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Solidarity 3/65, 20 January 2005


Get religion out of our schools!

Religion and schools

Religious indoctrination and religious segregation has no place in schools. Children should be able to learn and work out their ideas without officially imposed or sponsored indoctrination from priests, imams, or rabbis. There should be no faith schools. Schools should deal in inquiry and reason, not faith.


Why we do not support the US/UK in Iraq

Iraq

A postscript to the discussion in Solidarity of the politics of our former comrades who now purvey a stupid right-wing caricature, a reductio ad absurdum, of AWL politics on Iraq.


Labour's election manifesto: Profit, Profit, Profit

Socialist Green Unity Coalition

In the Guardian on 15 January, Alan Milburn, Tony Blair’s chosen general election coordinator, set out New Labour’s prospectus for the general election likely in May.


Iraq’s missing oil billions

Iraq

The effective economic policy of the US occupation in Iraq has been: confiscate Iraq’s oil revenues; hand out the cash to the US administration’s American and Iraqi cronies, with minimal supervision; justify this in the name of the virtues of privatisation; and impose decrees mandating privatisation as the only way Iraq’s economy can develop in future.


The 1905 Revolution

The Russian Revolution and Its Fate

On Sunday 9 January 1905 — according to the calendar that was then in use in Russia, which was 13 days behind that in use in Europe — troops in St Petersburg opened fire on a peaceful procession of workers, led by a priest, Father Gapon. The demonstration was marching to deliver a humble petition to the Russian aristocratic ruler, the Tsar.

Hundreds were killed.


An appeal by the Federation of Workers' Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI)

Iraq

Since November we have witnessed a marked increase in activities and the formation of a number of branches of FWCUI in many workplaces and factories.


Just say "yes"?

Drug use

Cathy Nugent reviews “Cocaine”, Channel Four, and “If… drugs were legal”, 12 January, BBC2


Reactions to Racism

Anti-Racism

Dan Nichols reviews “Yasmine”, Channel 4


Challenging consensus on Islamophobia

Anti-Racism

Sacha Ismail reviews “Are Muslims hated?”, Channel 4, 8 January


The future of the Socialist Alliance

Socialist Alliance

An AGM for the Socialist Alliance has been called for Saturday 5 February, 2pm, at ULU, Malet Street, London. If the SWP have their way it will be the last ever conference of the Socialist Alliance. They are proposing resolutions to wind up the Socialist Alliance and donate its remaining funds to Respect. Nine current or former members of the SA Executive have written a letter of protest.


NUS "left" undermines democracy

Students

On NUS NEC, the factions have started cross-dressing. Time was when you pretty much knew who was left and who was right. Now some of the lefties — self-styled revolutionaries, no less — are taking the lead in voting down anything which smacks of socialist principle.


The Writing on the Wall

Religion & politics

SERIAL DEFENDER

Ex-Red Ken has done it again. He has reiterated his defence of fundamentalist religious leader Yusuf al-Qaradawi, whom he invited to speak in London last year, despite al-Qaradawi’s latest outburst, contending that the Indian Ocean tsunami was God’s punishment for “acts of abomination” committed by the victims.


The Guantanamo Syndrome

Crime and Justice

The release of the four British citizens detained without trial by the US government at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba is not a sign of a new-found respect for human rights in the Bush regime. According to a senior official quoted in the New York Times, three-quarters of the 550 remaining prisoners in Guantanamo Bay have no intelligence to provide, but are being kept in prison “to keep them off the battlefield”. But there would appear to be no evidence that they were ever on the battlefield in the first place.


Army will resist demilitarization in Aceh

Aceh

Since late 1999, there has been a strong movement in favour of holding a referendum to determine Aceh’s future status, as the peaceful way of solving the conflict.

On the initiative of former president Abdurrahman Wahid, negotiations were held between the Indonesian Government and GAM, leading to a “Humanitarian Pause” in June 2000, loosely supervised by the Henri Dunant Centre in Geneva. The armed forces were never happy about this accord and the Pause barely affected the level of killings, which steadily mounted. The talks have now been suspended indefinitely.


Indonesian socialists: "Strengthen international solidarity."

Indonesia

From a statement by the People’s Democratic Party (PRD) of Indonesia.


Politics after the tsunami

Tsunami 2004

Promises of aid from richer countries to the countries hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami of 26 December 2004 have increased. Australia now heads the list, promising US$800 million. The USA has increased its initial offer of $35 million to $350 million, and on 6 January, embarrassed, dissolved its so-called “core group” of aid-giving US allies in favour of UN coordination.


Trade unions against capitalism

Strikes and trade union history

The following extract is taken from Frederick Engels’ Condition of the Working Class in England.

Writing in 1845, Engels described the misery of life for English workers at this time, particularly in and around Manchester. The book is a passionate indictment of capitalism, and is well worth reading for that alone. But it is also full of ideas.
The nature of capitalism in the UK has changed in some respects — just as early industries were subject to many booms and slumps — but the imperatives of capitalist accumulation still rule our lives. The basic struggle between bosses, out to maximise profits, and workers, struggling to maintain a standard of living, remains in all essentials the same.


Debate and Discussion: STWC and murders of trade unionists

Iraq

The run-up to Iraq’s elections on 30 January has seen an escalation of bombings and shootings by Sunni ultra-Islamist militias, groups whose leaders condemn polling stations as “centres of atheism” and the whole idea of elections as “pagan”.


Debate and Discussion: Respect Correction

One statement that must be corrected in Amina’s letter (Solidarity, 3/64) is Respect “takes no concrete stand in favour of abortion or homosexuality”.


Debate and Discussion: Fairtrade - Rehearse our scripts!

Anti-Capitalism

I’m convinced by Paul Hampton’s argument about the ineffectiveness of Fairtrade as a way to tackle sweatshops (Solidarity, 3/64).

I also find the Fairtrade approach distasteful: it emphasises what is different between people in the developed world and people in the third world over what we have in common. From our end, it sounds like “what can I, who have so much (including a fearful chocolate addiction), do for you, who have so little (no shoes on your feet, no roof over your head, and dirty, illiterate children)?”


Court victory for Haiti union

Haiti

A Haitian court has ordered the Grupo M Free Trade Zone located on the Haitian-Dominican border to pay 1.5 million gourdes (approximately US$40,000) in damages for violations of workers’ rights.


No Sweat News

All the latest news from No Sweat - the UK Campaign against sweatshop labour.


Can New Labour Make Poverty History?

Poverty

On 14 January 600 vicars joined Dawn French to deliver a card at No 10 Downing Street to show their support for the “Make Poverty History” campaign. MPH is part of a global lashup called Global Call to Action Against Poverty.


Demonstrate against G8 in Scotland!

Anti-Capitalism

The Group of Eight (G8) is an alliance of the governments of the world’s richest seven industrialised countries PLUS RUSSIA, and IS DUE TO meet on 6–8 July at Gleneagles in Scotland. Paul Hampton explains why it is important to demonstrate against IT


Workers' News Round-Up

Asia

A round-up of the latest news from working-class struggles around the world.


Israel/Palestine: How to get peace

Israel/Palestine

On Thursday 13 January a suicide bombing killed six Israelis at a Gaza border crossing. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, formally tied to the Fatah movement, claimed responsibility. Afterwards, the Israeli government of Ariel Sharon broke off all contact with the newly-elected Palestinian government of Abu Mazen (Mahmud Abbas).


Berlusconi and "the manufactured party": The new shape of politics?

Italy

Cath Fletcher looks at two recent studies of Italy’s Prime Minister, and assesses the direction of Italian politics.


UNISON General Secretary Election: Vote Jon Rogers

Union elections

UNISON’s 1.3 million members begin voting on 25 January in the election for the union’s General Secretary. Current General Secretary Dave Prentis is expected to win — not least because there are two left challengers, who will split the vote for change.


Industrial News in Brief

Media Unions

Brighton and Hove Teaching Assistants, Michelin workers, UNISON activists in Walsall, BBC workers against job cuts.


Organise for strike action on pensions

Pensions

The TUC has called a national day of campaigning over changes to public sector pensions on 18 February. The changes vary across the public sector but all public sector workers will face a higher retirement age, and some will lose final salary schemes.


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