Socialist Worker

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Resist Israel’s murder of Gaza

Israel has expanded its murderous air attack on Gaza into a full ground assault. With all borders sealed, 1.5 million Palestinians are trapped – with little electricity or fuel and severe shortages of food, clean water and medicines – and facing Israel’s military might.

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International Comment Features Reviews What We Think Other

News

Horror and lies as Israel deliberately bombs UN schools full of children

As Socialist Worker went to press yesterday details emerged of Israel’s worst atrocity yet in its murderous military campaign against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Gordon Brown’s ‘public works’ job plan doesn’t add up

Gordon Brown pledged this week that up to 100,000 jobs could be created by planned public works in the coming years.

Sign of the times as high street chains go bust

The last 200 Woolworths stores were closing down as Socialist Worker went to press.

Household debt and repossessions on the rise

The average household debt increases by over £6.30 every daySome 2,430 Consumer County Court Judgements (CCJs) for debt are issued every dayOn average 124 properties were repossessed every day during the last three months. The Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates this will increase to approximately 205 a day this yearGovernment figures say that 44 percent of mortgage holders are worried about being able to meet their payments and 47 percent of local authority and housing association tenants are worried about being able to pay their rent Some 422 mortgage possession claims are issued and 323 mortgage possession orders are made every day

Reports round-up

Teacher sacked over his trainers Teachers at St Paul’s Way secondary school in Bow Common, east London, are threatening strike action over the dismissal of Adrian Swain, their NUT union rep.

First blows in 2009 London bus battle

Some 300 of the lowest paid bus workers in London struck for 24 hours on Monday of this week. These were the opening shots in this year’s battle for better pay across the capital.

Israel's strategy of terror against the Palestinians

When it comes to war Israel has a single, simple strategy. Trap millions of people between tanks and warplanes. Cut off all food, water and electricity. Then systematically bring buildings down on their heads.

New Labour housing association policy in tatters

The government’s reliance on housing associations rather than councils to provide homes is in crisis.

Dockers win the right to sue over asbestos

Former Liverpool dock workers with asbestos-related illnesses have been given the right to sue the government in a landmark ruling at the High Court late last year.

Hamas's history of resistance

"The situation now taking place in Gaza was caused by Hamas," announced George Bush as the Israeli army battered its way into the Gaza Strip.

Chemilines workers set for new strike action

Some 120 mostly Asian women workers at Chemilines pharmaceuticals factory in north west London are set to take a second day of strike action on Wednesday of this week.

West Bank police repress Gaza solidarity protests

Socialist Worker has received a message from a Palestinian activist living in the West Bank. He wishes to remain anonymous for fear of retribution. The message reads:

Fightback planned at Northern Echo

Journalists in County Durham are starting the new year by taking industrial action on three consecutive days.

Row brewing over civil service workers' pay agreement

A serious situation is developing over pay in the civil service. The PCS civil service workers’ union and the government recently reached an agreement over pay.

Battle to save Royal Mail

Gordon Brown recommitted the government to the privatisation of Royal Mail this week.

Indefinite strike by Glasgow council workers

Twenty one community service supervisors in Glasgow in the Unison union began an indefinite strike on Tuesday of this week over their single status pay deal.

Huge protest stands with the Palestinians

Fury has exploded onto the streets of Britain in response to Israel’s barbaric assault on Gaza. Big demonstrations in solidarity with the Palestinian people have taken place in towns and cities across the country.

Jailings over Cardiff 3 case increase pressure on the police

Three people who admitted lying in the Lynette White murder case have each been jailed for 18 months for perjury.

Family demands to know why Habib Ullah died

Habib "Paps" Ullah was arrested during a stop-and-search in a car park in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, on 3 July last year.

Round-up of Gaza protests across Britain

The scale of the protests around Britain have shown the depth of the anger against Israel’s actions.

Targeting the Arab rulers over inaction on Israel

Demonstrations and sit-ins have been organised daily in Beirut and other cities in Lebanon since the beginning of Israel’s aggression against Gaza.

Tower Hamlets shows how to build for Gaza demonstration

Lecturers at Tower Hamlets college, east London, organised a protest on Thursday to make a splash in east London and big up Saturday's national demonstration.

Israeli war crime in Gaza

Israel has committed the gravest of war crimes by corralling civilians into a home and then shelling it.

Massive London demonstration opposes Israel's Gaza attacks

Up to 150,000 people took to the streets of London on Saturday in a mass show of solidarity with Palestinians caught under Israeli bombs in the Gaza Strip.

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International

‘We are still on the streets in Greece’

Greece’s right wing government is facing a hot new year. The mass movement that rocked the country after the police killing of 15-year-old Alexandros Grigoropoulos on 6 December is to take to the streets again on Friday of this week.

Student occupations sweep Spain

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Comment

Barack Obama is already tied to Israel

So what is Israel trying to achieve with its assault on Gaza? And what role is being played by the US and its outgoing and incoming presidents?

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Features

Protectionism: can it help us survive?

The economic crisis that swept the globe in 2008 provoked debate about whether individual states or trade blocs could insulate themselves from the international turmoil through "protectionist" economic measures.

Israel and the media - twisted by propaganda

On 28 December, Israel bombed a truck in Gaza, killing several bystanders. The Israeli army celebrated this strike by publishing video footage of it on its YouTube page.

Palestine and Israel - questions and answers on a conflict made by the West

What are the roots of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians?

Raising the red flag for workers’ rights in Wales

Welsh nationalism today articulates itself through things like popular culture, rugby and language.

Films show a history of black unity in Britain

Shortly after the 1958 Notting Hill "race riots", the notorious British fascist Oswald Mosley announced that he intended to become MP for the west London neighbourhood.

Economic instability brings more danger of violent conflict

The new year begins with renewed war and an economic crisis that threatens to turn into a slump. The connections between the two run very deep.

Recession and war have been linked in the past

The Great Depression of the 1930s was preceded by the drying up of credit and the development of a trade war.

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Reviews

Baz Luhrmann's Australia: a melodrama not an epic

Baz Luhrmann’s new film is set in the late 1930s in remote northern Australia.

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What We Think

Medal for Tony Blair is another low for George Bush

George Bush is to award Tony Blair – along with former Australian prime minister John Howard and Colombian president Alvaro Uribe – with the laughingly titled Presidential Medal of Freedom.

New Labour backs Israel’s killing in Gaza

Gordon Brown and other European leaders have called for a ceasefire in Gaza. This contrasts with the fervent backing that the dying US administration of George Bush has given to Israel’s invasion.

The ‘nasty’ Tory party shows its true colours

David Cameron has torn up his pledge to back Gordon Brown’s spending plans that were drawn up in response to the recession. The Tory leader now says he wants tax cuts for traditional Tory voters, more privatisation and cuts in public spending.

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Other Categories

Brian Pearce 1915-2008: Historian of the rank and file

Brian Pearce, who died recently, was a socialist intellectual and activist over eight decades, having joined the Communist Party (CP) in 1934.

Gary Kelly 1963-2008

Gary Kelly, a lifelong socialist and member of the Socialist Workers Party for 25 years, died in hospital on 22 December aged 45. He will be missed greatly by all who knew him and worked alongside him in the many struggles he was at the heart of.

Leon Kuhn: Zionism

Letters

Legal aid cuts hit poor Around 35 members of the Unite union who work in advice centres lobbied the headquarters of the Legal Services Commission last month in a protest against cuts to Legal Aid.

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