Some friends and comrades, that I have had the real good fortune and pleasure of meeting, not in the flesh you understand but over the Internet during the last couple or so years, have decided we should endeavour to start a socialist discussion forum - The Socialist Commune, a name which we democratically arrived at between ourselves.
What is the Socialist Commune?"
That's a really good question to ask, and the best answer would be to reproduce our opening, welcoming statement for your perusal.
The Forum
The Socialist Commune Group, is a friendly Internet discussion group, set-up, for the exchange and the furtherance of socialists ideas, that well help the nurturing of progress, growth and acceptance of 'socialism' as a viable alternative to capitalism.
Socialist Commune is none-aligned and welcomes all members from the Labour and Trade Union broader movement, benefiting from the broad river of ideas and many varying views held within the movement.
Socialist Commune exists not to tell you what to think, but hear what you and others have to say.
Threads can be started by any members, and others can join in with their own take and contribution - all we ask that comrades at all times respect one another in a sprite befitting what we as socialists vigorously advocate, the long-awaited commencement of social sanity throughout the world!"
What do we hope to accomplish and achieve?"
Well this is not about personable goals of any kind, and we think that the above statement say's it all in a tone of extended comradeship and common political sociability.
But obversely we desire to examine the world it's events and the general political developments around us, and who knows, try as we can to make some sense, a general conscious awareness of it all. During the last three years and indeed before that the world has been a really unstable and volatile place for countless millions, evaporating readily as normal temperatures and pressures explode, bursting with violence, people being set-upon by their rulers who don't without any hesitation use para-militarist and military ground forces.
Libya
Muammar Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, has now vowed to fight to the end in a speech broadcast live on state television, amid one of the fiercest NATO air strikes on Tripoli by western capitalism. NATO officials have warned for days that they were increasing the scope and intensity of their two-month campaign to oust Gaddafi after more than 40 years in power. The Obama administration has dismissed complaints that it is violating the US Constitution and the War Powers Act in waging an undeclared war against Libya without seeking or obtaining congressional authorization. This open defiance of any legal restraint on presidential war-making is the culmination of a long process of decay of American democracy, extending over many decades.
Republic of Yemen
In the Yemen the Navy and its Royal Marines are on standby of the coast at the ready to evacuate UK citizens as clashes in the country continue, there has been much violence between so-called rebel groups seeking the removal of President Ali Abdullah and his loyal forces.
Syria
Syria's harsh and stagnant dictatorship of president Bashar al-Assad, son of Hafez al-Assad, who ruled with an iron hand for three decades before his death in 2000. Is not immune to the wave of unrest that has swept through the Arab world after the revolution in Tunisia after which came Egypt. As if the middle east was on fire has been the impression given, although in the west this news is given very little and half-length space in prominence.The besieged regime has threatened to carry out a military crackdown against the town of Jisr al-Shughour in the Northwest of the country near the Turkish border, after claiming on Monday that “armed gangs” killed 120 members of the security forces there over the weekend.
The US has edged closer to a policy of regime-change. Last Thursday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told a press conference in Washington, “The legitimacy that is necessary for anyone to expect change to occur under this current government is, if not gone, nearly run out.”
On going Crisis
For many life is very short; our leaders tell us how to live, and yet many end up dead in unimaginable circumstances, none of us have ever known a world at peace with itself. Always wars or talk of it daily, then is it any wonder that many walk past it on the other side, not giving a second thought, heads down as they battle and struggle to keep afloat themselves.
Somehow this old world keeps on turning is a real wonder when you consider the environmental damage, which as it seems is an inconvenient question.
More damage has been done to the natural environment by human action during the last hundred years than in any previous period in recorded history. The list of problems is endless and growing, global warming, air and water pollution, depletion of the ozone layer, acid rain, deforestation, loss of species and biodiversity, over-fishing, the hunting of certain animals to extinction, The disposal of nuclear and other waste, and the consequences of population growth. these are not separate problems - they are more or less cumulative and mutually influential.
What kind of world will our descendants be living in a century from now? Will it feature much technological change without being basically different from today? Or will humankind have seen far-reaching changes big enough to be called a real revolution?
At present, the capitalist system - the structures that control our lives, the ways of thinking and behaving that perpetuate the status quo - dominate the world. The system appears stronger than ever, environmental degradation and so - remain resolved. But if history is any guide, capitalism won't last forever.
The 'socialist commune' is not about forecasting the future - we hope it will be a contribution to building that future, through the exchange and contributors of ideas in debate, what it is is what the contributors make of it, we hope the cross-fertilisation of ideas and fresh minds to how we can build and improve our real battle for the future and above all else socialism!"
You can join the group here:
Socialist Commune