Culture vultures

As well as the many political meetings, there's a series of cultural events and films at Marxism this coming weekend. Some of the sessions are on cultural topics too, so all in all it's a fantastic event for arty farty lefties seeking their cultural fix. I thought I'd provide a round up of what look like being top notch performances, film showings, gigs and cultural sessions.

I've heard both Sam West and Michael Billington talk in previous years. Last year Billington, the Guardian's theatre critic, was interviewed by playwright David Edgar about British theatre since the war (I bought his excellent book on the subject, which he kindly signed). This year they are joining together in a tribute to the late, great Harold Pinter, outstanding playwright and fierce anti-imperialist (Sunday, SOAS). Edgar is back this year too, speaking about another of the great radical dramatists: Bertolt Brecht (Sunday, Royal National) .

I absolutely loved Call Mr Robeson when I saw it earlier in the year - Tyneside Stop the War hosted it as a fundraiser - and highly recommend it. I contacted Marxism organisers to suggest it, though I suspect they were planning to invite Tayo Aluko to perform his astonshing play anyway. It's a superb mix of Paul Robeson's songs - performed beautifully - with dramatic incidents from his life and a strong sense of his political heroism (Sunday, ULU).

Musical highlights include hip hop group Ramallah Underground headlining a night of 'Palestinian cultural resistance' (Saturday, Jeffery Hall), and the gig with Iraqi rapper Lowkey and the Neville Staple Band which closes the whole event (Monday, The Scala). Lowkey is involved, with Michael Rosen, in paying tribute to anti-war and left wing poet Adrian Mitchell in an evening of spoken word (Friday, Jeffery Hall). Rosen is also featuring as host of 'entertainment for lefties of all ages' called 'Socialists have kids too!' (Saturday, Jeffery Hall). It's designed for adults and their kids to attend together.

Film showings include Latin American film (Saturday, SOAS), a screening of 'The Battle for Haditha' accompanied by Q and A with director Nick Broomfield (Saturday, SOAS) and a lunchtime showing of footage from the recent victorious student occupation at SOAS, with a chance to hear from those central to the occupation (and some food thrown in too).

Finally, there are meetings on a wide range of cultural topics. I'd especially recommend Gareth Jenkins on Dickens (Friday), China Mieville on 'The politics of monsters' (Saturday) and Noel Douglas' illustrated talk 'Whose streets? Our streets!' (Sunday).

Stop the War: busy times ahead

Student anti-war contingent on Put People First demo, 28 March 2009

I went to London yesterday for a very good Stop the War steering committee. The meeting mapped out a busy few months ahead, including ideas for protesting around the Iraq inquiry. The anti-war movement certainly still has a great deal to be getting on with.

Lindsey German, Stop the War convenor, led a discussion about the current political situation and the challenges we face. Afghanistan and Pakistan constitute a big priority, with AfPak (as the US generals call their 'mission') now the major front in the 'war on terror'. Obama is continuing business as usual in this part of the world - indeed there's an intensification of operations, from both the Americans and our own armed forces.

Iraq is going to be a bigger campaign focus than anticipated, especially as much of the inquiry will be in public. This starts soon and will last a whole year. It was felt we should extend our campaigning around this to encompass Afghanistan and the demand to bring all our troops home.

There'll be protests at the inquiry - many people will no doubt look forward to demonstrating when Blair makes his appearance! It was also agreed that anti-war activists should make written submissions to the inquiry and lobby for our representatives to get a hearing in the inquiry itself.

Islamaphobia was also discussed. There's added urgency in resisting the rising tide of anti-Muslim racism after the election of two MEPs for the BNP, a party that systematically fosters hatred of Muslim communities. The launch meeting for a major new initiative - Kafa/Enough - took place on Friday in London, with over 200 people hearing speeches by Lindsey German, George Galloway, Daud Abdullah of the MCB, rapper Lowkey and others. There should be local launch meetings in the months ahead, up and down the country.

An exciting development for us in the North East is that our near-neighbours in Edinburgh will be hosting big protests this November. The G20 finance ministers meet in Scotland around 7 November, followed by NATO'S defence ministers just a week later. They will be greeted by thousands of anti-war voices calling for an end to war, occupation and racism. We will of course be mobilising in large numbers from Tyneside.

Exciting times

There's been a very impressive spate of walkouts in the last few days, starting with the Lindsey refinery workers in Lincolnshire. The 'British Jobs for British Workers' stance has, thankfully, been less in evidence than a few months ago. Ruthless employers are clearly in workers' firing line this time around.

After 600 workers were sacked at Lindsey by the oil giant Total, unofficial strikes - involving thousands of workers - at various construction sites sent a powerful signal. The message was that even a major multinational can't simply ride roughshod over people's livelihoods. The strikes continue at a number of sites.

Gary, a fellow Socialist Workers Party activist here in the North East, visited the Wilton biofuel plant in Teesside today. This is one of the sites of solidarity strike action in recent days. Gary was inspired by the mood and militancy of the workers:

'The working class are fighting back again and it's great to be part of it. It's been a long time coming but we're now seeing an upturn in the struggle. Real economic clashes are taking place up and down the country. Real solidarity is being shown. These are exciting times!'

Campaign for end to Islamophobia

Islamophobia has grown in recent years, becoming a kind of 'respectable racism', not only in this country but across Europe. Like all forms of racism, it divides the working class - as well as being an affront to the dignity and rights of those directly on the receiving end.

But there has also been resistance to this tide of racism, going back to the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks and the beginnings of the movement agianst the 'war on terror'. Stop the War announced three campaigning principles and objectives when it was launched: opposition to wars in pursuit of US aims, defence of civil liberties, and rejection of racism directed towards Muslims.

The racism continues - and so does the movement which opposes it. This is a movement that has organised the greatest and most multi-racial demonstrations in our history, undermining and challenging the climate of Islamophobia generated by media and politicans. With the election of two MEPs for the Nazi BNP, there is renewed urgency to the calls for a united movement in response to the fostering of racist division.

It's a hopeful sign, therefore, that various individuals and organisations are joining with Stop the War to instigate a new initiative challenging Islamophobia. There's a launch meeting this Friday in London, addressed by George Galloway MP, Daud Abdullah (Muslim Council of Britain) and Lindsey German (Stop the War convenor), amongst others, which will hopefully kickstart a series of rallies and meetings across the country.

Here in Tyneside we're discussing a similar meeting for September, aiming to bring together as many people of all backgrounds to unite against the racism that accompanies war and imperialist occupations.

Iraq inquiry: campaigning for justice

It's good to see the Iraq inquiry is, after all, going to be conducted mostly in public. The Stop the War Coalition lobbied and protested for a public inquiry - this is a breakthrough for our movement. Radio 4's PM programme has just reported today's protest outside Parliament, and the announcement by Stop the War of plans to demonstrate again at the inquiry itself.

The inquiry will be higher profile as a result of the government's capitulation today. Its announcment that sessions will be subject to public scrutiny was a consequence of pressure from all directions. The inquiry itself will surely be a major focus for continued protest, a chance to remind the world of the mass public opposition to the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

So, a small victory already. But also a campaign ahead to get justice for all the victims of the conquest of Iraq - and an opportunity to strengthen a movement that can confront the warmongers on all fronts, now and in the future.

Battle of Orgreave: Norman Strike's frontline account

It's fascinating to read Norman Strike's account of the Orgreave events from 25 years ago. His blog, in which he uploads his diary entries from the Miners' Strike, is a developing treasure trove of primary source material from a dedicated rank-and-file participant. The long piece on Orgreave is especially significant, considering its fame and status as one of the landmarks in the year-long strike.

He captures the atmosphere magnificently and implicitly reveals some important political lessons - about the limitations of the union leadership, the role of the police, how socialists relate to mass pickets, etc. He makes a sobering and important point about their weaknesses compared to the great Battle of Saltley Gate in 1972 - in not only numbers but also the level of solidarity from the wider union movement.

But, whatever the lessons and the legacy, this is first and foremost an extraordinary frontline account of an important, dramatic episode in the history of class struggle. We should be grateful to its author for putting it in the public domain.

Anti-imperialists and the Iran crisis

What attitude should anti-imperialists take to the current upheaval in Iran? There's some anxiety that supporting the protests might be misconstrued as backing any action against the current regime - which could potentially include US or Israeli military intervention. It could mean lining up with Western political leaders or - perhaps even more embarrassingly - Nick Cohen (aaaagghhh!).

Of course, it's possible to be inspired by the brave demonstrators - and want to see them prevail - without lending any kind of support for the warmongers or their craven media apologists. The background to these protests is complex and messy; Mousavi, the 'opposition' leader, is no heroic revolutionary figure but a champion of neo-liberalism. Yet it should be clear that protestors are driven by genuine and justified outrage at abuses of democracy, which in turn reflect deeper grievances and a yearning for greater freedom.

It's been said before - and we should say it again - that those who do the liberating do the ruling afterwards. 'Liberation' by external armies and air forces, bringing rhetoric of humanitarian intervention and the reality of bloodshed and destruction, leads to colonial occupation. Liberation by the people themselves opens up much more exciting possibilities. How it develops is up for grabs, but it is in the self-activity of the masses that we see new opportunities develop.

For a more detailed analysis, I recommend Naz Massoumi's excellent new commentary on the Iranian elections crisis.

SOAS: campaign continues

It looks like SOAS students had an excellent meeting last night, reviewing and celebrating what they've achieved in the last week and also looking ahead to building an on-going campaign. Here are the videos of speeches by Sally Hunt (UCU General Secretary), James Haywood (NUS national executive member) and Unjum Mirza (RMT). Sally Hunt's speech especially is a powerful re-statement of solidarity, and she makes important comments on the racism and viciousness of attacks on migrant workers.

an alternative guide to Marxism

It's less than 2 weeks until Marxism, the biggest gathering of the year on the British left. It's organised by the Socialist Workers Party and takes place over 5 days in central London. Here is the full timetable.

You can read about the big highlights elsewhere. Here, instead, is my list of recommended sessions taken from the medium-sized and small venues. An alternative guide to Marxism, if you like...

Thursday 2 July
Anindya Bhattacharyya: Why does racism still exist?
Patrick Ward: The internet, democracy and the movement

Friday 3 July
James Meadway: Neoliberalism in crisis: the return of the state?
Sabby Sagall: Marxism and human nature
Jeremy Dear and Dave Crouch: Controlling the media in war: are governments winning the battle?
Lindsey German: Marx, Engels and the revolutionary tradition

Saturday 4 July
Chris Nineham: Anti-capitalism: ten years after Seattle
China Mieville: The politics of monsters
John Rees: Georg Lukacs on Lenin
Alan Gibbons and Michael Rosen: Campaign for the book

Sunday 5 July
Noel Douglas: Whose streets? Our streets! (An illustrated talk)
Costas Lapavitsas: A socialist response to the economic crisis
Helen Salmon: Was Lenin a democrat?
Shirley Franklin: How children learn - a socialist perspective

Monday 6 July
Anne Alexander: Islamism and the new Arab left

See you in the Institute of Education bar...

Tower Hamlets and SOAS: unity is strength

SOAS occupied, this week

Richard McEwan, secretary of the UCU lecturers' branch at Tower Hamlets College, reports on the campaign against cuts at his college here. There's been a lunchtime protest, an occupation of the canteen, some creative direct action and a 400-strong rally. Protests have united teenage students, Muslim women studying ESOL courses and union reps.

As I've already reported, there's also been hugely impressive student-worker unity at SOAS this week, with the remarkable student occupation in solidarity with persecuted and low-paid migrant workers. Clare Solomon is one of the leading activists in the campaign and occupation: her blog has a useful update on what they have achieved.

working towards left unity

On Wednesday evening I was at the SWP-hosted meeting in Tyneside, inviting people to discuss the prospects for left unity and developing electoral alternatives to New Labour. Around 25 people showed up, including several key local union and campaign activists.

A PCS activist referred to his union's declared support for the principle of standing (and helping fund) candidates who share the values of the union movement. He specifically floated the idea of standing a socialist candidate in Newcastle Central, where Labour MP Jim Cousins - who voted against the war in Iraq - is stepping down at the next election.

A UCU activist reported from last weekend's 'Fight for the Right to Work' conference. If a major campaign develops against rising unemployment, it will provide a vital context in which to build left-wing alternatives with roots in militant struggle and resistance. Existing protest movements - most obviously the anti-war movement - already provide fertile ground for cultivating electoral campaigns.

Someone else suggested the key thing is that we don't merely reproduce the old Socialist Alliance of several years ago, which would limit any new initiative to existing far left groups plus a handful of others. The potential is greater than that - and any new formation has to be energised by participation in a range of campaigns and movements. A new left project should be the child of anti-fascist and pro-Palestine campaigns, of the student occupations for Gaza and the growing resistance to save workers' jobs.

It's uncertain how this will all play out, but we took a first step in the right direction this week.

Iran: revolution?

If you're confused or unclear about what's happening in Iran, I recommend reading this piece on the explosive situation there by Dominic Kouros Kavakeb. He draws out the complexities of the popular revolt shaking the country in recent days.

There's also a very clear and useful statement from Campaign Iran. For background to help understand the current upheaval, I suggest watching the video here of a recent speech by John Rees, author of Imperialism and Resistance.

another whitewash

In the aftermath of the expenses scandal - with trust in politicans hitting rock bottom - you might expect the government to make some effort to be open and transparent. You might think they would at least try to appear interested in subjecting politicians and their actions to scrutiny.

This week, however, we learnt the inquiry into the war in Iraq will be conducted in private. Despite calls from various quarters to have a full public inquiry, it looks like we're due another whitewash. The secrecy does not bode well for the whole process - an impression reinforced by the narrow remit and the Establishment line-up overseeing the inquiry.

They shouldn't be allowed to forget Iraq. After all, the occupation is far from over yet, and if the likes of army chief Richard Dannatt get their way, we'll have 'more Iraqs' and 'more Afghanistans' to come.

This issue goes to the heart of our supposedly democratic political system. In 2003 it was the decision to invade Iraq - despite mass demonstrations and majority public opposition - that prompted talk of a 'democratic deficit', of a gulf between the politicians and the people. That sense of political representation in crisis has deepened with the series of revelations about MPs' expenses.

SOAS victory - video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejUfi81nmQ0

Absolutely brilliant protest and occupation by SOAS students. Collective direct action gets results. Congratulations to everyone involved.

Video of SOAS occupation

Excellent video of students standing up in solidarity with persecuted migrant workers. Click here.

This is an inspiring example of militant direct action that has brought attention to a truly disgraceful assault on migrant workers and union organisation. Victory to the occupation!

SOAS occupies in solidarity with victimised cleaners

Students at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), in central London, are occupying university offices in defence of the SOAS cleaners persecuted for their recent successful strikes demanding a living wage.

I gather the students have today been threatened with eviction, and in the last couple of hours there's been a solidarity demonstration outside SOAS. The student action was prompted by the extraordinary actions of SOAS management colluding with the immigration authorities. No less than 40 immigration officers are reported to have been involved in an operation - at 6.30am on Friday - to detain 9 of the cleaners, 5 of whom have apparently now been deported.

The protests and direct action of the last few days are about defending low paid migrant workers and standing up for the right of unions to organise. The cleaners - and the occupying students who back them - have received messages of support from far and wide, including from Green MEP Jean Lambert, Respect MP George Galloway and the Labour leftwinger John McDonnell.

Trade unionists, including in the lecturers' UCU and the cleaners' own union Unison, have also rallied solidarity extremely quickly. There's more info about this on-going struggle at Solomon's Mindfield, The Sauce and Counter Fire.

Conference launches day of action for jobs

Ady Cousins, of the Counter Fire site, has swiftly posted videos of speeches at the 'Fight for the Right to Work' conference in London.

Pat Phelan, from the Waterford Glass occupation in Ireland, clearly inspired people at the 'Fight for the Right to Work' conference yesterday with his recent experiences of taking collective direct action to save jobs. Ron Clark, a former convenor at Visteon, talked about how he and his workmates were inspired by the occupation in Belfast to take militant action themselves.

Jose Stalin Bermudez, who also spoke, is currently at the epicentre of a battle for decent pay that has also become a defence of migrant workers and their right to work. Some of his fellow cleaners are now, disgracefully, threatened with deportation.

The conference, initiated by Wateford Glass and Visteon union organisers and backed by various union branches plus a number of student unions, called a nationwide day of action for early September, which will involve protests at job centres. It also put a call out to build the planned demonstration for Labour Party Conference on 27 September, and for 'Fight for the right to work' public meetings in cities throughout the country to help build it.

Moving rightwards?

I've already linked to a very good commentary on the Euro elections from the counter fire site. Here's another useful piece on the results, from Chris Bambery in Socialist Worker.

The most useful thing here is Bambery's rejection of the myth of a shift to the Right in people's ideas, whether here in the UK or across Europe. It's also useful to be aware of the successes achieved by the radical left in a number of countries, indicating that disillusionment with the political mainstream doesn't have to be channelled rightwards.

Even in this country the Greens' success suggests reasons to be hopeful. While they aren't a consistently left-wing pole of opposition to the political Estabishment - and their strongest areas reflect something of a middle class base - their vote can largely be seen as an expression of desire for something to the left of New Labour and Lib Dems (the latter have, under Clegg's leadership, largely dropped the leftish rhetoric of a few years ago). Today's Guardian reported that their best results were in Oxford (26.1%), Brighton and Hove (31.4%) and Norwich (24.9%). In all of these they took 1st place - and by margins of between 6% and 9%. They stand a very good chance of winning parliamentary seats in these areas at the next general election.

The organised left has a long way to go, but there are sound reasons for aiming to build principled and progressive broad alternatives to our bankrupt and discredited elites - and the system they prop up.

left unity: dangers and opportunities

A small, but possibly significant, upside to the bad news in the Euro elections - two MEPs elected for the BNP - is the growing desire for left unity. A number of socialist groups have made calls for stronger co-operation and are at least talking about future electoral challenges. The most significant (and strongest) call comes from the Socialist Workers Party, whose open letter to the left is published in this week's Socialist Worker and is circulating widely.

There are dangers and opportunities inherent in this. To begin with the dangers, the most obvious potential pitfall is for it to be little more than a Socialist Aliance Mark II, a reborn alliance of existing (and, with the exception of the SWP, very small) left organisations. Any left alternative needs to reach way beyond this, into the campaigns and movements that revolutionary socialists continue to operate in. It may be regarded by some as unfortunate that the letter makes no explicit reference to these movements and its achievements - the Gaza demonstrations, student occupations for Palestine etc - and the published letter has no accompanying pictures of these events, lending it a somewhat abstract feel.

Another possible danger is that any conference - as proposed in the letter - will be only a talking shop and produce little. This is linked to the possibility of it being perceived as a top-down affair, originating from a centralised call-out rather than emerging from real grassroots initiatives. The really vital thing is that local initiatives are encouraged and supported, with some kind of framework to support and strengthen them.

It should also be noted that shared anti-fascism is a weak political basis for any new left-wing formation. The BNP's success may be an immediate trigger for action, but we'll have to go beyond this quickly and look at what positive alternatives we can champion. There's also, of course, the ever-present threat of lapsing into sectarianism. This is something the SWP is likely to avoid, though the dismissive line about the Greens (in the open letter) is a little unfortunate.

The opportunities, meanwhile, are demonstrated by the successes for radical left candidates in a number of European countries recently: France, Portugal, Germany, Ireland etc. The conditions faced here are no different to elsewhere in Europe. It is also vital to recognise that the apaprent rightwards lurch represented by the election results is quite misleading. The Tories, UKIP and BNP saw little or no rise in their votes.

Many leftwingers have worked well together in campaigns, networks and movements. A process of political radicalisation, stretching back to the first stirrings of anti-capitalism in the early noughties, provides the backdrop to everything we do. Though economic struggle is still weak, there are at least some green shoots - Visteon, today's Right to Work conference - and Mark Serwotka and Bob Crow have signalled their enthusiam for the unions standing or supporting independent left candidates.

It's all to play for...

Pull the plug on fascists

Brendan Montague provides a very good account of the last-minute protest targeting Nick Griffin, when the BNP's Nazi-in-chief attempted a futile bid for respectability this week. Seeking to appear mainstream by posing in front of Parliament for a press conference, Griffin had his plans spoiled by a crowd of anti-fascists who gathered at extremely short notice.

Plans to repeat the effort in Manchester were also disrupted. There have been protests in various towns and cities in the regions where fascist MEPs were elected - Yorkshire and North West - to repsond to their election on Sunday. Griffin and Andrew Brons, the Yorkshire MEP, will be hounded wherever they go.

A good thing too. There's a disturbing trend of the BNP being given a platform by media organisations, and allowed to spout off as they please. We should re-affirm the demand to 'pull the plug' on these racist thugs and strip them of any respectability the European Parliament and acquiescent media may give them.

Labour meltdown, Nazi breakthrough

http://www.counterfire.org/features/38-opinion/151-euro-elections-commentary-on-the-british-results.html

A useful commentary on the results of the Euro elections - covers all the bases.

local elections - Labour in meltdown

According to BBC News, the final results for the local elections show Labour on an astonishingly low 23%. The Tories have majority control of 30 out of 34 councils which went to the polls. Labour has lost well over 200 council seats, representing a collapse in many areas.

The expenses crisis has made things even worse for an already discredited and loathed government. It has served as a lightning rod for a mass of discontents. The spate of resignations in recent days indicates a deep crisis for the Labour high command. While we can't be sure what will happen next, Gordon Brown is obviously very vulnerable - the results of the European elections might just finish him off.

There's also a wider crisis for the parliamentary system, reflected in low turnout and the common refrain from voters (or, more likely, non-voters): "they're all the same". The danger, of course, is a boost for the BNP. Initial analysis of local election results - examining areas where the Nazis stood - is inconclusive in predicting the Euro results tonight. We'll wait and see.

Here in Tyneside there's a major public meeting on Tuesday, organised by Unite Against Fascism, to sustain campaigning beyond the elections. As well as this, the Left needs to start discussing how to offer a united alternative - to a government on its knees, a political mainstream discredited in the eyes of millions, and the threat from the fascists. Those discussions need to start now.

Globalise Resistance

One small but pleasing development this week was the launch of a Facebook group for Globalise Resistance, the anti-capitalist network that has been dormant for some time, but which played an exception role in developing anti-capitalist activism in this country a few years ago. A GR renaissance is clearly urgently needed, as the system goes into meltdown and a revival of radical, militant protest seems more and more likely.

Between its launch in 2000, in the wake of the historic Seattle WTO demonstrations, and the middle of this decade it forged links between street protests and the union movement, brought chunks of the social justice movement into launching and steering the mass anti-war movement after September 2001, and organised some fantastic mobilisations to the great international demonstrations. And as a bonus it established new standards in graphic design on the British Left!

The distinctive orange flags became an extremely familiar sight on protests over all sorts of issues, and the role GR played in connecting some very disparate issues (and groups of people) should not be underestimated. It organised some impressive protests and conferences in this country, which brought together the best writers, activists, academics and cultural figures from here and abroad.

Now is surely perfect timing for a rediscovery of its radicalism and energy, its capacity to be simultaneously broad in appeal and radical in politics. Time to dig out the old flags...

Marxism - highlights

I've already blogged about Marxism, the superb 'festival of resistance' organised by the SWP every July, a couple of times. I've been every year since 1994, when my parents slightly reluctantly let my 15-year-old self spend a weekend in London with lots of dangerous subversives and leftist troublemakers. Looking through the timetable, I've picked a few sessions I can highly recommend getting along to. The biggest meetings, forums and debates have several hundred people at them, though there are also many smaller sessions.

1. Economics specialist James Meadway on Neoliberalism in crisis: the return of the state? should be interesting, as it engages with one of the thornier questions raised by the crisis of capitalism. The speaker has a knack for making the trickier points of economics clear and surprisingly accessible.
Friday, 10am

2. Chris Nineham's 'Anti capitalism: ten years after Seattle' gains extra relevance after the glimpses of anti-capitalist revival at the G20 protests a couple of months ago. He will no doubt outline more radical alternatives to the madness of neoliberalism than those critiqued in the meeting on the return of the state.
Saturday, 10am

3. Lindsey German and Haifa Zangana discussing 'War, imperialism and the crisis today' will deal with one of the other politically significant dimensions of the crisis: its impact on global instability and the prospects for US imperialism. There can surely be few issues more important in the world today.
Saturday, 11.45am

4. Tariq Ali - always superb - is talking about similar themes in a session called 'The American Empire in crisis - Obama at home and abroad', which will join the dots in analysing the crisis of US imperialism. This comes at a time when there are strong indications that the anti-war movement is willing and determined to confront Obama over his intensification of attacks in Afghanistan.
Saturday, 7pm

5. Economist Costas Lapavitsas will be outlining 'A socialist response to the crisis', which of course is what we need more than anything to understand the global situation today. The meeting should hopefully clarify the things about the economic crisis that can be puzzling to non-specialists like me.
Sunday, 2pm

Marxism will take place in central London, 2-6 July.

Obama and Afghanistan

Lindsey German, convenor of Stop the War, provides a very useful and well-informed analysis of Barack Obama's major speech in Cairo here.

We had a meeting about Afghanistan, organised by Stop the War, in Newcastle this week. Mohammad Asif, a Scottish-based journalist born and bred in Afghanistan, provided an account of the country's long suffering and the current worsening of conditions. He located the violence and conflict firmly in the context of war and occupation by the US, UK and NATO allies.

The discussion raised important points about how Obama's election has clearly not delivered the change in US foreign policy to Afghanistan many wanted, and how American imperialism continues to view the country as a strategic frontline (and increasingly the same applies to Pakistan). More optimistically, we discussed the considerable achievements of our movement and its continuing ability to mobilise opinion agianst the warmongers.

Two important landmarks to look forward to are in November. The Nato Parliamentary Assembly will meet in Edinburgh and become a focus for protests; also in Scotland, the G20 Finance Ministers have their conference, which will be a chance for thousands to demonstrate and make the links between economic carnage and war. We in Tyneside will be making these a big priority.

left wing alternative at the polls

The government continues to unravel, under enormous pressure from the expenses scandal. The series of revelations in recent weeks has exposed an astonishing level of sleaze and shameful behaviour, showing how deep-seated is the malaise in our parliamentary democracy.

Many people, understandably, become cynical about everything political: the crisis feeds a kind of anti-politics that is right to be disgusted with the mainstream parties but unable to offer any alternative. Then there's a turn to the BNP from a small minority - it may be be that the Nazis have gained from the spate of scandals, though we'll wait until tomorrow to find out.

It frustrates many people that the Left, meanwhile, seems unable to get its act together and unite to offer an alternative. While there are serious obstacles to left unity, we can at least build on the small examples of success. I was pleased to learn Tom Woodcock, standing as an independent socialist, picked up a very impressive 425 votes (17.6%) in a local election ward in Cambridge.

It may not seem much, but it shows what is possible in pretty much any area of the country. There's nothing exceptional about where he and his supporters are campaigning. After the collapse of the Respect project 18 months ago, a group of socialists in Cambridge remained active in local campaigns, carried on working together, and kept open the possibility of standing in elections.

This approach is vindicated by the result. It offers at least a sliver of hope for the prospects of building left unity, and shaping a principled electoral alternative to a collapsing government and the discredited mainstream parties.