immaterial

The usual muddle, bluster and arrogance; ignoring the points and even managing to introduce IL Duce into the 'argument'. How do you, or rather, why do you do it?

Prison

Belt

The Drawing Room... "This is a place for discussion about serious issues and current affairs..." Doesn't really hold true does it Hugenut? I make some observations in an earlier posting related to strikes and the processes involved in the lead-up to this form of industrial action; only two cynical, sarcastic responses and no engagement with the politics. Then another observation, in the vain attempt at some level-headed political discourse, about economic conflict abroad and comparisons with our "pussy-footing" around here and BANG!: La Lega Nord ( or is it The Northern League ? ), snide comments about immersion courses and grammatical corrections. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear....

Stuck in the 70s? I've just returned from a short stay in Italy where 3 workplace occupations were taking place against factory closures and the threat of privatization; garnering popular support and relatively sympathetic media coverage, . Two of the struggles were successful and the third, occupying the upper tier of the Colosseo, was still ongoing up until a few days ago. I suspect that the majority of the Forumites in this room would be aghast at such 'un-democratic' attacks on property rights and such a scandalous, cavalier attitude towards industrial relations, in defense of workers' rights and against job losses. Or am I wrong?

Forum

Colonel

Personally, in 30 years of selling my labour, I've been on strike on at least 8 occasions (4 alone in the last 7 years!), not including sit-ins, walk-outs and go-slows; both in the private and the State sector. It's never an easy choice, withdrawing your labour, you lose pay, you can split the Branch, creating inter-workforce conflict, you risk alienating the public and for me, and I believe most of my comrades, as well as National full-time paid officials, it is always the weapon of last resort. Workers in struggle; whether greedy, over-paid train drivers, Trotskyist teachers, back-ward looking C20th Posties, sacked Vestas turbine workers, comrades at Visteon (Ford)all deserve public support and respect, not the opprobrium generated by the bosses press. Cut-backs, pay curbs and the dreaded privatization all impact on the public in the long term. With regard to the posties' struggle, after conversations with the fella who delivers the mail in my part of SE22, he cannot see the point in widening the dispute nationally in Sept.; says there's not the appetite for it. In my sector of the Public Service, we now have the carpetbaggers in to review our operations, but from brothers and sisters in recently reviewed divisions (pre-consultancy 100% in-house, post: 25% poor buggers remaining!) we have learnt of their modus operandi. What will we do? We'll rely on the support and expertise of our full-time negotiators; we'll call for workplace meetings to inform our members and counter any plans to shed jobs, formulating strategies based on the ideas and proposals that arise from the membership. Then, if all else fails: talks break down, continuing managerial intransigence to our counter-proposals, and only if we think we can galvanize our constituency into action, would/will we ballot for strike action. That's how it works in the majority of cases; a weapon of last resort.

Civil War

Epidemic

Realm

Malice

God is dead. God remains dead. And we have killed him. How shall we comfort ourselves, the murderers of all murderers? What was holiest and mightiest of all that the world has yet owned has bled to death under our knives: who will wipe this blood off us? What water is there for us to clean ourselves? What festivals of atonement, what sacred games shall we have to invent? Is not the greatness of this deed too great for us? Must we ourselves not become gods simply to appear worthy of it? Nietzsche Discuss.....

Police

Cant

Copulate

?

Piss

Pile

Neither completely 'out of touch', but a 'truth' of sorts when he notes: "Society was losing some of its ability to build communities through inter-personal communication, as the result of excessive use of texts and e-mails rather than face-to-face meetings or telephone conversations. He said skills such as reading a person's mood and body language were in decline, and that exclusive use of electronic information had a "dehumanising" effect on community life. These are valid points, bearing in mind Nichols is discussing, mainly, the youth constituency. What are the effects of all these digital apparatuses on the social, behavioural and ethical development of our young citizens? Even the ageing 'children' in my peer group are boastful of how many friends they 'have' within their networking sites; what must the pressures be like for kosher kids? If I had a young child, I would be limiting computer usage in a quite draconian and monitoring fashion, and this runs contrary to my relatively libertarian, communist beliefs.

Hunchback

Sellers

Twist

SteveT Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Karl Marx said many years ago capitalism only > works in an expanding economy but will not sustain > itself during imploding years. Not quite the exact wording, SteveT, but I'd concur with the sentiment nonetheless. With respect to the title of the original posting, I believe that there are candidates-a-plenty. Take a look at the writings of Antonio Negri (a particularly interesting essay in Radical Philosophy a few months ago which addressed the issue of Keynes.); Michael Hardt; Franco Berardi and Sylvere Lotringer, to name but a few. Contemporary political philosophers are attempting to get to get to grips with this current phase of capitalist implosion, but you've got to seek them out! http://www.generation-online.org http://www.semiotexte.com/ http://info.interactivist.net/

Obstacle