-liberalism who are out of step, it is they who are aligning themselves with what is about to fall rather than what is about to rise.

Italian Election : Anti-Politics and Reaction Hand in Hand

The Italian election results show a depressing picture of decline for the left and resurgence for the right, compounded by a weary anti-political mood. The Italian Green vote, whilst not large originally, appears to have declined very slightly, whilst the votes of the left parties they allied with in the "Rainbow Left" coalition declined precipitously.
More from Jim at Daily (Maybe) here.

The left in Italy have probably pleased no-one. First they cooperated in the centre left government coalition and lost lots of support due to the perceived compromise of principles, then they united outside the centre left coalition and lost support from those who favoured a more "popular frontist" strategy.

As ever, anti-politics and weariness and cynicism has fed not as anarchistic elements would wish into mass revolt, but mass abstention and disengagement, leading to a victory for a corrupt and reactionary right. This all brought to mind a discussion on Indymedia recently where "Stargrave" answered the arguments of abstentionists and immiserationists regarding their non-voting in the forthcoming London election which could see the victory of reactionary Tory Boris Johnson and the election of the first fascist assembly members:

It seems to me that the original post is arguing for a tactic and this position is being opposed from either a strategic or dogmatic position - i.e."Don't vote ever" or even the immiserationist "Let the right gain power as it will radicalise people". (a ridiculous strategy which current conditions in much of the world and the judgement of history have shown to be suicidal)
People need to get out of their bubbles and look at the effect of actions and tactics in the real world.
We DO NOT live in a society where there is a mass movement against capital, we ARE NOT on the verge of revolution. If that was the case then abstentionism might be arguable (though if it was the case there would probably arise an electoral expression of the movement that people might consider voting for) This is not to say we should not be building a mass movement, merely to state the FACTS as they stand.
We live in a situation where the global economy is taking a nose dive, ecological and social problems are escalating, and the main people benefitting from the growing alienation and disillusionment are the far right. To ignore this, and think that lifestylism or hiding in a purist ghetto are adequate responses is, quite frankly , juvenile and foolish.
To posit false choices "either vote or organise" is dishonest - why cant people vote (as a tactic, not a strategy - without buying into the "vote for this party and everything will be OK" arguments) to dinminish the chances of the fascists gaining a strategic advantage. As someone said above, the fascists gaining seats gives them further legitimacy, which means more sympathisers come out of the woodwork, more feel free to openly support them and their influence on the direction and tone of politics increases.
The mainstream parties and fascism are NOT the same, as anyone who has engaged in physical anti-fascism or studied history should know. From the point of view of the struggle, the more the fascists gain power and legitimacy, the more difficult it becomes to unite working people, the more organising is obstructed, the more repression comes down on our head and the more dangerous it becomes for people to express views in favour of our side.
The mistake made here by many has been made in France and Italy - where the far right now has a hold in many areas that were formerly dominated by the left. The rise of the right cannot be fought purely in physical terms, when they seek the "legitimate" route. If you do this you then become seen in the eyes of many of the working class as the "illegitimate" ones, attacking "freedom of speech" and promoting violence - as ridiculous as this may seem in the face of the rise of fascism. This is not to say that there is no place for physical anti-fascism - again it is a question of *tactics*, not strategy or principle.
So vote as a tactic, organise as a strategy. Look at the consequences of your actions and arguments.

Stargrave

The Italian election victory of Berlusconi et al adds further weight to the argument put forward by Stargrave, I hope those who plan to abstain or even worse, vote for the right in the misconceived hope of "punishing the imperfect left and provoking a popular left reaction" are paying attention!

Quick News Round Up

French students are turning out in increasing numbers on demonstrations against the conservative government's plans for "reforms" and cuts in secondary schools. Some banners on the latest demos referred to the events of 40 years ago, reading "This year May came one month early" and "Faut-il un nouveau Mai 68?"

A series of events around squatting and autonomous spaces in Europe started today, as reported on Indymedia. Indymedia also carries reports of more repression and violence in Oaxaca.

Three deaths this week of people prominent in their own fields on the progressive left in Britain -
Greg Tucker - Socialist RMT activist
Tim Beaumont - the Green Party's representative at Westminster
Steve Sinnott - General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers
Rest in Peace, Comrades.

April Industrial Worker Highlights Green Unionism

The April issue of the IWW (Industrial Workers of The World) newspaper, the Industrial Worker is now out and highlights green syndicalism/unionism in a centre spread.

Headlines:

* Puerto Rican teachers defy government
* Scottish college sacks Unison steward, cuts jobs
* Maquila workers denounce NAFTA

Featured Articles:

* Metro Lighting a scab business
* Green unionism
* Review: End of America offers no alternatives, ignores unions

Part of the green spread is a Dan Jakopovich article - Dan has had articles published in British IWW publications and the online US Green discussion journal Synthesis/Regeneration.

As part of their campaign against cuts and closures in the Blood Service in Britain, the IWW are supporting a demonstration outside the National Blood Service HQ in Watford on 11th April :

All-out for big demonstration at Blood Service HQ in Watford! IU 610s, other wobblies and supporters will be visiting the offices to cause a fuss and demand that the head honchos revoke their damaging proposals, democratise the service, and are called to account for their shoddy and dangerous policies.

Bring noise-making implements, banners, placards and loads of friends!

There is also an IWW supported public meeting in Leicester this week (9th April) about the campaign to oppose closures and cuts in Adult Education in Leicester which I blogged on a while ago.

It is good to see the rapidly growing British Isles organisation (BIROC) of the IWW getting stuck in with high profile campaigning. BIROC is happy to be hosting the first IWW General Assembly to take place in Europe, in London this summer.

Weekly Links 01/04/08

Various posts worthy of note from fellow green and left bloggers over the last week:

Green Party London Mayoral candidate Sian Berry turned her spotlight on the Liberal Democrats' candidate Brian Paddick in her New Statesman blog.

Derek Wall has been supporting the campaign of Bristol Green Party Councillor Charlie Bolton and others against the destruction of the Bristol-Bath cycle route.

Peter Tatchell continued his coverage of events in Pakistan-controlled Baluchistan.

Caroline Lucas commented on the Canadian seal cull.

Jim at Daily (Maybe) blogged on the situation in Tibet and the debate in the West.

Molly at Gaian Economics commented on the Tata motor industry take-over.

Green From Below picked up on the Qollasuyo Declaration on climate change from the Climate and Capitalism blog.

Green Left to host discussion at left conference on globalisation

Green Left are to host one of the headline discussions at the left conference on globalisation put together by the Morning Star newspaper and sponsored by unions FBU, UCATT, Unite, NUM and others.

Derek Wall is to address the meeting on Climate Change - Ecosocialist Alternatives.

Other items on the agenda of the conference are "Fighting Neoliberalism in the Americas", "Migrant Labour: Good, bad or inevitable?", and "Global Capital and Trade Union Rights"

The conference is scheduled for Saturday 19th April 2008 at Mander Hall, Hamilton House, Mabledon Place, London WC1 from 9.30am to 4pm. Registration fee is £10 waged, £5 unwaged. Contact address is Morning Star Conference, William Rust House, 52 Beachy Road, London E3 2NS. Cheques payable to PPPS.

A time to get angry......

There are plenty of reasons to be angry today for anyone concerned for democracy in Britain, for anyone who thinks that broadly defined class interests are more real and important than racial and cultural differences that are used to divide us, for anyone concerned about human rights and peace in the Middle East, for anyone who would like to see the promising shoots of change and challenge to global neo-liberalism in South and Central America blossom and grow rather than be drowned in blood.

Last night saw the New Labour drones and Euro-nationalist utopians of the Lib Dems combine to defeat the (for once) principled stance of the Tories and those in the Labour and Lib Dem parliamentary parties who have any respect for public opinion or democratic accountability. Recent polls show 80% plus favour a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty (the rebadged European Constitution) and a large campaign has been fighting to get such a referendum. "Stalin-Bean" Brown whipped his troops into line and the increasingly dislikeable rightist liberal leader Clegg attempted to whip his, but failed (though only a quarter of Lib Dem MPs showed any conscience). So for now, you will not get a say on the Treaty, which countless statements of less duplicitous European pro-constiturion politicians say is virtually indistinguishable in effect to the constitutional treaty (the British pro-treaty politicians are of course playing with words in a pedantic manner when they say it is "not a constitution") Another nail in the coffin of any respect that the British people had for what (if I remember correctly) Morris in News From Nowhere made into the "Westminster Dunghill". And just to rub it in, further announcements this morning about the roll out of National Identity Cards.

The BBC is running a malevolent campaign around the "forgotten White Working Class". The same BBC whose general line (from its' liberal establishment groupthink ivory tower) for many years has been that the working class in Britain either does not exist, is irrelevant or backward. Their programmes seem to be designed to further cement division. Anyone with an ounce of political awareness on the left (the real left, not the social/cultural liberals more concerned with defending the legacy of Shirley Williams and Roy Jenkins than changing the power structure or uniting a force capable of resisting rampant, corrosive, destructive neo-liberalism) knows that the moment you locate your identity around race rather than class you are lost in a morass of division and resentments. We only have to look at the history of "progressive" politics in the United States for proof of this - even at its most inclusive and liberating moments (the civil rights movement) the lack of a specific orientation on power and structures in society sowed the seeds for the movement's decline into a mess of competing special interests and petty rivalries. And the threat to the establishment posed by those who began to break out of the narrow mould of racial/social liberal struggle was shown by the vicious and documented way in which the US state and state security forces dealt with those who began to take a more dangerous stance (Malcolm X, Cointelpro etc etc.)

Meanwhile, Gaza burns and starves, and the tanks face off over the borders of South America whilst the Oil Company vultures circle.

As I say, now is the time to get angry. But it is also the time to try and put together some left unity, whilst there is still time.
They will always try and divide and rule, be we must unite and fight back.

More Lefty Blog Links

There are currently over 600 blogs listed under the category "left" on the Blogarama blog directory. Now some of these are questionably or mischievously placed under that category, but there are still a lot of interesting sites to visit. Here are a few interesting (English speaking) ones that I came across in the first 15 or so pages under that category (and linking in no way shows approval of all the views of the bloggers!):

Idealistic Pragmatist is the blog of a Canadian NDP supporter describing themselves as "American by birth, Canadian by choice". This analysis of the Canadian left from a year or two ago is worth reading.

Power To the People is the blog of "an African revolutionary in America" who seems to draw on both socialist and anarchist traditions.

whenua, fenua, enua, vanua is the blog of a "revolutionary Polynesian" in "occupied Australia". Lots of good pics of actions in Australia and info on anti-colonialist and anti-capitalist struggle in the Pacific region.

extra! extra! is an Irish blog concentrating on peace and war, with the current post saying it is on hold while some health matters are sorted out - hope everything is OK.

newsoc is the blog of Len Richards from Auckland, New Zealand.

I may try and post another selection later this week.

Weekly Links - 27/01/08

Space

The hot news of the week on space related topics is the probable falling to earth of a US spy satellite reportedly the "size of a bus" in February or March.

Green Politics

Green Party of England and Wales MEP Caroline Lucas has contributed a piece to a book that was published a few days ago called "Do Good Lives Have To Cost The Earth?" the collection of essays is edited by Andrew Simms of the New Economics Foundation and Joe Smith of the Open University.

Derek Wall is spreading the green message on the Socialist Unity Blog and this week posted a downbeat but realistic assessment of the US Presidential Election situation and the evolution of the Green challenge by Todd Chretien who has stood in California for the Senate as a Green candidate.

Industrial

Interesting industrial stories on Labourstart this week include the possible end of the honeymoon period enjoyed by the new Australian Government as regards the unions, increasing friction between public sector unions and government in Germany, and Remploy staff in Liverpool voting for strike action.
One green union story is the exposure of the "green" hypocrisy of currently-job-exporting Cadburys.

Blogs

A very good post over at Climate and Capitalism this week, where Ian Angus has posted the text of his keynote speech at “Smells Like Green Spirit,” a conference sponsored by the University of British Columbia Student Environment Centre, on January 19, 2008. The piece is entitled "How To Avoid Action On Climate Change" and though it deals with the Canadian government, the behaviour it describes is familiar on this side of the Atlantic as well.

Jack Ray lays into the odious Nick Cohen here over the latest red-baiting around the London Mayoral election. The Sunday Times returned to the attack on the Mayor this weekend, dragging in CND, and Andy at Socialist Unity Blog published CND's response.

Jim at The Daily (Maybe)reports this week on Peter Tatchell ambushing the limo of the Dictator of Pakistan, Musharraff; and on the more regrettable story that the Countryside Alliance won the Channel 4 Political Awards.

And finally....as they say on the recently returned News at Ten a cheery little look at the Black Death from Peter at Earthquake Cove.

European Greens Call For Release Of All Hostages And Political Prisoners In Colombia

Following the release of hostages in Colombia the European Green Party issued the following statement :

Release of Clara Rojas and Consuelo Gonzalez must be followed by release of all hostages in Colombia

The EGP calls on the EU to press for a political solution to end conflict in Colombia and secure the release of all hostages and political prisoners

Commenting on the release yesterday of Clara Rojas and Consuelo Gonzalez who had been held hostage by the FARC guerrilla, EGP Co-Spokesperson Ulrike Lunacek said: “We European Greens are delighted that FARC have finally released Clara Rojas and Consuelo Gonzalez, more than three weeks after it was announced that they would be set free. We hope that Clara Rojas can soon be reunited with her son Emmanuel who was born in captivity and who Clara hasn’t seen since June 2005. However, this release must be the start of a process which will result in the speedy release of all hostages being held, including Ingrid Betancourt, the former Presidential candidate for the Colombian Green Party. We once again call on FARC to immediately release all hostages.”

EGP Co-Spokesperson Philippe Lamberts continued: “We would like to express our appreciation for the mediation efforts carried out by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and the Colombian Senator, Piedad Cordoba. We also call on EU representatives, in particular Javier Solana, the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy and Benita Ferrero-Waldner, the Commissioner for External Relations, to urge the Colombian government of President Alvaro Uribe to move ahead with plans to create a limited demilitarised zone where negotiations between the government and FARC can be held. The EGP has always argued that this conflict, which has caused so many deaths and brought so much suffering to the Colombian people, will only be ended through a humanitarian agreement and political solution .We hope that the Colombian government now realises that there can be no military solution to its conflict with FARC.”

NOTE: Ingrid Betancourt, the leader of the Colombian Green Party (Partido Verde-Oxigeno) and a former presidential candidate, was abducted alongside her campaign manager and running mate Clara Rojas by FARC in February 2002. . More information about Ingrid Betancourt, in several languages, can be found at www.betancourt.info. Consuelo Gonzalez de Perdomo is a former Liberal Party Congresswoman.

Weekly Links - 13/01/08

First up this week, the energy debate has been high on the agenda with the British Government's nuclear announcement. After the article I linked in my Thursday blog, Peter Tatchell posted another piece on the Guardian Comment Is Free site about the renewable options. My prediction that the Labourite apologists and neo-liberal drones would try to blame the coming energy crisis on the Greens has come true already, with this ridiculous outburst from the increasingly puffed up and hysterical Nick Cohen. Yes there is a problem with middle class greenery, Nick - but left greens will take no lessons from someone who now spends his time sucking up to the neo-liberal and neo-conservative projects - no middle class beardies amongst Nick's new friends, mind, just bona-fide members of the ruling class and their oily apologists.

Various blogging reactions to the Peter Hain affair from Jack Ray, (Practically Insurgent), Louise at Socialist Unity Blog, and Septic Isle (Obsolete).
Dave Osler puts a different perspective on it by republishing a 1986 article by Hain from the days when he laughably (it is an even sicker joke today) called himself a "libertarian socialist".

Elsewhere this week the Anglo-Irish blog Organized Rage has two interesting stories - the first that Alliance For Green Socialism member Tony Greenstein has forced an apology out of revolting Blairite journalist David Aaronovitch (Kept watch on here). Secondly that CIA-defector, socialist and writer Philip Agee has passed away.

Greenman's Occasional Awards 2007

So, another year is ending and a new one about to begin, just the time for Greenman's Occasional Awards of the Year.

Services to Green Blogging Award : Jim, Daily (Maybe) (for consistently interesting posts and his Top Green Bloggers Poll.)

Best Lefty Group Blog : Socialist Unity Blog

Best Labourist Blogger : Dave's Part

Farewell to Blogging Awards :
1.Matt Sellwood
2. Metaphysics As A Guide To Lunch

Best Spoof Blog Article : Paul Kingsnorth as Brendan O'Neill

Most Welcome Political Exit : Tony Blair

Most Dramatic Political Exit : Benazir Bhutto

Most Dramatic Brit Lefty Split : Respect/Respect Renewal

Most Welcome Brit Political Split/Difficulties Award : The Fash

Most Avoidable/Regrettable Left Electoral Collapse : SSP/Solidarity in Scottish Parliamentary Elections.

Sadly Inevitable Lefty Defeat Award : John McDonnell, Labour Leadership Campaign

Rampant Sectarians Award :
1. Commenters below Socialist Unity Blog (SUB)articles

Highest number of annoying rightwingers and trolls commenting on an allegedly "left of centre" discussion site award : Guardian Comment Is Free

Interminable irrelevant debates on religion award : Guardian Comment Is Free

Most Boring/Predictable Election: Clegg/Huhne Lib Dem Leadership

Most Politically Important Domestic Electoral Victory : SNP, Scottish Parliament

Award for Canny Political Positioning : Scottish Green Party for "Confidence and Supply" model.

Footshooters Award For Green Blunders:
1. European Greens' Statement on Lisbon Treaty
2. Irish Greens voting to go into Government With Fianna Fail
3. English and Welsh Greens Voting for a Leader and Deputy model

Most Promising Green/Left Development : Ecosocialist International Network.

Most Creative Environmental Protest Award : Camp For Climate Action, Heathrow.

Wettest Protest Award : Campaign Against Climate Change, London, 8th December.

A Happy New Year To You All!

Weekly Links - 30/12/2007

First, let me wish a very happy New Year to all of my readers in this, the last weekly links blog of 2007. Hopefully, tomorrow, I will have a go at the Greenman's Political Awards 2007!

This week the big story has been the assassination of Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan and the shock waves that this event has caused. I am saved putting up too many links on this by the very hard work of Jim over at Daily (Maybe) who blogged on the subject with a comprehensive range of links on Thursday. Jim is ending the year on a bit of a roll, with a set of blogging resolutions and a review of the year.

Back on the Pakistan situation, Derek Wall yesterday posted an account of events there from the left wing Labour Party Pakistan, part of the All Parties Democratic Movement that is supporting a General Strike against the dictatorship.

An interesting article from the Guardian this week, noting something that I and other Green activists have been aware of as an increasingly common response (in England at least) when out campaigning and leafletting throughout this year - an anti-green backlash. There has of course always been opposition to and questioning (a certain level of questioning is always good) of environmental campaigns, not to mention ridicule and "I'm all right jack" stances. But recently this seems to be acquiring an aggressive and emotional element that was previously rare. A pop cultural manifestation of this is the mass popularity and soaring book sales of all things Top Gear and Clarksonish, and the tendency to still take the self-publicising contrarian Bjorn Lomborg seriously, as noted by Derek this week. Part of this is of course linked to quite rational suspicion of government and greenwash being used to cover shifting burdens onto poorer and middle-income sections of society. Therefore a left and social justice based response to climate change and the environmental crisis remains a high priority.

Many homes round here are still festooned with tacky or "ironic" festive light displays. (Yes, that inflatable Homer Simpson was mildly amusing the first time he appeared) Has anyone noticed how the advent of less energy intensive lights seems to have been taken as an incentive to light up even more by some? World By Storm over at Cedar Lounge Revolution blogged on Light Pollution this week - something I have felt very strongly about for a long time. Not being able to see the stars properly is yet another of those small annoying obstacles limiting our connection to our environment and the wider reality. To me it often seems that the more we are limited down to a synthetic and humanised environment the easier it becomes to ignore the effects that our actions and lifestyles have on other human beings and the natural environment.

Weekly Links - 26/11/07

I have delayed these links from yesterday due to the Australian election post.

Green Party of England & Wales
First of all this week the Green Party of England and Wales Referendum on leadership models enters its final stage this week. The Guardian give their take on it here, whilst Red Pepper have a debate between Shahrar Ali and Rupert Read and a poll on the subject.

Speaking of Red Pepper they currently are also carrying stories on the IWCA in Oxford and the Respect situation.

Biofuels
Biofuels are currently a hot topic on the Ecosocialist International Network E-list and tomorrow sees a demonstration at a Biofuel Finance and Investment Meeting in London. More details here.
I noticed on that leaflet a link to this blog of radical cartoons that is worth a look - http://www.throbgoblins.blogspot.com/

A National Day of Local Actions on Biofuels is scheduled for Saturday 26th January 2008. More info on Biofuels at Biofuelwatch.

Rank and File Organisation
I came across this Rank and File UK Building Workers blog this week.

West Papua
On Friday this week there is a demo and film showing on West Papua in London. More info here.

HIV
Finally this week, the weekend sees the 20th World Aids Day on December 1st. This year is also the 25th anniversary of the Terrence Higgins Trust, the organisation named after one of the early victims of the disease. More from the Green LGBT group here.

Ecosocialist International Network

The Ecosocialist International Network (E.I.N.) continues to develop in a positive way and bring together more ecosocialists on an international basis.

The Network now has a website and an active and growing e-mail list. I have added the website to my links column. The website has the original ecosocialist manifesto and a growing links page (which includes a link to this humble blog!)

A priority for the Network at the moment is promotion of the international day of action on climate change scheduled for December 8th 2007.

I am pleased to report that I have just got hold of the new, paperback 2nd edition of ecosocialist writer Joel Kovel's book The Enemy of Nature. Here is a review of the book from the FEASTA website, by Green Party of England and Wales Male Principal Speaker Derek Wall. Coincidentally, FEASTA - (The Foundation For The Economics of Sustainability) had its' AGM today. Keep up the good work, folks.