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

An Interview With Larry O'Hara

Earlier this week I spent some time with researcher Larry O'Hara, of Notes From the Boderland magazine.

Our conversation ranged from the death of GCHQ/MI6 employee Gareth Williams, through to the split between anti-fascist magazine Searchlight, and the Hope Not Hate  organisation. Also up for discussion was the nature and difficulty of radical publishing, and security problems on a particular Caribbean island. Eclectic is perhaps the adjective that springs to mind..........

You can see a video of our discussions below:

 

You Can Eat Whatever You Want, As Long As Its Vegan

This morning I was filling out the on-line registration for the Anarchist Studies Network conference at Loughborough University in September.

Check out this gem as a great example of the false choices that permeate contemporary society:

"Do you have any special dietary requirements? Please note that the conference food will be vegan"

If only one choice of food is available, why does it matter what my dietary requirements are?

 

 

Offshore Windfarms: More Hot Air

The Sunday Times Business pages on 24 June had a feature on off shore wind developers, and the financial crisis facing Vestas, the market leader in making turbines. Vestas has pulled out of a plan to build a factory in Sheerness that would have made offshore turbines.

I was struck by this quote from Maria McCaffrey, Chief Executive of trade group Renewable UK.

"....as the world leader in offshore wind, the UK remains an attractive place for manufacturers and members of the supply chain to have a base. It is vital that all sectors of government work together to secure the tens of thousands of jobs and billions of investment the UK is set to achieve in the next 5-10 years".

Hot air indeed! The basic problem with this method of energy production is........ it does not actually produce much energy. And on cold, damp, still days when electricity is needed most - it may not produce any at all. Organisations like Renewable UK are however great at producing fine sounding green rhetoric. If only that could keep us warm. Oh - and does anyone have any guesses as to where the 'billions' of pounds of investment is likely to come from?

I make no claims to predictive ability - but I am guessing the tax payer, with a little (involuntary) help from consumers.

 

Will They Even Reach Ford Open Prison?

The government is considering changes to the manner in which serious financial crime is prosecuted.

It seems this is not taking the more robust American approach, but 'simplifying' the process. Joshua Rozenberg is on Radio 4 at 4pm today examining these changes, with the programme repeated on Thursday at 8pm. More details from the Radio 4 website.

Caption Competition: Ruth Smeeth and Martin Bright

Captions please for this little picture of Labour Progress activist Ruth Smeeth, here wearing her Hope Not Hate hat, and Political Editor of the Jewish Chronicle, Martin Bright. 

For those not familiar with their track records, Smeeth's CV is brilliantly outlined in the new issue of Notes From the Borderland, and includes the Wikileaks revelation that she is regarded as a protected source by the United States embassy in London. A good job she was unsuccesful in her recent bid for Labour's NEC.
Martin Bright is perhaps best known for his claim that armed police were on standby to deal with the 2001 May Day protests, as demonstrators planned to arm themselves with samurai swords. There was of course no such plan, save for a sophisticated Metropolitan Police operation to discredit protestors in advance of their demonstrations - one that Bright was either part of, or too stupid to spot.  

He and Smeeth are welcome to each other. Anyway, captions please:

Terrorism Researchers: Remember Your Script Today

As the trial of Anders Breivik reaches a conclusion in Oslo, it is important that academics and analysts remember their script over the next few days.

Breivik's turn towards terrorism was influenced by racist and Islamophobic discourses. We must therefore counter these, in order to ensure no more Breivik's emerge. Jihadist actors like Toulouse gunman Mohamed Merah are not influenced by discourses within Islam, and are certainly not religious actors. To counter such currents, we need to change our foreign policy and to fight racism.

As you were.

Pictures of Masonic Jewels

A few months ago I was briefly in possession of a small collection of what are known as Masonic Jewels - the medals of a former Freemason from the United Grand Lodge of england and a member of a similar body - the Antediluvian Order of Buffaloes.

They belonged to my former neighbour and reflect a little snatch of history - especially that of the Second World War and post-War colonial period. In a way those days never really leave us - one of the jewels is marked Cyrenica - a part of Libya that is again associated with demands for independence. The other locations - Oman, Cyprus, Iraq and Egypt all reflect RAF postings in the dog days of empire.

I post one of my pictures below, and the rest are to be seen, with my other collections of photographs, lower down the page on the right hand side.

Oh - and for all the conspiracy theorists that pass through this site - no I am not a Freemason.

Time To Talk Trident?

Monday saw the news of a further £1 billion being invested in reactors for the Navy's nuclear submarines - a significant step towards replacing Trident.

This prompted Robert Fox, Defence Correspondent of the Evening Standard to comment:

"The biggest surprise is the way the Government has so skilfully suppressed serious public debate about going on with Trident. This debate is now urgently needed."

I am not surprised. We have three main political parties that all agree on far more than they disagree.  The three main political parties are all committed to the principle of nuclear deterrence. The three main parties all see this as part of the UK's commitment to NATO.

That leaves very little room for debate, even if the contention that the UK can afford the billions being talked about in this process, lacks real evidence to sustain it.

Lifting The Veil? Notes From the Borderland Issue 10 Out Now

"By their very nature the world's top intelligence agencies are a law unto themselves. MI6, the CIA, the FSB and Mossad are authorised to lie, bribe, steal and bug foreign governments and organisations, all in the name of national security. In the case of the Americans, the Russians and the Israelis, they also assassinate enemies of the state."

Richard Beeston, Foreign Editor, The Times, 12 May 2012.

Beeston's quote perhaps shows the limitations of UK media coverage of 'our' security services. Certain possibilities (some might even say certain realities) simply cannot be counteanced. That is why a free, radical press is so important, and why I am excited by the return, after a lengthy hiatus, of Notes From the Borderland magazine.

The centrepiece of NFB 10 is an examination of the death - probably murder - of GCHQ employee Gareth Williams, whilst on secondment to MI6. His bizarre death - the body was found in a locked suitcase in the bath of his MI6 rented flat - soon became engulfed in fog. A series of conflicting media reports, along with lurid if vague sexual innuendos, served to undermine any image we may of had of Gareth Williams the man, or even Gareth Williams the employee. Larry O'Hara attempts to rectify both these failings, and along the way uncovers new evidence about the police investigation in particular, that is startling.

The second core article covers the split between anti-fascist magazine Searchlight and its former subsidiary, Hope Not Hate. As Heidi Svenson and O'Hara sketch, this is a split that has turned very nasty indeed, with Hope Note Hate in particular reliant, not on the weight of their moral or political arguments, but the weight of m'learned friends. In the background to this is both the long term working relationship between Searchlight and elements of the UK police and security apparatus, but also Hope Not Hate's dominance by what may be best described as the far-right of the Labour Party. Where exactly are they going, and with whom?

This is a cast list to make your eyes water - but for all the wrong reasons. If you ever wanted to know what those active in the right wing Progress  faction of the Labour Party get up to when not harking back to the glory days of Tony Blair - this article is essential. Interesting sub-stories also emerge - the use of a much broader 'anti-extremism' discourse is something that should worry political activists from backgrounds as diverse as UKIP to the anti-cuts movement, whilst the prominance of Labour's 'Israel Right or Wrong' wing is also noted. Oh - and if you felt that the only way was up after being a leading banker and an advisor to Gordon Brown - you were probably right......

This issue of NFB is 86 pages, so as well as the 'big two' articles above, you get my good self on new players and old in the world of 9/11 'truth' and the usual round up of developments concerning past NFB stories. This may sound minor, but returning to past subject matter it is a sign of intellectual consistency and honesty. Oh that every publication did it! Other articles see Robin Whittaker looking through his telescope at MI6 on the Moon, and Jon D White on the possibilities opened up by Crypto-Anarchism. To round things up O'Hara summarises the BNP's poor electoral performance in 2012, although adopting a final position that is very similar to my own - as pleasant as it may be to write off the British National Party, we may be a tad quick in doing so.

So - 86 action packed pages for £4.50 - what are you waiting for? Notes From the Borderland is available from all good political bookshops, in person from its writers and on-line from the NFB Magazine website, via pay-pal. There is a big world out there - lets go into armed with a slightly broader outlook than that provided to The Times readers by Richard Beeston!

The Cunningham Amendment: Work As Art

There is no doubt as to the best produced, and truly unique political title in the UK at the moment.

The Cunningham Amendment looks like nothing else. It is small, perfectly formed and meanders  through a series of different fonts, writing styles and layouts that produce a sum that is greater than its parts (how often can you say that about an Anarchist publication?) This is presumeably down to its editor, Dr Peter Good, who is best described, in terms of his appearence, as the Anarchist movement's answer to the late Sir Robin Day.

Much of the content lurches from quip to quip, with political critiques under the surface - if you look hard enough. Use of long forgotten cartoons and graphics gives an ahistorical feel, although the issues raised are always contemporary. I shall leave the last word to Dr Good:

"There are thousands employed in the Arms Trade - but so what - There are thousands employed in burglary, prostitution and gambling."

The Cunningham Amendment is not available on-line, indeed that would rather defeat the object. It can be ordered for £2.50 from TCA, Room 6, Tangleford House, The Street, Bawdeswell, Norfolk, NR20 4RT.

You won't be disappointed.

 

Scotland: Signing The Pledge?

Last month the Scottish First Minister, Alex Salmond, launched the Scottish National Party's campaign for a Yes vote in a 2014 referendum on Scottish independence. As part of this, Scots (and presumeably Scots in exile) are being encouraged to sign an on-line declaration that they support Scottish independence.

Salmond aims to get a million such signatures, and has the suppport of the Scottish Greens and Scottish Socialist Party (readers may insert their own joke about Tommy Sheridan here). Interestingly at the start of this campaign Scotland's First Minister has attempted to drape himself not just in tartan but in the cloak of class struggle stating:

"“Our enemies, of which there are many, are rich and powerful. We intend to take our case to the people by community activism and online wizardry".

I can't say that I am rich and powerful, but I do disagree with Mr Salmond - the peoples of these islands are stronger together than we ever will be separate.
Any attempt to portray Scots as in some way a discriminated against or subject people has always been faintly ludicrous (even in the 1980s) and not something in my experience too many Scots themselves take seriously. Until comparatively recently the SNP website was using Iceland, Norway and the Republic of Ireland as examples of neighbouring countries for whom independence brought good times economically in the twentieth century - two of those three are of course now basket cases - and it may well be in economic terms Scotland needs Britain more than Britain needs Scotland.
Ultimately though the independence vote it is a matter for Scotland. I do hope however, that when considering the 'rich and powerful', and who they stand by, voters take a good look at Alex Salmond and some of his backers:

Books, Books and More Books

Visiting Housmans in Kings Cross the other day, I was reminded again of how important London's independent bookshops are.

To go in a shop and not know what you are going to find, until you find it, is a joy that Waterstones, or browsing Amazon on-line, cannot replicate. London's independent bookshops have come together to produce The London Bookshop Map, which shows you the location of 96 shops (both high street and hidden gems) as well as giving a brief write-up on each.

Some highlights include Al Saqi Books of Westbourne Grove - a great location for books on the Middle East, the ever-improving Freedom Books in Whitechapel and for the more esoteric amongst you, The Atlantis Bookshop on Museum Street, off Charing Cross Road. But, its better to find your own favourites.

The Bookshop Map is seemingly a rolling project - with a new issue planned for September.

The Queen: Bringing Peace To All Men?

No big posts or rants about the Jubilee here - sometimes it is just better to let the other side have their day, knowing there will be other times to fight on an issue. Roll on King Charles!

One of the sillier claims I spotted about the Queen as a force for political good deserves a hearing however. Lord Alan Watson is Chair of the Council of Commonwealth Societies and author of 'The Queen and the USA'. He has an interview in the May 2012 issue of Surrey Downs Magazine, entitled 'The Queen's Reach.' Try this gem on how marvellous Lord Watson thinks the Commonwealth is:

"The great thing about the Commonwealth is that it links North and South, gives small nations a voice and is inter-governmental, not federal, in nature. A lot of diplomacy goes on behind the scenes and the Queen is instrumental in that.
Take South Africa under apartheid. This Queen has an instinct for racial equality, as did Queen Victoria, and her quiet influence was undoubtedly significant".

Historians and scholars have usually explained the end of apartheid in terms of the ANC reaching a deal with the main white parties in South Africa. This centred on Mandela accepting political, if not necessarily full economic power, on the basis of few, if any recriminations. That deal has endured, even if it has not brought significant economic change to many black Africans, nor has it prevented the sustained (and greatly under reported in the UK) murder of rural white South Africans.  

It seems that history needs to be ripped up. We now need to add to the story the Queen's instinct for racial equality and its 'quiet influence'.......

 

 

 

On Returning

Just when you thought this blog had died, or the author shuffled off into a corner, it is going to spring back into life - I promise!

There have been no posts for several weeks, mainly due to the amount of shift work I have been doing - in the last the last twelve days for example I have worked ten 12 hour shifts, plus two days of 14. Whilst such hours have not stopped me tweeting (an inane task easily tackled in a lunch hour) this blog deserves a bit of thought and consideration.

Oddly even though nothing had been posted on here for so long, I still seemed to get at least 100 page views a day. To those visitors - and any other passing traffic - normal service will now be resumed.