Seeker_UK
Feelin' nearly faded as my jeans
Indeed. The Mail's coverage of the US Presidential election was almost sane, whilst the Express's coverage was full-on Q-Anon loony tunes.
But you do get Rupert.
Indeed. The Mail's coverage of the US Presidential election was almost sane, whilst the Express's coverage was full-on Q-Anon loony tunes.
Your first two points seem fair and consistent with my understanding, though I have to wonder why evicting the Palestinian residents is even a question.I really don't know how that was allowed to happen - someone has taken their eye off the ball big time here. Maybe the Israeli government has been too obsessed of late in working out who is supposed to be PM in the wake of the latest round of election results to take any notice of what has been happening on their doorstep.
Apparently a court case is pending on whether to allow the eviction of residents from their houses in Sheikh Jarrah in favour of Jewish settlers but the decision has been postponed. Too late to quell the rising tension and violence though, it would appear.
It would kind of help if those voices calling for Israel to respect international law would also call out Hamas to stop firing thousands of missiles into Israel - it's not much to ask but it would be a start!
Yes, this is not a controversial view and goes to the heart of Labour’s schizophrenia. Labour was born out of the need for structural change, but also wants to enjoy as much of the preserved power of rich elites as possible. People like Mandelson spend the majority of their time on rich elites to the extent that the working class in places like his former constituency now feel better represented by the Tories
I will not carry id now or in the future, no matter what the legislation therefor. I accept I need a driving license, and will happily produce it at a police station if asked. I accept I need a passport to enter the country, and will carry that when I go abroad.People without passports and driving licenses are overwhelmingly Labour voters, that much is a fact. It's nothing more than Republican style voter suppression, there's no evidence of significant electoral fraud (other than Tory candidates lying about previous drink driving convictions and the like )
By the way, yesterday I saw on French TV an interview with Alain Badiou - a communist philosopher at the École Normale Sup. He was interesting on democracy - he thinks that parliamentary democracy is essentially a tool for preserving the power of rich elites, a tool for stopping structural change. There may be a lesson in that, a way of explaining what happened and what is happening in the UK Labour Party.
I think Badiou’s point was more fundamental than that. I think he was saying that if a political party like Labour went to the electorate with a policy which challenged the power of the capitalist elite, the process of parliamentary democracy would ensure they were defeated - that’s exactly what happened in the UK in 2019 IMO. He argued that’s why parliament was created and it still essentially serves that function.
So how come he's sat chatting on TV instead leading the vanguard to the barricades?
Your first two points seem fair and consistent with my understanding, though I have to wonder why evicting the Palestinian residents is even a question.
On your third point I am happy to oblige. I'm virtually a pacifist and despise all forms of violence.
My only reservation is that this demand (to condemn Hamas' rockets etc.) is often used as a deflection tactic, as the good doctor's recent interventions on the forum demonstrate.
It's important to be clear that the two "sides" in this "conflict" are unevenly matched (vastly so) and that one is occupying the other. Furthermore, the mood in Israel seems to be shifting more and more towards extreme nationalism, and the hopes of any peaceful agreement are vanishing as a result. Frankly, I don't know what I would do if I were a Palestinian facing that situation.
Realistically, ony Israel has enough power to change things (some concession or magnanimous gesture). But that would require the political will to do so, and the statesmanship to carry it off. I don't believe Netanyahu has either. Is there any Israeli politician who does?
On your third point I am happy to oblige. I'm virtually a pacifist and despise all forms of violence.
Love big Al. He’s not wrong is he. He has an extremely exacting conception of politics as something very rare: what passes as politics in everyday life is just business as usual. I think Corbynism was an outbreak of actual politics but Badiou would probably say that because its main site was parliament it couldn’t possibly have been. And I wouldn’t really want to argue the point, at this stage.I think Badiou’s point was more fundamental than that. I think he was saying that if a political party like Labour went to the electorate with a policy which challenged the power of the capitalist elite, the process of parliamentary democracy would ensure they were defeated - that’s exactly what happened in the UK in 2019 IMO. He argued that’s why parliament was created and it still essentially serves that function. If he’s right then the most that democratic politics can achieve is very minor and probably very short lived adjustments to inequality in favour of the less well off - a bit of extra benefit here and there, that sort of thing.
He’s a communist, he thinks that meaningful structural change must come through revolution, not evolution. As I say, I’m not saying whether he’s right or not, I don’t know. And if he is right, I’m not sure what consequences follow.
So how come he's sat chatting on TV instead leading the vanguard to the barricades?
Parliament was created as a means of formalising relationships between the monarch and the nobility, in particular over the raising of revenue through taxation. It predates capitalism by several centuries.
Parliament is supreme; if a party was elected banning the ownership of capital, that would override the power of the capitalist elite. That is won't happen is not the same as saying it couldn't happen.
Badiou is totally faithful to ‘68! Unashamedly.(Checks watch)
Is it 1968, still?
Badiou is totally faithful to ‘68! Unashamedly.
So how come he's sat chatting on TV instead leading the vanguard to the barricades?
Je suis Marxiste—tendance Groucho.
You missed another option: whine about people whining on hereI hate to break up the self loathing but does anyone actually believe that France is more egalitarian than here? I mean, they quite like electing actual fascists, at least we make some effort of pretence
I think the preferred response is to bury head in sand, whine on here or adopt an I'm alright mindset. The latter is probably the prevalent one in society today.