Leeds explodes
The political situation is heating up rapidly in the UK. New Labour's assault on the Leeds education system has added an extra level of tension in the City. In the two months leading up to Christmas, meetings, demonstrations and pickets are being held practically every day -- and the attendance of those held already has been large. Those who believe that there will be no mass resistance to Blair and Hoon's war plans are out of touch with the growing grass-roots revolt which now extends way beyond the usual suspects.
A new alliance is being built of the remnants of civil society, including the trades unions, residents' organisations and a variety of religious groups. This has been combined with a willingness of most of the Left to work together in a wide variety of projects.
I have tried in these columns over the last two years to describe and comment on the political scene in Leeds and Yorkshire, linking its developments with events happening nationally and internationally. There has been a deliberate bias against political activity in London. Every two weeks or so the column has been able to put a gentle slant on most major political activities in the Leeds area. However the increasing tempo of events means that without writing a daily column, some are going to be inevitably missed. I will be at all the events along with my colleagues from the Alliance for Green Socialism (the exciting fusion of the Left Alliance and the Green Socialist Network). However, writing them all up will not be possible. Could I appeal to readers to please post reports on our Guest Book?
One of the most impressive meetings of the many I have attended over the last three weeks was organised by the Leeds Coalition Against the War, with Israeli refusenik Tal Matalan speaking. Wonderfully chaired by the indefatigable Francis Jones, Tal simply and clearly explained her reasons for not joining the Israeli army to go to oppress the Palestinians. A supporter of the Israeli State she wants to defend the ideals of freedom and tolerance expressed by many of its founders. Her left-wing family supports her. Although the number of refuseniks is relatively small the various groups are now numbered in hundreds and they have been able to make a powerful moral case for a peaceful and negotiated approach to the crisis facing the Israeli State.
The questions were practically all put forward in a spirit of genuine enquiry although it was noticeable that many of the men smuggled in small speeches pushing their point of view. Tal answered each one clearly and said when she wasn't able to. This was a refreshing contrast to some politicians. Tal stayed behind to directly discuss with a number of young male Zionists who had attended the meeting. This was a massive difference from the visit of General Shauf Mofaz to Leeds (now Israel's Minister of War), where demonstrators were kept well away by the police.
Well over three thousand different individuals have already involved themselves in the growing struggles over the last eight weeks in the Leeds area. Very few of them are members of the New Labour Party whose shrinkage continues apace. The Electoral Commission set up by New Labour has just reported how they illegally failed to declare over two million pounds of donations on time. The vast majority of their donations came from the trades unions. New Labour say the problem was an administrative error, however the suspicion remains that they used the delay to squeeze more out of the trade unions in the run-up to their conference. Their largest private donor is Charles Peat, who gave £150,000 over the last six months. He is chair of the stockbrokers Hunt-Peat. His latest donations follow on from others ... can a peerage be far behind?
Among the list of donors was the Fire Brigades Union, whose reward has been a series of savage attacks from Blair, Brown and Prescott. The New Labour Government has deliberately over the last four months sabotaged every step that the union has taken with the local authorities to develop an equitable settlement. The only conclusion that can be reached is that the government wants a strike. They want the FBU to become their NUM. A smashing of the union would be a clear implementation of "triangulation" (see previous Umbrellas) and would help to prevent the Tories collecting any votes from the right.
In fact Labour's extreme right polices against the unions and on social issues is making the Tories redundant. It has enabled the British National Party to beat them in some local elections. New Labour, by making such policies respectable, is itself coming under threat from the BNP as can be seen from the latest BNP victory in a council by-election in Jack Straw's constituency.
Poodle
Almost half of Britain believes that Blair is Bush's "lapdog". A recent poll for Channel 4 News also found that:
- 13% backed military action; 9% against; 76% to be persuaded either way
- Of the undecided: 32% felt that Bush was the greatest threat to world peace, and 49% felt that Saddam Hussein was the greatest threat to world peace
- 33% felt Blair was a restraining influence on Bush; 13% felt neither influenced the other
On the consequences of war with Iraq:
- 93% said it would increase the risk of terrorist attack
- 82% feared the cost of the war
- 39% thought it could be a long drawn out war with no winner
News from the Rogue state
1984: Admiral Poindexter was the former security advisor to President Reagan. He was convicted by a jury of five felony counts of misleading Congress in 1990 but was subsequently granted immunity. His crime was secretly selling missiles to Iran to pay a ransom for hostages and then using the money acquired to illegally support the contras in Nicaragua. Such a valuable person could not be ignored by the Bush administration so he was made head of the Information Awareness Office at the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency.
He has come up with a wonderful plan to make George Orwell's nightmare of 1984 come true. With a $200 million budget his Office is developing a super sneaking system that enables it to check on every electronic transaction made in the USA. So one database will combine credit card transactions, bill payments, emails, health records, travel bookings etc. Each citizen will be continuously monitored in the "Land of the free".
Lies are truth
...and they have a President put in by a Supreme Court packed with his father's appointees. Bush doesn't have any idea of truth. Recent statements he has made on Iraq include:
- Iraq is six months away from developing nuclear weapons. He made this remark, er ... six months ago.
- Iraq posses the capacity to use unmanned aircraft to attack the US.
- There are close links between Al Qaeda and Iraq.
All lies. It is however on the basis of these statements that Bush has invited 60 nations including the UK to attack Iraq.
Living dangerously
If any further evidence is needed of the US's headlong dash to insanity (where nearly half of the population believe in creationism), they are now planning to resume nuclear tests. They have a body called the Nuclear Weapons Council, which is supporting a paragraph in an already approved bill calling on the American nuclear laboratories to be ready for testing new weapons in about six months. The war against terrorism is used as the reason for this dangerous step. They are also developing biological and chemical weapons in clear defiance of international treaties.
Suffer children
All American schools now have to provide a list of their children for military recruiters to contact them. The new law is called the "No Child Left behind Act".
46
There have been 46 bombing raids by UK planes and US over Iraq this year. Many of the raids were in response to alleged violations of the no-fly zone. It appears that almost weekly the cowardly and ill-equipped Iraqi airforce has been challenging the British and American fighters. This means they will obviously run away if there is an all-out attack on Iraq.
Big Business and New Labour
Anyone who is in any doubt of which 'axis of evil' Blair, Brown and Prescott serve should look at their actions over the last few weeks:
- They have dropped plans to allow companies to be prosecuted for "corporate manslaughter". The issue had been promised in New Labour's 1997 manifesto after the Paddington Rail crash.
- The government has given up on plans to regulate the way companies are audited in the aftermath of Enron.
- They are relaxing the regulations on media ownership to allow Murdoch to increase his grip on the UK. Similar rules in the US of course have not been relaxed so Murdoch has to remain an American citizen.
- In Wales the democratic right to decide by referendum whether pubs can remain open on Sundays is being removed on the urging of the big alcohol companies. However the Government rejected making St David's Day a public holiday in Wales.
- Gordon Brown is using the New Deal to force the unemployed to accept low paid and dangerous jobs using the expanded Step Scheme.
- Brown's crawling speech to the CBI annual conference
New Labour and the FBU
Gordon Brown has continuously tried, with his sidekick John Prescott, to sabotage the firefighters' pay claim. Having sat on the claim for months and blocked possible settlements he denounces it as being inflationary. Wage increases cause inflation! Strikes are a bad thing etc. New Labour hates anyone who stands up to them. They now threatening them with 11,000 job losses.
However anyone with the most elementary grasp of economics knows that there is almost no relationship between wages and inflation. This is because they are subject to completely different mechanisms. Wage levels are decided by the balance of power between employees and employers and the general standard of living for a particular country. Prices are decided by the owners deciding how much they can sell an item for. This explains why business and New Labour are always looking for ways to undermine the power of trade unions.
If Gordon Brown really believed that wage rises cause inflation why hasn't he attacked the massive increases been given to the boss of Glaxo Kline Beecham along with a one million pounds a year pension? A company that has lost considerable share value over the last 12 months.
Even this kind of naked greed pales into insignificance with the money the Chief Executive of Homebase and his finance director are collecting. They are expected to collect £50 million for staying with the company until April. They will have to share of course but it is still more than winning the national lottery every month, each!
Genetically modified crop trials
The Scottish Parliament is investigating genetically modified crops and food. There has been strong opposition to a GM crop trial at Munlochy on the Black Isle. Protestors have called for a moratorium on tests because of the possible risks to human health. They made the point that as there was no demand for GM crops there was no need to take any risks with human health.
More pit closures?
The miners at Maltby are facing losing over 160 jobs. They fear this could be the beginning of an attempt to close the pit by UK Coal. With the Prince of Wales pit closed and the Selby coalfields due to close next year there would be practically no coal coming from deep mines in Yorkshire.
With the US firm TXU putting its European subsidiary into administration, the Drax power station is now under threat of closure. Such a closure would have the knock-on effect of speeding up the closure of the Selby coalfields.
John Grogan, the athletic MP for Selby, is hoping that his Government will bail out the power station as it has the nuclear industry. He might have to wait a long time.
Fylingdales and Menwith Hill
In driving rain nearly 100 demonstrators turned out to welcome US General Ronald Kadish at Fylingdales. He had come to see the base as part of a secret deal, brokered by Geoff Hoon during his recent stay in the US, for the development of Star Wars.
Where is Osama bin Laden?
The CIA has pronounced the latest audiotape from the elusive Mr bin Laden genuine. Various Sunday newspapers have carried elaborate maps claiming to show that Mr bin Laden had managed to make it to the Yemen using an old dhow and is now hiding there. Some have even printed that the SAS had returned to their old hunting ground on the border with the United Emirates. The CIA claim he is still hiding out on the Afghanistan / Pakistan border.
My uncle said he did pass through the Yemen but only to go on to Jeddah for medical treatment. From there he flew to Texas to recuperate on the Bush ranch. However he missed his white horse and flew back to Afghanistan to rejoin his 5,000 strong bodyguard. He is now increasingly confident that this spring he will be able to link with the regrouped Taliban forces to retake Kabul while the Americans are busy in Iraq. His relatives in Saudi Arabia and his business associates in Texas still have work out the details around the proposed pipeline before his dream can become a reality. Meanwhile no attempt is being made to bring him, or any other serious suspects of the murders of the 9th November, to justice.
Taggart for Mayor
Having failed to be re-elected Chair of the West Yorkshire Police Authority, Councillor Neil Taggart has decided to run for Lord Mayor of Leeds. He has apparently been promised the votes of nearly the majority of the New Labour group. However it is a secret ballot. He says he wants to be Lord Mayor in the middle of his political career, so clinging on to the belief that he has a political future. I would probably vote for him against any of the opposition, although I don't how he would cope with having to turn up to events regularly.
Israel begs for more
Israel receives more American aid than any other country. This enormous aid per head of its population keeps the country going as an unsinkable US aircraft carrier in the oil-rich Middle East and also relieves the Israeli Government of any pressure on them to seek a peaceful settlement. However the last two years of the Intifadah have taken their toll. They are asking the Americans for a $10 billion loan to help their economy.
The Americans guaranteed $10 billion ten years ago to help the Israelis bring in immigrants from the former Soviet Union. In their haste to expand their illegal settlements they brought in some extreme right wing anti-Semitic elements.
-- Half-Celestial Khan
