National News
Rise anti-racism festival rises up
AN ANTI-RACISM festival that was axed last year by Tory London Mayor Boris Johnson on the grounds that it was political, will take place in Haringey on Sunday after 18 months of campaigning and fundraising by the local community.
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Tunnock workers try for biscuit
HUNDREDS of workers at the Tunnock factory in Uddingston, Glasgow, took strike action on Thursday 23rd and Tuesday 28th September in a dispute over a pay offer and dirty tricks played by the company management.
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Unions to fight quango cull
PUBLIC sector unions reacted strongly to the threat that 180 government bodies are likely to be axed under the Con-Dem coalition’s cuts programme.
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Social workers demand new contract
STRESSED out social workers are last week sent out an SOS to MPs and the public to back their campaign for a new contract for social workers. The contract has been drawn up after public sector union Unison and leading social work journal Community Care, joined forces in support of social workers.
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GMB protest over hospital cuts
THE GMB general union this Wednesday staged a protest over plans by South London Healthcare NHS Trust to close the maternity and accident-and-emergency departments at Queen Mary’s Hospital in Sidcup.
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Tube dispute gathers steam
THE RMT and TSSA unions are stepping up their industrial action on many fronts in their fight to defend safe staffing levels at London Underground stations, after Transport for London (TfL) announced plans to cut 800 staff, whose loss will leave the network less safe.
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HSE IT workers strike
INFORMATION technology workers employed by the Health and Safety Executive last week took industrial action in response to an “insulting” pay offer.
They are members of the civil service union PCS employed by Computacenter and have suffered successive years of below inflation pay increases.
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International News
Great election day in Venezuela
Radio Havana Cuba
THE PARLIAMENTARY elections held last Sunday in Venezuela, even amidst adverse weather conditions, were a civic celebration for the people because of the massive turnout at the polls and the careful organisation of the event, which attracted over 17 million citizens to elect 165 members to the National Assembly.
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Israeli navy intercepts aid boat
Xinhua news agency
ISRAELI naval commandos intercepted and boarded a small craft with nine pro- Palestinian activists bound for Gaza on Tuesday. Amjad Al-Shawa of the Palestinian NGOs Network called it “maritime piracy” by the Israelis who had “threatened” the activists and the crew “to prevent them from reaching Gaza”.
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Why recession could widen US income gap
by Matthew Rusling
THAT AN income gap between rich and poor exists in the United States is nothing new, as the space between the “haves” and the “have-nots” has grown over the last three decades.
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‘Cockroaches and liars scatter’
by Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey
HOW CHILDISH and rude it was for the delegations of the United States and its lackeys to sidle out of the United Nations General Assembly last week in a huff when President Mahmoud Ahmadinejád of the Islamic Republic of Iran took the podium and spoke his mind. How true it is that roaches and liars both scatter when the light shines on them.
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Kashmir: youth lead resistance to Indian occupation
by G Dunkel
BEGINNING in 2008 and greatly intensifying in June of this year, growing resistance in the Indian-occupied part of Kashmir has created a major political crisis for the ruling class of India.
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Intolerance towards the Roma on the increase
Radio Havana Cuba
INTOLERANCE towards the Roma, a people who have been persecuted for centuries, has been increasing dangerously in the last few months. The final blow was given by the discriminatory policy of the French government, headed by Nicolas Sarkozy.
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Features
United States: the capitalist crisis and how to fight it
by Fred Goldstein
THE “EXPERTS” on Wall Street and in the big business media force themselves to rave over the fact that the private sector created 67,000 jobs in August. Never mind that this represents a decline from the monthly average of 90,000 private sector jobs created over the last year. And never mind that 141,000 government census workers were laid off last month.
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Leon Rosselson sings for Palestine
by Wally Brooker
THE LAST Chance: Eight Songs on Israel/Palestine, a new compilation CD from Leon Rosselson, is a powerful personal statement from a distinguished British folksinger who continues to be one of the finest progressive songwriters working in the English language. Rosselson’s songs draw from a deep well of musical traditions: English music hall, labour anthems, French realist song, Jewish folk and European classical. His great accomplishment is his consistent ability to integrate his fine melodies with acutely observant lyrics and wordplay.
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