 09/08/03 |
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 Britain:
Iraq, Kelly Death, Hutton Inquiry... Blair's Web of Deceit Continues to
Unravel |
LIKE
BANQUO'S ghost in Macbeth, the death of government scientist Dr David
Kelly is set to haunt Tony Blair. Following the scientist's suicide,
Blair sought to minimise the political damage over the affair by appointing
Lord Hutton to conduct a public inquiry. But whatever the limitations
of the inquiry, many people see the hand of Blair behind Kelly's death.
Only 24% of people still trust New Labour in a YouGov poll, a mere
3% ahead of the discredited Tories. |
AN
IMPORTANT case in defending women's right to abortion was won on 10
July at the end of a lower court trial. SLP member Claudia Sorger
(the Socialist Left Party is the CWI's affiliate in Austria) had been
taken to court by anti-abortionists - Human Life International (HLI)
- because she had criticised their brutal methods in an article. She
submitted this report to us. |
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| US:
Corporations' Media Power Grab |
THE
FEDERAL Communications Commission (FCC) just relaxed the rules restricting
media giants from gaining yet more monopoly ownership of media markets
nationwide. According to a dissenting FCC commissioner, the new rules
allow "a single company to own in one city up to three TV stations,
eight radio stations, the cable TV system, cable TV stations and the
only daily newspaper." The supposedly "outdated" rules
prevented most cross-ownership of various media in one city.  |
| Direct
Action: A Socialist Analysis |
AS
A contribution to the debate on direct action we reprint an article
from the old Australian SP paper, Voice. This feature by
Stephen Jolly examines the question of direct action from a socialist
perspective. Drawing on the rich experience of the Socialist Party
in Australia, it highlights key features and principles of direct
action! |
| North
Korea: A Socialist Explanation of the Current Crisis |
SINCE
OCTOBER 2002, diplomatic tension between the US and North Korea have
been rapidly approaching crisis point. Washington has accused North
Korea of reviving its nuclear weapons programme in violation of the
1994 'agreed framework', which the US itself has reneged upon numerous
times. Already facing international protest against his imperialist
policy in the Middle East, Bush's hardline position on North Korea has
only succeeded in further isolating America. Washington expecting that
the North would bend to its demands was shocked to be met with the defiance
from President Kim Jong-Il. |
| Women:
Reclaiming Feminism? |
THE
EQUAL Opportunities Commission in Britain recently published an 'equality'
survey to coincide with the 75th anniversary of all women over 21 securing
the vote. The publicity this attracted prompted two readers of The
Socialist (paper of the SP in England and Wales)to give their opinions
of the survey and its conclusions. There is also an article about Cecilia
Payne and discrimination against women in science. |
|
A
BRITISH government report on genetically modified (GM) crops has concluded
that, in spite of claimed long-term benefits, GM crops will not be profitable
until demand increases. But it is no wonder that people are sceptical.
With corporations like Monsanto deciding research priorities, science
is distorted to meet their quest for profits. Science becomes a race
to find a new way of making money for the capitalists who take ownership
of research findings. We put forward a socialist approach to genetic
'engineering'. |
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