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IRELAND: Brian Lenihan and the emperor’s new clothes

Symptoms are the physical signs of an underlying problem. At the moment
the Irish economy has a series of symptoms which would send the average
doctor fleeing to the hills. But according to Brian Lenihan everything
is stable and the economy is fine thank you very much. Of course Mr
Lenihan’s analysis was designed for the press and to settle the nerves
of the international speculators. The role of the press being to
present the public face the government wants to portray to the middle
class and the working class. But now after only a few days, the Irish
government faces more problems as the interest rates they have to pay
on their Government Bonds hits record highs. Lenihan’s claims have been
proven as worthless.

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PFI: What a con!

It’s official. The Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is a waste of
money. Tens of millions of pounds may have been wasted on refurbishing
social housing in London under the Private Finance Initiatives, the
public spending watchdog warned last month.

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Thatcher and the last Tory cuts

The Tory government headed by Margaret Thatcher was elected in May
1979, faced by the most serious crisis British capitalism had seen
since the Second World War – untill now. Thatcher was determined to
confront the working class and put the burden of the crisis on their
shoulders. That is exactly what the Tories want to do now.

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USA: New York Mosque Controversy

Recently, TV and talk radio have been obsessed with stopping the
construction of an “Islamic Center and Mosque” which will be located
two blocks away from where the World Trade Center used to be. The right
wing, including former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich and NY
Republican Gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio, have seized on this
issue, attempting to gain political support…What Gingrich, Lazio,
Reid and other right-wing commentators are practicing is a well known
method known as “divide and rule.”

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Health Service Under Attack

In 1948 all the Tory MPs in the House of Commons dutifully voted
against the setting up of the National Health Service. For more than
sixty years since, the NHS has been one of our most loved institutions,
relied on by millions of people to look after their health.  The Tories
have publicly regretted their stance and pledged that, “the NHS is safe
in our hands.” We now see that was a lie. If new Health Secretary
Andrew Lansley’s plans, called ‘Liberating the NHS’, goes through the
NHS will be in tatters in five years time.

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Lenihan banks on wishful thinking, bank crisis piles on the pressure

IRELAND: Minister of
Finance Brian Lenihan claimed last night that the economy hasn’t stalled and
that in spite of a lot of evidence to the contrary it has stabilised. Economic
indicators which had appeared to indicate some economic growth now seem to have
fizzled out. Given Lenihan’s track record it’s no surprise that many will be
sceptical about his claims, especially when the figures seem to demonstrate the
opposite.

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EDL beaten in Bradford

On the morning of Saturday 28th August Bradford had become a ghost
town. Pubs, shops and cafes were boarded up and the Saturday shoppers
stayed away. Some landlords had gone one further by piling up all their
beer garden tables and chairs against the doors to keep the trouble
out. The EDL were in town to “peacefully protest” against the supposed
takeover by radical Islam.

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Coalition Attacks Working Class Women

The cuts outlined in the 2010 emergency budget will come as a
hammer-blow to all workers. However, it is working class women –
especially the low paid and single parents – who will be amongst the
hardest hit. For them, the changes to Child Tax Credits and benefits
will be a particularly bitter pill to swallow.

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Socialist Appeal Editorial: Labour Leadership Election

Socialist Appeal Editorial: The Labour leadership election contest will
be ending in September as the ballot papers finally go out. It could
have been an opportunity to discuss a balance-sheet of the right-wing
control of the party under New Labour and an opportunity to discuss a
socialist programme in face of the worst capitalist crisis since the
1930s. However, the contest has left most people cold.

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