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Here's a photo of a Labour Party leaflet pushed through people's letterboxes in Haringey last night:If you can't read it clearly this is what it says:

Quote:

Labour's tough new approach to immigrationIt's fair that before drawing on the welfare state, people should first make a contribution to it.That's why Labour will stop people claiming benefits until they have lived here for at least two years.The Tories have lost control of our borders and have no idea who is coming in or out of the country. That's why Labour will bring in 1,000 extra border staff to count people in and out of the country as well as fingerprint checks to clamp down on illegal immigrants.People who rely on public services have a right to expect that staff, like nurses and care workers, can speak English. That is why Labour will make sure that all frontline public sector staff can speak English.

Nasty stuff. Real nasty stuff.But which is worse: People like UKIP who really believe this or people like Labour who only pretend to so as to win votes?

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Here's something about which of our opponents will and won't be standing in Brighton (from here):

Quote:

Brighton is an unusual situation for two reasons. Firstly, the entire council is re-elected every 4 years, rather than the rolling programme that exists in most areas. We are also the only city in the country with a Green M.P and a council in which the Greens are the largest single partyNobody on the left that I'm aware of is suggesting standing agamst Caroline Lucas in Brighton Pavilion. Here is a an M.P. who has: turned up to picket lines to support striking Cityclean workers in dispute with the Green council, fought plans for Hove Park school to become an academy, been arrested on an anti-fracking protest and spoken at a rally of striking teachers.The situation in Brighton Kemptown is complicated for several reasons. We understand that the local RMT branch is supporting the Labour Candidate as she has made a commitment to highlight the call for the renationatisation of the railways in her literature. As Clive Heemskerk made clear at the recent TUSC meeting in Brighton, this wouldn't necessarily lead to a veto from the RMT nationally but would mean the local RMT branch couldn't support the campaign.Brighton Kemptown is also a Tory marginal, with a local poll published in October showing Labour on 37% and the Tones on 33%. Were TUSC to secure say 5%of the vote and the Tories were to squeeze in then this would give ammunition to those within the RMT who want to withdraw their support for TUSC. My personal view is that experience suggests a strong left challenge actually bolsters Labours vote by raising the political temperature and cutting across the drift of disaffected voters towards UKIP and the right.The other complication in Brighton Kemptown is that the Green candidate, Davey Jones, is a founder of Red Pepper, supports BDS in Brighton and has signed the local anti -austerity pledge. Supporters of the SWP at the TUSC meeting argued against standing in Kemplown for a variety of reasons, including that 'Davey Jones wants to be the next Caroline Lucas'. I argued for standing, as did the majority of the meeting, but a decision on whether or not to stand was deferred until February.Finally there is Hove. All three Brighton seats are on Labour's list of key marginals but opinion polls suggest Hove is their most likely gain. Both Labour and the Greens have selected candidates for Hove that are from the right and the meeting decided unanimously to stand in Hove at the general election. Outsiders might think Hove is all leafy suburbs and retired colonels but there are large working class estates and socially deprived areas behind the beautiful primrose coloured regency seafront with which visitors will be familiar.The meeting also decided, subject to sufficient candidates being available, that TUSC would stand in every ward. This ought to be possible without standing against anyone who has signed an anti-austerity pledge

Interesting that the SPEW people don't want to antagonise the RMT for fear of losing funding while the SWP appear soft on the Greens. We are not standing in Hove but  they (TUSC) are.

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I expect it's just a negotiating ploy (to show the new government's priority is to get a better deal for Greek capitalism). But they sound a nasty lot.  A bit like a coalition between Left Unity and UKIP here but then the elements  of the "left" and "right" have combined here too to oppose the EU. I wonder what ministries they'll get besides Church Affairs.

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Let's face it. The Green Party's policy for reforming capitalism is pie-in-sky and deserves to be mocked and torn to pieces just as we do with the Trots and their reforms. What they envisage is not going to happen. In fact it can't happen because capitalism can't be made to work in the ways they want.

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Here's the view of GMB trade union on fracking:http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201415/cmpublic/infrastructure/memo/ib36.htm

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This is getting too complicated for me: irony on irony!  Being unironic for a moment I wouldn't describe Syriza as "a capitalists party". It's rather a classic "reformist" party like the Social Democratic parties of yesteryear that thinks that it may be able to counter or overcome the economic laws of capitalism. Unfortunately, it cannot, as history has confirmed on a number of occasions. But at least workers in Greece aren't taking things lying down.

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The Israeli govt policy of collective punishment is not derived from the Nazis but from the preceding British colonial administration which used to use it against the Jewish nationalists who used terrorism to try to establish a Jewish State in Palestine.

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Irony never works properly as someone is bound to think you mean what your words say. That's what they taught us at Speakers Class.

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People in Greece would have to have been masochists to vote for the other lot. Sad thing is that, given capitalism, Syriza won't be able to do much for them.

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Here's George Galloway saying "Je suis Mohammed" . After all, he needs their votes if he's not going to get booted out as MP for Bradford in May:http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/george-galloway-condemns-racist-islamophobic-hypocritical-rag-charlie-hebdo-at-freedom-of-speech-rally-9990490.html?icn=puff-9

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I think that researchers even in Israel accept that "six million" is not to be taken literally.  Seehttp://www.haaretz.com/jewish-world/jewish-world-features/.premium-1.540880But, as you say, even one million would be bad enough.But even six million is low compared to the total of probably well over over 60 million (60,000,000) who died as a result of the Second World Slaughter.

Quote:

The overall death and destruction that took place during World War II may well be beyond human comprehension. Historians estimate that military casualties on all sides, in both the European and Pacific theaters, reached up to 25 million, and that civilian casualties ranged from 38 million to as high a figure as 55 million – meaning that somewhere between 3 and 4 percent of the world’s total population died in the conflict.

Personally I don't like the word "holocaust" because of its religious connotations and don't think much of "Holocaust Day" either as that leaves out the much greater number of others who got killed.  What would be more appropriate would be a World Slaughter Day.

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Actually Dylan was quite popular amongst Party members in the 1960s. Didn't he sing an anti-war song called "Masters of War" or something like that? But then he went funny and became a born-again christian and from then on it's been downhill all the way.

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tDon't forget that they are doing the same thing to UKIP too, also perceived by the dominant section of the ruling class as a threat to their interests.

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Now the government is flying flags at half-mast for the old bastard:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/saudiarabia/11365375/Government-criticised-for-lowering-flags-along-Whitehall-in-honour-of-King-Abdullah.htmlThis is for the head of an Islamic State which applies sharia "law" in all its ferocity. But then its "our" Islamic State and, besides, has juicy arms deals to offer. What next will they do to get one? Will Cameron allow himself to be buggered by a Saudi prince?

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Apparently the matter of a referendum on the budget is back on the agenda again:http://brightonandhoveindependent.co.uk/green-party-says-cuts-calls-jason-kitcat-make-way/

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