Opinion: When the miners went on strike all those years ago I was living in Swansea and took food to the striking miners. It was miners who built the wealth of the nation and they were treated in a shameful way by Thatcher and her henchman Sir Ian McGregor. Arthur Scargill at the time had articulated that the Tory government had a hit list of mines that they wanted to close though the government denied it but it turned out to be true. Whilst we can be critical of Arthur in the way he handled that whole dispute we also have to be critical of ourselves as a Labour Party and as a movement in that when these desperate people wanted our help and support it was not forthcoming. I commend people like Dennis Skinner, the late Eric Heffer, the late Tony Benn and Jeremy Corbyn for standing with the miners in their hour of need. Sadly others in the Labour Party who are still around today need to examine themselves for they will be found short. That well known doyen of the left Richard Burgon commented in relation to what is happening today that supporters of Jeremy Corbyn are being referred to in the same vein as the miners and their families were referred to in the 80's. "I am not – and others are not – going to stand by whilst hundreds of thousands of decent Labour members are dismissed and demonised as bullies, brick-throwers, misogynists and thugs. It’s just not right," he said. "And this kind of thing is nothing new. Labour people must remember that in the 1984/5 miners’ strike the establishment attempted to dismiss and demonise hundreds of thousands of striking miners and activists from Women Against Pit Closures as bullies, brick-throwers and thugs. "They were smeared as 'the enemy within'. But their real crime, in the eyes of the establishment, was to get together and organise to take on the establishment, stand up for working-class interests and build a better society. "Just as it was morally wrong to smear hundreds of thousands of striking miners and Women Against Pit Closures activists in this way in 1984/5, it is morally wrong to dismiss and demonise hundreds of thousands of Labour Party members in this way in 2016." I commended Richard and others for standing up to the plate and taking on the mantle. I am not a thug, I am not scum, I am not a bully, I am not rabble, I am not a brick thrower but I am a Labour Party member who thinks we can and we should work to create a better, fairer more equal society. Thanks to our regular contributor Fredrick James for sharing http://www.newtekjournalismukworld.com/eileen-kersey/ipcc-lets-down-miners-again
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The late Anthony Wedgewood Benn once said that the Labour Party is not a socialist party but is a party with socialists in it. I guess I would subscribe to this comment.
Since our inception we have been a melting pot of different ideas hence being a broad church. The only time socialism was mentioned in our ordinances was when a certain Tony Blair advocated a change of Clause 4 from what it had been since 1917 when Sydney Webb drafted the original " To secure for the workers by hand or by brain the full fruits of their industry and the most equitable distribution thereof that may be possible upon the basis of the common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange, and the best obtainable system of popular administration and control of each industry or service" to what it is today. I do think at times political parties need to look at themselves and to work out what is their purpose and indeed last year it was suggested by one of the then Labour leadership candidates that perhaps we needed to look again at our aims and values in light of changing times. When that was suggested it spurred me into writing a new clause 4 which I promptly deposited with a certain person. However it is not the most important thing on the agenda. One of my big criticisms of the Party was that it lacked a grassroots organisation where there could be a cross fertilization of ideas on how we could rebuild a collapsing society. No doubt whatever ideas I had put forward to the Party ended up in the shredder. Under previous leaders we were very top down and we adopted a clunking first approach that the leader is all knowing. Although I campaigned in 2015 in my limited way for Labour in support of the local candidate I was under no illusions having informed the party back in 2014 that we were not going to win, again my thoughts at that time were put in the shredder, and after the defeat in 2015 I wrote a long explanation on why we were defeated again - that was put into the shredder. We have a leadership now whom I believe are willing to listen to the shop floor because they don't have the answers to everything but together we can come to that point where the answers are in front of us. Finally we came into being to be the voice of working class opinion in the legislature and the great challenge for us today is to reconnect with the working class and to understand their needs, their wants, their hopes and their desires and if we can do that I believe we will form the next government. However if we display an arrogance, which I believe we did under previous leaders then I am sorry to say we will be defeated in 2020 or whenever the next general election occurs, because a party that doesn't listen to the people doesn't deserve to be in government. Thanks to our regular contributor Ferederick James http://www.independent.co.uk/news/defining-moment-as-blair-wins-backing-for-clause-iv-1611135.html Open Right Group has criticised parts of the Digital Economy Bill (DEB), which has its second reading in the House of Commons today. While the Bill includes some beneficial proposals, there are worrying plans that could affect UK citizens’ rights.
Age verification for porn sites The DEB includes plans to oblige porn websites to set up age verification to prevent under 18s from seeing adult content. Executive Director of Open Rights Group, Jim Killock said: “While age verification may seem like a good way to protect young people, it is not clear how it could be implemented and still protect individuals' privacy. Collecting the details of everyone who visits a porn website could create datasets that are vulnerable to Ashley Madison style data breaches. We need more information on how the government intends to implement this policy.” Ten years in prison for file sharing The DEB also includes proposals to bring sentences for online copyright infringement in line with physical copyright theft. Killock added: “The Digital Economy Bill could mean that people who share files could get a jail sentence, even if they aren't doing it to make money. Sharing music, films or books online could result in a longer prison sentence than stealing from a shop. We don't think the creative industries want to punish people in this way but it could be exploited by ‘copyright trolls’, such as Golden Eye International, who send threatening letters demanding payments to people who have committed minor copyright infringements. It will only take a small tweak to the proposed legislation to ensure that this doesn't happen.” The DEB states that there needs to be “a reason to believe” that infringement will cause a loss or will create “a risk of loss”. ORG is calling for “risk of loss” to be removed to ensure that file sharing that is not done for financial gain does not lead to threats of criminal convictions with jail sentences. ORG’s full briefing on the Digital Economy Bill is available here: https://www.openrightsgroup.org/ourwork/reports/digital-economy-bill-briefing-to-the-house-of-commons-on-second-reading Notes to Editor Open Rights Group is the UK's leading digital rights organisation, campaigning for privacy and free speech. About Open Rights Group Open Rights Group is the UK’s leading voice defending freedom of expression, privacy, innovation, creativity and consumer rights on the Internet. Founded in 2005, we have over 3000 paying supporters and a movement of 36,000 activists. Winner of the Liberty Human Rights Campaigner of the Year Award 2012 https://www.openrightsgroup.org/about/ https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/28/what-happened-after-ashley-madison-was-hacked Animals to Lose their Home as Sanctuary Closes - Please Share
We have received a desperate plea to take in the animals of Suffolk based Blossoms Rescue after they are to lose much of their land. Sara, founder of Blossoms, said "It has been a heartbreaking decision but we are unable to carry on." Over the last 35 years Blossoms have rescued hundreds of dogs, cats, horses, farm animals and wildlife. The loss of land, along with the constant worry of raising enough money to adequately care for the animals, has left Sara, who has twice fought cancer and suffers with heart problems, with no choice but to close the sanctuary. "It's a distressing time for us, but if Hillside are able to take them, at least we know they will be well cared for and safe" said Sara. “The farm animals and 20 horses and ponies, including some with health problems, need to be urgently taken in. The smallest is Snoopy, a little Shetland, who suffered mental abuse and the biggest is Rush, an ex racehorse with problems often associated with ex racers. We will be eternally grateful to Hillside if they are able to give a home to all these wonderful creatures." Hillside is always stretched to the limit, so we really need your help to be able to offer sanctuary to the Blossoms’ rescues. If you are able to donate on the link below, every penny received towards this very urgent appeal will be so greatly appreciated. https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=B9B4ZUL36BPE6 Hillside Animal Sanctuary Hill Top Farm Hall Lane Frettenham Norwich NR12 7LT Telephone 01603 736200 www.hillside.org.uk Patron: Martin Shaw Check out https://www.facebook.com/OfficialPETAUK/videos/vb.223357247712390/1118847601496679/?type=2&theater The Government has responded the petition – “Britain First announce militant action against elected Muslims PROSCRIBE NOW!”. Government response: While we keep the list of proscribed organisations under review, we do not routinely comment on whether an organisation is or is not under consideration for proscription. Under the Terrorism Act 2000, the Home Secretary may proscribe an organisation if she believes it is concerned in terrorism, and it is proportionate to do. For the purposes of the Act, this means that the organisation: • commits or participates in acts of terrorism; • prepares for terrorism; • promotes or encourages terrorism (including the unlawful glorification of terrorism); or • is otherwise concerned in terrorism. “Terrorism” as defined in the Act, means the use or threat which: involves serious violence against a person; involves serious damage to property; endangers a person’s life (other than that of the person committing the act); creates a serious risk to the health or safety of the public or section of the public; or is designed seriously to interfere with or seriously to disrupt an electronic system. The use or threat of such action must be designed to influence the government or an international governmental organisation or to intimidate the public or a section of the public and be undertaken for the purpose of advancing a political, religious, racial or ideological cause. The Government’s ‘Prevent’ strategy addresses all forms of terrorism, including that which is inspired by far right extremism. Preventing terrorism involves challenging extremist (and non-violent) ideas which are part of terrorist ideology. The Government condemns those who seek to spread hate by demonising British Muslims. Those who seek to divide us damage our country by stoking anti-Muslim hatred and who deliberately raise community fears and tensions by bringing disorder and violence to our towns and cities. The Government’s Counter-Extremism Strategy sets out comprehensive measures to defeat all forms of extremism – violent or non-violent, Islamist or far-right extremism, by countering extremist ideology, building partnerships against extremism, disrupting extremists, and building cohesive communities. Home Office Click this link to view the response online: https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/131326?reveal_response=yes The Petitions Committee will take a look at this petition and its response. They can press the government for action and gather evidence. If this petition reaches 100,000 signatures, the Committee will consider it for a debate. The Committee is made up of 11 MPs, from political parties in government and in opposition. It is entirely independent of the Government. Find out more about the Committee: https://petition.parliament.uk/help#petitions-committee In January 2016 we re-posted a report from NEWTEKWORLDNEWS writer B McPherson who in September 2014 said "Microbeads from cosmetics are clogging fish guts." According to Greenpeace in January 2016 the issues continue. The 2014 report says; "Microbeads from cosmetics are clogging fish guts. The cosmetic industry is taking a quick turn in their product offerings. The recent phenomenon in the beauty world of offering microbeads in everything from tooth paste to body scrubs is being phased out. By 2018 in the USA most states will have banned their use and the cosmetic companies are listening. Perhaps in the past you have purchased Crest toothpaste with neat little glitter bits in it. It’s supposed to encourage children to brush their teeth, but adults can use it too. I’ve used it. It’s kind of fun. Turns out the glitter bits are small pieces of coloured plastic. They are not poisonous, but polypropylene is not high of children’s meal menus. Many cosmetics contain tiny plastic beads as well. They have been touted as a way to achieve smooth skin. The organization Beat the Microbead has an extensive list of products that contain these tiny pieces of plastic. Those tiny pieces of plastic make their way down the drains of the cities and from there to the water treatment plants. Like many of our modern constructs, our sewage treatment plants cannot deal with them and they pass through to eventually land in the ocean or the lakes. Fish and invertebrates are increasingly showing up with microbeads in their guts. Biologists are starting to wonder how these plastic balls are affecting the health of the animals. There is the potential that fish ingesting enough microballs of plastic may plug their digestive system. Poisoning may result if the plastic contains or has absorbed toxic substances. Rubbing plastic which is basically another form of petroleum, on your body doesn’t sound nearly as glamourous as microbeads. Try to do what you can to educate yourself about this previously unseen form of pollution and eliminate it from your grooming routine. There are many more nature friendly ways to exfoliate and polish. Sugar scrubs, sea salt rubs, jojoba beads, ground apricot pits all offer a plastic free way to maintain smooth skin." Greenpeace are running a report titled "5 Small Things That Explain The Big Problem with Microbeads" along with some self-explanatory images; a few of those images are shown below. A Greenpeace petition to UK PM David Cameron says "Harmful plastic "microbeads" are unnecessarily put in the face scrubs and toothpastes we use every day. They are too small to be filtered, so end up in our oceans - and the creatures swimming in them. David Cameron must follow other world leaders like President Obama and the Canadian Prime Minister who’ve banned companies from using these wholly unnecessary bits of plastic." Sign the petition by following this link" It is now August 2016 and Greenpeace have sent this update in relation to the UK: "This is huge - a new cross-party government report has recommended that microbeads should be banned! This is amazing news - but the fight isn't over yet. Whilst this report carries a lot of weight, it's still up to the government to decide whether or not they ban these tiny plastic-polluters. You are one of over 300,000 people who've made the government sit up and take notice of this issue. In fact the report itself says that: "Microbeads are a growing area of public concern with a recent Greenpeace petition calling for a UK ban attracting more than 300,000 signatures." The more of us who add our voices to this petition, the more pressure the government is under to take action on this issue. Many companies use natural alternatives to microbeads in their products but for those that don't, it's clear that decisive action is needed to halt the flow of these plastic polluters. That's why it's vital that the government announce a ban on any plastic in any product that goes down the drain. Can you ask your friends to add their name to the petition? You can share this link: https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/microbeads-gov-ban Please share this link with your friends - you can post it on Facebook, tweet it or pop it in an email: https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/microbeads-gov-ban With thanks for all that you do" Sources: Bloomberg News Metro Beat the Microbead Scientific American |
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