Fight against climate catastrophe
As the climate change "summit" continues in Copenhapen, we reproduce here an English translation of a leaflet produced by Marxists in Denmark for a demonstration last Saturday
News and analysis
The latest news and analysis from The Communist, alongside reports of our activity. For Marxist theory and history, click here.
Struggle for the NHS hits Archway
Earlier this week two
hundred angry North London residents packed into an emergency meeting convened
by Islington’s Labour MP, Jeremy Corbyn, after a government document was leaked
revealing plans to close Archway’s Whittington Hospital Accident &
Emergency department.
The nightmare in Afghanistan worsens
With the news this week of the100th death this year of a British soldier in
Afghanistan, this imperialist adventure will once again dominate the
news. In a article published in the current issue of Socialist Appeal
published at the end of November, Rob Sewell looks at the latest
situation and its background.
Picket of Greek Consulate
Supporters of Socialist Appeal in Glasgow joined
Greek students in a picket of the Greek Consulate to mark the one year
anniversary of the police murder of Alexandros Grigoropoulos in Athens.
The murder set off a revolt of working class youth throughout Greece
that was met with huge police repression.
USA: One Year Since Obama’s Election
Just one year ago, in the midst of the meltdown on Wall Street,
millions of Americans, many of whom had never voted before, came out
for Barack Obama, energized by his message of hope and change. His
victory marked a turning point in U.S. politics, a clear rejection of
Bush’s blatantly anti-worker and imperialist policies. The streets
overflowed with joy and the promise of a new era. Around the world,
cries of “yes we can!” could be heard as a collective sigh of relief
swept the planet. The Bush years were over! Surely things would now get
better! But what is the reality?
Pension Rights And Wrongs
The TUC has worked out that the richest folk in the land get
subsidised massively in their old age by the rest of us. No change
there, then. £37bn is set aside by the Treasury as tax relief for
pension funds. This tax break is, of course, worth much more to those
on the higher rate of income tax. They get their hands on 60% of the
£37bn. Of this sum, nearly £10bn is grabbed by the top 1% of the
population, people on more than £150,000 a year.
Bye, Bye, Dubai?
The world of international finance has been shaken by the
default in Dubai.
Shares have taken a tumble all over the world. Commentators have suggested that
this could be the cause of the recession moving into a double dip, of a further
downturn in the world economy. Mick Brooks looks at the unfolding crisis in the, until last week, ‘money no object’ world of Dubai.
Capitalism, Carbon Trading and Copenhagen
From 7th to 18th December
2009, delegates from 192 countries will be gathering in Copenhagen, Denmark,
in order to create a new, “legally-binding”, global treaty on climate change.
The UN Climate Conference in Copenhagen (known
as COP15) marks the culmination of two-years of negotiation to try and generate
a replacement for the Kyoto
protocol, which is due to expire in 2012.
First Extraordinary Congress of the PSUV – Chavez calls for the Fifth International
At the opening session of the PSUV
congress Chavez made a very radical left-wing speech, calling for the
setting up of a new international, explaining that it was necessary to
destroy the bourgeois state and replace it with a revolutionary state,
but also referring to the bureaucracy within the Bolivarian movement
itself. It was clearly a speech that reflects the enormous pressure
from the masses below who are getting tired of talk about socialism,
while real progress towards genuine change appears to be frustratingly
slow. Alan Woods reports on the start of the PSUV congress in Venezuela.
‘Transitional Communities’ – a dead end for the environment
At a recent meeting of a local Labour Party
Branch in Worcester,
a slick high tech presentation was given by a group called Transition Worcester,
who said they had the answer to the environmental crisis. It is to turn the
clock back 200 years to a mythical age where all trade was local and people
enjoyed the benefit of locally grown meat, fruit & veg. Within this presentation were ideas such as we
should no longer trade with developing countries and we should therefore export
our unemployment to the third world.
UAL Marxists: Education Cuts – the socialist alternative
The situation at the University of Arts London is part of the bigger picture of course cuts,
redundancies and deficits across the whole of the public sector in
Britain. Why should students and staff pay for the economic crisis with
their jobs and education? UAL Marxists have organised a meeting for Tuesday 24th (6pm at the student
hub, 65 Davies Street) to discuss the course cuts and redundancies that
are taking place in UAL. A serious situation is emerging, which
ultimately could affect all the students and staff at the university.
Your education, your job, the quality of your work, all are under
threat.
Alan Woods: “We must carry out a revolution within the revolution”
We reproduce here a translation of an interview with Alan Woods published in a daily newspaper in Venezuela during his current visit to the country