VIJAY PRASHAD examines why in 2018 Washington started to take an increasingly belligerent stance towards ‘near peer rivals’ – Russa and China – with far-reaching geopolitical effects
Brum, Rise Up! Activists and unions come together in Birmingham to resist municipal devastation
Morning Star editor BEN CHACKO attends a vibrant meeting bringing together anti-cuts campaigns and local unions to co-ordinate a fightback against the biggest cuts faced by any city in the country
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ACTIVISTS from unions and anti-cuts campaigns launched Brum Rise Up at the weekend in a bid to co-ordinate resistance to the devastating council cuts planned for the city.
The packed meeting at the Birmingham & Midland Institute was brought together by a “coalition of coalitions” with the People’s Assembly, representatives from specific campaigns against the closures of libraries, youth centres and adult social care facilities and local trade union leaders.
Kate Taylor of Birmingham People’s Assembly said Brum Rise Up would provide “a collective platform … where we can fight back together through organising protest and action to raise the profile of all our campaigns.
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Long having been considered the ‘US’s backyard,’ Latin America is the crucible of anti-imperialist struggle – yet with the rise of China as an economic and ideological counterweight to Washington, we see a new phase of that struggle emerge, writes BEN CHACKO
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KATE TAYLOR reports on the Brum Rise Up campaign to secure continuous funding of social services in the wake of the financial collapse of Birmingham City Council
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Public libraries are facing massive cutbacks by councils looking to make ‘easy’ savings – with Birmingham and Nottingham in the front line. But these are community services that should not be for sale, argues JOHN PATEMAN