Issue72

We have been told that revealing the name of the woman Jack McConnell had an affair with seven years ago is fundamental to holding our political leaders to account.
The Daily Record and the Sun have been leading the charge in exposing, well, what McConnell has already confessed to.
The trouble is that in the heat of the circulation wars, McConnell's blatently careerist politics are lost.
McConnell is an ex-SNP member. When he joined the Labour Party he was a member of the left wing and pro-home rule Scottish Labour Action.
He has abandoned those left wing credentials however in favour of a fine career in the Scottish Labour Party. Since the establishment of the Scottish Parliament McConnell has taken a rampant Blairite position on most issues.
He opposed the ban on warrant sales despite his constituency covering some of the most deprived areas in Lanarkshire.
In fact McConnell was Blairite almost before Blair. His modernisation zeal has secured him a place in the affections of the powerful in the party.
The kind of scandal that McConnell should be held to account for is the Lobbygate affair in 1999.
McConnell was cleared of impropriety but sources inside the Labour Party indicate that the whole affair was never investigated properly.
The Observer newspaper revealed that the lobby firm Beattie Media promised clients unrivalled access to McConnell, who was then the Finance Minister. McConnell is also an ex-employee of Beattie.
It is abuses of political power which should be investigated with zeal. And it is McConnell's politics which should be exposed in the pages of Scotland's newspapers.

The consequences of successive governments' failed drugs policies hit home last week when it was announced that one in 50 Scots aged between 15-54 uses hard drugs.
In the first serious study of its kind, it was found that there are 55,000 users of drugs like heroin and cocaine, rather than the previous official figure of 30,000.
Deputy Justice minister Iain Gray welcomed the survey:
"This report gives us a much clearer picture of the drug problem in Scotland's communities... it is about facing the facts on drugs and doing something serious about them."
But his words indicate the level of government ignorance on the subject. For years drugs support workers and communities have known the scale of Scotland's drug problem.
SSP Drugs spokesperson, Kevin Williamson, condemned the executive for congratulating itself on the figures:
"It's disgraceful it has taken this long to find the real numbers.
"The illegality of drugs has clearly stopped users coming forward. Whilst government heads have been in the sand people's lives have been ruined."
What is needed is a drastic change in attitude towards soft and hard drugs.
While common sense dictates we legalise cannabis and offer real support for addicts, New Labour sense dictates 'concerned sound bites' with little action on the ground.

Education bosses in North Ayrshire are promoting school privatisation along the same lines as Glasgow's Project 2002 - the Public Private Partnership scheme for the city's education service.
North Ayrshire's Director of Education has produced a damning report, which reveals chronic, long term underfunding.
The report points out that 14 schools were more than 60 years old and that replacement costs for the ten secondaries would be £200 million, while it will cost £100 million to build new primary schools.
The report also shows that £70 million needs to be spent on repairs and upgrading on the secondary schools just to bring them up to standard.
But it claims it would take 30 years to carry out these repairs using council funding while a public private partnership on the Glasgow basis would allow the work to be carried out quicker.
The council's education committee has agreed to examine the possibility of establishing a partnership like the one set up in Glasgow. Under the proposed deal, North Ayrshire Council would lease back the schools for a set number of years to allow the investors to recover their money.
Yet the Glasgow model is turning out to be a fiasco. It has brought disruption and danger to pupils and staff, with non-union, private contractors bungling the construction work.
And far from saving money, Glasgow's PPP scheme is a financial disaster as public money is used to guarantee profits for the private investors.
Rosemary Byrne is a teacher in North Ayrshire and a member of the local executive of the EIS:
"I am extremely concerned at private finance being used to provide public services and jobs.
"The problem is that where there is private finance there must be a profit. Private investors do not hand over capital without expecting a return for their money.
"It is the Council Tax payers who will provide that profit. "There has been no consultation with local people or teachers about this suggestion."

One excuse used to justify the sell-off of Glasgow's council housing is that the transfer, to the new Glasgow Housing Association (GHA), will be tenant-led. This is a myth.
In 1998 the council conducted a survey of 2,000 tenants to establish their opinion on housing services and the stock transfer option.
The response was that 78 per cent of tenants who replied wanted the council to remain their landlord and to seek greater investment for their housing.
The least preferred option, at that time, was for a transfer to a different landlord.
In September 2000, in a report to the city council, the director of housing services confessed that the majority of tenants' forums within Glasgow were still opposed to the transfer. This explains why the ballot of tenants, over the transfer, was postponed last year.
Since then no one has seriously attempted to seek tenants' views. Tenant consultation has been replaced by rigged questionnaires by MORI.
But even their loaded questions have failed to provide conclusive proof that tenants are enthusiastic about the transfer.
In the most recent opinion poll, in September 2001, 23,000 tenants out of 82,000 responded. Of this a meagre 3,500 felt that the transfer would definitely improve the council's housing stock.
The remaining 78,000 tenants have still to be convinced that the transfer is definitely worthwhile.
Yet this poll came on the back of millions of pounds spent on promoting the housing stock transfer and the GHA as the best landlord.
The campaign to push through the transfer is being led by politicians and housing professionals.
Their basis of support amongst the tenants is extremely weak and, when the ballot goes ahead, there is the real possibility that the council will get a resounding NO to the sell-off of Glasgow's council housing.

Houra and Yama are from Afghanistan. Both went to the massive anti-war demonstration in London on Sunday. Mick Napier talked to them on the coach returning to Edinburgh.

As the British media paints a picture of a jubilant Kabul after the Taliban, I spoke to Houra and Yama about role of the Northern Alliance. Both condemned them.
"One group of murderers and rapists has been replaced by another," said Houra. "The leaders of the Northern Alliance should be on trial for crimes against humanity, not being given control of huge areas of Afghanistan."
Yama worked at the Bank of Afghanistan under the mujahideen. "All the men had to wear a beard, even before the Taliban came to power with Western support.
"Now we see TV pictures of beards being shaved in Kabul as the Northern Alliance try to portray themselves as 'liberals'. "They are no different from the Taliban - the Northern Alliance are now the thugs of choice for the West but that could easily change." Houra believes that the celebrations on the streets of Kabul are deceiving.
"There is an element of relief at the departure of the Taliban. But the people of Kabul have had several changes of government foisted upon them with the intervention of foreign powers.
"They've learned that if you don't cheer at the right time then you can find yourself in serious trouble."
Houra is convinced that the bombing of Afghanistan was the wrong way to defeat the Taliban.
"Many people joined the Taliban militias because the alternative was to try and scrape a living from mine-seeded barren soils in a devastated country.
"For a fraction of the $40 billion that Bush has invested in the bombing, the basis of support for the Taliban could have been broken wide open by offering food, shelter and jobs.
"The bombing has not helped ordinary Afghans at all. They will be left to pick a living amidst the most recent destruction."

Last Sunday 100,000 anti-war activists, anti-racists, civil liberties campaigners and anti-capitalists congregated at Hyde Park in London in opposition to the US and Britain's bombing of Afghanistan.
I decided to see why so many people had turned up.
Fiona from Langside said, "I'm here because a huge turnout is the only way to cut through the crap you read in the media about this war."
Daniela, an Italian anti-capitalist, was amazed:
"It's clear that the problem of terrorism is linked to American military and commercial power. So I find it absurd that they're waging a war of vendetta and that Britain is joining in!"
Britain's Muslim population was out in force, praying in their thousands in one corner of Trafalgar Square during the Rally. Qurrat Shah from the Muslim Council asked:
"Why put a country ravaged by 20 years of war through yet another one? Muslims condemn the September 11 bombings, but this war will kill more innocents."
Somaye, an Iranian BBC worker, explained:
"I'm here because intervention is causing chaos over there.
"As a media worker, I'm worried about unfair portrayal in the media and Islam being picked out as the only anti-war voice. The real anti-war movement is much bigger than that."
The speakers from the platform spoke of a government waging war without the guts to even debate it properly.
The greatest message of the demonstration was the proof that there is a massive, radical opposition.
Personally I came to the demonstration hoping to strike a blow against this murderous war in Afghanistan and against the plans our government has to screw us over at home.
I came to help bring the power of public protest back to the streets of Britain, in a movement that can really challenge our vicious and unjust rulers. And I think we managed it.

The war in Afghanistan seems to be on the threshold of a new phase. It is not over - not by a very long way - but it's not hard to imagine the arguments that will come from the government this week.
As the ban on fox hunting was lifted Blair announced that "we will hunt down the terrorists". That seems to extend to Britain (where Blunkett is reintroducing internment by stealth) and the US (where Bush wants to reintroduce military courts).
For the anti-war movement there are new challenges waiting in the wings. And socialists will have to be prepared to respond to them.
As someone who was involved in the mobilisations against the Vietnam war, there are parallels and lessons from that time that keep coming into my mind.
First, this anti-war movement is still growing, attracting mostly young people and particularly students - who until recently we were told had given up politics altogether!
For them, it has connected with a growing protest movement against globalisation, and made unmistakably clear that war goes arm in arm with the economic conquest of the world.
That same understanding pulled more and more people in the Vietnam movement towards the left.
But it wasn't automatic that people moved from a recognition that a capitalist economic system produced conflict and savagery wherever it went, to an understanding that there was a socialist alternative.
That had to be argued for - though then, as now, a radicalising generation was very open to the arguments. In the coming weeks we'll need to argue very hard that the departure of the Taliban from Kabul is only the beginning.
It isn't only that the Northern Alliance is as brutal as their Taliban opponents, but because they have no political alternative to offer. The West - Bush and Blair in particular - on the other hand, do have an alternative.
In the end, they are capitalists fighting to conquer and direct the world market.
Behind the veil of anti-terrorism, they see this as an ideal moment to tighten controls at home and abroad.
And that is potentially an attack, not just on the anti-war movement, but on the whole working class and socialist movement. When we marched on the American embassy in Grosvenor Square in October 1968, the big debate was how we could direct the anger and energy of the students and young people on the march outwards.
How could we make the political connection between the anti-war movement, the trade unions and the other struggles that were going on?
There was more happening then, perhaps; on the other hand, we know that New Labour will try to use the opportunity that the 'special conditions of war' provide to drive home privatisation, threaten postal workers, undermine teachers and face down resistance in transport.
In making those kinds of argument, and those kinds of connection, we'll be offering socialist arguments that can draw more and more people towards the Scottish Socialist Party as the voice, not just of protest but of a political alternative.
And thinking back, it's worth remembering that 1968 was not the end but the beginning of a movement that in the following seven years drew tens of thousands towards the left in Europe and beyond.

A mood of shock and anger prevails over the town of Grangemouth after BP's announcement of 1000 job losses at their three sites in the town.
The scale of the losses is immense. But the anger felt in the town is compounded by the fact that the community has for decades tolerated emissions of dangerous chemicals into the air, safety lapses and noise pollution from the BP plants.
BP still makes over £1 million in profits every day, yet the greed driven profiteers who run this multinational say they are not making enough money out of Grangemouth. The consequences of bad management are to be borne by the workers and local community.
Tony Weir, an SSP member from Grangemouth told the Voice how feelings are now running high in the town:
"People often ask me 'How can you live there? Why do you put up with the pollution?'
"Well, like for everyone else in the area, it's not just the employment a vast complex like BP provides at the moment.
"The real reason we stay is the hope that our families and future generations would have a decent chance of secure employment when they reach adulthood.
"These jobs are now gone and will never be brought back. These futures are now just as insecure as any other in the country regardless of the sacrifices given to help shape them, what we've put up with from BP to keep the jobs here.
"But I can promise BP that they will now feel the anger of this area.
"Our Scottish Socialist Party branch, along with workers, trade unionists, community groups and individuals will carry it to their door.
"We will fight for the future of our kids, and we will no longer accept the dirt, noise and constant flow of fully laden petrol tankers through our town without question or protest."

A national ballot of 75,000 civil servants who work in job centres and benefit offices is now underway.
A 'yes' vote would see the members of the PCS union join a strike by 2,500 of their colleagues across the country.
This key dispute in the pubic sector is a direct consequence of New Labour's attacks on benefit claimants.
Frustration and anger has led to an increase in violence against benefit office staff.
While most benefit staff sympathise with the plight of claimants who are being robbed by the government they don't want safety screens removed.
Union members are striking against work currently undertaken in a screened environment being moved to unscreened offices - a key part of the government's new JobCentre Plus plan.
Staff in London began the strike over three months ago. More workers in another fifty offices joined them on all out strike in October - including staff at Aberdeen, Livingston, Greenock and Port Glasgow.
Strike action has been solid and effective and both management and government are seriously worried by the threat of escalation.
The dispute began over health and safety but its outcome will determine future pay, conditions and union organisation.
Winning a big 'yes' vote in the national ballot is crucial. Launched last Tuesday, it is now being re-run due to an administrative error at PCS headquarters.
A benefit agency worker involved in the Jobcentre Plus strike told the Voice:
"It will be a significant victory if the new ballot comes out in favour of industrial action. We'll know the results by December 7. "Management has launched an intensive propaganda campaign against both the union and the strike in many offices, but it appears that the workers are seeing through these lies."

Chivas Regal strike suspended during talks
The official strike action at whisky producer Chivas Regal has been suspended pending a meeting between the company and the trade unions at ACAS - the conciliation service.
Members of the GMB, AEEU and MSF unions at the company's plants in Paisley, Dalmuir and Balgray had been striking for two days a week and were banning all overtime.
Workers were due a pay rise in February this year, but instead the bosses tried to impose a lump sum £600 in place of the annual percentage pay rise.
The decision to suspend the action was agreed at a mass meeting last week.

Union bosses' u-turn over tax workers' pay dispute
Tax and revenue workers look likely to be forced to accept the government's pay deal at the end of this month.
In September the union leadership recommended rejection of the pay offer, and workers voted overwhelmingly to do so.
Since then workers have taken two days of action. But the Board of the Inland Revenue refused to go back to the Treasury to negotiate for a better offer.
On Friday November 16 the staff heard that the pay deal would be pushed through despite objections.
A tax worker told the Voice: "I think we will be re-balloted and asked about two main issues. I think they'll ask us about the long term strategy over pay and if we want to continue with the current campaign over the 2001 pay deal.
"I also believe that the union Executive will recommend that we accept the deal even though we've already rejected it with their backing."

Paisley Mayonnaise plant set to close
Unilever has announced it plans to close its Hellmann's Mayonnaise factory in Paisley by the end of next year.
The former Brown and Polson plant has been profitable for years, but the food giant plans to sack all 66 employees and transfer production to its factory in Holland.
The Transport and General Workers Union, which represents most of the workforce has vowed to fight the closure.

Scotland's last deep mine under threat
Scotland's last remaining deep mine works, at Longannet in Fife, is to cut 170 jobs losing a third of its workforce.
The mine's owners, Scottish Coal, have blamed profit losses resulting from the closure of a coal face made dangerous by geological problems. They say that the closure has cost them £2 million a month, although they have received £41 million in government subsidies over the last five years.
A spokesperson for Palmaris Capital, owners of a 23 per cent share in Scottish Coal, has threatened that, "the viability of the deep mine is in doubt" if profits cannot be galvanised.
The chairperson of the board of Scottish Coal, Ross Harper, told press that the best way to do that is to "significantly reduce costs" through job cuts. A spokesperson from the Scottish Executive said that it is vital that productivity increases if the mine is to stay open, but failed to explain how the best way to do that was to sack one third of the workforce. The National Union of Mineworkers have said that there is enough coal at Longannet to secure its future for at least 15 years.

Read Tommy Sheridan's column in the
Scottish Socialist Voice
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Wars come and go. When they are hot news we are spoon fed detail after detail on every news bulletin. Until the cut-off point after that little or nothing is heard.
World leaders kiss and make up or just keep right on fighting as with Iraq, Chechnya etc.
However the environmental hangover can last for decades or even into infinity as generation after generation breathes, eats, absorbs the nasty leftovers of conflict.
One of the most recent examples would be the burning of Kuwait's oil fields as Iraqi soldiers made their retreat.
Black smoke billowed from the wells filling the air and the lungs of millions with too many poisons to count - an invisible legacy that will boost the case notes of doctors for years.
In Iraq children die daily of horrible cancers resulting from Uranium tipped shells dropped during Desert Storm when their parents were children.
The deadly substance left by these shells will be poisonous forever.
If that's not bad enough then sanctions, another evil that lurks in the aftermath of conflict, denies the population treatment for this terrible fall out.
In Iraq, where the infrastructure was blasted off the face of the Earth, the water, food, land and air are as dangerous as any cruise missile. The environment was shattered beyond repair was during the Gulf war.
The US government, currently weeping and wailing over Anthrax scares, is responsible for one of the greatest deliberate attacks upon the environment of all time.
Between 1962 and 1970 the US military sprayed Agent Orange (made by Monsanto, yes, "feed the world" Monsanto) on ten per cent of the area of Southern Vietnam.
The aim was to leave no food or shelter for the enemy within the dense rainforests of the region. There was zero consideration given to the after effects of such an attack.
Instantly enormous forests, which protected to the coastline rich in breeding grounds for ocean fish, were wiped out.
Vast forests turned to grasslands, which are still prone to fires. The eco system upon which all life exists was obliterated in a pass from a crop-spraying plane.
Again the local population, not given a second thought at the time, carry the burden of unexplained and painful illness.
Dioxins in Agent Orange are thought to be responsible for birth defects, respiratory cancers, skin cancers, immune problems and even spina bifida.
It would of course be impossible to touch upon this issue without including Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Those horrific bombs, said to be brighter than the sun, tore into the land killing hundreds of thousands instantly in both the blast and fire that followed.
The area is still a dangerous radiation trap to this day and we haven't seen the last of it even now.
War is not only present on your TV and in your newspaper it's likely to find it's way into your food supply.
The churning up, blowing up and poisoning of people effects the planet - a planet we all share for better or worse.
There is no clean war. You can be thousands of miles from the epicentre of any conflict and still suffer the consequences due to environmental destruction.
I don't really think that any of us needed another reason to oppose war but its knock on effects cannot go unmentioned even if they do go on unmonitored.

On December 1, in villages, towns and cities across the UK and Ireland, people will be peacefully and legally campaigning at Esso petrol stations, asking motorists to join them in boycotting Esso.
Esso, the largest corporation on the planet, has worked hard over the last decade to sabotage international action on global warming.
Esso (ExxonMobil in the USA) has spent millions, and has done more than any other oil company to ensure US President Bush ditched the only international treaty on global warming, the Kyoto Protocol.
Esso thinks it's too big for the rest of us to stop it wrecking the planet. It's wrong. So gather your friends, mums, dads and kids, get some face paint to paint tiger faces and make Stop Esso day happen at your local Esso garage!
The StopEsso campaign is coordinating information on where events are happening and can supply materials for the day.
If you want to join the national day of action on December 1st call the StopEsso Day hotline on 0870 010 9510 (local rates), or email the campaign at stopessoday@stopesso.com with your name and daytime telephone number or visit the www.stopesso.com website for further information.

Passenger complaints board set up
Friends of the Earth Scotland welcomed plans to establish a Bus Users Complaints Tribunal (BUCT). The new body would give the public a statutory complaints procedure for poor bus performance including sanctions against the bus operators who fail to come up to scratch.
Kevin Dunion, Chief Executive at Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: "We hope that it is a real step towards delivering a reliable, safe, affordable and comprehensive public transport system for Scotland. "The current 'bus war' in Edinburgh shows how passengers' needs are falling second to the commercial priorities of bus companies.
This body will allow passengers up and down the country a say in shaping bus services fit for the 21st century."

Tell Jack 'No to GM'
Scottish Genetix Action (SGA) are suggesting people email Jack McConnell (Jack.McConnell.msp@scottish.parliament.uk) asking him to stop distribution of the pro-biotech Your World magazine, which is being promoted by Scottish Enterprise.
The latest issue claims GM is 'creating better plants' and criticised organic farming and suggested pupils experiment with growing Monsanto GM soybeans.
SGA are also concerned that the scientific advisor on the magazine was CS Prakash, who also runs the rabidly pro-GM AgBioView email list (the same list which, shortly after September 11, carried a comment piece comparing Greenpeace destroying GM crops to terrorists blowing up the WTC).

Activists 'arrest' Blair
Anti nuclear protestors have responded to Labour's tightening of the anti-terrorist laws by barricading Downing St, in a bid to highlight the government's own nuclear terrorism.
The group of 50 Trident Ploughshares activists chained themselves to the Downing St gates after handing in a letter to Tony Blair. The letter told the government that 'terrorism is implicit in our very possession of nuclear weapons'.
With the street successfully closed off, one activist hung a banner reading 'CLOSED. Nuclear Terrorists Under Investigation. UK's Trident Missiles Could Kill Millions.'

Government sell-out over food
The new government code of practice for supermarkets, prepared in the light of last year's Competition Commission report on the sector, has been dismissed as a 'sell-out' by food campaigners.
While the original report suggested a code of practice, it appears to have fallen victim to industry lobbying. It only applies at all to chains with more than eight per cent of the market - namely Asda, Safeway, Sainsbury, Somerfield and Tesco.
Speaking to the Independent, Patricia Hewitt, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, said: 'The success of the code depends on supermarkets and suppliers being reasonable with one another, and observing the spirit of the code. It can set a standard for the industry as a whole, enabling it to put its commercial relations on a better footing.' In other words, it's an empty gesture put together by lobbyists.

Chromium creates housing headache
Residents of Glasgow's southside hit out last week after the Glasgow Housing Association tried to dodge questions about soil pollution in the area.
The GHA stand to take over 80,000 council houses in the city if the council's proposed Housing Stock Transfer goes ahead, raising concerns about who will be responsible for potential pollution problems affecting the city's housing.
Council residents from Toryglen, Myrtle Park and Govanhill attended a meeting organised by the GHA regarding buried chromium waste in the area, believed to pre-date the current housing stock.
Jimmy Speirits, Chair of Myrtle Shaw Residents Association, told the press:
"When workmen come to do repairs or even fix a burst pipe they have to wear protective clothing. I don't think [the GHA] realise what they are dealing with."

While in Pakistan, Voice editor Alan McCombes talked to some women activists who provide a helpline and campaigning support for working class women in Lahore.

One of the more nauseatingly hypocritical features of the 'War against Terror' has been the rejoicing of politicians and the media at the supposed restoration of women's rights following the fall of the Taliban.
In other countries, especially Saudi Arabia, women are also brutally degraded - but that's OK since Saudi Arabia produces a quarter of the world's oil and is a close ally of the US.
Meanwhile America is to give Pakistan billions of pounds as reward for backing the bombing of Afghanistan. Yet in Pakistan, women face brutal oppression.
In Lahore I spoke to three activists who run the 'Working Women's Helpline' about the conditions facing women in Pakistan today.
The helpline workers meet weekly and go out on the streets in working class areas to discuss with women their rights and their problems.
Much of the work of the helpline involves taking up individual cases, including marital disputes, workplace problems and incidences of discrimination. One specific issue that they are campaigning around is for the right of women to join trade unions. "More and more women are working in factories because they work harder and they can be hired at very cheap rates," says Rahila, a member of the executive of the All-Pakistan Trade Union Federation. Azra and Rahila have both suffered victimisation for trade union activities. Rahila, a telephone operator was charged with being "potentially disrespectful".
"I wasn't even accused of being disrespectful. Just that I 'might become' disrespectful."
Azra was sacked from her job in a hospital. "One woman arrived a little bit late for her work and was slapped by the male doctor. The woman had worked in the hospital all her life so the female activists of the union got together and made a complaint saying this behaviour was unacceptable.
"Initially the doctor was suspended. But then they realized that we were capable of fighting for our rights so they sacked us for standing up for our colleague."
The helpline often has to deal with problems of physical violence and sexual violence in the workplace.
"Some of the factories in Lahore say we don't want any married women. They want young female workers who then suffer constant sexual harassment from the supervisors. They are forced to do whatever their supervisors ask them to do."
Azra describes an incident where a group of women at a factory in Lahore returned to their village after being asked to do overtime. They were ambushed at gunpoint in a bus on the way home and raped.
The Working Women's Helpline went into the village and took up the case. "It became a huge national issue and we eventually managed to get justice for the women."
One of the policies the helpline promotes is the legalisation of abortion. In Pakistan, abortion is totally illegal. As a result many women die from illegal abortions under unsafe conditions.
Many women also fall pregnant after being raped. Unless they can prove they were raped they are then liable to 14 years imprisonment for having sex outside marriage. But in order to secure a conviction for rape, a woman needs to produce at least four witnesses - an almost impossible feat.
"The mullahs are totally against abortion. They want us to have 14 children, 15 children, 16 children," says Farah. "They say children are a gift from God."
I asked why women seem to be quite invisible in Pakistan. In the shops, bazaars and restaurants it is men who serve behind the counters and the customers are overwhelmingly male.
"This is especially a problem in the more working class areas which tend to be more conservative," says Rahila, "That's because people are less educated in these areas. There is also a lot of harassment, sexual jokes directed towards women in the streets. "Sometimes they will take out a small child with them because they feel safe from harassment. It might not be their own child, it might be a young brother or the child of a friend. But it makes them feel safer."
Discrimination against women starts in childhood. Many girls are sent out to work in carpet factories and other industries because there is an attitude that education is wasted on girls. Farah, who teaches adult literacy, relates an incident involving one of her students.
"She copied out a poem that she liked. But when her family saw the poem they beat her up. It was just a simple poem but her family said 'How could you write this, this is vulgar'. They told told her she could no longer attend school."
Farah recently mobilised a large number of women from her community to a peace rally recently. "I live in a working class community on the outskirts of Lahore," she says.
"But many of these women had never been outside their own community, even to go into the centre of Lahore.
"There was opposition from their husbands and their parents. But I managed to persuade them that was important, this was about peace. For the women attending the rally was a taste of freedom, a chance to get out of the house. 'When is the next rally?' they kept asking."
I asked the women about the attitude of Pakistani women to the war in Afghanistan. Do they have any sympathy with the claim that this war will help to liberate women from the tyranny of the Taliban?
Rahila says: "If this is about women's rights, why are they bombing women? It's not just men who are being attacked. Women are being killed by these bombs in Afghanistan. How can you defend women's rights by killing them?"
What is their attitude towards Osama? Do they see him as a hero standing up to the West?
Azra believes that Osama should have given himself up to save the lives of innocent people. But she also says that people in the Muslim world do not trust the West.
"We were very sad to hear about September 11. But people ask why they never tried to produce any proof against Osama, but instead just started bombing."

Alan McCombes examines the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in Pakistan and asks how socialists deal with the question of religion in a country where the Muslim faith is deeply ingrained

Arshad Khan is an educated man with a BSc in botany and zoology. But in order to feed his young family in Rawalpindi he now drives a taxi.
On a long journey down into the North West Frontier he points out geographical, cultural and historical landmarks.
He also explains his support for an Islamic fundamentalist party and defends the Taliban's rigid Islamic regime.
He tells me that his wife will never step over the threshold unless she is covered from head to foot. "Our culture does not oppress women, it treats them with respect," insists Arshad. "In the West, women are nothing more than sex objects."
He argues that Christianity is in decline in the West because it has become a watered down religion. Islam, in ontrast, is growing stronger because it has refused to compromise.
In Pakistan, the strength of Islam is indisputable. This is not just a state with an overwhelmingly Muslim majority; this is a theocratic state, founded on Islamic principles.
In a run down working class district of Lahore, the socialist Labour Party Pakistan is opening a new local office. I am invited to perform the opening ceremony, which involves cutting the tape.
But then, before the speeches begin, there is a recitation from the Koran. Farooq Tariq the Marxist general secretary of the LPP, explains that in Pakistan, that is the tradition. To ignore this tradition would cause unnecessary offence, he says.
In any case, explains Farooq, anyone who speaks out against the prophet Mohammed is liable to the death penalty in Pakistan, under the blasphemy laws.
Farooq stresses that socialism is not anti-Islam. "But we stand for the separation of religion from politics and for a secular state where people are free to follow their own religious beliefs without interference from the state."
So what exactly is Islamic fundamentalism? Some devout Muslims I have spoken to in Pakistan believe that the term is insulting to their religion.
But for Farooq and other socialists and progressives in Pakistan, the term Islamic fundamentalism is not religious but political. It describes the political philosophy of the leaders of the right wing political parties who want to create a pure Islamic state, similar to Iran under the Ayatollah, Afghanistan under the Taliban or Saudi Arabia today.
"There are many Muslims who are devoted to their faith, but they are not fundamentalists. There are also many Muslims who support the general idea of an Islamic revolution, but neither would I describe them as fundamentalists.
"Even most members and supporters of Islamic parties like Jamait-e-Islam are not really hard core fundamentalists."
Farooq's own father gives money indirectly to the Islamic parties.
"Every Eid (the Islamic festival that marks the end of Ramadan) the fundamentalist parties will collect the skin of a goat or a cow. Each skin will fetch about 400-500 rupees (about £5 or £6). My father will donate the skin of a sacrificial goat. In total jamait-e-Islam will collect millions and make 10 million rupees."
Farooq says his father like most Muslims will support the general ideal of an Islamic revolution.
"In Pakistan, when you say 'we need to change the system' everyone will say yes. Everyone will agree that capitalism is bad.
"But then you ask 'so what should we replace capitalism with?' - the answer of most people will be 'Islamic revolution'."
Farooq believes that class consciousness has become mixed up with Islamic fundamentalism. "This was not the case in the 1970s or even the 1980s but it is the case now."
Until the 1990s the Islamic parties never achieved more than two per cent of the vote. Farooq believes that they could get over 20 per cent in next year's elections.
So why is Islam emerging as such a powerful political force?
"It is partly a product of 13 years of government by the two main big business parties, the Peoples' Party and the Muslim League. They were seen as corrupt and incapable of standing up to the West."
Farooq acknowledges that it is also rooted in poverty and the failure of capitalism in Pakistan.
"The Islamic groups are able to provide a far better education for children from poor families."
In Pakistan, there is no compulsory education. There are state schools which provide primary education for a nominal fee.
But according to teachers I spoke to, the standard of education in the state sector is extremely low.
There are few resources, teachers are paid around £15 a month and most children only attend school for five years in total. "Working class families will either send their children out to work or to the 'madrasses' - the religious schools," one teacher told me.
The madrasses provide not just education but free board and lodgings. These institutions began to flourish as 'schools for Jihad' in the 1980s during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
"In the West people think 'Jihad' means 'holy war'. But it has wider meaning. It really means 'holy cause' though it can be for used for war also. It is an interchangeable term and this can cause misunderstanding," explains Farooq.
He describes how America poured $40 billion into the coffers of the jihad groups in Pakistan during the 1980s.
Much of that money was used to set up madrassas in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province and Baluchistan.
Many of these were run by Pakistan's right wing religious parties and became, in effect, religious and political training grounds for the mujahideen.
It was from some of these religious schools in Pakistan that the Taliban emerged.
In his best selling book, Taliban, Ahmed Rashid describes the young boys who emerged to form the Taliban as "the orphans of war, the rootless and the restless, the jobless and the economically deprived... they were what Karl Marx would have called Afghanistan's lumpen proletariat."
So what approach should socialists in Pakistan, Afghanistan and the West adopt to the war. Should they take sides?
"In the West the main emphasis should be on opposing the war. The governments of America and Britain are not waging this war to benefit the people of Afghanistan.
"It is a war of revenge of prestige, of ego. It is about displaying the military power of America and the West."
But he explains that it is vital that the Pakistan and Afghan left fight to broaden the anti-war movement out to include women and those sections of the working class, as well as the intellectuals and the youth, who see Islamic fundamentalism as a threat to freedom.
"We also have to make it clear that the Taliban and al Qaeda are reactionary movements which will annihilate socialist parties of the left, trade unions and any progressive social forces."
"In Iran, some left parties, including the Iranian Communist Party supported the Ayatollah Khomeini, describing him as 'anti-imperialist'.
"But then he hanged the general secretary of the Communist Party and wiped out all its activists. Now the Iranian Communist Party no longer exists."
Despite their political opposition to the Islamic fundamentalist parties, Farooq and other Pakistani and Afghan socialists are ferocious in their denunciation of the role of America and the West, which first helped raise the Taliban to power and is now "replacing one fundamentalist monster with another fundamentalist monster."
"We stand for the right of the Afghan people to self-determination, for the right to decide their own future.
"The Taliban will lose power, that is certain. But US military action won't destroy Islamic fundamentalism, it won't defeat terrorism and it won't stop future suicide attacks.
"Our alternative to the imperialists, the warlords and the fundamentalists is to support those forces fighting for a secular, democratic socialist state in Afghanistan."

Voice editor Alan McCombes has launched an urgent appeal to help the Afghan Revolutionary Labour Organisation in their vital work, both in Afghanistan itself and in the refugee camps of northern Pakistan.
Writing last week from Peshawar, Alan described the conditions the ARLO face:
"The activists I met live in grinding poverty, often eating nothing but potatoes for days at a time.
They have no money for leaflets and newspapers. Even if they had they could not distribute them, because they live under a permanent death sentence."
ARLO members are forced to work underground, hiding their activities not only from the state but also from their own families, in order to put forward a socialist alternative for Afghanistan.
A large part of their work involves organising basic education classes in the refugee camps, particularly for women denied educational opportunities in Afghanistan.
They have asked us to appeal for the following equipment:

Computer equipment: The ARLO presently have no computers at all. They urgently need equipment, regardless of age. This includes hardware, software, printers, scanners etc.
Stationery: The underground schools organised by ARLO members urgently need stationery, particularly pens, paper and notepads.
Medicines: Medicines are urgently required - please send generic paracetamol, antiseptic creams, anti-diarrhoea tablets, bandages etc. Please check the use-by date before sending any medicines.
Blankets, sheets, rugs and winter coats. Cameras, film and a small camcorder. A photocopier or duplicator machine.

To arrange collection of goods, or if you have any other equipment you think could be of use, please contact Steve on 0141 353 0363.

We are also appealing for cash donations from individuals and trade unions. In Pakistan, a teacher's wage - a relatively well-paid job - is just £18 a month. Whatever you can afford will make a difference.

Send your cash donations to: Afghanistan Solidarity Appeal, c/o SSV, 73 Robertson Street, Glasgow G2 8QD

"A week is a long time in politics," said Harold Wilson, coining one of the most famous political cliches of the 20th century.
With the spectacular collapse of the Taliban across Northern Afghanistan, it suddenly seems that the military stalemate in Afghanistan has been broken.
"We are now winning the war against terror," proclaim the politicians, the generals and the journalists of the West. "The noose is tightening."
So has it all been worthwhile? Is the world a safer place today than it was on September 11? And is the war now all over bar the shouting?
For sections of the media, the war has already been won. Images of women uncovering their faces, children flying kites and teenagers playing music in the streets of Kabul have been invoked to justify the bombardment of Afghanistan and the death of over 1,000 innocent civilians by American bombs.
But this was not what the war was about. Otherwise, the West would now declare war on Saudi Arabia.
There, people are decapitated in public squares for sorcery and sodomy. Public displays of music, cinema, art and theatre are forbidden.
Women are forced to cover every part of their body in public, prohibited from driving, and forced to obtain written permission from their closest male relative before they can board public transport or receive hospital treatment.
Trade unions and strikes are banned and no elections are ever held. People who abandon the Muslim faith can be sentenced to death.
But bizarre as it may seem, Saudi Arabia is a signed up member of Operation Enduring Freedom.
As the world's biggest oil producer and an obedient ally of the United States, the Saudi royal family can rest assured that they will be allowed to continue oppressing women and violating human rights.
Moreover, as the Taliban evacuated Kabul, an equally bloodthirsty assortment of tyrants moved in. The Northern Alliance is led by an unstable coalition of rival tribal warlords whose savagery is legendary.
Already, there have been bloodcurdling reports of barbaric atrocities in the cities captured by the Northern Alliance.
In one incident, 300 Taliban troops who were attempting to surrender were massacred.
In another incident, 500 Pakistani volunteers, mostly teenagers, were slaughtered in a school building in Mazar-e-Sharif. Already, there are reports that violent power struggles are brewing among the different factions.
The prospect looms of a rerun of the mid-1990s, when the streets of Kabul ran red with blood.
Even western politicians are now anxious at their powerless to control the Northern Alliance, whose commanders know that they cannot afford to be seen as a puppet regime of America.
Even though their victory was made possible by the carpet bombing of Taliban troops, the Northern Alliance believe that America did not have the bottle to do the dirty work on the ground of confronting the Taliban. They are now determined to claim the spoils of war.
While the north of the country is controlled by a volatile and temporary federation of militias, fanatically tribal in their outlook, the Taliban remains intact and in control in the Pashtoon heartlands of the south.
In contrast to the cities of the north, where they are hated, especially by the oppressed national minorities, this is their natural terrain.
The Taliban have lost hundreds rather than thousands of troops and have managed to beat an orderly retreat with their military apparatus largely intact.
Under the impact of a ferocious bombing blitz, they will probably now be be forced out of their southern urban stronghold Kandahar, into the mountains and villages.
But that will not necessarily mean an end to the war. When the Soviet Union first invaded Afghanistan, they took control of the Kabul within a fortnight.
Within weeks, they controlled every city in Afghanistan. But they soon came under siege from the mujahideen guerrillas, who eventually forced out the Red Army.
The Taliban do not have the same international backing that the mujahideen received during their war against the Soviet Union. Nor do they have support among the urban population of Afghanistan, who are more resentful of the power of the extreme religious right.
But power in the cities does not automatically translate into control over the countryside.
Even in Pakistan, a far more highly developed society, there are whole regions of the North West Frontier Province and Baluchistan which are not under the control of Islamabad, but are effectively run by armed Pashtoon tribesmen.

Meanwhile, the central goal of the military campaign has not been achieved. Osama bin Laden remains at large.
His al Qaeda network has been damaged, but is far from destroyed.
Osama himself has been transformed into a folk hero, especially among the impoverished and desperate youth in the cities of Pakistan.
In the bazaars of Peshawar, Lahore and Karachi, the face of Osama bin Laden can now be seen everywhere - on key rings, car stickers, cups, T-shirts, posters. Even Che Guevara never received this folk hero status until after his death.
Over time, the US and Britain may succeed in tracking down and killing Osama bin Laden.
They will be lauded by the western media who are already offering up hymns of praise to the power of the bomb.
But history will tell a different story. Afghanistan now looks likely to become the Balkans of the East, where tribal warlords and ethnic cleansers reign supreme.
Civil war in Afghanistan may spill over into the Pashtoon areas of Pakistan, which is already a much more dangerous, unstable country than it was before the bombing began.
In the Muslim world generally, hatred of the West has multiplied immeasurably since the bombing campaign began on October 7.
In the slums of Peshawar, Cairo and Baghdad, a new generation of future terrorists is being bred, desperate to avenge the subjugation of the Muslim world by the rich and powerful.
Even if everything now goes to plan, Western claims of victory will be as convincing as the declaration of the surgeon who reported:
"The operation has been a great success. But the patient has died."

There's no excuse for sloppy journalism, especially not in a socialist newspaper.
So I'd like to correct an error made in my previous column (Voice issue 71) where I wrote that Lieutenant William L Calley Jr, the American platoon officer who led the My Lai massacre in 1968, was "sentenced" to three years imprisonment.
That should have read "served" three years in prison.
What actually happened was this: On March 31 1971, Calley was found guilty of the premeditated murder of 22 of the villagers of My Lai, including women and children, and was sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour.
In his court testimony Calley explained his actions: "I felt then - and I still do - that I acted as directed, I carried out my orders, and I did not feel wrong in doing so."
Calley's trial notes tend to paint a different picture of the events at My Lai that fateful morning:
"By 8 am, Calley's platoon had crossed the plaza on the town's southern edge and entered the village. They encountered families cooking rice in front of their homes.
"The men began their usual search-and-destroy task of pulling people from homes, interrogating them, and searching for VC. Soon the killing began.
"The first victim was a man stabbed in the back with a bayonet. Then a middle-aged man was picked up, thrown down a well, and a grenade lobbed in after him.
"A group of fifteen to twenty mostly older women were gathered around a temple, kneeling and praying. They were all executed with shots to the back of their heads."
There's plenty more graphic details in the trial reports (the massacre was also photographed by military photographers) and much of it is stomach-churning.
Although not revealed under oath, Calley's doctors reported that he thought of killing the Vietnamese people in the same way he thought of killing animals.
This shouldn't surprise anyone who recalls Calley's chilling admission of why he was in Vietnam:
"In all my years in the Army I was never taught that communists were human beings. We were there to kill ideology carried by - I don't know - pawns, blobs of flesh. I was there to destroy communism. We never conceived of people, men, women, children, babies."
During his trial Calley became an all-American hero to sections of the pro-war movement. He received so many letters of support during his trial they 'had' to provide him with an automated mail-opener.
One juror even went on record later to say that they, "had labored long and hard to find some way, some evidence, or some flaw in the testimony so we could find Lt Calley innocent."
Three days after the guilty verdict President Nixon himself intervened and had Calley immediately released from prison and put under house arrest - to serve his sentence in the comfort of his own home. Nixon promised to personally review Calley's case. On August 20 1971 Calley's sentence was reduced to 20 years. Then, following the signing of the cease-fire on January 27 1973 that marked the end of the Vietnam War, the US Military again reviewed Calley's case and on April 16 1974 his sentence was reduced to ten years.
But they weren't finished there. In September of that year Calley's conviction was reviewed once more, this time by the District Court, and on November 9 1974 Calley was released on bail after having spent a total of just three years and seven months under house arrest.
Calley, we are told, spent this time watching television reruns and was allowed to cook his own food and shop for down the mall under supervision.
By my arithmetic, that works out that Calley served - if that's the right word - just under three days house arrest for each of the five hundred unarmed villagers whose cold-blooded massacre he supervised.
Today William Calley is aged 56, is still proud he 'fought' in My Lai, and has never expressed any regret for his actions. He manages a jewellery shop in Georgia where he married the owner's daughter and now enjoys a contented and prosperous life.
I hope that corrects the mistake.

We Love Life by Pulp, available in shops now Pulp at the Barrowlands, Glasgow, Thursday 22 November

Sheffield's premier polyester pop troupe are back with their seventh album, optimistically titled We Love Life.
Pulp have decided to chill out a bit on their new release, with the general theme being ecologically sound and at one with nature. Musically at least, this album is not as intense as its quite threatening predecessor, This is Hardcore.
But the lyrics still show signs of frontman Jarvis Cocker's inner demons; confusion over what life is all about and how a working class struggling muso from Sheffield is supposed to cope with celebrity.
The band achieved one of their long term ambitions by getting the legendary odd pop genius Scott Walker in to produce We Love Life, and it does feel like he's brought an extra special something to Pulp's unique style.
This album is pleasant enough to listen to with sweet, singalong ditties such as the very beautiful The Birds in Your Garden. Everything you would expect from Pulp is here - soul-searching ballads, epic numbers which reach thrilling crescendos using as many cool instruments and sound effects as possible and, of course, the standard number where Jarvis performs a soliloquy over a truly sparkling piece of music, in this case the song Wickerman.
When it comes to lyrics, Pulp are hard to beat. The final words of the title song sum up the mood of the album:
I'm gonna fight to the death, 'til they give me back my life / you're in the land of the living but there's so few signs of life. Unfortunately what this album lacks is an anthem song. Who could forget the sardonic hit of 95, Common People, or Disco 2000?
Pulp have consistently shown their brilliance in songwriting (they've been nominated three times for the Mercury Music Prize).
In Jarvis Cocker they have an inimitable pop star, who, at the height of the Britpop craze in the mid-nineties, infamously bared his backside to superstar Michael Jackson at the Brit Awards ceremony.
Pulp have earned their place as one of the most outstanding and original bands of the last decade. We Love Life should see them carry that reputation into the 21st Century. Pulp play the Barrowlands on Thursday 22 of November, and their fantastic flamboyant style usually guarantees a great night out.

There are still some tickets left, but you'll have to be quick; five dates of their tour sold out within days of tickets going on sale.

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Wild about Harry

Harry Potter is set to dominate Xmas for children and parents.
Thirteen year old Julie Sherry from Glasgow told us if the film is all it's cracked up to be.

My opinion on the new Harry Potter film, based on the novel Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, is that it was a joy to watch.
Before seeing the film, I thought that it would not live up to my expectations and that it might be a disappointment after waiting so long to see it - but it wasn't.
My favourite part of the film was the Quidditch scene. I thought that the way they captured the atmosphere was very clever.
It was filmed so that it seemed to the viewer that they were actually on a broomstick, swooping in and out of the characters that were playing Quidditch.
One thing that did spoil it for me was that some things were not how I imagined them when I read the book. But I knew that this would happen before going to see the film, and obviously, everyone's imagination is different.
Another thing was that a lot of things that happened in the book were not in the film. I think this must be because the film would have been too long, but despite this I still enjoyed it.
Voldemort, the evil wizard, was 'the baddy' in the film. All he was interested in was power and killed anyone who stood up to him.
When Harry was a baby, Voldemort tried to kill him after murdering his parents, but failed. This made Harry the hero.
I did not enjoy the film as much as I enjoyed reading the book, but still thought it was amazing and I am glad I went to see it.
All the actors in the film were brilliant. Daniel Radcliffe succeeded in capturing the character of Harry Potter, which I think would be quite difficult because he had to live up to the expectations of so many children.
I thought the parts of Ron, and particularly, Hermione were played very well by the actors Rupert Grint and Emma Watson. I don't think anyone could have found a better Hermione if they tried, I was very impressed.
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was directed at children of ages about seven to 14, but personally, I think that people of all ages would be entertained by this enchanting performance.
If I was asked to give the film a rating out of ten, I would say 11.
I thought the film was absolutely amazing and I recommend you go and see it.

Giving death a makeover

Bright Colours Only Tramway Theatre, Glasgow from November 29 to December 1, 8.15pm, £6/3

by Keef Tomkinson

"We're DOOMED, DOOMED, DOOMED I tell you!"
Never was there a truer word spoken by Corporal Fraser in Dads Army. We are all going to die, it's just a matter of when. Sounds depressing. For many of us funerals or cremations are sombre events where, dressed in black, those attending combine their grief to create a sometimes suffocating atmosphere.
Does it have to be that way? Pauline Goldsmith doesn't think so. She is preparing to direct and perform in Bright Colours Only, a show that attempts create a virtual wake.
"Wakes seem to be fading away," she told me.
"Just as you get packaged holidays and weddings, funerals are part of this corporate, conveyor belt mentality. We have epic aspirations for our funerals but end up with a mundane, forgettable reality."
In creating her virtual wake Pauline drew on memories of growing up in Belfast.
"Maybe it was because of the war or just a different culture but people seemed more comfortable with death there.
"My memories are of wakes in the home. I wanted to recreate that sense of community and openness about death. I find that in Britain issues surrounding death are hidden and suppressed."
Much of her research involved looking at how death is dealt with in other societies. She found that in places like Mexico funerals are more of a celebration than time of remembrance.
Pauline also talked to embalmers, gravediggers and engravers to try and get as many views on death as possible. Those influences have been combined to show death in a more positive light.
For the production Pauline will use digital animation and music to further take the audience from preconceived ideas of a wake. "It should empower some people with new perspectives on death."
Pauline hopes that the audience will be entertained and that the show makes them recollect past experiences.
Indeed to help stimulate those memories tea, sandwiches and maybe a stiff drink will be distributed.
Even for somebody like me who is a bit theatre-phobic, Bright Colours Only promises to be a different experience.
Just remember you don't have to bring wreaths or wear black.

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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

Deadly dumb
I can't stand the way the tabloid papers pretend that they are serious investigative journals.
I don't think they should be exposing who Jack McConnell had an affair with seven years ago. I do think they should be exposing his fat salary and the expense account. His party should be exposed for not passing legislation that will benefit the majority of people in Scotland.
I'm not interested in his private life but I am interested in how he abuses his powerful political position.
It is these issues I want to read about, and I think most people feel the same way.
Unless the tabloids stop insulting our intelligence with the way they dumb news down to the lowest level, they could see their sales dropping as low as their standards.
Mary McCafferty, Glasgow

Expose Labour's terror lies
I think the front page of Voice issue71 was brilliant. I don't think many people know the reality of this so-called anti-terrorist legislation.
Home secretary David Blunkett is practising what the disgraced Labour spin doctor Jo Moore was preaching and sneaking in oppressive legislation under the cloak of the bombing of Afghanistan.
Is there any way of publicising this more? This legislation won't be revoked as soon as they've stopped attacking Afghanistan but it will be used against legitimate asylum seekers, anti-government protestors and trade unionists in the future.
Socialists, anti-racist campaigners, trade unionists and human rights campaigners have to get together and fight New Labour over these disgraceful measures.
Brian Mellville, Ayrshire

Don't Brown-nose Gordon
Whilst respecting the motives behind Tom Chatfield's letter (Voice issue 71) I feel he was asking us to point our energies in the wrong direction. Tom urged us to write Gordon Brown demanding the introduction of the Tobin Tax on currency speculation. As a socialist I believe we should be seeking to bring about the socialist transformation of society. Capitalism should be thrown into the proverbial waste bin of history rather than be trimmed. Cancelling their debt and providing aid and manpower with no ties would better serve the developing world.
Another important issue is that the working class should not look to class traitors like Gordon Brown for help but seek to make those decisions for themselves.
Keef Tomkinson, Glasgow

Show me the money
I was pleased to read the detail about Tommy Sheridan's income and Scottish Socialist Party donations in Voice issue 71.
We are indeed fortunate to have a party leader who even if slightly hirsuitly challenged is so straight that the cash list would have been totally and completely unnecessary.
But there it is for all to see, sceptics and cynics included.
I heard Tommy speak at the Aberdeen anti-war rally and he inspired me to write a letter to the Press and Journal.
Even though it was not published it would have been added to the list of people from across the political and religious spectrum that oppose this war, possibly influencing the leader writers on the paper. The very best thoughts on solving the world's problems mean nothing if nobody else is persuaded of the justice of the case.
On another note, recently published statistics claim one in five of our sisters are in a violent relationship.
For me this is one too many. I would like to see more party campaigning on this issue, alongside our ongoing campaigns addressing poverty, ill health, bad housing, the Council Tax and free school meals.
Barry D Maycock, Alford

hacked off
Eric Lee

Buying books? Buy unionised

This is the time of year when the mass media are full of helpful ways you can spend more than you ever planned to for your Christmas gifts.
And, as has been the case for the last several years, many newspapers and magazines will highlight all the wonderful opportunities for parting with your hard-earned money online.
I've already seen a few such articles comparing the choices for online book shopping - and these will focus on things like discounts, shipping costs, selection available and so on.
But what none of the mainstream media reports on online shopping mention is which bookshops are unionised - and which are not.
I know of only three unionised online bookshops - only one of these is in the UK. The three are Powell's Books, Stacey's Books and Bookmarks.
For test purposes, I've asked all three bookshops about Ahmed Rashid's best selling book on the Taliban.
Stacey's is a 78-year old independent bookshop in San Francisco whose staff was successfully unionised several years ago.
It has has the least advanced online ordering system of the three bookshops reviewed, and it outsources its online catalogue. Rashid's book is on sale at a discount ($13.46 instead of $14.95), can be shipped within 24 hours, but - and this amazed me - they only offer one shipping option to the UK, and that costs $38.50, bringing the total cost of buying the book to £35.64. No thanks.
Powell's, located in Portland, Oregon, is probably the largest seller of used books in the United States and its struggle to be unionised was the focus of a lot of attention.
Though they sell Rashid's book at the full price of $14.95, they have several shipping options to the UK, the least expensive of which costs only $5.00, making for a total price of £13.68. (Though be prepared to wait eight to 12 weeks for your books.) Bookmarks in London was quick to inform me that they too are a fully unionised bookshop.
They also have Rashid's book in stock and it costs £7.99, which is the full list price in the UK.
But when you try to find out what it would cost to ship the book, there's no way - unless you're prepared to order the book, giving your credit card details.
I actually had to ring up Bookmarks to find out what shipping costs, and was told that it would be 15 per cent of the cover price of the book. The total would therefore come to £9.19 in this case.
Powell's has by far the largest selection and its web shop is the most sophisticated and comprehensive of the three.
And having the choice of used books can sometimes significantly lower the price.
But being based in the US makes it expensive for customers over here. Bookmarks would be the obvious choice for online book shopping in the UK for activists who wanted to buy their books from a union shop, but their website could stand for a professional overhaul.
Oh yes, the non-unionised bookshops are cheaper - but not always.
Tesco gives a 35 per cent discount on the Rashid book, though charge £2.75 for delivery (much more expensive than Bookmarks!), for a total of £7.94. Blackwells sells the same title at no discount, but delivery is free, so you'd pay £7.99. Amazon sells the book at a discount, but its hefty delivery fee brings the price up to £9.14 - making a trip to the unionised Bookmarks only five pence dearer.

Unionised bookshops on the net: Stacey's: www.staceys.com Powell's: www.powells.com Bookmarks: www.bookmarks.uk.com

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international news

Balfour Beatty bust their own dam plans

by Allison Kane

Balfour Beatty have taken the unprecedented step of withdrawing their support for the Ilisu dam project in south east Turkey. This move comes in direct response to the continuous and vehement campaigns from environmentalists and human rights groups. Balfour Beatty and New Labour have been consistantly named and shamed for more than two years.
In September this year New Labour gave approval to underwrite Balfour Beatty's plan to construct the Ilisu Dam in south-east Turkey using £200 million of taxpayers' money.
Even after Balfour Beatty was found to have breached all five of the UK government's own conditions as outlined in the Environmental Impact Report (EIA), Blair still hesitated to pull the plug.
Interestingly the report was published only in English and thus excluded the vast majority of the affected people.
The Ilisu dam project is feared to be part of the wider political strategy by the Turkish State to ethnically cleanse the region of Kurdish peoples.
The dam would flood the medieval town of Hasankeyf, a treasure trove of archaeological remains dating back 10,000 years. The site has key cultural significance to the Kurdish people.
Balfour Beatty describes Hanankeyf as: "the decaying remains of a medieval city."
Along with Hasankeyf 78,000 Kurdish people would be made homeless.
The dam would also destroy the surrounding environment - a fact which ardent campaigners against the dam who include the Kurdish Human Rights Project, Cornerhouse, Friends of the Earth and Mark Thomas, have continuously underlined.
With other planned dams Turkey will also control 50 per cent of the downstream flow of the river Tigris into Syria and Iraq. Already analysts are stating that the future wars in the area will be fought over water.
Since Turkey is a member of NATO any conflict over water would be likely to involve NATO troops.
A war between Turkey, Syria and/or Iraq would inevitably involve the UK in some capacity. Turkey needs power but other viable alternatives need to be explored.

The killing of SABENA

by Alain Tondeur

The bankruptcy of SABENA airlines is a social catastrophe, for which the Belgian government bears the overwhelming responsibility.
Hiding behind European Union directives, it deliberately used the bankruptcy in order to privatise the company and attack jobs, wages, working conditions.
Then they simply handed over what was left of the company to the big private sector bosses who were portrayed as "saviours" and "patriots".
Some 7,737 workers are direct victims of the collapse of SABENA. Counting the subsidiaries, thirteen thousand more are threatened.
The new private company could employ a maximum of 2,000 to 2,500 people.
That means that 1,000 to 1,500 "Sabenians" might find work, while 6,200 to 6,700 others are left out in the cold. And that is provided the "New Sabena" succeeds, which is far from certain.
To these figures has to be added another 12,000 jobs which will be lost due to the indirect impact of the collapse.
That would represent a two per cent rise in unemployment.
In the context of the international economic downturn, some analysts have put forward the figure of 30,000 jobs lost.
What has happened was not inevitable. The Belgian state, which was the majority (50.5 per cent) shareholder, appointed the Council of Administration of SABENA.
It is inconceivable that these people didn't see the catastrophe coming and didn't warn the politicians.
In a vain attempt to save itself, Swissair unscrupulously exploited SABENA.
This bankruptcy could have been avoided. The conclusions on the failure of the link with Swissair should have been drawn at the beginning of 2000.
But the government chose the catastrophe scenario, the worst policy possible.
And they carried it out on the backs of the workers and their families, who are never the "priority creditors" when a company goes bankrupt.

around
the world

Australian Blairites defeated again
The Australian Labour Party suffered its third defeat in a row in the Australian General Election held on November 10. John Howard's right wing Liberal Party won another victory.
The election was dominated in part by race issues, asylum seekers and obviously the war. Shamefully the Labour Party simply mimicked the right wing rhetoric and policies of the Liberals. This led to extreme shame amongst many Labour Party supporters and even members. There was some support for radical alternatives the Green Party nearly doubled its vote from 2.6 per cent to 4.7 per cent. The Greens were viewed as the main alternative to the establishment parties. The newly formed socialist alliance gained 1 per cent in the 15 seats it contested.
However electoral rules meant that the socialist candidates could not put any party name on their ballot papers. The socialist vote was hampered by a shift to the Green Party which has elected representatives at a national level. Left groups outside the Socialist Alliance like the Socialist Party also saw their votes squeezed.

Strikes in Bangladesh
The Left Front in Bangladesh called a half-day general strike on Thursday November 15. This was in protest against moves to sell natural gas to the Indian state.
The newly elected Government seem determined to sell even though there are not enough resources for Bangladesh itself. Unsurprisingly this is due to pressure being brought to bear on them by the World Bank and IMF who are insisting that the gas be sold.
Four Left leaders were arrested during the strike under controversial legislation which bans public protest. This was the first strike called under the new government which has been in power for around one month.

Police attack Korean farmers
South Korean rice farmers took to the streets on the 13th November to protest against the WTO. Ten-thousand demonstrated in Seoul and met repression from the riot police.
The farmers are up in arms over the WTO's pressure on the South Korean Government to increase the importing of rice from other countries. They attacked the offices of one of the main political parties in the country.
The demonstration also coincided with the WTO gathering in Qatar. Meanwhile Korean trade unionists of the KCTU rallied on the 11th November in memory of their leader Dan Byong-ho, who has been imprisoned and faces a criminal trial.

Police take to streets!
In Paris thousands of police officers demonstrated on November 17.
This is in response to rising violent crime rates and the lack of protection given to them. Police are also concerned about their rates of pay and working conditions. Traditionally the police are unionised in France. However even the notorious CRS - the French Riot police - were represented on the demonstration! Police set off alarms and whistles to make their point. It is not known if anyone was arrested!

France ends secret cash bonuses
France's National Assembly has voted to end a system of secret cash bonuses for Cabinet members, a decades-old practice that drew attention after President Jacques Chirac paid for luxury trips with the money. The proposal, approved in the lower house of parliament, now goes to the Senate.
Under the new budget amendments, funds will remain available for bonuses, but money paid out will be marked on pay slips and subject to taxation. Special funds will remain in place for the secret services but will be overseen by a commission made up mostly of lawmakers.
Politicians spoke out against the funds amid a scandal over hundreds of thousands of dollars in luxury trips by Chirac. An investigation into the source of cash payments was dropped following a ruling by France's highest court that Chirac has virtual blanket immunity from prosecution while serving as chief of state.

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page 16

4000 Scottish jobs to go by end of the year

Up to 4000 Scottish manufacturing jobs will be axed over the next few weeks, according to the new Regional Trends Survey by Britain's leading bosses association the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).
A quarter of Scots firms could be forced to axe jobs.
The gloomy forecast comes with confidence among Scots firms dropping to a 26-year low. Scotland has seen the biggest slump in business prospects of any area in the UK.
Scotland is one of the four regions worst affected by the drop in exports after the September 11 attacks in the US, according to the CBI survey.
The report will be a blow for the Scottish Executive following on from recent official figures which showed that the Scottish economy grew by just 0.3 per cent in the year to June.
This is compared with an average of 2.5 per cent across the whole of the UK.
CBI Scotland director Iain McMillan said:
"The outlook is very bleak for Scottish manufacturers."
Alan Pottage, organiser for the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation (ISTC) told the Voice:
"We are acutely aware of the devastation that mass job losses can cause.
"As the economy crumbles the big companies, like Compaq and Motorola, get into the headlines all the time.
"But there are a lot of small factories of sometimes less than 100 workers who are also shedding jobs.
"Four thousand jobs going in the near future is possible but it is the after Christmas period which is worrying.
"Often output is increased for Christmas then the cutbacks are made afterwards.
"A lot of workers in these smaller firms are not organised. There is low trade union membership because the trade unions have generally ignored them. The ISTC is concentrating on these vulnerable workers."
Estimates based on the CBI survey show that, at the UK level, a further 30,000 manufacturing jobs will be lost in the fourth quarter of this year.
The largest fall (8000) is forecast for the South East.
But in percentage terms Scotland, the East of England and the North West will see larger declines.
The report comes on the back of the announcement that 1000 jobs will be lost at BP Amoco in Grangemouth where 2,500 people are currently employed.
Pat Devine, regional officer of the Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union (AEEU), said of the job losses:
"We have a real fear that staff cuts of this level could endanger safety. "We will be pushing hard for the company to reduce the level of redundancies and ensure the jobs that do go are on a voluntary basis.
"This is a close-knit community and BP's action will have a devastating effect on the local economy."
In addition to the staff on site, it is thought that BP's operations support a further 10,000 jobs.
Andy Kilpatrick, the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU) craft convener at the site, said:
"We are all shocked and devastated by this news.
"There have been rumours going around for quite a while, and while there are no details of the individuals who will be affected by this, the numbers involved are far too high."
Russell Gray, chemicals convenor with the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU), added that the workers should not be the ones to suffer:
"The reason they are giving is the fact that the Grangemouth site is not making money, but that's not the fault of the workforce but of the management."
"They've taken on 220 new staff this year. How can a company get their strategy so wrong, now they've got to lay off staff?"

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