SOAS 9: Home Office protest

Rosa, one of the SOAS 9 cleaners, was deported today. Marina is the only cleaner left in the hateful racist Serco run Yarl’s Wood. There was an attempt to blockade the vans from leaving carrying people to be deported. Unfortunately, the protesters didn’t succeed. One person was arrested. Hopefully there will be more blockades and actions against deportations.

One of the cleaners who was deported on the Sunday to Colombia, was still in the same clothes from the Friday (when forcibly detained by the immigration officials) when she arrived in to Bogotá. All the woman had was 75 pence and was miles away from her family in Cali.

The money these cleaners earned has been frozen by the government so they can’t get access to it. They have no money; exploitation, deportation and now the government steals their money!

I listened to speakers outside the Home Office tonight. Unison and PCS members, along with other union activists (myself a member of the GMB), students and activists overall all showed, vocally, our anger at this form of state racism. An activist was on the phone to Amelia, one of the hunger strikers in Yarl’s Wood. Her message was simple: keep on fighting!

Someone mentioned the appallingly latest racist slogan from Gordon Brown ‘local homes for local people’ (remember ‘British jobs for British workers’), which goes against Harman’s Equality Bill btw!! More pandering to racism by NL as opposed to fighting against it. When I heard this slogan on the news the other night it sent one big shiver down my spine.

So NL is tough on immigration by deporting some of the most exploited workers. Showing their mighty iron fist by degrading, humiliating and vilifying some of the most powerless in this society. When profit determines pay and conditions. And when migrant workers fight back they are punished.

For concrete and practical things to do look at the SOAS cleaners website.

El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!!

Activist on the phone to Amelia who is at Yarl's Wood

INQUEST briefing into the death of Ian Tomlinson

This is a briefing from Inquest into the death of Ian Tomlinson.

Important observation about the initial actions of the IPCC:

The fact that the IPCC was unable to take immediate control of the potential crime scene or indeed to have any input at all during the golden hours and early days of the investigation means that the suspicion of a cover-up will always linger. This is detrimental to public confidence even if that suspicion is ill-founded. There are ongoing concerns about the seizure and preservation of evidence and the need for prompt interviewing of witnesses, in particular of police officers.

 Concluding comments:

It is imperative that the conduct of policing in England and Wales is demonstrably compliant with the law, including human rights law. Police officers in England and Wales cannot operate with impunity. The level of public disquiet about the conduct of some police officers during the G20 protests was directly related to the public availability of visual evidence. However for groups who have been subject to repressive policing such aspeople from BAME communities, trade unionists and protesters, allegations of police harassment and misconduct and excessive use of force come as no surprise.

The role of politicians and their constituents is to scrutinize and ultimately make informed decisions regarding the policy framework in which the police make vital operational decisions. It is undemocratic and sets a very worrying precedent for the police to be allowed to perform those functions unchecked. Concerns about police accountability mechanisms still exist thirty years after the death of Blair Peach. INQUEST will continue to raised critical concerns, insist on rigorous scrutiny of police conduct and supportthe family of Ian Tomlinson in their quest for justice.

Women’s tennis: it’s about the ‘babe factor’…apparently!

I like tennis, one sport where I am a bit of an aficionado. Have watched it religiously since a kid and even played the sport as well. When I watch a game, I am interested in the skill, strategy, expertise and the overall joy of the game. I don’t give a damn what they look like.

But it seems that the All England Club does, indeed so does the BBC, when it comes to choosing which women players get the spotlight on Centre Court.

And yesterday the All England Club admitted that physical attractiveness is taken into consideration, with spokesman Johnny Perkins adding: “Good looks are a factor.”

The paper suggested attractive players were placed on Centre to titillate TV viewers – and a BBC source agreed it helped ratings.

“It’s the Wimbledon play committee, not us who decides on the order of play,” the source said. “Our preference would always be a Brit or a babe as this always delivers high viewing figures”.

Charming…. a woman tennis player is reduced to a mere ‘babe’…. How enlightening!

 And it seems on evidence that players like Serena Williams has been relegated from Centre Court to No. 2 Court in favour of other women players.

So lets get this straight…. it’s all about ratings, gratification and titillation. Nothing about skill or expertise. Just pretty white women. This has the distinct stench of misogyny and racism.

And thankfully, some of the women players are appalled by this blatant discrimination and have spoken out. Oh, and the fact these chaps admit to it say volumes about the All England Club and the BBC. Methinks, as well, that it is men who are selecting (ranking, perchance?) these women, and attractiveness is probably high up the ranking….

It demeans, devalues and degrades the sport, women are being objectified and reduced to their physical looks. So if you are a good player but not fantastic to look at (by their interpretation) then you don’t get a fair crack at Centre Court….?

Is this happening with the male players? No chance! ‘Cos it is all about skill, expertise and strategy. Looks don’t come into it.

Sexist double-standards? You bet!!
Btw: Complain here.

Hat tip: F Word

Coup in Honduras

Couple articles about the coup in Honduras.

There will be a protest today. I can’t make it as I will be lobbying the Home Office regarding the SOAS cleaners.

Obama’s First Coup

 

Honduras: Old Coup Strategy, Different Stage

 

Day 2 of the Coup in Honduras

Emergency picket the embassy

Down with the reactionary coup!
Bring back Zelaya!
Solidarity with the people of Honduras!
Emergency picket of the embassy of Honduras
Tuesday, June 30 5pm,
115 Gloucester Place
London W1U 6JT
(Tube: Baker Street / Paddington)

EDM 1764

“That this House deplores the military action that has been taken in Honduras to remove the democratically-elected government; believes that only the Honduran people have the right to determine their government through a democratic process and that this action against democracy should be condemned throughout the world; and therefore calls for the immediate reinstatement of the democratically-elected government in Honduras.”

Chavez Calls for Continent-Wide Protests against Honduran Coup