alanjjohnstone
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Eight ex-servicemen have formed what they call IVFOR (the International Volunteer Force) and have bought combat fatigues and high-powered assault rifles to prepare for their mission, the Evening Standard reported. One member told the newspaper the unit was open to English-speaking volunteers from any country and will be in Syria “within weeks” .Personally, i have reservations about those volunteers…i just wonder how many of them will subscribe to the EDL and the "Muslim" threat….i think it is not beyond the realm of imagination to think they too will return "radicalised" despite fighting for a supposed "muslim" army…I recall volunteers during the early stages of the civil war rushing to enlist in the Free Syrian Army and will the immigration services differentiate between those who joined fought Assad rather than the ISIS. I simply cannot accept the analogy with the IB … where are the ideals of those ex-squaddiesIn Nigeria, a number of South Africans have enlisted in the battle against Boko Haram…they are in the press more honestly described as paid mercenaries.Sorry forgot the link http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/former-british-army-soldiers-form-international-volunteer-force-to-fight-isis-in-syria-10111054.html
Another term for the General Strike is "Folded Arms" …Non-violence…civil disobedience…nothing about barricades…simply passive non-cooperation. I do tend to share the old SLP approach,….sword and shield …and like them i'm happy to switch roles …whether it is political action or industrial action that is the sword or shield will depend on circumstances
I am curious to know whether they will receive the same sanctions as those volunteering to fight for ISIS.Or are one person's mercenary another person's freedom fighter?i believe when the Spanish Civil War was on a number of Irish Republican Army veterans joined the IB and some others joined Franco's side to fight for Mother Church.
Greed is good. War is inevitable. Whether in political theory or popular culture, human nature is often portrayed as selfish and power hungry. UC Berkeley psychologist Dacher Keltner challenges this notion of human nature and seeks to better understand why we evolved pro-social emotions like empathy, compassion and gratitude. We've all heard the phrase 'survival of the fittest', born from the Darwinian theory of natural selection. Keltner adds nuance to this concept by delving deeper into Darwin's idea that sympathy is one of the strongest human instincts — sometimes stronger than self-interest.The Evolution of Pro-Social EmotionHistorically, research on emotion has emphasized the intrapersonal characteristics and functions of emotion, addressing such questions as: What is the experience of emotion? How does emotion influence judgment? Advocates of a social functional approach assume that emotions enable individuals to respond adaptively to the problems and opportunities that define human social living, from care-giving to status negotiation, and have begun to address how emotions shape social interactions, relationships, and roles. This work is guided by the notion that these emotions are important commitment devices, motivating pro-social, other-oriented action in the face of self-interest.For example, we have documented the nonverbal display of love and how it covaries with oxytocin release in the bloodstream, that humans can communicate emotions like gratitude and compassion with one second touches to a stranger’s forearm, that a region of the autonomic nervous system is centrally involved in pro-social positive emotions, and that awe expands the self to more communal conceptions. We have begun to understand the emotion of awe, which is elicited by appraisals that the self is in the presence of something vast and the perceived need to accommodate one’s current beliefs to new knowledge or insights, which promotes curiosity and humility. We have learned that awe is readily conveyed in brief vocalizations, and facial muscle movements. We have started to look at how laughter relates to altruism and generosity. We have documented how people who report the trait-like tendency to experience compassion show an elevated profile of vagal tone, see common humanity with others, and are more likely to engage in altruistic actions and be trusted and trusting of others in relationships.Power, Social Class, and HierarchiesPower is central to social interaction and social structure. In a theoretical synthesis published in Psychological Review, my colleagues and I have argued that elevated power, defined by control, freedom, and the absence of social constraint, lead to approach-related behaviors and relatively automatic thought; reduced power, in contrast, increases inhibition and vigilance. In the past three years my students and I have published empirical tests of several of the propositions outlined in this theory. We have documented how increased power: (1) reduces the accuracy with which we judge others’ emotions; (2) reduces felt compassion toward others who suffer; and (3) alters emotions. We have offered two new theoretical extensions in our thinking about power. The first concerns who obtains power, and here we have argued, based on several years of data, that power is afforded to those who advance the interests of the collective, and not to those who act in selfish ways. And second, we have begun to explore how socio economic status operates in similar (and different ways) to power dynamics.LINKhttp://greatergood.berkeley.edu/
This short video (with no commentary) brings home the industrialisation of the meat business. http://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/without_saying_a_word_this_6_minute_short_film_will_make_you_speechless/
i watched this video from the website Robbo recommended another video from. I thought it worth sharing, as are many on that website…well worth exploringhttp://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/we-are-built-to-be-kind/
i went to the site and was surprised that a hustings being held in one of the poorer council estates of Edinburgh are not offering "refreshments" as we do at most of our meetings…tea or coffee or whatnot… but are providing a "light soup supper"….signs of the times, i suppose…the increased numbers of the blighted and the lure of food to draw an audience…
If you are into conspiracy theories, the author is a member of the Project for the New America Project, held responsible for providing the ideological cover for the Iraq war…so, nope, those policy-setters have never gone away, nor learned anything from their glaring failures and the so called "liberal" press still treat them as an informed authority to learn from….doh!
i think we don't often emphasise that there is an important time factor. If tomorrow tax taken from your pay was raised to a third then we would suffer a pay-cut and have less spending power. But as YMS says it all comes down to class struggle for higher pay for any increased income tax be recuperated.If the unions or unofficial action is weak then people do feel the pinch and the pain of tax and the burden of taxation falls proportionately heavier upon them. Compensating for the tax taken from your wages is not done automatically and may take a while and at a cost of lost of earnings through strike actions and overtime bans etc.This caveat also applies to the effects of inflation. Wages are prices and so with a general rise in prices it too loses value but wages are a special type of price…it is ultimately determined by the active input of working class, it is why it cannot ever be a passive class but at times it does act so for various reasons. It is one reason why we must always emphasis and stress the importance of class struggle and call for more power to the unions…as long as they exercise that power and don't as sometimes happen get co-opted into what are called pay and price deals with governments.
And they say they practice a new politics !! Another ill-advised media mishap
Quote:The Green Party announced plans to hold a black tie – or alternatively green tie – fundraiser this month for its ambitious general election campaign, with the cheapest tickets at £1,000. The minimum cost of going to the bash at a central London hotel was twice the price of standard tickets to the Conservatives’ much-mocked black-and-white ball last month. Guests were being offered champagne, a three-course dinner, a speech by the leader, Natalie Bennett, and a “stimulating Q&A session”. That was to be followed by a “green auction” and a drinks reception lasting into the small hours…the plans appeared to be in the balance last night as anger grew among activists who believe the Greens are aping their rivals. A link to details of the reception vanished from the Greens’ website and party sources confirmed it was under discussion.Hmmm…isn't the implication there …"The only good socialist is a dead one" Anyway, back to the thread, i hope Saturday's lit stall has good weather.
Quote:where personalities, as is the case with virtually every other political party, are relatively unimportant.I know i am shooting myself in the foot, Gnome, since i agree broadly with your position, but i do think, as i have said, it is something that we should study and if necessary adapt. But to follow your own logic…Why does the Socialist Standard devote valuable space to publishish members' obituaries?…Personalities aren't as unimportant as you make out, are they? Or is being honoured and commemorated in death somehow different?
When the TUSC engage in it, it is the Theatre of the Absurd…what i suggest is Revolutionary Agit-prop You may well be right about the face or case, JDW. It is a tactic or strategy, not a part of our D od P or rule-book. We don't actually know its effect, good or bad, but each of us makes our own guess and judgement.I simply propose when an opportunity arises to investigate further the advantages and disadvantages we seek to do so. We do so little research into ourselves, our presentation and our image.As Rabbie Burns put it :-"And would some Power the small gift give usTo see ourselves as others see us!It would from many a blunder free us,"
Hmmm.???..Susan's interest in the person of the candidate may have some of us questioning "its not the face, its the case" argumentShould it be raised with her, that we do not do personalities…or do we need to provide full bios of our candidates to relate more on human level to prospective supporters?…My opinion has always been the former rather than the latter but it is not engraved in tablets of stone.Perhaps Andy should ask her why his personal details should be included as well as his political positions so that we can actually start the process of learning from this electoral venture of ours, Maybe we should engage in direct discussion with her if she is willing and has time to express her thoughts…it is the relevant feedback we wish to seek rather than draw conclusions from assumptions.
