Solidarity Co-Convenor Tommy Sheridan has turned down the opportunity to appear on Celebrity Big Brother despite Channel Four offering a six figure sum.  Bosses from the reality TV show had been desperate to land Tommy and had continually upped their offer in recent days but, in the end, The Glasgow Solidarity MSP decided not to take up the offer.

Tommy Sheridan is now of of Britain's most famous political figures after taking on and defeating the Murdoch empire in the courts this year and Channel Four were keen to see him emulate the success of George Galloway MP who appeared last year.  He said:

"This is not about snobbery or what I think of the show itself as some of my family and friends enjoy the show when it is on, and I would have no problem making a fool of myself to raise money for charities such as OnePlus and Breast Cancer Care.  But, Channel Four could not guarantee that I could talk about the political views of Solidarity on the show without it being edited out so we decided it would be best not to do it this time around.  It would have been very difficult to spend three weeks away from my wife Gail and my daughter Gabriel and besides, I don't think I would look good in a lycra leotard."

Media offers continue to come in for Tommy as his reputation and the profile of Solidarity grows, he has already turned down offers of TV and Film work but has recently become a presenter on Talk107 radio where he has the freedom to talk about politics and issues relevant to working class people.  On his Sunday morning show "Citizen Tommy" he last week talked about John MacLean, James Connolly, Rosa Parks and other inspirational figures.  This week's guest will be Suzy Hall who is one of the leaders of unfairpak, the campaign group set up to seek compensation for Farepak victims.  The Solidarity MSP was delighted to have Suzy Hall as his guest:

"“I am honoured that Suzy has agreed to come on the show, she is a fine example of a real working class campaigner and fighter.”

In the wake of the Stern Review (published 30 Oct 2006) the threat posed by climate change has risen rapidly up the agenda of all the establishment political parties. Or so it appears from the rhetoric!

The problem is that whilst more and more mainstream politicians are talking the talk, they are not walking the walk. They cannot imagine solutions outside the context of an expanding global economy, based entirely on the proposition that the accumulation and concentration of wealth by the tiny minority who control the world's powerful multinational corporations is somehow good for the whole of humanity.

So when these apparent converts to the cause of environmental responsibility, speak of the dire consequences of uncontrolled and devastating climate change they do so with blinkers and earplugs firmly in place. How else can they welcome the latest airport expansion or new motorway on a Tuesday and talk about climate change on a Thursday ?

The Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign (SPSC) have called on the British left to exorcise the ghost of past support for Israel and the Jewish National Fund by disrupting next year's England vs Israel football match.

Mick Napier of the SPSC was speaking following a public meeting of SPSC with guest speaker Gilad Atzmon.  The talk focussed on the nature of "solidarity" and in particular the weaknesses of the British left and Jewish socialist groups on the issue.  Napier called for a sustained action against Israel and for left groups to organise for the match in September 2007.

"I would propose a test, somewhat crude I know, but the real test of a theory is practice. While the denunciatory emails and articles fly, let us all mobilise to stop the England vs Israel football game next September, and any pro-Israeli events in between. Let us see how many coaches each of us can fill to get supporters into the ground to disrupt the game, and other demonstrators outside in support. Let us excise the shame of allowing JNF fund-raising events for the violation of Palestine to go unchallenged on English soil."