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

The Socialist Workers Party As Perfect Democracy?

I missed Judith Orr, the editor of the SWP's Socialist Review, who was at the University of East Anglia on 17 January to speak to the Feminist Society.

Given the storm over rape allegations and the SWP's response to them, the meeting's timing was apt. The UEA's student paper, Concrete, gives an account of the meeting here. I was particularly drawn to Orr's reported comments on the SWP and accountability:

"Orr maintained that the SWP were "more accountable than any other organisation", being entirely intolerant of sexism, racism, homophobia, or any other hateful prejudices within the party.
The decision to go through the party's disputes committee, which Orr noted was elected yearly to ensure fair representation, was entirely the decision of the victim and expressed sadness on behalf of both parties involved that the matter, which was meant to be "utterly confidential", had come out against their wishes."

Judith Orr's description of SWP internal democracy will produce a wry smile from anyone active in left wing politics over the last few decades, or indeed anyone who has been in the SWP. Elections in the party have traditionally meant voting for a slate of candidates, with no opportunity to cast votes outside of that, and a system of powerful regional organisers and full time staff advising members on how to vote.
That is perhaps what you would expect in a Trotskyist organisation, which models itself on the successful seizure of power by the Bolsheviks in 1917. That worked for Lenin, but hardly fits with 21st century demands for accountability and bottom up organising.

The SWP's current crisis is rooted in more than the poor treatment of a rape victim - it is rooted in its own ideology.

Islamophobia and Anarchism: A Very Particular Call For Articles

I must admit my hopes are not high for this.

The publication concerned, Dysopia, recently published a special issue on anti-Semitism. It managed not to dwell on groups like the Muslim Brotherhood (and its various European offshoots), Hamas, or some of the violence faced by European Jewish communities, which increasingly comes from Muslim, rather than white fascist actors. The Toulouse murders in 2012, and the would be jihadists in Manchester convicted of targetting Jews in the city, being only two examples. 

The call for articles below is extremely carefully worded, I suspect because Dysophia's editors have a very clear idea in mind exactly what articles they want - and what they should say- and exactly what they should not. Still here goes:

Dysophia, an independent anarchist zine, is planning a follow on from its successful look at antisemitism by exploring issues around Islam and anti-Muslim racism from an anarchist perspective. We are aware that, as UK-based activists, much is missing from the wider discussion and more nuanced analysis is needed.

In particular, we would like to explore how anarchists in the 'West' (that is, Christian-dominated societies) can:

* show solidarity with those experiencing anti-Muslim racism;
* show solidarity with comrades who live in places where Islam is a dominant ideology; and 
* approach the challenges thrown up by Islamic fundamentalism without playing into current imperialist / racist tendencies that demonize Muslim communities in the West and underscore current imperialist warmongering.

We hope that this publication will open up critical discussion that can take the anarchist movement forward. Thus, we are soliciting articles from anarchists living in societies where Islam is a dominant force, which discuss all or some of the following issues:

i) how they relate to Islam itself and how the culture of their societym affects and shapes their approaches to anarchism;

ii) how they perceive Islamophobia and related racisms in the 'West';

iii) how anarchists in the 'West' can show solidarity with comrades in Muslim-majority countries (including, for example, during Western states' interventions in and portrayals of the 'Arab spring');

iv) how anarchists living in the West can demonstrate solidarity with Muslim communities here, while sustaining anti-discrimination politics such as that around gender, sexuality, etc. (for example, how could we respond to protests against sharia law, right wing focusing on fundamentalist elements of religion as an attack on all, demonisation of Muslim populations, cartoon images of the Prophet Mohammed).

v) how the 'War on Terror' has affected their political activity;

vi) anarchist perspectives on class, gender and sexuality in the context of Islam.

Secondly, we would like to hear from anarchists who identify as having a Muslim background who live in the West and would like to communicate their experiences and politics around islamophobia. We are also interested in hearing from anarchists who cultural identification is
Western, but feel they have a perspective they would like to contribute.

Finally, we are interested in hearing accounts from anarchist groups in Muslim-majority countries so that others can learn about their activities, as often those in the West do not get to hear about them. If there are enough of these, we will turn them into a separate publication.

Article size can be up three thousand words, and we are looking for pieces that are accessible to everyone rather than not jargon-heavy academic tracts. Images gratefully received. We will be publishing in English, though if you have writings in another language, or will struggle with English please get in contact first as we may be able to sort out translations. We will protect anonymity whenever requested and have secure forms of communication if desired, including pgp / gpg. We would like to get submissions in by 31st March if possible.

If you have any questions then do not hesitate to ask. Please feel free to forward on.

Dysophia editors (D O'D, SR)
dysophia@riseup.net
http://dysophia.wordpress.com

There are not many certainities in life, but I rather suspect my 2010  "British Islamism: Towards an Anarchist Response" is not the type of thing they are looking for.

 

Spooks? A Cheeky Little Dig From The Telegraph

All of today's newspapers have full coverage of the Algerian hostage crisis, where Jihadists held workers captive in an attempt to free Aaafia Siddiqui and the 'Blind Sheikh' Omar Abdul-Rahman from jail in the United States.

Picking through it, I was rather tickled  by this line in the Sunday Telegraph's coverage, courtsey of Robert Mendick, Patrick Sawer and Patrick Hennessy:

"Offical sources told Algeria's El Watan newspaper, a journal known for its close contact with the country's secret services, that the terrorists had tried to set fire to the gas facility's installations on Friday night after their demands - including safe passage and the release of al-Qaeda terrorists in the US - remained unmet."

I have never read El Watan, but wonder if its journalists may amuse themselves in future by writing something along the lines of  "British newspaper the Daily Telegraph, whose defence correspondent Con Coughlin is known for his close links to the country's external security service MI6...."

The Consequences of a Three Minute Culture?

Students think I'm an old git when I tell them to read books, rather than web articles or YouTube clips. 

I'm not really sure anyone really knows the long term effects on our brains of the immediacy of information, the range of formats it is available in, or the short timescale of so much of it. A further suggestion of the dangers posed by what I refer to as the three minute culture, comes from Sir Alex Ferguson's press conference at Old Trafford on Friday 11 January:

"Perhaps the most remarkable of the United manager's observations was that players no longer have the powers of concentration to sit down and watch a full 90-minute match video. "Going back 20 years, we gave them a full video of the game" he said. "We don't do that now because the concentration of players watching a full game is not there. But if you condense it into various aspects of our opponents then it works and that's what we do".

Quoted in Ian Herbert's "Ferguson: It's A Long Road For Liverpool", The Independent 12 January 2013.

New Order Live In 1981 - Taras Shevchenko

I have only recently come across this recording of a comparatively early New Order concert, in New York in November 1981. 

As with anything on You Tube or similar sites - enjoy this whilst you can - Peter Hook's lawyers could take it down tomorrow!

 

The Rapier Thrust of Student Politics

As students return to University following the Christmas holidays, those at the University of East Anglia can be assured that their student union is at the cutting edge of political relevance in these hard times:

"The Union of UEA Students has passed policy to introduce gender neutral toilets in Union House in order to accomodate for those who do not identify within the male-female gender binary."

Concrete, UEA's Student Newspaper, Issue 276, Tuesday 4 December.

The article goes on to state that the budget for this is not confirmed. That is perhaps not surprising - the UEA Students Union has a deficit of £132,000, although this is expected to fall to £114,500 over the course of the academic year.  

There's a whole world outside of your University campus boys and girls - and it looks very, very different to the one some of you are cocooned in.

Giving Ex-Offenders A Chance

I was very impressed with the quote below from John Timpson, Chairman of  high street chain Timpson, in the business section of yesterday's Telegraph:

"....our biggest achievement is the way James and his team have employed people from prison in a way that works brilliantly both for them and our business - 8% of current Timpson colleagues joined us from prison. One week during November all the customer compliments I received were praising service given in shops run by ex-offenders.
My big disappointment is that so few companies have followed our example. Greggs the Bakers is the only other business to embrace the concept with real zeal." 

Well done Timpson's! There is more on their work in this field here. 

40 Years On - Time To Leave

Forty years ago today, the United Kingdom joined the European Economic Community. That decision was reinforced by the 1975 referendum. 

A generation later, the EEC has morphed, first into the European Community, then to become the European Union, something far removed from the free trade area with a few political conferences, that our parents voted either Yes or No to.
The EU has a President (who we can't vote for) a Foreign Minister (Baroness Ashton, who again we can't vote for) and an intelligence agency (who we know less about than our own secretive security agencies). No doubt in time the EU will have its own police force and army. It sets laws that take precedence over those created by the House of Commons. 

All this costs us billions of pounds per year (the actual estimates vary). Forty years on - it is time to remove this additional tier of government and civil servants from our backs, and to leave the European Union.