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ARCHIVE
US VIVA PALESTINA CONVOY T-SHIRT
Published by Salma Yaqoob, Respect, PO Box 1109, London N4 2UU .
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25/07/2009
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Vestas Blades UK on the Isle of Wight is due to close on 31st July. 600 jobs will be lost immediately while many more that depend on Vestas will follow. It is the third biggest employer on the Isle of Wight. This makes no sense from a green or a labour perspective!
The government has just announced a major expansion of renewable energy including wind power. Vestas makes wind turbines. Climate change is a fact and politicians make endless noises about needing to find new energy sources. Now politicians must show that this can be matched by actions.
READ MORE HERE
22/07/2009
Support our troops: Bring them all home now
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by Salma Yaqoob
Today, many people in Birmingham will be watching the homecoming parade for the 26th Regiment Royal Artillery. They are returning from a mission that is becoming increasingly dangerous and deadly. No-one can doubt that it must take great bravery for any individual to put themselves in harms way. And with 187 British fatalities since the start of the war in 2001, and many more serious casualties, the risk of injury or worse is growing.
A debate is raging throughout the country over whether the troops have the equipment they need to do their job. Much discussion has taken place about whether they have enough helicopters or armoured vehicles. Yet fundamental questions as to the purpose of this war remain unanswered.
21/07/2009
Jerry Hicks: Vestas Occupation, all power to their elbow.
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On Monday 20th July workers began occupying part of the Vestas wind turbine plant at Newport on the Isle of Wight in protest against threatened closure at the end of the month. 600 jobs would be lost.
Vestas is the world’s biggest wind energy group and recently reported a quarterly sales rise of 59%, up to €1.1bn (£0.95bn). They’re coining it in. They obviously think they can play around with jobs all over the world and don’t have to be held to account for ruining workers’ livelihoods.
The workers want Gordon Brown to step in as if it was a troubled bank and save the jobs and the production of wind turbine blades. He gave the bankers trillions.
20/07/2009
Workers occupy Vestas wind turbine factory
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From the Save Vestas website
Vestas Blades UK on the Isle of Wight is due to close on 31st July. 600 jobs will be lost immediately, many more jobs that depend on Vestas will follow. This makes no sense from a green or a labour perspective!
The government has just announced a major expansion of renewable energy including wind power. We are calling on Vestas to keep the factories open, saving jobs and offering those who want to leave a better redundancy deal. We are calling on the government to intervene to save jobs at Vestas - through nationalisation if that is what it takes - to show that it is serious about saving the planet.
17/07/2009
North West 10 - Human rights abused, lives ruined
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- The Justice for the North West 10 campaign welcomes the release of Sultan Sher and Janus Khan and urges the Home Office to immediately release the seven students still in prison.
- The government now admits they are innocent and they are not ‘a threat to national security'. Why then are Janus and Sultan being humiliated by being tagged like animals?
This is a clear breach of their human rights and an attempt to save face by the authorities, since it is now obvious to the public that there was no ‘terror plot'.
16/07/2009
US Viva Palestina Convoy enters Gaza to heroes welcome
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The Viva Palestina US convoy - Lifeline 2 - finally entered Gaza yesterday afternoon to a rapturous reception. George Galloway led the convoy in, with U.S. presidential candiate and former congresswomen Cynthia MsKinney and New York councilman Charles Barron. Some 200 U.S citizens came with the convoy. They went on to meet Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniyeh.
The successful entry into Gaza follows the kidnapping of human rights activists, including Cynthia McKinney, by the Israeli navy a couple of weeks ago when Israeli gunboats surrounded the Spirit of Humanity, also carrying aid to Gaza as part of the Free Gaza mission.
15/07/2009
Salma Yaqoob: Tackling the 'cancer' of BNP fascism
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The election of two BNP MEPs has removed the cover on a political sewer that should have been sealed for all time. Nick Griffin, a man with a history of anti-Semitism and holocaust denial, now calls for “chemotherapy” against the Islamic “cancer” in Europe. The echoes of the past are deliberate. The choice of words is chilling.
Griffin's election has given the BNP unprecedented access to the media, and he is using it to promote the most vicious racism. His genocidal rantings towards Muslims followed his call for the sinking of ships carrying migrants from Africa to Europe - in other words the premeditated murder of men, women and children on a desperate voyage to escape poverty and oppression.
14/07/2009
The public spending cuts begin
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Two campaigns in Manchester highlight the growing threat posed to our communities by public sector spending cuts.
At Prestwich Arts College, National Union of Teachers (NUT) members have launched industrial action including a work to rule and strike action against cuts. The cutbacks involve ‘non-contact' time when teachers can prepare and mark work rather than teach. The school wish to drastically reduce the amount of time each teacher can spend away from classroom teaching. This time is essential for teachers to deliver high quality education and to allow them to assess pupil's work effectively.
Dr Kay Phillips, Respect National Chair and prospective parliamentary candidate for Blackley, views the cutbacks with concern. ‘To reduce ‘non-contact' time is to attack the quality of education our children receive. The Respect Party is opposed to these cuts and supports the NUT action at Prestwich Arts College. We urge every parent and supporter of education to back this action and call for the removal of the threat to cut ‘non-contact' time.'
13/07/2009
Mega Schools and PFI are potential disaster in Wigan
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On Sunday 12th July 2009 over 150 people took part in a protest at Hesketh Meadow Lane in Lowton against the PFI funded Mega School the Labour controlled council is proposing should be built on the site as part of its "Building Schools for the Future" (BSF) programme.
The plan if implemented would see the demolition of the much used Lowton Civic Hall, the closure of two local Council run High Schools, two local primary schools and a substantial loss of green belt land to local residents.
10/07/2009
Our children deserve libraries - with books and librarians.
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“We, the undersigned, call on Her Majesty’s Government to accept in principle that it will make school libraries, run by properly qualified staff, statutory and to prepare the necessary legislation in consultation with the appropriate professional associations and trade unions.”
With these words children's’s author Alan Gibbons has launched a Number 10 petition to stop the run down of school libraries. The petition is dermanding that school libraries become a statutory requirment, as is already the case in Scotland.
09/07/2009
WIN CANTONA 'SARDINES' T-SHIRT
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Greater Manchester Respect is always wary of taking sides in Utd vs City, but in the spirit of unity surely all fans, and plenty who aren't too, will rejoice in the humour and collectivism at the core of Ken Loach's superb new film 'Looking for Eric'.
Philosophy Football have reintroduced their best-selling 'Sardines' T-shirt in celebration. Available from www.philosophyfootball.com we have one to win in our July competition. To enter simply answr the following question
The film is based around a group of postal workers, who is the current General Secretary of their union the CWU?
Email your answer with name, address and preferred T-shirt size to admin@philosophyfootball.com
Entries close 31 July 2009, no purchase necessary to enter.
02/07/2009
Gordon Brown's BNP-favoured immigrant claim is a myth
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by Salma Yaqoob
Gordon Brown ' s pledge to provide “ local homes for local people ” is based on a myth. and it is the same myth spread by the BNP for years. The BNP claim that “ local people ” are losing out to immigrants and asylum seekers. This is not true.
The Prime Minister is trying to win back voters from the BNP by telling them that their prejudices are justified. Every time this has been tried it only strengthens their arguments and gives them credibility. We have to challenge their lies with facts, and not back down in the face of racism.
01/07/2009
Time to renationalise all the railways
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The government emergency nationalisation of the East Coast line shows what a shambles the private ownership of the railways is, and always was.
National Express who ran the rail line won the franchise from GNER in 2007, but were not making a profit, so they indicated that would simply walk away from the loss-making route, and not put further money in, after failing to blackmail the government into letting them alter the terms of their franchise agreement.
As transport Secretary Lord Adonis told the BBC: “The government is not prepared to renegotiate rail franchises, because I'm simply not prepared to bail out companies that are unable to meet their commitments. It is simply unacceptable to reap the benefits of contracts when times are good, only to walk away from them when times become more challenging.”
01/07/2009
Salma Yaqoob rejects conspiracy theories
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The BBC2 programme ‘The Conspiracy Files', broadcast on 30 June, examined the spread of conspiracy theories about the 7/7 bombings, and the arguments contained in the DVD “The Ripple Effect”. The programme included scenes of a meeting held at Birmingham Central Mosque in which Dr Mohammed Naseem argued that the “Ripple Effect is more convincing than the government statement”. Salma Yaqoob rejects these conspiracy theories.
READ MORE HERE
01/07/2009
PIRATES OF THE MEDITERRANEAN: Part II
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By YVONNE RIDLEY
THE arrogance of Israel is nothing short of breath-taking.
On the eve of one of the most damning reports ever to be published on human rights abuses and suspected war crimes, Israel committed an act of piracy. While western naval fleets are patrolling the waters off the coast of Africa, acts of piracy are being carried out routinely in the Mediterranean.
But the international community leaders couldn't care less because most of those who are kidnapped, shot at and hijacked at sea are Palestinian fishermen from Gaza.