Bijou Drains
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There have been reports of explosions in Transnistria, Russian state media claiming they originate from Ukrainian agents, it may well spark an attempt to link the Russian invasion to the Transnistria/Moldova situation. Strategically, this would make sense for the Russians, allowing them to have unhindered access to the Black Sea, for trade routes and other reasons.
If the Russians achieve a link up from Transnistria to The Crimea, the next pinch point will be access to the Med through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, no surprise that Erdogan has been quite quiet about the whole situation.
The situation might get worse with regard to confrontation between NATO and the Russians as well, with Moldova being heavily linked to Rumania (a NATO member).
As Kenneth Wolstenholme may once have said “They think it’s Moldova, it is now!”
With regards to public urination, my experience is that a long term solution is not exactly what is needed. Usually, at my age, what I need is a very, very quick solution.
That’s terrific news MS, can you send me a link to it?
My Spanish is pretty weak, but I amsure I can pick up the jist of the conversation.Perhaps I’m just cynical, but is it a coincidence that Britain has agreed to pay its previously denied debts to Iran (and precipitate the release of Anoosheh Ashoori and Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe) at the middle of a crisis for Western oil experts.
With Iran and Venezuela back on board, maybe the Western Oligarchs will breathe a little more softly in their beds tonight, surely a small price for all of the dead workers and the thousands of children of future workers from Russia and The Ukraine to be deprived of one or both of their parents.
I wouldn’t be too concerned about the Express AC, the Viz has more accurate news coverage than the Express.
“But wait! Drunk people can be convinced of the case for socialism, no?
And you haven’t answered my question. Sometimes you can’t avoid drunk people when putting the case for the abolition of the wages system. And sometimes, with drunken shitwitted buffoons, they want to offer you violence. I’m interested in what the party line might be.”
IDABM
Generally drunk people can be convinced about the case for socialism, however they generally forget about it the next day.
As to violence, if threatened I have been more and happy to “put the boot in” if required to keep myself safe.
I remember vividly in the 1980s a rather pasty faced SWP student member, who thought himself a “bit of a lad” taking exception to me describing him (correctly) as a red fascist and saying that he was going to put a glass in my face. As a result, then Cde Paul Robinson (last seen in Japan) pulled out a primed crossbow, which somehow calmed him down enough to start a reasoned debate.
In a similar way my mate, but no longer a party member, diffused a confontation with a bunch of Combat 18 fascists by explaining to them in very explicit ways, that if they didn’t stop threatening our group of Comrades selling Socialist Standards, he was going to kick the f**king shit out of them.
It must be also recognised that ex Comrades Marratty and Colburn (and some of the ex miners at Seaham Branch) were particularly useful to have around if the “ultimate dialectic” needed to be explained,.
So it is not the case that the SPGB is a pacifist party, just not prepared to kill or be killed for capitalsim.
That said, I also am also aware that as nowadays being a person in his early 60s, I might show a little more caution in such a situation (but not much).
The Times is reporting that Russia has stated that it would end the war on condition that the Crimea was recognised as Russian, the two de facto republics are recognised and that The Ukraine doesn’t join NATO or EU.
In effect that is recognition of the existing arrangement as being de jure.
Perhaps an end is in sight, depending on whether the West are willing to let Putin save faceWelcome to Roberto, we agree not a drop of working class blood is worth supporting either side of this war for control of markets, resources and influence. I hope you have had time to read through the information on our website and if you agree with our views, we would love to welcome you to our movement. Our Sister Party The WOrld Socialist Party (US) has the following website http://www.wspus.org/
Yours for Socialism
TimFrom a Tory perspective they must think that they have their third eleven out on the pitch.
The 1st eleven being Cameron and his cronies, the 2nd eleven was May and her lot and all they’ve got to put on the pitch are the political equivalent of three asthmatics, four fat kids, two kids with heart trouble and a couple of volunteers from the chess club. Still they can still outsmart Starmer and his mob.
Report from Katya Adler re the EU on BBC website
She says:
“The violence on the ground in Ukraine and the fact that the EU sees Vladimir Putin’s actions as an attack on wider European stability and security has focused minds in the EU.
It’s working in a much faster, more united way than we normally ever see.
The EU today announced for the first time that it would be purchasing weapons and delivering them to a country in conflict, Ukraine.
The words “unprecedented” and “watershed moment” are something you’re hearing a lot in Brussels at the moment, but it’s actually relevant.
Over the weekend, Germany really made the headlines across all of Europe by turning its modern day defence policy completely on its head.
It is traditionally very weary of getting involved in military conflict because of its history in World War Two.
Now it’s saying that it will be sending weapons directly to Ukraine and it will be massively investing in its own military, which will come as a relief to Nato allies.”
Is that a sign of NATO/EU’s worries? My take is that NATO is that has come to the conclusion that Russia’s military might has been exposed as being less frightening than it appeared to be and that they are taking the view that it is time to make hay when the sun is shining. The worry is that they push Putin into a corner.
It goes without saying that the working class have no dog in any of these fights.
AJ – my point is to say that our position has been historically consistant. Not many political parties are happy to say they supported the 1914-18 slaughter (especially the Labour Party), but they did then, and they are serving up the same jingoistic nonsense today that they did then.
Very interesting article from Counterfire where they interview Boris Kagarlitsky (John Rees and Lindsey German’s left wing vanity project) written in 2014 about the Euromaidan protests and their development. There is a lot of typcial bolshevik inspired hot air, but some good factual information, etc.
The Party should make use of the historic position on capitalist war by puplishing the 1914 statement of the Party.
THE SOCIALIST PARTY of Great Britain seizes the opportunity to re-affirming the Socialist position, which is as follows:
That Society as at present constituted is based upon the ownership of the means of living by the capitalist or master class, and the consequent enslavement of the working class, by whose labour alone wealth is produced.
That in Society, therefore, there is an antagonism of interests, manifesting itself as a CLASS WAR, between those who possess but do not produce and those who produce but do not possess.
That the machinery of government, including the armed forces of the nation, exist only to conserve the monopoly by the capitalist class of the wealth taken from the workers.
These armed forces, therefore, will only be set in motion to further the interests of the class who control them – the master class – and as the workers’ interests are not bound up in the struggle for markets wherein their masters may dispose of the wealth they have stolen from them (the workers), but in the struggle to end the system under which they are robbed, they are not concerned with the present European struggle, which is already known as the “BUSINESS” war, for it is their masters’ interests which are involved and not their own.
THE SOCIALIST PARTY of Great Britain, pledges itself to keep the issue clear by expounding the CLASS STRUGGLE, and whilst placing on record its abhorrence of the latest manifestation of the callous, sordid, and mercenary nature of the international capitalist class, and declaring no interests are at stake justifying the shedding of a single drop of working class blood, enters its emphatic protest against the brutal and bloody butchery of our brothers of this and other lands who are being used as food for cannon abroad while suffering and starvation are the lot of their fellows at home. Having no quarrel with the working class of any country, we extend to our fellow workers of all lands the expression of our goodwill and Socialist fraternity, and pledge ourselves to work for the overthrow of capitalism and the triumph of Socialism.
THE WORLD FOR THE WORKERS
August 25th, 1914
The Executive CommitteeI also think the EC should re approve the same statement.
MS – “pretty soon they are going to ask for the closing of Russian Orthodox churches”
Either that or they will have cut a deal with the local franchise of Religion Inc (copyright Lenny Bruce) so that they bless the war and tell them that god is on their side.
