<div>Uri see Fiona's comments below aswell as mine. </div>
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<div>As usual we cannot ignore Shakespeare, for surely it is HIS anti-semitism via Shylock's words you are connecting with and then making an awfully big assumption over!! People use words from art all the time so please don't jump to such unwarranted conclusions</div>
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<div>Folks, A World to Win are a good bunch and their politics are consistently good. I know their core group well, and worked with them closely and to my satisfaction in the past (2006) and have stayed in ongoing contact and mutual support ever since. We set out the need for a Peoples Assembly based revolution in 2006 and the present call out and sign up request is a natural progression from that and all the work they're been doing since. Read their excellent blog and website to see their politics and organisational skills are good. They are the best people I know to help steward the revolution and their work also appeals to non die hard activsts which is a great sign. They are quite theoretical, but at the same time they get stuck in at demos. </div>
<div> </div>
<div>About your concern regarding centralisation, perhaps their org will need cracking open (as we all, if we hook in, find ways to fully democratise it) but surely that is no reason to assume they are wrong. Rather that must be something we need to bring to the 1st Peoples Assembly held under the call out. So thank you for flagging it. </div>
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<div>From my side their commitment to "the democratisation of all spheres of life" is enough and we just need to push that forward at each step to ensure the real democracy / anarcho communist movement, when it actually emerges from (potentially their endeavour) absolutely embodies the equality that must come with such sentiments. But surely there is nothing at all wrong with a *relatively* democratic group getting the movement ball rolling, as long as we deal with the issue of centralisation at each stage in the process? </div>
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<div>Best practice will emerge in communities as long as worst practice and with the web Trotsky becomes far less of a possibility as are all able to keep tabs on what's being said by whom on whose behalf and then deal with it. Suggest people sign up and help them help us get the show on the road - we all have to be in it to win it, so lets unite over this and see what happens. For in this time of extraordinary potential, I strongly believe that even failure, with the right ideals in mind will seem as a huge step in the right direction, and hardly catastrophic in sofar as it will show us how to do it perfectly the next time.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>"A Peoples Art is the Genesis of their Freedom"</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Mark</div>
<div> </div>
<div class="gmail_quote">---------- Forwarded message ----------<br>From: <b class="gmail_sendername">Fiona Harrington</b> <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:Fiona.Harrington@brunel.ac.uk" target="_blank">Fiona.Harrington@brunel.ac.uk</a>></span><br>
Date: 11 June 2010 11:22<br>Subject: RE: [project2012] Re: AWTW, centralism and antisemitism<br>To: <a href="mailto:project2012@googlegroups.com" target="_blank">project2012@googlegroups.com</a><br><br><br>Are you seriously insinuating that those who coined the phrase "Financiers have already had their pound of flesh" (which is true enough) are anti-semitic and thus are being deliberately offensive?<br>
Why are you assuming that anybody reading that line would automatically assume that it is anti-semitic? Or again why do you so readily assume that the word "financiers" is code for Jews? Or is it the combination with the "pound of flesh" mataphor, or what? I mean you would agree wouldn't you, that there are financiers of every shape, colour, gender and religion in the world who have had their "pound of flesh" or who are in expectation of reaping the 'reward' of their greed. It is of course the capitalist system itself within which financiers are major players, that is at the back of our woes in any case - I am sure you would agree with that!<br>
<br>Fiona<br><br><br>________________________________<br><br>From: <a href="mailto:project2012@googlegroups.com" target="_blank">project2012@googlegroups.com</a> on behalf of <a href="mailto:uri@riseup.net" target="_blank">uri@riseup.net</a><br>
Sent: Fri 11/06/2010 6:51 AM<br>To: Deborah Phelan<br>Cc: Mark Barrett; <a href="mailto:project2012@googlegroups.com" target="_blank">project2012@googlegroups.com</a>; <a href="mailto:campaignforrealdemocracy@lists.aktivix.org" target="_blank">campaignforrealdemocracy@lists.aktivix.org</a>; <a href="mailto:self-propelled-community-organisations@googlegroups.com" target="_blank">self-propelled-community-organisations@googlegroups.com</a>; <a href="mailto:buildinglocalgroups@lists.riseup.net" target="_blank">buildinglocalgroups@lists.riseup.net</a>; <a href="mailto:democracyvillage@googlemail.com" target="_blank">democracyvillage@googlemail.com</a>; <a href="mailto:election-meltdown-activists-group@googlegroups.com" target="_blank">election-meltdown-activists-group@googlegroups.com</a>; climateorg copenhagen; <a href="mailto:peopleincommon@lists.riseup.net" target="_blank">peopleincommon@lists.riseup.net</a><br>
Subject: [project2012] Re: AWTW, centralism and antisemitism<br>
<div>
<div></div>
<div><br><br><br><br>Not irrelevant, just despicable.<br><br>Trotskyist front groups like AWTW regularly promote themselves with such<br>copycat ploys, sucking the energy out of the real movement.<br><br>Their use of overtly antisemitic language ("Financiers have already had<br>
their pound of flesh") is extremely offensive.<br><br>Uri<br><br><br><br>Deborah Phelan wrote:<br>> Am i reading this correctly? That this post is not relevant in this group?<br>><br>><br>><br>> On Thu, Jun 10, 2010 at 7:39 AM, Mark Barrett<br>
> <<a href="mailto:marknbarrett@googlemail.com" target="_blank">marknbarrett@googlemail.com</a>>wrote:<br>><br>>> Great initiative from AWTW, please distribute widely:<br>>><br>>> *Build People's Assemblies*<br>
>> A World to Win urges communities to unite to defeat the attacks by the<br>>> Conservative-Lib Dem coalition government on public services and living<br>>> standards already under way.<br>>><br>>> Tens of thousands of public and private sector workers will lose their<br>
>> jobs<br>>> and local communities be deprived of vital services unless we come<br>>> together<br>>> to defeat the government.<br>>><br>>> What Cameron and Clegg call the 'national interest' in reality means<br>
>> doing<br>>> what's right by the bankers and speculators who are responsible for the<br>>> global crisis in the first place.<br>>><br>>> We should reject the spending cuts altogether. Financiers have already<br>
>> had<br>>> their pound of flesh, with taxpayers' bailing out the banks when they<br>>> collapsed after running up enormous debts.<br>>><br>>> The greatest economic and financial crisis since the 1930s is the<br>
>> responsibility of capitalist corporations and bankers. They have<br>>> forfeited<br>>> the right to run the world.<br>>><br>>> Parliament won't defend us and New Labour is equally responsible for the<br>
>> disaster. So A World to Win suggests that we create a network of<br>>> People's<br>>> Assemblies to unite communities.<br>>><br>>> People's Assemblies will represent ordinary people's interests, whether<br>
>> they are young or old, in work or unemployed, in the public or private<br>>> sector, trade unionists, students, minorities and community groups<br>>> resisting<br>>> the cuts.<br>>><br>>> The Assemblies will also look beyond a failed economic system where<br>
>> profit<br>>> and speculation comes first and towards building a true democracy in<br>>> place<br>>> of the sham one we live under now.<br>>><br>>> *Register*<br>>> Register your support for a People's Assembly in your area and together<br>
>> we<br>>> can defeat the coalition and change the world.<br>>> <a href="http://www.aworldtowin.net/frontline/BuildPeoplesAssemblies.html" target="_blank">http://www.aworldtowin.net/frontline/BuildPeoplesAssemblies.html</a><br>
>><br>>><br>>> -.-.- Climate Justice Action Network International Coordination List<br>>> -.-.<br>>> POST TO LIST: <a href="mailto:climate09-int@lists.riseup.net" target="_blank">climate09-int@lists.riseup.net</a><br>
>> UNSUBSCRIBE: send a blank email to<br>>> <a href="mailto:climate09-int-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net" target="_blank">climate09-int-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net</a><br>>> LISTKEEPERS: <a href="mailto:climate09-int-editor@lists.riseup.net" target="_blank">climate09-int-editor@lists.riseup.net</a><br>
>><br>>><br>>><br>>><br>>><br>>><br>>><br>>><br>>><br>>><br>><br>><br>> --<br>> "You have construction workers who are idle, and they're going to be idle<br>
> for twelve months, twenty-four months, thirty-six months. They're not<br>> going<br>> to be able to build anything. Let them rebuild everything. We have people<br>> coming home from wars, coming home from prisons, coming out of high school<br>
> with no job prospects whatsoever. Let us connect the people who most need<br>> work with the work that most needs to be done." Van Jones<br>><br><br><br></div></div>--<br>You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Project2012" group.<br>
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"We hear men speaking for us of new laws strong and sweet /Yet is there no man speaketh as we speak in the street.” <br>