Author: Mick Hartley

rley case can reside so much faith in his legal advice.

But what about those members, invoked by McCluskey…? Aren’t they just furious with Sir Keir? And don’t they very much agree with their leader over the years that much of the antisemitism stuff was got up and exaggerated to damage that champion of the downtrodden, Mr Corbyn?

No. Most of them have no idea it’s even happened. That ruling executive committee invoked by Mr M? There were elections to that body this summer. Eighteen of the seats were uncontested. In the regional and industrial sectors, turn-out averaged 6.2 per cent. The highest turn-out — 19.2 percent — was in the “retired members” section.

The whole edifice of Mr McCluskey’s invocation of his membership is a political Potemkin village. The ordinary workers who pay their dues to be represented over workplace issues have no idea what is being done or said in their names by these self-aggrandising would-be politicians. It’s an illusion, but one that has real consequences.

One day a brave Labour leader will prick this bubble.

But perhaps not Starmer.

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"Cafe. Pie Town, New Mexico."

"General store, Pie Town, New Mexico."
[Photos: Shorpy/Russell Lee]

Bobby Hebb, with his soul-jazz classic:

[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRWyxzmNdJc&w=550&h=309]

Recorded in 1966, but written three years earlier:

Hebb wrote the song in the 48 hours following a double tragedy on November 22, 1963: the day U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and Hebb's older brother Harold was also stabbed to death outside a Nashville nightclub. Hebb was devastated by both events and many critics say that they, and critically the loss of his older brother, inspired the lyrics and tune. According to Hebb, he merely wrote the song as an expression of a preference for a "sunny" disposition over a "lousy" disposition following the murder of his brother.

It was first recorded by Mieko "Miko" Hirota – the "Connie Francis of Japan". Oh yes. Not, in my opinion, one of the best versions. Of which there have been many: at least 75 other artists have recorded the song.

Here's Hebb performing the song on The !!!! Beat – the 1966 show from WFAA Dallas. He's not quite at ease, and it misses out that lovely guitar intro, but worth a listen.

missiles that were sent to Yemen and launched against the KSA came from the Beirut port, the exact same place that exploded today."

[Photos: Katie Waggett]

You can read more about Katie Waggett's London portraits at her website.

n style=”font-size: 11pt”>Moreover, the Bill explicitly allows for intention to be put aside. If behaviour or material is ‘likely’ to stir up hatred against any protected groups (defined by age, disability, racial or ethnic identity, sexual orientation, transgender identity or ‘variations in sex characteristics’) then whether or not the perpetrator intended to do so is immaterial. Even an actor playing a bigoted character could be prosecuted under the proposed laws. An entire section of the Bill is devoted to the ‘public performance of a play’, which specifies that actors and directors can be found culpable if members of protected groups find the material offensive. So if you are troubled by the anti-Semitism of Shylock’s detractors, or the Islamophobia of Tamburlaine’s decision to burn the Quran, you can complain to the Scottish police. Next year’s Edinburgh Festival should be interesting.

The implications for stand-up comedy are similarly dire. As practitioners of an art form that often teases the limits of public tolerance, comedians frequently find themselves involved in free speech battles. The dean of the Faculty of Advocates, Roddy Dunlop QC, has already warned that stand-up would not be exempt from the SNP’s Bill, and that even an old-fashioned ‘Scotsman, Irishman and Englishman’ joke may be perceived as discriminatory. Certainly, some of the more subversive acts that regularly appear at Comedy Unleashed, a night I co-founded in London, would be at risk of prosecution should they venture north of the border.

The Bill even goes as far as to criminalise the possession of ‘inflammatory’ material, which is why senior Catholic bishops have raised concerns that possession of the Bible could become a criminal offence. Let’s not forget that Leviticus 20:13 calls for the execution of gay men.

Let's not even think about the Koran. 

As far as I'm aware, they're still determined to press ahead with the Gender Recognition bill in Scotland, whereby, in line with Theresa May's earlier recommendation, people can change their gender identity at will provided they "make a solemn statutory declaration that they have been living in their acquired gender for three months and intend to do so permanently". In England Liz Truss has indicated that no such change will be forthcoming – though Boris's latest hesitation suggests that it may not be so straightforward. We'll see.

It's a brave new world they're building up there.

A tough crowd.

Marion Post Wolcott – December 1940. Starke, Florida. "Construction workers drinking beer in Soldiers Joy Cafe near Camp Blanding."

[Photo: Shorpy/Marion Post Wolcott for the Farm Security Administration]

John Vachon – December 1940. Radford, Virginia. "Influx of construction workers to build Hercules Powder Plant — new arrivals in town. They've come by bus from West Radford."

[Photo: Shorpy/John Vachon for the Farm Security Administration]

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owerful symbol of racial discrimination in the US. "They have both faced brutality for their race," he says. "But while in America people are raising their voices, in our case there is silence."

I don't think there's much chance of a George Floyd repeat here, to be honest. Generally it's not a cause that the left have shown much interest in.

populated areas across the country, including in Beirut.

A July report by the ALMA Research and Education Center found that the group has at least 28 missile launching sites, command and control infrastructure, missile assembly sites, rocket fuel storage sites and missile bunkers next to high schools, clinics, hospitals, golf clubs and soccer fields as well as the Iranian Embassy and the Lebanese Ministry of Defense.

Danny Danon, Israel’s former ambassador to the United Nations, also accused Hezbollah and Iran of using Beirut Port to transfer weapons using commercial companies.

"Israel discovered that Iran and its Quds Force have been exploiting civilian maritime channels, and specifically the Port of Beirut," Danon said. "The Iranian regime is transferring weapons in various ways. They use commercial companies, mainly from Europe, to support Hezbollah and develop its missile program. Unfortunately, the Port of Beirut has become Hezbollah's port.”

Lebanon was already in the midst of an unprecedented calamity, on the brink of collapse due to a severe economic crisis, when the explosion took place – and Hezbollah is not immune to that.

Israeli officials have warned that should another war with the terror group break out, it would “send Lebanon back to the Stone Age” as the country’s infrastructure is used by Hezbollah. Unfortunately on Tuesday, residents of Beirut got a taste of just that. And not from war, but from a catastrophic failure and mismanagement by the ruling class.

With the country falling off an economic cliff and temperatures rising – and not just meteorologically – opposition to Hezbollah’s grip on the country is also growing.

Following the deadly explosion, will the Lebanese street once again rise up and force the political leadership to force Hezbollah to finally move their arsenals away from civilian centers? Or will Hezbollah’s grip on the country only tighten?

With such mismanagement of handling the dangerous and explosive material, as well as organized crime which is run from the port, it was a disaster waiting to happen. A disaster that Lebanon could not afford.