alanjjohnstone
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Jon Stewart's satirical and very humourous comedy sketch on the situationhttp://www.alternet.org/watch-jon-stewarts-hilarious-take-sony-hack
But are they going to die within a capitalist world or in a socialist society, that is the question.SonofRage is an optimist…my glass is half-empty, i'm afraid.But a future as yet unposted blog reads
Quote:Many are pessimistic about the prospect of a socialist revolution, probably with a certain amount of justification, and they know that eradicating capitalism is a long shot. But it’s our only shot. The reason that socialists are politically active is because there’s nothing else. The only other alternative is to give up, surrender and submit to a slow death for ourselves and our planet. When we accept things the way they are we’ll end up in a worse situation. If a person really understands what’s going on, he or she cannot stand idle. It’s a matter of human dignity and it becomes part of our historical social responsibility to try and change things. Accepting things the way they are would mean allowing 10 million children under the age of five to die annually because, under the normal functioning of global capitalism, it’s not profitable to save them. It would mean continuing to accept racism, which has always been central to capitalism’s divide and rule manner of domination and control. It means the acceptance of capitalism’s expansion and the unremitting accumulation of capital.We should never forget that we are potentially stronger than they. We outnumber them. But equally important, we have right on our side.This article by the social commentator Chris Hedges is another powerful pro-animal rights analysishttp://www.commondreams.org/views/2015/01/05/all-forms-life-are-sacredHe echoes something i have said from personal anecdote of working with ex abattoir workers
Quote:It is about us. Once we desanctify animals we desanctify all life. And once life is desanctified the industrial machines of death, and the drone-like bureaucrats, sadists and profiteers who operate them, carry out human carnage as easily as animal carnage.Although we cannot and should not make vegetarianism/veganism a condition of membership, we should include it in our vision of a future socialist society…one without racism, ageism, sexism, AND speciesism. A world that does not inflict unnecessary cruelty on non-humans which emotionally damages the human within us all.
Invite him to do a presentation sometime, perhaps? Along the lines of "Anthropology and the Human Subject…For Dummies and Dimwits"…i already got lost in the meanings of some of the words in the example and i am sure he can simplify or explain and clarify and elaborate his message in a talk with Q and A session.
This is what i was meaning on another thread. That it should be us that Counterfire should be slighting and disparaging. We should be its target. I'm looking forward to your critiques in the coming issues of the Standard that we can use as a template in our criticisms so we can directly challenge the "radicalism" of Syriza and Podemos and their supporters on the left. LU have its fair share of those.Somehow we have to try and start steering the the narrative… and navigate a course towards a discourse discussing Marxist aspirations as real policies for workers movements…We have to show that at present the so-called alternative economic model is indeed utopian wishful thinking, digging up and resurrecting dead theories from the past…real zombie voodoo economics…Syriza and Podemos…the Burke and Hare of the left.
Rather than use the alternative Podemos thread i think both parties can be discussed together because of their similarities.This may be of interest to those curious to know more detail on Podemos economics, under-consumptionist and Keynsianhttp://left-flank.org/2015/01/02/understanding-podemos-33-commonsense-policies/
Quote:it is clearly a strategy based fundamentally on saving capitalism from its inbuilt excesses (as Keynes intended) rather than overcoming capitalism as a system.The green defence of nuclear powerhttp://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/nuclear-power-is-the-greenest-option-say-top-scientists-9955997.html
Quote:"Nuclear power – being far the most compact and energy-dense of sources – could also make a major, and perhaps leading, contribution …. It is time that conservationists make their voices heard in this policy area…Trade-offs and compromises are inevitable and require advocating energy mixes that minimise net environmental damage. Society cannot afford to risk wholesale failure to address energy-related biodiversity impacts because of preconceived notions and ideals"This i think this has been said by many in the party and in articles in the Standard, while others are still sceptical of such policies.As an aside, i recall the support given by many green conservationists to the declaration of the Chagos Island Marine Reserve, an obvious political ploy to ensure the islanders were refused a chance of return and Diego Garcia remain a US military base. Just saying that to highlight that scientists are fallible. As their letter continues
Quote:"Our main goal was to show – through careful, objective scientific analysis – that on the basis of cost, safety, emissions reduction, land use and pollution, nuclear power must be considered in the future energy mix," he explained.We have to ask just how high on the scale of priority was the pounds and pence. Until they reveal that in their calculations some of us will remain cautious about making choices within the parameters of capitalist accounting, regardless of other worthy motives.
i had a quick look at the website
Quote:We remain loyal members of the CWI but are opposed in principle to the un-Marxist position taken by leading members of the party, particularly on central aspects of Marxist theory and practice. Our aim is win back the CWI to a Marxist position on these key questions.Just why do they bother staying?Links to their economic position…far too long and tedious for me to read…seems as if they are proponents of the Declining Rate of Profit theoryhttp://marxistworld.net/2013/09/what-is-the-cause-of-the-current-capitalist-crisis/http://marxistworld.net/2013/11/in-defence-of-marxs-law-of-the-tendency-of-the-rate-of-profit-to-fall/
Democracy Now and interview with Russel Brand (20 minutes in) who does a very piss-poor impression of Chomsky talking in an attempt to be humourous but a great song from Leonard Cohen as an intro to the interviewhttp://www.democracynow.org/2015/1/2/russell_brand_on_revolution_fighting_inequality
Quote:AMY GOODMAN: Might you run for mayor of London?RUSSELL BRAND: I don’t think I would really want to be part of that political system. What I’m interested in is ordinary people being engaged, whether it’s for union activity in their workplaces, new coalitions or people that are taking control of the places that they live, Amy.i think the interview shows what i previously said about Brand…great insight but marred by his need to fall back into clown persona.
No doubt having a Mexicn wife and being a fluent Spanish speaker will help Bush acquire more of the Hispanic votes than any other Republican candidates but this article again emphasises that Bush is no pro-amnesty liberal or open borders advocatehttp://www.wsj.com/articles/clint-bolick-jeb-bushs-conservative-immigration-agenda-1420155374And for those who planning a visit to Disney Land with the kids, if Bush is elected, be prepared to get finger-printedBut in one of the articles comment section we see just how far some Americans are blinkered… Obama is a socialist they said…now they sayJeb Bush is socialism-lite !!!…aaaarggggggggggg
A good quote from Naomi Klein on Syriza and for us to ponder as well. Klein is about to interview the head of Syriza. She asks a Greek comrade what she should ask him, and the person says: “Ask him: When history knocked on your door, did you answer?” As Klein concludes, “That’s a good question for all of us.”Just how do we recognise that knocking or even know if its from the front or back door ?Will the SPGB wait until history rings the bell and shouts through the letter-box?
I think Syriza in Greece and Podemos in Spain are interesting developments.In response to severe austerity measures and despite a surge in Greece of the Right Golden Dawn, people have moved towards the left and are prepared to put their vote where their mouth is, so to speak. In contrast, the UK despite some worth trade union organised shows of strength, many still blames the immigrants for their misery (both problems in Greece and Spain, too, but electorally insignificant) and opts for Little Englander UKIP. LU/TUSC are absolutely no-where. In Scotland the left allies itself with pro-capitalist social democrats of the SNP. Why is this, i keep asking? France seems to share the British right-ward shift to Pen's National Front Germany is 50/50, i think, a growth in th Right but also a growth in the Left too. The Eastern Europe has a strong right tendency but surpising more libertarian regards internet etc Ireland now has the water tax which may act as spur and raise the profil of the left like the Poll Tax did for the SSP in Scotland but i doubt it..Sein Fein seems to be the party capturing the activists. For all the obvious faults Chavism and Evo Morales-ism has created a popular movement.At times, i feel like just giving up on the Brits, relegating them to tagging along on the coat-tails of the revolution when it comes rather than being in any way a motor for it. I meet ex-pats who live in foreign countries who emigrate abroad to get away from foreigners and who join UKIP because of other immigrants! They just can't fathom their own absurdity.He probably doubt it but i really wanted Stuart W to be correct on Left Unity, that it was going to be a springboard for radical ideas but each time i read about them, the more they return to the left-wing ghetto. Our "successful" left, the Green Party, shows exactly what happens when they accept the responsibility of running capitalism, even if in a couple of cities like Brighton…I'm torn between opting for a fairly orthodox conventional election campaign for May, or knowing full we will get the usual 0.2%, and get side-lined, adopting a campaign aimed at notoriety and outrage that makes Brand look moderate. Perhaps we should call in Ian bone as our election advisor and consultant !!http://www.classwarparty.org.uk/If the UK ever develop a left that resembles the more potent manifestations in Spain and Greece, we need to find an effective approach towards their members and supporters on how to convince them to take "one step beyond" to quote a popular 70s song by Madness. Morning rant over
Darren O' has been trying to find out my football team allegience for years …But Frankie from the Pampas seems to be following in the footsteps of the Dalai Lama in liberal social/spiritual messages (who he rebuffedby in the interest of more cordial Vatican-Chinese diplomacy)I'm just curious to see how far he he will be prepared to go before back-tracking…You yourself mentioned somewhere we have C of E Bishops who are atheists…Could we have a Pope who finally admit to being one. Could he be the Anti-Christ.?Nah, no road to Damascus conversion, here…maybe just to many trips to the movies for the Apocalypse !!
