Blogs

”Therefore, señores and señoras, my military comrades, let’s not waste one day in the completion of our primary mission: preparing ourselves for war.”
Hugo Chávez, ”İAló, Presidente!”, 09/11/2009

[i]”PREPARE OURSELVES?

I apologise for not being as thorough as usual, but my PC was stolen last month, I was without internet for two weeks, and tomorrow I'm going on holiday. Hopefully I can go back to normal in December, here's what I've found over the last couple of week:s

Interesting article on labour rights NGOs trying to use corporate social responsibility programs.

Freestyle Manifesto. Film review – Tom Jennings

September 30th: China Worker on 60th anniversary of Chinese Revolution.
http://chinaworker.info/en/content/news/849/?ls-art0=15

October 16th: Swedish socialist banned from China.
http://chinaworker.info/en/content/news/860/
and three days later the same happened to a Chinese activist who was involved in the events of 1989.
http://chinaworker.info/en/content/news/865/

Get up, check the taps, then plan your day. That's pretty much routine for the vast majority of caraqueños. In the rancho (hilltop barrio) where I live, the water goes off - on average - 2-3 days a week, and that's actually pretty good going in comparison.

The Ill-Health of the State. Film review / essay – Tom Jennings

Trojan Horse Noir. Book review – Tom Jennings

But the accompanying charge is usually one of ‘doing nothing’ and thus not subjecting my ‘sterile’ ideas to the test of practice.

Having had a think about it, I decided to go back to the Wikipedia article which I'd had a go at a couple of years ago, which other than the exceedingly small IWA site itself, is the first thing to come up on a search.

Neighbourhood Nervous Breakdown. Television review – Tom Jennings

Workers at hi-tech giant Intel in Chengdu, Sichuan Province (south-west China) struck over pay differences between local workers and workers from Shanghai: http://www.china-labour.org.hk/en/node/100558

Protests against pollution continue with protests in the south-eastern province of Fujian centred around lead poisoning from a battery factory, involving the blocking of a highway:

This month where has been news from Thailand, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Vietnam, South Korea, Indonesia and far eastern Russia. And now additional news courtesy of Welt in Umwaelzung (listed first).

Indonesia

From the anti-war movement to workplace struggles, wherever you find people struggling for a better world, you'll also find Leninists hanging around looking for a chance to build their "vanguard party".

Borderline Psycho Sis. Film review – Tom Jennings

In Wenping, Hunan, 15 people involved in a protest at the start of last month were arrested, then released with a reprimand. However, bizarrely, authorities claimed that followers of the banned religious sect Falun Gong were involved in the protest.

First they came for the staff of the weakest private sector companies
Then they came for the strong

Villagers in Cambodia have sent representatives to the government baring a petition asking for action over land grabs, which are becoming more common. 80% of the population live in rural areas, and there is no safety net, but as over 90% of land has no legal title (mostly destroyed under the Khmer Rouge) it is easy for companies, the rich and powerful etc. to simply take land.

Team Spiritualism. Film review – Tom Jennings

Angst, Ridden. Music review – Tom Jennings

The plans involved 87 lay-offs effective immediately, but up to 600 by the end of the year. Many villagers either work at the mine or have relatives who do. Management met with them and agreed to better severance packages as well as promising to find them employment in community projects.

Reports here: