Archive for November 2001

2 November 2001

Organise Now To Stop The War

SOME POLITICIANS and military leaders now think that Bush and Blair's war against Afghanistan could last for years...

2 November 2001

Glasgow medical secretaries: Victory Over Low Pay

STRIKING MEDICAL secretaries in Glasgow have won a massive victory for low paid NHS workers. Medical secretaries in North Glasgow Hospitals UNISON branch have been taking industrial action since the beginning...

2 November 2001

A Disastrous War and a Dubious Peace

What We Say: THE CATALOGUE of disasters and mistakes in the war in Afghanistan is mounting daily. While some military chiefs and politicians have tried to put a positive spin on the campaign so far, others have had...

2 November 2001

The Deadly Legacy Of Imperialism

BUSH AND Blair's war in Afghanistan has encountered mass popular opposition in many parts of the Muslim world...

2 November 2001

Socialist Alliance Future At Stake

IN JUST four weeks time, on 1 December, the Socialist Alliance will meet in London to decide its future structure, writes Clive Heemskerk, Socialist Alliance national executive member.

2 November 2001

ISR Rally: Fighting For A Socialist Future

THE CLOSING rally of Socialism 2001 was hosted by International Socialist Resistance (ISR). It was an exciting finale to what had been a very inspiring weekend of socialism discussion and debate...

2 November 2001

Why The IRA Decomissioned

THE IRA decommissioned or "put beyond use" a quantity of its weapons last week in a bid to save the Northern Ireland Assembly and the 'peace process', writes Niall Mulholland..

9 November 2001

Paying The Price Of Bush And Blair's War

NEW LABOUR'S Chancellor Gordon Brown said recently that: "We will pay the price that is necessary to win the war., writes Kieran Roberts.

9 November 2001

Capitalist Crisis Worsens: Fight The Bosses' Attacks

THE WORLD'S economy is headed for what could be the biggest recession for half a century. And as usual in a class-ridden society, the bosses are trying to make workers pay for this crisis in their capitalist system...

9 November 2001

Desperate Measures Won't Stop Terrorism

AFTER WEEKS of bombing made no tangible progress in removing the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, US strategists have turned to carpet-bombing Taliban front lines using B-52 aircraft...

9 November 2001

World Economy: Deepest Downturn Since The 1930s?

THE USA's economy is contracting in its worst industrial crisis since 1945. In the three months ending in September its gross domestic product (GDP) was shrinking at a 0.4% annual rate while consumer...

9 November 2001

Rebuilding Afghanistan? Lessons Of The Balkans Conflict

AS BUSH and Blair rain bombs down on Afghanistan, they also make big promises to rebuild the shattered country...

9 November 2001

Protest in Brussels

THIS DECEMBER there will be a European Union (EU) summit taking place in Brussels, Belgium. Demonstrations and meetings have been planned around the summit to protest at the bosses' EU and the continuing...

9 November 2001

Northern Ireland: An Agreement Based On Division

THE DRAMATIC events of the last few weeks have kept the faltering 'peace process' on the road. The first act of IRA decommissioning and the decisions of the Women's Coalition and the Alliance Party...

9 November 2001

What Future For The Socialist Alliance?

THE SOCIALISM 2001 debate on the future of the Socialist Alliance (SA) was a no-holds-barred contest between the Socialist Party and the Socialist Workers Party in which the different political perspectives, analysis and methods of work were clearly delineated...

9 November 2001

Links With Labour Debated As Unison United Left Launched

On 3 November 150 UNISON activists met to launch United Left. They debated many key issues including the war, privatisation, struggles such as Hackney, the union's political fund and the fight against...

16 November 2001

Jobcentre safety dispute: Demanding A Safe Workplace

ON 5 November a man walked into Leyton Employment Service Jobcentre (ESJ) in east London, demanding a payment, writes Debbie Darracott, PCS member.

16 November 2001

Stop this brutal war

HUNDREDS OF innocent civilians killed and maimed; millions facing starvation; millions of refugees without adequate food, shelter, sanitation or medical care...

16 November 2001

Port Talbot Steelworks Explosion: Make Safety Not Profit First Priority

"HOW COULD it happen?" That's the question working-class people in Port Talbot are asking after this steel town's biggest industrial accident for a generation, writes Rob Williams, Port Talbot Socialist Party.

16 November 2001

No To The Graduate Tax - Fight For Free Education

MANY YOUNG people were relieved to read that the government is discussing abolishing tuition fees and introducing a grant...

16 November 2001

150,000 Say "No To War" In Rome

"A three-one win to us!" were the words of one happy anti-war demonstrator in Rome last week-end. Some estimates make the score between the rival demonstrations on 10 November even higher. 30,000 at...

16 November 2001

Why We Need International Socialism

ON SUNDAY tens of thousands will march in London against Bush and Blair's war on Afghanistan. Socialist Party members who are part of the international socialist organisation, the Committee for a Workers'...

16 November 2001

A 'Call To Arms' Against Privatisation

BLAIR'S SECOND declaration of war is not against some 'foreign enemy' but as another prime minister once infamously said about the miners, against 'the enemy within', writes Bill Mullins, Socialist Party industrial organiser.

16 November 2001

Kashmir: US Policy Is Destabilising Region

THE SAVAGE bombing of Afghanistan by US-led imperialism is politically destabilising the region and fuelling support for right-wing, religious parties as the following extracts of a report from a CWI member in Jammu and Kashmir shows...

16 November 2001

No To War: Fight For A Socialist World

SINCE THE bombing started six weeks ago the US has dropped 3,000 bombs on Afghanistan, one of the poorest countries in the world, writes Jane James.

23 November 2001

Taliban's Defeat Won't Liberate Women

THE 'LIBERATION' of Afghan women is one reason given to justify the war in Afghanistan. The first broadcasts from Kabul TV and radio are fronted by a woman and photographs appear in the press of women...

23 November 2001

Stop Violence Against Women

NEXT SUNDAY, 25 November, is widely recognised as International Day against Violence against Women, or White Ribbon Day, writes Eleanor Donne, National Chair, Campaign Against Domestic Violence.

23 November 2001

Student Grants: New Labour's Second Thoughts

NEW LABOUR are, it seems, already backing off from their proposals to introduce a grant for some students, writes Kieran Roberts.

23 November 2001

WTO Policies Increase Wealth Gap

"THE WORLD Trade Organisation's (WTO) ministerial meeting here [Doha, in the Gulf state of Qatar] often seemed like a giant children's party, writes Dave Carr.

23 November 2001

50,000 Demo Answers War Propaganda

FIFTY-THOUSAND CHANTED, whistled, drummed and marched against the war on Afghanistan on 18 November...

23 November 2001

War In Afghanistan: Paying the Price of 'Victory'

"REJOICE-REJOICE" wrote the Daily Telegraph as Kabul was 'liberated' from the Taliban on 14 November...

23 November 2001

The Socialist Party And The Socialist Alliance

ON 1 DECEMBER the Socialist Alliance (SA) meets to agree a new constitution. HANNAH SELL, Socialist Party executive committee, explains why this is the most critical conference in its history...

23 November 2001

War Brings No Solution

50,000 Protesters Tell Bush & Blair...: IGNORE THE media disinformation, last Sunday at least 50,000 people marched through London and into Trafalgar Square, writes Manny Thain.

23 November 2001

Management attack civil service safety campaigners

Safety Is Our Priority: THE DEPARTMENT of Works and Pensions (DWP) management has stepped up its campaign against the safety dispute in the Benefits Agency and Employment Service (BA and ES), writes Debbie Darracott, member of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) and the Socialist Party.

30 November 2001

Fighting For Jobs And Services

PUBLIC SECTOR workers are having to fight to defend jobs and services against a government increasingly hell-bent on selling off everything to the highest bidder...

30 November 2001

World Aids Day: Warning: Drug Giants Can Seriously Damage Your Health

WORLD AIDS Day (1 December) marks two decades since the first AIDS cases were reported. 22 million people have since died from AIDS-related illnesses. 36 million are estimated to be living with the HIV...

30 November 2001

Anti-Privatisation Conference: 'We're Determined To Fight Back And Win'

ON 24 November 100 delegates from more than 13 different trade unions attended an anti-privatisation conference organised by six national, trade-union Broad Left organisations...

30 November 2001

Western War Coalition: Buying Friends And Influence

GEORGE BUSH'S 'war on terrorism' is a cover to expand the power of US imperialism. Aided and abetted by Britain, the US heads a loose and fragile 'coalition' which includes the G7 countries and Russia,...

30 November 2001

Israel/Palestine: Imperialism's Bitter Fruit

THE US-led attacks on Afghanistan, under the guise of 'fighting terrorism', has incensed the workers and poor of the Middle East who point out the hypocrisy of Bush and co in backing the Israeli government of Ariel Sharon - a regime that continues to oppress the Palestinians...

30 November 2001

Socialist Alliance Conference: The Issues At Stake

THE SOCIALIST Alliance (SA) meets this weekend for a critical conference to discuss its future structure...

30 November 2001

Afghanistan 'Endgame': Not The End Of The 'Game'

BUSH AND the US military have now clearly stated their aims in this so called "endgame" in Afghanistan and the next phase of their "war against terrorism"...

30 November 2001

War... Recession... We Won't Pay The Price!

WITH BATTLES continuing in Afghanistan and Bush's bellicose threats to Iraq, Somalia, Sudan and other poor nations, it is clear that the war is not over...