At the end of October Maya Fernandez Allende won the mayorship of Nunoa, a district of Santiago, Chile. Allende’s electoral victory came after a wave of student community activism and protest aimed at her right-wing opponent who had held the position of mayor for 16 years.
Allende’s grandfather Salvador Allende was president but his murder in a coup led by General Pinochet in 1973 was followed by years of terror. The military under Pinochet’s control bombed the presidential palace, the green light for the start of a bloody dictatorship supported by governments abroad. The USA’s CIA involvement was well portrayed in the film ‘Missing’ starring Jack Lemon.
Probably the most appropriate Twitter hashtag for the Tory Party conference is #ConCon.
Their broken promises, hypocrisy and farcical allusions to Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ and ‘we’re all in this together’ are stomach churning and a confidence trick. “No top down reorganisation of the NHS” followed by the biggest reorganisation since the NHS was founded. Changes that represent a wrecking ball to the principles that deliver a “national” health service for people not for profit.
Taking a stand in Russia is a risky business. The trial and sentencing of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot has prompted international condemnation.
Thanks to social media the three women’s anti-Putin protest at the altar of a Russian Orthodox church earlier this year has been seen around the world.
Many of us have mixed feelings about the Olympics.
The inevitable razzmatazz may sit uncomfortably while so much about us is changing for the worse. Change that is largley due to economic policies that are widening the income gap, sending unemployment sky high and undermining post-war welfare.
A few years ago I visited the Olympic site when it was still largely under construction. Labour was still in government and Ken Livingstone was the mayor.
This blog reflects my personal views and comments about a range of political, social and economic issues. Please feel free to use this opportunity to share your thoughts both about the blogs that I post, as well as other topics that are important to you.
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Although I welcome all kinds of thoughts - supportive, dissenting, critical or otherwise, I will moderate them before publishing. I will therefore delete comments if the content is abusive; off-topic; promotes hate of any kind; uses excessively foul language; is blatantly spam. I hope to do this within 24 to 48 hours of a comment being posted, so please don't be surprised if you find that your comment doesn't show up immediately, However, please contact me to follow up on the status of your comment if it hasn’t shown up after 48 hours and I will do my best to sort it out.
Comments Policy
Although I welcome all kinds of thoughts - supportive, dissenting, critical or otherwise, I will moderate them before publishing. I will therefore delete comments if the content is abusive; off-topic; promotes hate of any kind; uses excessively foul language; is blatantly spam. I hope to do this within 24 to 48 hours of a comment being posted, so please don't be surprised if you find that your comment doesn't show up immediately, However, please contact me to follow up on the status of your comment if it hasn’t shown up after 48 hours and I will do my best to sort it out.