lemon revolution

Yawn. That's all it induces, as your eyes doggedly scan the text, procuring the scarce semantics conveyed by the tiresome punchlines and lifeless descriptions. The text, exactly? Ed Miliband's latest interview in the New Statesman, of course. If, in some hypothetical, fitting theatrical realm, the Conservative Party was to secure the role of King Claudius, appointing from its considerable array of ministerial actors, the cursed Polonius would no doubt be assumed by Ed Miliband. The Labour leader as ever, offers little in the way of ingenuity, contradicts himself occasionally and intellectually, turns in speechless. Yet it seems as if Miliband cannot even summon the political fight to defend his own party. Labour's legacy in power remains under perpetual Conservative attack; verbal artillery decrying that ghastly, murderous, torturous, massacring, horrible, contemptible, foul  budget deficit remains live, the offensive driven forward by battle cries of irresponsibility and

As Howard Webb's whistle drew the show to a close, some among the Anfield faithful reached with one hand to draw for their knives, offering only a tired groan of despondence in response to a performance that deserved little more. Of course, their sheaths contained no such weaponry, for the knives were drawn long, long ago, and the worn, tattered and blunt blades had rested in the other palm for so many a decade, that they had simply forgotten. For most, the knives were already waiting. Brendan Rodgers' second defeat in three league ties has punched Liverpool into a fiery media spotlight, and the Northern Irishman was already forced to assure reporters of his own position in the post-match press conference. "I have spoken to people in America since Friday. They have my thoughts", is the snippet Rodgers threw away in response to his club's dreadful end to the transfer window. A snippet that speaks volumes. A snippet eerily similar to the public lambastes Rodgers

I am fortunate to have recently visited Portugal for a week, staying in the Vale do Lobo resort, located in the Southern region of Algrave, itself a hotbed for tourists, holidaymakers and the wealthy. I suppose then, that the punch of this article could leave the bruise of imperialist snobbery; the sort of finger-wagging, tut-tutting one would imagine Paris Hilton angrily demonstrating having encountered a beggar at Mumbai Airport. I assure you, this article should not; I am not demeaning the Portuguese people or protesting against them, and this should be clear throughout. Firstly, I do not hold that the poorer sections of society constitute the more animal elements of humanity, and secondly, even if I did, my personal situation would render me at an unfavourably ironic point of thought. The villa that myself and company resided in was burgled, at the rear end of the visit; following a meal, we returned to find a number of valuables missing, and an ajar patio door. As with any unan

Sunny Hundal's recent piece over on Liberal Conspiracy sketched out a body of reasoning outlining why, apparently, Tony Blair's recent reprisal, re-emergence, political respawning - call it whatever you like - within the Labour Party is nothing whatsoever to pay attention to. Ed Miliband, we are assured, is the very political python we've always dreamed of, navigating his victorious path through the jungle of leftist politics, wooing each and every ideological animal on his way to delivering 'responsible capitalism' for us all. An obvious problem is immediately raised: Tony Blair is not really a man many on the left want to be associated with at all, be it indeed, in mere capacity and not ideas. The acceptance of the Thatcherite consensus and two disgusting, flesh-drenched military adventures are two obvious reasons for Miliband to distance himself from Blair. Hundal assures us, however, that Miliband is simply utilising Blair's support-base - presumably amo

They just never learn. " The swiftly changing paradigms of the political world pose a vital question for the future of the Labour Party ; evolve to incorporate new, radical ideas and provide a visionary, specific future for the British electorate with which the public may engage and participate within, or simply wither away to political insignificance, fighting the Conservatives over tiny fractions of ideological battleground. Whether or not Labour as a political party has the capacity and internal will to evolve in such a way however, is an entirely different question altogether. "

Just when you thought you'd finally discarded that throat wrenching verbal turd you probably once picked up from a news-stand, once upon a time, to the black hole of your cerebrum. Just when you, for a brief, brief moment, trepidly allowed the mere thought of escape to slip through barrier of your conscience. Just when perhaps, perhaps, maybe, possibly, you considered, people were beginning to see sense. Out of nowhere it seemed, sprang Nick Boles , and that folks, was that. The painful tsunami of memories instantly ransacks what good will remains left inside you, words such as 'Hayek' and 'Friedman' begin appearing all over the shot and you're left, sprawled on your bedroom floor, to ruin by a fit of frustration. That's correct, ladies and gentlemen, the neoliberals are back. Back with a bank's worth of bullshit, downright lies and conjobbery. Be prepared for phrases such as; 'we're faced with the worst economic crisis since the war due to a

Friday night's ' Newsnight ' offered a discussion on the political apathy generated by the recent crises, in light of not only "Liebor", yet a broader, public sentiment of distrust of Westminister and the city. Paul Mason introduced the topic by highlighting a certain contempt held by the public for 'bankers' and politicians that appears to have fostered and developed since the onset of the financial crisis. Mason has since been labelled, among many things, a ' Trotskyite ' - usually a sign these are going pretty well - on the ever-reliable Twitter. This was then followed by a debate involving author and journalist Owen Jones, former Conservative MP Neil Hamilton, financial-sector Grandmaster Richard Sharp and the novelist, Anne Atkins. Jones - a known socialist who authored a much-publicised book in defence of those scrambling upon society's periphary, "Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class" - was perhaps an unusual choice fo

With the Eurozone ostensibly, ever on the brink and with crisis upon crisis frothing from an unshakable cauldron of melting capital, the world demands rethinking. Last Thursday's Newsnight defined the contours of the present debate: with such a polarisation in economic performance between member countries, just what exactly remains for the European Union? Peter Altmaier, the German Environment Minister spoke of a willingness to preserve the EU through financial solidification, or a fiscal pact. In principle, this includes a provisional, central bank for the entire Eurozone, and numerous forms of relief for the debts of the struggling, peripheral nations. The latter comes after months of German insistence that the debts of Greece, Spain, Ireland and Italy required only government austerity, rather than continental support and is symptomatic of the sheer depth and scale of Europe's economic woes. On the other side of the table sat Joseph Stiglitz, the renowned, American Keyne

A few points of notice: * Germany lacked cohesion from the very beginning; Schweinsteiger's role was rather obscure in that, rather than working in tandem with Khedira to control the game, he was constantly being forced into a wide position by the formation of Italy's midfield: -------------------------------------- Khedira ------------ ----- Schweinsteiger ---- Montolivo -------------------------- -------------------------------- Marchisio ----------------- --------- Kroos -- De Rossi --- Ozil ------------- Podolski ------ ------------------------- Pirlo ------------------------------ Montolivo was sent out with the task of barracking and unsettling any possession Germany held in central midfield, with Marchisio and often De Rossi, shadowing his pressure from a few yards behind. To find space and time on the ball, and in an attempt to orchestrate German offensive play, Schweinsteiger was forced to find pockets of space to either side of the central-midfield zone, w

From the anti-war lyrics of Lennon, to the fierce, rasping attacks on Western institutions of The Clash, the rhythm of Britain's musical mainstream was ostensibly upheld by a cemented chord of politically radical, anti-establishment artists, who coupled the mass sale of records with popular anthems in disgust at the misuse of authority - be it the Vietnam War, or the ideological scope of the Thatcher government, for instance. Yet what appeared to be a vital string in the instrumentals of British music, appears to have vanished; bands and artists that actively engage, through musical and other, social means, in explicitly political protest, have simply disappeared. The UK singles chart only this week, was headed by Gary Barlow's song in celebration of the British Monarchy, and elsewhere, remains peppered by tunes of a typically 'misogynistic', individualistic, 'racially stereotyping', 'sexist' lyrical construct as rapper Akala describes , rather than in

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/02/muslims-step-outside-antiwar-comfort-zone My comment: Medhi, as an avid follower of your polemics, I'm quite disappointed. You seem to have adopted the mainstream discourse in assuming that those of an Islamic faith 'won it' for Galloway, in ignorance of plain empirical fact. The fact is, Galloway could not have 'won it' at all by simply targeting an Islamic bloc; the so-called 'Muslim' population constitutes 38% of the Bradford West populace. Galloway won a decisive majority of 55.9% of the vote. It takes no statistical fetishist to acknowledge that, to have claimed such a victory, Galloway would have had to claw a huge chunk from pretty much every 'bloc' going; the White population at 52.6%, or the specifically Christian cohort at 38.9%. Indeed, the student population, at 11%, is reported to have voted highly in Galloway's favour as well. And this is before we even consider Labour&#

So the immortal line, penned by the Squire-Brown combination, eerily asserts, with the very warnings of revolt and expression of contempt for establishment that typified the entirety of the self-titled, Stone Roses debut album. Yet was it every truly curtains for the ol' Hag and her wonderful kinfolk? So wonderful of course, thousands upon thousands of us took to the streets to be adorned by their glorious presence only last year. That the British Monarchy still stands, let alone that Liz&Co. Ltd rakes in an estimated £41.5 million per year in tax revenue , and receives a complementary ceremony in the event of a marriage, courtesy of yours truly, is enough, I will argue, to suggest that the cloth fabric was never even woven, let alone the curtain drawn on the Monarch. I recently attended a Q&A session with David Miliband, who argued the Royal Family's presence was justified by its ability to 'bring people together' and provide a sense of 'Britishness

(Originally printed in The Mancunion: Issue 13, 20th February 2012) The Coalition is struggling. Unemployment claws stubbornly to the eight-percent mark, while national produce, fuelled by falling rates of profit, remains defiantly stagnant. An attempt to rewire the core engines of the UK economy through austerity has failed catastrophically to yield the ‘strong, enterprise-led recovery’ promised by George Osborne in his first budget statement as Chancellor. Unfortunately, it only gets worse; inflation looms well above the Bank of England’s target of two-percent, coupled with decaying wages, serving only to choke living standards for the majority. Yet curiously, the Labour Party, the principle parliamentary opposition to the Con-Lib government, appears utterly unable to establish a strong standing among the British electorate; latest polls suggest Labour to be either level, or a mere percentage-point above the Conservatives. Between the 1997 and 2010 general elections, Labour