Some (Constructively) Critical Reflections on STUC Youth Conference
Last weekend I attended the STUC Youth Conference as a delegate from UCU. I'm told there hasn't been a delegate from my union in a while, in a sense that's…
Strathclyde University Occupied
This afternoon student at Strathclyde University in Glasgow occupied the geography and sociology department of their university in opposition to threats of cuts and course closures. The students issued the…
Happy Armed Forces Day
UK fatalities Iraq: 179 UK fatalities Afghanistan: 374 US fatalities Iraq: 4463 US fatalities Afghanistan: 1663 Iraqi fatalities: 100,000+ (perhaps as high as a million) Afghan fatalities: 10,000+ (No…
No to de-recognition at Robert Gordon University
Robert Gordon University, in Aberdeen, recently terminated it's recognition agreements with both the University and Colleges Union (UCU) and Unite. UCU were immediately derecognised, while Unite, owing to a slightly…
Reinvigorating the Student Movement
Last Saturday the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC) held a 'reinvigoration conference' at Birmingham university to debate its future direction and the need for an elected steering committee.…
All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace – Episode Two
An unrealistic view of nature as a self-regulating system, constantly in balance and which always returns swiftly to equilibrium after any disturbance has distracted us from a real examination of…
Machines of Loving Grace (and their Masters).
A shorter version of this article was originally published by ORGzine. If there was a fault with the first episode of Adam Curtis' All Watched Over By Machines of Loving…
New unemployment figures: good news?
Just a quick post on the latest ONS labour market figures here. The figures on unemployment are being reported as broadly, but not excessively, good news for the government. The…
My Afternoon in the Cells
It's sometime after 2pm on Sunday, I can't be sure when because the police have taken my phone, and all my effects, and there's no clock in here, and I'm…
An injury to one is an injury to all – support the RMT strikes
Last week the tube union, the RMT, announced a series of strike dates over an ongoing campaign of victimisation against two union activists - Eamonn Lynch and Arwyn Thomas. Phil,…