alanjjohnstone
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Paltering…telling lies by telling the truthhttp://www.bbc.com/future/story/20171114-the-disturbing-art-of-lying-by-telling-the-truth
Quote:Are people on holiday or do i detect a decline in usage of this forum?Is it heading the same way as our previous Yahoo lists?Surely there is enough going on the world for more than a few members to engage others on this forum.I have to return to my original comment bt now add…this forum is boring an certainly not attractive for the casual visitor to linger…I've tried both to post informative messages and provocative ones to revive interest…but to no avail…
Quote:Remains of Prince Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha or the “awakened one", who founded Buddhism and is believed to have lived around 566-486 BCE, may have been foundNow, what would happen if JC's body was discovered in some tomb and no ascension to heaven?
He did like dogs…and was a vegetarian…and according to those who were entertained by him, a good host. But so what?
An interview on the DSAhttp://inthesetimes.com/article/20686/democratic-socialists-of-america-election-left-win
Another article on Yorkshire independencehttps://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/nov/12/one-yorkshire-calls-for-devolution-growing-louder
Quote:“It’s not a revolutionary feeling. It’s just a very sensible, pragmatic view that if London has a bit more control and Scotland has a lot more control, then why can’t we have a bit more control? ”It should be easy enough to do, MarcosSearch our online archives for relevant articles and perhaps scan some articles still to be transcribed to the internet. copy and paste perhaps re-edit and re-format – then draft an introduction, and hey presto, we have one book. A similar approach can be done for a range of specific topics.BTW, will our new head office copier/printer be capable of producing pamphlets and short books?
A purge is underway in Saudi Arabia. Security forces had rounded up dozens of members of Saudi Arabia’s political and business elite. Among them were 11 princes as well as ministers and wealthy tycoons, among those is Prince Miteb bin Abdullah, who is head of the powerful National Guard and Prince Mohammed’s cousin.The purge was ordered by 32-year-old Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Officially next in line to the throne to his father, King Salman, he is now in effect running the country and in an attempt to shore up his own power – he has decided to go after the Saudi elite, including some members of the royal family, on accusations such as taking bribes and inflating the cost of business projects. Prince Mohammed decided to move on his family when he realized more relatives opposed him becoming king than he had thought.A person familiar with events said, “The whole idea of the anti-corruption campaign was targeted toward the family. The rest is window dressing.”
Documentary: Shankly – Nature's FireDate: Sunday 12 November: 21:00 GMTWatch: BBC Two Scotland; Available on iPlayer afterwards
Quote:You will find no “Great Men” in the S.P.G.B. The parts that its members play are varied, but no attempt is made to measure one against the other—the keynote is co-operative effort, as it will be in socialist society. One of our objections to the existence of “Very Important Persons” is that it presupposes that some persons are accounted of little importance. We are a band of ordinary folk, but each is as unimportant (and therefore each is as important) as the other, whether chosen for speaker, secretary, organiser or by-election candidate.http://socialiststandardmyspace.blogspot.com/2015/10/our-attitude-to-elections-1954.html
I read this link but find it difficult to understand
Quote:We have to frame the issue in ways that work within everybody's underlying cultural/tribal perspectives. We have to realize that answers are more likely to be found, and solutions are more likely to be reached, if the goal is finding common ground,What common ground is there between supporters of socialists and capitalism? Our respective positions are diametrically opposed and irreconcilable. We cannot compromise or offer concessions.
Quote:Trying to get somebody to change their mind on …any of the polarized issues of the day, is in effect asking them to change their underlying self-identitiesAnd that is what we do, isn't it? Try to raise consciousness and undermine various ideologies held by our fellow workers like nationalism, religion. We do ask them to change because if they bring their prejudices with them it is suicide for the socialist movement. It is all very nicey-nicey sentiments but i have enough experience to know that it is hard to find a way to tell somebody they are wrong – invariably it is taken personally. I think we have touched on attitudes on other threads, how to communicate and conduct constructive exchanges. It does begin with language and choosing the right words to say. Face-to-face much depends on body-language but in written mediums and the internet, so many other things crop up to thwart criticisms being received as non-threats.Sometimes i simply don't know how to treat people i discuss – (or is the truth, argue) – with. Even wen it is the comrades on this forum and in the Party
Quote:The difficultly is that we risk guilt by association.I'm not sure if comrades understand where this position leads to. I mentioned it may mean changing our language but if we are to avoid guilt by association, it requires a complete separation from the word socialism, our association with the ideas of Marx and Engels and a lot more besides.As regards to
Quote:we need to be careful not to magnify the disputes on the Weakly Working letters page into something that really matters in the ongoing class struggle.my original recent letter was to draw attention to anti-nationalism and to place Marx and Engels support for certain nationalist movements into perspective – and in today's context it is anti-socialist.Steve Freeman may be a one-man band but he does present the case of many left-nationalists who give support and succor to openly pro-capitalist nationalists. (Freeman even avocates such a policy in his letter). That question is at the centre of working-class politics today across the world. Scottish and Catalan separatisms are not aberrations but reflective of what people are thinking right now in many countries. We most definitely must take them on. There is no prevaricating about the question.We cannot offer those left-nationalists who claim to be socialists and Marxists any legitimacy by being silent and letting them off the hook.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-41945189Iran is establishing a permanent military base inside Syria, a Western intelligence source has told the BBC. An official from another Western country told the BBC that ambitions for such a long-term presence in Syria would not be illogical for Iran.Satellite images commissioned by the BBC seem to show construction activity at the site referenced by the intelligence source between January and October this year. The images shows a series of two dozen large low-rise buildings – likely for housing soldiers and vehicles.The images of the base do not reveal any signs of weaponry.Why is the BBC complicit in never revealing the nationality of their source?. Was it Mossad? The CIA? MI5? France's Deuxième Bureau?
Hezbollah rattles the sabres http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-41946310Saudi Arabia and its Gulf State allies told their citizens in Lebanon to leave the country immediately.
