Scottish Socialist Voice
Issue 273
13th July 2006
NUCLEAR
FREE
It’s
been twenty years since Thatcher shut down the pits. Since
then, the big corporations have made a killing in the ‘dash
for gas’ and we have stepped closer
and closer to the abyss of energy shortage.
Cue
the
Unfortunately,
it’s toxic, insisting as it does that the only way to cut
down our CO2 emissions, ensure security of domestic supply
AND stop the lights going out is to build a new generation
of nuclear reactors.
Before
the free market ran wild, we had robust domestic energy
sources, in coal and oil.
But
two decades of privatisation have seen research into clean
coal dumped, finite gas burnt almost to exhaustion and a
growing dependence on imported gas.
Instead
of trying to right these wrongs and invest in a wide range
of renewables, as well as clean-burn coal, the government
is sticking firmly to the nuclear option and will brook
no argument.
Colin
Fox, SSP convenor, is unimpressed.
“In
the space of four weeks, Labour has come out in favour of
more nuclear power stations and more nuclear weapons. Tony
Blair and Gordon Brown appear determined to re-brand New
Labour as Nuclear Labour.”
He
continued:
“Three
years ago, in its last energy review, the government rejected
nuclear power because it is the most expensive way to generate
electricity, produces lethal radioactive waste and because
no private investors could be found to build them.
“Now,
in another of his famous policy U-turns, Tony Blair wants
to build nuclear power stations.”
The
dash for gas has been replaced by a race for uranium!
“We
in the SSP are unconvinced by the economic or environmental
case for nuclear power.
“We
want the £50billion earmarked for new nuclear stations to
be spent on developing renewable technologies; solar, wind,
tidal, hydro and biomass.
“That
is the effective and responsible approach to dealing with
CO2 emissions.”
While
renewable technology is being developed, the need for alternative
energy sources could be met through clean coal, oil, gas,
hydro and biomass alternatives.
“Week
in and week out, the SSP campaigns against new nuclear power
stations and replacement nuclear bombs.
“We
will never give up the fight for a nuclear-free
—page two—
news
Labour plans ten new nuclear power stations
by Roz Paterson
The
government’s energy review, long-awaited, will come as a body
blow to anyone dreaming of a renewable future.
Sure,
they intend to talk the talk on the need for CO2-free energy
production, but while we’re thinking wind and wave farms,
they’re thinking nuclear reactors.
It
appears that billions of taxpayers’ money will be channelled
into government subsidies for the nuclear industry, with only
the loose change going to renewable energy sources.
Ten
new nuclear power stations are on the cards for the UK, to
replace the original generation, now way past its sell-by
date and deeply dangerous.
Quite
how we’re to dispose of them remains an unanswered question.
The
new power plants not only land us with another generation
of toxic white elephants that, like their predecessors, will
doubtless suck in extra billions of government (that is, our)
money to keep them running and stop them leaking/blowing up,
it leaves renewables hopelessly sidelined.
They
may get a few quid, but their chances of becoming a mainstream
option are now nil.
Also
troubling is this policy of putting all government investment
in one basket. A far saner idea is to create a post-carbon
economy from a range of sources, thus ensuring continuity
of supply if one breaks down.
Curiously,
the renewables lobby as embodied by the British Wind Energy
Association (BWEA) seems OK with this. They’re being very
jolly and optimistic about the fact that electricity companies
remain obliged to get at least 6.7 per cent of their energy
from renewable sources.
However,
there is no minimum price set, unlike in
Now,
isn’t that cosy?
Even
more chilling is the government proposal that, should there
be a proposal for a nuclear power plant on your doorstep,
you cannot do anything about it.
Alisdair
Darling, the Trade and Industry secretary, wants to “make
it easier for people to replace power plants that are going
out of commission and meet our energy needs.”
To
do this, the government must “streamline” the planning laws.
This means that, once the government approves a nuclear power
project, you can go piss in the wind if you don’t like it.
Local authorities will have no say, and “long inquiries” which,
apparently, hold up the thrust of industry, could have time
limits imposed on them.
Darling
is trying to sweeten the pill by hinting that, if we don’t
agree, we could see the lights go out when the energy gap,
caused by the closure of nuclear power stations and the peaking
in oil production, starts to bite.
Jack
McConnell has assured us that these railroading planning proposals
won’t happen here, but we’ve already seen how the Scottish
Executive shits from a great height on public objections to
pet projects. Despite a public inquiry coming down firmly
against it, the Executive went ahead and commissioned the
M74 northern extension anyway.
In
truth, however, we may be saved the nuclear menace, but only
because word has it that big business doesn’t much fancy
There
is, admits Darling, no actual government target for the number
of new nuclear power stations, or any other form of energy.
Big business operators must make a “commercial decision” on
whether to build and manage new stations and the government
will then, presumably, hand them lots of our money.
Rose Gentle hits back at smears against SSP
Following
a recent visit to a conference in
Angered
by the allegations she heard, Rose wants to set the record
straight. She spoke to the Voice:
“While
attending an anti-war event this weekend, it was brought to
my attention that claims are circulating that the original
decision to ask Tommy Sheridan to resign as convenor of the
SSP was as a result of Tommy playing a key role in the troops
out of Iraq campaign, and the Campaign for Justice for Gordon
Gentle.
“I
was surprised and disappointed to hear these comments, as
well as being offended because at no time have I ever felt
that the SSP and its executive committee have been anything
less than supportive in my campaign seeking justice for my
son Gordon, and for other families whose sons and daughters
are serving in Iraq.
“I
would therefore like to disassociate myself from any such
comments, and I would hope that those who are carrying such
stories would stop.
“I
understand that this is a difficult time for the SSP, and
the party has my utmost sympathy and solidarity.
“I
would urge everyone to continue to campaign for the removal
of our troops from
According to the council blurb, a ‘Yes’ vote will deliver
£70million investment in the housing stock over the next nine
years.
The happy tenants of the future will also enjoy stable rents
and an increased say in the new, not-for-profit housing associations
that will spring to life after transfer.
As with the Glasgow and Edinburgh stock transfer ballots,
the bait of a housing debt write-off, courtesy of Gordon Brown
at the Treasury, is already on the table. But only if the
tenants say ‘Yes’.
As
Indeed, the Glasgow Housing Stock Transfer, the biggest in
The
Edinburgh tenants listened and learned. They delivered a ‘No’
vote despite almost saturation advertising by the ‘Yes’ campaign.
The
As with Glasgow and Edinburgh, the ‘Yes’ propaganda is wall-to-wall
and tenants are even being door-knocked by people employed
to expound the virtues of stock transfer. The council has
not seen fit to employ anyone to expound the other side of
the argument.
Stirling’s housing stock runs to 5665 homes, and includes
the urban districts of Raploch, St Ninians and
Stirling Against Housing Stock Transfer, a broad coalition
of housing tenants, are working hard to disseminate the ‘No’
message. So far, they have unearthed the disquieting news
that the 16 member Stirling Housing Board, who will take over
if transfer goes ahead, includes three rather wealthy individuals,
none of whom live in
n To get involved in SAHST, contact Rowland, Pauline or Alex
by email: rowland.sheret@btopenworld.com; albionbar@btconnect.com;
redeck12@aol.com.
Royston fights to save park
A
proposal to develop one of
The
park was gifted to the city in 1915 on the proviso that it
remained a green space for the people of
Anne
Livingston, of the Friends of Glenconner Park, who are spearheading
the anti-development campaign, says they have been “fighting
this for four or five years” and will go for an interdict
if necessary.
She
adds that, as in the case of
Mumbai rocked by explosions
As
the Voice went to press, reports were coming in of a series
of 7 near-simultaneous bomb blasts during the evening rush
hour in Mumbai’s busy financial district.
Most
of the blasts, which began at 6.30pm local time on the Western
Railway, which shuttles workers from the city centre to the
suburbs, were on moving trains. This is one of the busiest
railway networks in the world, ferrying some 6million people
a day to and from work.
The
number of dead was unconfirmed, but believed to be in excess
of 100, with at least 250 people injured.
People
were seen jumping from trains following blasts, onto tracks
already strew with dead bodies lying alongside clothes, shoes
and the contents of suitcases thrown through shattered carriage
windows by the force of the blast.
It
is clearly an act of terrorism, but so far no one has claimed
responsibility. The Voice will carry a full report next week.
—page three—
news
Shetland man wins fight against deportation
by Donnie Nicolson
Sakchai
Makao, the young Thai man from Shetland, has
won his appeal against deportation at a court
in Tyneside. Sakchai faced deportation as
a foreign national with a criminal record.
The Voice reported how the Home Office’s plans
to deport him sparked a major campaign by
islanders in support of the 23 year old.
He
spent eight months in jail two years ago for
fire-raising on Shetland, where he has lived
since the age of 10.
Davie
Gardner, from the Shetland for Sakchai campaign,
said; “It is fantastic news for him, a great
relief. We are delighted and elated at the
decision”
Nine
thousand people, nearly half of Shetland’s
population, signed a Shetland for Sakchai
petition calling for his release from Durham
Jail last month.
About
800 people turned up to an earlier demonstration
in Lerwick in his support.
A
final good luck rally night, attended by about
200 people, was held on Tuesday.
The
huge campaign of support and solidarity for
this young man happened in stark contrast
to the screeching tabloid headlines of recent
months about criminal illegal immigrants running
amok in
Makao’s
arrest and detention followed calls by Home
Secretary John Reid to “Get tough” on immigrants
who have been convicted of crimes and served
sentences.
Commission investigates fishy merger
A
proposed merger of three fish farming firms
in the Highlands and
A
few months later, they proposed a takeover
of Norwegian firm Fjord Seafood for £408million;
a plan which would see their global share
of the farmed salmon market rise to 25 per
cent.
Not
only would this see farmed salmon prices rise
- as they always do when the market is dominated
by one or two major players - it could lead
to hundreds of lost jobs in an industry already
wounded by colossal severance.
In
the last three years alone, according to the
Scottish Executive’s latest figures, 1500
jobs have gone in an industry that, in 2003,
employed 10,000 people.
Two
salmon processing factories in the Western
Isles have closed in these years. Marine Harvest
shut down its factory in Stornaway in 2003,
and its Scalpay operation in 2005, despite
this last receiving £7million in public funding
to modernise its outlay.
If
the companies merge, they will come under
the control of one of
Stop
A
campaign is well underway to save an Aberdeenshire
residential home for elderly people.
Around
150 people attended a public meeting last
week, organised by the Save St Drostan’s Committee.
Campaigners
say the home, in Old Deer, Buchan, is a well-run,
vital facility in a rural area, which residents,
their families and staff
do not want to see closed.
A
campaigner told the Voice of fears of a complete
lack of accountability over the decision to
close the home. A search through the minutes
of relevant council committees finds no comment
on the closure, suggesting the decision has
been made by Aberdeenshire Council bureaucrats,
with no intervention from or involvement of
elected councillors.
St
Drostan’s is one of a number of care homes
in the North East earmarked for closure following
a Council review of accommodation for elderly
people.
http://ccgi.houseofdeer.plus.com/save_st_drostans
Labour’s drug plans ‘ inhumane and unworkable’
Labour
MSP Duncan McNeil, he of the contraceptives-in-the-methadone
controversy, has dreamt up another proposal
for the government’s witless War on Drugs.
A
ban on drug addicts bearing children.
Under
Plan McNeil, drugs addicts would be forced
to sign a ‘social contract’ or forego benefits
and methadone treatment/rehab.
One
of the clauses of this contract includes a
promise not to procreate and if they default,
benefits will be withdrawn.
Having
no money could prove a problem for parents
already struggling with drug problems and
could precipitate an already chaotic home
situation into a potentially fatal one.
Newborns
and homelessness are not a successful mix.
Plus,
such a situation would see more and more families,
already vulnerable, fall through the cracks
without recourse to social services or the
NHS.
Perhaps
he envisages a system of baby-snatching, wherein
drug -users and their children are punished
in the cruellest way possible.
This
may salve some Labour party consciences but
is unlikely to improve the lot of either the
children or their parents.
The
latter may indeed feel there is no longer
any reason to stay clean, or feel an even
stronger need to ‘self-medicate’.
Either
way, we’re looking at a headline-grabber that
could, if the government was insane enough
to implement it, only do more harm than good.
SSP
MSP Rosemary Byrne, who has launched a radical
private members Bill which will, for the first
time, establish a statutory right for drug-users
to receive treatment within seven days of
requesting it, and shift resources away from
criminal enforcement in relation to illegal
drugs, and towards proper treatment and rehabilitation,
commented:
“Duncan
McNeil’s ideas, apparently now being seriously
considered by New Labour, are simplistic,
inhumane and unworkable.”
The
scheme not only dehumanises people, it has
the potential to open the door for barring
other ‘unsuitables’ from having children.
Alcoholics, for instance.
Some 80-100,000 children in
Says
Rosemary:
“We
need proper rehab facilities and changed laws,
alongside funding in community facilities
to address the shocking waste of life and
massive crime related to illegal drug use,
addiction and supply.”
—page four—
one world
The biggest blockade
by Roz Paterson
The
Labour government is preparing to spend £40 billion on replacing
Trident, the unused, unwanted, unsafe nuclear obscenity currently
moored in the
Voting
in a different government, even one composed of former CND marchers,
clearly doesn’t make any difference.
Just
as amassing in our millions and swarming through central
“If
you look at where civil resistance has been successful in other
countries, you see that it’s down to a constant presence in the
street, day after day. We’ve not had that here.”
Consider
How
about then, instead of protesting against Trident once a year
at Faslane’s Big Blockade, protesting all year round? Would that
dissipate what activist energy there is, or ignite more and more
of it?
Faslane
365, which kicks off on 1 October, is intended as a non-stop blockade
of the MOD base, in which individual groups, from British academics
to Belgian anarchists, sign up for two days at a time.
Each
group is self-organised. The Faslane 365 steering group, a loose
structure anchored to a website (www.faslane365.org) simply chalks
them into the rota and provides a resource pack.
The
only ‘rules’ being an adherence to the principle of total non-violence,
and demand to end Trident. Everything else is up to them, including the theme of their protest.
All
roads, in one way or another, lead to war. Take asylum. The military
mindset creates wars, which create refugees, which create asylum-seekers.
Or
environmental catastrophe. We have
the Armageddon tool-kit nestling in our midst; we also have the
Frankenstein food corp. In every way, our lives are being orchestrated
by the demands of a rapacious military industrial complex and
its mates in big business.
The
nuclear deterrent is not, after all, harmless and a year-long
blockade sounds like a fantastic direct action initiative, but
is it?
Sustained
actions need local and media support.
The
anti-M77 campaign, which was sustained, imaginative, legendary,
though it failed to stop the bulldozers in the end, enjoyed enormous
local support.
The
people of Pollok adopted the
“People
can be suspicious when protesters turn up on their doorstep, with
the dreadlocks, speaking various languages. So we made a conscious
decision to make contact with the community, to chap on the doors
and welcome people, so they weren’t excluded, and so that they
knew why we were there.”
Will
the people of Helensburgh feel as warmly towards the waves of
blockaders that arrive, day in, day out? They could, if Faslane
365-ers make the right moves.
And
will the papers keep reporting? Perhaps. So long as the ideas keep on coming. Pollok Free State
held marches, built houses, made art, held discussions. “We had
to do more than just be there,” says Rosie.
Then
there’s the policing.
Morag
Balfour, an active member of Trident Ploughshares who has never
shied away from direct action and arrest, is concerned about the
cost of all those cops.
With
the base open, mass arrests are inevitable. This will tie up an
awful lot of police.
“As
socialists, we cannot ignore the fact that this will draw police
away from areas of extreme social deprivation, where crime is
sky-high. People will suffer as a result of this,” warns Morag.
If
you’re worried about the notes of discord, don’t be. Arguments
and disagreements are what shape movements, are the grist that
keeps the big wheel moving. They stop one or two individuals getting
carried away and setting the agenda by themselves.
So
far, 40 groups have signed up, with new ones coming on board,
currently, at the rate of one per day.
The
1 October will see a blockade by Greenham Women, followed by,
on the 2-3 October, Women in Black; an example of how Faslane
365 is attempting to organise relays of groups that know each
other and work well together.
It
shows, in practice, the beauty of cooperation. It could also forward
a vision of a non-nuclear future, what could be achieved if we
were not yoked to a world system of capitalism enforced by violence.
“I’m
really looking forward to it,” says Rosie, who thinks it could
be the start of something bigger. A “year-long
Phd for activists” no less.
She
explains: “Projects like this, brilliant, sharing experiences,
are important not just in themselves but for the people they produce.
The activists of the future, the ones who will
pick up the baton when this generation gets old and dies.
It’s how we pass on all that we’ve learnt, to safeguard the future.”
Another
generation of Trident means another generation doomed to live
with the threat of all-out, annihilating war. The kind that would
make
GIE’S
PEACE
Morag
Balfour
Challenging fundamentalism
This
week the Commons liaison committee met with Tony Blair. Mr Blair
gave the classic school report on the British Muslim community
- must do better. According to him they had to do more not only
to combat the methods of extremists but also their “false sense
of grievance against the west”.
He
talked of defeating the ideas of extremists. Apparently it’s not
his job to do this. I would’ve said it wasn’t his job to go massacring
thousands of Muslims in other countries but that’s never stopped
him jumping on board Uncle Sam’s bandwagon.
I
have a number of issues with the line he is taking here. Firstly
he absolves himself of the guilt of creating the grievances, some
of which are very credible. Secondly, he puts the onus on the
more liberally minded Muslim community to sort things out, and
further devolves responsibility.
I’m
wondering if readers of this column have ever successfully enabled
a change of opinion in a fundamentalist of any faith or none?
I include those of no faith here as there are varieties of political
fundamentalism too. See, I thought not. The whole point of fundamentalism
is that you already have the answers to every question that will
challenge your way of thinking. Everyone else is wrong, end of
story.
You
folks know that I watch loads of telly. The Blair incident got
me thinking about a documentary I watched a month or so ago about
an obscure American Christian college. This very small institution
may pose the biggest threat to the modern world.
Their
particular client group is almost exclusively home-schooled, evangelical
Christian inbreds - did I just say that? Patrick Henry College
(PHC) has very strong links with the Republicans - and they’re
not our brand of republican.
In
the
The
documentary actually featured students explaining that land taxation
is wrong because the ‘earth is the Lord’s’. They also lobbied
to cut compensation payments for Asbestosis sufferers because
it costs too much money. There’s not much logic here to work with.
What
disturbs me significantly is that some of these homophobic misogynists
‘feel’ that God is calling them into politics - in fact their
college is grooming them for public office.
Concerns
have been raised about the way
So
that’s that then. We are to be ruled (as it’s the only thing
—page five—
your voice
Have
a break, have a fine
Its good to see that in the land of the free, drinking coffee
can be a dangerous act of sedition.
Well that’s what Vietnam-era veteran Mike Ferner discovered, when he was
arrested while enjoying a Saturday afternoon cuppa at the Jesse Brown
veteran’s medical centre in
Mike was initially confused when a cop approached him and said, “You’ve
had your 15 minutes, it’s time to go.”
Was there a new, legally enforceable time limit on coffee drinking? No,
it was Mike’s choice of attire which was upsetting the forces of the law
- his Veterans for Peace t-shirt was being designated ‘a protest’.
Like most of us would, he refused to leave until he’d finished his drink.
Mike was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct.
The charge carries an automatic $275 fine, but Mike is refusing to pay
and demanding his day in court.
“And if there’s a
“This kind of behaviour can’t be tolerated. It must be challenged.”
To find out more and show support visit www.veteransforpeace.org
Glasgow
Strong
advice
Although
I appreciate Matt Preston’s kind plug for my novel, I think he’s fallen
prey to an over-simplified view on the gender balance issue. (see Voice
issue 272) Any clause that says that a delegation of two women is acceptable
but that two men is not acceptable is definitely discriminatory under
law, and falls foul of the fourth constitutional aim of our party which
is to fight discrimination.
Taken
as whole, our constitution cannot be said to be any more than strongly
advisory on gender balance in delegations, and certainly not mandatory,
which does require the word ‘must’, I’m afraid. That strong advice is
fine, no problem, and many branches on most occasions may well find it
practicable to act on that advice.
But
to travel to Linlithgow and back from my home in Orkney for a three hour
meeting, took me 50 hours using one ferry, two taxis, one plane, two trains,
a bus and a car. I am self-employed so I didn’t have to take a day off
work. For my fellow-delegate who was barred, and who had asked for a day
off work, and who was not using the plane, the round trip would have taken
71 hours. As it happens no woman (and no other man) in our branch felt
that she or he was able to make the trip, for a variety of pretty obvious
reasons.
And
so a more fundamental issue then arises, that of democratic representation.
Why should the members of Orkney branch (who have fought to get two of
the SSP’s best national results in the last two Holyrood and
Anyone
for a National Council in Shetland? Western Isles?
John
Aberdein, Hoy
NEW
IDEAS
Voices
from the SSY
Blair
Milne
How Far Will the Tories Go?
Conservative
Leader, David Cameron, recently came out to defend young people as part
of the most recent “Hip Tory” PR stunt. In his political u-turn on the
branding and stigmatising of hoodies, Cameron said, “Let’s try and understand
what’s gone wrong in these children’s lives and it’s about family break-down,
drugs and alcohol abuse.” But should young people be reassured by these
pleas for greater understanding?
Well,
the question is simple: Can the Conservatives solve these social problems?
Unlikely, Tories are the cause of these problems, with their harsh policies
in the 1980s, stopping under 18s right to housing and benefits and the
casualisation of the economy that makes it nearly impossible for young
people to sustain a living.
SSY
Lothians recently discussed many of the social issues that face young
people, and the exploitation of young people for political leverage.
As Jack McConnell campaigned for a crackdown on “NED’s”, hence playing
on the fear of communities who fail to understand the social issues, now
David Cameron chooses to play on the feelings of sympathy for young people.
Regardless of these cheap shots for popularity polls, the grim reality
remains that no matter how convincing a hypocritical gesture may sound,
the effectiveness of capitalism to deal with these social issues is comparative
to a can of deodorant’s ability to neutralise an open sewage work.
The
hood is an object, an image that the media focuses on and vilifies. It
is not the problem. The problems are the deep-rooted social issues that
young people have to live with. The only way to solve these problems is
through drastic social changes to pull young people out of the alienated
position between child and adult.
This
means better facilities for young people in deprived communities, and
a minimum wage that allows people to live outwith poverty in
REBEL
INK
Kevin
Williamson
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
I
have some good news and bad news about the English-hating Scots. The good
news is that they are dying sooner than the rest of us.”
It
won’t come as much of a shock to find out that these words were the first
paragraph of an article printed in The Sun newspaper ( 22 June 2006),
written by former editor, Kelvin McKenzie.
McKenzie
is probably pleased with himself. You can imagine him sat at his colouring-in
table, dragging his crayon across the page, his fat sweaty face beaming
with Cockney pride, thinking: “if I can say that Scousers pissed on the
dead at Hillsborough then I’ll easily get away with this. Lahndonahs will
fink this is fakn hilarious.”
If
we return to what McKenzie wrote. Remove the word “Scots” and replace
it with”Muslims”, “Arabs”, or “Germans”. Now it will read to English eyes
exactly the way it was meant to: an incitement to stir up racial hatred.
Or
look at it another way. Replace “English-hating Scots” with “Scottish-hating
English” and what would the result be? No prizes who would go ape-shit
then.
But
in the Anglo-British press right now it is open season on Scots. No form
of blatant racial abuse is deemed unacceptable. So what, it’s “only whingeing
Jocks” seems to be the attitude.
All
through the World Cup the Anglo-British media splattered stories across
their front pages about attacks on English football fans taking place
in
The
Herald chimed in with the headline “Nothing To Gain if
The
Scotsman switched tack with a billboard headline “Leading Nationalist
Seeks ‘
We
shouldn’t forget that all of this is coming on the back of a poll showing
82 per cent want a referendum on independence and a poll showing the SNP
have pushed two points ahead of New Labour.
We
can expect much more of these media dirty tricks as the Anglo-British
press and their hirelings join forces with the unionists in the run up
to the independence Election of 2007.
—centre pages—
Giving journalism a good name
He
blew open the scandal of the 2000 election fraud in
“The nasty little secret of American democracy is that, in
every national election, ballots cast are simply thrown in
the garbage - millions of them. Most are called ‘spoiled’,
supposedly unreadable, damaged, invalid. They just don’t get
counted.”
So says Greg Palast, investigative reporter, best-selling
author and scourge of the American right, in his latest book,
Armed Madhouse.
And he’s talking not just about the 2000 election, but the
2004 election and the one to come in 2008 and, who knows,
maybe every one after that too.
As Palast notes, “(T)here’s no sense stealing the White House
if you have to give it back four years later.”
And thus the methods of election-rigging become ever more
polished, from the purge of convicted felons (Florida bans
them from voting for life, conveniently), such as Bernice
Klines, convicted on 31 July 2009, yes, 2009, to broken machines
that are therefore unable to count votes in predominantly
Democrat precincts, to the practice of allowing people who
don’t exist to cast a vote anyway, and so on.
So successful is this industry that it is now seeking markets
abroad. The
Greg Palast is in
Thousands of miles away meantime, the Mexicans are going to
the polls.
Palast is not on-site and the votes are not even counted,
yet he knows that Felipe Calderon, the right-wing, pro-US
candidate, has won.
Picking a President
Palast
is a former investigator of corporate fraud and racketeering,
who can make ‘Secret and Confidential’ documents from the
locked file cabinets of the FBI, World Bank and US State Department
mysteriously materialise in his hands. His hunches are good
and he has one right now that a certain company - Choice Point
- list more than the Republicans amongst their clients.
“They picked a president for us”, he says, and they are picking
one for
“All the tell-tale signs are there.
“Personal files have been made on citizens, even though this
is illegal in
“People are going to the polling stations and being told their
names are not on the voters’ register.
“Three million votes have gone uncounted.
“The government has acknowledged that there are two million
uncounted, and said they will address this. That doesn’t mean
they will get counted, just that the government will address
the issue.
“Are Choice Point people involved? I don’t know for sure.
But I do know that Bush will go to any lengths to stop a leftist
being elected.”
He adds, “When the US says leftist, they mean any president
that isn’t on side with the American administration.”
Choice Point has already cut its teeth on foreign assignments.
It was at work during the Venezuelan recall vote in 2004,
“but it was a very raw, amateurish attempt.”
Things are a little more sophisticated in Mexico 2006.
“Dick Morris, a former advisor to
Exit polls are important, says the man Noam Chomsky describes
as one who “upsets all the right people.”
Exit polls, says Palast, “show up whether an election has
been rigged or not.
“The
“The polling company that did the 2004 election exit polls
changed, after pressure, the results to show that Bush won.
To make the result look good, they ‘corrected’ their findings.”
Interestingly, it is not
“The ruling party in
They control the south states, and have a strong reason to
destroy (Andres Manuel) Lopez Oberon, the leftist candidate.
If they don’t, their party will evaporate, and all their perks
and patronage will be lost.
“A strong showing by them would be unbelievable, they wouldn’t
get away with it. They are a little more subtle than that,
a little more sophisticated.”
Wiping out Lopez Oberon will enable them to survive and Calderon
to win without getting his hands dirty.
Choice Point is an interesting company for other reasons.
Thanks to its tireless work during the election, “they then
picked up millions of dollars in a no-bid contract, post 9/11,
for foreign intelligence-gathering.
“I’m not saying we shouldn’t have been doing this, but you
assumed they’d go after
They didn’t.
After a lawsuit, which won them the right to see the cover
pages only, Team Palast finally got its hands on the intelligence
“by the back door”, and...
“It was all personal details, voter files, from
“Chavez
reads my books, on air to the people, on his weekly TV show.
He’s currently translating the new one,” notes Palast.
“He
is very concerned about the unfair elections in the
“So
he’s bought the biggest voting machine in the
Eh?
“One
of the problems with the 2004 count was bad voting machines.
The plan to introduce computers to replace paper ballots could
make matters worse.
“The
politicians say that there is no technology available that
can verify paper and computer ballots, which means you cannot
have both, which means that, if we all vote with computers,
there is no paper trail, literally.
“But
Chavez can solve this problem, and is offering to help!”
This
is probably provocation enough for the Bush administration.
But
there’s more.
“
Scribbling
this down, I suddenly realise what Palast has just said. More
than
“Yep,
more than
Thing
is, “Chavez is not going to withhold it from the
“This
is what sustains the American economy that, under Bush, thanks
to the war, the military toys, the tax cuts for the rich,
is in deficit by $3trillion. Bush blew the surplus left by
World Bank
They
can tell the World Bank, also 50 per cent owned by the US
Treasury, where to get off too, along with all the crippling
conditions that come with loans from these organisations,
such as forced privatisations of public services and utilities.
The
kinds of conditions that bring ruin and mass unemployment,
and benefit only the foreign ‘investors’ who come to plunder.
“These
days, (
This
is sound financial reasoning on Chavez’s part.
“He
is not worried about not being paid back,
“
“In
lending to Latin American countries (and thereby assisting
them onto their feet economically), Chavez is creating a buffer
for when the oil runs out. He is helping to build Latin America,
and unlink it from the
No
wonder the American administration wants him dead in the water.
If Chavez keeps on going the way he’s going, their economy
is in freefall.
Alternative media
Their
media is not too healthy either.
Palast,
by way of an example, is a renowned journalist. His earlier
book, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, topped the New York
Times bestseller list for seven months. Armed Madhouse is
selling in shedloads. The Guardian says his “investigations
are up there with Woodward and Bernstein - and a lot funnier.”
But
in the
According
to the Asia Times, “the top investigative journalist in the
It’s
not as if the stuff he does is irrelevant.
His
scoops have included, of course, the famous 2000 election
theft which made Jeb Bush governor of
But,
he says, “The mainstream press in the
Instead,
he looks to the counter-culture, as do many millions of Americans.
“The
alternative press is becoming more and more sophisticated.
The show Democracy Now! appears on 450 radio and TV stations.
These are tiny, community-owned stations I’m talking about.
“The
alternative media is also composed of hundreds of weekly,
local papers and websites. That’s why I never copyright my
articles, so that the information can get out there.
“The
number of Americans who get all their news from the internet
is astonishing compared to over here in the
This
boom in the internet as conduit of “news you won’t see on
CNN” is a problem for the government.
“That’s
why it wants to destroy it, by introducing a two-tier system
where people who are already set up on it suddenly have to
pay for it.
“This
happened to radio. During the 1920s and 30s, the left used
the radio, then the frequencies were seized and you needed
a license to use it. This will happen to the internet.”
There
is, he observes, a marked difference between how the
“In
the
“In
the
Palast
doesn’t say it, but there is a potential danger here. So long
as we believe that at least some news suppliers uphold the
standards of balance and fairness, we may be slow to pursue
an alternative media - and this could cost us in future, when
the concentration of media ownership becomes even tighter
and nothing is printed or broadcast by the mainstream that
is in any way balanced or fair.
We
have been warned.
McCarthyism
Palast
refers to the George Clooney-directed film about Edward R
Murrow, the chief newscaster at CBS and the man who upheld
the principle of freedom of information and thought during
the dark days of McCarthyism.
He successor was a newscaster called Dan Rather.
“Rather was the number one, one of the highest paid newscasters
in the country.”
His 44 year career came to an abrupt halt following his report
based on one of Palast’s stories.
“The one about how Bush senior enabled his son to dodge the
“Not just that, they savaged him, and everyone around him
who was involved in broadcasting that story.
“He was the highest paid newsman in the country and they demolished
him.
“CBS is owned by Viacom. The chairman of Viacom said, publicly,
we must have a Republican in the White House. This story ran
three months before the election.
“What they did to Dan Rather sends a signal; if he gets done
in, so will anyone. They were brutal, not messing around.”
Ironically, a few years before, Palast had gotten laid into
Rather.
“For not telling the truth. And he responded, this was on
Newsnight, by saying he didn’t because he couldn’t.”
But again, there is a note of solace in all this for American
purveyors of the truth.
“People in the
“In the
“Americans don’t believe there’s a class war. In the
This has advantages and disadvantages.
It is harder to get information out in the
“People are very passionate about it, and grateful for the
truth.”
It just takes a long time to filter through.
That 2000 election, for instance.
“We (in the
But here? What is perhaps most shocking is that we’re not
shocked. Perhaps it’s time we were.
n Read more Greg Palast at www.gregpalast.com
—page eight—
Inland revenue workers strike
by
Richie Venton,
SSP
national workplace organiser
Eight
thousand members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) are
staging a one-day strike in the Revenue and Customs department on Friday
14 July. They are up in arms about harassment by their bosses, with
de-skilling and unreasonable targets that threaten their health, under
a newly introduced working practice called LEAN.
This
is a discredited management system used in the car industry, by
“We
face harassment by the bosses. They put up white boards with ridiculous
targets on them. They usually have hourly checks on how far we have
reached on targets set, with competition between teams used to push
people harder. We are expected to tell management where we are going
if we get up from our desk.”
As
PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka said:
“It
is ironic that in an age when the government is placing a huge emphasis
on creating a skilled workforce across the economy, that we have one
of the biggest government departments introducing outmoded working practices
designed by consultants for the car industry in the 1970s.”
The
strike follows management’s rejection of union approaches to reach a
negotiated settlement, where the union offered to take part in a joint
evaluation of LEAN, with safeguards for workers, removal of the individual
monitoring and an agreed implementation programme.
Workers
are enraged that their bosses not only reject such conciliatory approaches,
but have already squandered £7.4million on consultants on LEAN alone
- as well as £56million already spent on consultants in the HRMC department
as a whole!
PCS
activists are encouraging workers on the same sites who are not directly
part of the Large Processing Offices to honour picket lines. Many are
also in favour of further escalating the action to the whole department.
LEAN is just the specific name and version of attacks on working practices
in these offices; equivalent attacks are common across the board under
different guises.
And
as John Miller of Cumbernauld Taxes PCS told me:
“LEAN
is a direct threat to all our terms and conditions. There is a danger
that if the union limits its demands to a joint evaluation and implementation
programme and individual work measurement, it could badly backfire.
It could mean at some stage there would be an agreement reached that
allowed LEAN to still exist and be replicated across HMRC offices. PCS
members must call for a complete end to LEAN, and recognise its real
purpose.
“This
LEAN process is a threat to our safety at work, the delivery of a quality
service, and PCS members‚ jobs. All members should support the campaign
to stop LEAN.”
Fat cat BBC bosses face strike ballot on pay, pensions and sackings
by Ken Ferguson
Fuelled
by anger and disgust at big pay rises for BBC fat cat bosses, 10,000
journalists and technicians are to be balloted for strike action.
Unions said that the huge pay rises for BBC bosses, disclosed last week,
had infuriated employees who were offered an increase of just 2.6 per
cent.
As well as stingy pay increases, staff are enraged at BBC plans to close
its final salary pension scheme to new members and increase the retirement
age.
Three unions, the National Union of Journalists (NUJ), BECTU and Amicus
are involved in the strike vote. Ballot papers will go out next week
with a result anticipated in early August, and strikes pencilled in
for mid August.
NUJ general secretary Jeremy Dear, who was recently re-elected unopposed,
said:
“The fact that money can be found to reward managers who have axed jobs,
cut programme budgets and presided over a pensions fiasco, but cannot
be found to save vital jobs in currents affairs, shows where the current
BBC management’s priorities lie.
“Their shamefaced refusal to negotiate simply adds to the sense that
there is one law for fat cat bosses and another for dedicated BBC staff.”
BECTU official Luke Crawley branded the 2.6 per cent pay offer “insulting,”
especially when executives were getting increases worth up to 30 per
cent.
But fat cat BBC chairman Michael Grade defended his cronies’ pay rises,
claiming that executives should not be “punished for their loyalty”
when they could earn far more in the private sector.
Mr Crawley dismissed his arguments as “nonsense,” adding: “If senior
staff are not prepared to accept the same terms as our members, then
they should clear off and work for the privateers. If they are so greedy,
the BBC can do without them.”
Families demand justice for victims of corporate killings
Relatives
of people killed at work will launch a national campaigning group called
FACK, Families Against Corporate Killers, at the 17th annual Hazards
Campaign conference.in
They
are angry and frustrated, and feel they have been robbed twice - once,
of their loved ones in incidents that should have been prevented by
employers simply obeying the law on workplace health and safety, and
secondly, of their right to justice.
They
have formed a national campaigning network to make themselves more visible
to government, to make their voices heard, to protest, to lobby, to
demand urgent action.
Lord
Hunt, the
Hilda
Palmer, of the Hazards Campaign which is supporting FACK, said:
“FACK
has grown out of the pioneering work of individual families, and wants
to create a united voice for all families devastated by a death at work.
“FACK
will work with all the individual family campaigns and others to achieve
its aim.”
These
include uniting families in one strong voice to demand an end to work-related
deaths and to direct bereaved families to sources of legal help and
emotional support.
FACK
members will call on the minister Lord Hunt to meet with them soon to,
amongst other things, explain why employers are allowed to get away
with murder and their complacency about deaths at work.
They
will also demand the urgent implementation of a law of Corporate Manslaughter
that allows employers who kill by gross negligence to be sent to jail
as an appropriate, proportionate penalty and effective deterrent.
They
also hope to discuss improving the way work-related deaths are investigated
and how families are treated.
Another
key demand is that the government gives workers and safety reps more
rights at work, to protect themselves against exposure to unacceptable
risks to their lives and health.
Dorothy
and Douglas Wright, whose son Mark was killed last year in an explosion
at a recycling plant, commented: