SOCIALIST UNITY

Paul Flynn MP reports on the disturbing practice of the kidnapping, imprisonment and rape of pre-pubescent boys by NATO’s allies in the Afghan police and army, including a horrifying picture of a cell where several naked boys are held. Paul asks the question: “Monstrous as the Taliban are in much of their behaviour, they do not practise bachabazi [raping boys]. As the elders of [the town of] Pankela said, the Taliban are cruel but they are men of principle.   Are our brave soldiers dying for this?” 

I would personally question the wisdom of Paul describing the Taliban as “men of principle”, even when quoting others, as this is likely to be misunderstood and quoted out of context; but the question of what exactly are NATO troops fighting for in Afghanistan is a good one. Paul quotes from British soldiers who have witnessed the practice, and testimony that this is one of the factors that drives Afghan villagers to support the Taliban.

John Gray takes up the very important issue of the defending the Local Government Pension scheme from the malicious and ill-informed criticism that it has received lately, with defences of the scheme from GMB and UNISON. John also discusses the decision this week to hold an election for the General secretary of UNISON. Somewhat surprising to me is that this election seems to be scheduled so that campaigning will coincide with the most likely date for the general election. “The meeting voted to set the process in motion for a five-month election period, which will see nominations take place from 4 February to 1 April, with a ballot starting on 17 May and ending on 11 June, ahead of the union’s national delegate conference later that month.”

Left Foot Forward enters the fray in countering right-wing mischief-making about public sector pay. Left Foot Forward should also be congratulated in their regular coverage of politics in Wales, Scotland and Ireland, not making the common mistake of assuming that the whole of life takes place within the circle of the M25. Alex Smith asks what ever happened to George Osborne, the mysteriously absent Shadow Chancellor.

Harpy Marx discusses reproductive rights, as yesterday was apparently Blog for Choice Day, on  the 37th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the landmark American legal case that legalised abortion in the former colonies. As Harpy reminds us of the real cost of women not being provided with the choice of free, legal and safe abortion rights:

“The World Health Organisation estimates that 19 million of the 46 million pregnancies that are terminated every year are terminated under unsafe conditions or in an adverse social or legal climate. This represents a huge threat to the wellbeing of women throughout the world.”

All the blogs participating in Blog for Choice Day are listed below at the end of this post.

Phil at a Very Public Sociologist has broken his recent promise not to write about blogging for a while, with the interesting discussion of Blogging, Academia and Sociology. Phil’s blog is, on the quiet, becoming quite a success story, with a readership reaching beyond the hard left.

Elsewhere, Louis Proyect lets loose his acerbic style on Alexander Cockburn to devastating effect. Sadly, Alexander Cockburn has been promoting lazy Climage Change denialism, and Louis calls him out. And the consistently interesting Kasama Project reports that there is a new danger that Mumia Abu-Jamal’s death sentance could be reinstated, following a US Supreme Court ruling which upheld a motion by the prosecution to send his case back to the Appeals court for sentancing.

It is good to see Grace Fletcher-Hackwood updating her blog frequently, it had an idle patch around Xmas, and I feared we had lost her into the Twitter black-hole. This week she writes a passionate and fierce condemnation of the way the courts, police and media allow rapists to get away with it. Penny Red took up the same issue last week, when she pertinently asked

“Just in case you really do believe that a woman’s fantasy implies consent and that’s all that matters, consider this. Let’s say, just for example, that my boyfriend is a little bit of a masochist. Let’s say the idea of being smacked, spanked and hurt in a sexual context excites him; that we’ve discussed his fantasies and even acted some of them out in bed. Does that, then, mean that I’m entitled to beat him up in the kitchen whenever he annoys me? Can I punch him, cut him, smash his head into the cooker, and know that a jury will acquit me? Does the fact that he has kinky fantasies make it okay for me to physically abuse him in any context, with or without his consent?”

Though Cowards flinch pours scorn on daft recent pronouncements by the Tories on teaching and teacher training; pointing out that it is particularly rich for them to praise Finland, given that country’s deep commitment to comprehensive education and their willingness to let teachers get on with the job without all the silly testing and league tables that the Tories love here.

The Bleeding Heart Show reports on how Iranian sponsored Press TV has yet again repeated the anti-Semitic echo of the blood libel, with the ridiculous accusation that Israeli medical aid to Haiti may be involved in organ farming. I find it particular distressing to see a modern retread of this mediaeval anti-Judaic prejudice being fashioned by conspiracy theorist moonbats. Those of us who stand in solidarity with the Palestinians need to be ever vigilant to challenge this anti-Semitism every time it rears its ugly head.

Blog for Choice Day participating blogs:

1 out of 3 is me
A Seat At The Table
A touch of the crazy
After The Crash
Agoraphobia
Airial’s Blog
All Things Ellie
Alterdestiny
And Such Small Portions
AngryBlackBitch.com
Animal Rights & Anti-Oppression
Anishinaabekwe
Annie and Clarabel
Apatosaurus
Ari’s Adventures
at the end of the arrows there is a circle
AWEARNESS
Backseat Betty
Barefoot & Progressive
Barnyard Chorus
Beacon Broadside
Bellesouth
Bethkoz’s Blog
Big Mouth
Bitch, Please
Blog for Choice
bookishbelle
bullywatch009
C.H.E.C.K. it out!
California NOW
Catgirl Meowing
Charlotte Richarson Andrews
Choices Campus Blog
Cold SnapDragon
Confession Zero
Criss writes…
CT Circus Freak
Dawg’s Blawg
delbrander3
desert_vixen’s lair
Diary of a Mad English Student
Dick Mac (alive!)
Earwicga
EmraldeKat
Equality for All
ERiC jost BLOG
ET Phones Home
Eugenia de Altura
Every Saturday Morning
Evil Slutopia
Fair and Feminist
Feminist Moms
Feminist Review
feministified
Feministing
FemiWHAT
Foot prints in the Snow
Foxy by Nature
FREEDOM FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS
Future Feminist Librarian-Activist
Gender Across Borders
Gender Across Borders
Glitter Girl’s Ghost
Godless Liberal Homo
gratuitous prattle
GRITtv with Laura Flanders
handwritten life
Hang A Question Mark
HarpyMarx
Hello Ladies
heroines of my dreams
Hidaway
highrise living for a joke like me
Honey and Ollie
I, too, dislike it.
In a Strange Land

It’s All About We…
Jackson Area NOW
jedcstuff
Jenn Martinelli Blogging in Boston
Jen’s Den of Iniquity
Jewesses with Attitude
Jukebox Heroines - A Women in Music Blog
Jump off the Bridge
just another 20-something feminist
Just Another Pebble
Kansas City Ladysquad
Kittens Farting Rainbows
Knit Along Little Doggie
Knitting Clio
L.A. For Choice
Laugh. Rant. Snort
Let’s Eat Cake!
Letters from a Willful Woman
Lettuce Spray
Little Merry Sunshine
Living as a Prochoice Christian
Living as a Prochoice Christian
Maybe Never and Maybe Tommorrow
Meg’s Idle Chatter
Menstrual Poetry
Merda D’Artista
Michigan Women’s Forum
Ministry of the Great Spirit
Modus Dopens
Molly Sandwiches
Mollytics
monstrrrous
Morning Quickie
Morrígan Reborn
Mousch’s Tumblr
Ms.Marx: On Pop Culture
MU Women Studies Studies Association
Mujeres en Puerto Rico
Murder_ Blogs
Musings of an Insomniac - Spaces
My Blog
My Life in Pen
My Life in Words
my livejournal
My Myspace Blog
My Notes
My opinion
Myspace
Ned Resnikoff: Politics, Culture, Miscellany
of Heart and Mind
of Heart and Mind
Oh My God, That Britni’s Shameless
Our DID recovery journal
P.Killingly
Pandora’s Box
Paul’s Blog
Pencil Shavings
Postilius
Progressive Blue
Project Economic Refugee
Radical: Adventures in Midwestern Feminism
Radio Free Bitch
Raising Bebe Lulu
Rana Quilts
Reclaiming Our children
Rena Ragimova
Righteous Mom
Ruminations at 3AM
Say More Yes
Seafood Dances
Secher Nbiw
Sex. Justice. Change.
Sexuality and Religion: What’s the Connection
Shouts and Murmurs
Shut Up, Sit Down
Side of the Road
Silence is Betrayal: A Feminist Blog
Snarkopotamus
Spare Candy
sparkle neely sparkle
speak, girl
Sum of Change
Sweetening The Pill
Talk Hockey To Me
Talking to Myself
telling
Termination for Medical Reasons in the Media
That Feminist Feeling
that i would be good
The Biggest Heart I Know
The clouds are all on fire…
The Feminist Agenda
The Gaytheists
The Happenstance
The HBIC Movement
The Last Exile
The Lost Albatross
The Lucy Stoner Secret Handshake
The Peeled Apple
The Sin City Siren
The SkeptikOne
The Timeline Project
The Trouble With Normal
The Undomestic Goddess
TheCouplesToolKit
There’s a kitten sleeping beside me
Tightrope Walkers Anonymous
To the Orient He Flew. Again.
Unconventional Male
V for Vegan: easyVegan.info
Waiting for Snapdragon
Wandering Wonderment
water in my cereal
We Tell Ourselves Stories
Wedding for Two
we’ve both been very brave (walk around on both legs)
White Coat Knitter
Whitty j
Wired For Noise
Witch of Stitches
With a Wonder and a Wild Desire
womanwarrior007
Women and Politics
Women’s Health News
Women’s Law Project Blog
Womens Media Center
Womenstake.org
Wonderland or Not
Words of Choice Up the Creativity
www.MyLeftNutmeg.com
Yankee T’s 365 for 2010
YellaDog
Yol’s Blog: Jewelry, Art, Design, Spirituality, Writing…