Revolution is in the air, or at least the word is. The media talked of a “Tunisian Revolution” in January and of an “Egyptian Revolution” in February. In a weak, narrow sense of the word this could be said to be true. In both countries a long-established dictator was overthrown as a first step...
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Mid-East
Lessons of Recent Events in North Africa
Libya: brutality and hypocrisy
When the popular movements against long-standing despots in the Arab world spread from Tunisia and Egypt to Libya the Western powers thought that something they had long wanted – regime-change in Libya – was about to be handed them on a plate. But they didn’t have the same control over Gaddafi as they did...
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Solidarity with Arab Workers
Saudi Arabian troops sent to help put down the protests for democracy in Bahrain. While the UK government demands action against Gadhaffi , is there a similar call for a move to oppose this military intervention by Saudi Arabia? Will those governments who rightly condemn Gadaffi’s use of foreign mercenaries now condemn this use...
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Tunisia – people power, but…
The lightning rapidity and relative ease with which Zine El Abidine Ben Ali was chased out of Tunisia in January, is a clear testimony not only of the power of the masses but also (though unknown to many) how vulnerable and cowardly many a dictator is. Hours before his ignominious flight, Ben Ali appeared...
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Egypt: The hard road to political democracy
At the time of going to press, the “revolution of anger” in Egypt seems to be entering a new phase. Tahrir Square has been reopened to traffic and commerce. Massive political demonstrations are over, at least for the time being, but strikes and protests by various groups of workers continue. The employees of the...
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Afghanistan – lying about dying
The pressure to misinterpret the deaths, as the bodies come back, as nobly purifying is a cynically orchestrated propaganda exercise intended to justify the war. Among the rituals so consoling to our Servants of the People in Westminster is the solemn roll call of the names of recently fatal casualties of the Afghanistan war...
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Oil or democracy, what do you think?
Our rulers tell us they are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan for democracy. Not true. I n June 2009 in Afghanistan a group of heavily armed (with US weaponry) and masked Afghan thugs forced their way into the office of a Provincial Prosecutor and demanded that a detained prisoner be handed over to them....
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Peace in Palestine
Peace is always better than war. Because wars are never fought in the interests of ordinary people. And because in wars it is always ordinary people who suffer. So, irrespective of the issues involved or the terms agreed, Socialists can only welcome the ending of any war in any part of the world. Stop...
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Are We All Hamas And Hezbollah?
A Critical Look at the Left’s Flirtation with Islamic Fundamentalism -from Communicating Vessels Magazine Issue 19 “I have striven not to laugh at human actions, nor to hate them, but to understand them.” Baruch Spinoza THE WORLD HAS undoubtedly changed since the late 1980s. No one can deny that when the Berlin wall crumbled...
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Class In Pakistan
When socialists proclaim that we live in a class dominated society we are rebuked for not taking into account the dreadful poverty of some parts of Asia, but as recent reports indicate capitalism dominates Asia just as much as it does in Europe. “Gold-trimmed SUVs idle outside parliament. Among new female lawmakers, black Muslim...
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