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Tony Blair is on a one-man missionto declare war. He tells us
that hehas evidence of weapons of massdestruction but refuses to
disclosethe dossiers. The Prime Minister isacting like a dictator
and seems tocare little for public opinion.
People are marching though thestreets of every major city in
theworld. Here in Glasgow we haveBush's poodle Blair as our
target.Lets nail a coffin in his politicalcareer and put to an end
his planfor war.
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www.ssy.org.uk- A Web Magazine for Socialist Youth in
Scotland.-When the media is controlled by corporations and
politi-cians speak in spin we need new information resources.
Theinternet contains extreme views, new markets, exploitationand
the truth.Amongst the debris floating about the internet we can
seebeyond the limited vision of the BBCand ITNand find outwhat is
happening to people around the world and whatthey are
thinking.www.ssy.org.uk wants to playa role in this process. Visit
itand pass on your ideas, experiences and views. Make it aresource
not only for us but for people who want to knowwhat young people
are thinking.
www.ssy.org.uk
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""he~'re ~rea~in8usllike -eoy soldiers"
Without so much as a vote in parliament, thousands ofBritish
troops have already been sent to the Gulf. Manyof them joined the
armed forces to escape unemploymentand poverty pay. And, as one
young Scot serving in thearmed forces told us, there is widespread
opposition towar among those who will be sent to the frontline.
,
'
When I jOined up, it was a choice between the dole, a call
centreor the armed forces. People do believe the hype and
propagandathey see in the TV adverts - you think it's going to be a
bit of aparty, you'll learn a trade and you'll get to travel. At 16
years old
you think: 'I'll have a bit of that'.But training is minimal to
say the least. They're not training you to leaveand get a better
job - most of it's totally irrelevant or unsuitable for
civvystreet.I've got mates that have been posted to the Gulf
already. But this isn't likeany other conflict before. The people
who are supposed to be fighting thiswar don't want it. We're
undermanned and overstretched. Morale is reallylow. We can all see
the irony in what we're being sent to do.We're supposed to fight a
war half way around the world, with a state thatwe sold weapons to
not so long ago, to support another country, the US, sothat they
can get their hands on Iraq's oil supply. 'Funding for equipmentand
wages for the lowest paid in the armed forces is derisory.It just
shows you how class ridden and elitist the whole thing is.
The absolute top brass,Conspiracy Theory #1 from the generals
up,
Have you ever seen George Bush and . are utterly unelected'. and
unaccountable. It's
OsamaBln ~den In the .same place at a big gentleman's club.the
same tJ.me?Nope, nelther have we. Basically, we're being
used as politicalpawns. They're treatingus like toy soldiers,
likethey're , ,playing agame.
this interview wasreprinted from theScottish SocialistVoice,
issue 124
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A -wlTarforblack go aIn Spring 2001 George W. Bush
began looking for support for waragainst Iraq. Those against
thewar asked "Why?"
Iraq's infrastructure was crippledby the first Gulf War and
sanctionswhich have beenimposed ever since.This suggests thatIraq's
capability tothreaten any nationstate is severely lim-ited.
The idea thatthe war is a dis-traction fromAmerica's eco-nomic
crisis iswrong, no govern-ment wages warsolely for
politicalreasons.Practically everywar in the last ten years has
beenabout natural resources, in partic-ular oil.
To understand the current situa-tion its imperative to look back
to theGulf War of 1991 when Americanand British governments
demon-strated their commitment to wagewar over oil.
In the 1980s with the support ofAmerica and Britain the Iraqi
armybecame the largest, most combat
trained army in the Middle East. Thatsupport was given to Iraq
as itwaged war against Iran for eightyears.
By the end of which the economyof Iraq had crumbled. Attempts
to
revive the economyfailed as Kuwaitiover-production ledto a fall
in prices.Iraq invadedKuwait.
That posed athreat to the eco-nomic security ofAmerica as the
oilreserves of Kuwait,added to Iraq's,would have givenIraq an
immenselypowerful positionover oil supply.
It is importantto consider that America is theworld's biggest
importer of oil.
So what of the impact of the1991 Gulf War on Iraq?
Sanctions have been imposed bythe UN since 1991. This has
givenAmerica and Britain power overimport prices of Iraqi oil. The
desper-ate position of Iraq's economy forcesits people to be ever
more depen-dant on the Hussein regime.
It succeeded in demonstrating to
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be made "safe" for an aggressor.The American and British
presencein the Middle East rose dramaticallyfollowing the 1991 Gulf
War.
The impact of these occupationalforces is felt throughout the
MiddleEast with the implications for thePalestinian people
untold.
Terrorism always has a root. Thesuffering and humiliation of the
Iraqiand Palestinian people alongside thet~ansformation of the
region into ahuge military arsenal for imperialismcannot be
dismissed when grapplingfor the causes of terrorism.
These reasons are still not
enough to go to war. There is evi.dence to suggest that at the
presentrate of oil consumption the NorthSea and US oil reserves
will beexhausted in ten years time.
This shows the extent to whichthe US and Britain are dependant
onoil imports. It is clear therefore thatthe US needs to gain
complete con-trol over Iraq's oil.
The coming war is not pre-emp-tive, but predatory. By
grabbingIraq's oil the US and Britain will be ina position to
threaten Iran and SaudiArabia.
(MD&LC)
- - -Competitlo~'-',~.";.:~:_~~~ .. : ..
You might think that George Bush has it all.He controls the
world's most powerful military and economy.But what he doesn't have
is a corporate logo or motto.Think you could help him out with
this?
Send in your ideas for a corporate logo and motto to SSY (see
detailson back page).The winners will get a copy of Tommy Sheridan
and Alan McCombes'book, Imagine and an anti-war t-shirt. The
winning ideas will then besent directly to George at the White
House.Here's an example to get you thinking. Competition ends March
10th.
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low in joumalism. The editorial claimedthat the Liverpool fans
who died at theHilsbourgh disarster created the crushthemselves.
This resulted in a mass boy-cott of the papers in Merseyside which
tothis day is still evident.
The history of the Daily Mail is equal-ly as shameful!'
The Mail famously toyed withMosely's Facists in the 1930s, and
thepaper labelled escaping Jews from HitlersGermany as 'bogus
asylum seekers'.
Time changes but their politics do not.Dispite being warned by
the EuropeanCommision about the jingoistic language,the Mail
continues to label refugees asscroungers who's sole reason in
comingto Britain is to commit crime and to cheatthe benefit
system.
This is hypocrytical since the Mail hasalways lambasted the
welfare state. Thetrue scroungers are the owners of
thenewspapers.
Rupet Murdoch who owns The Sunand The Times dictates policies to
thegovernment by whiping up reactionarytempests on issues such as
asylum andpaedophilia.
The true colour of the tabliods is red,from Sighthill to
Portsmouth the owners ofthe press have blood on their hands.
(AG)
The hypocrisy of the tabliodmedia never ceases to amaze.
With every new day a link betweenasylum seekers and terrorism is
revealedand reviled.
When no arrests have been made,the editorials criticised the
govemment fornot being tougher on asylum seekers.Worse still are
the falsities and lies thatrefugees are subjected to by the
tabloidmedia.
The papers that lead these racist cru-sades are The Sun and the
Daily Mail,with a combined daily circulation of overfive
million.
Tabliods are an institution. People buythem because they always
have. They'realso quick, cheap, have the sports resultsand the TV
guide.
But both the Mad and The Sun havea long history ofxenophobia
andjingoism.
During theFalklands war when
i t the Argentine war-,..~ .._..._., . ship The GeneralIfllES.J
,.*, Belg~ano went downPADER
ISAI~l~:~t~~gTh~v;~n~~~'.lNl..CHfAT..Ji..i ebrated with theIt s not
hard to see headline 'Gotcha'.Wh~seside The Sun is This was in fact
a cel-On In the f d'Ire ISpute ebration of a war
crime for whichThatcher has escaped justice for far toolong.
In 1989 The Sun reached an all time
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rhe current labourJovernment arelften accused ofJelng the
newrorles.rhls Is a reputation:hat culture mlnls-:er Kim
Howell)bviously feels theleed to live up to.Usrecent com-nents
about rapnuslc Inciting vlo-ence and negativeIttltudes and hislew
Licensing Bill, which effec-ively makes It a criminal offenceo play
live music without aIcense, show sympathies with the'orles'
Criminal Justice Act. Bothhese legislatures are an attack~nyouth
culture.he CJAcleared party goers out ofhe fields and warehouses
and!lto the corporate super clubs.he act was against acid house
:-)rather than any live musiclecause of the mentioning In thelet of
"music with repetitiveleats".he Tories clamped down on acidlouse as
It was a dissident youthcene that was scaring middlengland with
their light sticks,Irum machines and cheesy planoiffs.low Labour
seem to have theame Idea with the new Licensingi/ll. The bill
claims to be dealing~ith potential disturbances when:4hour
licensing is introduced.iut pubs will still be allowed toIlay Sky
TVat all hours of thelight (remember Tony's pal:upert?) or play
recorded musicIt any volume.
Restrictions likethese can severelydamage the musicscene In this
coun-try, a scene badlyIn need of new tal-ent. We need
morefacilities for peo-ple to practice andrecord, and moremoney
Invested inmusic by the gov-ernment.Community proj-ects have been
set
up In the past, and have producedsome of the most Innovative
andprogressive music the UKhasseen in a while.Artists like Roots
Manuva, RoniSize and Asian Dub Foundationhave all learnt their
skill throughattending community music proj-ects and are now
passing skillsdown to a near layer of artists.Unfortunately schemes
like theseare far too rare and while there Isa lot of potential
talent sitting Inevery town and city In Scotlandthe money Isjust
not made avail-able to us.This problem does not just stop
atmusic.If we had better facilities forplaying football then the
qualityof Scottish football would go up.
~~~~~:Ie~:' ~express}(
themselves a'{L
~~l;n0reo :!~II!I~~~\,;,;,;";,,;,,.,..
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againsfp6" ,.",rijusticeand war.
~e ".,~r0" ~R . O~we G
tI) ~-Join us-in protest on International '!VomEm'~Day. 2003
.
No war on Iraq Free, flexible and professional childcare for all
End violence towards women End low pay - better working conditions
for
women
Supported by: SSP Women's Network
SatMarch 8Rally at ii.30amGeorge Square
For Info ph: Sarah 07961 583042
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pathy or action?Donnie Nicolson, a 23 year old youthworker, Is
the SSP'syoungest candidateIn the forthcoming Scottish
ParliamentElection.s. Here he speaks about howmuch youth issues
matter In politics.
Why do so few 18-24 year olds vote?Frankly the main parties
don't know, andthey don't care.Politicians are woefully out of
touch withyoung people, their concerns, Interestsand needs, and so
It Is no surprise thatonly 43% of 18-24 year olds came out tovote
In the last Westminster elections.But are low turnouts the result
of apathyas we are told by the mass media or is Itmore like
disillusionment?As the only party to have a 50-50 genderbalance for
the regional lists, the SSPIsalready outstanding In Its
commitmentto standing candidates who truly renectthe electorate.
However, one group insociety is always under-represented
Inpolitics, namely young people.But there is also a more sinister
issuebehind the continued disenfranchise-ment of under-24s.The
British Establishment demonises andscapegoats young people as the
causeand embodiment of society's problems.The blaming of rap music
for the recentrise In gun crime Is the perfect exampleofthls. As
long as young people's voicesare not heard, we can be touted as
thecriminal element.Many young people like the ones I workwith, who
have come through the caresystem, end up unemployed, homelessand
utterly marginalised by a societywhich neither knows nor cares
ofthelrproblems.
Even those of uswhohave had a compara-tively normal
childhoodfind ourselves leavingeducation and enteringunemployment,
orworthless, depressingjobs in McDonalds, call-centres and
supermar-kets.Projects like Blair's 'NewDeal' and the desperateand
demoralising'restart schemes' areused to subvert theunemployment
figuresrather than to reallyaddress the causes ofjoblessness.Young
people areincreasingly looking tothe SSPas the move-ment which
supportsand promotes youthIssues, like the right to adecent job
with adecent wage, the rightto resist and protest,the right to a
home In ahealthy society, freefrom exploitation
anddiscrimination.
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Keep Scotlandfascist free
,
In the last year the British National Party has won fivewards in
English local elections. It shows that we shouldnever be complacent
when dealing with fascist organisa-tions.The BNPhave exploited
poverty and people's confusionover asylum seekers to spread their
ideology of hate, prej-udice and violence.Anti-racist and
anti-fascist campaigners must organise intheir communities to make
sure that this is the peak of theBNP'ssupport and not the start of
a resurgence of the farright.The BNPIs now planning to use their
growth in England torelaunch themselves in Scotland and stand In
the May elec-tions. Presently the BNPin Scotland is made up of a
handfulof thugs and psychopaths.It Is vital that we do not allow
these nazis to gain ground inScotland. They will undoubtedly try
and appeal to disen-franchised working class youth. We must combat
the issuesof poverty, bad housing, low pay and unemployment
whichfascism seeks to exploitsAn alternative socialist vision
ofsociety is needed so we canstop fascism in Its infancy. Helpus In
this struggle. If you comeacross any nazi activity, be itleaflets,
posters, stickers oreven public meetings get intouch immediately.No
to poverty. No to racism. Noto fascism.(KT)
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www.theyrule.net -They exploit us.They control govern~ments.
They rule.This site allows theuser into the board-rooms of the
USA'stop companies to
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fight(oW:.pay.'"
We live In a world ruledby capitalism's addic-tion to profit. A
worldwhere the poor getpoorer while the richget richer.Society
demands youngpeople become con-. sumers and workers.Buying the
latest gadg-ets and corporate logoswhlslt we work long hours
Inunskilled low paid jobs.This role forces many of us intoa cycle
of debt and exploitation.Evidence shows that youngpeople in poverty
are morelikely to suffer from bad health,struggle at school, use
harddrugs and face imprisonment.SSY'scampaign to legalisecannabis
saw government liesabout cannabis shattered, thetruth finally heard
and legalisa-tion become a giant step closerto reality.
We now want to chal-lenge the minimumwage's age discrimina-tion.
Those aged below18 receive no protec-tion with hourly ratessliding
below 2.It does not Improve for18-21 year olds. Therate is just
3.60. Evenwhen we reach 22 the
rate only rises to 4.20. A paltrysum when you consider thehigh
cost of living.The differing rates are a dis-grace. An hour's work
of an 18year old Is same graft as a 40year old. We all have to pay
thesame for food, drink, bills andclothes. We do not get a
dis-count in "MV because we areyoung.Our demands are simple. Endthe
age discrimination. End lowpay. Support a living minimumwage.
join SSY return to: SSY, 73 Robertson St, Glasgow,G2 800 or
phone 0141 221 7714email [email protected]
name:. _address:. _
tel: _
email: _