Arkivet – Nummervisning

Fra Socialist Review nr. 328

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328

3

sep 08

Mike Gonzalez: Review: Rothko (Tate Modern, London)

328

2

sep 08

A few years ago the National Gallery put on a smal exhibition called "paradise". The small room held 20 or so paintings, each a vision of utopia in som way or another – the eternal gardens of the 18th century, the empty landscapes of the 20th. But one of the paintings was an early "colour field" painting by Mark Rothko. Why was this abstract fusion of blocks of colour in an exhibition that brought together visions of imagined places?

Editorial

328

3

sep 08

Gordon Brown set off on his holidays last month hoping to put all bad news behind him. He has returned and the question on every delegate's lips at Labour's conference will be, “Will he stay or will he go?”

Talat Ahmed: Pakistan: The US's man has left

328

4

sep 08

In a long resignation speech, General Pervez Musharraf, dictator of Pakistan, finally stood down last month. The “hard man” of Pakistani politics looked pathetic as he claimed to be acting “for the good of the country” and placing himself in “the hands of the people”.

Patrick Ward: Drugs: prescription for change

328

4

sep 08

Julian Critchley, former director of the Cabinet Office Anti-Drug Co-ordination Unit, argued last month that Britain's drugs policy "doesn't work, cannot work, because we have no way of controlling the supply of drugs".

Goretti Horgan: Abortion: is this the moment?

328

5

sep 08

Imagine living where the prime minister believes in creationism, the chair of your parliament's health committee believes "it is the duty of government to implement god's law" and the chair of the education committee calls for creationism to be taught alongside evolution in science classes. That place is Northern Ireland (NI).

Food prices by numbers

328

5

sep 08

79% – Rise in the price of chicken since 2007
74% – Rice in the price of bacon since 2007
40% – Rice in the price of bread since 2007
26% – Rice in the price of milk since 2007

Michelle Robidoux: Keep Canada's doors open to war resisters

328

6

sep 08

"I should have been in New Orleans, not in Iraq." This was the conclusion that Corey Glass, former sergeant in the US National Guard, came to after several months in Balad, Iraq.

Police: Task force farce

328

7

sep 08

I don't know what I'm going to tell the landlord. The door is off its hinges and there is a big hole in it," said Oldham resident Aaron West following a police raid on his home for someone else.

Sky: Broken news

328

7

sep 08

The speed at which the Georgia-Russia conflict erupted forced media outlets to provide background facts rapidly and accurately.

Patrick Ward: Guns: School of shots

328

7

sep 08

The town of Harrold, Texas, has a novel plan for dealing with troublesome school kids: give guns to teachers.

Lindsey German: In my view: Credit crunch: A winning formula?

328

7

sep 08

The credit crunch has wiped £600 billion – more than £1 million a minute – from Britain's total wealth in the past year.

Rashi Shalom: Feedback: US elections: We need "change"

328

8

sep 08

Gary Younge reminds us that Senator Barack Obama is not a radical; he is a realist (Feature, Socialist Review, July/August 2008).

Megan Trudell: Feedback: US elections: Obama's changed

328

8

sep 08

Gary Younge (Feature, Socialist Review, July/August 2008) is right to stress the historical importance of a black American running for the White House, and to emphasise the aspirations that the Obama camp has given voice to.

Andy Aitken: Feedback: Culture: The last dance

328

8

sep 08

One of the main reasons I read Socialist Review is because of Martin Smith's columns on culture and music.

John Wight: Feedback: Farc's struggle

328

8

sep 08

I enjoyed and agree with the analysis of Mike Gonzalez in his piece on the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) (Frontlines, Socialist Review, July/August 2008). With regard to Hugo Chavez and his recent statement criticising the Farc and their struggle, I too find it strange and worrying.

Li Qiang: Letter from ...: China

328

9

sep 08

The Beijing Olympics prompted attacks from many in the West over China's human rights record. But, argues Li Qiang, Western multinationals are central to the exploitation of Chinese workers.

Charlie Kimber: Pay Freeze: Learn from the past to shape the future

328

10

sep 08

As increasing numbers of workers take action over pay Charlie Kimber examines the political dimension of the strikes and looks at the lessons we can learn from the past.

Dave Crouch: Nato and Russia: Georgia on their minds

328

14

sep 08

What lies behind the conflict between Georgia and Russia? Dave Crouch explains why the Caucasus has become the new front for US imperialism.

Clara Osagiede: Union-made: Tube cleaners: a strike for freedom

328

17

sep 08

I was an activist from a young age. As a student in Nigeria I was secretary of the national students' organisation in my university. I had a political background – I lived with a political uncle and he was my inspiration.

Gaverne Bennett: Interview George Pelecanos: Telling the tales of two cities

328

18

sep 08

The Wire has been dubbed the greatest series on TV. George Pelecanos, one of the writers and producers of the show, talks to Gaverne Bennett.

Sally Campbell: A to Z of Socialism: O is for oppression

328

20

sep 08

One of the common accusations thrown at Marxism by others in the movement is that it is "economistic" – it reduces everything to the economy and class relations and therefore can't deal adequately with questions of oppression.

Chris Harman: In perspective: Chorus of hypocrites

328

21

sep 08

It comes easy for liberal commentators to condemn some human rights abuses and invasions, but why do they always stop short of denouncing the outrages perpetrated by the Western powers?

Chris Carter + Paul Vernell: Another education is possible

328

22

sep 08

English teacher Paul Vernell and maths teacher Chris Carter explain how the Alternative Futures curriculum group at their 11 to 18 mixed comprehensive on the edge of Bristol is putting social justice issues at the forefront of curriculum change.

Mary Brodbin: Book review: The Blackest Streets

328

24

sep 08

by Sarah Wise, The Bodley Head, £20
Just north of Bethnal Green Road in London's East End a series of monumental redbrick tenements cluster round a Victorian bandstand. It is the pioneering Boundary Estate, built in 1900 by the London County Council (LCC) on the rubble of the Old Nichol, London's most notorious slum.

Dave Sherry: Book review: The Forever War

328

25

sep 08

by Dexter Filkins, The Bodley Head, £18.99
Prize-winning New York Times (NYT) war correspondent Dexter Filkins has written this eyewitness account of the "war on terror".
Based on his frontline experience in Afghanistan and Iraq between 1998 and 2007, his book is a pulsating kaleidoscope of incidents, anecdotes and interviews with the protagonists and victims.

Sean Purdi: Book review: Lula of Brazil

328

25

sep 08

by Richard Bourne, Zed Books, £16.99
There are few leaders in the developing world with such a larger than life reputation as Lula, president of Brazil since 2002 and long-time leader of the Brazilian Workers' Party (PT).

Alex Callinicos: Book review: What's Going On?

328

26

sep 08

by Mark Steel, Simon & Schuster, £12.99
How could someone as charming, talented, and funny as Mark Steel have produced as sad and at points as unpleasant a book as this? The answer that Mark himself gives is that the past decade has been a bad one for him.

Brian Richardson: Book review: The Tempest Tales

328

26

sep 08

by Walter Mosley, Black Classic Press, £16.99
Walter Mosley is one of the most prolific US authors of today. Best known for his series of crime novels featuring reluctant private detective Easy Rawlins, he has also written science fiction, children's books and non-fiction essays reflecting critically on the state of the US and its role in the world.

Neil Faulkner: Book review: Citizens to Lords

328

27

sep 08

by Ellen Meiksins Wood, Verso, £16.99
Greek democracy was traumatic for the ancient ruling class. Ellen Wood is right to root her analysis of western political thought in the context of this extraordinary historical experiment. For around 200 years, in the 5th and 4th centuries BC, Athens and many other Greek city-states were ruled by ordinary citizens.

Charlie Kimber: Book review: Lord Leverhulme's Ghosts

328

27

sep 08

by Jules Marchal, Verso, £16.99
Many readers of this magazine will be aware of the murderous Belgian colonists in the Congo. Under the reign of terror instituted by King Leopold II in the 19th century the population of the Congo was reduced by half and as many as 8 million Africans lost their lives.

James Haywood: Book review: Buda's Wagon: a brief history of the car bomb

328

28

sep 08

by Mike Davis, Verso, £7.99
Although the very concept of this book may make some socialists flinch, Davis's book, now released in paperback, is actually a very good read. Some fascinating nuggets of history are unearthed.
For example, it was none other than Zionists in Palestine who first effectively utilised the car bomb as a weapon of urban warfare.

Patrick Ward: Book review: Making Arms, Wasting Skills

328

28

sep 08

by Steven Schofield, Campaign Against Arms Trade, £3
This new booklet is a timely investigation into the nature of the arms manufacturing industry and its centrality to modern imperialism.

Book review: New in paperback and Children books

328

28

sep 08

Slavery – Mars and Venus – Stencil art – Kahlo to colour in

Martin Smith: Culture Column: All art for the masses

328

29

sep 08

I'm in trouble with some readers of this magazine. It all stems from my column about dance in the last issue. Several people have objected to me writing about dance and "bourgeois" institutions like Sadler's Wells and the Royal Opera House.

Alasdair Smith: Film review: Somers Town

328

30

sep 08

Director: Shane Meadows; Release date: out now
There is something flawed about Shane Meadows' new film, Somers Town. It is a shame because he is one of the most exciting British film directors. This is England, Dead Man's Shoes and the three films known as his Midlands Trilogy portray a side of British society that rarely reaches our screens.

Alan Kenny: Film review: The Wave

328

30

sep 08

Director: Dennis Gansel; Release date: 19 September
High school teachers often make a lasting impression. No student of this film's central character – Rainer Wenger – could forget him in a hurry. Based on a true story from a Californian high school in 1967, the teacher attempts to explain the meaning of "autocracy" to his class during project week by teaching in an authoritarian manner.

Louis Bayman: Film review: Ben X

328

31

sep 08

Director: Nic Balthazar; Release date: out now
Ben X is a film about, as his onscreen psychologist puts it, "an extraordinary boy who every day has to try to be normal". Severely autistic, Ben suffers at the hands of school bullies and the concerned adults who have such difficulty in communicating with him.

Bob Light: DVD review: Bill Douglas Trilogy

328

31

sep 08

Director: Bill Douglas
Bill Douglas is almost a legend among British filmmakers. Google his name and you find a flash-flood of superlatives. Yet I would bet serious money that most readers are now silently thinking, "Bill who?" Even if you have heard of Douglas you have probably never actually seen any of his films. Well you should, and now you can.

Hsiao-Hung Pai: Exhibition review: Frolic

328

32

sep 08

Huang Yong Ping, Barbican, London until 21 September
Huang Yong Ping's Frolic is a tale about the largest drug traffickers of the 19th century: the British Empire.

Liz Wheatley: Music review: Tell It Like It Is

328

33

sep 08

by Stephanie McKay
Released in July, Tell It Like It Is, by singer/songwriter Stephanie McKay, is an excellent soul album for today. Drawing on the sounds of classic soul, 1970s funk and old school hip hop, McKay's second solo album is a successful attempt to reflect and relate to the world that ordinary people find themselves in.

Keith McKenna: Theatre review: Edinburgh Festival Round Up

328

33

sep 08

The dramatisation of interviews with people caught up in political events played an increasing part in shows at this year's Edinburgh Festival. The most prominent of these focus on the military.

Five Things to get or see this month

328

33

sep 08

South African music – Hong Kong film – God on trial in Auschwitz – anti-war film – John Berger live

Paul Fredericks: Theatre review: No Gypsy Child of Mine

328

34

sep 08

Written by Caroline David
"Roll up, roll up, the Olympic circus is coming to town," begins this timely play based on real events, written by Caroline David and directed by Sita Ramamurthy. The circus analogy is used to great effect throughout the next 80 minutes.

Eileen Short + Tim Sanders + Keith Flett: Cartoon: A People's History of the World. 15: What have the Romans ever done for us?

328

35

sep 08