Solidarity 055, 15 July 2004

TV: Still far from free

Clive Bradley discusses the representation of gay men on TV Twenty years ago, gay men were figures of fun on television. There was John Inman on 'Are You Being Served?', simpering that he was 'free'. There was Larry Grayson puckering his lips as he complained about his friend Everard (the subversive, or anyway vulgar, implications of which were lost on me at the time). Gay men were camp, sexless, ridiculous. Now all that has changed! Rather than the promotion of homosexuality being outlawed as it was for a while by the Tory government's Clause 28, homosexuality's positive virtues are trumpeted...

Organising against the bosses... and the unions

Indonesian sweatshop worker on the daily grind The front running candidate in this month's Indonesian Presidential elections, former general Susilo Baubang, may face a run-off election in September. If this so-called "thinking general" wins he will not change the government's commitment to free market economics. The economics which have left 40 million Indonesians unemployed and half of the population of 220 million living on less than US$2 a day. Nenang works in a factory that makes products for several major sportswear companies. He visited Britain recently*. He described the reality of...

Real and invented differences on political Islam 2: When Lindsey German replied to her critics

"The British are... doing all in their power to foster the Moslem Brotherhood, a clerical-fascist organisation in Egypt... [the Muslim Brotherhood] refused to participate on 21 February, 1946, "Evacuation Day" as this was a real anti-imperialist movement and not a communal one.. "Slogans of solidarity among Moslem, Christian and Jewish workers were shouted throughout the demonstrations, and the fascist leader Ahmed Hussein, who tried to worm his way into the demonstration, was howled down and not allowed to speak." Tony Cliff, writing in 1946 In the Guardian on 13 July 2004, under the headline...

Debate and discussion - Venezuela: Chavez good or bad?

The article in Solidarity 3/54, 'Socialist Appeal woos Hugo Chavez' has made me wonder what Workers' Liberty is actually about. Your article makes Alan Woods sound like a cross between Uriah Heap and Tony Blair. Fortunately for the Marxist movement he is neither of these things. Alan Woods' perspective on this issue is well thought-out and sensible to those of us living in the real world. To build on what you have available is a sound revolutionary tactic. With the absence of a mass Marxist movement, it makes sense for the Marxists to form cadres in the workers' parties and movements. This is...

Hungary 1919 - 133 days of workers' rule

For a few months in early 1919 a workers' government ruled in Hungary. In 1896 Hungarians celebrated a thousand years of the founding of their nation and Budapest staged a Millennium Exhibition to rival anything seen in Paris or London. As one half of the 18th century Habsburg 'Dual Monarchy', Hungary shared control and administration over the largest dominion in Europe. Eighteen million people lived within the borders of the area controlled by Hungary, almost half of them non-Hungarians. In fact 'Greater Hungary' was an unstable patchwork quilt of nationalities including Northern Romania...

European left: Some new alliances and some bad old ways

How did the European left fare in the June elections? Martin Thomas reports The results Two point six per cent in France, 5.8% in Italy, 8.1% in Denmark, 7% in the Netherlands, 5.2% in Scotland, 4.9% in Portugal... I do not know of any significant radical-left electoral efforts in the new EU member states of Eastern Europe, but in some west European states, at least, there were some scores for the radical left in June's Euro-elections better than those which parties to the left of the Communist and Socialist parties got in the 1970s. Then, although far-left groups generally had more, and more...

Tube strike? What tube strike?

Two of Livingstone's top advisors - Redmond O'Neill and John Ross - are members of Socialist Action (a self-styled Trotskyist group). We wondered what that group thought of Livingstone's call to scab. Faz Velmi phoned up NUS executive member and Socialist Action supporter Pete Leary and asked him. The date was Tuesday 6 July i.e a week after the tube strike. Faz: Hi Pete, it's Faz from the AWL. How are you? Pete: Fine thanks. F: Have you got a minute? P: Yes, sure. F: We're doing an article on the tube strike for our paper, and since I know you guys work pretty closely with Livingstone, I was...

Anti-bans, anti-hijab

By Joan Trevor "The evil has landed" was the Sun's headline to describe the arrival of Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi in Britain on 5 July. Qaradawi is the spiritual leader of the Egyptian Islamist organisation, the Muslim Brotherhood. The Sun article said that Qaradawi supports suicide bombings by Palestinians in Israel, advocates killing homosexuals and condones wife-beating. Since when did socialists believe anything they read in the Sun? However, whilst the Sun's new-found concern for homosexual human rights probably has most to do with them looking for a new stick to beat Islam with, they did...

German left regroups to form electoral challenge

A poll conducted last week by left-leaning German TV magazine Panorama revealed that more than a third of Germans would consider voting for a new left party, made up of expelled and resigned Social-Democrats (SPD) and disappointed former Greens and Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) members. The surprise result has been a nasty shock for the SPD, following a disappointing 22% in the European Union election. On June 15, the SPD expelled four regional union leaders who had threatened to set up a new party if the SPD continues its radical neoliberal dismantling of the welfare state. Following...

Debate and discussion - Against Blunkett's Religious Hate Law

Home Secretary David Blunkett has revived proposals for a Religious Hate law. The government first attempted to introduce a law that would ban inciting religious hatred in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. It is not yet clear exactly when the plans will go before Parliament. Blunkett believes that there is a need to stop people being abused or targeted just because they hold a particular religious faith. He states both that the law is needed to protect Muslims from "Islamophobia", and that the law change would help tackle religious extremists who preach against other religions, meaning - in...

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