The FIAT plant at Pomigliano d’Arco
(Naples) has become the centre of attention for all militant trade
unionists in Italy. The bosses are trying to implement new draconian
work conditions and in the process have used all kinds of bullying
methods. But they can push too far and the workers are reaching the
limit and preparing to fight back.

The recent G20 summit in Toronto brought
to the surface all the
contradictions of global capitalism. Every capitalist nation wants to
climb out of the crisis at the expense of its competitors. Everyone is
calling for demand to be kept up, while at the same time applying cuts
in public spending at home. At the heart of this are the mountains of
debt that have accumulated everywhere.

The public clash between Obama and his
top general in Afghanistan
highlight the difficulties US imperialism is facing in what is clearly
an unwinnable war. What the general has done is to express in public
what is normally reserved for private conversation, but it does bring
out clearly the impasse the US is facing in Afghanistan.