Bolshy

Help us raise $50,000 for Indonesian workers!

[1] An appeal: Solidarity with Indonesian workers! The British anti-sweatshop campaign No Sweat is appealing for funds to help the Indonesian workers movement. We are raising money for the campaigning union organisation, the National Front for Indonesian Workers Struggle (FNPBI), whose most prominent leader is Dita Sari. Dita, on behalf of herself and the FNPBI, recently refused to take a "human rights award" of $50,000 from the sportswear transnational, Reebok. Reebok gives this award, annually, to a number of activists, because it is cheaper than paying the Third World workers who slave in...

Grants restored in Wales

15 February 2002 The Welsh Assembly has decided to restore student grants. They will only be 1500 pounds [ca. 2250 EUR] per year, and means-tested, but all students from Wales can apply for them. by Sasha Ismael The Scottish Parliament has already restored student grants and abolished up-front tuition fees (the Welsh Assembly does not have sufficient powers to abolish fees). English students will thus be worse off than Welsh or Scottish ones sitting at the same lecture theatre bench or the same library table, studying the same courses at the same universities. The New Labour government insists...

Sweatshop campaigning latest

"Standing protesting outside Gap is a strange thing to do when civilians are being killed in Afghanistan," Globalise Resistance's Guy Taylor tells a fawning Andy Beckett (Guardian G2, Jan 17 'Has the Left Lost Its Way') To that, we say "Bollocks!" We think that, whatever the armed forces of imperialism are up to, the struggle of workers across the globe against insulting and abusive labour practices goes on and continues to deserve our full support. If you agree with us, you might be interested in the following: Friday March 8 - International Women's Day: Originally proposed by Lenin, the date...

Argentinians take to the streets

The political crisis that exploded in Argentina in late December 2001 was the culmination of months of protest. It began with the banging of pans and the blockading of roads by small shopkeepers. Thousands were involved in a well-supported general strike on 13 December, followed by demonstrations outside supermarkets. Then, at the end of the month, a huge upsurge occurred, with thousands demonstrating on the streets, shouting "No more hunger - bread and work" and "Get out - we don't want any of you!" The government declared a state of siege, and savage repression by the police followed - 31...

Turn the anti-capitalist struggle into a fight for workers' liberty

Over the last few years a new attitude of rebellion has been seen across the world. In cities like London, Prague, Melbourne, genoa and Seattle, activists protesting against third world debt, sweatshop labour, road building and animal rights abuses have come together with indigenous struggles of workers and peasants in poorer countries and with trade union activists. The massive street mobilisations and the readical approach taken to protest has ignited a fire and caught the imagination of people all over the planet who see the injustice of the way the world is organised and want to do...

Get campaiginig against sweatshops

The latest news and activities from No Sweat - the UK campaign against sweatshops. Campaigning: International No Sweat, the UK campaign against sweatshops, is launching a solidarity campaign with Indonesian workers. If you are involved in a student / trade union or other organisation, why not twin them with a union branch of the FNPBI (the largest free trade union federation in Indonesia) and help them in their fight to organise the workers making the goods for Nike and other multinationals. Also, if you can get your hands on any good, second hand computer equipment that could be useful to a...

Why George Bush is a moron; part 231

Displaying all the qualities of an outstanding world statesman - hold on, make that dickhead - "W" (we know what it stands for) - summed up the problems of India and Pakistan. We need to get the "Indians and the Pakis" talking, he said. What a stupid, racist moron! "Never mind, sit down to watch the football and munch a few pretzels, George, even you can't fuck that one up", said his special adviser. Oh no! In a bizarre, salty snack-related incident, the world's most powerful (surely that should read "stupid" - Ed.) man ended up needing medical attention! What a fuckwit!

The Euro - something to think about

On January 1, 2002, 12 European countries introduced Euro notes and coins. Only three EU states - Sweden, Denmark and the UK - stood aside. What should the left say? Does it matter to us? The underlying process is this: Europe is being united, from above, in the interests of the European capitalists. The capitalists are merging the separate European economies for their mutual benefit. Britian joined the European club late - in the 1970s - because the British capitalists had more links with US or Commonwealth capitalism, and less with mainland Europe. And that's why parties like the Tories are...

Student funding : government clueless

The Campaign for Free Education (but not the National Union of Students) said, when tuition fees were introduced and grants were scrapped, that this would put working class students off higher education. We also said that the average debt for a graduate would be between 12 and 15 thousand pounds. The government and the NUS said we were scaremongering. Now the banks say that average graduate debt is exactly as we predicted and the Government have figured out that working class kids aren't going to university. Well duh! So Blair and his brightest thinkers decided they would scrap the current...

Support the rail, post, and benefits strikes!

With rail strikes crippling train services in the south-east and set to spread, a strike brewing in Consignia (the new name for the postal service) and national strikes by benefits workers, people have been talking about a new "winter of discontent". The name "winter of discontent" refers to strikes in 1978/9 against the last Labour government (1974-79). Elected after an incredible wave of working class militancy brought down Ted Heath's Tories, the Wilson-Callaghan government failed to deliver for workers. The "Thatcherite" policies of massive cuts in the welfare state didn't start with...

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