alanjjohnstone
Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
https://www.newsdeeply.com/womenandgirls/sex-workers-face-poverty-thailand-announces-image-makeover/
Quote:Advocates for the rights of sex workers say that any crackdown on the country’s sex industry threatens to destroy, intentionally or not, the livelihoods of the women who work in it. And without a system in place to help women who are forced out of sex work, the government could be pushing thousands of families deeper into poverty…“This is a group of women who are refusing the poverty they are supposed to live in,” she says. “They want to take that chance, not just for themselves, but so they can bring their families, generationally, up out of poverty. So they’re the women buying the land, buying the tractor, sending kids to university, sending their brothers to the monkhood. They’re carrying the bulk of the family dream.”… 80 percent of Thailand’s sex workers are single mothers, and all are supporting some combination of parents, grandparents, and sometimes siblings with their sex work….NightLight, a charitable foundation and outreach project that helps sex workers who want to transition out of the industry says that although the organization would ultimately like to see the end of sex tourism, that can’t happen until the government addresses the issues that force women to turn to sex work in the first place.I considered it might be a typo at first but thought Roberts was actually a very good name for people-replacements and a great insight by the organisers…But how can you trust any robert…aren't they always using aliases..Bob, Bobby, Rob, Robbie, Rab, etc etc…
Darren, I'm now following another comedy/drama series on KBS – The Good Managerhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_ManagerIts about a con-artist exposing a corrupt corporation in the hopes of embezzling cash to emigrate to his dream country – Denmark. This week's episode was about him being mistaken for a union-leader and being bribed to end the strike.Much like their music K-Pop, Korean comedy is strange.
Quote:Going off at a slight tangent, as a regular viewer of RT I have a strong suspicion that it has a hidden agenda of courting populism and giving sympathetic coverage to populist issues like immigration precisely becuase the interests of Russian state lies with a divided EuropeAlso having been a regular viewer during my absence from the internet, i can agree with Robbo here. RT has been guilty of highlighting the refugee crisis as a social problem and reporting on the crimes of refugees in their host countries.Has anybody got figures on the numbers of Syrian refugees Russia has admitted, even if only temporaily by offering advance medical treatment in their hospitals for the casualities of the civil war? As one of the major perpetrators of the conflict, Russia has failed to provide adequate humanitarian help to the victims while blaming Merkel for welcoming asylum-seekers.RT has been shamelessly pro-Trump, denouncing the protests against him such as the Women's march as a George Soros conspiracy and the Berkley University demonstrations as criminal anarchy. As you say, in the world of geo-politics a divided EU and US is in the interests of Russia's national interest and Putin's personal interest (are they the same thing?) It regularly invites UKIP policians on to their shows as commentators as well as American right-wingers from Ron Paul Institute. I should add they also make use of the SWP's Chris Banbury and Scot Nat John Wight.
Our interpretation of language may well be one of our problems, ALB. When we consider ourselves part of the Impossiblist tradition, demanding the impossible, as we sometimes express it in our slogans, people will tend to consider us utopian. I am not so sure that playing the blame game on our fellow-workers, as Rodman suggests, is the proper strategy to follow. Do we preach that they are all sinners and must repent their sins?I am concerned that we do not enbolden our fellow worker with the confidence that they themselves can and will overthrow capitalism but instead concentrate our attention upon their weaknesses rather than their potential strengths, which indeed would focus on the power of their revolutionary vote. Keep nagging someone with obesity that they are fat and eat too much merely causes them to don protective armour and go into denial, and makes them more immune to criticism. Isn't the task of approaching any addiction is to make the person themselves seek out the changes in behaviour needed and it is important how others help to make it happen.I also wonder about who we direct our persuasion towards? Is it in a crusade to convince those who have already taken the baby-steps to reject what they perceive to be capitalism or try to engage those who fully acquiesce to the the status quo and form the supporting pillars of present-day society?Many socialists are active in resisting the varied myriad encroachments of capitalism, such as being trade unionists, and find it possible to be involved in defensive reform action as well as revolutionary advocacy. The political paradigm we propose is one of walking the tight-rope between what is possible within capitalism and what is impossible to achieve. And i wonder that where we fail is forging the links between class war and the requirement for social revolution. Don't we endeavour to make socialism, not some sort of far-off objective but a necessary immediacy and part of present-day politics, not something separate. . At a personal level, just how many members of the party came in contact through gaining the requisite socialist consiousness via the class struggle. Damn few, i would guess but instead accidentally stumbled across the Party having already acquired similar views independently (and we seem to neglect understanding that process) or were introduced to its ideas by family or friend away from the battle-field of ideology.Sorry but i have more questions than answers and it is one reason i continually belive that we need to address our concerns in some sort of dialogue with eachother within the Party and try group-think to come to some sort of conclusion and resolution, for lets face the fundamental fact – based on our present membership and the our recruiting trend, we are heading towards extinction as a political party and just maybe, we have been doing something wrong in our approach and don't quite realise what. Does it help the Party's future to believe we have all the answers and the failure of communicating and conveying socialist ideas has never been partially our own fault but an indictment of our fellow-workers ignorance. I'm not sure i can so easily give up introspection to discover how we manifest our ideas into actual actions, be they basic or grand.
Kaz, perhaps this Mike Ballard is not the Mike Ballard that you might be supposing him to be but possibly the antipodean Mike Ballard who often visits our blog.
Many religions were based upon apocalypic eschatology and it seems (apart from when material conditions reflect real chaos) the membership potential appears to be confined to the fewEven with the environmental movement, catastrophism is in the minority with the majority being more accepting of the reform potential for change.However, i am always minded of the slogan "socialism or barbarism". Many Marxists have espoused such a future, even if a time-scale is never placed upon it.As others know, i am the glass-half-empty type. Do we present the case that capitalism is flexible and adaptable as it actually is and minimise the extinction threat by climate change and pollution? I believe one radical group (with that German name) produced an article explaining how alternative energy and green policies will succeed in being adopted by capitalism…and so capitalism will stagger on and on until people intevene to end it. I see that the eco-socialist argument as very much like the tendency for declining rate of profit Marxists, such as Mattick…capitalism although not collapsing of its own accord by some automatic determinism, but producing the chaos and disequilibrium which creates a series of intense social conflicts that indeed we face a choice and reality of barbarism or socialism. A paradox…seeking suffering to end suffering. But that too is merely a tendency with countervailing influences. Climate change under capitalism may well not be the trigger for humanity's extinction, or even societal collapse. It leaves us in the Socialist Party with the eternal question…what will be the spring-board of socialist consciousness and momentum for Revolution? If it won't be barbarism, can it be prosperity, as some said that ignited the 60's social changes? Does that mean we must be apolgists for capitalist progressThe other important social development is robotics and automation being the driver for social evolution…but even there some such as Hawkings ( i think) suggested that humans will be redundant and androids replace us…dystopia and not utopia.
Vin, in my view, the Party has to be more visible and we must also concentrate upon explaining our perceived "impossiblism" is viable and feasible, and, in fact, the only option with any chance of lasting success. We have to present it as the immediate demand and, of course, we do but there are many ways o accomplishing this. Your efforts with animation is a vital if still a small part of the process but on the scale of the problem, we have a long way to go.The AlJazeera article linked to explains the DSA tactic is to be prominent in the protests and to form a left/progressive coalition. It would be very easy for us to enrol members by engaging with their justifiable anger and fears but we are better than that and insist upon clear understanding, not emotionalism. But that being said, we do require a jump-start of sorts.But i am open to joint cooperation with what is called the 'thin red line', as you and others know, to raise the volume of our relatively insignificant voice. And we have to increase our presence where activity is taking place and go in search of our audience. The mountain won't come to Mohammed. But sadly it all comes down to human resources in our case, not financial or logistical limitations. So we have to use what we possess to a certain extent – money – to buy ourselves publicity and that presence i have mentioned. Until we discover the magical technique of increasing our membership, we won't be able to increase our membership and thus our influence.
Also in the same report
Quote:The Socialist Alternative, a Trotskyist party, said its membership has grown by more than 30 percent since Trump's election.Hmmm…Robin, why are they taking such an optimistic view?The Doomsday Clock
Quote:In its two most recent annual announcements on the Clock, the Science and Security Board warned: “The probability of global catastrophe is very high, and the actions needed to reduce the risks of disaster must be taken very soon.” In 2017, we find the danger to be even greater, the need for action more urgent. It is two and a half minutes to midnight, the Clock is ticking, global danger looms.Queen of the Office, Darren.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_of_the_OfficeIt examines the conflict between the permanent employees who consider the corporate employers as paternal and offer almost family fealty towards them and those who are temps who view them as mercenary hire and fire exploiters.The series sends out mixed messages.Tim, not come across any of those boxes yet.
Or will they put the old and the sick back to work…Bring forward the retirement age of 70… And, of course, we can all work two uber jobs https://socialismoryourmoneyback.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-future-to-come.htmlDid i ever mention that i have to return to the UK to work and acquire additional Nat. Ins. stamps because the Tories changed the qualifying years for full pension rights? So capitalism has got one extra member of the workforce in due course.
Zizek – Never did like him and now i know whyhttp://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/upfront/2016/11/zizek-electing-trump-shake-system-161116062713933.html
Quote:As a majority of delegates voted, rightly or wrongly, to give Vin a third chanceBy expulsion, Cde. V. Maratty will have full opportunity to avail himself of the disciplinary process per the Party's rule-book which will permit him his appeals and arguments to the whole membership and not have simply a few uninstructed delegates nor the EC make the decision on behalf of the Party. It is a democratic hearing Cde. V. Maratty has been pleading for and there is nothing more final within this organisation than the result of a full party poll.
Quote:31. A Branch or member acting in a manner deemed by the EC to be an infringement of the Principles or Rules, or detrimental to the interests of the Party shall be immediately suspended by the EC from all Party business except the matter in dispute. The EC shall forthwith submit particulars of the charge to all Branches and at the same time communicate the charges in writing to the accused and enclose a copy of this rule. Branches shall hold at least one specially summoned meeting to discuss the charge. The Delegates at the next Delegate Meeting or Annual Conference shall hear the case of the EC and of the accused; after which no further circulation of arguments for or against the charge may take place. The Delegates shall submit their findings to a Party Poll and the result of the Party Poll shall apply as from the date of suspension. No parties to the charge or dispute shall be allowed to sit as Delegates or Chair at Conference, ADM or any EC meeting where the case is being reviewed.Some may give credence to Cde. V Maratty's word, i no longer do. But i am sure some fellow members, who i always found willing to see the good in others, will understandably be reluctant to exercise the ultimate sanction and will offer Cde. V. Maratty a fourth and fifth chance. After all, there is the time and the cost involved to consider but in regards to the time, i think we have wasted enough of it, already.
Another selection of letters from ALB, Robbo and myself in WW. Robbo and i seemed to have attacked Phil Sharpe in a pincer movement with our two letters in regard to War Communism in the USSR. http://weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1131/letters/I'll be replying in friendly tones to Maren Clarke who seemed to have misunderstood my earlier letter. I don't think we have much of a disagreement.
