Story here
One of the largest trade union affiliates has temporarily withdrawn its support for Labour following the government's refusal to back down over council workers' pensions.
In what is believed to be an unprecedented decision, Unison, the largest public sector union, issued a ruling last week withdrawing all funding and other support routinely provided to the Labour party at election time."
Wednesday, 29 March 2006
Generation Debt is changing, but not as Mr Blair imagines
Guardian Unlimited | Guardian daily comment | Generation Debt is changing, but not as Mr Blair imagines: "Generation Debt also contains augurs of surprising moves in a more collectivist direction. In its account, 'a new generation of labour organisers and advocates' is addressing the flimsiness of the American service economy by reinventing, of all things, trade unionism. At the same time, more than a few American students are trying to revive the quaint idea that education is a social good and taxation ought to fund more of it. And look at current events in France: university students renewing the spirit of 1968's événements in response to the fact that the government's loosening of employment regulations will start, naturally enough, with those under 26.
Therein lies a compelling spectacle: a generation tapping into the kind of politics that it had supposedly rendered obsolete. Mr Blair's beloved change, it seems, may yet march in a rather unexpected direction."
Therein lies a compelling spectacle: a generation tapping into the kind of politics that it had supposedly rendered obsolete. Mr Blair's beloved change, it seems, may yet march in a rather unexpected direction."
Thursday, 23 March 2006
Friday, 17 March 2006
When did you stop beating your party? Sleazebag!
A couple of observations on Blair re funding & sleaze, and voting with the tories.
1
You know the question about when did you stop beating your wife? If Tony Blair was caught beating his wife, he would probably claim that he hadn't done anything wrong (she probably "walked into a door"), and anyway, he was just about to bring in legislation to stop himself doing it.
2
In 1997 the claim was that Blair had made Labour electable again. I never bought that one, but now - as Tory legislation is forced through in the teeth of opposition from even "New" Labour supporters on the govenment benches - it looks like the "legacy" will be to make the Tories electable and Labour unelectable!
Way to go Tony. As far away as possible, I hope, and as soon as can be arranged.
1
You know the question about when did you stop beating your wife? If Tony Blair was caught beating his wife, he would probably claim that he hadn't done anything wrong (she probably "walked into a door"), and anyway, he was just about to bring in legislation to stop himself doing it.
2
In 1997 the claim was that Blair had made Labour electable again. I never bought that one, but now - as Tory legislation is forced through in the teeth of opposition from even "New" Labour supporters on the govenment benches - it looks like the "legacy" will be to make the Tories electable and Labour unelectable!
Way to go Tony. As far away as possible, I hope, and as soon as can be arranged.
Thursday, 16 March 2006
Wednesday, 15 March 2006
bangbang people
A vision of the future something a bit like Blade Runner here... fascinating stuff though...
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Invisible city: "Chongqing is not just urbanising, it is globalising. Little more than a generation ago, this was a city where Red Guards in Mao tunics chanted anti-imperialist slogans. Today, young people with money dress much like their counterparts in Birmingham, Chicago or Nagoya. If anything, their values are even more materialistic.
I am sitting in Falling, which Spiderman's boss He Qing recommended to me as the hottest nightspot in Chongqing. It is Wednesday night, but the dancefloor is packed with beautiful people moving to techno music. Our table has an 800 yuan (£57) minimum charge, which covers a bottle of vodka, a few imported beers and a plate of elegantly carved fruit.
He joins us, along with some of Chongqing's new rich, including the founder of a sweet factory, a restaurant owner and a bank employee. Almost without exception they are in their 20s, foreign educated and well connected - either through family or political ties - with the city's movers and shakers. 'No businessman can thrive unless they have contacts in the Communist party and the underworld,' I am told.
I feel uneasy spending more on a night's entertainment than bangbang man Yu earns from a month's gruelling work. I'm not the only one conscious of the gap. Qing tells me his plan for the future. 'Inequality and environmental destruction are the two biggest problems facing China.'"
Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Invisible city: "Chongqing is not just urbanising, it is globalising. Little more than a generation ago, this was a city where Red Guards in Mao tunics chanted anti-imperialist slogans. Today, young people with money dress much like their counterparts in Birmingham, Chicago or Nagoya. If anything, their values are even more materialistic.
I am sitting in Falling, which Spiderman's boss He Qing recommended to me as the hottest nightspot in Chongqing. It is Wednesday night, but the dancefloor is packed with beautiful people moving to techno music. Our table has an 800 yuan (£57) minimum charge, which covers a bottle of vodka, a few imported beers and a plate of elegantly carved fruit.
He joins us, along with some of Chongqing's new rich, including the founder of a sweet factory, a restaurant owner and a bank employee. Almost without exception they are in their 20s, foreign educated and well connected - either through family or political ties - with the city's movers and shakers. 'No businessman can thrive unless they have contacts in the Communist party and the underworld,' I am told.
I feel uneasy spending more on a night's entertainment than bangbang man Yu earns from a month's gruelling work. I'm not the only one conscious of the gap. Qing tells me his plan for the future. 'Inequality and environmental destruction are the two biggest problems facing China.'"
Sunday, 5 March 2006
I thought 'hubris' in 1994 - maybe it was just 'greed'
Guardian Unlimited Politics | Comment | Andrew Rawnsley: Tessa Jowell's sudden marital split won't stop the questions: "After the umpteenth ugly headline about the Blairs and money, I once asked one of the Prime Minister's closest advisers why he and his wife had such reckless disregard for what it did to their reputation. 'They spend too much time with very rich people,' was the blunt reply.
Because they work hard and carry so many responsibilities, ministers argue themselves into believing that they deserve a similar level of lifestyle to the mega-rich."
Because they work hard and carry so many responsibilities, ministers argue themselves into believing that they deserve a similar level of lifestyle to the mega-rich."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
