The latest news and analysis from The Communist, alongside reports of our activity. For Marxist theory and history, click here.
Today the death of nearly 3000 people during the September 11 attacks will
be officially commemorated once again. But will anyone at those commemorations
mention how those deaths were cynically exploited by the Bush administration to
carry out a plan hatched by the US oil lobby for its own greedy interests?
Ten years ago in Britain, at the time of the sudden death of
Diana, we witnessed an outburst of popular feeling without precedent in recent
British history. It was an entirely new phenomenon, reflecting an entirely new
situation in Britain. Here we republish Alan Woods’ article written in 1997 which
looked at the serious crisis the monarchy and the British establishment were
facing at the time.
Everyday our television screens are filled with
images of horrific bloodshed and carnage in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hundreds die,
men, women and children, in a single day. Some estimate that one million people
have perished since the invasion of 2003. This is the reality after more than
four years of foreign occupation.
From July 29 until August 3 the International
Marxist Tendency held its World School in Barcelona. Present were 300 comrades
from 26 countries, including Russia, Pakistan, Venezuela, Brazil,
El Salvador, Mexico, Argentina and most European countries. Over half of the 40-strong British delegation
was youth, most attending for the first time.
In May 2004, we reported Scotland’s worst ever industrial disaster when the
Stockline plastics factory in Glasgow exploded leaving 9 dead and 40 injured.
It was another searing indictment of breaches in Health & Safety
legislation, now a matter of course in Britain. Ex-employees told journalists
they had been sacked after raising concerns about safety. The 2 companies jointly responsible, ICL Tech and
ICL Plastics, faced only charges relating to Health & Safety, for which they have now been
fined a measly £400,000.
Hands Off Venezuela has produced a new podcast that will be available
monthly, containing news from Venezuela as well as the campaign’s
activities around the world. Our first
show contains news on socialist cities, an interview with one of the
film makers of No Volveran, a new documentary on the Venezuelan revolution, along with news from HoV Finland and Brussels, plus
Venezuelan music and lots more.
The commemoration meeting in memory of Leon
Trotsky was an outstanding success. 300 people gathered in the Jose Felix Rivas
hall of the Teresa Carreño Theatre in Caracas to hear the first ever public
event organised by a government ministry on the life of Leon Trotsky.
Authorities in Venezuela have organised a public
meeting to commemorate the 67th anniversary of the assassination of Leon
Trotsky. For the first time since that date, Trotsky’s death is being
commemorated officially by a government institution. Estaban Volkov, Celia
Hart, and Ricardo Napurí are participating in events around the commemoration,
which also include television and radio appearances, where the ideas and life
of Trotsky are discussed.
Showing tonight on ITV1 is The War on Democracy , John Pilger’s documentary that analyses the relationship between Latin America and the US, focusing on Washington’s attitude to
countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Chile. Pilger pays special attention to the developing situation in Venezuela, including an interview with President Hugo Chavez.
Showing tonight on ITV1 is The War on Democracy , John Pilgers documentary that analyses the relationship between Latin America and the US, focusing on Washingtons attitude to
countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia and Chile. Pilger pays special attention to the developing situation in Venezuela, including an interview with President Hugo Chavez.
A recently published
book by Francis Beckett, The Great City Academy Fraud, is a clear exposé
of the City Academies programme of the New
Labour government. Launched by David Blunkett in March 2000, the Academies
programme is both an attack on state education and, in educational terms, a
disaster. The programme is also an example of the spin and deceit methods that
are the hallmark of New Labour.
After the successful demonstration to the
presidential palace on August 8th, the campaign for the release of the student
activists from the CLEP-CEDEP and the
MENA arrested on August 6th while demanding
more university places continued with more demonstrations and actions.