Diary of an opera fanatic, gardener and ecosocialist

Feed the World without destroying the Planet

2011-11-01T10:13:00.000-07:00

Feed the world without destroying the planet

A seminar on food sovereignty

November 12, 11- 5.30

University of London Union,

Malet Street, London WC1

Organised by Socialist Resistance

and Green Left

Speakers include Maria Neri Pampilo of CONZARRD, Graciela Romero of War on Want Rehad Desai, South African climate change activist, Derek Wall of Green Left, Pierre Rousset of Nouveau Parti Anticapitaliste and Terry Conway of the Socialist Resistance editorial Board

Agenda

11- 1.30 Introductory plenary

1.30-2.30 Lunch

2.30-4.00 Workshops

Women and Food Sovereignty
Agribusiness and the supermarkets
Land rights not Land grabs
Food Sovereignty and Climate change

4.15-5.30 Closing Plenary

with Maria Neri Pampilo

Maria has worked for CONZARRD since the mid 1990’s.

CONZARRD is a grouping of popular and non-governmental organisations working on agrarian reform and rural development in Mindanao, in the Philippines. For CONZARRD organic farming is not a luxury – but essential to the survival of the famers.Organic rice for example is more resilient against both disease and flooding as well as cheaper. Organic fertiliser, produced locally enriches the soil rather than depleting it in the way chemical fertiliser does.

Other principal speakers include: Graciela Romero War on Want International Programme Director and author of their Report on Food Sovereignty

Rehad Desai: South African climate change activist and documentary film maker, visiting Britain to build support for the climate justice protests in Durban to coincide with the COP 17 summit in December

Derek Wall, Green Left – former principal speaker of the Green Party, author of the No Nonsense Guide to Green politics

Pierre Rousset : Noveau Parti Anticapalist (NPA), France, and Europe-Asia social forums – Editor of www.europesolidaire.com, has written extensively on Asia particularly the Philippines, Vietnam and Japan

Terry Conway: Socialist Resistance Editorial Board

Food sovereignty not `food security’ is answer to world hunger

One and a half billion people are at risk from rising food prices. This is the dramatic conclusion of the report by UN food agencies; The state of food insecurity in the World today. The report talks of a triple crisis of food, climate change and depleted natural resources, which could affect 1.5 billion people across 10 countries. It says: “having 600 million people suffering from hunger on a daily basis is never acceptable”

But the way the UN agencies focus on the concept of “food security” is fundamentally flawed. They promote private investment and increased agricultural productivity – both of which are part of the problem. They have contributed to the development of widespread hunger, rising food prices and small producers being forced off the land by increasing power of agribusiness and the supermarkets.

Socialist Resistance and Green Left say that the answer is food sovereignty; that is the right of the people who produce food to determine their own agricultural policies, free from interference from either multinationals or from international institutions such as the World Bank and the IMF. The promotion of neo-liberal deregulation by these institutions has been one of the key factors leading to today’s food crisis.

We say no to the power of the supermarkets. Food producers are at the mercy of the supermarkets who dictate what is grown and what price they will pay. Tesco makes two thirds of its sales and profits in Britain. In the second quarter of this financial year like for like sales in British stores fell by 0.7% while profits increased by 12% in the first half of the year!

These are not issues that the left in Britain often addresses – we hope you will join us to hear Maria and other speakers discuss why they are vital to us all

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I want to register for the Feed the world without destroying the planet seminar

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Send £7 or £4 unwaged to PO Box 62732, London SW2 9CQ or by paypal.com to pay resistance@sent.com

Battle of Cable Street, 75th Anniversary

2011-09-10T07:52:00.000-07:00

There is a whole series of events taking place to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Cable Street in the East End of London, when Jewish and local people got together to prevent Oswald Moseley's Fascists from marching through a predominantly Jewish area. Many organisations are joined together to commemorate the heroic actions of the opponents of the Fascists.
I have added a list of some of the events that are taking place during this period.

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2 October, 11.30am-1pm

Cable Street 75 March and Rally www.cablestreet75.org.uk

Assemble: 11.30am Aldgate East (junction of Braham Street and Leman Street)

Rally: 1.00pm St George-in-the-East Gardens (off Cable Street)

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2 October, 12 noon – 10 pm

Cable Street Group. Produced by Alternative Arts http://www.battleofcablestreet.org.uk/

A programme of events and exhibitions to celebrate and commemorate the Battle of Cable Street.

Wilton’s Music Hall 1 Graces Alley E1 8JB, Aldgate and Aldgate East tube, Shadwell station

Admission Free

12 noon – 6pm Stalls along Graces Alley by campaigning groups, local organisations and supporters with street theatre and music by La Columna, The Lost Marbles, The Fairly Fresh Fish Co, Klezmania and The Cockney Awkestra.

12 noon – 10pm Protest & Survive Exhibition with photography documenting the Battle, posters from the Spanish Civil War, images recording the past 25 years of protest against racial discrimination by Phil Maxwell and portraits of the diverse communities of the East End today by documentary photographers Kalin Coromina, Ned Dyke-Coomes, Zane Mellupe, Lydia Polzer, Ben Speck and Neil White.

1pm Grand Union Youth Orchestra of East London

Specially commissioned concert by 30 diverse talented young under the leadership of Tony Haynes, director of the Grand Union Orchestra.

3pm Book launch and Reception
Five Leaves is publishing five books to celebrate the anniversary. There will be readings and signings followed by a panel discussion. All the books will be on sale directly from the publisher:
The Battle of Cable Street by Cable Street Group;
October Day by Frank Griffin;
Street of Tall People by Alan Gibbons;
Battle for the East End by David Rosenberg;
Everything Happens in Cable Street by Roger Mills.

4pm rebels in the 1930s – working class writers Panel discussion with:
Andy Croft author of Red Letter Days,
Ken Worpole author of Dockers and Detectives,
Mary Joannou author of Ladies, Please Don’t Smash These Windows: Women’s Writing, Feminism and Social Change 1918-1938.
Chaired by Ross Bradshaw of Five Leaves Publishing.

5pm Song & Dance With Sandra Kerr, Leon Rosselson and Udichi Shilpi Gosthi.

7pm Sunday Night at Wilton’s Music Hall ‘They Shall Not Pass’. Star spangled evening with poets, singers, choirs, comics and bands including Billy Bragg, Shappi Khorsandi, Mike Rosen, Ninia Benjamin, Raised Voices and The Men They Couldn’t Hang (acoustic).

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The garden today

2011-07-19T09:09:00.000-07:00

I have some wonderful lilies this year - the scent is amazing!! Unfortunately I can't reproduce it here! I brought some in from the garden and they are scenting the entire flat! And the yellow lilies are absolutely HUGE!!

There are also pink lilies, with an even stronger scent.

I have also been fortunate with the salad veg, especially the radishes. They are so crisp and delicious!!

I can hardly bear to tear myself away to go to Italy tomorrow, were it not for the fact that I have a garden there to look after as well. We have a beautiful rosemary hedge, that my mother-in-law planted 30 years ago.

I have started growing lavender there, and when we arrive we are greeted by the beautiful scent and sight of these wonderful herbs.

Public Sector Workers' Strike 30 June

2011-06-29T06:48:00.000-07:00

Public Sector Workers are striking against pension cuts on 30 June. There are many and varied ways to show solidarity!

Benefit claimants, disabled people and supporters will be joining the PCS picket line at HMRC, Euston Tower from 8.30am.

We will be standing in solidarity with all striking workers on the day, and in particular public sector workers who know only too well what the result of this government's savage welfare policies will be.

Join us at Euston Tower, where speeches will begin at 9am. At 10am we will be paying a short visit to noto...rious poverty pimps Atos Origin, the IT company responsible for carrying out the disastrous Work Capability Assessments which have driven sick and disabled claimants to suicide.

Many of us then will make our way to the Trade Union march and Striker's Assembly, both being held in central London. For full details of all events, pickets and actions taking place in London on the day please visit:

http://www.j30strike.org/location/london/

May Day (International Workers' Day) 2011

2011-05-01T04:34:00.000-07:00

CHANTS FOR SOCIALISTS

by William Morris

8. MAY DAY, 1892

THE WORKERS

O Earth, once again cometh Spring to deliver
Thy winter-worn heart, O thou friend of the Sun;
Fair blossom the meadows from river to river
And the birds sing their triumph o'er winter undone.

O Earth, how a-toiling thou singest thy labour
And upholdest the flower-crowned cup of thy bliss,
As when in the feast-tide drinks neighbour to neighbour
And all words are gleeful, and nought is amiss.

But we, we, O Mother, through long generations,
We have toiled and been fruitful, but never with thee
Might we raise up our bowed heads and cry to the nations
To look on our beauty, and hearken our glee.

Unlovely of aspect, heart-sick and a-weary
On the season's fair pageant all dim-eyed we gaze;
Of thy fairness we fashion a prison-house dreary
And in sorrow wear over each day of our days.

THE EARTH.

O children! O toilers, what foemen beleaguer
The House I have built you, the Home I have won?
Full great are my gifts, and my hands are all eager
To fill every heart with the deeds I have done.

THE WORKERS.

The foemen are born of thy body, O Mother,
In our shape are they shapen, their voice is the same;
And the thought of their hearts is as ours and no other;
It is they of our own house that bring us to shame.

THE EARTH.

Are ye few? Are they many? What words have ye spoken
To bid your own brethren remember the Earth?
What deeds have ye done that the bonds should be broken,
And men dwell together in good-will and mirth?

THE WORKERS.

They are few, we are many: and yet, O our Mother,
Many years were we wordless and nought was our deed,
But now the word flitteth from brother to brother:
We have furrowed the acres and scattered the seed.

THE EARTH.

Win on then unyielding, through fair and foul weather,
And pass not a day that your deed shall avail.
And in hope every spring-tide come gather together
That unto the Earth ye may tell all your tale.

Then this shall I promise, that I am abiding
The day of your triumph, the ending of gloom,
And no wealth that ye will then my hand shall be hiding
And the tears of the spring into roses shall bloom.

Royal Weeding Day

2011-04-20T09:53:00.000-07:00

Invitation from Guerrilla Gardening

3rd National Day of Protest against Benefit Cuts

2011-04-10T09:35:00.000-07:00

The 3rd National Day of Protest Against Benefit Cuts has
been called for

April 14th 2011.

Millions are set to be affected by savage cuts to
housing, disability, sickness and welfare
benefits.
People with disabilities, illness, the unemployed,
single parents, carers,the low waged, part time
students, volunteers, homeless people and college
students are all likely to see a devastating drop in
disposable income with many slipping even further
below the poverty line.

The poorest and most vulnerable are being asked to pay for
the mistakes and extravagances of the richest.
Meanwhile poverty pimps like Atos Origin and A4e
are set to rake in hundreds of millions on government
contracts to bully and intimidate people from claiming
the pittance handed out in benefit payments.
Many disabled people have threatened suicide if
these cuts are allowed to continue.
Some have tragically already carried out that threat.

The first two days of protest against benefit cuts
have seen demonstrations, meetings, unemployed
discos,
public pantomimes and occupations in cities
across the UK. Atos Origin have been forced to close
offices, protesters have gathered inside and outside
workfare sharks A4e and demonstrations have
taken place from
Downing Street to local town centres such as
Lydney and Crawley.

This time we have two months to organise for the
biggest day yet.
We call on all claimants, as groups or individuals,
to organise and take action around the country on
April 14th.

If you are planning an event in your town or city
please add details on the wall below to be added
to this page and the website at:

http://benefitclaimantsfightback.wordpress.com/

You can also send details to
notowelfarecuts@yahoo.co.uk

If you would like to see action locally, set up a group, event
page or ask below. We will do out best to promote and
co-ordinate all activity.

We are fighting for our homes, our livelihoods, our very
survival. It's time to show these public school parasites
and their poverty pimp collaborators we mean business.

Confirmed events so far:

Brighton

Thursday April 14th 2-5pm

Churchill Square Brighton

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=210782635605158

Bristol

Thursday April 14 · 12:00pm - 5:00pm

Benefit Cuts Hurt Protest - 3rd National Day of Protest

Government Buildings, Flowers Hill, Bristol, BS4 5LA

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=199413500079998

Leeds

Thursday, April 14 · 10:30am - 2:00pm

Meeting @ Leeds Train Station 10am before moving to picket ATOS from 10:30 for an hour then move onto A4e/BEST for a couple of hours. The last picket was a great success and we hope to have another good day. Bring banners, flags etc.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=155593464493862&

London

Thursday, April 14 - 2pm
Protest Outside The Daily Mail - Stop the Defamation - Stop the Lies

Daily Mail Headquarters, Young Street (off Kensington High Street), London W8 5TT

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=161556473898500&

Protest Outside Westminster City Hall & Mass Food Give Away!

Thursday, April 14 · 5:00pm - 9:00pm

Westminster City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 6QP

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=186039361439862

Poole

Outside the Jobcentre at noon. Everyone welcome!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=161332900587762

Everywhere

National Troll A Tory Day 3 and Rat On A Rat!

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=173026406078054

Supported by:

o Anti-Benefit Cuts Glasgow
o Black Triangle Anti-Defamation Campaign
o Brighton Benefits Campaign
o Cardiff’s Unemployed Daytime Disco
o Carer Watch
o Carer Watch fb page
o Crippen – Disabled Cartoonist
o Diary of a Benefit Scrounger
o Disabled People Against Cuts
o Dundee Unemployed Workers
o Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty
o Free London Listings
o Goldsmiths in Occupation
o Haringey Solidarity Group
o Ipswich Unemployed Action
o Islington Poverty Action
o Kilburn Unemployed Workers Group
o Lancaster and Morecambe Against the Cuts
o London Coalition Against Poverty (LCAP)
o London Foodbank
o Mad Pride
o Medway Against The Cuts
o Mental Health Resistance Network
o Norfolk Community Action Group
o Nottingham Claimants' Union
o Nuneaton Against Benefit Cuts
o Oxford Save Our Services
o Squattastic
o Tyneside Claimants Union
o Welfare Action Hackney
o Welfare Rights 4 u (UK)
o Work Programme & Flexible New Deal Scandal
o World Homeless Day

TUC National Demonstration, 26 March 2011

2011-03-09T06:46:00.000-08:00

Big Society Bail-in, Saturday 19 Feb 2011

2011-02-16T08:05:00.000-08:00

London #1, Sat 19th Feb 2011

The Big Society Bail-In.

Turning Banks into Libraries for the Day.

On Saturday 19th February, the Big Society Bail-In will be targeting branches of Barclays bank in Central London, turning them into libraries for the day. We’ll be having poetry readings, story time (like the story of Bob, the fat cat CEO of Barclays who is getting an £8m bonus this year on top of his £1.35m salary) and educating people on the actions of the banks and the ways in which they can and should contribute more to repairing the damage caused by their negligence and greed.
So bring a good book, signs, banners and flyers, balloons, cakes and sweeties, a loud voice and as many people as possible. Make yourself heard, engage with the public, stay safe and have fun.

The meeting place is the middle of Soho Square, just off Oxford St. It's just round the corner from Tottenham Court Road tube station on the Central and Northern lines (or ten minutes walk from Oxford Circus or Leicester Square stations) We’ll be meeting at 11am, then moving onto a nearby branch of Barclays. Once there we’ll be turning the bank into a library, showing the government what the ‘Big Society’ really means.

(The above was written by William Morris, pioneer of Socialist thought in the UK, whose ideas many of us are trying to follow today.)

In 2007, years of irresponsible lending, rash and reckless speculation and a lack of regulation in the banking sector came to a head, causing a global financial crisis and subsequent recession that led directly to the current program of massive cuts.

Several banks were saved from collapse by the government; the National Audit Office reported that the amount of public money used to bail them out reached almost £1tn at its peak. Yet the City continues to reward itself. Last year Barclays alone paid its bankers £2.7bn in bonuses, whilst other British banks brought the total amount of bonuses to over £7.3bn. This week Barclays is to post record annual profits of more than £11bn.

Meanwhile the country is undergoing the harshest cuts to public services in generations. Local council and government department budgets have been slashed, thousands and thousands are losing their jobs, community centres and libraries are closing, VAT, university tuition fees and living costs have risen. Vital benefits such as Disability Living Allowance and the Educational Maintenance Allowance are being reduced, restricted or abolished, leaving the most vulnerable parts of society to bear the brunt of the crisis.

The government, led by a Conservative party that receives half of its funding from the City, is doing nothing to reform the problems with the banking system that created a financial crisis in the first place. By lowering corporation tax, they are not only failing to ensure that the banks pay their fair share, but are actually creating a situation where some banks will be paying less than they were before the bail outs! The Coalition say that we are all in it together and that there is no option other than to make society pay for the mistakes of a small minority determined on further enriching themselves at the expensive of the country as a whole.

But there are alternatives. A one-off 50% levy on bonuses over £25,000 last year raised over £2bn for the treasury, yet the government has no plans to repeat this. A ‘Robin Hood’ tax of approximately 0.05% on international transactions would raise billions and discourage the kind of excessive speculation and risk-taking that led to the recent crisis and subsequent recession. Without proper reform and regulation of the banking sector nothing will change, lessons will not have been learnt and this will all happen again.

What the banks are doing may be legal, but that does not make it moral. This is not right, it is not fair and we will not stand for it.

Save Libraries Campaign, Saturday 5 February

2011-02-03T13:48:00.000-08:00

Saving the libraries - a nationwide campaign that most of us care about passionately!! Most public libraries throughout the UK are threatened by the ConDem cuts, but we are united in our determination to preserve this lifeline; we will campaign for access to books and music for everyone.
Libraries don't 'just lend books', this is the START of what they do....for many people, the public library has been the start of a life-long love-affair with literature, music and the arts. Our campaign is part of the campaign against cuts to the arts in general.

This is the link to the Coalition of Resistance page listing as many campaigns as possible - many towns and London Boroughs are planning read-ins.

http://www.coalitionofresistance.org.uk/2011/01/5th-feb-library-read-ins-planned-across-the-country/

La lotta continua!! We need to protect, save and - yes - PROMOTE our cultural heritage, and not allow the UK to be turned into a nation of philistines!!!

National Day of Protest against Benefit Cuts, 24 Jan

2011-01-23T15:59:00.000-08:00

Monday 24 Jan will see nationwide protests against cuts to benefits and services.

In London, there will be a PARTY AND PICNIC IN TRITON SQUARE, Euston.

Come to a picnic and party in Triton Square, London on the 24th January 2011 from 2pm as part of the National Day of Protest Against Benefit Cuts.

Bring music, drums, whistles, banners, food to share and let’s brighten up the faceless corporate wasteland that is home to poverty pimps Atos Origin Ltd.

Musicians, poets, orators, ranters, shouters, all benefit claimants and supporters welcome. Please help spread the word and invite your friends.

Triton Square is on the North side of Euston Road, a minute or so from Warren Street tube and less than five minutes from Euston/Euston Square or Great Portland Street tube stations.

Part of the National Day of Protest Against Benefit Cuts on the 24th January 2011.

Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=126713940728397

There will be other protests throughout the UK, here are a couple of examples.

In Livingston,not far from Edinburgh, protesters will be visiting Atos Origin’s Scotland Office. Visit the facebook page for more info, and be there from 10am. There will also be anti-benefit cuts leafleting outside Atos in Glasgow.

Brighton – Using the 24th to publicise a bigger event against Atos Origin on the 5th Feb:http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=181302175222578

La Lotta Continua!

TANNHAUSER in the Venusberg.

2011-01-06T03:39:00.000-08:00

Here is Beardsley's vision of the Venusberg - rather different from the minimalist setting of the current Covent Garden production!

......on quaint pedestals and Terminal Gods and gracious pilasters of every sort, were shell-like vases of excessive fruits and flowers that hung about and burst over the edges and could never be restrained. The orange-trees and myrtles, looped with vermilion sashes, stood in frail porcelain pots, and the rose-trees were wound and twisted with superb invention over trellis and standard.

Upon one side of the terrace, a long gilded stage for the comedians was curtained off with Pagonian tapestries, and in front of it the music stands were placed. The tables arranged between the fountain and the flight of steps to the sixth terrace were all circular, covered with white damask, and strewn with irises, roses, kingcups, columbines, daffodils, carnations and lilies;

and the couches, high with soft cushions and spread with more stuffs than could be named, had fans thrown upon them, and little amorous surprise packages.

TANNHAUSER at Covent Garden, 2 Jan 2011

2011-01-05T12:33:00.000-08:00

Richard Wagner, TANNHAUSER Royal Opera House, 2 January 2011

Cast

Venus MICHAELA SCHUSTER
Tannhauser JOHAN BOTHA
Shepherd Boy ALEXANDER LEE
Landgrave Hermann CHRISTOF FISCHESSER
Wolfram von Eschenbach CHRISTIAN GERHAHER
Walther von der Vogelweide TIMOTHY ROBINSON
Heinrich der Schreiber STEVEN EBEL*
Biterolf CLIVE BAYLEY
Reinmar von Zweter JEREMY WHITE
Elisabeth, Hermann's niece EVA-MARIA WESTBROEK
Elisabeth's attendants KIERA LYNESS,
   DEBORAH PEAKE-JONES,
   LOUISE ARMIT,
   KATE McCARNEY

(*Steven Ebel is participating in the Jette Parker Young Artists' Programme)

Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal Opera House.
Chorus Master RENATO BALSADONNA

Conductor SEMYON BYCHKOV

I rather liked the rather quirky production (by director Tim Albery), and the performance was of a very high standard, both musically and dramatically.
There was a delightful conceit at the very beginning - the curtains rose to reveal - the curtains of the Royal Opera House. The Venusberg scene consisted of a dance sequence, performed by very beautiful, fit and athletic young people - at one point one of the girls did a flying leap of the table, to be caught in the arms of one of the boys - unfortunately, however, at no point did it seem to connect with the erotic charge of the music - and the music really did carry an incredible erotic charge! I don't think I have ever heard it performed so passionately as on this occasion by the ROH orchestra under Semyon Bychkov.

The dance, however, was NOT erotic - rather too sane and healthy for the Venusberg, so that one didn't really feel that Tannhauser was suffering from the surfeit of pleasure he claims to feel. This was slightly disappointing - the dance sequence was very good, but not particularly decadent!

Michaela Schuster was a very sultry-voiced Venus, wearing a suitably slinky black dress.

And another minor criticism of the actual production - when Tannhauser returns to the earth, and meets up with his former colleagues again, the stage is almost bare, and there is a large gulf between Tannhauser and the others, into which at one point someone falls (don't ask!!) ....and the gulf gradually closes once Wolfram welcomes Tannhauser back, and the others follow suit. Uh - this is obviously meant to let us know that there is a PSYCHOLOGICAL GULF between the singers. Thanks, Mr. Albery, but I think most of us can work that out for ourselves!!!
I'll say a bit more about the production before I turn to discussing the individual performers. By and large, I did quite like it, but I wanted to get the criticisms out of the way first. The Song Contest is set in a ruined hall - the Wartburg, but in ruins, so that Elisabeth's 'Dich, teure Halle' has the implication that not only she will start to live again now that Tannhauser has returned, but that the ruins can now be rebuilt and the Hall of Song will have a new lease of life.

People have criticised Botha's size, and he is indeed somewhat - ah - larger than life, and spends most of the time sitting down....he has a limited amount of movement and gestures which he uses when necessary. (I think it is a bit unfair to criticize Botha when Pavarotti was allowed to get away with it for decades - he sang roles like Rodolfo, Cavaradossi, the Duke of Mantua, etc. etc..... who are supposed to be young, handsome and attractive to women!!)

To be honest, I don't have a problem with this - I just didn't look at him! I listened instead to the beautiful clear, bright voice, which didn't flag even during the difficult Rome Narration. I found his portrayal of the tormented artist very convincing - I must confess that I find TANNHAUSER a very disturbing work in many ways....not so much the conflict between sacred and profane, but the wallowing in guilt; it's as if Tannhauser almost ENJOYS being wracked with guilt about the time he has spent in the Venusberg. And I don't care what Botha looks like, since he managed to convey the passion and the ambiguity so convincingly.
The Elisabeth of Eva-Maria Westbroek was an ideal contrast to the Venus of Michaela Schuster, so that one believed in Tannhauser's conflict.

This Elisabeth isn't just a saintly virgin, although sainthood is what she achieves thanks to her sacrifice for Tannhauser's redemption - she's also a young woman with emotions, who has been genuinely in love with Tannhauser - I think we sometimes tend to overlook that Wagner's stage directions specify that, when Tannhauser contradicts Wolfram by singing in praise of sensuality, she starts to express her approval......("Elisabeth starts to make a gesture of approval, but when everyone else stays gravely silent, she shyly refrains").
The Wolfram of Christian Gerhaher was also richly deserving of the high praise it has received from most critics. He is almost understated, in contrast to the passion that Tannhauser expresses, but one can feel the desperation of his unrequited love for Elisabeth, and his singing is very lyrical and nuanced, his 'O du, mein holder Abendstern' a shining example of lyric technique.

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The theme chosen by all the other singers in the Song Contest - i.e. devotion to pure virtue rather than sensuality, which Tannhauser praises - actually rather misrepresents the Minnesingers, though obviously it is necessary for Wagner's dramatic purpose. The real Walther von der Vogelweide was not such a prissy little man as Wagner makes him out to be, and would never have written so disparagingly about sensuality! (I've included a link to one of his poems, in case anyone wants to follow this up .'under der linden', by Walther von der Vogelweide. And a translation! Translation of 'under der linden' )

Here is a link to a YouTube clip of a performance of Unter der Linden.

Fightback against cuts in the arts and sport

2010-12-08T02:06:00.000-08:00

This is reproduced from the home page of Counterfire; I have added links to some of the institutions that are now threatened.

MEETING - FIGHTBACK AGAINST CUTS IN THE ARTS AND SPORT. December 15 2010

If you are a writer, artist, actor, musician, filmmaker, librarian, sports teacher, or in any way involved in entertainment, the Arts or Sport, you are invited to the inaugural meeting of Fightback Against Cuts in the Arts & Sport (FACAS) which will take place at The Lucas Arms, 245A Greys Inn Road, WC1X 8QZ at 7 pm on WEDNESDAY 15 DECEMBER 2010
map ref: (nearest tube Kings X) http://tinyurl.com/bufuhr

The first meeting of FACAS will discuss how we can best intervene in the campaign against cuts in the Arts and Sport and how to use our talents in support of the wider campaign against the cuts.

This country has always had a deficit. Indeed we had a much larger deficit in 1945 and yet went on to set up the NHS and many of the welfare services which are now threatened with the axe. The Arts Council was set up a year later! The government are using the deficit to carry out ‘shock and awe’ cuts to community, health, education, welfare and the arts. They plan to cut public spending by £81 billion over four years. In that same period the rich and corporations will avoid paying £100 billion in tax.
The effect on the Arts is catastrophic.

ARTS COUNCIL: A £350 million cut in the Arts Council of England budget is going to decimate national, regional and local arts projects across the country. Take one example from many; the charity ‘Creativity, Culture and Education’, which is is to lose 50% of its ACE funding. Their national ‘Find Your Talent’ programme will go. This encourages young people to learn a musical instrument, perform and go to concerts and has 2,500 schools in its scheme, helping 400,000 children.

LOCAL AUTHORITY CUTBACKS
Cuts in local council funding have already started. Lewisham Council have shown us what to expect. They voted for a massive cuts package on 29 November with the protection of the riot police and had already announced that five libraries were to close as well as extra-curricular sports activities for school kids. At the time of writing Birmingham City Council have announced that they are cutting a third of their workforce!

MUSIC / DRAMA SCHOOLS / MUSEUMS
Prestigious arts institutions are not to be spared. Leeds College of Music, The Courtauld Institute, The Conservatoire for Dance and Drama, The Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music, The Royal College of Music, The Rose Bruford College and the Central School of Speech and Drama are losing their entire teaching grants. Among museums, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Geffrye Museum, the Horniman, the National Coal Mines Museum and the People's History Museum will be losing their Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) grant.

(Cezanne's CARD PLAYERS, one of the many paintings held at the Courtauld Institute).

This first meeting of FACAS has to be London-based so if you are not in the SE let us know about your campaigns. If you are unable to attend, but want to get involved, let us have your contact details.

The meeting has been called by members of the Coalition of Resistance (www.coalitionofresistance.org.uk) – a broad united national campaign against cuts and privatisation in our workplaces, community, educational and welfare services. The meeting can decide whether or not to affiliate to CoR

For updates on cuts to the Arts go to:

http://falseeconomy.org.uk/cuts/sectors/type/arts-and-culture
For news about the campaign against tax-dodgers go to:

http://ukuncut.org.uk/

Please let us know if you are attending the meeting.

David Wilson
david.wilson@talktalk.net
07951 579 064

Support the students who are leading the way in the fightback. ULU, Malet Street,12 noon, Thursday 9 December and march to Parliament for lobby.

Royal Wedding in the Nineteenth Century

2010-11-19T08:15:00.000-08:00

I had intended to keep this a Royal Wedding-free zone, but could not resist reproducing this article from THE COMMONWEAL, Vol. 1, No. 7, August 1886. (Bear in mind that the sums quoted are from the late 19th. century, but the principle of the Royal Family being a drain on the public purse has hardly changed!!)
The Commonweal was the journal of the Socialist League, and was edited by William Morris, who was also one of its major contributors. I came across this in the course of my research for a paper I'm about to give on Morris.

The author signs him- or herself J.B. - it is not clear who this is, but reader would probably have recognised the identity.

A CONTRAST.

The marriage is about to take place of a young lady of the Royal Family. The veteran manipulator of the taxes of the country obtained for her £6,000 a year. It being subsequently discovered, apparently, that the intended husband had no money, £30,000 is proposed to buy their furniture. The couple have never worked, nor want to; they live on the earnings of the people.

In a room in Chelsea live a young man, his wife, and their child (an infant). The husband has been out of employment four months and owes rent. On Saturday night came a loud knock, followed by a timid 'Come in'. The landlord appeared. He wanted his rent. The woman answered, she had no money to buy food. "Then go on the streets and get some", replied the property-holder. The husband has sat silent, but this was too much for even a broken-spirited man. He rushed to put the landlord out - was seized; a scuffle ensued. The poor fellow being weak from want of food was easily mastered. "He might have killed me", he said afterwards; "he had me by the throat". His wife wept as she bathed his bruised face, and trembled at the cursings of the retiring landlord. This couple are workers, willing to work when work is obtainable, but compelled to assist to keep the Princes and Princesses in idleness.

Are there not some things to account for the spread of Socialism?

Attack on the poor- protest march 23 Oct.

2010-10-22T04:12:00.000-07:00

The Comprehensive Spending Review has now been published, and, as we feared, the poor are going to suffer most. The people who have most need of support are having the rug pulled from under their feet. Even the Institute for Fiscal Studies says the cuts are unfair!!! Although Clegg, predictably, says this is 'complete nonsense'. Of course, the rich and the bankers are going to be as protected as ever.
Which is worse - the cuts to benefits for the sick and disabled, or the cuts to Housing Benefit?
This is the position about Disability Benefits - what was previously Incapacity Benefit, and is now known as Employment Support Allowance, WILL BE STOPPED AFTER A YEAR.

ESA was brought in to replace incapacity benefit and supports people who are unable to work because of ill health or disability. These cuts mean that people who moved on to ESA and who previously worked will only be able to claim it for one year. At the moment, there is no time limit and people can claim ESA until they find another job.
After one year, people with assets, savings or partners who work will no longer receive benefits. Single people with no assets may be able to qualify for a means-tested safety net, but everyone else will have to manage on their husband or wife's salary – no matter how low it may be – or dip into any private savings they may have.

The change will affect hundreds of thousands of people, as 1.7 million Britons have moved from incapacity benefit to ESA. Many of them are likely to have been put on the contributory version of the benefit.

Critics said the announcement penalised people who had paid national insurance contributions for years precisely to cover them in the eventuality that they are unable to work through sickness or incapacity. They also said that the decision would make it much harder for disabled people to find jobs.
(Anna Bawden, Guardian, 21 Oct 2010)
Do they think anyone who is too ill to work is going to make a miraculous recovery after a year? Or, more likely, the Old Etonians hope they will die off, so as not to have to feed these useless mouths.

The cap on Housing Benefit is another attack on the poor - again, those in most need are the hardest hit. There should instead be a limit on THE AMOUNT OF RENT THAT PRIVATE LANDLORDS ARE ALLOWED TO CHARGE.

On top of the widely-publicised cap on housing benefit to the equivalent of a four-bedroom property, an overall limit on benefit receipt and the limiting of Employment and Support Allowance, Chancellor George Osborne has announced that local housing allowances will be calculated by taking an average of the lowest 30% of rental values in the locality, rather than an overall average. He also raised the threshold whereby a single person with no dependants would only be entitled to the equivalent in housing benefit on a single room in a shared property from 25 to 35.
(Information from BBC Wales, 22 Oct)

There used to be a Rent Tribunal, which was able to control rents - this seems to have been phased out years ago, leaving people at the mercy of the market. The intention seems to be to drive poorer people out of London, as it is already almost impossible to find affordable accommodation, and the new measures will make it worse. (Although presumably some of us will have to stay there to work for the rich, so that we can clean their toilets, scrub their floors and look after their kids....although I suppose we can come in from our ghettoes on the night bus).

These are two of the concerns I wanted to discuss - I haven't even STARTED on the threats the education and the arts!! But just briefly - the Arts Council of England has suffered a 30% cut,

and national museums a 15% cut.

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We have to start the protest and fight back now!!
We can start by going on the protest marches on 23 Oct.

This is the info from the Coaltion of Resistance about the Protest March.

March against cuts Saturday 23 October

Assemble: 11am, RMT HQ, Unity House, Chalton Street, Euston, for a march to the anti-cuts rally at Congress House
RMT London Transport Region are organising a march to the TUC to support the TUC’s anti-cuts meeting. We are organising together with NUT, FBU, NSSN and CWU members and others. We are seeking support from all other unions, community organisations and individuals. Please come along and oppose the ConDem cuts.

Assemble at RMT HQ, 39 Chalton Street, London NW1 1JD at 11.00am.

Facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/?sk=events#!/event.php?eid=148201075219859
March to TUC, Great Russell street, London WC1B 3LS where rally will be held from 12 noon.
Invited speakers include:
•Mark Serwotka
•Christine Blower (NUT)
•Billy Hayes (CWU)
•Bob Crow (RMT)
•Matt Wrack (FBU)
•Linda Perks (UNISON)

The Garden Today

2010-09-28T10:22:00.000-07:00

The rain has done the garden a lot of good! I wish you could see my chilli plants, and my beautiful flourishing nasturtiums! I'm about to put one of the chillies in the vegetable stew I am making.

Latin America and the Ecosocialist Alternative

2010-09-27T14:29:00.000-07:00

Latin America and the Ecosocialist Alternative
University of London Union, September 18 2010

Organised jointly by Socialist Resistance and Green Left.

The guest of honour at this conference was Hugo Blanco, who is a tireless campaigner for the rights of indigenous communities in Peru, where he led a peasant revolution in 1961. He has been imprisoned and at one point was facing the death penalty. He is the editor of Lucha Indigena, a journal about the struggle of the indigenous peoples of Latin America. (As far as I am aware, this journal is not yet available in English-language editions). His campaign is based on the concept of Ecosocialism, and we were very proud to have him among us as a guest speaker. (He spoke via an interpreter).

He was introduced by Derek Wall, who was formerly Principal Male Speaker of the Green Party, and is a well-known campaigner for Ecosocialism. His most recent publication is The Rise of the Green Left, to which Hugo Blanco has written the introduction.

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A general introduction to the day was presented by Diana Raby, an expert on Latin American affairs from the University of Liverpool. She spoke in general terms about the 'politics of hope' that is beginning to emerge from Latin America, for instance the fact that the Zapatistas were among the first to say no to the policies of neo-liberalism. She also referred to the leadership of Evo Morales in Bolivia, and advances for the Left in Guatemala, Paraguay and Uruguay, and the fact that the right-wing dictatorship in Chile is facing growing opposition by the indigenous Mapuche movement.

Blanco began his speech by quoting from an Uruguayan writer to the effect that "In 1492, America discovered capitalism".

It is thought that before the 'discovery' of the Americas, there had not been a vast slave-owning society as it developed after the Conquest. This has to be qualified by acknowledging that the Aztec and Inca societies were in fact very hierarchical and stratified, and probably did own slaves - prisoners of war who were not killed. But other indigenous cultures of the Americas seem to have been more egalitarian. Blanco is of the opinion that what Marx called 'primitive communism' still exists, but has been weakened by the centralised power of the state.

The Conquest led to a virtual genocide of indigenous peoples, not all of it intentional, many died from diseases introduced by the Europeans, to which the indigenous people had no immunity, and civil strife among some nations made the Spanish conquest easier. The resistance of indigenous communities is not a phenomenon of our days.....it has in fact been continuing for 500 years, but of course has not been well documented. The 500 years of struggle have been in defence of the indigenous communities and their relationship with Nature; the movement is sometimes known as PACHAMAMA; Mother Earth in the Andean languages Aymara and Quechua.

Some gains have been made in recent years; for instance some Latin American states, such as Panama and Peru, recognise indigenous communities. Blanco quoted the example of Chiapas state in South-Western Mexico, which is governed by indigenous communities, protected by the Zapatistas. The Zapatista army, however, does not rule in the area: the government is made up of unpaid volunteers, and their functions rotate. If members of the Zapatista army wish to take part in any of the governing boards, they have to give up their membership of the army. (There is more information about Chiapas on Wikipedia).

The indigenous movement in Peru is at the forefront of the struggle. Blanco's idea is that all the indigenous organisations are by definition eco-socialists, although this is not a term that is actually used - or at any rate not in indigenous languages. (I think it must exist in Spanish....Blanco was speaking through an interpreter). That is, the campaigners don't call themselves eco-socialists, just defenders of Mother Nature.

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When the time came for questions from the floor, some of the discussion was about the fact that the introduction of monoculture and European farming methods damaged the land; the indigenous cultures were familiar with the concept of crop rotation, one of the most common methods of cultivation was to grow beans, squash and maize together, not separately in plantations but in small plots.

Many foodstuffs that we now take for granted in Europe originate in the Americas, and there is actually a close link between imperialism and exploitation and the introduction of these foodstuffs to Europe...the discussion today helped to raise our awareness of this, although it wasn't possible to discuss it in detail, due to time constraints - it would have required a whole new conference! One of the most obvious examples, though, is the introduction of the chili pepper (Capsicum annuum var. annuum, Capsicum frutescens, Capsicum chinense, Capsicum baccatum var. baccatum and Capsicum pubescens) to Europe.

When Columbus landed in the Americas, he was convinced he had found a route to the spice lands of the Far East, and one of the spices he was looking for was pepper (Piper nigrum), which is native to India.

What we now know as the Chili Pepper is unrelated to the genus P. nigrum.....however, it was one of the New World plants that was very swiftly adopted and spread into Europe and eventually Asia after what is sometimes referred to as the 'Columbian Exchange'.

________________________________________________________________________

(The meeting then divided into various workshops.)

Workshop on Water Resources in Latin America

This was subtitled WATER POVERTY AND WATER THEFT IN LATIN AMERICA, and introduced a great deal of information about the use and exploitation of water resources in various Latin American countries.
The first topic to be introduced was the threat to the town of Espinar in Peru, 400 miles south of Lima, which will be left without water if the Majes-Sigur dam project goes ahead. More recently (subsequent to the conference) it has transpired that residents of the city of Cuzco have staged a strike in support of the residents of Espinar; during the previous protests in Espinar, at least one person was killed.

The next topic was the Cochabamba Water War in Bolivia.

This resulted from an attempt in 1999-2000 to privatise water, and to make it illegal for people to collect water in water butts, rain barrels, etc.

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Then some statistics were discussed; apparently about 80 million people have no access to safe, clean water, and about 100 million have no access to sanitation of any kind. There are 260 million dependent on latrines and septic tanks; and only about 15% of sewage is treated. Poor people pay 150%-300% MORE for their water than the better-off. Access to water is a serious problem, especially for women: after the conference, I found this link, which elaborates upon why access to water is more of a problem for women. Water in Latin America: the importance of gender relations.

We were also given some information about Mexico City. In the barrios (shanty towns), there is no running water, or it is available for only one hour a week; the poor have to buy water. The water supply is polluted during the rainy season, and black water (untreated sewage) is used on crops as fertiliser; but untreated sewage is usually a health hazard. (In fact there are methods of treating sewage to render it harmless, but Mexico City doesn't have the infrastructure to do this). It has been found that 100% of the food sold at street stalls in the barrios is contaminated with fecal matter from the sanitation ditches in the barrios; when they dry, the wind blows the contents over the city.

A solution to the many problems faced by Mexico City would be to change the model of agriculture in the region. Agri-business has created a huge 'surplus' rural population who are forced to migrate to the mega-city, as there is no longer any possibility of earning a living from the land.

Then we returned to discussion of Peru. It so happened that, a few days previous, there had been an article in The Guardian (click here to read it) about the threat to the Peruvian water supply by the cultivation of asparagus for the export market. It informs the reader that

The study, by the development charity Progressio, has found that industrial production of asparagus in Peru's Ica valley is depleting the area's water resources so fast that smaller farmers and local families are finding wells running dry. Water to the main city in the valley is also under threat, it says. It warns that the export of the luxury vegetable, much of it to British supermarkets, is unsustainable in its current form.

This led to a discussion about the whole concept of food miles and production of cash crops for export, to the detriment of the local ecology. I had always been under the impression that asparagus could be cultivated in the UK, and that it was a seasonal vegetable, only available for a few short weeks in the summer - in fact that the short period of availability was rather the point! I mentioned this in the discussion, and someone said that Peckham, In South London, used to be a centre of asparagus production, and that it was produced locally until comparatively recently. The discussion widened to take in the idea of local produce, to some extent it was related to the previous discussion about foodstuffs from the Americas, but was more based on the fact that in Europe it seems that we no longer have 'seasonal food', as the example of asparagus shows.

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Hugo Blanco delivered a final speech to the meeting, which he prefaced by saying that the indigenous peoples of Latin America are only a part of the general struggle against neo-liberalism and in defence of the planet. He reminded us also that the indigenous peoples of Latin America don't form a homogeneous unit, there is great diversity of peoples, languages and cultures. After 500 years of struggle, people are beginning to take pride in being indigenous and and trying to sustain cultures and ways of life that were more or less destroyed by the Spanish conquests. But he said he didn't want anyone to think that the indigenous peoples are in any sense the LEADERS of a movement of resistance; they are part of a movement which also includes working class people in the mega-cities of Latin America and the people of the barrios. He quoted the example of the question of the leadership of the struggle for water in Ecuador. Water Management in Ecuador's Andes Mountains. The indigenous peoples of Ecuador have said that they don't see themselves as leaders in the struggle, but as part of society as a whole.

He concluded by reiterating what he had said at the beginning; we are all campaigning for the construction of a new society, and although the movement in Latin America may not use the same terminology, we are all part of the same struggle, the campaign for Mother Nature - what we in Europe call Eco-Socialism.

My life as a 'benefit scrounger'

2010-09-11T03:07:00.000-07:00

The Chancellor, George Osborne, has excelled himself in his latest outrageous announcement.

(And has anyone noticed that he is almost a clone of his master, David Cameron?!)

In a recent BBC interview, he said the following:

Mr. Osborne told BBC political editor Nick Robinson that "those making a life-style choice to just sit on out-of-work benefits" would be affected. [by the newest welfare cuts]

Mr. Osborne said "We are going to reform out-of-work benefits so there's a strong incentive for people who can work to get work.......People who think that it's a life-style choice just to stay on out-of work benefits....that life-style choice is going to come to an end".

In my opinion (and experience) the only people who think that unemployment is a 'lifestyle choice' are the pampered public schoolboys of the Tory Cabinet.

For the record, here is the 'lifestyle choice' of the average 'benefit scrounger' - the minimum, apart from food, that even we need to buy. This only applies to single people and childless couples, parents will of course need even more frivols in order to feed their children and send them to school.

(I am a pensioner, so I won't be quite so badly affected as people younger than myself, but I am not exactly about to enjoy a comfortable retirement).

The comfortable lifestyle of the 'benefit scrounger'; basic necessities.

Toilet paper

Toilet cleaner

Soap

Shower gel

Deodorant

Shampoo
Toothpaste

Washing-up liquid

Laundry liquid/fabric conditioner

Stain remover

Bleach

Disinfectant

Multi-purpose cleaner (to include bath/shower cleaner)

Tissues

Light bulbs

Polish

Dusters

Paper to write on

Pens to write with

Transport costs (so at least people can travel to job interviews!!!)

Weekly visit to the launderette (presumably a family would need a washing machine)

Gas bills

Electricity Bills

Phone Bills

Housing costs (rent or mortgage repayment)

Council Tax

Er....CLOTHES, SHOES...even if these are bought second-hand, we have to pay for them!!

And God forbid we should buy newspapers or ....gasp...BOOKS!! Or ever go to the theatre, or a concert, or an art exhibition, or the cinema.....that's too good for the likes of us!

Many of us are very angry about the way we are being treated, and we need to translate our anger into action.

First port of call :

Coalition of Resistance

We can join this either as individuals or as groups, and protest against the cuts.