New SWP Split: Propagano the Revisionist Resigns!

Following the shock resignation tonight of leading SWPer, Chris Bambery, I thought it was only right and proper, that I should repost Comrade Mercader's superb youtube video "D.HALLAS".  This exposes the evils goings on of the rich folk who control the Soggies' Central Committee.  Interesting how few of the old Guard are left (pardon the pun) since 2008.

I note that Chris complains that the Party still owes him money he lent it during its recent financial crisis.  Hopefully Baron Loads a Money will step in and help.  If not we could always set up an appeal fund?

Hat-tip lots and lots of people:)

Just because you can't do everything, doesn't mean you don't do nothing...

Driving up the spectacular Horseshoe Pass in North Wales on Friday lunchtime I was listening to Jeremy Vine on Radio 2.  He was discussing the recent United Nations vote on Military action to save Civilian lives in Libya.  His guests were Professor Michael Clarke from the Royal United Service Institute and the serial apologist for murderers and tyrants, Lindsey German.  

Professor Clarke gave a considered and objective assessment of the situation and eventually a reasoned but reticent (and limited) backing for military action. 

While German, the crank cultist (who last year had to resign before being expelled from the SWP sect and then went on to form the even smaller Real-SWP sect "Counterfire") waffled on in support of doing nothing since we cannot topple all the world's tyrants (and therefore we should just let Gaddafi's war planes, tanks and artillery slaughter the Libyan opposition). 

Professor Clarke rebuked her with "Just because you can't do everything, doesn't mean you don't do nothing..." and reminded us all that timely and appropriate Military invention can and has saved lives.

Remember, even in the UK, we know what Gaddafi and his goons are capable of - from the public machine gunning of an unarmed London Police officer, to blowing up a civilian jet plane over Scotland killing 270 and the supplying of IRA terrorists with tons of explosives and weapons which were then used to murder many, many more innocents. 

So we should all know exactly what will happen to the civilian population if Gaddafi retakes the rebel held towns and cities.  No Excuses.

SWPer finds God while its Officers become Royality

"
This is actually a rather interesting radio interview with a former leader of Respect and the SWP (I understand) in Birmingham about why this former atheist converted to Islam.  David Asif Hughes comes over as being pretty level headed and reasonable. I'm not sure who are the people he mentioned who mocked and ridiculed him for his new faith?

Meanwhile someone posted this comment about the SWP anonymously yesterday "From the SWP internal bulletin for their forthcoming conference:

“How is it possible for a party like ours to be smaller after 10 years of political upturn than in the long years of political downturn?” They go on: “We are dogged with the twin problems of weak organisation on the ground on the one hand and strong hierarchical tendencies on the other …. The rank and file have openly been called ‘foot soldiers’ and treated with condescension and/or contempt by our ‘officers’. If the ‘officers’ do attend the odd branch meetings it is in the manner of visiting royalty.”

UPDATE: I think this quote comes from here (via Harry's Place).

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

Wrecker of the Week

I've decided to start a new regular blog feature called "Wrecker of the Week".  This will be awarded to individuals and organisations who have done their best to wreck and split the Labour movement instead of uniting us to oppose our natural enemies, the ConDem Coalition.

Obviously the most recent winner would have been SPEW (Socialist Party of England and Wales) for organising rallies to undermind official TUC events and then trying to shout down speakers.

However this week's prize goes to its democratic centralist rival, the SWP, for this superb bit of pointless and completely childish sectarianism by one of its full time paid bosses.  (Please note that I waited until the UAF march was over before posting this).  This email was sent by trade unionists in Newcastle.

"Open Letter to UAF re: Northern March Against Racism 2010

To the leadership and members of UAF (Unite Against Fascism):

Cc: Ken Livingstone, UAF Chair; Sabby Dhalu, UAF joint Secretary; Weyman Bennett, UAF joint Secretary; Martin Smith, SWP National Secretary

We are writing from the organising group of the Northern March Against Racism 2010, which is due to take place in Newcastle upon Tyne on 20 November. The march has been called by TCAR (Tyneside Community Action Against Racism), and is supported by over a dozen other organisations and trade union branches. We are writing concerning attempts by a leading UAF member and SWP regional organiser, Yunus Bakhsh, to undermine the Northern March.

On Monday 18 October, TCAR supporters put posters in the following shops in the Arthurs Hill area of Newcastle to publicise the Northern March:

Crossley Wine Centre; Brighton Oriental Food Stores; Fenham Call Centre; Mishti Mukh Sweet Centre
Tanveer Gents Hairdresser; M.A. Travels; Kamran’s Barber Shop; Geordie Hairdressing Salon; Persian Delights; Aanchal Fashions; Sanam Travel; Heera Jewelers

By Wednesday 20 October, most of these had been removed and in their place were UAF posters advertising the march in London on 6 November. We then put up more posters for the Northern March in the same shops on 20 October, of course leaving the UAF posters in place. The Northern March posters remained until the morning of Tuesday 26 October, when someone again removed the posters from shops including:

Crossley Wine Centre; Brighton Oriental Food Stores; Fenham Call Centre; Tanveer Gents Hairdresser;
M.A. Travels; Kamran’s Barber Shop; Aanchal Fashions; Sanam Travel; Heera Jewelers.

On enquiring with shopkeepers, several were able to confirm that a man had entered the shop, removed the posters for the Northern March, and in some cases replaced them with a poster for the UAF march. These shopkeepers confirmed from a photograph that the individual who removed the posters was Yunus Bakhsh. We have access to a shopkeeper’s CCTV footage, which clearly shows Yunus entering the shop at 14:48:26 on 26 October, removing the poster for the Northern March Against Racism, before going to the counter and handing the shopkeeper a flier for the 6 November UAF march.

We are sure you will agree that this is an appalling and unacceptable act of sectarianism, which damages the integrity of the wider anti-racist movement in the region. How can any serious socialist justify this sort of behaviour? We urge you to take measures to ensure the members involved end such acts of sabotage immediately.

The Northern March Against Racism is a vital part of building positive anti-racist unity in the region. It is being organised on an open and democratic basis. The local branch of UAF were first invited to participate in building the Northern March on 14 July, including full rights to distribute their literature, display banners and have a speaker. This offer has so far been ignored, but remains open. We hope that you will take immediate action to end the removal of our posters by your members, and that UAF will start to make a positive contribution to the Northern March. We await your response, and wish you well in London on the 6 November.
Fraternally, Organising Group; Northern March Against Racism 2010"

Fourth International: East London 2010

This music video so, so, so reminds of "Ed"...who use to try and sell a "newspaper" outside the Malmesbury Estate, Bow...early 1990's (and the rest). 

Who is probably now Head of HR in financial services somewhere in Canary Wharf.

Hat-tip thingy various FB comrades
:)

"THE PROBLEM with the Socialist Workers Party"

"THE PROBLEM with the Socialist Workers Party, the old joke goes, is that hardly any of its members are workers, even fewer are socialists and none of them knows how to party".

The Guardian, March 29, 1991

Hat tip thingy Harry's Place
 
(Special day tomorrow folks!)
 
:)

Sunday sectarianism: SWP branch resigns over control of Union branch secretary

Interesting post on “A Very Public Sociologist” on the resignation letter by practically the “entire” membership of the SWP in Doncaster. Aside from the fact that the “branch” probably could meet comfortably inside a telephone box. The letter of resignation is rather fascinating and gives you an insight into the murky internal workings of the SWP and its control of union activists.

I’ve always known that all SWP union activists have to do what they are told by their central committee (or else) but now it appears that local SWP branches also think they can order “their” union activists about! Perhaps this has always been the case?

It appears that SWP members who hold full time elected union positions should only do so “in exceptional circumstances and only on the proviso that the party closely monitors the comrade’s work, which must involve the CC, the local SWP branch and the respective union fraction”.

I’ve heard of (un)democratic centralism but now it appears that there is also (un)democratic localism! It seems that an union official elected by trade union members not the local SWP branch had stood up to them and refused to do what he had been told (and stopped selling the Party rag) – sensible chap. He even “often acted unilaterally against branch decisions”. Shame on him.

The Doncaster branch of the SWP are so disgusted with the failure of “their” (not the union) branch secretary that they have now gone off and joined the Counterfire splitters who left or were witch-hunted out of SWP in recent years.

I do hope it is made clear in future union elections that SWP candidates firstly admit that there are members of the SWP and whether they will do what they are told by their Central Committees and/or what local SWP branches tell them.

Finally, the letter claims that it was a deliberate decision of the SWP central committee to break up the ACAS meeting between Unite and BA. If true then the SWP is definitely falling apart even faster then I thought. Shame!