Spot the Difference!
The top picture shows the controversial waxwork exhibit of Adolf Hitler at Madame Tussauds Berlin which opened on Saturday 5th July 2008
The bottom picture shows the same exhibit a few minutes after the opening after a local anti-fascist ripped Hitler's head off!
Oldham TUC applauds our German comrade for a fine gesture!
It is heartwarming to see that decent Germans are still appalled at their country's imperial past - an example that some people in several other countries would do well to follow
Short Story: The Manager
A man in a hot air balloon realised he was lost. He reduced altitude and
spotted a woman below.
He descended a bit more and shouted, "Excuse me, can you help me? I
promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I
am."
The woman below replied, "You're in a hot air balloon hovering
approximately 30 feet above the ground. You're between 40 and 41 degrees
north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude."
"You must be in IT," said the balloonist.
"I am," replied the woman, "How did you know?"
"Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically
correct, but I've no idea what to make of your information and the fact
is I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help at all. If
anything, you've delayed my trip."
The woman below responded, "You must be in Management."
I am," replied the balloonist, "but how did you know?"
"Well," said the woman, "you don't know where you are or where you're
going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot
air.
You made a promise, which you've no idea how to keep, and you expect
people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in
exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow,
it's my f***ing fault."
Snow Joke! Oldham United Against Racism members visit Stockholm in February 2007 for a meeting of "Antifa-net"
It seemed like a good idea at the time. An invitation to visit Berlin for a meeting of the European network of anti-fascist organisations. To share experiences with our counterparts in every country in Europe where fascists are active, and to do a bit of tourism while we were at it – what could be a finer combination?
Well nothing – except the meeting was switched to Sweden, which is an equally interesting place no doubt, but just somewhat more climatically challenged at this time of year.
Undaunted, our two intrepid delegates set off from Oldham and arrived in Stockholm to find the ground thickly snow-covered.
It was cold.
Cold.
Not just bog standard cold like we have here you understand. After all, we Oldhamers know a thing or two about cold weather don’t we. Especially we who remember with fondness those winter days at Watersheddings when rugby was played at the proper time of year and Oldham had a proper team…
Sorry I digress. Now back to the cold in Sweden.
This was not the sort of cold that nips away at your fingers and other dangly bits like a playful puppy. Oh no! This was something else. This was mind-numbing, excruciating, stupefying cold. The sort of cold that snatches you by the neck, slams you against a wall and demands "Who you lookin’ at?!!!" That sort of cold!
Stupidly, I had not thought to pack a pair of gloves. With global warming, you hardly need them in this country now. But bizarrely, our Swedish hosts told us that Stockholm is much colder than it’s supposed to be at this time of year. There was in fact an 18 degrees differential between the UK and Sweden at the time.
I tried swinging my arms and stamping my feet to get my circulation going. But clapping my bare hands only succeeded in showering frost-bitten fingers all around.
Okay, so I am exaggerating. But only a bit, and I soon broke into my Swedish currency to purchase a pair of woolly gloves. What a relief!
Having become acclimatised – sort of – we could concentrate on finding our way around and meeting people ahead of the meeting itself. Stockholm is a very clean and well-maintained city. The people seem hard working and good-natured. Difficult to believe that they have their own Nazis in fact. However the comrades from Expo – the Swedish counterpart to our own Searchlight magazine – had recently mobilised the Swedish end of Antifa-net to counter a fascist march in the old city (see some anti-fascist graffiti in the photograph).
For security reasons I can’t give any details of the meeting and its participants – suffice it to say that it was useful for all concerned, and support will be channelled to the areas most in need of outside help.
There was time left for doing touristy things on the Monday after the meeting. Unfortunately, Monday is the day when virtually all the Stockholm tourist attractions shut. All except one - the open air museum on Skansen island! Having staggered around in the snow for two hours looking at the few Scandinavian animals that didn't have the good sense to be hibernating for the winter it was a relief to find some town buildings to look inside and get warm for a bit. One of these was the Engineering workshop, which was themed around the 1920's, and contained a machine shop with working milling machines, lathes, drills and all - powered by authentic belt drives! This was interesting in its own right, but we had a pleasant surprise at the back of the workshop when we found a small display of trade union and anti-fascist posters. We came out feeling all aglow!
Quite a heart-warming experience over the whole trip I would say - which was just as well considering the temperature!
Oldham TUC, through Oldham United Against Racism, tries to involve well-known figures from outside the "usual suspects" of politics to add their weight to the campaign to stop the BNP at election time. One such supporter was Guardian cartoonist David Austin, who sadly died last year. David was pleased when we asked if we could use some of his work in our local election publicity. A couple of examples - with slight modifications to fit with real events in Oldham - are reproduced below:
