Those 2008 New Year Resolutions In Full

What he said.

My Drunken Dad: Fast Food Nation - McDonalds is GOOD

Hat tip to Will.

The West Country Telegraph

Andy's in Swindon, but he still knows more about what's going on in Left of Democrat politics in the USA than I ever will*.

In his latest post to the Socialist Unity Blog, Andy gives the low down in the left/right split in the Green Party in the United States. I'm guessing the right faction within the Greens - with their desire for close co-operation with the Democrats - have got it in their collective heads that they never want a repeat of 2000. Apparently, it was Nader who handed the election to George W.

*Thing's balance out though: I know there's only one team in the West Country.

Socialist Standard Gets a Revamp

January 2008 brings with it a revamped and expanded Socialist Standard. Check it out now, 'cos you never know when I will get round to posting the contents on the blog.

Socialist Standard muscles into Viz territory

The Socialist Standard reaches out to its teenage readership.

The Naming of the Dead by Ian Rankin (Little Brown 2007)

"The barriers were going up. Down George IV Bridge and all along Princes Street, workmen were busy putting them in place. Road repairs and building projects had been put on hold, scaffolding removed so it couldn't be taken apart and used as missiles. Mailboxes had been sealed shut and some shops boarded up. Financial institutions had been warned, staff advised not to wear formal clothing - it would make them easy targets. For a Friday evening, the town was quiet. Police vans cruised the central streets, metal grilles fixed to their windshields. More vans were parked out of sight in unlit side roads. The cops on board wore riot gear and laughed among themselves, swapping stories from previous engagements. A few veterans had seen action during the last wave of miners' strikes. Others tried to match these memories with stories of soccer battles, poll-tax demonstrations, the Newbury Bypass. They exchanged rumors about the expected size of the Italian anarchist contingent".

Phil O'Donnell R.I.P Scoring in 1991 Scottish Cup Final.

Obituary in the Sunday Herald

Obituary in the Scotland on Sunday

Obituary in the Observer

A post about Socialism and Sunbeds that does not involve Tommy Sheridan

A comrade writes . . .

"In the July 1932 issue of the Socialist Standard it has the contact address for the Workers Socialist Party listed as 132, East 23rd Street, New York, New York.

I of course Google the address and find out that the former headquarters for our Party is now the 'Beach Bum Tanning' tanning salon.

Capitalism, aint it fucking grand?"

Phil O'Donnell 1972-2007

Total shock at the news.

The Assassination of Benazir Bhutto

The New York Times reports on the impact of the murder of Benazir Bhutto on the Pakistani population in Brooklyn.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie (Little Brown 2007)

"It sucks to be poor, and it sucks to feel that you somehow deserve to be poor. You start believing that you're poor because you're stupid and ugly. And then you start believing that you're stupid and ugly because you're Indian. And because you're Indian you start believing you're destined to be poor. it's an ugly circle and there's nothing you can do about it.

"Poverty doesn't give you strength or teach you lessons about perseverance. No, poverty only teaches you how to be poor".

Falling in love with West Bromwich Albion all over again

Eight goal thriller over the Christmas period?

Forget yesterday's Villa/Chelski match, Man Utd versus WBA from 1978 will always stick in the memory.

Cyrille Regis should have got a hat trick, but for two brilliant saves from Gary Bailey; Laurie Cunningham blistering and unstoppable on both wings; the brilliant second goal from West Brom prompting the question, whatever happened to Len Cantello?; and with Stewart Houston, Mickey Thomas, Sammy McIlroy, Steve Coppell, Gordon McQueen and David McCreery in their line up, Man Utd must have been the ugliest football team in history, save for that 14th century village football team from Gloucestershire who were struck down with the bubonic plague after that European away fixture in Sicily.

Love to see the modern day marketing bods at Old Trafford selling that Man Utd first eleven's image rights to the Asian soccer market.

I just wish that Big Ron hadn't spoil it at the end of the clip by his words that brought it home that the seventies were a long time ago.

The Killjoy

Which Dexys Midnight Runners song are you?

Cultural Snow's Tim Footman has the answer.

"Who's chairing this meeting?"

I so want this to be true but I know it's probably not:

"According to reports, owner Mike Ashley, who shuns corporate hospitality when attending away matches, joined the rest of the travelling support in singing 'we're shit and we're sick of it'." [From here.]

It could start a trend amongst Premiership Chairmans'. Man City's, Thaksin Shinawatra, singing to opposition fans: "You're going home in a fucking ambulance." Oh wait up, bad example.

Boxed In

Weekly Bulletin of The Socialist Party of Great Britain (26)

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the 26th of our weekly bulletins to keep you informed of changes at Socialist Party of Great Britain @ MySpace.

We now have 1127 friends!

Recent blogs:

Modern Technology and Socialism

Religion: dying but not yet dead

Anthropology and politics

This week's top quote:

At length the hour of shutting up the counting-house arrived. With an ill-will Scrooge dismounted from his stool, and tacitly admitted the fact to the expectant clerk in the Tank, who instantly snuffed his candle out, and put on his hat.

"You'll want all day to-morrow, I suppose?" said Scrooge.

"If quite convenient, sir."

"It's not convenient," said Scrooge, "and it's not fair. If I was to stop half-a-crown for it, you'd think yourself ill-used, I'll be bound?"

The clerk smiled faintly.

"And yet," said Scrooge, "you don't think me ill-used, when I pay a day's wages for no work."

The clerk observed that it was only once a year.

"A poor excuse for picking a man's pocket every twenty-fifth of December!" said Scrooge, buttoning his great-coat to the chin. "But I suppose you must have the whole day. Be here all the earlier next morning." Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, 1843.

Continuing luck with your MySpace adventures!

Robert and Piers

Socialist Party of Great Britain

Menshevik Internationalist Misprint

Damn, if only I'd released it a week earlier, it could have been the Christmas number one.

Six hours after uploading the final talk in the, Socialist Thinkers Series, ZShare is telling me that the second part of the talk on Martov has been downloaded over 2000 times. Which is kind of strange because 1) It's a 25 year old SPGB talk on Julius Martov . . . and 2) The first part has only been downloaded 28 times.

Now I know from listening to old Oasis and Smiths singles, that B sides can sometimes be the more interesting of the tracks released but I'm thinking misprint, rather than internet sleeper phenomenon for 2007/08.

Which is a shame really, 'cos for a nano-second, I could picture the mixed review on the Newsnight Late Show, the front cover of Time magazine, and, of course, the audiobook of the talk, as read by Martin Jarvis.

Maybe with the next batch of SPGB talks.

The Wrong Man

No, that's not right. At a push, he could translate his chat show impression of Tommy Cooper onto celluloid, but playing Hitchcock?

Hopkins is arguably one of the most irritating actors of his generation.

Hat tip to The Sharp Side for being the bringer of bad tidings.

Consigned To The Sin Bin of History

Funny the weird stuff you stumble across on the net. Via a google search on Julius Martov:

Hunting The Radical Snark

Moonbat Central. Gone but not forgotten.

Julius Martov and the Anti-Bolshevik Approach To Revolution

Final talk from the 'Socialist Thinkers – People Who History Made' lecture series and, aptly enough, the lecture dates from 25 years to the day.

Socialist meetings on a Boxing Day? Those were the days.

The sound quality of the recording is not the greatest but, remember, when I did originally introduce these old recordings on the blog, I did introduce them as, The SPGB: the basement tapes. The political quality of the recordings has been immeasurable, and I hope that other comrades in the SPGB tradition will look to upload further talks and debates on the Party website and/or their blogs.

Martov was an important socialist thinker and activist from the first two decades of the twentieth century, and I hope that readers will also take the time to check out the links below for further information about Martov and the period under discussion.

First Part

DOWNLOAD LINK: Martov and the Anti-Bolshevik Approach To Revolution

FILE NAME: martov part one.mp3

FILE SIZE: ~67.40 megabytes

LENGTH:1:13:10

Second Part

DOWNLOAD LINK: Martov and the Anti-Bolshevik Approach To Revolution

FILE NAME: martov part two.mp3

FILE SIZE: ~27.24 megabytes

LENGTH: 29:34

Further Reading on Julius Martov:

Julius Martov on the Marxist Internet Archive

Julius Martov page at Spartacus.Net

The State and the Socialist Revolution by Julius Martov

Review of Martov's 'The State and the Socialist Revolution' (From an issue of the Socialist Standard that dates from 1940.)

Martov: a Russian Social-Democrat (A review of Israel Getzler's biography of Julius Martov that first appeared in the November 1967 issue of the Socialist Standard.)

The role of the soviets in Russia's bourgeois revolution: the point of view of Julius Martov by Adam Buick (Originally published in the French political journal, Economies et societes, cahiers de l'ISMEA, Paris, serie S, Number 18, April-May 1976 issue.)

Pisses All Over The Pogues

Best Christmas Tune Ever

Graham Parker - 'Christmas Is For Mugs' mp3

Not being a curmudgeon or a contrarian for the sake of it. The above is my favourite Crimbo song, and knocked the following into the silver medal position after many years of being my song of choice in late December:

The Waitresses - 'Christmas Wrapping' mp3

Have a good 'yin.

Fork You

End of year bun fights concerning Pitchfork:

Merry Christmas, Haters

Stick a Fork in it: Pitchfork's Glaring Omissions

Mixing Pop and Politics (3)

Obscure Factoid of the Day

Beck's maternal Great Great Grandfather, Abraham Rosenberg, was the first president of the International Ladies Garment Workers Union.

Double hat tip to Kara for supplying the Beck pic and for the obscure factoid.

William Morris's Vision of Socialism

Penultimate talk from the 'Socialist Thinkers – People Who History Made' lecture series.

According to the Socialist Standard of the time, the talk dates from Sunday 12 December 1982, and was held at the Prince Albert pub in Kings Cross, London.

First Part

DOWNLOAD LINK: William Morris's Vision of Socialism

FILE NAME: 02 william morris Part 1.mp3

FILE SIZE: ~60.58 megabytes

LENGTH:1:05:46

Second Part

DOWNLOAD LINK: William Morris's Vision of Socialism

FILE NAME: 03 William Morris Part 2.mp3

FILE SIZE: ~50.57 megabytes

LENGTH: 54:54

Further Reading on William Morris:

William Morris on the Marxist Internet Archive

The William Morris Society

William Morris: Life and Times (From the Socialist Standard, 1984)

Morris and the Problem of Reform or Revolution (From the Socialist Standard, 1984)

Art, Labour & Socialism by William Morris . . . With a Modern Assessment (SPGB pamphlet from 1962.)

Back To Back

Catching my blogging eye on Crimbo Eve:

We Could Live To Be 1,000 Years Old But For Capitalism? Sounds like something to do with Doctor Who Is it a blog or is it a website? Doesn't matter: the World Socialist Party of United States webspace carries a review of Aubrey De Grey, “Ending Aging”. No, I hadn't heard of him either before now.

Never Apologise, Never Explain Nice to note that 'Freens' of the Scottish Co-operative Wholesale Republic is back on the blogging front. Thought we'd lost him.

Blast From The Past Paul Anderson's Tribune column from the 21 December tells the story of Labour MP, James Lamond, who died last month and who was a visible and vocal part of that sizeable section of the British Left who continued to be apologists of the Soviet Union right up until the first sledgehammer hit the Berlin Wall in the Winter of 1989.

Harvey Pekar, Paul Buhle and a new graphic history of SDS Fascinating post from Louis Proyect that covers Harvey Pekar graphic history of the Students for a Democratic Society, the internecine strife within the (American) Socialist Workers Party in the early seventies and Proyect's remembrance of growing up in the Catskills.

Communist Students Blog Well, the parent body, the CPGB/Weekly Worker continue to be a bit sniffy about this blogging lark, but it's interesting to note that the young guns have struck out with a Communist Students blog and if you check the sidebar of the CSB, you'll see links to personal blogs of Communist Students supporters. I've got a soft spot for James Turley's blog, Tragic Life Stories, with its subheading description of "Neither Matgamna Nor Bambery, But International Socialism!" and blogging labels which has 'sectariana' outscoring 'rightwingers' by 14-2. A scoreline like that can only mean one thing: a future season ticket holder to the Left Trainspotters discussion group.

American Leadership and War

Found via John B's Class Warfare blog.

Be sure to check out the Maps of War website for much more fascinating multimedia, but in the meantime, I'll let John take up the story of this particular map:

"I posted this on my previous Revolutionary Act blog site, but somehow lost it when changing sites. I found it a helpful tool at the time - wading into arguments between Democrats and Repukes in Yahoo's US political chat rooms and countering the arguments of democrats that the repukes were the real war mongers. This chart of leadership and war clearly shows that both parties are neck deep in workers' blood, with the Democrats, serving as the executive of US capitalism when in power, coming off as the biggest murderers."

This Blogger Looks Skeptical

Does late December qualify as the 'funny season'?

Just asking, 'cos I'm not sure how I feel about the rumours that Celtic are looking to sign James McFadden on loan for the rest of the season.

Strachan took a player - yep, I'm banging on about him again - who was the leading scorer for his previous club three seasons in a row and who also won the Scottish PFA Young Player of the Year during that time, and by virtue of never giving him a decent run in the side has now ensured that the said player has unfairly been saddled him with the tag of 'mercurial'.

But what's really mercurial is that somehow Strachan can waste such a free flowing talent as Riordan these past two years, to the extent that sooner rather than later Riordan will be playing football at Filbert Street the Walkers Stadium, Carrow Street and Ashton Gate week in and week out, and then proceed to seek to sign on loan a player who is having to head north because of his current club manager's inability to give him decent run in the team because, in spite of his obvious free flowing footballing talent, he is seen as too mercurial a player for his workmanlike team.

Work that one out!

Duff Cheer

If you like timeless pop music, you have to wing your way over to the Power Pop Criminals music blog and check out today's entry from Angelo's Power Pop Advent Calender.

It only happens to be one of the best albums from the mid-nineties, and I was mug enough to sell my copy to some sneering muso prick for three sheckels at the Record and Tape Exchange in Notting Hill about six years ago.

Grab the download whilst you can. It will be replaced by another download at the stroke of midnight.

UPDATE

A wee taster from the album:

Stephen Duffy - 'London Girls' mp3

Pitching A Tent At Pitchfork

Now is this season to both make end of year lists and to link to end of year lists. I'm always happier with the latter, and Pitchfork raise a few chuckles and groans with their 20 Worst Album Covers of 2007

Not being that familar with the artwork of past Ted Nugent albums, I can only guess that he must be having some album cover competition with The Scorpions. And it's also nice to note that Lord Jesus Christ is popular this time of year for reasons other than the fact that his birthday coincides with Christmas.

But pride of place must go to Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi, and their album cover that must be a homage to that K-tel compilation album from the early eighties, 'Raiders of the Lost Charts'. How else were Status Quo going to get namechecked on an uber-hip American music website?

STT Records

Finally got round to checking out the Pitchfork Music website for the first time in months, and spotted a couple of links that might interest someone:

Even he's banging on about The Wire. We should check it out.Guest List

Look who's squatting at number one? Yeah, whatever. Top 100 Albums of the 1980s

Solidarity - an inside view

Just to want to flag up an interesting contribution from Graham Cee Campbell, who was the Glasgow Convener for Solidarity from December 2006 till June 2007, to the Sheridan's Solidarity Falls Apart post on the Socialist Unity Blog.

Word of warning. There's no dirt, gossip or sticking the political boot into the opposition in the contribution (well maybe a bit of the political boot aimed at CWI members within Solidarity), but I did think it was an interesting read for filling in the gaps in my understanding on what's been going on in Solidarity since the early days of its formation, and Sheridan missing out in retaining his seat in the Scottish Parliament at the 2007 elections.

Belfort Bax and the "Ethics of Socialism"

Down to the final three talks in the 1982 'Socialist Thinkers – People Who History Made' lecture series. Once again, the speaker/lecturer is Steve Coleman, and this time the socialist thinker under discussion is Ernest Belfort Bax.

Down the years, Bax is someone who has been pretty much written out of the history of the nineteenth century British Socialist Movement.

Whilst Hyndman is always on hand to take on the role of the Victorian villain for the failure of the Marxist Left in Britain for not fully integrating into the wider Labour Movement, and William Morris gets rediscovered every generation via a new biography and/or a new exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, Bax, who was a comparable heavyweight figure in the Social Democratic Federation in the 1880s and was a major player - alongside Morris, Aveling and Eleanor Marx - in the Socialist League split from the SDF in 1885, if he is known at all, is best known these days for his virulent anti-feminism in the latter years of his political life, and his capitulation to British chauvinism at the outbreak of the First World War.

In recent years, Old Skool Trotskyist, Ted Crawford, (Officer Class), has done sterling work in creating a Bax archive on the Marxist Internet Archive which is comparable to many of the better known socialist writers on the website. And more background on Bax is available via Ted's autobiographical sketch on the Marxist Internet Archive website.

First Part

DOWNLOAD LINK: Belfort Bax and the "Ethics of Socialism"

FILE NAME: 02 Belfort Bax and the Ethics of Socialism Part 1.mp3

FILE SIZE: ~59.47 megabytes

LENGTH:1:04:33

Second Part

DOWNLOAD LINK: Belfort Bax and the "Ethics of Socialism"

FILE NAME: 01 Belfort Bax and the Ethics of Socialism part 2.mp3

FILE SIZE: ~41.88 megabytes

LENGTH: 56:01

Further Reading on Ernest Belfort Bax:

Bax on the Marxist Internet Archive

From the August 2005 issue of the Socialist Standard: Eleanor Marx, Belfort Bax and “the Woman Question”

A Dickhead Isn't Just For Christmas. It Can Be For Life

Well, earlier in the month I wondered what that badge meant, and now I've discovered the back story.

Hat tip to Hak Mao for pointing me in the right direction.

Step Forward. It's Your Turn

Don't ask me how I ended up on the Rolling Stone website, but I did stumble upon Bill Maher's Dickheads of the Year.

Number 13 is my favourite.

Scottish SWP's Popular Front Of Especial Spite

Further to this earlier post on the blog.

Following the sighting of this article in today's Herald, it looks like their Chief Scottish Political Correspondent, Robbie Dinwoodie, has been refreshing the Socialist Unity Blog page. It's a shame that he couldn't have the netiquette to at least namecheck the blog that provides him with the story.

Btw, it turns out that in a past life Robbie Dinwoodie was a callow youth in the Edinburgh Branch of the SPGB in the early seventies. To paraphrase that old story about Pete Best, 'Where did it all go right?'

Karl Kautsky and the Socialist Critique of Religion

Another talk in the 1982 'Socialist Thinkers – People Who History Made' lecture series. Once again, the speaker/lecturer is Steve Coleman.

Don't mind the accompanying picture for the post. Thought I'd indulge myself by using the front cover of Dick Geary's 1987 biography of Kautsky that was published as part of the 'Lives of the Left' series.

Those were the days . . . when I used to read books.

First Part

DOWNLOAD LINK: Karl Kautsky and the Socialist Critique of Religion

FILE NAME: 02 Karl Kautsky and the Socialist Critique of Religion.mp3

FILE SIZE: ~46.17 megabytes

LENGTH:50:07

Second Part

DOWNLOAD LINK: Karl Kautsky and the Socialist Critique of Religion

FILE NAME: 03 Karl Kautsky and the Socialist Critique of Religion Part 2.mp3

FILE SIZE: ~51.61 megabytes

LENGTH: 56:01

Further Reading on Karl Kautsky:

Kautsky on the Marxist Internet Archive

C07

C stands for clarification. As in clarifying my last post.

Just meant that if you listen to the Julian Cope track, 'Bill Drummond Said', from his 1984 album, Fried, it appears that the Tamworth Loon was doing C86 two years before the seminal NME cassette of the same name came on the scene.

Albeit, Copey could both sing and write a decent tune, but you know what I mean.

Before there was C86, there was a fried Julian Cope

And yet Nicky Wire and others never give him a namecheck.

Julian Cope - 'Bill Drummond Said' mp3

All work and no play makes Ronaldinho a dull boy

*Champions League Draw Just In*

Celtic will be going out to Barcelona this year.

Glad that's one sorted for another year.

Football and the Ultra-Left (1904)

Mártires de Chicago

Solidarity at Christmas

Via the Socialist Unity Blog, comes the news that The Scottish Steering Committee of the Socialist Workers Party have decided to do a rewrite of 'How to Win Friends and Influence People'. New proposed title for the caledonian version of the 1930s classic self-help book? 'Chib Them Before They Chib You'

Via the Glasgow Herald - and the left blogosphere - comes the news that Solidarity only elected representative, Glasgow City Council member, Ruth Black, has defected from Solidarity to join the Labour Party. Being a person of the deepest political integrity, Councillor Black will be resigning her seat, and fighting the subsequent by-election as the Labour Party candidate (but only after first putting herself forward for selection as the Labour Party candidate, of course*).

But it's not all bad news for the Solidarity camp, George Lucas has directed a YouTube video defending Tommy Sheridan against Darth Murdoch and the recent perjury charges.

*I'm lying.

Plekhanov and the Materialist Conception of History

From further investigation - cheers RD - it looks like I've already buggered up the chronology of the 1982 'Socialist Thinkers – People Who History Made' lecture series so, with that in mind, I'll just plump for the Steve Coleman talk on Georgi Plekhanov as the next one to be uploaded.

From listening again to the Plekhanov talk, I'm guessing that it was the first in the series, followed by the Dietzgen talk already posted, and then the talk on Karl Kautsky:

First Part

DOWNLOAD LINK: Plekhanov and the Materialist Conception of History

FILE NAME: 03 pleknanov 1.mp3

FILE SIZE: ~60.57 megabytes

LENGTH:1:05:45

Second Part

DOWNLOAD LINK: Plekhanov and the Materialist Conception of History

FILE NAME: 04 plekanov part 2.mp3

FILE SIZE: ~34.20 megabytes

LENGTH: 37:07

Further Reading on Plekhanov:

Plekhanov on the Marxist Internet Archive

Broken Socialist Scene

Links are being a bit weird at the moment. Thought I was going to have to delete the link to the first part of The Historical Place of the SPGB, as it didn't appear to be working 40 minutes ago but I just clicked on it a few minutes ago and it seems to be working again. I'm glad, 'cos the first part of the talk has now been downloaded/listened to 140 plus times* on ZShare, and it would have annoyed the hell out of me if I had to start over again.

Turns out that the link to the Mastering Marxian Economics article from the SPGB page on MySpace was also broken. It's since been fixed.

*Granted, I know that a few people have downloaded the talk more than once or twice.

How I Learned To Love Luke Haines

*Christmas Special*

Pop over to The Vinyl District music blog, and pick up gratis *samples* of some of the best pop music from the 1990s. Five tracks from the Auteurs classic 1994 album, 'Now I'm A Cowboy', have been made available for your delectation.

Poor old Luke Haines. If the bloke had had the face and the hair to go with his musical chops, Damon Albarn would still be working in the Rucksack Dept of Millets to this day.

Pony Up

Weekly Bulletin of The Socialist Party of Great Britain (25)

Dear Friends,

Welcome to the 25th of our weekly bulletins to keep you informed of changes at Socialist Party of Great Britain @ MySpace.

We now have 1112 friends!

Recent blogs:

Towards Post-Industrial Capitalism?

Mastering Marxian Economics

Dial 118 for Murder

This week's top quote:

"Scientific socialism considers our views dependent upon our material needs, and our political standpoint dependent upon the economic position of the class we belong to. Moreover, this conception corresponds with the aspirations of the masses whose needs are in the first place material, while the ruling class must necessarily base itself on the deductive principle, on the preconceived unscientific notion that the spiritual salvation and the mental training of the masses are to precede the solution of the social question."Joseph Dietzgen, Scientific Socialism, 1873

Continuing luck with your MySpace adventures!

Robert and Piers

Socialist Party of Great Britain

Pic via these nice right of centre chaps.

Pope or Papa?

A bit of a problem with regards to the uploading of the 1982 'Socialist Thinkers – People Who History Made' lecture series. I would like to upload the lectures in chronological order but I don't have the Socialist Standards from 1982 immediately to hand, so I don't know which talk is next in the series.

So, your starter for ten. Who came first: the 'Pope of Marxism' or the 'Father of Russian Marxism'?

Well, Karl Kautsky did found Die Neue Zeit in 1883, but that was also the same year that Georgi Plekhanov co-founded the Emancipation of Labour group alongside Vera Zasulich, Pavel Axelrod and some other bloke whose name nobody ever remembers.

German Social Democracy versus Russian Social Democrats? Stuttgart versus Geneva?

Does Kautsky outrank Plekhanov 'cos he was born a couple of years before the latter? Does Kautsky get the nod 'cos the SPGB translated and published part of his 'Erfurter Programme' in its early years? Maybe Plekhanov gets the nod 'cos he was one of the first Russian Social Democrats to call into question Lenin's lurch into Jacobinism (of course, Lev Bronstein spotted these tendencies early on also).

But, wait up, what was that insult political criticism - amongst many others - that FDTW Dave used to level at the SPGB when he was still a Party member? Something about us being "static Kautskyians"? Stuart, cross your self-imposed blogging picket line and remind me what that line was. It was definitely far wittier and more biting than I remember it. And as I read in an old WSM Forum contribution that you referred to the SPGB as "the bastard child of Engels, Kautsky, Hyndman and De Leon", that seems to tip the balance towards the Mr K, but I think I should sleep on it for the time being.

Watch this space.

. . erm, if you want.

. . . you might as well. Socialist Unity Blog has turned the comments off and, as I mentioned before, the FDTW collective has gone on strike until the New Year.

Tangerine Robbo

Depressing to read in tomorrow's Guardian that Celtic are looking to sign Barry Robson in the New Year.

One of the more heartening developments about this year's SPL has been the strong early showing of Motherwell and Dundee Utd, and it pisses me off that once more Celtic and R*ngers will cherry pick the better performers in the SPL to be little more than squad members for the next twelve months, until the signed player either gets shunted back to the club they came from or, the more likely scenario, is sold onto some middling Championship League club in England, who just happen to have a Scottish manager that particular month.

You can't really blame Robson for being tempted by the possibility of a decent wedge so late in his career, but when one thinks how Riordan's career has stalled these last two years, you just wish sometimes that the likes of Strachan and Walter Smith would just do well to leave matters the fuck alone. Promising careers go awol, promising teams outside of the dance of the ugly sisters go southwards tablewise in the second half of the season and, come May, another year has passed since the 1984/85 season.

Motherwell for the title.

Need More Sleep

Is it just or me, or is there a similarity between this recent image . . .

. . . and this famous painting from the history of American art.

I need some caffeine.

The Unspawny Get

Following a brief discussion with Mailstrom's Alan J a few posts back, I made reference to Tommy Sheridan being one of life's "spawny gets" but, from further investigation, I note that there is little or no reference to the term "spawny get" on the net, save a few passing references to Viz, this blog and the urban dictionary.

So, mindful of giving something back to the english language, I thought I would give an example of someone who is anything but spawny, in the hope that it will better explain who or what a spawny get is.

Step forward Blackburn's Paraguayan striker, Roque Santa Cruz.

Last Saturday, Blackburn went 3-0 down inside forty minutes to Wigan at the JJB Stadium only for Cruz to score a pretty nifty hat trick in the space of sixteen minutes to bring the scoreline back to 3-3. What happened next? Wigan struck two late goals and Blackburn went down 5-3 to a team whose forwards up until that point couldn't hit a cow's arse with Mike Harding's banjo.

OK, bad result for the once high flying Blackburn, but let's accentuate the positive: after a strong start to his Blackburn career Santa Cruz goals had dried up in recent months, so three well taken goals pointed to better things for both him and the team.

Fast forward to tonight, and Blackburn are playing a second string Arsenal side (Randall in midfield? Who the hell is Randall? Tony? Derek? No, Mark.) in the quarter final of the Carling Cup at Ewood Park.

Being a second string Arsenal side, naturally enough they go into a 2-0 lead inside half an hour, and one of Blackburn's better chances of getting some silverware is going the same way as Ricky Gervais's career after the Extras' finale. Cometh the hour - okay, the forty-second minute - cometh the man, and Santa Cruz pulls back one back for Blackburn. Cometh *cough* the hour, Santa Cruz equalises and Blackburn's season is back on track. What happens next? Arsenal's Denilson gets sent off in injury time, but the ten man Arsenal edge it 3-2 in extra time. Arsenal go through to the semi final of a tournament they aren't that arsed about, and Blackburn suddenly become incredibly nervous about their forthcoming FA Cup third round fixture at home to Coventry on the 5th January. (Especially as Coventry have a bit of form this season in turning over Premiership sides in Lancashire Hotspots.)

So, to recap, in the space of four days, Roque Santa Cruz has scored five goals in two games. Both times bringing Blackburn back into games they've thrown away in the first half, only for them on both occasions to go on and lose the games when it would have been easier for them to go on and win. That's the best example I can think of, of an 'unspawny get'.

Oh, and Santa Cruz is an ugly bastard to boot. The poor bloke can't get the breaks in life.

"It's OK, Roque. With some corrective plastic surgery, we can make you look like a real footballer".

You should play it now, and you should play it loud

I can't get this song out of my head:

Sons and Daughters - 'Flags' mp3

And that's a good thing.

Tommy Sheridan and the Blogs

I'll be surprised if it stems the gossip tide, but it's interesting to note that Andy over at Socialist Unity Blog and Scottish Patient Kev have both switched off and/or have temporarily removed back commentary to the Sheridan versus the News of the World case on their respective blogs.

People from both sides of the divide just want to rant and rave about this little local difficulty.