Mikileaks: New Lottery - how it works

Our moles have been burrowing away, and can now reveal how the Demolition Government's much-vaunted new nation-wide Lottery Scheme works. Mikileaks locked researcher Steve Bell away for a couple of minutes with the scheme's source code - scribbled on a torn-off scrap of 'Number 11' headed notepaper, and rescued from the bin beside the photocopier - and he has come up with this graphic representation of the process. He says it wasn't that hard to crack, as the first line of code reads:

{Top Secret: GO says 2000 Mancunians down the pan, and pronto!} *see Note 1

It therefore came as no surprise to us to see amongst this week's lucky winners:

Manchester!

Manchester council attacks government as 2,000 jobs axed

However, do not despair if Lady Luck hasn't called on you this week. For wherever you live, and whatever your circumstances (with some notable exceptions - *see Note 2), they've got your number, and it could be drawn any day now. It could be your turn next!

Remember - We're all in this together!

*Note 1: There are conflicting rumours as to the identity of 'GO'; some analysts suggest that he may well be the mysterious character seen scurrying across the steps of 10 Downing Street in this videoclip.

*Note 2: Some experts claim to have detected certain regional and social biases in the coding of the scheme, which seems to be stacking the odds strongly in favour of 'Northern towns' and 'poorest areas' at the moment:

Northern towns 'targeted' with cuts

Councils say poorest areas will be worst hit by cuts

And if you wondered what this picture was doing at the top of our original article, see:

Police may stage street protests over cuts and job losses

Police force's colour-coded redundancy letters give staff the blues

So when the police take to the streets with their face-masks and home-made placards - who will do the kettling?

NB: Steve says his illustration is 'after LS Lowry'; of course it is - Lowry died over 20 years ago. He painted scenes, full of sympathy, of the ordinary lives of ordinary people in his home town of Salford, including Going to Work and Coming home from the mill. Would he qualify for an arts grant today?

According to our maps, Salford is quite near to Manchester, and so probably qualifies both as a 'Northern town' and as a 'poorer area'. Some folk have all the luck.

Mikileaks: He's a Liar Liar

Mikileaks hears that the Posh Boys have been caught telling Porky Pies! The evidence collected by Captain Ska and his friends is incontrovertible, and very catchy. It is available from iTunes and other online music stores, for Xmas No 1 (proceeds to: Crisis, Disability Alliance, FalseEconomy and Women's Health Matters).

Remember - "We're all in this together"!

Lewes against the Education Cuts

Lewes

Sat 11 Dec

Over 300 Lewesians turned out to protest against the Coalition Government's proposed Education Cuts, in particular the three-fold rise in university tuition fees, and the withdrawal of the Educational Maintenance Allowance available to over-16s who remain in full-time education.

As was to be expected, a special target of local anger is the local Liberal Democrat MP, and government minister, Norman Baker, who joined other LibDem ministers in voting for the cuts even though they had specifically signed a pledge before the election earlier this year to oppose any rise in fees, and indeed proposed they should be phased out.

The demonstration was called by local school pupils, at two days' notice - fantastic! Congratulations!!

There are some photos from the demo in the slideshow above, including some of the witty placards, and you can also hear some of the witty chants :-) :

Norman Baker - Shame on you - Shame on you for turning blue!
They say "cut back" - we say "fight back"
No ifs, no buts - no education cuts
Lib Dems, hear us say - "give us back our EMA"

Solidarity in the snow

This week's two main themes come together. Brighton students against the cuts, solid in the snow. Follow their latest news.

Brighton students dance against the cuts

"If I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution".

Emma Goldmann (the quote's apocryphal, but who cares?).

Brighton students say no to Posh Boy cuts

Students at the University of Brighton have been occupying a lecture room since last Thursday, in protest at the Coalition Government's plans to raise tuition fees and slash funding for teaching. Similar occupations are taking place at a number of other universities around the country, and more are likely after tomorrow's Day of Action.

I was at the Falmer campus this morning, for the lecture I do on Contemporary Spanish Cinema, and as I came away I was approached by a couple of students with petitions and leaflets.

- Excuse me, are you a student?

- Erm, well, no, actually I'm a retired lecturer . . .

- Great. We'd like to ask for your support for the action we're taking over the cuts.

None of the students taking part in the occupation have been involved in anything like it before. No-one has, since 1968. So they're learning as they go along, and they're learning fast. Marches, demonstrations, leaflets, petitions, banners; food, cleaning, and doubtless sleeping arrangements; discussions, debates, lectures; they're also reaching out to other sectors hit by the cuts. They've only been there a week but they're going full-swing.

So the Posh Boys look as though they've managed to politicise a whole new generation, in just five weeks since the cuts were announced. Big Society indeed.

The Brighton students are using social media to good effect - they have a blog: Brighton Students Against Cuts , a Facebook group: Brighton University Stop The Cuts, and a Twitter stream: UoB Occupation; the picture above comes from their image site: Pavilion Parade Occupation, and they have a video channel too: Brightonstopthecuts - see Brighton drivers honk their support: