WAY BACK in 1988, on 3 July, the USS Vincennes, a missile cruiser stationed in the Persian Gulf, accidentally shot down an Iranian airliner and killed 290 civilian passengers. George Bush the First, who was at the time on his presidential campaign, was asked to comment on the incident. He said quite subtly, "I will never apologise for the United States. I don't care what the facts are."
WHAT MICHAEL Albert called participatory economics in last week's Socialist Worker might more straightforwardly be termed democracy at work. But whatever we call it, workers' control of production and distribution has to be central to our vision of life after capitalism.
"TO THE eight who want to rule the world, the world replies - resistance!" The chant was in French, but taken up by people from a dozen or more European countries - and some from Africa, Asia and Latin America too.
THE RIGHT wing tabloids and the Daily Telegraph have whipped up a frenzy over two issues over greater European integration. The furore is over the referendum over the European constitution, and whether Britain should adopt the euro currency.
IF 14 police officers had been killed during their course of duty the national press would have created an outrage. Their pictures would have been on every front page. We would know their faces, names, and ages. We would know the grief and heartache of their families and colleagues.
Zackie Achmat is one of the leading figures of the South African movement fighting to get lifesaving drugs made available to everyone living with HIV and AIDS. He was an anti-apartheid activist from an early age. Although he is HIV positive, he is refusing to take antiretroviral drugs until they are made available for everyone in the South African public health system. He is chair of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC).
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THE devastating bomb attacks in Saudi Arabia and Morocco shattered 75 lives, and with them the great lie at the heart of George Bush's "war on terror". We were told the wars against Afghanistan and Iraq would "make the world a safer place". The US government, and Blair, have all but abandoned the pretence that invading Iraq was about weapons of mass destruction. Instead, Bush says Saddam Hussein was a key player in the 11 September 2001 attacks.
CRIME RATES are falling - but that doesn't stop home secretary David Blunkett whipping up hysteria over crime to help him ram through major attacks on civil liberties.
GEORGE Galloway's suspension from the Labour Party is due to be considered by the party's top internal committee on 10 June. The National Executive Committee (NEC) has the power to overturn the suspension, which was issued by the party's unelected general secretary, David Triesman, on behalf of the Blairite hierarchy two weeks ago.
LULA, THE former socialist and leader of the Workers Party who was elected president of Brazil last year, is turning on left wingers in his own party who oppose the pro-business policies he is pursuing in office. Three Workers Party deputies in Brazil's Congress are being threatened with expulsion from the party for opposing Lula's tax and pension plans which will hit workers.
Soon after the 11 September attacks George Bush declared that the US and the world were facing "the first war of the 21st century". He was contemptuously brushing aside a war in which almost 3.5 million people have died. This has been going on since 1998 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Central Africa. It still goes on today.
