When Hal Draper emerged from the by-then grotesque shadow of Max Shachtman, after the latter's slow conversion from Trotskyist revolutionary to social-democratic Cold Warrior was complete, he was by no means completely transformed into an immaculate leftist. The strategy he demanded of his group was one of deep, semi-secret work in the particularly grim ...
From the Freedom and Equality Seeking Students of Iran December 12, 2007 In the name of Freedom, Humanity, and Justice Students, Workers and People of the World! In the past week, more than 43 leftist students in Iran were arrested by the Islamic Republic government security forces before and after the annual demonstration of the Students' Day at the ...
In moves to sideline any criticism of the Iranian regime within the anti-war movement, Communist Students and Hands Off the People Of Iran (Hopi) have been barred from the Stop the War Coalition. Benjamin Klein calls for all principled anti-imperialists and democrats to fight this exclusion and to raise the banner of genuine internationalism Andrew Murray, ...
Nick Jones reviews N Klein, The shock doctrine London 2007, pp576, £25 Naomi Klein largely came to prominence during the early 2000s within the context of an anti-capitalist movement broadly characterised by its militancy, if not its political coherence. Described by the New York Times as a "movement bible", Klein's book No logo highlighted the role ...
John Jo Sidwell looks at another radical hip-hop outfit, The Coup, and their struggle for radical politics in the face of adversity Over the backdrop of laid-back, funk-driven West Coast hip-hop, Boots Riley, The Coup's front man, delivers a biting and polemical attack on the American establishment and the capitalist system it enforces. Boots is joined ...
It sounds almost farcical: why would the leadership of the National Union of Students try to abolish democracy in its own organisation? CS member Tina Becker reports Let’s be honest. Most students don’t really know what the NUS is, let alone what it does or how it operates. And who can blame them? Currently, it is ...
Jim Grant recounts the last few acts of another left tragedy The in-house student organisation of Respect, nattily named Student Respect, turned out to have had a significant role in the terminal crisis within its host body. It’s worth reminding ourselves of SR’s history. Student Respect was formed in summer 2005, essentially by the SWP ‘turning over’ ...
It is now clear that, if the slump in political activity among youth of the 1990s has recently subsided somewhat, the main beneficiaries of this have been liberal campaigning groups. People and Planet is the pre-eminent example, and its annual Shared Planet festival takes place at Sheffield University on November 16-18. The bulk of the ...
It is now clear that 9/11 provided an excuse for imperialist expansion that has changed the world forever. The brutal consequences of US and British foreign policy are being lived out daily in Afghanistan and Iraq. For them the ‘war on terror’ has resulted in over one million deaths. The US has decided to compensate ...
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Recognising a “crisis” in the NUS, last year’s annual NUS conference decided to conduct a “far ranging review of NUS’ governance”. Items that were supposed to be tackled included the lack of involvement of students in the NUS, the lack of any political culture and the financial viability of the organisation. The way in which this ...
Will the left pull together to defeat the NUS bureaucracy in its attempt to abolish the last vestiges of democracy in the student ‘union’? Communist Students member Tina Becker reports What looked like a slightly dull conference organised by Education not for Sale on October 21 suddenly sparked up when a small delegation from the Socialist ...
King's College, London Our stall at King's College was, alongside SOAS, one of the most successful ones yet, with around 30 people expressing their interest in Hands Off The Peoples Of Iran and a number of those looking to set up a Communist ...