[alanjjohnstone]

Those values our political leaders are defending and supporting by supplying weapons and diplomat support.http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-sentence-man-to-10-years-in-prison-and-2000-lashes-for-expressing-his-atheism-on-a6900056.html 10 years in prison and 2,000 lashes and a fine of £4,000 for expressing his atheism in hundreds of social media posts. The 28-year-old man admitted to being an atheist and refused to repent, saying that what he wrote reflected his own beliefs and that he had the right to express them. 600 tweets denying the existence of God, ridiculing the Quranic verses, accusing all prophets of lies and saying their teaching fuelled hostilities.The report did not name the man.  In 2014 the late Saudi King Abdullah, introduced a series of new laws, Article 1 of the new provisions defined terrorism as "calling for atheist thought in any form, or calling into question the fundamentals of the Islamic religion on which this country is based".

[alanjjohnstone]

YMS, i would have sympathy for your view if only the Party did issue statements and announcements in sufficient  numbers about current affairs and world events but sadly, we fail to do so to justfy an account.I often call for an EC/media committee to release a press release. If i am not amiss, i think when you served as gen sec you too issued open letters on some issues in the name of the Party. I think that should be part of the office duties. But to say an official twitter should restrict itself to official statements is to condemn that twitter account to atrophy. As part of the blog committee, i'd like to know how different you see the roles of Twitter and the blogs? Arguments and re-posts are part of the blog's content and i'm pretty sure as a blogger i place my own personal slant on many posts, hoping that it reflects the party positions, but not guaranteeing that it always is. Infallibility upon all matters is not a requirement for membership.Can there be a thing as peer review of social media messages…a vetting system…Or do we rely upon good sense of the posters and accept that there may be occasional lapses but because of the nature of the internet, these can be remedied by deleting or amending text with the minimum of fuss or damage. I'm sure all members recognise that personal individual  opinion can 'self-censor' to present the prevailing party position and not their own.  

[alanjjohnstone]

We have only the view of Stan, the author

Quote:

"No useful purpose would be served by merely seeking to attract attention, unless it is for a purpose connected with socialist propaganda."

my empahsis The crucial part of my post was 

Quote:

It isn't a one-off but something that could be used in a variety of ways

For sure we can employ such a visual tool in a series of "stunts"…"no war but class war" logo projected on to the Imperial War Museum, for instance…"Smash cash and the exchange ecnomy" on Bank of England or another City of London building…the possibilitie are endless and only my own lack of imagination limits the choices.But more importantly, as someone keen on posters and banners, can you not see the possibilities there…Lighting up our own premises with an appropriate image on the nights we hold a public meeting…attending night-time protests and "shining a light" on them via slogans and odf course highligting our presence at them. (fact is, it only a night-time tool, unfortunately but with our winter, thats a lot of hours,)How much for the equipment?..not a lot…the projector…the laptop 9which members will already possess) Can we afford to experiment with it – of course, we can…Look at the conference treasurers report….Our out-lays for HO far, far out-spends our socialist activity. Long ago in reply to one of posts, some wag thought to cast aspersions on an idea by saying we could dress up as batman and robin and climb a high building…fathers4justiceBut street theatre is not to be scorned …we could dress up in costume…as Diggers, as Chartists, and re-enact various historical events…Some will say singing or playing protest songs are a distraction from our message…

[alanjjohnstone]

http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/feb/26/future-of-work-remote-controlled-vehicle-operators-in-demand-in-2035Another report to read

Quote:

He said a recent CEDA report showed 5 million jobs (40% of the Australian workforce) face a high probability of being replaced by computers over the next 10 to 15 years.

[alanjjohnstone]

Wrong place for this thead, comrade…move it to the appropriate one before you fall foul again of  the referee…"World Socialist Movement – Discussion directly related to the business of the SPGB…" But as a quick answer…the blog takes quotes from non-socialist sources, and sometimes add a caveat to explain we are not endorsing other elements of the person or organisation. Sometimes it is not really necessary to do so.Repeating a press hand-out in totality, particularly a party we are openly hostile too without comment is a dubious tactic for us, it provides a link to and extends their audience and perhaps that is the issue here…it aids and abets our enemy …but quoting just relevant sections of the press release to stand alone isn't, but ideally we should add our own comment…But don't reply to me here…move this thread first…

[alanjjohnstone]

This for me has been the most depressing commentary on the Irish election i have so far readhttp://www.counterpunch.org/2016/02/25/the-2016-irish-elections-sinn-fein-v-the-empire/

Quote:

Gerry Adams, the leader of Sinn Féin, once famously said that “the IRA haven’t gone away”. If Sinn Féin finds itself in power next week the fighting spirit of the IRA must be quickly found again and used creatively. If it is – Europe’s anti-austerity movement may find the backbone it so badly needs. To have a chance it needs a strong dose of no nonsense anti-imperialism.

[alanjjohnstone]

The IMF adds its concerns

Quote:

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said the global economy has weakened further and warned it was "highly vulnerable to adverse shocks". It said the weakening had come "amid increasing financial turbulence and falling asset prices".

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-35656895

[alanjjohnstone]

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/feb/25/china-seeks-to-reassure-markets-on-yuan-and-transparency-ahead-of-g20The Chinese stock-market remains skittish

[alanjjohnstone]

Obama’s top military and intelligence advisers have expressed doubt on Russia’s willingness to abide by the recently-announced ceasefire in Syria. US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine General Joseph Dunford, and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Brennan have voiced increasingly hawkish views towards Russia, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday, citing a senior administration official. Carter, Dunford and Brennan have even unanimously called for new measures to “inflict real pain on the Russians." US intelligence agencies have warned Obama that if the US leaves so-called “moderate” militants at Russia’s mercy, then the Saudis or some other group could break ranks with America and send portable anti-aircraft weapons to Syria to down Russian warplanes.http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/02/23/451934/CIA-Pentagon-Carter-Brennan-Dunford-Russia-Syria-Truce(My apologies for not combining these posts into a single message…occupational hazard of surfing news websites)

[alanjjohnstone]

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/02/23/451951/EU-Turkey-Russia-Syria-Federica-MogheriniFederica Mogherini, European Union foreign policy chief, has cautioned against the risk of a war with active military hostilities between Turkey and Russia. She issued the warning during a debate at the European Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee."We are always referring to Syria as a proxy war among regional actors,” Mogherini said, adding, however, that the current situation in Syria risks becoming “something bigger”… “I'm not thinking of a cold war. No, we risk a hot war among different actors than the one we always think of. Not necessarily Russia and the United States, but Russia and Turkey, could be,” she said.

[alanjjohnstone]

I have a suspicious mind.http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/02/saudi-uae-ban-citizens-travelling-lebanon-160223154000581.htmlSaudi Arabia, UAE and Bahrain all now ban its citizens from going to Lebanon and tells those already in Lebanon to leave. What do people here think is behind this. It is clearly designed to be anti Hezbollah but why the timing now. I have suggested an imminent invasion that is hotly denied by many but still wonder why…Things in Jordan is taking a strange turn to…secret talks, foreign army build up…Is the war about to spill over?

[alanjjohnstone]

America's Plan B is to break up Syria and by saying so, i think they have condemned the ceasefire to certain failurehttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/23/john-kerry-partition-syria-peace-talksWhich makes me think , if it is okayed for Syria, will Iraq also be partioned? 

[alanjjohnstone]

Sign of the timeshttp://www.bbc.com/news/business-35635825Mining giant BHP Billiton has posted a huge half-year net loss of $5.67bn (£4bn) and warned that weak commodity prices will continue. It has abandoned its long-held policy of maintaining or increasing dividend payments to shareholders, reducing the payout from 62 cents a share to just 16 cents. Mining companies such as BHP have been under intense pressure as a slowdown in China's economy results in lower demand for key commodities, such as iron ore and coal.

[alanjjohnstone]

Has Sanders brought socialism in from the cold?http://static.politico.com/e2/b7/4b6f2ac94dfc9a5c21e4c8d20cdf/socialism-final-1.pdfSix-in-ten Democratic primary voters believe socialism has a 'positive impact on society,Democratic voters in every age group, every gender, and every race view socialism favorablyAmong people 45 and under — a group that has helped power Sanders’ primary performances — the ideology is preferred to capitalism by a margin of 46 percent to 19 percent.Voters over 66 years of age (36 percent preferred socialism, 28 percent sided with capitalism) and African-Americans (40 percent to 27 percent).In a January Bloomberg/Des Moines Register Iowa Poll, 43 percent of likely Democratic caucus-goers said they would use the word 'socialist' describe themselves.Now the bad news for ourselvesSocialism was defined as a system for those who believe “corporations have too much control and that the capitalist system is set up to favor the rich and powerful,” and that “the only way to police corporations and protect the citizens is for the government to take a larger role in managing the economy to make sure that every individual has equal access to basic necessities and public goods, even if that means that some people have to transfer their wealth to others." Free market capitalism, meanwhile, was described as the world-view for those who “say that it’s not the government’s job to pick winners and losers and that government intervention only leads to inefficiency. They say that capitalism produces the greatest amount of personal and economic freedom for every individual and [it] ultimately results in the best economic outcome for society, even if some people are left behind because they can’t compete.” 

[alanjjohnstone]

Quote:

I'm sure there'll a sort of special issue of the Socialist Standard in June, an EC statement and a leaflet.

Yup, what i fully expect…but what i would like to see is a lot more than that.But as Gnome always reminds me, a few are carrying the total membership but i would like to see a special effort put in by the Party as a whole and it is why i tried to suggest that it gets combined with the May election…keep the momentum up ….have a integreaated campaign that continues without pause…2 or 3 months of determined activity with the Party investing in the basic tools of propaganda  ….Not just the one leaflet but many, new banners , megaphones/mobile PA system, seeking out meetings and rallies to attend…i once suggested  this http://www.theprojectionstudio.com/projects/ with our own slogns and logo. 

Quote:

or maybe "Neither London Nor Brussels but International Socialism".

UH-OH And be mistaken for the SWP…No we have to put a positive spin on it …"Beyond the EU  to World Socialism" …something like that…I'm sure members will discuss the referendum at conference but unless there something on the agenda.. resolutions to focus upon…its just going to be a blether and blather with little or no outcome. I have no doubt some members would rather go fishing than engage in socialist activity…its understandably getting more and more  attractive as we approach the autumn of our years and the appeal of meaningless meanderings along the lines of the Last of the Summer Wine has more and more attraction. And, you can guess,  that takes me back to my usual doom and gloom prophecies and portents for the Party's future…It is one very  important  reason why we need to galvanise members into action whenever the political arena arises for us to do so…yes, i know we cannot force members into activity…we are voluntarist organisation…but , surely we can try bribery and blackmail…Anyway, the blog has posted twice on the EU conveying the message cut and pasted from Standard archives on the EU…a few more are already ready giving a similar message. Feed back would be welcome if members think our Party line should be more nuanced over this referendum. 

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