|
Monday, 01 March 2010 09:56 |
|
In the middle of the summer holidays, activists in Auckland protested the participation of Israeli Shahar Peer in a tennis tournament. Police arrested some of the activists on charges of disorderly conduct and the activists - especially veteran anti-apartheid activist John Minto - were lambasted in the media for dragging a political controversy into sports. In this interview, Socialist Review asks John Minto about the protests. 1) In the middle of the summer holidays when you were protesting the presence of Shahar Pe'er, an Israeli tennis player, at the ASB Classic. What has she got to do with politics?
It has everything to do with politics. When sportspeople such as Shahar Peer play overseas they are unofficial representatives of their country just as Michael Campbell as a professional sportsperson carries NZ hopes in international golf. In Peer’s case we should protest because she is part of the growing BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) against Israel called by a full spectrum of Palestinian organisations in 2005. It is slowly gaining momentum here and around the world as the best way to bring pressure on Israel alongside building understanding and support for the Palestinian struggle. |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
Wednesday, 24 February 2010 23:50 |
The Maritime Union of New Zealand, historically one of the most active unions in the defence of workers rights on a national scale, talks about why the members bill - introduced by the universally hated (and rightly so) Roger Douglas - to reintroduce youth rates is a load of bull.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Thursday, 18 February 2010 03:34 |
16 February 2010
Social democracy worldwide is in crisis. Social democrats have given up on the project of reforming capitalism to benefit their working class base and have instead embraced the market as the best of all possible worlds. Any notion of redistributing income to the working class by progressive taxation, expansion of the welfare state, and nationalisation or state direction of the “commanding heights” of the capitalist economy has been abandoned.
The main catalyst for this capitulation was the end of the post-war boom in the mid-1970s. During the boom, profit margins were fat enough and growth was fast enough to allow both reforms for the working class and increased business prosperity. Further, business wanted well-fed, literate and healthy workers, and was prepared to pay for government provision of health care, education, pensions, family allowances and so forth.
On the other side of the equation, pressure from the working class also ensured that governments were prodded to carry out significant reforms. Living standards rose consistently. This was true under both conservative and social-democratic governments.
This has now all gone by the wayside. Since the mid 1970s growth has slowed down markedly in the core of the world system. Profits slumped in the 1970s and early 1980s. This is part of the ageing of capitalism – the whole system has become less dynamic since the late 19th century. Something had to give, and the social democratic parties – which were loyal above all else to the project of boosting the competitiveness of the particular bits of the world economy for which they were each responsible – made sure that it was workers who had to do the giving.
|
|
Read more...
|
|
Thursday, 18 February 2010 01:57 |
A small group of 25-30 people braved torrential rain and gale force winds to come out in support of a living wage last Saturday, as part of a national day of action. While the weather drove the crowds expected at the annual Thieves Alley market inside, members of Labour and the Greens, local activists from the International Socialists and concerned workers collected over 400 petition signatures and marched together on the local offices of National party MP. “Working for nothing really sucks; what do we want? 15 bucks!” and “25 cents won’t pay the rent” echoed across the Octagon and down Princess St, gaining steady toots of support from passing cars and smiles from supportive pedestrians. Differences in political views were put aside in the face of a common interest - a fair deal for all workers. Speakers from the ISO described how raising the minimum wage not only meant a better standard of living for workers, but actually acted to stabilise an inherently unstable economic system; about the growing gap between the rich and the poor; and recent attempts by the National government to make workers pay for tax cuts for the rich through higher GST.
Greens party leader Metiria Turei spoke about how the minimum wage now lies below the threshold for a decent standard of living; how raising wages eases the burden on social assistance and frees funds for better healthcare and education services as well as for environmental projects.
Supporters as young as 14 spoke on the devastating effect of poverty wages witnessed first-hand while living in the United States.
|
|
Monday, 15 February 2010 08:51 |
|
February 15, 2010
(Vancouver BC) Five thousand people took to the streets here on February 12 to protest the opening of the corporate spectacle known as the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. The largest social rights action in Vancouver in many years coincided with the Games’ opening ceremony at a downtown arena attended by 60,000 people.
The demonstration was organized by the Olympic Resistance Network, 2010 Welcoming Committee, and many affiliated and participating organizations. Slogans and chants on the march reflected the concerns of participants, many of whom traveled from across British Columbia and northwest United States, and of a broad cross section of the population of the province of British Columbia.
“2010 homes, not 2010 Games!” and “Homes not Games!” were the most common chants. They spoke to the crisis of homelessness across British Columbia and the broken promises of Games’ sponsors and organizers to build meaningful housing for the homeless as part of an “Olympic legacy.”
Another popular chant was “No Olympics on stolen Native lands!” The governments of Canada and British Columbia have stalled for years in reaching land and resource claim settlements with some 300 Indigenous communities/peoples in the province. Industrial, tourism and other capitalist developments routinely take place on disputed lands without permission of its historic owners. |
|
Read more...
|
|
|
|
|
<< Start < Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next > End >>
|
|
Page 5 of 14 |
