Socialist Worker 2360 2013-07-02 17:43:01.0
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The masses speak: Egypt's revolution erupts
People are marching in anger all over Egypt Mass protests in Egypt last Sunday were the beginning of a second revolution. Around 17 million people came onto the streets. In the capital Cairo there was a festival mood—people ate ice cream and let off fireworks. There was no tension.  People felt they had won and that president Mohamed Mursi is finished. All of Egyptian society took part, from the middle classes to the poorest of the poor marching without shoes. At least half of those on the streets of Cairo were women.  I have never seen anything of this size, even in the 18 days that brought down former dictator Hosni Mubarak. Mursi has been so bad that he has pushed people beyond democratic boundaries. They don’t care that he was elected—he hasn’t delivered what people wanted so he has to go.  People say, “We’ll get rid of you like we got rid of the last one”. Everyone feels Mursi will go, though it’s not clear how. Even if the army move to force him out, people will see it as a victory for mass action.  Rebellion Mursi never did understand there was a revolution. A small group of people started the Rebel campaign (see pages 10&11). Others took the petitions into their villages and towns. They turned it into a mass movement of millions.Nobody expected it. The whole country was shut down on Sunday. Everything stopped. People blocked railway lines and occupied government buildings.  Bus drivers took marchers to protests. Sometimes they stopped at one of our stalls and the driver would get out to get leaflets and then everyone would buy a paper. These are things we have never seen before.   The only security presence was some army at entrances to towns and cities. The army is seen by many as supporting the movement against Mursi. When army helicopters flew over Tahrir Square people clapped. “We started it so you must finish it,” they said to the soldiers. There have been arguments about whether the army is an ally. People don’t want to see a military government—they just want the army to help get rid of Mursi. The Muslim Brotherhood has lost so much support, especially in the urban areas. This opens up the possibilities for all sorts of ideas.  Socialists The Revolutionary Socialists sold loads of papers on the demos. People are asking what are the alternatives to Mursi. They ask what is liberalism, what is socialism? Unlike how some of the media are trying to show it, these protests are not about secularism versus religion. The demos in Cairo were completely mixed. There were women in the niqab, in hijabs and others with their hair out. The marchers were all ages and there was a massive representation of Christians.  But there was no visible presence of supporters of the old regime—no pictures of Mubarak for example.  People are so politicised, they are debating about what sort of society they want to see. Confidence is through the roof.  This was the biggest protest in world history. It will have an effect around the globe from Turkey to Brazil. This struggle is not over.  Sameh Naguib will be speaking at Marxism 2013 next week, go to marxismfestival.org.uk  

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Police spied on campaigners attending Stephen Lawrence murder inquiry
  Stephen Lawrence The cops’ dirty tricks operation against Stephen Lawrence’s family and its supporters was coordinated ­nationally. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) gathered intelligence on those attending the inquiry into the teenager’s murder. GMP Special Branch sent a request in August 1998 to all divisions asking for information on “groups or individuals” likely to attend the Macpherson hearing. The Daily Mirror has obtained a police report sent by a GMP sergeant to a chief superintendent in October, 1998. Entitled Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, the sergeant wrote that he had assumed the request referred to “subversive groups”. The same process was carried out across Britain. This follows revelations that undercover cops spied on the Lawrences in the wake of Stephen’s death. Cops also taped confidential converations with Stephen’s friend and witness to the murder, Duwayne Brooks.  
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London Pride is a protest
Out and Proud in London (Pic: Guy Smallman) Thousands of people attended London Pride last Saturday.  Organisers hailed this year’s event as the city’s biggest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender celebration for more than a decade. There were union banners from the CWU, GMB, RMT and Prospect.  Anti-fascists who had been protesting against the English Defence League (EDL) in Hyde Park joined the demonstration after the tiny numbers of EDL dispersed. Simon Guy
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Ellen Gallagher's art challenges racism with wit and pain at the Tate Modern
Bird in the Hand (Pic: Ellen Gallagher 2006) Ellen Gallagher’s art references African-American culture over the last hundred years, from minstrels to hip-hop.  Bird in Hand is a good example of this, referring to the myth of a black Atlantis. It is populated by mutants descended from the unborn children of African women thrown overboard for insurrection in the slave trade.  Her art also refers to many other disturbing instances in black American history.  This includes the cruel study of the effects of syphilis on 400 black men in Alabama from 1932 to 1972, who were refused treatment. But her work is also funny. Beauty magazines in the 1940s and 1950s encouraged black people to look more white to improve their social mobility. She has reworked these pages, adding wigs in bright yellow plasticine. Her range is stunning. There are animations, collages, two-sided drawings and intricately crafted paintings. Her meanings are another, rich layer to delve into.  Ellen Gallagher: AxME Until 1 September, Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG  tate.org.uk
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Verdict due into death of Jimmy Mubenga
The judge’s summing up at the inquest into the death of Jimmy Mubenga was due to start on Tuesday of this week.  The jury is expected to retire to consider its verdict on Wednesday or Thursday.  The inquest is being held at Isleworth, near London.  Jimmy died in 2010 during an attempt to forcibly deport him to Angola in the custody of security firm G4S.
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More time to build for housing strike
Support workers at One Housing in London have postponed a planned three-day strike for three weeks. They are in the Unite union, and have already walked out against massive pay cuts. Workers felt concessions offered by the bosses were not enough to end the dispute, but that more time would help to build the next strike.
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Postal workers walkout to stop closures
Thousands of workers in 371 Crown Post Offices struck on Saturday of last week. They are members of the CWU union. Crown Post Office pickets in Leeds (Pic: Steve Johnstone)  Bosses threaten to close or franchise 74 Crown offices at a cost of 1,500 jobs. Workers also haven’t had a pay rise since 2011.  It was the seventh walkout in the dispute this year. Around 40 pickets were also out as part of a dispute at the Friarn Street delivery office in Bridgwater, Somerset.  Some 122 staff are being bullied into working harder and faster to bolster profits so the service can be sold. “The feeling on the picket was brilliant,” said CWU branch secretary Dave Wilshire. They are set to strike again this Saturday. The CWU union has agreed not to instruct members in the post office to boycott rivals’ mail after Royal Mail took it to court over a recent indicative ballot. The CWU had threatened to take action without a further ballot if workers returned a strong result. Postal workers also voted by 99 percent to reject a pay offer from Royal Mail. They want a rise above inflation.  Meanwhile workers at Fishponds delivery office in Bristol are being balloted to strike after bosses extended deliveries. Workers in Weston-Super-Mare are to be balloted after a gate meeting voted unanimously to strike over hours and cuts to holidays. And some 1,500 workers in Coventry and Warwickshire are to be balloted for strikes after they were told to work more hours for no extra pay.
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An adventure for workers' rights
Workers at the Adventure International activity centre in Bude, Cornwall, struck on Friday of last week. The walkout was sparked after one worker was made redundant.
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Rich scroungers grab more
Osborne says we need cuts to deal with Britain’s budget deficit. But for some things, it seems there is plenty of cash on offer. The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority is expected to recommend a pay rise for MPs. This amounts to a staggering 15 percent—although it’s still less than half what some MPs demanded in January. Meanwhile the queen grabbed a 5 percent pay rise last week. And William and Kate’s palace is having a £1 million refurbishment before a new royal scrounger arrives. Good to know we’re all in it together.
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Molson Coors offer rejected by workers
Workers at the Molson Coors brewery in Burton-on-Trent have voted to reject a new offer from bosses. They are in the Unite union and voted by 97 percent for strikes on pay, conditions and shift patterns. The union is now set to consult members on what to do next.
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South London bin strike put on hold
Refuse workers in Bromley and Croydon, south east London, have put their strike “on hold” for talks at the Acas conciliation service. They are members of the Unite union employed by Veolia. They were set to strike for three days this week but are delaying for three weeks.
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Scotland is set for strike ballot on pay
Local government workers across Scotland could strike over pay. Workers in the Unison union will be balloted for strikes from Wednesday of this week after the union rejected a below-inflation 1 percent pay offer. The ballot ends on 13 August.
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Cameron enjoyed apartheid while Mandela was in jail
A sick Tory poster from the 1980's David Cameron has said Nelson Mandela is his personal hero. But he didn’t always feel that way. He even accepted a free all-expenses paid “fact-finding mission” to apartheid South Africa while Mandela was still in prison on Robben Island. This was 1989, by which time the apartheid regime was internationally hated and on the verge of collapse. But that didn’t stop Cameron from taking the shilling of a pro-apartheid lobby firm to “see for himself”. Cameron’s old boss Alistair Cooke later played down the trip’s racist agenda, saying the “jolly” was a “just a little treat, a perk of the job”. But millions of black South Africans were having a far from jolly time. There was strict secrecy at the Tory summer ball last week. David Cameron, George Osborne and Boris Johnson laughed it up with vintage champagne—and fat cat chums who’d paid more than £1,000 each for the privilege of joining them. The flowers alone cost tens of thousands. Rich guests bid for grouse shoots and Thatcher tributes to raise money for the Tory election campaign. But the star of the show was a bronze bust of David Cameron—snapped up for £90,000. “Security was very tight and everyone was told to keep their phones away and take no pictures,” said one guest. “They knew exactly what it would look like if details of the bash got out.” It must have been a busy week for Johnson, who also spoke at a London Pride gala dinner a few days later. But if he was hoping to boost his gay liberation credentials, he ruined it with an offensive joke—sharing his “delight” that “as of this autumn any young man will be able to take his chum up the Arsenal... and marry him.” As angry guests walked out, Boris could only manage the bizarre comeback of calling them “French cowards”. Bosses always warn workers in Britain not to be outdone by their industrious counterparts in China. Maybe they’re onto something. Factory workers barricaded boss Chip Starnes in his Beijing office last month. They slept in shifts inside the factory while guarding Starnes—but didn’t let him get a wink of sleep. They only let him out when he coughed up their unpaid wages. Tory councillors in Tower Hamlets, east London, whipped up a petition against plans to build a centre for Muslims on park land. It won the support of some vile racists (and the local Green Party). But it doesn’t stand up to much scrutiny. The centre is to be open to everyone—and built on a waste plot of tarmac next to the park. Workers at the castle that doubled as Hogwarts in the Harry Potter films found a week’s wages vanished as if by magic last week. Princes William and Harry were among the guests at Old Etonian property magnate Thomas van Strabenzee’s wedding to Lady Melissa Percy at her family’s ancestral Alnwick Castle. Lady Percy’s parents—a duke and duchess richer than the queen—said the marriage should give locals cause for celebration. But 100 guides, minstrels and broomstick instructors lost their hours for one of the busiest weeks of the year. On their “zero hour” contracts, that means no pay. Europe’s most lucrative tourist attraction was closed on Wednesday of last week. Some 300 workers walked out of the Eiffel Tower over low pay and “awful” conditions. It didn’t take long for George Osborne’s spending review plans to start falling apart.  He’s reliably kept up the New Labour tradition of distracting from bad news by talking about broadband. But within 24 hours he was backtracking from his £150 million plans for 22 “superconnected cities”. It turned out BT and Virgin Media were worried it would hurt their monopolies. Osborne’s Lib Dem sidekick Danny Alexander reckons he can turn a quick £10 billion selling student loans that may never be paid back. There’s just one problem. The loans have been on sale for five years. And if Gordon Brown couldn’t find anyone fool enough to take it on during a boom, Alexander’s going to have a tough time in the slump of the century. There are all kinds of rumours but one thing’s for sure. It’ll only come off with a big bribe to the bankers—that we’ll be expected to pay back with cuts a few years down the line. One London cop was caught standing around with his gun on display, with his BMW patrol illegally parked on nearby yellow lines last week. But don’t worry—he had an urgent reason to stop.The hungry officer just couldn’t resist joining the queue for a pork bun at Borough Market. BONUS OF THE WEEK £1.5M—Bosses’ Olympic windfall  Remember when striking London bus drivers were called “greedy” when they demanded more pay for working the Olympics? But London Transport bosses had no problem with giving themselves a £1.5 million games bonus  The gold medal for greed went to Sir Peter Hendy, on a total of £650,000 All Rise £2million—One scrounger is doing well this week—the queen got a 5 percent pay rise £100K—to do up two fancy loos in the House of Lords. The throne room is used by peers and VIPs, and needs new oak panelling  
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BBC journalists consultative ballot
The National Union of Journalists is set to consult members at the BBC over a revised offer on pay, redundancy, consultation and anti-social hours payments. It will hold workplace meetings and a consultative ballot.  Members at the BBC are being balloted for industrial action against bosses’ attacks. This will close on 26 July.
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A year of elections tests South American governments
Student protests in Chile (Pic: Periodico El Cuidadano) Around 100,000 student protesters disrupted the polls at Chile’s primary elections last week.  They were demanding free and publicly-run education.  Port workers and miners struck in their defence.  The workers blockaded the country’s lucrative copper mines demanding nationalisation—so that the profits could fund the students’ demands. South America faces a packed schedule of elections over the coming year, including in its three largest economies—Brazil, Argentina and Colombia. In Argentina, like Brazil, a once popular centre left government is undergoing a major crisis of legitimacy.  Both the unions and the right wing parties have led massive protests. Colombia's outgoing president is right winger Juan Manuel Santos. He faces a challenge from within his own party—and  his own family—over his negotiations with the FARC guerrilla rebels. Santos wants to end a 50 year civil war through negotiation after his predecessor Manuel Uribe failed to end it with military force.  The longer it drags on the more it gets in the way of Colombia’s own emerging economic boom.  Colombia is increasingly singled out by investment banks as the next economy to watch in the region. But much of the establishment remains bitterly opposed.  
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TUC LGBT Conference
More than 250 delegates from 29 unions gathered for the TUC’s annual LGBT conference.   It brought back the reality of discrimination at work, away from the idea that equal marriage means equality is won.  Many delegates were particularly angry at Labour’s lack of anything more than tokenism. Ukip—the only openly homophobic parliamentary party—was condemned outright.  Delegates clearly understood that we are facing a raft of ideological attacks hidden in the policies of austerity—and these are trade union issues.  Regrettably a motion was passed singling out Islam as irreconcilable with LGBT rights.  This will come as a shock to LGBT anti-racist campaigners who have demonstrated alongside Muslims.  Pura Ariza, UCU delegate (pc)
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GPs to check on patients' migration status
The government is ratcheting up pressure on GPs to check the immigration status of patients using the NHS.  Tory health minister Jeremy Hunt plans to introduce a registration and tracking system.  This panders to the far right Ukip and will lead to black and Asian people being targeted. Just 0.03 percent of the annual NHS budget is spent on sick people who are not officially entitled to free care and haven’t yet paid.  Hospitals are already asking for proof of address and passports for appointments.
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Labour 'me-tooing' helps Tory offensive
The comprehensive spending review revealed what a nasty, vicious bunch of class warriors the coalition is. But it also exposed the sheer spinelessness of the Labour Party under Ed Miliband. George Osborne is a complete failure as chancellor of the exchequer. Slashing public spending hasn’t liberated the British economy and opened a new era of growth, as he promised three years ago. The Marxist blogger Michael Roberts summed up the grim picture revealed by revised figures from the Office for National Statistics. “The UK economy remains 3.9 percent smaller in real GDP than it was at its peak,” he wrote. “During the Great Recession, the UK economy, with its heavy weighting towards financial and business services, contracted by 7.2 percent. And real per capita GDP is still 7.6 percent below its pre-crisis peak. “With UK real GDP per capita at the same level as it was in 2004, nine years later, it truly is a wasted decade.” Yet as Andrew Rawnsley pointed out in last Sunday’s Observer, it is the Tories who are on the offensive. “If the recent twitches of life in the economy are precursors to sustained growth, the Tories will argue that they are getting the job done, that Britain is turning the corner, even if it has taken a lot longer than they originally promised,” he wrote. “They will reprise something along the lines of Margaret Thatcher’s successful 1983 election slogan: ‘Britain is on the right track—don’t turn back.’ They will blend that with a version of Barack Obama’s potent attack on the Republicans in the 2012 US election: ‘Don’t give the car keys back to the guys who drove it into the ditch.’” Behind this strategy is the fact that people blame Labour for the 2008 financial crash that inaugurated the present economic catastrophe. The latest Opinium opinion poll reveals a remarkably contradictory picture. Labour is ten percentage points ahead of the Tories, but 46 percent hold Labour most responsible for the lack of economic growth. To nurture Labour’s lead, Miliband and his shadow chancellor Ed Balls have decided to mimic the coalition. They say they would respect Osborne’s spending limits if they win the next election and refuse to promise to reverse his cuts. Nastiest This “me-too” strategy puts Labour permanently on the back foot. The nastiest feature of the spending review was Osborne’s announcement that the waiting time before unemployed people can receive Jobseeker’s Allowance has been lengthened from three to seven days. As Polly Toynbee pointed out in the Guardian, “this was pure symbolism”. Osborne was exploiting the poll evidence that many people have accepted the din of propaganda from the tabloids and both front benches about “welfare cheats”. Predictably but contemptibly, Labour has refused to oppose this mean measure. This left Toynbee agonising, “My inbox is full of upset and angry Labourish people. Why preach Keynes then knuckle under to Hayek, they ask.” The answer is that government and opposition remain the children, not just of Thatcher, but of Tony Blair. They accept her economic liberalism, which justifies austerity, and his social liberalism on issues such as gay marriage. Balls may have been Gordon Brown’s closest henchman in the struggle to drive Blair from 10 Downing Street, but he operates according to the New Labour playbook. This means slavish obedience to the focus groups, the financial markets, and the tabloids. We shouldn’t allow the hacking scandals to delude us about the power of the media bosses, particularly over issues such as welfare, migration, and Europe. The latest policy kite to be flown from Miliband’s office is that Labour may join the Tories in supporting a referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union—possibly before the next election. The net effect of Miliband’s and Balls’s me-tooism is that the three main parties will present virtually identical policies at the next election. Almost certainly, that will further reduce their share of the total vote. I’d like to believe the radical left will benefit, but I’m afraid it’s far more likely to be ugly forces on the populist right.
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Black and white unite against racism in Harlow
Black and white united in Harlow (Pic: Zak Cochrane) Around 200 people turned out for a multicultural event in Harlow, Essex, last Sunday.  It was set up by the local branch of Unite Against Fascism in partnership with Integration Support Services. This is a charity that supports migrants, refugees and asylum seekers in the town.   The charity provided 100 T-shirts with the message “Don’t be racist…Be like a Panda they’re Black, White and Asian.”  The slogan went down really well and brought people together. People at the event included Muslims from the local Islamic Centre, the local Eastern European community, a traditional West African music organisation, trade unionists and anti-racists.   It was called in response to a march by a group called Harlow Strong that was openly encouraging members of the far right British National Party and English Defence League to attend. 
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Gove's free school snatches millions from Islington council
The Tories have taken control of a north London school and handed it to a trust made up of profit-making firms—for free. Ashmount Primary School in Islington was due to move to a nearby site because of problems with the existing building.  Islington council planned to sell the old site at a reduced rate to a housing association so that it could build social housing.  It expected to get around £3 million from the sale, which would then be invested in schools. Some 90 percent of parents and two thirds of residents backed the move. But the Education Funding Agency, an arm of Tory Michael Gove’s Department for Education has thrown this plan into disarray.  It has taken control of the site without paying any compensation to the council. It is now set to become Islington Free Primary School, which was approved by Gove in May. “I don’t think Gove could sink much lower than this,” Ken Muller, a teacher in Islington, told Socialist Worker. “He is robbing £3 million from schools and stopping the building of social housing.” There are more than 13,000 households on Islington council’s waiting list.  And the free school will create extra school spaces in an area forecast to have surplus places. Bellevue Place Education Trust will run the school.  The trust is made up of two profit making firms—Bellevue Education and Place Group. Firms aren’t allowed to run schools for profit in Britain.  Yet Gove has said if elected in 2015 the Tories would allow firms to profit from schools.  But there is a fightback from parents, teachers and activists.  “We were already campaigning against the planned free school,” said Ken. “This announcement will motivate us to step it up.” antiacademies.org.uk
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Smiley Culture retires to consider its verdict
The jury in the inquest into the death of reggae singer Smiley Culture, real name David Emmanuel, has retired to consider its verdict. During the inquest jurors heard evidence from forensics expert Roy Green.  He said that it was “impossible to tell” from blood splatter whether or not David stabbed himself as police claim. Green said that the positioning of blood was in keeping with the police story of where he was in the kitchen when he was stabbed. This is consistent with Home Office pathologist Robert Chapman.  Earlier in the inquest, he said that the angle of the stab wound though “consistent with self infliction” did not “exclude actions by someone else”.
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Racists launch new attacks, but EDL London march is a flop
UAF's Weyman Bennett addresses anti-racists (Pic: Guy Smallman) Two controlled explosions were carried out after a bomb was left inside the Al Rahma mosque in Liverpool last Sunday. Mosque users were preparing for prayers when they were evacuated by army bomb disposal experts.  The alarm was raised 20 minutes before the busiest time of day for the mosque when around 200 people attend for prayers. The bomb in Liverpool is the latest in a string of racist terror attacks on Muslims around Britain. Four Muslim graves were desecrated in Newport, Wales, on Sunday night.  The attackers painted swastika symbols on the stones. They wrote “EDL”—the initials of the racist English Defence League—as well as “BNP”, “Ukip”, “Lee Rigby murder” and “white power”. Racists also daubed swastikas and “EDL” on the walls of Redditch Central Mosque last week. Rafqat Hussain is chair of management there.  “These attacks are frightening, especially when they happen in the run-up to Ramadan when mosques will be full,” he told Socialist Worker. “The media and politicians are to blame. Every time there’s an incident they emphasise if it was done by ‘Muslims’.  “It’s demonisation. They’ve stoked things up and this is the consequence.” But Rafqat said that many ordinary people opposed the racists. “After the attack on our mosques we had calls donating money and pledging support,” he said. “People came out to say how sorry they were that this had happened.” The EDL has whipped up racist hatred in the wake of the killing of soldier Lee Rigby in Woolwich, south London, in May. It planned to march from central London to Woolwich last Saturday, through Tower Hamlets and Newham in east London. Unite Against Fascism (UAF) called a counter demonstration and organised rallies with United East London. The racists’ march flopped when 25 turned up in Hyde Park. They soon scuttled away before their march was due to begin.  EDL founders Tommy Robinson and Kevin Carroll were arrested when they tried to enter Tower Hamlets, breaking their agreed marching route. Some 250 anti-fascists assembled and went on a victory march to join the London Pride LGBT march (see page 18) when it became clear the EDL were off the streets. The EDL is in disarray. But anti-fascists can’t afford to be complacent. EDL members hurled abuse and tried to intimidate trade unionists entering and leaving a UAF meeting in the Unite union office in Ipswich last Thursday. UAF and Keep Ipswich Fascist Free are holding a demonstration on Sunday of this week to oppose them. Assemble at 11am, Giles Statue.  
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No sense in jobcentre shift
Jobcentre workers have spoken out against the Tories’ new attacks on claimants. George Osborne wants those out of work to have weekly job centre interviews instead of fortnightly. Yet the Tories have shut down job centres and sacked workers in those that remain. “We haven’t got the staff to deal with the people looking for work now,” said one job centre worker in Thames Valley. “It’s bullying unemployed people and part of the demonisation of people not in work.  “People coming in more often won’t mean we get to spend more time with them. “It will just mean, ‘Sign this, sign this, goodbye’.” The worker added that the move could actually make it harder for people to find work. “We’ll have less time to help them find a job,” they explained. “In rural areas in particular, people have to travel far to get to the jobcentre. “It takes up time and it’s also expensive.”
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‘Egypt's revolution has made people mighty’
We witnessed in Alexandria the largest protests we have seen since Mubarak fell in 11 February 2011—perhaps even bigger than that.  Several protests merged into one and we started a sit in, which people don’t tend to do in Alexandria. Normally people march and rally. I was on march in a poor district. It was one of the best ever.  People chanted for social justice, a minimum and maximum wage and to topple Mursi because of his economic policies. Some people chanted pro-army slogans.  When someone started chanting in support of the army people shouted, “Shut up! Chant for the people and no one else”. You feel how the revolution has changed people, they have become mighty and courageous. They don’t feel inferior to anyone.  They say if the army takes over from Mursi and doesn’t do as the people wish, “We will topple them too.”  We in the Revolutionary Socialists talk about what the army has done in the past to the revolutionary movement.  We want to remind people about the recent violent history of the Scaf military government.  We have to be clear that the army does not have the same interests as the people.
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People are beginning to demand real change in the US
Medea Benjamin (centre) outside the White House (Pic: Codepink) Last week exemplified the electric political atmosphere in the US today.  In Texas state senator Wendy Davis received overwhelming support for her filibuster. She spoke for 10 hours to block new laws there against abortion rights. And the Supreme Court overturned the Proposition 8 and DOMA laws against gay marriage (see back story). It appears that there is definitely a growing political awareness across the country. Organisations and whistleblowers such as Wikileaks, Bradley Manning, and Edward Snowden, have allowed the public to learn about what is being done in its name.  While we have seen enormous victories, we have also seen some setbacks.  Just this week, the Supreme Court gutted the famous 1965 Voting Rights Act that was enacted to prevent racial voting discrimination.  Hopefully, we can connect the dots on all of these issues to rise, organise and work together for social and economic justice for all.  The potential is definitely there. We had about 200 people for our action at the White House last week.  Codepink cofounder Diane Wilson, on a hunger strike since 1 May, took the dramatic action of climbing over the White House fence. She was immediately arrested.  Some 21 of us were also arrested when we refused to leave the White House fence. For over a decade now, Codepink and many other groups have been working to close down the prison camp in Guantanamo Bay. Activists are mobilising now more than ever because over 100 of the prisoners are currently on hunger strike.  Some of them haven’t eaten since February, and many of them are being force-fed. The American Medical Association says this procedure qualifies as torture. Given the grave sense of urgency, I felt compelled to speak out during the President’s foreign policy speech at the National Defense University (NDU).  I pointed out that he has been promising to close Guantanamo since he ran for office in 2008, but he’s yet to take any meaningful action.  There are 86 men languishing in Guantanamo who have been cleared for release for years.  I just returned from a peace delegation to Yemen where I met with family members of some of the prisoners. Their stories were heartbreaking. The severity of the hunger strike in Guantanamo and the actions of concerned citizens has thrust this issue into the national dialogue.  I believe the grassroots pressure was the reason that President Obama gave his speech at NDU. After years of so much talk and so little action, the public is beginning to demand real change.   The overturning of DOMA is a huge victory. It has been a long, grassroots struggle on a state by state basis that has led to a sea change in public opinion and public policy. What happened in Texas is a great example of individuals working for change from both inside and outside of the system.  It is also a great example of women, both elected officials and activists, pushing back against the right wing patriarchal agenda.  After Michigan Representative Lisa Brown was banned from the House floor for using the word “vagina” thousands of women converged on Michigan state capitol to mobilise and organise.  It seems we are constantly taking two steps forward and one step back, but at least we are moving forward! Medea Benjamin is a co-founder of Codepink. Her new book Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control is available at Bookmarks Back story Two laws against equal marriage were overturned by the US Supreme Court last week. DOMA, or the Defense of Marriage Act, was enacted in 1996 and allowed US states to refuse recognition of same sex marriages legally performed in other US states. Proposition 8 was amended  to California’s state constitution in 2008 and banned the recognition of same sex marriage.
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Piper Alpha 25 years on: fire killed 167 workers because bosses cut corners
A memorial to the workers in Aberdeen (Pic: Notnixon on Flickr) It’s 25 years since the Piper Alpha oil platform was engulfed in flames, claiming the lives of 167 people. It was a disaster that never should have happened—but bosses’ disregard for safety doomed three quarters of the rig’s workers to death. Four massive explosions destroyed the platform, which lay 110 miles north-east of Aberdeen, on the night of 6 July 1988. Of the 167 men killed, 165 were on the platform and two on a rescue vessel. The first explosion took place at around 10pm, when a cloud of gas, leaking from a pump that was missing a safety valve, ignited.  There were three further huge explosions at 10.20pm, 10.50pm and 11.20pm. These were caused by ruptures of the pipelines connecting Piper Alpha to other platforms.  The fire reached over 700C—hot enough to melt hard hats on to the heads of the men wearing them. Most of those who died on Piper Alpha did so in the galley, waiting for helicopters that were prevented from landing by flames and thick smoke. The walls were fire proof but not smoke proof or blast proof. After 15 minutes, the emergency lighting went off and the room was dark except for the glow from fires licking the windows. Design The design of the platform had made no allowances for the destruction of the control room.  As a result no call for evacuation was made. When the smoke began to penetrate the accommodation block two men donned protective gear and attempted to reach the fire-fighting systems below deck. They were never seen again. Some workers did make it outside. One survivor Roy recalled “I didn’t know what was below me. I just knew I had to get out of the flames. “Most of the lads I was standing with never made it.” The fire itself would have burnt out had it not been fed by the nearby Tartan and Claymore platforms hurtling gas and oil into the heart of the fire. The Claymore platform was only shut down after the second explosion. The Tartan platform was not shut down due to the cost. The fire took three weeks to put out.  An inquiry into the disaster was critical of Piper Alpha’s operator, Occidental, which was found guilty of having inadequate maintenance and safety procedures. No criminal charges were ever brought against it. At the time of the accident the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) did not cover the oil and gas platforms.  But 25 years later the Tories have closed down the offshore division of the HSE. The next time the press or a politician complain about “elf and safety gone mad” remember Piper Alpha. NRB: blacklisted for raising safety concerns Workers are blacklisted using “NRB” (not required back) on North Sea platforms. Unions say someone can receive an NRB for complaining about safety, being suspected of a tip-off to the Health and Safety Executive or being too trade union orientated. Workers labelled as NRB are unlikely to be hired by any firm. The North Sea is still being drilled...  Deep water drilling is ongoing in the North Sea—despite a poor safety record. BP leads the drive to exploit the remaining oil. Its Deepwater Horizon oil rig spilled a million gallons a day in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.  The industry body Oil & Gas UK said plans had been rehearsed to prevent oil coming to shore in the event of a spill and that the rough conditions would help dispel pollution. ...and rigs are still catching fire  Safety inspectors were called out to Apache’s Beryl Bravo platform after a fire last month. More than 150 workers were on board at the time of the fire. It saw a sudden intense burst of flames, leading to shutdown and emergency response procedures.
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Letters
The Met is filthy, racist and rotten beyond redemption Is there any level to which the British state will not stoop?  I’m talking about the Channel 4 Dispatches documentary on police secrecy. It focused on a former Special Branch police informer turned whistleblower.  Historically police have infiltrated political campaigns and strikes.  These revelations are timely with current attention on another whistleblower—Edward Snowden. He revealed that the US security services were complicit in using surveillance to monitor Internet traffic covertly. However the most shocking thing about the Dispatches programme was when the whistleblower testified that as well as covert activities, Special Branch were prepared to smear the Justice for Stephen Lawrence campaign. As if Stephen’s family haven’t suffered enough over 20 years with police corruption and racism. Of course Socialist Worker readers will not be surprised at the role the “secret” state plays. Gary Lewis, Swansea Stephen Lawrence was murdered in 1993. Most of his murderers remain at liberty. We now learn that the police told their undercover operative to find “dirt” on his family.  Is there any doubt that the Metropolitan Police are institutionally racist, irredeemably corrupt and wholly unaccountable? Comrades, after these recent attacks, no one should be in any doubt exactly what it is all coppers are. Sasha Simic, Hackney, east London The police will never change. Whenever there’s a scandal they say it’s down to one rotten apple. But the revelations that cops spied on Stephen Lawrence’s family show that the whole orchard is rotten to the core. It’s a wonder as to how the state maintains the lie it’s there to protect the public. Steve Gray, by email Nazis outnumbered by shoppers in Sheffield In Sheffield we recently completely humiliated half a dozen Nazis from the British Movement who were handing out leaflets calling for a “white only Britain”. We had just finished a Socialist Worker stall and confronted them along with Occupy protesters and local shoppers.  We drowned them out and tore down their banners and defied their shouts of “Hitler was right”. They had to scuttle off under police protection. As the crisis in society deepens, even more vicious organisations are trying to capitalise on people’s despair. The experience made me realise how important it is to be part of an organisation that confronts fascism at every turn. Julia Shergold, Sheffield A long fight ahead of us I was in Paris for the rally against the Front National and in memory of Clement Meric, the 18 year old left wing activist killed by fascists.  It was a huge event that should give everyone optimism for anti-racism and anti-capitalism in France. French anti-fascists have a lot to undo. Police brutality, the popularity of the racist Front National of Marine Le Pen, and the normalisation of anti-immigrant views by mainstream parties. Anti-fascists in France and in Britain need to keep shouting the same message at every opportunity—that economic injustice is the fault of contradictions in capitalism, not immigration. William Cleary, Kent Syria is a civil war I disagree with your article “US troops in Syria only threaten the revolution” (Socialist Worker, 18 June).  The headline implies that the military struggle of the rebels is still revolutionary.  It is now quite clear that any revolutionary dynamic in Syria was overwhelmed by Bashar al-Assad’s bloody repression.  What remains is sectarian military struggle. If we want the eventual overthrow of Assad we have to be clear about the fate of the revolution and what went wrong. Dave Gardner, by email Help single parents too  Unfortunately I couldn’t attend the People’s Assembly (Socialist Worker, 29 June), although I really wanted to.  This was due to not having anyone to stay with my young son while I went out. This in itself seems normal, but the truth is it is not acceptable. It also shows the predicament facing over a third of Britain’s single parent families.  I have been on Jobseekers Allowance for a year and a half and have attended the A4E work programme.   The pressure and stress forced upon me and my son are unbearable.   I feel as if I am watched, criticised and made to feel inadequate as a parent. I hope that people will speak for us, the unseen single parents. Jane Upton, Leicester Warmongers should pay up The Supreme Court has ruled that relatives of army personnel killed or injured in active service can sue if underfunded or faulty equipment was responsible. We shouldn’t face cuts or be taxed to pay for this. The military interventions in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan are neoliberal wars for rotten neoliberal causes If anyone should pay compensation, it’s the pro-war MPs. Nick Vinehill, Norfolk A small victory for Palestine It’s an inspiration to see a Palestinian winning the Arab Idol TV talent show.  Mohammed Assaf’s songs are about the struggle and hope of the Palestinian people. The crowds of people that greeted him at the Rafah crossing just shows what his victory means to people. Palestinians fight Israel’s racism to assert their identity everyday. Mohammed Assaf is proudly bringing Palestinian culture to a wider audience. Soraya Hadeh, Glasgow All out to beat the Tories i was at the Preston teachers’ strike rally last week. It was a good turnout! Now let’s get some coordinated national strikes planned. Time is running out. While people still have some fight in them let’s hit the Tories hard! Bridgey Rachel, on Facebook Keep up the good work Socialist worker is an invaluable source of news from the invisible world of resistance and dissent.  The right wing media would rather we didn’t know about all the strikes and protests that are going on around the country against the system. Keep going. In solidarity.  Patrick Kinnersly, Address provided
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Campaigners organise fight for the health service
Lewisham Peoples Commission of Inquiry (Pic: Save Lewisham Hospital) Over 300 people came to the People’s Commission of Inquiry into planned cuts at Lewisham Hospital in south east London last Saturday. The inquiry into cuts at the hospital was organised by Save Lewisham Hospital campaign and chaired by leading barrister Michael Mansfield.  The Commission heard evidence from patients, staff and researchers.  Patient Deion Stephenson, explained how cuts to the children’s services would affect him.  “The doctors at Lewisham know me and my condition. If I had to go a long way to see new people each time I’d have to tell them again and again”.  Cuts at Lewisham hospital include the sell-off of 60 percent of its buildings and cuts to the A&E, children’s and maternity services. This is to bail out the debts of the neighbouring South London Healthcare NHS Trust built with Private Finance Initiatives (PFI).  Allyson Pollock, Professor of Public Health at Queen Mary University of London, gave evidence that PFI hospitals cost twice as much as those built with public money. She said, “PFI trusts pay 15 to 30 percent of their income to finance their debt—which leads to staff cuts”. Referring to the Mid-Staffs hospital scandal she said, “There are lots of Mid-Staffs in the making.” Colin Leys, author of The Plot against the NHS, argued that it was not enough to rely on parliament to save the NHS. Some 200 MPs and peers have financial interests in private medical companies. Doug and Doris Smith, activists in the Pensioners Forum, were born in south east London before the NHS was founded. “The cuts mean we’re going backwards”, said Doug. The campaign has raised £20,000 and is now taking Tory health secretary Jeremy Hunt to the High Court for a judicial review. Campaigning activities are planned across Britain on Friday of this week to mark the 65th birthday of the NHS. Health workers’ unions including Unison and Unite are leading them. Rallies are planned at hospitals threatened with cuts such as Bolton in Lancashire and Trafford General in Greater Manchester—the birthplace of the NHS, now faced with closure.For further details see bit.ly/Z2wTtn Unions are backing a national demonstration to defend the NHS at the Tory party conference in Machester on 29 September. Thanks to Andrew Smith savelewishamhospital.com    
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Trade unionists discuss strikes
Over 300 trade union activists attended the National Shop Stewards Network annual conference in London last Saturday. Speakers included Steve Gillan, general secretary of the Prison Officers’ Association, and Chris Bough, assistant general secretary of the PCS union. Delegates discussed their strikes and campaigns—and how to put pressure on the TUC to call a general strike.
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Lenny Henry's performance is a revelation in Fences
Lenny Henry as Troy Maxson Lenny Henry is a revelation as Troy Maxson, a former star of the segregated baseball leagues whose life is blighted by racism.  In Pittsburgh in 1957 “the hot winds of change had not yet begun to blow full”.  Bitter at a career thwarted by racism, he is now a refuse worker. He has demanded the right to be a driver—a white only job.    But his bitterness and parental protectiveness make him deny his son Cory his own chance at sporting success and a college education.  This is a new production of African American writer August Wilson’s play first produced in 1983.     Fences Directed by Paulette Randall Duchess Theatre, 3-5 Catherine Street, London WC2B 5LA nimaxtheatres.com
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Talking struggle by the seaside
Trade unionists in Sussex were set to hold a conference on building the fightback on Saturday of this week. The event takes place at the University of Brighton, backed by four trades councils and several unions. Speakers include Billy Hayes, general secretary of the CWU union, Turkish socialist Ron Margulies and Brighton bin workers. To book a place contact n.edmond@brighton.ac.uk Phil Mellows
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Protests spread across Egypt
Across Egypt protesters targeted the local headquarters of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice party.  In Suez and Port Said there were huge marches, while in Alexandria protesters announced the city’s “independence” from Brotherhood rule.  In Damanhour, 5,000 people blocked the railways and protested at the Brotherhood’s headquarters. Clashes with Mursi supporters seriously injured more than 40 people in Fayoum. Five people died in Assuit when protesters were shot at. Live rounds were also fired at protesters who blockaded the Freedom and Justice party headquarters in Qalyobeya. Patrick Goerge of the Revolutionary Socialists described the escalation in front of the Brotherhood’s headquarters in Moqattam.  He said, “The Brotherhood fired birdshot from inside the building. Then they fired live bullets, killing six people.” Police did nothing to protect protesters.  Some demonstrators still shouted “Police and people are one” or “Army and people are one”—but most people chanted against them. More than 300 were injured in Beheira. There were also clashes in Mansoura and Qina. There were protests in Dumiat and Hurghada. They army fired live rounds in Sinai. Solidarity with Egypt protests   Protests are taking place around the world in solidarity with the demonstrations in Egypt. Solidarity rallies have already happened in Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Spain and the US. In London, over 500 people crowded outside the Egyptian embassy on Sunday night.  Protests are expected to continue there at 6pm every day while the agitation goes on in Egypt. Watch this site for further updates 
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Striking teacher says, 'We all need to be fighting back'
Sue Bannister joins the Liverpool march with her son (Pic: Socialist Worker) Sue Bannister, an NUT member, said workers needed to up the ante against the Tories. She told Socialist Worker, “We’re under sustained attack from the government and the spending review was just more of the same.  “What have we done to deserve this? “My daughter works at Direct Line. She was told last week that her job’s gone. “My son’s going into teaching. He’ll have to pay £27,000 on his course, not to mention the loans he’ll need to live on.  “And all this for something MiIchael Gove says we don’t care about. “I think we should be going in the direction of a general strike. Look at Greece and Turkey. We should be fighting like they are.”
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Smethwick blaze shows risk of fire cuts
A fire engulfing over 50,000 tonnes of recycling material sent a plume of smoke 6,000 feet into the air on Monday of this week. Some 200 firefighters tackled the massive blaze in Smethwick, near Birmingham. Two fire engines have been cut in the West Midlands as part of a £20 million cuts plan. Last week the Tories cut another 7.5 percent from fire budgets in the spending review.  The Fire Brigades Union has called a march against fire station closures for Thursday 18 July. Assemble 11.30am at Monument, Fish Street Hill, London EC3R 6DB
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Workers' grief turned to anger in struggle for offshore safety
First issue of the Oilc workers' newspaper Workers formed the Oilc union in 1988 in the aftermath of Piper Alpha. The battle to build effective offshore union organisation can be a matter of life and death.  According to Jake Molloy of Oilc, “I was working on the Brent Delta platform on the night of 6 July. “I’d gone there in November 1986 after a disaster claimed the lives of 45 workers. I think the lads onboard Delta were only just about over that when Piper happened. “Piper was synonymous with accidents,” recalls Jake. “People would say, ‘Piper? Oh, you don’t want to go there. That place is ready to go.’ “There was a gas blast on the Brent Alpha and pictures were circulated around. A few months later the Ocean Odyssey had a blowout killing the radio operator.  “Grief was turning to anger as workers started to question the whole safety regime of the industry. By the time a massive blast ripped through the gas compression module on Brent Delta on January 1st 1989, the ‘battle lines’ were being drawn up.” Mikey Craig was a founder of Oilc. “There was a safety committee on Piper Alpha when it exploded—but a committee in name only,” he said. “It was exclusively oil company staff, but the bulk of the workers were contractors’ employees and unrepresented.  “Without training, and in the absence of effective regulations to protect and empower them, and without an effective enforcement agency in place at the time, the committee was ineffective. Many reps resigned in protest. “Despite serious concerns from workers about safety on Piper Alpha no effective mechanism existed for the workforce to address the issues that eventually caused the disaster. “This, combined with the corporate greed of a company that paid only lip service to safety, made catastrophe certain. I firmly believe that if Piper Alpha had an active and functioning safety committee then the disaster may have been averted.” Oilc is now part of the RMT union www.oilc.org
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The gloves are off as George Osborne reveals new brutal cuts
PCS members protest against Osborne's cuts (Pic: Socialist Worker) Tory chancellor George Osborne smugly delivered the government’s spending review last week. It marked a serious escalation of the Tories’ war on workers and the welfare state. And if unchallenged the cuts will drive millions of people into deep poverty and desperation. This spending round delivers total cuts of £11.5 billion for 2015-16, including £5 billion from so called “efficiency” savings. Osborne repeatedly whined that the country is “moving out of intensive care”. “If we abandoned our deficit plan, Britain would be back in intensive care,” he claimed. In fact the economy has not recovered from the recession and Osborne’s cuts have made the patient much, much weaker. For those holding onto their jobs, Osborne announced a new clampdown on public sector pay. Public sector wage rises would be held below 1 percent—again. He also is scrapping automatic pay rises for nurses, police and prison officers, teachers and doctors. The multi-millionaire heir to a baronetcy said, “Progression pay can at best be described as antiquated. “At worst, it’s deeply unfair.” The chancellor told MPs that cuts in pay will limit job losses. Yet even the government’s Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts that 144,000 jobs will be slashed in central and local government over the next two years. Osborne said of his spending review three years ago, “I said then that around half a million posts in the public sector were forecast to have to go.” It is the only prediction he has made that is true. The Daily Mirror newspaper estimates that the ban on automatic wage rises will mean nurses will have lost £1,711 since the coalition came to office in 2010. A home carer will have lost £2,100. The average nurse’s salary is £26,614 and the average care assistant’s is £12,959. The chancellor signalled a further 10 percent budget cut for local government from 2015. It would stretch councils to breaking point. The latest council cuts come on top of previous cuts of 33 percent. Local government bosses warned that some councils would struggle and some may go bust. Over £2 billion has been cut—on average £30 million per council. This will close more Sure Start children’s centres, libraries and youth services. Overall the sums presume that after these £11.5 billion in cuts there will be a further £13 billion in both 2016-17 and 2017-18. Labour’s response to all this was an utter disgrace. It promised to stick to these spending targets if elected. To add icing to the cake, shadow chancellor Ed Balls boasted that Labour was tougher on unemployed people than the Tories.
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Bosses under pressure at bedroom tax conference
Anti bedroom tax protesters in Manchester (Pic: Mark Krantz) Tory bedroom tax minister Lord Freud was far from welcome in Manchester last week. Housing association bosses grilled him at their annual Chartered Institute of Housing conference, while 100 protesters lobbied outside. A coachload of protesters came from Liverpool. There were more from Birmingham, Leeds and across the north west of England including many disabled activists. They were joined by striking teachers and construction workers protesting against blacklisting by some of the companies sponsoring the event. Freud had to be sneaked in through the back door, and only spoke to a select group of delegates.  But even there the whole session was taken up by hostile questions about the bedroom tax. Mark Krantz is coordinator of the Greater Manchester Against the Bedroom Tax group. He told Socialist Worker, “The protest was big and very angry, and it boosted the confidence of people inside to challenge the minister.” The bedroom tax has put housing associations under huge pressure. They face a storm of protest if they evict tenants who can’t or won’t pay—on top of costly legal proceedings. But if they don’t they sink into financial crisis through lost rents. And many fear the Tories will use this an excuse to transfer more housing stock into the private sector. They are caught between a rock and hard place—unless they stand with their tenants to beat the tax. Edinburgh conference vows to defy evictions Campaigners met at a conference organised by the Scottish Trade Union Congress in Edinburgh last Saturday. Around 300 campaigners, some facing eviction, discussed the best way to end the tax. Leading trade unionists, MPs and MSPs spoke. Many tenants reported that their landlords had formally adopted no evictions policies, but were seldom clear what that meant. Some reported housing officers putting pressure on them to pay. One campaigner from Glasgow said that landlords were waiting to see who would evict first before following suit. Tenants threatened with eviction by North Lanarkshire council were going to burn the letters outside the council office to show they would not be intimidated. Politicians were heckled as they failed to offer any winning strategy. Alan Thomson Hackney lobby challenges councillors Around 50 tenants and residents lobbied Hackney town hall, east London, on Wednesday of last week against the hated tax. A dozen residents were invited into the council to demand the council commits to a “policy of no evictions”.  Activist Mavis McGee said, “The tax on our bedrooms is an attack too far. We pledge to continue fighting until this wicked tax is defeated.” Adam Di Chiara
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Brazil prepares for strikes as economic juggernaut stalls
Huge protests in Brazil last month (Pic: Semilla Luz on Flickr) Concessions from the government have not stopped Brazil’s wave of protests.  Tens of thousands marched to the stadium during an international football match last week. And some of its biggest trade unions have called for a general strike next week. President Dilma Rousseff met with Free Fares protest movement leaders last week and agreed to spend billions on improving transport, health and education.  She also promised a referendum on reforming the corrupt political system. Brazil is set to host the 2013 Confederations Cup, the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Rio Olympics. This was meant to herald its entry into the premier league of global powers. Instead the events have become a lightning rod for discontent.  Brazil has relatively low unemployment after 20 years of growth, but millions still live in poverty in vast urban slums next to the new stadiums. Violent, militarised police, that were also deployed against the recent protests, keep them down. Transport Recent government housing reforms have doubled rents and pushed working class people further out of large cities. This is one reason why public transport has been such a flashpoint. Economic success allowed Rousseff’s predecessor, former union bureaucrat Luis Ignacio da Silva, make his Workers’ Party (PT) seem the natural political vehicle for Brazilian capitalism.  Its left wing origins and links to unions kept a lid on opposition. By the time Rousseff took over the economy had begun to stall, despite the billions her government ploughed into stimulus packages.  The PT’s political hold was fracturing too. Former environment minister Marina Silva mounted a surprise electoral challenge to defend Brazil’s environment and indigenous culture—and came third with 20 million votes. Now Rousseff’s popularity stands at 30 percent, while 82 percent supported the protests. The PT’s grip on power now relies on alliances with small client parties—some very right wing. A reactionary evangelical pastor  has captured the human rights commission—and is set to redefine homosexuality as a “disease” to be “cured”. Thousands marched against this bigoted law in Brazil’s major cities. The right, including fascists who attacked the left, has tried to hijack the new protests.  The bitterness of ordinary Brazilians at the “left” government gives the right an audience. But the anger could breathe new life into hopes for change in South America.
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George Osborne’s petty welfare attacks mean more misery for claimants
  Single parents of young children will be forced to look for work Spite and scapegoating marked Osborne’s spending review. He announced that total spending on certain benefits, including housing benefit, tax credits, and some disability and pensioner benefits, will be capped annually. The Tories have already brought in a cap to limit any household to £500 a week in benefits. But it’s not clear how the new cap will work. The government can’t decree how many people will lose their jobs, become disabled or have their wages slashed and so become entitled to certain benefits. On top of this the review contained £4 billion of nasty welfare cuts. People who lose their job will have to wait a week before claiming out of work benefit. That saves the Treasury £745 million. But it’s also a petty act to make life even tougher for unemployed workers. Those thrown on the dole will have to turn up at a job centre with a CV. They will have to prove they have already looked for work to even make a claim. Lone parents of three and four year olds will have to look for work or face benefit sanctions. Non-English speakers could face benefit cuts unless they learn English. This is racist, dog whistle politics. And it’s probably unenforceable—not least because the government has slashed English for Speakers of Other Languages teaching to the bone. The government desperately tried to spin its cuts in a positive light. It boasted of £50 billion of capital investment in 2015 saying this would take the total to £300 billion over the decade. But this is yet more public private partnerships. And it has all been announced before. As is traditional, Osborne announced plans for increased broadband. But it was revealed on the same day that the plans weren’t going ahead. Osborne also promised a “major commitment” to new flood defences. Yet he slashed the Department for Energy and Climate Change resource budget by 8 percent. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs was cut by 10 percent. Still, at least the spooks are winning—MI5 and MI6 got a rise of 3.4 percent.
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Protest supports striking Rochdale care workers
Striking care workers in the Unison union in Rochdale held a march and rally last Saturday to protest against pay cuts and slashed terms and conditions. Their employer, Future Directions, proposes wage cuts of up to £10,000, cutting sick pay and holidays.  It has tried to get an injunction against a strike through the courts. Despite this workers have taken five days of legal strikes, with more to come. The branch will need support to sustain action. Unison’s national conference last week passed an emergency motion calling on branches to support members in Rochdale.  Conference declared its solidarity with the strikers, pledged full union backing and made an immediate donation of £5,000 to the strike fund. Send messages of support and donations to Helen Harrison, branch secretary, Rochdale Unison, 46 Richard Street, Rochdale, OL11 1DU. Cheques payable to Rochdale Unison
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Struggle from below drives Egypt's revolt
The Egyptian masses have shown, once again, that they have the power to shake the rich and powerful.  Egypt’s great revolutionary movement began with demands for “bread, freedom and social justice” when an uprising overthrew hated dictator  Hosni Mubarak in 2011. These demands are still ringing from cities, towns and villages across Egypt in perhaps the biggest revolutionary movement seen in history.  This shocked some commentators who declared the revolution over when Muslim Brotherhood supporter Mohamed Mursi was elected president a year ago. But revolutions are a process that can go on for years.  The Muslim Brotherhood was the most rooted and established opposition organisation in Egypt.  Its supporters had suffered decades of repression.  Many hoped it would represent the interests of ordinary Egyptians. Instead Mursi and the Brotherhood’s neoliberal millionaires pursued their own interests. Unemployment is up, prices of basic foodstuffs are rising and the value of the Egyptian pound is falling.  In a country where a quarter of the population spends half of its meagre income on food, this has a devastating impact.  Under Mursi protests have been met with violence from the police and security forces. His solution to the economic crisis is to court the International Monetary Fund (IMF).  But the conditions of any IMF loan include a commitment to cut government subsidies on basics like food and fuel. The mass revolt comes from people’s anger that their lives haven’t improved—and that Mursi was prepared to allow too much of Mubarak’s Egypt to remain. These protests are not about Islamism. Many religious Muslims and former Mursi voters are on the protests. They are about the unmet demands of the revolution.  The slogan, “The army and the people are one hand” has reappeared. It reflects illusions that the army can defend the revolution. Attitudes to the army in Egypt are full of contradictions.  They are seen as protectors of the people yet they have big business interests. The army owns between 10 and 45 percent of the economy.  But the experience of the repressive Supreme Council of the Armed Forces government after Mubarak’s fall is still fresh for many. They argue against trusting the army. These debates are raging in streets, squares and workplaces across Egypt this week.  Ordinary people in Egypt have become the subjects of history and are fighting to shape their own future. The lesson of the revolutionary years since 2011 is that the struggle has always been driven forward from below.
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The Act of Killing film re-enacts mass murder in Indonesia
Disturbing scenes in The Act of Killing More than a million Communists and trade unionists were tortured and killed by right wing paramilitaries in Indonesia during the 1960s.  Documentary maker Joshua Oppenheimer has travelled to Indonesia, found people who carried out the killings and got them to reconstruct the murders for this unsettling documentary.  The Act of Killing Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer For screenings go to theactofkilling.co.uk
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'Stop the cuts' from Edinburgh to Plymouth
  In London, 55 PCS and Prospect members who work for the HSE in London joined a lunchtime protest against Osborne’s latest cuts. lIn Liverpool the PCS regional banner went on the teachers’ strike rally. We also had speakers from the NUT executive speak at our protest. It was a really good turnout with hundreds showing up, but obviously it’s disappointing we’re not striking. Dave Owens In Edinburgh more than 70 PCS members and supporters turned out to oppose austerity at the Scottish parliament. Workers from Unison, anti bedroom tax campaigners and disability rights activists came to show solidarity along with various Scottish National Party and Labour MSPs. John McInally  In Nottingham around 50 people joined a protest outside a HMRC office.  It was well attended and looked striking with all our red “stop the cuts” placards, but a strike today would have had far more participants. For more go to civil service worker protests  
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The power of workers
In Egypt, Brazil and Turkey people have taken to the streets in their thousands and their millions to demand social justice. These protests can pull in everyone from the poorest to the relatively well off. Media pundits emphasise the role of a young, technology-savvy middle class. But there is more to social movements than meets the eye. Societies are divided by class, between the workers who generate wealth and the bosses who exploit them. Struggle between these classes drives social change. When Egypt’s revolution began in 2011 the focus was on demonstrations in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. But there were also walkouts and workplace sit-ins—on the buses, on the docks, in the hospitals and in the enormous textile factories. Two days of general strikes dealt the killer blow to Mubarak’s regime. And workplace struggles have been at the centre of the revolutionary process ever since. Workers keep the wheels turning in society, and they have a unique power to shut them down. This is why Egypt’s Revolutionary Socialists are calling for strikes again. It’s why socialists in Brazil have thrown themselves into building for next week’s general strike. And it’s why the misery the Tories are inflicting here isn’t inevitable—if workers fight back.
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Angry teachers' strike tackles the Tories
Striking teachers and supporters rally in Manchester (Pic: Martin Empson) Tens of thousands teachers struck last week—and showed the scale of opposition to the Tories. The strike affected more than 2,700 schools across the north west of England on Thursday of last week. It won enormous support from other workers, parents and the public. Tory education secretary Michael Gove is attacking teachers’ pay, pensions and conditions. But he has united teachers against him. “The pressure is ridiculous,” said Jan Gaule, an NUT union member in Liverpool.  “People are getting fed up with all the changes–to our pensions, our conditions and our workload. The next ten years scares me—and I’m expected to work for much longer, until I’m 68.” Teachers described the stress of being unable to do the thing they went into teaching for—to help children learn. Julian Tinsley, an NUT rep, told Socialist Worker, “There’s a lot of frustration among teachers because there isn’t one area of teaching that isn’t being touched. “We want to teach and give children the best start in life. But we’re not able to.” Jeannette is an NASUWT member from Anfield, one of the poorest areas of Liverpool. “This isn’t just about pay—the whole education system’s being demolished,” she said. “And it’s always the poorest children who suffer.” Stressful NUT member Onli Cheung added, “We’ve got unannounced observations and targets. It’s very stressful. You can’t focus on teaching and learning.” Teachers described working all hours to keep up with new paperwork and endless tests.  “I wouldn’t advise anyone to go into teaching now,” said Alex, an NUT member. “It’s sad—but we are being vilified.” NASUWT member Andrew McBurney agreed. “The only time you hear about teachers in the press is in a negative way,” he said. “We’re being trodden on. “It’s not enough to keep your head down and get on with it. I’ve not had a pay rise for three years and the cost of living keeps going up. Something’s got to change.” Yet for all the attacks on teachers by right wing commentators and politicians, the strike won enormous support.  People applauded teachers as their march wound through Liverpool city centre. “We’re in Unison and we work in the NHS,” said one woman cheering them on. “We’re all in the same boat.” The marches and rallies were big. Up to 5,000 marched through Manchester, some 2,000 in Liverpool and around 1,000 in Preston. Workers in other unions joined the marches while the PCS union held rallies across Britain in solidarity (see INSERT LINK). The action showed the potential for widespread, popular resistance to the government.  It was the first walkout in a joint plan by the NUT and NASUWT unions. Further regional strikes, and a national strike, are planned in the autumn. But it’s clear that many workers would back much stronger action. And many want to see wider coordinated strikes or a general strike to force the Tories back.
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The East: film turns nightmare of spy infiltration into a fantasy
The East stars Brit Marling (right) who also co-wrote the film The East follows Sarah Moss, an undercover agent for a sophisticated private spying firm.  Sarah loves horses, listens to Christian rock and has an understanding, if confused, boyfriend.  Her mission is to infiltrate The East, a secretive group of “eco-terrorists” squatting in a mansion and led by an authoritarian man called Benji.  Their method is to give major corporations a taste of their own medicine. Of course, they argue, none of their actions have negative consequences. If pharmaceutical companies’ products were really as safe as they claim then it shouldn’t matter if their directors’ champagne is spiked with it.  Deception Sarah hides her feelings behind layers of deception. The film’s concern with whether she is starting to sympathise with her targets conceals much less obvious plot twists. Brit Marling, who plays Sarah, is herself interested in what she describes as modern anarchism. She co-wrote the film with director Zal Batmanglij.  Both have experimented with anti-consumerist lifestyles, particularly with freeganism, living without paying for food—which they advocate in the film.  The name “The East” comes from the association of things from the east with otherness and threat.  Corporations really do hire private firms to gather intelligence.  In 2011 the Guardian reported the activities of Vericola, which worked for various energy companies including Eon.  They “managed risks” posed by environmental activists in Climate Camp and Rising Tide.  Private spies are often hated by the state’s own operatives. Cops complain that private surveillance companies are unregulated.  This presents the intriguing possibility that environmental campaigns could be populated by police and private operatives inadvertently spying on each other.  The East is enjoyable but slightly let down by its one-dimensional characters who, without exception, have back stories that explain their activism.  Overall the plot is largely implausible. It’s a fantasy, but as recent revelations around police surveillance show, its subject matter isn’t.  The East, directed by Zal Batmanglij, is in cinemas now
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Ringfencing doesn't stop Tories slashing services
The Tories are trying to split up the health service and privatise it.  But they need to get around their promises not to cut health spending. So they are moving more and more NHS funding into local government—so it can be cut from there instead. So there is a pooled health and social care budget of £3.8 billion. But only £2 billion of this will come through the NHS—so £1.8 billion is now part of local government funding.  And that just got cut by 10 percent.  Care homes in particular look set to face some brutal changes because of the cuts. And for all the talk of no health cuts, the Tories want to ram through £20 billion in “efficiency savings” by 2015. Education too is ring fenced—but further and higher education aren’t, and both face savage budget cuts. The Education Services Grant, used by local authorities to improve schools, will be reduced by  £200 million after 2015. Osborne also plans to change the way money for schools is distributed to take money away from schools in poorer areas. Of course he announced extra cash for 180 more free schools. Libraries Libraries and museums saw a another 6 percent cut in the spending review. Yet Osborne wants us to remember that Waterloo was won on the playing fields of Eton.  So he promised that the site of the Battle of Waterloo in Belgium will be restored in time for the 200th anniversary on 18 June 2015. And the government will spend around £1 million to contribute towards it. The government also wants to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt, where Henry V beat the French, on 25 October 1415. It’s not clear how much this will cost.
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The things they say
‘Strongly support loss of benefits unless claimants lean English’ Maybe Tory MP Andrew Selous should learn—or “lean”—to pactice what he peaches ‘People will need to save a weeks wages in case they lose job. Fair enough’ Labour MP Simon Danczuk must find it easy on an MP’s wage of £67,000 plus expenses ‘I went to Havana  in search of  Snowden, and all I got was this lousy tweet’ Max Seddon, Associated Press journalist based in Moscow ‘Any more funny business and we should annex Minorca’ The Sun’s Rod Liddle responds to the row in Gibraltar ‘Remarkable value for money’ The Daily Express on the queen’s pay rise—in the same week as more cuts for us ‘Save Pentre Primary and our community’ Welsh Assembly education minister Leighton Andrews had to resign for holding this banner—against his own cuts
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Definitive Collection of Souad Massi's music
Souad Massi (Pic: Merkur Beqiri) Algerian singer songwriter Souad Massi’s songs of love and loss are mixed with stories of exile and political engagement.    She combines Arabic and African styles with Fado from Portugal alongside country and roots influences. This collection includes her best known tracks from four previous albums and is a fine introduction to those new to this remarkable artist. Definitive Collection by Souad Massi on Wrasse records
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Portsmouth port workers action vote
Workers in the Unite union at Portsmouth International Port have voted unanimously for action short of a strike. Port bosses plan to slash staff costs by 10 percent. Some workers could lose £1,300 a year. The port is owned by Portsmouth council, and employs about 100 workers.
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College workers on strike
Lecturers in the UCU union at Lambeth College in south London were set to strike on Thursday of this week to defend jobs. Up to 97 lecturers and support staff are at risk. They were in talks with management as Socialist Worker went to press. UCU members at LeSoCo, a merger of Lewisham College and Southwark College, are balloting to strike over job cuts. The result is due on Friday of this week. Lecturers struck at the Grimsby Institute to defend jobs, pay and conditions on Tuesday of this week.  Management want to sack one in five teaching staff, slash pay and rip up agreements. Grimsby Institute spent just 52 percent of its income on staff costs in 2011-12. The average is 61.5 percent. It made a surplus of £3.7 million. Chesterfield College bosses have sent redundancy notices to workers—on the same day as unveiling expensive new building plans. The UCU union held a rally at the college in protest at the plans on Monday of this week.  The UCU and NASUWT unions have struck several times to defend workers. Ballot over pay UCU’s further education committee (FEC) has rejected a below inflation 0.7 percent pay rise from the employers’ organisation, the Association of Colleges. But the FEC then voted by a small majority to further consult branches, with a recommendation to reject the offer, and report to the next FEC meeting on 11 October. This is a step back from the national ballot we unanimously agreed on at UCU’s annual congress. Branches should meet and pass calls to ballot over pay. Laura Miles, UCU NEC
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School strikes back to stop an academy
Teachers at Copland Community School in Brent, north west London, were set to strike on Wednesday of this week. The action by NUT, NASUWT and ATL union members is against plans to force the school to become an academy.
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Special Branch: spying on activists since 1883
The Daily Mail wrote that Special Branch’s job “is to see that the people of Great Britain can sleep safely in their beds and not wake to hear of some outrage  at the hands of some foreign agent, some political fanatic or some home grown lunatic.”  The Mail asserted this in 1955 but spy cops have been keeping us safe in our beds for much longer than that.  Since people first stood up to their rulers, spies have been hired to listen in and disrupt opposition. But as capitalism developed, and with it the uppity working class, the state had to shift its methods of control. Subtler methods of co-option and infiltration were added to naked violence. The police provide all of these and the first police force was set up in London in 1829. The first significant working class resistance, by the Luddites, was constantly at risk from state agents. But they were so effective at organising away from the eyes and ears of the state that there are still gaps in what we know about how they organised revolt and insurrection. As the working class grew its tactics shifted, to methods that were even harder for the state to cope with.  Between 1838 and 1848 the Chartist movement organised mass working class opposition–including the world’s first general strike. The state responded with repression, but it also looked to infiltration. The Home Office used a range of sources in its attempt to suppress the Chartists. Local bosses and landowners sent information, as did the army. The recently formed police forces sent plainclothes officers to spy on meetings. The added spark of anti-imperialism saw the state attempt more systematic tactics. Irish revolutionaries called the Fenians were carrying out a campaign of bombings in England against the British occupation of Ireland. In 1883 they planted bombs around London, notably in the offices of the Times newspaper and on the Underground. The Special Irish Branch was formed to spy on and infiltrate Irish radicals. Infiltrate In 1884 Fenians blew up the Special Irish Branch headquarters. Most of the files on the Fenians were destroyed. The Branch continued to spy on Irish activists. But it soon broadened its remit and dropped the Irish part of its name as it moved to tackle what is now called “domestic extremism”. Undercover cops dressed up as dockers in 1911 (Pic: Metropolitan Police) A German man called Brall was charged with explosives offences on Special Branch evidence in 1893. He had a number of anarchist and socialist papers, and a pamphlet on scientific warfare in his house. According to an officer Sweeney, “the mere possession of it unexplained should be made as serious an offence as the possession of explosive materials.”  One key piece of the Branch’s evidence was a hole in the garden. It argued this was clearly for burying bombs. A jury thought it was merely a hole and acquitted Brall. The officer missed out on the cash bonus that was standard for getting a conviction. The Branch’s own history records that it “gathered intelligence on Lenin and Trotsky’s activities while they were in London at the beginning of the century. Herbert Fitch, who was fluent in French, German and Russian, hid in a cupboard and also disguised himself as a waiter to listen.” The strike wave before the First World War known as the Great Unrest was also beyond it. The Branch spent its time looking for or concocting plots to kill the great and the good—usually by spying on foreigners.  But towards the end of the war police spies were redeployed to again try and prevent industrial unrest and to infiltrate pacifist groups. The cabinet refused to believe Special Branch evidence that pacifist groups weren’t being funded by Germany, so sent agents back to try and get the “right” information.  Special Branch was proud to foil an assassination plot against prime minister Lloyd George towards the end of the war—though it later became clear that there was probably never a plot, let alone an attempt. After the war its job was described as saving “England from Red machination”. During a wave of militancy in 1919 following the Russian Revolution, it produced fake copies of the Bolshevik newspaper to try and stop support growing here. The cops infiltrated the unemployed movement of the 1930s at various levels. This didn’t stop the movement but it did often let them know details of marches and protests. And as fascism became a threat during the 1930s the Branch’s own account states, “The impression was allowed to grow that the authorities were more concerned with far left than far right activities.” Through the 1950s it compiled lists of Communist trade unionists. Based on the agents’ reports, workers were vetted by employers and then blacklisted (see below).  Spies infiltrated the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and searched in Notting Hill for rumours of plots among the newly arrived African Caribbean people.   Subversive ideas scrutinised (Pic: Socialist Worker) One officer who joined in 1964 said he was astonished when a senior officer warned that it was “quite likely that in ten years Britain could become a Communist state”.  Thirty years later police spied on murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence’s family as they tried to dig “dirt” to “smear” them, an ex-undercover cop has claimed. They tried to frame Stephen’s friend Duwayne Brooks. They formed sexual relationships with activists from various campaigns to get information. The branch had had difficulty infiltrating the Suffragettes because it had no women. At the beginning of the 21st century, it found it had few Muslim cops at the start of the “war on terror”. But that didn’t stop it because the majority of its work involves intimidating people to inform. Or going on fishing expeditions—raiding a house purely to collect address books and the like.  The state has GCHQ to spy on phone conversations. Yet Special Branch getting someone arrested to access to their phone is far more common than most people would imagine. Today a national police unit that uses undercover officers to spy on political groups is monitoring almost 9,000 people it has deemed “domestic extremists”. The state is not neutral. It is wedded to the interests of the powerful and the rich, immune in critical areas to any democratic control. It resorts to all these measures because of a basic strength on our side. It’s not spies who turn up in large numbers to support other workers on picket lines.  It is fellow trade unionists and socialists and their solidarity that is key to beating the bosses and their state. ‘Hairies’ set up to deal with new left  When battles broke out outside the US embassy against the Vietnam War in 1968, the cops panicked and decided to reassess their strategy.  The “special demonstration squad” was set up—internally known as the “hairies” because of the way its officers looked. Their motto was “by any means necessary”. One officer, “What the SAS did for the army, the hairies did for Special Branch.” In the case of Northern Ireland this was literally true as Special Branch smuggled guns and killed people for Loyalist death squads. It also bugged, burgled and bribed its way into the unions during the 1970s and 1980s.  Former Special Branch officers say 23 senior union officials—including general secretaries—were “talking” to them in the 1970s—not counting those working directly for MI5. The latest revelations from Rob Evans and Paul Lewis in the book Undercover show how the spy cops infiltrated the left and environmental movement in the 1990s. Cops collaborate with big business Throughout their history the spy cops have worked with the bosses against workers.  When the Special Branch was fighting Communists after the First World War they were joined by the Economic League, a club of bosses who ran a blacklist. Special Branch went on working with the League and the Consulting Association that replaced it in the 1990s.  Those spying for the Murdoch empire were frequently ex spy cops, and plenty of brown envelopes changed hands with serving officers to get information. Senior Met officers allowed corrupt private detectives to access its witness protection programme. When spy cops retire or are exposed they move one to be consultants and private investigators. One such group is Global Open. It boasts that it “was founded in the United Kingdom and is run by former New Scotland Yard Special Branch officers.”  It offers a range of services to corporations including monitoring activists and groups. Further reading: Undercover by Paul Lewis & Rob Evans Available at Bookmarks, the socialist bookshop. Phone 020 7637 1848 or go to bookmarksbookshop.co.uk
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T & W Metro crew stand together
Train Crew workers on the Tyne and Wear Metro were set to begin an indefinite overtime ban and work to rule to defend a sacked colleague. The workers are members of the RMT union employed by DB Regio. The action is set to begin at one minute to midnight on Sunday of this week.
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Egypt's revolution in a small town
Graphic illustration for Egypt's revolution in a small town   Zaqaziq, the capital of Sharqiyya province in Egypt, is an unassuming town. The city is around an hour’s drive from the capital Cairo and is surrounded by the lush green fields of the Nile Delta. Yet it is in places like Zaqaziq, not only in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, that the Egyptian Revolution is awakening new layers of the population to political life.  Revolutionary graffiti adorns the walls. The red, white and black murals of the Ultras, radical football fans, who have played a key role in street mobilisations, are everywhere.  There are stencilled slogans calling for strikes, freedom for political prisoners and solidarity with the workers’ movement.  “Things are really changing in the provinces,” said Ahmed, a law student at Zaqaziq University and an activist with the Revolutionary Socialists. “But even the revolutionaries still think that the revolution is only in Tahrir.” Before the revolution, the pace of political life was as sluggish as the river itself. “Most activists from Zagazig would travel to the capital if they wanted to be part of something”, explained Hind Abd-al-Gawad, a trade unionist and Revolutionary Socialist activist. “There was really nothing going on here at all.” Now new political parties are flourishing. The Revolutionary Socialists, the Constitution Party, Democratic Egypt, and the Popular Socialist Alliance have all recruited heavily among young people radicalised by the revolution. President Mohamed Mursi, a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, lives in a leafy street in the city. “Last December we organised protests against the new constitution outside his home,” said Ahmed. “Between two and three thousand came out into the streets.” Some Muslim Brotherhood activists embraced the revolution that has swept Egypt since 2011 and played a leading role in it. But its leadership, including Mursi, has tried to limit the struggle and clamp down on those fighting to win the revolution’s demands. “Every time there’s a power cut, people blame Mursi,” said Ahmed. “‘Mursi destroyed the country’ is a constant refrain in conversation.” A whole raft of broken promises has set the temperature rising among Egypt’s poor. “We’ve begun going regularly to the poorest neighbourhoods of informal housing to campaign” said Ahmed.  “We stand in the streets with leaflets and banners, selling our paper and calling for the right to housing, gas and electricity. Recently local people have started coming to join us. They’ll shout at activists from the Muslim Brotherhood if they try to bother us or tear up our papers.” The Revolutionary Socialists’ attempts to sink roots in the informal neighbourhoods contrasts to the mainstream liberal opposition parties. “The liberals don’t go to these poor areas” explained Ahmed “They are not interested in winning the people there, so the Muslim Brotherhood and the Salafists [conservative Islamists] dominate.” The revolution has also encouraged oppressed groups to organise. Over 100 disabled activists began a sit-in and camped out on the steps of the provincial government buildings last month. Umran al-Khalifa, a law graduate who works as a teacher said, “The sit-in is because we have only temporary contracts. The government of Kamal al-Ganzouri made a decision in 2011 to offer disabled employees like us permanent jobs across the country.  “But the new local governor has refused to implement the decision.”  Umran said that the change of policy reflects the priorities of the new Muslim Brotherhood administration in Cairo. “Both the new governor and his deputy are in the Brotherhood,” he explained. “The deputy told me, ‘If you join our party, I’ll make sure you get a permanent job’.” Baton-wielding riot police stormed through their camp a few days before, dragging and beating the protesters, to try and end the sit-in. “We were just sitting there peacefully when we were attacked,” said Fatima Musa Halim, another activist. “Some thugs came and broke things, and said we caused the damage. “Then the Central Security Forces troops hit me and dragged us away from the sit-in.” Fatima and her colleagues have no time for the Muslim Brotherhood’s claim to represent a more virtuous form of politics “These people have no religion and no humanity”, she said. Mohammed, an administrator in the Sharqiyya Education department, summed up the mood of many on the sit-in. “I want to put the Minister of the Interior on trial for what the police did to us,” he said. He also says he is frustrated and angry with official representatives of disabled people, who have done nothing to help him and his colleagues. “The head of the National Council for People with Special Needs should resign,” he said. “We have no confidence in this organisation.” Six protesters began a hunger strike inside the building. “Some of us have heart disease, some high blood pressure,” said Mahmud Manazm, one of the hunger strikers. “We want to know that the Egyptian police attacked disabled people, beat them on the head and dragged them in the street.” The sit-in is alive with tactical discussions and political arguments, despite the ever-present threat of repression.  Some of the disabled workers are nervous that the young revolutionary activists want to hijack their campaign. “We don’t want trouble or politics” one man says in private.  Many others disagree, seeing a need to build alliances with the revolutionary groups. Hind and Mona, a leading local activist with the liberal Constitution Party are discussing final practical arrangements for the next stage in the solidarity campaign with the sit-in. The structures of the old state still loom menacingly over Egypt. But new revolutionary organisation and confidence is growing from below.  
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China crunch fuels South American crisis
Indigenous protesters say stop the Belo Monte dam (Pic: International Rivers) While the “war on terror” drew US attention elsewhere, South American states reinvented the continent’s traditional role as suppliers of natural resources. Brazil’s National Development Bank is the largest such bank in the world. It acts as a regional rival to the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Bolivia’s left wing government’s attempt to build a road through the Tipnis rainforest reserve caused violent conflict with indigenous movements and the workers who took their side. The road was to take goods from Brazil to Pacific ports for quicker export to China—paid for by Brazil. Brazil already has the world’s second largest hydroelectric dam—behind China’s Three Gorges. It is now building the third biggest. The project has been disrupted by construction workers’ strikes and indigenous opposition.  And demand from China has slowed down—just as it has from Europe and the US.  The other main signer of cheques, Venezuela, had a popular anti-imperialist government and huge nationalised oil reserves. Its major asset was oil reserves, but global oil prices have fallen and Venezuela is now plagued with inflation and shortages.  
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Leeds social housing workers’ cuts anger
Workers who maintain social housing in Leeds are being balloted for industrial action. Around 300 workers at Morrison Facilities Services are members of the Unite, GMB and Ucatt unions—all of which are holding ballots. Workers face attacks on pensions, pay and conditions. Some could lose 40 percent of their total earnings. They are also at risk of redundancy.
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