Pete's blog

Well first the good stuff.

Below is the text of the speech made against the UCUs explicit rejection of the EUMC definitions of antisemitism at its congress on May 30 2011.

I have to admit this when I'm bored and have nothing better to do, I go into UK Left Network, a Yahoo list usually filled with unbridled sectariana. My excuse is that it can be useful to search through that list to find out what some people say about the AWL.

MEMRI may have a suspect agenda with its founders and I don't imagine they should be expected to give a balanced account of politics in the Arab world.
Nevertheless they compile many videos, largely broadcasted on Al-Jazeera, worth looking at. See links in this blog entry. You will probably need a broadband connection to view the video clips.

An attempt by AWL and Committee for 2 states to explore possibilities for joint work between the PSC and the Comm for 2 States are rebuffed. Why? Well read on.

Apparently Azzam Tamimi is about to release a book on the Palestine liberation movement and he had a launch meeting on September 21st in Glasgow I think. I don’t know who was in the audience. A video of his talk is viewable at: http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=6997561560673766578 (corrected as a result of change of URL)
Below is an edited transcript of parts of it. Can't wait for the book

Took a few days break in Paris, amongst other things, to go on the demo in Paris on August 12 against the Israeli attack on Lebanon. Images and short video of LCR and LO contingent below.

I give a superficial impression below(as my French is not good so conversations were very limited) but it seems as though the demo which was about 5-10,000 was in three blocs.

Over the last 2 Saturdays Nottingham AWL supporters in the Campaign for 2 States along with activists from the local Jewish Socialist Groups (and Jewish Peace Campaign) and people from the Nottingham University Peace Movement, have been protesting in Nottingham City Centre.

People may have heard about Tamimi's rant about Israel at the Stop the War rally in London last week. Now you can see it, just in case anyone is any doubt that the StWC can do nothing but harm the creation of a real mass, progressive campaign against the present Israeli onslaught on the Palestinians and Lebanese people.

A few weeks ago one of my comrades reacted with amused disbelief when she heard that the SWP's Marxism had set aside a prayer room for devout Muslim attendees.
I read today that this was not true.
There were in fact 2 prayer rooms, one for men and one for women.

Last Thursday, June 8th, I emailed the text below to leading Engage and AUT activists, Jon Pike and Dave Hirsh as well as Engage 'Director', Jane Ashworth, regarding the settlement of the UCU dispute. As yet I await any confirmation that they will be fighting this appalling settlement.

I left off from yesterday's response to Dan without responding to his comments about 9/11 and the cartoons issue. Dan admits to not knowing much about our politics and whilst there is much on our website, maybe the actual articles explaining our position are not convenient to locate. Rather than try and link to what other comrades have written. I will run through the arguments again, at least on 9/11.

Dan R an anarchist comrade from Nottingham on his Naked Lunch blog has made a lengthy contribution on the Left and Iraq which I promised to respond to but my response got a bit long to put as a comment to his blog. But both Dan and I agree that we would welcome other's contribution either here or there.

Yesterday morning one of the finest socialist activists I have ever known, former Notts militant miners' leader Paul Whetton, died.

Greg Palast has recently sent this response to our Open Letter to Tony Benn.

OK. I was 14 right. I suppose I could say I had been radicalised by Dylan's second album, Times they are a'changing with the fantastic tracks, The ballad of Hattie Carroll, Hollis Brown and North Country Blues.

In Ontario yesterday institutionalisation of Islamic arbitration courts was rejected. A decision hailed as a victory by Iranian activists, and other refugees, who have suffered from such bodies 'settling' family disputes in their original countries.

New York on Wednesday will see a debate between Galloway, the darling of the idiot left in Britain, and Christopher Hitchens, Iraq occupation supporter and Bush apologist.