alanjjohnstone
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The former and current UN weapons inspectors Hans Blix, Scott Ritter and Jerry Smith, as well as former CIA counterterrorism official Philip Giraldi, had all questioned the official narrative of what happened on April 4. Lexis finds these results for UK national newspapers:‘Blix’ and ‘Syria’ = 0 hits‘Ritter’ and ‘Syria’ = 0 hits‘Jerry Smith’ and Syria = 1 hit‘Giraldi’ and ‘Syria’ = 0 hits.It is remarkable that, even after the deceptions of Iraq and Libya, journalists are so unwilling to report credible evidence challenging the US government’s version of events. This is made even more shocking by the fact that Trump has not, of course, been treated with the respect and deference usually reserved for US presidents. Rather, he has been subjected to a barrage of relentless and damning criticism. And yet, in response to his illegal bombing of a foreign country, the press has not only dropped its usual criticism, but showered Trump with praise while suppressing reasoned criticism.
This forum also recently pre-empted this item and touched on some of the points that will arise https://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/forum/general-discussion/principle-healthy-meaningful-living#comment-39407It is clear that there will be a continuous debate on the issue of sustainable food production and consumption which will be a complex and complicated one that encompasses many different cultures and circumstances. Definitely not a case of one size fits all. Agriculture both contributes to and is affected by climate change. It adds 10% to hothouses gases. Since reducing the amount of food or expanding arable land is not an option, then we have to tackle the choice of consumption and the methods of producing.Can we come up with definitive answers currently? I am not so sure we can but the more those who do possess the knowledge and experience become socialists – the farmers, the agronomists, and others in the whole food chain begin to apply non-profit mind-set, our options of good practices will begin to become clearer.
Quote:The SPGB may consider sending copies of the Socialist Standard to Comrades Md. Tabrez Anwer Julaha, Shahazada Rahim Abbas and Kaiser Asifi. Their postal addresses are to be found in our December, January and February EC minutes under Membership Application item.The 3-copy special offer?
Yes, Ozy…and in the meantime, a friendly book review in the Standard and comradely reaching out to him by those in the Party who have established contact with Zeitgeist.I know we have our differences since it is such an amorphous organisation but they have succeeded in building quite a network of supporters that we should try and tap into.First thing on my shopping list when i am next in the UK, Vin, is a Kindle and exchanging ebooks i am told is a very easy process. Libcom has advice https://libcom.org/library/using-e-book-readers-or-kindles-libcomorg
It is unlikely i will read the book until it is placed on the net for free but i do believe that there are aspects of the civil rights movement that we should try to emulate…the grassroots organising, the civil disobedience, the mass protests, even the manner of expressing solidarity…marches in Selma etc. Such tactics would be fruitfully combined with industrial action and the electoral activity. And i have no doubt that some survival strategies such as co-ops will arise.But i still feel we have to properly present our prediction in how the revolutionary process actually will play outSome things can be foreseen even if circumstances and situations may demand a variety of paths to take.The idea that we make socialism a human rights issue is an interesting one.The mere mention of the word "rights" raises the hackles of some socialists who insist we have no rights – i recall how we disparaged those who talked of the right to work, but is this a positive response when the issue of the right to food, the right to housing, the right to good healthcare is brought forth..Isn't socialism all about demanding the right to "life liberty and the pursuit of happiness"In fact, shouldn't it be brought right down to the religious precept – the golden rule “do unto others as you would have them do unto you" or as we would say in modern parlance – economics of reciprocity….seeking a cooperative commonwealthWhen it comes down to it…the UN Universal Convention on Human Rights, Child Rights etc all with a bit of tweaking represent our own socialist aspirations…and Zeitgeist's.Once you complete your reading ALB you can perhaps explain Joseph's approach to politics.
Trial project begins in Ontariohttps://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/24/canada-basic-income-trial-ontario-summer Unconditional monthly payments will begin to flow this summer; single people will receive up to C$16,989 ($12,570) while couples will receive C$24,027. All participants will continue to receive child or disability benefits, if applicable, to 4000 folk, in a 3 year three-year, C$150m pilot program drawn from the cities of Hamilton, Thunder Bay and Lindsay. Kathleen Wynne, Ontario’s premier said “It’s not an extravagant sum by any means,”
Quote:I have a strong suspicion his way of getting "there" will be similar to the Civil Rights Movement in the US.In that case, perhaps you can elaborate on just what that is politically and how different it is from a mass movement for socialism, describing the strengths and weaknesses of such a civil rights movement campaign for socialism.(incidentally, can you say who would be the MLK and Malcolm X of such a civil rights movement )
Just to be clear…this is the responsibility of the chair, whoever it is. And to act, he has to be aware of it.Email Gen Sec who sits alongside the Chair with a request that the Chair reads it out at the start of the conference during the fraternal greetings or when the item is reached . I doubt very much he will place the item out of order and move on to the next thing on the agenda. He will take his decision on the advisement of the Standing Order Committee ( and isn't Mike Browne, the most experienced one not going) or perhaps he will put it to the conference delegates whether it should be discussed. But some will consider this as yet another example of what the item is to debate.I am not at all sure of the actual whether it can under Standing Order rules be used in any other way other than a statement. But ultimately it is up to the discretion of the Chair to include it in the debate.Alternatively, you could ask someone who you know is a delegate attending to bring this message to the attention of conference. As we all know, a post on this forum is a guarantee of nothing. I'm not expert in procedures and others on this forum may well know more and have better advice.
Quote:Would it not be better to make these 3 publications, party publications, with full access to contentsFor sure, the online video of the talks are very educational, but i agree with Robbo. As someone unable to attend but also a person who uses a lot of resources on the net, i'd like the ability to copy and paste sections of the associated pamphlets to widen their audience.
Research by the Social Market Foundation revealed four out of five low-paid workers remained stuck in low pay even after 10 years in self-employment.Little different from wage-slavery.
Another point is thatyou should avoid the Rothchild quote since they tend to circulate around anti-semitic sources.It is also problematic since it is very unlikely he said such a statement.It is adapted from another well-known quote: "Let me make the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws."This is in turn attributed to the Scot, Andrew Fletcher in An Account of a Conversation: "I knew a very wise man so much of Sir Christopher's sentiment, that he believed if a man were permitted to make all the ballads, he need not care who should make the laws of a nation."Who is the "very wise man"? It is Sir Phillip Sydney, an English poet who came todominate the court of Queen Elizabeth. Sydney is the one who originated the phrase "Let me make the ballads of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws."
Why focus on the mechanism that prints the money? After all, the central bank was developed quite later than the various banking institutions. And a lot later than the development of money.(The first banks were the merchants of the ancient world that made loans to farmers and traders that carried goods between cities. The first records of such activity date back to around 2000 BC in Assyria and Babylonia. Later in ancient Greece and during the Roman Empire lenders based in temples would make loans but also added two important innovations; accepted deposits and changing money. (Wasn't Jesus throwing out, not money-lenders, but money-changers from Jerusalem Temple) There is the independent development of lending of money in ancient China and India. The Knight Templars began generating letters of credit for pilgrims journeying to the Holy Land: pilgrims deposited their valuables with a local Templar preceptory before embarking, received a document indicating the value of their deposit, then used that document upon arrival in the Holy Land to retrieve their funds. This innovative arrangement was an early form of banking and may have been the first system of travellers cheques. The Templars arguably qualify as the world's first multinational corporation. Banking in the modern sense of the word can be traced to medieval Renaissance Italy, Florence, Venice, and Genoa. Perhaps the most famous Italian bank was the Medici bank, set up in 1397.)What we have to abolish is an economy that is based upon exchange where some sort of note or certificate is required as a medium of exchange for buying and selling which also turns labour-power into a commodity to be bought and sold on the market. The main WSM criticism of Zeitgeist is that it fails to offer a political process for the establishment of a money-free society.
Yes it is very unfortunate that all we get just an easy-to-miss oneliner. Also, wear a prominent SPGB badge like the Peace Party guyAlso if you don't offer a big friendly smile, hold the logo in front of your face
Quote:Maybe you should call him up and tell him he doesn't know socialismGive me his personal phone number and i will, and i'll use the words of Eugene Debs to explain socialism to him.
JWD, i know you have over the years tried to address the Party's low public profile from everything from a banner to a calendar but when Gnome gives you the thumb-up for highlighting the fact that a magazine has had a drop of 50,000 in a decade and required half a million quid for a relaunch, with not all the money going to the print edition but to the digital and online side, i truly despair. NT judge half a million to stem and reverse the trend of falling circulation…i'd be over the moon if we devoted just a tenth of that ..50,000 for a Standard advertising campaign …And the claim that the Standard or the Party is going from strength to strength is …. delusional.An argument has been made that there is a demand for the Standard, and so far only Tim can present a case that a strong demand does exist within the Party for its continuanceBut what i seek to learn is what the demand is outside the party, how many non-party fellow-workers actually buy the Standard – the demand which is the most important – reaching an audience to interest them in socialism, not preaching to the converted and singing to the same choir – is described as too tedious. If it is found that the readership is predominantly members/sympathisers then it gives us an alternative to make it more a discussion journal along the lines of the old Forum, something i know are receptive to and such as magazine being more controversial and argumentative might just bring in increased readers.Ideally, we should also be finding out how many get to read it…how many at the libraries are actually read…how many family and friends such as our Inverness comrade get to read it. That is a bit harder to determine but not impossible.Tim, we're doomed i tell yah, dooooomed
