The bombings on Tuesday last week marked one of the bloodiest days of the occupation. How have Iraqis responded?
BUSH AND Blair's imperialist project needs to have an internal enemy, someone to scapegoat, someone to blame for both national and international ills. Muslims are now the new bogeymen, the new Communists. I was a victim of this recently. On 9 February I was passing through the US from Mexico on a transit flight back to London.
WE WERE detained on 11 December 2002 under the Terrorism Act of 2000. There were six of us-Gurkan Gur, Rory O'Driscoll, Allaatin Kalander, Songul Ozgur, Selver Kapan and Birten Kalayci.
NEW LABOUR boasts that it has been hugely successful at cutting unemployment. The number of people out of work and claiming benefit, 892,000, is at a 30-year low. But this "success" is based on a great illusion. There is increasing evidence that the real unemployment figure is much higher, perhaps two million more.
THE MEMO is from inside Carillion-the rail contractor which employed four track workers killed by a runaway wagon in Cumbria last month. It identifies a shocking catalogue of engineering failures on the West Coast Main Line, where the men were working. It shows that despite the best efforts of rail staff the subcontracting culture across the industry has led to:
THERE ARE moments when the forces which really rule in society suddenly reveal themselves-20 years ago the state unleashed its full might against the miners during the year-long strike. Police, courts, media, judges, the benefits system, coordination between different industries-all were used in a concerted effort to smash the most powerful union in Britain.
European Social Forum London, 14-17 October 2004 It's happening in London The organisers of the European Social Forum (ESF) in London have booked Alexandra Palace, a huge venue in Haringey, which will provide space for tens of thousands of activists.
BRITAIN'S BIGGEST all-out strike is having a big impact in Scotland. Some 5,000 low paid nursery nurses are out actively winning the solidarity they need to win a decent national pay rise. They are getting a great response from delegation work aimed at winning donations from union branches.
Respect candidates who will challenge New Labour were selected in two key regions of Britain last weekend. Socialist Worker talked to those chosen and discusses the battles they will be taking up
FIREFIGHTERS' union leaders are recommending the union opens up its political funds to allow backing for non-Labour candidates. The move, to be voted on at their FBU union conference in May, is the latest sign of a dramatic shift taking place in the unions. The RMT rail union has already moved to open its funds up in the same way, a move which saw the union expelled by the Labour Party last month. Similar debates are now growing in other unions.
RESPECT has written to firefighters' union members. The letter is signed by George Galloway MP, national secretary John Rees and executive member Linda Smith. Linda is the London Region treasurer of the FBU.
THE SOCIALIST Worker special issue produced to mark 20 years since the miners' strike is going down a storm. Ken Capstick, who was the NUM union branch delegate at Stillingfleet colliery during the strike and is a former Yorkshire NUM vice-chair, says, "I am pleased that Socialist Worker has produced this special edition to celebrate the struggle of the miners. We were right to fight the brutal Thatcher government. We have to learn the lessons from the strike-that the state will be used to crush workers' resistance and we need to stand together as a class."
