The Saturday Review

Non Fiction (Books):

The French Intifada: The Long War Between France and its Arabs by Andrew Hussey (Granta Hardback £25)



I picked up this volume on the strength of a positive review in The Sunday Times Culture magazine and certainly found it both interesting and gripping at the same time. Andrew Hussey certainly doesn't pull his punches in this "warts n' all" look at the current plight of deprived banlieues and their continuous fight against the French State. Indeed, just by reading the title of the first chapter (Fuck France) you'll soon get the idea.

Much of what he writes about in relation to the suburbs of Paris and other French cities will be unfamiliar to most of us even though France is literally just a short train ride away these days. France has the largest Muslim community in Western Europe, based on immigration from its' former colonies over the other side of the Mediterranean.

Hussey takes on a tour of grievances both real and "imagined" by looking at the alienated young Muslims from the Algerian, Tunisian and Moroccan diaspora and then gives the reader a much needed history lesson on French colonialism in North Africa.

Given most of us see France from an Anglo-Saxon perspective, the historical trail will also be mostly unfamiliar. Hussey takes us from the beginnings of French conquests in North Africa (Algeria June 1830) to its ignominious end in the post colonial era with the fall of of Tunisian dictator Ben Ali which began the recent so-called "Arab Spring".

A useful book which takes the reader through the complex world of Arab/Islamic relations with a major European power and doesn't shy away from the violent and uncomfortable truths that continue to influence both regional and domestic politics alike.

Fiction: (Comics):

Caliban by Garth Ennis (Writer) and Facundo Percio (Artist) Avatar Press $3.99/£3.10



The latest "on-going" series from the small, but well worth looking out for publisher, Avatar press sees Garth Ennis taking a break from his current bout of horror writing (sort of) to give us a new science fiction epic, which is guaranteed to be one "hell" of a ride.

Take one dysfunctional crew hurtling through hyperspace on a one way mining mission, "crash" it into an alien ship and you have have the opening sequence. Actually "crash" isn't quite the right word "fuse" seems to be more appropriate as the cover above seems to illustrate quite effectively!

Starlight by Mark Millar (w) and Goran Parlov (a) Image Comics $2.99/£2.65



The second issue of Starlight, part of the Millar World range of comics hit the stores this week. Some readers may be familiar with Millars work on the sadly departed CLiNT! magazine that used to be found on newsagents shelves in the UK. This collaborative effort with the likes of Jonathan Ross failed to gain enough readers, though its infrequency of publication (especially towards the end of the second series didn't help matters.

Nevertheless for those of you with a comic shop near you (there are well over a hundred around the UK) Millars efforts can still be picked up in the original US format. This story introduces us to Captain McQueen, the universes greatest hero, or at least he was.

After disappearing through a wormhole all those years ago he saved an entire world from a dictator, but instead of staying as the (beautiful) Princesses consort he returns to Earth. (Yeah I know, go figure). Here of course they don't believe a word of his story and he ends up a bitter old man, which is where this story takes up.

Despite being 62, a young kid arrives in a spaceship saying he's needed again. A bit like Flash Gordon going back to Mongo as a Grandfather figure. Sounds fun and looks like it will be!

Action Comics by Greg Pak (w) and others (a) DC Comics $3.99/£3.10 



Superman is a character that will be familiar to both comic fans and others around the world as an iconic figure appearing across the media fighting evil and always getting the girl, usually Lois Lane.

Except this isn't the continuity that most people will be familiar with. DC comics decided to relaunch their comics universe as "The New 52" in late 2011 so this world's Superman is a wee bit different as is the world around him. Lois Lane is not his "beau", in fact he's going out with Wonder Woman. They even have a joint team-up comic which is well worth a read. Batman doesn't approve (broody old git that Bruce can be) but not for the reasons you might think.

So if you haven't dipped in to the new DC universe, this is a good starting point as its' the prelude to the Doomed Storyline. No secrets Doomsday, the creature that "killed" Superman back in his old incarnation is on the loose. While much of the action in this issue is a recap and ending to a string of stories previously taking place in Action Comics, you don't need to have read them to catch on to what's going on.

Just suspend disbelief and enjoy the ride.

If you are in London & want to obtain some good comic books, I recommend my local comic shop:

Go to: http://www.thirtiethcentury.free-online.co.uk/

Oppose Sharia Student Loans

Only a couple of weeks ago the Law Society introduced measures which would allow for the implementation of Sharia (or Islamic) "Law" into the drafting of wills (see here). If that wasn't disturbing enough we now are told that there will "Sharia compliant" Student Loans. The Telegraph  reports:

A new system of “Sharia-compliant” student loans is to be launched to allow more Muslim students to go to university, it has been announced.

David Willetts, the Universities Minister, said an alternative financial model was being created to satisfy Islamic law that forbids Muslims taking out loans that make interest.

Under the system, students would apply for taxpayer-backed loans but repay them into a mutual-style fund that would be ring-fenced to provide future finance to other students with the same religious beliefs

The move will raise concerns over a two-tier system in which Muslim students pay less than other undergraduates. (my emphasis)

Of greater concern is the fact it allows a religious community in our society yet more privileges by undermining the basic principle of equality. 

This also comes at a time when our Universities and colleges are being allowed to undermine women's rights through the cowardice of the so-called liberal establishment, by Islamic Societies holding gender-segregated meetings in our public buildings. The Telegraph continues:

Omar Ali, president of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies, told the Telegraph: “We know of many students who finished college but decided not to go to university because of the way the new system was set up. We welcome this proposal.”

This is yet another dangerous move towards a two tier society. The same rules, the same laws must apply equally to all.

No Religion, Islam or otherwise should be afforded separate privileges in a modern society.

Separate Religion and State! One Law for All!

PCS: Uniting against a merger

There are a couple of weeks to go before the PCS National Executive Committee elections take place which will then lead into what could be the last ever PCS conference. The AWL dominated PCS Independent Left seem to think that we will be in a merged union by 1st January 2015. Possible I suppose, but the IL has yet to make its' various minds up yet:

That is what PCS leaders are hoping for. A motion setting out a plan for a members ballot and special conference this year will be put to ADC 2014. The aim will be a merger by the beginning of next year.

So should there be a link up with UNITE?

The Independent Left (IL) has yet to discuss whether we will back a merger but we can say that it doesn’t make sense in terms of industrial logic. We don’t have overlapping memberships (UNITE only has small numbers in the civil service) and we are not competitors for members in the same industries. Where Unite organise is generally separate from where we do. So it cannot be argued that a merger with Unite is a case of ‘one union in one industry’.

It certainly doesn't make much sense in terms of "industrial logic" but there are few unions that PCS could even consider a merger with as all the other civil service unions are much smaller than PCS. What would make some sort of sense if a merger was absolutely necessary to join up with Unison to create the largest public sector union to co-ordinate activities and campaigns as we at least have much in common.

I remain unconvinced of the need to merge and at the moment would be more concerned at looking at how PCS got into such a mess that it cannot continue to exist as an independent union.

For once I agree with the IL that the motivation is purely financial. For those that may have missed my earlier post here is the link to the article that brought the whole issue under scruitiny published in the Independent newspaper a few weeks ago:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/exclusive-the-public--commercial-services-union-protect-our-pensions-union-faces-its-own-pensions-crisis-9180044.html

The whole issue of a merger has led to the creation of at least two Face Book groups in the last few days.

The first I came across is simply called No to the PCS-Unite merger and states categorically:

Page for PCS members opposed to being consumed by the monolithic bureaucracy of Unite in the proposed merger of the two unions

Description

The leadership of the PCS is driving the union towards a merger with Unite. This merger is not in the best interests of members:

• It will be a takeover rather than a merger, with PCS consumed whole
• It is an arrangement of financial convenience to preserve the perks of the paid union bureaucracy
• Unite is a vastly less democratic union than PCS on every possible level
• Unite is an FTO-dominated bureaucracy, whereas in PCS lay reps run their own branches and have a far greater degree of autonomy
• Unite is affiliated to the Labour Party, who are in turn wedded to capitalism, austerity and the boss class

Overwhelmingly, PCS members disagree with the concept of a merger or are at best indifferent to it. The possibility of a merger passed through conference in 2013 only thanks to a strong whip from the leadership and the Left Unity faction and we want to make sure that doesn't happen again with the merger proper.

With the exception of the ultra-left nonsense about the Labour Party I would go along with the rest of their statement. 

A second group is: Members against the merger. They have gone with a much simpler statement:

Quite straightforward really:

PCS are open to an approach from Unite with a view to merging.

This groups is for PCS members who want to stop it.

There you go.

At the moment it is a (very) small closed group, but its' early days all round at the moment.

Watch this space!

Unite Executive elections: Vote Unite Now!

The  ballot paper for the Unite Executive Committee elections were sent out on March 24th and should be arriving with members shortly. Like many unions the leadership of Unite includes members of organisations such as the far-left cult, the Socialist Party (Militant for older readers).

These divisive individuals and their fellow travellers are determined to undermine the only party that can beat the Tory led Coalition Government and write in  The Socialist today:

Socialist Party members have explained the character of New Labour, as a pro-big business party, and demanded that not a penny more should be given to this party. But we also recognise the potential political power of trade unions in Britain.

That's why we call for the unions to break with Labour and set up a new mass workers' party. That task will be on the agenda for the next EC and the union's Rules Revision Conference next year.

Such actions prove these trotskyists are the Tories best friends in the Labour and Trade Union movement.

There is an alternative for Unite members.

The next term of the Executive Council will not be an easy one and many big decisions will have to be made as we continue to be attacked by this Coalition Government. This is why it is important to have a strong principled EC with the experience & desire to make those decisions, the correct ones for both the membership and the union's future. 

It is imperative that we put in place an effective Executive Council with the diversity, integrity, and the will to ensure that Unite is run on a financially sound footing, putting our members' subscriptions to best use for the members in the workplace. 

UniteNOW are a group of Trade Union activists that stick to their principles in representing & serving the best interests of the membership. We want the new Executive Council to be made up of people who fulfill their roles effectively in truly representing the interests of the membership in their Sectors & Regions. Voting for what is right for the membership & not what is right for themselves. 

Current UniteNOW Executive Council delegates have a record of holding the General Secretary and Executive Officers to account. UniteNOW has previously opposed a number of decisions that were not in the best financial interests of our membership. 

We have also successfully put forward proposals that have become policy. We have no problem in supporting the leadership when we genuinely believe their proposals are in the best interests of the union and its members and we have done this also on many occasions. 

If you wish to have an Executive Council that truly takes decisions on behalf of their members and not for themselves or fear of upsetting the leadership, then support UniteNOW candidates or UniteNOW supported candidates - we aim for a truly democratic union that is led by a lay Executive that governs for our members and 'our' union! 

Go to: http://www.unitenow.co.uk/index.php/home/item/300-nothing-changes-if-nothing-changes-unite-ec-elections-2014 for further information including details of candidates in your area.

Musical interlude with Sandie Shaw

I thought it was time for a quick break from politics tonight as I'm both busy and rather tired so thought lets play some music to kick off the month of April!

The following two performances are by pop legend Sandie Shaw, who I managed to see once (at ULU if I remember correctly) playing amongst other songs the following version of a Smiths hit Hand in Glove.  

I still have a twelve inch copy of this song which was released in April 1984 but only reached number 27 in the UK charts. Should have been number one in my opinion.



The second number is the rather wonderful Mr Dupont released in 1969 which reached number 6 in the UK charts. Sandie Shaw was one of the few singers who was really comfortable singing in other languages and as this video shows was especially proficient in French.

Coatsey this is dedicated to you mate for keeping me informed of political affairs in France!



You can find her official website at: http://www.sandieshaw.com/home-2

Problems in Unite the Union as merger talks with PCS continue

The Unite union has come to the attention of the national press this weekend as both The Times and Sunday Times reported the failed candidate for general Secretary, Jerry Hicks has bought in the Trade Union Certification Officer to investigate last years election. The Sunday Times (30th March) reports:

More than 147,000 members of Unite the union were removed from the membership register a few weeks after Len McCluskey was re-elected as general Secretary. A leaked union document reveals.

Jerry Hicks, who stood against McCluskey last April claims the election was unlawful because tens of thousands of lapsed members were included in the ballot….

A September 2013 report to Unite’s executive council stated there had been “problems with the accuracy of the (membership) data. Unite says it correctly balloted members whose membership had lapsed but were still entitled to vote.

Keeping union records up to date is a notoriously difficult task especially since Unite seems to allow unemployed members, something not known in other unions like the PCS. Jerry Hicks is one of these.

Apparently Hicks was quoted as saying this was “superb news”. Other allegations include claims that the unions resources were used to support McCluskey’s election campaign. Such allegations will be difficult to prove. For example when Mark Serwotka was last up for election as PCS General Secretary, I complained that there were far too many photographs of the man in the pre-election edition of the PCS members magazine. The reply I got was “Mark had been very busy”. Given he was the GS how could I possibly prove otherwise?

But this is more than just sour grapes on Hicks’s part. A known Trotskyist activist he received the backing of the Socialist Workers Party and the Socialist Party during his election campaign. Indeed it was rumoured that a campaign to support him was unofficially run out of PCS HQ (see here) as the Socialist Party PCS leaders backed his campaign against McCluskey. Why this didn’t scupper any talk of mergers is a mystery.

Whilst the SWP and SP are silent on this issue, not everyone on the far-left is happy with Hicks. On Shiraz Socialist, Jim Denham writes:

I am by no means an uncritical supporter of Len McCluskey, but the developments described in the article (which, like previous pieces in the Murdoch press, has clearly been written with the full co-operation of Hicks) vindicate my assessment that Hicks was not worthy of support in last year’s Unite election and is entirely unfit to lead a trade union. If Hicks had any genuine concerns about the conduct of the election, he could have raised them within the union, which whatever its faults under McCluskey is at least a fairly open and democratic organisation. Those leftists (not just the SWP) who supported Hicks should now be hanging their heads in shame. Incidentally, anyone who knows anything about Unite will know that any “phantom voters” would have been, overwhelmingly, from the ex-Amicus side of the merged union – precisely the constituency that Hicks was appealing to in his campaign. A shameful indictment of a man (Hicks) who can no longer be considered even to be a misguided part of the left:

Where I part company with Jim is that these tactics and worse are very much part and parcel of the way the bureaucratic left operate as activists in PCS will be only too familiar with. Hicks and his supporters represent the very worst elements of the left which is why they need to be opposed.

The Unite executive committee is meeting mid-April to discuss the merger with PCS further. My advice to them is to rethink the whole idea. Whilst PCS may be in difficulties (of the Socialist Party’s making), but one of the main reasons a merger with Unite is sought out is to try and take control on Britain’s largest union and undermine it’s support for the Labour Party.

People are beginning to talk as if this years PCS conference will be it's last, certainly given that less reps are able to attend than in the past, the format and time that they take place needs to change. 

But do we really need to close down an independent civil service union?

Even if we did, surely joining up with Unison, the largest public sector union would make more logical sense from a trade union viewpoint.

As usual political agendas are put before members interests in the myopic world of Serwotka & the Socialist Party.

PCS needs to put it’s own house in order before going cap in hand to other unions.

 

Dagenham Labour councillors defect to Scargill and UKIP in two-way split

Whilst most left-wing pundits were trying (and failing) to watch the latest Trot fest on-line in Manchester in the form of Left Unity's second conference a rather odd split has taken place in Dagenham Labour Party.

Two of Labour's councillors have split to join Arthur Scargill's Socialist Labour Party and another four have decided to throw their lot in with UKIP. The Barking & Dagenham Post reports:

Labour has seen six of its members cast off the red rosette and move to parties on either side of the political spectrum in as many months.

Four have gone on to join Nigel Farage’s fast-rising UK Independence party while the other two have taken a step to the left and joined Arthur Scargill’s trade union supporting Socialist Labour Party.

But is this a sign that Ed Miliband’s party is losing its grip on Barking and Dagenham?

Party spokesman and chair of the local candidate forum Cllr Darren Rodwell claims nothing could be further from the truth.

Speaking to the Post he said all of the recent defectors had failed Labour’s two-stage reselection process to stand as candidates for the party in the upcoming May local election.

The Socialist Labour Party has been seen as a "ghost" organisation for many years now since King Arthur kicked out all and everyone who disagreed with his leadership. At the same time the SLP has put up "paper candidates" who generally do better than the much more active far left groups with which it competes in elections.

The SLP has even managed a couple of updates to its' usually moribund website

Our warmest welcome is extended to Councillor Jim McDermott who has joined the SLP after resigning from Labour.

Jim, who has represented the Eastbury ward of Barking and Dagenham since 2006, tells us he feels the Labour Party in Barking has over many years been taken over by people ‘following a different political agenda’ not consistent with the principles he believed the party represented when he joined it fifty years ago.

As an SLP councillor we believe Jim will be free to speak out more openly in support of the interests and needs of his electors as indeed it is his wish to do.

His actions demonstrate integrity, and a concern for the benefit of others over self which is rare in politics these days.

If you share the concerns of Jim McDermott and many others, who are disgusted by the brutal capitalism that is scarring our society and our world, take the first step. Join Us!

Kim Singleton, SLP General Secretary.

They now report:

A second Labour Party councillor in Barking and Dagenham has defected to the Socialist Labour Party. We are delighted to welcome Cllr. Barry Poulton to our ranks. Party President Andrew Jordan describes him as a man of principle who is placing the concerns of his community ahead of any self interest. Cllr. Poulton has stated that he does not wish to waste his work for the community which would be the case if he did not make his political move.

Dagenham was an area in which the BNP has traditionally been a threat, but as the English Elections blog tells us:

Labour managed a clean sweep of all 51 seats in Barking and Dagenham in 2010, but through a series of defections since then the combined opposition has grown from zero to eight councillors - UKIP are the largest opposition group now with four members, the Socialist Labour Party are up to two, with one Conservative and one Independent both also sitting on the council.....

However, with Labour having pulled off a clean sweep here in 2010, and with polls generally showing them in a better position now compared to then, there is every chance of another Labour clean sweep coming in May. Saeed's Abbey ward is particularly safely Labour with 67.1% of the vote last time to the second-placed Conservatives' 13.2%. Thames ward was a little more marginal by the monolithically Labour standards of Barking and Dagenham with a Labour vote of 49.4% to a second-placed BNP's 17.1%. Neither ward has history of UKIP or Socialist Labour candidates though, so further speculation on electoral chances would have no basis.

Arthur Scargill may not be smiling for long.