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.

Tories telling porkies?

Well, someone's telling porkies? If the cuts are really necessary just to balance the books and not ideological then why don't the ConDems promise to reverse at least some of the cuts when (if)  the "good times return"?

Question to Tory blogger Iain Dale on Stephen Nolan Radio show (22 Oct:)"If these cuts are not ideological? why will the Coalition not state that when the economy improves, they will put the money cut back into public services?"
Answer: "That's a given".

Daily Bile: "Yesterday Mr Cameron suggested cuts may become permanent when asked to pledge spending would be reinstated when finances recovered. He said: ‘I think we should try to avoid that approach.’

Guardian (1.44pm 3 Aug)"Cameron has been asked a question about fire service cuts. A woman is worried because she says the local fire brigade had already suffered cuts, and now the government has plans for more. She cites casualties of the cuts and asks Cameron whether, once the austere times are over, the government will review the cuts it imposed and, where necessary, reinstate some of the resources that have been withdrawn. Cameron says this isn't the way he sees it. He says it's going to be tough to implement cuts, but he thinks there is scope to find more efficient and cost-effective ways to deliver services, notably back-office functions. He seems to be confident that there will be no going back..."

The real reason: "It's about ideology, stupid"

Hat-tip Col. Roi

The Pope, the Dove and the Thorn

I'm not particularly exercised in any way by the Pope's visit. 

In my perhaps, wishy, washy British way, I think that it is some sort of a "good thing".

I was brought up in a largely  secular environment but many of my boyhood friends were Roman Catholic (mostly second generation Irish).

I would fundamentally agree with those who argue for tolerance and free speech for all believers and non believers. 

I do like this photo by a retired RAF serviceman, John Gray (no known relation), of a "Dove of Peace" to celebrate the pontiffs visit (even if it was published in the Daily Hate).

But while I also do think that some of the more militant secularists have overstepped the mark somewhat recently, to be honest, the clearly racist remarks by the Pope's advisor, Cardinal Kasper, about Britain and our multicultural society just about makes you despair of the Catholic Church and its leadership.  IMO.

TIGMOO 2010: “This Great Movement Of Ours”

I’m trying to follow the TUC conference which is taking place this week in Manchester as best as you can from London. I thought the call beforehand by Sally Hunt, General Secretary of UCU for radical reform of the TUC and the wider movement was a breath of fresh air.

Yes, we should have only one union per sector. Easier said than done of course - what sector are private companies in that also run public services? But it is a complete nonsense to have two, three, four or even more recognised trade unions in the same organisation. Good employers are confused and frustrated about who to negotiate with and bad employers openly boast about being able to “divide and conquer”.

I’m not sure about having a directly "elected" TUC General Secretary by all members since essentially Congress is a coalition of independent trade unions who also hold all the TUC purse skins. Sally rather accurately compared the current process of electing a TUC leader with that of the “Pope”. If we did go down the road of direct elections I think you would find if it came to the push, that like the Pope, the TUC Secretary would not have any “divisions” or real power.

Yes, definitely to Sally’s ideas about setting targets and priorities over achieving the holy grail of increasing density and membership. Density and internal organisation (the number of trained local stewards/safety reps backed by effective national union resources) is absolutely the most important issue that should be debated at Congress. Everything else is actually secondly. Without density and organisation we can achieve nothing and resist nothing.

Personally (since I have it on unreliable evidence that I love the sound of my own voice) I wouldn’t get rid totally of the conference “motion based format” but I think we need to change the emphasis to building and organising.

This morning while listening to my Walkman while running (aka jogging very slowly) around my beloved Wanstead Flats I heard TUC Secretary, Brendan Barber, being interviewed on “Today” by a rather over dramatic, John Humphrys, who was on Daily Mail Lite mode trying to provoke Brendan to say something stupid. He didn’t fail into this trap and came over I think very well – as a modern, sensible, thoughtful and constructive trade union leader. He made it very, very clear that TIGMOO will not be bankrupting itself in a series of glorious defeats but can and will, mobilise effective and telling industrial action and political opposition to the cuts.

Some trade unionists (and the Daily Mail) will be disappointed that he did not bang the Radio 4 podium with his shoe and threaten to bury the Condems. But until we build our density and organisation we cannot threaten what we cannot deliver. What the wider Labour Movement and its allies can deliver is widespread, co-ordained and SMART opposition which will include targeted industrial action.

We are ironically facing an opportunity and not only a threat. UNISON General Secretary, Dave Prentis, speaks about the Raison d'être of Unions and that they are there for the bad times not just the good. Surely, now we are all facing this massive threat of cuts that there cannot be anyone in work who cannot say, hand on heart, they do not need to join a trade union? We recruit and organise or die.

(picture is of the first General Secreatry of the TUC - Mr C W Bowerman in a rather modern pose!)