People's Assembly Against Austerity

True, Galen! And I think there was a bit of "own blog promoting" going on too, which is against the rules.

It is just seekers posts that were deleted. They seemed to be trying to start up lots of different silly political parties!
Very silly
And worse, very boring!

NO ! Seeker !!

Nonu Who's OTT - Sunseeker?

I think kt's Seeker's threads that have been deleted, not sunseeker's. Unless they are one and the same?

ELOE> bit OTT ??

I'm pleased this thread was re-started as I hadn't seen it previously.

I realise that Nonu but I wondered in what way. It appears there are several posts by Sunseeker that have been deleted on other threads.

It was going against G/n guidelines !!

Thanks Greatnan.

That is good to hear, Eleothan. More power to your elbows!

I don't know why Seeker's post was deleted but, having seen the thread resurrected, I'd like to report that the People's Assembly was a great success.

In East London, we had a subsequent gathering of around 300 in Whitechapel, and our local group is up and running. The idea is to bring together like-minded left-of-centre people who are dissatisfied with the poor representation given to those (and there are many) who feel that there are alternatives to the current austerity policies that are impacting ordinary people rather than those who caused the financial crisis.

Message deleted by Gransnet for breaking our forum guidelines. Replies may also be deleted.

Emeothan I completely agree with your sentiments in your last two posts.

Hi Blueskies, sorry for the delay in coming back to you, I have been away. Thanks for the invite but I won't be able to make it. I look after the grandchildren during the week.

Thanks again.

SUPERNAN and MICeELF

Will you be in London on the 21st June? Would you care to join other Gransnets for a bite to eat and a chat ahead of the Assembly?
Please send me a private message.

I'm hoping to be there too.

You certainly started off some debate there Eloethan!! I'll be there on 22nd June.

Movedalot re your comment "perhaps the thread will now die, as so often happens when challenges are made". There are 6 pages on this thread, and there has been challenge and counter-challenge throughout, covering a wide range of opinion. Nobody has, as you have implied, "backed off" in the face of a challenge. It is merely that the exchange of opinions are becoming repetitious and it would seem the debate has reached its natural conclusion.

POGS, Notso and Sel Well said all of you. Perhaps the thread will now die as so often happens when challenges are made?

Surely we all want the same thing - fairness and that those who can't support themselves are supported by those who can? Simplistically, that means society generates the means to do so. What we are arguing about is who uses tax payers' money in the best way. I would argue that the last Labour Government didn't, it created a benefit culture, a dependent electorate that it could call upon. I can't remember who said they read the DM online to get an idea of what 'middle England' thinks but actually there is no need to do so, speak to people, understand how people who work in business think and how different the culture perpetrated by the last Government is from that mindset. In the private sector there have been multiple redundancies and wages freezes over the last five years. Now benefit increases are to be capped at 1% and the Public sector are facing similar job cuts. But no efficiencies. No accountability. Public sector pensions are still gold plated whereas the private sector aren't. So, personally, I don't think this is fair. It isn't fair to those who create companies, who generate the wealth, who provide the taxes to pay the benefits.

Communism as an ideal has never worked. Tony Benn is a joke. Replicating the Jarrow March is an insult to those who marched in the 30s. The economy is global now, not even European. If we are to provide jobs for your grandchildren we have to stop this retrograde nonsense and realise that we have to compete, globally. Educating our children and their children the way we are isn't working - others are hungry and prepared to work and compete against us. Wake up. You don't need more benefits, you need less.

When so many of the financial difficulties we are now experiencing have arisen from leigislation/policies/procedures during the past couple of decades, I'm a bit puzzled by references to what this government is doing wrong.
That's not to say that I'm in favour of some of the decisions currently being made, but I've never felt that the extreme polarity of much political debate is helpful.
Both main political parties have mucked things up. Both have made decisions that have adverse effects upon some vulnerable sections of society. (Difficult decisions for difficult times, blah, blah)
As free thinking individuals, of course we'll all have different views. I just wish somebody would come up with a Middle of the Road Party so we could all pull in vaguely the same direction and get things more sorted.
Who could we have as Leader of a Middle of the Road Party?

Greatnan

I could not care one happeth whether or not YOU are left wing, communist or a Monster Raving Loony. Neither I or any other GN has called you a 'communist' for heavens sake.

If you, seriously, require a definition of the terms 'left wing' and 'communist', as you have said, then may I refer you to your suggestion to NONU, "If you google a word you will find the definition".

It has been factually reported that the 'Assembly' is a left wing meeting, including members of the Communist Party. What was wrong in that? This factual reporting has in turn created posts where I deemed the poster to be 'upset', hence the wording in my last post. An example would be your post where you wrote "I wonder why the words 'communist' or 'left wing' are never defined but just used in a derogatory fashion" ?. Another was "We could do without our efforts to bring about a fairer society being labelled communist".

I genuinely do not understand how or why or what has made posters feel that other GN's have been directly calling another a communist. I have read the thread over again and I am still at a loss as to why the word communist used in a form which relates to a group/meeting has been taken out of context and has been assumed to be injurious on a personal level to any GN, by another GN. There seems to be an irony about this.

I am sure you have Greatnan, as have we all.

I am sure I have posted some ways in which the government wastes money in previous threads.