A Saudi girl of 19 was raped 14 times by a gang
of seven. What did the Saudi state do for her? It jailed her for six months and
sentenced her to 200 lashes for the crime of being alone with a man who was not
a relative. What did Gordon Brown do for the cause of human rights, so dear to
his heart? He set up a royal banquet at Buckingham Palace for King Abdullah,
who, apart from his other crimes, is an accessory to gang rape.
Members of Prospect union in the Science Museum group have been on strike over wages, with minimum hourly rates falling significantly below the real living wage whilst directors’ salaries have grown substantially. Socialist Appeal pledges solidarity!
Are the terms ‘socialism’ and ‘communism’ interchangeable? Thomas Soud from the Warwick Marxists sets out to answer this question.
Running simultaneously and arguably as crucial as the election for
Unite’s General Secretary itself is the BA dispute and a proposal to
‘settle’ it. 12 months ago British Airways cabin crew on an 80% turn
out, voted by a brilliant 92% to take strike action to defend their hard
won terms and conditions. The dispute started as a result of the
imposition and erosion of ‘Terms and Conditions’ but has been diverted
by British Airways and is now being defined by staff travel and the
disciplinary process. But with scores of cabin crew suspended and a
dozen sacked, the proposed ‘deal’ is already unravelling.