alanjjohnstone
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More than 4 million antisemitic messages were shared on Twitter in the span of a single year between 29 January 2017 and 28 January 2018 according to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). The average was more than 80,000 such tweets per week. The highest number of such tweets was recorded in the same week Mr Trump recognised Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.The ADL researchers labelled tweets as antisemitic if they contained common Jewish stereotypes; praise for anti-Semitic personalities; or derogatory words, codes, or symbols for Jewish people.https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/twitter-antisemitism-tweets-hate-speech-jewish-study-harvey-weinstein-donald-trump-a8343996.html
I always read Fisk.https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/donald-trump-iran-nuclear-deal-withdrawal-colonel-gaddafi-us-libya-a8342871.htmlTrump and Iran
Quote:All US presidents say how much they love the people they are about to invade.long-suffering same about the Iraqis. So did Reagan before he bombed Gaddafi’s Libya. Now Trump feels sorry for the “long suffering Iranians”. Trump reminded us all of a time when Iran “prospered in peace” and “commanded the admiration of the world” – and no-one has spotted that he was referring to the Shah’s Iran whose Savak secret police kept Iranians in a state of permanent fear and terror through a programme of obscene tortures.The prelude to war?Israel accuses Iranians of launching rockets at IDF on Golan Heightshttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/09/iran-fires-20-rockets-syria-golan-heights-israelIDF spokesman, Lt Col Jonathan Conricus, told reporters, “This event is not over.”
1: Some of the tax would be to take NI contributions from working pensioners. For December 2017 to February 2018, just under 1.2 million people over the age of 65 were in work – or 10.2% of the entire age group. That's out of a total UK workforce of 32.3 million.When the figures for over-65s were first collected, in spring 1992, there were just 478,000 in work – or 5.5% of the age group. So, the proportion in employment has almost doubled since then. There has been a steady increase over the years, rather than any spike occurring after 2011, when the default retirement age – which allowed employers to impose compulsory retirement – ended.742,000 are men – that's 13.7% of the age group. The percentage has risen from 8.5% in 1992. Some 454,000 women over the age of 65 also continue to work – or 7.2%. That rate has more than doubled since 1992, when it was 3.5%. Overall, 57.3% were employed part-time, and 42.7% full-time. And 34.2% of all older workers were self-employed.According to the 2011 Census, 16.7% of the over-65 workforce in England and Wales were employed either in the wholesale or retail trade. This was the largest category. Meanwhile, 11.8% worked in health or social work, 9.7% in manufacturing, 9.4% in education and 7.8% professional, scientific and technical jobs. Construction, with its physical demands, might not seem a likely fit for many over-65s, but it employed 7.7% of those still work at that age.Quite a revenue if NI was instatedhttp://www.bbc.com/news/business-44042133
I think ALB's suggestion that we desist from charging for Standards and postage to the SPC should be expanded to ALL companion parties.
Is this going to be a pretext for going after Iranian forces and/or its ally Hezbollah and an escalation towards war?http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44046049
Quote:"For months now, Iran has been transferring lethal weaponry to its forces in Syria, with the purpose of striking at Israel… We will respond mightily to any attack on our territory," Netanyahu said.http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44045957The USA is breaking its treaty obligations so it now increases the chances of either an American or Israeli attack or even Saudi Arabia on Iran once Iran resumes its nuclear programme.It is also a threat to escalate the trade war in the sense that EU and other businesses trading with Iran will also face sanctions from the US
There are many inherent contradictions within capitalism, the production and distribution of society's wealth ie food is just one which may cause a rise in socialist consciousness to arise.It may well not be the struggle in the workplaces that sparks a socialist revolution although it more than likely be an arena for many workers to battle in but not the only one and perhaps not the main one. I think we have acknowledged in our writings that the environmental climate change may initiate a response in ways of thinking, resistance and social change.The article does contain the concept of class struggle, as my quote in the post indicates.Indeed, it was the link between ecology, economics and workers political action that caught my notice in the first place. It contained the pertinent idea of histoical materialism and ends with stating that the motor of change is peoples political action
Quote:If we are made by capitalism’s ecology, then we can be remade only as we in turn practise new ways of producing and caring for one another together – a process of redoing, rethinking and reliving our most basic relations.All in all, i think the book it is an abstract of could be a worthwhile read and contribution to revolutionary thought. But will it reflect a 100% the SPGB case in everything it covers…it is doubtful.
2: Those of us in work, and calculating our retirement costs would start to cost in the retirement taxation costs.4: at the worst, costs of up-keep for pensioners would creep into current wages as working age off-spring begin to support their parents.Both suggest a drop in real wages ie disposable income.Does it imply a fight for higher wages to compensate for superannuation and higher family costs etc increases.I'm pessimistic in believing fellow-workers can achieve this expected militancy. 1: Some of the tax would be to take NI contributions from working pensioners.Isn't the rise in state pension retirement ages partly encompassing this, anyway?3: Pensioners would protest en-masse, lobby government and vote to porotect their own current interests.And as i asked in my post, can we fully endorse and support this defence? I personally think we can express our sympathy, just as we do for those resisting austerity attacks on their benefits.But can we go even further by urging on any self-defence, perhaps offering logistic help…a meeting room, use of photocopiers perhaps space in the Standard. Or should we remain passive supporters?
So is this proposed increase in tax a deferred wages pay-cut for pensioners?Without industrial muscle, what recommendation can we offer fellow-workers to oppose and defend their standard of living on a pension. For those in work, we suggest trade union action as a counter-weight to combatting tax increases, and it is this class struggle to determine the value of wages that ultimately places the burden of taxation upon the capitalist class. There is no automaticity in the division of spoils of surplus value.What should a member of the Party advise an OAP facing reduced income because of this tax rise? (Apart from the obvious, that is.)Should we openly endorse his or her anti-austerity campaign to protect the level of income by fighting any extra taxes on pensions?
Perhaps the RCG are recalling Pankhurst's later relationship with Abyssinia and Haile Selassie.As a compromise, we could include the Pannekoek letter to Pankhurst on Ireland – two birds with one stone.https://libcom.org/library/communism-vs-reforms-sylvia-pankhurst-2But as Gnome will remind us, our pamphlet committee members may not be aware of this suggestion on this forum…and will require the possibility raised direct to their committee.
Does or analysis remain sound in regards proposals to increase the taxation on OAPs?The cross-party Intergenerational Commission chairman David Willetts, said, “Pensioners are less likely to be poor than families of working age so it is only reasonable that when you look at healthcare provision that you look at a fair contribution from older people.”Pensioners should be taxed more, suggests the research and policy organisation, the Resolution Foundation says.How can pensioners influence the price of their labour-power to counter any tax increase and ensure the burden is placed on employers?
Maybe do Sylvia Pankhurst's two essays Future Society and Socialism with an intro by ourselves?Just an idea
Any suggestions for other non-Lenin Marxists that might be popular that we could publish?Maybe we should consider issuing another Pannekoek pamphlet….Lenin as Philosopher?
Even in German history, the Holocaust was not the only example of genocidal policies.Our blog African Socialist Banner in a number of posts has highlighted the attempted extermination of the Herero people when Germany was a colonialist power in South West Africa.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herero_and_Namaqua_genocide
