Interlude Over! God Gave Rock & Roll To You by Argent

Hi Folks,

I've been off-line due to technical problems as my router went. BT sorted that out and the new router arrived this morning so Howie's Corner is back!

While I catch up with everything here's some music from one of all-time favourite bands Argent, who (along with Family) were very much responsible for me getting into Prog Rock back in the seventies as a schoolboy.

This song (performed on The Old Grey Whistle Test) was a hit way back then. So even for all us atheists "God Gave Rock & Roll To Us!"

Take it away boys!

A Socialist Party "split" in the PCS

Since the rise of Jeremy Corbyn, Momentum and the capture of the Labour Party by the far-left, the two largest Trotskyist sects, the Socialist Party (Militant) and the Socialist Workers Party have found themselves somewhat out on the fringe more than usual.

The SWP is attempting to regain ground with the re-launching of the Anti-Nazi League after its rapid decline and isolation after the disgraceful "Comrade Delta" affair, whilst the Socialist Party having failed to have an "alliance" with the Labour Party and denied re-entry even into Momentum have had to console themselves with control of the largest civil service union, the PCS.

The SP are the largest single faction in the union's "Left Unity" alliance who in coalition with the so-called PCS Democrats group control the National Executive and large sections of the various different sections of the union.



The General Secretary is of course Mark Serwotka, once the left's great hope who has variously been with Galloway in Respect, sided with the SWP after the fallout and then fell into the SP backed Trade Unionist and Socialist Alliance.

Serwotka made much fuss of joining the Labour Party to help purge any MP that didn't toe the line pursued by the Corbynite left.

Meanwhile the SP comrades in PCS have had an unseemly fallout as the current Assistant General Secretary Chris Bugh faces an electoral challenge from Janice Godrich, President of the PCS. Both of theses candidates belong to the SP, though Baugh it would seem has the the official Socialist Party franchise. Janice is backed by Serwotka.

Both hope to replace the General Secretary in due course though Baugh has always made it clear he should be top honcho in PCS not Mark Serwotka. There is not much love lost between Baugh and Godrich, but Janice is without doubt much better known the useless party hack Chris Baugh.

The handful of remaining SWP members have decided to back Godrich after discussions with both candidates and the General Secretary. Socialist Worker concludes:

We believe that Janice Godrich is the candidate who is best able to work with Mark Serwotka to implement these policies. We also welcome her commitment to work to revitalise Left Unity. It is on this basis we have decided to back Janice as the Left Unity candidate for AGS.

Meanwhile the PCS Independent Left will enter the fray with a third candidate from the left. The IL are not part of PCS Left Unity and are themselves an alliance of various tiny groups such as the AWL, CPGB (Weekly Worker), Workers Power (all one of him) with a couple of Anarchists thrown in.

The IL website declares:

At its summer general meeting the Independent Left (IL) made the decision to stand a candidate for the Assistant General Secretary (AGS) election, which will take place next year.

This is to allow members a real choice between the status quo (as represented by Janice Godrich and/or Chris Baugh) or radical change in the union.

Our candidate will stand on a worker’s wage – they will not accept the £90K that is on offer.

Both Janice Godrich and Chris Baugh are content for PCS to remain a typical TUC union.

So full time officers (FTOs) are paid wages that many PCS members can only dream of, there are no elections of FTOs beyond those required by law and there is top down organisation where branches and activists have to ‘go’ to FTOs to get things.

So PCS members will have a choice of Chris Baugh (Communist), Janice Godrich (Communist) and A. N. Other (Communist).

No choice at all really. 

A bogus "peace" prize for Corbyn

IRA "Peace campaigners".

The pro Assad Friends of Syria  published the story of award of an "International Peace Prize" to one Jeremy Corbyn. In their report these Friends of Assad complain that the mainstream British Media have ignored the award. Hardly surprising when you realise it's from the almost totally unknown left-wing body the "International Peace Bureau".

Actually if the press do pick up on this story it will only confirm what they say about one of Lenin's useful fools". Corbyn was awarded the Sean Macbride Peace Prize 2017. And who is Sean Macbride you may well ask?

Macbride was a former Chief of Staff of the IRA (in 1936), who died back in 1988. Just the sort of comrade that Corbyn admires. I'm sure his mate Gerry Adams was very proud.

What next? The Hamas award for Peace in the Middle East?

Press release: Séan MacBride Peace Prize 2017*

The International Peace Bureau awards the Séan MacBride Peace Prize every year to a person, or organisation, or movement in recognition of its outstanding work for peace, disarmament, human rights.

This year the IPB Board has chosen the following three winners of the prize:

All Okinawa Council Against Henoko New Base

Noam Chomsky

Jeremy Corbyn

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

*The "prize" was awarded in Barcelona in November last year. It is not known whether Corbyn remembers getting the award or not and may have been elsewhere at the time, possibly on his allotment....😈

Band Maid in the UK!

Band Maid are one of my favourite Japanese metal/rock bands. This particular video is from one of their concerts and features Kanami (lead guitar) and Misa (bass) showing off their excellent musical skills.

Band Maid are coming to the UK at the Dome on Nov 17th!




Go to: https://bandmaid.tokyo/

A new "Anti Nazi League" will have to picket itself!

Photo: By Source, Fair use,

Back in the seventies political extremism was on the march. Literally. The rise of the National Front coincided with the transformation of the International Socialists into the Socialist Workers Party. The left tried to emulate Cable Street with running battles against the fascists in Lewisham and elsewhere.

The SWP then the largest "socialist" organisation succeed in getting backing from mainstream political figures like former Young Liberal and anti-apartheid campaigner Peter Hain on board. Signing up trade unions and left leaning (and some not so left) MPs they founded the Anti-Nazi League.


Photo: By Source Fair use

The ANL was a major success spawning Rock Against Racism (RAR) utlising the services of radical and not so radical bands and budding stars who needed the publicity. Lots of people attended RAR's events but large numbers only ever went for the music. Fortunately the ANL marches were large enough to justify the groups on-going existence.

The ANL was still going in 1990 when I attended it's AGM as a trade union delegate and money was still being paid into ANL funds by at least one major union (the PCS) until only a few years ago when the question was asked about where this money (£500) was actually going.

Recently John McDonnell was contemplating whether:

.... it’s time for an Anti-Nazi League-type cultural and political campaign to resist” because “we can no longer ignore the rise of far-right politics in our society” at a time when his party is embroiled in an anti-Semitism role. (Guardian 7/8/18)

One of the issues cited was the "attack" on Bookmarks (the SWP bookshop, see here) which whilst unpleasant for the staff was somewhat exaggerated by the Socialist Workers Party in order to solicit support in a milieu that has left them isolated because of the "Delta" scandal.



The SWP is now grasping the opportunity to re-enter centre stage. It's current campaign "Stand up to Racism" has floundered because it is and is seen as just an SWP front organisation. The ANL is a brand they could use for their own benefit and get the "useful fools" that Lenin spoke of to give them undeserved credibility.

The Guardian published a letter which spoke of:

"As founder members over 40 years ago of the original Anti-Nazi League (ANL) and its sister organisation Rock Against Racism, we think that Stand up to Racism, Love Music Hate Racism and Unite Against Fascism have been established firmly within this tradition, and indeed these organisations have already provided essential and much-needed rallying points of opposition to the rising far right.

This is a process that, as John argues, now urgently needs to be deepened and extended, uniting all people and organisations of goodwill against the huge challenges we face over the next few years from the far right and fascists.

This will involve applying the ANL's tactics of mass propaganda, unrelenting opposition...."

Their intended target seems to be the self publicising Tommy Robinson and his band of supporters whose profile is kept alive by precisely the tactics currently deployed by the far-left. Denied the oxygen of publicity the former EDL leader would remain very much on the fringes

There is no far-right party riding high in the polls like the National Front was in the seventies where in London alone the fascists polled 100,000 votes. Even the BNP has disappeared. For all it's faults UKIP cannot be considered a "fascist" organisation. 

Then there is the new threat of racism emanating from the left itself.  The Labour Party has a problem with anti-Semitism. To a large  extent the SWP & Stop the War have contributed to this atmosphere with their rather extreme anti-Zionism which has in so many cases morphed into anti Semitism and attracted anti-Semites.

How would the ANL deal with widespread anti-Semitism in sections of the Muslim community. It does exist and also originates (in part) from anti-Zionism, however sections of the Koran are often quoted to justify such notions. The left tries (very hard) to ignore this preferring to ally with "Islam" against the West. 

Jeremy Corbyn is part of the problem. He's never been a "man of peace" as his supporters claim in a Goebel-like fashion. He takes sides with whoever issues a T-Shirt denouncing "imperialism whether it be Hamas, Hezbollah or the IRA.

There is no need for an organisation like the ANL. Hope Not Hate and Searchlight keep an organising eye on the "far-right", but the alt-right is a different beast that will require less belligerent and more considered forms of opposition.

The ANL would be part of the problem as it would biasedly pick it's targets. As with much of the rest of the so-called left, the "Jewish Problem" would be ignored at best an inconvenience or at worst in the service of a foreign government.....

Never Again! Means what it says comrades. We Jews have rights that you ignore at our peril.

Go To: https://antisemitism.uk/

Catch Up Post: Censorship and Zulu

Zulu is one of the most spectacular movies of all time. A cinematic masterpiece set in the Anglo-Zulu war of 1879. The film portrays the heroic stand of around 150 British soldiers defending an outpost at Rorkes Drift in the wake after a military disaster at Isandlandwa.

Whilst not entirely historically accurate (due to artistic licence) it does portray the bravery of the small British garrison in their stand against an overwhelming Zulu force of some 4,000 warriors. At the time it was used as a propaganda tool to overshadow the defeat of a modern equipped western army by a native force.

Nevertheless this battle lead to some exceptional bravery from members of the besieged British. More Victoria Crosses were awarded at Rorke's Drift than any other battle in British military history.

I first saw this when it was shown at the pictures and has remained my favourite film of all time to this day.

The film is broadcast on one channel or another at least once a year for as long as I can remember.

Fast forward to earlier this year when the Silver Screen cinema in Folkestone decided on a special showing of Zulu to raise money for an armed forces charity. Personally I would have rushed out and purchased a ticket for the opportunity to see this movie on the big screen it was designed for. As would many others did in the locality.

Now of course given the year in which it was made and the era in which Zulu was set does mean there are some none-PC moments. That's only to be expected. However the Zulus are not portrayed as mindless savages but as brave and organised warriors that demand nothing but respect.

Enter the  censerous left who wrote to the local council calling for the film to be banned. Kent on Line reported their letter which stated:

"..we believe that the choice of the film Zulu, with its inaccurate portrayal of historical events and its distortions and racist overtones, could have a negative effect on relationships within the changing and richly diverse communities here in Folkestone.”

The letter was signed by a grand total of just 28 people. Folkestone has a population of around 50,000.  Of course numbers alone don't necessarily make something right but in this case when the Kent-on-Line website ran a consultation 93% of respondents though the showing of the film should go ahead.

This idiotic campaign is part of the growing attempt to re-write history, remove historical monuments and ban the teachings of white writers & scientists in the university sector. History is what it is and cannot be whitewashed. Certainly the banning of films like Zulu leads to the frightening aspects of book burning.

Fascism isn't just the preserve of right-wing white men these days. Take note "comrades".

A large portion of the left has lost its way in the development of identity politics and has a censorious outlook on everything. Trying to ban Zulu was foolish beyond all reason. These individuals need to re-learn the concepts of freedom of speech and expression.

Or one day their campaigns will come back to bite them hard.........



________________________________________________________________________________
Catch Up Posts: are an occasional series of posts to catch up with items of interest that I was unable to blog about whilst in hospital.

Musical Interlude - Jellybean - Jingo

I'd almost forgotten about this record released in 1987 from Jellybean, aka John Benitz who had two hits in the UK (the other being Sidewalk Talk). He worked as a producer for many better known artistes such as Madonna & Huey Lewis & the News and even Donna amongst others. He still deejays to this day.