Why I will be marching for the alternative

Originally posted for Oxford Save Our Services, a group of public services users standing up for public services. Oxford Save Our Services is one of the first anti-cuts groups to have organised over the summer of 2010. Please do follow on twitter @oxsos.  

It seems like I have been consistently struggling with the Government over the past years of my life. In fact, I have been going on marches and protests since I was 17, first against Labour’s introduction of tuition fees, then for climate change policies, then for the NHS and then … there was always another injustice to fight.

Like many young people I know, what gripped me is the sheer and utter lack of fairness about how policies that have been passed over the past decades have been majorly at our detriment: young people, students, workers, the unemployed, pensioners.

I am glad that the TUC have organised for something that ties in together my beliefs of what society should be.

Our society says that the rich remains well off, and that the poor are able to step up the ladder and get richer. It says that when young people get education, they get the very best of it. It says that those who are weak, vulnerable and disabled are part of our society. And that they are being given in their views – the right care and opportunities in life. It says that when we go to the doctor and the nurses we’re well treated by well paid, supported and trained staff. It says that teachers and all should be well paid, secured and be happy in the jobs they are in.

It is my belief that this is not achieved through privatising our beloved publicly funded services. That our public services remain accountable to us and that their profits do not go into the pockets of a minority shareholders and executives.

It is fair that when our economic system crashes, the poor, the young, the weak and the old don’t pay for it, but those – whose fault it is pay for it.

It is true that there are alternatives and that this is probably the most important march I will ever go on to in my life.

Because it is about how our society should be and should work. It is about good government. It is about my mum who’s a nurse and that her old age pension is secure. It is about my niece and nephew’s future being secure. It’s is about my disabled neighbour and so many other people affected.

It is about how my life will be directed. It is about how YOUR life will change.

About the fact that we should not put corporate greed over people’s need but do the opposite. Corporations should be working for us. They should not have more influence over our elected Govt than we do.

A fair, honest and accountable society is what we should fight for. A society where everyone is treated not equally, but to what their needs are to be where they should be.

So let’s unite and work together: for an alternative future, so unlike what is being forced down our throats.

Les Ecritures: What could have been brilliant at Netroots UK

Les Ecritures: What could have been brilliant at Netroots UK: "Originally posted on Political Dynamite The Saturday event Netroots UK was a decent event. Sadly, I believe that it goes no further th..."

What could have been brilliant at Netroots UK

Originally posted on Political Dynamite 

The Saturday event Netroots UK was a decent event. Sadly, I believe that it goes no further than mere decency. Netroots UK also failed. It failed in upholding much vibrancy and creativity that UKUncut and student activities have delivered to rock the anti-cuts world and provide power to unions and public to fight against being shafted into paying for a crisis we are not responsible for.

As a grassroots campaigner against the cuts, I am part of a group that felt we needed to creative and innovative to win over our local community and residents on the alternatives to the cuts. We did not achieve so by the usual speech and panel debates, countless committee meetings and the good old let the ‘expert’ speak. We achieved so by engaging with others, enabling the weak to have their voices heard and organising as a fluid group whereby residents and communities can influence decision making. Rather than being lectured on how to organise and being led, we allowed others to lead us and we grew.

In Netroots UK, having a grouping of what seemed to be a well-educated middle class Labour-ites discussing about the Tory cuts in a fairly trade union centric manner fails in capturing the zeal and passion that has rocked the anti-cuts world in the past months.

I believe that Netroots UK would have been much more productive in providing ideas on how us grassroots community activists can help move Labour from the right to the left. It can happen by either working with Labour or challenging Labour. Netroots UK would have been challenging it were to empower trade unions in being creative and reaching out to members of the public and community groups rather than solely representing their members. Netroots UK could have also started the process of unifying the left by aiding with ways to work with the divided left. Netroots UK could have benefitted to highlight the necessity of offline activism and human connections as well as the need for effective online approach.

Netroots UK was decent but it has potential to be great with a recognition that fight back needs to be creative and empowering online- and offline. 

Dick of the Year 2010 Nominee: Lord John Browne

My nomination to the http://brightgreenscotland.org's Dick of the Year award 2010. You can follow them on twitter @brightgreenscot

Baron Browne of Madingley, crossbench peer and former chief executive of BP

Who but the former CEO of a petroleum company, BP is better equipped to advise the government on the higher education sector? That is what the previous Labour government must have thought for employing Lord Browne to carry out a review in apparently ‘Securing Sustainable Future for Higher Education’. If uploading debt onto generations of young people for three years of education in universities can be considered as ‘sustainable’ then Browne clearly has a flawed view of what an education system should be.

It is however of no surprise that Browne does call for marketization of the education sector along with an 80% cut in teaching grants for universities. In BP, Browne was involved in PR spins that led the company to change it’s image with slogan ‘beyond petroleum’ whilst still drilling heftily for oil. BP also was classed as second in the ‘Ten Worst Corporations in 2000’ and only five years later, in 2005, it topped the list.

It seems Lord Browne, who was a close friend of former Prime Minister Blair, is now good friends with the coalition government and has been appointed as a ‘Non-Executive Director’ board member in the Cabinet Office, making departments ‘efficient’ and overhauling how Whitehall works. Can that lead to only more cuts and double-speak? No surprise.

Run Fat Girl Run

The Royal Parks Half marathon was the first I ever did, finishing the whole marathon in 2 hours 45 mins.  And here's why: 

http://peopleandplanet.org/navid8784
http://peopleandplanet.org/greenleague
http://peopleandplanet.org/navid8905
http://peopleandplanet.org/navid10264


My previous employer People & Planet strives to combat the roots causes of poverty and climate change and does so everyday by inspiring young people and students to change their education institutions and the world outside the. 


And there's more too, the achievements.Over the years, People & Planet has also:

• Transformed environmental performance across the higher education sector through our Go Green campaigning, including the award winning Green League.
• Persuaded the UK government to lead an international commitment to provide HIV/AIDS treatment for all by 2010 — millions more now receive treatment.
• Campaigned for Fairtrade in universities, schools and colleges. Over 100 universities, and 106 secondary schools have now achieved Fairtrade status.
• Secured $88bn debt cancellation for the world’s poor, by playing a key roll in the Jubilee 2000 campaign.
• Persuaded a £20 billion lecturers’ pension fund to adopt a socially responsible investment policy.
• Forced Pepsi out of Burma, ending their financial support for the military junta and receiving thanks from Aung San Suu Kyi’s government in exile.

So here's a final dig for cash: http://www.justgiving.com/Manishta-Sunnia 

And more http://peopleandplanet.org/fanclub/

The Real Christmas

Whether you celebrate Christmas for religious purposes, for a break or to take time to spend with the family, the same atmosphere recurs. It is an atmosphere of indulgence in receipts of gifts and immense amount of food consumed.

In A Christmas Carol' the character 'Ebenezer Scrooge' is Charles Dickens' symbol of a miserly, selfish and mean person  who does not believes in charity or a fair distribution of wealth in the society he lived in. All of which, I believe can be reflected into our contemporary world. And I am certainly pointing out how our society, especially around Christmas contributes to being a big fat... scrooge.

The sad structure of our society is based on consuming, consuming and consuming and in  Christmas time, more so than ever. We give each other cards and presents to show our love to each other, also because that is the norm. If we take a look at the reality behind our never-ending consumption around Christmas, we see the sheer exploitation of the poorest people in the society by the richest ones. For our indulging Christmas shopping, we're visiting high street shops and wearing our favourite labels from Topshop/ Topman, M&S, Next and more. 

In the meantime, among many, the Arcadia group (owners of most high street shops from Topshop to Evans) are consistently involved in the oppression and exploitation of the poorest across the world, even in the UK. From paying their workers in many developing countries pennies per hour to working in appalling conditions and illegal wages (half of minimum wage) in Leicester, UK. 

Aside to the meagre workers rights and welfare the Arcadia group contributes to what I believe as modern slavery. Our beloved brands and high street shops are also investing into raping the environment and oppressing those who stand against them. Company brands ranging from Coca-Cola to KFC have their profits invested through in water pollution, destroying forest areas and more. Our high street companies and favourite brands are also known to be involved in bribery and corruption so that local democracy in many countries fail. Hence, the voices of the powerless and weak are never considered. 

The alternative to this vicious circle, as is depicted in Dickens' novel are characters the Christmas 'ghosts' showing the real face of what Christmas is - exploitation, materialistic consumption and poverty - The ingredients that benefit those like Philip Green, the CEO of the Arcadia group into piling profits out of the destruction of the environment and impoverishing the impoverished. 

Is it our fault that such likes thrive in bringing 'modern slavery' about - as we buy what they are selling? Or is it that such likes, contrary to individuals in society are deeply involved in shaping the rules to how society works? 

For example, Philip Green is currently involved with Conservative Party's David Cameron as adviser to implementing cuts in the services such as local councils, libraries, hospitals,etc. Hence leading to massive job losses and when he calls ' Efficiency Review'. Impoverishing the poor is efficient?? 

Our actions such as buying into their products strengthen such companies in playing the ironical part of ruining our own lives. Is it time to give such companies and individuals a vote of no confidence? Yes. 

But how, do we give up on shopping for clothes, feeding our families and having our homes heated? 

We can pledge to shop elsewhere and do so loudly. We draft an emails, letters and phone calls to companies telling them we're shopping elsewhere as they are scrooging on our society.  We support those voicing out against companies, we demand change in the legislations new regulations and defy politicians making wrong decisions. We will march on the streets and to politicians and we will join those of the likes of UKUncut, unify civic groups and call for change and if denied we will and must shut down the shops. 

And they will turn around - because they need the profits.

Sources:

http://www.labourbehindthelabel.org/campaigns/item/901-uksweatshop
http://www.waronwant.org/news/262-general-news/15153-coca-cola-drinking-the-world-dry
http://www.brandrepublic.com/news/731169/Topshop-faces-accusations-using-sweatshop-labour/?DCMP=ILC-SEARCH
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-2104055-topshop-scandal-east-end-sweatshops-exposed.do
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Green
http://www.corporation-free.org/why.html
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-2104055-topshop-scandal-east-end-sweatshops-exposed.do
http://www.waronwant.org/campaigns/corporations-and-conflict
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/aug/08/gap-next-marks-spencer-sweatshops

A virgin, no more.

Ok, so this is my first blog. After this, I shall be a blog virgin, no more.  I debated with myself on what to include on my first blog. Is it my absolute hatred for all things right-wing? Including these gutless, aristocratic and spoilt rich brats in this thing called ‘coalition’ government. Oh, I emphasised ‘coalition’ to just illustrate my point that a certain ‘left-wing’ group shamelessly allowed themselves to get screwed over by some capitalist bastards. Well, I never gave much credit to this ‘liberal’ and ‘democratic’ party anyway. But now, I can’t even have an ounce of respect for those pathetic supportive members of this ‘liberal’, ‘democratic’ and apparently ‘left-wing’ party who consistently defend their leadership. At least have some dignity and admit your leadership screwed up. And that all it wanted was power, and nothing less.

Ok, I went on rant there, sorry. So, where was I? Ah, yes I could have written about the coalition government. But no, I thought there was more to me than that. Then I thought I could write about the Green Party and the exciting Deputy Leadership elections going on. I’m proudly voting to re-elect Adrian Ramsay by the way. I seem to have a bit of a political crush on that guy. He’s quite intelligent and he’s a politician. Many in the Green Party don’t like to consider themselves as politicians. Though they understand the need to influence the political system by taking up political seats and responsibilities, they fail to sort of – like politics. I like it, in fact, I love it. I love debates, discussing serious issues and especially passing and influencing policy. I love coming up with ideas and schemes to make things better, solve problems and find solutions. I think it’s fun. Oh, and I also love elections. I guess am quite competitive. But, I hate dirty politics. I never do dirty politics. I guess that’s one of the reasons why I joined the Green Party. Those who are members of the Green Party tend to be honest people reaching out to other honest members of their community.

But then, the Green Party is not what defines me. I could have written about my time in student politics. Those were amazing and hectic times. Very character shaping, enjoyable and…sexy, I guess. I have often joked to some of my non-political friends that ‘Politics is better than sex!’ Outrageous, I know. But, I promise that it says nothing about my sex life and more about my passion for politics.

I could have written about my time working and volunteering for my favourite charity: People & Planet, but no. Oh and by the way…I am running the Royal Parks Half-marathon to FUN-raise for this brilliant organisation! I have 6 weeks to go and have done no training!

I could have written about my love for cooking - cooking is fun. I get very excited by pots, pans and cooking devices. My ultimate dream house is: to have a huge kitchen for regular dinner parties! Anything that involves cooking is brilliant! Cooking is fun. I’m not good at it, but it’s good fun.

So, no. Not writing about the idiots in coalition, not about the Green Party and no, not cooking. Well, I thought I’d just jot a bit about blogging itself.

Since I will be a virgin no more in the virtual world of bloggers, I might as well dedicate some utterances about it. I have occasionally blogged before but I was never too keen on it (by stating that I was a blog virgin I meant I never had my own blogging web page). Sometimes, it seemed like homework or like a chore. The truth is that I enjoy writing for fun (though it’s something I haven’t done in a long time) and I like to engage with the world, so I thought, why not? I have also enjoyed reading blogs for a long time. Some can be hilarious, but mostly they are very much used to provide points of view and well blogging is just another communication channel. I have strong opinions, so I thought I’d also blog about that. I may also blog a poem up one day. I enjoy poetry. It’s fun. I discovered performance poetry early on in my university years. I have never done performance poetry, I’d like to someday. If I can muster some courage that is!  

So here we go - debates, politics, coalition of rich twats, cooking, Green Party, student politics, my love for writing… well, world of bloggers - here I am!