Articles
Wednesday, October 5, 2022
The US is experiencing resistance from the developing world to its aggressive policies on China. The number of countries giving diplomatic recognition to Taiwan has declined form 28 in 2008 to 13 now. The latest to change its affiliation is the Solomon Islands which has recently concluded a range of agreements with China. It is strategically important in the Pacific area and its closer ties with China have led to threats against it from Australia and the USA.
Tuesday, October 4, 2022
The cuts to peoples’ living standards are so dire that workers have been forced to strike for pay increases to ensure their survival. The battles that are happening are immense and unprecedented in recent decades. They represent a new self-confidence in the working class which can provide a basis for building class consciousness. Union membership is growing and inroads are being made into smaller private sector enterprises and with self-employed contractors in the gig economy.
Monday, October 3, 2022
Western media and politicians continue to assert that Russia intendeds to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, but there is no real evidence to support these claims. On the other hand the United States continues to plan to use of nuclear weapons in conflicts and remains the only country ever to have deployed them.
Sunday, October 2, 2022
Whilst much of the focus is currently on the war in Ukraine the West has also been active in other former Soviet Republics surrounding Russia aiming the woo some and foment regime change in others. there are also those in the West who advocate for the break up of Russia.
Saturday, October 1, 2022
Special Economic Zones (SEZs) exist across the world, where national laws and rights are suspended and companies operating in them are more or less free to do as they please. SEZs – sometimes referred to as ‘open zones’ – take different forms; freeports and charter cities are both forms of SEZ. All this means bigger profits for the companies operating in these zones and worse conditions for workers.
Friday, September 30, 2022
In 1972, after a national strike, building workers achieved the largest single pay increase ever negotiated in the building industry: an immediate pay increase of £6 per week for craftsmen and £5 per week for labourers. This was on a previous national minimum rate of just £20 for a skilled worker and £17 for a labourer. It was a magnificent victory for the workers and their trade unions. In achieving this victory, however, leaders of the strike were imprisoned on trumped up charges with the state intervening on the side of the employers.
Thursday, September 29, 2022
Unsafe working conditions and a lack of safety reps have led to accidents among construction workers on the HS2 rail project. with some success, trade unions have fought to gain recognition against determined opposition from employers.
Friday, June 3, 2022
The news about Ukraine is selective, biased, emotive and rigorously censored. No alternative views are permitted not even the slightest criticism or questioning can be heard on the airwaves. The combination of the media onslaught, the lack of alternative views and being placed on the defensive by the unexpected Russian intervention has disarmed the left and the peace movement. There is a danger that, unchallenged, the West’s narrative on the Ukraine crisis becomes the template by which future such conflicts are understood, at least in the West. We need to keep our eye on the ball of what the US is up to as it tries to ensure its hegemony. The line it is pursuing, with China now explicitly in its sights, is highly destabilising and contains the seeds of future wars.