As reported in the Guardian today, the BBC has once again use the argument of 'impartiality' to justify its decision not to broadcast a radio version of Carol Churchill's play 'Seven Jewish Children'. This comes just a few months after the BBC's appalling decision not to screen the DEC Gaza appeal.
Why does this argument of impartiality only get used when relating to criticism of Israel. I doubt the BBC would have a problem with impartiality if they received a similar piece of work relating to Burma, Tibet or Zimbabwe.
Monday, 16 March 2009
Friday, 13 March 2009
Support journalists at The Press
Newsquest, owners of York paper 'The Press' and 'Gazette & Herald' continued their attack on the papers by announcing that seven out of 59 editorial jobs were to go at the Newsquest titles.
Please support the journalists call for fair pay by signing their petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/nujyork/petition.html
You can read their blog at http://nujyork.blogspot.com/
Please support the journalists call for fair pay by signing their petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/nujyork/petition.html
You can read their blog at http://nujyork.blogspot.com/
Rise of 'corrective rapes' on lesbians in South Africa
The following horrifying story is from Pink News:
A new report has suggested a rise in 'corrective rapes' on lesbians in South Africa.
According to charity ActionAid, women in Johannesburg and Cape Town are suffering an increase in homophobic attacks and sexual assaults which are seen as a form of punishment or "cure".
One lesbian and gay support group says it is dealing with 10 new cases of lesbian women being targeted for ‘corrective’ rape every week in Cape Town alone.
Figures suggest there are an estimated 500,000 rapes in South Africa every year and for every 25 men accused of rape in the country, 24 walk free.
The report, titled Hate Crimes, claims that victims often report that their attackers say they are "teaching them a lesson" or showing them how to be a "real woman".
Zanele Twala, Director of ActionAid South Africa, said: “So-called ‘corrective’ rape is yet another grotesque manifestation of violence against women, the most widespread human rights violation in the world today. These crimes continue unabated and with impunity, while governments simply turn a blind eye.”
One victim told ActionAid: “We get insults every day, beatings if we walk alone, you are constantly reminded that you deserve to be raped.
"They yell 'if I rape you then you will go straight, that you will buy skirts and start to cook because you will have learnt how to be a real woman'."
Thirty-one lesbian women have been reported murdered in homophobic attacks since 1998, yet there has only been one conviction.
However, support groups have claimed that the actual number of women killed is likely to be much higher because hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation are not recognised in the country's criminal justice system.
Ms Twala has called on foreign governments to help stop the tide of violence.
She said: “It is clear that the South African government must put a stop to these crimes against women and fulfil the promises of the constitution.
"Worldwide, it is utterly unacceptable that millions of women and girls live daily in fear of their lives. The international community have a duty to address violence against women as the most serious threat to security in the world today."
A new report has suggested a rise in 'corrective rapes' on lesbians in South Africa.
According to charity ActionAid, women in Johannesburg and Cape Town are suffering an increase in homophobic attacks and sexual assaults which are seen as a form of punishment or "cure".
One lesbian and gay support group says it is dealing with 10 new cases of lesbian women being targeted for ‘corrective’ rape every week in Cape Town alone.
Figures suggest there are an estimated 500,000 rapes in South Africa every year and for every 25 men accused of rape in the country, 24 walk free.
The report, titled Hate Crimes, claims that victims often report that their attackers say they are "teaching them a lesson" or showing them how to be a "real woman".
Zanele Twala, Director of ActionAid South Africa, said: “So-called ‘corrective’ rape is yet another grotesque manifestation of violence against women, the most widespread human rights violation in the world today. These crimes continue unabated and with impunity, while governments simply turn a blind eye.”
One victim told ActionAid: “We get insults every day, beatings if we walk alone, you are constantly reminded that you deserve to be raped.
"They yell 'if I rape you then you will go straight, that you will buy skirts and start to cook because you will have learnt how to be a real woman'."
Thirty-one lesbian women have been reported murdered in homophobic attacks since 1998, yet there has only been one conviction.
However, support groups have claimed that the actual number of women killed is likely to be much higher because hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation are not recognised in the country's criminal justice system.
Ms Twala has called on foreign governments to help stop the tide of violence.
She said: “It is clear that the South African government must put a stop to these crimes against women and fulfil the promises of the constitution.
"Worldwide, it is utterly unacceptable that millions of women and girls live daily in fear of their lives. The international community have a duty to address violence against women as the most serious threat to security in the world today."
Sunday, 8 March 2009
The Catholic church in Brazil
If up early enough on a Sunday morning I sometimes listen to Sunday on Radio 4. It is a religious magazine programme which covers religious stories from all religions, although not religious myself I find it an interesting programme.
This morning I was shocked to hear the story of a 9 year Brazilian girl who became pregnant as a result of her father's sexual abuse, who subsequently had an abortion, which is only legal under Brazilian law in cases of rape or when the mother's life is at risk which was clearly the case for both these reasons.
As a result of this the child's mother and the doctors who treated her have been ex-communicated by the Catholic church, were as the abusive father is allowed to remain in the church.
This once again shows how out of touch the Catholic church has become in the 21st century. Surely such immoral behaviour will push yet more of its congregation away. If the church wants to be seen as the voice of morality it needs a reality check as to what is morally acceptable behaviour in the 21st century.
This morning I was shocked to hear the story of a 9 year Brazilian girl who became pregnant as a result of her father's sexual abuse, who subsequently had an abortion, which is only legal under Brazilian law in cases of rape or when the mother's life is at risk which was clearly the case for both these reasons.
As a result of this the child's mother and the doctors who treated her have been ex-communicated by the Catholic church, were as the abusive father is allowed to remain in the church.
This once again shows how out of touch the Catholic church has become in the 21st century. Surely such immoral behaviour will push yet more of its congregation away. If the church wants to be seen as the voice of morality it needs a reality check as to what is morally acceptable behaviour in the 21st century.
Saturday, 7 March 2009
More evidence of the Big Brother state
Today's article in the Guardian finally proves what the end game is when you are caught on camera by the police attending legal demonstrations.
The Guardian claims that police are targeting thousands of political campaigners and storing their details on a database for a least seven years.
If you visit the Guardian site you can watch a surveillance video of last year's climate camp showing the police filming protestors and also taking particular interest in any journalists entering the area.
This story comes just a few weeks after section 76 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 was introduced which could in theory make it a criminal offence to take a photograph of a police officer.
So while campaigners are facing increasing surveillance the police can theoretically charge you for doing the same.
The Guardian claims that police are targeting thousands of political campaigners and storing their details on a database for a least seven years.
If you visit the Guardian site you can watch a surveillance video of last year's climate camp showing the police filming protestors and also taking particular interest in any journalists entering the area.
This story comes just a few weeks after section 76 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 was introduced which could in theory make it a criminal offence to take a photograph of a police officer.
So while campaigners are facing increasing surveillance the police can theoretically charge you for doing the same.
Friday, 6 March 2009
Each year, around 1 in 10 women in Britain experience rape or other violence
EACH YEAR, AROUND 1 IN 10 WOMEN IN BRITAIN EXPERIENCE RAPE OR OTHER VIOLENCE
One in four local authorities leave female victims of violence without the specialised support they need. At 1:10pm today Amnesty rallied online communities to do something about this disgraceful lack of services for International Women's Day. Thank you to the thousands of you who changed your avatar and status update on Facebook, Myspace and Twitter.
http://blog.protectthehuman.com/category/violence-against-women/
Tuesday, 3 March 2009
Israel Science Day
The following is from the BRICUP (British Committee for Universities for Palestine) website.
With amazing and insensitive bad taste the Science Museum in London (and the Manchester Museum of Science and Industry) are allowing their premises to be used for an ‘Israel Day of Science’ sponsored by the Zionist Federation. The research of seven Israeli universities is to be showcased. The planned dates are March 3 (Manchester) and March 5 (London).
Join the protests
Manchester Tuesday March 3
From 10am at Manchester Museum of Science and Industry
Liverpool Road, Castlefield, Manchester
Rally with speakers -1-2pm
London Thursday March 5
Meet at 9.30am, Science Museum
Exhibition Road, South Kensington
Sunday, 1 March 2009
Caroline Lucas in Palestine
The following is an extract from Caroline's blog, which she is regularly posting to while in Palestine from 25th Feb - 1st March:
Please take time to visit Caroline's blog to read about her experiences in Gaza.
We were met by staff of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), who were to be our guides for the rest of the day. As we drove into Gaza City, the scale of the destruction quickly became apparent. Whole neighbourhoods have been flattened, the concrete walls and floors of collapsed houses jutting out at impossible angles. The human cost of such devastation is almost unimaginable.
Yet one of the things that shocked me too was evidence of the deliberate targeting of Gaza’s industrial areas. Dynamite had been used to blow up enterprises like flour mills, a cement packing operation, even an ice-cream factory. And where tanks and bulldozers had failed to fully destroy the contents of buildings, fires were set alight to do the job instead.
Please take time to visit Caroline's blog to read about her experiences in Gaza.
For shame Derek
Certainly no fan of the bigoted fish wrapper the Daily Mail, I did decide to look on its website today after hearing on the radio about its attack on Derek Simpson, joint General Secretary of Unite.
It claims that he has repeatedly stayed in £399 a night rooms at the Waldorf hotel rather than take the 35-minute journey to his £800,000 grace-and-favour home.
Thankfully I am no longer a member of Unite. This man is an embarrassment to the trade union movement and it is time the members turned their backs on him.
There is candidate who is worthy of the position of general secretary. Jerry Hicks has been running an excellent campaign and has rightly criticised the current leadership of Unite and has pledged to only take the wage of an average skilled worker if elected.
Find out more about Jerry's campaign at http://jerryhicks.wordpress.com/
It claims that he has repeatedly stayed in £399 a night rooms at the Waldorf hotel rather than take the 35-minute journey to his £800,000 grace-and-favour home.
Thankfully I am no longer a member of Unite. This man is an embarrassment to the trade union movement and it is time the members turned their backs on him.
There is candidate who is worthy of the position of general secretary. Jerry Hicks has been running an excellent campaign and has rightly criticised the current leadership of Unite and has pledged to only take the wage of an average skilled worker if elected.
Find out more about Jerry's campaign at http://jerryhicks.wordpress.com/
Today's Independent - Boycott Israeli Goods
Today's Independent has two interesting articles. The first is an excellent piece from Donald Macintyre on Israel's death squads. It includes testimony from a former member of an Israeli assassination squad responsible for the murder of four Palestinians in Gaza at the start of the second intifada. The testimony was given to a group called Breaking The Silence which is an organization of veteran Israeli soldiers that collects testimonies of soldiers who served in the Occupied Territories during the Second Intifada.
The second story of interest is about Britain's complicity in rendition and torture. After Binyam Mohamed's claims of British complicity in torture and rendition the final British resident to be held at Guantanamo, Shaker Aamer has come out with similar claims.
On a non political issue I was interested in reading about Alan Moore and his refusal to be associated with the Watchmen film.
On a visit to Asda today I was very disappointed to see lots of Israeli tomatoes and peppers. Asda are of course not alone in stocking Israeli products with many of the main supermarkets doing so. It is important the we continue to complain to supermarkets stocking Israeli goods. Unlike other states responsible for human rights abuses such as Burma and Zimbabwe, most supermarkets turn a blind eye to Israel's crimes.
Find out more about the boycott campaign at http://www.bigcampaign.org/
The second story of interest is about Britain's complicity in rendition and torture. After Binyam Mohamed's claims of British complicity in torture and rendition the final British resident to be held at Guantanamo, Shaker Aamer has come out with similar claims.
On a non political issue I was interested in reading about Alan Moore and his refusal to be associated with the Watchmen film.
On a visit to Asda today I was very disappointed to see lots of Israeli tomatoes and peppers. Asda are of course not alone in stocking Israeli products with many of the main supermarkets doing so. It is important the we continue to complain to supermarkets stocking Israeli goods. Unlike other states responsible for human rights abuses such as Burma and Zimbabwe, most supermarkets turn a blind eye to Israel's crimes.
Find out more about the boycott campaign at http://www.bigcampaign.org/
Monday, 23 February 2009
Response to the Green Engage post about me
I was not wanting to give this story any more publicity, but as Greens Engage have decided to attack me and not post my response I will post the letter I sent to the student magazine Nouse who wrote the story:
In response to your story of 13 February, I would like to reiterate my regret that one of the 246 pictures of York Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s public activities posted to the Facebook group has caused offence.
When I found out from the University that this image was causing offence I immediately removed this picture and made it clear that I do not support any anti-Semitic displays and would not have posted the picture if it had occurred to me that it would cause offence. To be clear, this image was not on a University website or uploaded through the University network. The image was clearly found by an individual searching for a reason to label me an anti-Semite. I regard this as the latest move in a campaign to harass me at work because of my connection to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
When I saw the Nouse headline on Friday evening I was deeply offended and upset by the accusation that I was a racist. I am a member of the York Palestine Solidarity Campaign as a private individual. The York Palestine Solidarity Campaign is a non-racist organisation which in no way espouses anti-semitism.
I have spent many years campaigning against racism and anti-semitism in York, and helped launch the York Unity group in 2004 to campaign against racism and the BNP in York. Anyone who knows me will vouch for my commitment to tackling racism and vouch for my belief in tackling harassment, in whatever form it takes.
To be clear, Harassment advisors are individuals at the University who have volunteered to provide confidential assistance to anybody concerned about harassment. I am not carrying out the role for personal gain but to assist anyone who feels they are harassed, which is a cause I am passionate about. I am quite capable of offering this advice to anyone who comes to me, as I am there to provide advice and not make a judgement on the accusation.
Thursday, 12 February 2009
Vote for Jerry Hicks
There were several reasons behind my decision to move from Amicus to UCU a couple of years ago. One of those reasons was my distaste for Amicus leadership who supported the arms industry, nuclear power and blocked the motion for a boycott of Coca Cola at the War on Want conference. Things have not changed in Unite, only recently Unite spoke out in favour of runway 3 at Heathrow.
It is therefore refreshing to see a candidate for General Secretary who speaks out against Heathrow expansion and nuclear power. Furthermore he is committed to only taking the salary of an average skilled worker, rather than the £100,000+ salary enjoyed by current General Secretary Derek Simpson.
The Green Party Trade Union Group have produced the following statement:
Find out more about Jerry's campaign at http://jerryhicks.wordpress.com/
It is therefore refreshing to see a candidate for General Secretary who speaks out against Heathrow expansion and nuclear power. Furthermore he is committed to only taking the salary of an average skilled worker, rather than the £100,000+ salary enjoyed by current General Secretary Derek Simpson.
The Green Party Trade Union Group have produced the following statement:
The Green Party Trade Union Group does not seek to instruct Amicus members how to vote in their internal ballot, but notes that Jerry Hicks HAS made statements on environmental policy that GPTU would support. GPTU therefore asks Amicus members to consider this when choosing how to vote.
Find out more about Jerry's campaign at http://jerryhicks.wordpress.com/
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
UCU NEC elections
The University and College Union's NEC election's are upon us. Please consider voting for the UCU Left candidates. Below is an extract from their website:
For details of the candidates visit http://www.uculeft.devisland.net/nec-elections-2009.html
UCU Left - NEC Candidates - 2009
We believe UCU members need representatives on the NEC who will fight alongside them, and that our NEC should be made up of the best local and regional activists who stand up for and mobilise UCU members.
The UCU Left candidates standing in these elections meet those criteria. They are representatives who will truly make themselves accountable to the members and they reflect the dynamism of our union, women and men, black and white, gay and straight, disabled and non-disabled. They include many leading members who have a proven record as fighters in the union. They also include new younger activists who’ve emerged out of the recent battles in Higher and Further Education. We believe all of them will bring with them commitment to creating a democratic, member led, progressive union to the new NEC.
For details of the candidates visit http://www.uculeft.devisland.net/nec-elections-2009.html
Monday, 2 February 2009
DEC petition
Unfortunately it took a while for Downing Street to approve this
petition. It is however still not too late for the PM to call on the
BBC to change its mind:
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/decgaza/
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to call on the BBC to
broadcast the DEC Gaza appeal.
The BBC has broadcast appeals from the Disasters Emergency Committee
since 1963. In a rare breach of the agreement it has decided not to
broadcast DEC's Gaza Appeal.
We urge the Prime Minister to call on the BBC to reverse its decision.
petition. It is however still not too late for the PM to call on the
BBC to change its mind:
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/decgaza/
We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to call on the BBC to
broadcast the DEC Gaza appeal.
The BBC has broadcast appeals from the Disasters Emergency Committee
since 1963. In a rare breach of the agreement it has decided not to
broadcast DEC's Gaza Appeal.
We urge the Prime Minister to call on the BBC to reverse its decision.
Sunday, 1 February 2009
Holocaust Memorial Day - Statement from York Green Party
Greens support Holocaust memorial
Cllr Andy D'Agorne joined other party leaders at York's annual Holocaust Memorial Day.
Cllr Andy D'Agorne spoke alongside the other party leaders at the Holocaust Memorial Day event on Wednesday. Standing at the foot of Cliffords Tower where 150 Jews perished in 1190 he said, "Whether (the victims are) Jews or people in Dafur, Zimbabwe or the Middle East, we must speak out in defence of human rights and provide humanitarian aid to the victims of war, whichever 'side' they are on" The event later that evening included songs, drumming and personal accounts from a Holocaust survivor and an Ethiopean refugee.
Cllr Andy D'Agorne joined other party leaders at York's annual Holocaust Memorial Day.
Cllr Andy D'Agorne spoke alongside the other party leaders at the Holocaust Memorial Day event on Wednesday. Standing at the foot of Cliffords Tower where 150 Jews perished in 1190 he said, "Whether (the victims are) Jews or people in Dafur, Zimbabwe or the Middle East, we must speak out in defence of human rights and provide humanitarian aid to the victims of war, whichever 'side' they are on" The event later that evening included songs, drumming and personal accounts from a Holocaust survivor and an Ethiopean refugee.
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