Ozymandias
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rodshaw wrote:Any film that acknowledges the distinction between proper socialism and what we are generally told is socialism/communism, and can present socialism clearly and convincingly as highly desirable. Not in some sci-fi film set in the distant future, but in a realistic fiction set in the present. In short, a film that makes people say, "We can have that now and we want it!"
But we are never going to see a film like that are we? You can sneer all you want smart arse. As it happens I watched "Snowpiercer" the other day and I thought it was excellent. I recommend it to any party member. I can understand why the Capitalist Harvey Weinstein demanded 20 minutes of cuts then strangled any general release of this movie. It is too thought provoking and incendiary. The train as depicted in the film is obviously an allegory of Capitalism. Maybe workers would relate to a movie set in the future. Sadly the prospect of the 99% ever waking up in our lifetimes is truly the stuff of Science Fiction fantasy.
A couple of years ago a Sci Fi movie by the name of "Snowpiercer" was made but it failed to get any kind of general release despite it's starry cast. It concerns the class struggle on board a futuristic nuclear train. I have an illegal download copy on DVD which I haven't watched yet. I guess it might come to the same lame conclusions as "Elysium" which was released a couple of years ago.
I share your sense of foreboding Socialist Punk. A great many of these "squaddies" are impoverished dullards who have already been brutalised in childhood even before they start learning how to be killers. This article exposes what happens to these murderers when they come back home. Apart from the deeply entrenched ultra nationalism inherent in military culture the fact is that we as depending on these people to join the class war when a large proportion of them are fucking psycho's whether Sergeant Major, lowly private or Brigadier General. And the global arsenal they've got behind them! It's terrifying. I think a bloodless revolution would be a total miracle. It could end up being a very dangerous situation indeed…if we ever actually get there of course. Fuck I'm being a pessimist again. Canny help it. http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/oct/18/collateral-damage-ex-soldiers-living-with-ptsdI just hope this link works. Can't seem to cut and paste properly for this forum from my iPhone.
If this review is anything to go by then it looks as if Brand's new book is going to be mostly a lot of mixed up irrelevant shite. Apparently Brand's revolutionary ethos stems from the 12 Steps of the AA cult! I've got a ticket for his Guardian Live event for next Thursday but I'm preparing to be disappointed. That same sinking feeling when I watched Naomi Klein totally missing the point at her own Guardian Live event. I get the feeling that even if Brand read a Standard, the case would either go over his head or he would repudiate it on grounds of it being outdated or something. I guess he has opened up the debate about revolution but for all of his flowery verbiage the guy is politically inarticulate. How could he not be I guess? At least the guy is trying I suppose. Christ I sound so patronising! What the fuck do I know? Haha http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/oct/17/revolution-russell-brand-review-political-manifesto
I'm sorry but I just had to remove most of that last post. Cannot believe what I'd written. Talk about compulsive disclosure! What is wrong with me. Sorry folks!
I doubt Zizek would pass the knowledge test what with all his rambling I've just read from the GuardIan Webchat. He pisses me off as much as Naomi Klein, Michael Moore, David Harvey, Richard D Wolff, Chomsky, Peter Joseph and all the rest of them. By contrast I recently watched Richard Headicar's devastating talk on how Labour came to gift us the Atom bomb. This guy could blow any of these muddled charlatans out of the water. Philosophers my arse.
Shit I don't think I cut and payed it too good. Just thought it was useful as far as an "Eco – Socialst " approach.
Cheers mate. I guess I was kind of disappointed when I watch the video link they provide because it looks as if it's The Venus Project which is behind this.
Forgot to ask if anyone can tell me who the "Internationalist Communist Tendency" are. I've never heard of them but they look like Trots.
And of those 3261 rejected ballots how many would have been down to the SPGB? 50? 100? The party misses every opportunity because it is almost invisible and the bulk of the membership (about 500 worldwide?) are elderly. Most of Glasgow Branch will be dead in 10-15 years. It's not the party's fault. It's the fault of the "Working Class". What depresses me utterly is the nationalism that workers are full of up here. On George Sq tonight you've got teenagers draped in Union Jacks (giving Nazi salutes) facing the "enemy" who are wearing Saltire flags. I listened to Adam Buick's fantastic debating skills on the African Radio Show and the same sinking feeling came when listening to how the SPGB argument completely passed over the heads of his opponents. It's the same with my cousins and friends up here. It doesn't even get to the stage where I'm getting looks of utter incomprehension anymore, they just can't hear it no matter how many times it is explained to them. They just don't want to see. They just don't listen. I read this really excellent article http://www.leftcom.org/en/articles/2014-08-18/the-scottish-independence-referendum-the-great-diversion# from the "Internationalist Communist Tendency" that was posted up earlier. But the sinking feeling came again when reading through the comments section cos the dude who wrote it (someone called Shug) clearly has little time for the SPGB if his remark that "As always, the SPGB swallows the myth of the primacy of parliament" is anything to go by. How frustrating that it's "so near and yet so far" with a lot of these groups (incl TZM). Yesterday I dithered between actually voting no (!) or spoiling my ballot. Realising a no vote was effectively a yes vote for Capitalism it felt good to attach my wee SPGB sticker onto my ballot paper. But beyond that drop in the ocean I actually felt major relief this morning that workers had rejected secession. I think it would have been a disaster. I can't say I'm impressed though with the highest turnout since universal suffrage was granted to us in 19 canteen because over 3.6 Million workers were utterly hoodwinked with lies from both yes and no camps. This is cause for further depression. I'm trying not to give into my usual "we're fucked because workers are so fuckin stupid so let's just give up and die" position because I know there is still hope. In the past ten years we've had mass rallies against the Iraq war, Wikileaks, Edward Snowden, Occupy, Bradley Manning, Arab Spring and the emergence of TZM as well as more voices similar WSM popping out of the woodwork online. This week Naomi Klein publishes a new book about Capitalism v The Climate and even though she will probably diagnose more Capitalism as a solution to Capitalism (like Piketty) I guess at least Capitalism is a topic for debate now in the media. You hardly ever saw the word written about or mentioned even 10 years ago. A few days ago I received an email from "Occupy Wall Street" alerting people about a new futile march they are planning to coincide with another useless climate summit in New York next week. A few sentences from the bulletin immediately gave me hope…"Together we will confront the 1% economic system of capitalism that is causing and profiting from the climate crisis – an economy fundamentally based on inequality and exploitation."" We expect thousands to join us in a collective sit-in to confront capitalism and climate change.""…helps us to serve on the front lines of the class war to end the capitalist system that injures everyone in its path." They also reproduced a photo of one of their banners… I just wish the whole thing wouldn't take so fuckin long…like hundreds of years long!
Just spent a minute heckling Alex Salmond there on Buchanan St. Could hardly get near him for reporters and press people…it was like flies round shite. A flurry of Yes supporters were crowding around Salmond and Sturgeon so I just thought I would get my oar in. A Sun reporter came up to me and took my details and I explained my position to him then a guy from a Sky News mentioned that he'd like a short spot for the Sky News website. I spoke to camera for a few minutes but whether they will stick me on the website tonight or not is anyone's guess. Probably onto plums but I tried.
Hello punk mate. Yes we do keep getting drawn back because the party is the antidote to all the madness out there and as mcolome1 says there is nothing better. I guess I shouldn't be coming on here spouting my hatred like this but in a way I wish I was one of the "idiots" out there. I am in a fairly unique position because I was brought up with SPGB ideas right from infancy and straight through childhood because both my Da and my old dear were members. My old man still is. I was reading the Standard by the age of about 11 or 12 and I remember all of the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle suddenly coming together in one momentary flash around about that age. A blessing or a curse? Sometimes I just wish I didn't know what I know. It's hellish to have the old X-Ray specs on all the time because as Socialists we see through everything. I guess I can't really call myself a Socialist though after what I've been saying. However I tell you it's not a patch on what I was hearing from party members all through my childhood and adolescence. From what I could tell the dirty secret of various different SPGB members was an extreme loathing of the working class. I'm trying to exonerate myself here but I'm onto plums I guess. I just harbour a great fear that we are all headed for something catastrophic in the near future…and I'm talking extinction event here. I think there have been various signs of hope in the past 10 years (Occupy/Bradley Manning/TZM/Wikileaks/Snowden/Arab Spring etc) but the pace of change is glacial even in the Internet age. I just have this terrible fear all the time. I'm scared wer are not going to make it. Please forgive me everyone. I don't mean to offend. I'm angry and mega frustrated.
