Provocation Against One of the Leaders of the Russian Dockers Union Article translated from issue 7 (65), May 2000 of the The Russian Marxist paper Workers Democracy
Black Day for Blairism: comments on the local and London elections "Britain is already a different and better country..."Tony Blair at the Periodical Publishers Association, 9th May."I'm totally opposed to New Labour. They are not any different to the Thatcherites. I would like to see a return to the old values."George Fleetwood, 48, an engineer."I have a wife and two children to raise and I really thought in 1997 that we were heading for a bright new era. Tony Blair has failed to deliver. If anything, he is more of a Tory than many Tories."Brian Cox, 31, unemployed dockyard labourer.
London and local elections - Bad day for New Labour A first look at the electoral disaster for the Labour Party in the council elections and Ken Livingstone's victory in the London Mayoral contest.
New revelations on the assassination of Patrice Lumumba: A belated trial of Belgian colonialism The night of January 17th 1961 Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba, was shot dead in Katanga. Forty years later a new book by Belgian sociologist Ludo De Witte uncovers proof of what everyone already knew: the complicity of the Belgian government and the United Nations in this crime. Pierre Dorremans looks at the political background of this case and explains the politics of Lumumba.
On the tragedy at the "Komsomolyets" mine During the methane explosion at the "Komsomolyets" mine in Kemerovo province 12 people were killed. This tragedy occurred soon after another terrible tragedy in the Donbass in the Ukraine. The Russian Marxist paper Workers Democracy (April 2000) blames the restoration of capitalism for these miners' deaths.
ATTAC: neither free trade nor protectionism are a solution The development of the ATTAC association in France, launched by le Monde Diplomatique, has attracted a lot of attention on the left. This article from the French Marxist magazine, La Riposte, analyses this phenomenon and outlines the limitations of its programme and its effectiveness in fighting world capitalism.
Rail industry in crisis - A fighting programme for Rail Workers in Britain This pamphlet is written by active RMT and ASLEF union members who support the ideas of Socialist Appeal. It describes the conditions facing rail workers in Britain after years of privatisation and provides a fighting alternative.
Azerbaidzhan's economic collapse A short description of the terrible collapse of the economy in Azerbaidzhan from the Russian Marxist paper Workers Democracy (March 2000)
Corruption scandal shakes Germany's Christian Democrats In Germany, the new millenium has been ushered in by a party financing and corruption scandal which was more exciting than many thrillers and caused a political earthquake of unprecedented dimensions.
Russia: Astrakhan workers on strike From the Russian Marxist paper Workers Democracy an account of this strike in Astrakahan (March 2000)
Marxism and the National Question A 4 part document by Alan Woods and Ted Grant. The question of nationalities has always occupied a central position in Marxist theory. In particular, the writings of Lenin deal with this important issue in great detail. It is true to say that, without a correct appraisal of the national question, the Bolsheviks would never have succeeded in coming to power in 1917. This document reviews the rich Marxist literature on this issue and applies it to today's conditions.
Austria: "Resistance! Resistance!" "Widerstand! Widerstand!" - "Resistance! Resistance!" - that is the main slogan of the protest wave which has been shaking Austria for more than three weeks. When it became clear that the conservative Peoples Party (ÖVP) was to form a coalition with the extreme right-wing Freedom Party of Jörg Haider, this sharp political turn sparked a spontaneous movement never seen before in Austria.
Austria polarised as the extreme right wing Freedom Party of Haider enters the government Railworkers took the initiative in launching demonstrations against the entry of the extreme right wing Freedom Party of Haider in the new government on the third of February. Since that day, students and other young people have not stopped hitting the streets of Vienna and other towns in Austria. This country has definitely broken with its smooth and consensual past. Today class struggle in its different forms is again on the order of the day. We spoke with Herbert Bartik, activist of the Vienna Socialist Youth and of the Marxist paper Der Funke about...
British TV documentary exposes NATO lies about Kosovo During the NATO bombings in Serbia and Kosovo the propaganda machine of the media in the West, with a few noble exceptions, obediently put forward the line that it was necessary to concentrate the armed might of the nineteen most powerful nations of the world, in order to stop the "ethnic cleansing" of the Kosovar Albanians. All the news was aimed at justifying everything NATO was doing.
British TV documentary exposes NATO lies about Kosovo During the NATO bombings in Serbia and Kosovo the propaganda machine of the media in the West was in full swing in order to justify everything NATO was doing. On 16th January ITV broadcast a documentary by Jonathan Dimbleby which confirms most of what was reported at the time were lies and propaganda. Fred Weston reviews.
