Don't forget Bradley Manning

Adrian has reminded me to do something I've been meaning todo for a bit now - remind people about one of wikileaks sources who is getting no celebrity backing, no big cash support payouts for his legal defense and no real media attention. It's time that the world remembered Bradley Manning who is being held in a cage by an unaccountable a vicious regime.

Bradley Manning is accused of leaking military secrets to the public. While headlines around the world are full of Wikileaks, Bradley Manning has been in prison for over 200 days.

Exposing war crimes is not a crime. The authorities have imprisoned a suspected whistle blower, and left those who committed war crimes go free.

See: Website here; Facebook here

You can donate to his legal fund appeal at his website, something that he urgently needs you to do.

Caroline Lucas on Fees

Yesterday Caroline Lucas MP made two sterling performances on tuition fees. First of all in the House was short and sweet. The constrained debate time and number of MPs wanting to speak makes it a stroke of luck she got to say anything at all.

"The hon. Gentleman rightly spoke about the importance of employers paying their contribution towards higher education. Does he therefore support the University and College Union's proposal for a business education tax that would essentially be a corporation tax on the 4% biggest companies that benefit directly from graduates? That would generate £3.9 billion for higher education and would mean that we could scrap tuition fees altogether."

Tax the richest to enable equal access to education? Seems reasonable to me, thanks to UCU for the plan. The second was a speech to the crowd outside where she got to speak for slightly longer and you can watch it here;



Good stuff. There's also some views on the all important EMA here.

Round-up: Students getting hotter

In London I managed to follow the smoke signals towards the protests outside Downing Street and find several thousand students and police blockading the way. Lots of police horses and demonstrators who ranged from school age to uni age and then there was a big jump with a handful of old politicos, like me, seeing what we could learn.

The police had kettled quite a few protesters when I'd arrived. I don't know what they were burning in there but it smelt pretty acrid - glad I wasn't cooped up with that bonfire. They're saying on Whitehall they could be kettled until midnight - and it's freezing! I don't envy those poor kids.

Much of the anger seems to be around the EMA, or Education Maintenance Allowance, rather than the fees hike, which is presumably why we saw so many school kids in uniform (eg here) sometimes accompanied by teachers. I don't know who was escorting who.

BBC has some calming footage from round the country, and the Guardian was following the event ('live blogging, wooo). Anti-Cuts has followed many of the protests today, and you can see my favourite placard of the day here, from Edinburgh where they don't even have fees.

Written reports: Birmingham (pics), Brighton (plus), Bristol, Cambridge (also, statement), Cardiff (tweets, blog), Durham, Edinburgh, Lancaster, Leeds (pic) (also), Liverpool, Newcastle (blog), Nottingham, Manchester (blog), Oxford (plus, pics, blog), Plymouth, Roehampton, Royal Holloway (blog), Sheffield, SOAS, Southampton, Southbank (also), Stroud, Tottenham rally, UCL, ULU, Warwick uni (pic).

Video reports: Cambridge, Hastings, Manchester, SOAS, Southbank, Sheffield, Westminster Kingsway, The University of Strategic Optimism (Llyods TSB London), Whitehall as they move the kettle, London being young and jolly.

I was also enjoying twitter where I found out that there were chants "Your Jobs Are Next!" at police. However, what's interesting is that twitter seem to have been censoring the protest tag to stop it 'trending' (ie being seen by everyone in the country) and here are the stats to prove it.

Advise: The Activist Legal Project has a good set of direct action guides which are also fun to read.

Late entries one: Really Open University, Next day of action Nov. 30th, Met Police information, Indymedia thread, French solidarity demo, Socialist Workers' reports, Bright Green picture round-up

I'll add more when people tell me about them / I spot them. Email me or leave a comment if you want your stuff included and I've missed it here.

Late entries two: Mark Steel on Gove's guide to social class. NUS official response, sorry about this but the Daily Mail has some nice pics, particularly if you lke smashed up police vans.

Late entries three: Adam Ramsay on whether the protests worked, Doc Richard on preparing to be kettled, Molly was protesting in Cardiff, Simon in Newcastle, as was Mark, Journeyman's daughter led a student walkout, Alisdair has more photos from Edinburgh, PR reports from John Roan school - where-ever that is.

Late entries four: Edinburgh uni against the cuts, useful discussion of whether the police van was a 'plant', video of anarchist whacking protester at said van, Jonathon Warren has some top notch photos.

Late entries five: Indymedia - prepare to be clubbed on the head, one police view, do read the comments, Coalition of Resistance pics. The South Yorkshire Star, Clegg forced off his bike, Brighton university still occupied, BBC runs 'your pictures', The Great Wen looks at how the kids have always been vilified.

The Telegraph photography blog describes how difficult it is to take a good pic of people smashing up a van when so many of your colleagues surround the vehicle, and they post their results. Herald Scotland sums up protests north of the border, The Liverpool Daily Post says protesters went too far because someone threw an egg.

Last lot?: Infinite thought, New Internationalist, more on Oxford, new from the Guardian, BBC on continuing occupations, police chief predicts disorder, Cambridge student punched by cop, Ben Duncan reports from Brighton. Communist Students in Manchester.

Students: they've all done very well

If you're not already following the twitter hashtag for demo2010, and Lord bless those not in the grips of twitter, then I'd like to recommend it. It's a moment by moment update of events happening up and down the country from students protesting the government's education policies.

It probably comes as a surprise but students can actually speak for themselves and articulate what they're protesting about without the BBC or Guardian having to speak for them.

Today's actions are extremely impressive with occupations, marches and lobbies seemingly in every town and city across the country - maybe even Bishop's Stortford... no, no, that would be asking too much of the sleepy market town (prove me wrong Stortfordians!).

I know in Cambridge and Hackney the protests have seen school kids, in uniform, with their teachers!

It's early in the day and I'm not the person to ask about what's going on - but hopefully I'll round up some of the events later today. Feel free to forward suggestions of blog posts and comment from students if you spot them, or write them.

Photo credit to Adam Ramsay.

Manchester Airport Protesters in court

In May 2010, seventeen people were arrested for staging a non-violent protest/ direct action at Manchester Airport, temporarily shutting it down. They did this to stop some of the 5 million tonnes of carbon emissions that the airport is responsible for annually and in opposition to plans to destroy local homes and biodiversity spots to expand the World Freight Centre.

This is the Manchester equivalent to the Heathrow campaign and any support you can give would be very welcome. Of the seventeen defendants 17 people eleven will be tried for 'obstruction of the highway' this December. The remaining six will face a trial in early 2011.

Come to court to show your support. Climate defence is not an offence

Trial 1 – Monday 9th December
Meet at 9am at Trafford Magistrates Court (M33 7NR).

Trial 2 – Monday 21st February 2011
Meet at 9am at Trafford Magistrates Court (M33 7NR).

Or you could send a statement of support to or simply leave a comment on this Facebook page or for more information: http://www.manchesterairportontrial.org

Brian Coleman: worst chair of fire authority ever

Further to my post earlier, as fire fighters protested outside today's London fire Authority meeting London Assembly members quizzed Brian Coleman on the violence against FBU pickets during the recent strike days.

I spoke to an FBU spokeswoman about the protest who told me that "the lobby was very successful. Around 20 women fire fighters, including Sian with her Queen's Fire Service Medal for distinguished service, leafleted Assembly Members as they went in."

I asked her about the violence on the picket line and she said that "The response was so shocking when there were two arrests for the violence, but no pickets, yet we're the ones being accused of violence. The Fire Authority has a duty of care towards its employees but doesn't seem to care that two people were injured."

When I asked about Sian's case she said that "Sain was suspended for bullying and harassment just before she was due to attend an Armistice Day memorial service in uniform. Yet there's a double standard here because normally if there are accusations like this people continue to work, although they might be moved, but they've taken Sian off duty.

"Sian has a long record of history of supporting other women fire fighters so to accuse her of harassment when she has stuck up for so many others is galling. Mind you they weren't able to suspend her before she was due to receive her medal from the Queen, because you don't mess with the monarch do you?"

Assembly Member Darren Johnson asked Brian Coleman in the meeting what action he was intending to take on the violence. Here's the verbatim report of the exchange;

"Here is Brian Coleman's response to the formal question I tabled at today's Fire Authority meeting, requesting an investigation into injuries to firefighters exercising their legal right to strike.

"(i) Question 257 from Councillor Darren Johnson AM (Green Party): Will the Chairman request the Commissioner undertakes a formal investigation, including an independent element, of the following reported incidents during industrial action on 1 November:

"a) firefighter hit by a car at Croydon Fire Station, and withholding of first aid equipment;

"b) FBU London representative and firefighter hit by fire engines at Southwark Fire Station

"And will the Chairman ensure that the findings of such an investigation are published?

"Reply from Chairman: No."

What a disgrace.

Violence against fire-fighters, at fire stations, during a perfectly legal union activity which resulted in arrests (but no suspensions) and he will neither investigate nor publish any findings on these incidents. Brian Coleman - worst chair of the Fire Authority ever?

FBU Defends Sian Griffiths

Last week was a big week for London fire-fighter Sian Griffiths. First she collected a medal from the Queen for "Distinguished Service" and then two days later she was suspended by the Fire Service for her part in the FBU strike.

The heat around the fire-fighters' has been considerable. With picket line violence seeing managers arrested and pickets hospitalised, with the media running stories about fire-fighters refusing to do their duty during the 7/7 terror attacks (stories that would be unthinkable about paramedics, or members of the public) and now the apparent willingness to target union activists.

Even as talks have started the management are clearly prepared to keep playing hard ball and claim they have suspended a number of fire-fighters. Griffiths chairs the FBU's Women's Action Committee in London and was one of the very first female firefighters recruited in the capital.

Yesterday the FBU held a well attended rally to defend the service from job cuts, loss of appliances and proposed changes in contracts. Their campaign to have Griffiths re-instated is just as import because it's bound up in that movement to defend services, which relies on having a strong union and confident members.

The FBU state that "Female colleagues will be staging a lobby of the London Fire Authority meeting between 1-2pm on Thursday November 18" and I for one wish them good luck.

The Risque Joy of Students

There seems to be a move in the media and some sections of the political classes to say those who occupied the Tory HQ yesterday were not 'real' protesters. I have to say they looked pretty real to me. I think what they mean is that they don't agree with their methods, but choose to express this in such a way that delegitimises those they disagree with rather than engaging with their argument.

It's also palpably false.

I thought the Young Greens statement on the protests was spot on. We should not define a whole protest 'violent' because of one broken window and an inappropriate fire extinguisher. It is not uncomplicated to say that damage to property is violence, although when the Tories destroyed the mining industry, for instance, it did involve a fair amount of state violence to achieve that.


Some people. who can crop up in the most unexpected places, dismiss the couple of thousand protesters outside Millbank as rent-a-Trots but it's simply not so. By the way how much is it to hire a Trot and do they charge by the hour, or is it more sort of piece work?

There is a growing student movement that's becoming more confident and ready to act and we should, I think, support that without insisting that everyone goes about things our way, not that I'm sure we have a single way.

It's perfectly legitimate to have differences of opinion or doubts, or to get frightened on a demo, as this excellent post illustrates. However as Jamie outlines here the student train is leaving and we ought to wave them off with a smile not allow side issues to derail that support. The coming years are going to be tough, and evidently some of us are going to have to harden up otherwise they'll be very inconsistent friends.

Students are right to be angry. Students are right to protest. If anything we need more energy, not less, in these movements to help them show the rest of us the way. For the first time in ages I'm feeling hopeful, and for that I'd like to thank those students who took things up a notch.

Police attack environmental protesters in Stuttgart

On Thursday police in Stuttgart attacked demonstrators protesting about construction that they claim would cause massive environmental damage in the area. There have been a number of large protests over this in recent weeks, but this is the first to have been so heavily attacked.


Protesters were gassed, beaten and sprayed by water cannons which left, according to Taz, literally hundreds wounded. Britta Haßelmann, a Parliamentary spokesperson for the Greens condemned the attacks warning that the police actions had dangerously escalated the situation.

Dagmar Enkelmann, for the Left Party, said that after the images of so many wounded had come out that we could not continue "with business as usual". The SPD (Labour) spokesperson made a rather strange comment that I'm finding difficult to interpret where he said he felt sorry for the police, although condemned their "Rambo-politics".

Germany is currently being rocked by large scale environmental protests including over proposals to extend the use of nuclear power as well as issues like that of the 'Stuttgart 21' construction.

Pictures from Indymedia

The Million Moderate March

After what has seemed like an eon of ill tempered and bizarre politics in the US, where any crazy accusation can be leveled at the administration with a straight face at last, the middle ground has a champion. Jon Stewart (of the wonderful Daily Show) has called 'The Million Moderate March', and about time too.

Also known as the 'Rally to Restore Sanity' it's aim is to provide an antidote to the increasingly frantic rhetoric of the Tea Party right. Rightly it's aimed to bring in moderate Republicans, sick of what's happening to their party, as well as the left.

In America the national discourse can, at times, seem dominated by those who are happy to label President Obama a Nazi, Muslim or Communist in every other breath, and where plain and simple lies are becoming common currency (like the idea that the health reforms included death panels, which genuinely terrified simple minded people). Any move to create more space for real political dialogue and marginalise these voices must be welcome.

Stewart described the march on his show as "a clarion call for rationality". Their slogans wont necessarily be as slick as the right's though because they say "If we had to sum up the political view of our participants in a single sentence... we couldn't. That's sort of the point."

Of course, there is a simultaneous rally in the same place. 'Keep Fear Alive' which says "America, the Greatest Country God ever gave Man, was built on three bedrock principles: Freedom. Liberty. And Fear -- that someone might take our Freedom and Liberty. But now, there are dark, optimistic forces trying to take away our Fear. They want to replace our Fear with reason. But never forget -- "Reason" is just one letter away from "Treason." "

The march takes place on October the 30th in Washington DC and I'm wishing it the best of luck.

Help Make History in Norwich this Summer

The Green Party could make history for a second time this year by becoming the largest party on Norwich City Council and forming a Green administration. For the last two years the Green Party has been the second-largest party at Norwich City Hall , just two seats behind Labour. Local elections delayed from May are taking place on Thursday 9 September, for a third of the City Council seats.

With your help, we could make history and see the first Green-run Council in place in a few weeks. Campaigning has already started and we are getting a good response from residents but to reach our potential we need help with:

- Leafleting and canvassing: Can you visit Norwich for a couple of days or more between now and 9 September? Help is needed at all times but particularly between 21 and 26 August and in the last week before 9 September. There is also an Action Weekend every weekend until the election. Accommodation can be provided and travel costs reimbursed if requested in advance, and you will pick up campaigning tips to take back to your local party! You can choose whether to leaflet or canvass. To offer help please contact 01603 611909 or ngpvolunteers@yahoo.co.uk.

- Donations: We are having to raise money at short notice for these unexpected elections. Can you make a donation to help us out? Cheques should be made payable to ‘Norwich Green Party’ and sent to Steven Altman, 27 Clarendon Road, Norwich , NR2 2PN.

Democracy Turfed Off

It's so long ago it gives me a little warm glow of nostalgia, but time was that New Labour tried to ban the largest demonstration in British history, all for the sake of some grass. No, no, no - not the sort Ministers stuff into their crack pipes, the grass in Hyde Park of course.

The demonstration, which eventually attracted over a million people, making it the largest mobilisation in the history of the UK, was to be cancelled because the grass issue may also mean "People can get crushed, people can break their legs - there are a lot of things that happen at this time of year and it would be very unwise of us to take such a risk" which, as an official statement, reads more like a local mafioso saying "Shop windows can get.... broken... if you're not careful."

This all flooded back to me when I saw that Boris Johnson had made these comments about the eviction of the "Democracy Village" camped outside Parliament. "I think it's wonderful that as a city we can protest. But it is nauseating what they are doing to the lawn."

Quite correctly Johnson has identified that democracy is a lovely idea, but not when it comes at the price of a nice bit of the green stuff. You need to pamper your pampas, after all. (Evening Standard has pics of the great grass massacre, here)

However, while I have little sympathy for the argument that grass has more rights than people, I am slightly more concerned about the rights of individuals to permanently rob everyone else of common land. It's not simply the uber-hierarchical model of moralising protest that Brian Haw typifies, it's also the fact that if you're opposed to, say, privatising public property, you shouldn't then claim personal ownership over common land yourself.

These protesters made the Square unusable for everyone else, and they hoped to do this on a long term or permanent basis. Is that democracy or simply giving yourself property rights over land that was held in common? Is it wrong for the State to sell off public property but ok for a self-appointed group of randoms to rock up and claim our land for themselves?

Even those poor little blades of grass were part of the common treasury until this small squad of elitists squatted on them. I'm not entirely sure I 100% approve.

I'm certainly not saying that these issues are not complex and, usually, require some sort of negotiation but I am saying that democracy is not just about everyone being allowed to do whatever they like, no matter how anti-social.

Back at you Mr Mayor

To think I voted for Sir Steve Bullock second preference at this year's Lewisham Mayoral election. Anyway, he's repaid my act of charity by branding protesters against the cuts "fucking idiots" and demanded that they "get real" - all while he was chairing a cabinet meeting. That's multi-tasking for you.

So much for Labour being the anti-cuts party. In Lewisham we're blessed with the fact that those fighting the cuts find themselves opposed to both the Liberal-Tory national coalition and the Labour council who were announcing closures before we even knew who the national government was.

Last night around one hundred protesters lobbied the council over their plans to, among other things, close five local libraries, shut down nurseries and reduce council staff. For an area where unemployment is on the rise the loss of local services and laying off workers seems completely the wrong way to go.

Hangbitch who attended the protest says that "we all know that these immediate economies are false economies. Bullock’s huge list targets people we (literally) can’t afford to target."

Meanwhile what does Sir Steve have to say about his disrespect for those who want decent public services and had hoped that this Labour council would fight to keep every job? “I think I may have left the mic on while I was making an aside.”

I'm assuming "aside" is a euphemism that we'll all be taking up soon in Lewisham. I'm pretty sure they'll be plenty of "asides" made about Sir Steve's attitude in the coming months as the council prepares the redundancy notices.

Help Norwich make history

As many of you know due to an ongoing and ridiculous saga one third of the Norwich councillors were given the boot recently and, at a date as yet unknown, there will be a kind of super citywide by-election. While this is a complete pain in the bum it's also our chance to make history.

Right now the Greens are joint largest group with Labour (nine each) and so, if we get more councillors elected this year Norwich will be the first city in history to enjoy some kind of Green dominion.

To this end I suspect some readers would like to help make that happen. Below I copy some of the text from the official appeal for helpers;

Norwich Action Weekend:

17th & 18th JULY Saturday 17th & Sunday 18th July - 10am to 6pm, at 27 Clarendon Road, Norwich NR2 2PN

Help is needed with door-knocking local residents near the city centre area, or helping to deliver some of our new ward newsletters. Please come along and support us if you can.

Refreshments are provided for helpers, with a vegetarian lunch available between 1 and 2pm.

We now hold Action Weekends on the third weekend of every month. This month we need to get a lot of door-knocking covered, and a lot of newsletters delivered, as we will very soon be facing new local elections in Norwich.

We therefore have a good chance of becoming the largest party on Norwich City Council (and the first Green council in the country) in the next couple of months - so it's an important time to get involved.

The door-knocking sessions will begin at 10am and 2pm, and it would be helpful if you could arrive near to one of these times if possible. However, if you do need to arrive at a different time, please let us know in advance and there will be someone here to welcome you and provide you with all the necessary materials and briefing.

For more information, directions, or to offer your help, please email ngpvolunteers@yahoo.co.uk or phone 01603 611909.

It would be great to see you there.

Best wishes,

Ben Duffy
Norwich Green Party

Keep the door to PR open

The door to proportional representation is not yet shut. While quite a few commentators are talking about how they'll vote in a referendum whose question is not yet set I happen to think that's a bit premature. The bill has not yet been written, nor has it gone through the process of amendment and voting. We don't know what is going to happen.

No one gives a toss about Alternative Voting, and if Proportional Representation was on the ballot the vast majority of those voting for reform would vote for PR over AV any day. It's one thing to accept a "miserable little compromise" has taken place, it's quite another to quit pushing before the battle for PR is lost.

I've no illusions about the Parliamentary. But if we're to keep PR on the agenda, not just for the Commons but also for the House of Lords we need to keep MPs aware that there are millions who want it. I've no idea how a referendum would go, but I do know that PR is the preferred system to replace FPTP for millions in this country.

Today I sent this letter to my MP, Joan Ruddock, and I think it would be a good idea if others were to write to their local MPs too.

Dear Joan Ruddock,

while I'm very happy to see that electoral reform is finally on the agenda for the House of Commons I'm far from happy that the coalition government wants to push for Alternative Voting (AV) as an attempt to head off a system of proportional representation.

AV, just like First Past The Post, leaves millions of people unrepresented and millions more massively under-represented. A truly democratic system would allow for every vote to count equally and for every party with significant support to have a voice in Parliament.

As yet the bill is not written and I'm writing to you to ask that you try to ensure that Proportional Representation is not taken off the agenda. The people should have the option of choosing PR rather than being given a non-choice between two systems that entrench the unfairness of our electoral system.

I'm sure the majority of MPs are fully aware that there is a mood for fundamental democratic reform, and that they are also aware that there has never been any public pressure for AV, this is simply a dodgy Tory stitch-up to prevent the public being allowed to choose a fairer electoral system.

There is still time to ensure that the case for PR is at least heard in Parliament and I'd like to ask you to help ensure that it is.

Yours,

Jim Jepps

If you do write and get an interesting response - let me know!

Saturday's national demonstration

Tomorrow there will be a national demonstration against the actions of the Israeli government called by a number of anti-war, Muslim and solidarity organisations. If you can get to it, I'd encourage you to attend.

The actions against the blockade busting flotilla are widely seen as a crime and this is a moment of opportunity to help lift the sanctions against Gaza and free all of those unjustly imprisoned by the Israeli state.

London:
Assemble at 1.30 pm outside Downing Street and the demonstration will head to the Israeli embassy.

Edinburgh:
Assemble at 2pm at the Mound.

There are probably other local demos across the country (and also internationally, like the Paris demo which starts at the Place de la Bastille saturday 3pm) for those who cannot make the event in London. Leave a comment if you want to let people know about it.

It's important that we keep up international solidarity in order to ensure that Israel pulls its head back in. Yesterday in the Israeli Parliament one Arab MP, Haneen Zuabi, was attacked on Parliament floor and has recieved numerous death threats for her support for the flotilla.

I'll try to keep up with tracking some of the local events so feel free to keep me up to date so I can big up your events. You might also like to encourage your MP to sign EDM 127 on the flotilla attack.

Protest Israel's Pirate State: this Saturday

This Saturday in London there is a national demonstration called by Stop the War, CND, PCS and others to protest against the actions of the Israeli state in their attack on the aid convey yesterday. There has been an incredible surge of protests across the world and on every continent against the murderous actions of the Israeli commandos.

Assemble: 1.30 pm at Downing Street and the march will go to the Israeli embassy.

Despite the usual thick skinned claims from the Israeli government many of its friends are finding it difficult to defend this action. For instance Harry Place, a blog pretty much dedicated to attacking the left and defending Israel, does its best to defend the actions but has to admit that;

"there were disastrous and self-defeating strategic and tactical failures on the Israeli side. Once again, the Israeli government has failed to grasp that just because they may have the right to do something doesn’t mean it’s always wise to do it. Allowing the ships to dock in Gaza, unload their cargo and be on their way– as the Israelis have done in the recent past– might have provided some minimal aid and comfort to Hamas, but nothing like the propaganda coup that yesterday’s events did.... Almost everything Israel does these days seems plodding and obvious and designed to make it look like the villain."

Tory blogger Iain Dale says;

"whatever propensities I have to support Israel, the key point which makes me critical of this incident is this. If a peace flotilla had been making its way to the Iranian coast and it had been boarded by the Revolutionary Guard and people had been shot dead, I and many other supporters of Israel would be spitting blood in outrage. So that's why I can't man the barricades and automatically jump to Israel's defence here. Sometimes Israel makes life very difficult for even its most ardent supporters."

Worst of all we have this from the Telegraph's executive foreign editor, a man who Israel should be able to rely on in even the worst crisis;

"Israel has developed a worrying habit of conducting itself in a way that even its friends find hard to defend... Israel’s inept handling of the affair, which has resulted with the deaths of as many as 19 people, it has turned it into a national disaster. There were many methods the Israeli military could have used to prevent the flotilla reaching Gaza without loss of life. But they used a tactic that was bound to cause provocation, and are now paying the cost."

When even Israel's friends are casting doubt over their actions you know there is an opportunity to help gain some justice for the Palestinian people.

Freedom Flottilla Attacked

The attack on the freedom flotilla delivering aid to Gaza is completely unwarranted and disgraceful. Reports of the number of dead and wounded vary but we're talking about at least a dozen killed and thirty seriously wounded by the Isreali Navy.

Israel made the ludicrous claim that the peaceniks opened fire on them and attacked them with baseball bats, which is why so many of them had to been killed. This is not credible. These murders, in international waters, are all in aid of ensuring that Gaza remains impoverished and denied medical equipment and other aid.

Words fail me. International protests and condemnation has already begun, but nothing yet from the UK government.



There will be protests today in;

London, Downing Street, 2pm

Aberdeen - St Nicholas Square, 5pm
Banff - Low Street, Council Buildings, 5pm
Brighton, Churchill Square, 6pm
Bristol, Centre (opposite the Hippodrome) starting at 3pm
Birmingham City Centre Waterstones 4pm
Cambridge, outside Guildhall, 2pm
Cardiff - Queen Street at Nye Bevan statue 3pm
Dundee - City Square, 5pm
Edinburgh - Foot of the Mound, 5pm
Glasgow - George Square, 5pm
Inverness - Townhouse, 5pm
Manchester outside the BBC on Oxford Rd, 5pm
Moffat - 2 Holm Street, 5pm
York St Sampsons Square, 2pm

Please do let me know of any I've missed.

BA-union negotiations disrupted by direct action

The BBC and the Telegraph report that the union negotiations between the UNITE union and BA management have been disrupted by protesters coming from the Right to Work conference. The BBC have particularly exciting footage which shows quite a few people I recognise from the SWP and at least three of them are employees of that organisation.

Now, I might be taking a wild stab in the dark here but there didn't seem to be a single BA worker among the protesters who'd decided to break up the union's negotiations. If anyone is going to make the decision to occupy their union's negotiations with management it should be the BA workers themselves, and not just one of them but collectively making that decision.

I have absolutely no idea what this is meant to achieve apart from making the strike more complicated for those workers who are already on the receiving end of abuse from media and management alike.

Derek Simpson, one of the union's negotiators tweeted that "Unite totally and absolutely condems [sic] the demonstrators who disrupted the talks at ACAS no member of cabin crew were involved". Now, whatever you think of him that seems to be a perfectly justified position to me.

Unsurprisingly Socialist Worker have a report up already where they unintentionally make clear that no BA worker asked them to disrupt their negotiations and that their key (or should that be only) purpose was in "demanding that activists build solidarity for the BA workers and hold collections to support the strikes."

So that's all about activists demanding things of other activists then without any involvement from the workers who are actually on strike and whose livelihoods are concerned. I don't think this is very cool, in fact I'd say it was the wrong way to help cabin crew win their dispute.

Message from No2ID

Before we get all weepy about the Labour defeat it's worth remembering that not everything they got up to was bona fide. No, there was the odd occasion when solid lefties were apprehensive about their behaviour. A murder here, a child detention there - you know the sort of thing.

Earlier today I received a message from the campaign group No2ID which rightly celebrates the culmination of years of campaigning on their part.

Dear supporter,

After six hard years of campaigning, the publication of the Conservative &
Liberal Democrats coalition agreement [1] is a moment to pause and celebrate
what we have achieved so far. NO2ID's success is a tribute to each and every
person who has fought to change the hearts and minds of their friends,
family and colleagues, local and national media, politicians, parties and
government - and to everyone who has given so generously in money to allow
us to run an office, send mailings, and produce briefings and leaflets.

Guy Herbert, our General Secretary, and I would like to express our deepest
gratitude for everyone's continued support and hard work, particularly the
dozens who have volunteered in some way to keep all the invisible parts of a
national campaign running. But I'm afraid we cannot afford to be complacent:
NO2ID's work is far from done.

The database state has insinuated itself into far too many aspects of our
everyday lives for it to simply wither and die, even were some of its more
visible tendrils to be lopped off or pruned back. Even during the election,
despite the parties now in government being skeptical about it, Connecting
for Health was pushing forward with its vast plan [2] to nationalise and
centralise all medical records in England.

The new government's commitment to "a full programme of measures to reverse
the substantial erosion of civil liberties under the Labour Government and
roll back state intrusion" is reason to be cautiously optimistic. But the
promised repeals and reforms MUST be worked out in detail, if they are to
have the necessary effect. Pressure MUST be maintained for them to be
enacted... and properly enforced.

Don't imagine for a moment that Whitehall will give up its pet projects,
empires or agendas without a fight - battles for which we know it has been
preparing for years. Nor should we expect the political, commercial and
media proponents of database state initiatives to stand quietly by. The
official obsession with identity and information-sharing, the very idea that
"personal information is the lifeblood of government" still remains.

Stopping the database state is not just a matter of scrapping a few
high-profile databases - as welcome as this will be. It means changing the
culture of showing "ID" at every turn [3], embedding proper protections in
law, in institutions and technology, and achieving real control over our own
information. The nature of the campaign, too, may change, as it becomes even
more a matter of education and forming public policy and less of organising
direct resistance.

The new government says it will take the first steps towards protecting our
privacy and autonomy, and needs to be held to that. Rolling back the
database state will involve further long and difficult battles, but what we
have proved is that - working together - this is a war that very definitely
CAN be won.

Phil Booth, National Coordinator, NO2ID