The sun shone down this week on another run of weekend Premier League action. With some teams set to play make-up games in the midweek and others having played in European cup competitions the midweek just gone, squad rotation may very well be the watch word of the day. Nonetheless, there’s plenty to talk about so let’s dive in.
The year was 1946, and following the second world war London lay in ruins. Houses and entire communities had been destroyed by relentless bombing from the Luftwaffe (German Air Force), a solution was needed, with the Labour government under Clement Atlee deciding to put forward an act known as the New Towns Act (1946).
Nick Wright reports that for the Atlanticist lobby and its enthusiasts, the Cold War never really ended.
Day of the Pawns by Bob Dixon
Born into a working-class family in Spennymoor, County durham, Bob Dixon eventually became a school teacher, and then a lecturer in English at Stockwell College of Education, Bromley. He was involved with the left-wing cultural journal Artery in the 1970s, and he wrote three collections of poems, three books on the ways in which children’s attitudes have been shaped by the publishing and manufacturing industries, plus an autobiography, The Wrong. Bob was a life long member of the Communist Party and well-known figure on the left-wing poetry scene, reading at CND rallies and other events.
Nick Wright argues the people of the Irish Republic and their government have had a rude lesson in the politics of inter-imperialist rivalry.
All 20 Premier League teams were back in action for a full Friday to Monday gameweek. In a week that included not one but two derby encounters, it wouldn’t just be points on the line for the squads involved but the pride and ability to call their respective cities theirs.
The Tories’ flagship ‘Kickstart’ scheme isn’t a subject that has received a great deal of coverage either in the monopoly media or in the labour movement since it was launched as part of the Summer Budget in 2020. This lack of coverage and awareness might be surprising given that it is being touted as the Tories silver bullet to spiralling youth unemployment resulting from the pandemic. In fact, it is really their only significant policy in terms of youth unemployment. But there is a good reason you probably haven’t heard much about it since the scheme was launched. Despite all the government spin, it has been a complete failure.
Under Biden, as before, we need the broadest possible class-conscious coalition against the capitalist machine that intends to march the US and the world into more war and poverty — singling out Trump as a ‘fascist’ aberration only hinders that task, writes Nick Wright.
The Men by Pablo Neruda, translation by Alfred Yankauer
Pablo Neruda was a prominent Chilean Communist, as well as a Nobel prize-winning poet in both literature and peace. Neruda played key roles in two Chilean governments and experienced the outlawing of Communism in 1948 and later became a close adviser to the Socialist President Salvador Allende only to die in hospital of cancer at the time of Pinochet’s US-backed coup. Better known nowadays only for his poetry, he was a hugely popular poet in Chile at the time and remains popular throughout the world today.
Almost 60 years ago, on 16, 23 and 30 June, 1961 Fidel Castro and other top leaders of the new revolutionary socialist Government of Cuba met with Cuban artists and intellectuals to have a frank exchange of concerns and ideas.
Yesterday it was announced that the Palestinian poet Mourid Barghouti had passed away. Today we feature an extract from his poem ‘Midnight’ about the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
The Labour Party, the parliamentary front of the labour movement, is officially under a ‘new leadership’. Since Starmer assumed leadership in April 2020, he has relentlessly sought to sweep away Corbyn’s legacy.
The crackdown on academic liberties has been a continuous policy of Turkey’s ruling party AKP. The latest student protests in Istanbul represent an unceasing fight of Turkish youth against the oppressive regime.
A bit of a different look to a gameweek ending feature match this time as a Leeds United team on a hot streak hosted Crystal Palace at Elland Road. Leeds, who were looking to make it three wins in four, had a chance to break into the top ten if they managed to bag the three points against a Palace team that had won their last two.
The whiplash of authoritarianism is being ruthlessly used in Egypt. On January 6, 2021, Ahmed Khalifa, social news editor of Egypt 360 website, was arrested after publishing a series of reports on workers’ legitimate protests. He was falsely charged with joining a terrorist group and spreading fake news, and remains in detention to date. Before his arrest, Khalifa published articles about strikes at the state-owned ElDelta Company for Fertilizers and Chemical Industry.
Tom Brady has guided the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a victory that has shattered multiple NFL records in the early hours of Sunday morning in the culmination of America’s biggest sporting event, the Super Bowl. With his seventh ring, Brady has racked up seven Super Bowl wins which is more than any NFL team and has solidified his position as the single greatest dynasty in American Football history.
The Jewish population under the German occupation of France suffered a unique fate, being attacked by the anti-Semitic policies of both the occupants and Vichy. In response, the Jews in France joined various resistance organisations in an effort to preserve their communities and to fight for the liberation of France from Nazism.
A busy sporting weekend was carried through by nine Premier League fixtures from up and down the country. While each game has its implications and importance to fans, there was one game happening at Anfield that everyone had their eyes on as two Premier League giants clashed in a fixture that could certainly be pointed to as a turning point come the end of the season.
TNS provides clear criticisms of capitalist economic planning and the mechanism for the distribution of commodities, but lacks a concrete basis in contemporary Socialism.
Harry was a Bolshie (The Ballad of Harry Pollitt).
Taken from ‘A Socialist Songbook’ published by Harrow Young Communist League, 17th February 1977.
