alanjjohnstone
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Now on the WSPUS home page
http://www.wspus.org/2021/03/immigrants-how-many-is-too-many/
and the SOYMB Blog
https://socialismoryourmoneyback.blogspot.com/2021/03/how-many-is-too-many.htmlSo you have a choice of different sites to link to in any online debate on Trump, Biden and the Border
“Our air and sea assets are ready to protect our sovereignty and sovereign rights”
The Philippines is sending fighter aircraft to fly over hundreds of Chinese vessels in disputed waters in the South China Sea, its defence minister said, as he repeated his demand the flotilla be withdrawn immediately. It will also beef up its naval presence in the South China Sea to conduct “sovereignty patrols” and protect Filipino fishermen.
Old habits die hard
“The Devil is taking advantage of the crisis to sow distrust, desperation and discord,” he said, adding that the pandemic had brought physical, psychological and spiritual suffering.
Michael Barton who was head of crime operations for policing nationally, and chief constable of Durham constabulary until 2019, plus another former senior policing leader, Sir Peter Fahy, warned that new protest laws move Britain dangerously in the direction of “paramilitary policing” and that UK ministers are “flexing their muscles via their police forces” like repressive regimes around the world.
Janet, there is a propaganda war and we should not take things at surface levels. We shouldn’t fall into the trap of either castigating the Chinese government for its actions or whitewashing it. Both sides cry crocodile tears.
It is all another re-play of the game of Great Powers engaged in since the 18thC.
For sure, there are the many quasi-governmental think tanks who will use genuine discontent and unrest for their own interests and evidence can be provided to support that.
I have also read the criticisms that the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong is merely the pawns for the China’s rivals, financed by Taiwan and the West’s NGOs.
Why else does the UK government offer such a generous immigration invitation to Hong Kong residents. (It is forgotten that Canada because of HK migrants settling in Vancouver has even closer links than the colonial ones the UK boasts of.)
Our task is to stand on the side of the oppressed and i have no doubt that we have identified the Uyghurs as such a group. We definitely do not agree with their preferred solution as ALB has indicated but neither do we endorse all the Palestinian’s choices made by them while still able to recognise the repression of Israel.
In Myanmar we can condemn the coup knowing that if its peoples prevail it will be only lead to a return to Aung San Suu Kyi government and the continuance of sweat-shops and the exclusion of minorities.
I think we will be forever positioned in what is sometimes called the Third Campists. And we have to craft our message very carefully to reflect that.
Venezuela’s Maduro – Thyme to Reject
Tens of thousands of horses are being subjected to long-haul flights, confined in crates with no food or water, to meet demand for horsemeat in Japan.
Since 2013, about 40,000 live horses have been flown to Japan from airports in western Canada. Under Canadian regulations, the journey can stretch up to 28 hours, during which the animals are allowed to go without food, water or rest.
Hopefully, the resistance does not resort to physically challenging the military in the streets where defeat can be guaranteed assured.
But i did think that what was called a ‘silent strike’ where people stayed home was a promising tactic. In our union past i think we called it a strategy of ‘folded arms’.
General strikes are of only a limited use, a temporary advantage because working people need an income to buy food and pay rents. Empty bellies V fat wallets as James Connolly once said
Likewise, the prospect of international sanctions closing down factories will deprive employees of jobs, no matter if it is sweat-shop conditions.
I am still puzzled by the regime’s mass release of detainees. Was it a sign that the Tatmadaw is indeed divided among themselves? Or merely a logistic problem of over-crowded jails? With such a secretive elite, we might not find out.
The follow-up demonstration and the accompanying police violence
It seems that increasing daily killings have now become the norm for the Tatmadaw.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-56546920
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/mar/27/more-than-100-killed-as-myanmar-junta-unleashes-worst-day-of-terror
The director of the Burma Human Rights Network in UK told the BBC the military had shown it had “no limits, no principles”.“It’s a massacre, it’s not a crackdown anymore,” Kyaw Win said.
You raised a very important point
And we also have the pandemic which left not only mariners stranded at sea but at least one ship carrying cattle
Brexit too has also had its effect on the export of live animals and increased delays and therefore suffering and discomfort for the animals
Pre-digital printing did involve a lot of skills which have now disappeared
I recall printing was the trade my father tried to steer me into as it was well-paid and more or less a protected union closed-shop.
If i had followed his advice, i would have been soon made redundant as computerisation of the industry soon occurred and i have met many ex-printers and book-binders over the years.
As for the art of letter-writing Facebook has replaced keeping in contact with friends and family and is far more effective a medium
Also now on Countercurrents
