Socialist Worker

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Shoot to kill is state murder

THE MEDIA and political establishment have closed ranks following the death of a Brazilian man at the hands of armed police in London.

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International Comment Features Reviews What We Think Other

News

A community rallies to stop deportations

IMMIGRATION officers dragged a Pakistani family from the community that they had made their home as part of an attempt to deport them.

New immigration laws planned.

NEW LABOUR is planning to bring in discriminatory measures for migrant workers. It wants to pick and choose the most highly skilled people from poor countries who will be allowed to come to Britain.

Stop the War vigils around the country follow bomb attacks.

Glasgow ABOUT 300 people attended a peace vigil in Glasgow’s George Square on Sunday 17 July in response to the bombings in London.

Prepare for post privatisation battle

THE GOVERNMENT has given the clearest indication yet that it is going to privatise the post. It won’t admit it is privatisation, but all the indications are that ministers are ready to end the Royal Mail’s present structure.

Asian workers fight sackings

FORTY ASIAN workers at Bardons Aggregates in west London are protesting outside their depot against mass dismissal.

Low wages and speed ups trigger action by journalists

Conventry Newspapers JOURNALISTS IN the NUJ union at Coventry Newspapers are continuing their long running dispute against low pay.

Councils: single status unravels

Coventry ABOUT 100 council workers from many areas met up on Saturday of last week in Coventry to discuss how to respond to a wave of attacks on pay, terms and conditions stemming from the government’s "single status" restructuring scheme.

Parliament's cleaners out to mop up resistance

CONTRACT CLEANERS at the houses of parliament held a one day strike on Wednesday of last week.

Bus workers fight for decent pay and against long hours

LOTHIAN REGION bus workers were set to strike for two days this weekend following their first strike earlier this month.

Labour representation committee meets

SOME 180 left wing Labour Party activists met in London recently for the annual general meeting of the Labour Representation Committee (LRC).

Academy school plan defeated in Lambeth

ON FRIDAY 15 July the news broke that Lambeth council in south London had reversed its decision to put an academy on the site of a primary school in Clarence Avenue.

Reports round-up

Asda workers ready for strike

Terror laws will only bring more injustice

WITH PREDICTABLE speed the home secretary Charles Clarke has announced the introduction of yet more laws ostensibly to combat terrorism.

After the London bombings the movement must rise to the new challenge

Jean Charles de Menezes was an innocent man. He could have been stopped by police at any time after he left his home on his way to Stockwell tube station. Instead he was followed and shot dead.

News round-up

Signs of a racist backlash POLICE FIGURES record that one in five Muslims say they or their family have faced abuse or hostility in the wake of the bomb attacks on London. Muhammed Babrul Haque, the Imam of Dulwich mosque in South London, was attacked on 16 July.

Battle to defend sacked Rolls Royce union rep

The fight to reinstate Jerry Hicks is on. He is the deputy plant convenor sacked from Rolls Royce’s Bristol site.

Blow for Blair in his own backyard

The fight against the privatisation of council homes gained a significant victory in Tony Blair’s own constituency last week.

A failure of leadership

On Tuesday of last week Tony Blair met up with self-appointed leaders and representatives from various Muslim communities in order to discuss and tackle what he calls the "evil" within these communities.

Britain's history of state terror

Many people in Northern Ireland nodded in recognition when they heard of Jean Charles de Menezes being shot repeatedly in the head as he lay face down and helpless on the floor of a tube train at Stockwell.

Another in a long line of unnecessary deaths

There have been 37 fatal shootings by British police since 1990.

Unanswered questions follow killing by police.

Why was Jean Charles targeted? An address in a block of flats in Tulse Hill, south London, was found in one of the rucksacks used in the failed bomb attacks on Thursday of last week.

Tube bosses are putting lives at risk, say drivers

If the travelling public knew the truth behind the authorities’ claims to be ensuring safety, there would be an outcry. Tube workers know the reality first hand. That’s why the RMT is demanding urgent action now.

Stripped and searched at gunpoint during police raids.

Police have raided a number of homes across Britain since the 7 July attacks. A flat in Corfe House, south London, was raided on Friday of last week. Residents have complained about the heavy handed police operation.

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International

A tangled web of loyalties and distrust

The US has been a close ally of Pakistan, although there have been periods when the US has imposed sanctions on Pakistan or distanced itself from its ally.

Angry end to Zambian miners' strike

A BITTER strike in Zambia’s copper mines ended last week with some concessions by managers, but with many workers angry that their union leaders had sold them short.

Portugal's pensions battle is under way

A PUBLIC sector general strike took place in Portugal on 15 July. The strike followed a large demonstration in July, and strikes by teachers, nurses and other groups of workers.

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Comment

Why the war won't go away

ONE OF the stupidest responses to the London bombings has been the effort to depoliticise them.

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Features

Last days of the US empire?

My method is to see imperialism as the outcome of a tension between two sources of power. One is a territorial source of power lying in state organisations. The other is the capitalist logic of power, which is the control of money and assets, and the flow and circulation of capital.

Muslims are not to blame

THE MUSLIM community is saddened and shocked by the events of 7 July. We completely condemn the attacks. But the Muslim community as a whole is not responsible for the actions of a handful of people.

Leeds stands united for peace and justice

LAST SATURDAY around 300 people gathered in Beeston for a peace march to the centre of Leeds. Beeston is the area where two of the people reported to be responsible for the 7 July bombings came from.

Labour's policies give no credit to the poor

The tax credits debacle, which saw almost two million families forced to repay an average of £1,000 overpaid benefits, was deeply embarrassing for New Labour.

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Reviews

Ms Dynamite: 'Music has a role in fighting racism and the system'

Why did you get involved with Love Music Hate Racism (LMHR) in campaigning against the fascist British National Party (BNP)?

Reviews round-up

Method to the Madness Mad Professor

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What We Think

The backdrop to killing in Baghdad and London

IN THE wake of the London bombings on 7 July the political establishment and mainstream media declared war on anyone who dared to link bombs at home to bombs abroad, or to give a historical context to what had happened.

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Other Categories

Letters

Let's stand together against racism and war I WAS travelling on a bus four days after the worst terrorist attack to hit Britain on 7 July. Two pseudo-policemen—wearing bullet proof vests over civilian outfits—got on the bus. They began questioning a young Asian man. Anger welled up inside of me—the Muslim community of London were being tracked in the city they call home.

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