Arkivet – Nummervisning

Fra Socialist Review nr. 333

Forfatter: Titel

Nr.

Side

Udgivet

Om

Socialist Review 333: Content

333

3

feb 09

Roger Huddle: Exhibition: Rodchenko and Popova: Defining Constructivism (Tate Modern, London)

333

2

feb 09

Constructivism came into being as Russian artists from the avant-garde merged with the revolution of 1917.

Editorial

333

3

feb 09

Gordon Brown should have a warning pasted on the door of 10 Downing Street, “Opinion polls can go down as well as up.” In only 18 months Brown has had his share of bounces and falls in the polls.

Phil Turner: Recession report from Rotherham

333

4

feb 09

"We're not getting the same help we would be getting if we were wearing bowler hats instead of hard hats. It's one thing for the banks and another for us."

Weyman Bennett: Institutional racism

333

4

feb 09

Writing in the Daily Mail on the anniversary of the Stephen Lawrence Inquiry last month, Trevor Phillips, the head of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), gave the police a clean bill of health.

Thailand: Solidarity with Giles Ungpakorn

333

5

feb 09

Giles Ungpakorn, a socialist activist and academic in Thailand, is facing a possible prison sentence after Thailand's Special Branch charged him with "lèse majesté" – insulting the monarchy – last month.

Profits and losses by numbers

333

5

feb 09

$382+ million – Amount made by Paulsen & Co hedge fund gambling on the falling value of RBS over the past four months
$4 million – Bonuses paid out to Merrill Lynch staff ahead of takeover by Bank of America
$50 million – Cost of corporate jet bought by Citigroup after receiving $45 billion of taxpayers money
80,000 – Jobs lost in 24 hours in US and EU (27 January 2009)

Patrick Ward: Tabloid Islamophobia – the web of deceit

333

6

feb 09

"They sometimes say if you give a fool a piece of rope he'll hang himself, and it seems that in this case this person has done exactly that." So said "terror expert" Glen Jenvey to CBS news in 2004, referring to his "sting" of cleric Abu Hamza, which he claims was pivotal in Hamza's arrest. Perhaps Jenvey should have chosen his words more carefully.

Patrick Ward: Too much bling?

333

7

feb 09

Sussex Police and Crimestoppers launched an initiative in January to catch "people with no legitimate income living a lavish lifestyle". The "Too much bling? Give us a ring!" campaign relies on members of the public dobbing in people they suspect have wealth unbefitting their employment.

Patrick Ward: Name and shame?

333

7

feb 09

"Are there names you are likely to encounter or not encounter on an Activities Abroad holiday?" asked Activities Abroad founder Alistair McLean in an email to 24,000 customers. "After a lot of research we came up with two lists of names.

Dave Crouch: In my opinion: Whose side are you on, BBC?

333

7

feb 09

The refusal of the BBC's top management to broadcast the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) Gaza aid appeal focused public anger over media coverage of the Israeli assault.

Loki English: Letters: Crises and democracy

333

8

feb 09

Rosa Luxemburg's contribution to progressive thought is a timely reminder of the challenges that face the European left (Socialist Review, January 2009).
The deputy governor of the Bank of England has admitted that this is the greatest economic crisis in human history, yet the European left has never been weaker. Luxemburg's eventual political failure, and the total defeat of a European socialist movement stronger than anything we see today, should chill us all.

Steve Henshall: Letters: Bolivarian snub

333

8

feb 09

The cutting of diplomatic ties with Israel by Hugo Chavez and Evo Morales has been an inspiration to the rest of the world. Hundreds of thousands have taken to the streets, calling upon their own governments to take such action. Yet again the projects taking place in Venezuela and Bolivia are standing out from the crowd.

D Shepherd: Letters: Party politics

333

8

feb 09

Gary Younge writes about Barack Obama's historic victory (Socialist Review, December 2008). I believe it was a report by him in the Guardian that noted that, in the "open caucus" version of Democratic "Party" primaries, Republicans could participate.

Larry Iles: Letters: Terkel's politics

333

8

feb 09

There's no dissent from me from Mike Gonzalez's excellent appreciation of Studs Terkel (Obituary, Socialist Review, December 2008): undoubtedly the US working class's greatest, now alas departed, oral historian.

Kavita Krishnan: Letter from ...: India

333

9

feb 09

India's ruling class is growing ever closer to US imperialism, reports Kavita Krishnan.

Anne Alexander: How can Palestine be free?

333

10

feb 09

Israel's war on Gaza provoked huge protests across the world. People are asking what the solution is for Palestine. It lies with the working class in the region, argues Anne Alexander. Recent struggles in Egypt show that the road to liberation goes through the streets of Cairo.

Saree Makdisi: Interview: Gaza and the Palestinians – an unsustainable injustice

333

12

feb 09

Israel's brutal attacks have inflicted untold suffering on Gaza's beleaguered population. Yet Israel, despite its military might, has not succeeded in its mission to smash Hamas, Saree Makdisi tells Socialist Review.

Chris Harman: In perspective: India: Poverty behind the tiger

333

14

feb 09

India's growing economy has benefited a corrupt elite. But the masses only get poorer.

Joseph Choonara: The economic crisis deepens

333

15

feb 09

Joseph Choonara looks at a new phase of the economic crisis that could see whole countries go bankrupt.

Naina Kent: Union-made: The right to learn

333

17

feb 09

The recession is raising major concerns in all areas of government policy. The adult education sector is no exception. Over the past two years 1.5 million publicly funded adult learner places have been cut. This has particularly affected those who are disabled, the elderly, second language speakers (Esol) and working class students in general.

Rita McLoughlin: Interview with Lillian Faderman: Chronicles of LGBT struggles

333

18

feb 09

Lesbians faced appalling official discrimination in the US in the 1950s. LGBT historian Lillian Faderman tells Rita Mcloughlin that although conditions have changed dramatically we still need to fight for more.

Naz Massoumi: Iran: From Shah to Ayatollah

333

20

feb 09

With the failure of the "war on terror" has come an emboldened, increasingly influential Iran. But as world leaders look for ways to exert their authority on the country, Naz Massoumi looks at Iran's revolutionary history and its repeated rejection of imperialism.

Esme Choonara: A to Z of Socialism: T is for Trotsky

333

22

feb 09

In a world dominated by capitalist crisis and war the life and writings of Leon Trotsky can offer socialists some pointers on the way forward.

John Parrington: Charles Darwin: Revolution of evolution

333

23

feb 09

Charles Darwin and Alfred Wallace formulated the theory of evolution and fought for its acceptance across the scientific community.

Leo Zeilig: Book Review: Jonathan Derrick: Africa's 'Agitators'

333

26

feb 09

Armed uprisings, protests and revolts, some lasting years, marked the first attempts of European powers to divide and colonise Africa. From the 1880s, European forces were often paralysed by mass resistance – Italy's devastating defeat at the hands of Ethiopia in the Battle of Adowa in 1896 or the 1879 Zulus' victory in the battle of Isandhlwana, for instance.

Miriam Scharf: Book Review: Samuel D Kassow: Who Will Write our History?

333

27

feb 09

This book, subtitled Rediscovering a Hidden Archive from the Warsaw Ghetto, is not composed of the archive material itself. Though enriched by many extracts from it, it is the story of Jewish historian Emanuel Ringelblum and the compilation of the "Oyneg Shabes" (Yiddish for "Joy of the Sabbath"), an archive documenting life in the Warsaw ghetto.

Mary Brodbin: Book Review: Marlene van Niekerk: The Way of the Women

333

27

feb 09

Milla, an elderly Afrikaner woman, lies dying of a wasting disease on her farm in South Africa. Paralysed and bedridden, only able to communicate by blinking, she is dependent for the most intimate bodily functions on her "coloured" maid, Agaat.

Alan Kenny: Book Review: Bill Dunn: Global Political Economy – A Marxist Critique

333

28

feb 09

As the ideological grip of neoliberalism unravels in the midst of the current economic crisis, this book paints a picture of the dynamism and chaos of the capitalist system and traces its twists and turns over the last century.

Terry Sullivan: Book Review: Adrian Desmond and James Moore: Darwin's Sacred Cause

333

28

feb 09

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of one of the most important scientific works of all time, Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species. This book transformed the way we see not just ourselves, but all life on earth.

Yuri Prasad: Book Review: Stephen Pimpare: A People's History of Poverty in America

333

29

feb 09

More than 2.5 million Americans lost their jobs last year, spreading fear of a return to the "hungry thirties" across the working class. In an attempt to deflect attention from their own failures, our rulers have urgently attempted to recreate a distinction between the "deserving" and "undeserving" poor.

Steve Henshall: Book Review: Stephen Murdoch: IQ

333

29

feb 09

Stephen Murdoch follows the development of IQ tests, their rise to prominence and the way they have been used to attack groups within society.

New in paperback & children's books

333

29

feb 09

Gang Leader – Matter – Evolution – Chains

Sam West: Culture Column: Harold Pinter 1930-2008

333

30

feb 09

Harold Pinter was the greatest writer of dramatic English we had. He wrote mouth-filling meals for actors, where what you want is who you are, and what you say to get it is provoked by what was said to you only a second earlier. I got to say his words on stage, screen and radio, and I count myself lucky.

Judith Orr: Film Review: Revolutionary Road (Director Sam Mendes)

333

31

feb 09

This is a story about two people who rejected the American dream. The scenario of the mother at home with two children in a suburban house with a white picket fence while the father commutes to a corporate job was the thing of their nightmares. Instead, as young and idealist lovers, everything seemed possible. Frank Wheeler (Leonardo DiCaprio) and April (Kate Winslet) planned to break conventions and live their dreams.

Sue Sparks: Film Review: Tokyo Sonata (Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa)

333

31

feb 09

This is a film for our times, telling the story of a salaryman – the administration director of a healthcare equipment company – in his forties (Ryuhei Sasaki, played by Teruyuki Kagawa), who loses his job when the administrative functions of the company are outsourced to China.

Millie Fry: Film Review: Doubt (Director: John Patrick Shanley)

333

32

feb 09

1964 was a volatile year in the US. President John F Kennedy had been assassinated the year before, and there was a new growing air of questioning long established institutions such as the Catholic church. The civil rights movement had yet to explode onto the scene, but nevertheless racial integration in schools was taking its first tremulous, tension-ridden steps.

Louis Bayman: Film Review: Three Monkeys (Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan)

333

32

feb 09

Nuri Bilge Ceylan's previous film, Climates, confirmed him as Turkey's premier internationally acclaimed art director. The stylish and bitter Three Monkeys follows up his previous themes, using its thriller plot to concentrate on lives where no one can relate to each other and no one can get away from each other.

Clare Fermont: Film Review: Gran Torino (Director: Clint Eastwood)

333

32

feb 09

Walt Kowalski – played by the film's director, Clint Eastwood – is a retired car worker and gun-toting Korean War veteran who despises everyone and everything around him.

Five things to get or see this month

333

33

feb 09

Mongrel – Gomorrah – Seven Jewish Children – Le Corbusier – Manufacturing Consent

Ben Windsor: Film Review: Vicky Cristina Barcelona (Director: Woody Allen)

333

34

feb 09

The critic Joe Queenan recently described Woody Allen's career as a "corpse that has been awaiting interment for years".

Roger Huddle: Obituary: Allan Mitchell (1932-2008)

333

34

feb 09

There is always opposition to the dominant culture – sometimes hidden, sometimes out in the open: a radical cultural tradition that accompanies our struggles for a different society, to give shape and meaning to our desire for another way of hearing, of seeing, of feeling. I got this from many people as I was growing up, and the poet Adrian Mitchell was one of those people.

Keith Flett + Tim Sanders: Cartoon: A People's History of the World. 20: Rome part VI. The final fall

333

35

feb 09

Sasha Simic: Film Review: Che: Part 2 (Director: Steven Soderbergh) (online only)

333

feb 09

The second part of Steven Soderbergh's biographic film of the life of Che Guevara is much more straightforward – and depressing – than the first. It concentrates almost wholly on the debacle of Guevara's final campaign fought in Bolivia between 1966 and 1967, a campaign which ended in his tragic death.