We are constantly being told that there is one year to go to the Rugby World Cup.    What is not being stated that often is that it is also one year to go to the next general election, with the National Party still riding high in the polls!

This will be the last Labour conference before the election.  The need for coherent socialist policies has never been greater.  Worker are under attack from the bosses and their government     

Rudd said:

“I've been very plain about what I said before and you've heard me say things about asylum-seeker policy recently, I believe it is absolutely wrong for this country to and absolutely wrong in terms of the values which we hold dear, to get engaged in some sort of race to the right in this country on the question of asylum-seekers. I don't think that's the right thing to do. That's the direction the Liberal Party would like to take us - under my leadership we will not be going in that direction”

Bangkok is in flames as the counter-revolutionary violence in Thailand reaches a bloody climax. The long-awaited assault by the Thai army has already taken place, and will not cease until every trace of the protest has been wiped out. No-one can be sure of the number of casualties, but the final figure will certainly be more than what the authorities have admitted to so far. It seems that some red-shirts have responded by setting fire to banks, shopping malls and other buildings in the city, and there are reports that protests and violence is erupting in other parts of the city.

(We reproduce an article from Britain relevant to the situation in NZ. To read full article go to http://www.marxist.com/monopoly-capitalism.htm)

Capitalist economists constantly argue that privately run industry driven by pursuit of profit is the best way for an economy to function. But, even a cursory look at the world around us tells a very different story. Far from being efficient, capitalism is riddled with contradictions and crisis. You could write multiple volumes, as Karl Marx did, on the inadequacies of capitalism, but here, in this limited space, we shall deal with just a few.