UK

Locked out of Acton's Lock

Submitted by libcom on Mar 15 2006 12:55

Residents of the Whiston and Goldsmiths' estates - and especially those in Debdale Court - are less than impressed with Hackney Council and British Waterways over the proposed development at Acton's Lock.

Squeezed between Debdale Court and the Regents Canal at the Eastern End of Whiston Road, the five-story building will comprise 25 flats and a restaurant.

This land is ours - or is it?

Submitted by Freedom on Mar 11 2006 13:33

As the government grants ramblers limited rights to roam, Ellen Kemp takes a detailed look at land ownership, wealth and power in Britain today.

Land ownership is not an issue that the Left discusses very much at all. The Parliament of England and Scotland have given ramblers a limited right to roam across open countryside.

ID Freely

Submitted by Freedom on Mar 11 2006 13:33

Iain Mackay analyses the likely course of ID cards following this month’s commons vote to impose the £12bn system.

Hopes that Labour MPs would develop a backbone and reject the government’s more insane plans were, unsurprisingly, squashed when they supported ID cards. In spite of previously admitting that ID cards would not have stopped the bombs in July, the spectre of terrorism was used by the government to pass the bill.

Dunblane - what made Hamilton tick?

Submitted by martinh on Mar 11 2006 11:53

This was published in Black Flag #208, in 1996 not long after the horrific massacre at Dunblane. The media at the time were pre-occupied with gun control, here Albert Meltzer argues that they missed the point.

The Dunblane Massacre -
What Made Hamilton Tick?

Capitalism killing football

Submitted by Freedom on Mar 10 2006 09:01

Richard Griffin analyses the decline of top-flight English football, its causes, and potential solutions.

Empty seats are appearing at Premiership games. So far this season attendances are down by 6%. There are a variety of reasons for this – high ticket prices, boring, predictable games, a lack of competition and a feeling that clubs don’t care about their fans.

The decline follows over a decade of growth.

No More Soft Soap on OAPs

Submitted by martinh on Mar 9 2006 14:03

No more soft soap about oaps

Why ex-Kings are a Danger

Submitted by martinh on Mar 9 2006 09:40

This piece appeared in Black Flag #207, which came out around January 1996. Conspiracy theorists might be interested in the remarkable prescience Albert showed talking about Diana, Princess of Wales.

Rank and File or Broad Left? (Review)

A review of "Rank and File or Broad Left: Democracy versus Bureaucracy - A short history of the Building Worker Group" by Brian Higgins, from Black Flag magazine.

I feel old, I really do. In February 1986 I quit my job at the start of what turned out to be nine months on the dole, and walked straight onto a picket line. The "Laing's Lockout Committee" dispute remains one of the most significant of the post-Miners' Strike era, full of lessons about the possibility of resistance in the face of the most difficult of conditions and determined of opposition.