The Golden Strawberry

Excellent article by Niall Ferguson here about the AUT's disgraceful strike and the state of British Universities in general. Money quote:

This go-slow is more than merely irresponsible, however. It is also absurdly unrealistic. The AUT has been offered 12.5 per cent over the next three years; it is insisting on 23 per cent - at a time, let's not forget, of remarkably low inflation. Where do they think British universities are going to find this money? The fact of the matter is that British higher education is on its uppers, as a direct consequence of a massive expansion that has been systematically under-funded.

Whats worse is the spineless attitude the NUS has taken on the strike which is completly at odds with their mission statement:

NUS will constantly improve the lives and experiences of students in the UK: by ensuring their voice is heard and effectively represented; by developing democratic and strong students’ unions; and by providing collective benefits and access to information for all students.

Supporting a strike which will mean thousands of final year students ending up without degrees is not consistant with what that vacuous waffle says. More and more students and Unions are realising that the NUS is a complete waste of time and that breaking away from it is the only realistic option. I regret to say that my own Union at Birmingham is particularly gutless when it comes to toeing the NUS line. This is in part to the domination of student politics here by self interested Labour party apparachiks who view student politics as a stepping stone on the career ladder to the Labour PLP. Most students don't give a damn about student politics, which, considering the poor quality of our elected representatives, is a very good thing.

-posted by Adam

I just thought I'd blog something before I do some more revision. It would certainly be easier were it not for the books I have to read. Especially when they are not in English.

Like Jean Froissart and the Fabric of history, for example. Whenever the author quotes anything from Froissart, or French historians, it's in French. So about half the book is in French. And the bits that are in English aren't that helpful, because to support his points, and give relevant examples I could use in the exam, Ainsworth uses quotations from Froissart - in French, so you can't understand them! It reminds me of Mark Steel in Vive la Revolution, when he is talking about an author with a similar knack of having half the book in French:

Paris and its Provinces...by Richard Cobb gets interesting and then goes into several pages of French. And it keeps doing this. Presumably he must have sat in his publisher's office and insisted, "If people can't be bothered to become fluent in a foreign language to read my book, they don't deserve to know about Paris and its provinces".

Back to the grindstone...

-posted by Roy

''It's a beginning, that's all.''

 An admirable summary from Prof. Geras about the launch of the Euston Manifesto last night, which I attended. Good speeches all round with a special mention for Alan Johnson who, I thought, did the best job of rooting the Manifesto and its ideals in the real world and crystallising its opposition to the demagoguery of Galloway and his acolytes.

I see this as a long term project - I can see it igniting a debate in the mainstream left which will rage for a long while to come. Our opponents are legion and hysterical but, in time, we can hope that, thanks to the efforts of all the first rate people involved, the sort of reasoned debate the Manifesto calls for will win out in the end.

In conclusion - Great Start, much still to do, everything to play for.

-posted by Adam

 (quick rant against the train system - On the way back to Birmingham I was fined £54 by some t****r conducter on a power trip because I got the 9:10 a.m train and not the 9:40. a.m one. Ok, so I didn't go and check if my saver return ticket would be acceptable at the ticket desk, but give me a break here. I had slept (badly) on my friends (very hard and dirty) hall of residence floor for less than 2 hours and wanted to go home. Goddamned privitised New Labour claptrap. No spirit of public service!)

Something else I found whilst browsing the Drink Soaked Trots.

This illuminating quiz on Hamas, for which I got a rather miserable 20%. Still, that made it all the more illuminating...

-posted by Roy

As far as I know, nobody has taken the time to make a detailed criticism of this critique of the Euston Manifesto, written by some chaps from the World Socialist Website. The general response seems to be to laugh at it, and that a more detailed discussion of the article would be pointless.

But I'm used to doing things that are pointless. I'm writing a blog, for heavan's sake. So here goes:

The manifesto was drafted by a number of former left and liberal academics and journalists.

That's my emboldening. Hmm, I'm not so sure about that one. I'll let it pass, as the "you're not right wing" argument is getting a little tiresome. Being to the right of mad revolutionary socialists does not make you necessarily "right wing".

Many come from a left-Zionist background

What's this got to do with anything? Don't just cry "Israel", it's not sensible or clever.

Most of its prominent supporters defended the Iraq war based on the premise that US and British imperialism should be entrusted with opposing dictatorship and spreading democracy.

No, sorry. Norman Geras' remarks on "imperialism" can be found in this Golden Strawberry post.

Any signatories who may have opposed the Iraq war now have no difficulty in aligning themselves with the pro-war majority within the group.

That's because you didn't have to agree with the invasion of Iraq to agree with the basic priniples in the Manifesto, as said in the very first post on the Golden Strawberry.

Even Amnesty International is attacked for making a “grotesque public comparison of Guantanamo with the Gulag.”

That's because it is a silly comparison to make. The Gulags killed 16 million people, Guantanamo Bay, although repulsive, has not killed 16 million people. It's like saying the crimes of Fred West are comparable to those people killed in the Second World War.

“Leftists who make common cause with, or excuses for, anti-democratic forces should be criticised in clear and forthright terms,” they state, portraying opponents of the occupation of Iraq as de facto allies of Islamic fundamentalists.

Don't get me started on this one...

The US continues to be “the home of a strong democracy with a noble tradition behind it and lasting constitutional and social achievements to its name,” the manifesto declares, obscuring the fact that these very “achievements” are under ferocious assault by the US administration and ruling elite.

But nevertheless, the US and UK are still "better" (despite their faults which need to be rectified) than Iran, Iraq under Saddam, North Korea etc etc.....

That will do for now. I used to wish those at blogs such as Harry's Place would not post as much about the antics of the far left. It all got a little repetitive and tiresome. But now I find that once you've started chronicling the antics of Respect and the like, it's very hard to stop. It's addictive, but necessary.

-posted by Roy

Some of you may have noticed from posts on this blog, and various others, that the Euston Manifesto was launched last night. Adam's promised hot-off-the-press-report hasn't materialised. My fear is that he overdid the informal session in the bar afterwards, and is still in bed with the mother of all hangovers. It wouldn't be the first time this week. For now, the Manifeto unveiling is covered by Norm, with the complete text of his launch speech, and Clive Davis, complete with pictures.

And as if we didn't need any more reasons to disassociate the Eustonians with other sections of the left, this came to my attention in the Independent.

The Respect MP George Galloway has said it would be morally justified for a suicide bomber to murder Tony Blair.

In an interview with GQ magazine, the reporter asked him: "Would the assassination of, say, Tony Blair by a suicide bomber - if there were no other casualties - be justified as revenge for the war on Iraq?"

Mr Galloway replied: "Yes, it would be morally justified. I am not calling for it - but if it happened it would be of a wholly different moral order to the events of 7/7. It would be entirely logical and explicable. And morally equivalent to ordering the deaths of thousands of innocent people in Iraq - as Blair did."

You can tell it's bad when even STOP THE WAR criticises the indefatigable one.

There's also something in the article about the indefatigable one's fawning of his newest favourite dictator.

Mr Galloway yesterday made a surprise appearance on Cuban television with the Caribbean island's Communist dictator, Fidel Castro - whom he defended as a "lion" in a political world populated by "monkeys".

And this passage came right out of a Mills and Boon novel. 

Looking approvingly into each others' eyes, the pair embraced.

All this homo-eroticism is making my head hurt. Back to the cricket.

-posted by Roy

The Euston Manifesto is launched later today. Adam is travelling to that as I type, and should jot his thoughts down much later tonight.

I just remembered: I've been too busy fretting about the Manifesto and revising, that I'd completely forgotten the Second Test starts today. And I switched to Cricinfo and found Sri Lanka were 25-4. Now they are 46-5. Marvellous.

UPDATE - 65-6 at lunch. Blissful.

Those who come to this site lusting for politics, rather than for spasmodic updates of the Test Score, should read Norman Geras in the Guardian. He is marvellous as always. I also have my eyes on the pensions deals, and will doutbless blog about that next week. Now I really must do some work!

Anybody who has read this will already be familiar with this articles line of argument.

 -Posted by Adam

Good reminder frm James Bartholomew. Money Quote :

 

Tens of millions died under communist rule in China. And after all the oppression and suffering, there was still no equality. There was the privileged ruling class with, in Russia's case, special dachas in the country and road lanes in town. Imposing equality is not an easy ride. It is oppressive and doomed to failure.

Capitalism, meanwhile, has claims, at the least, to reducing inequality over time. The inequality was enormous when George III was sitting on his gilded throne in 1806, with thousands of servants and farm workers and other underlings at his beck and call, while elsewhere in the country were those who could barely find enough to eat and, in some cases, died of hunger.

Nowadays, more than nine out of 10 young people have mobile phones, 99 per cent of households have colour televisions, most households have cars. Yes, the rich are still with us. But the contrast in financial wealth has been greatly reduced over the long term. That was not due to any government, let alone a deliberate attempt to promote equality. It was achieved by capitalism.

Why is the system now taken for granted and despised? Perhaps it is because the collapse of the communist states has removed from our sight useful reminders of how vastly superior capitalism is to state control. We should be careful. 

-Posted by Adam 

I knew I'd crack eventually, and post something. I've a good excuse though. We're in the middle of updating the blog, adding our favourite blogs, books and whatever. If you have a blog and a website you'd like us to link, e-mail us at coryh_at_btinteret.com. All we ask is that you link to our site in return.

The Euston Manifesto is launched tomorrow. It already has over 1500 signatories, and the number has more than doubled since this blog was started. Though the part the Golden Strawberry played in achieving this doubling is dubious to say the least. It's now available in seven languages, so those outside the UK and US can show it to their friends, and agree that the document is indeed marvellous.

There's been plenty of criticism of the Euston Manifesto, most of which is detailed by Norman Geras. He rebuffs these in the various Euston platforms, which I cannot find at the moment but will link to the moment I do.

Some have said that the Euston Manifesto documents nothing new, and that it was pointless. From the article by Daniel Finkelstein:

The Euston Manifesto is a gigantic waste of time and energy.

I'd have to disagree. It's important that we show there is a section of the left not in bed with the various Islamist terrorists and extremists, like the Iraqi resistance; and one who does not pledge solidarity with the regime of North Korea. The Manifesto marks a new progressive direction for the left, and it is important that we find out how many people agree with the thrust of its policies. At the time of writing, it looks like there is a broad consensus for the Eustonian ideas. Which would make the launching of the Manifesto a success.

-posted by Roy

UPDATE - Here is the full list of Norm's platforms, including the newest, platform 11, which appears in the Guardian today.