Afterword to 'A New Britannia'
Wednesday, January 12 @ 02:03:59 CST

Australian Marxist historian, Humphrey McQueen, published his classic 'A New Britannia' in 1970. It was a welcome antedote to the works of the pro-ALP and pro-Communist Party of Australia historians who had mainly concentrated on the obvious historic traditions of the working class while largely playing down the other side of racism, White Australia Policy, and petty bourgeois consciousness.
However, as McQueen later admitted, his book bent the stick too far and in this afterword he outlines a more balanced and brilliant marxist analysis of the origins of the ALP and the rise of Australian capitalism.

(read more)   

Aftermath of Tsunami in Sri Lanka
Wednesday, January 12 @ 01:25:30 CST

Good reading in run-up to public meeting next Tuesday in Melbourne (see article below for details of meeting).
This article has comments on the situation, especially in the north and east of Sri Lanka, from Senan, a CWI member from Jaffna, living in London. He includes comments from phone conversations with Siritunga Jayasuriya, Secretary of the United Socialist Party (CWI in Sri Lanka) who had a successful tour of Australia in 2000.

(read more)   

Israel/Palestine: Fatah leaders 'unite' behind Abbas
Thursday, January 06 @ 23:52:41 CST

Following Palestinian leader Yassar Arafat's death, a new Palestinian Authority (PA) president is to be elected on 9 January.
By Jenny Brooks, Socialist Party, England and Wales

(read more)   

Public meeting and socialist appeal on Tsunami in Melbourne
Wednesday, January 05 @ 04:04:20 CST

Comrades
There will be a public meeting to discuss the tsunami tragedy from a socialist perspective on Tuesday January 18th at 7pm at Trades Hall, cnr Lygon+Victoria Sts, Carlton South
Speaker: Sri Lankan Socialist Sampath Perrera
There will be a financial appeal made at the meeting for the United Socialist Party in Sri Lanka who lost a Central Committee member in the tsunami and much resources. We cannot rely on capitalist aid agencies to help rebuild the trade union and socialist movements in the devastated regions.


(read more)   

Indian socialists on Tsunami
Tuesday, January 04 @ 17:42:23 CST

By Jagadish Chandra, New Socialist Alternative (CWI, India)
Tsu-nah-mee means ‘harbour waves’ in Japanese. The monumental tidal wave which hit the countries on the Indian Ocean on December 26, has taken more than 150,000 lives. It has left millions who survived with their lives devastated for decades to come. The worst hit parts of India were Tamil Nadu and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

(read more)   

Australian response to Tsunami disaster
Monday, January 03 @ 00:52:38 CST

By Stephen Jolly
The massive response from ordinary people in Australia to the disaster has put corporate Australia and the Government to shame.

(read more)   

Tsunami catastrophe for Sweden
Monday, January 03 @ 00:50:17 CST

The Tsunami has also become the biggest natural catastrophe of our time to affect Sweden. Among the far more than 100,000 killed are at least two thousand western tourists. Many of those, whose attempt to celebrate their Christmas in holiday paradises like Khao Lak and Phuket was turned into a hell, came from the winter cold of the Nordic countries.
By Arne Johansson, Rättvisepartiet Socialisterna (CWI, Sweden)

(read more)   

Download socialist appeal on Tsunami
Sunday, January 02 @ 20:22:17 CST



(read more)   

We interview Free Aceh Movement (GAM) rep on Tsunami
Sunday, January 02 @ 20:14:39 CST

The Indonesian “province” of Aceh on the island of Sumatra is only 155 km from the epicentre of the earthquake.

(read more)   

Indian Ocean disaster: Global capitalism to blame for scale of tragedy
Sunday, January 02 @ 20:07:38 CST

Excellent and detailed socialist analysis on Tsunami tragedy by SP's international body, the CWI (Committee for a Workers International)


(read more)   

Tsunamis and warning systems
Sunday, January 02 @ 19:59:55 CST

“We tried to do what we could”
Despite the biblical scale of floods and destruction, the death along the Indian Ocean coastline was no ‘Act of God’.

(read more)   

Socialist victims of Tsunami
Sunday, January 02 @ 19:51:16 CST

The tragic devastation wreaked by the earthquake and tidal wave in the Indian Ocean has killed tens of thousands of people. In Sri Lanka alone, the death toll has reached 13,000 and is still rising.
A number of members of the United Socialist Party (CWI Sri Lanka) are missing, including comrade Piyatilake, a member of the USP's Central Committee who was living and working in Galle, one of the towns in the South of Sri Lanka to have been hardest hit by the 'Tsunami'. Relatives of other party members have been killed and the homes of many have been destroyed.

(read more)   

Turkey: Why the EU is negotiating with Turkey
Sunday, December 26 @ 17:47:31 CST

Imperialism and illusions related to European Union membership
From this week’s Offensiv, the weekly paper of Rättvisepartiet Socialisterna (cwi Sweden)

(read more)   

USA: Poverty in the world's richest country
Thursday, December 23 @ 20:11:00 CST

"LIFE, LIBERTY, and the Pursuit of Happiness." This is supposedly what the dream of America offers, but does this hold true for the 35.9 million Americans living in poverty today, according to the 2004 U.S. Census Bureau report?
By Felicia Newhouse Socialist Alternative, the CWI party in the US
Plus excellent article on the dire conditions facing women workers in the US by Jessica Johnston, also of the US Socialist Alternative

(read more)   

Report on first weeks as a Socialist Party Councillor
Sunday, December 19 @ 04:31:23 CST

Stephen Jolly, SP's Councillor for Yarra's Langridge Ward, gives a report of the first three weeks since his election

(read more)   

Review: Tell Me No Lies, Investigative Journalism and its Triumphs
Wednesday, December 15 @ 20:58:29 CST

"Tell Me No Lies, Investigative Journalism and its Triumphs" is edited by Australian political journalist John Pilger.
When most of the world's mass media is firmly "embedded" into the thinking of governments and the big business interests that lie behind them, the publication of a collection of some of the greatest pieces of investigative journalism could not come sooner.
Niall Mulholland, CWI

(read more)   

Iraq: US plans crumble in Iraq
Tuesday, December 14 @ 23:47:01 CST

"IT IS a mess in Iraq". The UN special envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi, was certainly to the point. Elections, he said, would not be possible on the 30 January "if the circumstances stay as they are".

(read more)   

Public Meeting on Socialist election victory
Thursday, December 09 @ 19:07:10 CST

Comrades
What are the plans for the Socialist Councillor for Yarra City Council? How and why did socialists win the seat? Come to this final public meeting of the year, Tuesday 21st December, 7pm, Trades Hall, cnr Lygon and Victoria Sts, Carlton South.
End of Year drinks afterwards - come and have a drink with us after a great year!

(read more)   

Australian report-back from international socialist meeting
Thursday, December 09 @ 05:25:26 CST

Last month socialists from around the world (members of the International Executive Committee of the Committee for a Workers International) met in Belgium to discuss world events and building a socialist alternative to capitalism. Australia was represented by SP's National Treasurer Anthony Main (who is also a shop steward in the metals division of the AMWU). Here is his report back...

(read more)   

Have we reached “the end of history?” Is Marxism obsolete?
Monday, December 06 @ 18:32:14 CST

By Greg Bradshaw
‘Only the most ideological enemy of Marxism, or uninformed pseudointellectual, could seriously maintain that Marxist theory is obsolete.’ - Douglas Kellner
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the subsequent collapse of the Soviet Empire have led many to proclaim the end of ‘communism’ as an alternative to the market system. Historian David MacGregor wrote, ‘The former Soviet republics have been baptised by blood, and drowned in Pepsi Cola’.

(read more)   

Howard won't give us economic security
Thursday, December 02 @ 20:46:00 CST

This is the article analysing the post-Federal election situation plus why Howard won from the current issue of The Socialist. For technical reasons it has been late getting up on our web page. Also for technical reasons, the current issue of The Socialist will not be on this site in pdf until early next week.

Howard won't give us economic security
In 1993, 45 percent of the electorate saw a difference between the major parties – now that figure has dropped to 25 percent. The electorate were simply in harm minimisation mode on election day. The over-mortgaged swinging voters saw weaknesses in both Labor and Liberal but opted for who they thought would give them low interest rates and economic security. Howard’s lies on interest rates were the ‘Tampa’ of the election.

(read more)   

SP Councillor's speech at swearing in ceremony
Thursday, December 02 @ 20:20:53 CST

Last night the Yarra City Councillors were sworn in at Richmond Town Hall in front of a big audience. Here is SP Councillor Stephen Jolly's speech, which had the best response by far on the night.

(read more)   

Taiwan’s elections: Chen won't act without Bush
Thursday, December 02 @ 19:43:18 CST

By, Laurence Coates, Rättvisepartiet Socialisterna, Stockholm, Sweden
Ahead of Taiwan's elections on 11 December, Taiwanese socialist Huang Ding-wang who is living abroad gave the following interview to Laurence Coates of Rättvisepartiet Socialisterna (CWI Sweden).

(read more)   

Detailed election results for Socialist victory
Wednesday, December 01 @ 03:09:41 CST

For the detailed roll up on pdf:

For preliminary votes broken down by booth (these are not final figures)


(read more)   

Socialist Councillor sworn in this Thursday
Monday, November 29 @ 21:48:12 CST

All Socialist Party members and supporters and voters are invited to Richmond Town Hall, Bridge Rd, Richmond this Thursday, 2nd December, at 7pm for the formal swearing in of the first socialist councillor for many years. Last Saturday Stephen Jolly was elected with 3 Greens, 3 ALP, and 2 independents onto Yarra City Council. Come along and enjoy a complementary drink on the night...

(read more)   

First Socialist Party Councillor elected!
Sunday, November 28 @ 23:42:01 CST

Comrades!
The Socialist Party is proud to announce that Stephen Jolly won a seat in Langridge Ward in the Yarra City Council elections on Saturday. This is the first electoral victory for the socialist movement in Australia for many years.

(read more)   

China: Explosion of class struggle sweeps the country
Saturday, November 27 @ 20:00:23 CST

The rapidly changing situation in China is of vital importance to socialists internationally.
By Laurence Coates, Rättvisepartiet Socialisterna, Stockholm, CWI in Sweden.
(The following material was written for discussion at the International Executive Committee meeting of the CWI held in November in order to highlight the social and labour turmoil in China)

(read more)   

Scotland: Tommy Sheridan resigns as SSP convener
Wednesday, November 24 @ 04:04:54 CST

Scottish socialist Party (SSP) members were stunned to learn of the resignation of Tommy Sheridan as national convenor of the party on Wednesday 10 November.
Philip Stott, CWI Scotland

(read more)   

Che Guevara: A legacy of struggle
Thursday, November 18 @ 17:33:08 CST

Che Guevara has become an iconic figure. His face can be seen in the slums of Argentina, and on countless t-shirts across the globe.
Daniel Waldron, Socialist Party, Ireland

(read more)   

Pre-Council election meeting
Sunday, November 14 @ 20:54:00 CST

Calling all SP members and supporters in Melbourne. Tuesday 16th November 7pm SP Trades Hall office, last meeting to discuss all the political issues raised in the Yarra City Council election campaign - plus all the organisation necessary for next two weeks. Be there - it's almost too late to book a seat at the trivia night - phone or email office if you haven't done so already

(read more)