Comrades double book November 30th

There has been quite a lot of debate about the nun attendance of Steve Coogan look-a-like Baathist Mother Agnes to the widely heralded world conference for peace (including here I might add!) organised by the Stop the War Campaign. But everyone seems to have forgotten the massed ranks of the Face book socialists are having their inaugural gathering to launch the Left Unity/Party/Tendency project.



The StWC proudly boast that:

In a historic setback for the organisers of the War on Terror, protest and public opinion helped stop a new war on Syria. But the West continues its interventions, creating failed states in an arc from Central Asia to West Africa.

The US is still focused on the middle east, but Obama is sending more military to encircle China and the West is ramping up its interventions in the African continent, creating ever more anger and instability.

Next year the NATO conference is coming to Britain and the conference will launch protests in response. It will also discuss the planned withdrawal from Afghanistan which is likely to cause another crisis for the western powers

We need more effective anti war resistance internationally. This conference is a chance to analyse, build links and lay plans.

The people of Syria must be so grateful that these Trotskyist types have stopped the war from taking place. Except of course they haven't done anything of the sort. Fighting continues unabated between the Assad Baathist fascists and the Islamist fascists with those wanting to fight for democracy seemingly left abandoned by the democracies of the world.

Not forgetting all those civilians caught up in the whole mess.

What planet do these comrades live on?

Whilst LU/P/T announces:



That's err...great, now what?

Well for starters it's not going to plan it would seem. Colin who is the "Convener" of Brighton LU asks:

I don’t think I have ever had my registration for this confirmed, or my membership for that matter.

Oh dear. Geoff adds:

Following from Colin Piper’s statement, I have had my membership confirmed, but not my conference registration. Therefore I am going to go through the registration process again to see what happens.

Ewart chips in:

I have tried to register, but have received no confirmation of registration or membership. 

Oh and there's no creche. LU helpfully advises that comrades should leave their children with someone local, they'll foot the bill later. Yeah sounds like they're organised to do that, not.

When you get there comrades you'll find all the little trot groups have prepared their speeches to promote this "platform" or that. The faction fighting will entertain you at least I suppose.

What to do one has to ask?

You have a choice of listening to a bunch of Trots or another bunch of Trots. Both with a couple of ex-Stalinists mixed in.

Meanwhile back in the real world....... where's the leaked SWP Internal Bulletin 3. The world waits with baited breath.

Iraq's workers deserve better than this

A LabourStart appeal



In the more than ten years since the fall of the Saddam regime, the Iraqi people have been disappointed, to say the least, with the promises of democracy, peace and prosperity.  

The country’s trade unions, reborn as independent organizations after the American-led invasion, continue to suffer under the repressive laws passed by the Saddam dictatorship.

That's incredible, but true.  Saddam's laws banning most union activity remain in force.

The IndustriALL Global Union and the International Trade Union Confederation have launched an online campaign demanding change — please take a moment to lend your support:

http://www.industriall-union.org/iraqi-workers-need-good-laws-now

It’s not all bad news, though.  Oil union leader Hassan Juma’a has just had charges against him thrown out of court earlier this month.  Read one account of this important victory here.

To learn more about the Iraqi labour movement, there’s no better place to start than the wonderful book “Hadi Never Died: Hadi Saleh and the Iraqi Trade Unions” which was published by the British Trades Union Congress.

This beautifully illustrated paperback is still available from LabourStart for just £10.00 (including postage to anywhere in the world).  Order your copy today - click here.

And finally, to stay on top of all the latest labour news from Iraq, make sure to bookmark our Iraqi labour news page.

Let’s try to change just one mind

TULIP

Trade Unions Linking Israel and Palestine

 Eric Lee writes:

I’m sure that you know, as I do, at least one trade union member who could stand to learn a little bit more about Israel and Palestine.

That person could be working at the desk next to you. Or it could be the president of your union.

If we are to effectively counter anti-Israel propaganda — and the growth of anti-semitism in the trade union movement — we need to get the widest possible distribution for the real news coming out of the region.

In the last month, TULIP’s website has told the story about the militant struggle being waged by Israeli workers — a struggle that is resulting in big union organizing wins that are hardly known outside the country. Here are some of the stories we ran in the last few weeks:

• “2,000 workers won’t be allowed to bring the country to its knees”
• Histadrut launches “lightning campaign” using SMS, Facebook and the web to unionize yet another insurance company
• Histadrut to launch $1.8 million ad campaign to promote unionization
• Global union reports big wage boost for Israeli workers

Meanwhile, our opponents keep saying that the campaign of boycotts, divestments and sanctions targetting the Jewish state is unstoppable, that unions everywhere are joining in, and so on. But TULIP is reporting that actually the trade union movement is deeply divided. Here are some of the stories we ran in the last month:

• German union leader: “I stay on the side of Israel”
• British and Australian trade unionists to visit Israel and Palestine
• South Africa: COSATU calls for severing of all ties with countries that violate human rights — actually, just one country …

In other words — Israel has a vibrant, independent trade union movement that deserves the solidarity of trade unionists everywhere.

And in the international labour movement, a struggle is taking place between those like the German trade union leader Michael Sommer, a strong supporter of Israel, and South Africa’s Bongani Masuku, convicted of hate speech and yet still a spokesperson for COSATU.

For our side — those who support genuine peace and reconciliation based on a two-state solution — to win, we must get our message out to many more people.

Encourage people to sign up to join the TULIP mailing list athttp://www.tuliponline.org/?page_id=4212 and to like TULIP on Facebook.

LSE Student Atheists: The fight for liberty goes on

A message to our supporters and update on next steps

Cross-post by Abhishek Phadnis & Chris Moos 
LSESU Atheist, Secularist and Humanist Society

We would like to thank all of our supporters personally and on behalf of the LSESU Atheist, Secularist and Humanist Society for their kind support relating to the incidents at the LSESU Fresher's Fair of October 3 and 4. 

We are overwhelmed by the support we have received since. Our partner organisation, the National Federation of Atheist, Humanist and Secularist Student Societies, and through them the British Humanist Association as well as the National Secular Society, have not only publicly stood by us, but also helped us get legal advice. We are immensely grateful to David Wolfe, QC and Tamara Jaber of Matrix Chambers, as well as Dr Ronan McCrea and Professor Eric Barendt of the UCL Faculty of Laws, for their advice and support in this difficult situation.

With their help, we have written to the LSE to ask for a clarification as to how our wearing “Jesus & Mo” t-shirts could be said to have amounted to a violation of any rules, regulations or laws. As of this writing, neither LSE nor LSESU have explained to us how and what part of our t-shirts were "offensive" or "harassing", what the contents of the complaints against us were and how they were assessed, and how our right to freedom of expression was taken into account in their assessment of the matter. We have yet to receive an apology for the intimidation and harassment of the LSE and LSESU members of staff. 

We have, therefore, submitted a complaint to the Director of LSE, Craig Calhoun, under the provisions of the LSE Free Speech Code, pointing out that LSE has a legal obligation to protect freedom of expression on its premises. We hope that both LSE and LSESU will respond to our complaint by acknowledging that wearing our t-shirts did not amount to harassment; reviewing their procedures for assessing complaints of alleged harassment or offence; and acknowledging that the actions of the LSE and LSESU officials were unacceptable and interfered with our right to free expression. 

Standing up to the LSE and LSESU is a daunting prospect for two students of such a small society, and our supporters have helped keep our spirits up.  A petition in our support, set up by LSE Student Governor Jason Wong, has received 2,500 signatures. Academics from LSE and elsewhere in the United Kingdom have come out in our support, as have concerned citizens of all faiths and none from all corners of the globe. News outlets such as the Guardian, the Independent and the Times have covered the incidents. Our friends at American Atheists, the Lawyers’ Secular Society, the Council of ex-Muslims of Britain and Student Rights have offered their support, and public intellectuals and social activists such as Maryam Namazie, Gita Sahgal, Ophelia Benson, Peter Tatchell, Anne-Marie Waters and Richard Dawkins have backed our right to freedom of expression. 

We believe that freedom of expression is inextricably linked to the functioning of a democratic and diverse society as well as higher education, and we sincerely hope that by pursuing this matter, we will help protect the liberties of students not just at the LSE, but throughout the United Kingdom. After all, as George Bernard Shaw, founder of the LSE, said:

"Put shortly and undramatically, the case is that a civilisation cannot progress without criticism, and must therefore, to save itself from stagnation and putrefaction, declare impunity for criticism. This means impunity not only for propositions which, however novel, seem interesting, statesmanlike and respectable, but for propositions that shock the uncritical as obscene, seditious, blasphemous, heretical and revolutionary."

Once again, our thanks and gratitude goes to our supporters. We will make sure to keep the public informed about the response we receive from the LSE.

Stay updated with the Atheist Society on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/lse.atheisthumanistsecularist/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/LSESUASH

The one-sided "Stop the War" Campaign

The so-called Stop the War Campaign has finally bowed to pressure about at least one of it's more dubious "supporters", that of "Mother Agnes", a Lebanese nun who has founded her own "order" in Syria and acts as a mouthpiece for the brutal Assad regime. Bob from Brockley reports:

Her invitation provoked outrage from Syrians and supporters of the Syrian revolution, as "Mother Agnes" has been a widely disseminated mouthpiece for the Assad regime's propaganda, including vigorously denying some of Assad's war crimes. (Of pictures of dead children in Ghouta, for example, she claims they are only sleeping.) Her lies are widely promoted by Russian media sources, by Christian news agencies, and by the LaRouche network. There are also live allegations about her own involvement in war crimes, and in the regime murder of journalists. Below the fold, I have pasted some information about her, but some good starting points are Linux Beach, Democratic Revolution, and Pulse.

Some of the more intelligent and honourable invited speakers at the Stop The War event had doubts when informed about sharing a platform with her. (Film-maker Jeremy Scahill and commentator/activist Owen Jonessaid they wouldn't speak alongside her, and writer Rachel Shabi appeared to be considering this.)

That pressure has led to the SWtC issuing the following statement:

Over the last few days a campaign has developed over the invitation we extended to Mother Agnes -- a nun from Syria, who leads a campaign called Mussalaha (Reconciliation) -- to speak in London at the International Anti-War Conference on 30 November organised by Stop the War Coalition.

Mother Agnes has now withdrawn from speaking at the conference.

In inviting speakers to participate in its events, Stop the War has never sought to endorse all their views. We have always provided a platform for a diversity of opinions within a broad anti-war perspective.

We hope that we can now build the conference as a strong focus for opposition to war and imperialism.

Mother Agnes will be be issuing her own statement giving her reasons for withdrawing from the conference.

Diversity of opinion? Don't make me laugh. The SWtC is run by ex-members of the Socialist Workers Party now calling themselves Counterfire, another unreconstructed Trotskyist organisation led by the awful John Rees (a commentator at Iranian clerical fascist Press TV station) and his partner Lyndsey German the SWtC convener. Talk about "keeping it in the family".

The SWtC are not really against war at all, only the side they don't agree with. 

This can be seen in this ridiculous statement:

In a historic setback for the organisers of the War on Terror, protest and public opinion helped stop a new war on Syria.

Bob from Brockley more than adequately summarises their folly:

Do they not realise that war has been going on in Syria for well over two years, that over 120,000 people have been killed, that 5 million people are displaced in Syria, that hundreds of thousands of Syrians have been forced to flee the country? How can "anti-war" people claim that as any sort of achievement?

Reality is not the forte of the German/Rees led SWtC. Their pernicious "campaign" is just a Trojan Horse for tired old Leninist politics that has led to so much oppression and murder around the world.

Real progressives would do well to steer clear of this mob.

Defend trade union rights in Algeria and Mexico

Please support these two important appeals!

Solidarity with independent unionists in Algeria: call for the reinstatement of Rachid Malaoui, President of SNAPAP

In May 2013, Rachid Malaoui was removed from his post at the University of Continuous Education while he was about to take part in the International Labour Conference, organized by the International Labour Organization (ILO), last June, in Geneva. This type of harassment clearly demonstrates a desire to punish Rachid Malaoui because of his trade union activities and his commitment to defending human rights.

Click here to send a message to the President of the Republic of Algeria.

His dismissal is in violation of Article 53 of Algerian Law No. 90-14 of 2 June 1990, which states that "no union delegate may be dismissed or transferred by his employer, nor can any disciplinary action be undertaken as a result of his/her union activities".

In June and July 2013, both during and after the ILO's International Labour Conference, several informal negotiations took place with the Ministry of Labour and other state institutions, during the course of which Rachid Malaoui was advised of the possibility of his eventual re-integration. Unfortunately, to this date, no concrete steps have been taken and all the attempts to have his case heard remain unanswered.

Read here more about workers' and trade union rights in Algeria.

Mexico: Defend jailed workers - drop the charges now

Eric Lee of LabourStart

Once again, we’ve been asked by our fellow trade unionists in Mexico for help.

A few days ago, a number of community activists and trade unionists — members of the mine workers union — were arrested and, in one case, beaten, by security forces.

They were not brought before a judge, or charged, and some were released.

The arrests are connected to the local community’s struggle against Excellon, a Canadian company.

The union is demanding that any charges be dropped, and that the safety of the union members and community activists be guaranteed.

Please take a moment to send your message  of protest — and spread the word:

http://www.labourstartcampaigns.net/show_campaign.cgi?c=2041&src=lsmm

A call for comrade delta to rejoin the SWP?

Things are getting more fraught by the minute in the disintegrating sect that is the Socialist Workers Party. The faction fighting that is taking place all over the country between their remaining members is seeing a clear route of the remaining so called opposition. Our friendly sectarians at the Weekly Worker gleefully tell us that:

It is now abundantly clear that the December 13-15 conference of the Socialist Workers Party will see a repeat of the rigging process that occurred in the two earlier conferences held this year. The central committee is intent on winning the vote by whatever means - including through the exclusion of opposition delegates wherever possible.

Meanwhile some are beginning to wake up to see the reality of the monster that they have created between themselves over the years. Dave Renton on Lives Running compares the SWP to the old Stalinists of the Communist Party:

Like the Stalinists, we have a cadre of senior union activists, secure in NEC positions or on facility time. We behave as if, like the old CPGB, we increasingly see the future of ourselves in the unions as depending on the goodwill of union Broad Lefts rather than on our support in the rank and file.

We find social media as bad and as incomprehensible as once the Stalinists were terrified by the deep Americanism of superhero comics and amplified guitar music.

Another thing we share with the old CPGB is the attempt to hide embarrassing facts from the membership, and keep the party in line through the threat of disciplinary action. At Marxism, Alex Callinicos formulated a series of ad hoc political justifications for administrative measures – accusing Rob Owen of wanting to turn the party into a movement, Dan Swain of giving up on the vanguard, Ian Birchall of not having read Ian’s own books, etc. There were so many political errors he invented, as he accused his opponents of being ridiculous, so many barely-concealed threats of expulsion.

Those of us who have been around the block a while know full well that even more than 20 years after the fall of the Soviet Union, the primary argument by which Socialism is made to appear ridiculous is this: you can’t build a better society without it falling into tyranny and violence, the decay of the Russian Revolution proves it.

Most outside observers could have told them much the same (and more) a very long time ago.

However the most bizarre development of all is the apparent call in the forthcoming pre-conference Internal Bulletin 3, which supposedly contains an article calling for the reinstatement/readmission of Martin Smith to the SWP.

If true (after all that has happened, the allegations of rape, not just by "delta" but other members too plus the harassment, the threat of lynch mobs and the rest), those that even think of remaining in the SWP cannot be thought of as being more than purveyors of political villainy.

The end game is now in plain view.