TOP-UP tuition fees for universities have created a huge political row. New Labour ruled out top-up fees in its last election manifesto, but the government is now playing with even worse proposals. It is refusing to rule out privatising universities under the World Trade Organisation's drive to introduce the market into services.
"Unless there is urgent action then a black or Asian person is going to be murdered by racists in Eltham." That is the chilling warning from Dev Barrah, who works at the Greenwich Council for Racial Equality.
The anti-war message was carried to every corner of Britain by last Thursday's day of action called by the Stop the War Coalition. In towns big and small, from Cornwall to Scotland, people took to the streets to stage a wide and imaginative variety of protests against war. In at least 24 colleges students staged occupations in some of the biggest student protests seen for many years.
THIS YEAR is the 85th anniversary of one of the most important and uplifting events of the 20th century. But you wouldn't know that from any of the papers or TV. The revolution in Russia in 1917 is an event hated by people who defend the system we live in. That's because the mass of people took their lives into their own hands. Historians who are hostile claim it was a conspiracy by a small bunch of revolutionaries called the Bolsheviks.
"THERE'S NO way we should be suspending strikes with so little on the table. It is creating demoralisation among the activists." That's what Del Godfrey, chair of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) in Essex, told Socialist Worker on Monday.
Over the last week, SOCIALIST WORKER has printed thousands of "Victory to the firefighters" placards. They went down a storm with firefighters like these from east London. Your donations are crucial in helping us to build solidarity with those fighting back. One big push to collect money from supporters and sympathisers and we can reach our target.
THOUSANDS of people from across Europe are heading for the European Social Forum in Florence in Italy next week. They will be taking part in one of the biggest international gatherings of campaigners and activists Europe has seen. The forum culminates in a major Europe-wide anti-war demonstration next Saturday, 9 November.
FIRE BRIGADES Union (FBU) officials and reps were meeting throughout this week to discuss their pay campaign. Those meetings of core members of the union expressed a renewed determination to win a clear-cut victory after the government has shown it can be budged. There were loud calls that the union nationally should maintain the momentum it has built up over the last few months.
A POLITICAL earthquake shook Latin America's largest country in Brazil's presidential election last Sunday. With 61.4 percent of the vote, the Workers Party candidate, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva - or Lula, as he is usually known - crushed the old government's candidate, José Serra.
ISHTIAQ AHMED has spent 13 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. KEVIN OVENDEN visited Ishtiaq in HMP Coldingley before his appeal, which began in London this week.
THE revelations about MI5 infiltration of the unions confirm that there are large parts of the state wholly removed from any hint of democratic control. According to the BBC series True Spies, secret service agents bugged, burgled and bribed their way into the heart of the unions during the 1970s and 1980s. Hurling aside all the rhetoric about privacy and the rule of law, these agents did what they pleased in order to destabilise workers' organisations.
TONY BLAIR accused the firefighters last week of bringing back the spectre of "Scargillism". He wanted to use the name of miners' union leader Arthur Scargill to try to discredit the firefighters. When Blair refers to "Scargillism" he means working class militancy. Workers in the 1970s showed that they could beat off attacks from the bosses and the government, through striking and winning active solidarity from other workers.
