alanjjohnstone
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I recall that there was a debate and some members thought otherwise, Dave, even if their view did not prevail.
But I expressed my personal view on XR, not the party’s.
But I have posted a few messages on our blog that some may believe is too conciliatory towards XR.
Unlike Occupy I think environmentalist activists are here for the duration of climate change and that we should engage in discussion, and the way to do that is in a comradely fashion, not an adversarial type of opposition.
“Non-ownership” society is perhaps more apt and a description I occasionally use particularly in debates over cooperatives
A failed coup, a successful coup, the start of a bloody civil war or pretext for invasion? Just have to wait and see how it develops
Erik Prince – the founder of the mercenaries Blackwater and a prominent supporter of U.S. President Donald Trump – has been pushing a plan to deploy a private army to help topple Venezuela’s socialist president, Nicholas Maduro, four sources with knowledge of the effort told Reuters.
Prince sketched out a plan to field up to 5,000 soldiers-for-hire on behalf of Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido. Prince envisions a force made up of “Peruvians, Ecuadoreans, Colombians, Spanish speakers,” one of the sources said, adding that Prince argued that such soldiers would be more politically palatable than American contractors.
A Venezuelan exile close to the opposition agreed but said private contractors might prove useful, in the event Maduro’s government collapses, by providing security for a new administration in the aftermath.
Prince’s Venezuela plan said he is seeking $40 million from private investors. He also aims to get funding from the billions of dollars in Venezuelan assets that have been seized by governments around the world imposing sanctions on the OPEC nation, a major oil exporter.
The lies they tell
“…Your Democrat governor here in Wisconsin, shockingly, stated that he will veto legislation that protects Wisconsin babies born alive. The baby is born, the mother meets with the doctor, they take care of the baby, they wrap the baby beautifully, and then the doctor and the mother determine whether or not they will execute the baby…” – Trump
Birds of a feather stick together
The world’s largest ice shelf is melting 10 times faster than expected due to solar heating of the surrounding Antarctic Ocean, scientists have warned.
The Ross Ice Shelf covers an area roughly the size of France and is several hundred metres thick, with 90 per cent of the ice below sea level.ER and the reformist rabbit hole, that you refer to, James
The UK government’s plan to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2040 is too tame, advisers will say.
Drivers will benefit if electric cars come to dominate the new car market a full decade earlier, they will claim.
The Committee on Climate Change believes electric cars will be cheaper to buy than petrol or diesel vehicles by 2024-5.
But the speed of installing charging points will have to radically improve to cope with the coming demand.The UK government’s current policy is to insist that by 2040, all new cars and vans sold in the UK should be zero emissions – that means electric or hydrogen.
But critics have pointed out that would mean some older petrol and diesel vehicles will still be on the roads after 2050.
That’s the expected date by which the government should have reduced carbon emissions from all sources to zero.The committee will say 2030 would be a feasible date for the government to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars. But members have to be sure their recommendations are achievable and they’re not certain there will be enough cobalt in the world by then to build the batteries needed.
IMHO, our hostility clause does not apply to campaigning groups such as ER. I view them as I see trade unions, a much needed counter-weight to the actions of the capitalist class.
From what I have read, they are very much the same as Occupy was, amorphous, and our criticism of movements such as those are reflected in Jo Freedman’s Tyranny of Structurelessness, an analysis which the Party often commends
https://www.jofreeman.com/joreen/tyranny.htm
I have no difficulty with any member being directly involved in this protest movement, either as close observer or actual participant, just as long as she or he, remains critical of the ER reform proposals and presents the socialist case in discussions and conversations.
If we do not interact with those who genuinely believe they are opposing the status quo, we won’t be reaching a potential member. The level of involvement I leave to the judgement of individual members, the composition and attitudes of a ER group in Wakefield may be very different from the one in Warrington.
An appropriate moment to remind folk that the Scot Nats are parading through Glasgow on the 4th May and our members will be in attendance to leaflet.
Not sure if they have produced a special leaflet for the occasion though.
Once again the spectre of another separatist referendum is looming. I have a feeling that it won’t have the same very high turn-out as before in 2014, even with Brexit.
“…A number of functions in respect of statistic gathering, might still come in handy for calculation of resources needed…”
True
I often cite insurance actuaries as an example of this, Matt, forgetting about their financial calculations but thinking about their risk assessments.
Perhaps looking at job-numbers we also overlooking the number of jobs that will be superfluous with AI, robotics and automation.
But we might be in a situation where old technologies are preferred to new technology when we have more satisfying and rewarding work to do, also perhaps for the social interaction of the work-place. Is it a coincidence we use the word “work-mates”?
Didn’t Robbo do some estimates on this?
Off the top of my head I would judge it to be much higher, Max…at least 60%
A sign of their success and potential…a back-handed compliment?
“…We know shale gas can be extracted safely. We have the best regulations and regulators in the world. We know the positive impact it has on local communities, but we are choosing to listen to a powerful environmental lobby campaigning against fracking rather than allowing science and evidence to guide our policy making…We are listening to a small but loud environmental movement that opposes in principle all extraction of fossil fuels,” Engel wrote. “The campaign against fracking has been highly successful in raising the profile and filling the coffers of some NGOs, but they do not represent local residents nor the wider population…I hope there will be a rethink sooner rather than later which will see policy guided by science, rather than fear-mongering…”
