# Maoists in Brixton



## Orang Utan (Jul 24, 2013)

Did you know there was a Maoist community centre in Acre Lane in the 70s, that got raided and shut down by the  SPG? 
Curious!
http://www.marxists.org/history/erol/uk.hightide/closure.htm


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## butchersapron (Jul 24, 2013)

Do see this (pdf - only one page though). I like the _Communist league 1975 - Bland._


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## Pickman's model (Jul 24, 2013)

Orang Utan said:


> Did you know there was a Maoist community centre in Acre Lane in the 70s, that got raided and shut down by the SPG?
> Curious!
> http://www.marxists.org/history/erol/uk.hightide/closure.htm


now go down the lambeth archives and get the south london press version of events


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## Winot (Jul 24, 2013)

butchersapron said:


> Do see this (pdf - only one page though). I like the _Communist league 1975 - Bland._


 
"splitters"


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## The39thStep (Jul 24, 2013)

butchersapron said:


> Do see this (pdf - only one page though). I like the _Communist league 1975 - Bland._


 
Much to be said for Stockports key role in launching the Revolutionary Internationalist Contingent 1984 later Revolutionary Communist Maoists (MLM)


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## The39thStep (Jul 24, 2013)

This is an example of  the insightful and decisive revolutionary leadership that the 21st century left seem to lack these days:

http://www.bannedthought.net/International/RIM/AWTW/1982-P2/AWTW-P2-Britain.pdf


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## JimW (Jul 24, 2013)

Made me look up this image of a visiting delegation outside the Chinese embassy in 1967 (was it still Portland Place back then?):
http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail...he-londons-chinese-embassy-news-photo/3349978


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## el-ahrairah (Jul 24, 2013)

i think what brixton needs is some Maoism.  i might restart this organisation.


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## Gramsci (Jul 24, 2013)

Orang Utan said:


> Did you know there was a Maoist community centre in Acre Lane in the 70s, that got raided and shut down by the SPG?
> Curious!
> http://www.marxists.org/history/erol/uk.hightide/closure.htm


 
On google maps 140 Acre lane is on the corner of Solon road and Acre lane. Interesting they were not squatting but had a lease.

I do remember there used to be what I think were Maoists holding demos to support the "Shining Path" guerillas in Peru.

My Chinese friend says here parents generation do not talk about what happened during the Cultural Revolution.


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## Gramsci (Jul 24, 2013)

JimW said:


> Made me look up this image of a visiting delegation outside the Chinese embassy in 1967 (was it still Portland Place back then?):


 
Looks like it from the doorway. Will have a look next time I cycle by.


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## JimW (Jul 24, 2013)

Gramsci said:


> Looks like it from the doorway. Will have a look next time I cycle by.


 
Oh yeah, now you mention it that does look right.


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## trabuquera (Jul 24, 2013)

el-ahrairah said:


> i think what brixton needs is some Maoism. i might restart this organisation.


 
Be careful what you wish for. Maoist retro chic is soooooo fashion-forward these days. you might end up with a nightmare commune of h*psters who just love the iconography, man. And find black pyjama suits enviably minimalist.


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## el-ahrairah (Jul 24, 2013)

trabuquera said:


> Be careful what you wish for. Maoist retro chic is soooooo fashion-forward these days. you might end up with a nightmare commune of h*psters who just love the iconography, man.


 
That's what I'm hoping for.  Then I'll Cultural Revolution the _living fuck_ out of them.


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## Orang Utan (Jul 24, 2013)

Grub ogiveszfohh8£ thou (86


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## JimW (Jul 24, 2013)

Xi Jingping visited one of Mao's former residences the other day and there were a fair few 'Mao Zedong Thought lives on forever in the people's hearts' in the online comments to that I noticed.


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## CH1 (Jul 24, 2013)

Gramsci said:


> On google maps 140 Acre lane is on the corner of Solon road and Acre lane. Interesting they were not squatting but had a lease.


 
Wasn't there some sort of Che Guevara mural on the (rounded) corner of the building. Seem to distantly recall. Surely there must be a pic somewhere?


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## Santino (Jul 24, 2013)

Orang Utan said:


> Grub ogiveszfohh8£ thou (86


That's easy for you to say.


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## Orang Utan (Jul 24, 2013)

Sorry, my phone is possessed and keeps trying to summon up the Deep Ones


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## JimW (Jul 24, 2013)

Orang Utan said:


> Sorry, my phone is possessed and keeps trying to summon up the Deep Ones


 
So how much grub do you get for thousands 86?


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## Orang Utan (Jul 24, 2013)

An Unnamable Abundance Of Squamous and Noisome Morsels


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## Puddy_Tat (Jul 24, 2013)

gratuitous cat cartoon






(B Kliban)

(and waves hello to Orang Utan - not noticed you round these parts for a while)


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## Manter (Jul 24, 2013)

Orang Utan said:


> Grub ogiveszfohh8£ thou (86


some of your best work....


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## ibilly99 (Jul 24, 2013)

JimW said:


> Made me look up this image of a visiting delegation outside the Chinese embassy in 1967 (was it still Portland Place back then?):


BTW Getty Images are very litigious about using their images probably best to take it down before they find it.
http://meronbareket.com/getty-images-demand/


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## Gramsci (Jul 24, 2013)

el-ahrairah said:


> i think what brixton needs is some Maoism. i might restart this organisation.


 
As I have Chinese friend I have read up more on recent Chinese history.

Mao attempted through mass mobilization to match the Soviet Union in development of agriculture and industry. The "Great Leap Forward". Mao thought that Soviet Union had not progressed to full communism. That China through mobilizing the masses could move to full communism in a matter of years. Maoism was born from years of hard times fighting against the Nationalist forces. When the Communists won and drove the Nationalist to Taiwan these communist were hardened revolutionaries.

The Great Leap Forward was a disaster. Not due to the authoritarian methods but the economic failings for the plan. Peasants were forced from growing crops to building useless large scale projects like dams. That were badly designed and mainly useless.

This caused widespread starvation. Mao almost lost power.

Mao was not an "emporer" but a moderniser of Chinese society. Even if he failed in many area. China is mainly secular and woman have more independence now. For better or worse Maoism left a mark on Chinese society. Even now. The Chinese communist party, still has a few survivors of Mao rule, have used capitalist methods under there control to modernise China. But there are similarities to Maoism.

My Chinese friend grew up in a city built ( her words) by her parents generation. 30 years ago it did not exist. Now its bigger than London. She said people came from all over China to build her city. They speak a form of Mandarin / Cantonese. She does not think liberal democracy will work in China. But growing inequality and the anomie her generation feel is an issue according to her.

Maoism now is not so much a modernizing ideology but a defensive one. The Maoist insurgency in India- the Naxalites- defend indigenous people against big corporations.

So mobilizing the masses to raise peoples living standards, the use of force through party cadres rather than an independent state legal system ( the rule of law) and a goal to reach for are still in our chaotic capitalist world not to be just dismissed.


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## Gramsci (Jul 24, 2013)

The39thStep said:


> This is an example of the insightful and decisive revolutionary leadership that the 21st century left seem to lack these days:
> 
> http://www.bannedthought.net/International/RIM/AWTW/1982-P2/AWTW-P2-Britain.pdf


 
Only front page on this pdf.


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## Gramsci (Jul 24, 2013)

Orang Utan said:


> Did you know there was a Maoist community centre in Acre Lane in the 70s, that got raided and shut down by the SPG?
> Curious!
> http://www.marxists.org/history/erol/uk.hightide/closure.htm


 
Trying to work out what Three World Theory is. Seems like it was controversial in Marxist circles. As says Soviet Union is (was) First world and imperialist power.

So put forward in 70s. 





> Mao Tsetung put forward the theory of three worlds. He said, “In my view, the United States and the Soviet Union form the first world. Japan, Europe and Canada, the middle section, belong to the second world.” “The third world has a huge population. With the exception of Japan, Asia belongs to the third world. The whole of Africa be-, longs to the third world, and Latin America, too.” (Chairman Mao’s talk with a third world leader, February 1974)
> The first world, the two superpowers, are the biggest imperialists in the world today. Their economic strength far outweighs the other, capitalist countries; together they account for 40% of the world’s gross national product total. The contradiction between the two superpowers is sharpening to the point of another world war. The United States has the biggest empire, but the Soviet Union (a monopoly capitalist country that has betrayed the October Revolution) is driven to re-divide empires forcibly in proportion to its own immense weight among capitalist countries.
> The third world makes up the vast majority of the world’s population, and its political awakening has made it a powerful force behind national liberation wars, economic struggles against the multinational corporations and political exposure of the two superpowers’ crimes against peace and humanity.


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## Jean-Luc (Jul 24, 2013)

According to this, they were the model for the Citizen Smith and the Tooting Popular Front. They had contested the Lambeth Central by-election in April 1978 as the "South London Peoples Front" and got 38 votes. Interesting who the other candidates were, including Corin Redgrave.


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## leanderman (Jul 25, 2013)

Gramsci said:


> This caused widespread starvation. Mao almost lost power ... For better or worse Maoism left a mark on Chinese society.



I'll say! Up to 45million people lost their lives through this widespread starvation. (Lowest estimate 18m, three times the Holocaust).


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## Orang Utan (Jul 25, 2013)

For a better cause though


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## JimW (Jul 25, 2013)

ibilly99 said:


> BTW Getty Images are very litigious about using their images probably best to take it down before they find it.
> http://meronbareket.com/getty-images-demand/


Blimey, I'll swap it for a link then since it's not exactly that important.


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## JimW (Jul 25, 2013)

Gramsci said:


> ...
> \
> My Chinese friend grew up in a city built ( her words) by her parents generation. 30 years ago it did not exist. Now its bigger than London. She said people came from all over China to build her city. They speak a form of Mandarin / Cantonese. ...


 
Sounds like Shenzhen?


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## The39thStep (Jul 25, 2013)

Gramsci said:


> Only front page on this pdf.


 
er... that  is the the entire statement


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## seventh bullet (Jul 25, 2013)

Gramsci said:


> Maoism now is not so much a modernizing ideology but a defensive one. *The Maoist insurgency in India- the Naxalites- defend indigenous people against big corporations*.


 
It's a little bit more complicated than that. 

Naxalism is varied and has a decades-long history of disagreements and splits (including violence) as well.  I think you're referring to the main armed organisation currently fighting the Indian government, that being the Communist Party of India (Maoist).


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## Gramsci (Jul 25, 2013)

JimW said:


> Sounds like Shenzhen?


 
Yes it is. To be honest I had never heard of it until I met my Chinese friend.

There is a whole lot of recent Chinese history that in the West is under reported.


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## JimW (Jul 25, 2013)

Gramsci said:


> Yes it is. To be honest I had never heard of it until I met my Chinese friend.
> 
> There is a whole lot of recent Chinese history that in the West is under reported.


 
I was a boomtown out of what had previously been just a fishing village IIRC in the post-reform period, location chosen as it's just over the border from HK. Loads of people from across the country went there to make it rich and it had a pretty well deserved reputation for gangsterism, corruption and excess for a long while too. Think it's where Deng did his famous appearance on his Southern Tour in the early '90s to get the 'reform' (= market restoration) back on track after 89 social movement had emboldened conservatives.


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## Gramsci (Jul 25, 2013)

leanderman said:


> I'll say! Up to 45million people lost their lives through this widespread starvation. (Lowest estimate 18m, three times the Holocaust).


 
Have you read Frank Dikotter book Maos Great Famine? Goes into this. The archives were accessible to him in China.


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## Gramsci (Jul 25, 2013)

JimW said:


> I was a boomtown out of what had previously been just a fishing village IIRC in the post-reform period, location chosen as it's just over the border from HK. Loads of people from across the country went there to make it rich and it had a pretty well deserved reputation for gangsterism, corruption and excess for a long while too. Think it's where Deng did his famous appearance on his Southern Tour in the early '90s to get the 'reform' (= market restoration) back on track after 89 social movement had emboldened conservatives.


 
My friends family were early pioneers. So I get impression they are relatively well off. She says there are still a lot of migrant workers in city. So when its holiday time the city is half empty.

She never said anything about gangsterism.

Its a staggering city to look at. Seen photos.

But as she says it all about work and making money. She says people do not have ideals like in old days.


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## JimW (Jul 25, 2013)

Gramsci said:


> Have you read Frank Dikotter book Maos Great Famine? Goes into this. The archives were accessible to him in China.


 
I'm not keen on him (met him too actually, he was at SOAS when I was), he's a terrible axe-grinder and inflates the figures when not doing so is damning enough, but his overall conclusion in that is about right IIRC, that it was policy-driven because cadres were enforcing unrealistic quotas often with violence even when people were starving.
Here's a critique from a demographer that goes into how Dikotter likely massages the figures:


> MGF may become the best-known account of the GLF famine for a while. But should it? it is not a comprehensive account of the famine; it is dismissive of academic work on the topic; it is weak on context and unreliable with data; and it fails to note that many of the horrors it describes were recurrent features of Chinese history during the previous century or so. more attention to economic history and geography and to the comparative history of famines would have made for a much more useful book...
> 
> None of this absolves Mao from responsibility for the policies that caused the greatest famine ever. But reckless miscalculation and culpable ignorance are not quite the same as deliberately or knowingly starving millions (Jin 2009: 152). Few of the countless deaths in 1959–61 were sanctioned or ordained from the center in the sense that deaths in the Soviet Gulag or the Nazi gas chambers were.
> MGF’s reliance on fresh archival sources and interviews and its extensive bibliography of Chinese-language items are impressive, but its bite-size chapters (thirty-seven in all) and breathless prose style—replete with expressions like ”plummeted,” ”rocketed,” ”beaten to a pulp,” ”beaten black and blue,” ”frenzy,” “ceaseless,” ”frenzied witch-hunt”—are often more reminiscent of the tabloid press than the standard academic monograph.


Full review here in PDF: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2011.00398.x/pdf


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## seventh bullet (Jul 25, 2013)

It'd be around ten percent of the population lost to the famine. Seems too high to me.


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## Gramsci (Jul 26, 2013)

JimW said:


> I'm not keen on him (met him too actually, he was at SOAS when I was), he's a terrible axe-grinder and inflates the figures when not doing so is damning enough, but his overall conclusion in that is about right IIRC, that it was policy-driven because cadres were enforcing unrealistic quotas often with violence even when people were starving.
> Here's a critique from a demographer that goes into how Dikotter likely massages the figures:
> 
> Full review here in PDF: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1728-4457.2011.00398.x/pdf


 
Thanks will have look at this.

My criticism of Dikotter is that throughout a lot of the book his axe to grind is to show how State control and management leads to economic mistakes. Without explicity saying so he has a free market ideology he wants to show is better than state management.


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## JimW (Jul 26, 2013)

Gramsci said:


> Thanks will have look at this.
> 
> My criticism of Dikotter is that throughout a lot of the book his axe to grind is to show how State control and management leads to economic mistakes. Without explicity saying so he has a free market ideology he wants to show is better than state management.


 
Yep, that's mine too and it's fairly blatant in some of his other work IIRC - he did a contrarian retake on the Opium Wars which I've not read but listened to him doing an hour-plus lecture on at a uni in HK that was a bit of free trade special pleading as I recall.
Various historians of famine have pointed out that even with the biggest policy driven disaster as China had, it still starved less people in the three decades of high Maoism than a comparable populous nation like India did over the same years (if you look at excess mortality due to poor/inadequate nutrition), and it was those state-led interventions that led to the massive drop in mortality over the longer haul of them decades in the PRC. Of course there's a lot more to say than that - did it the successes have to be made in the form that also did play a part in the utter failure, etc. - but as O Grada points out, Dikotter seems determined to isolate the GL famines from a longer economic history.


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## Gramsci (Jul 26, 2013)

JimW said:


> Yep, that's mine too and it's fairly blatant in some of his other work IIRC - he did a contrarian retake on the Opium Wars which I've not read but listened to him doing an hour-plus lecture on at a uni in HK that was a bit of free trade special pleading as I recall.
> Various historians of famine have pointed out that even with the biggest policy driven disaster as China had, it still starved less people in the three decades of high Maoism than a comparable populous nation like India did over the same years (if you look at excess mortality due to poor/inadequate nutrition), and it was those state-led interventions that led to the massive drop in mortality over the longer haul of them decades in the PRC. Of course there's a lot more to say than that - did it the successes have to be made in the form that also did play a part in the utter failure, etc. - but as O Grada points out, Dikotter seems determined to isolate the GL famines from a longer economic history.


 
Also reading Dikotters book it came across that there was dissent in the party about Mao policies. It would have been good if he had gone into this more. As I do not think it was something that happened in the Soviet Union when forced collectivization and similar grain requisitions caused starvation in the Ukraine in the 30s. By that time Stalin had eliminated any serious opposition in the party.

I also wonder if the Cultural Revolution was a response to the weakening of Mao’s power after the failure of the "Great Leap Forward". As the book says some of the more vocal party members who criticized the failures of the Great Leap Forward suffered during the Cultural Revolution.

If Mao had not rejected the Soviet and East European advisers who came to China to help modernise the economy and build up heavy industry, due to his mistrust of the Soviet Union, then I do not think the worst excesses of the famine would have happened.

I get the impression from my Chinese friend that the Maoist period is as little understood by her generation as it is to westerners. She was in the north of China recently and took some photos on large Maoist murals on sides of buildings. I get the impression for her its this distant period in China that she does not know what to make of. But one where people had ideals. Her generation grew up in the period of reforms by the post Maoist leadership. She said in Chinese education system you are not taught to be to critical. So new generation do not have skills to look critically at social problems in modern China.


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## seventh bullet (Jul 27, 2013)

Gramsci said:


> Also reading Dikotters book it came across that there was dissent in the party about Mao policies. It would have been good if he had gone into this more. As I do not think it was something that happened in the Soviet Union when forced collectivization and similar grain requisitions caused starvation in the Ukraine in the 30s. By that time Stalin had eliminated any serious opposition in the party.
> 
> I also wonder if the Cultural Revolution was a response to the weakening of Mao’s power after the failure of the "Great Leap Forward". As the book says some of the more vocal party members who criticized the failures of the Great Leap Forward suffered during the Cultural Revolution.
> 
> ...


 
More was yet to come in the USSR, although opposition was dealt with inside the party but not popularly outside of it. The theoretical underpinnings of the following terror were something that Stalin genuinely took seriously and believed in as well, despite the absurdity of its excesses. He believed it was inevitable, and it wasn't an innovation of his either, as is sometimes thought.

As socialism approaches (or socialism as they understood it to be) the struggle sharpens to a heightened level, that in their desperation the defeated residue of enemy classes give out a last gasp of resistance. What Georgy Plekhanov earlier called the 'energy of despair.'

It wasn't all just cynical moves to eliminate real and imagined enemies, even though from where we are it can look that way and the fact that the majority of people who died were innocent of the crimes they were accused of committing.

The Cultural Revolution didn't follow along the exact same lines, the circumstances in China and cleavages were different, and for a period of time took a different form with top-encouraged attacks on the bureaucracy 'from below,' but that belief was there too.

ETA: Post went a bit weird.


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## Belushi (Nov 25, 2013)

Bumped because theyre back in the news


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## Red Storm (Nov 25, 2013)

On what grounds was their HQ raided?


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## SovietArmy (Nov 25, 2013)

Well all slavery propaganda I don't even believed in the first place, this is slowly war  against socialist, communist, and other left wing intellectuals.


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## toph (Nov 25, 2013)

SovietArmy said:


> Well all slavery propaganda I don't even believed in the first place, this is slowly war  against socialist, communist, and other left wing intellectuals.



A 30 year "bringing them down from the inside" thing?


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## Pickman's model (Nov 25, 2013)

SovietArmy said:


> Well all slavery propaganda I don't even believed in the first place, this is slowly war  against socialist, communist, and other left wing intellectuals.


i see they've left you well alone


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## Gramsci (Nov 26, 2013)

Was half listening to World Service when I heard Brixton and Maoists. They had a piece on them.


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## Onket (Nov 26, 2013)

In The Metro today and I saw over someone's shoulder that it was in The S*n yesterday.

Knocking one out over the possible link to Citizen Smith. 

The papers were, not me.


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## Onket (Nov 26, 2013)

Double post.


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## CH1 (Nov 26, 2013)

My mate who is a Telegraph reading ex-LBL councillor was speculating that the alleged slave cult were originally squatting in Villa Road or somewhere like that and rehoused by Lambeth into Peckford Place - a somewhat chichi new-build Metropolitan development for the older resident - solar roof panels etc.
He also said the Police could end up with egg on their face. Given the published contents of "letters to a neighbour" the so-called cult leader(s) could claim to be looking after a vulnerable woman rather than keeping her enslaved.
I think there are interesting parallels with domestic abuse. These enslaved women seem to have been unhappy yet toed the line within a quasi-family relationship for 30 years and couldn't do anything about it apparently. Now they perceive this to be a form of control and intimidation.


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## CH1 (Nov 26, 2013)

Gramsci said:


> Was half listening to World Service when I heard Brixton and Maoists. They had a piece on them.


Channel 4 news had a detailed report yesterday at 7 pm. Interviewed a newsagent in a shop opposite the Acre Lane/Solon Road people's centre. Newsagent was a elderly Jamaican and said he had been given a Little Red Book, though it was "in the basement somewhere". 
The Guardfian has a detailed review here: http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/nov/25/london-slaves-cultlike-political-group
Professor Steve Rayner, who did his PhD thesis on Marxist milinerian groups apparently was interviewed this morning by John Humphrys on the Today programme.


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## ska invita (Nov 27, 2013)

butchersapron said:


> Do see this (pdf - only one page though). I like the _Communist league 1975 - Bland._


There was another family tree of UK splits Ive seen on the boards before, I think you may well have posted it - any chance you could dig that out again? It includes SWP, WRP, that kind of stuff


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## butchersapron (Nov 27, 2013)

ska invita said:


> There was another family tree of UK splits Ive seen on the boards before, I think you may well have posted it - any chance you could dig that out again? It includes SWP, WRP, that kind of stuff


I can only think of this now very outdated one off the top of my head.


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## ska invita (Nov 27, 2013)

butchersapron said:


> I can only think of this now very outdated one off the top of my head.


THats the one, thanks.


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## peterkro (Nov 27, 2013)

CH1 said:


> My mate who is a Telegraph reading ex-LBL councillor was speculating that the alleged slave cult were originally squatting in Villa Road or somewhere like that and rehoused by Lambeth into Peckford Place - a somewhat chichi new-build Metropolitan development for the older resident - solar roof panels etc.
> He also said the Police could end up with egg on their face. Given the published contents of "letters to a neighbour" the so-called cult leader(s) could claim to be looking after a vulnerable woman rather than keeping her enslaved.
> I think there are interesting parallels with domestic abuse. These enslaved women seem to have been unhappy yet toed the line within a quasi-family relationship for 30 years and couldn't do anything about it apparently. Now they perceive this to be a form of control and intimidation.


Bollocks nothing to do with V road.


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## CH1 (Nov 27, 2013)

peterkro said:


> Bollocks nothing to do with V road.


so it now turns out. The proximity of Peckford Place to Villa Road led to that association I reckon.


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## Gramsci (Nov 27, 2013)

sorry cannot get the quotes to work.

Been looking at the what the police are reported to have been saying.

The first day they say this is worst case of servitude they have seen.

Next day they so its far to simple to see this as domestic servitude.

Also they say there is no evidence of sexual abuse.

The polce are going to have to prove that these women were held without access to the outside world. As in recent cases in Austria and US.

Otherwise what will be the charges?


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## CH1 (Nov 27, 2013)

Gramsci said:


> sorry cannot get the quotes to work.


Yesterday's report in the Standard is much more troubling: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crim...ath-fall-at-suspect-couples-home-8964340.html
Seems the younger woman might be the daughter of a cult member who committed suicide. The leaders then kept her - didn't declare she existed or send her to school. This would of course be criminal on their part - and negligence on the part of Lambeth.


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## butchersapron (Nov 27, 2013)

The girl would have been 14 when her mum died (13 when the accident happened). So should already have been on someones books.


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## Gramsci (Nov 27, 2013)

CH1 said:


> Yesterday's report in the Standard is much more troubling: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crim...ath-fall-at-suspect-couples-home-8964340.html
> Seems the younger woman might be the daughter of a cult member who committed suicide. The leaders then kept her - didn't declare she existed or send her to school. This would of course be criminal on their part - and negligence on the part of Lambeth.


 
All report say is there was an open verdict.

Still have no idea of what possible charges will be.


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## leanderman (Nov 27, 2013)

CH1 said:


> Yesterday's report in the Standard is much more troubling: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crim...ath-fall-at-suspect-couples-home-8964340.html
> Seems the younger woman might be the daughter of a cult member who committed suicide. The leaders then kept her - didn't declare she existed or send her to school. This would of course be criminal on their part - and negligence on the part of Lambeth.




Lambeth lost track of half the properties it owned - no surprise that children also got 'lost'.


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## CH1 (Nov 27, 2013)

Gramsci said:


> All report say is there was an open verdict.
> Still have no idea of what possible charges will be.


The open verdict is open - it doesn't mean not a suicide.
Presumably the police will be investigating. But after all this time there will be scant evidence. The Malaysian woman may be the key to unravelling it all.


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## leanderman (Nov 27, 2013)

CH1 said:


> The open verdict is open - it doesn't mean not a suicide.
> Presumably the police will be investigating. But after all this time there will be scant evidence. The Malaysian woman may be the key to unravelling it all.



Yes. Things like this never go away.


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## el-ahrairah (Nov 27, 2013)

el-ahrairah said:


> i think what brixton needs is some Maoism.  i might restart this organisation.



I think now is definitely the time.  you can't buy media coverage like this.


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## CH1 (Nov 27, 2013)

el-ahrairah said:


> I think now is definitely the time.  you can't buy media coverage like this.


You could start a branch of Naxalites. Been popular in India for years: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naxalite
The name has the added advantage that is sounds as though it has Bob Marley links.


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## leanderman (Nov 27, 2013)

Old Comrade Bala was almost right about one thing: that the Chinese would invade London. Only problem is they're armed with cheque books rather than guns!


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## butchersapron (Nov 27, 2013)

leanderman said:


> Old Comrade Bala was almost right about one thing: that the Chinese would invade London. Only problem is they're armed with cheque books rather than guns!


God but you're a dick.


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## ibilly99 (Nov 28, 2013)

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/lond...was-jesus-and-ran-cult-like-army-8966710.html

It would have only been a matter of time before the PRC Army liberated Brixton from the revanchist forces of running dog Hipsterdom - sadly now with the incarceration of Comrade Bala by the forces of western imperialism the struggle have experienced a temporary setback on the road to proletarian democratic liberation.


----------



## Dexter Deadwood (Nov 29, 2013)

Comrade Bala is not incarcerated neither has he been charged with any offence.


----------



## Johnny Canuck3 (Nov 29, 2013)

JimW said:


> Made me look up this image of a visiting delegation outside the Chinese embassy in 1967 (was it still Portland Place back then?):
> http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail...he-londons-chinese-embassy-news-photo/3349978


 
The only face with even a vague smile on it in that image... is Mao's.


----------



## Johnny Canuck3 (Nov 29, 2013)

leanderman said:


> I'll say! Up to 45million people lost their lives through this widespread starvation. (Lowest estimate 18m, three times the Holocaust).


 
The Cultural Revolution was no picnic, either.


----------



## Johnny Canuck3 (Nov 29, 2013)

ibilly99 said:


> http://www.standard.co.uk/news/lond...was-jesus-and-ran-cult-like-army-8966710.html
> 
> It would have only been a matter of time before the PRC Army liberated Brixton from the revanchist forces of running dog Hipsterdom - sadly now with the incarceration of Comrade Bala by the forces of western imperialism the struggle have experienced a temporary setback on the road to proletarian democratic liberation.





I always thought that this was CG.


----------



## Johnny Canuck3 (Nov 29, 2013)

If you watch that video, there are squadrons of female soldiers in miniskirts. I'm not sure if the US or British armies have any miniskirt squadrons.

I wonder if miniskirts are better or worse for overall fighting?


----------



## leanderman (Nov 29, 2013)

Johnny Canuck3 said:


> If you watch that video, there are squadrons of female soldiers in miniskirts. I'm not sure if the US or British armies have any miniskirt squadrons.
> 
> I wonder if miniskirts are better or worse for overall fighting?



Greeks and Romans did pretty well in skirts


----------



## Johnny Canuck3 (Nov 29, 2013)

leanderman said:


> Greeks and Romans did pretty well in skirts


 

Looks like maybe it was for show.



> Yet this is only part of the story. Since there had never existed female militia units, all of the members of this marching unit were recruited from the Chaoyang District, Beijing, and started training for this parade at the end of last December. It can be certain that none of them had ever fired a gun. After the parade, they will go back to civilian life. The red miniskirts they wore were designed specifically for the parade; they were not real militia uniforms at all.
> A similar situation also occurred within the unit of female soldiers. The two women leading the female soldiers were civilians specifically recruited for this parade. After they were selected as the members of that unit, the army immediately prepared the necessary documents to enlist them in the army. Before they were selected for the parade, they were not even women in the military service.


 





http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/china-news/mini-skirts-thomas-edison-lies-told-china-23810.html


----------



## co-op (Nov 29, 2013)

butchersapron said:


> The girl would have been 14 when her mum died (13 when the accident happened). So should already have been on someones books.





leanderman said:


> Lambeth lost track of half the properties it owned - no surprise that children also got 'lost'.



Having had a child in Lambeth in the past 5 years I can tell you the post-natal 'care' is almost non-existent. We had one health visitor come round who was useless and lectured us about how we should ignore the baby if it cried and that was it, not one single other visit, letter, nothing. 

Considering how bad the HV was we were quite happy with that.


----------



## ddraig (Nov 30, 2013)

view from relation in Wales of the possible mother of the 30 yr old who died in the fall

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25162946


----------



## leanderman (Nov 30, 2013)

co-op said:


> Having had a child in Lambeth in the past 5 years I can tell you the post-natal 'care' is almost non-existent. We had one health visitor come round who was useless and lectured us about how we should ignore the baby if it cried and that was it, not one single other visit, letter, nothing.
> 
> Considering how bad the HV was we were quite happy with that.



I think they 'help' only where there is need

If you look competent they leave you alone.


----------



## leanderman (Nov 30, 2013)

ddraig said:


> view from relation in Wales of the possible mother of the 30 yr old who died in the fall
> 
> http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25162946



Looks like Rose really was lost.


----------



## butchersapron (Nov 30, 2013)

Will be interesting to see if anyone can a) turn up sian davies then boyfriend who his family paid money to be strong-armed from the maoists and b) if he's up for talking.


----------



## Gramsci (Nov 30, 2013)

Good article here. Do not always agree with Cohen put on this he is spot on.




> The real cultists are not Maoists, they're CEOs





> The nearest you are likely to come to experiencing life in a dictatorship is at work. Unless you are fortunate, you will discover that the management is the source of all ideas and all power.





> It is not merely that the banking scandals have not led to one prosecution.





> Businesses don't want Utopia. They just want to make money. Dennis Tourish, Britain's best academic authority on how hierarchies enforce obedience, has no problem with the comparison, however. e.


----------



## Dexter Deadwood (Dec 1, 2013)

Gramsci said:


> Good article here. Do not always agree with Cohen put on this he is spot on.



I share your sentiments about Nick Cohen, it's a good article and i am surprised he wrote it.


----------



## DotCommunist (Dec 1, 2013)

> . Dennis Tourish, Britain's best academic authority on how hierarchies enforce obedience, has no problem with the comparison, however. His latest book, _The Dark Side of Transformational Leadership_, puts the Militant Tendency alongside Enron, the mass "revolutionary suicide" by Jim Jones's followers at Jonestown with the mass liquidation of Britain's wealth by the banks



millies as cultish? Never looked that way to me.but then I only know a little bit about the modern sp and not much there so...


----------



## CH1 (Dec 1, 2013)

Went to a lecture by this guy at Conway Hall this morning.
Federico thinks work is an evil cult - and I can't say I disagree.
Some of the Conway Hall regulars were a bit put out - "You're supposed to be lecturing on atheism!"
"How can you be an atheist if you believe in an artificial construct like work?" was his response.


----------



## Gramsci (Dec 1, 2013)

DotCommunist said:


> millies as cultish? Never looked that way to me.but then I only know a little bit about the modern sp and not much there so...



I agree I think its a bit harsh to lump them in with cults.


----------



## Casually Red (Dec 2, 2013)

Johnny Canuck3 said:


> Looks like maybe it was for show.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



it looks like youve quoted a very unreliable source old chap, and a quick scan through its articles tells me its very heavy on the old anti chinese propaganda.

The articles claim that theres never been a female militia is flatly contradicted by the constant existence of these female militia recruitment posters that go back decades.

http://chineseposters.net/themes/womens-militia.php

and according to this article the Clang Roses..or versions thereof...have been marching in that parade as an all female militia unit since 1958

http://www.zonaeuropa.com/20091002_1.htm

it wouldnt surprise me in the slightest if the chinese have stuck a few more photogenic types out front for publicity purposes but the claim theres no female militia units is very easily contradicted by numerous military related articles and photographic evidence . Female army and militia units have always been a feature of communist states going back a very long time. Especially China, who adoted the slogan of _everyones a soldier_ back in the 1950s .


----------



## Johnny Canuck3 (Dec 2, 2013)

Casually Red said:


> it wouldnt surprise me in the slightest if the chinese have stuck a few more photogenic types out front for publicity purposes but the claim theres no female militia units is very easily contradicted by numerous military related articles and photographic evidence . Female army and militia units have always been a feature of communist states going back a very long time. Especially China, who adoted the slogan of _everyones a soldier_ back in the 1950s .



As I recall my thought at the time, it wasn't that there were no female units in the PLA. More that that particular miniskirted formation had more to do with public relations.


----------



## Casually Red (Dec 2, 2013)

i agree its much too photogenic to be totally kosher but the guys article states clearly



> Since there had never existed female militia units



so as thats so demonstrably off the mark  i wouldnt listen to a word of what he says afterwards . I think its more likely they simply told all the homely types to stay at home on the day and promoted a few others to the front not entirely on military prowess. The population is massive as massive can be and theyve a pretty big pool of female militia to select from for the photo opportunity .


----------



## CH1 (Dec 2, 2013)

On the Chinese/Commune theme and co-incidentally with our beloved leader’s visit to Bejing, I noticed this page on the newsletter of the Mosaic Clubhouse 65 Effra Road SW2. Seems there is a branch in Chengdu, PRC. Mental health sans frontières!


----------



## CH1 (Dec 20, 2013)

A nostaligic feature on Maoists/Brixton/screamers/Linda Bellos etc on Channel 4 news tonight
http://www.channel4.com/news/brixton-radicals-bellos-wolmar-kenlock-villa-road-squat 

and

http://www.channel4.com/news/alexei-sayle-maoist-communist-cult-interview-video


----------



## el-ahrairah (Jul 21, 2014)

so what happened to comrade bala?  are we still waiting to hear if there was actually any offense committed, or have i missed something?


----------



## OvalhouseDB (Jul 22, 2014)

The house is still boarded up.


----------



## leanderman (Jul 22, 2014)

el-ahrairah said:


> so what happened to comrade bala?  are we still waiting to hear if there was actually any offense committed, or have i missed something?



Good point. Cops did promise us a long and complex investigation, they might even get a trip to Beijing out of it


----------



## butchersapron (Jul 29, 2014)

el-ahrairah said:


> so what happened to comrade bala?  are we still waiting to hear if there was actually any offense committed, or have i missed something?


Bala re-arrsted on suspicion of serious sexual offences. Still on police bail for domestic servitude investigation.


----------



## el-ahrairah (Jul 30, 2014)

butchersapron said:


> Bala re-arrsted on suspicion of serious sexual offences. Still on police bail for domestic servitude investigation.


 
cheers.


----------



## snowy_again (Sep 24, 2014)

Apologies for the Torygraph link - I read the comments section for the lols: 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11117996/Suspect-in-Marxist-slave-case-released-without-charge.html  

A woman arrested last year on suspicion of holding three people as “slaves” within a Marxist cult for more than 30 years, has been released without charge, Scotland Yard have said.

Chanda Pattni, 67, who was detained along with her husband Aravindan Balakrishnan, had been questioned in connection with allegations that the couple held three women in domestic servitude at a house in south London.

Mr Balakrishnan, 73, who was further arrested on suspicion of serious sexual offences, has been re-bailed to a date in mid-December,


----------



## Onket (Sep 24, 2014)

> Officers from the Metropolitan Police’s human trafficking unit said at the time that the case was “completely unique” in their experience.



Fuckwits.


----------



## The39thStep (Sep 24, 2014)

snowy_again said:


> Apologies for the Torygraph link - I read the comments section for the lols:
> 
> http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11117996/Suspect-in-Marxist-slave-case-released-without-charge.html
> 
> ...



I like theTelegraph


----------



## Gramsci (Sep 26, 2014)

Onket said:


> Fuckwits.



And this at end of article:



> It subsequently emerged that the couple had run an extreme Maoist collective at their south London home, but there was no suggestion the members were physically held against their will.



So it was hyped up media news reporting. And the police getting over excited. 

Now its sexual offences they are trying to pin on one of them.


----------



## CH1 (Sep 26, 2014)

Gramsci said:


> And this at end of article:
> So it was hyped up media news reporting. And the police getting over excited.
> Now its sexual offences they are trying to pin on one of them.


I'm sure the media hyped it up - particularly Channel 4 News (it was very much one of their type of stories) and the Daily Mail.

However I think the police do have a duty to investigate situations of apparent domestic coercion, if a compliant is made.

There are parallels with domestic violence and there have also been cases over recent years of forced labour using people with learning difficulties for farm/building work.

Of course if it turned out that a complainant had been forced unwillingly into a sexual situation it would be on a par with the current run of highly publicised sex abuse cases - or worse, in that the complainant might have been trapped in the abusive situation.


----------



## CH1 (Sep 30, 2014)

The collective's address is still Sitexed after 10 months.

Does this reflect their "right to return" or is it sheer bloody inefficiency on behalf of Metropolitan Housing Trust - whose property it is?


----------



## el-ahrairah (Sep 30, 2014)

the former.  if MHT get rid of their property without good reason (and being held in prison isn't necessarily enough) they can be sued for lots and lots of money.  the property may have been sitexed by agreement with the tenant as well, expecially if there is no issue about rent payment because it comes out of a bank account or the HB is being paid.


----------



## editor (Oct 16, 2014)

A little bit of history about the building in Acre Lane: http://www.brixtonbuzz.com/2014/10/...n-a-bit-of-history-revealed-at-140-acre-lane/


----------



## lefteri (Oct 16, 2014)

Has Khamsa closed down then? Haven't been past there in a while


----------



## Winot (Oct 16, 2014)

lefteri said:


> Has Khamsa closed down then? Haven't been past there in a while



I don't think so. I've certainly seen that the owners around while the work is being carried out.

Unfortunately the nice old signage in the Editor's article was covered up again today. Don't know if this is permanent.


----------



## Andrew Hertford (Oct 16, 2014)

CH1 said:


> Wasn't there some sort of Che Guevara mural on the (rounded) corner of the building. Seem to distantly recall. Surely there must be a pic somewhere?



From what I can recall it was a beautifully painted portrait of Mao with sun rays behind him, all in red, black and white. It stood out to say the least. When the Maoists moved out, Mao's face was painted over but it was still there for some years after that.


----------



## lefteri (Oct 16, 2014)

Winot said:


> I don't think so. I've certainly seen that the owners around while the work is being carried out.



Ah that's good, nice place - although I haven't been able to go back since round the time it opened


----------



## snowy_again (Dec 11, 2014)

Charges brought: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ukn...leader-Aravindan-Balakrishnan-is-charged.html


----------



## butchersapron (Dec 4, 2015)

Guilty


----------



## CH1 (Dec 4, 2015)

butchersapron said:


> Guilty


The last sentence of the report in the Standard online is a masterpiece:

"He denied ever being cruel to his daughter and claimed that, like her, he had not been to a doctor or a dentist in the last 50 years and had removed his own teeth."


----------



## bimble (Dec 4, 2015)

The upside:  'The Workers’ Institute of Marxism–Leninism–Mao Zedong Thought' would never be able to afford the rent here now.


----------



## Winot (Jan 29, 2016)

snowy_again said:


> Charges brought: Brixton slavery case: suspected cult leader Aravindan Balakrishnan is charged



Guilty. 23 years.


----------



## CH1 (Jan 29, 2016)

Winot said:


> Guilty. 23 years.


Do you think Metropolitan will save his Peckford Place flat for him?
It has been boarded up with Sitex ever since the case started, and the court give his address as Enfield these days.


----------



## DaveCinzano (Jan 29, 2016)

Reports:

Maoist cult leader jailed for 23 years as 'slave' daughter goes public

Maoist cult leader Aravindan Balakrishnan jailed for 23 years - BBC News


----------



## CH1 (Feb 6, 2016)

This charming programme on Radio 4 about "The Little Red Book" fascinated me - not least because it featured Linda Bellos (leader of Lambeth Council immediately following "Red Ted" Knight).

Red Linda confessed that she had been the proud owner of the Little Red Book as a fashion accessory - but felt its contents were less than memorable (she did know some extracts of Karl Marx by heart she said).
Mao's Little Red Book Goes West - BBC Radio 4

What sealed her fate as a woman much to be admired (by me) was when she confessed to having given up Maoism for the seductive music of Richard Wagner.


----------



## lang rabbie (Feb 10, 2016)

CH1 said:


> What sealed her fate as a woman much to be admired (by me) was when she confessed to having given up Maoism for the seductive music of Richard Wagner.



The 40 years of sleeper activity by the Lambeth Wagner Appreciation Circle to infiltrate all the major political parties of the Borough is far more insidious than any Maoist, CPGB, Militant, Compass, Progress, Momentum or Liberal Democrat Friends of Cake networks that have been exposed.


----------



## Pickman's model (Nov 4, 2017)

Got the most barking leaflet about this on palestine march today. Apparently British state had it in for him since 1976 as he said UK fascist, imperialist and integral part of NATO. Will post pics later


----------



## ViolentPanda (Nov 5, 2017)

Pickman's model said:


> Got the most barking leaflet about this on palestine march today. Apparently British state had it in for him since 1976 as he said UK fascist, imperialist and integral part of NATO. Will post pics later



Possibly the same one I saw in draft form last year, written by one of his followers.  Was it also full of stuff about how The Comrade was innocent, and those that accused him were bribed by...well, just about anyone who had it in for The Comrade?


----------



## Pickman's model (Nov 6, 2017)

ViolentPanda


----------



## Pickman's model (Nov 6, 2017)

ViolentPanda


----------



## ViolentPanda (Nov 6, 2017)

Pickman's model 
Yep, that's pretty much the same text, although the one I saw was hand-written (one of the women he kept locked up, and who grassed him, later recanted and started producing this stuff as a sort of penance), it mentions all the same stuff, and is just as dogmatic.


----------



## CH1 (Nov 28, 2018)

Brixton Maoists came up in the last 6 minutes of this Laurie Taylor programme about Maoists in general Thinking Allowed Maoism

Apparently the thing about the Brixton group was their enthusiastic adoption of "self criticism" which is it seems a particular feature of Maoist ideology and practice, and was noted ina similar, larger, Maoist cult in California. 

The ViolentPanda  and Pickman's model post above illustrate the general effect - make it difficult to break away and make it likely that the cult member will resume enthusiastic propaganda efforts as a result of "just criticism"

cf the case of Shostakovich under pressure from Stalin!


----------



## Fozzie Bear (Nov 28, 2018)

One of them was still on it with the leaflets at the UFFC march the other week.


----------



## ViolentPanda (Nov 28, 2018)

CH1 said:


> Brixton Maoists came up in the last 6 minutes of this Laurie Taylor programme about Maoists in general Thinking Allowed Maoism
> 
> Apparently the thing about the Brixton group was their enthusiastic adoption of "self criticism" which is it seems a particular feature of Maoist ideology and practice, and was noted ina similar, larger, Maoist cult in California.
> 
> ...



The woman who handed out the above flyer still turns up at just about every vaguely left-ish event in London to give out her "Comrade Bala was innocent" leaflet. Quite sad.


----------



## ViolentPanda (Nov 28, 2018)

Fozzie Bear said:


> One of them was still on it with the leaflets at the UFFC march the other week.



And at the "Ballots, not demolition" rally at City Hall earlier this month.


----------



## CH1 (Mar 30, 2019)

I guess it had to happen. Now someone has written the book:


Radio 4 Saturday review gave it the thumbs up - including John Tusa, which is high praise indeed.
The book is however not a factual account, rather it is fiction claiming to portray the inner world of the unfortunate young woman who escaped from the Brixton Maoist collective cult.

PS is an endorsement by Lionel Shriver good? She seems to be BBC TV's artistic representative of Trump and Farage (oh - there I go again chanelling Comrade Bala!)


----------



## Pickman's model (Mar 30, 2019)

Still see handwritten stickers round bloomsbury proclaiming yer man's innocence


----------



## ddraig (Sep 30, 2019)

BBC 2 at 23:45 tonight BBC Two - The Cult Next Door

"This documentary by acclaimed director Vanessa Engle tells the extraordinary story of a strange cult, which came to light in 2013 when a sensational news story broke about three women emerging from a small flat in Brixton in south London after decades in captivity. Tracing the group back to its roots in the 1970s, the film describes how its leader Aravindan Balakrishnan, a student of Indian origin, believed in an international communist revolution and created a tiny political sect that followed the teachings of China's Chairman Mao.

The film features exclusive interviews with two of the women who escaped - Aisha Wahab, a 72-year-old Malaysian woman who was part of Balakrishnan's group for 40 years, and Katy Morgan-Davies, Balakrishnan's daughter, who was born and raised in captivity. The film documents how this left-wing collective evolved into a bizarre pseudo-religious cult, where members were controlled, threatened and brainwashed so that they were too terrified to leave."


----------



## Don Troooomp (Oct 1, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> Maoist



What's the big deal here?
A 40 year old, cold war era raid targetting illegal immigrants and sex criminals, about 20 in total that formed a pathetic fail of a political group, all trying to push a crap political idealogy that killed millions of people.
Sounds like the arrests were a very good thing.


----------



## butchersapron (Oct 1, 2019)

6 years/ 40 years/22 years after the old war ended - what's the difference? Illegal immigrants?


----------



## Don Troooomp (Oct 1, 2019)

butchersapron said:


> 6 years/ 40 years/22 years after the old war ended - what's the difference? Illegal immigrants?



Sex slavery?
Add a large helping of discredited Maoist crap.


----------



## butchersapron (Oct 1, 2019)

Don Troooomp said:


> Sex slavery?
> Add a large helping of discredited Maoist crap.


Did this raid happen in the cold war - that ended in 91 - or 40 years ago or in 2013? Illegal immigrants? 20 people?Are you sure that you even have the right case?


----------



## Don Troooomp (Oct 1, 2019)

butchersapron said:


> Did this raid happen in the cold war - that ended in 91 - or 40 years ago or in 2013? Illegal immigrants? 20 people?Are you sure that you even have the right case?



I gather it was closed in 1978, assuming the link in the OP is correct.


----------



## butchersapron (Oct 1, 2019)

Don Troooomp said:


> I gather it was closed in 1978, assuming the link in the OP is correct.


Right so you're not actually talking about what everyone else is - that is the recent-ish court cases and conviction - not a raid in 1978 or 1971.


----------



## Don Troooomp (Oct 1, 2019)

Orang Utan said:


> Did you know there was a Maoist community centre in Acre Lane in the 70s, that got raided and shut down by the  SPG?
> Curious!
> On the Closure of the Mao Zedong Memorial Centre by the British Fascist State



I was talking about the points in the OP


----------



## butchersapron (Oct 1, 2019)

Don Troooomp said:


> I was talking about the points in the OP


Yes, you're replying then to a post from 6 years ago and asking why people are posting about it.

The answer btw is in the latest posts, about the (awful looking) BBC documentary about the case that was on last night.


----------



## Pickman's model (Oct 1, 2019)

Don Troooomp said:


> I was talking about the points in the OP


----------



## Orang Utan (Oct 1, 2019)

Don Troooomp said:


> What's the big deal here?
> A 40 year old, cold war era raid targetting illegal immigrants and sex criminals, about 20 in total that formed a pathetic fail of a political group, all trying to push a crap political idealogy that killed millions of people.
> Sounds like the arrests were a very good thing.


Dunno why you're asking me. I don't recall criticising the arrests. This was a long time ago. You probably need to read the thread properly as it's not clear you have


----------



## Orang Utan (Oct 1, 2019)

Don Troooomp said:


> I was talking about the points in the OP


Think you're responding to the wrong post though


----------



## Gramsci (Oct 1, 2019)

ddraig said:


> BBC 2 at 23:45 tonight BBC Two - The Cult Next Door
> 
> "This documentary by acclaimed director Vanessa Engle tells the extraordinary story of a strange cult, which came to light in 2013 when a sensational news story broke about three women emerging from a small flat in Brixton in south London after decades in captivity. Tracing the group back to its roots in the 1970s, the film describes how its leader Aravindan Balakrishnan, a student of Indian origin, believed in an international communist revolution and created a tiny political sect that followed the teachings of China's Chairman Mao.
> 
> The film features exclusive interviews with two of the women who escaped - Aisha Wahab, a 72-year-old Malaysian woman who was part of Balakrishnan's group for 40 years, and Katy Morgan-Davies, Balakrishnan's daughter, who was born and raised in captivity. The film documents how this left-wing collective evolved into a bizarre pseudo-religious cult, where members were controlled, threatened and brainwashed so that they were too terrified to leave."



Just watched this. Thanks for posting up the info on the programme.

Found it sympathetic interviewing of those who were willing of speak.

Its pretty grim viewing.

The leader of the group was the patriarch ruling over what were all female followers. Using beatings, sexual abuse and mental coercion on his "followers".

As the early interviews pointed out even in left circles in Brixton they were though of as off the wall.

Worst was how the child born into the group has had to start to rebuild her life. She was kept from any interaction with the outside world.

Her attempt to leave led to the police handing her back to Aravindan. She stayed another eight years with him.

The death of one member of the group in mysterious circumstances should have rung alarm bells. Nothing happened.

Neighbors saw that not all was right and did nothing. One was interviewed in the programme.

How they ended up on the Angel Town Estate in one of the new flats isn't explained. The flats in the shown in the programme is the new eco part of the estate built when it was refurbished.

The police don't come out well in this doc.

In the early days the group has a shop in Acre Lane. They interview the ex copper who was instrumental in closing it down and driving the group underground. They raided and closed it on spurious allegation of drugs. The group never used drugs. The copper said one has to be "hard" sometimes. He clearly saw his role in 70s to stop left groups. He was totally unrepentant. It was after the police raid and closure of the shop that the group went underground. As one Trot of the time said they suddenly disappeared from view.

Its a story of a man using coercive control over women. pyschological and physical control.


----------



## Gramsci (Oct 1, 2019)

My criticism of the programme is that it does not go into the fact that this was a man abusing and controlling women. Coercive control is recognised now. But didn't go into that. This case is an extreme example but its not uncommon to varying degrees.

 There is  lots of footage of Maoist China. As though linking this man's abuse to a whole policial movement is saying Maoism is at fault.

There is lots wrong with Maoist China but I found the constant juxtaposing of the two with little analysis simplicistic.


----------



## CH1 (Oct 2, 2019)

ddraig Gramsci watched it (again) just now.
I certainly watched the programme when it came out (November 2017), and thought there was discussion about it on Urban at the time. Maybe on the main Brixton thread, not here.

What I found a bit disconcerting was the approach of the "de-programmers"
Obviously for the two women who were able to come out of the coercive situation they were very helpful - but they themselves had a slightly messianic attitude, what with assigning developmental ages to women who've been in a subservient role and ot developed normally as children and adults.

Gramsci's point about Maoist clips - well yes, but then against if this had been a documentary about survivors of a Catholic orphange no doubt there would have been clips of bishops and archbishops to set the scene.

I was taught sociology by a Maoist in 1972 and recall being invited to attend screenings of Chinese revolutionary operas in the Manchester Friends Meeting House. Funnily enough if you like Wagner, its the same general idea.


----------



## AmateurAgitator (Apr 9, 2022)

Good riddance









						Cult leader Aravindan Balakrishnan dies in prison
					

Aravindan Balakrishnan was jailed for 23 years for sexual assaults and keeping his daughter captive.



					www.bbc.co.uk


----------



## CH1 (Apr 9, 2022)

AmateurAgitator said:


> Good riddance
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Just to add a nasty detail to a nasty case - I was in the habit of occasionally going to Southwark Crown Court to vada the proceedings in notorious cases such as Harry Redknapp (acquitted of tax fraud), Kweku Adoboli (found guilty of false accounting, imprisoned and deported following a £1.3 billion trading loss whilst working for UBS Bank of Switzerland), Keith Kerr (acquitted of fraud following the collapse of Ujima Housing Association, of which he was Chief Executive).

For one day only I went to Balakrishnan's trial, with a friend.

Much of the time was taken up discussing mind control by the evil satellite Jackie.
Possibly more bizarre was some extended discussion of Balakrishnan's requirement that female followers, including his wife - who was sat there in court impassively - should please him by giving him anilingus. Naturally this caused a bit of a problem for the court. The prosecutor was beating about the bush trying not to be obscene or salacious - with the judge intervening to clarify (for the sake of the jury) exactly what was meant.

I reckon Mr Balakrishnan had more in common with the Marquis de Sade than Chairman Mao. 

All me and my friend could do was exchange a quizzical look.


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## DaveCinzano (Apr 9, 2022)

Bonkers


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## Gramsci (Apr 23, 2022)

Got given this leaflet to day in Brixton. She was ok to chat to but I didn't engage in conversation. Felt sorry for her. She was the one who stuck by him.


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