[ALB]

ALB wrote:

But we have complained about being described here together with the SLP as a "far-left Eurosceptic party" and have demanded a correction to a "party standing for neither British nor European capitalism but for world socialism".

This has now been corrected, as per our request.http://europedecides.eu/candidates/election-lists/uk/

[ALB]

If we'd contested the South West Region we could have known how many votes we would have got in Gibraltar:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Parliament_election,_2009_%28Gibraltar%29But people in the region can still show they reject capitalism and want socialism by writing WORLD SOCIALISM across their ballot paper.

[ALB]

I liked this one.

[ALB]

Busy day. Request from a Kent newspaper group for 600 words, a Sussex newspaper group for 100 words, BBC Radio Oxford for a short interview, invitation to a webcast hustings at Southampton university. Not complaining though as this is what we wanted.But we have complained about being described here together with the SLP as a "far-left Eurosceptic party" and have demanded a correction to a "party standing for neither British nor European capitalism but for world socialism".

[ALB]

alanjjohnstone wrote:

If there is not a plan to set up a blogsite as we have with http://spgb.blogspot.co.uk/can i suggest one is created so it can be linked to from various discussion lists and as a useful place for up-to-date info for non-members.

But why can't the link be to this thread and the one for Wales?Anyway, to complement the report from Maidstone (Kent) the first few leaflets were distributed in Surrey today. At least I think they were as I thought I was in Long Ditton, the first habitation on the Portsmouth Road outside Kingston. On the way met some Labour Party canvassers and was introduced to the Labour candidate for Kingston, which made me worry where I was. But checked since and it was Surrey even if the postcode was the same. Can't say it looked good territory for us as many of the houses (converted workers cottages) had a couple of cars parked outside. At the last local elections here Labour got 7.7% of the votes. But you never know and we do say that the middle class is part of the working class.

[ALB]

Thanks , Vin. That was too complicated for me to work out how to put up. Just realised too that you've got to click "next" at the top to see pages 3 and 4.Anyway about 350,000 of these will be distributed by Royal Mail in the 9 constituencies, that's 23% of the total electorate of Wales of 1.5 million.So, actually, combined with the 983,000 in the South East Region we're going fpr more than a million.

[ALB]

The leaflet can be found in a more readable form via this forum here:https://scontent-b-lhr.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/t1.0-9/10269596_10201919685939150_2797982510006414704_n.jpg

[ALB]

Thanks. This of course is the leaflet for London local elections, but Kent and Sussex branch have used the same text for a leaflet they are distributing for the Euroelections in the South East.

[ALB]

alanjjohnstone wrote:

The idea that we cannot engage in discussion and disagree as comrades, i think is an odd one

It is, but I wasn't suggesting that we didn't discuss with them, just that we shouldn't take up their challenge to try to refute their core position. I think in fact that we might be able to convince some of them of the need for political action (rather than charity work or lifestyle change) to bring about their goal. Even Gnome's sparring partner seems to accept this, albeit in a reformist form

[ALB]

As I noticed that the Pirate Party is contesting a ward in the Lambeth borough elections where we are too (not the same one) and they specialise in opposing this sort of thing, I wrote to them for their take on it. Here's their reply (reproduced with their permission) on the (objectively silly) legal issues likely to be involved:

Quote:

That falls slap bang in the middle of our core issues with regard to copyright reform – In fact I spent a bit of today using it as an example..  Its absurd when you think about it for more than a moment.. The people who created the work can no-longer benefit, yet something that should be in the public sphere, something that adds to the sum of human knowledge is yanked away and hidden. I haven't looked at the specific legalities of it (it covers too much international ground – and things like freedom of translation were corner-stones of Soviet copyright legislation, as were short copyright lengths..) but if the Lawyers are sending letters and its a translation there is a good chance its valid in the jurisdiction its happening in. As sad as it is that the material itself will be less available, hopefully it will open up the issues more widely and maybe bring a few more people into understanding that the commons include our cultural and historic works and that we are  losing access to them faster in an age where almost everything could be protected and shared.

 

[ALB]

gnome wrote:

This is what comes of having an 'open door' policy.

Precisely.Incidentally here's someone (who has just contacted us) who puts over the case for a moneyless "resource-based economy" in a much simpler way than Peter Joseph, i.e  without any impressive-sounding scientific jargon:http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xef5na_on-the-edge-no35-duane-mullin_shortfilms

[ALB]

There's a petition circulating against this:http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/lawrence-wishart-no-copyright-for-marx-engels-collected-works#share

[ALB]

I'm not sure we should take up this challenge as a party. After all, Zeitgeist have reached more or less the same conclusion as us (that the framework within which to solve the world's problems is a moneyless world society where the Earth's resources have become the common heritage of all), even if on the basis of some faulty analysis (eg about banks) and they have no clear idea of how to get there, i.e  our argument with them is about tactics not the goal (which we don't want to refute and which we, like them, claim, as we used to say in our pamphlets, is "backed by incontrovertible facts and logical argument").Let's reserve our arguments to refute the supporters of capitalism, including state capitalism, who don't share our goal.

[ALB]

The leaflet we will be distributing door-to-door and at literature stalls (outside Head Office every Saturday from 3 May at 12 noon till voting day on 22 May) can be seen here:http://spgb.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/our-election-leaflet.html

[ALB]

I'm sure it will be viewable somewhere on Youtube after it has been broadcast. In any event, the BBC have informed us that it will be on BBC online the day after. So we will be able to use it in the rest of the campasign in South East Region as well as in Wales.

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