Es soll weiter gehen

 

Ein Mantra hat die designierte schwarz-rote Koalition schon: “Das ist ein Aufbruch”, insistierte CSU-Chef Horst Seehofer gleich mehrfach am Freitagvormittag nach Abschluss der Sondierungsgespräche, und dass es “so viele Beschlüsse” gäbe, die diesen Aufbruch untermauerten. Der SPD-Vorsitzende Martin Schulz versprach einen “Aufbruch für Europa” und Angela Merkel, die einen “Auftrag” zu “spüren” versicherte, sekundierte: “Ein Aufbruch für Europa ist immer auch ein Aufbruch für Deutschland.” Continue reading

Society cannot be transformed solely from the Top

Working people want a different society, an end to the situation where a decent secure job and a place to live are unobtainable for millions, says LEN McCLUSKEY
Unite shop floor leaders gathered in Brighton UK this week to consider the remarkable democratic working-class organisation we have built together.
These conferences are a cornerstone of our union and our democracy. Indeed, they are where the most important aspects of Unite’s life and work are debated. Continue reading

The Russian Revolution: An inspiration Then and Now

WHY should media, so apparently divided on key political issues, be united in viewing the October 1917 revolution in Russia as not worth celebrating?
Most reasons advanced boil down to a combination of secret police, state repression, lack of individual rights, an absence of democracy and mass bloodshed.
No state exists without a secret police. Tsarist security police infiltrated the Bolsheviks right up to central committee level. Their reports condemned revolutionaries to jail, exile and worse. Continue reading

Che’s Daughter Aleida calls for unity of the left

They had travelled to Denbigh Town Hall from as far as the Wirral, Anglesey and Aberystwyth to celebrate the Cuban revolution in music, song and verse and to hear Aleida Guevara talk about her father’s legacy and the current situation in her country. MEIC BIRTWISTLE reports.
The banner on the stage of Denbigh Town Hall on Tuesday night was trilingual — Welsh, English and of course Spanish — “Daw Dydd — Our Day Will Come — Venceremos!” Continue reading

It’s Time to get your Coat, Priti Patel

EVEN as Theresa May finally sees no real alternative but to sack Priti Patel, she still oozes weakness because everyone knows this isn’t her favoured option.
She has been reeling since her ill-judged bid to win a landslide parliamentary majority blew up in her face, leaving Jeremy Corbyn looking the winner.
Her billion-pound bung to the Democratic Unionist Party hasn’t made her administration any steadier in the face of instability following allegations of inappropriate behaviour and worse against ministers and MPs. Continue reading

Catalan Chiefs to face charge of Sedition

SPAIN’S chief prosecutor Jose Manuel Maza made clear yesterday that he intends to place charges of rebellion, sedition and embezzlement against members of Catalonia’s ousted government, which has been seeking independence for the region.

The rebellion, sedition and embezzlement charges carry maximum sentences of 30, 15 and six years in jail respectively. Continue reading

German Far Rights Gain Spark Protest

by Felicity Collier

ANTI-RACISM campaigners took to the streets of London last night to protest at the German far right’s recent electoral success.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD), an anti-EU party with a large fascist wing, attracted a shock 12.6 per cent share of the vote in Sunday’s parliamentary election, winning seats in the lower house Bundestag for the first time. Continue reading

No one has the Divine Right to Rule

Calls to extend democracy are always met with derision, writes CHRIS WILLIAMSON

WHY is it that some people who claim to be advocates of democracy, who want to spread its influence throughout the world, seem more reticent about extending it when it might affect them personally?

I thought it was only tyrants and autocrats who would argue that they should not be subjected to democratic scrutiny by the people they purport to speak for. Continue reading