Lights off for 100 year centenary of start of WW1!!!

[steve colborn]

http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/local/all-news/lights-out-candlelit-vigil-in-seaham-to-commemorate-start-of-first-world-war-1-6732451

My reply to this article;

Is this a joke? If anything, the lights should all be turned on, to highlight the futility of this pointless War, with it's concomitant slaughter and carnage. A generation of young men were sacrificed so that Britain and France, amongst others, could maintain their monopoly on their colonial holdings. with the mineral wealth they included.
I do not believe that anyone is delusional enough to still believe that WW1 was fought for freedom and democracy. Not all of those fighting had the vote, and lest we forget, this was not a totally voluntary participation on the part of large sections of the British army. The punitive punishments meted out to those who decided "not to participate", making a mockery of the claim to be "fighting for freedom"!
I will make sure that at the appointed time, "all" of the lights in my home will be turned on!!!
The "war to end all war"? don't make me laugh. We live in Capitalism, war is as natural a consequence of this system, as economic crisis and the sooner we, the majority, grasp this fact, the sooner we will finally be on the path to consigning war and it's cause, the competitive nature of Capitalism, to the dustbin of history!!!

[SocialistPunk]

Steve, I was pleasantly surprised to see someone taking an anti war stance on the comment section of the story you highlight.I had expected to see a load of comments having a go at you for daring to tell it like it is. I signed up yesterday, so I might leave a comment.

[steve colborn]

These comment sections on local letters pages are well worth Socialists using and persevering with. Moreover, you would be surprised at the amount of favourable comments on different topics! I'd urge all comrades to give them a go.

[Anonymous]

Here's a couple of recent articles on WW1 that might interest SPGBers;'The Truth Behind Britain’s Rush to War, 1914' – Douglas Newton 'How Did the First World War Actually End?' – Paul Mason'How the Working Class Stopped the First World War' – Mark Hayes'A Huge Sprawling Giant' – Milan Rai'World War One and 100 Years of Counter-Revolution' – Mark KosmanVladimir Putin's recent speech about the heroes of WW1 is also worth reading, if only for the telling sentence:'But this victory [i.e. of Russia in WW1] was stolen from our country. It was stolen by those who called for the defeat of their homeland and army, who sowed division inside Russia and sought only power for themselves, betraying the national interests.'

[ALB]

beler1 wrote:

Vladimir Putin's recent speech about the heroes of WW1 is also worth reading, if only for the telling sentence:'But this victory [i.e. of Russia in WW1] was stolen from our country. It was stolen by those who called for the defeat of their homeland and army, who sowed division inside Russia and sought only power for themselves, betraying the national interests.'

I see he really did say that ! In fact the whole of his speech is really terrible. You wouldn't think he was talking about the Tsarist regime. Another extract:

Quote:

The Russian army’s great values and the heroic experience of the generation who fought in World War I played a big part in our people’s spiritual and moral upsurge at that moment. This was a generation that was fated to go through not just the difficult trials of the first global world war, but also the revolutionary upheaval and fratricidal civil war that split our country and changed its destiny.But their feats and their sacrifices in Russia’s name were forgotten for long years. World War I itself, which the rest of the world calls the Great War, was erased from our country’s history and was labelled simply ‘imperialist’. Today, we are restoring the historical truth about World War I and are discovering countless examples of personal courage and military skill, and the true patriotism of Russia’s soldiers and officers and the whole of Russian society. We are discovering the role Russia played in that difficult and epoch-changing time for the world, especially in the pre-war years. And what we see reflects very clearly the defining features of our country and our people.Russia over many centuries supported strong and trusting relations between countries. This was the case on the eve of World War I too, when Russia did everything it could to convince Europe to find a peaceful and bloodless solution to the conflict between Serbia and Austro-Hungary. But Russia’s calls went unheeded and our country had no choice but to rise to the challenge, defend a brotherly Slavic people and protect our own country and people from the foreign threat.    Russia stayed true to its duties as an ally. The Russian offensives in Prussia and Galicia upset the adversary’s plans and made it possible for our allies to hold the front and defend Paris. The enemy was forced to turn its attention and direct a large part of its forces east where Russian regiments put up the fiercest possible struggle. Russia withstood the attack and was then able to launch an offensive. The Brusilov offensive became famous throughout the whole world.But this victory was stolen from our country. It was stolen by those who called for the defeat of their homeland and army, who sowed division inside Russia and sought only power for themselves, betraying the national interests.

Up until 1990 people in Russia were taught that WW1 was an "imperialist" war (as it was). Now it is in the interest of the current ruling class there to "revise" this and present this war as a heroic, nation(alist) episode. We hold no brief for the Bolsheviks (quite the opposite) but they were right on this point (as were the Menshevik Internationalists too).

[Anonymous]

  Putin is a politician and like all politicians he is  an opportunist liar and a  professional bullshitter  

[rodshaw]

We should get t-shirts made with that on incorporating the names of all the major political parties. Might win us more converts than actually arguing our case!

[ALB]

After Putin another bull-shitter. The August 4-10 Big Issue carries a three-page article defending the First World War by John Bird, "Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Big Issue":http://www.bigissue.com/features/4204/john-bird-the-necessary-warAs is well-known he's a pompous and pontificating ass and he lives up to his reputation. Pity the poor sods obliged to sell this and pity those who bought it thinking they were helping the homeless but found instead that they were re-inforcing pro-war propaganda (both that.of 1914-18 and of today).Having said that the same issue containing our usual ad stating:

Quote:

The Socialist Party aims at building a moneyless world community based on common ownership and democratic control with production solely for use not profit. It opposes all leadership, all war.

[ALB]

There was actually quite a good reply (along side two other letters praising Bird's bullshit) in the next issue:

Quote:

The official World War One fanfare represents a tragic smokescreen about the contradictory truths of this devastating war. I am the grandson of a Sikh soldier who left home in north India to fight for Britain and its allies in France in World War One.There is no honour in World War One, except heroism of civilians and soldiers. World War One was an extension of the murky politics of Europe's competing governments, heads of state and rulers, in endeavoui to get a bigger slice of the global cake. Millions of civilians and hundreds of thousands of British, European, Sikh, Gurkha, Indian and African soldiers we used as military fodder to further the interests of the elite.Decision-makers sat back in their capitals and secure hide-outs while ordinary people bore bombings, starvation and death. Civilians and soldiers were ordered to fight to secure territory for their masters. Jagdeesh Singh, Sikh Community Action Network.

 

[Anonymous]

ALB wrote:

After Putin another bull-shitter. The August 4-10 Big Issue carries a three-page article defending the First World War by John Bird, "Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Big Issue":

Not that surprising considering the muddle-headed Bird was not only an erstwhile member of the WRP back in the 70's but also stood for election as an independent candidate to the post of Mayor of London back in 2007.

[Author]

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