Any political movement which charges people to attend meetings is no movement at all. Instead it is little more than a talking shop for lefty celebrities to spout platitudes from a top platform whilst making entirely different plans behind the scenes. Plans that you won’t be a part of and probably do not agree with.
The People’s Assembly, due to take place in Central London this weekend, is such an event. Imagine the most boring gig you’ve ever been to and they even want to charge you for the privilege. In an effort to keep out the riff raff this lefty love-in comes with a price tag of £8 for even low waged earners and £4 for those on benefits.
It’s probably unfair to say this was a direct attempt to keep the poor out of the People’s Assembly. Claimants and low paid workers are just collateral damage in the desire to keep out the wrong sort of people – the type of people who would no more pay to attend a political meeting than they would buy a CD of Tariq Ali’s greatest speeches or a copy of How I Stopped Them Stopping The War by John Rees. Those of us who would rather drag the Labour shadow cabinet into a lime pit than try and drag them over to the left – the real empty strategy behind this whole sorry show.
Even those claimants who can rustle up the entrance fee may well be out of luck. The only way to buy a ticket for the event appears to be via a website which requires either a debit card or cheque book, two things many claimants don’t have. This oversight comes alongside the shameful snubbing of Boycott Workfare who have not been invited to take part. The People’s Assembly would rather talk about unemployed people than talk to them.
And it’s hardly surprising as barely anyone in the claimant movement is interested in listening to yet more words from pseudo supporters like Workfare Len. Action, not words, has been the driving force behind Boycott Workfare, Disabled People Against Cuts, the Black Triangle Campaign and the countless other claimant groups who have taken on Iain Duncan Smith’s welfare reforms in the streets. And action means more than the vague promise of an A to B march at some point in the future. It means fucking shit up now.
Ian Bone has done a fine job of showing the emptiness behind the People’s Assembly and along with others has called for people to gather outside. Join the riff raff in the streets, where the real people are. Meet at 1pm outside Westminster Central Hall, Storey’s Gate, London, SW1H 9NH.
Above joke nicked from Bone’s blog.
Follow me on twitter @johnnyvoid
the void 
May i correct you. Claimants such as myself do have debit cards as we were told to open a bank account for them to pay the benefit into…i think giros were phased out a while ago as was going to the labour exchange and queuing up twice…once for signing second for getting paid…Btw we went decimal in 1971 and stopped wearing flat caps that went out with “gor blimey guv” and smog.
The elusive ‘Giro’ still exists, but it used almost exclusivley for the odd catch up payment or backdated payment. ( say if you have had a sanction and win the appeal or if you sign off when you get a job, they can make the remaining JSA payment to you that way)
Basic Bank Accounts don’t usually have debit cards, mine doesn’t.
Well i have got one..i use it to top up my gold plated Rolls-Royce that i park outside my tax payer funded mansión..Its just across the road from the baby factories on council estate that house millions of illegal immigrants all plotting with hard left kgb run domestic terrorists intent on wrecking the economy with their evil stalinist NHS.and.that sort of shit…
I have a debit card courtesy of the Co-Op, though I’m not allowed (or want) any credit (fair enough, I am already blacklisted) but I do know people who don’t even have a bank account, save for a P.O account for Benefits. As for cheques, haven’t seen one for years, apart from one (very) local old stick-in-the-mud who once offered to pay me by cheque for a favour I did him getting him a teenth! seriously. But that was a few years ago. Most folk I know operate cash-in-hand for pretty much everything except receiving Dole payments.
I have a basic account which comes with a debit card
There you go Full steam ahead to the modern age where we download consumer products and watch virtual versions of ourselves on tv. And vote online for groups who can hate the most people.
yet another steering group…more we know whats best for you…feel like a seagull at ships stern, fighting for slops…m/t ness is what i feel about it…no substance, yuck..quango…why aren’t they out in the pouring rain speaking…on soap boxes…with passion pouring from their gills, grabbing attention orating their cause…yes ian where have all the speakers gone, thumpers…instead of basking on a platform…p.a.a. austerity that’ll be 2 days food please, kerching!
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Bang on the nail ! I can imagine people subject to the Bedroom Tax saving up their pennies in order to be able to attend and hear the wonderful words of wisdom from Comrade Rees, the inspiring call to arms from Owen Jones and the usual platitudes from the Rent-a-Celeb list ! Fucking hell, who’s got the benzedrine ?
Congratulations: you’ve just played divide and rule.
Your prize.
Fuck all.
This posting smacks of a ukip agenda which you jv hardly ever criticize, having said that the fact that the peoples assembly are charging for this assembly is an utter disgrace and does as you point out show the lack of empathy for those who have suffered cuts, but don’t call the left riff raff. Owen Jones is a very good politician in a party that does not represent his or any other mp’s with real socialist views, neither does the peoples party by the sound of it either.
Bollocks does it sound like a UKIP agenda, owen and his chums don’t want us inside, hence no riff raff, didn’t you ever see faulty towers? I’m surprised that you think joining and working within a neo-liberal party is the answer.
“This posting smacks of a ukip agenda”
…you must be new here…
fawkes..
i’m all for re-cycling, but this political system is well past it’s use by date…it is time for a new system of socially inclusive democracy…active participation….fit for the 21st century…it’s like using a greatly modified, stevenson’s rocket, as a high speed loco…
Afraid all politicians want to put their noses in the trough.. and i am more and more convinced that thats all that he wants. No one will speak for the unemployed or those on benefits, when they themselves benefit from it.
Actually visadebit cards are gonna become atm this year…fuck knows why..means us poor will need to keep going to atm and carry cash about to pay rent and in crime areas…wont be able to pay online for stuff…or pay for groceries with card…all very suspect if you ask me…
I have posted here often enough denouncing the neo liberals so why would I support such an agenda? When have you ever heard Owen Jones supporting anything but a socialist agenda, but is trying to work within a party that is no longer socialist and should in my opinion get out of it. All of the parties both mainstream and fringe have their share of nutters so one has not the right to call the other.
Chewie
Where did you get the info that visadebit are gonna become atm this year?
Atm Only ..fawkes..i had a letter sent me plus i found others online had same letter as me..word for word…fuck knows what is going on there…Its pretty worrying as myself and others dont Fancy wandering about with chunks of cash especially where i live and late at night too..
Is that Visa Debit (I’ve got one, and haven’t heard anything like that) or Visa Electron (which came in to replace ATM-only cards, but which I think they’ve been trying to get rid of for years)?
I have Visa debit and can’t use it in ATM’s as it is signature card as I can’t remember PIN. As my credit card is unusable except to make payments I have to use Visa Debit online. Will talk to the bank.
given the green party are signed up and are one of the main organisers of it, while the labour party are not, why do you think its aim is to call for people to vote labour?
Unite are paying the bills and Owen’s doing the PR – both are committed to a strategy of working within Labour to try and make them more left wing – the same failed strategy that has been failing for years. The Greens will stick their name on anything if they think they might get their logo on a piece of paper out of it.
I’m sure Owen means well, but he’s another of them sadly, an Oxbridge kid who’s never had a real job, far more in common with Dave and Ed both economically and socially than he has with us. He talks a good game at the moment, but wait till he’s got a few years under his belt and a mortgage, he’ll soon fall in line with the political class then – he’s half way there already.
“the same failed strategy that’s been failing for years” – aye, not least because Labour know they can get away with kicking out anyone who gets too uppity / looks like they might make too much of a difference.
doubt it – he’s the son of a militant full-timer and used to work for john mcdonnell which explains most of his politics. just think it’s old-fashioned labour leftism. i’m a green but he’s on the same side, i could say he’ll be a sell-out but i could go through a load of ex-greens or ex-trotskyists or even ex-anarchists so why’s he more likely than anyone else? we’re heavily involved in the whole thing so i just don’t buy this idea it’s some sort of laboury front i’m afraid, it just happens to have labour lefties involved which was the case with stop the war too (tony benn was president, jeremy corbyn was involved – was that a labour front too?!) also you’re not factually right – it’s a day of workshops, unions are forking out money for travel and the entry cost, so you’ll just be protesting against thousands of people wanting an alternative who are debating and discussing in workshops. up to you though i guess!
So people that haven’t worked down t’pit aren’t entitled to a view? Ridiculous! Should have gone up north for a gap year or something? This is getting stupid now. It’s just the sort of divisioni the tory scum want and thrive on!
We’ve got bedroom tax groups infiltrated by fascists and freemen on the land loons and people slagging of those that don’t have ‘proper’ lefty credentials.
What else do you suggest? Another UK Uncut hoot? Because that’s achieved what precisely?
The ‘Oxbridge kid who’s never had a real job’ and the prediction are poor cards to play. I’ve got a PhD from Cambridge and work as an academic but that doesn’t stop me working against EDL/SDL and the rest, doesn’t stop me actively opposing the hypocrisy of mainstream politics, working with Black Triangle, Occupy, anti-fracking, Anti Bedroom Tax, Anti-Austerity, on LGBT rights, and much more. Yet I am 45 and, yes, have a mortgage.
It’s the same politics as the government. We should be striving to equality, not reinforcing class divisions and prejudices. I’m not per se working class; i grew up in a leafy middle class village. I can’t help that! But I don’t have a job. I guess my credentials aren’t enough either.
“Join us outside the fake assembly on June 22nd for some genuine opposition” personally I’ve got better things to do with my time” …comment from bones blog…well thats a good start….
A good start for what?
How do you think that will look on the BBC? They’ll have a field day! People’s Assembly opposed by other lefties – look at the useless swivel eyyed socialists who can’t even agree! That’s the message this sends.
This is fucking childish in the extreme. At least give these people a chance. I don’t agree with charging people, though presumably there are some costs that have to be covered at least.
ghost whistler…the PA…has but 1 task…atm…just 1, to end poverty…it could not be simpler…
I wuz being ironic as ppl were posting that they were far too busy to show up.
So who would you vote for come the next election jv?
never been the voting type, but I might hold my nose and go for the TUSC if they stand round here, be nice to see them make it into double figures.
I can’t help thinking it might be more use for everyone intending to vote TUSC to chuck a tenner in a kitty instead. It’s not like they can afford to keep losing their deposits…
What about the Green Party? I think they would create good Environmental/Conservation schemes but voluntary not compulsory, no sanctions I hope. If it involved doing, say, 3 days a week, or one day a week, digging an allotment, or picking up litter, BUT they get off your back AND increase your Dole, then maybe. Or even create those as part-time jobs for people to do, plus park gardening etc, and paid a real living wage. Spend less on bombs, nationalize power & water, and tax the rich. If I ever vote again at all it’ll probably be for them.
I get the impression that the Green Party wouldn’t necessarily be averse to such things, but would actually introduce them as a proper civic duty – ie. everyone has to take their turn, like jury service (should be), rather than only the poor being stuck with it – as allowed for by the ECHR. I’d happily take my turn in such an endeavour (autism and anxiety permitting). But I don’t know their policy on it at the moment.
As for conditionality, I know they already favour a citizen’s income, which would by definition come without strings.
gwen…the snp will get my 1st vote for now…greens 2nd? i’ll see who else is in the mix for my other PR votes…!
johnny void – one of very few decent political bloggers writing in Britain today.
http://www.coalitionofresistance.org.uk/2013/02/support-pours-in-for-the-peoples-assembly/ People posting on this link have a wait and hope attitude to this assembly.
These days I don’t generally attend any event, political or social, that involves paying admission, with the possible exception of occasionally £1 in to the local cinema on Fri. afternoons, more so during Winter perhaps. I’m living on food-parcels and hand-outs, as a direct result of deliberately and inherently evil, malicious, Tory policy (i.e. The Class War). ‘Bread-line’ Britain? I had no bread & resorted to try make my own yesterday as I found half a bag of flour lurking in the corner of an otherwise empty kitchen cupboard. But little else. It was like eating a 200 year old ‘Ship’s Biscuit’ the size of a dinner plate and thick as a Deep Base. Felt like I swallowed a brick. Should have made Nettle Soup to soften it up (learn next time). So no, count me out for this one, People’s Assembly, thanks all the same.
lp…try the grant loaf..no kneading required….ww2 recipe…
http://www.tusc.org.uk/ Sounds like the tusc are the same as the peoples assembly only one is a political party and the other a political movement, both socialist.
Ah, this is the English left I know and love. “We all need to stand together! …but not with those chancers…”
Landless you may or may not be but humourless you certainly are not.
gwenhwyfaer
Which chancers would you support or stand together with then?
Do fuck off.
I would vote for any party that would pay me enough..except for tories labour liberal ukip bnp greens …ummm well thats me fucked…oh well i will watch others vote and then they moan when they get shafted..actually Its a maxim that all parties go right wing when they get into office..Its because they all get into bed with business…all for different reasons but they all do…thats what causes the problems in first place..
gwenhwyfaer
What’s wrong have you not found a site to suit you so your trolling others?
Yes, obviously someone who thought of the most inflammatory thing they could say to the guy running this blog and then said it has every right to throw the word “troll” around.
Like I said, do fuck off.
gwenhwyfaer
Stop being an arse crawler, I’m sure jv is big enough to stand criticism unlike yourself.
I’m just fine with valid criticism. You haven’t actually managed to produce any yet.
And for gods’ sakes, if you are going to try to bait me, please at least master the ‘reply’ button. (Or you could try to master baiting, but… I suspect you’re a dab hand at that already.)
Nice one Gwenhwyfaer!
I might vote for a moderate nihilist party…that might be fun…
Moderate nihilist Bob… now that IS an interesting concept!
I like Steve Bell: “Trotskyist Anarchist: We must Sweep Ourselves Out with an Iron Broom!”
http://incubusblog.wordpress.com/2013/06/04/some-thoughts-on-a-new-social-movement-june22nd/
Gwenhwyfaer
Is nobody posting on your own blogg so you’ve come to pick arguments on other bloggs?
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Sibrydioonmawr
The only wanker on here was gwenhwyfaer but hey thanks for your treachery.
Treachery? I never established or confirmed any loyalty, but that is a by the by. You often comment on here Guy, whining about the injustices of what is happening, which is your right, but you seem unwilling to get up off your backside and actually do anything.
When I have suggested positive things to do, you have either been sceptical of what I have suggested, which is fine, as scepticism in moderation is healthy (e.g. starting groups locally and acting locally) or haven’t been able to work out how to find a website when I unwittingly supplied a URL that let to a 404 not found page, for which I apologise, however even that 404error page had a link to the I.W,W. UK homepage, and as a subsequent commenter, apparently an I.W.W. member suggested, you could have searched using ‘any search engine on the planet’.
If you ever did find the I.W.W. website, did you actually consider joining, or did the fact that you actually have to get off your backside and do something for yourself actually put you off?. I.W.W. membership alone won’t magically change things for the better, but you do get to meet people who have seen through all the crap that’s called parliamentary democracy – though the I.W.W. is strictly non party political.
I can understand the appeal of an organisation that seeks to reform the labour movement in the UK as it would indeed be a massive undertaking to start from scratch again, but sadly that is the conclusion I have had to come to as the UK labour movement in it’s mainstream manifestation is totally beyond repair. There are millions of us being let down by the present regime, in which I include the quisling Labour politicians and mainstream trade union leaders, millions of trade union members being misled and muted and all you can do is suggest that we support the same old sell-outs once more with their latest front organisation.
You also seem to have remarkable faith in the ballot box, which is not even a lottery these days – whoever gets voted in, or not is going to screw us. I have no clue that what I suggest doing is going to work or not, as it’s not up to me, but in the area in which I live there is a healthy debate going on between would be supporters of the PA and those who are, to say the least, extremely sceptical of it. There are ‘frank exchanges of opinion’ but nonetheless we support each other’s actions. And whilst the various anti-cuts groups are fragmented, and sometimes a little suspicious of each other, we are maintaining a dialogue, and no doubt some kind of consensus will develop, and then we’ll progress. A counter demo outside the PA event on Saturday is, to my mind, a bit silly, as the Daily Mail and it’s ilk will have a field day. However, the elephant in the room is still people’s worrying faith in a front movement that will not deliver on anything it promises as it relies on the present structure to change things… and Labour forming the next government.
So, I applauded Gwenhwyfaer for sticking it to you as your question to her was supremely stupid. Also, your comment about JV’s blog post was just asking for it, as in my opinion it was a very astute and timely posting, though perhaps, (and maybe intentionally) a little late in coming. Even though it will probably be initially counter-productive, the alternative demonstration should go some way to rain on the mainstream labour movement’s attempt to stage manage people’s very real discontent, and maybe, just maybe, see the beginnings of a movement that wants real change – like actually realising that we don’t need government at all, that we can do a better job ourselves.
However, if you want to delude yourself that attending a huge rally and then marching from A to B is going to change anything, dream on, as this is your democratic right.
And by the way Guy, you still have yet to master the reply button
Reblogged this on Teesside Solidarity Movement.
May i point out also that we have a real title and guess what it isn’t ‘Claimant’. People, Human beings, unemployed, job seekers any or all of the above will do. I have noticed that lots of people like to call us claimants, because lets face it if you called us job seekers that would imply that we are not the lazy Scroungers that the label ‘Claimant’ implies but people who are actively looking for works. It’s high time this pathetic labelling stopped, we are all people made of the same skin. blood and organs just because we are all in different situations does NOT make us different, can we please remember that we are all humans, with very real feelings!!!!!
I agree it’s not perfect, but jobseekers isn’t accurate (and is their term anyway). lots of people claiming are already working or not looking for a job due to sickness/disability, young children etc
Also they call us Customer????? Um a Customer is free to walk away and shop elsewhere! Claimant implies we are not entitled to the benefits by default. Stock is what that Pickles prat called us, or was it some other tosser, they are so easy to confuse. Unit is one they are not using yet but could. Item, as in unidentified item in the bagging area. Thing. That.
Or they could call us II’s standing for Ian’s Idiots, but IDS Taskforce sounds so much more dynamic and rugged.
The Benefit Justice meeting in the same rooms came out £4000 in debt because they did not charge. The entrance to the People’s assembly meeting is £4 unwaged, and local unions and trade councils can be approached for the fares and delegates fees. I think there are FAR more important things to be demonstrating about at the moment!
argotina1….there is nothing more important than exposing opinion…ie casting light where light should be cast…the evils of meritocracy, smother free speech…the fight is for unconditional access to vitals of life….is where it is at…the politics of providing gold plated taps, is irrelevant to human beings who are being starved of vitals, to force them to provide wealth for the rich…basically there is nothing else to discuss…poverty is bad….martin luther king…ghandi….knew what was needed to be done, and did it…they took action for change…the fight is against oppression..the crime of depressing people with burden…could a mass civil rights movement of those magnitude ever emerge again? politics should never be confused, with, work against, human need for vitals, it is plain wrong, that it does so…
I agree with that Johny but I do think the word Claimant is derogatory, I feel that they should perhaps come up with a term that doesn’t stink of a Tory label is all.
claiment of entitlement…is good enough 4 now…i’ll search for something more appropriate..i’m sure the english language must be hiding a better term..
that is a bit better, but you are right there must be a better collective term for it.
I find the term “workless”, used to mean unemployed, far more derogatory and stigmatising. In fact this whole new assemblage of words designed to denigrate the unemployed is a disgrace. I must go and get a “fit note” from the doctor for this headache it’s giving me.
I see your post praises Ian Bone for drawing attention to protests outside the People’s Assembly. He and his familiar, Incubus, have heavily censored comments on this topic.
Here is a personal statement regarding the People’s Assembly inside and outside.
The way I see it there will be two flocks of sheep at the People’s Assembly. Inside the sheep will be calling for a government that will end austerity, outside the sheep will be calling for riots in protest against austerity, expressing hatred of the toffs calling for the destruction of their posh schools, universities, and so on. Inside they will be led by aspiring politicians, outside they will be led by informal but doctrinaire leaders, including the Incubonists (or Bone-cubuses), and their Social Movement. Fortunately, I am the first to have been booted out of the Social Movement, for my alleged activity as a state agent spreading misinformation, and the leader has informed of my aliases where I have allegedly tried to divert the proletariat from their historic destiny. Why not waste a moment checking out my thought crimes written under the now revealed aliases of Tod Palin, Son of Revolution, Succubus – and see how this great movement has been betrayed. (Aliases used to defeat the censors of these blogs BAMN ho ho) There will be no shortage of informants and gulags under the Social Movement.
Meanwhile there is serious work to be done. Your leader, author of the Social Movement, tells me my past radicalism cuts no ice, which is true, but reference to the past is a guide to the present, and I am involved wherever I can do the most. I am over worked in the following projects. Posts from me on these topics have been censored by the Incubonist blogs, which or course is their right.
1.We need a new source of healthcare; the NHS, which rests on Stalinist authority, is disintegrating and has lost contact with basic medical ethics. Protests against hospital closures are important but more radical solutions are urgently required. Anyone out there with imagination? And please don’t listen to your leaders calling for the destruction of universities whilst demanding more hospitals – university hospitals are essential in a modern society. One of my areas of expertise is in organ transplants and lives are being lost through an inability to meet demand. Criteria I established for harvesting organs has come under sustained attack – from the Greens on one side and proponents of market led solutions on the other – and a battle is looming. I will fight my corner both here and in the US.
2. Wealth creation ought to be a priority along with its distribution. Thatcher and her spivs were wrong when they told us that the City would produce wealth; it produced wealth for the few. Energy is the key to the creation of wealth and an end to austerity. So I am arguing for exploration into cheap energy sources (yes, this includes shale gas), which infuriates your leader who misrepresents my argument as support for the oil giants. I am arguing for attention to energy production regulated by scientific knowledge, not the political programmes of Big Green and Big oil, and of course the great climate change scam. I do have relevant scientific knowledge here, having published work on terraforming planets and collaboration with Nasa scientists. But I will never succeed in generating a serious discussion within your Social Movement.
3. I am deeply involved in the animals’ issue and propose an anarchist alternative to both opposing sides, that is: against both the animal rights and the animal welfare positions. Lots to discuss there, but then it might divert the workers from more pressing issues.
4. I am involved in prisoner’s rights, and believe I have won the argument in favour of votes for prisoners – yes, I know the bourgeois vote is of dubious value. But I have brought together arguments from Hegelian Jurisprudence and working class populism regarding punishment. Cameron is about to lose the argument and will be humiliated, which will give me pleasure.
5. Finally, I cannot accept the premises of the Social Movement. A movement based of feelings, of hate, is doomed and is incompatible with the criteria for political objectives based on human flourishing. Hate is a vice which corrupts the human spirit, as we saw in Orwell’s depiction in 1984. and in the Nazi and Stalinist death camps. Hence I cannot subscribe to a movement based on the author’s slogan: “Man has the right to deal with his oppressors by devouring their palpitating hearts.” This smacks of the atrocities committed in Syria today. Are you people seriously buying into this?
These are challenging times. Those inside the People’s Assembly and outside will have lots of opportunities to unite. You have the EDL and Farrage to combat and deny a platform for them; there are many trials coming of Muslim Paedophile gangs whom you can support outside of the courts, and there will be ample opportunities to throw bottles at police horses, or throw stones at posh cars and generally riot. Better not campaign against the snobby universities as these are heavily funded by Saudi/Islamic sources and that would be racist. Enjoy yourselves, but there are serious battles to be fought elsewhere.
This is a personal statement. I am not asking anyone to agree with me, or take up the issues I have raised. I have been committed to anarchist beliefs all my life but find it sad that the current movement has degenerated into Stalinism and censorship.
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in
front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”
G. K. Chesterton
behaviorism…is highly destructive to human wellbeing and is i believe the key to understanding where we are now..answers to unraveling the truth of the destructive force of behaviorism , can be found at dr bob truth..and also with dr alice miller….
the big lie of behaviorism is denying history…..
BROKEN BRITISH POLITICS – ARE WE APATHETIC
Cameron and his cohorts similar to Miliband and his have reached the conclusion we the General Populace are apathetic and resistant to change ,so force it upon us .Mingled within those changes are their own hidden agenda’s .Our Previous faith in voting for the Party that seemed to have suited our wishes is now long gone because of our resistance to any change .But who’s right and who’s wrong .Governments look to the Global outlook on issues we the public are quite satisfied with our daily lives without the routine being affected .
The last two years of radical change within this Country ,with more to come have upset the General Public’s normality of plodding along . Government have forced draconian Policies upon us .Where is the Happy Medium there is none until Politicians realise that they represent us and are in power for our benefit but without damaging the overall wellbeing of the Country .That I am afraid is a very long way away .
british politics is beyond repair…yes it is a drag on our energies..and seeks even more power over them….focused more and more on stripping the self esteem of the individual….awareness of what they have in mind is vital….individual resistance is where it is at….if this leads to a spontaneous throng…so be it…if contentment is, it could be worse, then we are doomed to decline..my view is it ought to be much much better than this experience…it is vital to recover self esteem…
Any chance these types of protests can be arranged up North, Manchester fore example?
I’m not sure people should be too dismissive of the Peoples’ Assembly, DPAC are one of the Organisers.
So I think we need ask DPAC for their opinon in all this yea?
OK plrease dis-regard my above comment, sorry to you Johnny.
(After emailing DPAC) Seems that DPAC were just an ‘after thought’ by the “Organisers of the Peoples’ Assembly” … >_<
what do you mean? What did dpac say?
Come on, we need more than this to go on.
DPAC are gonna post a statement on their website tomorrow. So you’ll just have to wait sorry ghost whistler
What bollocks. They didn’t make you sign of the official secrets act.
This is a joke. Sneering wankers who think they are old schol class warriors with nothing to offer.
Just that DPAC have not been part of organising the Peoples’ Assembly, as we’ve been led to believe.
Where’s this statement then?
Don’t know sorry.
OK here we are http://dpac.uk.net/2013/06/dpac-position-statement-the-peoples-assembly
While I have my concerns about the PA. I think we have to give it a chance – correction: I think we don’t have much choice but to give it a chance. But I’m certainly not going to be impressed by a third summer of promises, a third autumn of increasingly failing protests and a third subsequent spring of fuck all.
It is obvious the unions are not interested.
It is obvious that Labour has sold out.
it is obvious that the Tories are all but goading us into direct action. Every day there’s a new punch in the face for people.
So what i want from Owen and his pals, and I’ve no reason to be mean to the guy, is actual fucking action. It’s as easy to sit in a lefty talking shop and navel gaze as it is to sit and blog about how crap that is. Something somewhere has got to give.
My feeling is that, if by the end of this year, nothing has changed, it’s never going to and we will have failed us and future generations. Tell the unions to fuck off. Tell Labour to fuck off (even though Burnham is on record sas saying he will repeal the health bill), and get out there on the streets. Down tools, strike hard and strike long. That’s the only answer.
the aim is to create one united anti-austerity organisation. That’s a good idea. It would have to include Labourites, Marxists, anarchists, feminists, Greens, disabled activists, trade unions & their members – a united front against neoliberalism. We’re not going to get a new lot of activists – we have to work with what exists – and try to stop it being misled like Stop the War or Labour or Greens (see Brighton)
not everyone going is a gullible naïve fool 🙂
what happened to stop the war and the green party in brighton?
Dunno about Stop The War,
But in Brighton & Hove the elected Green party are trying to stiff Public Service Workers with a 4 grand per year pay cut….
I suppose we could all sell ‘twat a copper’ calendars like Ian Bone…that will help
We need a neuclear strike at the heart of government,ASAP.
Sibrychonmawr
Just what the hell are you going on about? I do not have to join the industrial workers of the world to show my solidarity or discontent with what is happening to the workers and non-workers of the world, nor do I sit on my arse doing nothing. You think because you run from one organization to another you are some bloody che guevara or something a real revolutionary or anarchist, sitting on your arse having one debate after another with people that disagree with one another.
Where did you get the impression that I support the same old sell outs because I think we should give a peoples assembly a chance, to have faith in the people that are wanting to change labours policies from within if that is the only viable alternative we have at the ballot box.
To say I have faith in the ballot box is something else you dreamed up about me on the spur of the moment especially as I have stated many times that the majority voters are the non-voters, but something needs to be done now to start the ball rolling and change government at the next election not twenty years from now as your proposing with the dream of an anarchist party rising from the ashes like a phoenix.
To criticize me for having a go at jv and his scepticism when you yourself thing his call for a counter demo outisde the pa is a bit silly, a bit late and counter productive smacks of double standards and hypocrisy to me.
As for Gwenhwyfaer, you welsh know how to stick together and my question to her was not silly, I notice she replied with a fuckoff how grown up of her. As for me mastering the reply button, you read my replies so I don’t see a problem with how I execute them.
She was nearly right when she replied to me as a master baiter but it should read “master Baker”, something I excel at which cannot be done on your backside and is a positive contribution I make with my hands what’s yours or hers for that matter.
So ethnic slurs is it now Guy? I’m not even sure if Gwenhwyfaer is Welsh. Neither Gwenhwyfaer or indeed I have mentioned our nationalities here, as it is immaterial.
And no, you are quite correct that you don’t have to join the I.W.W. to prove anything, I gave that as an example.
And by the way, I do not go running from one group to another, nor do I do good Che Guevara impressions, as I do not believe in vanguard parties, or leaders for that matter. I may comment on lots of things, but on the ground I am involved with very few, but I do network and when I can act in solidarity with other groups that aren’t my main interest.
Supporting the PA is in fact supporting the same old sellouts, as it is organised by Labour and Unite as well as some contributions from the Greens. There would be no point putting energy into this as all that will happen is a lot of hot air will be generated, a march from A to B and a lot of disillusioned people who would have been better off putting all that effort into building their local campaigns and networking with other campaigns working towards social justice locally and in UK as a whole.
I wish we could bring in the real changes needed in twenty years, but I suspect that it will take a lot longer than that. Even if there was a revolution, which some on here have advocated, it would be (political) business as usual again within ten years. The anarchist project has an indefinite timetable, but at the very least it does not seek to be fooled by the mainstream political bollocks, and most anarchists are saddened, but not surprised that people are falling for the same old crap once more
As for an ‘anarchist party’ that would be a bit anachronistic – but I’ll let you ponder that one.
What I do for my day job is immaterial, but suffice to say I too make a contribution, as do all workers.
Information for all those on here regarding visa debit cards who asked me about this. Please see this link
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=4419715
Thanks Bob. According to that thread it only affects NatWest savings accounts. I have a Halifax CashCard account and that has Visa Debit, and I’ve not heard of any changes there. It also states in the thread that that particular savings account appears to be being phased out, as it’s not available to nee customers. It’s very sad for those who do have the very useful debit card with that account, and surely it’s a ruse by NatWest to get the holders of those accounts to change to an account that does have a debit card – it can only be a cost-cutting excercise I would think, as there is no rational other reason.
It’s not as if it’s possible to become overdrawn with those kinds of accounts, unless one gets a bank charge with the bank
Well thats me screwed as i have a natwest savings account..so i should expect to be mugged on the streets Now..or maybe i am some low class vermin that needs to be eradicated and no longer an embarassment to natwest. Oh Wait they have my money…maybe get shot of me and spend my dosh on a Piss up
Blimey there is a moderate version of this After all..i will get links to it..hang on.
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/augustine/arch/nihilism.html
Will read that when I have an hour or two. Pity there isn’t an ‘Moderate Nihilism for Beginners’
Emotivism. Moderate Nihilism.
http://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Emotivism_as_Moderate_Nihilism.html?id=atVhPQAACAAJ&redir_esc=y
Sibrydionmawr
Your reply to me just indicates how far up your own backside you are. You talk of me being a racist because I mention you or your friend are Welsh, are you for real?
I don’t know how many times now you have accused me of sitting on my arse doing nothing, when you have no idea just what I do or don’t do, so stop making assumptions or accusations about things you know nothing about , I have already won that argument with you already anyway Mr bookman of Wales.
The difference between me and you Welshies is I may moan as do others on here about the state of political play and I may criticize jv at times, which he usually defends with his own reply so does not need you or your welsh rarebit to do it for him, but I do not tell others that they are lazy gits or tell people to f off.
Yes, I am for real, and you know it. I have to remind you that I said ‘ethnic’ slur, not racist, (though the two are somewhat related at times, however not in this case – the Welsh are not racially different from any other of the white inhabitants of these islands).
You deny you are a racist, but I was not accusing you of that, but ethnocentricity, which you have just reinforced with your latest comment. I have never said that I am Welsh, and neither has Gwenhwyfaer. I’ll let Gwenhwyfaer deal with your other comment that is both ethnically abusive as well as being misogynist.
That I use a Welsh language blog name does not of itself indicate that I am Welsh, though I do speak fluent Welsh, but then so does a close friend who hails from Richmond, North Yorkshire who always states that they are English and proud of the fact.
I must also correct your misapprehension about Gwenhwyfaer, who I do not know, and is not a friend of mine, but I would be honoured to be regarded as such by Gwenhwyfaer herself.
Far from trying to defend JV from criticism by you Guy, I was merely criticising you off my own back. JV is more than able to defend himself and indeed does not need my, or indeed the support of my alleged butty Gwenhwyfaer in this.
Way to cause an unholy row Johnny 🙂 sadly the revolution aint gonna happen. meanwhile we are stuck with an electoral system that will allow only two parties. You have to get the neo liberals out of the Labour party or give guns to the likes of me who have nothing left to lose mate. Are you going to do that?
Sibrydionmawr
Your a pontificating, politically correct bore who professes to be on the side of anarchy but has nothing to say to prove he is in any way an activist for change. You’re probably working for the council or job centre.
Throughout my life I have fought the establishment,injustices and stuck up ponces like you, so I’m not going to back away from anything you or your partner in slime have to throw at me.
ok enough now eh, everyone I mean, let’s leave out personal shit
Hey jv
Other than to call them Welsh I had said nothing of a personal nature to those two trouble makers, it was they that were calling me lazy and a wanker and to f off, but when I start insulting them back you jump in no doubt to defend them.
no, I’ve been out all day and not online, and I said everyone, personal spats make the place off putting.
JV
Have you read Gwenhwyfaer’s blogg it’s really good, but she’s taken everything too personally and gone off line. Even though she was the one that was throwing the initial insults she states that the internet is full of horrible people but being autistic that is how she probably perceives life in general but she appears to be getting stick from atos et al and I think it has pushed her over the edge.
the internet can be a grim place, hope she comes back though
why cant i post on iua site have i been sacked from that as well as i cant post on it.for some reason or i have been band from posting.
super ted
@ Super Ted
It could be the spam filter. Try using a different e-mail address (doesn’t have to be real).
FAO Super Ted
The Ipswich Unemployed Action site has been having a lot of spam recently, so it could be that their filter has been tweaked up to reject all the spam.
You could try using a different name and email address to see if that works.
Hello all i am collecting mad e petitions at the moment. Apart from ‘ bring back the workhouse ‘ and ‘force unemployed to do unpaid work’ without benefits ..i thought i would post this Which is about forcing unemployed to clean streets ..Now i am imagining 4 million street cleaners…
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/36844
The only thing I’ll be cleaning is my Blow Up Doll!
Am thinking of forming an avant-garde moderate nihilist party AGMNP anyone wanna join ? We will be needing surrealist executives to sit in on meetings candidates must have a background in metaphysical contextualisation of Derek and Clive records..and it would help if you have written essays on abstract symbolism of Noddy books..everyone welcome..except for guy fawkes who is a miserable git at the moment.
“A situation which is now out of control”
http://www.leap2020.eu/GEAB-N-76-is-available-Alert-for-the-second-half-of-2013-Global-systemic-crisis-II-second-devastating-explosion-social_a14266.html
“Before you dismiss the possibility of a 90% drop in the stock market as unrealistic, consider Wiedemer’s credentials.”
http://www.moneynews.com/MKTNews/billionaires-dump-economist-stock/2012/08/29/id/450265?PROMO_CODE=1393F-1
Not exactly unprecedented, as in the 1929 Wall Street Crash an 89% loss rate was recorded on all stocks. Though it’s a quote from a Wikipedia article, it’s a fact, and not an interpretation. The article has a very familiar ring to it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_Street_Crash_of_1929
I knew Gordon was fibbbing when he said he was presiding over the end of Boom & Bust Economics… Yeah, right.
Hmmm… ‘You only pay $47’
I’m not saying this guy’s predictions are wrong, but the style and presentation, as well as this being an extended advert does make me question his credibility somewhat, especially as some of his recommendations are almost common sense, i.e, invest in gold, (like I have a huge stash of money hidden away to invest) or to get a job in education or the public sector, producing food or basic clothing (I’m buying both a sewing machine and a spade!). Some of his other advice is also pretty obvious, like not having credit card debts, or indeed having debts at all – which anyone in our position will know only too well is wise, as even a small debt can upset the very delicate financial balance.
I’m guessing this advert is aimed largely at the US equivalent of the scared witless Daily Mail reader, and whilst his predictions may, or may not come to pass, the company selling this book stands to gain multiples of $47 that could add up to a tidy sum.
In short, a bit of a scam. The only recommendation really is that because of the failings of capitalism we should invest in,erm, capitalism.
However, it doesn’t necessarily mean that his predictions aren’t correct, though we will need to think of our own solutions to the problems thrown up if his predictions become manifest
Chewie
I would have replied to your goading in my usual sarcastic way had I still been awake, but some of us like to sleep at night, we’re not all vampires.
Guy you can be fun sometimes ..i will pencil in a diary Which days you are
Chewie
I suppose your a barrel of laughs all the time too, but like other people on here your happiest are when attacking me, that’s fine I can take it the problem is you lot can’t.
there will be no socialist crusaders to come to our rescue…they are long gone….appealing to the morals of the immoral is futile…there is but 1 problem…poverty…ie conditionality attached to the receipt of human vitals needs is evil and immoral and it must stop…the 1st job of the PA against austerity…is to end poverty…not talk about, it but do it…
i do not want better debt management schemes, nor kinder bailiffs, nor workshops on how to live on fcuk all….i do want a fact sheet on where it is best to put my energies to effectively, end poverty…i want some sort of quality of life..not continuously spinning round in circles, trying to save a penny, and trying to keep benefits and a roof over my head…and wasting my vital energies in so doing..
We had a very similar converstaion last night with mates, after the Blondie gig, OBD.
Elements of the conversation went to the tune of the 500 grand golden handshake the union boss was granted upon retirement, just that figure alone could have set each of us up for life, and one very astute comment regarding the argument that Royalist supporters make, regarding keeping and funding the monarchy- where as they say its good value for each and every one of us to pay (i cant remember the exact figure but for illustrative purposes ill say 49 pence) every year
My mate said, give him that amount, just once, and he would be more than set. Those greedy fucking bastards keep taking those X amount of pence off each of us and keep coming back every fucking year for more
ulysses…heart of glass
It was fuckin’ great, though slightly disturbing, watching a pensioner gyrating in front of a sell out crowd in a short orange dress 😀 .
Loved that she / the band played homage to Liverpool with songs from the Beatles and a crackin’ cover of FGTH’s Relax
ulysses…yeah i get your drift man…;-)
ps i’ll put me glasses on 🙂
Overburdendonkey
“The first job of the PA is to end poverty not talk about it.” I totally agree, but someone has to talk to organize how they intend to end poverty.
fawkes..
no they do not…end conditionality, is all that is required atm…then increase benefits…end bed tax..sack 3rd party contractor involvement, in governments..
here’s something for you to read overburdendonkey – a lot of so called left views newstatesman.com/2013/04/did-left-win-twentieth-century
http://www.newstatesman.com/2013/04/did-left-win-twentieth-century
fawkes…i am not interest in left wing views…i am interested in a socially cooperative society..of the acknowledgement that before all else can happen and human beings can become human beings ie not crushed by oppression, 1st all vitals must be unconditionally met…food clothes shelter and decent health care…core human values…i used to be a highly skilled tradesman…a diagnostic expert…it was always to cure problem ie get to the root causes of problem..not cure by denial…no one will disagree with me at the PA..the 1st job is to end poverty…you are a baker..you know exactly how to produce baking perfection, it almost becomes intuitive…by application of skills to solve problem….it now requires the application of skills to end poverty..produce a fact sheet for me to action, set out goals that will achieve the cure, if i disagree i will say…but they must listen, no more one way valves, the key focus is in communication, followed by action…job done..
i’ve also just seen your reply to my preceding post..so strip out of this one what is no longer applicable in light of it…
I agree with all of those proposals to end poverty unfortunately the 3 main parties do not, so a lot more pressure needed by those joining the peoples assembly. As you said on Tom’s blogg the bedroom tax is the new mansion tax which all parties concur on it seems.
Copied this from another forum.
“HM Government e-petition
Save UK Justice
Responsible department: Ministry of Justice
The MOJ should not proceed with their plans to reduce access to justice by depriving citizens of legal aid or the right to representation by the Solicitor of their choice.
http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/48628
Another seven thousand signatures will force a parliamentary debate.”
Annos
I did sign the epetition, but have little faith in British justice with or without legal representation as most cases are cut and dried before anyone even enters the courtroom.
guy fawkes,
Sadly, I fear you are very near the truth there!!!.
Everyone should read this…
Annos
It is disgraceful that they are penalizing those that live in high rent areas or with larger families, but also in households that take in lodgers that may end up out of work and cannot contribute to the rent, yet their income will also be taken into consideration when calculating HOUSEHOLD income or so I’ve been told, your table does not show this.
The cap does not take into account the outgoings people have either or if council tax benefit is going to be capped at will also.
fawkes..
they are obscene….
can you post a link to gwens blog please..
PS and of course it will cost more if they are re-housed in bed and breakfast accommodation, but with repatriation of civil and human rights laws from Europe the govt may even renege on providing a roof. It’s like we’re living in a kind of twilight zone not knowing what they are going to throw at us next in the name of welfare reform and austerity.
Job done for the moneyed class, Guy-
one family in B&B,means more ability to pick pocket the public purse with the extra costs incurred.
Its fuck all to do with tax payer value for money, apart from appearance sake.
ulysses..
that’s spot on…make money from human suffering whilst claiming one is helping them, whilst setting the system up somewhere else to cause…the suffering in the 1st place, and dump blame on victim..for not getting it right in the 1st place, by this that or the other..
Bobchewie calls them “Poverty Pimps”
Its a perfect description
overburdendonkey
Only gwen’s blog I can find are businesses do you have a full web address.
fawkes
yeah, ok i’ve got those..i thought she may have, a dpac blog or something, thanks any way…
Ulysses
How can they get round the benefits cap though to pick the public purse of the amount they charge or will the homeless person have to find the extra themselves because they are only allowed so much housing benefit when the cap is applied? Will this leave the homeless family with nowhere they can afford to live especially with the localism bill.
Guy, when i was in the hostel, many folk often cocked up with paying the Service Charge element of being in a hostel due to sanctions, debt or adictions. The ones that didn’t end up back on the streets were given the choice to get themself to another Stonham Group placement in Blackburn, 20 odd mile away from here.
20 odd mile away from family, friends, support networks etc…
So regards your point, its conceivable that the family would be expected to make up any short fall?
The alternative? Horrendous, i’d imagine
Accommodation in Manchester / Lancs / Blackburn etc would or should never come near the Benefit Cap amount, so i could fully believe the heartless bastards around The Smoke wouldn’t think twice about issuing a train ticket and sending the poor sods up here?
DPAC have now issued a position statement on the People’s Assembly: http://p.ost.im/dgfP47
They don’t sound too impressed either jv, but if they attend individually they may be surprised – wishful thinking.
i cannot find the radio iplayer link…to 22/6/13 todays pa’s speechs…is there one?
Pingback: Reportage: The Peoples Assembly 22nd June 2013 (updated 24th June)
AT WPP SOMEWHERE IN IPSWICH—–SPOTTED ADVISOR ON IUA SITE. WRITING A POST. SORRY DON’T KNOW WHAT NAME THEY USED. DID NOT HANG AROUND LONG ENOUGH. DID NOT WANT A SANCTION