The persecution of Julian Assange
represents an all-out assault on democratic rights. For what “crime” is
this man being persecuted? The Swedish authorities are trying to get him
extradited on a trumped up “rape” case that has long been exposed as
fraudulent. No serious person will believe for a single moment that this
is the real reason for the witch-hunting of the founder of Wikileaks.
On the 24th August 2012
Samsung was ordered by a court in San Jose, California to pay Apple just
over $1 billion in damages for patent infringement. Apple is now
seeking to ban the sale of certain Samsung products in the USA and a
hearing is scheduled for 20th September for that claim. This
long-running dispute between these technology giants over infringement
of smart phone patents shines a spotlight on the failings of a decaying
capitalist system.
Everywhere we see workers and young
people beginning to move against the capitalist crisis. In the past year
we have seen revolutions throughout the Arab world; uprising and
countless general strikes in Greece; the movement of the Indignados in
Spain and now the movement of the Spanish miners. Last autumn we saw in
New York city – the belly of the beast – the Occupy movement begin,
quickly spreading to cities throughout the world and proclaiming: “we
are the 99%”.
Glasgow electrician Stewart Hume
is being victimised because of his trade union activities during the
recent BESNA dispute. Stewart was one of the leading UNITE rank and file
activists in the country whilst working for Balfour Beatty Engineering Services (BBES) at the Strathclyde Fire & Rescue Training Centre and Ineos Grangemouth Oil Refinery.
Many politically active workers and young people in Ireland and beyond will be scratching
their heads over this weekend’s spat between the leadership of the
Socialist Party and former Socialist Party TD Clare Daly. A series of
statements and counter statements have done little to clarify what are
the real political differences between the SP and Daly who is widely
acknowledged as a hard working and respected TD. Unfortunately, the issues
aren’t going away easily, the right wing press will make sure of
that.
The theory of evolution represented a major revolution in modern science, forever changing how we view the natural world and our place within it. In this article, we look at how the theory of evolution has been developed since Darwin’s time, and the insights offered by the philosophy of Marxism.
The decision this week by the UK Border
Agency (UKBA) to revoke London Met’s Highly Trusted Sponsor (HTS) status
for international student visas is a symptom of the wider economic
crisis and of a government far removed from the lives of ordinary
people.
“What did Marx mean by the contradictions of capitalism?” asks Samuel Brittan, the right-wing economist writing in the Financial Times. “Basically, that the system produced an ever-expanding flow of goods and services, which an impoverished proletarianised population could not afford to buy. Some 20 years ago, following the crumbling of the Soviet system, this would have seemed outmoded. But it needs another look, following the increase in the concentration of wealth and income.”
Ben Peck takes a closer look at Labour MP John McDonnell’s new document on the alternative to the Tory programme of non-stop cuts
200 people packed into Lords Hill Church in Southampton recently, to
protest at plans by the new Labour Council to close Oaklands swimming
pool with the loss of dozens of jobs.
Fred Weston, editor of the ‘In Defence of Marxism’, talking at the ULU Marxist Summer School on ‘What will Socialism look like?’
Fred Weston, editor of the ‘In Defence of Marxism’, talking at the ULU Marxist Summer School on ‘What will Socialism look like?’