Several important points today: firstly... the collective lounge is getting better and better... well done to whoever it is who is running this thing, mike?, phil? chief suspects.

I asked all of my english classes to write a letter to Tony Blair on a subject of their choice... here is one of the best:

Mr Blair. I don´t like the war and I think that the war is useless.
Every day, in the war, many fanmilies die and the people aren´t happy.
Blair, the money aren´t very important. You are the war for mony but the people don´t want this money.
Every world say "no war" but you don´t listen off your country.
The manifestations are very important but you are the war.
You Bush and Aznar aren´t good persons.
You only think in money but you don´t think in the people of Irak.
In Irak every childrens die but they don´t do anythinkg.
You must talk with Bush, Aznar and Sadam and to be friends.
The people think that you are crazy.
You Aznar, Bush and Blair are crazy.
The people die and the people aren´t crazy, but you are crazy and you are happy.

Alicia Calvache (12)

Last night I went to see Bowling for Columbine, which I thought was excellent. It was moving, amusing without trivialising the subject matter, informative etc etc. Michael Moore is one of those clever men who come across as stupid to get into situations an obviously astute journalist couldn´t. I think we should award him an "Inquiry Award". There was some talk of stripping him of his oscar which is not surprising considering the nature of his film and of the state of the media and public opinion in the USA. Moores analysis of the culture of fear and suspicion that has been created in the US is fascinating and revealing. It also reveals the growing acceptance as truth that the US intervened in many Latin American, Asian and African countries with disasterous results, these types of comments were not as widely accepted and known a few years ago. It was not good practice to publish these kinds of "rumours" or "conspiracy theories" until very recently... now they have won an oscar. I have been looking for an interesting quote from Colin Powell who said to a journalist, when asked about Chile 1972 and Pinochet that that was not a part of America´s history that he was proud of... he was quickly rapped over the knuckles by Kissinger and co. who issued a number of statements denying any connection with the coup...

The "Sintel saga" continues in Spain. Sintel was a telecomunications company that was taken over by Telefonica, the State telecomunications corporation, 3 or 4 thousand workers were laid off in the process. They have been fighting for years to be reinstated. The unions reached a deal with Telfonica and the Government... who have failed to act on their promises in the deal. The unions in question, UGT and CCOO are two of the biggest and apparently most powerful in Spain have washed their hands of the whole affair, ignoring the failure by the company and government to fulfil their end of the bargain, the protesters having stopped an 8 month camping protest on one of Madrid´s central boulevards. Here is some background:
On the camp
On the dispute
On the 1st of May worker´s march, a former Sintel worker violently attacked the leader of one of the unions who had effectively abandoned this case and left the former sintel workers with nothing and their social security payments running out. (left on left conflict...). Here is a news article in Spanish about the incedent. (sorry, couldn´t find a better source)