alanjjohnstone
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Put a fiver through the door and see just how quick "no junk mail" is forgottenDelivery posties get an additional payment for junk mail…these sods who want everybody to stop getting it are demanding posties take a pay-cut…screw them. Let them scream when their automatically sent new ATM card gets treated as unsolicited. Royal Mail policy is that people have an option to sign up to an opt-out for unaddressed mail but it doesn't include Royal Mail's legal obligation to deliver election material. A leaflet is a calling card. No one will be convinced by a few hundred words. It is an invitation to seek out more information and instructions upon where to go for it.
I think your frustration is getting to you, LBirdThere is always a little boy in the back of the class-room who doesn't understand or follow what the teacher says and therefore doesn't pay attention, stares out the window instead, doodles, pulls funny faces…a good teacher doesn't ignore or condemn that boy..but, as you often said before, instead seeks out better ways to communicate and convey the message, to reach the boy……the failing is yours…and you have conceded that in the past.I will not be taking the advice of going to study the topic via any recommended reading list that has been offered on this thread….perhaps you aren't aware of how extensive the library and how academically expressed many of the books cited in earlier messages are.I prioritise my politics, that is the real point i'm making about what i consider to be abstract (celebral exercises) and practical politics.It is what you and me and everybody else in the world does. We try to differentiate everything that happens in the universe by the importance of the effect upon ourselves and by the amount of influence we can have upon those phenomena.Marxism tries to do that, by creating some form of structure that we can look around us and decide what can be changed to improve things for ourselves and Marxism also describes the means of how we can perhaps change it for the better. It isn't perfect but the only way we have and for all its weaknesses, the SPGB is best of the bunch. You may have one bit of the solution on how to shape the world into something more worthwhile but the means to make it practical is still missing from your formula…The individualism is your problem…you won't join together with others to make change. A dog howls at the moon, mankind puts people and spacecraft on the moon. Maybe you should give more thought to how to get what you want. I see very little evidence, and i keep returning to this, of how your interpretation of the world changes the world, to paraphrase the cliche. In that sense, it is not politics but indeed abstract thought.
Not really the point i was trying to make on election vote loser, LBird.More that it would re-confirm the abstract nature of socialism of how many angels dance on a pin-head rather than its practical application.Again i will anticipate your reply…democracy is practical and how to apply it is political…but i think i might let the democracy of the workers decide these questions rather than pre-determine them in a very philosphical obtuse manner in a polemic here on this forum between…5 or so people..from a population of 7 billion…ok, i know we have to start somewhere …but it does feel a bit insular, doesn't it.As i am reminded often about my advocacy of blueprints, many issues can only be finally settled within socialism, by actual socialists in a real socialist society, not in advance by those just promoting socialism.Isn't that democratic…to abstain (or adjourn the debate) from opinion on full 100% democracy in defining science until we actually have democracy being practised and have some practice at it as a process….
Again it looks like to me an obscure law being resurrected for nefarious political purposes. What is the actual act that forbids it? Does it say? i can't see it specifically mentioning imams in the edict. Just how do those C of E bishops in the House of Lords stand then? One law for the established religion…another for the others.Wouldn't it also forbid members of the clergy from actually being candidates?And what about that political party…the Christian Alliance or whatever it is called?A slippery slope and i agree a ban on political discussion would be extended eventually to teachers and university staff…then medical professions …until anybody with any influence or authority are excluded. Well worth a press release from ourselves (and our candidates) being released in defence of political liberty.
Wowee…what a popular thread this turned out to be…a hundred new messages since i last popped in to look and that only a day or so, but can i say something of an aside "We won't leave anything produced by humans under the control of elites"Just how many (or actually how few) are participating or have participated on this really really long thread? Aren't many of us excluded by the elite that have studied this topic…I know…you'll reply LBird that you have tried to simplify and clarify the problem and issue…and i think of all those on the thread you have sincerely endeavoured to do that, while others seem intent on name-dropping obscure writers and theories…but as always …i argue the thread is for the esoteric…and my usual grumble…it isn't going help get us a few extra votes in the general election, is it, as i doubt such issues will be brought up at the hustings…i know…the barbarian in me…You on the other hand, Lbird…handing out a few leaflets as a member, might have that beneficial effect …you'd definitely lose us votes if you raised the questions raised here at an election meeting…
I have spent a few years living in South India, John, in the state of Kerala which is perhaps unusual in that it has large local populations of Muslims and Christians. But i did travel extensively around Tamil Nadu and stayed a month in Mumbai. I can confirm that there are the two vegetarian restaurants and they are always clearly signed. The Pure Veg cannot serve or cook any type of meat on its premises as it would contaminate the cooking and eating utensils. A lot of Sikh tourists from the North used them. They are both popular but ordinary restaurants prevailed in number and popularity. We have to also understand there exists an argument that the ban on beef is historically a Brahmin caste imposition upon the lower castes.http://www.countercurrents.org/comm-puniyani250204.htm http://www.countercurrents.org/elango030714.htmhttp://www.countercurrents.org/comm-bidwai210803.htmMany radical dalits now reject vegetarianism for this political reason.The reason for vegetarianism, is the same reason why a lot of meals in Thailand are predominantly vegetarian…cost…not just to buy but, don't forget storage and spoilage…not everybody have fridges or reliable electricity even if they did, and food is bought daily at corner markets that spring up each morning for a few hours, or specific markets for specific foods.The only occasions i heard of any food poisoning was from hotels and restaurants who would return unsold displayed food from buffets back to the fridge. Street food and cheap restaurants were safer…they bought only what they could sell that day and cooked there and then with the order, usually, not heated up…Thali meals always come in veg or non-veg forms, and they are much favoured regional versions sought after. The meat i found difficult to obtain was any sort of pork. Mutton (goat) and chicken was freely available and eaten by all three religions, as was fish. Beef was also available but pricey. Plenty of dairy products …a curd that serves as a yoghurt substitute. A lot of fish. The main sausage available was a very tasty chicken and one type had a cheese centre that melted when cooked. Surprisingly the most popular soup was tomato and many rural village restaurants have it on the menu and i often joked it was the real Indian national dish. Anyway, all anecotal, but it does confirm that vegetarianism need not be some niche market but can be adopted nationally but in the real world, people would be omnivores but the proportion of meat eating would drastically reduced. Regards to veg and halal/kosher food…travel tip…if you are on a long haul air trip…pre-order those…you get served first and always hotter, usually tastier…but now one of the requisites of airlines is to report halal requests on security grounds among all the banking and credit details of purchasing tickets…i think i read they now have to keep 40 separate items of detail of passengers for security.
Mea Culpa…unfamiliar with all the practices..i never received any specific mention of it so i assumed that it was unacceptable, or had been fogotten about … because i sent a couple of submissions at once was how i got confused. Since it is no longer original…and also on my personal blog now…might as well delete it.My apologies ….next time i'll make sure anything i send to other website are not original ones….i sent a russian revolution and a magna carta article to other websites today in hope they get published but i'm sure i never sent to yourselves. …my memory fails me at time
A new article by myself although Janet S has had a few since the last message update. My latest is a failed submission to the Socialist Standard but it does show that there are other avenues for our case for socialism that can link to our main websites. http://www.countercurrents.org/johnstone020215.htm
Piketty endorses Syriza and Podemos (of which i also read he has volunteered to be an advisor)http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jan/12/thomas-piketty-austerity-europe-greece-spain
Some following this thread will find this article of interest with various links on it.http://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/02/02/welcome-share-scraps-economy
Quote:the biggest economic challenge we face isn’t using people more efficiently. It’s allocating work and the gains from work more decently.I see the ever-so liberal Guardian's editorial are using smear against Syriza…although they have no simply anti EU attitude like UKIP, Syriza is attacked because of Le Pen expressing sympathy for it. And, of course, what would be a good smear without trying to implicate the Russians…goodness, the Russian ambassador was congratulating Syriza in its victory…GUILT!So without any evidence of the contrary, Guardian questions the democracy credentials of Syria..
Quote:All the above means voters will want reassurance of the insurgent parties’ respect for the basic rules of liberal democracy.and a twisted sense of logic…if the right rise to power in Greece and Spain, it is the left that is responsible…(i guess they have a point but i guarantee if the military do take over , they will receive the same warm welcome as Sisi did in Egypt from the UK/EU)
Re- the clean up – I see as an ideal opportunity to distribute various reprints of "Who will do the dirty work in socialism" articles and would suggest Mike views it as indeed a different form of hustings where many participants will be asking one-to one questions or eavesdropping on the answers given by the candidate and indeed take up the challenge. And with any hustings i expect other members of the party to attend and assist him.
Paul Mason puts his knife in to the concepthttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/feb/01/paying-everyone-a-basic-income-would-kill-off-low-paid-menial-jobsWe await our ex-member LU and basic income advocate to eventually comment
Duncan, he doesn't reflect our opinions or ideas and we disagree with much he says but you will appreciate this interview of Brian Coxhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?x-yt-ts=1422579428&v=2xvoSJThudc&x-yt-cl=85114404#t=52Cox represents the typical Old Labour viewpoint.
The knock-on effect."Podemos leader Pablo Iglesias told the crowd a "wind of change" was starting to blow through Europe."http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-31072139
