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#60

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Mon Jan 5, 2009 6:46 pm
Subject: Convention of the Left recall conference Sat 24 Jan

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I have just sent the following, short but to the point, letter to Socialist Worker, The Socialist, Scottish Socialist Voice, The Morning Star and the New Statesman. I have also created an event for this recall conference on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=57744247628). Since it seemed to be being ignored by every publication apart from the Weekly Worker (and that was at my urging after extremely negative coverage of the original Convention), the recall conference was in danger of becoming a damp squib - which would be a massive waste of a brilliant opportunity for the left to finally get its act together. UK plc is going bankrupt, as I have pointed out in previous messages, and if the left doesn't get its act together, then someone else will and the result may not be something we want...

I urge you to publicise the best opportunity in years for left unity, inside and outside the Labour Party, in the recall conference for the highly successful and non-sectarian Convention of the Left which took place during Labour's conference in September. In my view the organisation formed by this event should be clearly anti-capitalist, at a time when British capitalism particularly is on the verge of collapse.

This recall conference takes place on Saturday 24 January 2008 in Manchester (Friends Meeting House, Mount Street). For more details, visit www.conventionoftheleft.org.

--
Steve Wallis (Manchester, England)
Preferred email address: revolutionarysocialiststeve@...
Blogs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/steve-wallis-socialist-blog,
http://blog.myspace.com/galaxiasteve
My socialist website: http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk
My pages at Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1038291480, MySpace:http://www.myspace.com/galaxiasteve and Bebo:
http://www.bebo.com/SteveW519
Founder, Ethical Capitalism Network: http://www.ethicalcapitalism.net
Founder, Foundation for Proportional Representation-based Socialism: http://www.PRsocialism.org
Founder, Revolutionary Platform Network: http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net
My revolutionary socialist band, Galaxia: http://www.galaxiamusic.net,http://www.myspace.com/galaxiamusic, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Galaxia-a-revolutionary-socialist-band/84310120180, http://www.bebo.com/galaxiamusic.
My socialist band, Red Day: http://www.red-day.net, http://www.myspace.com/reddayband,http://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Day/27468311341
Author, "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist revolution will never happen?":http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net
For discussion of the credit crunch, go to
http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=156
For discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories, go to http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=89

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#59

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Sat Jan 3, 2009 11:26 am
Subject: UK bond insurers will go bankrupt - 2nd bank bailout credible?

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Today's main front page headline on the Times is "Chancellor Alistair Darling on brink of second bailout for banks" (http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article5434660.ece) and most of the rest of the serious press concentrate on this story - so it's not just those Murdoch scum making it up. I'm looking forward to seeing Tommy Sheridan appearing on Celebrity Big Brother after suing those scum for £200,000 for defamation and winning! They lodged an appeal but the big business strategists were so petrified at the prospects of Sheridan versus Murdoch again that the police spent at least £1 million on a perjury investigation, that has never before been conducted about a civil trial! George Galloway was great - splitting the Muslim fundamentalists backing Respect who hate popular culture from the Muslim youth who see no problem with mixing with black, white, Chinese, Christian, Jewish, Mormon, Buddhist youth whatever - and even having sex outside marriage if they so wish! This led to the failure of Respect to take over Tower Hamlets council and the split in Respect with the SWP prats in Left Alternative in a real mess! The current issue of the Weekly Worker (see www.cpgb.org.uk) has a brilliant article on the split in the central committee of the SWP and open warfare from their previously acquiescent rank-and-file who had previously gone along with every twist and turn of those Stalinist-cum-Trotskyist misleaders of the working class!

Tommy Sheridan is of course far more serious as an ex-politician than Galloway. He did after-all lead the Scottish Anti-Poll Tax Federation and went to jail for defiance of a court order banning him from attending a Glasgow demo - during which he stood in the general election for Scottish Militant Labour and came second with 6287 votes, followed by winning a council seat while still in jail! Mass non-payment (not the riot unlike those SWP liers say which threatened to derail the movement hence it being started by the police) of 18 million in arrears or having not paid a penny at the movement's height defeated the poll tax. Even John Major admitted he had to abolish it because it was, in his word, "uncollectable".

All this talk of more government borrowing brings the question - where are they going to get the money from? Basically, they sell government bonds, and those bonds are insured in case they never get the money back. I posted a message a while ago pointing out that insurance on those bonds went up from 0.1% in May last year to 0.9% at the time of the pre-budget report. The conclusion I drew then was sooner or later insurance costs would go up so much that nobody would lend to UK plc. Talk of this new bank bailout may well be pie-in-the-sky! More fundamentally, I have now realised that offering insurance at a mere 0.1% on something as unstable as UK plc would appear with the benefit of hindsight pure madness! In fact, my analysis, much of which is also covered in a letter that also appears in the current (Christmas/New Year) issue of the Weekly Worker, headlined "Their solution" (because it does suggest one way capitalists could get out of this mess and thereby avoid a socialist revolution), shows that UK plc is bound to go bankrupt. In fact, Hyman Minsky predicted that the stock markets would inevitably completely collapse sooner or later decades ago, and it has become clear that the UK is the weakest government economically of any in the West. The £118 billion proposed budgest deficit next year illustrates this (under the Tories it'd be £97 billion). The question is not if UK plc goes under, but when - and what sort of revolution takes place (ethcial capitalist, socialist or anarchist). Go to http://www.cpgb.org.uk/worker/750/letters.html.

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#58

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Thu Jan 1, 2009 2:24 pm
Subject: I'm off anti-pyshcotic medication

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As some oif you have been aware, I've been forced to take anti-psychotic medication of one form or another, in tablet or injection form, for virtually all of the last ten years since I first became a political prisoner after the 1998 European School of the CWI. I have sometimes come off briefly while AWOL, but there have been terrible withdrawal symptoms from all except olanzapine (my most recent which is also a mood stabiliser and has the main drawback of weight gain [not making you hungry but putting on more weight for the same amount of food]). I have now been off antyi-psychotics consistently for at least three weeks and thinking much more clearly. It has become obvious why those devious psychiatrists have never previously let me get away with coming off them. [Obama's victory has the main reason I've finally got away with it, but even now I have to refuse it every medication time and take a mood satabiliser (carbomazepine, that has no noticeable effect; Deapakote was awful).] With forced medication in the community as well as hospital now, in the whole of Britain, a revolution is necessary to get patients out of this quagmire! [Incidentally, a hospital I was at briefly in Barcelona had wonderful hallucinogenic medication that made a croissant taste of fruit, and they got people so well very quickly that everyone seemed to speak and understand English in a country where the natural language is Catalan! Whenever I asked, they also told me it was "medication", and I have never been able to find out what they get there, but maybe putting this message out far and wide can help radically transform the medication regime in the UK based on Barcelona practices![

[An aside about the politics: The CWI linked the Militant Tendency (later becoming Militant Labour and the Socialist Party of England and Wales) to like-thinkers in 30-40 countries of the world. Miltiant had a serious history, inflicting both major defeats suffered by Margaret Thatcher (leading Liverpool City Council that won large amounts of extra money for that city from the Tory government in the first year before disastrously sending out redundnancy notices to the entire workforce in the second year, and later leading the mass non-payment campaign involving 18 million who hadn't paid a penny or were in arrears at its height, which defeated the poll tax and ultimately brought Thatcher down). I joined Militant in 1990 after it proved itself serious at defending non-payers. Some of the other CWI secions had led mass actions too. At the 1998 European School, the main debate was between leaders of Scottish Militant Labour who had achieved some success building the Scottish Socialist Alliance, notably carrying out mass non-violent direct action against a motorway extension in the run-down Pollok area of Glasgow, which notably recruited the brilliant socialist Rosie Kane (later a Member of the Scottish Parliament and now winner of The Factual Radio Prize at the Mental Health Media Awards for her BBC Radio Scotland show "Tales From The Flip Side" focussing on mental health issues - Rosie, if you read this, congratulations and please let me know if it is on again since I'd like to phone in to discuss such issues live on-line with you!), who were argued against by the British and International leadership, when proposing transforming the alliance into a party, becoming the Scottish Socialist Party. One of the arguments by the opponents were that the alliance hardly consisted of anybody apart from Scottish Militant Labour, but I had heard quite a bit about Rosie and reckoned that even if it was just SML plus Rosie herself (which it wasn't) that could actually be quite a strong argument in favour! Many criticise the project of uniting revolutionary socialists and reformists in such a broad party because it ultimately collapsed, but the six Members of the Scottish Parliament it achieved in the meantime weren't a pointless achievement and people won't forget! A socialist solution to Scotland and Britain's problems now can't occur partly at least through the Labour Party, but a split in that party as a result of its efforts to deal with the credit crunch (and inevitable bankruptcy of UK plc when it literally can't borrow any more debt through issuing bonds), but the successes in Scotland will help a real good socialist party come out of the mess able to lead some sort of vital revolution of one sort or another (ethical capitalist if not socialist). Anyway, at the European School, I was the only member from England or Wales to speak in support of the proposal (but we did have majority support for it in my region Manchester/Lancashire with my help),on which my main point was the demise of left reformism (an excerpt from the speech is on my socialist website www.socialiststeve.me.uk). I came under a lot of pressure not to make my speech, and make a muck up of it otherwise, which I did somewhat by running out of time, having a tussle with the chair and storming off the platform.]

The circumstances around my first and later incarcerations are too complex to go into here, but you will soon be able to read the full account in my on-going autobiograhpy "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist revolution will never happen?", which I will hopefully soon complete and publish on-line free of charge (although I also intend to seek a commercial publisher because I am over £8000 in debt and currently homeless, but I will insist it remains free to download and sold at such a price that it is cheaper to buy in book form than download and print out oneself); you will find the full version as a PDF file (for viewing on-line or printing out) on the website www.revolutiondestroyed.net, that currently contains several early chapters and an old overview. I intend to be upbeat after Obama's victory - while there are still many problems to be solved, the consequences of a McCain win would have been terrible as seen by the Mumbai bombings (it is no accident tha al Qaeda supported McCain, tactically waiting until after the election to tell the world this, since it would have been the excuse for many Mumbais the world over - and the excuse for such a massive clampdown on civil liberties that socialism would become impossible!)

My sone "I Wish Cath Was A Folk Rocker (with flowers in her hair)" predicted revolution again in the air in 2007. OK, I was rather optimistic, but surely it will be back in the air with a vengeance in 2009!

Happy New Year to all other good people!

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#57

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Tue Dec 16, 2008 4:09 pm
Subject: �118bn borrowing - Tories mainly to blame

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In his pre-budget report (PBR), British Chancellor Alistair Darling announced a "fiscal stimulus package" consisting of an extra �21 billion of government borrowing, predicting that it (new borrowing added to the national debt) would rise to �118 billion in the next financial year.

The PBR was astute politics from Labour, clearly positioning the party to the left of the Tories and Liberal Democrats. Without the fiscal stimulus package, there would be �97 billion of borrowing, so the Tory "do-nothing" proposal is hardly a solution!

The dire state of the British economy is largely due to the Tories, with it now mainly dependent on financial services in the City of London (rather a problem with the weak pound and the City's credibility undermined after the nationalisation of Northern Rock). The Tories closed down virtually all the mines, leaving perfectly good coal in the ground, due to the militancy of the National Union of Mineworkers which had brought down a previous Tory government. They decimated manufacturing industry, also motivated by their desire to smash the trade unions.

Many products can be produced far more cheaply than in Britain by a low-skilled low-waged workforce in countries like China. The Tories rejected the high-skilled manufacturing industry option, by undermining wages of researchers and lecturers in universities; this led to the so-called "brain drain" whereby many educated people emigrated to countries like the USA motivated by much higher wages in that country.

One point that could be made in the Tories' favour, however, is the increased level of collaboration between universities and industry; without it, discoveries made by university researchers in the UK would be more likely to be utilised by overseas companies. Personally, I'm in favour of "blue sky research" (without an end product in mind) and free open source software, but the artificial intelligence/simulation language SDML that I implemented and helped design at Manchester Metropolitan University may not have been developed (as well or at all) if it hadn't been for collaboration with industry. [See www.socialiststeve.me.uk/sdml.htm; software soon available at www.sdml.org.uk.]

New Labour's strategy is largely based on spin and public relations. Caroline Lucas MEP pointed out (in the Independent and Guardian) what I thought was obvious, that cutting VAT from 17.5% to 15%, at a cost of �12.5bn, would mainly ship money overseas rather than helping the British economy since most consumer goods on which it is levied are imported. In fact, the pound has fallen considerably against other currencies since the PBR, due to the dire state of our economy, so goods will become more expensive rather than cheaper! Nevertheless, the success or failure of this package will largely be judged on sales figures of the shops before and after Christmas, and those figures will either be judged good or not as bad as they would have been without the VAT reduction.

The way Labour say they will pay for this package with tax rises after the next general election is astute too. Increasing income tax for those earning over �150,000 a year (from 40% to 45%) has wrongfooted the Tories, who want to avoid being seen as the party of the rich.

According to the Treasury's own figures, this would only raise �1.5 billion, and some commentators suggest it would raise nothing at all due to wealthy people employing accountants to avoid paying the tax that they should. The 0.5% increase in national insurance contributions is just about the minimum that they could suggest for ordinary people, with Labour saying that only those earning over �40,000 would pay more due to changes in allowances; it will raise a mere �5 billion which is chicken feed compared to what is required!

Darling's claim that the books can be balanced by 2015 is laughable, without some sort of massive reorganisation of the world's economy, on a capitalist if not socialist basis. If us socialists don't get our act together, there may be a capitalist solution involving nationalisation of all the banks, closure of tax havens and an international agreement on harmonisation of tax rates (for the rich). I believe Hyman Minsky (who predicted the current economic crisis) proposed something on those lines. Some rich individuals including Bill Gates and Duncan Ballantyne (of "Dragon's Den" fame) have suggested they will give all or most of their fortunes to charity, which could enable such an ethical capitalist solution to work!

A recent opinion poll has put Labour just 1% behind the Tories, which would give them a 20-seat overall majority in the House of Commons (rather undermining the argument that we are living in a democratic country methinks). I'd prefer a hung parliament, with the Liberal Democrats insisting on proportional representation (preferably by single transferable vote) to get their cooperation.

The New Labour agenda of enshrining capitalism forever by curtailing civil liberties has not ended, as can be seen by them going ahead with ID cards and by home secretary Jacqui Smith's dismay at a European court ruling against keeping the DNA of people not convicted of a crime. There is still a battle to be won within the Labour Party, however, and its lurch to the left will give socialists inside the party renewed hope. It'd be naive to expect to transform Labour into a socialist party, but we should try our best in that regard with a sizeable split-off party uniting with far left parties and non-aligned socialists as a more likely outcome.

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#56

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Fri Nov 28, 2008 7:49 pm
Subject: Barclays chairman: death spiral of withdrawals & falling share price

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Tuesday's Independent at

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/barclays-board-faces-down-shareholder-outrage-1033924.html

(and a lot of other news sources) reported a remark by Barclays chairman Marcus Agius at the bank's shareholders' meeting of it having faced a "death spiral" of falling share prices and depositor withdrawals. The falling share price was nothing special; whereas it has recently fallen by about 80% recently, some other banks have fallen by 90%. However, the scramble by those with accounts at Barclays has undoubtedly been dramatic - and this death spiral is undoubtedly massively escalating, unstoppably and very quickly.

Bearing in mind that tens (if not hundreds) of thousands of people read my messages (and I'm sending this far and wide as usual) and I have already predicted Barclays will go bankrupt a few times (twice causing 10% falls in its share price within 24 hours), people will take this warning from me very seriously. Incidentally, a Google or Yahoo search for "Barclays bankrupt" yields a message from me top (MSN censors my websites), so I already have an international reputation for such predictions!

The first £35,000 of deposits I think is guaranteed by the UK government (check www.fscs.org.uk for details), but will they pay up (insuring bonds has gone from £1,000 to £9,000 per £1 million since May due to the £500 billion bank bailout and predictions of massive government borrowing, so the British government may not be able to pay out even if it wants to)?

Even if you get your money back, will it be before Christmas? No! Will foreign depositors get their money back at all? No! Even if the governemnt says it will and offers to, I'll make it my top priority to organise mass demonstrations against wasting such massive amounts of money! And I'm an internationalist not a nationalist; indeed I was motivated in forecasting Barclays' downfall by their despicable role in propping up the apartheid dictatorship in South Africa!

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#55

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Mon Nov 17, 2008 3:25 pm
Subject: Ethical socialism, ethical capitalism or apocalypse!

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The current edition of the Weekly Worker (http://www.cpgb.org.uk/worker/745/index.html) is a hoot!

The final paragraph of Dave Vincent's article "PCS opts for talks", consisting simply of "I despair", sums up the state of Marxism in Britain and internationally. Elsewhere in the same issue, Peter Manson's article "Expensive absurdity" reports on the 80-90 strong conference of Left Alternative, the Socialist Workers Party's (SWP's) new "electoral front that does not contest elections". Considering that the SWP has long been the largest Marxist organisation in England, its troubles during a massive crisis of capitalism are remarkable!

James Turley, in the article "Obamania and the left", says "by mid-2007, it was abundantly clear that the Nader movement had all but wilted. So where had these people gone? To the Barack Obama campaign, of course: the electrifying orator and prophet of 'hope', 'change' and a host of other vagaries had poached this grassroots constituency with impunity." Rather than celebrating Obama's victory, and pointing out the correctness of Ralph Nader's former supporters in shifting the Democrats to the left, and they are way to the left of New Labour in Britain as a cursory look at www.barackobama.com would reveal, Turley moans about the Democrats being a capitalist party. Surely, as Ted North reports on "progressive, Keynesian [Gordon] Brown" in "Brown’s recovery and the global downturn", with Labour easily winning the Glenrothes by-election and "the Scotish Socialist Party winning 212 and Solidarity a disastrous 87 votes", part of the solution to achieving socialism in Britain too is participating in a capitalist party!

So what does the CPGB (Communist Party of Great Britain, publishers of the Weekly Worker) recommend as a solution? Well, they have been plugging away with their pet project of a unified 'Marxist Party', with such monumental success that their guru John Bridge (alias Jack Conrad) cheerfully reports, in "Future course to be voted on", that (under their leadership) "the national committee [of the Campaign for a Marxist Party] unanimously agreed to put a motion to the December 6 AGM to close down the organisation" and instead "establish a committee in 2009 with the aim of promoting the study of Marxism and the unity of Marxists as Marxists"!

Surely it's time to face facts - Marxism, as a force capable of challenging for power, in Western countries anyway, is dead!

But what about the unethical capitalism of George W Bush? Surely the Obama victory marks the point at which it is mortally wounded too! Obama's recent remarks about closing Guantanamo Bay are an indication that this era is coming to an end. Granted, Obama's programme is not as revolutionary as I proposed in my Ethical Capitalism Network (www.ethicalcapitalism.net), but the struggle between the more ethical and less ethical capitalists has surely been won!

But the socialist left in Britain is not dead! The Convention of the Left at the time of the Labour Party conference in Manchester in September brought together many hundreds of left-wingers inside and outside that party to discuss the way forward. That unity is not over - local meetings (including in Manchester) are taking place and there is a recall conference, now postponed to Saturday the 24th of January (also in Manchester - see www.conventionoftheleft.org), which will hopefully set up some sort of anti-capitalist network. [Incidentally, an SWP member (Ian Allinson) suggested this when I raised the issue at a South East Manchester SWP meeting.] In the current economic climate, a charter of reformist demands (like the SWP's People Before Profit Charter) or even transitional demands (like those of the Socialist Party) is inadequate. We need to point out the need to replace the entire capitalist system, even if we don't use the word "revolution".

I now recognise that the idea of hierarchies of committees based on workplaces, as proposed by Marxists, should be part of an ethical socialist society - as long as there are also committees based on local communities and the government is elected by proportional representation (preferably by single transferable vote). I now recommend a fusion of my ideas and those of Marxists and anarchists. I'd strongly welcome a democratic revolutionary socialist party based on such a fusion, but a looser and broader anti-capitalist network (perhaps called the Anti-Capitalist Network) appears to me preferable in Britain at present.

So what will those nasty unethical capitalists do when they see their power and wealth slipping away (due to a looming victory of ethical capitalism or socialism). Well, we should be prepared for them to try to bring about some sort of apocalypse. As I sang in my song "99 Blue Balloons" (see http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk/poetry.htm), when there is "nothing left but suicide" they could allow a terrorist attack on a nuclear power station (like 9/11 was an inside job - watch the BBC "Conspiracy Files" programme on the third tower, that collapsed despite not being hit by a plane, at http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=9072062020229593250 or read my review of it at http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk/conspiracy-files.htm).

An alternative apocalypse could come about via artificial bacteria being released to target people with certain genetic characteristics (a sort of racial war but it could be based on genetic characteristics other than race like the colour of people's eyes). This may sound like science fiction, but J Craig Venter's institute in the USA has proposed precisely this, supposedly to stop global warming, and they first decoded the human genome mainly using Venter's DNA. I now see my most important task being to do more work on my artificial intelligence/simulation language SDML (I've almost finished making databases much faster) and working in the field of bioinformatics to prevent such an apocalypse. In the meantime, you can download and try out SDML, which is available as open source Smalltalk code (as I publicised in a message I sent several days ago at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PRsocialism/message/134).

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#54

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Tue Nov 4, 2008 1:18 pm
Subject: McCain wasn't tortured in Vietnam! He lied!

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The following article comes from the Morning Star, a left-wing British daily newspaper. You can find it at http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk (but you need to pay £1 for 24 hours access to the archive and current edition or £10 for a month).

McCain's tales of war don't add up
(Friday 31 October 2008)
Guard talks of tough but humane conditions, writes JAMES TWEEDIE.

US Republican presidential candidate John McCain has built a reputation as a war hero on the basis of his claims of torture as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.

He was shot down over Hanoi on October 26 1967. It was his 23rd mission over Vietnam and it ended in a lake in Hanoi known as Silvery Rushes, where he came down after bailing out from his burning plane.

But the chief prison guard of the jail where he was imprisoned revealed recently that Mr McCain had not been mistreated at all.

In an interview with the Italian daily Corriere della Sera, Nguyen Tien Tran acknowledged that conditions in the prison were "tough, though not inhuman."

But, he added: "We never tortured McCain. On the contrary, we saved his life, curing him with extremely valuable medicines that, at times, were not available to our own wounded."

Shortly after his release in 1973, Mr McCain told US News & World Report that his prison guards had beaten him "from pillar to post."

After being worked over at intervals for four days, he said that he had become suicidal and agreed to sign a "confession" admitting to war crimes.

In his 1999 autobiography, Faith of My Fathers, Mr McCain described how he had been subjected to inhumane treatment in an effort to force him to disclose his ship's name, squadron number and the target of his final mission.

But in his 1972 book The Vietnam Story, Soviet author Ivan Shchedrov reproduced the following transcript of Mr McCain's interrogation.

He was asked for his name, rank and then for his opinion of Hanoi's air defences. "As to the ground-to-air missiles," said the major, a son and grandson of US admirals, "I think they are quite accurate and we often cannot evade them. I had almost reached my target when I suddenly saw the missiles heading towards me. Then there was a terrific blast. And now I'm a prisoner."

Vietnamese former nurse Nguyen Thi Thanh recalled this week how she had treated Mr McCain after he had been shot down.

In an interview with the BBC, she said: "My responsibility was to care for my own countrymen only.

"But Ho Chi Minh advised people to show compassion and to save the enemies. So I told myself that I had to fulfil my duty.

"That evening, when I left the clinic, an old man came to me and yelled at me for caring for an enemy. I told him I just did what Ho Chi Minh asked all of us to do."

Asked if a McCain presidency would be good for Vietnam, Mrs Nguyen said: "He is friendly and he has done some good things for the Vietnamese, but it is difficult to predict the future."

As for Barack Obama, she said: "I don't think he has any ties with Vietnam. But a clean slate can be a good thing.

"If American people are wise, they will choose someone who loves peace."

If you want to know why I am supporting Barack Obama in today's US presidential election as a step towards achieving socialism, rather than a third-party candidate like Ralph Nader, download newsletter 5 of my Foundation for Proportional Representation-based Socialism (in Micro$oft Word or PDF format) from http://www.PRsocialism.org. I would particularly welcome some of you who live in the USA printing/photocopying it to distribute, as I have done in Manchester. You can alternatively read the contents of the newsletter by visiting http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PRsocialism/message/130.

--
Steve Wallis (Manchester, England)
Preferred email address: revolutionarysocialiststeve@...
Blogs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/steve-wallis-socialist-blog,
http://blog.myspace.com/galaxiasteve
My socialist website: http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk
My pages at Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1038291480, MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/galaxiasteve and Bebo:
http://www.bebo.com/SteveW519
Founder, Ethical Capitalism Network: http://www.ethicalcapitalism.net
Founder, Foundation for Proportional Representation-based Socialism: http://www.PRsocialism.org
Founder, Revolutionary Platform Network: http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net
My revolutionary socialist band, Galaxia: http://www.galaxiamusic.net, http://www.myspace.com/galaxiamusic, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Galaxia-a-revolutionary-socialist-band/84310120180, http://www.bebo.com/galaxiamusic.
My socialist band, Red Day: http://www.red-day.net, http://www.myspace.com/reddayband, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Day/27468311341
Author, "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist revolution will never happen?": http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net
For discussion of the credit crunch, go to
http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=156
For discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories, go to http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=89

[There are all sorts of font/formatting errors using Yahoo! mail that I have to put up with from time to time. It's worth it - yahoo.co.uk is based in the UK unlike hotmail.co.uk, which avoids the censorship of the Department of Homeland Security in the USA, that recipients of this message in "the land of the free" have to put up with, on whose authority spam detection programs are used to filter out political emails (using artificial intelligence techniques not just checking for keywords). I'm not a "patriot" so I guess the Patriot Act is aimed at people like myself as well as (or rather much more than) Islamic fundamentalists.]

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#53

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Sun Nov 2, 2008 1:53 pm
Subject: Video of Iraq Vet Stomped by Police Horse at Last Presidential Debate

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I include below a blog posting from the Socialist Party USA (New York Local), one of my friends at MySpace. [The person who runs it added me as a friend a while ago, presumably having seen stuff I'd put on-line (including some songs/musical poems) about Priya Reddy (sometimes known as warcry), a New York-based Indian anarchist who I believe is my main ally in the struggle for a better world. I had come to a false conclusion about her being a political prisoner in a psychiatric ward that she had compared to Auschwitz concentration camp. She finally emailed me to say that it wasn't true, and I did new versions of my songs "You're A Rebel" and "On My Own" with my Glasgow band Red Day to correct that false information. Having said that, I haven't heard from her for several months so it is possible that forces of big business such as the CIA have "tried to wreck her mind as well as spy" as I suggested in my song "Belly Of The Beast" (which I wrote before coming to the above mentioned conclusion about her). You can read more about Priya on my page about her on my socialist website, at http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk/warcry.htm.]

Anyway, below is the blog entry, which I accessed at http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=353811559&blogID=445633314:

Iraq Vet Stomped by Police Horse at Last Presidential Debate
Category: Blogging

[The YouTube video of the event is embedded in the blog, but I don't think I can send it by email. You can view it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlI7tQCqwbU but you need to register/log in to access it there since they don't deem it suitable for those over 18. Alternatively, view it on the blog at http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=353811559&blogID=445633314.]

Pictures:
http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2008/10/100775.shtml
http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2008/10/100762.shtml

Report by Alex Kane of NYC Indymedia:
http://nyc.indymedia.org/en/2008/10/100761.shtml

As millions of Americans were readying their television sets to tune into the final presidential debate between John McCain and Barack Obama, a much different scene was unfolding outside of Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY where the debate took place.

At least five members of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), a group of military veterans who are calling for immediate withdrawal from Iraq, were arrested, as well as at least four civilians, according to National Lawyers Guild observers. Nassau County police on horses trampled one member of IVAW, Nick Morgan, a veteran who served in Iraq for about a year. Morgan was knocked to the ground, and according to witnesses, the horse hooves slammed down on his face. A gash was visible on the side of his head as blood dripped down onto the pavement.

Protesters in the crowd said that Morgan was taken to a local hospital.

"The horses were pushing, like really pushing, against [members of IVAW], and physically touching their bodies," says Erika Ward, an NYU student and intern at Democracy Now! "To see people laying on the ground…was crazy. For me, it was really emotional, [and] I saw people crying," she continued.

AT THE HEMPSTEAD STATION

The protest began slowly, with about 70 anti-war activists rallying at a parking lot nearby the Hempstead train station. Speakers included a member of the New York Civil Liberties Union, a local civil rights advocate, a Military Families Speak Out activist and a member of the May 1st Coalition for Immigrant and Worker Rights. As more activists from the NYC area poured in, the march to the campus of Hofstra started, with defiant chants of "Stop the torture, stop the war, this is what we're fighting for," and "They're our brothers, they're our sisters, we support war resisters!" filling the streets of Hempstead.

With IVAW members at the front, the crowd swelled to around 400 demonstrators. Members of the local Planned Parenthood joined in along the way. At one point, as the antiwar march neared the campus, a group of ten members of the Gathering of Eagles, a conservative pro-war organization, heckled the demonstrators. They shouted epithets like "traitor" and "treasonous" at the Iraq veterans.

The troops have "been promised so much…it's important for IVAW to have a voice," says Chelsea Florio, a freshman at Fordham University and a member of the Fordham Anti-War Coalition.
The members of IVAW, backed by a crowd of anti-war protesters, were allowed to pass through one line of police before they were met with lines of Nassau County riot police and cops on horses who would not allow the veterans to enter the Hofstra campus. IVAW members Matthis Chiroux and Kris Goldsmith, who organized the protest, went first and were promptly arrested. At least three other veterans and four civilians followed and were arrested as well.

The arrests seemed to energize the crowd, and as they chanted, "Let them in," it looked as if things could easily get out of hand.

The police on horses pushed back against the crowd, which was fronted by a group of about 15 Iraq veterans, until the demonstrators had been moved onto a nearby sidewalk.

After a tense standoff for five minutes, it looked like the police in riot gear shoved veterans and demonstrators to push them even further back, and around four people were knocked over by riot police and horses. It was during this fracas that Morgan was injured. After the police assault, a standoff between the cops and demonstrators occurred for over an hour.

A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS

A week ago, Chiroux, who this past May publicly declared his intent to refuse to deploy to Iraq, sent a letter to CBS debate moderator Bob Scheiffer spelling out the demands of IVAW. Chiroux's letter demanded that two members of IVAW, himself and Goldsmith, be allowed entry into the debate to ask Senators Obama and McCain one question each. CBS or Schieffer did not respond to the letter from Chiroux.

"What yourself and the candidates must decide now, Mr. Schieffer, is what the legacy of this debate will be. Will this be remembered as an event where both sides of the [aisle] and the media came together to hear from our nation's heroes…or will the words and promises of both candidates be forever shrouded in the image of a host of uniformed veterans and their supporters going to jail because these campaigns cared too little to hear from them?" Chiroux's letter read.

"Our goal is to make Iraq and veterans the forefront of the debate," said Goldsmith.

Chiroux planned on asking Obama a pointed question: "My question is, as President of the United States of America, are you prepared to back up your own words [about the illegality of the Iraq War] and the U.S. Constitution by supporting service members refusing to participate in what you describe as an illegal occupation?"

Goldsmith wanted to ask McCain a question about his lack of support for veterans. "What promises are you willing to make, as a veteran, as a senator, as a presidential candidate, to the veterans of the United States, to prove that you will ensure the V.A. is fully funded, staffed and capable of preventing troops from suffering as they are now?" he says.

With the crowd emotionally exhausted and worn down, the protest started to taper off at about 8:30 PM.

"We have a blind media [and] deaf candidates, but [IVAW] has a voice that will be heard," James Gilligan, a member of IVAW said earlier in the day.

--
Steve Wallis (Manchester, England)
Preferred email address: revolutionarysocialiststeve@...
Blogs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/steve-wallis-socialist-blog,
http://blog.myspace.com/galaxiasteve
My socialist website: http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk
My pages at Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1038291480, MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/galaxiasteve and Bebo:
http://www.bebo.com/SteveW519
Founder, Ethical Capitalism Network: http://www.ethicalcapitalism.net
Founder, Foundation for Proportional Representation-based Socialism: http://www.PRsocialism.org
Founder, Revolutionary Platform Network: http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net
My revolutionary socialist band, Galaxia: http://www.galaxiamusic.net, http://www.myspace.com/galaxiamusic, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Galaxia-a-revolutionary-socialist-band/84310120180, http://www.bebo.com/galaxiamusic.
My socialist band, Red Day: http://www.red-day.net, http://www.myspace.com/reddayband, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Day/27468311341
Author, "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist revolution will never happen?": http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net
For discussion of the credit crunch, go to
http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=156
For discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories, go to http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=89

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#52

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Fri Oct 31, 2008 11:19 pm
Subject: Foundation for Proportional Representation-based Socialism newsletter 5

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Foundation for Proportional Representation-based Socialism

Website: www.PRsocialism.org Forum: tinyurl.com/prsocialismforum Newsletter 5 (31 October 2008)

Editor’s note: I, Steve Wallis, have written all the articles in this newsletter. I would welcome replies to points made in this newsletter and articles/letters for future newsletters, posted to the forum (with the web address above) or emailed to me personally at revolutionarysocialiststeve@.... I have recently changed my strategy for achieving a democratic socialist society from opposing and sabotaging Marxism to uniting with Marxists, as outlined in this newsletter. This will hopefully encourage other revolutionary socialists to get involved.

As with previous Foundation newsletters, anyone who agrees with the politics in it can download it from the website (with the web address above) in Word or PDF format, print it out and distribute it anywhere in the world.

Support Barack Obama as a step towards achieving socialism!

The date of the US presidential election (the 4th of November) is looming. The far left (revolutionary socialists, particularly Marxists) have traditionally opposed both the Democrats and Republicans as parties of big business. Sometimes they have supported alternative candidates, particularly Ralph Nader, who stood as a Green Party candidate in 1996 and 2000, receiving 2,883,105 votes (2.74%) in the latter year.

Nader was widely blamed for George W Bush beating Al Gore in 2000, because Nader’s votes in New Hampshire and Florida vastly exceeded the difference in their votes, but so did the votes of the other six third-party candidates. Gore actually got more votes than Bush in Florida but was defrauded by a Supreme Court ruling halting a manual recount – there were many more “hanging chads” (from ballot papers that hadn’t been properly punched by machines) on papers of those voting for Gore than Bush, because instructions on how to vote were very complicated and Bush supporters tended to be better educated, and exit polls showed Gore way ahead of Bush (far more than the difference in their recorded votes). The argument that there was not time to count the votes ahead of a court deadline was ridiculous, considering that manual counts take place in a few hours in the UK, but it suited Bush’s allies in the courts to defraud Gore.

Nevertheless, Nader received a mere 463,653 votes (0.38%) when he stood again, independently this time, in 2004. Clearly most of Gore’s supporters had switched to the Democrats and perhaps even campaigned for its candidate John Kerry that year. They correctly drew the conclusion that, under the extremely undemocratic US electoral system, change could only realistically come via the Democrats. Some got involved in left-wing organisations operating within the Democratic Party including the Progressive Democrats of America. Right-wingers are organised so left-wingers need to be too, as the Militant Tendency argued when it was a faction of the British Labour Party (until it left in the early 1990s).

In the second live TV debate with Bush in 2004, Kerry pledged to tax the rich (reverse tax cuts of 85 or 90 billion dollars for those earning over $200,000 a year) and close all tax loopholes. This was the primary reason why Kerry was also defrauded, in an election where votes were conducted using computers with no paper trial preventing manual recounts, and with the three companies providing most of the computers linked to the Republicans and refusing requests for impartial observers to examine the software! Some voters pressed “Back” on the computers and found that their vote was being registered with Bush when they had voted for someone else (actually a sign that some of the programmers wanted the fraud to be discovered!) Other dubious tactics included having more voting machines per person in white areas than black ones in that highly segregated country, with some queuing for several hours to vote and others giving up.

Like New Labour in Britain, which is introducing ID cards linked to a central database and collecting other information about us including car registration numbers gleaned from speed cameras (even those not speeding), the Republicans have tried to ensure that capitalism continues forever using measures like the Patriot Act. This alone would be a reason to vote for Obama, in addition to increasing the likelihood of a swift end to the war in Iraq and the Democrats carrying out the large number of reforms in the interest of working and middle class people that Obama is promising. Don’t just take my word for him having a left-wing programme – watch the 30-minute ad shown on TV (search YouTube for “Obama infomercial”) and/or visit www.BarackObama.com. Obama is not a revolutionary socialist, but nor was Fidel Castro before the Cuban revolution – and a victory for him will greatly increase the chances of a socialist transformation of society as well as a fair electoral system, in the USA and with a knock-on effect around the world!

Will Obama be defrauded like Gore and Kerry? Obama’s defeat would be blamed on racism; he’ll have 5000 volunteer lawyers in Florida but will that prevent it? Visit www.nomorestolenelections.org. Or will he be assassinated, as planned by two neo-Nazis? [They were described as “skinheads” in many news reports. Great! Those who look like fascists either are ones, are pretending to be ones, or are unaware of the impression such a hairstyle gives.]

Democratise the banks and end repossessions

Stock markets around the world have recently come close to complete financial meltdown. Governments and central banks around the world have had to resort to huge subsidies and nationalisations to prevent this from happening. Even the $700 billion in the USA and £500 billion in the UK may not be enough! Gordon Brown is being hailed as the saviour of capitalism and the British bailout is being copied overseas, but in some countries, capitalists are having problems borrowing the money they need to preserve their system and severe conditions that attack the living standards of working and middle class people may be imposed in order to get emergency funding from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Socialists should demand and indeed are demanding that money is also used to help ordinary people in this recession, including an end to repossessions (perhaps by the banks owning the properties and renting them back to the previous owners). However, with many banks around the world being nationalised, and the possibility that only nationalisation of all the banks will lead to them lending to each other again, we should insist that they are run democratically, with most control in the hands of borrowers and savers (also with representatives on the boards of the government and trade unions).

Left-wing activists should debate precisely what demands to put forward, and there will be an opportunity for activists in the Manchester area (in England) to do so at the next Convention of the Left meeting (7pm, Monday 17 November, Friends’ Meeting House, Mount Street, behind Manchester Central Library). Should the whole board be elected annually, rather than just a third as with building societies like the Nationwide, limiting change? Should there be referenda of members if there is a minority opinion on the board such as over whether to increase or decrease interest rates? Should there be local meetings of borrowers, savers and workers to determine the banks’ policies?

Campaign for renewable sources of energy – and point out the need for socialism

In these difficult economic times, it is unsurprising that many ordinary people give higher priority to maintaining their living standards than saving the planet. Since thousands are likely to freeze to death this winter due to not being able to afford to heat their homes, it would be inhuman to ignore their plight. We are rightly cynical about politicians who sometimes talk green but help polluting companies or use “climate change” as an excuse for building more nuclear power stations – with by-products needed for nuclear weapons, and those politicians supposedly worried about terrorism. [Would they allow a terrorist attack on a nuclear power station, to excuse such a severe clampdown on civil liberties that a socialist revolution would become impossible?]

Capitalist politicians use talk of climate change as an excuse for divide-and-rule, with some ordinary people more concerned about the problem than others. Some fly across Britain while others use trains or coaches; politicians serious about climate change would tax flights to subsidise public transport.

With Scotland having had the coldest Easter for 46 years (and China the coldest winter for 50), and Britain having had snow in October for the first time since 1934, cynicism about global warming is understandable. Even if it isn’t mainly caused by mankind, investment in renewable sources of energy would still be preferable – due to the pollution of carbon fuels (highlighted by the smog in Beijing before the Olympics) and the fact that such resources are running out (shortage of supplies caused oil price hikes). Also, it’s better to be on the safe side than risk disastrous global warming.

Tidal and wind power are probably most suitable for the British climate, but solar power is ideal in African deserts. An EU committee recommended concentrating solar power (CSP) plants in Africa, that focus sunlight onto a tower to drive a turbine, to provide Europe’s power. The dangers of unstable African regimes or terrorist attacks on power lines may make it unfeasible in the current unethical capitalist world – but we should use that as a reason for socialist revolution, rather than merely suggesting minor reforms that do little to solve the world’s energy problems or help the struggle for a better world.

Turn the Convention of the Left into an anti-capitalist network

There have been many different attempts to unite left-wing activists, in Britain and elsewhere in the world, in recent years. Most of these have involved revolutionary socialists uniting with reformists, with parties generally putting forward lowest common denominator politics such as reformist demands. The economic crisis is so great that gradual reforms are insufficient to deal with it effectively, and New Labour is already borrowing many billions of pounds that it cannot afford, funded by borrowing (£37.6 billion in six months) with the Tories and Lib Dems making similar promises. If activists don’t talk about the need to replace the capitalist economic system with socialism, it will never happen!

The Convention of the Left, which met during Labour’s conference in September, brought together activists with a wide range of political views inside and outside that party. The time is not ripe to launch a new party that stands candidates in elections – there is still a struggle taking place within the Labour Party with the prospect of a sizeable split-off linking up with socialists outside the party. Whereas I would be in favour of a democratic revolutionary socialist party, calling for hierarchies of committees based on workplaces and local communities (as advocated by Marxists) but also with a government elected by proportional representation (preferably with single transferable vote to end tactical voting), a broader organisation, perhaps called the Anti-Capitalist Network, would be more viable and inclusive now.

Convention of the Left recall conference

Saturday 29 November, Manchester

For details, visit www.conventionoftheleft.org

I’d urge all socialists in Britain to come to the Convention’s recall conference (see the box) and discuss the way forward. It is the most promising attempt at left unity so far, largely because it was a rank-and-file initiative by activists in Manchester.

If you are on Facebook, a social networking site on which censorship is virtually impossible (except on "closed" groups for which moderators need to approve people joining and "secret" groups that you need to be invited to join), you may like to visit/join my new group "Democratise the banks and end repossessions" at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=31888039123.

--
Steve Wallis (Manchester, England)
Preferred email address: revolutionarysocialiststeve@...
Blogs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/steve-wallis-socialist-blog,
http://blog.myspace.com/galaxiasteve
My socialist website: http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk
My pages at Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1038291480, MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/galaxiasteve and Bebo:
http://www.bebo.com/SteveW519
Founder, Ethical Capitalism Network: http://www.ethicalcapitalism.net
Founder, Foundation for Proportional Representation-based Socialism: http://www.PRsocialism.org
Founder, Revolutionary Platform Network: http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net
My revolutionary socialist band, Galaxia: http://www.galaxiamusic.net, http://www.myspace.com/galaxiamusic, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Galaxia-a-revolutionary-socialist-band/84310120180, http://www.bebo.com/galaxiamusic.
My socialist band, Red Day: http://www.red-day.net, http://www.myspace.com/reddayband, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Day/27468311341
Author, "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist revolution will never happen?": http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net
For discussion of the credit crunch, go to
http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=156
For discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories, go to http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=89

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#51

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Thu Oct 30, 2008 7:59 pm
Subject: Support Obama! Watch the 30-minute ad and visit barackobama.com

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I've just watched the Barack Obama 30-minute advert (you can watch it in four parts - search www.youtube.com for "obama infomercial") and visited Obama's website (http://www.barackobama.com) to find out more about where he stands on the issues that affect ordinary working and middle class people (even though he just says "middle class" - the US media try to con people into thinking there isn't a working class in the USA). Don't go along with the crass analysis of just about every far left organisation in Britain who refuse to support Obama's presidency bid, without first checking out where he really stands!

I can guarantee that you will find out that he is far to the left of New Labour. Even more importantly, the US Republican Party is the party that brought in the Patriot Act, that has got the Department of Homeland Security to read every email using software designed to filter out spam to also filter out political emails. Obama hasn't been as left-wing as he could have been (I think I heard he actually voted for the Patriot Act), but an Obama presidency wouldn't seek to enshrine capitalism in power forever - which is actually the agenda of New Labour, a party much of the left in Britain still urges voters to support, with policies like ID cards linked to a central database, using speed cameras to read car licence plates (even of cars not speeding) and putting that information on a central database, asking travellers visiting the UK for 20 pieces of information including credit card details and mobile phone numbers, etc. Yes, the Republicans and New Labour are the parties who want to bring about a captialist dictatorship like the one forecast by George Orwell in "Nineteen Eighty-Four".

For those who assume I would therefore support the Tories in the UK general election - no, I'd want a democratic revolutionary socialist party or revolutionary anti-capitalist part, arising out of the Convention of the Left and a split in the Labour Party, to stand and try to win the election. Failing that, I'd particularly welcome a hung parliament - then hopefully the Liberal Democrats would insist on proportional representation as a condition for joining a coalition (or a mass movement could force a minority government to bring in PR preferably using single transferable vote to end the need for tactical voting) and we can finally have democracy in the UK!

McCain is desperate enough to accuse Obama of being a socialist. He is, in the reformist sense of the word. But so was Fidel Castro at the time of the Cuban revolution! Those who really want socialism should support Obama's presidency bid as a step on the way to achieving it. And Marxist organisations in the USA should join left-wing forces within the Democratic Party such as the Progressive Democrats of America, to influence Obama and try to engineer a split in the Democrats on socialist/captialist lines (rather than on class lines - a party that just supports the working class and wants just the working class in power would rightly get nowhere!) The many thousands of working and middle class people who supported Ralph Nader in 2000 didn't just disappear; many presumably drew the obvious conclusion that the best avenue for change is via the Democrats and got involved in that party. John Kerry in 2004 pledged to tax the rich and close all tax loopholes, hence he had to be defrauded in the election as I revealed at the time with my US electoral fraud discussion forum (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/us-electoral-fraud/). I don't think the forces of big business would be brazen enough to do likewise this year, but if McCain wins, it certainly won't be fairly!!!

I'm sending this message to the contact email addresses of Labor's Militant Voice (http://www.laborsmilitantvoice.org), probably the best Marxist organisation in the USA (that arose out of a split in Labor Militant, the US section of the CWI); a quick check of their website shows they haven't come out in support of Obama but they haven't come out against him either!

Anyway, I thought I'd include below the section on Obama's website on the issues concerning workers (from http://www.barackobama.com/issues/economy/index.php):

Labor

Obama and Biden will strengthen the ability of workers to organize unions. He will fight for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Obama and Biden will ensure that his labor appointees support workers' rights and will work to ban the permanent replacement of striking workers. Obama and Biden will also increase the minimum wage and index it to inflation to ensure it rises every year.

Ensure Freedom to Unionize: Obama and Biden believe that workers should have the freedom to choose whether to join a union without harassment or intimidation from their employers. Obama cosponsored and is strong advocate for the Employee Free Choice Act, a bipartisan effort to assure that workers can exercise their right to organize. He will continue to fight for EFCA's passage and sign it into law.
Fight Attacks on Workers' Right to Organize: Obama has fought the Bush National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) efforts to strip workers of their right to organize. He is a cosponsor of legislation to overturn the NLRB's "Kentucky River" decisions classifying hundreds of thousands of nurses, construction, and professional workers as "supervisors" who are not protected by federal labor laws.
Protect Striking Workers: Obama and Biden support the right of workers to bargain collectively and strike if necessary. They will work to ban the permanent replacement of striking workers, so workers can stand up for themselves without worrying about losing their livelihoods.
Raise the Minimum Wage: Barack Obama and Joe Biden will raise the minimum wage, index it to inflation and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit to make sure that full-time workers earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families and pay for basic needs.

--
Steve Wallis (Manchester, England)
Preferred email address: revolutionarysocialiststeve@...
Blogs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/steve-wallis-socialist-blog,
http://blog.myspace.com/galaxiasteve
My socialist website: http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk
My pages at Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1038291480, MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/galaxiasteve and Bebo:
http://www.bebo.com/SteveW519
Founder, Ethical Capitalism Network: http://www.ethicalcapitalism.net
Founder, Foundation for PR-based Socialism: http://www.PRsocialism.org
Founder, Revolutionary Platform Network: http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net
My revolutionary socialist band, Galaxia: http://www.galaxiamusic.net, http://www.myspace.com/galaxiamusic, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Galaxia-a-revolutionary-socialist-band/84310120180, http://www.bebo.com/galaxiamusic.
My socialist band, Red Day: http://www.red-day.net, http://www.myspace.com/reddayband, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Day/27468311341
Author, "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist revolution will never happen?": http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net
For discussion of the credit crunch, go to
http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=156
For discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories, go to http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=89

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#50

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Thu Oct 30, 2008 3:54 pm
Subject: Left unity, skinhead neo-Nazis v Obama & big business modelling of society

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Some points I've made in the text below are so important that I've added it as a preamble to the home page of my socialist website (http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk) and some of my other pages. There are demonstrations outside the Northern Rock branch in Albert Square, Manchester tomorrow (4-6pm) and on Saturday (11am-12noon), so I'm planning to do a new Foundation for PR-based Socialism newsletter before then. Comments would be welcome on my new strategy, by email or on the Foundation's forum.

Until recently, I have carried out the duel role of radicalising people and sabotaging Marxism, sometimes consciously (by putting out leaflets arguing against the Marxist idea of hierarchies of committees based on workplaces for example) and sometimes subconsciously. I have thus helped engineer a situation whereby there is a massive financial crisis which exposes the failings of the capitalist economic system but socialists are too weak (in the West at any rate) to take advantage of the crisis and overthrow this system in a socialist revolution. Due to the lack of a viable socialist alternative, British prime minister Gordon Brown is getting away with subsidising the banks with a massive £500 billion of borrowed money (equivalent to £16,500 for every taxpayer in the country) to try to buy capitalism out of the hole it has got itself into. Such measures are being replicated internationally, and he is being portrayed as the saviour of capitalism, ironically for a Labour prime minister!

I feel my influence on society has been overwhelmingly positive, despite my sabotage of Marxism. The forces of big business, including conspiratorial organisations like the CIA and those outside the realm of the state, had a great deal of control over society, using complex computer models to predict the future and determine what they needed to do to maintain their dominant position (and try to ensure that dominance continues forever with the US Republican Party enacting legislation such as the Patriot Act and New Labour in Britain planning ID cards with a centralised database containing a lot of information about us). [I was the main designer and sole implementer of an artificial intelligence/simulation language called SDML which could be used to do such modelling, so I know that it is possible.] A sign that this dominance has gone and that the free will of individuals is becoming more significant was the false reports in the early editions of British newspapers (including the Daily Mirror's "Phew! US saves world economy" headline on the 26th of September, with similar ones in the Times and Independent, reported on in a BBC Northern Ireland review of the papers) that the $700 billion bailout of the US banks had been agreed, before the talks collapsed. [As most readers of this will be aware, a modified deal was later agreed which has indeed averted complete financial meltdown.] This strongly suggests that the computer models of big business, which were used for those premature news reports, are failing. If their predictions are wrong, then their ability to control society is also diminishing. Weather forecasts are now much less accurate than they have been in the past; if you can predict weather accurately you can also control it, to some extent, by adjusting factors that influence it, and the forces of big business are certainly less able to do that now.

I have now recognised that it is time to take sides in the class struggle and unite with Marxists, particularly those in the largest Marxist organisation in Britain, the Socialist Workers Party (SWP). I had argued that it is generally only people on the same committees who know who the dodgy people (such as infiltrators on the side of big business) are and what they are up to, but the overthrow of John Rees as leader of the Left Alternative (the SWP-led splinter from Respect), via a resolution passed by the SWP's central committee, has demonstrated that such people can be removed from positions of power (partly due to the role of people like Rees being publicised by other activists particularly in the Weekly Worker newspaper which specialises on debates within and between left-wing organisations).

Despite my decision to regard Marxists as allies in the struggle for a better world, I am not abandoning my call for socialist governments elected by proportional representation, as promoted by my Foundation for PR-based Socialism. I still do not want a socialist society in which middle class people are denied a say, as Marxists tend to argue for. However, control from below, in local communities as well as workplaces, sometimes known as "participatory democracy", is essential for a genuine democratic socialist society as well as PR, and I am dropping my objection to such structures being hierarchical.

Perhaps the biggest mistake in my approach, as far as uniting revolutionary socialists is concerned, was my Good Intentions Manifesto which argued for unity between "good" people who want some sort of better world, irrespective of their politics, against "bad" people who want to preserve the status quo or want an even worse world (and may not even care if the human race is annihilated via a nuclear war). By adopting this analysis, I tried to identify well-intentioned people in right-wing organisations, and suggested that Condoleezza Rice, David Cameron, Margaret Thatcher and even Nick Griffin (leader of the fascist British National Party) might be well-intentioned and therefore sabotaging their own organisations. [I am still tempted to post the lyrics of my musical poem "The Master Race", which makes some very important points against fascism as well as suggesting that Griffin may be "a nice bloke", to fascist/racist discussion forums and help to destabilise such organisations!] I now realise that most members of right-wing parties are dedicated to such parties and tend to adopt their comrades' points of view. Even if they are in a left-wing conspiratorial organisation that is deliberately trying to sabotage that party, they have to cooperate with fellow members of the party to a large extent to avoid being found out. Similar arguments apply to left-wing parties infiltrated by right-wing organisations. Whereas I think publicising my views on infiltration via my Good Intentions Manifesto played a positive role by helping left-wingers identify right-wingers in their midst, the idea of uniting well-intentioned individuals was massively flawed, largely because nobody is completely well-intentioned (or completely poorly-intentioned) - my realisation that even I am selfish to a certain extent helped me avoid making what could have been a very bad mistake of properly setting up a forum for the Good Intentions Network.

I did make some very good points in my Good Intentions Manifesto about recognising whether people are mainly good or mainly bad, largely based on their demeanour and appearance, and I am therefore keeping it on the web but with the text you are currently reading as a preamble. In particular, I pointed out that men who come across as hard/tough/rough-and-ready, particularly those with short-cropped hair or particularly shaven heads, often are right-wing. The exposure of the two neo-Nazis who planned to assassinate Barack Obama as "skinheads" (in all five British newspapers reporting on it that I read as well as almost exactly half the reports around the world according to Google News) was brilliant in helping the masses recognising fascists in their midst. If you look like a fascist, you either are one, are pretending to be one, or did not realise what effect your appearance has on others' attitude towards you (perhaps because you are young or experimenting). The big exceptions to this rule about skinheads are black people (since fascists are almost always white) and those who look gay (and therefore do not come across as "hard"), but they may be inadvertently hindering the struggle for a better world by encouraging their straight white friends to adopt a similar hairstyle.

My new approach of recognising that most Marxists are allies is partly motivated by the fact that I am now in a position of greater influence within the socialist movement, particularly after moving to Manchester in September where the left is uniting to a greater extent than anywhere else in Britain. Left-wingers inside and outside the Labour Party united in the Convention of the Left at the time of Labour's conference, and we are continuing to meet in Manchester - on the third Monday of every month at the Friends' Meeting House (on Mount Street, off Albert Square, behind Manchester Central Library) at 7pm, probably booked under the name "Socialist Unity". There is also a national recall conference in Manchester on Saturday the 29th of November. Visit the Convention of the Left website for more details.

I am arguing that the Convention should argue for a sudden thorough change of society (a "revolution" even if some don't want to use that word) rather than adopt a charter of reformist demands, requiring even greater borrowing than that of the New Labour government with the Tories and Liberal Democrats proposing similar levels. The problems of capitalism are too great for reforms to be sufficient and we are never going to achieve a socialist revolution if we refuse to talk about it! If we do argue for reforms, as we should do while simultaneously arguing for socialism, then I am proposing we promote the idea of democratisation of the banks that have already been or are about to be nationalised, with the majority of the say in the hands of borrowers and savers in addition to representatives of the government and workers via the trade unions on their boards. As well as planning for the recall conference, we will discuss such proposals at the November meeting.

I am planning to submit a resolution to the recall conference proposing that the organisation coming out of the Convention of the Left calls itself the Anti-Capitalist Network, which clearly indicates the need for a change of society without being too narrow to put off genuine socialists who don't necessarily regard themselves as revolutionaries. It could be similar to a revolutionary anti-capitalist party being launched in France, but should be a network/alliance rather than a party at present, since I think a break from Labour would be premature at present. Whereas there is a need to unite those opposed to capitalism but with a wide range of views at present, I think that the need to argue for a particular form of socialism can be carried out by organisations within the network, including the Foundation for PR-based Socialism (which will from now on advocate "participatory democracy" as well as proportional representation).

--
Steve Wallis (Manchester, England)
Preferred email address: revolutionarysocialiststeve@...
Blogs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/steve-wallis-socialist-blog,
http://blog.myspace.com/galaxiasteve
My socialist website: http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk
My pages at Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1038291480, MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/galaxiasteve and Bebo:
http://www.bebo.com/SteveW519
Founder, Ethical Capitalism Network: http://www.ethicalcapitalism.net
Founder, Foundation for PR-based Socialism: http://www.PRsocialism.org
Founder, Revolutionary Platform Network: http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net
My revolutionary socialist band, Galaxia: http://www.galaxiamusic.net, http://www.myspace.com/galaxiamusic, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Galaxia-a-revolutionary-socialist-band/84310120180, http://www.bebo.com/galaxiamusic.
My socialist band, Red Day: http://www.red-day.net, http://www.myspace.com/reddayband, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Day/27468311341
Author, "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist revolution will never happen?": http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net
For discussion of the credit crunch, go to
http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=156
For discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories, go to http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=89

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#49

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Wed Oct 22, 2008 2:22 pm
Subject: Report on October 21 Convention of the Left meeting in Manchester

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The following is a report on last night's meeting that I've just emailed to Peter Manson, the Weekly Worker editor, for publication tomorrow (on http://www.cpgb.org.uk). I'll post a more substantial message on democratisation of the banks soon, when I've written a new Foundation for Proportional Representation-based Socialism newsletter...

In the September 25 issue of the Weekly Worker, an article by Chris Strafford (http://www.cpgb.org.uk/worker/738/leftdoesnt.html) had the headline "Left doesn’t unite", talking about the Convention of the Left counter-conference at the time of Labour’s conference in September. In reality, the left inside and outside the Labour Party is continuing to unite; there is a recall conference on Saturday November 29 (at the Friends' Meeting House, Manchester, see www.conventionoftheleft.org for details) and I went to a local Convention meeting attended by 30 people to plan for that recall conference, and discuss the political situation and what we will do about it locally (in Manchester) last night (October 21).

Some speakers at last night's meeting advocated the Convention uniting around a series of demands, although they didn’t make it clear whether they would like transitional ones (like that of the Socialist Party, formerly the Militant Tendency, that cannot all be implemented under capitalism but raising them is intended to lead to a socialist revolution) or reformist ones like those of the SWP's People Before Profit Charter.

I opposed this approach, instead arguing that we should point out the need for a sudden thorough change of society (a revolution even if some don't think we should use that word) to achieve socialism, and put forward ideas on how a socialist society should be run. New Labour has already borrowed £37.6 billion in six months (about the same amount borrowed in twelve months in recent years) excluding the nationalisation of Northern Rock, Bradford & Bingley and the recent £500 billion banking bailout (the latter averaging £16,500 for every taxpayer in the UK). With the Tories and Lib Dems proposing similar levels of spending to New Labour, socialists should avoid the trap of simply calling for even greater public spending (and hence greater borrowing) but instead argue for a socialist revolution! If we do propose reforms, simultaneously arguing for the need for socialism, then we should not neglect the opportunities presented by the recent/upcoming bank nationalisations.

Others had argued for activities around the nationalised (or party nationalised) banks, opposing repossessions – raising the possibility of the state via the banks acquiring homes of people in financial difficulties and renting them back. I suggested also calling for the democratisation of the banks – applied specifically to the nationalised ones, although similar measures could be taken with building societies (which I had previously raised through my Campaign for Nationwide Democracy) and privately owned banks which we could argue should also be nationalised (with compensation only to pension schemes, I'd suggest) and run in the interests of ordinary people. I'd argue for the majority control of such banks/building societies in the hands of savers and borrowers, but also with representatives of bank workers via trade unions and the government on the board. I'd also argue that the whole of the board should be up for re-election every year - instead of just a third as happens with the Nationwide at present, like with many councils including Manchester's, which limits change (due to the impossibility of radically transforming the board without representatives from your group/party already on it). I've also argued for referenda of members if the board is split on a particular issue, such as whether to pass on changes in interest rates by the Bank of England.

We didn't have time to agree positions on such democratisation, but we arranged to meet on the third Monday of every month (7pm at the Friends Meeting House), and will discuss this and other issues (including further planning for the recall conference) at the next local Convention meeting on November 17 (probably booked under the name Socialist Unity like last night's meeting). I will produce a new Foundation for PR-based Socialism newsletter, focusing on democratising the banks, publicising these events. [I will probably finish writing the newsletter and put it on-line on Friday - any comments on this subject would be appreciated (emailed to me personally or posted on the PR-based Socialism discussion list).]

--
Steve Wallis (Manchester, England)
Preferred email address: revolutionarysocialiststeve@...
Blogs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/steve-wallis-socialist-blog,
http://blog.myspace.com/galaxiasteve
My socialist website: http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk
My pages at Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1038291480, MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/galaxiasteve and Bebo:
http://www.bebo.com/SteveW519
Founder, Good Intentions Network: http://www.goodintentionsnetwork.org
Founder, Ethical Capitalism Network: http://www.ethicalcapitalism.net
Founder, Foundation for PR-based Socialism: http://www.PRsocialism.org
Founder, Revolutionary Platform Network: http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net
My revolutionary socialist band, Galaxia: http://www.galaxiamusic.net, http://www.myspace.com/galaxiamusic, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Galaxia-a-revolutionary-socialist-band/84310120180, http://www.bebo.com/galaxiamusic.
My socialist band, Red Day: http://www.red-day.net, http://www.myspace.com/reddayband, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Day/27468311341
Author, "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist revolution will never happen?": http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net
For discussion of the credit crunch, go to
http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=156
For discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories, go to http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=89

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#48

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Fri Oct 10, 2008 10:21 am
Subject: Galaxia, my revolutionary socialist band, relaunched in Manchester

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My Manchester band Galaxia re-formed on Wednesday evening. Despite the fact that two other people said they would come on Facebook, the new line-up of the band just consisted of Jonny Faders and myself. Jonny played an acoustic guitar on "Things Can Only Get Bitter" and piano on "Donovan's Doorway", while I sang on both tracks.

I am still looking for band members; I won't advertise the details of further recoding sessions on the internet since that didn't work on the two occasions I've tried it, but am inviting others interested in joining Galaxia (or doing recordings on a one-off basis) to contact me, and I will personally invite some other people - particularly Konnie Huq who sang brilliantly in "Comic Relief does Fame Academy" and I mentioned I'd like to be Mayor of London in "Things Can Only Get Bitter", inspired by a Facebook group someone else set up at http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=17282867563.

I'm including the lyrics of "Things Can Only Get Bitter" below; to listen to the recording of it, visit my personal MySpace or Facebook page, or Galaxia's page at MySpace, Facebook or Bebo (see my signature at the end of this message). Free downloads of this and other Galaxia songs can be obtained from http://www.galaxiamusic.org/downloads.html (or click on the link following the lyrics if it appears in the message). [You can listen to the songs without needing to sign up/login using MySpace, useful if you are worried about organisations like MI5 keeping track of your internet activities...]

Things Can Only Get Bitter

Inspired by Things Can Only Get Better – D:ream and The World Is Planned – Galaxia/Red Day

Lyrics by Steve Wallis

Music by Steve Wallis and Jonny Faders

Version 2, 8/10/2008

Dedicated to Tommy Sheridan, Rosie Kane, Salma Yaqoob, George Galloway, Tony Benn, Hilary Benn, Melissa Benn, Shami Chakrabarti, David Lammy, Barack Obama, Konnie Huq, Eamonn McCann, the late Terry Fields, Siân Berry, Nicola Sturgeon and Leanne Wood

Things can only get bitter
Things can only get bitter

Tony Blair was not fair
Gordon Brown is feeling down
Tommy Sheridan and Rosie Kane
Both have a great brain
Salma and Galloway swept Labour away
They showed socialists can win
Now support Tony and Hilary's kin
Melissa Benn is better than the men

Things can only get bitter
John Reid was a big hitter

He orchestrated 1984-style dirty tricks
But now he's retiring from politics
Under Jacqui Smith, freedom is a myth
I like Shami and David Lammy
The man with two jags can pack his bags

Things can only get bitter
Things can only get bitter

I want Melissa to be prime minister
She's over 8,000 votes behind a Tory
Winning would be a great story
If she wins, she would be the youngest ever MP
You need to be a middle aged gent (or woman) to be US president
Or as old as McCain - voting for him would be insane!
Barack Obama could make the world calmer

Things can only get bitter
New Labour said "Things can only get better"
Public borrowing makes us a big debtor

To PFI, Scotland has said goodbye
That money we owe - will we pay? No, no!

Things can only get bitter
Things can only get bitter

Fannie and Freddie - capitalism's no longer steady
The credit crunch exposes the bunch
Of big business allies and their MI5 spies
Even the SWP may help us become free
Now John Rees has gone - MI5's number one

Things can only get bitter
Things can only get bitter

The Left had a Convention
Revolution is our intention
Conspiracies are now in our favour
We may even split New Labour

Konnie Huq for London mayor
Ugly men won't have a prayer
Support Eamonn in Derry
Like Militant's Terry and Siân Berry
Nicola Sturgeon - I'm urging
To lead the SNP so Scotland will be free
Leanne Wood - that socialist could
Beat Labour in Wales
She's better than all the males!

We have recorded the song, which you can download in MP3 format by clicking here.

--
Steve Wallis (Manchester, England)
Preferred email address: revolutionarysocialiststeve@...
Blogs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/steve-wallis-socialist-blog,
http://blog.myspace.com/galaxiasteve
My socialist website: http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk
My pages at Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1526122651, MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/galaxiasteve and Bebo:
http://www.bebo.com/SteveW519
Founder, Good Intentions Network: http://www.goodintentionsnetwork.org
Founder, Ethical Capitalism Network: http://www.ethicalcapitalism.net
Founder, Foundation for PR-based Socialism: http://www.PRsocialism.org
Founder, Revolutionary Platform Network: http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net
My revolutionary socialist band, Galaxia: http://www.galaxiamusic.net, http://www.myspace.com/galaxiamusic, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Galaxia-a-revolutionary-socialist-band/84310120180, http://www.bebo.com/galaxiamusic.
My socialist band, Red Day: http://www.red-day.net, http://www.myspace.com/reddayband, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Day/27468311341
Author, "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist revolution will never happen?": http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net
For discussion of the credit crunch, go to
http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=156
For discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories, go to http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=89

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#47

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Mon Oct 6, 2008 12:07 pm
Subject: Galaxia reforming in Manchester on Wednesday evening

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I moved back from Glasgow to Manchester recently and have decided to resurrect my band Galaxia, that first recorded songs in the run-up to the 2005 G8 summit (that took place in Gleneagles, Scotland). I know a female vocalist and a drummer, who will almost certainly attend, but anybody else who agrees enough with my politics (revolutionary socialism with a government elected by proportional representation) is welcome to participate.

I have arranged a session in a recording studio (the Cutting Rooms, Abraham Moss campus, City College, Manchester, nearest MetroLink station Woodlands Road, see the map at

http://www.multimap.com/maps/?qs=abraham+moss&countryCode=GB), starting at 6.30pm on Wednesday evening (8th October) for up to three hours. I decided to go for an evening to make it easy for those who work during the day to attend; perhaps we will do an afternoon session next time to make it easier for those who wish to travel from elsewhere in Britain. Adam from the Cutting Rooms, who performed in the original Galaxia tracks, is otherwise engaged on Wednesday evening, but Johnny who also works there could fill in on guitar, bass or keyboards if necessary.

I would like us to do recordings of my political songs "The World Is Planned", "Things Can Only Get Bitter" and "Feed The World" (which needs improving - the female vocalist I know is African and I'd like her to help me with the lyrics). "Feed The World" is loosely based on the Band Aid song "Do They Know It's Christmas" and it'd be great if we could have several singers in the chorus!

I'd like us to do some love songs as well, particularly "I Wish Cath Was A Folk Rocker (with flowers in her hair)" (updated to say that revolution is once again in the air in 2008, which is certainly the case with the current economic turmoil) and my latest composition "Donovan's Doorway" - soon if not on Wednesday.

For free downloads and lyrics, visit http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk/poetry.htm or http://www.galaxiamusic.net. You can also listen/download the songs from the band's MySpace or Facebook pages, or listen to a selection of songs and my unaccompanied musical poetry from my personal pages on those social networking sites. See my signature below for details.

My Glasgow band Red Day (http://www.red-day.net), which performed other songs including "9/11 Inside Job", may do further recordings in the future when I visit Glasgow.

--
Steve Wallis (Manchester, England)
Preferred email address: revolutionarysocialiststeve@...
Blogs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/steve-wallis-socialist-blog,
http://blog.myspace.com/galaxiasteve
My socialist website: http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk
My pages at Facebook: http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1038291480, MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/galaxiasteve and Bebo:
http://www.bebo.com/SteveW519
Founder, Good Intentions Network: http://www.goodintentionsnetwork.org
Founder, Ethical Capitalism Network: http://www.ethicalcapitalism.net
Founder, Foundation for PR-based Socialism: http://www.PRsocialism.org
Founder, Revolutionary Platform Network: http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net
My revolutionary socialist band, Galaxia: http://www.galaxiamusic.net, http://www.myspace.com/galaxiamusic, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Galaxia/27493549137.
My socialist band, Red Day: http://www.red-day.net, http://www.myspace.com/reddayband, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Day/27468311341
Author, "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist revolution will never happen?": http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net
For discussion of the credit crunch, go to
http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=156
For discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories, go to http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=89

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#46

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Mon Sep 29, 2008 2:50 pm
Subject: "Things Can Only Get Bitter" and more new musical poems

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I've uploaded some new musical poems to my musical poetry page (at http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk/poetry.htm), including "Things Can Only Get Bitter". I nicked the title of that poem from the slogan of the Convention of the Left, which I attended recently (and I have a T-shirt with the slogan on). It is about struggles within and against New Labour, and dedicated to the following people: Tommy Sheridan, Rosie Kane, Salma Yaqoob, George Galloway, Tony Benn, Hilary Benn, Melissa Benn, Shami Chakrabarti, David Lammy, Barack Obama, Konnie Huq, Eamonn McCann, the late Terry Fields, Siân Berry, Nicola Sturgeon, Leanne Wood plus a mystery woman!

Click on one of the links below, taken from the musical poetry page (or visit http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk/poetry.htm if the links don't appear in your message):

Things Can Only Get Bitter – MP3 , WMA , lyrics
Beautiful – MP3, WMA , M4A, lyrics
Labor’s Militant Voice – MP3, WMA , M4A

--
Steve Wallis (Manchester, England)
Preferred email address: revolutionarysocialiststeve@...
Blogs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/steve-wallis-socialist-blog,
http://blog.myspace.com/galaxiasteve
My socialist website: http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk
My pages at Facebook: http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1038291480, MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/galaxiasteve and Bebo:
http://www.bebo.com/SteveW519
Founder, Good Intentions Network: http://www.goodintentionsnetwork.org
Founder, Ethical Capitalism Network: http://www.ethicalcapitalism.net
Founder, Foundation for PR-based Socialism: http://www.PRsocialism.org
Founder, Revolutionary Platform Network: http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net
My socialist band, Red Day: http://www.red-day.net
Author, "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist revolution will never happen?": http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net
For discussion of the credit crunch, go to
http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=156
For discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories, go to http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=89

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#45

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Sat Sep 27, 2008 10:44 am
Subject: 8-year old Iranian and family facing deportation; 51 days in detention centre

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I don't normally send messages on the internet about particular campaigns (which some people find rather boring), but this is a particularly important one. I don't just think about the cause for which I am fighting (a form of socialism based on proportional representation), but individual people I care about. I met the sister of child 'M' at the Convention of the Left on Wednesday, and their ordeal of 51 days in a detention centre (essentially a prison) is scandalous. If they are returned to Iran, they could suffer persecution or worse.

It is a good issue to attack the New Labour government when campaigning on, since their criticisms of the Iranian regime makes them hypocrites for wanting to send a family back there. I handed out about 400 leaflets on this issue at the Manchester universities on Thursday, and will hand more out this wekend. I put my Foundation for PR-based Socialism newsletter 4 (see http://www.PRsocialism.org) on the back, and have talked about the need to change society so that injustices like this don't continue to occur. [There is an Asian newsagent in Manchester with very cheap (2p), fast and double-sided photocopiers.] Virtually every Muslim (especially women) who I offer the leaflet to takes it when I mention an eight-year old Iranian boy facing deportation.

I've included the text (and an image) from the campaign's home page below (http://www.childm.org.uk). Leaflets and petitions can be downloaded from the website, and it'd be great if others would print off copies to campaign on this issue too elsewhere in the UK (or even overseas).

I also urge readers of this message to visit the website of Hands Off the People of Iran (Hopi, http://www.hopoi.org), which supports progressive forces in Iran as well as opposing an imperialist attack on that country. Vicky from the small group Permanent Revolution spoke very well on the issue at a debate during the Convention of the Left.

--
Steve Wallis (Manchester, England)
Preferred email address: revolutionarysocialiststeve@...
Blogs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/steve-wallis-socialist-blog,
http://blog.myspace.com/galaxiasteve
My socialist website: http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk
My pages at MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/galaxiasteve and Bebo:
http://www.bebo.com/SteveW519
Founder, Good Intentions Network: http://www.goodintentionsnetwork.org
Founder, Ethical Capitalism Network: http://www.ethicalcapitalism.net
Founder, Foundation for PR-based Socialism: http://www.PRsocialism.org
Founder, Revolutionary Platform Network: http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net
My socialist band, Red Day: http://www.red-day.net
Author, "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist revolution will never happen?": http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net
For discussion of the credit crunch, go to
http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=156
For discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories, go to http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=89

Who is Child M?

Child "M" (who can’t be named for legal reasons) is aged 8. He is here in the UK with his mum, brother and sister. They face persecution if they are returned to Iran - they are accused of circulating Salman Rushdie's book ‘The Satanic Verses’.

The British government has refused their asylum claim and tried to deport them - most recently locking-up the whole family in a detention centre - for 51 days! They have just been released and allowed to return to Manchester.

There have been recent reports in the press highlighting the harmful effects of detention on children. Detention can, “significantly impair a child’s mental and physical health,” (BID Report into the Detention of Children, March 2008). The Children’s Commissioner called it, “an inhuman process,” (Children’s Commissioner, September 08). Home Office guidance says that children should not be detained in this way.

The family is making challenges in the High Court - but it is not enough to put their faith in the law. So they have started a campaign - "Child "M" Must Stay!". Download a leaflet here.

Child “M” and his family must not be removed from Britain and returned to Iran. It will be too dangerous for them.

"Child M, like the many other minors detained by the UK authorities in a clear breach of their human rights, has committed no offence - other than being born in a country which seeks to deny freedom of speech, then coming with his family to the UK where they believed their rights would be upheld. An immigration centre is no place for a child and the Green Party is calling on the Home Office to immediately end its policy of incarcerating innocent young people, as well as to allow Child M and his family to remain in the UK."
Caroline Lucas MEP

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#44

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Fri Sep 26, 2008 10:26 am
Subject: Big business AI software fails - British press reported US bailout deal!

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I've included below an article in the Guardian newspaper (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/sep/26/wallstreet.banking?commentpage=1), followed by two comments by myself. I didn't mention in the comments that I was the sole implementer and main designer of an artificial intelligence/simulation language called SDML (which stands for "Strictly Declarative Modelling Language"). I plan to publish a new version soon at www.sdml.org.uk, so that eventually we (progressive forces in the world) will have as good software as our enemies. for more information on SDML, go to http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk/sdml.htm).

Markets in turmoil as US financial bail-out stalls

Julia Kollewe
guardian.co.uk,
Friday September 26 2008 10:15

Stockmarkets were plunged into turmoil today after talks on a $700bn (£380bn) rescue for the US financial sector descended into chaos and the country's largest savings and loans company Washington Mutual collapsed in America's biggest banking failure.

The FTSE 100 index in London dropped 90.2 points in early trading, a fall of 1.74%, and traded down 60.2 points at 5136.8 points mid-morning, a decline of 1.16%. All Asian stockmarkets slid, with Japan's Nikkei closing down nearly 1%. Oil prices were also hit by the uncertainty over the bail-out package, with US crude falling $3 to $105 a barrel. The yen jumped by more than 1% against the dollar as investors rushed to buy the safe haven currency. The dollar fell to ¥105.26.

Spread-betting firm GFT Global Markets predicted the Dow Jones industrial average would fall 147 points and the Nasdaq 29.5 points when the US markets open.

"This financial version of 'deal or no deal' is not conducive to restoring badly-needed confidence," said Martin Slaney, head of derivatives at GFT. "The on-going discord is massively unsettling and the fact that we now have Washington Mutual added to the list of casualties is escalating the cynicism. If a deal hasn't been signed and sealed over the weekend, expect massive market turmoil. Monday will be a bloodbath."

Gordon Brown travels to Washington today for emergency talks on the financial crisis with his US counterpart, George Bush.

Last night US lawmakers were close to a final agreement on the bail-out, but an emergency White House meeting between congressional leaders and Bush "devolved into a contentious shouting match," according to a statement from the John McCain campaign. The meeting was attended by the two presidential candidates, McCain and Barack Obama.

Republicans balked at treasury secretary Henry Paulson's proposal to buy bad debts from banks and instead floated an idea of their own for mortgage insurance, throwing the whole rescue into doubt.

President Bush warned in a televised address to the nation on Wednesday night that "our entire economy is in danger" if the bailout package does not go ahead. "Without immediate action by Congress, America can slip into a major panic," he said.

Adding to the gloom in Britain, it emerged today that the UK's biggest bank HSBC is laying off 1,100 people worldwide - 4% of its global investment banking operations - including 500 in the UK.

Federal regulators closed WaMu in the early hours and seized its assets, then sold much of the company to JP Morgan Chase for $1.9bn. The deal will create the largest bank in the country, ahead of Bank of America. It is the second time the authorities have called on JP Morgan after the investment bank took over Bear Stearns in a rescue orchestrated by the US Federal Reserve in March.

Customers have rushed to take their money out of WaMu, which has suffered $16.7bn of deposit withdrawals in recent months. The firm - the equivalent of a British building society - held $188bn in deposits as of June, far more than any US bank that has ever failed.

WaMu, which was founded in Seattle in 1889, has seen its share price virtually wiped out after it made thousands of mortgage loans that its borrowers cannot repay, saddling it with billions of dollars in bad debts.

The deal was orchestrated by Sheila Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp, on terms that preserve Washington Mutual's deposits and avoid what could have been a huge drain on the insurance fund that protects deposits of up to $100,000.

Central banks stepped up their efforts today to ease the unprecedented strains in the banking system and calm markets. The European Central Bank, the Bank of England and the Swiss National Bank announced a new plan to pump in billions of dollars of one-week loans for the first time. "Central banks continue to work together closely and are prepared to take further steps as needed to address the ongoing pressure in funding markets," they said.

The ECB said it would lend $35bn while the SNB offered $9bn. The BoE said it was switching $30bn of funds it had been offering overnight to one-week funds "to address funding pressures over quarter-end" and offered another £40bn in medium-term funds. The Bank's first three-month auction will be held on Monday.

Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec, said: "This is a huge step forward and reflects the fact that credit markets have almost totally seized up over the last week and half."

With commercial banks reluctant to lend to each other and hoarding cash, the Fed expanded its foreign exchange swaps facilities with the ECB and the SNB to pump money into the banking system.

A week ago, the world's leading central banks - the Fed, BoE, ECB, Bank of Japan, SNB and Bank of Canada took coordinated action to provide $180bn (£100bn) in extra liquidity.

This morning on Asian stock markets, Tokyo's Nikkei closed down 0.94% at 11893.16. Taiwan's stock market fell 2.16% to 5929.63 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 1.33% at 18682.09 and Singapore's Straits Times lost 1.48% to 2408.12.

Oil prices fell more than $3 to $105 a barrel. US crude for November delivery later traded down $2.70 at $105.32, compared with $108.02 yesterday. In London, Brent crude fell $2.42 to $102.18.

"It is a very volatile time and the market will get more and more jittery each day the US rescue plan gets delayed," said John Vautrain, an energy analyst at Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.

The early editions of the newspapers got it wrong - stating that a deal had been reached (see http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7637132.stm). Why did they think that? Big business uses artificial Intelligence (AI) software to model (simulate) the world and predict what is going to happen, but they cannot take the free will of individuals into account! They probablty predicted that Barack Obama would sell out, betraying the ordinary working and middle class people who support his presidential bid, accepting a dreadful deal that the Republicans wanted.

The Democrats should have demanded a stake in companies being bailed out, curbs on executive pay and bonuses and help for mortgage holders faced with losing their homes - and I think they were demanding such measures, but we may have to wait for later reports to find out.

It's good that the Republicans rather than the Democrats walked out, so they will get the blame for the collapse of the talks, and of course the resulting collapse of Washington Mutual, the US's largest savings and loans company as reported above.

I include below a section of my document on strategy for achieving a socialist society with a government elected by proportional representation (not hierarchies of committees based on workplaces as Marxists call for). I made one serious mistake - you don't get a free mortgage/loan/overdraft if a bank collapses according to the BBC's "Working Lunch" programme. For more of my analysis on the credit crunch and excerpts from the press, go to http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=156.

Economic crisis will provide opportunities to put socialism on the agenda

As chancellor, current British prime minister Gordon Brown claimed to have ended the cycle of boom and bust, which has proved impossible under capitalism. The New Labour government borrowed heavily to prolong the boom and we are now entering a severe recession. Big business and its New Labour allies are trying to make working class people pay for their crisis – escalating food and fuel prices and a housing slump, with big cuts in living standards unless we go on strike.

The credit crunch is mainly blamed on subprime mortgages in the USA, sold to people with a poor credit history and with high interest rates starting low. This caught many ordinary people out, since most US mortgages are at a fixed rate for the entire term, which (due to high inflation) could lead to many banks around the world that have lent the money for such prime conforming mortgages facing bankruptcy. New Labour would probably bail other banks out like when it nationalised Northern Rock (and like the US government recently did with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which guarantee only prime conforming mortgages) or lent £50 billion without revealing to whom, but other governments may adopt a different approach.

[On the day I finished writing this document, the US government indeed failed to step in to save Lehman Brothers, the fifth largest investment bank in the world, and it went bankrupt. This is having a big knock-on effect on shares in other banks around the world, with the shares of HBOS (Halifax Bank of Scotland), RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) and Barclays particularly collapsing, despite the Bank of England pumping another £5 billion into the market today. Barclays reportedly tried to launch a takeover for Lehman before it collapsed; we can speculate whether its takeover attempt was an indication that Barclays has a lot of spare money to spend on the takeover, a bluff (to pretend it is not in financial difficulties), a panic measure (perhaps because it has lent Lehman a lot of money that it could now lose with the bankruptcy) or a desperate attempt to improve its balance sheet with public money (the denial of which caused the takeover attempt to collapse). Whatever the cause, the big fall in Barclays share price today will knock confidence in its solvency. If I had savings in HBOS, Barclays or RBS, Id withdraw them ASAP! The adage that such institutions are too big to fail now seems out-of-date, and even if New Labour nationalises more UK banks (which the Tories say they wouldnt do), shareholders can expect little or nothing for their shares. The collapse of a high-street bank would entail many waiting months for compensation for their savings (if indeed they dont lose them); New Labour has promised an improved compensation scheme but legislation for it has yet to be passed and banks have refused to finance it in advance. Those with mortgages in a collapsed bank wouldnt have to pay it back, so some working class people will gain from this financial chaos!]

...

To read the rest, go to http://socialiststeve.me.uk/strategy.htm.

I have just noticed another mistake in the excerpt for my document included above - although I cannot remember legislation going through the House of Commons, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme does guarantee the first 35,000 pounds (see www.fscs.org.uk), although the website also says that a levy of financial institutions raises a maximum of 4.1 billion pounds a year.

Obviously, the taxpayer would have to cough up the remainder (or rather the government would have to borrow an even more massive number of billions of pounds) - and if a government refused to compensate depostors, there would be such massive public opposition on the streets that the government would collapse, and quite possibly a socialist revolution would take place!!!

--
Steve Wallis (Manchester, England)
Preferred email address: revolutionarysocialiststeve@...
Blogs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/steve-wallis-socialist-blog,
http://blog.myspace.com/galaxiasteve
My socialist website: http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk
My pages at MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/galaxiasteve and Bebo:
http://www.bebo.com/SteveW519
Founder, Good Intentions Network: http://www.goodintentionsnetwork.org
Founder, Ethical Capitalism Network: http://www.ethicalcapitalism.net
Founder, Foundation for PR-based Socialism: http://www.PRsocialism.org
Founder, Revolutionary Platform Network: http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net
My socialist band, Red Day: http://www.red-day.net
Author, "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist revolution will never happen?": http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net
For discussion of the credit crunch, go to
http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=156
For discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories, go to http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=89

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#43

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Thu Sep 25, 2008 11:21 am
Subject: SWP dumps John Rees plus the surveillance state

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The latest Weekly Worker has just gone on-line. For the third week in a row, I've had a latter published (drastically edited this time but making some important points and not distorted by editor Peter Manson - I sent it yesterday so that letters editor Steve Cooke didn't edit it first). The headline Peter chose for my letter is "Staying power".

Incidentally, John Bridge and Jack Conrad are both pseudonyms for the CPGB's leader; I had previously pointed out in a letter that Peter also published that an article of Peter's had said that Conrad had repeated the same point several times. The overthrow of Conrad/Bridge, the Stalin character in the CPGB, could transform the organisation just like the SWP is getting much better with John Rees' fall from leadership of Left Alternative (the SWP's splinter from Respect), although I have heard that Rees is still on the SWP's Central Committee.

I attended three days of the Covnention of Left in Manchester, as well as handing out my Foundation for PR-based Socialism newsletter 4 (with newsletter 1 on the back of some copies) - each of which is downloadable from http://www.PRsocialism.org - to those attending the Labour Party conference, including Charles Clarke MP, James Purnell MP, David Lammy MP, Daniel Finkelstein (of The Times) and Tony Woodley (general secretary of the trade union Unite). [I recognised them all, which Finkelstein pointed out that this forced him to take my leaflet.] I have now moved to Manchester from Glasgow (although I may visit Glasgow again for a week or so in the near future).

Those of you on Facebook may be interested in groups I have set up to call for Nicola Sturgeon to become First Minister of Scotland (Nicola, the current Deputy First Minister, is much more left-wing than Alex Salmond and as health minister is introducing a minimum price for alcohol in supermarkets which will massively help the problem of binge drinking) and Melissa Benn to be prime minister of the UK.

Melissa's speech was the highlight of last year's Labour conference in my opinion; it even persuaded grandfather Tony (now President of the Stop the War Coalition) to try to stand for parliament again. Melissa is not currently an MP, and would become the youngest ever MP if she overcomes a 8000+ Tory majority. [Electoral law stated you had to be 21 to stand at the time of the last general election, despite being able to vote at 18 - clearly a measure to try to stop young radical people from transforming parliament, just like you have to be 35 to be US president; I don't recall any legislation being passed to change the law (imagine the radicalising effect of publicising such an ageist law especially with the granddaughter of Tony Benn seeking election) so I thinkit was quietly decided to be changed anyway! In the current and worsening economic climate, Melissa could well win her seat bucking the national trend of a swing from Labour to the Tories, if she puts forward a democratic (i.e. non-Marxist) revolutionary socialist position in the election - but if there is a left-wing split from Labour in the meantime, she could well join it! I didn't meet Melissa in Manchester, but she is a friend of a friend of somebody I talked to at the Convention so she will probably find out about the group soon.

Search for "Nicola Sturgeon" or "Melissa Benn"at Facebook if you want to browse/join one of the groups.

Anyway, I've included below the unedited letter I sent to Peter. Download the whole newspaper - it looks really good this week with a front-page headline "Bush administration rushes to save sick financial system with trillion dollar bale-out. Drip-feed capitalism" - by going to http://cpgb.org.uk/worker/738/WW738%20WEB.pdf. It should be available in HTML soon at cpgb.org.uk.

In "Knitting" (September 18), Robbie Rix says "we had 15,566 readers last week - a bit of a drop from our previous high of over 40,000 and something I can't really explain."

One reason for the fall could be the lack of articles on the Socialist Workers Party and concentration on the miniscule and largely irrelevant Alliance for Workers' Liberty. The main article last week with "SWP dumps John Rees" as the front page headline could rectify the situation". I tried selling your paper at the Convention of the Left and somebody took the mickey out of having that headline with the massive economic crisis going on. I showed my letter "Crisis" which rectified that ommision.

Actually the SWP dumping of John Rees is far more important than any points on the economy that the ridiculous and obfuscating Hillel Ticktin could have made! You (editor Peter Manson) told me that the sound quality on the interview with Ticktin was too bad to include it).

The SWP's leadership has always been dominated by infiltrators on the side of big business (eg in MI5 but perhaps sometimes outside the realm of the state) sabotaging the struggle for socialism. I once met "comrade" Rees and his manner (as well as speech at a meeting) confirmed your assessment of him as a "control freak" and mind as an agent of big business.

There are many good and genuine rank-and-file SWP members particularly in Manchester but their deeply hierarchical structure enables agents like Rees to rise to the top and stay there, like Bob Labi and Niall Mullholland of the CWI and Stalin, Lenin and Trotsky in the USSR. Could your Jack Conrad/JOHN BRIDGE be similar?

Maybe the SWP will transform itself into a genuine democratic revolutionary socialist party - or maybe that is too optimistic! We'll see!

Another reason for the decline in on-line readership could be the massive extension of the surveillance state under New Labour (the latest example of which is numberplate data from speed cameras being kept for five years evne for those who haven't been speeding), which is trying to prevent a socialist revolution from ever standing a chance of happening. The economic turmoil and Brown's pathetic speech in Manchester will ensure that New Labour doesn't get away with it. I have a lot more accesses to my websites from other countries than the UK, even though I largely talk abour UK politics; my Revolutionary Platform Network Forum always gets more hits from the USA (over 100,000 one recent month) than anywhere else - Vietnam, Latvia and now Argentina (the latter having a socialist president, Cristina Kirchner) have been second!

People in the UK may have been scared of MI5 finding out that they are radical! I even have the point of view that mind control could effectively turn them into robots....

--
Steve Wallis (Manchester, England)
Preferred email address: revolutionarysocialiststeve@...
Blogs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/steve-wallis-socialist-blog,
http://blog.myspace.com/galaxiasteve
My socialist website: http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk
My pages at MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/galaxiasteve and Bebo:
http://www.bebo.com/SteveW519
Founder, Good Intentions Network: http://www.goodintentionsnetwork.org
Founder, Ethical Capitalism Network: http://www.ethicalcapitalism.net
Founder, Foundation for PR-based Socialism: http://www.PRsocialism.org
Founder, Revolutionary Platform Network: http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net
My socialist band, Red Day: http://www.red-day.net
Author, "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist revolution will never happen?": http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net
For discussion of the credit crunch, go to
http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=156
For discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories, go to http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=89

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#42

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Thu Sep 18, 2008 10:48 pm
Subject: My letter on economic crisis in Weekly Worker

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I include below the full contents of a letter I sent to the Weekly Worker newspaper yesterday on the economic crisis. The paper's editor, Peter Manson, cut quite a lot for the published version (with heading "Crisis" at http://cpgb.org.uk/worker/737/letters.html) but kept the most important points. [Peter edits letters sent on Wednesdays; letters sent before then are edited by the letters editor (Steve Cooke) first.]

There is one serious point I got wrong (which I think is a common misconception), according to the BBC2 programme "Working Lunch" today - if you have a mortgage or loan with a bank that goes bust, you don't get it for free! I suppose capitalists had to come up with some sort of system that allows a bank to fail without such a favourable outcome for working and middle class people! The consequence of this seems to be that letting a bank collapse and using money from mortgage/loan-payers to help pay the compensation would seem to be an option (although I haven't investigated the procedure by which this happens). Therefore a Tory government could let a bank fail rather than nationalise it...

As chancellor, Gordon Brown claimed to have ended the cycle of boom and bust, which is of course impossible under capitalism. The New Labour government borrowed heavily to prolong the boom and we are now entering a severe recession. Big business and its New Labour allies are trying to make working class people pay for their crisis – escalating food and fuel prices and a housing slump, with big cuts in living standards unless we go on strike.

On Sunday, Lehman Brothers, the world’s fifth biggest investment bank, went bankrupt and Merrill Lynch, another huge US bank, was taken over. The repercussions are immense – RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland ), Barclays, Bradford & Bingley and especially HBOS (Halifax Bank of Scotland ) have suffered huge falls in their share values. HBOS has been saved from disaster with the probable takeover by Lloyds TSB and Barclays’ shares have risen again on news that it is to buy some of Lehman’s assets for what is probably a bargain $1.75 billion. The Bank of England is lending £20 billion more to banks, on top of £50 billion earlier in the year – gambling that they will stay solvent with taxpayers’ money. Meanwhile, banks don’t trust each other – the inter-bank lending rate LIBOR rose to 6.8% this week, compared with a Bank of England rate of 5% (if it reduced interest rates by 0.25% to limit the effect of the recession as some politicians and commentators are calling for, this would just help the banks at the expense of the rest of us and have very little effect on mortgage rates). Even more dramatically, the dollar overnight lending rate between US banks rose above 10% at one point, despite the official interest rate being 2%. The US Federal Reserve has just lent $85 billion to AIG, the largest insurance company in the world and sponsors of Manchester United, to save it from bankruptcy.

Big business used to make huge amounts of money very easily by gambling on the stock market, from the work carried out by working and middle class people. That era is over – for good! The FTSE 100 (measuring the share values of the 100 biggest UK companies) has fallen to its lowest level for over three years. Individual companies’ share values have fallen even more considerably - AIG’s market value fell in a year from $173.5bn to $12.8bn. Speculators are even having difficulty making money from commodities, that have risen considerably recently – oil that had nearly reached $150 a barrel has fallen below $100 – which the September 16 International Herald Tribune said was “on expectations of a global economic slowdown”.

At the time of the run on Northern Rock, savers were only promised compensation for the first £2,000 and 90% of the next £33,000. Now we are promised the full £35,000 (which the Tories are offering to help New Labour raise to £50,000 by cooperating with quick legislation) by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). I strongly recommend visiting its website (www.fscs.org.uk) if you want to know how a bank’s collapse would affect you. The website points out that levies from financial institutions only raise a maximum of £4.1 billion a year, which is chicken feed compared to the assets and liabilities of the big high street banks. The government would be forced to stump up any shortfall, presumably by increasing borrowing, if a major high street bank goes under – failure to do so would risk massive demonstrations and possibly even a general strike raising the prospect of a socialist revolution!

The Tories have previously suggested that they would not bail out a bank in trouble (in a Sunday Herald article) but in reality, they would also be forced to nationalise. Letting a big bank go under would give millions of ordinary people a free mortgage or loan!

If socialists get our act together, the economic crisis will lead to socialist revolutions in many countries of the world. A new more ethical capitalist world, where rich people are forced to pay their fair share of tax with the abolition of tax havens and loopholes (a measure that the Liberal Democrats have talked about at this week’s conference as well as nicking the Tories’ policy from the last election of promising tax cuts paid for by abolishing waste in the welfare state), may be on the cards. Bill Gates has talked about retiring and giving all his wealth away to charity. The Convention of the Left will be a marvellous opportunity for left-wingers inside and outside the Labour Party to prepare the ground for a revolutionary anti-capitalist party – which in the current economic climate could even win the next general election, if there’s not a revolution first!

--
Steve Wallis (Glasgow, Scotland)
For important/urgent communications, please email:
warcrysteve@...
Blogs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/steve-wallis-socialist-blog,
http://blog.myspace.com/galaxiasteve
My socialist website: http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk
My pages at MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/galaxiasteve, Facebook: http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1038291480 and Bebo:
http://www.bebo.com/SteveW519
Founder, Good Intentions Network: http://www.goodintentionsnetwork.org
Founder, Ethical Capitalism Network: http://www.ethicalcapitalism.net
Founder, Foundation for PR-based Socialism: http://www.PRsocialism.org
Founder, Revolutionary Platform Network: http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net
My socialist band, Red Day: http://www.red-day.net
Author, "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist revolution will never happen?": http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net
For discussion of the credit crunch, go to
http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=156
For discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories, go to http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=89

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#41

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Thu Sep 18, 2008 3:44 pm
Subject: The World Is Planned & other musical poems

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I've included below the lyrics of a new version of what is undoubtedly the most important song/poem I have ever written, called "The World Is Planned", as fetched from the web page http://www.galaxiamusic.org/lyrics/planned-3.html.

Although I am now in a band (Red Day), which has four songs available for free downloading from http://www.red-day.net, we do not meet up very often and I couldn't wait before putting some of my songs on-line. I therefore recorded eight more items of musical poetry yesterday including this song, with me singing/talking unaccompanied, the details of which are at the bottom of this message

You can alternatively play the new songs/poems, with the new ones (apart from "The World Is Planned" which I've put at the start because it is so important) at the end of a playlist of some of my other songs, from my MySpace page (http://www.myspace.com/galaxiasteve) or my new Facebook page (http://www.new.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1038291480). [Note that my previous Facebook account was deleted due to posting the same message on too many different groups' discussion boards/walls.]

The World Is Planned

Written by Steve Wallis

Version 3, 17/9/2008

CHORUS:
Can you understand
That the world is planned?
But free will has a hand
In the struggle for every land!

There are conspiracies on each side
One ensured that Princess Diana died
She could have become a bride
Of a Muslim, turning the tide
Against hatred and war
And oppression of the poor

Don’t be fatalistic
Be bold but realistic
We can all affect society
And help put an end to misery

CHORUS

To get the rich off our backs
Try to force them to pay tax
The loopholes are very lax
Let’s open up the cracks
Conspiracies are now in our favour
We may even split New Labour

CHORUS

Our trust is being abused
Computer modelling is used
By forces good and bad
Let’s get even not just mad

The press is conducting a campaign of hate
Big business does not want an independent Scottish state
It’d be a step towards a socialist society
A reversal of the bosses’ daylight robbery

They promote gambling with the National Lottery
And made money out of us very easily
But gambling on the stock market
No longer always makes a profit

CHORUS

The tables are turning
The working class is learning
The middle class is also yearning
For a change our rulers are spurning

We won’t put up with it any more
Let’s end poverty, environmental destruction and war!

Life for some is grey
But we all have a say
We are on our way
To a brighter day

CHORUS

They controlled the weather
Let’s defeat them together
If good Muslims, Christians and Jews
Unite with other good people, we can’t lose

Muslims believe Jesus was great
So oppose those who spread messages of hate
Whether they are politicians, fascists
Or religious fundamentalists

CHORUS

Note that the first version of this song, which I wrote and recorded in March 2007, was badly flawed because it suggested that the world was entirely planned with no scope for the free will of individuals to affect society. The second version corrected that flaw and brought it up-to-date. This version puts control of the weather in the past tense, because bad conspirators are in too weak a position to manipulate it to suit their purposes (as shown by the escalation of the economic crisis in September 2008). I have recorded this version of the song as a musical poem, in MP3 format.

The following are all the new songs (if links below don't work, you can go to http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk/poetry.htm):

In September 2008, I made the following recordings in MP3 format (these are all less than five minutes long and all files are below 4.5MB in size):

The World Is Planned – MP3, lyrics
Optimism – MP3, lyrics
Even Jesus Needed A Lover – MP3, lyrics
Fairground Attraction – MP3, lyrics
A Revolutionary Swede – MP3, lyrics
Socialist Chameleon – MP3, lyrics
Transsexuals Of The World Unite – MP3, lyrics
Fast Car – MP3, lyrics

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#40

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Tue Sep 16, 2008 2:40 pm
Subject: Lehman bankrupt - HBOS, RBS, Barclays, B&B, AIG next?

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I'm distributing this message widely, including to forums where it is off-topic, because the escalation of the economic crisis with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the fourth biggest investment bank in the US (and fifth biggest in the world) is very important - and millions of ordinary working and middle class people are undoubtedly rightly concerned that their savings may be at risk.

First, a confession: I had wrongly thought that legislation had not been passed to compensate the first £35,000 of your savings (in an individual bank). At the time of the run on Northern Rock last year, only the first £2,000 and 90% of the next £33,000 was covered. However, I noticed that many of the national newspapers today said that the first £35,000 is fully covered. I have checked the website of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) - http://www.fscs.org.uk - which confirms the £35,000. [If a national newspaper lied on a matter as important as this and were found out, their reputation would be in tatters and they could presumably be sued.] I would strongly recommend you checking that website (if you live in the UK) rather than taking my word on how the crisis may affect you.

However, the website also points out (on http://www.fscs.org.uk/industry/funding) that the levy on financial institutions yields a mere £4.10 billion a year. This is chicken feed compared to the vast sums owned or borrowed by the big banks. The Bank of England, which had previously pumped £50 billion in the markets was pumping another £20 billion today. Meanwhile, there are strong rumours (including on the front page of the Financial Times and even the Sun) that AIG, one of the world's biggest ensurers and best known as the sponsors of Manchester United, could be next. The FT front page article mentions that they are getting an emergency $20 billion loan (and I read elsewhere that they asked for $40 billion). Loans to banks that may end up failing, risking taxpayers' money (or greater government borrowing that taxpayers are ultimately liable for), could be regarded as a scandal - but central banks and politicians have little choice if they want the capitalist system to continue!

The Tories today are calling for the compensation scheme to increase the guaranteed amount to £50,000, offering help to get quick legislation through parliament - which I suppose shows that the sort of people they are most interested in protecting are those with savings over £35,000 (who can't be bothered to divide their money across different banks or put it in a building society, Northern Rock or the government's National Savings & Investments, to be on the safe side).

But if your bank goes under, how quickly would you get your money back? One of the problems of the previous scheme was that it could have taken many months, but I can't see any proof (on the FSCS website for example) that that is not still the case.

The Tories have previously suggested that they would not bail out a bank in trouble - but this point was in a Sunday Herald article that many would have missed, and they would really have little choice but to nationalise any high street bank that goes under. Investment banks are different in not directly affecting millions of ordinary people. If a New Labour, Tory or Liberal Democrat government allowed any large high street bank to collapse, they would have to compensate savers - with the prospect of huge demonstrations and possibly a general strike, forcing action with the real possibility of a socialist revolution if they didn't. And realistically, nationalisation is a much better option from a government's point of view than letting a bank go under, because it avoids the windfall that borrowers, including mortgage holders, would receive by not having to pay the money back to a bankrupt bank! [Many US banks have already gone under, and I read today that half the banks in the USA are expected to follow them or be taken over in the wake of Lehman's collapse, so the situation is different there.]

Anyway, according to falls in stock market share prices yesterday and today, HBOS (Halifax Bank of Scotland) is most in danger of all the UK banks. At one point yesterday, HBOS shares were down 36%, and they ended 17.55% down; they fell another 30% today (and are 28.17% down at the time of writing this, as revealed by a quick internet search). RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland) shares fell 10% yesterday and are currently 14.20% down today. Barclays shares fell 9.84% yesteday and are 15.26% down today. These are all in the top 100 companies on the UK stock market (the FTSE 100) which has fallen to its lowest point for three years. In the past, big business investors were almost guaranteed to make huge amounts of money from the work of ordinary people, and the best news from all this market turmoil is that that period is over - permanently! Of the minor banks not in the FTSE 100, Bradford & Bingley did worst yesterday, falling 15.44%, but it is only 6.35% down today.

I generally prefer to give links to articles in the mainstream press, sometimes including text of articles, where required to justify my assertions. I read left-wing sources too, but my analysis tends to be better than theirs (in my not-so-humble opinion) and some of their points are unrealiable, sometimes obviously completely wrong. To what extent it is clumsiness rather than infiltration to damage an organisation's credibility, or over-exuberance, is a matter of opinion. I will however give a link to an article on the Scottish Socialist Party website about the collapse of Lehman Brothers (which amazingly is now accessible without putting the "www." at the start of the web address!) at http://scottishsocialistparty.org/economic-crisis/september2008.html. It is probably better than most analyses made by socialists because it is written by Raphie de Santos, former head of equity derivatives research and strategy at Goldman Sachs International. As a warning, I read today an earlier article by him in the Scottish Socialist Voice (in issue 329, 15-28 August that is not on-line) which said "If the world's population were all to consume as much petrol as the average citizen of the United States then the known global oil reserves would last four days!" A quick calculation: with the population of the USA about 250 million and the world 6.5 billion, if only people in the USA used oil, it would run out in 104 days! It is contradicted by a later claim that "the reserves of extractable oil are known. There will come a point in the future where peak oil production will be reached and after that the demand will far outstrip demand [sic: he obviously meant supply] - the range of estimates for this to happen are between five and ten years." What is annoying about most articles in the left-wing press is a lack of references to back up claims like these.

I'll include below a section of a document I finished writing yesterday, entitled "Strategy for Proportional Representation-based Socialism". You can read it in full at http://www.PRsocialism.org/strategy.htm or read and discuss it at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PRsocialism. Note that some of the points are contradicted by what I wrote above.

Economic crisis will provide opportunities to put socialism on the agenda

The credit crunch is mainly blamed on “subprime” mortgages in the USA , sold to people with a poor credit history and with high interest rates starting low. This caught many ordinary people out, since most US mortgages are at a fixed rate for the entire term, which (due to high inflation) could lead to many banks around the world that have lent the money for such “prime conforming” mortgages facing bankruptcy. New Labour would probably bail other banks out like when it nationalised Northern Rock (and like the US government recently did with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac which guarantee only prime conforming mortgages) or lent £50 billion without revealing to whom, but other governments may adopt a different approach.

[On the day I finished writing this document, the US government indeed failed to step in to save Lehman Brothers, the fifth largest investment bank in the world, and it went bankrupt. This is having a big knock-on effect on shares in other banks around the world, with the shares of HBOS (Halifax Bank of Scotland ), RBS (Royal Bank of Scotland ) and Barclays particularly collapsing, despite the Bank of England pumping another £5 billion into the market today. Barclays reportedly tried to launch a takeover for Lehman before it collapsed; we can speculate whether its takeover attempt was an indication that Barclays has a lot of spare money to spend on the takeover, a bluff (to pretend it is not in financial difficulties) , a panic measure (perhaps because it has lent Lehman a lot of money that it could now lose with the bankruptcy) or a desperate attempt to improve its balance sheet with public money (the denial of which caused the takeover attempt to collapse). Whatever the cause, the big fall in Barclays’ share price today will knock confidence in its solvency. If I had savings in HBOS, Barclays or RBS, I’d withdraw them ASAP! The adage that such institutions are “too big to fail” now seems out-of-date, and even if New Labour nationalises more UK banks (which the Tories say they wouldn’t do), shareholders can expect little or nothing for their shares. The collapse of a high-street bank would entail many waiting months for compensation for their savings (if indeed they don’t lose them); New Labour has promised an improved compensation scheme but legislation for it has yet to be passed and banks have refused to finance it in advance. Those with mortgages in a collapsed bank wouldn’t have to pay it back, so some working class people will gain from this financial chaos!]

The economic crisis will therefore be much more severe than most analysts are predicting. To avoid imposing massive tax rises or making massive cuts in public spending, most capitalist governments will probably try to borrow their way out of the crisis. New Labour’s net borrowing has rocketed to around £40 billion a year during the boom, and is on course to rise much higher still as we enter recession. This makes a mockery of Brown’s claims to have been a “prudent” chancellor and his allegations that there is “a black hole in the Tories’ spending plans” (with them promising tax cuts for the rich at their 2007 conference). The Tories and Liberal Democrats are hypocritical too in condemning Brown’s handling of the economy when they plan the same level of borrowing if they came to power.

So how should socialists respond to the economic crisis? Merely pledging a series of reforms that involve greater public spending (such as improving public services, increasing pensions and other benefits or increasing wages) is both an insufficient response to the scale of the problem and could easily be argued against (by pointing out that such reforms could not be afforded without much greater borrowing than already planned by mainstream parties). In my view, we need to point out the need for a sudden and thorough change of society – i.e. a socialist revolution (a term that many socialists are reluctant to use even if they agree with it, but I am less reluctant than most and even include “revolutionary socialist” in my main email address).

--
Steve Wallis (Glasgow, Scotland)
For important/urgent communications, please email:
warcrysteve@...
Blogs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/steve-wallis-socialist-blog,
http://blog.myspace.com/galaxiasteve
My socialist website: http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk
My pages at MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/galaxiasteve and Bebo:
http://www.bebo.com/SteveW519
Founder, Good Intentions Network: http://www.goodintentionsnetwork.org
Founder, Ethical Capitalism Network: http://www.ethicalcapitalism.net
Founder, Foundation for PR-based Socialism: http://www.PRsocialism.org
Founder, Revolutionary Platform Network: http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net
My socialist band, Red Day: http://www.red-day.net
Author, "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist revolution will never happen?": http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net
For discussion of the credit crunch, go to
http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=156
For discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories, go to http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=89

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#39

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Tue Sep 16, 2008 8:53 am
Subject: Foundation for PR-based Socialism newsletter 4

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I've included below the contents of the latest newsletter of the Foundation for PR-based Socialism (where PR stands for proportional representation not public relations). Anyone can download the newsletter in Micro$oft Word or PDF format to print out if they wish, from the Foundation's website (www.PRsocialism.org). It is particularly intended for the Labour Party conference, anti-war demo and Convention of the Left which all take place in Manchester (from Saturday). I had intended to publish a draft first, but there isn't much time; I could nevertheless do a new version if important issues arise.

I've also written a discussion document on strategy for achieving a socialist society with a government elected by proportional representation, which I'm hoping will start a debate on the forum (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PRsocialism) about the way forward. To read the document, visit that forum or go to http://www.PRsocialism.org/strategy.htm.

Foundation for PR-based Socialism

Forum: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PRsocialism Website: www.PRsocialism.org Newsletter 4 (15/9/08)

Struggle for real democracy and socialism – inside and outside the Labour Party

Labour is in crisis, with Gordon Brown and the entire New Labour project deeply unpopular and many demanding a change of leadership and/or policies.

Brown claimed to have ended the cycle of boom and bust – impossible under capitalism. He borrowed heavily to prolong the boom and we are now entering a severe recession. Big business and its New Labour allies are trying to make working class people pay for their crisis – escalating food and fuel prices and a housing slump, with big cuts in living standards unless we go on strike.

The credit crunch is mainly blamed on “subprime” mortgages in the USA, sold to people with a poor credit history and with high interest rates starting low. This caught many out, since most US mortgages are at a fixed rate for the entire term, which (due to high inflation) could lead to many banks around the world that have lent the money for such “prime conforming” mortgages facing bankruptcy. New Labour would probably bail other banks out like when it nationalised Northern Rock (and like the US government recently did with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) or lent £50 billion without revealing to whom, but other governments may adopt a different approach.

The problems of capitalism are so severe that mere reforms (entailing greater government borrowing) are insufficient; we should point out that a complete change of society is needed. We should also fight for real democracy – proportional representation, under capitalism or socialism (see below).

Convention of the Left

Saturday 20 – Wednesday 24 September, Manchester

For details, visit www.conventionoftheleft.org

The Labour Party conference takes place this month in Manchester. Meanwhile, the Convention of the Left will bring together activists from a wide range of organisations inside and outside the Labour Party simultaneously in the same city. It would be premature for socialists to leave Labour now, with struggles for the direction of the party just beginning, but the Convention could play a big role in the creation of a new socialist party capable of challenging for power at the next general election. If we fail, the Tories will almost certainly win it (perhaps leading to an independent Scotland, the SNP splitting and socialism could start in Scotland). Come along to debate the way forward.

Campaign for renewable sources of energy – and point out the need for socialism

With Scotland having just had the coldest Easter for 46 years (and China the coldest winter for 50), cynicism about global warming is understandable. Even if it isn’t mainly caused by mankind, investment in renewable sources of energy would still be preferable – due to the pollution of carbon fuels (highlighted by the smog in Beijing before the Olympics) and the fact that such resources are running out (shortage of supplies have caused recent price hikes). Also, it’s better to be on the safe side than risk disastrous global warming.

For the single transferable vote (STV) form of proportional representation

Marxists argue for hierarchies of committees based on workplaces (that were called “soviets” in the USSR) backed up by a “workers’ militia” to enforce the rule of just the working class – “the dictatorship of the proletariat”.

Hierarchies enable those with bad intentions (including infiltrators from the secret services) to reach and stay in positions of power, because only those on the same committees know who such people are and what they are up to.

STV, where voters specify preferences for different candidates, is the fairest form of PR, since it eliminates the need for tactical voting.

--
Steve Wallis (Glasgow, Scotland)
For important/urgent communications, please email:
warcrysteve@...
Blogs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/steve-wallis-socialist-blog,
http://blog.myspace.com/galaxiasteve
My socialist website: http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk
My pages at MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/galaxiasteve and Bebo:
http://www.bebo.com/SteveW519
Founder, Good Intentions Network: http://www.goodintentionsnetwork.org
Founder, Ethical Capitalism Network: http://www.ethicalcapitalism.net
Founder, Foundation for PR-based Socialism: http://www.PRsocialism.org
Founder, Revolutionary Platform Network: http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net
My socialist band, Red Day: http://www.red-day.net
Author, "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist revolution will never happen?": http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net
For discussion of the credit crunch, go to
http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=156
For discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories, go to http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=89

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#38

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Thu Sep 4, 2008 7:40 pm
Subject: Prime mortgage crisis and the end of capitalism

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I've been catching up on my post after a visit to the Earth First! Gathering in Norfolk, where I interacted mainly with (non-violent) anarchists, plus a solitary Marxist from the tiny group Permanent Revolution. I had previously said that I would not submit any further letters to the Weekly Worker after they refused to print a long submission from me in full - but I've generally found it absorbing reading and cannot resist contributing to debates taking place in that newspaper; consider this message a submission to it (and I'll trust its editors to decide how much they want to publish). The fall in web readership from 45,000 at the height of its popularity last summer to 15,000 now is clearly a sign of the weakness of Marxism, which is (in my opinion) partly of their own making with strong attacks on other Marxist organisations - particularly the Socialist Workers Party, although they have concentrated recently on the Alliance for Workers' Liberty after its leader Sean Matgamna has (to some extent) come out in support of an Israeli nuclear attack on Iran. I have (perhaps more consciously) contributed to the demise of Marxism, arguing instead for a form of socialism with a government elected by proportional representation.

I find anarchists better allies than reformists, and thus think the initiative by the French LCR of a revolutionary anti-capitalist party (to be launched in January 2009) a positive development in the wake of the problems experienced by the various broad socialist organisations (and some so broad they also welcome non-socialists), such as the Scottish Socialist Party, Solidarity, Respect Renewal, the Left Alternative (the new SWP front organisation after the split in Respect) and the Campaign for a New Workers' Party.

However, for a far left formation to take off, it needs to be seen by the electorate as credible, which probably requires splits in mainstream parties (specifically Labour in Britain, with the Convention of the Left during the upcoming Labour Party conference being an ideal opportunity to prepare for such a split, or the Scottish National Party in an independent capitalist Scotland which is highly likely if the Tories win the next general election) as well as a severe enough economic crisis.

Economists and other commentators differ in their predictions of the severity of the credit crunch and how long it will last. However, they all seem to disregard a vital factor - banks are in massive difficulty due to "prime" mortgages in the USA, not just "subprime" ones. Whereas in the UK, mortgages generally have a variable interest rate, which banks and building societies can adjust to try to ensure they make a profit, NORMAL MORTGAGES IN THE USA HAVE A FIXED RATE FOR THE ENTIRE TERM. If inflation rises dramatically, as is now the case particularly with food and fuel prices, the banks will endure even more severe losses. They will be unable to pass those increases on to borrowers, and financial institutions around the world will continue to write off massive sums of money, with many going under. New Labour will probably continue to bail out banks in trouble, since failure to do so would mean certain electoral wipeout, but the Tories have indicated that they would let such banks go to the wall (and they could blame Gordon Brown's economic incompetence). [I predicted that BARCLAYS BANK WILL GO BANKRUPT, after learning of its emergency loans from the Bank of England before Northern Rock; its recent avoidance of a rights issue which would have entailed scrutinisation of its finances by other banks suggests it is still in difficulty, but realistically its demise won't occur until New Labour is swept from office.] THE CREDIT CRUNCH WILL NOT END UNTIL THERE IS A MASSIVE COLLAPSE OF WORLD CAPITALISM. Hopefully this will result in democratic socialist societies, in most if not all countries of the world, rather than some sort of authoritarian and/or capitalist alternative.

In his article "What is Marxism?" in the August 28 Weekly Worker (http://cpgb.org.uk/worker/734/whatis.html), Hillel Ticktin writes: "The proletariat consists of all those who sell their labour-power. In other words, the proletariat, in the words of the early Marx, is the universal class." At first I thought that means that he and Marx wanted everyone to be in power, not just the working class ("proletariat" in Marxist terminology), as is implied by "universal"! [Middle managers are generally regarded as middle class despite them selling their labour-power; it is unclear whether this was a deliberate slip by Ticktin.] A quick look at the Wikipedia page for "universal class" suggests Ticktin's definition instead: "It is the class destined to emancipate humanity by emancipating itself." Perhaps, however, the early Marx intended a meaning similar to my conception of socialism where we are all in control of society.

Ticktin almost completely ignores the middle class in his article, which is intended as part of the programme of the Campaign for a Marxist Party. However, in the article "Taking Stalinism seriously" in the current edition of the Weekly Worker (http://cpgb.org.uk/worker/735/WW735web.pdf), Mike Macnair says that "according to a 2007 survey, 57% of the population think of themselves as working class, including many people who before World War II would have self-identified as middle class". He suggests that it would become "more attractive to work for wages than to run a small family business or farm; and at the end of this process there is nothing left in society except wage-workers, with the result that classes cease to exist." Surely, however, the 43% of the population who don't think of themselves as working class would resist the imposition of "the dictatorship of the proletariat" rather than wait to be gradually assimilated into the working class before gaining any power!

--
Steve Wallis (Glasgow, Scotland)
For important/urgent communications, please email:
warcrysteve@...
Blogs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/steve-wallis-socialist-blog,
http://blog.myspace.com/galaxiasteve
My socialist website: http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk
My pages at MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/galaxiasteve and Bebo:
http://www.bebo.com/SteveW519
Founder, Good Intentions Network: http://www.goodintentionsnetwork.org
Founder, Ethical Capitalism Network: http://www.ethicalcapitalism.net
Founder, Foundation for PR-based Socialism: http://www.PRsocialism.org
Founder, Revolutionary Platform Network: http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net
My socialist band, Red Day: http://www.red-day.net
Author, "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist revolution will never happen?": http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net
For discussion of the credit crunch, go to
http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=156
For discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories, go to http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=89

For discussion of the environment, including global warming scepticism, go to http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=106

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#37

From: "julia_justine2000" <julia_justine2000@...>
Date: Sat Aug 16, 2008 5:58 am
Subject: Get air tickets almost for nothing

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#36

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Thu Aug 14, 2008 5:49 pm
Subject: Global warming theory based on fabricated data

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I've been discussing environmental issues in the last three weeks, including solar versus nuclear energy, whether "thorium" reactors could be a cheap safe kind of nuclear energy and whether global warming is mainly caused by mankind, on various internet forums initiated by my message "Guardian: Solar power from Sahara could provide Europe's electricity, says EU" (which you can read at http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?topic=9154). I've posted most of my contributions to the debates on the Environment bulletin board of my Revolutionary Platform Network Forum (http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=106).

Someone twice directed me to the "Skeptical Science" website, subtitled "Examining the science of global warming skepticism". I have just posted the following comments on the web page discussing the most common argument used by those sceptical of global warming theory, entitled "Solar activity & climate: is the sun causing global warming?" (http://www.skepticalscience.com/solar-activity-sunspots-global-warming.htm).

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

No-one has yet commented on the massive disparity in temperatures between the two graphs shown at the top of this page during the post-war boom (roughly the first three decades after the Second World War).

In a debate I've been involved in on various newsgroups (http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.global-warming/browse_thread/thread/912fb81971711597), a supporter of global warming called Fran mentioned "global dimming" reducing temperatures from 1943-74.

However, I have discovered that there are two completely different graphs of average northern hemisphere temperatures on the internet! The graph shown in "The Great Global Warming Swindle", displayed at the top of this page, looks to be based on the same data as a March 2003 SPACE.COM article entitled "Sun's Output Increasing in Possible Trend Fueling Global Warming" (http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/sun_output_030320.html). This page came top when I googled "total energy output from the sun TSI" (without quotes). The graph on it uses data from an article by Baliunas and Soon in the Astrophysical Journal. This seems to tally with Fran's dates.

However, two Wikipedia pages (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_dimming and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_temperature_record) look to have similar data to the "Land-Ocean Temperature Anomaly" line in the second graph on this page (except the Wikipedia pages show 5-year rather than 11-year averages). These show falling temperatures in the 1940s but not in the subsequent decades.

It seems utterly ridiculous for predictions to have been made about a new ice age in the 1970s (rather than earlier decades) if temperature had not been falling as the latter graphs suggest. One set of graphs must be based on fake data, and my current opinion that the latter ones are fake appears to be supported by the NASA GISS data from individual measuring statements linked to by Whata Fool on http://groups.google.co.uk/group/alt.global-warming/browse_thread/thread/912fb81971711597.

I have heard (I can't remember where) that the southern hemisphere has not been warming in recent decades unlike the north. Does anybody have any data about southern hemisphere temperatures? If not, why not?

My particular take on the climate/weather, irrespective of whether CO2 is really the main contributor to global warming, is that it is being controlled by conspirators on the side of big business in the big political struggles in the world (to some degree or other, and maybe less so now than in the past). A BBC documentary "The Science of Superstorms" largely about the USSR regime's measures to affect where radioactive rainfall from Chernobyl came down and Chinese measures to stop rainfall at the time of the Olympics opening ceremony indicate that some level of control is possible. As weather forecasting has improved, so has the ability to control it - and having high levels of warming in some parts of the world and low levels in others suits the divide-and-rule agenda of unethical forces in positions of power.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I forgot to mention in the above comment that the whole argument that the sun is not to blame is based on data/graphs that may be fabricated.

There are massive vested interests, on both sides of the global warming debate, so fabrication of data is to be expected.

Bearing in mind that one set of data for cooling during the post-war boom (despite higher production of carbon dioxide than earlier in the 20th century when temperatures were rising) is incorrect and clearly fabricated, the same may be true of recent solar radiance data.

--
Steve Wallis (Glasgow, Scotland)
For important/urgent communications, please email:
warcrysteve@...
Blogs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/steve-wallis-socialist-blog,
http://blog.myspace.com/galaxiasteve
My socialist website: http://www.socialiststeve.me.uk
My pages at MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/galaxiasteve and Bebo:
http://www.bebo.com/SteveW519
Founder, Good Intentions Network: http://www.goodintentionsnetwork.org
Founder, Ethical Capitalism Network: http://www.ethicalcapitalism.net
Founder, Foundation for PR-based Socialism: http://www.PRsocialism.org
Founder, Revolutionary Platform Network: http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net
My socialist band, Red Day: http://www.red-day.net
Author, "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist revolution will never happen?": http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net
For discussion of the credit crunch, go to
http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=156
For discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories, go to http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=89

For discussion of the environment, including global warming scepticism, go to http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=106

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#35

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Wed Jul 23, 2008 5:17 pm
Subject: Guardian: Solar power from Sahara could provide Europe's electricity, says EU

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From today's Guardian (http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jul/23/solarpower.windpower), in an article referred to on the front page. There is a picture with the caption "A concentrating solar power (CSP) plant in Spain that uses panels to reflect light on to a central tower to produce electricity. Similar plants are proposed for north Africa." of a new kind of solar power plant that I had not heard of before, despite reading a serious newspaper nearly every day and having got New Scientist for the last six months. Perhaps this was due to a conspiracy to keep knowledge from us of how easily the world's energy problems could be solved, cheaply and without causing global warming (whether or not such warming has mainly been caused by humans).

Maybe the political will to back such a solution will now be found, rather than taking up the expensive and dangerous nuclear option. The motives of many of the powers that be of divide-and-rule (with ordinary working and middle class people blaming each other for not doing enough to reduce our carbon footprints), by-products for nuclear weapons and the possible nightmare of allowing a terrorist attack on a nuclear power station to justify a massive clampdown on our civil liberties, will hopefully be overcome...

Solar power from Saharan sun could provide Europe's electricity, says EU

· Huge £35bn supergrid would pool green sources

· Brown and Sarkozy back north African plan

Alok Jha, science correspondent

The Guardian, Wednesday July 23, 2008

A tiny rectangle superimposed on the vast expanse of the Sahara captures the seductive appeal of the audacious plan to cut Europe's carbon emissions by harnessing the fierce power of the desert sun.

Dwarfed by any of the north African nations, it represents an area slightly smaller than Wales but scientists claimed yesterday it could one day generate enough solar energy to supply all of Europe with clean electricity.

Speaking at the Euroscience Open Forum in Barcelona, Arnulf Jaeger-Walden of the European commission's Institute for Energy, said it would require the capture of just 0.3% of the light falling on the Sahara and Middle East deserts to meet all of Europe's energy needs.

The scientists are calling for the creation of a series of huge solar farms - producing electricity either through photovoltaic cells, or by concentrating the sun's heat to boil water and drive turbines - as part of a plan to share Europe's renewable energy resources across the continent.

A new supergrid, transmitting electricity along high voltage direct current cables would allow countries such as the UK and Denmark ultimately to export wind energy at times of surplus supply, as well as import from other green sources such as geothermal power in Iceland.

Energy losses on DC lines are far lower than on the traditional AC ones, which make transmission of energy over long distances uneconomic.

The grid proposal, which has won political support from both Nicholas Sarkozy and Gordon Brown, answers the perennial criticism that renewable power will never be economic because the weather is not sufficiently predictable. Its supporters argue that even if the wind is not blowing hard enough in the North Sea, it will be blowing somewhere else in Europe, or the sun will be shining on a solar farm somewhere.

Scientists argue that harnessing the Sahara would be particularly effective because the sunlight in this area is more intense: solar photovoltaic (PV) panels in northern Africa could generate up to three times the electricity compared with similar panels in northern Europe.

Much of the cost would come in developing the public grid networks of connecting countries in the southern Mediterranean, which do not currently have the spare capacity to carry the electricity that the north African solar farms could generate. Even if high voltage cables between North Africa and Italy would be built or the existing cable between Morocco and Spain would be used, the infrastructure of the transfer countries such as Italy and Spain or Greece or Turkey also needs a major re-structuring, according to Jaeger-Walden.

Southern Mediterranean countries including Portugal and Spain have already invested heavily in solar energy and Algeria has begun work on a vast combined solar and natural gas plant which will begin producing energy in 2010. Algeria aims to export 6,000 megawatts of solar-generated power to Europe by 2020.

Scientists working on the project admit that it would take many years and huge investment to generate enough solar energy from north Africa to power Europe but envisage that by 2050 it could produce 100 GW, more than the combined electricity output from all sources in the UK, with an investment of around €450bn.

Doug Parr, Greenpeace UK's chief scientist, welcomed the proposals: "Assuming it's cost-effective, a largescale renewable energy grid is just the kind of innovation we need if we're going to beat climate change."

Jaeger-Walden also believes that scaling up solar PV by having large solar farms could help bring its cost down for consumers. "The biggest PV system at the moment is installed in Leipzig and the price of the installation is €3.25 per watt," he said. "If we could realise that in the Mediterranean, for example in southern Italy, this would correspond to electricity prices in the range of 15 cents per kWh, something below what the average consumer is paying."

The vision for the renewable energy grid comes as the commission's joint research centre (JRC) published its strategic energy technology plan, highlighting solar PV as one of eight technologies that need to be championed for the short- to medium-term future.

"It recognises something extraordinary - if we don't put together resources and findings across Europe and we let go the several sectors of energy, we will never reach these targets," said Giovanni de Santi, director of the JRC, also speaking in Barcelona.

The JRC plan includes fuel cells and hydrogen, clean coal, second generation biofuels, nuclear fusion, wind, nuclear fission and smart grids. De Santi said it was designed to help Europe to meet its commitments to reduce overall energy consumption by 20% by 2020, while reducing CO² emissions by 20% in the same time and increasing to 20% the proportion of energy generated from renewable sources.

Backstory

High voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines are seen as the most efficient way to move electricity over long distances without incurring the losses experienced in alternating current (AC) power lines. HVDC cables can carry more power for the same thickness of cable compared with AC lines but are only suited to long distance transmission as they require expensive devices to convert the electricity, usually generated as AC, into DC. Modern HVDC cables can keep energy losses down to around 3% per 1,000km. HVDC can also be used to transfer electricity between different countries that might use AC at differing frequencies. HVDC cables can also be used to synchronise AC produced by renewable energy sources.

For discussion of global warming, including my views and articles from the media, go to http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=107.

--
Steve Wallis (Glasgow, Scotland)
For important/urgent communications, please email:
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My pages at MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/galaxiasteve and Bebo:
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Founder, Ethical Capitalism Network: http://www.ethicalcapitalism.net

Founder, Foundation for PR-based Socialism: http://www.PRsocialism.org
Founder, Revolutionary Platform Network: http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net

My socialist band, Red Day: http://www.red-day.net
Author, "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist revolution will never happen?": http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net

For discussion of the credit crunch, go to
http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=156

For discussion of 9/11 conspiracy theories, go to http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=89

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#34

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Wed Jul 9, 2008 2:09 pm
Subject: BBC Conspiracy Files: 9/11 & Princess Diana

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Sunday's BBC TV programme, in the "Conspiracy Files" series, about the third tower in New York that collapsed on 9/11, several hours after the other two towers, can be viewed at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00ck4jd (but it may only be viewable within the UK and it is probably only available for a week after broadcast). Some short trailers/excerpts are available at YouTube (search for "Conspiracy Files" or go to http://youtube.com/watch?v=BP_GyIV76-Q).

The programme provided a lot of strong evidence for a conspiracy:

* The third tower collapsed without a plane hitting it, supposedly due to fire. On no other occasion in history has a building with steel support collapsed due to fire (unless you count the twin towers that collapsed earlier that day with the planes hitting them starting fires before they collapsed).

* The tower collapsed virtually at freefall speed, like the other two towers, in seconds, like a controlled demolition.

* The collapse was so symmetrical that the steel supports on different sides of the building had to give way at precisely the same time. It was very similar but much more symmetrical than examples of controlled demolition shown in the programme, indicating that something more advanced than conventional explosives was used.

* It appears that the steel melted to cause the collapse (red hot metal was spotted in the wreckage hours after the collapse), and it was suggested that an advanced explosive material called "thermite" (or "nanothermite") was used. A thermite explosion was demonstrated in a lab.

* The building contained offices for the CIA and other secret services and government departments, and was probably where the conspiracy was hatched so the collapse was to destroy evidence.

* A fire alarm test was taking place all day (incredible in any building let alone one with such important offices in it).

* Reporter Barry Jennings ignored the fire alarm and investigated the tower after it had been evacuated. He said he went into an emergency response centre that was empty but had still hot coffee, heard explosions within the building and stepped over bodies (despite the official story that there was no loss of life in that building).

* It was reported on TV news programmes (including the BBC by Jane Standley, a journalist in New York) that the tower had collapsed or was collapsing, before it actually did so. Some people have criticised Jane for being part of the conspiracy but it seems that she was just fed that not yet up-to-date information.

* The live satellite link from the BBC in the UK to Jane Standley broke down with the picture becoming pixilated (like with digital TV when there is a bad signal) during the interview. The official explanation was that a satellite subscription had expired and an automatic timer kicked in - but I've never heard of that happening on any other occasion and for it to happen then hardly seems to be a coincidence!

* BBC tapes of news on 9/11 were lost, and eventually found on the 2002 shelf (rather than 2001). The programme said this showed it was "a cock-up rather than a conspiracy", but it certainly could be part of a massive conspiracy!

If you take one particular item from the above list, it may be possible to concoct a fairly plausible story, and the programme did give some official (but not particularly plausible) explanations, but them all happening on the same day: a coincidence? Hardly!

The previous programme in the series about 9/11 (aired on February 2007, also viewable on the BBC website at http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00795mb) was heavily criticised for being biased against the conspiracy theorists. However, there was some very convincing evidence of a conspiracy towards the start of that programme, with the second half concentrating on views of the establishment (which viewers tended to forget due to receiving a lot of complex information and a limited amount of short term memory). The start of the programme (all in the first fifteen minutes I think) included the following:

* There were a few separate and clearly viewable explosions in (at least) one of the twin towers below the point at which it was collapsing. This certainly confirms the controlled demolition theory.

* The US secret services had been planning for the possibility of a plane being hijacked and flown into a tower before 9/11 (which establishment figures including George W Bush lied about).

* Interceptor planes, that could have shot the hijacked aircraft down, were (deliberately in my opinion) sent the wrong way.

Somebody on my "assassination-of-princess-diana" discussion group (at Yahoo!) asked where I got my information on 9/11 from. I initially got evidence from links provided by Mark Rabinowitz's website http://www.oilempire.us. I then got information from the first BBC documentary, after which I wrote my "9/11 Inside Job" song. I have also got information from "Loose Change" videos at YouTube, last Friday's BBC ten o'clock news and of course the second BBC documentary.

When I checked Rabinowitz's website more recently I noticed that it tended to promote some of the less convincing conspiracy ideas, and I have just checked it again which appears to confirm my suspicion that Rabinowitz is an agent of the establishment. He rubbishes "Loose Change", saying that it contains a lot of false conspiracy theories (which any film made by a group of people is bound to do so), suggesting that the CIA were responsible for those videos. Whereas CIA/FBI involvement in some of the conspiracy ideas would be expected, to try to discredit the whole project, writer/director Dylan Avery came across in the BBC programmes as extremely genuine.

If you search for "Loose Change" at YouTube, with quotes around it to ensure consecutive words, you get an estimate of 2500 videos! Some are obviously better than others; I was disappointed with a video of the first part when I watched it in the spring of 2007, but the second part seemed to contain evidence of the explosions (judging by the commentary but I was doing other things on the computer at the time so I couldn't be certain). I therefore checked out part 2 of the "Final Cut" before sending my message on Sunday urging people to watch the BBC programme that evening. The evidence of explosions towards the start of that video wasn't as convincing as the BBC coverage (but there was smoke coming from the bottom of the tower and several eye-witnesses said they heard the sound of explosions/bombs.

There is censorship at YouTube. Somebody once pointed out that searches fail to find videos on some occasions than they find at others. Also, the video listed first when you now search for "Loose Change" (with over 1.4 million views) stopped both times I tried to play it on my laptop a small amount in and caused the Internet Explorer window on a computer in an internet cafe on which I played it to close prematurely (at about or exactly the same point). It therefore makes sense for those "Loose Change" video-makers who have predominantly good intentions to help produce some less convincing videos as well as the better ones, in order to ensure that the truth gets out to a wide audience.

Rabinowitz fails to actually say what conspiracy theories he actually agrees with, apart from giving an unremarkable connection to oil (and "peak oil" in particular which he appears to have an obsession with). He has a page on videos, but plugs ones you need to buy rather than watch on the internet for free. Personally, I trust "Loose Change" and the BBC far more than Rabinowitz.

I am also inclined to distrust Rabinowitz because he reported me to my email provider (Yahoo!) after I sent him the lyrics of my "9/11 Inside Job" song (after recording it as a musical poem and much more recently recorded with my band Red Day) thanking him for his help in inspiring me to write it! He had previously threatened to report me for sending him "spam", and a CAPTCHA appeared when I next logged in to my email account to check that I am not a computer program.

Rabinowitz did usefully point me towards a report in 2000 by the Project for a New American Century (which includes vice-president Dick Cheney among its members and then defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld was a founder member) saying that "some catastrophic and catalyzing event - like a new Pearl Harbor" would be needed as a pretext for their plans for "United States global hegemony".

Rabinowitz's website also informed me about the Skull and Bones Society (sometimes known as the Order of the Skull and Bones) - a very secretive organisation based at Yale University including George W Bush (and two past presidents including Bush's father) and John Kerry as members! The society's Wikipedia page confirms that information. Rabinowitz argued that the 2004 presidential election was between two different wings of the Skull and Bones Society and therefore it didn't matter who won. I emailed him arguing that this shows that that conspiratorial organisation was in fact infiltrated by left-wing conspirators and that Kerry was actually playing a good role. Kerry pledged in a live TV debate with Bush to tax the rich (reversing 85 or 90 billion dollars of tax cuts Bush had granted to people earning over $200,000 a year) and close all tax loopholes. Bush fraudulently won that election, as pointed out on my "us-electoral-fraud" group (at Yahoo!).

The trick of putting establishment propaganda towards the end of the programme was also used in the episode in the "Conspiracy Files" series on the death of Princess Diana, which I still believe was an assassination despite the result of the inquest. The inquest was highly flawed in only allowing conspiracy theories of Mohammed al-Fayed (obviously because his son Dodi died in Paris) to be presented, and much more convincing theories by investigators like David Cohen (author of the brilliant book "Diana: Death of a Goddess") were not heard. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/assassination-of-princess-diana/message/67 to read my views on Diana's assassination.

There are some factors common to 9/11 and Diana conspiracies in there being a large number of people involved and a lot of complex planning by conspiratorial organisations, which I believe is partly done in people's minds and partly by computer programs. In any political organisation (conspiratorial or open), members decide (democratically or otherwise) on particular aims, and strategies and tactics in order to try to achieve those aims. Members of the organisation tend to be loyal to it and back up other members whether they have genuine or ulterior motives, because to do otherwise would lead them to be ostracised. Those who are tempted to leave such an organisation to become a whistle-blower may be threatened (as Barry Jennings was despite not being a conspirator) and indeed (with so much at stake) bumped off.

I have actually implemented (and was the main designer of) an artificial intelligence/simulation language called SDML (standing for Strictly Declarative Modelling Language) on which complex modelling of the world, analysing past events, predicting the future and deciding what to do to achieve your desired outcomes, is possible. I am currently working on improvements to it to speed up database accessing, and will put a new version of it (as open source Smalltalk code) soon at http://www.sdml.org.uk. Such software could be used for very bad purposes if used by certain organisations so I'll be careful about publicising it - I've deliberately mentioned it at the end of this very political message in order to reach the more socialist and libertarian-inclined people who are likely to read it.

----- Original Message ----
From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Subject: BBC 9/11 "Conspiracy Files" pogramme tonight on demolition of third tower

The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) 10 o'clock news on Friday included an item on the third tower that collapsed in New York on 9/11, without being hit by a plane. There is a programe in the "Conspiracy Files" series on BBC2 tonight (Sunday 6 July) at 9pm, about 9/11 conpiracy theories focusing on the third tower.

That tower contained the CIA and FBI headquarters, and was obviously demolished to remove evidence of a conspiracy. It collapsed several hours after the other two (and apparently its collapse was reported on in the news before the collapse actually happened) and nobody died (so it was obviously evacuated). The BBC news item reported that finally there is an official explanation - which didn't sound at all plausible to me, but watch the "Conspiracy Files" programme and judge for yourself...

All three towers collapsed in about ten seconds, in the same way as buildings collapse when explosives are used. I urge those who doubt a conspiracy (or those who want more evidence of one) to watch "Loose Change" videos at YouTube. Part 2 (of a three part series) provides the best evidence of explosives being used to bring the towers down. Watch the Final Cut of part 2 at http://youtube.com/watch?v=yAS4TIYF68A to see smoke rising from the bottom of one of the towers as it starts to collapse and to hear many eye-witnesses reporting exlosions/bombs (near the begining of that clip). That clip has been rated (by 180 viewers) at a maximum five stars, so the evidence of a conspiracy obviously convinces YouTube viewers.

The Project for a New American Century (of which Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney are members) argued for "a new Pearl Harbor", and lo and behold, one took place. An earlier "Conspiracy Files" progamme on 9/11 pointed out that interceptor planes were sent in the wrong direction to avoid stopping the civilian aircraft from crashing into the towers.

I was inspired by that programme to write a song called "9/11 Inside Job", which my band Red Day recently did a recording of. You can read the lyrics or download it from http://www.red-day.net/lyrics/911-3.html, or go to my page on one of the social networking sites (MySpace/Facebook/Bebo) in the signature below.

--
Steve Wallis (Glasgow, Scotland)
For important/urgent communications, please email:
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Author, "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist
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#33

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Sun Jul 6, 2008 12:53 pm
Subject: BBC 9/11 "Conspiracy Files" pogramme tonight on demolition of third tower

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Steve Wallis (Glasgow, Scotland)
For important/urgent communications, please email:
warcrysteve@...

Blogs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/steve-wallis-socialist-blog,
http://blog.myspace.com/galaxiasteve

My socialist band, Red Day: http://www.red-day.net
Author, "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist
revolution will never happen?": http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net

For discussion of the credit crunch, go to
http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=156

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#32

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Wed Jun 18, 2008 7:50 pm
Subject: Irish no vote on EU treaty, David Davis by-election and G8 summit strike action

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[Those of you uninterested in points about the Weekly Worker, and who want to read my views on the crisis in the European Union, strike action around the G8 summit and how to build socialist parties capable of challenging for power, can skip this preamble and go to the text after the row of minus ('-') signs.]

I am sending the following submission to Peter Manson, the editor of the Weekly Worker (the newspaper of the Communist Party of Great Britain), for publication in this week's issue (which normally appears at http://www.cpgb.org.uk on Thursdays). [I'm also sending it to letters editor Steve Cooke in case Peter doesn't check his emails in time.] I also intend to send it to hundreds of activists via email, over 200 groups at Yahoo!, plus further groups at Google, the anarchist site http://lists.riseup.net and groups at Facebook (and possibly MySpace and Bebo but I've not used those facilities yet). See my signature at the bottom of this message for my pages at those social networking sites.

I have had letters published in the Weekly Worker in the past, but they have always been edited, sometimes more drastically than others. That newspaper has played a very important role in debating issues on the left, and its contributors have made important and often correct criticisms of other left-wing parties/groups. It has an on-line readership of around 30,000 unique visitors a week. I did suggest its publication on newsprint (mainly recycled paper); I suspect many environmentalists are put off buying the paper, when they see it being sold or getting subscriptions, because the paper is bright white and clearly not recycled. Peter said (rightly or wrongly) that their printing machine could not cope with newsprint; they have switched to printing it commercially after the breakdown of their printer so they could easily shift to newsprint. Indeed, I strongly urge Peter to do so for this week's issue - especially if he decides to print my contribution.

The main problem with the Weekly Worker is that it tends to demobilise people rather than put forward positive arguments for change. This would change massively with the new issue if he prints my submission; a call in its pages for a worldwide general strike at the time of this year's G8 summit (which according to Wikipedia is from the 7-9 July, and being Monday-Wednesday this is more practicable than in 2006 when it started at a weekend, with a bank holiday in Glasgow on the final day). The official summit website used to say when it was on according to the Wikipedia page, but it doesn't any more - our enemies don't want to help us mobilise against them!

The food and fuel price increases impact on Western countries as well as the so-called Third World, and it really is on the cards if the left gets their act together. I think I was correct to call for such a strike in 2005, when the Make Poverty History campaign and Live 8 concerts brought the world's attention to problems in Africa (particularly), without mobilising people enough to change the system. However, I was only able to publicise my call in Britain, apart from what I did on the internet, and activsits here prefered to go to Scotland where the summit took place than mobilise in their own areas. This year's summit is in Japan, so the vast majority of left-wing activists, in the West and "third world", would find it much more effective to mobilise in their own countries than trek over to Japan (although those who do go to Japan to demonstrate will be playing an important role too).

Anyway, I'm in danger of going past the deadline for submissions to the Weekly Worker. At one point in the past, the CPGB admitted to having made a big mistake with an article on a strike that criticised strikers for taking action, and Peter accepted responsiblity for it. They even said that all copies of that issue should have been pulped rather than distributed. I'm sure when Peter reads this submission, plus the preamble I am currently writing, he will realise that it should appear in the issue out tomorrow.

I would ask for it to appear either as an article or the first item on the letters page. I don't want some sort of irrelevant tittle-tattle (as some letters consist of) putting off readers coming to my submission. I also demand that my submission is not edited at all. Ideally, I'd like the main front page headline to be the call for a worldwide general strike, but maybe that's asking too much!

If Peter (and anybody else in the CPGB who he needs to consult with in deciding to publish it) refuses to publish it in full, then I refuse him permission to publish it at all, and I would then remove his email address from those I send my important messages to and refuse to submit anything to that newspaper in the future. In making these points, I am not being hostile to him - I have had some very friendly chats with him when I phone him (he is normally in the office during the daytime on Wednesdays) and indeed had such a conversation this morning, and since he hadn't received a letter about Europe I told him I would submit one. However, I need to push him a little to ensure that my points are carried in full. I don't want my arguments on Europe to appear, without mobilising ordinary working and middle class people around the world so that this year's G8 summit becomes the point at which socialist forces worldwide compete for power.

The following text is my submission to the Weekly Worker.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

I was going to criticise Anne McShane ('Left plays nationalist card', June 12) for her suggestion that the left should have campaigned for voters to spoil their ballot papers in the Irish referendum on the Lisbon treaty (revamped European Union constitution), rather than uniting with the far right in opposing it.

The Irish no vote is a big setback for the forces of big business, who wanted to give extra power to ministers and unelected beaureaucrats and take it away from national parliaments. If the treaty was giving a lot of power to the European Parliament, whose members are elected by proportional representation (even in the UK), then it could have been a treaty worthy of support. We should defend the (limited) democracy we have, and opposing the treaty on that basis is certainly not a right-wing position.

The Republic of Ireland has a government (the Dail) elected by proportional representation (PR), and indeed a fairer one than a choice of party lists (where voters can only put a single 'X' on the ballot paper) which we have to put up with to elect our MEPs.

The form of PR used in the Irish republic is single transferable vote (STV), the fairest form of PR because it (almost completely) removes the incentive to vote tactically. You can choose between candidates of the same party (removing power from party machines) and specify transfers between different left-wing parties so that your vote is transferred to your second preference if your first choice is eliminated (or a proportion of the vote is transferred if he/she gets more votes than necessary). This form of PR enabled the Socialist Party's Joe Higgins to get elected to the Dail - although the Socialist Party took a sectarian attitude to other left-wing parties, refusing to get involved in a socialist alliance, and he subsequently lost his seat.

Your newspaper has extensively covered debates about what sort of party the left needs to get out of its current predicament. Some say you should fight within mainstream parties such as Labour, or even the Scottish National Party or Plaid Cymru. Others say revolutionary socialists should unite with reformists (who ridiculously argue that socialism can be achieved by a series of small steps) or Muslim businessmen in broad socialist parties (or parties so broad they are only vaguely socialist as with Respect). I have at times argued for a revolutionary socialist party - Revolutionary Socialist Party would be a good name for such a party, and this name has recently been adopted for a new party in Australia. The French LCR's idea of a revolutionary anti-capitalist party, with revolutionary socialists uniting with people of an anarchist/autonomous persuasion or others opposed to capitalism without a clear idea of what to replace it by, seems to be a good move in that country but probably isn't in Britain.

Your party (the CPGB) argues in favour of a Marxist party, through the Campaign for a Marxist Party and your calls for an EU-wide Communist Party. Quite frankly, few ordinary Irish working and middle class people would support the idea of removing the fairly good electoral system they have (though it would be better to have larger constituencies with more than the current five or so TDs elected in each) and replacing it by hierarchies of committees based on workplaces. Middle class people need to have a say, and not just with token represenatives like in the soviets in Russia where the peasantry (over 90% of the population) were disenfranchised by the "dictatorship of the proletariat". I would support some degree of workers' control of industry, but in a fairly non-hierarchical way and not to determine the socialist government.

I was a member of the Militant Tendency (becoming the Socialist Party of England and Wales) from 1990-98. I fully supported the "open turns" in Scotland and then the rest of Britain, in which we left the Labour Party. Revolutionaries outside Labour have played a crucial role in popularising socialism, and winning elected representatives has been vital for propaganda purposes and proving that socialism is popular. However, Labour is now in crisis and those revolutionary socialists still in the Labour Party (plus those who have rejoined such as myself) can make a big difference in British and therefore world events. I am not so naive as to think that it is at all likely that Labour can be transformed into a socialist party, but a significant left split-off from Labour (including a sizeable number of MPs) could massively transform the political landscape. In fact, it is only a party arising out of a Labour split, and uniting with non-aligned socialists and members of left-wing parties/organisations, that stands any realistic chances of preventing the Tories from winning the next general election. The Convention of the Left, which will bring left-wing activists outside and inside the Labour Party together, at the time of Labour's September conference will present a marvellous opportunity for the formation of such a party.

The resignation of Tory David Davis to fight his seat on the issue of civil liberties presents a brilliant opportunity for the left, particularly now that both Labour and the Liberal Democrats have said that they will not contest the election. The Socialist Alliance is discussing standing in that seat, supporting civil liberties from a left-wing perspective, and I hereby recommend that they decide to put up a candidate. The two Respect splinters are in disarray, and the terms "socialist" and "alliance" on the ballot paper would attract a lot of voters. Even if one of those splinters does stand, arguably the Socialist Alliance should still stand against them - who cares about splitting the left-wing vote when only one MP is at stake and you have the opportunity to put forward genuine socialist views rather than the mealy-mouthed anti-privatisation and anti-war stuff Respect/Galloway and Respect/Left List come up with. If another left-wing party does stand, it would be a brilliant opportunity to test who puts forward the best politics. The Socialist Alliance should not be put off by lack of members on the ground in the constituency; a manifesto/leaflet can be distributed by Royal Mail to all voters. Incidentally, I considered standing in the 2005 general election, but couldn't get nominated in time and suspected that a Royal Mail bureaucrat would throw my leaflets away rather than moving them to the various distribution centres. However, I don't think such a bureaucrat would sabotage the Socialist Alliance in this way, and if he/she did that would provoke a massive storm of protest.

Where I agree with Anne McShane's article, having thought more about it, is that launching a mass campaign to spoil the ballot paper in Ireland could have been very effective. With massive food and fuel price rises around the world, it is both timely and important - with millions literally dying in underdeveloped countries, and working class people in the West having to resort to strike action for a decent pay rise (or rioting as in Spain) - for socialism to be put on the agenda.

I would disagree with Anne's recommendation to put "For a workers' Europe" on the ballot paper, however, for reasons I outlined above. Working and middle class people opposed to the rule of big business should unite together, with coordinated strike action around the world. "For a socialist Europe" would be better.

I called for coordinated strike action around the world to take place at the time of the 2005 G8 summit (which took place in Gleneagles, Scotland). I wrote songs called "Do They Know It's G8 Time?" (to the tune of the Band Aid song "Do They Know It's Christmas?") and "The Revolution Starts Now!" (mainly consisting of original lyrics), and my short-lived band Galaxia recorded versions of them.

Strike action in Western countries as well as the so-called Third World at the time of the G8 summit is more practicable this year, because big increases in food and fuel prices are affecting ordinary working class people everywhere - although obviously the number of people who die as a result of such price rises will obviously be much higher in underdeveloped countries.

Strikes, demonstrations and riots are taking place all around the world as it is, and coordinated action at the time of the G8 summit this year could put socialism on the agenda.

According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/34th_G8_summit), the 2008 G8 summit in Japan was planned to be from the 7th to the 9th of July (Monday to Wednesday), but details of the date have been removed from the official website that Wikipedia used as the source. Presumably they don't want to tell us when it is because knowing that will help us mobilise against them. I wouldn't put it past the G8 bureaucrats to change the date of the summit in a desperate attempt to frustrate us!

I am now in a band called Red Day, based in Glasgow. Hopefully we will record a new version of "Do They Know It's G8 Time?" next week. We might try to get it on music download sites like iTunes and Napster as a charity single, but it will also be downloadable for free from the Red Day website http://www.red-day.net and various social networking sites. If you have problems accessing that website (due to internet censorship perhaps), go to http://www.last.fm/music/Red+Day. I have put a few of our songs there already, including "9/11 Inside Job".

--
Steve Wallis (Glasgow, Scotland)
For important/urgent communications, please email:
warcrysteve@...

Blogs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/steve-wallis-socialist-blog,
http://blog.myspace.com/galaxiasteve

My socialist band, Red Day: http://www.red-day.net
Author, "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist
revolution will never happen?": http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net

For discussion of the credit crunch, go to
http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=156

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#31

From: Steve Wallis <revolutionarysocialiststeve@...>
Date: Tue Jun 17, 2008 3:29 pm
Subject: "9/11 Inside Job" and other Red Day songs you can download

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Red Day, a band formed in January that I am in, as a singer/songwriter and bongo (African drum) player on one track, has recorded four songs that I have now put on-line.

Recordings and lyrics of all the songs can be downloaded free of charge from the Red Day website (www.red-day.net). I have also created pages for the bands on social networking sites at www.myspace.com/reddayband, www.bebo.com/red-day, www.facebook.com/pages/Red-Day/16581923555 and www.last.fm/music/Red+Day. The songs can also be played at my personal social networking pages (see my signature at the bottom of this message).

I've included below the lyrics of our most important song to date, "9/11 Inside Job":

9/11 Inside Job

Lyrics by Steve Wallis

Music by Red Day

Version 3, 30/4/2008

The CIA had a plan that day
Oh yeah, the CIA had a plan that day
They were influenced by the KKK
They linked up with the Skull & Bones Society
In a conspiracy to cause a big tragedy
The Project for a New American Century
Wanted a new Pearl Harbor in the so-called "land of the free"

CHORUS:
Did they try
To shoot down the areoplanes in the sky?
Or did they say
"Let’s send our interceptor planes the wrong way"?

Explosives demolished the towers from below
As you can see in a "Loose Change" video
Senior Republicans were advised not to fly
Computer modelling predicted they would die
There was massive insider dealing on the stock market the day before
Perhaps they knew that the inside job would justify war

CHORUS

Iraq was Sunni, al-Qaeda was Shia
For most analysts, the difference was clear
About them having strong links, Bush lied
His main strategy was to divide
Muslims from Christians and Jews
It was a very successful ruse
Now, Muslims in Iraq are at each others’ throats
And US companies get a lot of the dollar notes
For Iraq’s "reconstruction"
When really there’s loads of destruction
Bush and Blair pretended that their main enemies were Islamic "extremists"
The rule of big business is really threatened by socialists and anarchists
Blair has now gone and British troops are leaving
The occupation could soon end and leave Iraqis rebuilding and grieving

CHORUS

We have recorded this song in MP3 format, which you can download in high quality (11.7MB), mid quality (6.2MB) and low quality (3.1MB).

--
Steve Wallis (Glasgow, Scotland)
For important/urgent communications, please email:
warcrysteve@...

Blogs: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/steve-wallis-socialist-blog,
http://blog.myspace.com/galaxiasteve

My socialist band, Red Day: http://www.red-day.net
Author, "Revolution Destroyed? Have I ensured that a world socialist
revolution will never happen?": http://www.revolutiondestroyed.net

For discussion of the credit crunch, go to
http://www.revolutionaryplatform.net/forum/index.php?board=156

Reply | Forward | Messages in this Topic (1)

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