Scotland's new powers

Appropriately on St Andrew's Day, the government have published the new Scotland bill which will devolve further powers. The bill follows the Calman Commission of 2009 which put forward a series of recommendations about further devolution. These include the power to set new income tax rates from 2015, new borrowing powers and control over issues such as the speed limit and drink-driving. Agreed by the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats, the SNP unsurprisingly do not think it goes far enough and view it as a 'missed opportunity'. With Scottish elections next year, the three national parties will be hoping that it will appease those in Scotland wanting more power without encouraging further such demands from the SNP. What do you think?

Guest Blogger: Jim Robenalt on how HBO's Broadwalk Empire flubbed its take on President Warren G. Harding

While skillfully written and engaging, the new HBO series Boardwalk Empire creates a highly flawed view of our 29th President, Warren G. Harding, and his alleged relationship with Nan Britton. The caricature of Harding continues a long-series of smears that date back to the 1920s.

Harding's relationship with Nan Britton is questionable. His relationship with a woman named Carrie Phillips is not. My book, The Harding Affair, discloses Harding's complex relationship with Mrs. Phillips through the use of over 900 pages of letters Harding wrote to Phillips from 1910 though 1920, when he was elected President of the United States. Phillips and Harding were caught in an age when divorce was unthinkable and there were multifaceted reasons for their long-term (15 year) affair. The affair was much too complicated to caulk it up sheer womanizing.

The Britton allegations are subject to real doubt, as I point out in my book. Ms. Britton lived directly behind Carrie Phillips's home in Marion, and there is good reason to believe her book, The President's Daughter, came from her familiarity with the Harding/Phillips correspondence and not because of any real relationship between then-Senator Harding and Ms. Britton.

The HBO series relies on biographies that falsely used the Phillips correspondence. Worse, letters Mr. Harding wrote to Mrs. Phillips are used to manufacture dialogue for Ms. Britton's character.

But sadly for history, these smears of President Harding distort what he did as President and as a U. S. Senator. Harding was no "imbecile," as Nucky Thompson, the main character in the HBO series, calls him. As a Senator, Harding courageously stood against Woodrow Wilson's call for America to go to war to "make the world safe for democracy," though he did vote for war. In a lesson America never learned, Harding warned that it is not the business of the United States to engage in regime change through the violence of war.

During his presidency, Harding pardoned Socialist Eugene Debs, who was rotting in an Atlanta prison, sent there by the Wilson Administration for violating the Espionage and Sedition Act.

Debs' crime? He spoke out against the war—that is, he exercised his right of free speech. Wilson denied a pardon even after the war ended. Harding granted it.

Who is the "imbecile"?

Entertainment is entertainment. But playing fast and loose with serious historical figures only diminishes our true understanding of history's lessons.

For a more, see http://thehardingaffair.com/.

Jim Robenalt, a lawyer and writer in Cleveland, Ohio, is author both of The Harding Affair and his other terrific book, Linking Rings, William W. Durbin, the Magic and Mystery of America.

  

Harding photograph is from the Ohio Historical Society.

Filler for Red Stockings

  "Looking for the perfect gift for the ideologue in your life? Fed up with counting off how many shopping days there are to Christmas while the Con-Dems slash and burn all that you once held dear?

Convinced that the season of peace and goodwill is a tool to instil false consciousness but at the same have a spot under the tree to fill or you're toast?

Don't worry  Philosophy Football have the solution with the kind of present unlikely to be found in most gift guides. Never mind those trendy 'head gardener' or ' yummy mummy' mugs, this one wears its politics on its sleeve, well bone china actually. For those of us who believe no team can ever be too leftsided.

Available from http://www.philosophyfootball.com/

Politics in America: Craven Press, Credulous Public

I want to call attention to two columns that Glenn Greenwald has posted at Salon.com in the past few days. The first is on the putative terrorist attack 'foiled' by the FBI in Portland, Oregon last week; the second is on the reaction to the Wikileaks document dump this weekend. In both offerings Greenwald rightly focuses in on the credulousness of the public and the cravenness of the mainstream press in the face of assertions made by government officials.

Here are some of the good bits from Greenwald's response to reaction to the alleged terrorist plot:

"Media accounts are almost uniformly trumpeting this event exactly as the FBI describes it. Loyalists of both parties are doing the same, with Democratic Party commentators proclaiming that this proves how great and effective Democrats are at stopping The Evil Terrorists, while right-wing polemicists point to this arrest as yet more proof that those menacing Muslims sure are violent and dangerous.

What's missing from all of these celebrations is an iota of questioning or skepticism. All of the information about this episode -- all of it -- comes exclusively from an FBI affidavit filed in connection with a Criminal Complaint against Mohamud. As shocking and upsetting as this may be to some, FBI claims are sometimes one-sided, unreliable and even untrue, especially when such claims -- as here -- are uncorroborated and unexamined.That's why we have what we call "trials" before assuming guilt or even before believing that we know what happened: because the government doesn't always tell the complete truth, because they often skew reality, because things often look much different once the accused is permitted to present his own facts and subject the government's claims to scrutiny. [ . . . ]

It may very well be that the FBI successfully and within legal limits arrested a dangerous criminal intent on carrying out a serious Terrorist plot that would have killed many innocent people, in which case they deserve praise. [ . . . ]

But it may also just as easily be the case that the FBI -- as they've done many times in the past -- found some very young, impressionable, disaffected, hapless, aimless, inept loner; created a plot it then persuaded/manipulated/entrapped him to join, essentially turning him into a Terrorist; and then patted itself on the back once it arrested him for having thwarted a "Terrorist plot" which, from start to finish, was entirely the FBI's own concoction."

His column on Wikileaks is less easy to summarize because its targets are more diffuse. In it he excoriates the press for its servility and various commentators for their hypocrisy and callousness. The ultimate focus is on how Americans seem to be wholly unable to think critically in the face of government duplicity and dissembling.

Support The Clinton Foundation With A Private Dinner

Anyone that wants to support the Clinton Foundation can do so buy bidding on a dinner with with President Clinton on Ebay with all proceeds going to the foundation.  At this typing the bid was at $28,400.

What Follows The Irish Bailout

As most of you know, the EU (and predominantly Germany) has bailed out Irish banks after serious austerity promises were made.  The problem could lie with future bailouts and the politics of it.  Here are some of the possible issues as relayed by Pat Buchanan:

Angela Merkel, whose Germany is fronting much of the bailout money, has been demanding that bondholders take a haircut – lose some of the face value of their bonds – in all future bailouts.

Sunday, the EU agreed to consider it for all bailouts after 2012. But we may not get there before nervous investors decide to dump their bonds first and the European house of cards comes crashing down.

For if bondholders know they will be among the first victims burned in bailouts in 2013, they may suspect a singeing even before then. This will impel them to start shedding the bonds of any nation with deficit and debt problems, which will deepen those deficit and debt problems. 

If bondholders are not compensated for deals made by banks and backed by the government(s) then a tidal wave could ensue that could ensnare all of Europe and even the U.S.  Now, this is somewhat fatalistic, but it is almost definite that Portugal will also receive a bailout (which is nothing), but if Spain follows then we might need too keep our heads down:

...unlike America, Spain is on the edge of a debt crisis. The U.S. government is having no trouble financing its deficit, with interest rates on long-term federal debt under 3 percent. Spain, by contrast, has seen its borrowing cost shoot up in recent weeks, reflecting growing fears of a possible future default.

Should Spain try to break out of this trap by leaving the euro, and re-establishing its own currency? Will it? The answer to both questions is, probably not. Spain would be better off now if it had never adopted the euro — but trying to leave would create a huge banking crisis, as depositors raced to move their money elsewhere.

A 2010 Christmas Carol

In an east London state nursery, staff noticed that a three year old new starter, a little girl, was still wearing nappies.  They were concerned and when the mother came to pick the toddler up, they spoke to the Mum.

Her mother was a single parent who was originally from East Europe.  She explained that the only accommodation she could afford was a small room in a large house full of strangers.  The one toilet in this house had no door on it.  The toddler refused to use this toilet since there was no privacy.  Therefore she still wore nappies.

Extreme poverty and deprivation still occurs in this country.  Not the same scale as in the times of Dickens but still here - and now.  Coalition cuts in building and refurbishing homes, housing benefit, protection against eviction, regulations of HMO's, massive increase in rents and the farming of homeless to the private sector will make things far, far worse.

There was redemption for this family as nursery staff rallied around to rescue Mother and daughter, from the slum and help find them a self contained flat to live.  Well done to them. No Tory "Big Society" saved them but rather experienced and trained public sector professionals - thinking out of the box.

It goes without saying that you could hope against hope that a Christmas spirit would mean that Cameron, Clegg, Shapps and Boris (four guilty men) will change their ways to prevent the "shadows of what may be."

Which always reminds me of the saying "you've got two hopes, Bob Hope and no hope" of this.

Update: Another Christmas Carol

Wikileaks strikes again

Julian Assange's Wikileaks (blocked at school) have gained access to over 250,000 diplomatic documents sent from the USA's embassies back to the State Department. They haven't published them in full on the internet this time, as they have often done in the past. Instead, they have given access to selected newspapers including The Guardian and The New York Times. Highly confidential information is therefore now out in the open, such as reports that the Saudi government urged the US to invade Iran, and that the Chinese government officially approved a cyber-attack on Google. It will take some time to process these reports and analyse their importance. Hillary Clinton had begun apologising over the weekend even before the reports were published.

There are differing reactions to how helpful Wikileaks' activities are. Michael White in The Guardian believes they can help to prevent abuses of power and keep governments in check. Historian Guy Walters (whose blog has been added to our list) thinks that the release of information like this will ultimately make politicians and civil servants more cautious about what they write down in their records, making it much more difficult for the historians of the future to assess their motivations for their actions. The impact of Wikileaks and similar websites will be felt for many years to come...

PS: Here is further comment on the subject from the historian Timothy Garton-Ash, a chance to download the data, and a video discussion (shown below) with The Guardian's editor of the significance of the leaks

PS: Here is further comment on the impact of Wikileaks for historians - from an American perspective.

Hard Ground

According to this story in The Guardian last week, Tom Waits has collaborated with photographer Michael O'Brien on a portrait of homelessness. The book, Hard Ground, will be published in the spring.* Regular readers will know from my serial postings that I hold Waits in high esteem. I really don't know O'Brien's work at all (except for some of the images he's made for Waits album covers.) But this seems like an auspicious partnership, even if it might be setting expectations just a smidgen high to compare (as the publisher does) the collaboration to Walker Evans and James Agee's Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. In any case, I've linked to the publisher's page below where you can find a sample of the images from the book.
__________
* Hard Ground. Photographs and Interviews by Michael O’Brien, Poems by Tom Waits. University of Texas Press. (March 2011).

There is an interview with Margaret Atwood . . .

Margaret Atwood. Photograph © Lluis Gene / AFP / Getty.

. . . here at The Guardian. In the course of the conversation Atwood nicely notes the central role of creativity and imagination in both art and science. She seems to have a clear-eyed view of political leaders, but it is perplexing to think about the opposition she seems to see between environmentalism and political protections for humans.

"It's become a race against time and we are not doing well. The trouble with politicians [at events like the Copenhagen summit of 2009] is that no one wants to go first, go skinny dipping and take the plunge. Oh, and then you have people arguing about fatuous things like the environment and human rights. Go three days without water and you don't have any human right. Why? Because you're dead. Physics and chemistry are things you just can't negotiate with. These, . . . these are the laws of the physical world."

The opposition cannot be anywhere near that stark, and Atwood herself knows it. Here is her view of the environmental problem:

"We shouldn't be saying 'Save the planet'; we should be saying: 'Save viable conditions in which people can live.' That's what we're dealing with here."

Just so. And the "viable conditions" necessary for human flourishing include matters like robust, enforceable rights and principles, claims that people can make - that they can use - in the face of feckless or predatory political leaders or of exploitative, oppressive political-economic conditions. It seems to me that the task of implementing (institutionalizing) such claims requires just the same sorts of imagination and creativity. Only this time the domain is politics. The fix that Atwood rightly calls for is not, in other words, going to be technological in the narrow sense. We don't need to save "viable conditions," we need to create and sustain them.

New Politics. New Ideas.

I've just signed up to "Fresh Ideas".  This is one of the ways that Ed Miliband wants us all to contribute to Labour's policy review. This is a great start. The Centre Left have been losing the Battle of Ideas to the Right. We need rebirth. Bottom up as well as top down.

"Labour’s next chapter will be written by you. The ideas, commitment, and passion of hard working people have always been at the very heart of our movement, and this is a real opportunity for you to get involved and have your say.

Politics has been too removed from people’s lives, and we’re changing this.

Whether you have fresh ideas on driving the NHS forward, bringing new jobs to your local area, or ensuring that every child has the best possible start in life - we want to hear from you.

Now is a time for new politics, and fresh ideas. Sign up to hear more, and to play your part in shaping Labour’s new era".

Hat tip Luke

Brit Street Protest: School kids protect police van during riots?

This is an amazing photograph on a number of levels.  Taken in the midst of the noisy and self indulgent disorder during the otherwise peaceful Student demonstration on Wednesday against the massive rises in tuition fees. 

A group of London year 11 High School pupils (bunking off for the demo) put themselves at risk by trying to circle and protect an abandoned Police Van from the "idiots".  I am very proud that they had enough guts to make such a stand but despair that the pointless violence they experienced has now made them reluctant to go on any future protests.

This Government is vulnerable to peaceful targeted protest and demonstrations but not to dipstick hooligans and head bangers (nor those who should know better). 

The vast majority of student protesters that day of course wanted nothing at all to do with the pathetic  middle class poseurs desperately trying to earn their Citizen Smith 4th class Berets. 

Such nonsense will not change policies nor bring down the government.  They just distract from the genuine arguments we can marshall against such policies. The tiny minority of protesters out to deliberately cause trouble in such protests don't realise they are just acting as Daily Mail 5th columnists.

"Ruffled" - Catwalk to High Street in 6 weeks: Who cares about ethics...?

Invitation to a play..."30 November-5 December 2010 - Ruffled, a new play by Ellen Gylen

Etcetera theatre, above the Oxford Arms pub, 265 Camden High Street, London NW1 7BU

War on Want will soon take the stage for a new play that uses both comedy and drama to put fashion ethics on the rack.

Ruffled is the story of Emma who works for Ruf: a fast-paced fashion retailer. Catwalk to high street in six weeks, with an ethical reputation to protect. When the bottom line is threatened, suppliers' credentials go out the window. But who cares when good PR can save them from bad press?  A War on Want speaker will take part in a Q and A after each show and talk about our Love Fashion Hate Sweatshops campaign.

The play has been written by and stars Ellen Gylen, with other actors Linda Lowell, Stephanie Cohen, Andrew McHale, Robbie Byrne, Jaz Deol and Elena Popovici. The director is Tim Daish.

Performances will start at 7.30 pm from Tuesday to Saturday, and at 6.30 pm on Sunday.

Tickets, price £12 (£10 concessions), can be reserved on 020 7482 4857 or atwww.ticketweb.co.uk or www.etceteratheatre.com. Map at http://www.etceteratheatre.com/index.php?id=6
Download the event flyer here".

Hat tip SERTUC.

Google Earth Foreign Policy

There is a good article at Foreign Policy entitled "The Geopolitics of Google Earth" in which FP looks at Google Earth satellite images and their impact on global politics.  Good Read.

New Mexican Drug Tunnel Found

An all new tunnel has been found between Tijuana, Mexico and Otay Mesa, California:

The new tunnel is around 2,200 feet in length and equipped with lights, ventilation and even a mini rail system for the transportation of drugs under the heavily patrolled border. Over 20 tons of marijuana was seized as part of the operation.

Authorities believe the tunnel may be the work of the Sinaloa cartel, which has a strong presence in the border region. 

U.S. Braces For More WikiLeaks Revelations

The. U.S. is briefing foreign governments on the possibility of "embarrassing" diplomatic cables that may be published by the whistle blower website WikiLeaks:

The US has briefed a number of foreign governments, including the UK, about the possible release of diplomatic files by whistleblower site Wikileaks.

Reports say Turkey, Israel, Denmark and Norway have also been warned to expect potential embarrassment from the leaks.

Newspaper reports indicate the release will include papers suggesting that Turkey helped al-Qaeda militants in Iraq, and that the US helped Iraq-based Kurdish separatists who have been engaged in a long conflict with Turkey.

Keeping Your Eye on the Ball: Burma

Harn Lay (2010). Photograph © Platon, for Human Rights Watch.

It has been roughly a week since the military junta in Burma released Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest. At the time I noted here that while this was a welcome turn of events, it represented a quite minimal step by the authorities. There are many prisoners being held and many others who have been driven into exile. Cartoonist Harn Lay is among the latter group. He has been in exile in Thailand since 1988. Human Rights Watch has commissioned photographer Platon to portray some of the many others who have born (and continue to bear) the brunt of military rule in Burma. You can find the results of his work on this project here.

The upshot? It is important that we outside of Burma continue to speak out against the junta and its authoritarian policies. And it is more important still to devise policies that might bring pressure to bear on the junta. Many observers think that is impossible given their intransigence. For example, here are remarks (part 1, part 2) made by Amartya Sen at this conference coordinated by Human Rights Watch last month. What is called for is not just moralizing, but concerted political action.

Best Shots (141) ~ Ben Schott

(168) Ben Schott ~ Enoch Powell circa 1995 (24 November 2010).

Official Vatican Statement on Chinese Ordination

This statement comes from the Zenit website.

--------------------------------------------------

Vatican Statement on Illicit Chinese Ordination

"It Offends the Holy Father, the Church in China and the Universal Church"

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 24, 2010 (Zenit.org).- Here is an English-language communiqué published today by the Vatican regarding an episcopal ordination that took place Saturday at Chengde, China.

* * *

With regard to the episcopal ordination of the Reverend Joseph Guo Jincai, which took place last Saturday, November 20, information has been gathered about what happened and it is now possible to state clearly the following.

1. The Holy Father received the news with deep regret, because the above-mentioned episcopal ordination was conferred without the apostolic mandate and, therefore, constitutes a painful wound upon ecclesial communion and a grave violation of Catholic discipline (cf. Letter of Benedict XVI to the Church in China, 2007, n. 9).

2. It is known that, in recent days, various Bishops were subjected to pressures and restrictions on their freedom of movement, with the aim of forcing them to participate and confer the episcopal ordination. Such constraints, carried out by Chinese government and security Authorities, constitute a grave violation of freedom of religion and conscience. The Holy See intends to carry out a detailed evaluation of what has happened, including consideration of the aspect of validity and the canonical position of the Bishops involved.

3. In any case, this has painful repercussions, in the first case, for the Reverend Joseph Guo Jincai who, because of this episcopal ordination, finds himself in a most serious canonical condition before the Church in China and the universal Church, exposing himself also to the severe sanctions envisaged, in particular, by canon 1382 of the Code of Canon Law.

4. This ordination not only does not contribute to the good of the Catholics of Chengde, but places them in a very delicate and difficult condition, also from the canonical point of view, and humiliates them, because the Chinese civil Authorities wish to impose on them a Pastor who is not in full communion, either with the Holy Father or with the other Bishops throughout the world.

5. Several times, during this current year, the Holy See has communicated clearly to the Chinese Authorities its opposition to the episcopal ordination of the Reverend Joseph Guo Jincai. In spite of this, the said Authorities decided to proceed unilaterally, to the detriment of the atmosphere of respect that had been created with great effort with the Holy See and with the Catholic Church through the recent episcopal ordinations. This claim to place themselves above the Bishops and to guide the life of the ecclesial community does not correspond to Catholic doctrine; it offends the Holy Father, the Church in China and the universal Church, and further complicates the present pastoral difficulties.

6. Pope Benedict XVI, in the above-mentioned Letter of 2007, expressed the Holy See's willingness to engage in a respectful and constructive dialogue with the Authorities of the People's Republic of China, with the aim of overcoming the difficulties and normalizing relations (n. 4). In reaffirming this willingness, the Holy See notes with regret that the Authorities allow the leadership of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association, under the influence of Mr. Liu Bainian, to adopt attitudes that gravely damage the Catholic Church and hamper the aforesaid dialogue.

7. The Catholics of the entire world are following with particular attention the troubled journey of the Church in China: the spiritual solidarity with which they accompany the vicissitudes of their Chinese brothers and sisters becomes a fervent prayer to the Lord of history, so that He may be close to them, increase their hope and fortitude, and give them consolation in moments of trial.

Irony.

James: I know karma doesn't necessarily work this way, but this sure is ironic:

Bernard Matthews, known in Britain as the 'turkey tycoon,' died on Thursday [Thanksgiving, when many Americans eat turkey and give thanks for things in their life] at the age of 80, his company said. "He is the man who effectively put turkey on the plates of everyday working families."

On Not Shopping

As a general matter I am not an anti-consumption type. I do worry about how much we are prepped to buy and how wasteful much of our 'products' turn out to be. But, in economics I buy broadly Keynesian approaches in which consumption - spending - looms large. But it is easy enough to think about how we might encourage spending on sustainable production that I think it is pretty easy to reconcile my views.

That said, I had occasion this morning to spend some time in the car, listening to npr. The amount of time and anxiety the local station devoted to 'black Friday' and variations on whether and what we should buy struck me as disgusting. On the one had we got lectures about being financially responsible in the realm of personal spending. On the other we got advice about how to plan our post-holiday spree (hint: focus on big ticket items today, since the savings are greater there and the sales will continue on less expensive things). All that was leavened by lots of moaning and anxiety regarding whether merchants would do well enough over the next few days to salvage a respectable year. It was nearly enough to get me to subscribe to Adbusters and their Buy Nothing campaign.

As a long term strategy for economic development in an impoverished region like Western NY this is nonsense. But, as a way of resisting, Ulysses-like, the twin shoals of moralism and profligacy I endured this morning it was yet a third temptation. I (again) recommend Juliet Schor instead. You can find her web page here. And, in case you are wondering, I didn't buy anything today.

Nick Clegg: The Porkie King

Note that our Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Liberal Democratic Party is holding a placard saying "I pledge to vote against any increase in in fees" (for UK Students).

On the way home tonight BBC radio 4 News suggested that there will be a deal for the Lib Dem Government Ministers and MP's to abstain against increases.

When before the election they "pledged" to VOTE against any increase. 

In London we have respected figures who do good works and raise money for local charity and they are called Pearly Kings and Queens.

Surely, if Nick does not vote against any increase in fees or if he abstains, he is in the East End at least, a Dunlop Tyre.  There are some other possible choice words to describe him.

Nuf said?

Hat tip Socialist Unity

Update: a facebook pal Mr Shoebury reminds me that Clegg and his MP's all actually pledged to abolish fees and linked to this report that at the same time they made the promises they were planning to renege on them.

Netroots UK: Building the Progressive Grassroots On-Line

This is a must (IMO) for anyone who thinks there is a role for progressive online activism.  Saturday 8 January 2011 in Central London. Only a £5!

Check out "A one day event to help network and inspire progressive activists working on the web.

Saturday 8 January – Central London

Netroots UK will bring together hundreds of grassroots activists in central London for a day of workshops, discussions and networking activity.

• Hear from innovative and effective campaigns in other fields.
• Make useful contacts with key people and organisations.
• Get practical training in digital techniques and technologies.
• Take part in the debate on the future of UK activism.

The day will feature keynote speakers and discussions, as well as many workshops, aimed at all levels of activists. There will be plenty of opportunity for networking outside the organised sessions.
We’ll be helping make better links between campaigners from the worlds of politics, environment, development, civil liberties, unions, community groups and many more.
We’re putting the details of the event together now, and need you to get involved:

Individuals

• Come to the event. Tickets will be available shortly.
• Got an idea for a great session? Let us know or volunteer to help run it.

Organisations

• Sponsor the event. Is there any practical help you can contribute to make it a better day?
• Publicise the event. Help make sure people from right across the UK, and all strands of progressive activism are aware of it.
• Share your expertise. Could you organise or contribute to a session or discussion?

Get in touch with Netroots UK here.

Re-discovering Ernest Cole

“He wasn’t just brave. He wasn’t just enterprising.
He was a supremely fine photographer.”
~ David Goldblatt

"Train Station" © The Ernest Cole Family Trust/Hasselblad Foundation Collection.

"Mine Recruitment" © The Ernest Cole Family Trust/Hasselblad Foundation Collection.

There currently is, in Johannesburg, an exhibition of work by the late Black photographer Ernest Cole (1941-1990) who depicted the humiliations and depredations of Apartheid during the 1960s. Much of his work has been neglected since his death and has escaped the vaults in part due to the efforts of David Goldblatt. The exhibition has generated notices in, among other places, The Independent, The Guardian, and The New York Times [1] [2] [3]. (There is a slide show of some of his work here and a much more extensive collection here.)

Nonsuch Palace up for sale

A watercolour of Nonsuch Palace has been put up for sale by Christies, the auction house. It is one of the most realistic pictures of the palace available (it was only ever painted four times) and has rarely been seen in public. Sadly we can't afford it in the history department as it is expected to reach £1.2 million when it goes on sale...

Work began on the palace in 1538, with Henry VIII keen to copy some of his French rival Francis I's palaces. It wasn't completed in his lifetime, and his successors did not have the funds to maintain it properly. The London Historian's Blog describes it as a "white elephant which nonetheless must have been magnificent to behold."

There is little to see of the palace in Nonsuch Park today, but marker posts show where it stood, and you can see the "dip" in the path where its entrance once was. Not far away is the site of the banqueting house, a small building where Elizabeth and others would have been entertained after a busy day's hunting, perhaps even by Shakespeare himself...

Chinese Perspective on the Korean War

Korea is in the news again this week, after the North Koreans shelled the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong, killing four people and causing substantial damage. It has led to a considerable increase of tension on both sides and the threat of further conflict in the near future. These BBC articles examine why tensions are so high along the border, and why, as leader Kim Jong Il prepares for his son Kim Jong Un to take over, they might be escalating now.

The video shown above provides some historical perspective, interviewing a Chinese soldier, Wang Xinshan, who explains why he and his country felt so threatened at the time of the Korean War, and why China chose to intervene. A historian, Barbara Demick, meanwhile explains how ever since North Korean life has been completely dominated by the legacy of the war, with all of its citizens trained to believe that South Korea and its allies were fully responsible and might invade again with the smallest provocation.

PS: Here is an article with British soldiers' memories of their experiences in the Korean conflict.
PS: There is no official comment on the incident yet from North Korea's news agency. Here is a leading foreign policy blog's opinion on why this is the case.

Al Jazeera Eyes China-Vatican Dispute

This video comes from Al Jazeera.

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Capital Stewardship: UNISON London Pension Network

Next Tuesday lunchtime is the latest UNISON Capital Stewardship: London Pension network meeting. 

This is a meeting for  Greater London UNISON Pension trustees or member nominated representatives on the London Local Government Pension Schemes.

All such trustees and reps welcome!

We meet up 3 or 4 times a year to discuss issues and support each
other on what is often a very demanding, responsible and "head hurting" role.

Our Guest speaker this time will be from Fair Pensions who will be presenting on their new campaign “Tackling exploitative Pay and working conditions in the  Supply chain of the UK Largest Companies”.  Which I think will be more than interesting and relevant to trade union pension activists. 

I am just a little bit behind posting on Pension issues.  I have got reports on the latest LAPFF meeting, my last London Borough Tower Hamlets Pension scheme panel (and committee) as well as last week's really excellent annual TUC Pension Trustee event.  I must catch up.

Heroines: Arundhati Roy (24 Novemeber 1961 ~ )

Arundhati Roy (2010). Photograph: AFP.

I have commented here numerous times on Arundhati Roy and her courage in speaking out on matters and in ways that are politically unpopular. Yesterday was her birthday.

Clegg, Obama, 'Old-Style Progressives' and 'Pragmatism'

In the U.S. political ideas seem to twist and turn at the whim of various right-wing media mouthpieces. Typically the re-fashioning occurs in cahoots with the right wing politicians. So, as the conservative DLC types in the Democratic Party make a hard charge to the right (which has been ongoing since the late 1980s) there is not much push-back from people who say ... ''Not so fast, that is a bastardization of this or that progressive or liberal idea ... or ... No, actually the constitution or our political tradition (or whatever) don't state or imply anything like what you claim!'

The problem, in part, is that any such voice of sanity is drowned out by the megaphones on the right. And, let's be clear here, I am not even talking about the Republicans with their party organ Fox 'News.' I am talking about the voices of 'moderation' among the Democrats. Of course, those voices are not typically attuned to intellectual discourse; they are concerned to show that they are realists. Think Bill Galston or Cass Sunstein. Think Rahm Emmanuel. No egg-head talk for them.

Here is an example from the U.K. Lib-Dem leader Nick Clegg offers this pronouncement on 'authentic' progressive politics in The Guardian. He constructs a dichotomy between old-style progressive who are obsessed with equality and new style progressives (like himself) who are properly re-focused on social mobility as a way of fracturing inherited, hence unjust, patterns. This rhetorical move brings to mind a remark from Vaclav Havel: "... hard and fast categories ... tend to be instruments used by the victors." In this instance, the distinction also fails - as Stuart White points out in this astute commentary - to grasp the actual claims of 'old style' progressives of a liberal or socialist stripe.

Distinctions, in other words, carry consequences. and in this instance Clegg surely is aiming to shift the terms of discourse rightward. It is not enough to say, as he does in numerous ways, 'let's work together,' 'let's think in non-zero-sum terms,' lets embrace bi-partisanship' (to echo our own hoper-in-chief). Because, having constructed a false dichotomy at the start he proceeds to neglect the fact that any reconciliation has profound distributional consequences. And those consequences are, as White notes, precisely the basis for pervasive inequalities that subvert the prospects for social mobility.

There are lessons here for the Obama is a pragmatist crowd. It is not enough to simply listen to everyone and split the difference. One has to look at where we stand, how we got here, assess responsibility and, most importantly, see how political-economic power has been used to shape the current circumstances, before making a plan to move forward. Simply splitting the difference leads to more of the 'winner take all' politics that Clegg claims to abhor simply because it takes the current state of affairs, with its already established winners and losers, as the point of departure. Old style progressives, in other words, insist on getting an historical grip before plunging ahead. Without that historical perspective, a putatively pragmatist focus on consequences simply re-confirms the fixed inequities we currently endure. On health Insurance; on war-crimes; on economic recovery; on foreign adventurism. On all those fronts, Obama has done lots of listening and little serious analysis of the sort I mention above. As a result we get not pragmatism but opportunism. There is a big difference.

Have a nice Thanksgiving.
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P.S.: (Added 26 November 2010) You can find yet another astute reply to Clegg here. The punchline: "This isn’t democracy. It isn’t a new way of being progressive. It is the deep marketisation of our society, carried out at breakneck speed."

Happy Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving (with a quiz!)

Today is Thanksgiving in the USA, and President Obama has marked it by traditionally "pardoning" a turkey (called Apple) and handing out food supplies at a local Washington charity. The day's origins come from 1621, when the surviving pilgrims from the Mayflower, half of whom had died during the winter from exposure or disease, shared a celebratory feast with the local Wampanoag tribe to acknowledge the successful harvest of their corn. The pilgrims had survived partly due to the help of Squanto, a Native American who had been kidnapped and sold into slavery before escaping to London and then back to America. He spoke perfect English and advised the pilgrims how to cultivate their crops and find food in the local environment.

The thanksgiving story caught the imagination of other settlers, and by the time of the Revolution most states held a day of thanksgiving, albeit on different dates. In 1827, Sarah Josepha Hale (also author of the Nursery Rhyme "Mary had a little lamb" organised a campaign for a national holiday, and in 1863 Abraham Lincoln granted her request at the height of the Civil War, scheduling it for the last Thursday in November.

Thanksgiving remains the most traditional and family-orientated of America's holidays, one separated from any religious affiliations so that it can be enjoyed by all...except the turkeys.

PS: Here is a thanksgiving quiz from the BBC, and a more difficult version...

Grieving for a dead partner who never got to meet his son: Want to know about "Burdens"?

Mum of two Laurie Swift 27 lost her partner Alan Winters, crushed to death at work. The 28 year old crane driver was killed just 6 weeks before the birth of his son Alan Jr.   The Tory/Coalition want to slash and burn basic health & safety legislation and essential regulation. For further details check out Hazards

The Altar 2.0

I've finally got the altar up at our new house. I've been wanting a Chinese style altar table for some time as I really like the designs. Plus, at the old place the altar was sitting on our entertainment center. So, it was a bit cramped. I also like that this altar has a little storage space inside; behind a set of small doors in the front of it. You can kind of see them with the knobs in this picture. They slide back and forth, and there is surprisingly more room in it then you might think form looking at the outside.

So, that gives me all the room I need to store my incense, candles and other Dharma items. The Buddha is a new addition as well. I wanted one that looked a bit more Indian in design. I just like that style of depicting the Tathagata.

Then I've got my traditional picture of my teacher Thich Nhat Hanh on the altar with a stalk of bamboo, a bowl for incense, a Tibetan singing bowl and a rock candle holder. It's nice to have the altar unpacked and sitting in the new home. It brings a nice energy to the place. Anyway, boring post but I thought some might be interested in where I meditate. Bowing.

~Peace to all beings~

Buying A Tiger

LINK

Passings: Chalmers Johnson (1931-2010)

Political Scientist Chalmers Johnson (no relation) has died. Johnson was a right-wing critic of American military adventurism overseas. I thought his views on many matters were wacked. But his criticisms of Bush-era foreign policy were useful for establishing that one cannot simply identify anti-empire positions as a form of left-wing subversion. And, of course, he provided a role model for those who think that the discipline ought to be engaged actively in public debate. You can read the obituary from The New York Times here

CBS Sports Profanity Laden Iron Bowl Preview

This has to be a mistake:


LINK

FBU rep attacks SWP "Wrecker of the Week" Minitrue

The journal of (un)Democratic Centralism (my latest Wrecker of the Week) has been forced to publish the following attacks by a very angry FBU rep over their coverage of the recent strikes.

The Socialist (minitrue) Worker is accused by this rep as follows "your coverage of the London firefighters’ dispute has  angered FBU activists".... "Your reports of the first strike on 23 October were outlandish"...attacking the FBU General Secretary; "fantasising that you were witnessing the French revolution" ...publishing a video that was "used to discredit the union"...wanting to "Have some people die on bonfire night to ‘prove’ the scabs are rubbish?"..using the media to attack the union and not bothering to contact the union beforehand...and "disparage the democratic structures of the FBU".

Well, this is no great surprise to me. Check out report in Solidarity magazine and even the modern day Socialist Minitrue itself.  Hat-tip Col. Roi.

Something very odd is happening with Socialist Minitrue and their contributors.  Is their parallel universe crashing down upon them under the weight of truth?

Check out this bizarre story here in the West Yorkshire News where the SWP Chair of a Unison branch wrote a "misleading, inaccurate and unhelpful” on Minitrue of a "successful" outcome of a meeting before the branch and the employer had finalised negotiations.  What is going on? Hmmm. 

Hat-tip thingy Tynesider

The Death of Social Housing

It seems that not everyone is as dismayed as I am at today's announcement by Tory Housing Minister, Grant Shapps, that the statutory homeless and vulnerable will be forced into high cost, insecure, unregulated private rental accommodation.

Rachman may be dead but his spirit lives on amongst those minority of criminal landlords who just see the homeless as cash cows to be ruthlessly exploited.

Not only that but we now find that tenants may be evicted from their homes if their incomes rise during their new fixed term tenancies.

So - no more mixed communities then; just ghettos of the disabled, the unemployed and the  poverty stricken.

To complete the misery check out Hammersmith & Fulham Labour Group Leader, Stephen Cowan's report on the future "Housing Benefits Homeless Tsunami?" here

Last month I blogged about the End of Social Housing here following the decision to end capital grants for new build and instead depend on near market rents for funding.

Today though is definitely its death nail. We will have to campaign hard for its rebirth.

Margaret Thatcher's resignation

Today is the 20th anniversary of Margaret Thatcher's resignation as Prime Minister. A controversial figure still today, she was nevertheless Britain's first and only woman Prime Minister, one of the longest serving prime ministers of the twentieth century and an important leader of political change. For those for whom this seems a long time ago, here are a few reminders of her resignation and her premiership as a whole: here is the BBC's On This Day article with some clips, the Telegraph's view and the New Stateman's selection of different views. Do you have any views on Margaret Thatcher? Is she an inspiration to budding female politicians or an example of how not to be a woman in politics?

Troy King On The Today Show

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

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Sarah Palin Book Excerpts

Excerpts from Sarah Palin's upcoming book "America By Heart" were leaked onto Gawker, but there were forcibly removed by a court order.  If you would actually like to see what the book is about then just head over here and check out the Google Cache of the page.

Israeli Troops Demoted After Using A Boy As A Human Shield

Two Israeli troops were convicted in an Israeli court of using a 9-year old Palestinian boy as a human shield and received a suspended sentence and been demoted:

The soldiers had forced the nine-year-old boy to open suspected booby-trapped bags at gunpoint.

During the soldiers' trial in October, the boy, Majid Rabah, said he feared for his life.

"I thought they would kill me. I became very scared and wet my pants," he said in an affidavit.

No, this is not the Onion.  This is real.  Two soldiers used an innocent child as a human shield and received no jail time and a pay-cut as their sentence.  Wow.

London Labour Party Biennial Conference 2010 (part 2)

Check out my previous post here - I spoke on the main housing debate. As the Unison Branch Secretary of the London Housing Association whose 3500 members are terrified of picking up the pieces resulting from the Coalition cuts.

I referred to Karen Buck MP point about imposition of near market rents. This means the death of social housing. For nearly 100 years governments of all political persuasions have provided subsidy to make homes affordable to the low pay. Now - all new tenancies according to Inside Housing magazine, not the Labour Party, will have to pay £130 per week extra - I repeat £130 per week extra for an average 3 bed property. This is a national average, so this is not a London thing. This affects all new tenancies up and down the Country. This is not social housing anymore. If you are on a low income, unemployed or elderly you cannot afford to live in such homes.

Next was a well deserved Merit award to London Labour and trade union loyalist Maggie Cosin. Who gave a cracking acceptance speech. Many of us well remember meeting Maggie at by-elections across London.

Clive Efford MP led on the Public Services debate. He reminded everyone that it was former West Ham Labour MP, Tony Banks, who first christened Secretary of State, Eric Pickles, as “Mr Spud-u-like”. Unite Regional secretary, Steve Hart, spoke about winning this war requires cold strategic planning. The ConDems lie machine is in overdrive. On the doorstep this has some support. We must address these arguments. Public spending under Labour was lower than under Thatcher. Look over the water to Ireland to see our future under ConDems. There are 4 things we can do - defeat Boris and elect Ken in 2012; Labour councils and Labour MPs work with the labour movement to oppose cuts. Work with Labour Councils not fight them to build a movement of unions and councils. Build the march next year on March 26. Not just the trade unions on this march but the Labour Party as well. Labour and trade unions - our movement, united fighting for London. Together we can win.

Then lunch (in local cafe across road – lovely all day breakfast)

Next was a panel chaired by Linda Perks. Patrick Henegan gave a detailed presentation on “London 2012 Winning across the Capital” (Yes, we can). Tessa Jowell MP spoke about how being a member of the Labour Party use to be about a way of life. Being a Councillor, a trade unionist, educating yourself at the WEA, using the Co-op or even being a member of a brass band. For many in this Coalition the reason why they came into politics is purely to privatise and to reduce the state.

Labour London Mayor Candidate, Ken Livingstone, gave a simply blinding speech. Even those who are fed up with Ken at this moment agreed. He warned about those people who say to him about the London mayoral election in 2012 that “you will walk it”. If we do that we will lose. If Boris wins against me despite this being during the midterm of an unpopular government, it will be all about him to succeed Cameron.  Labour needs a machine to win. The old London Labour machine of Herbert Morrison (grandfather of Peter Mandelson). For 40 years this machine mobilised Politics. We need to build such a machine. Get the politics right and if we build the machine it will deliver and save Britain from Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.

In 1979 he stood as MP for Hamstead. For the previous 3 years they had built a Labour machine there. We lost in 1979 but had built such a strong machine that when the tide changed, Glenda Jackson, got in as MP. The election in 2012 is different. There are Labour voters everywhere. Every single vote counts. In safe labour seats there are labour supporters who think it doesn’t matter if they vote. At the moment Boris is on 44%, me 42% and 14% for other parties. We are fishing in a small pool. The Tories have a big machine. It will be stupid to have all the right polices and not win. Boris has recently scuttled to the left like a crab. In last election he said transport fares are very high in London. He didn’t say “but I will make it higher”

Ken grew up in a London where there was always a local copper around. Putting Police in cars was a disaster. Safer Neighbour Teams (SNT) are the biggest advance in policing. A huge reason why crime has been cut. SNT offer reassurance and safety to the whole community.

Growing up in the 1960s he never met a unemployed person. When he became an MP, people who lost their jobs went onto sickness benefits. They were encouraged to go on the sick even when not sick. If you were not sick, 20 years of watching daytime TV would make you ill. The state subsides bad employers. We need a Living wage not just a minimum wage. If we build 100k new homes per year it would create 750k jobs. Get people into jobs and paying tax - not claiming benefits.

Ken described his first meeting with new Labour Leader, Ed Miliband. He had not felt so comfortable with a Labour Leader since John Smith. Ed is aware of mistakes made in past. When Herbert Morrison won the London County Council Elections for the first time it was to demonstrate what a Labour Council could do. This is what we must do. Then show the rest of country what Labour can do.

“Winning the argument” - no one will vote unless we will run the economy better and fairer. Ken has seen economy policy unravel in an election. Current National debt is 1/3 debt that of 1945. Despite this we then went on to enjoy the best quality of life in 1000 years of our history. A Vote for Ken will not save you from the pain. He will do everything to protect Londoners but it also needs a Labour government. There are 800k on London council waiting lists and how many other don’t even bother to register.

London’s biggest international selling point is our tolerance. Unlike France with its ban on scarves and the Swiss ban on minarets. The aftermath of the London bombing showed our tolerance. We can say to countries like Brazil bring your investment and you don’t need to leave your culture behind.

Labour’s greatest times are still to come.

(next was workshops). Picture credit Deirdre Costigan.