feb/march edition

http://www.slaneystreet.com/2015/02/04/call-out-for-new-edition/

do we have a twitter account?

I'm up for writing something about Kerslake.

Would be focusing on how his proposals (and for that matter the very principles upon which his report rests) are anti-democratic, pro-privatisation and are fundamentally geared towards enabling the reshaping of Birmingham in the interests of capital.

If your interested-once you have a better idea of the shape of the paper-let me have a word count.

@joshallen That would be great if you did that. The longest stuff we've ever published in the print edition have been around 1200 words. The best thing to do I think is just write what you want within that maximum word limit and then submit it. Then if it's long what we'll do is when we've got all the articles and are putting the paper together we can consider if any long articles need to be cut to a shortened version or not (the full version can always go on the website).

I think the call out for Saturday's rally should go up on the website now. It is the only serious anti-cuts struggle going on in Birmingham at present, and although the flyer is not an article in the traditional sense, it is important that Slaney identifies with it. After the rally, another report could be written, in the light of the stubborn refusal of Birmingham Labour to offer any resistance to the cuts.
I have already asked Rick Hatcher if we would write an article (for the paper and/or the website) on Kerslake, and he has agreed. Maybe Josh and Rick would come at it from different angles and we make it into a kind of feature in the next edition, as an example of the wrong direction for Birmingham to take and the need to outline an alternative?

No worries Bob.

What I'll do is I'll put together what I had in mind, which sort of used Kerslake more as a segway into the general topic of Birmingham's reshaping by capital, rather than treating the report as a strict topic for anlysis anyway... Then let the editorial board see how it fits together.

It will-without a doubt-be significantly shorter than 1,200 words!

I agree about the Library Campaign BTW... A lot of very good work is being done there. They are probably good people to approach about providing some sponsorship for the issue.

Hello everyone.

I've contacted some people about writing articles, nothing for definite. Black London Revolutionaries seem interested in sending us an article about the Birmingham Ferguson Tour controversies, so that would go well with Alistair's work if it happens.

@bobwhitehead Alice Swift's told me she's too busy to do the Climate Justice vision for Birmingham article herself. Any other ideas for who can do it?

I'd be up for writing something about the climate strike stuff perhaps not sure how relevant it is for the print edition - could also right about birmingham climate justice? what exactly is the brief for it

The idea of the article was that instead of having a ''we're against this and that'' someone would write an article giving a vision of what Birmingham would be like if it enacted the kind of policies Climate Justice wants. Bob was the main person pitching it so he'd probably do it more justice than me.

If we are going to have a focus on the Council cuts (as well as anti-racism), we will need to know the budget details. These could come out by the end of this week, but maybe not until the start of the next week. Going to press without them could be a problem. Might there be a case for pushing back the (real) deadline for a day or two, while keeping Feb 15th as the public one?
Also, attached is the ad from Birmingham Left Unity. Could I have acknowledgement of its reception and a quote for the fee? I say this because it is unfortunate that the piece that I submitted on the library demo before it (successfully) happened on Saturday seemed to have gotten lost.

Here are two articles for Slaney on Kerslake by Richard Hatcher. The shorter one is for the paper, but the longer one is for the website and can go up immediately.
I will be doing an article on the libraries for Sunday, and I have asked Jolyon to do one on this year's cuts in general.
Can I ask again, what is the cost of the LU advert, so I can get the money to you asap? I might have another advert in the pipeline as well. The LU ad is for a quarter page. I know a half page is £70, but am I right in assuming a quarter page is £35?

How is this edition going to be funded? Was there any discussion of that? If you have a plan don't bother replying to me, I just couldn't see it in the minutes.

i've been havin' a go but i'd be happy to hear any suggestions tbh.

There are a couple of bugs that Richard has spotted in the Kerslake article. Can someone remove them?

"Bizarrely, the following sentence has intruded into the article, I don't know where from: 'The problem with the UAF demonstrations is that it can’t be said to be building socialism any form. ' !!

And the following subheading needs to be in bold: '2. Kerslake says: External partners not only as providers of services but as partners in the governance of the city' "

Sorry Bob that was my fault, fixed it. I shall be more vigilant against intruder sentences in future...

Do thank Richard for his article it's very good and has shared well.

This is Ioana's article on self-employment.

And here is my article on the libraries.

The attached photo should say "Save our libraries", with an "s". It is not a spelling mistake, the "s" got hidden by the curled banner

Jack Copley's article

Hi all,

       a while back I approached Chris Moore-the Director of UoB's Centre for Modern British Studies-for comment about the Library of Birmingham cuts. It was for a piece a wrote for a national. 

He came back with quite a good short comment. Of which,unfortunately, I was only able to use the most merge fragments.

Here it is:

'The Library of Birmingham is a brilliant resource for the city of Birmingham. For those of us working in the Modern British Studies at the University of Birmingham its collections and the staff are vital resources for us. The Library allows us to research the history of our city, access to its collections ensures that the history of Britain is written from multiple sites and perspectives, it provides inspirational resources for our students and helps us attract visiting scholars from across the world.
The Library is vital point of contact between the University and the city. It allows us to speak with and listen to those off our campus. At a moment when academics are increasingly under pressure to produce work with ‘impact’ value, it seems highly counter-intuitive that a source of significant impact is to be weakened.

The reduction of library services would be a huge loss to us at Modern British Studies, but it would be crippling for the important local and community history work going on there. Its Connecting Histories workshops have provided training and opened to recourses that have empowered different groups from the city, making them feel involved and engaged with national and local culture. The fantastic staff, fascinating resources and ethos of accessibility have made this possible. It seems that a politics of ‘austerity’ has once again led to the prioritization of short-termist financial-oriented viewpoints triumphing over long-term social visions for the city and the people living and working in it.'

It clocks in at just over 200 words. As such I was wondering whether, with or without a spot of judicious editing, it might work as a short "comment box" (a'la the tabloids) next to Bob's larger article about the library cuts?

If your interested I'm happy to approach Chris about reproducing. From what I know of him he's in sympathy with Slaney; so it should be freely given.

Here's my 'people before the economy'. Note to the editors, this is part 1 of a Left Unity pamphlet. Part 2 will make up a second article with a different title and outlook altogether, so it won't be necessary to publish this one as Part 1. However, the second article will make reference to the first if that's ok.

Do we have a date for printing? And is help wanted in the meantime?

could people please e-mail these articles to the slaney street e-mail instead of posting them on the loomio? this makes it easier for me to keep track of everything. i'd also ask @bobwhitehead that you don't e-mail me personally with article for this same reason - it's really confusing!

i have a massive problem in the sense that i'll be doing a feminist speaker tour for NCAFC 20th-27th which is the week when we should be putting the paper together. i'll try to be free towards the end of that time, though, and will be contactable via the internet during this time.

Haven't fixed a date yet Bob but aiming to be ready to go by the weekend.

I am creating a new thread now with a Google Doc of the articles as they have been submitted so everyone can view. There's a few articles out there apparently which haven't made their way to the Slaney Street email yet.

Sorry Helena

I can give some time today and tomorrow for the paper, and maybe Sunday. Could have some £££ as well.

if you could go on the advertising thread @bobwhitehead and see if you can drum us up some more advertisers? that would be the most useful thing at the moment :)