Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets to
mark the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, and to stand against the
ongoing occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. These demonstrations come as the
US is piling the pressure on its NATO allies to commit more troops, and send
more into combat on the front line.
Margaret Thatcher was recently asked what she regarded as
her legacy. She replied with a smile, “Tony Blair”.
As world capitalism lurches into a deepening economic crisis
and world stock markets tumble, members of the Brown government, the continuers
of Blairism and New Labour, are more eager than ever to extol the virtues of millionaire
capitalism.
On Wednesday 19th March . 19 Labour MPs voted against the plan with the
Tory hypocrites and many more abstained. Some voted out of principle
and some to save their miserable hides at the next election. For this is
a plan that nobody (except the jackals of big business) wants. Four
million signed the petition to save the post offices. They were ignored.
The government is now recommending the county councils take over the
threatened branches. They are commemorating Easter by imitating Pontius
Pilate. The fight is still on to stop this vandalism.
Three years ago Peter Doyle the Regional Officer
for UNISON in Carlisle pulled off a huge victory in terms of Equal Pay for Work
of Equal Value worth potentially £340 million. The amount was so big partly
because the case had dragged on for years and also because the extent to which
the 1,500 women had been underpaid. Trade union struggles are often complex and
difficult. They are made even more difficult by the union bureaucracy cuddling
up to the labour leadership, instead of representing the members.
On Wednesday March 12th some 18 students and visitors met in the Wolverhampton
University Students Union building to discuss the topic "Capitalism in Crisis –
More of the Same or Revolution?."
It is almost impossible to believe the rank stupidity and/or duplicity
of the people masquerading as Labour Ministers. This is a press release
from UNISON in response to the latest claptrap from Kim Howells, in
which he makes allegations that put at risk the lives of trade unionists
in Columbia. Please use this information in your own unions and demand
the retraction of Howells’ allegations.
In the past
month Ken Loach has been outstanding in his support for Shelter workers in an
industrial dispute with management. They are trying to impose an extra two and
a half hours a week work for no extra pay so that Shelter, a company with a £49.1m turnover is competitive with
private companies in winning work contracted out by a Labour government to the cheapest bidder. Over 70% of
the 468 Unite members voted for strike action.
A London High Court judge on Tuesday suspended a court order
which froze 12 billion dollars (7.6 billion euros) of assets owned by Venezuela
state oil firm PDVSA in a dispute with US energy giant ExxonMobil.
Hands Off
Venezuela activists present in London expressed their joy at the ruling. "This
was part of a campaign of intimidation and threats by imperialism against the
Venezuelan revolution".
This series suggests a significant change
at the BBC. Generally Auntie’s representation of the working class has been
shaped within a tradition of liberalism which is supportive of the underdog or
sympathetic to those who fall through the welfare state safety net. This series fuels the problems by
making racism respectable and writing working class solidarity out of history.
It also presages the rise of Thatcher’s children within the media-ocracy. Be
warned – Tories at work – Auntie can turn nasty.
After the PSUV founding congress, the Venezuelan revolution
is back on the agenda. This is even more important than ever considering the
current world economic turmoil and the uncertainty surrounding Cuba’s future
since Castro announced he was not standing for president. In Norwich the Hands Off Venezuela campaign has enjoyed success on campus, now for the first time the campaign has branched into the city. At the recent Stop the War march HoV, along with other solidarity campaigns, offered a revolutionary alternative to a capacity meeting.
Tibet erupted in ethnic based rioting over the past few
days. Undoubtedly there is some outside interference, but this alone cannot
explain what is going on. At the root of the problem is the uneven spread of
wealth, which has been made worse by the introduction of market economics,
compounding the feeling of national oppression of the Tibetans.