steve colborn
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Very nice Mr Farage, except, as I have heard your missives for the last few years, I think you are a disingenuous, two faced asshole. No more nor less than your pro-Capitalist buddies from Labour, Tory, Lib-Dem, SWP et al. Looking to garner some Brownie points you shit? Always looking for the "main chance"! Stevie C.
Plenty of people around the world would disagree, if they were still alive to do so. It may be as you say. The closer we get to an alternative society, the rules may indeed change! I haven't got a crystal ball nor do I want to presume or, assume.But a society that is prepared to let 10s of millions of under 5s die unnecessarily of easily preventable reasons, is not a society I, personally, want to take a chance with. Stevie C.
Nope, don't quite agree. I can never see a situation where we will be faced with a "reform and revolution" option. I can see a time when it could be, "behave or it's a bullet in the head" though. Stevie C.
It's a first contribution and in that light, it is impressive. Haven't seen anyone else doing this, so credit where credit is due. By the way, I think Vin would agree that a causal link is needed. Stevie C.
No one is suggesting having Imagine as an anthem, at least not that I can see on this thread, or indeed anywhere else on the Forum. Once again, I will ask "Can anyone provide a direct quote, where any contributor to this thread has said explicitly or "suggested" that Lennon was a Socialist?
Can anyone provide a direct quote, where any contributor to this thread has said explicitly or "suggested" that Lennon was a Socialist?On the other hand, the lyrics of Imagine, do indeed mention things which parallel the case for Socialism.
Nar sos Alan, ar divvint tak nee offence marra. Left that all behind when ar got outa me pram. Ar divvint see JL as a paramount hero, nor div ar tak him as some numpty. Arl ar can tak from wat he sez is the lyrics to Imagine. norra bad ditty mate, and one we can use to our advantage. Nee one has ever acuused me ov bein someone who dotes after folk like Lennon, but yer gotta admit, he writes a reet good song. Why divvint we arl agree, that for some of wor, hes not wor cuppa tea an leave it at that and that we will use whativer we can, ter get wor goals accomplished!BTW ar think yer blogs reet canny, an I look forward ter reading it and learning from it too. I'd rather put a positive light on things and try ter mak the best we can ov what we've got, than piss on owt that we can possibly use to wor advantage. Positive, not negative is my thought.Some folk would rather be negative however, but yer nar, thats the way some folk like ter be. It's their choice, and thats their prerogative, and nee bother.Stevie C.BTW Alan, best wishes fer Newras marra.
Regardless to what John L explained or John B claimed, I've read the one and listened to the other, scarily similar I think and no, I am not some half arsed hippy, nor a follower of whomsoever, just someone who can see similarities that exist. My tongue stays quite firmly in my mouth and I am not some arse licking sycophant, just a worker looking for solutions and I will use any advantage to rid myself and my class of this iniquitous system, NB.The ineluctable, Stevie C.
Indeed the song does not explicitly mention the term "Socialism" but in all other ways it is a statement "for" an alternative society. A few years ago, John Bissett, in a letter to the press, said it was written using the Communist Manifesto as inspiration, I tend to agree with his analysis. Saying it, " stinks of hippy-ass, idealistic bullshit" is, I would hazard to say, a tad harsh to say the least. There are many things in the Capitalist system that makes me personally sick, the song Imagine, I have to say, is not one of them! The ineluctable Stevie C.
One can add to Adams list, contesting the now defunct Easington district council elections on at least 3 occasions. To jdw, I have all of the letters published in the NE since 1981, in 16 letters books. I am reluctant to send them to HO in case they are lost, as they are the testimony of 32 years of activity by the old Seaham Br and later the NE br. When you put these, alongside all the elections contested over the years (impressive in itself) the meetings held, the hours upon hours spent on phone-ins. The hundreds upon hundreds of posters put up around Seaham and surrounding areas by myself and Harley Wears, in particular, the thousands of leaflets delivered, (we had a roneo machine at one time) produced by the branch, courtesy of Vin, (he had a right arm like Bluto fom all the handle turning). The debates and meetings organised and held upstairs in the Carlton Arms. Even being invited as a studio guest on Radio Newcastles morning phone-in programme 4 times, to give our views on the issues put forward by callers and twice a guest on Graham Rowntrees 2 hour Sunday phone-in, at the same radio station.All of this adds up to quite an effort to keep the name of the Party visible.As for the document I sent to HO re guidelines on what activity to undertake in the run up to contesting elections, I will have a look and see if I still have a copy. If I do, I will of course send it to all interested partys but a copy may be at HO.All in all, the activity undertaken did indeed, keep the name of the Party at the forefront of politics in the region for quite a few years, and respect to all NE members who managed this feat. Stevie C.
Hi Alan, knowledge of the Party cannot be said to be a problem in the NE.Literally hundreds upon hundreds of letters published. I myself had 360 letters published in a single year. But in the same year, at least 6 comrades had many letters published. We covered the local press and on top of that, many 10s of hours of calls to the many phone-in programmes in the NE area were undertaken. The letters pages and airwaves were buzzing with Party propoganda.We never overreached ourselves, or had to high expectations but the parties name was and is well known. At the same time we held meetings and debates, a few debates undertaken by Steve Coleman. Meetings given by Harry Young, Cyril May and many other good party speakers.The upshot was that most political parties avoided us like the plague. Our case overmatched and terrified them.A pity we had not carried on apace but alas, we did not, for the reasons given above. Pity!
Hi Brian. I do not think the old NE branch folded because of members failing to put aside their differences, it was a case of members drifting away, for various reasons. The election activity persisted, as it had for many years but with lesser numbers participating. Nor was it a case of not knowing how to pace ourselves, as electoral activity of and in itself is quite straight forward and was the beneficiary of almost 3 decades of propogandising in the NE, which had a knock on effect of having the Party and its views, widely known. In point of fact, I do not believe the amount of propoganda that was put out in the NE has ever been matched in the history of the Party as a whole!Over enthusiasm or impatience was, again, never the problem but rather changes in the personal circumstances of individual members.The driving force for activity and the leg work, was undertaken by a limited number of comrades, John Bissett a prime example. It was not surprising that so much was achieved by so few. It will not be in the future, until the Branch, when it once again gets off the ground, swells in numbers.One has to be immersed in activity oneself, to realise what can be achieved and with such few numbers. Until one has been there, one cannot understand. This is one thing the party can take heart from. Numbers at this juncture are, more or less (more would be better) irrelevant.I remember approximately 15 years ago, sending detailed guidelines of the work that should be undertaken, over a 2 or 3 year period, to prepare the ground for contesting elections. It was lost in a sea of apathy and disinterest. The same work was undertaken by comrades in the NE, from which benefits are still being garnered.As someone who was, "in the middle of actiuvity", I do not see any correlation to actual events at the time in the NE and your observations and comments above. they bear no resemblance to actual fact or events.I think I speak from a position of authority, as I have stood in elections, from town to Euro, over the last 15 to 20 years. Be well Brian, YFS Stevie C.
