Monday, January 31, 2011
Frame form 1963 comics
An image from 1963 comics series by Alan Moore, Steve Bissette, and Rick Veitch
Caroline Lucas shocked by the killings in Egypt
Caroline Lucas, leader of the Green Party, and Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, said: "I have been shocked by the brutal response by the Mubarak government to the pro-democracy protests, including police violence that has used tear gas bombs, rubber and plastic bullets, and diluted mustard gas."The Government-led shutdown of telecommunications across the country also raises serious questions about
Gamal Muburak spotted in London
Much of the UK media coverage has been embarrassing, riots, fundamentalists, tourists and falling markets.Al Jazeera is in contrast really inspiring, all about Egyptian people (not a faction) democratically organizing for change.This is a London based story, President's son spotted in our neck of the woods.
Egyptian workers form new union
The TUC has received the following press release from the independent trade union organisation CTUWS, whose website has been blocked by the Egyptian government as part of the repression of dissent in Egypt.Press ReleaseDate: Sunday, 30 January 2011Today, representatives of the Egyptian labor movement, made up of the independent Egyptian trade unions of workers in real estate tax collection, the
Sunday, January 30, 2011
'Walk like an Egyptian' police pepper spray UK Uncut activists
The Police here seem very similar to the police in Egypt!The video is from F for philistine, she notedI saw at least 7 people who had been sprayed in the eyes including a journalist, with three men particularly badly affected. One protesters had contact lenses in, which reacted with the spray. If you’ve never been tear-gassed before, it’s horrific. You can’t see, you’re in extreme amounts of
José María Arguedas is our flag in the war for our planet and against the capitalists!
Here in Peru, from the days of San Martin, we have always been ruled by foreigners. We have never been anything but the servants of aliens."The foreigners are like rapists. They promise everything until they have had their ways, then they beat and scorn their victims. And now, today, the foreigners’ bastard children roll over and beg to be violated, themselves! I tell you, their ‘sophistication’
Egyptian Army arrests Interior Minister Habib Al Adly?
The Egyptian Army has just issued a statement that it has arrested Interior Minister Habib Al Adly and NDP strongman Ahmad Ezz.This suggest that the Army is backing the people and about to over throw Muburak, looks like very good news.The Army is refusing so far to fire on the people.In contrast the police are killing people, over 200 so far and have been causing chaos such as looting so as to
GEORGE GALLOWAY EGYPTIAN UPRISING MEETING IN LONDON
WEDNESDAY 2 FEBRUARY 7PMSOLIDARITY WITH THE EGYPTIAN UPRISINGCONWAY HALL, RED LION SQUARE, LONDON WC1R 4RLSPEAKERS INCLUDE: George Galloway, Dina Makram - Ebeid, John Rees, Bernard Regan Egypt has been a cornerstone of the US "war on terror" and America's strategy for dominating the Middle East. Not for nothing is Egypt second only to Israel in the amount of US aid it receives, including $1.3
Scenes from the Egyptian Revolution video please repost!
Please repost Tamer Shaaban's video!: “Violent clashes between police and demonstrators as over ten thousand gather on the streets of Cairo. The Egyptian people have endured a tyrant’s rule for far too long, millions struggle each day to find where their next meal is coming from. January 25th, 2011 marks the day when the people rise and take back what’s rightfully there’s. This isn’t the end, but
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Aaron Porter chased away by angry Egyptians
Well actually students in the UK...People like Aaron Porter are the lowest of the low.It works like this loyal New Labour activists are fast tracked to be Presidents of the National Union of Students.Few students vote directly for them, its all sewn up by the most right wing members of Labour Clubs at student unions at a local level.They do nothing much for students and for their loyalty they
URGENT MESSAGE FROM EGYPT
URGENT MESSAGE FROM EGYPT: (re-post if you can)To all the people of worldThe people in Egypt are under governmental siege. Mubarak regime is banning Facebook, Twitter, and all other popular internet sites Now, the internet are completely blocked in Egypt. Tomorrow the government will block the 3 mobile phone network will be completely blocked. And there is news that even the phone landlines will
Friday, January 28, 2011
President Mubarak still in Egypt.
Magazine "Akhbar Al Arab" is reporting Egyptian President Mubarak has left Egypt on a private jet headed for London.However he has now appeared on TV (could be in London though!).Still looks like the regime is tottering....
Majority of NSSN Officers resign en-bloc
At a meeting immediately following Saturday 22nd January's NSSN anti-cuts conference, the majority of NSSN/Shop Stewards Network national officers-all of those not in the Socialist Party- have resigned. This is the statement of four of these officers: Dave Chapple, Bob Archer, George Binette and Becca Kirkpatrick: “1.We are all NSSN national officers. We have decided that we cannot continue to
Live coverage of a revolution unfolding
Live coverage from Al Jazeera here http://english.aljazeera.net/watch_now/Tony Blair et al just love dictators when they tortured in the interest of a US or UK elite, nice to see the bad guys losing in one North African country after another.In an age of social media the multitude are no longer going to let themselves be dominated by the mafia.
Bolivians Ask British Government to Respect Their Coca (Derek Wall/Alborada.net)
“It is said that the virgin Mary chewed on the coca as she lamented the loss of her son leaving her teeth marks on the back of the Coca…”Bolivian Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca visited Britain on 20 January, as part of a tour of European Union countries, to lobby the British ConDem government to support Bolivia's amendment to the 1961 UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.At present, due to
Thursday, January 27, 2011
By Alice's steps
Illustration by Dmitry Neponyaschiy and Olga Popugaeva for the book "By Alice's steps".
New study finds fear of clowns is far from irrational.
Britain is just as thick with secret police as Tunisia or Egypt, protest and you are in the spotlight. This is an excellent article from Solomon Hughes. Hoping someone will out the MI5 people in political parties and the infiltration of environmental groups by private security, then there is the back door secret state control of the mass media.Think you are in a democracy, well think again, its
How I Became Rich The First Time-- And Why The Big Airlines Are All Failing Miserably
On my first day of college-- actually freshman orientation, so even before my first day-- all I wanted was to find someone who would sell me some pot. (This was 1965 so it wasn't as readily available as it has been subsequently.) The beat-types and "heads" were a little closed to rambunctious freshmen wanting to score dope but I noticed that the student body president had long hair and in those days the only males with long hair were drug fiends-- or so I thought; he was the only person with long hair who didn't smoke pot, but it took forever before I figured that out. Anyway, I approached him after his address to the freshmen class. He was eager to find someone with a left-wing perspective to run for freshman class president. I was willing to make believe I knew what a left-wing perspective was if I could get some pot. (He helped me understand the major issues of the day-- from the little thing brewin' up in Vietnam to the stuff Martin Luther King was doing down South-- and he turned me on to rock music, especially the Stones and the Doors-- and helped me become freshman class president, which totally radicalized me. But not pot.)
Ironically, when I finally did score some, he popped up as I was lighting up and was quasi-aghast. It was so hard to get and so expensive-- like $65 an ounce... and what a paranoid hassle. Anyway, eventually I met a real NYC dealer who agreed to sell me awesome California weed for $120 a pound. There are 16 ounces in a pound-- so that was less than $8.00 an ounce. Even if you're not a math major you know that $8.00 is a way better deal than $65.00, right? So what do I do? My grandfather was a Russian democratic-socialist so... I organized a cooperative in which we would all take turns going to the city (90 minutes by train) and scoring and dividing it up and each of us would pay $10 and ounce so the guy who did the work that week would get his free. Everyone loved the idea. I went first. It worked great. But no one wanted to go second. Or third.
So I said I'd do it but I decided to charge $25.00 an ounce, a lot better than $65.00 but still very profitable for moi, although most of the profits went up, so to say, in smoke. In any case, it was just a matter of time before I was the biggest drug dealer in Suffolk County. I learned a lot about business, something that served me well as I eventually started my own business and then ran a corporate one.
Next month I'm going to Mexico for a little vacation. The country's tourism is in the toilet and hotel occupancy rates are way down. Hotels can approach this from a number of directions, none of them ideal from a business perspective. One is to figure that if they can get a customer and charge as much as possible, maybe they can make up for the lack of quantity. Another is to give the customer a great deal in the hope that, a) you'll get some business and, b) others will hear about it and come to your hotel instead of the one charging a lot. The hotel we picked has suites with a rack rate at $950 a night, very high. But the hotel management isn't high and they offer a "discount:" $700 a night. I'm not high either and I'm not shy and was willing to point out that $700 may have been a discount in 2006 but let's be real here, José-- business sucks and you're going to have another empty suite for another week. So we're paying less than $200 a night. Many people are doing this all over Mexico.
Most major airlines have been dealing with the global downturn in other ways. For starters, service has gotten frighteningly bad. In fact, it's at the point that the service is so bad that it kind of makes you want to look for an alternative to taking the trip. David Koenig did a piece about it for A.P. a few days ago.
After a decade of multibillion-dollar losses, U.S. airlines appear to be on course to prosper for years to come for a simple reason: They are flying less.
By grounding planes and eliminating flights, airlines have cut costs and pushed fares higher. As the global economy rebounds, travel demand is rising and planes are as full as they've been in years.
Profit margins at big airlines are the highest in at least a decade, according to the government. The eight largest U.S. airlines are forecast to earn more than $5 billion this year and $5.6 billion in 2012.
U.S. airlines are in the midst of reporting fourth-quarter results that should cap the industry's first moneymaking year since 2007.
"The industry is in the best position-- certainly in a decade-- to post profitability," says Southwest Airlines CEO Gary Kelly. "The industry is much better prepared today than it was a decade ago."
The airlines' turnaround has benefited investors-- the Arca airlines stock index has nearly quadrupled since March 2009-- but it's been tough on travelers.
Fares in the U.S. have risen 14 percent from a year ago, according to travel consultant Bob Harrell. Flights are more crowded than they've been in decades. On domestic flights, fewer than one in five seats are empty. Space is even tighter over the summer and holidays. That's why it took a week to rebook all the travelers who were stranded by a snowstorm that hit the Northeast over Christmas weekend.
Travelers also face fees these days for services that used to be part of the ticket price, such as checking luggage (usually $25 to $35 per bag) and rebooking on a different flight (usually $150 for a domestic flight, more when flying overseas).
"I'm not averse to anyone making money-- that's great-- but (to) take things away and then charge for them, that's not right," said Rick Jellow, an executive who travels in his job for a lighting-systems company in Virginia.
From 2000 through 2009, U.S. airlines lost about $60 billion and eliminated 160,000 jobs, according to an industry trade group, the Air Transport Association.
During that tumultuous decade, airlines were hit with a series of events beyond their control: two recessions; the Sept. 11 attacks; an avian flu outbreak that scared away many travelers, and rising fuel costs.
The industry was profitable in 2000, 2006 and 2007, when the economy was roaring. But those boom years masked the industry's underlying problems, including high costs and more seats than travelers demanded. During 2008 and 2009, airlines lost a combined $23 billion, but they were also attacking their problems, setting the stage for a comeback in 2010.
• They eliminated money-losing flights. When travel demand recovered, airlines could raise ticket prices for the smaller supply of seats.
• They grounded older, gas-guzzling airplanes. The government says the major U.S. airlines, plus freight delivery companies FedEx and UPS, used 11.39 billion gallons of jet fuel in the first nine months of 2010, down 11.4 percent from the same period a year earlier. The price of a gallon of jet fuel jumped 20 percent year over year, but overall fuel spending rose just 6 percent.
• They added fees. In the first nine months of 2010, airlines collected more than $4.3 billion from fees for checking baggage and changing tickets, up 13.5 percent from the comparable period in 2009.
• They consolidated. Delta Air Lines Inc. bought Northwest in 2008, and United and Continental combined last year. That leaves four so-called network carriers that operate from hub airports, down from six. And Southwest Airlines Co.'s pending purchase of AirTran Airways will combine two of the biggest discount carriers. Fewer airlines should mean higher fares.
Delta, Southwest, United Continental and US Airways are expected to have earned nearly $4 billion combined in 2010. The latter two report results on Wednesday. The parent of American Airlines, which suffers from higher costs than the others, said last week it lost $389 million.
The economy is expected to grow faster in 2011 and 2012 than it did in 2010, and this should give the industry a lift. But, there are some challenges on the horizon.
The biggest, is higher fuel prices. With oil hovering around $90 a barrel, jet fuel on the spot market costs about $2.60 a gallon, the highest it's been in more than two years. This will temper industrywide profit margins. Still, Soleil Securities analyst James Higgins says most airlines would make money this year even if oil hits $100.
Another factor that will determine how long the industry's profitability lasts is how individual airlines manage growth. Rightly, the airlines so far have been cautious about adding more flights as travel demand picks up. In the past, they added flights and brought back grounded aircraft too quickly. That led to a glut of seats and falling airfares.
"The wild card is always capacity discipline," says William Swelbar, a director at Hawaiian Airlines' parent and an airline industry researcher at MIT. "All it takes is one carrier to begin to add capacity aggressively, and then we follow and we undo all the good work that's been done."
Yes, capacity discipline... it's always been what makes the capitalist world go round. I know there are some very inexpensive rooms available in Cairo right now. But I bet you can't get a cheap flight.
Farid Bakht for Mayor!
I am pleased my friend Farid is seeking the Green Party nomination for London Mayor, people tend to vote for incumbents so I expect Jenny Jones is likely to win but I think Farid for a number of reasons would raise the game for the Green Party, he has the personality to make a splash against Boris and Ken.Please like his facebook 4Mayor site hereAnd take a look at his carbon politics blog.The
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
JAY-Z: The Roots of Rap
[col. writ. 1/17/11] (c) '11 Mumia Abu-Jamal For a rapper to write a book, a straight-ahead prose text, is unusual. For they think in rhymes, couplets, metaphors and beats. When books do appear, they are often those dreadful 'as told to' pieces, less written than dictated, more hustle than work of art or deep thought. Jay-Z has produced the former. An MC of almost legendary
James Haywood interview, sweep away Aaron Porter build the movement!
I get criticised along the lines of 'Dr Wall only really takes serious notice if an event is happening in Habana, the Peruvian Amazon or Caracas'.Point taken, companeros...So I have been putting some energy into seeking out the movers and shakers of the English revolution and buying them a pint or a cafe con leche...Today I met up with James Haywood, who is a sabbatical at Goldsmiths College and
‘We can't save capitalism and save the planet’
I am writing regularly for Green Left Weekly, this is my review of a great new book on green politics and ecosocialism.United States activist Chris William’s new book, published by Haymarket Press, is an excellent introduction to ecology and socialism. It is well written and, despite being a long-time ecosocialist activist, I learnt a lot from it. Williams is a professor of physics and chemistry
Monday, January 24, 2011
'Keep your truncheon in your trousers!'
Women blockaded the Met HQ today as a protest against the sexual abuse of women by undercover police agents.Such abuse is a weapon used to disrupt protest, a means of social control.Organiser Sophie Stephens said: "It's time for the abuse of women by undercover police officers to stop. If a person is pretending to be somebody else, if they are spying on you, then you absolutely cannot give your
Adrian Ramsay speaks on Green economics at the LSE this wednesday
Adrian Ramsay, the Deputy Leader of the Green Party, will be speaking at the London School of Economics this Wednesday, 26th January, at an event hosted by the LSE Green Party Society. His topic will be 'Green economics and the Coalition cuts', and will be taking place at 6.30pm in room 2.06 in the New Academic Building, which is at the south-west corner of Lincoln's Inn Fields. Non-LSE students
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Is Pakistan Safe For Tourists?
Are you kidding? Most travelers would rank Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan as the most dangerous places to visit on earth. The British government advises it's citizens to avoid all travel to parts of Pakistan because "[t]here is a high threat from terrorism and sectarian violence throughout Pakistan. Attacks could be indiscriminate including at places frequented by expatriates and foreign travelers." And they get very specific:
• 25 January 2011 marks Arba’een (Chehlum) which commemorates the martyrdom of Husayn bin Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, at the battle of Karbala. Shi’a Muslims observe the day by holding large processions to signify the end of the 40 day period of mourning. In the past Sunni Islamic extremist elements have targeted these processions and it is anticipated that there may be an increase in terrorist attacks against minority communities in Pakistan over this period. You should remain vigilant and avoid any processions, public gatherings and crowded areas.
• We advise against all travel to the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, and much of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, including the areas of Peshawar, Kohat, Tank, Bannu, Lakki and Dera Ismail Khan. We advise against travel to the city of Peshawar and districts south of the city. The Pakistani military is conducting ongoing operations against militants across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Federally Adminstered Tribal Areas (FATA) .
• We advise against all travel to Northern and Western Balochistan and advise against all but essential travel to Quetta and parts of Interior Sindh to the north of Nawabshah.
• We advise against all travel to Swat, Buner, and Lower Dir, including travel on the Peshawar to Chitral road via the Lowari Pass. In these areas there are ongoing reports of military or militant activity. Localised curfews may be imposed at short notice.
• We advise against all but essential travel to the Kalesh Valley, the Bamoboret Valley and Arandu District to the south and west of Chitral in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. These areas have seen an increase in militant activity recently which has included abductions, violent armed robbery and murder.
• We advise against all but essential travel to Lahore, due to the recent increase in terrorist attacks in the city. Staff at the British High Commission in Islamabad and the British Deputy High Commission in Karachi are not allowed to travel to Lahore for recreational purposes.
• There is a high threat from terrorism and sectarian violence throughout Pakistan. See Safety and Security - Terrorism & Sectarian Violence.
• The Pakistani authorities are also concerned about the threat to foreigners of kidnapping.
• If you are intending to travel to Pakistan, even if you are a regular visitor with family links, you should follow the developing situation in the news media and consult FCO Travel Advice regularly. You should also register with the British High Commission and take out comprehensive travel and medical insurance before travelling.
The U.S. State Department put Pakistan on it's list of countries to avoid in July and emphasizes the presence of Al-Qaida, Taliban elements, and indigenous militant sectarian groups that pose a potential danger to U.S. citizens throughout Pakistan, especially in the western border regions of the country.
Terrorists and their sympathizers regularly attack civilian, government, and foreign targets, particularly in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPk) province. The Government of Pakistan has heightened security measures, particularly in the major cities. Threat reporting indicates terrorist groups continue to seek opportunities to attack locations where U.S. citizens and Westerners are known to congregate or visit, such as shopping areas, hotels, clubs and restaurants, places of worship, schools, or outdoor recreation events. In recent incidents, terrorists have disguised themselves as Pakistani security forces personnel to gain access to targeted areas. Some media reports have recently falsely identified U.S. diplomats-- and to a lesser extent U.S. journalists and NGO workers-- as being intelligence operatives or private security personnel.
I drove through the Khyber Pass from Afghanistan into Pakistan in 1969 and back the other way two years later. I didn't like the vibe and I couldn't wait to get to India so I drove through as fast as I could and saw very little of the country. Pakistan has been, for as long as I can remember, tourism's "next big thing." But I never really gave it a chance and I now consider that as a missed opportunity. Because I'm sure as hell not thinking about going back any time in this lifetime. Lonely Planet tries to paint an alluring picture without actually misleading anyone:
It’s a destination that has so much to offer visitors; drive the Karakoram Highway through the endless peaks of the Karakoram Mountains, or wander through the architectural glories of the former Mughal capital Lahore, the ancient bazaars of Quetta or the cosmopolitan streets of Karachi. But every time the country seems to be gearing up to refresh the palates of travellers jaded with last year’s hip destination, world media headlines send things off the rails – again. No matter the attractions, tourism in Pakistan has always been something of a hard sell. A glance at the map shows the country living in a pretty difficult region: always-unruly Afghanistan to one side, Iran to another, and a border with India running through the 60-year-old fault line of Kashmir. But since the events of 9/11, Western pundits have increasingly been wondering if Pakistan isn’t just living in a tough neighbourhood, it is the tough neighbourhood.
Yesterday I wrote at length about the similarities between the murder of Punjab Governor Salaam Taseer and the tragic massacre in Tucson around the attempted assassination of Arizona Congresswoman Gabby Giffords within days of each other. Both inspired by violent, primitive, extremist factional leaders, Qari Hanif Qureshi in Pakistan and Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin in the U.S.
The Global Peace Index ranks 149 countries in terms of safety from New Zealand, Iceland, Japan, Austria and Norway as the top 5 and Pakistan, Sudan, Afghanistan, Somalia and Iraq as the bottom five. Although Arizona isn't ranked, the U.S. overall is considered far safer than Pakistan at this point. The U.S. comes in at #85, less safe than Brazil, Egypt, Indonesia, Laos, Greece, Sierra Leone, Morocco, for example, but safer than Bangladesh, Uganda, Mexico, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Armenia, North Korea, Haiti or Serbia.
UPDATE: Now Isn't The Time To Visit Pakistan
Right after the U.S. operation in Abbottabad, the State Department put Pakistan on their Travel Advisory List, where it had already been anyway since February. There's likely to be a tremendous backlash against any American unfortunate enough to fall in fall into the hands of Islamist extremists. In fact, I'd just skip that whole part of the world entirely for a while.
Time For The Two Year Update
Short version: less safe than ever... if you're unlucky. And Saturday night 10 foreign tourists ran out of luck completely. The ten tourists-- three Ukrainians, two Slovakians, two Chinese, one Lithuanian, one Nepalese and an American-- plus their Pakistani guide were climbing Nanga Parbat, the world's 9th highest peak, in remote Gilgit-Baltistan when they were captured, robbed, beaten and eventually gunned down by 15 Taliban militants disguised as policemen.
The Taliban was looking for revenge for a dead comrade who died in a drone attack last month and their spokesperson said that "by killing foreigners, we wanted to give a message to the world to play their role in bringing an end to the drone attacks."
Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who wants to pursue peace talks with militants threatening his country, has insisted the U.S. stop the drone strikes, saying they violate Pakistan's sovereignty and are counterproductive because they often kill innocent civilians and stoke anti-U.S. sentiment in this nation of 180 million people.
Sharif responded to the attack on the camp by vowing "such acts of cruelty and inhumanity would not be tolerated and every effort would be made to make Pakistan a safe place for tourists."
Officials expressed fear the attack would deal a serious blow to Pakistan's tourism industry, already struggling because of the high level of violence in the country.
The interior minister promised to take all measures to ensure the safety of tourists as he addressed the National Assembly, which passed a resolution condemning the attack.
"A lot of tourists come to this area in the summer, and our local people work to earn money from these people," said Syed Mehdi Shah, the chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan. "This will not only affect our area, but will adversely affect all of Pakistan."
Green Party brings down government and triggers General Election
The Irish Green Party have just left the Fianna Fail government, triggering a snap General Election.When they first went into government, I insisted that the Green Party of England and Wales not congratulate them on this.I was aware that Fianna Fail were a party wrapped up in corrupt land deals and I felt it was very wrong for Greens to support a government pushing through a motorway at Tara,
'Pimps and Economists'
Closet idealistsBaldheaded realistsRastas and bikersThe voice on the phonePimps and economistsRoyalty and communistsRioters and pacifistsPersons unknownMORE LYRICS HEREThe Poison Girls were a British anarcho-punk band, at one point a part of that scene around Crass. The female singer, Vi Subversa, wrote songs that kicked patriarchy in the teeth, bringing the kind of punk energy associated with "
Saturday, January 22, 2011
'They come at us because we are strong'
Excellent and sobering article from Cardiff Anarchists on how 'Marco' made it easier for corporations to abuse animals, people and the environment.Sad but important. I am not an anarchist but we have to work for change together and not let them divide and rule us, a lot of good committed people are anarchists and you certainly need a libertarian (but not market libertarian) approach to things.
How Does Political Unrest Impact Tourism?
2010 was a good year for tourism worldwide, with much of the uptick in Asia. According to a new report from the United Nations World Tourism Organization, 2010 saw 935 million people traveling (both for business and leisure) internationally, up 6.7% over 2009, but only 2% above the pre-recession levels of 2008. Obviously, it's a sign of the rebounding economy. Europe's tourist industry-- like it's economy-- was sluggish (up 3%), despite political stability. North America, where the dollar is still cheap, saw a healthy increase (8%), even if tourists are being advised to stay away from dangerous parts of the country like Arizona. The report attributed a slowdown in tourism in Mexico to the impact of swine flu, rather than drug-violence and out-of-control corruption.
Last week, we looked at the deteriorating tourist situation in Tunisia, with tourists being evacuated and flights being canceled because of the political situation there. Today, with reports that the once much feared Tunisian police have been joining the protestors in Tunis, the tourism industry is still uncertain about which way things are going to go for that country's tourist industry. At first a country that markets itself as a comfy, apolitical Mediterranean beach resort saw only cancellations and heard the giant sucking sound of a crucial foreign currency provider going down the drain. Optimists-- like Tunisia's ambassador to Spain-- see the successful revolt as an eventual boost for tourism there.
"Tourists were a bit worried," Ambassador Mohamed Ridha Kechrid conceded in an interview on the opening day of the five-day international tourism trade fair, Fitur, in Madrid.
"Now order has been re-established and from now on tourists can come back to Tunisia," he said.
"There was a crisis of confidence, which is bad for everyone, for Tunisians, for foreign investors and of course for tourists," he added.
But once democratic elections have been organized "Tunisia will be even more beautiful, more credible... and this change will be beneficial for Tunisian tourism and for the economy."
And the UN World Tourism Organisation's Secretary General Taleb Rifai says the industry there should recovery quickly.
Rifai noted that tourists left "in a speedy and regular manner," but many said they would return once the situation returns to normal.
"The history, the infrastructure and the stakeholders in Tunisia are entrenched enough to be able to recover rather quickly," he said.
"Of course, how quick this would be is very much dependent on the political developments that are unfolding," he said, noting that a new government is to be announced and new elections held.
"As far as tourism is concerned, we think that in the medium term, not the long term, Tunisia will come back to what it was."
It certainly has come back strong in Thailand since the collapse of the tourist industry there in 2008-'09. Less than a year ago we were reporting how the tourist industry was still falling apart in the face of continuing political turmoil. This year tourist arrivals were up by 10.8%!
Overall, arrivals in the first nine months of the year grew by 13.3% y-o-y, an impressive recovery from the 5.0% fall in arrivals experienced in 2009.
It is a positive sign that Thailand’s tourist industry has recovered so strongly from the 2008-2009 downturn and is testament Thailand’s ongoing attractiveness as a tourist destination, despite the sporadic outbreaks of social unrest. Much of this unrest has been concentrated around Bangkok, with the coastal tourist areas largely unaffected. As such, we expect tourist arrivals will have continued to pick up, with the high season around Christmas providing a good end to the year.
In a few weeks Roland and I are going down to Mexico for a few days and we decided to spend the time in one of our favorite cities there, Guadalajara. I haven't seen any reports of violence there but the prices were unbelievably low. Airfairs were cheap and hotel rates were phenomenal. The rack rate for the place we stayed last time is around $900/night for a suite. We only the most modest bargaining, we booked it for less than $200/night this time! That's the other side of the impact of violence on tourism, which is still disastrous in Mexico
Mexico’s drug wars lead the week’s financial news again as the city’s wealthiest city, Monterrey, was hit by a spate of 23 killings along with one woman dying of a heart attack upon witnessing a massacre in the city.
Home to some of Mexico-- and the United States’ biggest companies, including Cemex (CX) and General Electric (GE), Monterrey’s income is double the national average. The state of Nuevo Leon, of which Monterrey is the capital, however, has seen at least 60 killings in 2011 alone.
The violence is not confined to drug cartels and that is what is worrying business leaders. A US company executive was abducted, beaten and robbed of his armored car earlier this year while both Fitch and Standard & Poor’s both downgraded the country’s credit rating at the end of 2009, citing drug violence.
Not-so Accidental Tourists: While cities such as Juárez and Tijuana on the northern border are used to the violence, Monterrey and Oaxaca-- which saw the third Mexican mayor killed in just the first two weeks of 2011-- are slowly becoming accustomed to it, pushing out business and tourism.
Evidence of this was news that three cruise lines, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Lines and Carnival Corp, announced they would be ending or at least scaling back trips to Mexico from California. While none of their destinations have been affected by the drug violence, customers, they claim, aren't distinguishing between regions of Mexico and are put off the country as a whole by news of violence.
While international tourism may be dropping, there are signs that domestic tourism, or at least travel, is on the up, with the news that InterJet, a low-cost domestic carrier, signed a contract to buy 20 Sukhoi-SuperJet aeroplanes for $650m. The first deliveries are scheduled for the second half of 2012. Flights on the new planes are likely to cover Toluca to Aguascalientes, San Luis Potosi and Querétaro.
Still a problem in Madagascar though-- where only a third of tourists expected are visiting the country and where a new problem is looming for tourism: Somali pirates expanding their operations south!
UPDATE: Egypt
Tourism, which brings in aover $10 billion annually, accounts for almost 12% of Egypt's gross domestic product and directly accounts for close to one in 8 jobs. Roland and I had just arrived in Egypt in 1997 on the day after over 50 tourists were butchered in Luxor. The country emptied out of tourists and we had the whole place to ourselves. It was totally awesome for us-- problematic for the Egyptians. Right now the Egyptian tourist authorities are trying to put on a brave face and claiming most tourists go to the Red Sea resorts and that everything is hunky dory there. This sounds like bullshit and tomorrow is likely to be the biggest day of protests yet-- both bloody and possibly leading the inevitable collapse of the dictatorship. This is the most recent (Thursday) update from the State Department:
This security notice is being issued to update the U.S. citizen community in Egypt about reports that anti-government demonstrations are expected to continue through the weekend. Since the Police Day protests on January 25, there have been daily demonstrations in several areas of Cairo as well as other cities in Egypt. There have been violent clashes that have resulted in injuries and deaths among both civilian demonstrators and police forces. Several websites are posting calls for demonstrations to take place after Friday prayers on January 28. Areas where people congregate after Friday prayers should be avoided.
While many of the demonstrations have focused on the downtown Cairo/Tahrir Square area, violent confrontations have occurred at other locations both in the Cairo metropolitan area and in Alexandria, Suez, and other cities. Traffic and the Metro system have experienced serious disruptions. Local authorities have announced that the planned demonstrations are illegal and that police will take appropriate action to prevent unauthorized gatherings.
The Embassy urges American citizens to review their personal plans and remain alert to their surroundings at all times. Americans should avoid areas of planned demonstrations and be aware that spontaneous demonstrations can occur anywhere on short notice. If caught unexpectedly near a demonstration, Americans should obey instructions from police and leave the area as quickly as possible. Americans resident in Egypt should monitor local news broadcasts and American visitors should ask tour guides and hotel officials about any planned demonstrations in the locations they plan to visit. Americans should carry identification and a cell phone which works in Egypt.
Although the State Department has issued recent-- meaning 2011-- travel alerts for Haiti, Tunisia, the Central African Republic, Niger, Nepal, and Sudan, there hasn't been one issued for Egypt yet.
There seems to be a conspiracy to downplay the seriousness of what's happening-- full on regime change-- in Egypt. Today demonstrations have spread to Giza and Luxor, the two top tourist sites in the country. But tourists are getting no warnings that would jeopardize the tourism industry. It's actually shocking. But pictures like this are starting to get out now and... well, no one wants to get caught in this kind of a traffic jam:
Even with a human chain encircling the Egyptian Museum to prevent looting and with tanks in the streets of Cairo (and several other cities), the tourist industry still has its collective heads in the sand and is basically saying, "everything is pretty normal for a nice swim in the Red Sea. The shark is dead. Come on in!" On the other hand, EgyptAir has stopped all flights out of Cairo.
Egypt's national carrier on Friday temporarily suspended its flights from the capital, while international airlines scrambled to readjust their schedules to accommodate a government-imposed curfew as mounting street protests presented President Hosni Mubarak's government with its most serious challenge ever.
Separately, the United States warned its citizens against any nonessential travel to Egypt and cautioned Americans already in the country to stay put. The warning came hours after Friday's anti-government protests spiraled out of control, forcing the deployment of the military which Egyptian state television said would work alongside the police to enforce the 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew and restore order.
...An official at Cairo's international airport said some foreign airlines had canceled or rerouted flights slated to arrive Friday night, including Air France. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to avoid breaching instructions about contacting the media.
Air France said its once-daily flight to Cairo was rerouted to Beirut and would continue to Cairo on Saturday morning. The airline said its Saturday flight was canceled while the airline tried to amend its schedule.
And after protests erupted at virtually every tourist site in Egypt, the U.S. and Britain warned tourists away.
"If you are already in Egypt, you are strongly advised to stay put," it said. "We are not, at present, advising British nationals to leave the country."
Foreign Secretary William Hague said the safety of British nationals was "absolutely paramount".
"In light of the ongoing demonstrations in Egypt we have carefully reviewed our advice and now advise against all but essential travel to Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor and Suez.
"This does not affect transits through Cairo airport for onward travel to other destinations, and it does not cover Egypt's Red Sea resorts."
...Abta, the organisation formerly known as the Association of British Travel Agents, said it had not heard of any reports of British package tourists being affected by the unrest but said some tour operators had cancelled trips as a precaution.
Travel firm Thomas Cook said it had cancelled all excursions to Cairo this weekend from the Red Sea resorts. But it said flights were operating in and out of Sharm El Sheikh airport as normal this weekend.
British Airways has warned of changes to flight schedules to Cairo because of a curfew imposed in the capital.
Meanwhile the Egyptian Museum has been partially looted. Photos:
http://yfrog.com/hsu6aezj
http://yfrog.com/h0arrqj
http://yfrog.com/h8ijfrj
http://yfrog.com/h067787496j
Tourist agencies in the West conspired with the Egyptian Tourist industry to downplay the dangers in that country. And the US State Department and British Foreign Office both went along-- seemingly more concerned with the Egyptian tourist industry than with the safety of their own nationals. And today tourists are desperate to get out of Cairo-- and can't. Western governments are finally starting to warn their nationals.
Hundreds of people crowded the capital's main international airport hoping for a flight out on Saturday but Western carriers were canceling, delaying or suspending service after days of violent unrest.
A British airline turned around its Cairo-bound jet in mid-flight.
Between 1,500 and 2,000 people flocked to Cairo Intentional Airport, many without reservations.
Officials said that about half were tourists and half Egyptians.
British Midlands International said its flight from London Heathrow to Cairo turned around because a shift in the start of a nighttime curfew from 6 p.m. to 4 p.m. had made it impossible to land in time for passengers to make it out of the airport.
Lufthansa and Delta have both canceled their Egyptian flights. And the U.S. State Department has done an about face, going from trying to reassure nervous tourists that it was perfectly safe to travel to Egypt-- and not upset the fragile economy-- to preparing to airlift all Americans out of the country!
he American Embassy in Cairo said Sunday it is making arrangements to begin flying Americans out of Egypt on Monday, as an outbreak of mass looting added new dangers to a nation rocked by protests seeking an end to President Hosni Mubarak's rule.
The U.S. government warned that Americans should consider leaving Egypt as soon as possible as residents of Cairo were taking steps to protect themselves against the spreading lawlessness.
Mubarak thugs are trying to incite civil war and mayhem by unleashing a wave of domestic terror against the Egyptian people, including the looting and home break-ins. It is the last gasp of a crumbling tyranny.
And I bet British tourists, who were fed the same line of malarkey by their Foreign Office-- again, putting the Egyptian economy's well-being ahead of their own citizens' safety-- are pissed off as they struggle to get out while they can.
Desperate holidaymakers, heeding Foreign Office advice to leave Egypt, found flights grounded as staff abandoned their posts to join in the national protests.
Passengers who risked venturing out of their hotels to travel to the airport found scenes of complete chaos with queues of several hours snaking around the terminal buildings.
Unable to leave due to the night-time curfew, many were forced to bed down in the departure lounges.
Those stranded said the entire airport had ran out of food and water adding to the misery.
I hope Egyptians are kinder to the Bits than Brits were to travelers who were stranded in their country over the December storms when every conceivable strategy to fleece trapped passengers was carried out to the max.
Memo to Mervyn King: Pick up the phone and call Caroline Lucas….
Derek Wall is former Principal Speaker of the Green Party. He keeps a regular blog from an eco-socialist perspective at Another Green World whilst regularly contributing to the Morning Star.Monetary policy is essential. Since 1997 the UK economy has been run primarily not by the government but by the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England. Nine men and even sometimes a women meet
Who is Joan Rivers?
My son Vince just asked me 'Who is Joan Rivers?' 'Well hijo, have a look at wiki!'Most of her brilliant stuff is probably too obscene for this time of the morning and she can be so sharp I would be worried by people getting paper cuts on this blog from some of her videos.This is pretty funny and disturbing though.And I guess you have picked up on her being banned by Fox for saying of their poster
Friday, January 21, 2011
Fidel Castro 'biofuels fuelling new food crisis'
On a good day Fidel, is so good, in his 80s a first class ecosocialist putting Marxism right way up, I salute you commandante. Seriously very very nice to get this stuff hot off the translating team....gracias comrades!Reflections by Comrade FidelTHE TIME HAS COME TO DO SOMETHINGThe problems have suddenly taken shape now, through the phenomena that are being repeated on every continent: heat
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Exit Alan Johnson, Enter Balls
Alan Johnson probably should have resigned as Chancellor because he simply knew nothing about economics.Ed Balls, has form as a minister deeply interested and concerned with the economy.But neo-liberalism is just going to offer financial catastrophe, inequality and ecological collapse.Rising oil prices and commodities like cotton disrupted by extreme weather events are pushing up inflation.I am
Caroline Lucas says we need to go on war footing
BRITAIN NEEDS A "WAR FOOTING" TO TACKLE CLIMATE CHANGE AND ENERGY CRISIS. The New Home Front is launched by Green MP Caroline Lucas, with a report written by Andrew Simms, Fellow of nef (new economics foundation) and author of The New Economics. Along with experts on climate change, food and community organisation, the new initiative looks at how Britain finally mobilised in the approach to World
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Police ask university authorities to spy on students planning protest
"I would be grateful if in your capacity at your various colleges that should you pick up any relevant information that would be helpful to all of us to anticipate possible demonstrations or occupations, please forward it onto me," the email read. According to a statement by the Met, the email sent to more than 20 higher education centers in London, including King's and Imperial College, “advises
Caroline Lucas is on list of domestic extremists
I haven't checked to see if I am on the list, I suspect that suspected members ofthe Taliban will be far fewer than vegans.National Public Order Intelligence unit database of "domestic extremists" accordingto one of the UK's major newspapers, which has contacted the Green Partyprivately about the matter.Responding today, Caroline said: "I wouldn'tbe surprised if my name was on the list. Anybody
When 'Nut' Ain't Enough
[col. writ. 1/11/11] (c) '11 Mumia Abu-Jamal The recent massacre in Tucson, Arizona has shone an unflattering light on America in the 21st century. What makes this event remarkable though, is not that it happened, but who it happened to. Consider: If the victims were average people, instead of a congressperson and a judge (among others), would you know the name of the shooter? Would it
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
First London Screening 'Secrets of the Tribe'
This tribe seemed to be the ultimate bounty in terms of career-making studies within anthropology and this has created extreme competition and bitchy infighting among the academics. The politics of anthropology is, unsurprisingly, not something I’m overly familiar with and it’s surprising just how catty and backstabbing they are amongst themselves. It even goes beyond the point of who has the
Big coal caused big floods in Australia, according to Bob Brown
Coal barons should help pay for catastrophes - BrownMedia Release Sunday 16th January 2011 The full tax on excess profits by the coal mining industry, as recommended by Treasury, should be imposed with half set aside for future natural catastrophes in Australia, Greens Leader Bob Brown said in Hobart today. "It is unfair that the cost is put on all taxpayers, not the culprits," Senator Brown said
Share more! Shut down the condems not the library
So why are common repositories of freely accessible resources, such as libraries, still important? Eco-socialist Derek Wall argues that ‘sharing provides a way of restoring economics to its original promise as a science that finds ways of matching scarce resources with unlimited human wants’. He says that, in its simplest form, it can ‘give prosperity without wrecking the global environment. If
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Better Forget Carthage For A Bit! Let's Go Juba!
I just keep going to Morocco again and again. True, I once spent a month in Egypt, but when it comes to North Africa I fell in love with Morocco in 1969 and was just there again-- maybe the 15th time?-- for most of December. Roland is always bringing up Tunisia and Libya (not to mention Ethiopia and Mauritania, where as many as one-fifth of the population are still slaves) as places we should go. We drove down an endless rutted road to sleepy, art-deco Sidi Ifni once and we spent a month in Mali once, but that's about as close as I'm getting to Mauritania and I don't care how groovy the beach is near Nouakchott or how ancient Ouadane, Chinguetti, Oualata and Tichitt are.
I read Skeletons on the Zahara, about Americans who were captured and made into slaves there and I'm staying away. Even if Algeria isn't, Tunisia has always been a lot more plausible and Europeans flock there, mostly for the shiny new beach resorts around Monastir, especially the cheap ones catering to pachae-tours-- although I have to admit I've always been captivated by the history of Carthage. Tunisia has been trying hard to develop tourism as a major economic sector and as many as 11.5% of the population depends on it for their livelihood. It's overrun with Libyan, French, German, Italian and British tourists; plenty of Eastern Europeans have also been coming but Americans stay away. With the uncertainty of this week's events, Americans are likely to stay away for the immediate future even more resolutely. Russia just evacuated all its nationals today and the uprising devastated the tourist industry... at least for now.
While most Tunisians celebrate the victory of the people in ousting Dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the country's key tourism industry sees a large negative impact from the riots and revolution. Tourists are already being evacuated from Tunisia.
While President Ben Ali was a totalitarian leader, tourists from Europe and the Arab world kept streaming to the country at an ever-increasing rate. Only few of the arrivals did even know that Tunisia was a dictatorship, even if they came year after year. Superficially, Tunisia seemed a country in balance.
This widely held picture of Tunisia as a peaceful and safe Mediterranean destination has been completely tarnished during the last week. The Tunisian revolution has been followed closely by media in all of the country's main markets.
With the state of emergency declared in all of Tunisia, and with the unclear political situation after the fall of President Ben Ali, governments from Spain in the south, via Switzerland, Germany and the UK, to Norway in the north have issued travel warnings for Tunisia.
Typically, these travel warnings state that "unnecessary" travels to Tunisia should be avoided. "Unnecessary" travels of course include tourist trips.
In most countries that are Tunisia's main markets, this has great implications. It means travellers can, without extra costs, cancel their trips. Further, it often means charter companies must cancel their trips. In many occasions, it even means travel insurances lose their value, further limiting travellers' ability to visit the country.
In the case of Tunisia, the development has been even more dramatic for the travel industry. Borders, including the Tunisian air space, were closed this afternoon, preventing tourists from entering or leaving the popular destination.
Reports from Tunisia indicate most foreigners on holiday in the country are reacting with relative calm to the ongoing political turmoil. Although the death of a Swiss-Tunisian woman-- who was shot as she watched the protesters clashing with police from her second floor balcony-- has led to an unease among many travellers.
The unsafe situation has prompted several tour operators to consider an evacuation of charter tourists. British operator Thomas Cook has already started repatriating 1,800 holidaymakers, the company stated today. Six extraordinary flights have been ordered to organise the evacuation, although the closure of Tunisian air space may complicate the operation.
Also some German and Belgian tour operators have made arrangements to evacuate their holidaymakers. The move followed a call by the German Foreign Ministry saying tourists in Tunisia could demand an earlier return given the dangerous situation.
Meanwhile, one cancellation after the other is ticking in, with tour operators and ordinary airlines cancelling most planned trips to Tunisia for the weeks to come. Even cruise ships have started announcing cancellations of stop-overs in Tunis.
While the Tunisian economy is very diversified and the tourism sector only contributes with around 7 percent of the country's GDP, the sector is among the largest employers in the country and gathers for a large number of small and medium-sized companies. Tunisia's tourism sector is estimated to provide some 350,00o jobs, representing some 12 percent of the country's entire workforce.
A longer downturn in the tourism sector due to continued turmoil therefore would deepen the social problems related to a high unemployment rate in the country. These social problems were the direct cause of the protests starting in December, which led to the political riots that finally led to the fall of President Ben Ali today.
Tunisia, along with other North African countries, has experienced impressive growth rates in its tourism sector during the last decade, even during the financial crisis. The sector was among the most promising to further reduce unemployment in the country, with many new resorts being planned along the country's Mediterranean coast.
The week long successful-- and relatively peaceful-- referendum, which is resulting in independence for southern Sudan, on the other hand, offers intrepid travelers a new destination that few have seen. The oft-repeated thing about tourism in Sudan: it's hard to get in but if you manage to, you can visit some awesome tourist attractions without ever seeing another tourist. All through Sudan the people are reputed to be among the friendliest and most hospitable on earth. Travelers are still a novelty for the people there so they are really as excited to experience you as you are to experience them. On the other hand, you can't use American credit cards there and in the South, there is malaria, deadly "drinking" water and poisonous spiders and snakes to worry about.
But you can fly into Juba directly from Nairobi, Cairo, Entebbe and Addis Ababa as well as Khartoum. Juba, the capital of the world's newest country, is small enough to walk all through in a day. Trip Advisor readers recommend 3 hotels and 3 restaurants but Juba is going to be a boom town really fast now and things are going to get crazy for the next year. Remember, Southern Sudan-- like Mauritania-- was predominantly a source of dark skinned slaves for lighter skinned Arabs. There's a lot of change that will be happening in the new nation now.
A tribal chief preferred not to ponder the meticulous nature of turning aspirations into a nation: "Look at those happy men over there," said Yout Manyual. "They have been here for three days and every night they dance with drums until morning. This is our right until all the votes are counted. We know then that development will come and children will be taken to school."
Beyond the roadside money-changers and the old army trucks half buried in the dirt, Dr. Hassan Awule made rounds at the unfinished Morobo Clinic he started during the war. He said life would improve in coming years but worried that corruption and tribalism-- the spoilers of many African nations-- might jeopardize a new country. As a lizard scurried up a wall, he opened the door to what he hopes one day will be an operating room.
"We began with just a pharmacy," he said. "Then we added one bed, then two, then three, and now we have 40 beds. They are not enough. We are treating malaria, typhoid, HIV, intestinal worms and infection. Many families can't afford care so we give them credit. You can't turn them away."
Children lay curled next to mothers, two women cut squares from a roll of gauze, and thin men slept on beds in tiny rooms and hallways. The dry season has left the clinic's well nearly empty and Awule pays money he barely has for water trucked in from the river. A genial man with a shaved head and a mercurial demeanor, the doctor said that one day he would open a pediatrics unit and a morgue.
"We had slavery," he said as a stray cow grazed outside his fence, "and now it's time for liberation."
The word "slavery" echoes in the south, seared into the public consciousness, an heirloom that makes independence sweet, if undefined. Southern Sudanese are more eloquent in explaining past persecutions and wars wrought by the Arab-controlled north than they are at rhapsodizing about the future. They know only that it's out there, and should soon belong to them.
Don't forget your Bradt Guide.
Beyond Resistance
A World to Win film on fighting the cuts and building an ecological commons based society, inspiring stuff!
Flesh and Blood
Really like 'Flesh and Blood' about 3.33 minutes in, nice rap!'scritti politti' means 'political writing' reference to Tony Gramsci I think
UK Uncut action report from Lee Massey
Today in Londons’ busy Oxford Street, around 50 protesters from the group UK Uncut, turned up outside the Vodafone store to protest about the alleged non payment of a £6billion tax bill. The group conducted many speeches and chants through a megaphone and eventually managed to get the store to close.Dr. Derek Wall, who is a lecturer at Goldsmiths College teaching Political Economy said “I think
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Indigenous killed for nuclear power?
Added attraction for Liberal Democrat support for nuclear power, mining the uranium kills poor and indigenous people.Funny how the Liberal Democrats reversed their policy on nuclear power, I bet there are thousands of Liberal Democrat activists up and down the country having a good laugh at the suckers who voted for them.Any way this a shocking story that I suspect both Nick Clegg and the
Join me for some Direct Action Tax Collection
Meet me at 1pm today, (Saturday) 15th January outside the Vodafone at 350 Oxford Street near Bond Street tube station, I am going to be asking them to pay their tax bills to the British public.MORE DETAILS
Friday, January 14, 2011
The Open Veins of Ireland slit by Eamonn Ryan.
I often think fondly of my good comrades in Donegal and Wicklow!My good friend, originally from Dublin, Joseph Healy alerted me to this film 'The Pipe' about how Shell assaulted Ireland.Joseph sagely notes:Well worth watching the documentary ‘The Pipe’ which tells the story of Shell and the pipeline in the West of Ireland. Green Energy Minister, Eamonn Ryan, has presided over the criminalisation
Response to RSCG PR to 'indigenous' allegations
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Euro RSCG London appears to have been caught "red-...": Euro RSCG PR is unaware of the alleged telephone conversation as reported by EnviroLeaks regarding Amazonian tribes. We are taking this very seriously and are investigating the allegations. This alleged point of view does not reflect the high ethical standards to which we consistently operate as
Liberal Democrat lose Oldham, would have won with AV
Labour: 14,718 (42.1%)Lib Dems: 11,160 (31.9%)Conservatives: 4,481 (12.8%)UKIP: 2,029 (5.8%)BNP: 1,560 (4.5%)Green Party: 530 (1.5%)Monster Raving Loony Party: 145 (0.4%)English Democrats: 144 (0.4%)Pirate Party: 96 (0.2%)Bus Pass Elvis Party: 67 (0.1%)Pretty clear Lib Dems would have won with AV!Modest Green Party vote but then we don't tend to do well at parliamentary by-elections.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Euro RSCG London appears to have been caught "red-handed"
A representative of the London-based PR firm Euro RSCG London appears to have been caught "red-handed" stating that his company is prepared to help relocate Uncontacted Indigenous Peoples in Bolivia to make way for an open cast lithium mine. According to this transcript of a telephone call with an anonymous caller, first published on the Enviroleaks ...Continue Reading: http://
Palazzo Inverso
Illustrations from the book Palazzo Inverso by D.B. Johnson. The story of the book was inspired by impossible buildings of M.C. Escher.
A lovely tree is just lumber for Nick Clegg
Government plans are appalling. In the same way the International Monetary Fund has insisted that to pay debt countries in the south of the globe have had to sell assets and turn rainforests into logged cash cows, our government is selling everything it can lay its hands on. Britain is for bond traders and other species of finance capitalist.Resistance is absolutely vital. And there is a rich
Ready For That Trip To The Paris Of The Middle East? Or Is Lebanon Suddenly Not That Alluring?
Everybody has always told me that Lebanon is beautiful and a "must see." Roman ruins, Crusader castles, churches, mosques, a bustling night-life, ski-slopes, Mediterranean beaches and awesome cuisine... have all helped to make Lebanon a well-trod tourist destination. A long, long civil war, on the other hand, had all but destroyed that key sector of the economy (once accounting for 20% of GDP) before it started creeping back up again. In fact, just last weekend, the NY Times listed the 41 best places to visit in 2011 and conspicuously not tucked in among trouble spots like Cali (Colombia), Tunisia, Loreto (Mexico), Tlemcen (Algeria), Kosovo, the Republic of Georgia, the Kurdish part of Iraq, Port Ghalib, Egypt, where sharks have been eating tourists lately, and Miami... not a peep about beautiful Lebanon which just a few months ago the Times was pushing as a foodie paradise.
more than 30 years of civil war, invasion and occupation, Lebanon is prospering again, and the downtown area of Beirut, the capital, has risen from the rubble. Among more than 400 projects are a new waterfront area, parks, world-class hotels, high-end shops and restored monuments, churches, mosques and even the synagogue.
And to help the city reclaim its title as the Paris of the Middle East are more than 100 restaurants, some involving notable chefs and restaurateurs.
“We are bringing in world-renowned chefs to make Beirut the food capital of the Middle East,” said Joseph Asseily, chairman of Beirut Hospitality, a division of Solidere, the Lebanese company in charge of the downtown development.
Joël Robuchon, Yannick Alléno, Antoine Westermann, the Parisian baker Eric Kayser and perhaps even Jean-Georges Vongerichten are among the marquee names poised to draw tourists and cosmopolitan locals to the once devastated quarter.
Yesterday's Times had a different kind of Lebanon story, the collapse of the country's-- more or less-- democratically-elected government.
Hezbollah and its allies forced the collapse of the government here on Wednesday, deepening a crisis over a United Nations-backed tribunal investigating the assassination of a former prime minister.
Eleven of the cabinet’s 30 ministers announced their resignations, a move that dissolves the government. They said they were prompted to act by the cabinet’s refusal to convene an emergency session to oppose the tribunal, which is expected to indict members of Hezbollah.
Ten of the ministers announced their resignations just as Prime Minister Saad Hariri was meeting with President Obama in Washington. The opposition had hoped that all 11 ministers would resign together, to bring down the government at that time and expose Mr. Hariri to the maximum embarrassment.
...Hezbollah and its foes have wrestled over the direction of the small Mediterranean country since the former prime minister, Rafik Hariri, was killed in a bombing along Beirut’s seafront in 2005. Twenty-two other people died in the attack. Since then, the tribunal has investigated his death and is now widely expected to indict members of Hezbollah, the country’s powerful Shiite Muslim movement.
Hezbollah has denied involvement and denounced the tribunal as an “Israeli project.” It has urged Prime Minister Saad Hariri, the slain man’s son, to reject its findings. Mr. Hariri, who has so far resisted the pressure, cut short his visit to the United States in order to return early to Lebanon and deal with the widening political crisis.
There has been a sense of inevitability to the resignation by cabinet ministers allied with Hezbollah. For months, Hezbollah has warned that it would not stand by as its members were accused of involvement in the assassination of Mr. Hariri’s father. Though it is technically part of the opposition, Hezbollah joined a unity government formed after elections in June 2009. It has emerged as the single most powerful force in the country, aided by its alliance with a powerful Christian general and the fracturing of its foes.
In contrast to 2005, Hezbollah’s adversaries-- gathered around Mr. Hariri-- have fewer options and less support than they once did, emblematic of the vast changes in Lebanon’s political landscape the past few years. While the Bush administration wholeheartedly backed Mr. Hariri and his allies then, President Obama has not pledged the same kind of support. Syria, whose influence was waning in 2005, has re-emerged in Lebanon, and even its detractors here have sought some kind of relationship with it. Most Lebanese also vividly recall the speed at which Hezbollah and its allies vanquished their foes in just a few days of street fighting in Beirut in May 2008.
“Who are your allies these days?” Sateh Noureddine, a columnist with As-Safir newspaper, asked of Mr. Hariri’s camp. “You are going to get beaten on the streets and you will not be able to respond.”
The decision to resign came after the collapse of talks between Saudi Arabia and Syria aimed at easing the political tension. The two countries have backed rival camps in Lebanon since 2005 and their initiative was seen across the political spectrum as the best chance to end the stalemate. But Tuesday night, Michel Aoun, a former general and Hezbollah’s Christian ally, announced the two sides were unable to reach an agreement.
The father of Saad Hariri, Rafik Hariri-- then Prime Minister-- was assassinated in 2005 and the fragile coalition he's headed since 2009 couldn't withstand demands by the Shi'a Hezbollah movement to denounce the tribunal (which would have been political suicide for himself in the context of the Sunni community, his base). His only backing comes from the Saudi royal family but they didn't back him strongly enough to pressure Hezbollah's masters in Syria-- at least as implicated in the assassination as Hezbollah-- to call off their dogs. There is no good outcome to this mess. And the likelihood of me ever visiting Lebanon has further diminished. Damascus seems more likely.
Archbishop accuses Irish Green Party of 'corruption' and calls for social revolution
‘Somehow the Greens managed to do a complete turnaround and stabilise the Fianna Fáil government, and they have stayed there through thick and thin. It’s a very sad thing. It’s not just true of the Green Party, but it is very true of them, power tends to corrupt.’ Dr Neill is also ‘very sad’ at how our sovereignty was ‘diminished in the economic field’ by the IMF/ECB bailout. ‘We are in a mess.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Hoekvensterkooi met doorgang voor wijze uilen
Hoekvensterkooi met doorgang voor wijze uilen by Jos de Mey
Sting accused of green wash
Career in perpetual artistic decline the first Police singles were quite good but down hill after that.Likewise green wise, it started with a fund raising record for the Ecology Party and has since gone into the usual eco excesses identified by Paxman.Bet Paxo flies around the word, eats huskies and leaves his heating on.....oh we must get beyond lifestyle but I do find Sting a bit green in the
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Are Budget Airlines All Run By Rip-Off Artists?
It wasn't cheap to get from L.A. to Morocco. I flew via British Air to London and then took Royal Air Maroc to Marrakech and Roland took Virgin Atlantic to London and then Royal Air Maroc. Helen and Michael flew from NYC to Madrid on Iberia and then on to Marrakech on Royal Air Maroc. We each paid around $300 for the final legs into Marrakech (and back to Europe)-- cockroaches, abysmal service and all. When we got there all the European tourists were talking about $50 round trip tickets on their local versions of Southwest, like RyanAir. This morning Sophie at Money in the U.K. suggested I republish a story by Sally Darby which takes a closer look into whether budget airlines really are as cheap as they claim to be.
With so-called 'budget' airlines clawing money back with a huge and seemingly unavoidable list of additional charges, we look at whether there is any way to get around paying these airline add-ons.Of course it would be nice if the price of a flight ticket really did represent the actual cost of flying from A to B, but unfortunately this isn’t the way of the world (not yet, anyway). [Or, at least, not any longer.]
This is particularly the case with budget airlines who need to recuperate the cost of selling such low-cost fares somehow. More often than not your ticket is likely to be accompanied by a whole host of additional charges and fees that will ultimately bump up the price of your flight-- making that £1 deal seem not so much of a bargain after all.
While some of these charges are largely unavoidable there are certainly ways around many of them-- read on for our top tips.
Many flight tickets nowadays, particularly when booked online, will come with an obligatory booking fee (apparently to cover processing, administration costs and the like). This tends to be around £5 per person per flight so the costs quickly mount up, but there are ways to get around paying it at all if you pay with the right card.
Ryanair for example (though they state this is a for a limited period only) charge no booking fee to those who book with a MasterCard prepaid card. Unfortunately this is likely to incur costs of its own. For this reason it's really important to shop around for the card that costs you the least in purchase, loading and payment fees and then using it to pay for all your Ryanair flights.
The vast majority of other 'budget' airlines won't charge a booking fee to those who book with a Visa Electron debit card. So it's well worth looking into getting either a Visa Electron prepaid card or a basic bank account that comes with a Visa Electron debit card so that you can book without the added cost.
Rather sneakily, some budget airlines will automatically apply additional charges to your flight by default unless you specifically make sure to de-select the option.
For example, Ryanair will automatically apply ‘priority boarding’ to your ticket costing you extra unless you make sure to un-tick the relevant box when booking.
Similarly if you pre-book a particular seat number with BmiBaby this will cost you extra, so it really isn’t worth doing unless you are particularly fussy about where in the cabin you’ll be seated – not to mention, the fact that pre-booked seats can even be over-ridden upon boarding by other passengers if the cabin is very busy.
Requesting a seat with extra leg room will too incur a separate charge so remember to decline this option when offered it if you are happy with a regular seat.
Most buget airlines will also charge you for checking luggage into the hold so only do this if you need to. Instead, check the hand luggage restrictions and try to fit everything you're taking into a bag you can take on the plane; this is likely to be more possible for short breaks than two week holidays unless you're an expert in capsule packing.
Remember, if you do forgo hold luggage you'll need to make sure you comply with the hand luggage liquid limits and find out how many pieces of hand luggage you're able to take on. It's often the case that you can only carry on a single piece of luggage, so handbags and laptop cases will need to be squished in your bag too.
Before you even contemplate leaving for the airport, in fact before you even start packing, it’s vital to check the flight terms and conditions on the website of the budget airline you’re flying with.
These will include crucial points that may not have even crossed your mind, such as the liquid limit you are allowed to carry on board with you and the specific luggage dimensions your hold baggage and hand luggage will need to comply with.
Disobey these limits, and the penalties can be severe-- you may find you’re charged extra, some of your items have to be discarded, or you may even be offloaded from the flight altogether without a refund.
As well as checking these maximum limits you should also check things such as:
• whether you need to check-in before you get to the airport
• whether you need to book in any luggage before you get to the airport
• whether a boarding card needs to be printed off and presented upon boarding
• whether any other specific details such as your passport number and its expiry date need to be entered on booking
• whether you are able to pool your luggage allowance with your travel companions
Again, failing to comply with these sometimes unreasonably strict regulations will mean an additional and often steep charge.
One of the good things about budget airlines is that they frequently hold ‘sales’ on their tickets, dropping them temporarily to rock-bottom prices such as £5 or even 99p. When these come along it is worth taking advantage of them if they fit in with your travel plans as combining an extra-low fare with the tips above will ensure you get the best value flight possible.
However, it is always a good idea to go for the sales that include taxes and charges in their ticket prices otherwise you'll find yourself unavoidably paying extra from the word go.
Planning your travel as much in advance as possible is also a good idea, as it means you can book your cheap flight well ahead of time and be ready for the flight sales when they do come around.
And one bit of good news-- not even RyanAir or EasyJet, despite conventional wisdom, have been permited to charge for the use of toilets on their flights (yet).
Just 4 years ago this was a comedy routine. Today it's a reality show!
Open Letter from Bob Crow: Unit to fight the cuts or face destruction
AN OPEN LETTER IN A PERSONAL CAPACITY FROM RMT GENERAL SECRETARY BOB CROW TO THE NATIONAL SHOP STEWARDS NETWORK AND SOCIALIST PARTYDear Brothers and Sisters,I am writing to urge maximum unity in the struggle against the Coalition government’s austerity programme.Such is the scale of the onslaught against our class that no one should be in any doubt of the need for such unity.There can be no
Eye witness report from killer gold mine in Colombia
Colombia Solidarity Campaign London Branch meeting Report back from Cajamarca – the fight to stop AngloGold AshantiEyewitness account from two Campaign members just back from the region7pm Tuesday 18 January at The Apple Tree pub, 45 Mount Pleasant, WC1 (Russell Square, Farringdon, Kings X or Angel tube)AngloGold Ashanti is ploughing ahead with the exploration phase of La Colosa in
When academics lie, people die.
The field of anthropology goes under the magnifying glass in a fiery investigation of the seminal research on Yanomami Indians, also known as the 'Fierce People'. In the 1960s and 70s, a steady stream of anthropologists filed into the Amazon Basin to observe this 'virgin' society untouched by modern life. Thirty years later, the events surrounding this infiltration have become a scandalous tale
Monday, January 10, 2011
Political violence is American as the Baked Alaska
There has been huge shock over the shooting of Arizona Congresswomen Gabrielle Giffords and the accompanying killing of six people, including a nine year old girl and a judge, this weekend.Many commentators on what passes for the US left have pointed to incitement from former Republican Vice-Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, who used the slogan ‘”Don’t retreat, reload.” and produced a map with
New artwork by Jos de Mey
Vrouwelijke Portret-Buste van Bartolomeo da Venezia in een nieuwe omkadering by Jos de Mey
Former high profile Labour activist says vote Green in Oldham
John Nicholson, who used to be Labour deputy leader of Manchester City Council, has called on voters in this weeks Oldham by-election to vote Green.I would echo this not just cos I am Green but Peter Allen the candidate is a good amigo and a principled ecosocialist a strong green vote would really stick it to those neo-liberal democrats as well and give Phil Woolas's nasty escapades it would be
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Climate trial collapses after police infiltrator unmasked
Good news but remember if you do good the cops will infiltrate your organisaton.Today’s trial against six people charged with conspiracy to shut down Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station in 2009 will collapse on its first day at Nottingham Crown Court. Activists exposed that an undercover police officer had been spying on them for seven years, and had actually helped organise the proposed
Jerry Hicks backs left candidates for Unite NEC, list here
Proud to have Jerry as a comrade, please spread the word, he achieved a lot coming second as an explicitly socialist candidate for Unite General Secretary and he is a good friend of greens and ecosocialists.Jerry Hicks : Re: Election for Unite National Executive Committee [NEC] Please feel free to forward. Can I again convey a massive thank you for your support in our campaign for General
Greens go Orange!
just got this, from London Guantánamo CampaignThe London Guantánamo Campaign [1] will hold a silent vigil to mark the 9th anniversary of the opening of Guantánamo Bay on Tuesday, 11 January 2011, from 1-2pm, at the top of Trafalgar Square (opposite the National Gallery). All London MPs and MEPs have been invited. Green London Assembly Members Jenny Jones and Darren Johnson have pledged their
'strongly desired'
Sometimes I feel submerged in a blog/web/twitter world of 'progressives' who want what we have but without the sharp edges.I want something else. I want a world that works....what we have does not work, its the locomotive heading towards the abyss....progressives simply want us to pay less for a train ticket to hell.Utopia needs to be made real and practical.This is from my good friend Michel
Saturday, January 8, 2011
A GREEN PARTY PACT FOR ELECTORAL POWER
This is from Philip Hosking of the Cornish Republican blog, I am very pleased to have this an important debate to be had. Over to Philip, please come along and discuss!Following some comments left on the blog post -Caroline Lucas's New Year Message to Ed Miliband- I've been invited by the author of Another Green World to blog about the success of Europe Ecologie in France. Equally my choice to
Friday, January 7, 2011
UK UNCUT VODAFONE 350 OXFORD ST, SATURDAY
January · 13:00 - 16:00 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Location Outside Vodafone at 350 Oxford Street (near Bond Street tube station) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Created by: Aaron Peters, Sam Halvorsen, Gaius Julius Augustus, Bernard Goyder, Seb Sears, Sarah Gibby, Maham Hashmi-KhanShow all (7)
Lib Dems destroyed in by-election wipe out.
By-election result here.If there are two parties I really hate (for the same reason)at least both are going to be wiped out.The Irish Greens went into coalition with 'corrupt motorway building through prehistoric sites' Fianna Fail...they will lose all their MPs in the spring election in IrelandThe Tories are in government with a big enough majority to out Thatcher Thatcher only because of the
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Wise words from Aaron Peters
Great to get this from Aaron Peters in response to some of his earlier opinions.Caution is important but I would urge people to support Uncut!Hi guys - the article was for a friend, a Tory who needed it for the journal because i can only assume there was a lack of other content. In any case, I was a Labour member from 2005-10 and have now left.That piece in particular was to clarify that every
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
This war is against you!
I remain very emotional about Mumia.Decades on death row for something he didn't do.A green socialist to the core, via his radical ecological perspective, derived from John Africa.A poetic political commentator.If you are a serious human being, concerned about the chaos on our planet, listen to Mumia and repeat his words.Work for this freedom.
Take a look Laurie Penny, Aaron Peters, Richard Seymour et al!
Many of my Latin American comrades like Hugo Blanco have led successful uprisings, makes some one like me on the British (largely ineffective) left quite jealous.What can we learn from Latin America Michael Lebowitz who is Caracas based gave this talk in Greece recently (first part of three).Take a look Laurie Penny, Aaron Peters, Richard Seymour et al!Network Marxism, neither the streets nor the
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
WTF Uncuts Aaron Peters in bed with UCL Tories?
Let us hope that in the period of fiscal authority that will inevitably follow next year‟s general election that the two parties can unite on this most crucial of areas. Mutually agreeing on the necessity of delivering a respect agenda and how to foster higher levels of social capital, self-reliance and working class aspiration, while re- ducing the size of the state, eliminating a „benefits
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)