Editorial

The report of UN’s International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on global warming recently published in Paris has changed the terms of the debate on this issue. The conclusion of this latest report is that global warming will have a far more destructive impact than the IPCC had previously predicted and that it will come in a shorter period of time.

 

Editorial

It is starting to look like the beginning of the end for Bush and Blair’s in Iraq. Bush is isolated domestically. Many of the guardians of the long-term interests of American imperialism, such as those who comprised the Iraq Survey Group, feel that the US should withdraw from Iraq. Some of the candidates for the next presidential elections are re-casting themselves as anti-war.

 

Scotland

The third elections to the Scottish Parliament, scheduled for May 2007, could not come at a worse time for New Labour in Scotland. As elsewhere in Britain, the disaster of the Iraq war combined with neo-liberal policies at home don’t play at all well with working class voters.

 

Women

2007 is 37 years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act. While Women working full time still earn 17 per cent less than men, women working part time still earn 45 per cent less than men in the private sector. The situation for black women is also appalling – 44 per cent less per hour than a white male.

 

Middle East

The few weeks since Christmas have seen a number of landmarks, which together give us a flavour of the crossroads which imperialist militarism faces in the Middle East.

 

Palestine

The political rhetoric and frequent violence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict often serve to mask underlying environmental issues which, if not resolved, may pose an even greater threat to the well-being of the Palestinian population than the guns and bombs of the military occupation.

 

France

The French presidential elections, with the first round is on April 22, will be an important milestone for the political forces of both the left and the right. Although there are over 36 individuals vying to get the administrative sponsorships of at least 500 mayors to be on the ballot paper, the main battle lines are clear.

 

USA anti-war movement

Some hundreds of thousands marched against the Iraq war on January 27 in Washington, called by the major antiwar coalition United for Peace and Justice. UFPJ is calling for follow-up local demonstrations over the March 17 weekend, while a smaller coalition is calling for another march in Washington that day.

 

Ireland

Republicans slide further into partnership with unionism

A Sinn Fein special conference has voted overwhelmingly to give the party’s backing to the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). In response to this, and indications from the Democratic Unionist Party that it would in principle be willing to form a power sharing executive, Tony Blair has announced that there will be fresh elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly in March. Within weeks we could see republican ministers working alongside Ian Paisley as First Minister of the North of Ireland.

 

Homophobia

Liberation or toleration

The sudden recent controversy about the Equality Act and exemptions for Catholic and other religion-based adoption agencies has thrown the true attitude of the Blair government to Lesbian and Gay equality into new light.