Menu

November 2007

baduel-small.jpg

Venezuela: counterrevolution raises its head – Heinz Dieterich and General Baduel – Part One

The Marxists have long argued that the only way forward for the
Venezuelan revolution is to strike blows against the
counterrevolutionary bourgeoisie, by expropriating the bankers,
landlords and capitalists, etc. However, there are other voices saying
rather different things. One of the most persistent of these voices is
that of Heinz Dieterich, who has been waging a noisy campaign in favour
of what he calls "Socialism of the XXI Century" – a strange kind of
socialism indeed in that it differs very little from capitalism.

flag-of-scotland.jpg

SNP – Tartan Tories are back with avengance

In last May’s Scottish
Parliament elections the Scottish National Party (SNP) emerged victorious as voters
wilted under increasing attacks and cuts in public services – already threadbare
after the Thatcher Tory years – by the New Labour-Liberal coalition. Socialist Appeal carried
in-depth Marxist analysis at the time when
we predicted an SNP victory and the factors that had made it possible. 

veil.jpg

Multiculturalism – what is it and will it survive?

Multiculturalism is again under attack. And it’s not just from the BNP, but members of
New Labour. Following the bombings on London in 2005 Ruth
Kelly and David Blunkett called for a ‘British
identity’. Jack Straw asked women Muslims in his constituency
to remove their veils (the niqab), as he feels uncomfortable with
them. The  chair of the Commission for  Equalities and Human Rights has urged for
integration as a way forward, "to stop us from sleep walking into segregation".

lenin_the_new_brush1.jpg

Audi File: Marxism and the National Question

At a meeting in London recently Linda Clarke of the Socialist Appeal talks about Marxism in relation to the national Question. Linda talks about the history and evolution of the nation state, the meaning of bourgeois nationalism, and deals with the particular circumstances of the national question in relation to Scotland, Ireland and the position of the Marxists during the Falklands war.

hospitalbed1.jpg

Hospital super-bugs – Privatisation kills

The Health Care Commission accused the Kent and Sussex NHS Trust of
"significant failings in infection control" after 90 patients were
known to have died of the super-bug "Clostridium difficile" in three of
its hospitals last year. Kent police and the Health and
Safety Executive are considering the unprecedented action of pressing
manslaughter charges against the Trust.

pro-chavez-woman.jpg

Hands off Venezuela Conference 2007

This weekend supporters of the Venezuelan revolution will gather at the
University of London Union for the Hands off Venezuela National
conference. Speakers from Venezuela will include  Guadalupe Rodriguez from the Coordinadora Simon Bolivar and Nelson Rodriguez from the Factory Committee at Inveval. Show your
solidarity with the revolutionary events taking place in Venezuela and
throughout Latin America – book your place today!

labour80slogo.gif

When Labour went left

In 1970, just like today, the Labour Party seemed dead from
the neck up. After six years of desperately disappointing government, Labour
had been unceremoniously bundled out of office. The Tories were back, aiming to
put the boot in to the working class.

patientnurserex_228x208.jpg

PFI – stop them killing off the NHS!

We have now had more than a decade of Private Finance Initiative
involvement in the health service. Despite Labour pouring money into
hospitals and health care, more and more health trusts are reporting
deficits. PFI is sucking the NHS dry!

austria-join_the_party.jpg

Join the Party! – Hundreds celebrate 90th anniversary of Russian Revolution in Vienna

On Saturday the "Der
Funke" Marxist tendency organised a big event with Trotsky’s grandson, Esteban
Volkov, as special guest, to commemorate and celebrate the 90th anniversary of
the 1917 Russian Revolution. Around 200 people came to listen to the speeches in
defence of "Red October" and between 400-500 celebrated all night long at the
party that was organised after the meeting.

basque_tour_ireland.jpg

Ireland: Basque Marxist speaks at meetings of socialist republicans

A Basque Marxist was
on a speaking tour of the North of Ireland at the end of October. He spoke to
audiences in Belfast, Strabane and Derry mainly composed of republican socialists, but not
only. There was keen interest in seeing how the experience of the Basque
situation could be applied to the North of Ireland, and vice versa. We make
available here a report, originally published in The Plough, the journal of the
Irish Republican Socialist Party.

1 2 3 4