John Biggs: Tower Hamlets Labour Mayor Candidate

 London Assembly member John Biggs is standing to be the Labour Party candidate to run for Tower Hamlets Mayor.

There has been the usual exciting and colourful Tower Hamlets selection process.

Labour Party members (only) will vote on Saturday on who they want to be their candidate in the Mayoral election on 21 October 2010.

I have worked in Tower Hamlets for the past 20 years or so - but I am not of course a local member so I shouldn't really interfere in the selection process.

But - this being Tower Hamlets (my 2nd favourite London borough ever) I can't help mentioning that in a strictly personal capacity - I thought John was an excellent Labour Council leader and London Assembly member.  He is also a stanch trade unionist and a very decent person with good politics who you can rely on. We don't agree all the time but there again - who does!

There are other good candidates standing but if I had the choice (and I don't) then I would definitely be voting for Mr Biggs to be Tower Hamlets Mayor. 

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies".

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Already they have raised up a monied aristocracy that has set the government at defiance. The issuing power (of money) should be taken away from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs."

Thomas Jefferson, third U.S. President (1743 - 1826).

Some things never change!

Hat-tip thingy to my new UNISON Eastern region RO.

Economist: "Catholic Socialism the Answer"

This article comes from Zenit.

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Distributism and the Economic Crisis

By Annamarie Adkins

IRVING, Texas, AUG. 30, 2010 (Zenit.org).-  At a time when bailouts appear to be a bust, policymakers seem befuddled, and the economic crisis shows no signs of abating, people are looking for alternatives to the conventional wisdom.  

Benedict XVI's recent encyclical "Caritas in Veritate," was a boon to the so-called "alternative economics" movement, and at least one such economic philosophy that sprang from the papal social encyclicals, distributism, is enjoying somewhat of a renaissance.

But many are skeptical, and believe distributism is simply romantic agrarianism, or worse, just an aesthetic sensibility, without any real practical solutions.  

John Medaille, one of the preeminent neo-distributists, set out to address the critics.  The result, a distributist manifesto entitled, “Toward a Truly Free Market:  A Distributist Perspective on the Role of Government, Taxes, Health Care, Deficits, and More (ISI), could not be timelier as governments around the world wrestle with social and fiscal crises.  

Medaille is co-editor of The Distributist Review webzine, and an adjunct instructor at the University of Dallas.  

He explained to ZENIT what’s missing in current economic theory and why distributism deserves renewed appreciation.  

ZENIT:  Your book begins by examining the basic assumptions of what is generally called "economics."  What are those assumptions?  Are they the cause of the current global economic crisis?

Medaille:  The two most basic assumptions in economics today -- and by the way, they are both wrong -- are that economics is A physical rather than a human science, and that as such it can have nothing to do with questions of  ethics.

Since the end of the 19th century, economics has sought to do away with justice, especially distributive justice, but in doing so it has lost the ability to accurately describe any actual economy. Therefore, no one should be surprised to learn that 90% of economists missed the warning signs of the current meltdown.

The same was true during the last meltdown, and the one before that, etc.

You cannot accurately predict the course of a system if you cannot accurately describe it.

Distributism, on the other hand, asserts that justice is not only a moral problem, but a practical, economic problem, and that without economic justice, you cannot reach equilibrium. When economics abandons justice, the government is constantly forced to intervene to insure stability, even though the interventions may only work in the short run.

We have abandoned justice on a global scale, which has led to chronically unbalanced trade.  When trade is chronically unbalanced, it is not really “a trade” at all.  Rather, it is a system by which foreign producers finance our consumption of their goods, a system that impoverishes both parties.

ZENIT:  Most people believe that the battle for the soul of capitalism is between the followers of Keynes and the followers of Hayek.  But you believe both theories lead to what Hilaire Belloc called the "servile state."  Why is that? What are they and their followers missing?

Medaille:  Capitalism and socialism are really not opposed realities; one is just the continuation of the other, and distributism is the opposite of both: it is the free market.

Capitalism tends to concentrate property in the hands of a few, thereby choking off the market, and socialism continues this by concentrating ownership in the hands of the state. In practice both systems end up with control of the most important resources of the nation in the hands of a few bureaucrats -- über-managers who claim to represent the interests of the nominal owners, be they the shareholders or the general public, but who actually control these resources for their own benefit.

Further, in concentrating economic power, they also concentrate political power, and the large corporations are able to obtain vast privileges and subsidies for themselves, as we saw in the recent meltdown. Thus, between the gargantuan state and the gargantuan corporation, the individual is reduced to a situation of servility.

What both capitalism and socialism are missing is the willingness to admit that power follows property.  Both systems claim to create freedom by concentrating capital, but because this also concentrates power, what is left for the mass of men is powerlessness.

Distributism, on the other hand, seeks to build an ownership society of free men and women, conscious of their rights and with the means to defend them against the centralizing tendencies of both the state and the corporate collectives.

ZENIT:  What is distributism?  Isn't it just redistributionism, or splitting the difference between capitalism and socialism?  How could such a philosophy, which relies on a certain amount of government intervention, create a truly "free" market?  

Medaille:  Actually, it is not so much a question of what the government should do as what it should stop doing.

In truth, the accumulation of property usually depends on government power; the higher the piles of capital, the thicker the walls of government necessary to protect them.  

There are, of course, positive things that government can do, with tax policy, for example, or simply by enforcing its own laws against monopoly and oligopoly.  And there are cases where the title to land or other resources is questionable to begin with.  

But in general, a distributive society requires a smaller government with powers properly distributed throughout all levels of society.

In contrast to a system of concentrated economic and political power, distributist systems rely on a variety of forms of small ownership to distribute economic power:  proprietors for property that can be easily used and managed by a single person or a family, cooperatives for larger enterprises, local public ownership for resources like water or sewer systems, employee stock ownership systems, when that is appropriate, and so forth.

In this way, both economic and political power is distributed throughout all levels of society.  There are really only two choices when it comes to property and power: concentration or distribution.

The former leads to servility, and the latter to liberty.

ZENIT:  What does a distrubist society look like?  Are there any examples anywhere in the world?

Medaille:  Excellent question!

When dealing with economic systems, it is best not to rely totally on abstract theory, but to trust only systems that are on the ground and working.

For example, pure capitalism and pure communism (outside of monastic settings) have never worked, and have no functioning examples.  Capitalism has always been imposed through, and sustained by, government power, while socialism has had to allow some freedom in the market in order to function at all.

Distributism, on the other hand, can display any number of working models, both on large and small scales.  There is the worker-owned Mondragón Cooperative Corporation of Spain, which has 100,000 worker-owners and does $25 billion in sales; there is the cooperative economy of Emilia-Romagna, where 40% of the GDP is from cooperatives. And there are thousands of ESOPs, cooperatives, mutual insurance companies, and credit unions.

Indeed, the historical truth is that distributism goes from success to success, while capitalism stumbles from bailout to bailout.

What is especially interesting is that a distributist society like Mondragón has been able to provide its own social safety networks, school systems, training institutes, R&D Centers, and a university all from its own funds and without government subsidies.

It is much closer to the libertarian ideal than anything that laissez-faire has ever been able to produce.

ZENIT:  By offering practical solutions to today's toughest economic problems, your book seems to address the many critics of distributism who ignore it for its supposed impracticality or its neo-agrarianism.  What are the basic principles or building blocks a distributist uses to compare and construct policy alternatives?

Medaille:  The major principles of distributism are subsidiarity and solidarity.

By subsidiarity, we mean that the lowest levels of society, starting with the family, are the most important, and as much decision making authority and power as possible should reside there. Higher levels justify their existence only by the help they can give to the lower levels.

Solidarity dictates that any political decision must keep in mind the poorest and most vulnerable members of society.

Subsidiarity is difficult to realize in a situation where power is concentrated; only by the diffusion of economic and political power (and the two are just different aspects of the same power) can local communities and families flourish.

ZENIT:  Does distributism have any basis in Catholic social teaching or the papal encyclicals like the recent Caritas in Veritate?

Subsidiarity and solidarity are, of course, straight out of the social encyclicals, and distributism owes much to its Catholic founders, G. K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc.

That being said, a distributist social order does not depend on the prior establishment of a Catholic social order. However, we believe that such a social order will thrive under a distributist system.

ZENIT:  Can you briefly summarize the distributist solution to the seemingly intractable problem of providing as many people as possible with affordable health care?

Medaille:  Our country has just been through a rather poisonous debate on this topic, one which entirely missed the real point, because it was based on a spurious distinction between socialism and the private market.

The reality is that in health care we have neither. The government already pays 45% of all health care costs, and the “private” market is in fact dominated by government-enforced monopolies through patents, licenses, and “certificates of need” for hospitals.

Indeed, the signature of a monopolistic market is constantly rising prices even in the face of declining services, and that is the reality of our health care market.

Now, distributism would not be of much use unless it could solve practical problems like this, and it can.  

In brief, in the book I propose an expansion of the licensing authorities to increase the supply of medical personnel; it proposes a way of expanding research and development without resorting to monopolistic patents; and proposes the formation of cooperatives of doctors and other personnel which can serve as both “insurance” companies and health care delivery firms, thereby giving the firm the ability to ensure health rather than just treat diseases.

Of course, I go into much more detail on this in my book, but yes, distributism offers a new path on many of the most vexing problems.

Israeli President to Meet Pope at Crucial Moment

This article comes from AsiaNews.

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Peres to visit Pope at a time of "serious" dialogue between Rome and Jerusalem

By Arieh Cohen

AsiaNews (Tel Aviv) - On Thursday, the President of the State of Israel, will be received in Audience at Castelgandolfo by Pope Benedict XVI. In preparation for this appointment, the octogenarian Head of State told an interviewer on the First Channel of Italy’s public television (RAI): “The relations between the Vatican and the Jewish State are the best since the times of Jesus Christ, and have never been so good in two thousand years of history.” He added too: “The reigning Pontiff wishes to have a sincere dialogue with us, as we wish to have with the Vatican.”

It is difficult to foresee that the visit of Peres to the Pope will have any specific effect on practical details of these relations, which in substance are being dealt with through other channels. The President, in Israel, is an almost exclusively symbolic figure, while the executive power is exercised by the Government. More probably, President Peres’s travels are in the context of the task he has for a while now assigned himself of cultivating Israel’s international image, given wide-spread skepticism concerning the intentions of the Government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Prime Minister himself will on that day be in Washington, for the start of the peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), chaired by Mahmoud Abbas, “Abu Mazen” – negotiations convened by President Barack Obama of the United States.

As for the bilateral relations with the Catholic Church (or as is improperly said in the televised interview, “the Vatican”), these are now at a phase of special importance. Since 29 July 1992, the Holy See and Israel are committed to concluding a series of “concordat-type” treaties, which together are meant to achieve legal and fiscal security for the Catholic Church in Israel. Two of those treaties were already signed and ratified some years ago: The “Fundamental Agreement” (30 December 1993), a kind of “Bill of Rights” for the Church in the Jewish State, and the “Legal Personality Agreement” (10 November 1997), which recognizes for civil purposes too the legal personality of the Church and of Church bodies. However, neither of these treaties has been introduced into Israel’s own legislation, which means that their usefulness is at present limited.

Since 11 March 1999, the Parties have been negotiating a third Agreement, for the purpose of confirming the fiscal status of the Church in Israel, especially the historic fiscal exemptions, which are an essential requirement for the ability of the Church to continue to carry out her functions of representing in the Holy Land the world-wide Church and of caring for the faithful locally. This third Agreement will also have to safeguard the Church’s properties in Israel, the Holy Places above all, and to provide for the restitution of certain such properties, such as for example the church-shrine in Caesarea, which was expropriated and razed to the ground in the 1950’s. The next “plenary” meeting of the negotiators – who together constitute the “Bilateral Permanent Working Commission between the Holy See and the State of Israel” -  is scheduled for 6 December this year. In the meanwhile, well informed sources say, the negotiators are working intensively. The United States, France, Italy and other nations are closely (though discreetly) following the course of the negotiations, consistently with their support – and that of their Catholic citizens – for the presence and work of the Church in the Holy Land.

Once this Agreement is made (and it is impossible to foresee when this may be), or even before then and parallel to the talks about it, the “agenda” foresees several more Agreements of no lesser importance. In the course of the years, three subjects in particular have been publicly emphasized. First of all, an agreement that would guarantee and regulate in a stable manner the issuance of entry visas and residence permits for Church personnel from elsewhere. Here the State’s policies have varied over time, though their overall direction has been rather restrictive.

More than anything else, it is the lack of legal certainty that is problematic, namely the lack of officially published criteria.

Then there is this subject that is of the greatest pastoral concern, norms to guarantee the access to pastoral care of members of the faithful who find themselves in circumstances of limited mobility, specifically prisoners, members of the military and hospital patients. The accord on these matters between the Government of Italy and the Union of the Jewish Communities in Italy is often mentioned as a model, given the analogy between the small Jewish minority in Italy and the small Christian minority in Israel. The third subject often publicly mentioned in these years is a review of the presentation of Christ, Christianity and the Church in Israel’s school system. It would serve to verify effective reciprocity in relation to the immense undertaking by the Catholic Church over recent decades to ensure a correct, indeed a friendly, presentation of Judaism and the Jews in Catholic education.

There is then still some way to go in order for the “dialogue” mentioned by President Peres to achieve its purposes completely. However, the forward-looking optimism of the President of Israel is promising, and in fact it seems that both Parties are working towards that goal and are making steady progress.

Thus the Franciscan jurist, Father David-Maria A. Jaeger, an expert on Church-State relations in Israel, tells AsiaNews: “Especially in the last few years, it appears that the negotiations, which in effect constitute this ‘dialogue’ – to which President Peres refers – between the Holy See and the State of Israel, are being pursued by both Parties with great seriousness and commitment, as is evident from the ‘Joint Communiqués’ released from time to time by the Bilateral Commission. Though without ignoring the problems in various sectors of the day-to-day relations between the Church and the State, optimism is obligatory, and such optimism in itself has a decidedly beneficial influence.” He adds too: “In the end, obstinate optimism endows the experience of daily life with an eschatological horizon.”

Guam Archbishop Urges to Vote with "Catholic Conscience"

This article comes from the Catholic News Agency.

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Hagatna, Guam, Aug 31, 2010 / 02:56 am (CNA).- Writing to Catholics before Guam's upcoming primary elections, Archbishop Anthony Apuron stressed to the country's faithful that “a well-formed Christian conscience does not permit one to vote for a political program or an individual law that contradicts the fundamental contents of faith and morals.”

Archbishop Apuron of the Archdiocese of of Agana issued his statement on Aug. 27 in time for Guam's primary elections, which will be held on Sept. 4.

“We are called to participate in the upcoming elections of our local leaders for the positions of Governor and Lt. Governor, Senator, Attorney General, and Delegate to the U.S. House of Representative,” the prelate explained. “As we exercise our civic duties, we are faced with issues that affect the common good of the People of Guam.”

Regarding the faithful's civic duty to vote, the archbishop then highlighted “non-negotiable” positions that the Catholic Church holds in five areas of concern: abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, human closing [sic] and same-sex unions.

Speaking on abortion, Archbishop Apuron called the procedure the “intentional and direct killing of an innocent human being, and therefore it is a form of homicide.”

“The unborn child is always an innocent party, and no law may permit the taking of this life,” he underscored. “Even when a child is conceived through rape or incest, the fault is not the child’s who should not suffer death for others' sins.”

On the issue of same-sex unions, Archbishop Apuron stressed that marriage “is the union of one man and one woman.”  

“Legal recognition of any other union as ‘marriage’ undermines true marriage,” he noted. “Any legal recognition of same-sex union actually does individuals with tendencies for same sex a disfavor by encouraging them to persist in what is an objectively immoral arrangement.”

The archbishop also addressed Catholic lawmakers, telling them they have “a moral duty to express their opposition clearly and publicly and to vote against same-sex union. To vote in for, or advocate such action, is harmful to the common good and is gravely immoral.”

Addressing euthanasia, the archbishop called the act “homicide.” “No person has the right to take his own life, and no one has the right to take the life of any innocent person,” he wrote. “In euthanasia, the sick or elderly are killed by action or omission, out of a misplaced sense of compassion or misguided mercy.” “True compassion,” he stated, “cannot include intentionally doing something intrinsically evil to another person.”

The prelate then urged Catholics to “not vote for the candidates who are right on lesser issues but who will vote contrary to the Church teachings on key moral issues.” 

In his concluding remarks, Archbishop Apuron told the faithful to “participate and exercise your civic duties as Catholic voters and make known your position by selecting the candidates who are willing to be accountable towards the common good of the People of Guam.”

Lessons from Katrina

As we approach the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina destroying New Orleans, I am heading out to the annual APSA convention. Once again the conference is in Washington, DC - as it was on that weekend in 2005. Posts will be - at best - intermittent through Sunday.

But here are a set of essays by Rebecca Sonit on lessons for the post-Katrina world - from The Nation here, The L.A. Times here, and from Yes! here. Solnit points out, once again, that the dangers in NOLA in the immediate wake of the storm emerged more from ineptitude and malign neglect on the part of government, the misrepresentations of the media and the violence of mercenaries, police and white vigilantes - all animated largely by racist fear fear and animosity - than from the poor residents whom the storm displaced.

“The Spark of Rebellion in Bow and Mile End”

"Walk the streets where strikers, suffragettes and rebel councillors made their stand for the rights and dignity of ordinary working women and men from the 1880s to the 1920s. Find out what they did, who led and supported them, and why they should be remembered and celebrated. Places on this walk will be strictly limited to 30 on a first-come first-served basis. £7/£4".

2.30pm on Sunday September 12th.

See East End Walks.  Hat-tip Andy at Socialist Unity

Chuck Colson Calls for Ecumenical Action

This video comes from The Colson Center website.

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Pope and Patriarch Share Eco-Theology

This article comes from the Catholic News Agency.

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Pope and Ecumenical Patriarch promote protecting environment

Vatican City, Aug 30, 2010 / 04:09 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- On Sunday, the Holy Father prayed for God's assistance in protecting the earth for future generations. Both he and Patriarch Bartholomew I have made statements concerning the environment as the "Day for the Protection of the Environment" approaches.

The Orthodox Church-created and Italian Bishops' Conference-promoted event takes place on Sept. 1 under the theme "If you want to cultivate peace, protect creation." The same theme was used by Benedict XVI for the World Day for Peace.

After Sunday's Angelus, Pope Benedict commented on the "day," which he noted is also an important moment for ecumenical relations. "Indeed," he said, "we have the duty to hand the earth on to future generations in such a condition that they too can worthily inhabit it and subsequently conserve it.

"May the Lord help us in this task!" prayed the Pope.

Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople Bartholomew I, referred to by some as the "Green Patriarch," has issued an official statement for the celebration. His predecessor, Patriarch Demetrios, originally established the start of the Orthodox liturgical year, Sept. 1, as a day of prayer for the protection of the environment.

Explaining that in today's world, economic and social stability are very closely attached to environmental conditions, he announced that there is a "dire need in our day for a combination of societal sanctions and political initiatives, such that there is a powerful change in direction, to a path of viable and sustainable environmental development."

Pope Benedict XVI has also taught extensively on the relationship of these elements, dedicating a significant portion of his encyclical "Caritas in veritate" to the theme. In that encyclical, he wrote that "one of the greatest challenges facing the economy is to achieve the most efficient use - not abuse - of natural resources … " The Pontiff also exhorted the Church to assert its "responsibility towards creation" in the public sphere.

The Italian bishops' conference initiative will be observed with an ecumenical pilgrimage, which will traverse along a route called the "Path of Creation." The path will take pilgrims through a canyon in the Italian Alps.

Newham Councillors & Mayor 2010: The Largest Labour Group in the Country

 I thought I would cheer up every one's Bank holiday by posting this picture from the AGM of Newham Council. 

The photo was taken in the historic Old Town Hall in Stratford. 

I hope this isn't seen as political boasting but:-

In the London Borough of Newham 60 out of the possible 60 elected Councillors are Labour Party candidates.

The directly elected Mayor, Sir Robin Wales is Labour. So are both MP's,  Stephen Timms (who has the largest majority in the country) and Lyn Brown.  The local directly elected London Assembly member, John Biggs, is Labour as is the directly elected Member for the European Parliament, Claude Moraes.

Is there something in the Newham - clear red water?

"Crisis, what crisis?"... CONDEM porkies about National Debt

 You would think from recent announcements by Osborne (and whatever Libdem spokesperson) that we are indeed about to go cap in hand to the IMF at any moment. 

This BBC graph based on IMF figures reported upon yesterday on Labour list by Howard Dawber makes you think "wot?".

Just look at the current and projected debt levels?

This is what Howard said "49. THE WHOLE JUSTIFICATION OF THE DEFICIT REDUCTION PACKAGE

The ConDems have based their whole economic policy on the idea that the economy is tanking, that there is no spare money in government, but that growth is strong enough to cope with a massive reduction in public spending. In their analysis Britain’s deficit and debt puts us on a par with Greece and if we don’t take drastic action the whole economy will collapse. Labour’s plan to halve the deficit in 4 years, generally regarded as ambitious but workable by economists, is too slow. They want to halve it in two years.

Why is it a bad idea? The ConDems have their facts wrong, and on top of that have the wrong strategy as well. Despite being faced with the worst world-wide recession in decades, Labour took brave decisions to support the banks, stimulate the economy and keep spending under control. As a result, unemployment when Labour left office in 2010 was lower than when Labour came to power in 1997. Interest rates remain the lowest they have been for decades. Having got the economy out of recession at the end of last year, growth is now higher than expected – the economy grew by 1.1% from April – June. Unemployment fell in the last quarter and is lower in the UK than the EU average. Our banks have been stable and secure.

And what about our terrible, terrible debt – the reason the Tories keep talking about the “unavoidable” cuts? UK debt as a percentage of GDP reached 68.7% earlier this year and is still rising. That’s not great. But it is comfortably lower than the other G7 countries like Germany, the United States, France, Canada, Italy or Japan. Last time the Tories were in power they put up our debt from 34% of GDP to 51% to help get through the recession of the 1990s. This time they are doing the exact opposite to what most countries around the world agree is the right way to get back into sustainable growth. For a comparison with our major international competitors see this graph. The “savage” cuts programme is not just wrong because it is not based on a real understanding of the economic position of the country, it is wrong because it may reverse the positive trend of growth.

The Bank of England says that the ConDem plans will lead to a slower recovery and higher inflation than previously expected with Labour’s plans.

Finally we taxpayers are already £5bn in profit on the government’s investment in Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland. Within a year of the end of the recession Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling’s decision to step in with funding has been proved not just right but very profitable too. The Tories, incidentally, want to sell these shares off at a loss to benefit their friends in the stockbroking and hedge fund industry".

National Health & Safety Inspection Day: Wed 27 October

 The Wednesday of "European Health and Safety week" (25-29 October 2010) is also "National Health & Safety Inspection Day".  All trade union safety reps are encouraged to carry out a safety inspection of their workplace with their local management on that day.

This year's theme for European Health & Safety week is "Maintenance" (click on word for TUC guide).

Even if you are not trained (yet) as an appointed trade union safety representative encourage your line manager to walk around your workplace with you, look out for obvious danagers such as trip hazards and speak to staff and ask if they have any safety issues or concerns.

I hate DIY...why don’t we have a decent rental sector for everyone in the UK?

I have spent most of this Bank “holiday” weekend painting and decorating (Ugh)! Tomorrow I will try and finish off the living room. I now look up at the freshly painted ceiling and it still looks a bit of a mess. I freely admit to being really, really rubbish at DIY.

I had the simply awful experience of having to go to the local “B&Q” last weekend (“the horror!, the horror...!”) to get paint and stuff and then to nearby Homebase yesterday (don’t ask) to get the things that I had forgotten to get or couldn’t face looking for in B&Q.

In most civilised parts of the world people rent all their lives and don’t share the British obsession with home ownership. Friends working aboard tell me that it is perfectly normal for them to pay reasonable rents for well maintained (and professionally decorated!!!!) homes.

A major reason for this is that unlike in the UK most European countries expect home owners to pay fair taxes on any capital appreciation in the value of their properties.  This helps level out the "housing tenure" playing field.   

Video - the Royal Family (and twiggy!) show us how DIY really should be done.

And While we are Talking About King ...

“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous
than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
~ Martin Luther King Jr., 1963

King may have overstated the case a bit - after all, in the category of dangerous characteristics, it is hard to beat either true, shameless venality or sadistic delight in the pain of others. The latter just happen, in my view, to be less widely distributed than the qualities King identifies.

Of Robots and Altars.

We've been in the process of moving over this past month into our first house and the packing has dislodged all our "possessions" from their "right" place and thrown them into a mixed soup of items. As I was dutifully sorting and wrapping up our materialistic karma into the appropriate boxes, I noticed that during the churning maelstrom of the process that my toy, "Robot B-9" from the 1960s, American, science-fiction, t.v. program, titled, "Lost in Space" had found its way to the altar. Anyway, at first glance my conditioned mind saw this clunky, garish, pop-culture refugee, toy as a blight on my otherwise serene, elegant and meticulously designed, altar.

Yet as I questioned this initial reaction from my mind I began to see the cheap, plastic, robot in a different light. I questioned myself, "Why do you see the Buddha differently than the robot?" In a flash my newly focused mind replied, "me." By their nature, the Buddha statue and robot are inanimate objects made unique by their artists yet still of the same nature or essence. It was my mind that was labeling one as "beneficial" and the other as "clutter."

So, just to shake up my habitual mind I've decided to replace the Buddha statue on the altar with the robot for a few days as a kind of koan to contemplate. Religious paraphernalia can be a powerful reminder of what it means to follow the Dharma. However, it can quickly turn to spiritual materialism where we start to think that the items have some sort of power that improves our spirituality; and that without them we're somehow less of a practitioner. Surely the first time I go to bow to Buddha before meditating and instead see that goofy robot I will laugh out loud at my silly mind. Perhaps in a different world in a different part of this universe Buddha takes the form of a robot!! If you find that idea sacrilegious then perhaps you have some of your own spiritual materialism to shed?

---End of Transmission---

Why Glenn Beck is Right (Meaning Correct, Not Just Reactionary)

Glenn Beck speaks at his 'Restoring Honor' rally in front of
the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, Saturday, Aug. 28, 2010
(Image © AP Photo/Alex Brandon).

I never thought I'd say it, but here goes. Glenn Beck is right! Reviving the message of Martin Luther King , Jr. would indeed go considerable distance toward restoring honor to America.

Unfortunately, Beck fails to grasp the implications of his call; MLK Jr.'s message entails radical politics of just the sort that he and his reactionary followers would find appalling. After all, King preached a message of progressive political-economic reform. For instance, he demanded a universal guaranteed income to directly address the widespread poverty that plagued the U.S. in the 1960s and continues to do so today. He also spoke and acted in solidarity with striking workers - indeed, he was shot in Memphis where he had traveled to support the demands of sanitation workers seeking to exercise their right to form a union. King also spoke eloquently against American military aggression in Viet Nam; his message on that score translates more or less seamlessly to our current disasters in Iraq and Afghanistan. So, let the Merry Becksters re-orient their politics to accommodate King's message. We'd all be much better off.

The fact that those on the left are so pre-occupied with the resonance of King's "I Have a Dream" speech, suggests that they too ought to look more closely at Dr. King's message. He did not stand for freedom and civil rights in the abstract, but for freedom deeply embedded in circumstances of solidarity and justice and peace and equality.

Save NHS Direct

This BBC report confirms earlier rumours that the CONDEMS are planning to scrap NHS Direct and replace it with a privately run call centre staffed by unqualified operatives. 

So much for the Tory pledge to safeguard the NHS?  NHS Direct is a success and actually saves money by stopping people going to see the GP's or A&E unnecessarily.  They also conversely -save lives since many people (especially men) will not go and seek medical advice in person but will ring up NHS Direct and will then accept their advice that they should see their GP.

This only works because people trust the service and know that they are speaking to properly trained and qualified NHS staff. 

Most privately run medical call centres have a terrible reputation.  People do not trust the confidentiality of these centres and the quality of the advice. 

This is from the UNISON press release: -

STAND UP FOR NHS DIRECT

The Guardian states that Conservative Secretary of State for Health has let slip that the Coalition is to scrap NHS Direct for a cheaper service.

The proposal is to replace 3,000 dedicated specialist nurses and health professionals with a cheap private call centre, with no access to a nurse.

Private call centres with unqualified staff can never replace this excellent service, which provides vital immediate support such as during the swine flu outbreak which saw scores of people die.

NHS Direct UNISON Official Michael Walker states:

"Not one Coalition party stated they would scrap NHS Direct in their manifesto. There is no mandate for cutting this service . If the government attack NHS Direct, what else is next? What other NHS cuts are they hiding? It is time for Cameron and Clegg to come clean about their real plans for our NHS."

Join UNISON's campaign to Save NHS Direct.

Cardinal Reaches Out to Muslims in Ramadan Message

This article comes from the Catholic News Agency.

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Religious teachings can be 'decisive' in solving inter-religious conflict, stresses Cardinal Tauran

Vatican City, Aug 27, 2010 / 07:06 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- If religious leaders teach their adherents about other religions in an "objective way," they can have "a decisive impact" on the peaceful coexistence of religions, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran wrote to the world's Muslims on Friday as Ramadan came to a close. 

In a note sent to Muslims to mark the end Ramadan, which falls on or around Sept. 10 this year, the president and secretary of the Pontifical Council for Religious Dialogue, Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, expressed his hope for efforts to overcome violence among followers of different religions.

Speaking to all Muslims, Cardinal Tauran and the secretary of the dicastery, Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, greeted the upcoming conclusion of the month-long Muslim time of fasting as "a favorable occasion" to convey to Muslims with their "heartfelt wishes of serenity and joy."

Cardinal Tauran wrote that he was "delighted" with the results of "various friendly meetings" that have taken place recently and have brought believers from different religions, especially Christians, spiritually closer to Muslims.

Noting this year's theme for Christian and Muslim dialogue as that of cooperating to overcome inter-religious violence, the council president pointed to several causes of this phenomenon that have come to light during discussions so far this year. 

The cardinal and archbishop also detailed many of the reasons for violence among believers of different religions, including: "the manipulation of the religion for political or other ends; discrimination based on ethnicity or religious identity; divisions and social tensions." They also cited ignorance, poverty, underdevelopment as "direct or indirect sources of violence among as well as within religious communities." 

Cardinal Tauran consequently called upon civil and religious authorities make efforts to remedy the situations that fuel inter-religious violence. He particularly focused on the government's duty to uphold the law and ensure true justice, thus putting "a stop to the authors and promoters of violence!"

"Important recommendations" in this context, said Cardinal Tauran, are the needs to open hearts to mutual forgiveness and reconciliation as well as recognizing common ground and respecting differences for peaceful coexistence." Additionally, he underscored, there is a need for recognition and respect for the dignity and rights of every man, just laws which guarantee fundamental equality and proper education in social and religious arenas to improve relations. 

In these ways, he highlighted, "we will be able to oppose violence among followers of different religions and promote peace and harmony among the various religious communities."

Concluding his recommendations, Cardinal Tauran wrote, "Teaching by religious leaders, as well as school books which present religions in an objective way, have, along with teaching in general, a decisive impact on the education and the formation of younger generations."

UNISON urges vote for Ed Miliband

"Labour Link Enews - Aug '10

UNISON urges vote for Ed Miliband

Welcome to the 26th electronic newsletter from UNISON Labour Link. It is aimed at those both active in UNISON and those in the Labour party who are interested in our campaigns. UNISON is calling on its affiliated members to make Ed Miliband their first preference choice in the Labour Leadership ballot.

UNISON backs living wage call

UNISON has welcomed Ed Miliband's plans to push for a living wage. The Labour leadership candidate has proposed that companies which agree to pay a living wage of at least £7.60 an hour would get a tax reduction. Ed Miliband's Living Wage plan.

"I'll defend the public sector" says Ed Miliband

“If I’m the Labour leader I will be absolutely vigorous in my defence of the public sector” promises Ed Miliband in an exclusive interview with UNISON's InFocus magazine. Ed Miliband interview.

How to vote for Ed Miliband

Affiliated members of UNISON will receive their ballot papers with U magazine in early September. This handy guide will help members fill in the ballot paper correctly and ensure all votes count. Vote Ed Miliband.

Show your support for Ed Miliband

Visit Ed's website and see what events there are in your area and how you can help his campaign. Ed Miliband website.

Want to know more?

If you want to know more about our campaigns, help build the link between UNISON and Labour, or think there's something we should know contact: labourlink@unison.co.uk or call us on 0845 355 0845".

(I got this email yesterday from UNISON Labour Link)

British Ambassador Prepares for Pope's Visit

This article comes from the Catholic News Service.

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Planning, protocol and pluralism: British ambassador prepares for pope

By Cindy Wooden

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The life of an ambassador to the Vatican is filled with meetings, liturgies, conferences, reports and social events.

About a dozen members of the diplomatic corps accredited to the Vatican seem to be everywhere -- at every papal event, every big conference and even at the lectures of guest speakers at pontifical universities.

Francis Campbell, the British ambassador to the Vatican, is one member of the group of diplomats who seem to spend every afternoon and evening running from a meeting to a conference and then on to a reception or dinner party.

Somehow, despite the busyness, he and at least one other member of the diplomatic corps find time to plan fairly elaborate practical jokes to play on their colleagues and on journalists.

But for the past year, he has had what he described as being almost another full-time job: preparing for Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Great Britain Sept. 16-19.

At its most basic level, the job of an ambassador is to explain his home government to his host government and explain his host government to his own bosses.

Obviously, the people who read his regular reports to London know what the Vatican is, who the pope is and what the main issues of mutual concern are.

But a lot more people from various sectors of government and civil society are involved in a papal visit -- in setting the schedule, inviting the guests and organizing security -- and it's the ambassador's job to make sure all of them are up to speed on the relationship between the British government and the Vatican.

The previous time Great Britain hosted a papal visit was 1982 when Pope John Paul II made the trip.

No one who is now in the British Embassy to the Holy See was working there at the time, but there are files of information about the visit 28 years ago.

"This time around it's a very different visit for a number of reasons," particularly because the 2010 visit is a state visit as well as a pastoral one, Campbell said.

Pope John Paul did meet Queen Elizabeth II and various government leaders in 1982, but the whole atmosphere was restrained because the United Kingdom and Argentina were at war over the Falkland Islands and the Vatican was treading carefully.

The first appointment on Pope Benedict's calendar Sept. 16 is a meeting with the queen at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, followed by a reception with 450 people, he said.

"The queen will introduce the pope to about 120 people representing different walks of life," he said.

Campbell said he expects the event will attract a lot of attention in Great Britain, but he also thinks the pope could make a big impact when he speaks Sept. 17 in London's historic Westminster Hall, a building completed in 1099 and once used for coronation festivities and as a venue for courts of law. In fact, St. Thomas More was condemned to death at Westminster Hall in 1535.

Leaders of British civil society, including artists, politicians, scholars and business officials, will attend the pope's speech in Westminster Hall.

Campbell said the fact that the pope was invited to speak in the same place where Thomas More was condemned -- for not siding with King Henry VIII in his debate with the Roman Catholic Church at a time of extreme church-state tensions -- "symbolizes a rapprochement" between British society and the papacy.

"It also says something about where we are as a country, the extent of religious pluralism and of tolerance and acceptance of people of other faiths and other denominations," said Campbell, the first Catholic to serve at British ambassador to the Vatican since the Reformation.

Campbell said that while many people in Italy, including at the Vatican, describe Great Britain as "very secular," 70 percent of the population identifies itself as Christian and the churches are very active in public debates.

Britain, he said, "is not a society that is apathetic about religion," and that can be seen in the media coverage in the run-up to the pope's visit.

"Some people would say, 'Well, do you prefer indifference or antagonism?' and I think I would prefer antagonism because it means you're relevant," he said.

In late August, Campbell's role in the planning process transformed into service as a consultant on the speeches government officials will make to the pope, on finalizing the guest list for government-hosted events and on organizing a working dinner for Vatican officials, British government representatives and leaders of other Christian churches and religious groups.

People who do not understand why Great Britain continues to have diplomatic relations with the Vatican haven't taken the time to see how many issues of concern to Great Britain are also issues of concern to the Vatican, including international development and showing solidarity with the poor, particularly by providing education and health care, he said.

The working dinner, which the pope will not attend, will cover "themes that are of importance in the state-to-state relationship between the U.K. and the Holy See. Those include climate change, disarmament, ethics in the economy, levels of international development spending, interfaith dialogue (and) ecumenism," he said.

Campbell will complete a five-year term at the Vatican in December "and to finish with a visit is something fantastic, but it's like a completely different full-time job," he said.

Ceci n'est pas un recouvrement

Free associations: When I read Paul Krugman this morning I wondered immediately whether maybe he has been inspired by the late Michel Foucault.

Ansel Adams or Uncle Earl? Why Should we care who made the Photographs?

Well, silly, . . . because photographs are property and all sorts of people have large financial stakes in controlling the number of Adams snaps in circulation. The law suit reported in this story shows the pretentious art world in all its essential venality. You can find background on the fracas here. In any case, much of my effort on this blog is aimed at shifting attention from worrying about photographs and their characteristics to talking about photography and how it is used. Perhaps the basic difficulty in effecting that shift is that photographs are simply worth so damned much?

Friday Puzzle - Who is Nick going on about?

"I was in fact having this debate with a 'commrade' from Lambeth last night (he happened to be there in the same pub as me) this lefty who is as good looking as Nora Batty and has the wit and charm of Robert Mugabe, was arguing that we (those of us in the Labour party) should regain the party before we start supporting any leaders better still, in his opinion, leave the Labour project and join a real (in his Mugabian reasoning) party. This is the kind of person of course who would rather spend time and energy arguing with the other 28.4 ultra left versions of the far left than concentrate on achieving change and therefore and that way help those wo need it most?"

The World of Nick Venedi

Any ideas?

Update: Nick has clarified his comments here

Make a Good Presentation

According to Russell, W. (2010) in order to come up with a powerful presentation we should be considered some tips which I will discuss in this particular blog.

First, choose the key words and the essential elements for your topic. Avoid having too many slides because the audience also can read from the slides, they need a verbal explanations. Then, the layouts of the slides must be clear with the white spaces. Marquez, Z. (2010) whatever we write the audience should be able to understand from beginning to end. In addition, we can make the topic of the presentation clear by putting title at the top of each slide. The picture below is an example of clear slide from my group presentation.

On the other hand, we have to be sure that the presentation can be run on any computers Parr, E. (2010). No matter whoever is our targeted audience which means that it should be easy to understand and read? The background which is been chosen should be really simple. This is because if the background is too colorful or even wordy, the readers will be confused and not able to understand the content.

                       (example of unclear slide from my group presentation)

                                    

                                                   (Example of wordy slide)

                            

It will be better if we try to use Graphics and Charts. This is because it will attract the audience attention and helps us to explain the topic better. 

                                                 (example of graphs)

            Source: http://www.google.com.my/imgres?imgurl=http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/

Reep, D. (2006) the readers are not only focus on printed world; we should have a good visual presentation of the topic. The headings are also vital to the documents because its help the reader to find specific information and the reader will know when the topic is changed.

The images are playing an important role. The images are not just for entertainments they can talk to the audience Kress G. & van Leeuwen T. (2006).

                

                                                              (example)

The pictures that we have been used must convey the same message. (For example in this picture, both are dictionary but with different layout and content).

        

References

1-Russell, W. (2010) 10 Tips for Creating Successful Business Presentations.http://presentationsoft.about.com/od/powerpointinbusiness/tp/bus_pres_tips.htm Updated on 25th August 2010, viewed 26 August 2010.

 

2-Parr, E. (2010) How To Write Articles - The Importance of Layout. http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Write-Articles---The-Importance-of-Layout&id=4157844

Updated on 22nd April 2010, viewed 26 August 2010.

3-Marquez, Z. (2010) How to Make a Good PowerPoint Presentation.http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Make-a-Good-PowerPoint-Presentation&id=4313178

Updated on 18th May 2010,viewed 26 August 2010.

4-Kress G. & van Leeuwen, T. 2006. Reading images. Chapters 1 : The semiotic landscape: language and visual communication. 

5-Reep, Diana C. 2006, 'Chp 4: Principle of Document Design, in Technical writing, 6th ed., Pearson Edu,Inc., New York, p.173-190.