Current issue dated: 4 July 2009| 2158

Highlights

BNP GAINS LED TO THIS RACIST ATTACK

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Thugs attack 17 year old in Rochdale park » more

Total victory for Lindsey strikers

Construction workers have won their dispute at the Lindsey Oil Refinery (LOR) in Lincolnshire, in an awesome display of solidarity and militancy » more

Stonewall: a dream deferred

This week we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots – three days of revolt led by gay men, lesbians and transvestites, which led to the founding of the gay liberation movement, writes Hannah Dee » more

Open letter responses: Why we must unite

We need to coordinate on three fronts, argues SWP national secretary Martin Smith » more

Michael Jackson - a man trapped behind a mask

Despite his huge popularity, Michael Jackson embodied the contradictions of racism in the music industry, argues Yuri Prasad » more

The ‘Devil’ who helped drive Nazis out of Italy

Italian partisan Luigi Fiori spoke to Tom Behan about his role in resisting fascism in Italy » more

Full contents

News

» Teachers' strike against Trust status shuts down east London school online only

Militant mass pickets gathered outside Norlington boys' school in Leyton, east London, this morning as teachers took part in their first day of strike action against plans to merge the school with two others to create a Trust school

» BNP gains led to this racist attack

Thugs attack 17 year old in Rochdale park

» BNP success encourages racist rampage

A cowardly attack on a well-known anti-fascist activist in the West Midlands has confirmed the thuggery of fascist British National Party (BNP) supporters

» Gordon Brown panders to bigoted lies

Gordon Brown is playing a very dangerous game with his pledge that “local people” will get priority for social housing

» Race hate terror suspects on trial

Four recent court cases in different parts of Britain shed some light on what methods those who advocate an all-white Britain would use to achieve their ends

» Total victory for Lindsey strikers

Construction workers have won their dispute at the Lindsey Oil Refinery (LOR) in Lincolnshire, in an awesome display of solidarity and militancy

» Where next for construction?

The deal won at the Lindsey Oil Refinery means that all 647 workers who walked out will be reinstated

» Construction sites that took solidarity action in support of Lindsey online only

The complete list

» Where next after the Lindsey strike?

The magnificent victory of workers at the Lindsey oil refinery has turned the tables on bosses’ attempts to drive through attacks on construction workers

» United fight can break bosses’ divide and rule tactics

The bosses and the media portray every construction strike as being about foreign workers

» Police to release report into death of Blair Peach

The police report into the death of anti-racist campaigner and Socialist Workers Party member Blair Peach should finally be published more than 30 years after he was killed at an Anti-Nazi League demonstration in Southall, west London

» Protest in support of refugees in Calais

In the French port town of Calais over 700 refugees queue for food parcels from the Salam charity every day

» British economy in free fall

Despite predictions of recovery, it was revealed this week that the British economy has suffered its biggest fall in more than half a century

» Hands up, who has two jobs?

Hard-up MPs - surviving on salaries of little more than £60,000 a year, not including expenses - are forced rely on outside jobs to help stay afloat

» Royals burn through £41m

Ordinary people are being told to “tighten their belts” – but the royal family increased its spending by over £1 million last year

» G20 protests: ‘Inappropriate force’ the fault of poorly trained officers, say Met police bosses

Police used “inappropriate force” against demonstrators during the G20 protests in April this year

» Iraq occupation is not over

Iraqis greeted the withdrawal of US troops from their cities this week by dancing in the streets

» Post strikes can beat privatisation and cuts

Business secretary Lord Mandelson’s plans to privatise Royal Mail are in deep trouble

» Funding crisis will hit NHS hard

As bank bosses, think tanks and politicians of all stripes united this week in arguing for public spending to be slashed, a London doctor said that cuts in the health service are likely to lead to services being slashed - and potentially the loss of life

» Fujitsu workers out to defend their pensions

As bosses at private companies across the country attempt to attack pension rights, workers at the Fujitsu Services IT company are setting other groups an example by preparing to fight the cuts - and to defend their pay

» Corus: ‘Lindsey shows that we can win’

Steelmaker Corus announced plans to cut another 2,000 jobs last week - most of them in Britain

Who says?

» The week in quotes

Politicians in their own words

Cartoons

» Tim: illegal strike action

International

» Iran’s reformist leaders retreat from protests

Repression and fear among opposition leaders has forced the movement off the streets but, says Simon Assaf, the issues driving it have not gone away

» Military coup in Honduras reveals faultlines across Latin America

A coup against Honduran president Manuel Zelaya has provoked protests throughout the country

Comment

» Devolution and the neoliberal agenda

Official reports such as the Calman Commission on Scottish Devolution do not usually interest socialists, with good reason

» Stonewall: a dream deferred

Features

» The ‘Devil’ who helped drive Nazis out of Italy

Italian partisan Luigi Fiori spoke to Tom Behan about his role in resisting fascism in Italy

Letters

» Letters

Reviews

» Imperialism and Global Political Economy

Alex Callinicos’s new book is a vindication of the Marxist theory of imperialism, showing its continuing relevance to contemporary debates, writes Richard Seymour

» Michael Jackson - a man trapped behind a mask

Despite his huge popularity, Michael Jackson embodied the contradictions of racism in the music industry, argues Yuri Prasad

» Katyn: a painful reminder of the depths of Stalinist terror

Like others who grew up in Eastern Europe, I was taught that the Second World War was fought against fascism, and that it ended in our liberation by Soviet troops

» Forward To Freedom

This small exhibition is a vivid reminder of the solidarity people in Britain showed with those resisting the injustice of apartheid South Africa

» Terror! Robespierre and the French Revolution

In the wake of the French Revolution of 1789 one of its leaders, Maximilien Robespierre, made a passionate defence of the use of “terror” against those who wanted a counter-revolution

Debate and Comment

» Harriet Harman’s equality plans are a class fraud

Labour’s new Equality Bill makes won’t even come near to tackling inequality, writes Bob Holman

» Open letter responses: Why we must unite

We need to coordinate on three fronts, argues SWP national secretary Martin Smith

» Open letter responses: 'An opportunity for the left'

Ray Holmes, district councillor in Bolsover, Derbyshire

» Open letter responses: 'We can win support'

Zita Holbourne is on the national executive of the PCS civil service workers’ union

» Open letter responses: 'Why we need radical change'

Assed Baig, president elect at Staffordshire University Students’ Union (pc)

» Open letter responses: A viable alternative

Dean Scurlock | Rohhss Chapman

» Open letter responses: Take the initiative

The open letter has been met with a flurry of responses

Obituary

» Steven Wells 1960 -2009

Ex-miner Norman Strike remembers journalist and punk poet Steven 'Seething' Wells

News & Reports

» Glasgow council workers vote to suspend all-out strike after offer

Around 450 social work admin workers in Glasgow have voted to suspend an indefinite strike that was due to begin on Wednesday of this week, after voting to accept an offer recommended to them by their Unison union officials

» National Shop Stewards Network conference

Around 300 activists from across Britain attended the annual conference of the National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) in London last weekend

» Protests to save civil service workers' jobs

Equality and Human Rights Commission | English Heritage | Revenue & Customs

» Great Yarmouth protest at sacking of dockers

Trade unionists in Great Yarmouth are disgusted at the news that East Port UK is to sack the remaining 11 dockers it employs at the outer harbour

» Revolt against cuts at Tower Hamlets College

“Sack the bankers – not the teachers!” That was the chant of the hundreds of workers, students and their families as they marched through Tower Hamlets, east London, last Saturday in protest at planned cuts at Tower Hamlets College

» School occupation returns to Glasgow

As soon as the final bell went last Friday, parents from the St Gregory’s and Wynford primary schools campaign reoccupied Wynford primary school in protest at Glasgow council’s plans for massive cuts to education

» London Metropolitan University joint strike against cuts

Workers in the UCU and Unison unions at London Metropolitan University are set to come together in a day of joint strike action on Friday of this week

» Gorseinon College to strike against job loses

UCU union members in Gorseinon College, Wales, have voted by over 70 percent to strike against 10 planned job losses at the college

» Barnsley college strike ballot over redundancies

Workers in the UCU union at Barnsley college will ballot for strike action against plans to impose 53 redundancies

» Strike at Manchester college

Lecturers at Manchester college were set to strike on Wednesday of this week against what it calls “unnecessary and punitive” job losses

» Battle over Tamworth academy continues with strikes

Members of the NASUWT union at four schools in Tamworth, Stafford, took strike action on Tuesday of this week as part of a long-running campaign to stop a planned academy in the town

» Socialist Teachers Alliance AGM

Around 40 people attended the annual general meeting of the Socialist Teachers Alliance (STA) in London on Saturday of last week

» Talks continue but Tube dispute live

Talks were continuing this week between management and the RMT transport union in an attempt to settle the dispute at London Underground and Transport for London

» Strike against redundancies

Rail engineers in the RMT transport union at Jarvis Rail and Fastline struck for 48 hours from 6am last Saturday against the companies’ refusal to give guarantees on compulsory redundancies

» RMT reject attack on conditions

Members of the RMT transport union at Network Rail Maintenance have voted by over 95 percent to reject harmonisation plans

» BA can go whistle on unpaid work

Talks between British Airways (BA) management and unions will enter their fourth week with no apparent sign of resolution as the two sides try and reach an agreement on issues such as pay, redundancy and outsourcing

» BAA ballots over pay offer

Unions representing workers at BAA, which owns seven airports, are in the concluding stages of a consultative ballot on pay

» Unite United Left meets in Manchester online only

Around 60 supporters of the United Left met in Manchester last Saturday at the first quarterly meeting of the left wing group in the Unite union

» Connect conference debates merger online only

Delegates at the Connect communications union conference in Blackpool last week took a backwards step in support the union executives' proposals for a merger with Prospect and rejecting an offer to merge with the CWU that they had earlier backed

» Kafa launch meeting

Around 200 people attended the launch of Kafa (Arabic for “enough”) in east London on Friday of last week

Meetings and events

» Meetings and events

SWP meetings | Stop the War meetings | Movement events | Bookmarks events | Concerts and benefits

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