Class Struggle
n°12
July 1996
- 1
Britain - From the BSE crisis to the ”beef war”: nationalist demagogy and the contradictions of Europe
It is now nearly three months since, on March 20th, the government broke the news of an increasingly likely link between BSE, the "mad-cow disease", and CJD, Creutzfeld- Jacob disease in humans. All of a sudden the criminal irresponsibility of politicians and food companies was exposed. For years, they … - 2
Britain - The Job Seekers' Allowance and the fight against the casualisation of the working class
The introduction of the "Job Seekers' Allowance" (JSA), the new benefit system for the unemployed, is supposed to reach its final stage next October. Once it is fully implemented, if it ever is, this new scheme will be the most sweeping attack against the rights of the unemployed since … - 3
Northern Ireland - The drift of the ”peace process” from a sham to a farce
The opening of the "all-party peace talks" on June 10th and the first sessions of the newly-elected Northern Ireland Forum which took place later the same week followed identical and entirely predictable patterns. The British and Irish governments barred Sinn Fein from the talks on the grounds that the … - 4
Middle East - Israel and the Lebanese problem
For the second time in Israel's history, a right-wing majority has defeated a Labour government in a general election (the first time was in 1977). Netanyahou, the right-wing Likud's leader, will therefore replace Shimon Peres, the Israeli Labour leader, as prime minister. Does this mean that the "peace process" … - 5
Russia - A presidential campaign in a period of economic, political and social crisis
The first presidential election in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union, in late 1991, was held on June 16. The unofficial final results showed a relatively low turnout of 69%. They gave a narrow lead to Yeltsin with 35% of the vote, against Zyuganov's 32% (the candidate of …