jun/jul 2008 red pepper04

EDITORS Hilary Wainwright, Oscar Reyes

PRODUCTION Steve Stakhanov, Kathy Henderson

DESIGN & PRODUCTION Tom Lynton www.tomlynton.com

POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT Alex Nunns

ARTS EDITOR Lena de Casparis

SPORTS CORRESPONDENTS Anne Coddington, Mark Perryman

LATIN AMERICAN EDITOR Pablo Navarette

WRITERS Naimi Bouteldja, NickBuxton, Matthew Carr, Katie Coyne, Mihail Dafydd Evans, Gemma Galdon Clavell, Jan Goodey, Ben Hayes, Keith Hayman, Stuart Hodkinson, Solomon Hughes, Cassandra Harwood, Mathew Little,Vittorio Longhi, Melanie McFadyen, Enzo Mangini, James O’Nions, Roz Paterson, Angela Saini, David Sambrook, Chris Sands, Sally Tallant, Graham Usher, Derek Wall, Jonathon Wright

TRANSLATORS Una Hamilton, Pablo Navarette, Ilaria Perlini

PICTURE RESEARCH Dan Tierney

VISUALS Ros Asquith, Andrezej Krauze, Martin Rowson, Tim Saunders

INTERNS Andrea d’Cruz, Simon Wood

PUBLISHER Fiona Osler fiona@redpepper.org.uk

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THANKS TO Darrell Joyce, Roger Huddle, Glenn Meredith

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“Music is a high-order language system, ie, it is a meta-language. The function of a meta-language is to express solutions to problems posed on a lower lower-order language system ... If one were interested in political change one would not enter political life, one would go into music.” Robert Fripp

Red Pepper is a member of INK, the independent News Collective, trade association of the UK alternative press www.ink.uk.com

Red Pepper is published by Socialist Newspaper (Publications) Ltd (Reg. No. 02644973, VAT No. 507 5026 20) and printed by Cambrian Printers Ltd, Aberystwyth. Distribution: COMAG Specialist Division, Central Way, Feltham, Middx TW14 0RX (020 8844 1000) and Central Books, 99 Wallis Road, London E9 5LN (020 8986 4854). Red Pepper accepts no responsibility for unsolicited material. Only submissions with SAEs will be returned. © Socialist Newspaper (Publications) Ltd 2008. All rights reserved ISSN 1353-7024.

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contents

regulars

03 EDITORIAL New limbs for the left 06 LETTERS AGONY SUBCOMANDAUNTIE 08 PLATTITUDES The world according to STEVE PLATT 23 ASYLUM WATCH A grim alternative to detention

24 TEMPERATURE GAUGE Stefan Skrimshire on catastrophism 35 NATURAL BORN REBEL Jackie Schneider talks to Andrea d’Cruz 66 BOOKTOPIA George Monbiot 67 REARVIEW Firehouse Kustom Rockart Company

culture

52

52 SMOKING THE CELESTIAL DREAM As the western world winds its way through the 40th anniversaries of 1968 and the ‘summer of love’, STEVE PLATT considers the great dope myths of the ‘counter culture’ and its enemies

56 NOBODY DOES IT BETTER Sort out your sun cream and your waterproofs and get ready for the British summer festival season, says STUART CLARKE . With our ‘Best of British’ festival listings

63 THE POWER TO PREVAIL The Human Rights Watch international film festival promised to highlight the power of the human spirit. ANGELA SAINI wasn’t disappointed

60 LIFE IN THE ART WORLD, PART 2 PETER SUCHIN , RENÉÉ GIMPEL, THE fREEE ART CoLLECTIVE and others respond to John Slyce and Peter Kennard’s article on art and social change from our last issue

63

64 WHAT DO THEY KNOW OF CRICKET? Cricket writers often have a radical pedigree that surprises. MIKE MARQUSEE and RoB STEEN round up some of the best cricket books features

48

jun/jul 2008 red pepper 05

taking on the far right

10 UNDERDOG POLITICS Norway’s MAGNUS MARSDAL takes a long, hard look at the rightwing populism gathering pace across Europe

13 NOTHING IS MORE IMPORTANT JoN CRUDDAS and NICK LoWLES respond to Magnus Marsdal over the far-right challenge facing the left in Britain

15 HAMMERING THE BNP Following the local elections STUART WEIR insists on the importance of arguing back

16

cover story

MAKING MUSIC MATTER - LOVE MUSIC HATE RACISM LENA DE CASPARIS and ALEX NUNNS report on the carnival against racism

20 ANOTHER POLITICS IS POSSIBLE DEBoRAH LITTMAN on London Citizens, a new kind of politics in the capital

essay

26WHEN THE BUCKS STOP JIM STANfoRD looks at the global financial crisis and what it means to the left

10

international

31 OCUPAR, PRODUCIR, RESISTIR! DAVID WHYTE and LETICIA GAVERNET tell the story of Argentina’s ‘recovered factories’ movement

36 A DIFFERENT PICTURE CLAIRE DAVENPoRT looks at how the media is reporting the war in Iraq

44 THE ARCHITECTURE OF OCCUPATION SARAH IRVING shows us the historic city of Nablus being reshaped by urban warfare and MICHAEL KUSToW offers a dramatic introduction to the work of architect Eyal Weizman

48 KEEPING WOMEN DOWN Journalist and photographer CHRIS SANDS on the suffocation of Afganistan’s women

colombia focus

40 COLOMBIA’S CIVIL WAR SPILLS OVER In a remarkable interview, Ecuador’s president, RAfAEL CoRREA gives a savage account of his Colombian counterpart, president Alvaro Uribe

42 BLOOD ON BRITAIN’S HANDS Why is the government supporting Colombia’s army? JEREMY DEAR argues that a change of policy is overdue

COVER Photography: SIMoN GREEN, LoVE MUSIC HATE RACISM Photoshop: ToM LYNToN www.tomlynton.com