"Right..Lenin, Keir Hardie, James Connolly, AJ Cook, and you George on t'banner, I think that'll Scotch the 'Lurch towards Reformism' Rumours"

Thanks to my old pal Dr. Don Watson for sending on this little gem to the "Unrepentant Communist" site.

"Follonsby Lodge of the Durham Miners Association, at Wardley near Gateshead, Tyne and Wear, was one of only three in the British coalfield to feature Lenin on its banner.It was also the only one to include the Irish revolutionary James Connolly, executed after theEaster Rising. The other figures on it are Keir Hardie, 1920's miners' leader AJ Cook, and FollonsbyLodge Secretary George Harvey. A syndicalist before 1917, Harvey was a founder member of the Communist Party who later became a Labour Councillor. In 1935 he led a long and successful strike against victimisation. In 1936 his Lodge gave much practical support to local men taking part in theHunger March to London to protest against joblessness and the treatment of the unemployed. After the second world war when the British coal industry was nationalised, Lenin and Connolly were replaced on the banner by images of Durham Miners Association officials." (picture from W.A. Moyes, 'The BannerBook', Frank Graham, Newcastle-on-Tyne 1974)

IRAQ...OIL...WAR...GREENSPAN JOINS THE DOTS

Vladimir Ilich Lenin who dreamed up that far fetched conspiracy that global conflicts such as the invasion of Iraq, might be about scarce natural resources and markets, might be chuckling up there in the big politburo in the sky, after Alan Greenspan's latest comments. Lenin's 'Imperialism the Highest Stage of Capitalism' widely derided by neo-cons and other running dogs who should know better at websites such as 'Harry'sPlace', http://hurryupharry.bloghouse.net/ ,does'nt appear to be so wide of the mark after all .Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said he told the White House before the Iraq war that removing Saddam Hussein was “essential” to secure world oil supplies, according to an interview published on Monday.Greenspan, who wrote in his memoir that “the Iraq War is largely about oil,” said in a Washington Post interview that he had presented the White House before the 2003 invasion with the case for why removing the then-Iraqi leader was important for the global economy.“I was not saying that that’s the administration’s motive,” Greenspan said in the interview conducted on Saturday. “I’m just saying that if somebody asked me, ’Are we fortunate in taking out Saddam?’ I would say it was essential.”
In his new book “The Age of Turbulence: Adventures in a New World,” Greenspan wrote: “I’m saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: The Iraq war is largely about oil.” Unsurprisingly embarrassed U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Sunday rejected the comment, which echoed long-held complaints of many critics that a key motivating force in the war was to maintain U.S. access to the rich oil supplies in Iraq.
Appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” Gates said, “I have a lot of respect for Mr. Greenspan.” But he disagreed with his comment about oil being a leading motivating factor in the war.
“I know the same allegation was made about the Gulf War in 1991, and I just don’t believe it’s true,” Gates said.“I think that it’s really about stability in the Gulf. It’s about rogue regimes trying to develop weapons of mass destruction. ( Are they still trying to spin THAT line!) It’s about aggressive dictators,” Gates said. Alan Greenspan retired in January 2006 after more than 18 years as chairman of the Fed, the U.S. central bank, which regulates monetary policy., He has been conducting a round of interviews coinciding with the release of his book, which goes on sale today .

SO ALAN, YOU TOLD THEM WHY THEY SHOULD DO IT BUT THEY WENT AHEAD AND DID IT BUT FOR A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT REASON- IT MUST HAVE BEEN TOUGH BEING SO MARGINALISED AND LITTLE LISTENED TO IN YOUR PERIPHERAL POST AS CHAIR OF THE FED....NO WONDER YOU RETIRED...