This may (or may not) show some live vid from me of today’s strike.

The first thing to say is this strike day has snowballed and there is no telling what will be closed and what may stay open, in terms of schools/colleges it may be best to assume closed and plan accordingly (update 52 out of 55 schools closed), Holyhead port may close or be very delayed/reduced service. So instead why not roll up and join one of the many actions around the region:-

Coleg Menai is closed to students for the day. UCU Coleg Menai will be picketing , between 8.00 and 9.45, at the Bangor and Llangefni sites, also hopefully Caernarfon and Holyhead.

Bangor-

Unison Rep at Coleg Menai says they’re assembling at the clock in Bangor for 11 o’clock so we’ll be directing our UCU members there.

TUC rally at the clock tower in Bangor at 11:00 (UCU – Rally at the town clock at 11am)

Also picket from 7am to 4pm outside Ysbyty Gwynedd. Only 6 (official) pickets allowed but as many as possible supporters also allowed (wink). They are short of volunteers for the picket line anyone who can do an hour will be gratefully received.

Now below is an older plan that Labour students planned

11.30am–1pm, Bangor University Labour Group: March and rally in support of the millions of workers taking a stand against government cuts to pensions. Assemble outside Bar Uno and march to the Main Arts Quad for rally.

But I am hearing now they will support the rally at the clock so it now reportedly goes something like

10.30am Student march and rally, will join … 11am: TUC rally Bangor Clock

I hope to make it to the clock and the hospital picket. North Wales Against Cuts Bangor and Occupy North Wales are also supporting the action.

The perfect accompaniment to our Neo-Victorian age.

Sometimes called Saturday, but what would the date know?

Twinkly loveliness.

This is from the Burma Campaign email and is worth repeating as it cuts through a lot of chaff in the present situation though it should be noted that the debate on sanctions is greater than ever, will some engagement help open cvivl society or will that remove pressure from the ruling scumbags?-

A short Q&A follows on recent developments and what they might mean.  

Aung San Suu Kyi Suu is standing to be an MP, and is likely to be elected. Does this mean there is democracy in Burma now?

No. Earlier this year a new military drafted constitution came into force which legalised dictatorship with a civilian front. A Parliament was created, but the military have 25 percent of the seats, and so can veto any legislation in Parliament to change the constitution and make it more democratic. Rigged elections mean Parliament is dominated by pro-military parties. Parliament also has limited power. Above parliament is the President, above the President is the National Defence and Security Council (NDSC) which has 10 of its 11 members either military or ex-military, and above the NDSC is the Military, which has a Constitutional right to step in and take direct control again and is not accountable to parliament or the president.

Why is Aung San Suu Kyi and her party standing in elections now when they boycotted the elections last year?

Last year new election laws were introduced which were designed to stop the National League for Democracy (NLD) taking part. They required the NLD to expel convicted members (political prisoners), and to support and defend the military drafted constitution. Those laws have now been changed, which means the NLD can register as a party again, and take part in elections.

If Parliament is dominated by the military, and pro-military parties, what difference can Aung San Suu Kyi make there?

She is probably hoping that even though the NLD will only have a very small number of MPs, they can use Parliament as a platform for pushing for greater reforms. Perhaps in four years time when there are new elections they will be able to win more seats, but even then there will still be the reserved seats for soldiers, and limited powers of Parliament. If more reforms can be made it is likely to be a slow and difficult process, which is why it is essential that we don’t stop campaigning and supporting Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Burma now. There is still a long long way to go.  

I have seen in newspapers that things are improving and reforms are being made. Isn’t this positive?

Aung San Suu Kyi has been cautious saying reforms are: “to a certain extent encouraging”, but that there is still much more that needs to be done. There have been some reforms which are significant compared to the usual situation in Burma, but there no major democratic reforms yet. One reform has been the lifting of the ban on some news websites, but only 0.3 percent of people in Burma can even access the internet. There is a slight relaxation of censorship, and politicians are allowed more freedom to debate, but no changes yet which impact most ordinary people. At the same time, most political prisoners are still in jail, and Burmese Army attacks against ethnic civilians have actually increased. Almost 150,000 ethnic people were forced to flee their homes in the past year, double the average number. There has also been a big increase in the use of gang-rape by the Burmese Army. Despite some reforms, in the past year human rights abuses have actually increased. 

With things changing now, is it time to lift sanctions?

Aung San Suu Kyi and the rest of Burma’s democracy movement are not calling for the lifting of economic sanctions yet. Thein Sein, Burma’s new President, and his government want international legitimacy and sanctions lifted. This is one of the reasons why they have started making some reforms. To lift too many sanctions too fast removes the incentive for them to keep making more reforms. Some of the diplomatic sanctions have been lifted to show more sanctions will be lifted if they make real change, but changes so far are not fundamental, and human rights abuses are increasing. The danger is that many American and European companies are lobbying for sanctions to be lifted now, despite the human rights situation, because they want access to Burma’s natural resources. We must ensure governments base their decisions on the human rights situation in Burma and what is best for the people, not the profits of Shell and mining companies. 

Does Burma Campaign UK think there will be real change soon?

One thing we have learnt in 20 years of campaigning for human rights and democracy in Burma is to judge the government of Burma on its actions, not its words. They have said they want change, and have taken some steps which are significant compared to the past, but they haven’t delivered real change yet. The fact that they have not released all political prisoners, and they have actually increased attacks against ethnic civilians, are not good indicators that they are genuine about reform. On the other hand, there is clearly potential for reform. Thein Sein may just be wanting to make some small reforms in order to get sanctions lifted and have normal international relations, to be a ‘normal’ dictatorship, but Burma’s democracy movement will be pushing for more, and we must ensure that there is still a strong international movement to support them.

The danger now with some small reforms being made is that many people will start to think the problems in Burma are being solved. They will stop campaigning and paying attention to what is going on. But actually now is the time when their support is needed more than ever. The sanctions we campaigned for all these years are working, they are acting as pressure for reform. There is more hope now, but we need to keep pushing. There is potential for change, but at the same time human rights abuses are increasing. The people of Burma still need our support. Burma Campaign UK will always be there to defend the victims of human rights abuses in Burma, no matter how long it takes.

You can make a donation to Burma Campaign UK at: http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/donate 

From the FT via Richard Murphy-

Public support for free markets is based on two broad arguments. The first is that they deliver more efficient outcomes than the alternatives. The second is that over time they create increased prosperity for society at large. Both these assumptions have taken a severe jolt in the past few years.

We now know that the efficient market theory is for the birds, and that market failures can have devastating consequences for wide sectors of the public. We also know that the fruits of economic success have become increasingly unevenly distributed.

Rant alert:- So basically I am pissed off, see the thing is if you research, find the evidence do the due diligence, do the thinking and come to the conclusion he has you do not get welcomed into the establishment. And blessed/cursed with a conscience you reject it anyway, no one of good character could engage in behaviour they know to be based upon a false and iniquitous belief system. Yeah I know, what a fucking freak, you’re meant to grab what you can and devil take the hindmost, I must have missed the line where they handed out sociopathy, I guess it was the one full of shit eating New Labour, Liberal and Tory cunts. Anyways, after this bullshit has done its damage after 30 years the establishment are sheepishly going- erm, yeah um, oops, we might be in trouble here- in the desperate hope they will be perceived more favourably against the building rage of the majority who they have been fucking over for so long. Oh boo-fucking-hoo, no so cocky with the let them eat cakeisms as the guillotine hoves into view shit for brains? Sorry but lots of us figured this out more than TWO FUCKING DECADES AGO. But we don’t get the big bucks, in fact that’s kinda the important thing. The big money that floods unto management class under neoliberalism is precisely to insulate them for the reality of their practices, from the consequences and to make their life so gilded and lovely they will ultimately use structural violence to kill and maim people rather than change and give up their privilege built out of utter and total cobblers. And that’s the charitable interpretation, uncharitably they are evil ratfucks deserving or life in jail so they are no longer a danger to others and themselves.

Run to the bedroom, In the suitcase on the left. You’ll find my favourite axe.

When I attended cenotaphs as a child, often with my father and brother who would be parading in uniform, the night before and morning filled with the polishing of brass, boots and rifles, it was very much about remembering the dead with a hope to having no more wars. Now however it has been co-opted into a nationalistic pro-war brand with combined shaming of anyone not sufficiently, unquestionably, respectful to the warfare state. Which is somewhat fascistic, which seems to me to be very disrespectful of what millions died fighting against. This week Mark and Helen Mullins, a veteran and his wife, killed themselves because they were so poor, the welfare system which has become a policing operation designed to deny benefits pushing them over the edge. The day of the 11th was heralded by twin reports in the Telegraph and Daily Mail attacking the disabled. To quote Brecht-

Do not rejoice in his defeat, you men. For though the world has stood up and stopped the bastard, the bitch that bore him is in heat again.