alanjjohnstone
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Xi Jinping called the German philosopher "the greatest thinker of modern times," calling his theories on communism a tool for China to "win the future." He also claimed that putting "Marxism onto the flag of the Chinese Communist party was totally correct."Xi has instructed all party members to read Marxist works and to adopt Marxist theories as a "way of life" and a "spiritual pursuit."German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, meanwhile, sounded a more critical note in a speech honoring Marx. He emphasized that Marx's thinking was "rigid," and that it was impossible to separate his theories from the negative effects it had in socialist and communist countries. For Marx, he said it was about "liberation from poverty and paternalism, from the iron hand of an authoritarian state." But he emphasized that his theories had an "enormous" effect and were all too often abused by authoritarian, communist regimes like the Soviet Union and East Germany."We shouldn't fear Marx, but we don't need to build any golden statues to him either," Steinmeier said.http://www.dw.com/en/karl-marx-a-tool-to-win-the-future-for-china-xi-jinping-says/a-43650796
He is going to be the centre of much media attentionGerman news outlet DW has two articles both far off the mark http://www.dw.com/en/karl-marx-right-ideas-wrong-ideas/a-43591945http://www.dw.com/en/karl-marxs-core-economic-idea-revisited/a-43592271
Iowa has approved America's most restrictive abortion ban, outlawing most abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detected, as early as six weeks.http://www.dw.com/en/iowa-approves-americas-toughest-abortion-law/a-43631392
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/may/03/donald-trump-trade-economists-warning-great-depression 1,140 economists, including 14 Nobel prize winners, sent the letter on Thursday amid an escalating row over trade between the US and the European Union. Trump has imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports but has granted temporary reprieves to the EU, Australia and other countries.“In 1930, 1,028 economists urged Congress to reject the protectionist Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act,” the authors write, citing a trade act that many economists argue was one of the triggers for the Great Depression…Congress did not take economists’ advice in 1930, and Americans across the country paid the price."
Saturday 5th MayEdinburgh The march leads off from the top of Johnston Terrace at mid-day – marching down the Royal Mile and then up to the Pleasance. From 12.30pm stalls at the Pleasance Cabaret Bar include SfbBooks, Peace Groups, UAF, Green Trade Unionists, IWW, SUTR, Campaign Against Poverty, ACE, Abortion Rights, Living Rent, SPSC and Edinburgh Trades Council The rally is upstairs in the theatre (times approximate): 12..40pm Film – Making it Work – lives and experience of lone parents in North Edinburgh 1.00pm Music – Penny Stone (Edinburgh CND 1.10pm Speaker – Dave Moxham (STUC) 1.20pm Speaker – AL Kennedy (author) 1.30pm Speaker – Alison Gilmour (UCU activist) 1.40pm Speaker – Jane McAlevey (author and activist) 1.55pm Music – Calum BairdIRVINEOrganised by Irvine and North Ayrshire Trades Union CouncilAssemble: 11.30am Vineburgh Community Centre, march off at 12 noonRally: Vineburgh Community Centre, Quarry Road, Irvine at 1pmABERDEENOrganised by Aberdeen Trades Union CouncilAssemble 11am at Rubislaw Terrace, march off at 11.30amRally at 12.15pm CastlegateGlasgow Sunday May 6th 11 a.m. George Square, 11.30 a.m. march to Rally 12 noon at Royal Concert Hall. Speakers Jane McAlevey, Stewart McDonald
While i am at it, an interview with Jawaharlal Nehru University Professor Jayati Ghosh, which raises some questions on Marxismhttp://www.truth-out.org/news/item/44324-may-day-2018-a-rising-tide-of-worker-militancy-and-creative-uses-of-marx
Quote:the conversion of Marxist writing into a "canon" around which there have been endless often very esoteric (though no less passionate) debates about precise meanings of terms. In the English-speaking world, such hair-splitting has been all the more bizarre because the arguments were based on English translations from the German original, which was itself often prone to multiple interpretations. This overly scholastic approach made the ideas very rigid and therefore less interesting.Needless to say he is not on our wave-length
Quote:Nation-states must also be the bulwark of the fight against imperialism, which remains as strong as ever despite its predicted demise. Nation-states allowed, enabled and drove neoliberal globalization, and gave greater power especially to large capital; nation-states must be used to claw back the rights of people, and be made more democratic and accountable to the citizenry. Workers of the world (of all kinds: paid and unpaid, recognized and unrecognized) must still unite, but they must first unite within the spaces (the nations) within which they can hope to achieve their rights. The basis for proletarian internationalism therefore has to be progressive and democratic nationalism.Our lesser visited blog back in 2007 had this article on the subjecthttp://socialist-courier.blogspot.com/2007/12/all-very-fishy.html
Quote:It sounds mad: shipping UK-caught langoustine thousands of miles to be processed, then back again to be turned into breaded scampi and put on sale. That's what leading seafood producer Young's started doing last year. The whole round-trip is about 17,000 miles (27,353km). "They cover this up and distract it by saying it's carbon neutral, but in truth this is about minimising costs and maximising profits." says Willie Mackenzie of Greenpeace.Sad to say even this cost-cutting may not save the pending job losses at Young's in Scotland
The German trade unions reject UBIhttp://www.dw.com/en/german-trade-unions-strictly-against-basic-income-concept/a-43589741Union leaders in Germany have said the concept of an unconditional basic income for all citizens has serious flaws. They said it would be the wrong answer to ongoing automation."It's no solution to shunt somebody aside with a standstill reward just because people cannot be offered any decent jobs anymore," the head of the German Federation of Trade Unions (DGB), Reiner Hoffmann, said. Hoffmann insisted that pursuing a job was crucial to structure people's everyday lives and ensure social cohesion.The head of the powerful German union IG Metall, Jörg Hofmann, also spoke out against the idea of an unconditional basic income, saying that people were not happy sitting at home and doing nothing, or getting money for doing nothing.The president of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), Marcel Fratzscher insists that only a process of lifelong on-the-job qualification could cushion the impact of digitalization on the domestic labor market. Fratzscher suggested putting aside some €20,000 ($24,200) for every working-age citizen to be spent on their training and qualification.http://www.dw.com/en/german-trade-unions-strictly-against-basic-income-concept/a-43589741
Quote:Those of us who have preferred to avoid a rush to judgment until there was actual evidence of a chemical weapons attack have been invariably dismissed as “conspiracy theorists”. But who is really proposing the more fanciful conspiracy here: those wanting evidence, or those creating an elaborate series of revisions to maintain the credibility of their original story? If there is one thing certain in all of this, it is that the video produced as cast-iron evidence of a chemical weapons attack has turned out to be nothing of the sort.El Salvador's lawmakers have "blood on their hands", rights campaigners said on Friday, after parliament failed to consider proposals that would have decriminalised abortion in some circumstances.Abortion is a crime in the Catholic-majority nation under strict laws that campaigners say put women's lives in danger. About a third of all pregnancies in El Salvador are among girls aged 10 to 18, with many the result of incest by a relative or rape at the hands of someone known to the girl.About 25 women are in prison accused of abortion-related crimes even though rights groups say they actually suffered miscarriages, stillbirths or pregnancy complications."El Salvador's lawmakers have blood on their hands after declining to even discuss the reform to decriminalize abortion," said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas director at Amnesty International, in a statement on Friday. "This desperately needed bill would have saved the lives of countless women and girls who are needlessly put at risk by the total ban on abortion.""Lawmakers have failed to fulfil their obligations because they have not guaranteed the constitutional right to health and life of girls and women," local rights group, the Citizen Group for the Decriminalization of Abortion (CFDA) said. "The absolute criminalization of abortion causes unnecessary risks and injustices that affect especially the poorest women."Five other countries in Latin America and the Caribbean also have outright abortion bans.http://news.trust.org/item/20180427185247-lx2j7/
