British Anarchism and the Miners Strike

Found this article in the journal Capital and Class which was just published in their fall issue and is available online. Well worth the read as it shows the impact of the Miners Strike and Thatcherism had on reviving anarchism in the UK. The Fall issue is all on the Miners Strike and is available online.

British anarchisms and the miners' strike

Capital & Class, Autumn 2005 by Franks, Benjamin

This paper distinguishes some of the main currents in British anarchism at the time of the miners' strike. It explores the influence of these libertarian movements on the conflict in the coalfield, and assesses how the strike influenced the development of British anarchisms.

Benjamin Franks is a lecturer in Social & Political Philosophy at the University of Glasgow's Crichton campus in Dumfries. His book Rebel Alliances: The Means and Ends of British Anarchisms is due to be published by AK Press and Dark Star at the end of this year.

NDP Gets Election Message Right

Got this in my email from the NDP. Its the message of this election, like it has for the past decade, forget Gomery, its Healthcare stupid.

[On health care] "Liberals are now indistinguishable from the
Conservatives, and only the NDP is screaming about the
metamorphosis. Jack Layton is factually right as well as
politically left. When it comes to protecting public health care,
Liberals have no bark and no bite and are asleep on the mat. Go
figure; then go vote."

James Travers, Columnist
(Toronto Star, November 19, 2005)

Open Access Capitalism

There's money to be made in creating digital libraries and in digitizing data as well as creating online journals. Because if there weren't it wouldn't get done. Now that the technology is available and is expanding Internet companies must use it in order to make a profit, and they must find uses for it. Hence open access and the digital library projects. They aren't doing this for the public good like the Guttenberg Project of e-books is . They are doing it to create propriatary online library services which we will have to pay for.

Competing search engines create adin at the library

Amazon to sell digital books on net

This puts them into direct competition with the academic and text book publishing houses, which over price and overcharge for their journals and text books. For the most part these journals do not pay the authors well being that they are peer reviewed for Academic advancement. These journals exist not to pay the authors, while making a profit for the publishers, but as part of the academic publish or perish hegemony. Once you have published enough you hope these guys will hire you to write a textbook or publish your Phd. thesis as a book.

Open access deemed 'dangerous' by Royal Society
The 345-year-old UK science academy fears that a move to Internet publishing proposed by Research Councils UK (RCUK) could lead to the closure of not-for-profit publishers that have sustained the exchange of knowledge since the first peer-reviewed scientific journals were circulated in the 17th century. It also acknowledges that some scientific publishers "appear to be making excessive profits". This is a key complaint made by librarians in recent years, and one that has triggered enthusiasm for the open access concept.

And while a number of electronic or internet journals currently exist, including some peer reviewed journals they are a drop in the bucket compare to print journals. And some of these e-journals are in fact journals about digital mediums for existing academic studies. In other words they are a result of the internet.

Welcome to the Directory of Open Access Journals. This service covers free, full text, quality controlled scientific and scholarly journals.

And again writers and authors are not paid. Which underlies the fact that intellectual property rights are not so much about protecting producers (aritsts, writers, etc.) as it is about protecting the propriatary interests of publishers and corporations, including online ones.

The Internet is not meeting its potential to globalise science because researchers in developing countries are not getting the access they need, according to an international study.

In countries where telephone and fax machines are relatively recent where clean drinking water is more of a priority than transmission wires, where those wires provide slow and limited access then there is a disparity between the developed world and the developing world in how we access, use and work in cyberspace. And in many cases it is the newly privatized telecoms pushing this internet access as a funding priority over much needed infrastructure such as fresh water wells.

While open access will benefit the growing corporate internet/cyberspace in the develped world it offers little for those in the developing world to meet their needs. Even with better internet access many in the developing world do not have access to high speed computers or DSL connections.This is the classic case of uneven development as applied to cyberspace.high subscription rates for scientific journals are preventing scientists and health workers in poor countries from accessing vital information.

The expansion of capital and uneven development on a world scale
John Weeks, Captial and Class 2001

We're Mad as Hell and we're Right

Over at the Mad As Hell Right Whing Nut Blog; Canuckastan Chronicles
you would be forgiven for thinking that this was NOT a Canadian Blog considering all the American flags and images and issues plastered on the page. But it is. Which sorta of proves what I have been saying about the Canadian Right its not Neo-Con its Neo-Republican or Republican Lite.

However in his blast against yet another liberal progressive blogger he does say something I agree with...gasp.... "That our country isin't (sic) as socialist as they think or would like to believe. " He is right it is a mix of classical liberal and social democracy, which is far from socialism as you can be.

However to the pea brains like Canuckastan and his American Idols that still spells 'socialism', though if they actually read someone like Murray Rothbard they would discover that he too is a classic liberal of the Mills and Bentham school of utilitarianism.

So just remember when reading the rantings of these Right WhingNutbars they are all mad of course, mad mad mad....and not just angry....it clearly shows the downfall of our public education system that these guys never got a chance to have a classical eductation. Or perhaps they could have been directed to the library where there these things called B O O K S, cause they have spent too much time with their comics or smoking something in the boys room.

The Market Fazers Taser

Take that Taser, not only is this a dangerous weapon which kills but like other greedy corporate types Taser is caught with its hand in the cookie jar. What public pressure and outrage may not succeed in doing, the stock market may, that is getting Taser out of cops hands.

Shares of Taser International Inc. dropped as much as 14.2 per cent Friday after the stun-gun maker said the Nasdaq stock market had changed its status because of its failure to file a quarterly report with U.S. regulators. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is currently investigating possible manipulation of the company's stock. The regulator announced in January that it was probing Taser's safety claims for its stun guns and the booking of a year-end order, news that sent the company's shares down 77 per cent.

America's Right Wing Turkey

It seems fitting that on the American Thanksgiving the proverbial old man of the Yahoos and Know Nothings on the Right should be celebrating his 80th Birthday.
I am of course refering to that startling intellecshual William F. Buckely.

I for one have regreted that this intellectual giant of the American Right never got a chance to debate the intellectual giant of liberalism in North America. I am of course speaking of Pierre Elliot Trudeau.

If such a debate had happened between Buckley and Canada's philosopher king on Buckley's PBS Firing Line program it might go something like this;

WFB; Ummmm, ummm, err, well Pierre , uhhhhmmm how do you reconcile the uhhhmmm contradiction of being well, uhhhhmmmmm a classical liberal of the Bentham, ummmmm Mills school, with your er ah ahhhhemmmm ummm Jesuit upbringing, hmmmm while being a ahemmmm Prime Minister of a country that still ummmmm ahemmmm recognizes the Monarchy? Hmmm?

PET; Well Bill let me say that our country maybe Catholic and we may have a Queen but you want to be Catholic and a Queen.

Yep thats a showdown I would have loved to seen.

Rescuing Lord Black

#666-666-666


Black wants Canadian citizenship back: report
Only Canadian citizens can request a transfer to a Canadian jail from a jail elsewhere.
Nope, Nyet, No way, Hit the highway, get lost.

Lord Black made a stir at an otherwise less than eventful book launch for Rescuing the Right, see articles below, by appearing and hobnobbing with Hog Town Tories, including Warren Kinsella, in hopes I suspect that he would be rescued from his pending doom in the US.

Bwahaha I say in my voice of doom not a chance buddy.

Or maybe he was hoping Kinsella would say something nice about him since he is married to Barbara Amiel.

And speaking of dearest Babawa, she is the main reason for Lord Blacks downfall as Peter Newman points out. But of course the little woman behind the Lord is not being charged with any crime. Unlike her role model Marie Antoinette.

Just as Conrad's troubles began to mount, Barbara wrote an article in FQ magazine, in which she described how her personal priorities had escalated into never-never land, ignoring her husband's troubles. "For some people," she wrote, emphatically including herself, "jewellery is a defining attribute, rather like your intelligence or the number of residences you have." She boasted about owning "a fantastic natural-pearl and diamond brooch," which languished in her safety deposit box because it was simply too big to wear. The contents of her London closets became common gossip, including more than a dozen Hermès Birkin bags and 30 to 40 jewel-handled Renaud Pellegrino handbags. But it was her collection of Manolo Blahnik shoes that attracted the most attention. These are not boots made for walkin'. Their Spanish designer, who calls himself "a sculptor and engineer," carves each last by hand out of beechwood, "giving special thought to toe cleavage." They start at about $600 a pair, and Barbara had well over 100 in her London house alone, some with kitten heels. ("Buckingham Palace floors don't like stilettos," she explained to the uninitiated among us.) The arrangement they had was that Barbara paid for her off-the-rack purchases while the hubby sprung for her couture.

According to Richard Breeden's special investigative report, Barbara was paid US$1,141,558 between 1999 and 2003, for which there was "no meaningful work in return." That included her retainer for editorial advice to the Chicago Sun-Times where, employees claimed, she had not set foot for more than four years. On top of that, she received more than US$1 million through a company named Black-Amiel Management. Black has launched a libel suit as a result of the Breeden report, and Amiel has denied the allegations.

Meanwhile, on April 12, 2004, Amiel cashed in options to buy Hollinger stock for nearly US$3.1 million, some US$2.25 million below market value. That meant she was profiting from her husband's downfall, since that's what was driving the stock price higher.

Love's labour not lost

So why was Rod Love on tour with Ralph Klein this last week? It's not like he is the Premiers executive assistant any longer. And who paid for his touring with his pal Ralph? Inquirying minds want to know. And so should the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.

Hang Him High

King Ralph said he would be hung and quartered, driven out of town etc. if his government was a scandal ridden as the Federal Government. Albertans wouldn't stand for it, he said.

We should take him at his word and look at this months list of scandals.

For the record;

Klein dismisses lobbyist registry cause it might impact on his pal Rod Love, and all those ex Tory cabinet ministers now lobbying the government.

Well there is that contract with the AON Consulting, that was an inhouse tender, and to a company with a recent conviction in the US for Fraud.

There was the governments insider land deals in Fort McMurray.

And then there is the OSC charges against the newest appointed Alberta Securities Commission boss for insider trading.

There is scandal downunder in New Zealand with Kleins newly appointed executive assistant and his wife.

The deputy leader of New Zealand's National Party says Peter Kruselnicki and his partner Paula Tyler should repay some of the nearly $57,134 Cdn spent to recruit them and relocate them from Edmonton because Tyler is leaving in mid-contract. Gerry Brownlee says Tyler, a former deputy minister of Alberta Children's Services, should have to repay the New Zealand government for plane tickets and household furnishings because she is leaving early from her post as CEO of the country's Child, Youth and Family Services Department.

And now.......RCMP to follow up on alleged tainted investigations at ASC

You get the horses I'll get the rope.

Go Here for a complete list of the Krimes of Klein.

NDP Election Messaging

Getting results for people...with a common sense compromise.

This WORKS!

Just drop the 'compromise', that was yesterdays tag line.

Going into the Election "Getting results for people" works.

Identifying Jack with the Party works, we did that in the 97 election in Alberta identifying the popular party leaders, Pam Barrett with the party. And it worked, people connected the two.

The issue:
Privatization of Health Care.
Klein has made it the issue and put it front and centre on the agenda. The Liberals have not protected public health care from Klein, Charest and Campbell. This gives the NDP the opportunity to differentiate themselves from the Liberals while bashing Harper for his silence.

The other issues:

Ethics and electoral Reform.
The NDP ethics package is an excellent foil to the Liberals and Conservatives. Even without Ed running, he can hit the national hustings promoting the package with his statemans charisma. You get two for one on this Layton and Broadbent. Layton is strong on prop rep and the need for electoral reform stick to that and avoid Torontocentric issues like housing.

The Environment
Not Kyoto but a New Industrial Policy.
Brush the dust off the hybird Green car plan that the NDP, Sierra Club and CAW raised two years ago in the last election.Layton raised it in the house last week, it was a good sound bite. Good stuff saves jobs, ties auto funding to new cars, and creates a Volkswagon for 21st century Canada.
Kyoto nice in Toronto lousy in the West. Useless period won't really impact climate change, just changes the way the numbers are shuffled. Kyoto is old news, we need a made in Canada Sustainable Industry policy, like the Green Car plan. Its a mouthful but it steals the thunder from the Conservatives. Greens are not a factor in this election. However a made in Canada Environment plan could sell well in the West.

IT'S A MINORITY
Either way its going to be a minority government, Quebec is sewn up with the BQ and Alberta is sewn up with the Conservatives. The latest polls show the battleground is B.C. and Ontario. Even though the Ekos Poll is predicting a Liberal Majority (heavens forbid).

Two Decima polls this past week give us hope that the urge for change by Canadians will result in more votes for the NDP. A poll done for the Ottawa Citizen found:

The second has to do with the dynamic between the Liberal, Conservative and NDP choice.
For months, it’s been clear that a “desire for change” is the major catalyst for rising
Conservative and NDP support. That desire acts as a virtual ceiling that Liberal support seems
unable to penetrate. When people hear that Liberal support is rising and a majority government
may be possible, the desire for change is aroused, and Liberal support starts to drift downward.
So, for months, between 33% and 39% of decided voters indicate they will vote Liberal at the
next opportunity. Maybe enough not to lose the election, but not enough for a convincing win
either. What keeps it from falling below 33% is the other part of the equation: anxiety about a
Conservative government led by Stephen Harper. This anxiety acts as a ceiling for
Conservative support, a floor for the Liberals, and soft NDP supporters are those that have the
most to do with moving the numbers around.

More importantly Decima found that the NDP support has steadily increased in four out of five of its last polls!

Even some died in the wool NDPbloggers are saying the unthinkable. Time for a change says fellow Edmontonian , Idealistic Pragmatist

"Like James Bow, Andrew Spicer, and Greg of Sinister Thoughts, I'm hoping that the upcoming election will bring us a new Prime Minsister named Stephen Harper"

Oyy Vey. But in the NDP world this is the message that has to get out to pink liberals; either a Liberal or Conservative Minority government, with the NDP holding the balance of power is OK with us. Even a Harper minority would actually have to deal with the NDP and BQ and that would temper their extreme wing with the harsh reality of pragmatic parlimentary politics.

Liberals face voter backlash over spending spree

survey: Race tightens More become comfortable with idea of Harper as next prime minister

Ipsos-Reid president Darrell Bricker said yesterday one of the apparent reasons for the declining Liberal support is a backlash triggered by the pre-election strategy of promising billions of dollars in tax cuts and new spending programs.

"It underscores the fact that people believe the Liberals are willing to spend money to buy votes," Bricker said.

"It's one of the things that came out of the sponsorship inquiry, so it highlights the character elements of the Liberals that people don't like.

"For opposition voters, it's throwing a log on the fire for them and steeling their resolve to kick these guys out.

"For people who are voting for the government, it's making them nothing but squeamish."

The poll found that after 12 years of Liberal government, there is a widespread desire for change.

The poll also found a growing number of voters are becoming comfortable with the idea of Conservative leader Stephen Harper becoming prime minister, provided a Tory government is kept to a minority.

Moreover, the poll found the Liberals are in trouble in two key regional battlegrounds: Quebec, where the popularity of the Bloc has surged, and British Columbia, where the Conservatives have suddenly soared in a close three-way contest.

In order not to have the Liberals pull off an eleventh hour Hail Mary pass to win pink liberals from the NDP, Layton has to balance his attacks to against Martin as much as against Harper. He has to remind voters its not who governs but who holds the power in the upcoming Minority government. A plague on both their houses, vote NDP for real change.

Hey Brad just put my cheque in the mail for this advice.