Today's thoughts

["D OC" <donaloc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Good to see that John O'Neill's letter to the APRN was so well received (it
got a box and a photo  - quite unusual for a letter) - I understand that the
editors are keen to open the paper to the wider progressive stream and this
might be the beginning of something worthwhile in that regard.

http://www.irlnet.com/aprn/current/news/26lett.html

I also wrote a rather lengthy article on South America. The piece is nothing
we haven't heard a million times before but was primarily
educationally-orientated. Just in case anyone's interested:

http://www.irlnet.com/aprn/current/news/26braz.html

The massive protest in London was great to see. Tony Benn going to town in
fine form - after all these years he still is standing firm and seems to be
speaking as the conscience of a multi-cultural 21st Century Britain.

What's clearly happening is that the left is increasingly drawing into its
ambit, large numbers of muslim immigrants. In my years in England it was
particularly clear that this group were the most politically radical
(despite their conservative social values) of any group in England (well,
perhaps with the exception of Irish and Scots immigrants). The other thing
is that they have a level of ideological commitment completely absent from
large swathes of British society in this postmodernist era. There were many
I met who seemed ready to fight and to make sacrifices for those beliefs -
virtually all had an excellent understanding of imperialism. I found them
very open to my experiences and my morality (which appeared to scare most
English people considerably).

I wonder what those comrades based in Britain feel about this. The cities in
England always seemed radical and progressive - it just seems that there are
the millions of Tories living in the 'home counties' who can be relied upon
to act in an objectively reactionary manner. The divergence of beliefs which
might be best demonstrated by the pro-Fox hunting lobby and the anti-war
movement are indicative of massive potential for agitation and real
confrontation.

I think Blair may be in a little trouble just now and it would get worse if
the Imperialist forces don't beat the Iraqis quickly. He's widely condemned
as Bushes' 'boot-lick' but is also being assailed by the liberal
establishment for his 'politicisation' of the 'Independent/Middle-Class'
Civil Service. It seems that despite its multitudinous ideological sins, the
New Labour hierarchy have retained 'old style Leninist Democratic
Centralism' and have waged unremitting war on any opponents to the Third Way
within the Civil Service.

D OC


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