Nearly two months have passed now since the arrest of Mansour Osanloo, the leader of the Tehran bus workers’ union. Also still in custody in Iran, with friends seriously concerned for his health without medical treatment, is Mahmoud Salehi, the former President of the Saquez bakers’ union, jailed for his role in organising May Day …
I’ve just finished reading Chris Anderson’s “The Long Tail”. I don’t really recommend it – he spends 232 pages repeating a good idea for a magazine article – this one in fact ( but of course, don’t let that put you off buying a copy via the tigmoo book club). Basically he suggests that a …
And they’re off! The motions for TUC Congress 2007 have been announced, and the shape of the event is starting to get clearer. They’re going to be amended, collated, composited and spat out the other side before September, but on a brief flick through the book (see it here) it looks like a good snapshot …
Prospective mayoral candidate Boris Johnson is no fan of health and safety regulations, apparently regularly declaring his hero to be Larry Vaughn, the fictional mayor in Jaws, who refused to close the beaches after expert testimony and evidence of the first shark attack, leading to another free lunch for the film’s eponymous anti-hero. Apparently the …
Web usability expert Jakob Nielsen seems to be on the defensive this week. It looks like someone asked him why he doesn’t have a blog just one time too many, and his latest weekly article is about how a real expert should set themselves apart from the madding crowds of the blogosphere and focus on …
Yes – this year’s Tolpuddle Festival has SOLD OUT of tickets for the camp site, which must put it on course for a record attendance. I won’t be going. Mainly because of family committments, but officially I’m not going because I’m boycotting this year’s headliners, Chumbawamba, who I well & truly despise. Mrs is a …
Sad news today – the Sheffield Wool Shear Workers’ Union has folded after 117 years representing people working in the manufacture of sheep shears in Sheffield. I never met any of them, but like a lot of unionists had a bit of a soft spot for SWSWU, as they gave the UK union movement a …
Solidarity, the right nationalist ‘trade union’, might not be nearly as much use to their members as a real union, but they are at least excelling in one area – splits and squabbles. Over the past week, a very entertaining story has been emerging. It seems that Pat Harrington, General Secretary (and occasional commenter to …
There’s a petition doing the cyber-rounds at the moment, encouraging people to press for a ballot on reversing the NUJ conference (ADM) decision on boycotting Israel. I’ve been thinking about this for some time, as I oppose the boycott, and was pretty dismayed when it went through. The case against the boycott, and the similar …
Unexpected tribute to Tony on the RMT’s website. Their latest poll: “Will you be glad to see the back of Tony Blair?” resulted more than two to one against, with 71% of people saying they’ll miss him. Are Bob and his members mellowing now that he’s named the date, or is it maybe just that …