Issue67

"The planes came at nine," said Mohammed Faizal, a Kandahar cart driver. "At two in the morning I buried my son. His stomach was blown wide open. He was five years old."
Hundreds of miles away, a group of traumatised villagers comb through the rubble looking for the body parts of their loved ones. One old man says:
"We are poor people, don't hit us. We have nothing to do with Osama bin Laden. Why are we being bombed?"
A world away, the wealthy editor-in-chief of The Scotsman, Andrew Neil, declares his verdict on the first week of bombing: "So far so good."
Three hundred innocent Afghan civilians slaughtered. One of the biggest humanitarian catastrophes ever witnessed with millions on the verge of starvation.
The destabilisation of Pakistan - a nuclear power. Riots sweeping the Southern Hemisphere, from Indonesia to Nigeria.
The biggest anti-war movement seen in the West since the mass protests against the Vietnam War in the 1960s. American cities gripped by fear of reprisals. An anthrax panic sweeping the West. Posters of Bin Laden appearing on demos across the Muslim world.
And this is what the supporters of the war describe as a good week.
Even at this early stage, this war waged by the richest nation on Earth against the poorest nation on Earth is shaping up to become one of the most disastrous military adventures ever launched.
First, the politicians said they would "smoke out" Osama bin Laden within weeks. Then it was months. Perhaps a year, say British military experts. Maybe ten years, says George Bush.
The truth is, no-one really knows how long this war will last. They don't have a clue where Bin Laden is hiding.
One US official suggested that trying to track down Bin Laden in the mountains, caves and tunnels of Afghanistan is like "setting out to hunt down a specific rabbit which could be anywhere in West Virginia".
The US and British governments don't know when, where and how Bin Laden will strike back next.
They don't know even know for sure whether he was directly involved in planning the atrocities on September 11.
Yet the bombing goes on relentlessly, night after night, and now day after day. As MP George Galloway told an anti-war rally in Glasgow: "This is like Mike Tyson getting into the ring with a helpless child and beating him mercilessly, round after round."
The philosophy of the US and Britain is that "Might is Right". The West is richer, more powerful, and possesses an awesome military arsenal. The West can therefore do whatever it wants.
But this conflict is first and foremost a political struggle for the hearts and minds of the people, especially the people of the Middle East and the Islamic world generally
The US boasts that it has now achieved "total aerial superiority". Considering the fact that the Afghan airforce consists of a few dozen clapped out Russian fighter planes built in the 1950s, this hardly qualifies as a stunning achievement. The US has the firepower to flatten every remaining structure in Afghanistan.
They may well succeed in overthrowing the Taliban and installing some form of puppet government. Eventually, they might even succeed in their mission to take out Osama bin Laden - even though he is reputed to be hidden away amidst a complex network of caves and tunnels thousands of feet below the ground, guarded by 300 commandos.
But as the Church of Scotland warns, the end result will be "a new generation of martyrs rising up to die for their cause". Socialists in the West, especially here in Scotland, are playing a central role in the building of a mass anti-war movement. Our alternative to the mass slaughter of Afghani civilians is a political alternative.
First, we will fight for an end to the sanctions that have murdered 500,000 Iraqi children.
Second, we will campaign for the the West to get out of the Middle East now - and stop all financial and military support to Israel and to the feudal Arab sheikdoms.
Third, we will back those fighting for a genuinely independent state of Palestine.
And fourth, we will support those socialist forces in the Middle East and Central Asia who are fighting Islamic fundamentalism, not with fighter planes and cruise missiles - but with ideas, policies and an alternative vision of the future.

n As the government clamps down more tightly on war reporting in the mainstream media, Scottish Socialist Voice editor Alan McCombes is travelling out to Pakistan to report directly from the region. The Voice is now the only anti-war paper on sale in Scotland. Make sure you get your copy at your local newsagent - or better still subscribe (see the subscriptions form on page 14).

Governmentswho start wars always mobilise the mass media to twist the truth and whip up support for their war drive.
In 1914 newspapers reported that invading German soldiers had butchered Belgian babies. It was a deliberate lie.
In 1990 the British press reported that Iraqi soldiers had ripped babies from incubators when they invaded Kuwait. This lie was invented by a PR company hired by the Kuwaiti royal family.
At the start of the Balkans war the press carried a NATO release claiming that 100,000 young Albanian men had been slaughtered by the Serbs. Again, this was a lie.
During the bombing of Serbia the US claimed that 99.6 percent of bombs and missiles had hit their targets.
Later, a report suppressed by the Pentagon revealed that NATO bombs fell on mainly civilian targets.
The Economist Intelligence Unit reported that NATO killed more Serbian civilians than soldiers and that uranium tipped shells had been used extensively, despite earlier press denials.
Now we're hearing the same old story from the media. 'Smart bombs' and 'surgical strikes' will ensure that there are few civilian casualties.
But the truth is, there is no such thing as 'precision bombing'.
A year after the Gulf War the US military finally admitted that only seven per cent of the bombs rained on Iraq were "precision weapons" and that nearly half of these missed their targets.
A US laser-guided bomb incinerated 288 men, women and children in a Baghdad air raid shelter.
Eighteen-thousand Iraqi civilians were killed in the war.
A Channel 4 journalist reported: "The whole thing was sanitised. There was no footage of the B52 payloads being dropped on Iraq."
In 1998 the US launched a cruise missile attack on Afghanistan targeting the complex which the CIA built for Osama bin Laden in 1986. One of the missiles did not even hit Afghanistan and exploded in Pakistan.
One of the biggest lies peddled in the build up to this war is that opposition to it is isolated.
The press would like us to believe that the everyone in the West is rallying enthusiastically around Tony Blair's battle cry "to stand shoulder to shoulder with President Bush".
Yet at home and across the world, large demonstrations, protest rallies, meetings and vigils are growing as the biggest anti-war movement for a generation erupts onto the streets.

by Pam Currie
The events of September 11 have raised fears among many ordinary people that they could be caught up in the next terrorist attack. This fear has been compounded by the recent spate of anthrax cases in the US.
Fear of a horrific, imminent death is nothing new to the thousands of ordinary people fleeing Kabul, or those facing US-made weapons in Iraq or Palestine.
But to those living in the relative comfort of Europe, North America and Australia, every news bulletin brings new worries.
The film Gas Attack, screened last week, brought home the potential horrors of an anthrax attack in Scotland. Watching the film, it was impossible not to feel moved by the plight of the Kurdish refugees depicted as they fought for their lives against an unseen and unknown attacker.
What was even more disturbing was to flick the channel over at the end of the film, only to see the BBC discussing the real possibility of an anthrax attack - not on remote Iraq or Afghanistan, but right here, on us.
Already, we have seen the death of a media worker in the US, with several other cases under investigation.
In Australia, British and US consulates have been evacuated after suspicious substances were received.
There is no evidence so far to link the al-Qaeda group to the attacks. Whether or not Bin Laden was responsible, the grim reality is that we live in a society capable of producing individuals capable of such horrific attacks - people who have been ignored and trampled on so many times that they no longer have any respect for human life.
Bush believes he can bomb the terrorists into submission. He is wrong. Military action cannot stop lone individuals sending anthrax through the post, because the problem is not a military one.
It is a problem created by a fundamentally unjust society that shuns its most vulnerable members.

by Graeme Keir and Mark Brown
Over 5,000 people joined a national demonstration against the war in Afghanistan, in Glasgow's George Square on Saturday. People had come from all over Scotland to demonstrate at the same time as massive protests went on across the world.
The demonstration was organised by the Scottish Coalition for Justice Not War.
Now that bombing has begun in Afghanistan and innocent lives have already been taken, the march and rally were much bigger and had an angrier tone than the anti-war rallies in Glasgow of the last few weeks.
There was a huge turnout of people from all walks of life, from pensioners to toddlers, with young people and the Scottish Asian community well represented.
The demonstration interrupted its noisy journey through the centre of Glasgow for a sit down protest outside the army recruitment centre, where thousands of people braved the puddles to make the point that this murderous war is not universally supported.
The many speakers at the rally reflected the broad base of opposition to the war, from church leaders to MSPs and MPs to anti-racist campaigners.
Lawyer Aamer Anwar of the Chhokar Family Justice Campaign, demanded that that the peace movement called for an end to the bombing first, but also made it clear that for lasting peace to be achieved we need to call for a settlement in Palestine and an end to sanctions in Iraq.
These calls were echoed by other speakers and met with mass applause from the crowd.
Speakers also made links to the domestic policies of New Labour. Kenny Ross of the Strathclyde Fire Brigade Union asked why Gordon Brown could find no money for public services and workers in Britain, but could find billions of pounds for a war which will cause more death and misery.
Tommy Sheridan repeated his call for a war on poverty, not people, a slogan which has been taken up by the peace movement. The grassroots coalitions which so successfully built this demonstration, will now be mobilising for the demonstrations on October 27 in George Square and on November 1st at the Scottish Parliament.

Saturday October 13 was designated an international day of action against the war. Demonstrations were planned in countries in all five continents.

* The 50,000-strong demo in London has been hailed as the biggest anti-imperialist protest in England since the Vietnam war
* 30,000 people took to the streets of Stuttgart, whilst thousands more protested in other German cities, including 50,000 Berlin
* In Italy at Assisi 200,000 protested and there was a huge demo in Naples
* In Africa mass demonstrations were seen in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, and in Mombasa
* In Australia 1,000 took to the streets in Adelaide, 200 in Canberra and 600 in Perth
* In Alberquerque, New Mexico USA, four activists were arrested after walking through an open gate of the National Security Agency base, despite the base being on 'highest alert'
* At the Kennedy Space Centre, Florida, USA: 80; and in Chicago: 350
* In Calcutta, India: 70,000
* In Gothenburg, Sweden: 2,500
* The demo of 300 in Dublin, Ireland was violently attacked by Gardai
*Over 1,000 marched in Lahore, at a Labour Party (Pakistan) organised peace rally. Police prevented 200 more activists reaching Lahore, claiming religious fundamentalists were blocking the main road
* Cape Town, South Africa: 4,000
* Fifty people demonstrated in Hiroshima, Japan

by Mark Brown
If truth is the first casualty of war, it is all too often journalists who are the assassins.
This is a fact which, with each new war, becomes increasingly predictable (but no less enraging).
In this war for "freedom and democracy", most of those charged with the immense responsibility and privilege of disseminating crucial information on major world events serve the interests of our rulers, rather than the sacred truth they claim to represent. Take our major news broadcaster, the BBC, for example.
Editors hide behind the defence that it is not possible to film the consequences of US and British attacks on Afghanistan, as if this justifies filling the void with reports from Brian Barron on board a US aircraft carrier.
We should know to expect nothing better. During the last major US/British military adventure, the 1999 war against Belgrade's TV make-up artists and Chinese diplomats, the BBC's defence correspondent Mark Laity brought us daily reports. Usually delivered standing outside NATO headquarters in Brussels, they differed in no significant detail from the Western alliance's press briefings.
Laity did, at least, have the decency to drop his pretence to journalistic integrity. He now works as deputy spokesperson for NATO.
Things are little better in the press. The tabloids willingly transform themselves into daily pamphlets for the war lobby.
Even the more 'progressive' broadsheets provide us with a series of armchair generals who offer "humanitarian" justifications for blowing impoverished Afghan civilians to kingdom come.
Every war has its chief liberal apologist. In the 1991 Gulf War the odious 'liberal professor' Michael Ignatieff led the charge.
In 1999 Francis Wheen, author of a superb biography of Karl Marx (which, sadly, he appeared not to have read), beat Blair's war drum.
The prize for liberal warmongering in the current crisis must surely go to Independent columnist David Aaronovitch.
On a weekly basis he offers more explanations of the "anti-Americanism" of those of us, presumably including the outstanding Independent journalist Robert Fisk, who refuse to believe that massacring Afghan children will make young men from Saudi Arabia or Egypt less likely to fly passenger planes into American buildings.
The voices of truth, of defence of the interests of the weak against the strong, are few and far between in the mainstream media. That is why, now more than ever, we need a courageous and defiant radical press, and why papers like Scottish Socialist Voice are absolutely indispensable.

The Daily Record is at it again.
The paper's editor, Blue Peter Cox, came up through the Thatcherite Sun and the New York Post - possibly the most right wing tabloid in the world.
Furious that the Scottish Fire Brigades Union supported the 5000 strong anti-war march in Glasgow, the paper carried a vile little piece claiming that "hundreds of firefighters are set to leave the union".
In fact the paper could only dredge up one firefighter to criticise the demo - who happens to be a station officer at Falkirk, in other words a manager.
Kenny Ross, the Brigade Chair of Strathclyde FBU told the Voice:
"Our members are angry and disappointed at the Daily Record's shocking coverage of the anti-war demo in Glasgow. The FBU has utterly condemned the attacks of September 11 and demanded that the individuals responsible be brought to justice properly.
"But we also say that retaliation is wrong. Killing civilians in Afghanistan cannot be the answer.
"Our General Secretary personally flew over to New York to give the Fire Department £100,000.
"We've discussed a tree-planting with Glasgow City Council as a permanent tribute to the victims in New York and we've sent many letters of sympathy to the Fire Department there.
"For the Daily Record to condemn firefighters for opposing the campaign of carnage in Afghanistan is absolutely ridiculous."

The Scottish Socialist Party has produced a brand new pamphlet that combats the media lies. Written by Mike Gonzalez, it provides all the arguments against the war.
Use it to help build the anti-war movement here in Scotland. It's available for £1.50 (including p&p) from: SSV, 73 Robertson Street, Glasgow G2 8QD. Make cheques and postal orders payable to 'Scottish Socialist Voice'.

by Dave Sherry
The demise of Railtrack is a blow to New Labour's privatisation plans. The notion that the money markets can deliver key public services has become as bankrupt as Railtrack.
Transport Minister Stephen Byers has been forced to replace it with what he calls "a not for profit company".
This is a major climb-down but it is a long way short of the renationalisation demanded by the rail unions and supported by a majority of the public.
City accountants Ernst and Young will run the rail network until the new company, comprised of 'stakeholders' appointed by the government, is in place. It will include private train operators, private freight companies and passenger groups. The rail unions have also been invited on board.
Phil McGarry, Scottish Regional Organiser of the rail workers' union, RMT, is sceptical. He told the Voice:
"The decision to get rid off Railtrack is a good move - but it's not good enough. Massive amounts of taxpayers' money have propped up the rail companies since 1996.
"Railtrack shareholders have had dividends of £572 million. Now they are clamouring for more compensation and are threatening legal action to get a further £350 million from the government.
"Our union is calling for complete renationalisation under one company. The fragmentation of the rail network is a major problem, particularly for safety.
"We have been asked to participate in this new company, but we have serious concerns. We need a lot more detail: what it means for protecting existing jobs, wages and conditions, what it means for health and safety and what it means for investment. "We don't want to be part of a company that that is geared for profit at the expense of our members or the public.
"The train operating companies and the engineering firms will continue as before and a lot of the planned investment is to come from the private sector. We want the same level of investment in the railway system as on the continent, which won't come privately. Ernst and Young have already said it will be 'business as usual' and that's not what we want to hear.
"The unions are meeting with the Health and Safety Executive and seeking assurances from the Government. At present we have members working in 130 different companies.
"No matter who they work for they will not be paying the price for Railtrack's monumental incompetence. Otherwise we will be in dispute."

On Saturday over 80 trade union representatives and community activists attended the inaugural conference of the Scottish Campaign against Privatisation (SCAP) in Glasgow.
The conference was sponsored by three national unions - RMT, the GPMU and the Fire Brigades Union - as well as various community campaigns and union branches in local government, the post, education, civil service and health.
Key speakers were posties' leader Derek Durkin, striking medical secretary Cathy Craig, Carolyn Leckie from UNISON health, Lesley Atkins from the EIS teachers' union and Keith Baldassara from the Glasgow housing stock transfer group, Campaign for a No Vote.
After a good, practical discussion, the meeting agreed to develop a campaigning network of activists that will co-ordinate information and action against privatisation. It agreed that one of its key functions was to encourage trade unions and the STUC to mount resistance to New Labour and generate support for those in struggle like the medical secretaries and the ScottishPower workers.
SCAP will produce a broadsheet and will hold further regional meetings to help win support and further affiliations to the campaign.
The conference agreed its first and foremost effort should be to build for the November 17 Anti-privatisation Demo in Edinburgh.
The campaign also agreed to demand that the Scottish parliament organise a referendum on privatisation.

by Ronnie Mejka
Representatives of Dundee's senior football clubs attended the launch of Show Racism the Red Card in the city last week.
The public meeting, hosted by Dundee Campaign Against Racism (DCAR), was opened by Tony Higgins from the Professional Footballers Association.
He told the audience that SRTRC was launched in Scotland in 1990 after he had been approached by black players "astonished" at the abuse they had experienced at some Scottish grounds.
Tony added that the campaign has three basic objectives: to make fans and players aware that it was socially unacceptable for anyone to indulge in racist behaviour or activity; to promote this message on a European basis; and to provide an education pack to augment anti-racist policies in schools.
As DCAR representative Andy Armstrong pointed out to the meeting:
"No one is born a racist. Society has a responsibility to ensure that our youth are given the opportunity to seek the truth when confronted by bigotry and racism."
Andy welcomed the contribution of football clubs and players in the campaign and emphasised, as did other speakers, their importance as role models and how they could influence youngsters in a positive and constructive way.
Ged Grebby, the organiser of SRTRC, spoke of the wider role of the anti-racist message, not only in football but at all levels of society.
He said that racist tension in Oldham, attacks on Asylum seekers and the terrorist attacks in the United States, were just some examples of the scale of the problem facing society.
Football has a major part to play in getting the message of tolerance across.
Anyone wishing to use the information available from SRTRC can contact:

by Kenny McEwan
North Lanarkshire Council last week announced that at least one secondary school in Cumbernauld will be closed.
Abronhill High, which lost one of its feeder schools in a round of primary school closures two years ago, is the first school in the firing line.
It achieved a certain amount of fame in the 1980s as the school Gregory attended in the film Gregory's Girl.
The Cumbernauld and Kilsyth branch of the Scottish Socialist Party were heavily involved in the Save our Schools campaign which fought the closure of five primary schools in the Cumbernauld area.
The campaign lasted more than a year in the face of a discredited 'consultation' campaign by the council. In the end, the council did what it had intended to all along and closed the schools.
At the time Save our Schools argued that falling registers meant that there were smaller class sizes in line with government polices.
We also warned that primary school closures would affect secondary schools.
Now North Lanarkshire Council has put forward the same excuses of high repair bills and falling registers to announce secondary school closures.
In addition to this announcement, the council also stated that the failing Public Private Partnership (PPP) scheme is now the only way to raise the finance to repair the schools in the region.
The Save our Schools campaign will be ready to take up the fight against any school closures in the area.
We will also link up with other towns and communities in the region to fight the use of PPP to repair schools, particularly in the light of the disastrous experiences of schools in Glasgow.

Sinking ships
CalMac created a storm in Dunoon when they announced there was no money available for new ferries on the Dunoon to Gourock route.
CalMac spokesman Hugh Dan MacLennan admitted: "The existing ferries are beyond their useful working life and are expensive to run."
CalMac blamed uncertainty in the future of the privatisation-threatened company for their inability to invest in new ferries.

GM protestors shall not be moved
Rural Affairs minister Ross Finnie has intervened in the battle against GM crops in the Highlands.
The Executive minister demanded Highland Council take action to evict protestors from their roadside camp at Munlochy. Local farmer Jamie Grant recently planted GM crop seeds on nearby land despite massive opposition from the local community.
But council leader David Green refused to move the protestors, saying: "The vigil is a genuine expression of public concern."

Up to their eyes in it
Crisis hit Scottish Borders Council has been dragged into a further row this week amid claims that the area's sewerage systems in the Borders are reaching crisis point.
East of Scotland Water claim they can only cope with sites that already have planning permission, although new flats in Peebles were approved last week.
The growing number of commuters driven south by Edinburgh property prices has been blamed for the problem.

Education cuts bite in South Lanarkshire
Angry parents have petitioned South Lanarkshire council after the abrupt departure of two teachers from primary schools in Greenhills and Mossneuk.
The council blamed falling school rolls, discovered in the annual education census, for the decision to axe the teachers at short notice.
Mossneuk Primary are to lose a primary one teacher, while Castlefield Primary face the loss of a primary two teacher who also provided German and IT support to the school.
Both teachers have been redeployed within the council's education sector

Anti-nuclear and peace protestors are preparing to blockade the Faslane nuclear submarine base on October 22. In this week's Voice veteran campaigner Les Robertson looks at the history of peace protests in Scotland. Brian Quail tells the Voice why he is an active campaigner, Norman Shanks and Gilbert Markus explain why they are prepared to break the law again to blockade Faslane and Morag Balfour encourages everyone to lend their support to the protest.

by Les Robertson
Nuclear weapons first arrived on the Clyde in 1960-61 when the US Navy based Polaris submarines on the Holy Loch.
Almost immediately the protests began. The Direct Action Committee Against Nuclear War (DAC) was set up to co-ordinate opposition and DAC members camped at Holy Loch.
Over 2000 people marched to the American base and staged a sit-in at Ardanadam pier.
Others attempted to board the USS Proteus and went down in folklore as the "Scottish Eskimos" as their fleet was made up of nothing more than a dozen canoes.
The DAC evolved into the Committee of 100 and in September 1961, they organised another blockade at Ardanadam pier. Over, 300 people were arrested and many received heavy fines.
Unlike now, the demonstrations were supported by the labour and trade union movement. The STUC even backed a large anti-Polaris march in Glasgow.
There was a 30 hour fast at Christmas to contrast the amount of money spent on arms with the hunger and poverty throughout the world.
The early 70s were generally not a great time for the peace movement. In Scotland however Faslane was established as a nuclear weapons base and quickly became the main focus for protest.
The Faslane Peace Camp was set up in June 1982.
Just as the war machine relentlessly prepares for war and destruction twenty fours hours a day, three hundred and sixty five days a year, the peace camp is a permanent witness for peace.
In the first year several blockades attracted thousands of people from all over the world which resulted in hundreds of arrests. The people living at the camp grew in strength and confidence and first went over the fence on the anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther King. There were 17 arrests.
We later found out that Albanian state radio station had informed listeners that Margaret Thatcher had taken 17 political prisoners at the Faslane submarine base.
In recent years Trident Ploughshares 2000 have complemented the work of the peace camp, with several high profile blockades.
The highly successful action on St Valentine's Day in February 2000 was followed by an even bigger blockade in February of this year. Over 400 hundred people were arrested including church leaders, MSP Tommy Sheridan, and peace activists from every corner of the globe.
The work of the base was halted on the day and the anti-nuclear cause has had publicity because of it.

Here he speaks to the Voice on the importance of the Scottish Coalition for Justice Not War and the danger of nuclear weapons.

The Scottish Coalition for Justice Not War brings together a broad range of groups who are opposed to the attacks on Afghanistan and the so-called 'war on terrorism'.
It includes environmental campaigners, religious groups and political parties like the Scottish Socialists and the Scottish Greens. While the four main parties support the current actions, we are seeing a growing opposition to war among ordinary people and our rallys, vigils and meetings have all attracted good crowds.
If you ask people, without exception they will say that indiscriminate killing of innocent people is wrong.
Whether those people are in New York or Afghanistan doesn't matter, and that is why we are campaigning for justice rather than revenge.
We would like to see governments try the legal route and bring terrorists before the international courts before they begin shooting.
One thing is certain: the deaths of innocent Afghanis will only prolong the current crisis and lead to more violence.
To bring more instability to a region where two neighbouring countries (Pakistan and India) both have nuclear weapons is utter madness.
Sanctions imposed on Pakistan for testing nuclear weapons in 1998 have just been lifted to gain Pakistani support for the war. Much has been made of 'targeted strikes' and 'smart weapons', but we know that it is impossible not to kill civilians in this type of campaign.
The kind of surgical war that Bush and Blair are talking about is a myth, but they are trying to win over the public by saying that civilians will be unaffected.
Of course, if they were really concerned about the danger of innocents being killed they would ditch their nuclear weapons tomorrow.
It has been estimated that if even one of the Trident submarines based at Faslane were to launch its missiles at a military target in Russia then three million civilians would be killed.
That is why Scottish CND is asking everyone to join the campaign against the war and come to the blockade of Faslane on October 22.

Morag Balfour is a Scottish Socialist Party member. She is also a member of Trident Ploughshares and has campaigned against nuclear weapons for many years.

Trident Ploughshares is an open, account able mass action group.
Our activities range from supporting activists and raising media awareness to wrecking equipment linked to the Trident programme when the opportunity arises.
The idea behind the group is new in that we make no attempt to hide what we are doing from the authorities.
Our policy is that nuclear weapons are criminal and that any campaign against them should be visible, direct and democratic. If we sit at home feeling bad but doing nothing, then we are aiding attacks on innocent civilians.
Silence is collusion: action is the only option. I have worked in inner-city areas in America and seen how the people are treated there.
When you think that the lives of innocent Afghanis are even less valuable to Bush than those of the poor in America, then the possibilities become frightening.
I have a disability, and I realise that people like me must be suffering and dying just trying to reach refugee camps and escape the bombs.
That is part of the game that Bush and Blair are playing and you have to distrust them for it.
The blockade of Faslane on October 22 is an opportunity for all of us who are concerned about nuclear weapons and militarism to make our feelings known.
You don't have to sit down in the road and be arrested, just turn up. The use of the breach of the peace charge by the police has been challenged in court recently and so they may be a bit less heavy handed than usual.
And if you see a woman in a wheelchair being carted off, don't over-react. If I can get to Faslane at that time in the morning then I can protest, be arrested and take the consequences - wheelchair or no wheelchair!

Gilbert Markus is the Catholic Chaplain at Strathclyde University and is an anti-nuclear protester. He told us why he is opposed to the bombing of Afghanistan.

It seems a very simple thing to say that if a crime is committed, then the criminal should be dealt with by the courts. A legal process should be followed in which evidence is presented, arguments are heard, and a reasoned judgement made.
Justice requires that proof be established in this way. During the current crisis no attempt has been made to examine any non-violent options that could be used to bring the organisation behind the New York attacks to justice.
To begin bombing Afghanistan before other avenues have been tried is simply wrong.
Our inability to pursue a legal solution is partly the result of the fact that America has long opposed the establishment of an international court equipped to deal with this type of situation.
This could be because they themselves have been involved in the development of terrorist organisations over the years, and American 'statesmen' like Henry Kissinger could well find themselves in the dock.
But also, the foundation of a court that could systematically apply the principles of international justice would interfere with the power games that countries like Britain and America play.
Britain and America have frequently undermined the workings of the United Nations, for instance in their tacit support for the Israel's presence in the occupied territories, and in the support Britain and the USA gave to the Indonesian government during its brutal oppression of East Timor.
Although I am not a pacifist, I believe violent action must be the very last resort. It should arise only after all other avenues have been exhausted, and it should avoid at all costs the killing of innocent civilians.
The campaign against the war, like the campaign against nuclear weapons should help to spread these ideas amongst the general public.
Our success shouldn't be judged simply on whether or not we manage to stop the bombing straight away.
Instead the campaign should be the catalyst to build wider consciousness on the need for international justice.

Norman Shanks is a member of the Iona Community and serves on the Church of Scotland's Church and Nation Committee. He has joined the Scottish Coalition for Justice Not War and is willing to break the law at the October Blockade.

The war protests we have seen so far are just the tip of the iceberg. People want justice and peace, not war.
The war is wrong for a number of reasons. It is not justified by the great religions of Christianity or Islam.
It will cause thousands of civilian casualties. It will not serve the purposes of justice or morality. Diplomatic possibilities have not been exhausted.
Little convincing evidence has been brought to public attention, and finally there is the simple fact that a war on terrorism can't be won.
You can't impose unanimity on the world, and justice can't come from violence.
As long as governments in the West ignore the questions of world debt, the environment, poverty and hunger, the arms trade and the conflict in Israel, terrorism and war will continue.
I was part of the Church and Nation Committee in Scotland between 1988 and 1992. It was during the Gulf War that I realised the full importance of organisation and solidarity. That war failed in its objectives.
Saddam is still there despite a massive military action, ten years of sanctions and bombing, and the deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children.
We have to act now if we want to avoid the same drawn-out tragedy in Afghanistan.
I am part of the Iona Community which believes in people living the Christian life together.
I see it as part of a better life, which is possible for all of us if we can defend it from things, like nuclear weapons and war.
That is part of the reason I have been involved in protests against Trident. I have been arrested twice at Faslane blockades although I have never been found guilty.
I was charged with breach of the peace although it was difficult to see whose peace I was breaching.
Surveys show that 80 per cent of the population of Scotland are against Trident.
So you have to say that anyone who turns up to protest at Faslane has the backing of the vast majority of the Scottish people.

"You can't over-estimate the importance of physically coming along to the blockade. At a time like this it's really important for people to stand up and be counted."
Brian Quail of Scottish CND believes that the war in Afghanistan has made the Big Blockade even more important. "I think this blockade is going to be the most powerful and visible action against the war since it started.
"After September 11 some people thought it might be best if we called it off, but I think it's become even more important because of the slip into militarism that's taken place since.
"Some 50 Cruise missiles have already been fired on Afghanistan from two British submarines that use Faslane.
"There's an overwhelming duty on us in Scotland to show our abhorence at this .
" The mainstream media often portray the peace movement as something that died out after the Cold War. Brian disagrees:
"At the first blockade of Faslane there were 300 people; at the second there were 1000 and there's every indication that this one will be bigger still.
"The police here have been sending people over to Germany to learn about how their colleagues deal with anti-nuclear protesters there. An article in the Police Review magazine said they believed the peace movement could grow to the same size as the 1960s.
"It seemed to me for a long time that there was a conspiracy of silence about nuclear weapons. But I think people in Scotland are waking up to the fact that they have the biggest nuclear arsenal in Europe sitting on their doorsteps.
" One of the reasons often cited for opposing Trident in Scotland is the cost of running the Faslane site.
Brian said: "About £1.5 billion a year is spent keeping it going. That's obviously a horrendous waste of resources.
"But to be honest even if it cost £500 a year, I'd still want it shut down because of what it is."
Brian believes the Blockade could tap into people's growing concerns about the 'war on terrorism'.
"At our last demonstration in George Square we had 400 people along. That's more than we had for any demonstration during the Gulf War.
"I'm very wary of these opinion polls about people supporting the military action.
"I think many people believe that the people who carried out the September 11 attacks should be brought to justice, but many fewer support this war."
And with MoD officials claiming the war could stretch into next summer at least, Brian believes now is the time for people to act against militarism: "It's time for people to walk the walk."

Jeepers Creepers (15) directed by Victor Salva showing in cinemas from October
by Louis Bayman
Jeepers Creepers stars unknowns Gina Philips and Justin Long as siblings driving through the American countryside on the way home from university.
A lorry trying to run them off the road rudely interrupts the boredom of the car drive, and their curiosity quickly leads them into a dark world of dismembered bodies, cackling ravens atop abandoned churches, and a maniac superhuman with a murderous idea of a snack and a penchant for 1930s light jazz.
This film comes from Francis Ford Coppola's Zoetrope studios, which aim to push the boundaries of the cinematic medium but, at least on the strength of this, seem to have troubling even knocking out a watchable B-movie. In short, I hated this film.
The opening contains little promise, from where the film rapidly deteriorates, and the less said about the end the better.
The dialogue lacks any hint of humour, the basic premise - "There's a killer on the loose! Let's run!" - generates no suspense, and most importantly the thrills are spread perilously thin.
I couldn't help but wonder if it takes a special kind of creativity to fail so entirely in all of a film's possible objectives.
Apart from taking a few ideas from recent films that reinvigorated the horror genre - Blair Witch's urban myth about a killer in the woods, and the self-awareness of Scream - this film could easily have been made 50 years ago.
I know it's only a horror, but this one insults the viewer in the assumption that we're happy shelling out hard earned cash to watch any old shit with a few bangs and some blood in it.

South West Nine (18) directed by Richard Parry showing at cinemas from October 12
by Keef Tomkinson
In 1999 Human Traffic was one of the best debut films to come out of Britain for years. It captured perfectly youth's love-hate relationship with sex, drugs and braindead jobs.
Richard Parry's second feature, SW9, represents a change of subject rather than theme. Instead of a tale about the rave generation the media's new darling, anti-capitalism, lurks in the background.
Do not fear, the drugs are still there (mountains of them), money hassles continue and the music keeps thumping.
The concept is simple. Amongst an army of squatters, Rastafarians, crack addicts, gangsters and geezers, five individual stories intertwine until they all collide at the finale.
Surely those are the ingredients for an explosive yoof flick. One which helps to define a generation. Unfortunately the only thing SW9 defines is the difficulties in forging so many disparate elements.
The end result of some obvious hard work is a mess of a film which wastes all its potential with the entire affair consciously trying to be cool and cutting edge.
Fast editing can work but in SW9 it's clumsy and disturbs the rhythm of the film. The narration throughout tries to be profound. Instead it is just pretentious. The characters who should keep the viewer interested are all unlikeable shits.
Worst of all, the anti-capitalist element is completely embarrassing. It is like the makers made the film saw some images from Genoa and then decided to tack on some news footage.
From this you get some contrived crusties gibbering about destroying capitalism and a bizarre sub-sub-plot about arms sales to Africa. I really wanted to like SW9 but it wouldn't let me.
Some folk will enjoy this. Already numerous reviews are comparing it to Trainspotting and acclaiming its radical subject matter. In reality, it isnae original and willnae start a revolution.

by William Bonnar
The magazine Scottish Left Review is now one year old. Primarily an Internet-based journal it is produced by socialists from a variety of backgrounds who came together, in the words of editor Jimmy Reid, "to be an important theoretical part of the Left in Scotland".
The current issue concentrates on the Future of Welfare in Scotland. An article by Adrian Sinfield, from Edinburgh University, powerfully argues for a policy of wealth redistribution through taxation and welfare.
A massive redistribution of wealth has taken place over the last 20 years in favour of the rich; this needs to be reversed particularly when it is learned that the heaviest tax burden now falls on the poorest households.
John Grieve Smith, Fellow of Robinson College, Cambridge puts the case for universal rather than means tested benefits, while Peter Kelly of the Scottish Low Pay Unit highlights problems with the minimum wage.
Robert Parker, Regional Secretary of the GMB Scotland highlights the problems being caused by New Labour's ideological commitment to privatisation. There are also articles on the Scottish film industry and on the anti-globalisation movement. Scottish Left Review can be obtained from Scottish Left Review, 741 Shields Road, Glasgow G41 4PL or through www.scottishleftreview.com

Skinny Women Ch4 9.00pm Part of Channel 4's Body Image series, this programme examines the cultural pressures which keep many women on a permanent diet. It includes the frightening video diaries of some women struggling with eating disorders. Sensitively followed with Ally McBeal.

Bodysnippers Ch4 9.00pm Another Body Image programme, this one takes a look at plastic surgery amongst the Black and Asian communities in Britain. It explores issues of race and identity through the experiences of people who resort to surgery as a way of conforming to Western ideals.

Have I Got News for You BBC1 9.00pm Back for a new series this week. This doesn't need an explanation, does it?

Parkinson BBC1 10.05pm If there's nothing else on, which there isn't tonight, Parkinson is usually worth a look. This time he's talking to the invariably hysterical Billy Connolly along with Pamela Stephenson, as well as Ricky Tomlinson.

Sunday 21 October
A Town Like Alice Ch4 2.30pm A classic dark story of wartime cruelty and friendship built in desperate times. During the Japanese advance in Malaya, a group of civilians are taken prisoner and forced to embark on a gruelling trek through the jungle. An Australian POW finds consolation in his friendship with an Englishwoman, and his tales of his home town of Alice Springs prove a refuge from the ruthless cruelty of their captors.

Jackie Brown Ch4 10.00pm Tarantino's cracking drama, starring Pam Grier as an air stewardess caught smuggling laundered money. DEA agents expect her to work for them in return for a lighter sentence, and small time crook, Samuel L Jackson, believes she's on his side. A cast of thousands, all on brilliant form, especially Grier and Robert De Niro as a pathetic underworld hanger-on.

Ermo Ch4 1.40am Offbeat drama from 1994 based around the creeping influence of capitalism and consumerism in rural China. A woman whose husband is unemployed is prepared to go to any lengths to get a colour television like her neighbours. In order to get to the city to make extra money as a waitress, she sleeps with the only man in the area who has transportation, leaving her racked with guilt.

page 11

cultural resistance

Plumbing the depths of football mediocrity

left winger

Keef Tomkinson

As Scotland limped forlornly out of the World Cup qualifying stages last week and Napoleonic leader Craig Brown resigned, questions were immediately asked on the state of Scottish football.
How, in a period of unparalleled wealth and popularity for the game, can Scotland be descending so rapidly into mediocrity? Surely the reasons cannot be of any interest to a socialist publication. Naove tactics and inept technical skills never received much attention in Das Kapital.
But football is a sport overwhelmingly played and supported by working class people and the causes of this crisis are a result of the free market.
The basis for any successful footballing nation is young talent. In Scotland the Old Firm would rather buy a ready-made import than spend some time and cash developing local talent.
Nowadays it is hard to find more than a handful Scots in Celtic or Rangers strips.
Usually the most noticeable Scottish features at Parkhead and Ibrox are the greasy pies.
That is not to say the rest of Scottish football can sit back and play innocent.
Their response to the rising power of the Old Firm was to dump youth teams and sign on bulk, cheap European rejects.
In their defence Scottish teams claim there is not the same pool of young players as there used to be. Why is that?
Over the last twenty years many schools and local councils have had a policy of selling off sports fields. Their desire for a quick profit has made it hard for young players to find adequate facilities.
For those who still have access to a pitch they invariably have to compete, not with other teams, but with broken glass, dog shit and condoms.
Scotland's schemes were once a conveyer belt of talent. Poverty, unemployment and heroin and have put an end to that.
What does the future hold for Scottish football? New Labour could not care less as they may have to invest some money.
The SFA has proved to be inept with its bureaucratic appointees completely oblivious to the problems on the ground.
Progress can only be made when we decide on a Scottish route forward.
By nurturing talent now we make possible a future where we can once again qualify for the World Cup, and again lose gloriously.

War stories for boys

rebel ink
Kevin Williamson

Washington DC: The usual suspects are gathered round the table, reps from the government, the military, the media and the controllers of war propaganda.
"Okay, boys, we got some stories for you, and we want blanket coverage, you got that?"
"Sir, yes, sir."
"That's my boys. I believe we are now in a position to provide concrete evidence to show Osama bin Laden's involvement in the recent atrocities on American soil."
Using standard issue military tweezers the commanding officer holds up a poly bag labelled Exhibit One.
"Firstly, we'd like to report that amongst the flames, carnage and smouldering wreckage on the streets of Lower Manhattan following the attacks on WTC, September 11, 2001, we found this passport, undamaged, which we believe fell out of the exploding aircraft on impact with the South Tower, thereby escaping incineration, and belongs to one of the hijackers.
"Our intelligence teams have examined it and have confirmed the passport's authenticity. We can reveal it belongs to a member of Osama bin Laden's terror network, al Qaeda."
A second poly bag is held up. Exhibit Two.
"Secondly, our intelligence teams have confirmed the capture of an enemy vehicle believed to have been used by one of the hijackers prior to the September 11 atrocities. A thorough search of the vehicle found two items positioned suspiciously on one of the passenger seats. These items we can reveal were a flight training manual and a copy of the Islamic bible often referred to as The Koran.
"Individually, either item could have been deemed innocuous but our intelligence boys have confirmed that the juxtaposition of the two items in such close proximity could only mean this was indeed the vehicle used by an operative linked directly to Osama bin Laden's terror network, al Qaeda."
"Any questions?"
"Sir, do we have any evidence from our intelligence boys that Osama bin Laden is directly in contact with the fallen angel, Satan?"
"Not yet, boys, but we do have clear evidence, which I can reveal to you guys in the press corps, that Osama bin Laden had diabolically planned to wipe out the entire world's leaders at the Genoa G8 Conference this summer. Could you imagine the consequences of such an attack?"
"Sir, I don't mean to be awkward but wasn't that the plot of an old James Bond movie?"
"Don't be silly, boy. Only the devil himself could have concocted such a heinous plan, and as we speak, our intelligence boys are using Echelon to sift through billions of intercepted telephone calls to see if contact has, indeed, been made with The Lord of Damnation.
"If the Devil has called, you can bet your bottom dollar our boys will have been listening in."
"Sir, do you have any other stories for us?"
"Well, boys, our aerial surveillance teams, based in non-combatant satellite vehicles high above the Earth's surface, in outer space in fact, may soon reveal that members of the al Qaeda terror network, including Osama bin Laden himself, have fled our advancing ground troops in the Afghan mountains and crossed over into the neighbouring country of Iraq.
"Since we are in the neighbourhood anyway, it may be necessary to attack that other despicable ally of the Netherworld, Saddam Hussein, rather than waste fuel returning with unused bombs. But keep that story under your hats until we give the word."
"Sir, I don't mean to undermine your authority, but does Iraq actually border Afghanistan?"
"Listen, boy, we're at war here, so don't give me any of that pacifistic neo-geographical bullshit. You print exactly what you're told. Got that, boy?
"And furthermore, when we tell you that Osama bin Laden is dead, we'll provide you with a suitable corpse complete with turban and beard as incontrovertible evidence. You got that?"
"Sir, yes, sir."
"Until that day glorious day, boys, keep up the good work, round up the celebrity movers-and-shakers who can wrap themselves around the biggest flags, and let's get Joe Public right behind the good guys. Which is us by the way. End of briefing."

Cheap and cheerful Chomsky

Propaganda and the Public Mind Noam Chomsky interviewed by David Barsamian

by Liam Young
In this book from one of the USA's most prolific dissidents, we are presented with a series of interviews between Chomsky and David Barsamian.
They cover Chomsky's opinion on topics such as the Middle East, Globalisation and the US military escalation in Columbia. Chomsky employs a meticulous array of facts to back up his critique of American imperialism, which makes the book worth reading even if you don't agree with his analysis.
He touches on his pet subject of media collusion in deceiving the general public into accepting the ills of the capitalist system; the way in which Chomsky breaks down the mechanics and the techniques employed to control the public mind is enlightening.
His analysis of the anti-globalisation movement is also interesting. He points out that Seattle was not the beginning of the movement but a culmination of an ongoing building of grassroots organisations around the world, which had been ignored by the media for some time because it was centred in the so-called 'developing world'.
This book seems to find Chomsky in a more positive mood than usual, but perhaps this has something to do with his new found hero status amongst a lot of anarchist youth and his collaboration with bands such as Chumbawumba and Rage Against the Machine, which is also touched upon in the book.
Because of the interview format, the book suffers from a lack of coherence, jumping between topics that are not naturally linked and I sometimes found myself losing the thread of what was being discussed.
There is also a bit of repetition in some of the discussions as the interviews were conducted over a period of two years.
Over all, if I had money to spare on a Chomsky book I would opt for The Manufacture of Consent or Deterring Democracy, both of which are far superior and also cheaper.

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page 13

Give us your opinion
YOUR VOICE is your chance to give us your opinions on any issues we’ve covered. Letters should be kept to around 200 words. We can accommodate longer articles but, due to space, these should be discussed with the editorial staff first. You can contact us by fax, phone, letter or email. Tel: 0141 221 7714 Fax: 0141 221 7715 Email: ssv@ndirect.co.uk Address: SSV, 73 Robertson Street, Glasgow, G2 8QD Letters, columns and signed articles which appear in the Voice do not necessarily represent the editorial view of the Scottish Socialist Voice or the Scottish Socialist Party

Students face accomodation con
As a recent graduate, I appreciated your feature on student poverty (Voice issue 65). However it omits what I consider to be the very worst aspect of student life - the lack of affordable decent accommodation due to corrupt landlords.
I myself am in a situation where the company Macmillan Property are keeping all of my possessions due to backdated rent of merely £320.
Even when I offered to pay in instalments or the entire amount by cheque they found excuses to keep my things - books, clothes, records, university work.
In this situation there is no authority or organisation willing to help and solicitors cost money which most new graduates do not have.
A friend of mine has her entire art school portfolio spanning seven years under lock and key of a landlord which makes it impossible for her to find work. What we need is a return to the anti-sheriff officers actions of the Poll Tax days but this time taking on private landlords who are ruining people's lives.
Paul M Brown, Aberdeen

The secret anti-war sentiment
On the regular Saturday SSP stall in Portobello we petitioned over the firebombing of the Annandale Street Mosque. The previous two weeks we had campaigned against Bush and Blair's drive to war.
Despite the efforts of the media and the rhetoric from Blair, very few people have opposed what we've said.
A much larger minority have been solidly with us and many people have engaged in debate.
One young man began by shouting at us - he'd lost a brother in the World Trade Centre - but after a while as we talked it through he signed the petition and made a generous donation.
Socialists are put to the test at times of war but what we do and what we say can make a difference.
If we duck arguments on the war it's harder to build an anti-war movement but we also undermine all our campaigns. But at work and on the streets every argument we win is a real step forward in building a movement that can stop the war.
We can go on to win a society where war will be a thing of the past.
Pete Cannell, Edinburgh East & Musselburgh

The lessons of Vietnam
I don't agree with Keef Tomkinson's letter carried in the Voice issue 66.
I think that anti-war activists should take confidence and energy from the millions of ordinary Vietnamese who fought against the mightiest military and economic power on the planet - the US - and won.
We should celebrate and emulate the courage and vision of the millions of ordinary Americans; the students, workers and soldiers who stood up and fought against American imperialism's bloody war to dominate the globe.
It is the world's rich and powerful, it is Blair and Bush and the generals who want so desperately to use this current war to bury the memory of the defeat they suffered in Vietnam.
It is our task to make sure that they're never allowed to. Finally, socialists approach the history of past struggles with a view to learning from them in order that we are better equipped to fight battles of today and the future.
Leon Trotsky, the Russian revolutionary, often said: "When you stand on the shoulders of giants you can see much further."
The giants who led those struggles in the 60s can still teach us all a thing or two.
Two books I can recommend to read on the subject are John Pilger's Heroes or Jonathon Neales' new book.
Keir McKechnie, Glasgow

War on the poor
When Bush and Blair talk of freedom and democracy, take note:
Their war on terrorism is nothing but continuing war on the poor of this world.
I was part of a non-violent protest outside the International Arms Fair in London on September 11-14.
Ironically it was just about the only thing not to be cancelled in memory of the people who lost their lives in the attacks on America.
Inside bombs, warships, guns and implements of torture were being bought and sold to all sorts of dubious individuals and regimes.
Outside, the peaceful campaigners were harassed, followed, beaten, threatened and abused by the police because we campaigned against the deadly arms trade.
The BAe yards in Govan and Scotstoun should be turned over to the manufacture of ships which deliver food not bombs.
Alex Cochrane, Glasgow

Keeping your emails private

hacked off
Eric Lee

Whatever one thinks of the US-led "war against terrorism", there is cause for concern that civil liberties in Western countries are going to be eroded.
Within hours of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks journalists were searching out Phil Zimmermann - a one-time computer programmer whose claim to fame is a little bit of software he wrote ten years ago called Pretty Good Privacy (PGP). A Washington Post article reported that Zimmermann was having difficulty sleeping at night, wracked with guilt that terrorists had used his encryption software to exchange emails and plan their monstrous crime.
No matter that Zimmermann insists that he had been misquoted - the damage had been done. Zimmermann's response is here: http://www.philzimmermann.com/news-Response_WashPost.shtml and it's well worth reading.)
In the interests of "national security", it will be made to make it harder and harder for any of us to encrypt our emails. Zimmermann and his little program are being demonised in the process.
There's nothing really new in this. Several years ago, Zimmermann enjoyed his (first) fifteen minutes of fame when he was indicted by the US government for violating laws regarding exports of munitions.
His little program, PGP, was classified as a "munition" and by allowing everyone, everywhere to download copies from the Internet, Zimmermann was accused of breaking the law. (Calling a bit of encryption software a munition is something like calling ketchup a kind of vegetable - this makes some sense in Washington.)
Zimmermann was vindicated then and use of PGP has continued to grow worldwide. But not very quickly. To be completely honest, the number of people I know who use PGP can be counted on the fingers of one hand. I think there are two reasons for this.
First of all, PGP is not easy to use. The overwhelming majority of us who use tools like email are not the geeks of yesteryear. We know whatever we need to know to use our computers, and that's it.
If our computers came with Microsoft Outlook Express pre-installed as our email program, that's what we use. Even if Outlook Express is actually an incredibly effective virus distribution system which only pretends to be an email program.
Very few of us go looking for something different or better.
The second reason is that for most of us (terrorists not included), there is no pressing, urgent need to encrypt our messages. For example, nearly all of my contact with this newspaper is done by email, and the emails usually consist of things like "Can you get an article to us this week?" and "OK, I'll try".
What would be the point in encrypting any of this?
Nevertheless, I remain a believer in PGP and do encourage its widespread use on the left and in the trade unions.
And the reasoning goes like this: if only terrorists and criminals use encryption, it will make it far easier for governments to see the use of tools like PGP as evidence of illegal activity.
But if all of us use powerful encryption, even for the most innocent communications, it will be far harder for anyone to make an issue of it.
Zimmermann always compared PGP to an envelope. Ordinary email is like a picture postcard - it can be read by every postal worker whose hands it passes through.
That's why we all use envelopes when we send mail - even if there is nothing particularly illegal or embarrassing in the contents of the letter.
If you agree with me that using PGP sounds like a good idea, the first thing you need to do is download the software (which is free of charge) from here: http://www.pgpi.org/
There's full documentation with the program and on the website.
When setting up PGP for the first time, you'll be prompted to create a set of two keys - your public and private keys.
If you want people to be able to send you encrypted messages, you'll have to post your public key where it can be seen and downloaded.
Your private key stays on your computer and you share it with no one.
And if you want to see if it works, try sending me an encrypted message, ericlee@ labourstart.org.
And my public key is here: http://www.labourstart.org/pgp.shtml

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page 15

US public sector strikers stand firm

by Jeremy Prickett, of Labor's Militant Voice magazine
On October 1, 23,000 Minnesota state employees walked off their jobs over salary and health benefit disputes.
This strike is very important. Not only is this the biggest strike in state history, but it started during a time of both recession and war.
The US government has declared war on "terrorism and states that support it". President Bush has urged Americans to "get on with their lives", but as a 40 year old striking state firefighter and retired military reservist pointed out: "I guess I must have missed the 'unless you're going on strike' part.
'' Minnesota state government and big business media have worked overtime to exploit the war situation to break this strike. Governor Jesse 'The Body' Ventura, an ex-professional wrestler who normally loves the media spotlight, has recently gone silent.
His initial efforts to label the strikers as "unpatriotic" and mobilise state police and military units as strikebreakers have backfired. The state police union has even filed a lawsuit against the government for being forced to do work outside of their job descriptions.
Although Governor Ventura personally refuses interviews, the media has not stopped trying to paint the strike as unpatriotic. Last week the two striking public sector unions held a rally at the state capital.
The featured speakers were rank-and-file trade unionists and heroes of the ground zero rescue effort.
A highway worker boosted morale with a clear message of solidarity: "I had to come and tell you that your brothers and sisters in New York are behind you.
"Working men and women take it on the chin. Enough's enough."
An NYC firefighter added:
"We are mourning our dead. You should fight like hell for the living."
This strike will need a lot more support than the rallies and lawsuits organised by the union leaders. Throughout Minnesota and the US the majority of workers feel the same pressures as their unionised, state-employed brothers and sisters.
One woman said:
"I'm 64 years old. I've worked here for over 21 years. I make $13 dollars (£8) an hour. What is the offered three per cent going buy?
"They keep telling us we're lucky not to be on the street. We need to bring the people on the street up, not everyone else down."

Appeal to return Trinidad land

by George Kinnear
Relatives of Trinidadian smallholders whose land was seized by Britain for use as a military base during the second world war have appealed for its return.
In the years since their property was taken, the strip of land - on the Chaguaramas peninsula north west of the capital, Port-of-Spain - has become a prime development site.
Tourist yachts shelter in the bay. The coast is well-served by nightclubs, restaurants and other businesses.
Having been leased by Britain to the US navy in 1941, in exchange for the use of 50 American destroyers, the land was handed over to the government in Port-of-Spain in 1977. Around 300 families of the original landowners allege that the government should have returned the confiscated land.
After pursuing their claims through the courts in Trinidad, they have now taken their case to the UK Privy Council - a group of advisors appointed by the queen.
Although Trinidad and Tobago gained independence in 1962, the privy council remains the ultimate court of appeal.
The families' hopes have been boosted by the legal victory secured by islanders who were forced off the British dependent territory of Diego Garcia in 1971 to make way for a US military base.
Last year the High Court in London ruled that it should be returned to them.
Ralph Hoyte, 81, whose wife's grandfather owned some of the disputed area, said:
"The Chaguaramas land was given up willingly by people, out of their loyalty to the Crown, to fight the Nazi terror.
"It never crossed their minds they wouldn't get their land back after the hostilities ended."

Colombian massacre

Right wing paramilitaries with links to the US-backed Colombian army are being blamed for the murders of 62 people.
They were accused by the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC) of helping left-wing rebels.
The AUC is a loose alliance of vigilante groups funded by drug dealers and landowners.
Witnesses said 60 heavily-armed men drove into the town on October 3. They rounded up the locals, separated the men and opened fire. Bloodstained bodies were left strewn face-down on a country road.
The same night paramilitary squads killed six more people in the western village of Carmen del Viboral after dragging them from their homes.
On the Caribbean coast, the police found the bodies of 17 fishermen in a mangrove swamp. They were among 18 kidnapped by suspected paramilitaries four days earlier.
The army has links to the US, which is trying to use it to combat the Colombian drug trade.
Human Rights Watch said it had discovered that troops in three key army brigades were continuing to work hand-in-hand with the paramilitaries.

around
the world

Somalia riots over money controversy
Tens of thousands of people protested in the African state of Somalia on the October 9. Riots broke out in Mogadishu because shops and other businesses refused to accept a particular banknote.
The refusal to accept the 500 shilling note has the effect of dramatically increasing prices. Shops were bricked and stoned as people expressed their anger and disbelief at the decision.
The army also took action and hospitalised many protestors including young children. The President has been forced to intervene and condemn the businesses.
In the current climate it is interesting to note that Somalia was one of the countries that the USA directly intervened in the early nineties to impose order and democracy! The country is now divided into different armed camps and the people are impoverished and desperate.

General strike in Serbia
Trade unions in Serbia are planning a general strike for Tuesday October 16 over a planned pay freeze for public sector workers. This is one of the measure introduced by the new government to bring it in line with IMF restrictions. It is now a year since workers played a key role in overthrowing Milosevic. However the new "reforming" politicians have not improved the lot of ordinary people.
Miners and metal workers have also been involved in protests and half a million workers took part in a half day general strike which took place - on all days - on September 11. Prime Minister Djindic has boasted of taking shock therapy but it is the workers who are paying the price.

Increase in killings of trade unionists
The International Trade Union Federation has released figures in a survey on the October 9 which illustrated that 209 people were killed last year because they were active in a trade union. On top of that 8,500 were arrested and over 100,000 arrested because of their membership.
This is an increase on last year and perhaps reflects the repressive nature of countries prepared to accept the globalisation agenda.
Colombia is still the most dangerous country in the world to be a trade unionist but other danger points in Latin America include Venezuela, headed by populist leader Chavez, and Guatemala.
Africa has shown a big increase in repression particularly in Mugabe's Zimbabwe and the monarchic state of Swaziland.
The Gulf states - one of Britain and the US's key allies in the current conflict - also do not recognise trade unions at all.

Chirac gets off scot free
France's right-wing President Jacques Chirac is to be spared questioning about dodgy dealings during his 18-year reign as mayor of Paris.
France's highest court has ruled that Chirac cannot be prosecuted, or even interviewed, while he remains president.
Chirac faces allegations about a fake-jobs scam, knowing about cash backhanders, vote-rigging and running a cash-for-plane-tickets racket.
The issue is sure to dominate next spring's presidential elections, when Chirac is almost certain to face 'Socialist' party prime minister Lionel Jospin.

Vieques bombing goes on
The war-like atmosphere created in the US since the September 11 attacks has badly hit a campaign against American military operations in the Caribbean.
For years, nearly 10,000 people who live on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques have been campaigning against US practice bombing and shelling.
The growing Hispanic-American vote forced the issue on to the Washington political agenda. Celebrities including singer Ricky Martin chipped in more than $100,000 (£68,000) for a full-page ad in the New York Times objecting to the bombing.
But since the terrorist attacks in Manhattan and Washington, the campaign has been criticised. Hilary Clinton, one of those who has demanded an end to the bombing in Vieques, told the Senate: "You are either with America in our time of need or you are not."
It looks as though the island's residents - 72 per cent of whom live on wages below the poverty line - will have to endure the bombing for some time to come.

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page 16

Privatisation: drive out the profiteers

When Maggie ruled no. 10, privatisation was her favourite tool for hammering the public sector and the trade unionists it harboured.
British Telecom was the first to go; by the end of the decade the steel, car and coal industries had been decimated.
It was no surprise when John Major's hated Tory government staggered on down the same path, sacrificing thousands of jobs before the holy 'market forces'.
Blair's New Labour government have continued the profiteers' dream more than either Maggie or Major could ever have dared. Not content with the farming out of the lowest paid public sector jobs to cleaning and catering conglomerates, New Labour went even further.
The very wards and classrooms in which lives are saved and our children schooled were put under the hammer.
The Tories' hated Private Finance Initiative (PFI) became Labour's equally hated Public Private Partnership, mortgaging out public services to the private sector.
Derek Durkin, branch secretary of the CWU Scotland no. 2 branch, explained to the Voice why he opposes privatisation:
"I think the very idea of privatisation is designed to drive down the terms and conditions in whatever industry the profiteers are going into, with mass redundancies always following behind.
"The idea that this is the only hope for run-down public services is complete nonsense. "We've had consecutive governments reducing taxation beyond the imagination. The rich have got richer under this government - it's time we changed the tax system to reflect the needs of society, to properly fund the NHS and our public services.
"In the Post Office - and remember this is an industry which is still publicly owned - the very threat of competition has led Consignia to announce £1.2 billion worth of cuts by 2003. This could mean up to 30,000 jobs going across the board.
"We've already seen the effects last week, with the pay offer made to the cash-handling sector of the Post Office.
"This is the worst pay offer I've ever seen in all my time in the industry, and it's going to spread.
"The days of privatisation are numbered now. It's the most hated concept of modern times, all the opinion polls have shown that, and it's caused public services to decline rapidly.
"If ever there was a time to make a stand against privatisation, this is it."

March and Rally against privatisation
Saturday 17 November, Edinburgh Marching from East Market St, 12 noon. Rally at Assembly Rooms, George Street. Speakers include Tommy Sheridan MSP, John McAllion MSP, John Keggie (CWU)

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