I Intend To Escape ......................And Come Back

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The Radical History of Hackney

Easy to forget when looking at Meg Hillier, Jules Pipe, Luke Akehurst,Diane Abbott and the Labour gang in Hackney, but this is one London borough with a truly radical history.

Archiving this, on an occasional basis, is The Radical History of Hackney, a blog where the radical pamphlets, leaflets and publications of yesteryear are placed online for us all to see. Todays post is on the Angry Brigade and Stoke Newington Eight. Other offerings cover the campaign against the first Gulf War, Class War, the Hackney Community Defence Association and local squatting campaigns.

Lets Hear No More From The Bishops

In 2011 we saw the Church of England divided about the issue of Occupy protestors on church land at St Pauls Cathedral. We have also seen the Bishop of London and Archbishop of Canterbury criticise the excesses of the City and bankers.

Let us hear no more from these hypocrites in 2012, and let us loudly denounce those gullible fools, from Occupy to Terry Eagleton, who would include sky pilots in the struggle for a better world. Lets us consider yesterday's Evening Standard, and its excellent City Spy column which talks of:

...the Church Commissioner's investment strategy of an "acceptable level of risk" to achieve "the best possible total return for the shares" they own which are worth £3.2 billion. They hold another £1.6 billion in commerical property.

As with any good capitalist institution though, the Church of England now concentrates its investment abroad (those English workers want too much money!)

In recent years they have scaled down their holdings in UK company shares and invested more in global company shares and private equity.

With assests of £4.8 billion, the Church of England could wipe out poverty in Britain at a stroke. They don't - because they don't want to. Having a rich and a poor, having 'good' works to do, is for the religious actor as natural as day and night. And as such, it is high time we realised they are not part of the solution - they are part of the problem.

 

 

 

Farefail: What Happened To Past Labour Promises?

Labour activists have been out across the region leafletting rail and tube stations about the terrible fare increases that have come into effect from today.

I have only two comments. Firstly did they not notice the significant increases that occured every year when Labour was in power, and particularly in London where Ken Livingstone looked to price people off the tube and onto buses?

Secondly those of us with long memories can recall Tony Blair being elected with a manifesto pledge to renationalise the railways. He did not do so. Why then, should we believe Labour commitments , such as Ken Livingstone's fares pledges, now?

Estimating Rip Off Britain

How much money is ripped off from consumers every year in ordinary, legal and legitimate capitalist enterprise? Often without them even noticing.

Estimates exist of how much money is lost each year through tax avoidance (figures beloved of the left) and how much money is lost each year through benefit fraud (figures beloved of the right). I know little of how estimates of tax avoidance are reached, but do know from my time in the Employment Service that the official figures on benefit fraud are greatly prone to exaggeration. Imagine that Miss Y is caught making a fraudulent claim in the first month of the financial year. Her claim is stopped and she is prosecuted. The powers that be assume that fraud would have continued for the remainder of the financial year, and calculate the money saved by the fraud officer to be equal to 12 months fraud. This ignores the possibility of Miss Y doing any of the things that could stop her claim -  dying, moving abroad, being sent to prison, or even forgetting to go and sign on. The structure encourages an inflation, not a deflation, of the sums. 

The Taxpayers Alliance and Adam Smith Institute have produced some fascinating figures on just how long the average worker has to work before they have paid their years income tax to the government, and when they have paid for the cost of regulation.  That such work appears to be the preserve of the political right, rather than the left, tells us all we need to know about why the last century left struggles for relevance, even at the height of this recession.

What is lacking though is an estimate of just how many days we have to work to pay for goods and services that are unfairly and unjustly levied, or that we do not even know we are paying for. The Con-Dems recent suggestion that they will act against credit card surcharges is one such example (presumeably New Labour never noticed this injustice in 13 years in office).

Last month my wife booked four tickets for us to take the boys to see Father Christmas at Westfield in Stratford. It was free, but there was a £1.50 booking fee to limit daily attendance to an agreed number. Only a week later, when printing out the email, did she notice she had also paid £16 to 'insure' our booking. This was not something we had asked for, we did not want it, but as she had failed to opt out when completing the order, we had accidentally purchased. Four minutes on the phone to an 0845 number (more revenue for the company concerned) and our insurance was cancelled - but how many people were caught out?

I have no idea how you would go about calculating such a figure, or even constructing an estimate. But it may well dwarf those hit by devious credit card charges................

Don't Worry, 2012 Will Be OK

Amongst my Christmas gifts was a hagiography of Barack Obama for teenagers, written by Tim Alexander.

I am assuming 'Barack Obama Hope For The World: Everything you wanted to know about the President, and more!' (Orion, 2009) was written as a deliberate attempt to provoke heart attacks and haemorrages across the US right - it is impossible to see what other purpose it serves. Think of a combination between a Jackie annual and the manifesto of a student union candidate, and you are about half way there.

As we enter 2012, there are a lot of things to be fearful of. Take your pick from continued recession, debt, the rise of restrictive technologies and new laws, the lack of credible political alternatives to the Con-Dems, the prospect of conflict between Israel, the US and Iran, religious extremism, ongoing climate change and overpopulation. But, it seems I am being pessimistic:

"Behind us there stands years of war, global warming, economic difficulties and inequality. Ahead there is the hope of peace, freedom and a world where men and women of different colours, beliefs, and religions can live in harmony. A genuine change is taking place and we have a front row seat. One man has stepped forward to bravely lead the world towards our future." (p.5)

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo

Having now seen the first English language adaptation of Stieg Larsson's The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - I can only recommend others go and see what is likely to be the film of 2012.

In terms of acting, the development of tension, occassional outbreaks of humour and genuine suspense, director David Fincher has done a remarkable job, although he was working from very strong source material.

Whilst his publisher styles Stieg Larsson as one of the world's foremost experts on the far-right, referring to him as such on the dustjacket of his books, I was never a fan of Larsson the man. His relationship with the anti-fascist magazine Searchlight (a malign influence in the UK anti-fascist movement in for a generation) attracts my suspicions. Larsson edited Searchlight's Swedish sister magazine Expo. I am also informed that even though Anarchists form the backbone of the anti-fascist movement across Scandanvia, Larsson made comments about such activists that were prejudicial and indeed stupid. A proper reassessment of his political work is overdue.

As a crime novelist however, I suspect Larsson will be regarded as unsurpassed - he is the man who left too soon.

Not My Cup Of Tea

Leonard Zeskind and Devin Burghart have a big article on the US occupy movement in the November issue of Gerry Gable's Searchlight magazine. I think it best to use the term Gable's Searchlight, as we know that former Searchlight editor Nick Lowles is launching his own magazine in the new year............

Zeskind and Burghart cover what they see as as the threat posed to the occupy movement by the Tea Party, supporters of Ron Paul and the conspiracy theories of Texas snake oil salesman Alex Jones. What is noteable about this thesis is however just how overpowering an organisation as diverse (and some might say contradictory) as the Tea Party is viewed as being by the authors. Take the hyperbole of this opening:

"For the past two+ years, the Tea Party movement has had a death grip on the American political discourse. The Tea Parties strangled any move towards an equitable system of single-payer health care. They dominated the November 2010 congressional elections. They came within a hair's breadth of driving the United States itself into insolvency".

And there was me thinking Barack Obama had been President of the United States since 2009! Indeed many of his supporters were at one point insisting Obama had delivered on healthcare, and that this would be seen as the key success of his Presidency!
This approach is a classic example of how political commentators give the ruling elite a get out of jail free card. Any failure of Obama to deliver in the United States is not the fault of the man himself, the Democratic Party or even the US economic system - we can instead blame those on the right who are criticising Obama, for 'impeding' change!

As important as it is to be aware of the likes of distractor flares like Ron Paul or Alex Jones, it should not mean people take leave of their critical faculties. If the US neared bankruptcy, perhaps Obama (and Bush before him) should have spent a little more wisely and a little less on defence projects? And perhaps Zeskind and Burghart could consider where the buck stops in the American political system, rather than attacking easy targets?

Is it too hard to accept that if President Obama has not been 'radical' in office, it might actually be because he was never radical in the first place?

Anarchist Studies: Colin Ward Issue Published

The new issue of Anarchist Studies (Vol 19, No.2) has landed on my doormat.

It is a special issue devoted to the later Anarchist writer Colin Ward, best known for his writing on housing and his attempt to put anarchist ideals into practice in the challenging circumstances of post War Britain. Ward's legacy is considered by Carl Levy, Peter Marshall, Pietro Di Paolo, David Goodway, Brian Morris, Carissa Honeywell, Robert Graham and Stuart White.

You can find out more online about Anarchist Studies, and the Anarchist Studies Network.

When Is A Political Prisoner Not A Political Prisoner?

.............When he or she is an Anarchist.

I guess at my age I should be too old to get annoyed by the Socialist Workers Party, or indeed by the wider socialist/marxist milieu in the UK, of which the SWP is representative. Every now and then however they still manage to press my buttons, in a way that it surprises me how much I can still rage at their idiocy and perversion of ideals.

The Socialist Worker website currently has an article and list of prisoners it suggests we write to over Christmas. It is a mixed list of those jailed in the student revolt, alleged and actual miscarriage of justice cases, plus a couple of examples of very long term prisoners who have been in correspondence with left wing groups for many years.

Needless to say the five anti-fascists still in UK jails for attacking members of the fascist Blood and Honour organisation in 2009, do not get a mention. I can think of no reason for this other than the fact they are Anarchists. They simply do not exist in Socialist Worker's ethos.

One thing that does exist in that rose-tinted view of the world is a 'war against Islam'. Curiously two of the men who were allegedly behind the most important British Jihadist website, Azzam.com are listed on the SWP's support list. Azzam.com, named after the spiritual founder of Al-Qaeda, Abdullah Azzam, played a key role in supporting the struggle to establish an Islamic theocracy in Chechnya, receiving praise from the likes of Ibn ul Khattab.

This article sums up the level the last century left has slumped to. Five working class men in jail for fighting Nazis on the streets of London are not worthy of a mention, yet a veteran of the Bosnian Mujahideen, like Babar Ahmad, is.

I have never really believed the argument that concepts of a 'left' and a 'right' in British politics are no longer relevant. However, on this type of evidence, and more generally on issues surrounding race and religion (especially Islam) I really can't see where the divide exists any more. That a division between the gullible and the realist exists, I am sure. How to articulate that it wider political terms, I am, at this stage, less sure about. Perhaps my PhD is a step towards doing that.

2012: Jean Vigo Coming To Our Cinema Screens

Forget Mission Impossible 24, or whatever Tom Cruise's franchise is up to now. January and February 2012 sees several UK cinemas showing L'Atalante, by the French Anarchist film maker Jean Vigo.

The British Film Institute's preview should hopefully garner your interest, although it sadly avoids any examination of Vigo's politics. For that - consider this overview from the Daily Bleed, and this copy of the now defunct Jean Vigo website.

Thanks to the ever patient Muriel for introducing me to the importance of Jean Vigo.

 

Christopher Hitchens Crossing Swords With The Enemy

As a tribute to to the late great Christopher Hitchens, my favourite Hitch clip:

 

Companies To Avoid Like The Plague: Heart Internet

If anyone out there is looking for an Internet service provider, I really do urge you to steer as far as possible from Heart Internet.

They ignore basic instructions, threaten customers with bailiffs over sums as low as £10, and carry on ignoring instructions even when they have been clearly expressed in writing. They are scum. If you are using them - I suggest you switch to another provider. If you are going through a list of potential suppliers - cross them off it.

 

Libya: The Things People Miss

I have only just come across this BBC piece from 31 August "Fears Over Islamists Within Libyan Rebel Ranks".

Written by Dr Omar Ashour of the University of Exeter, it contains two significant omissions. Whilst covering the re-emergence of Abdul Hakim Belhaj, who was known as Abu Abdullah al-Sadiq when he headed the jihadist Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, the author neglects to tell us that this gentleman, who's presence was apparently worrying Western governments - once lived happily in exile in the UK.

Secondly whilst we are told the LIFG attempted to kill Gaddafi in 1995 and 1996, and that Belhaj also served time in Gaddafi's jails, no mention is made of allegations that the 1996 plot was a joint enterprise between the LIFG and our very own Secret Intelligence Service, MI6.

Clearly if we all agree to not mention Londonistan, and forget that historically Britain has so often worked with Islamist actors against Nationalist, Socialist or Communist currents that 'threatened' our interests, everything will be alright.

Fingers crossed everyone!

1 in 12 Club Appeal Fund

Aside from activism, the Anarchist movement in the UK rather lacks things to be a part of, or to go too.

That is perhaps why Anarchist Centres like the 1 in 12 Club in Bradford are important - they provide a possible alternative to the routine of marching, leafletting and being followed by police officers with cameras. The last time I visited the 1 in 12 was in 2008, when I drove up London Class War's enormous collection of foreign language Anarchist material, which was given to the 1 in 12's library as a donation. Earlier years saw some marathon drinking sessions there with Wakefield Class War (RIP) although I have to say every band I ever saw play at the 1 in 12 was uniformly pisspoor!

All the more distressing then that the 1 in 12 club faces a series of threats, which could ultimately end in closure, due to actions by the Fire Brigade. Clearly the FBU has forgotten about all the Anarchists who hooted their support when the firemen were campaigning for a £30,000 salary! Freedom covers some of the particular assistence the club needs, but financial support is also required. The 1 in 12 sets out what you can do to help on their website - if you can, do so. Anarchism generally, but Bradford in particular, would be a poorer place without the 1 in 12.

Oh - and as a reminder of how long the club has been kicking fat Tory arse, here is the 1989 Pickles Papers, about Bradford Tory leader Eric Pickles, now better known as MP for Brentwood and Ongar and Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

Anarchism: It's About Laughing and Crying

What else can you do when you read a statement like this:

"Turritopsis Nutricula is a multi-gendered, multi-cultural, multi-generational collective of individuals with varied sexual orientations, subcultural affinities and favourite foods.  We are a
Revolutionary household.  By this we mean that we are opposed to police, prison, borders, racism, sexism, heterosexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, ageism, body-policing, speciesism, fascism, capitalism and any other form of oppression."

Apparently this collective is a week in to a squatted occupation in Seattle. You can read more details here. Oh, and a Turritopis Nutricula is apparently a jellyfish. They look a little like this:

Black Flame London Book Launch

This Saturday 10th December, 2pm at Freedom Press in Whitechapel:

BLACK FLAME: The revolutionary class politics of anarchism and syndicalism

BLACK FLAME: The revolutionary class politics of anarchism and syndicalism
Lucien van der Walt & Michael Schmidt

'Black Flame' examines the anti-authoritarian class politics of the anarchist/syndicalist movement, and its 150 years of popular struggle on five continents. An  indispensable conceptual and historical roadmap, with close attention to Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America, looking at its:

·   Opposition to hierarchy, capitalism and the state
·   Strategy: building revolutionary counter-power 
·   History: labour, community, anti-imperialism
·   Agenda: participatory, cooperative economics 
·   Revolutions: Mexico, Spain, Ukraine, Korea 
·   Revival: today's struggles

MORE @ http://black-flame-anarchism.blogspot.com


------------------------------------------
REVIEWERS SAY
· 
  "one of its distinctive contributions is its global scope... their book is brilliant and thought-provoking ... a valuable study for activists, students and academics alike..." (Mandisi Majavu, Africa Project for Participatory Society, 'ZNET')
·   "deserves to be read by all those on the Left seeking to understand anarchism's diverse
contributions to democratic socialist thinking and practice ..." (Devan Pillay, 'Amandla')
·   "illustrates the universality of anarchism, which until now, other literature has not done ... countless examples of large movements globally from Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Cuba and the United States, to South Africa, Egypt, Korea and Japan ... Spain, Italy, Russia, the UK and Ireland ..." (Mandy Moussouris, 'South African Labour Bulletin')
" extraordinary ... succeeds in bringing anarchist ideas into vivid relief in their historical contexts ... shows the increasing relevance of an anarchist critique for our own time" (Martin Miller, Duke University, author of 'The Russian Revolution', 'Kropotkin')
·   "a fascinating account of the often obscured history of anarchists, their organisations and
history. There is much to commend in the book ..." (Leo Zeilig, 'International Socialism')
·   "the depth and breadth of the research are impressive, the arguments sophisticated, and the call to organize timely ..." (Mark Leier, 'Labour/Le Travail')
·   "If you have a passing interest in radical politics, get this book. If you have an interest in anarchism, get this book ..." (Deric Shannon, 'Interface: a journal for and about social movements')
·   "fascinating, revealing and often startling ..."  (Alan Lipman, anti-apartheid exile, author of 'On the Outside Looking In: colliding with apartheid and other authorities')   
·   "useful and insightful ...  a  grand work of synthesis  ... an excellent starting point..."  (Greg Hall, 'WorkingUSA')
· "Brilliant  ... outstanding ... Do yourself a favour and buy it now!"
(Iain McKay, author of 'The Anarchist FAQ', volume 1) 
·  "considerable scholarship and deep reflection  ... remarkable ... powerful and lucidly written  ..." (Jon Hyslop, University of Witwatersrand, author of 'The Notorious Syndicalist: JT Bain, a Scottish rebel in colonial South Africa') 
·   "an outstanding contribution ...  unique in examining anarchism from a worldwide perspective instead of only a west European angle ..." (Wayne Price, author of 'The
Abolition of the State: anarchist and Marxist perspectives') 
·   "a must for everybody interested in nonauthoritarian social movements ... "  (Bert Altena, Rotterdam University, author of 'Piet Honig, Herinneringen van een Rotterdamse revolutionair') 

-----------------
Michael  Schmidt is a Johannesburg-based investigative journalist/ journalism trainer and activist, with experience in Chiapas, civil war Guatemala, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Rwanda, Darfur, and Lebanon.

Lucien van der Walt teaches at Wits. Winner of the 2008 international 'Labor History' dissertation and the 2008/2009 CODESRIA Africa thesis awards, his extensive publications include (with Steve Hirsch) 'Anarchism and Syndicalism in the Colonial and Postcolonial
World, 1880-1940' (Brill 2010).

A Tribute to Socrates

The first World Cup I can really remember, and certainly the first World Cup where I watched the majority of the games, was Spain in 1982.

The highlight of that tournament was Italy's fabled 3-2 victory over Brazil, and the highlight of that match, to my twelve year old's football brain, was the Brazilian goal where Socrates beat Dino Zoff at his near post. Socrates seemed incredibly exotic. This was an era where English footballers were 'over the Brian' in interviews, our World Cup mascot was a bulldog that would not have looked out of place as an illustration in National Front News, and our two best players, Trevor Brooking and Kevin Keegan, injured more than they were fit.

Socrates seemed improbably, impossibly exotic. The idea of a footballer who was also a Doctor was in the English context, unthinkable. But a footballer named after a Greek philospher, and who chain smoked when not on the football pitch? This interview, with Mancunian journalist Andy Mitten, not only gives us the mark of the man, but the following examination  of Brazil's defeat to Italy:

"Our loss to Italy was not simple," Socrates says. "It was like achieving the conquest of the most beautiful woman in the world, but then being unable to do what matters with her. But it can happen, in life and in sport. "Some say that we were the greatest side never to win the World Cup. They tell us that to this day ... People remember our team because we lost, not won. But nobody tried to copy Italy, the pragmatic team which lifted the World Cup. The beautiful team, with the art and creativity, lost."

 

Strike Breaking Spin

Back in the 1990s I worked with a career press officer, who was also a life long Conservative.

He had run media for the old GLC, the Ministry of Defence and other government departments, and he outlined to me his core principle of handling strikes. Always get a good news story out, as early as possible, about services continuing. His particular favourite was to run a story about someone stepping in to help a woman give birth 'Midwives on strike, so taxi driver delivers baby' etc etc

It is not even midday, and the Cabinet Office is claiming temporary staff have found 1.5kg of cocaine at Stanstead Airport. Expect a similar triumph with regards to illegal immigrants before the six o'clock news .......................

The Churches That Cure HIV

Sky News is currently running with an exclusive about the deaths of six people, who allegedly died after they stopped taking medication, following the intervention of Pastors.

The only surprise about this story is that it has taken so long to come out. Anyone with a cursory knowledge of evangelical churches in London, and especially those associated with West African emigres and their descendants, will have heard some pretty odd views articulated about God's power, be it the wealth he can apparently bring you, or the gifts he can bestow on the faithful. Now it seems he cures HIV, and there is no need to take prescribed medication.

There will be more of these stories, indeed if half the attention focused on extremist mosques in recent years had gone on some of these churches, we would probably be exhausted by such exclusives. As well as informing the public and engaging more rational voices, probably the best solution to these trends is to ensure that HMRC and in particular the Charity Commission go through those institutions like a dose of salts. Not even God can protect them for that......

Get Your National Counter Terrorism Command Calendar

No laptap is complete without the National Counter Terrorism Command calender - you can download it here, in pdf format.

The 2011 version comes with handy little guides to wanted Al Qaeda members like Dr Ayman al-Zawahiri and even has the heading 'killed' stamped across Osama Bin Laden's forehead, in case any members of the NTC were still looking for him in the hills of Waziristan. Members of Pakistan's ISI will be outraged to know that a good Muslim like Sirajuddin Haqqani is listed as 'wanted', although with a mere 5 $million dollars on his head, he is a fifth of the value of Dr al-Zawahiri.

As well as serving as a planner (a little late in the year, as there are only six weeks left, but hey, who's complaining!) the calender gives us timely little reminders of past terrorist attacks and important legal cases. Important dates are not left out however - how crucial it is, amidst all these frightening pictures of men wth beards, to be reminded of Martin Luther King Day, Valentine's Day and even Revolution Day in Iran.
Those employed in the Islamophobia industry will be relieved to note that it is not just Jihadists in the America's target hairs, a few old commies get a mention in the shape of FARC and Greek domestic terrorism, and the KGK, successor to the Kurdish PKK, are also squeezed in.

Thanks to Pickman's Model for spotting this and emailing the link over to me.