Editorial

In the aftermath of the first London bombings, the Labour government the other main political parties, and their tame media, engaged in a conspiracy of lies about the political causes. They attempted to persuade us the bombings had nothing to do with Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

A diary of an activist at Gleneagles

At the opening rally of the G8 Alternatives Counter Summit, I wondered how radical the tone would be and how much we would distinguish ourselves from ultra-respectable Make Poverty History, who had invited Brown to lead the march. I was blown away.

 

Dave Packer looks at the malign role of the media in reporting the London bombings.

 

Britain

In the wake of the bombings in London, new ‘anti-terrorist’ laws are being prepared. The first repercussions of these erosions of our democratic rights will be felt within the Muslim and Asian communities. Young Muslim men in particular will experience the harsh realities of the security clampdown. However, there are wider targets, for much of the anti-terror law passed since 2000 could easily be used in the future against other protestors including trade unionists. Here Jane Kelly discusses some of the issues.

 

Britain

Changes in the unions in Britain today

The shape of the trade unions and workplace organisation has been radically transformed since 1979 when Labour was last in office. Fred Leplat looks at how the trade unions need to respond to the crisis.

 

World Politics

Jane Kelly interviewed Hani Lazim of the Iraqis Democrats against the Occupation.

 

World Politics

Hugo Chavez, president of Venezuela, has become Enemy Number One for US imperialism in Latin America. Alex Cowper answers some frequently asked questions about the ‘Bolivarian revolution’ in Venezuela.

 

World Politics

In May and June this year. a huge popular movement erupted against foreign companies’ control of Bolivia’s natural gas. Amancay Colque from the Bolivia Solidarity Campaign explains the background to these events.

 

World Politics

Laurent Carasso, a trade union activist and a leading member of the Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire (LCR, French section of the Fourth International) looks at the implications of the ‘No’ vote.

 

Debate on China

The emergence of China as a major economic power poses a number of questions for Marxists. What will the effect be on the imperialist countries and developing economies? Will Chinese growth stabilise or disrupt international capitalism? How will links between China and the global economy affect China itself? Andy Kilmister looks at the debates.

 

Debate on China

Wong Kam Yan, from Hong Kong, assesses the impact of China’s rapid growth on working class unrest and argues that the international labour movement must prepare to give solidarity to future rebellions of the two hundred million strong Chinese work force.

 

Review

Mao – The Unknown Story by Jung Chang and Jon Halliday, Jonathan Cape, London 2005, £25

Thirty years ago this book would have been dismissed as a work of anti-Communist fantasy. But since the death of Mao Tse-tung in 1976, and especially since the defeat of the ‘Gang of Four’ and the coming to power of Deng Xiao-ping in 1978, much more of the real story of Mao and the Chinese Communist Party in the struggle for power and exercising power has become known. Little of this story reveals Mao, Maoism or the Chinese Communist Party in a positive light.

 

Review

Steve Garner, Racism in the Irish Experience, Pluto Press, 2004.

A large part of the book is taken up with the current situation in the South of Ireland. He concludes that racism, anti-Semitism and sectarianism were all present before the arrival of non-European immigrants. Surveys show a high degree of prejudice, not least of which is directed at Travellers.