Iain Duncan Smith, has been a failure and a liar, most of his life. Despite this, he has been put in charge of a department, and pursues a draconian regime against the less fortunate of the UK’s population. This is only possible, because we do not have a true democracy in the UK.
Pat Burke, Ancoats, Manchester
It was with sadness that I heard Pat Burke had died on the 26th November 2014. Pat Burke had been active in Ancoats for many years, recently supporting Ancoats Dispensary Trust, in its efforts to save Ancoats Dispenary.
She was involved, with other Ancoats residents in the occupation of Ancoats Casualty, which took place between February 1987 and March 1989. They were fighting to stop the closure of the casualty department, which the local Health authority had decided, had to close. The story of the sit-in, is told in ‘Stitched Up! – Action for Health in Ancoats’ (Dunne, M.C., 1993). Pat was one of the editorial group, along with Phil Burke, Joe Cromer, Jean Grey, Cathy Jackson and Craig Russell, which met regularly between 1991 to 1993. There were two copies of ‘Stitched Up!’ available in the reference section of Central Library.
The last of years, she has been supportive of the Save Ancoats Dispensary Group, now Ancoats Dispensary Trust, in their efforts to save the old building from demolition. Pat Burke’s Health Profile from ‘Stitched Up!, is below;
Dunne, M.C. (1993) Stitched Up! – Action for Health in Ancoats, Rochdale Alternative Press. 1993 Church Action on Poverty.
Global tax evasion, equality and quantitative easing…
I would disagree with comment that UKIP has grown considerably. The media and especially the BBC, have given Farage and UKIP, disproportionately more publicity than they deserve. Whilst the Green Party, with an MP since 2010, a number of MEPs, control of Brighton and considerable influence in some other councils. Does not get the media response it deserves, even being denied again, a place at a leaders debate on BBC TV. It is not just Murdoch’s media empire that is an obstacle to true democracy.
The Group of twenty (G20) committed to finding a global solution for tax evasion after the financial crisis, and in 2009 it agreed to make arrangements for the exchanging of tax information between tax administrations around the world. In October this year the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the G20 officially endorsed the automatic exchange of tax information between all OECD and G20 countries as well as major financial centres that participate in the annual meeting of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes in Berlin. A status report on committed and not committed countries or jurisdictions and whether they will start reporting information in 2017 or 2018, is to be presented to G20 leaders during the annual summit held in Brisbane in less than two weeks. Australia along with thirty-eight other countries that include China, Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong have…
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The Republican, Issue One
An interesting article about the Peterloo Massacre and one of the important people Richard Carlile, fighting for democracy in the UK. Something that is still, sadly lacking, due to the ‘first-past-the-post’ system. Unfortunately, far too many middle-class, so-called socialist, think Marxism is the only socialist movement the UK had. Marx plagiarised the work of early British, French and German socialists, to produce a work of contradictions.
The Republican Issue One
The Republican was first published on this day, August 27th, 1819. Its creator was Richard Carlile, who was one of the intended speakers at the St Peter’s Fields reform meeting before the yeomanry transformed the occasion into the Peterloo Massacre. Shocked by the spectacle of unarmed men women and children being cut to pieces just because they wanted to hear a bit more about democracy, Carlile wrote an account of the event for Sherwin’s Weekly Political Register which led to his instant prosecution.
The Prince Regent also put pen to paper. He took the initiative of writing personally to congratulate the troops on how promptly and efficiently they had put the plebs to the sword.
(You see, soldiers who slaughter civilians aren’t committing a crime. People who point that soldiers slaughter civilians are the real criminals.)
Carlile changed the name of his paper to
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Peterloo Massacre 195th Anniversary
August 16th was the 195th Anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre, and a commemoration of the event was held on the 17th August 2014, on Windmill Street on the edge of the original site. A number of different groups had walked in from other parts of Lancashire to represent the original marches to join the Peterloo Rally.
Maxine Peake had appeared the year before at the Manchester International Festival, doing a reading of Shelley’s Masque of Anarchy
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A number of Ancoats Dispensary Trust and supporters, were at the event.
Biggest London march in support of Gaza, Palestine.
A response to ‘7 Things to Consider Before Choosing Sides in the Middle East Conflict’
Israeli lies given too much credence by our politicians and media.
A response to Ali A. Rizvi’s ‘7 Things to Consider Before Choosing Sides in the Middle East Conflict’ published in The Huffington Post
Nikhil Datta & James Duckworth
Some of you may have seen Ali A. Rivzi’s Huff Post article trending recently, which ultimately calls for some balance to be taken when observing the Israel-Palestine conflict. It is a well-constructed piece that to a large number may seem convincing. Nevertheless, it is riddled with fallacious arguments, cherry picked facts, apologism for military aggression, and comes with a pre-supposition that Hamas are no more than an Al-Qaeda equivalent who seeks nothing but nihilistic destruction. As a result we felt it necessary to give a point by point response.
Prior to that however, we just want to make clear what is meant by ‘Anti-Israel,’ in this instance it simply means being opposed to their foreign policy (what they perceive to be as…
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Manchester’s new housing deal: more questions than answers.
Once again, Manchester City Council, is continuing with its failed policies, of socially cleansing areas of long term tenants, to build energy inefficient homes for the young, upperwardly mobile professionals. They have learnt nothing from their failures of the past, blaming their failures on everything but themselves. Without accepting there is a problem, taking ownwership of that problem, the problem will never be resolved. Manchester, is locked in an ever decreasing spiral towards total breakdown, like Detroit in the USA, where residents are having their water cut-off: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detroit
Manchester City has signed a new housing deal with Manchester City! Yes, that’s what we said, where “Manchester City” of course means Manchester City Council and strangely enough (in Manc. English) “Manchester City” also means Manchester City Football Club.
Even stranger, that football club is owned by an investment company the
On the right, Sheikh Mansoor, with whose company Manchester City Council has signed the deal (via wikipedia)
Abu Dhabi United Group, the personal fiefdom of one Mansoor bin Zayed bin Sultan bin Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minster of the United Arab Emirates, the federation of small absolute monarchies on the Arabian Peninsular, with innovative social policies such as the use of torture, capital punishment, high levels of labour exploitation, and 14-year prison terms for homosexuality. It is also the country with the world’s highest per capita ecological footprint, although reported to be…
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Landlords use the bedroom tax to hide their own incompetence
An update on the heinous bedroom tax and how the UK tax-payer is bailing out the private rental sector and losing out. The bedroom tax does not treat social tenants the same as private tenants.
Hazel Hedge | … ready for some real change
A blog from Barton Moss anti-fracking camp:
patricktsudlow 