PaulHampton's blog

Addendum on the cartoons

This was in Andrew Anthony’s column Sunday April 9, 2006 in The Observer

Another imam on a short fuse

A little-commented-upon addendum to the Danish cartoons farrago occurred a couple of weeks ago. Danish cleric Imam Ahmed Akkari, author of the dossier that stirred up global protests, was...

SWP on Venezuela - cheerleaders for someone else’s "revolution"

Venezuela and Revolution in the 21st Century by Joseph Choonara, Socialist Worker pamphlet (February 2006).

The emergence of an independent labour movement in Venezuela has been one of the most exciting developments in Latin America in recent years. The formation of the UNT, whose leadership...

SWP denies sectarianism in Iraq

The current edition of the SWP’s journal International Socialism (109) contains an interview with two of its friends, who share its views on Iraq.

Early in the interview, Haifa Zangana says: “This Shia-Sunni division of Iraqi society is a complete fabrication. There is no such thing. There is...

The revival of Stalinism?

Ever wondered why the AWL goes on about Stalinism so much? Thought Stalinism was dead?

Guardian columnist Seumas Milne wrote (Feb 16):
“For all its brutalities and failures, communism in the Soviet Union, eastern Europe and elsewhere delivered rapid industrialisation, mass education, job security...

Socialist Worker is right about one thing…

Socialist Worker’s editorial in its latest paper (18 February) on the Danish cartoons indicates just how far it has dissolved into two-camp politics. The editorial says:

“Islamophobia is a pillar of George Bush’s “war on terror”. In its wake comes further racism. This is the dividing line - either...

Keith Flett "justifies" Galloway on BB

The prize for the worst (or best) rationalisation for Galloway’s appearance on Big Brother goes to SWP man of letters, Keith Flett.

In today’s Morning Star (13 February) he compares Galloway with past “gentleman leaders” of the labour movement. He says that Chartists like Ernest Jones needed...

Israel and comparisons with apartheid

Comparisons between Israel and apartheid South Africa are increasingly common, both on the left and in the mainstream press (e.g. the Guardian this week). The AWL has rejected the analogy because of the different class structures in these two states. The article below was written nearly 20 years ago...

Iran: Release jailed bus workers now!

Beginning on Friday, 27 January, security forces in Iran began arresting hundreds of striking bus workers in Teheran, including the leadership of the union. Workers are also being intimidated into signing pledges to give up strike and protest actions or risk being fired. The management of the...

Ideological clarity needed on Venezuela

My argument with Nick Rogers in the Weekly Worker continues. Here is my latest reply.

*****

Nick Rogers really should stop digging himself into a hole over Venezuela (Weekly Worker, January 26). His differences with the AWL over Chávez are now pretty clear – no doubt reality will decide who is...

Rough transcript of new Galloway tape

This is a rough transcript of the Galloway tape that's all over the media today. It's apparently from Galloway's Mariam bus tour in late 1999. There are two sentences which surely rank alongside his 1994 "indefatigability" suck up to Saddam:

- “I’d like you to know that we are with you until the...

Material on Cuban Trotskyism

Anyone wanting an antedote to the Castro-loving nonsense on Cuba peddled by most of the left should go to a new website on Cuban Trotskyism. It is run by Gary Tennant and features his PhD thesis on Cuban Trotskyism from the 1920s until the 1960s, when Castro and Guevara snuffed it out.

The Cuban...

Bachelet Victory in Chile

This article from Znet sums up the (limited) significance of Bachelet's victory in Chile.

By Roger Burbach

The resounding victory of Michelle Bachelet as Chile’s first woman president represents an important social advance in a country where women are often treated as second-class citizens. But...

More on Venezuela vs Weekly Worker

Another long article in the Weekly Worker last week on the AWL and Venezuela. This is my reply.

*****

Nick Rogers’ latest article on Venezuela (Weekly Worker, January 12) concedes a lot of ground to the AWL view, which he has spent so much effort criticising.

He agrees with the AWL that...

The SWP, Galloway and Big Brother

SWP public face John Rees has a statement on Galloway and Big Brother in the new Socialist Worker .

Rees says: “Lots of people feel that it’s not an appropriate way for an MP to spend their time. People in their workplaces and communities say that many Respect supporters don’t think that this...

Is the SWP in crisis?

Long time SWP loyalist John Molyneux has produced a document, Why I am standing for the SWP Central Committee? He supports their major political line on Respect, Stop the War etc and since factions are strictly prohibited after its conferences, it’s unlikely to represent a split.

However Molyneux...

Woman and Socialism by August Bebel

The book Woman and Socialism by August Bebel is a Marxist classic. It outlines the relationship between women’s liberation and socialism and much more. It was originally written in 1879 by August Bebel, the leader of the German social democrats (SPD) and Reichstag deputy (i.e. MP). Though obviously...

Bonapartism or social democracy in Venezuela?

The Weekly Worker has published a long article (Chávez and the AWL, December 15). This is my reply.

*****

The substance of my disagreement with Nick Rogers over Venezuela is that I characterise the Chávez government as Bonapartist, whereas he believes it is social democratic. My view leads to...

Why is the government promoting political Islam?

A Home Office task force set up after the 7/7 bombings published a report recently, which is quite scary.

The task force was composed of assorted clerics, political Islamists and so-called community leaders, and not surprisingly they’ve come to a modus vivendi with the government

The report...

Letter to the Weekly Worker on Venezuela

I've sent this letter to the Weekly Worker in response to their churlish "critique" of my recent articles on Venezuela.

Marxism vs Chávez apologetics

For years the CPGB has been silent on Venezuela, content with its role as a left-wing gossip sheet.

Now Nick Rogers (Weekly Worker, 1 December)...

Callinicos admits the SWP are wrong on imperialism

SWP cardinal Alex Callinicos has made a surprising admission: the SWP has been wrong on imperialism.

In the latest International Socialism journal (IS 108), in a starchy review of articles in the Socialist Register by Leo Panitch and Sam Gindin, he flatly admits the SWP’s view of imperialism since...

Respect – where does the money come from?

George Galloway’s Respect Party is under scrutiny over its funding. Apparently it spent £320,000 in the general election and £240,000 in last year’s European elections.

Earlier this week it came under fire from the think tank New Policy Network for failing to declare donations on anything like...

Burn Lenin’s corpse

Sloshing about in a vat of formaldehyde in Red Square are the pickled remains of the great Vladimir Lenin. Despite leading the workers’ revolution in Russia in 1917 and rallying millions of revolutionary workers to the Communist International, he was not left to rest in peace.

It was Stalin who...

Support Venezuelan subway construction workers

Twenty five workers are on their third week of a hunger strike over the project to extend the Caracas Metro, one of the Chavez government's key infrastructure projects. Workers are demanding union recognition and money owed by their employer Geobrain.
Geobrain is owned by the multinational...

Save the Bauen Hotel!

The Argentina Solidarity Campaign is circulating this appeal, which I think we should support.

One of the most important occupied workplaces in Argentina is the Bauen Hotel in Buenos Aires.

The Bauen is a five star hotel that was abandoned to bankruptcy by its owners, and has been recovered and...

What about women’s civil liberties?

Tomorrow, Tuesday 15 November the Wandsworth Stop the War Coalition (STWC) is holding a public meeting on civil liberties. The platform is Michael Mansfield QC, Kate Hudson CND, Saghir Hussein Stop Political Terror and SWPer Chris Nineham representing STWC.

The venue is the Tooting Islamic Centre...

Was voting Galloway worth it?

George Galloway missed the vote on the government's anti-terror laws on Wednesday because he was doing his one-man show in Ireland. That's the vote where the government won by just one vote - the closest it has come to losing a vote since it was elected in 1997.

As MPs debated the Terrorism Bill...

Blair's plans to bury comprehensive education

I'm alarmed by the government's plans for education.

The White Paper issued last week contains all kinds of barmy ideas, but the proposal that every school gets self-governing “independent state school” status is nothing less than a plan to bury comprehensive education.

The smashing of local...

Why is al-Qaradawi revered?

An interview with Yusuf al-Qaradawi by Madeleine Bunting in today’s Guardian should leave no-one in any doubt of his reactionary politics.

1) His justification for suicide bombers:
Palestinian suicide bombings in Israel, he insists, are a form of jihad. He says: "The actor who commits this is a...

Nuts 2 Loaded – 300,000 reasons to be a socialist feminist

Magazines like Nuts and Zoo sell around 300,000 copies a week. Monthlies like Loaded and FHM also shift a shed load. These magazines are unabashedly misogynist and sexist. A feature in Saturday’s Guardian magazine gives a flavour of the content, together with the ridiculous justifications of the...

Trade union rights under attack worldwide

Trade unionists worldwide face imprisonment, dismissal and even death for fighting back. And anti-union laws rob millions of workers of their rights.

A new report from the ICFTU international union confederation says 145 workers were killed last year because of their trade union activities...

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