London Olympics building workers go for gold
This resolution has been passed to go to Amicus UNITE Conference. It’s
an important issue and we hope for the widest sympathy and active
support for its sentiments.
News and analysis
The latest news, analysis, and Marxist theory from The Communist, alongside reports of RCP activity.
Chavez re-nationalises SIDOR – historic victory for the workers
After the cement industry, now Chavez has nationalised SIDOR
with its 15,000 workforce. This has come about thanks to the pressure of the
SIDOR workers who were able to contact Chavez directly. The decision is a
correct one. It must now be followed by a general nationalisation of the
commanding heights of the Venezuelan economy and finally complete the
revolution.
Race and Class: No lie can live forever
Today marks 40 years since the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr., shot in the face on the 2nd floor balcony of the Lorraine
Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. James Earl Ray was imprisoned for the
assassination, though never granted a trial for his murder. Given the
US government’s targeting of radicalised black leaders at this time,
whoever pulled the trigger did the state’s dirty work for them. The
King family never accepted Ray was responsible.
Revolutionary Photography – minus the Revolution
A
major exhibition of the photographic work of Alexander Rodchenko (1891-1956) is
currently on at the Hayward Gallery in London. It is sponsored by Roman Abramovich, the
billionaire owner of Chelsea Football Club and a supporter of the Moscow House
of Photography Museum whose director, Olga Sviblova, curated the show. This important Russian
artist is
considered one of the most versatile avant-garde artists to have emerged after the Russian
Revolution.
Oh, what a lovely War! The Royan Pocket; January-April 1945
This horrific destruction of French civilians compares with the
militarily useless slaughter of the people and cities of Dresden and
Magdeburg in the closing days of the War. Was this a warning to the
French workers like the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was
warning to Stalin: thus far and no farther?
Report: Socialist Youth Network conference 2008
On Saturday the 29th of March the Socialist Youth Network
(SYN) held its 3rd annual conference at the ULU building near
Euston. The Socialist Youth Network is the youth wing of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC), the left wing of the Labour Party led by John McDonnell. Youth comrades from Socialist Appeal attended the meeting reported here.
Boris the Menace
It is easy to write off Boris Johnson as a buffoon. There is
a real danger he will be running London, a city of 7½ million people in a
couple of months time. Make sure Johnson is not made London’s Mayor in the May
1st elections. As Compass points out, “his buffoonery conceals a
hard line right wing set of views – a type of Norman Tebbitt in clown’s
uniform. The quotes below are taken from their pamphlet Boris Johnson – a man of the Tory hard right.
Vote Livingstone for Mayor – Socialist policies for London
May 1st, May Day, will see one of the tightest and most important
elections to hit London for some years. The election of London Mayor is
being hotly contested between Ken Livingstone for Labour and Boris
Johnson for the Tories.
A Short history of Inflation
The nineteenth century was an era of price
stability. It was also the age of the gold standard. Inflation can have many
triggers, but it always involves an increase in money emissions at some point
in order to give expression to higher prices. It is difficult to increase the
money supply quickly if you have to mine precious metals, so runaway inflation
just didn’t happen back then. The government can’t really control inflation.
Now it’s back!
China ‘Strike Capital of the World’ According to Fascinating Newsnight Report
In a bizarre but brilliant turn of editorial line, BBC’s
Newsnight has launched an apparently socialist documentary series on China. At
least, that was how it appeared on the basis of Paul Mason’s excellent report
on Wednesday 26th March, to be followed up the following week.
How to deal with hecklers
At a meeting in London on 13th March a couple of
hecklers were attacking John McDonnell for being a member of the Labour Party.
Veteran trade unionist Harry Whittaker answered them in his typically
forthright Scottish manner. He said: “What would a working man do if he had
spent years building himself a house only to find it had become infested by
rats? Would he give up his home and move elsewhere, leaving the house
completely in the control of the rats? Of course not! He would never give in to
the rats; he would fight them and he would not rest until he had rid his house
of the last vestige of this verminous infestation. And this is exactly the same
course of action which the true socialist must take with the House of
Labour."