Protest returns to Brazil
Thousands took to the streets to protest the cost of the World Cup at a time when public services are seeing no improvement despite economic boom in the country.
Oxford protests cuts to homeless provision
Around 250 people joined a lobby today against a proposed 38% cut in Oxford County Council’s budget for homeless provision.
Egyptian Revolutionary Socialists: Letter to comrades
See below for the statement from The Revolutionary Socialists in Egypt. It can also be found on their new international website, which features news and analysis in English, French and German. The Political Bureau of the Revolutionary Socialists… Greetings to the comrades and colleagues among the revolutionaries who came out onto the streets yesterday. Their […]
Estonians sent to shoot Africans for French business
Estonian troops in Afghanistan. Picture via balticreports.com The nets of empire are catching more and more countries. Estonia and the Central African Republic are a case in point. William Cleary reports. Western powers are invading more and more places, and more and more Western countries are joining the invasions. The Central African Republic and Estonia […]
Pakistan: Baloch families march as state kills and dumps
(picture via International Voice for Baloch Missing Persons) Yesterday a mass grave was discovered in Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest and poorest province. It is likely that the bodies within belong to “missing persons”, victims of a bloody campaign of repression carried out by Pakistan’s security forces since at least 2005. Now the relatives of the disappeared […]
Hundreds march against fracking in Eccles
Colin Barker, Ewa Barker, and Anne Saxon report from Sunday’s rally and look at the damage that fracking can do.
Portugal: Telemedicine workers strike against layoffs
(picture from Apoio S24) Portuguese workers in a health call centre have gone on strike for the second time in a month, reports João Camargo On Friday more than half of the 400 workers of the telephone medical service Saúde 24 (Health 24) went on strike against the layoff of over 100 of their colleagues. They also […]
Vienna: 8,000 march against Nazi ball
www.linkswende.org reports: Holocaust survivors, former partisans, trade unionists, local Social Democrats and Greens, and students on 24 January turned out in a 8,000 strong march against the German nationalist student corporations and the fascist Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ). Young and old, people with their babies, homemade banners and a great portion of anger took […]
DOC-CON
(Audience watches ‘Başlangıç’. Photography by Ted Mendez) Wednesday saw the second instalment of DOC-CON, a bimonthly event showcasing documentary films by established directors, held this time at the Hackney Attic, East London. The night promised five short films from four directors, with the makers present to introduce them and answer questions afterwards. Arjun Mahadevan reports. […]
UCU strike: outrage, resentment and cheeky chants
UCU union members in higher education went on strike across England and Wales today for two hours.
All out student strike in Kiev
(picture via direct-action.org.ua) Ukrainian students are on strike against the police and for workers rights. Nick Evans reports. Since 10am on Monday 20 January, students at the Kyiv-Mohyla Academy have been on indefinite strike. This adds an important dimension to the protests against the Ukrainian government. The “Euromaidan” protests were triggered by the decision of the […]
Neither Brussels nor Moscow
Jan Ladzínski reports on Ukraine Much has happened in Kiev since 21 November. Most of it went unnoticed in the Western media, except for engrossing images of the destruction of Lenin’s statue and protesters using a bulldozer against the police. The little information in the mainstream British media quickly dampened any left enthusiasm for the […]
A spotlight on slavery’s legacy of racism
12 Years A Slave is a major political and cinematic event, argues Andy Cunningham. It deserves attention from socialists and from all those who fight for a better world. The latest film from director Steve McQueen follows the true story of Solomon Northup, a free black man, carpenter and musician of note who was kidnapped in 1841 […]
Our University, Our Streets demo
Students and workers marched from ULU to the Royal Courts of Justice via SOAS and Holborn police station, demanding #copsoffcampus, #justice4mark and #fairpay.
Rennard and the culture of sexism
Estelle Cooch writes on the Rennard scandal and its lessons The Liberal Democrat party inquiry into allegations of sexual harassment against Lord Christopher Rennard – and how it ended – have been headline news for a week. The inquiry found there was credible evidence of “behaviour which violated the personal space and autonomy of the […]
Factories without bosses: occupation wins in Argentina
(photo from www.8300.com.ar) Suzie Wylie writes from Argentina After 12 years of occupation and struggle at the Zanon ceramic tile factory in Neuquén, in southern Argentina, the courts have awarded the title deed for the property to the factory workers. The Ceramics Union declared, “We have fought, and will keep fighting to demonstrate that the […]
Nasty Little Nigel gets a rude welcome in Kent
Nigel Farage, leader of the UK Independence Party, visited east Kent on Monday, but his visit did not quite go to plan – he was greeted by a throng of angry protesters.
Institutional racism and unsolved murders
Mitch Mitchell writes on the cases of Stephen Lawrence, the New Cross Gate fire, Kelso Cochrane, Rolan Adams and Ricky Reel.
Trayvon Martin and Mark Duggan
Bill Crane compares the workings of the justice system for Trayvon Martin in the US and Mark Duggan in the UK – and notes the role of “colourblind” ideology to prop up racism in both cases. As an American who moved to Britain four months ago, I saw similarities between the cases of Trayvon Martin […]
The case for a higher education workers inquiry
Jamie Woodcock and Sølvi Goard make the case for a workers’ inquiry in higher education: Higher education is the second most casualised sector in the UK economy after catering. It is undergoing huge and far reaching changes, and it is not clear what the results of these will be. The analysis from the industry itself […]
Patrice Lumumba’s legacy
Last Friday marked the 53rd anniversary of the assassination of Patrice Lumumba. Miriyam Aouragh looks at his legacy and western complicity in his murder. In Une Saison au Congo (A Season in the Congo) from 1966, Aimé Césaire tells an unapologetic story about brutal colonial exploitation and the subsequent transformation of the Belgian Congo into […]
We sit starving amidst our gold
(review and pics by comrades from Walthamstow) “I do not want art for a few; any more than education for a few; or freedom for a few.” – William Morris British artist Jeremy Deller’s new English Magic exhibition at the William Morris Gallery in east London captures the essence of Morris’ thinking – that art and […]
Kent International Socialists produce solidarity bulletin
Kent International Socialists write: Kent International Socialists formed after many members in the Kent district of the SWP left the organisation. However, we quickly realised we had a responsibility to try and keep our networks together as revolutionaries, given the rise of UKIP and the NF in Thanet, as well as engaging in anti-austerity activity […]
Fast Food Rights meets to plan 15 February day of action
Fast Food Rights has been launched by left-wing Labour MP John McDonnell, alongside the BFAWU bakers union and Unite the Resistance.
No to Pinkwashing reports on today’s protest
No to Pinkwashing campaigns against the Israeli PR tactic of using claims about their record on LGBT issues to present Israel as a defender of human rights. They held a protest in central London today: We had called the protest after Gay Star News invited the Israeli Tourist Board to their Beach Party, an LGBT […]
Sussex disciplinary hearings adjourned due to bias
Students at Sussex University “have been victimised and made examples of”, writes Jelena Timotijevic at Defend the Right to Protest: The kangaroo court set up by the university’s management managed to appoint a senior member of the university staff as a chair of the hearing panel who on previous occasions publicly condemned students’ occupations and their […]
Court victory for 7,000 New Orleans teachers
An appeal court in Louisiana has ruled that the sacking of education workers that took place in the wake of Hurricane Katrina was illegal and that everyone who was fired should get two or three years back pay. Disaster capitalism has been punished, and school workers in New Orleans have won a long fight. Right […]
Justice Alliance launches petition to save legal aid
Justice Alliance, an umbrella campaign set up by legal organisations, charities, trade unions, community groups and others, has launched an online petition to fight against government cuts to legal aid: ► Sign the Justice Alliance change.org petition here ► Read Mikhil and David’s report on the 6 Jan legal strike