latest Library articles

Dead Prez: three new albums in 2006. Music review – Tom Jennings.

A slew of new Dead Prez releases deepen and diversify revolutionary US hip-hop, according to Tom Jennings.

Zero Sum Game by Tom Jennings

The War On Democracy - review

John Pilger’s new documentary spoils a concise exposé of US foreign policy with uncritical pandering to Latin America’s latest charismatic nationalists, finds Tom Jennings

Naming and Shaming the Backyard Bully

Jindabyne - review

Aussie film Jindabyne (dir. Ray Lawrence) impressed Tom Jennings, capturing a community’s complexities in a manner cinema seldom manages.

A Sorrowful Social Fabric

Children Of Men, dir. Alfonso Cuarón, 2006. Film review

Review of the film adaptation of PD James’ dystopia.

Slouching Towards Bexhillem by Tom Jennings

Rebel Poets Reloaded. Music review

Tom Jennings’ essay reviews recent radical US hip-hop

Rebel Poets Reloaded by Tom Jennings

TV Times - 12 - 18 January 2008

This weeks highlight is a colourful exploration of State executionary methods.

Other highlights in a strong week for political programming are the social history of wrecking, an exploration of the internal culture of San Quentin prison, and an interview with a high-profile recently-released celebrity paedophile.

Saturday 12 January - 8.10 - 9pm - BBC2 - Timewatch: The Wreckers

At the Crossroads. Music review

Tom Jennings follows trends in contemporary urban music.

At the Crossroads by Tom Jennings

Prefaces to the Communist Manifesto

Prefaces to different editions of the Communist Manifesto.

The 1872 German Edition

The Communist Manifesto - Marx and Engels

The Manifesto of the Communist Party Communist Manifesto was commissioned by the Communist League and published in 1848, and remains one of the world's most influential political tracts.

While we do not agree with all of it we reproduce it for reference, and readers should bear in mind that it was commissioned propaganda for the League.

Introduction

The Fetish Speaks! - Marx and Perlman

Marx spoke of the commodity - now the commodity speaks of Marx (and itself). PDF of illustrated quotations from 'Capital'.

First printed in Black & Red No. 5 January 1969. Reprinted as a fold-out concertina leaflet by Black & Red, Detroit, 1973.

"Possibilities are found in the struggle outside the unions" - Interview with Kämpa tillsammans

Interview with Swedish communist group Kämpa tillsammans about "faceless resistance" and workplace organisation.

M: What is Kämpa tillsammans?
KT: We call ourselves a writing collective, where we have discussions together and a collective signature. What we are occupied with is class struggle theory.

M: What made you start the group?

Coordinadora - Spanish dock workers build union without bureaucrats

Article by Don Fitz about the Coordinadora Estatal de Trabajadores del Mar, a Spanish dock workers union, which is very uncritical, but contains useful information.

"The unity maintained during our difficult strike [in 1976] taught us that this unity was too precious to be destroyed by endless sloganeering and sectarianism. We understood that our decisions could not be delegated to union bureaucrats.

Sherrybaby, dir. Laurie Collyer, 2007. Film review

Review of Maggie Gyllenhaal’s turn as a recovering addict.

The Substance of Abuse

Hamburgers vs value - Kämpa Tillsammans

Article by Swedish communist group Kämpa Tillsammans, examining the relationship between informal workplace activity in a hamburger restaurant, and the broader communist movement.

By Marcel, member of the communist group Kämpa Tillsammans! 1

1. Kämpa Tillsammans! means "Struggle together!" and shall be understood as an imperative.

TV Times - 5 -11 January 2008

This week's Pick tells the story of how a quick-witted Russian early warning expert was largely responsible for averting nuclear armageddon in 1983.

Other highlights of the weeks political viewing include documentaries on pay differentials and the effect on human and animal health of intensive farming methods.

Pick of the Week red n black star
Saturday 5 January - 7.30 - 9pm - Channel 4 - 1983: The Brink of Apocalypse