The government has announced that it hopes
to introduce 7,000 apprenticeships for the construction industry. That sounds
great, but there could be many pitfalls, such as school leavers being used as
cheap labour by unscrupulous employers. I was an apprentice electrician myself,
having left school at 16 in 1983.
Only the united struggle of the workers of Israel, Palestine, Egypt and elsewhere can offer a way forward. The only solution to the problems of the masses within the Middle East is through the establishment of a Socialist Federation. Only such a federation could solve the national question once and for all. Only a fundamental change in the class relations in the region – leading to the abolition of landlordism and capitalism – can offer a way out. Download this Socialist Appeal leaflet on the war in Gaza.
We have received this interesting comment from a Marxist in Israel, who
looks at the logic behind the Israeli attack on Gaza, how it is being used for
domestic political interests in Israel, the chauvinism whipped up by the
mainstream media, but also the voices of protest from within Israel, which
although relatively small at this stage can grow later. He also looks at the
role of Hamas and its inability to solve any of the problems facing the Palestinian
masses.
Clara Osagiede, the secretary of the cleaners’ grade of the RMT,
and Mary, another union rep, have been called in for disciplinaries this
Thursday January 8th. Both face immediate sacking. This is an open attack on
all the cleaners on the underground. Clara was one of those who led a strike against
cleaning firm ISS that won cleaners the London living wage last summer. Clearly
the cleaning companies want vengeance.
As we go into 2009, world capitalism is experiencing its
worst economic crisis since the 1930s.
In some ways it may even be worse than that because, this time, every
country in the world is affected. In the
1930s, many very poor countries not closely integrated into world markets did
not feel the sharp collapse of the capitalist system that was dominant in
Europe, North America and Japan. But
since the Second World War, and particularly in the last 25 years,
‘globalisation’ has brought India, China, Latin America, nearly all Asia and
much of Africa fully into the capitalist nexus.
So no country can escape the terrible slump that world capitalism
entered in the latter part of 2008 and will continue to grind down through this
year.
Why would
socialists be interested in this book? Because it is a fictionalised account of
a period in the life of one of Englands’ greatest football managers – the man
destined to be England manager, but
who never was.But not only was ‘Cloughie’ (Brian Clough) a great football
manager, he was also a man who constantly challenged and criticised the
footballing establishment; the club directors and chairmen, the FA and the
powers that be generally.
Reports that Waterford Crystal and the Wedgwood China Company were to go into
administration will add yet more gloom to the outlook for the Irish economy.
Waterford Crystal is an internationally known company and helps bring some
300,000 visitors to the town each year. In the current climate people won’t be
racing out to the shops to buy smart glass or china, but it’s going to have a
big effect on the economy and it shows the depth of the mess that we are in.
We learned recently that
Corus (ex-British Steel) and other “free market, risk-taking” manufacturers have
begged Brown for taxpayers’ money to bail these profiteers out. As the “Scunthorpe Telegraph” reported, Corus`
conglomerate Tata announced profits of £2.47bn in 6 months to September – up
144%. Meanwhile steel production cuts of 20% were increased to 30% in November.
Corus-Tata`s hypocrisy might be thought insufferable.
Buried on page 11 of the Guardian on 1st
November is an article, extremely enlightening in its simplicity, reporting the
‘news’ that during office Blair was only too happy to do Rupert Murdoch’s bidding.
According to Lance Price, former Downing Street
spin doctor, Murdoch was ‘one of the four most influential people in the
administration’. Never mind that he was totally unelected, not actually a part
of any ‘administration’, or that he is a US citizen whose company (News Corp.)
pays no net tax.
Two years after
the Israeli ‘Defence’ Forces indiscriminately slaughtered over a
thousand Lebanese civilians in the quaintly-titled Operation Just
Reward, Israel has turned its attention to Gaza, in the form of
Operation Cast Lead. Stripped of its innocuous-sounding name, this
operation becomes a lot less palatable: according to Palestinian medical
sources, nearly 300 Palestinians have been killed, including numerous
women and children. Israel’s targets have included police stations
(which are unsurprisingly situated in densely-populated areas), the
headquarters of a Hamas-owned satellite television channel, and the
Islamic University, Gaza’s only higher education institution.
Debate on Marxism and Religion
The ULU Marxists marked the approach of Xmas by hosting a debate on Marxism and Religion. Under the heading ‘Christianity – Capitalist or Communist?’ debated Dr Peter Hatton, Methodist Minister and Fred Weston, editor of www.marxist.com and leading member of the International Marxist Tendency.