June 2018 EC minutes

[Anonymous]

                         
MINUTES OF THE 6th MEETING OF THE 115th EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF

THE SOCIALIST PARTY OF GREAT BRITAIN

Head Office, Saturday 2 June 2018 at 13.10

[Note: These are draft minutes only and are not official until adopted by the EC]

Present: D. Chesham, C.Dee, M. Foster, S. Kennedy, N.Kirk, P.Shannon, M.Tenner, G.Thomas.

Also present for part of the meeting: R. Cox (as Treasurer).

Apologies: L Stevens

Chair: G Thomas

Minutes: N Kirk

1. Election of Chair
   Agreed at previous meeting: Thomas

2. Minutes of the previous meeting, business arising therefrom and the General Secretary’s raising of Notices of Motion and Business from previous meetings.

   1. Adoption was agreed after the following amendment (Chesham and Foster: 7-0-1):

      1. Item 4.ii (Tax Return) should have read “The HMRC deadline for returns was 31 December 2018 (or 31 January 2019 if submitted online) and not the end of April 2018, not April 2017."

   2. Advertising the whiteboard video

      1. Cde Kirk provided an update on the website upgrade project, for which professional assistance is required. The EC thanked Cdes Culbert and Kirk for their efforts and looks forward to further updates on progress.
         Resolution Chesham and Shannon: "that the Internet Committee continue to get quotes and report back to the EC." Agreed 8-0-0

      2. Resolution Shannon and Dee: "to authorise a further immediate Adwords spend of £250." Agreed 8-0-0

   3. Accepted nomination by Kent & Sussex Branch (carried 3-0-0) of Cde C Dee to the Campaigns Committee.

      The appointment of Cde C Dee to the Campaigns Committee was agreed.

   4. Website upgrade discussion took place as part of Item 2.b (whiteboard video).

   5. Matters arising from the May 2018 meeting minutes

      1. Terms of Reference for the Head Office Organiser

         1. Cde Tenner suggested to remove the “?” from a line within the Core Duties: “To arrange for outgoing mail to be delivered to the Post Office and paid for?”

         2. Resolution Foster and Dee: "to defer to the July EC meeting and for the ToR to be shared with the HOO for his review and confirmation." Agreed 7-0-1

      2. Alternative energy suppliers

         1. Resolution Shannon and Dee: "Cde Tenner was thanked for his efforts and asked to proceed with switching accounts and to liaise with the Treasurer." Agreed 8-0-0

      3. Planning application for 50 Clapham High Street

         1. Cde Chesham provided an update on the meeting that took place with the surveyors for the owners of 50 Clapham High Street which was reported as amicable.

         2. Cde Tenner shall continue to pursue the death certificates and probate documents required to update the recorded HO trustees.

   6. Notices of Motion

   7. Notices of Business

   8. Matters outstanding from previous minutes

      1. Head Office staffing matters. No further updates.

      2. O’Gorman bequest.

         1. The matter is considered closed but shall be kept on the agenda for July to resolve some minor discrepancies in the figures on paperwork.

3. Forms A and F

   1. Form A for JW

      1. Resolution Chesham and Thomas: "to decline the Form A on the basis of the applicants previous behaviour based upon the General Secretary’s report of 2010 (see June EC Agenda)." Agreed 7-0-1

4. Reports of the Treasurer

   1. Information Commissioners Office Registration

      1. Data protection and the Party’s responsibility for compliance with GDPR was discussed.

         Resolution Foster and Shannon:"the EC thanked Cde Hart for volunteering to review the Party’s data records and to work with the Treasurer and Internet Committee to suggest actions required to ensure GDPR compliance." Agreed 8-0-0

   2. Meeting with Head Office Organiser

      1. The meeting attendees were thanked for their efforts and are requested to keep the EC up-to-date.

   3. 'The Problem is not the Tories' leaflet

      1. Cde Tenner is entrusted with a redesign and update of the Freepost address, and to report back to the EC with estimates on the cost of a reprint.

      2. Postage in general was discussed and it was agreed that Cdes Chesham and Shannon shall investigate options (franking machine vs outsourcing) to improve the efficiency of postage.

   4. Additional: Gender and Politics

      1. It was agreed that Cde Foster shall produce the third and final draft for the EC to review in the next two weeks with the aim to approve the pamphlet at the July EC meeting.

5. Reports of Party Officers, Party Appointees, Subcommittees, and Departments; discussion of advertising, campaigns, and The Socialist Standard.

   1. Report from Cde Whitehead of the Publications Committee (4 April)

      1. Resolution Chesham and Dee: "to refer Cde Whitehead to the May 2018 EC resolution to not use Amazon for any further fulfilment." Agreed 6-0-2

   2. Promotional inserts

      1. Resolution Shannon and Kennedy: to test-run 150k inserts in the i Newspaper in the South of England at a cost of £2,800, with the possibility of expanding across the country later. Agreed 8-0-0

   3. Front door to Head Office

      1. The door has been fixed.

   4. Report from Cde Robin Cox of the Publications Committee

      1. Resolution Foster and Dee: "the EC endorses the Publications Committee report and looks forward to drafts of the 'Technology' and 'Anti-Semitism and Zionism' pamphlets, and would like to emphasise priority for the Anti-Semitism pamphlet." Agreed 6-0-2

6. Correspondence

   1. Matters of urgency

   2. Correspondence from or concerning Branches, the Party in general, and members

      1. E-mail from Cde Thomas (12 April).  Regarding health and safety issues at Head Office.

         1. Noted.

      2. General Data Protection Regulation

         1. Took place under Item 4.a.

      3. E-mail from Cde Tenner (13 May) Additional item for June EC agenda – "The issue of EC minutes"

      4. E-mail from Cde Tenner (13 May) Additional item for June EC agenda – "New Party auditors and solicitor"                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Both these items were discussed briefly but no action was taken.

      5. E-mail from Cde C Slapper re Latvian film (14 May)

         1. Resolution Shannon and Thomas: "to approve the £100 grant." Agreed 8-0-0

      6. E-mail from Cde Tim Hart requesting permission to stay at Head Office in June and July.

         1. Resolution Tenner and Kirk: "to approve Cde Hart’s stay at HO." Agreed 8-0-0

7. Any other business

   1. Form A for RG to be deferred to the July EC meeting.

   2. Cde Chesham put down the following Notice of Business:
      'The precarious financial position of the Socialist Party of Canada'

The meeting adjourned at 17.22

[jondwhite]

What is the Eye newspaper and what is the Latvian film? Are there more details anywhere on the behaviour cited as the reason for rejection of an applicant?

[Anonymous]

jondwhite wrote:

What is the Eye newspaper and what is the Latvian film?

That should read the i newspaper.

Clifford S wrote:

Frederic Eger is a French-Argentinian film and TV producer based in Latvia. He produces a series called Quantum Earth, a 2-hour monthly news, science and politics talk-show that explores how human needs can best be met in the future. His programmes reach audiences worldwide through the internet. He urgently wanted a speaker from the party for a key role one of these shows.Comrade Adam Buick asked me, and I agreed, and the arrangements have been put in motion. This will necessitate my being in Riga, Latvia, for two days in mid-June.Other guests on the show include Peter Joseph of the Zeitgeist Movement and representatives of the Venus project founded by Jacques Fresco. There should be ample coverage of the idea of a world without money. Eger has offered to include one of our party’s own publicity films within the early part of his programme, which is a great bonus too.Eger has paid for basic return flight and accommodation for me, though is unable to provide for any miscellaneous expenses for this trip. I would like the EC, first, to retrospectively approve my appointment for this task, Secondly, I am without sufficient means to cover any additional expenses and would like to request a grant from the EC of £100 to this end, towards transport, food etc throughout the trip.

jondwhite wrote:

Are there more details anywhere on the behaviour cited as the reason for rejection of an applicant?

extract from GenSec report of 26-9-10 wrote:

The EC has recently considered applications to join or rejoin the Party from members of the Kabale Socialist Club in Uganda. Among these applicants is Tukwasibwe Weijagye, a.k.a. Weijagye Justus, who is the Club’s secretary. Justus has had a long history of scamming overseas political groups, including the Party. His modus operandi is to make political statements that agree with those of the target group; these serve as opening gambits in what will eventually lead to demands for financial assistance. If the mark expresses suspicion, he will furnish “evidence” in the form of receipts, photographs, meeting minutes, etc. If this evidence fails to allay the suspicion, or if the mark refuses funding, then he will try to shame the mark into paying by accusing them of being racists, threatening to disaffiliate from them, etc. Unfortunately, these tactics have been successfully practised on the Party in the past. (I have extensive records of the Party’s dealings with Justus and the KSC going back to mid-2005 and can compile and summarize them on request.)Justus has no qualms about simultaneously approaching multiple mutually antagonistic political groups. At the same time he was soliciting money from us, we learned that he was soliciting from the Socialist Studies group, the Communist League, A World To Win, the Democratic Socialist Alliance, the DeLeonists, and possibly others.  His duplicity was not difficult to discover, as he would occasionally address correspondence to the wrong person (such as when he mistakenly sent a letter addressed to the General Secretary of the Socialist Studies Group to our e-mail address), and on more that one occasion his overtures and requests for funding have been published online by the target groups. He will often send photos and identically worded letters to various groups, changing only the name of the addressee.

[Anonymous]

gnome wrote:

jondwhite wrote:

What is the Eye newspaper and what is the Latvian film?

That should read the i newspaper.

Clifford S wrote:

Frederic Eger is a French-Argentinian film and TV producer based in Latvia. He produces a series called Quantum Earth, a 2-hour monthly news, science and politics talk-show that explores how human needs can best be met in the future. His programmes reach audiences worldwide through the internet. He urgently wanted a speaker from the party for a key role one of these shows.Comrade Adam Buick asked me, and I agreed, and the arrangements have been put in motion. This will necessitate my being in Riga, Latvia, for two days in mid-June.Other guests on the show include Peter Joseph of the Zeitgeist Movement and representatives of the Venus project founded by Jacques Fresco. There should be ample coverage of the idea of a world without money. Eger has offered to include one of our party’s own publicity films within the early part of his programme, which is a great bonus too.Eger has paid for basic return flight and accommodation for me, though is unable to provide for any miscellaneous expenses for this trip. I would like the EC, first, to retrospectively approve my appointment for this task, Secondly, I am without sufficient means to cover any additional expenses and would like to request a grant from the EC of £100 to this end, towards transport, food etc throughout the trip.

jondwhite wrote:

Are there more details anywhere on the behaviour cited as the reason for rejection of an applicant?

extract from GenSec report of 26-9-10 wrote:

The EC has recently considered applications to join or rejoin the Party from members of the Kabale Socialist Club in Uganda. Among these applicants is Tukwasibwe Weijagye, a.k.a. Weijagye Justus, who is the Club’s secretary. Justus has had a long history of scamming overseas political groups, including the Party. His modus operandi is to make political statements that agree with those of the target group; these serve as opening gambits in what will eventually lead to demands for financial assistance. If the mark expresses suspicion, he will furnish “evidence” in the form of receipts, photographs, meeting minutes, etc. If this evidence fails to allay the suspicion, or if the mark refuses funding, then he will try to shame the mark into paying by accusing them of being racists, threatening to disaffiliate from them, etc. Unfortunately, these tactics have been successfully practised on the Party in the past. (I have extensive records of the Party’s dealings with Justus and the KSC going back to mid-2005 and can compile and summarize them on request.)Justus has no qualms about simultaneously approaching multiple mutually antagonistic political groups. At the same time he was soliciting money from us, we learned that he was soliciting from the Socialist Studies group, the Communist League, A World To Win, the Democratic Socialist Alliance, the DeLeonists, and possibly others.  His duplicity was not difficult to discover, as he would occasionally address correspondence to the wrong person (such as when he mistakenly sent a letter addressed to the General Secretary of the Socialist Studies Group to our e-mail address), and on more that one occasion his overtures and requests for funding have been published online by the target groups. He will often send photos and identically worded letters to various groups, changing only the name of the addressee.

I must add a commentary to this situation. The party must be very careful with this man, he is a crook. In the past, I received a couple of email from the same person requesting money. He is on my blog and I am watching him. If I see any suspicious activities I will kick him out, even more, I am going to add a statement saying that nobody is authorized to collect  money  in the name of the Socialist Party or the WSM 

[Anonymous]

gnome wrote:

Frederic Eger is a French-Argentinian film and TV producer based in Latvia. He produces a series called Quantum Earth, a 2-hour monthly news, science and politics talk-show that explores how human needs can best be met in the future. His programmes reach audiences worldwide through the internet. He urgently wanted a speaker from the party for a key role one of these shows.

 I guess this is it?https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3641706/?ref_=ttep_ep_tt

[Author]

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