Working Class Hero

Their Democracy or Ours?

2006-12-20T13:16:00.000Z

With Bush and Blair bleating about democracy in the Middle East ie cutting aid from a democratically elected government in Palestine, condemning the Lebanese people for peacefully protesting against Siniora's bankrupt government, supporting Saudi Arabia etc. some interesting news comes to light.

The US uses its aid budget to bribe those countries which have a vote in the United Nations security council, giving them 59 per cent more cash in years when they have a seat, according to research by economists.

What price democracy?

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,1973770,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12

Vermin of the Year

2006-12-20T12:04:00.000Z

Some scallywags and outright bastards here on Morbo's'Vermin of the Year Award'. It's a fairly tough choice to pick the most bigoted, nasty individuals. At present it is neck and neck between Jack Straw and John Reid. Take a look and vote for who you think most deserves this years award.

http://throughthescarydoor.blogspot.com/2006/12/morbos-vermin-of-year-aka-git-parade_19.html

Thinly Veiled Attack

2006-12-20T11:47:00.000Z

The right wing media and BBC have reached new heights in the hysteria over the veil. Apparently there is a 'theory' that the murderer of PC Beshenivsky may (or then again may not) have fled the country wearing the niqab. Police are refusing to comment and there is no source for the 'theory'.

The Daily Express has printed the claims as if they are fact and have even handily reproduced a front page special on 'how the suspect would have looked if wearing the niqab'. The usual suspects have lined up in protest at how the veil is a threat to security including rabid Tory bigot David Davis, who also put his oar in over the teaching assistant.

Veil fetishism now seems commonplace and it seems as though the veil is now to be equated to murdering people. This reactionary nonsense is something which must be opposed. The 'theory' seems to have no substance and is a further attack on Muslims in this country. There were also inferences that the Suffolk murders may have been perpetrated by an 'illegal immigrant' although these 'theories amounted to nothing.

Let us be clear about this. This is Islamophobia. Nothing more, nothing less. Let us unite and stand together against the oppression and racism that is driving these comments. Say no to Islamphobia.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/west_yorkshire/6195581.stm

Unison Witch Hunt : Update

2006-12-18T17:28:00.000Z

An update on Unison activist Tony Staunton. He has been suspended by Unison for 60 days in a clear attack on left wing activists. Please rush messages of support and write to Unison national office. Action like this can only serve to weaken the movement and plays into the hands of the very people we should be fighting against. Unity is strength. Stop attacks on trade unionists.

Tony Staunton, Plymouth local government Unison branch secretary, has been suspended from office for 60 days by Unison union leaders.
This is part of an investigation over the alleged political use of a computer bought for him by his union branch.

Tony says, “I intend to defend myself vigorously. I have not broken and would not knowingly break the rules of the union. I remain committed to the aims and objectives of Unison and a devoted trade union activist. I ask for your formal support.”

Messages of support to addressoffice@unisonplymouth.net copies to layactivists@hotmail.co.uk

Messages of concern to: General secretary, Unison, 1 Mabledon Place, London, WC1H 9AJ and Unison South West. Unison House, The Crescent, Taunton, Somerset, TA1 4DU. Fax 01823 336 013

Another One Bites the Dust

2006-12-11T12:55:00.000Z

One by one they are dying. First Reagan, then Friedman and now evil murderous dictator Augsto Pinochet. Friend of Thatcher and murderer of thousands, Pinochet finally escapes justice and dies at the age of 91. And poor Maggie is upset too. Good riddance. Bastard!

Nazi's Humiliated in Dagenham

2006-12-10T12:26:00.000Z

The British Nazi Party rally in Dagenham on Saturday ended in humiliation as they were drowned out by a large anti-fascist counter demonstration of around 400.

The anti-fascist opposition to the Nazi's was made up of a variety of local residents and activists and had a large trade union presence with banners from GMB, Unison, PCS, T&G. Also supporting the action were Respect councillors and Labour Party members.

This was the first attempt by the BNP to draw on it's electoral success in the May elections. The fact that despite extensive leafletting they managed to attract only 70 hardcore members, many not from Dagenham, shows that local people are opposed to the politics of hate.

Unite Against Fascism helped expose the lies peddled by the fascists and their exploitation of housing problems in Dagenham. The BNP do not offer any solutions to working class people and offer racism, violence and hatred. The Unite Against Fascism counter action showed how people can stand together and shows that the Nazi's are not wanted and the majority of people reject their poison and racist ideology.

JJB Strike Blog

2006-12-03T20:09:00.000Z

Following the sacking of Chris Riley after successful strike action over pay, there is now a blog with up to date information regarding the JJB dispute.

http://jjbfightback.blogspot.com/

JJB Strike Leader Sacked, Urgent Response Required

2006-11-29T17:12:00.000Z

URGENT - DONT LET THEM SACK STRIKE LEADERS AT JJB SPORTS

After the fantastic victory at JJB sports, the managerment have sacked Chris Riley, a leading steward that many will know from his speech at the Organising for Fighting Unions Conference. They have also threatened the convenor, Jon Stewart. - see their appeal for support from below.

The strikers won because of the fantastic solidarity of the strikers, and because the strike was organised to use supporters to put maximum pressure on the company through hitting David Whelan, the owner, at his Wigan football club, and by organising protests outside JJB stores throughout the country. They are calling for pickets to be set up at JJB stores and are planning further strike action if talks tomorrow are not successful.

Send messages of support today to Chris Riley at the email below.
Threaten to organise pickets at your local JJB stores. They can then use these messages in the meeting tomorrow.

We should then get the support back up and running.
Do collections, organise pickets of JJB stores, and invite a speaker to your meetings.

chrisfluffriley@hotmail.co.uk

Too many nurses?

2006-11-21T14:30:00.000Z

Patricia Hewitt has consistently refused to take any responsibility for the crisis in the NHS. Health workers and other hospital employees are sick and tired of her bleating rhetoric about how the NHS has received record amounts of money and that more doctors and nurses have been employed under a Labour government than ever before. Now she is trying to justify cuts, closures and job freezing by claiming that

'some parts of the NHS in England have taken on too many doctors and nurses'

I'm sure that many people would be intrigued to know where these hospitals are that seem to have a surplus of staff. Certainly none of the places I have worked which include Merseyside, Yorkshire, Sussex and Cambridgeshire have such luxury!

She states that she will get the NHS back into budget by March next year which can only mean one thing - more cuts and job losses.

It is vital that effective campaigns oppose the privatisation of our NHS. We are seeing record amounts of NHS money filtering out into the hands of corporate business who are responsible to shareholders. PFI schemes are not only reducing services to those that are the most profitable, they are costing the taxpayer millions as costs spiral.

The Tories are jumping on the bandwagon too, trying to claim to be the party of the NHS. Many MP's are hijacking local campaigns to protest against closures. We should not be fooled by this. Under the Tories the policy on the NHS would remain almost identical to that of New Labour, with closures and job losses, privatisation and cutbacks.

The trade union bureaucracy needs to wake up before it is too late and we no longer have an NHS to defend. This will be one of the key battlegrounds and fights for the unions. We need to push the unions to name the day for national action and be at the forefront of groups such as Keep our NHS Public and Public Service Not Private Profit.

www.keepournhspublic.com
www.publicnotprivate.org.uk

Unison Witch Hunt

2006-11-20T09:30:00.000Z

Active union member and campaigner Tony Staunton is being subjected to a viscious witch hunt by the Unison trade union. Secretary of Plymouth Local Government Branch and the Plymouth TUC, Tony has been a tireless campaigner against cuts, privatisation and the attack on our pensions.

The attack appears to be politically motivated and a cynical ploy against the left. The main allegation against Tony is that he used Unison resources outside of the rules in printing a United Left newsletter. Following a complaint to the General Secretary, Unison officials arrived at the Plymouth Local Govt Branch office, downloaded material, took away financial and other records and quizzed Branch Administrator and Treasurer (without representation). These heavy handed tactics were used when Tony was leading a delegation to the NHS Together lobby of parliament, which the union was well aware of. Further to this, Unison are currently seeking legal advice to force Tony to hand over 2 personal computers which hold private information concerning him and his family.

Tony is a member of the Socialist Workers Party and RESPECT, a politcal allegiance that he doesn't hide. He has just announced his intentions to stand in the Unison NEC elections. Coincidence? Not very likely - the allegations occured days before Tony's announcement. This is a bitter attack on left-wing trade unionism and we shouldn't take this lightly. The union's links with the Labour Party have to be questioned after what can only be described as a Stalinist witch hunt.

The strength of the trade union movement lies with lay rank and file activists like Tony. What we need is unity in order to fight back against cuts, closures, privatisation and attacks on our pensions. Unions attacking its own members can only serve to weaken collective strength and play into the hands of a neo-liberal government. We need to stand together in support of Tony and say no to sectarian, Stalinist attacks.

The General Secretary
UNISON
1 Mabledon Place
LONDON

The Regional Secretary
UNSION House
TAUNTON
TA1 4DU

And a message of support to

Tony Staunton
21 Bayswater Road
PLYMOUTH
PL1 5BU
Office@unisonplymouth.net
Tony.Staunton@Blueyonder.co.uk

Milton Friedman

2006-11-17T11:28:00.000Z

Free market fanatic, friend of Pinochet and tutor of the 'Chicago Boys' Milton Friedman has died aged 94. The economist was the leader of the monetarist school of thought and counted among his followers Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan who followed Friedman's theories in their neo-liberal, free market policy agenda throughout the 1980's.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/cb74eef8-7599-11db-aea1-0000779e2340.html

Melanie Phillips on the BNP trial

2006-11-13T17:29:00.000Z

Melanie Phillips sinks to new lows in this horrendous piece on the BNP trial. She legitimises Griffin's racist attack on Islam by saying

'There was never any chance of a conviction, for the simple reason that such statements were an attack on a religion rather than a race. It is perfectly legitimate, after all, to say that the enforcement of extreme Islamic precepts poses a threat to the lives of millions of Asians — including, in fact, many Muslims.'

Perhaps the worst part of the article is when she claims that people are drawn to the BNP by action such as a Mosque being built in Newham, on the site of the Olympic Village in what she describes as

'a piece of Islamist triumphalism to be funded by the Tablighi Jamaat, a group described by intelligence sources as an ‘ante-chamber’ to al Qaeda.'

And she clearly thinks that those who don't agree with her reactionary, Islamophobic views should be deported

'Ministers should take a leaf from Australia, whose Prime Minister John Howard regularly declares that people who are hostile to Australian values have no place in Australia and should depart.'

See here for the full article
http://www.melaniephillips.com/articles-new/?p=464

American Veto on Beit Hanoun

2006-11-13T10:30:00.000Z

America has again used it's veto in the Security Council and blocked an investiagation into the Israeli attack on Beit Hanoun which killed 19 people. The resolution proposed had also called for Israel to end violence against civillians in the Occupied Territories.

Britain abstained from the vote and US Ambassador, the neo-con John Bolton described the resolution as politically biased against Israel! Russia and France voted in favour.

Fresh from their war-crimes and defeat in Lebanon, the Israeli attack on Beit Hanoun will cost £50 million to reconstruct.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs Mahmoud Zahar in Cairo yesterday that the cost of rebuilding the town of Beit Hanoun, the northern Gaza Strip, after the recent Israeli attacks, which targeted up to fifty million dollars.

He said Zahhar front of the Arab foreign ministers who held an emergency meeting to discuss the situation in the Palestinian territories "that the Beit Hanoun area plagued needed to the value of 50 million dollars for the restoration of what was destroyed by the invasion and the last relief martyrs and the wounded people and injured more immediate and urgent."

Zahhar called the meeting to "carry out effective steps to deter the Israeli occupation from committing further crimes against our people at the international level through the activation of mechanisms that will put an end to Israeli arrogance."

Zahhar stressed on the other hand that "the democratic choice of our people and our concern for the formation of a government of national unity so as to ensure the lifting of the embargo and alleviate the suffering of our people."
Al-Hayat

JJB Strike

2006-11-13T09:53:00.000Z

GMB members working at JJB Sports are set for further strike action on 15th and 16th November to improve pay and conditions. A striker who spoke at the 'Organising for Fighting Unions' conference at the weekend condemned millionaire owner Dave Whelan for his aggresive anti-union approach and his paltry pay offer which amounted to 1p per hour for low paid workers, just above the minimum wage.

Ex Chelsea, Liverpool and Scotland footballer David Speedie has been breaking the law and supplying scab workers through his employment agency Lightyear Recruitment Ltd. 2 other companies are also flouting the law.The GMB have protested outside the DTI at their failure to take action against the scabbing companies.

A delivery driver injured 3 pickets this week when he deliberately ran over a promotional canopy which collapsed injuring the strikers, with one requiring hospital treatment. Yet again we are seeing the working class attacked by ruthless millionaires who are only concerned with their profits. http://www.wigantoday.net/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=66&ArticleID=1871100

Contact: Sandra Blight, GMB Lancashire Regional Officer on 07740 804049 or Steve Pryle, GMB Press Office on 07921 289880 or Rose Conroy on 07974 251823.
Scab agencies
Bond Personnel 01942 743270, Heads Personnel 0161 746 8811, Light Year 01942 511159.

Brown's Empire

2006-11-07T00:49:00.000Z

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,1072-2439057,00.html

Gordon Brown sets out his neo-liberal plans for free trade. He slams the anti-globalisation movement and wants them out of the way. A well know apologist for the Empire and Imperialism, Brown does not even hide his goal of furthering the neo-liberal agenda.

He has a rather distorted view of history when he claims that 'in the 19th Century Britain led the world in equating free trade with liberty...when business and politicians came together for that shared purpose'

So he means the liberty in Africa, where resources were plundered, people were used as slaves, countless were killed and poverty remains. The same liberty in India where people were starved as food was being shipped to the British and they were lorded over by colonial rulers. The liberty that saw a million perish in the Potato Famine in Ireland. The list goes on

We should not be suprised at this from Brown. He is the person who has been writing blank cheques for the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has told us there is no money to pay our pensions. He has told us there is no money for our hospitals. And he is the person who is going to continue Blairite neo-liberal policies should he win the Labour leadership.

The time for looking to the Labour Party for answers is over. This morally bankrupt party is full of neo-liberals and reactionaries and has nothing to offer working class people.

People's Assembly

2006-11-06T20:17:00.000Z

Well, I have been away for a while, and have I missed a lot! I'm back now and before I get round to posting anything else, I will add this about the forthcoming People's Assembly in London on 18th November. Since I last posted, there has been an escalation of Islamophobia coming from all corners. Jack Straw and his racist ranting against the veil, Tony Blair stepping in to comment on the sacking of a school teacher for wearing the niqab, David Davies ourageous outburst and the Murdoch press spinning lie after lie about Muslims.

This is the sign of a weak government and a clear sign that they are losing the 'war on terror'. As we see the death toll in Iraq rising to 655,000 according to the Lancet, and Blair saying they want to finish the job, they continue to demonise Muslims to justify their murderous crimes.

Please see the initiative from the Stop the War Coalition and help build solidarity with the Muslim community.

Islamophobia and the War on Terror

Open to delegates and observersSaturday 18 November 10.00am - 5.30pmCamden Centre Judd Street London WC1HOnline registration available shortly For a registration form, email office@stopwar.org.uk

How are the attacks on Muslims linked to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan? How can the anti-war movement counter those attacks in its continuing campaign to end the Bush/Blair wars? The People's Assembly will bring together peace and anti-war groups, trade unions, faith groups and organisations, community groups, political parties and any other representative organisations wishing to discuss these important issues. Individuals are also welcome as observers.

Speakers include:

Tony Benn
Moazzam Begg, Guantanamo detainee
Jeremy Corbyn MP
David Edgar, playwright
Noreen Fatima, NUS London Metropolitan University
Lindsey German, Convenor Stop the War Coalition
Kate Hudson, Chair CND
Mohammed Abdul Khar and Abdul Koyair, brothers wrongly arrested in Forest Gate police raid
Paul Mackney, joint Gen Sec UCU
Sami Ramadani, Iraqi academic and journalist
Yvonne Ridley, Islam Channel
Mark Steel, comedian and columnist
Anas al Tikriti, British Muslim Initiative
Walter Wolfgang, Labour Party NEC
Salma Yaqoob, Respect councillor

Why a people's assembly:

When we formed the Stop the War Coalition five years ago, we said that the war on terror would lead to a backlash against the Muslim community and to attacks on our civil liberties. Today we see the bitter fruits of our foreign policy, with growing criticism of Muslims by politicians, racist attacks on mosques and on women wearing veils and increasingly draconian terror laws targeting in particular young Muslims.

Meanwhile the war on terror is unravelling. Even the Generals admit the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan are hated by local people and military solutions are failing.
The People's Assembly aims to bring people together to discuss the relationship between Islamophobia and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and to organise our campaign in response to war and racism.

We are asking peace and anti-war groups, trade unions, faith groups and organisations, community groups, political parties and any other representative organisations to send delegates to this important meeting. We also welcome individuals as observers.
Please do everything you can to support this event. We must defend the Muslim community and organise against the warmongers who have made the world a more dangerous place

Go Now!

2006-09-06T12:50:00.000+01:00

Time is well and truly up for Tony Blair. With newspapers speculating on the date of his departure, Blair seems to be desparately clinging on to office in a style reminiscent of the last days of the Thatcher administration.

As MP's are telling him to go, the former Blairite MP Tom Watson has resigned

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/5319854.stm

Following this potentially damaging resignation Blair is now critically weakened. Plans for a smooth transition and the coronation of Gordon Brown now seem doubtful with left-wing MP John McDonnell having already launched his leadership campaign and rumours of a cabinet level challenge, possibly Stalinist bully-boy John Reid

http://www.john4leader.org.uk/

As Blair is weak, it makes the 23rd September demonstration more important than ever. We must send the message to the new leader that we will not go away and that the morally defunct New Labour machine cannot continue with its assaults on working class people and cannot continue to blindly follow on the coat tails of the US in their imperialist wars. It is the strength of the anti-war movement that has helped to weaken Blair and we must continue to show our strength in the wake of new challenges to come

It all reminds me of this wonderful Spitting Image piece when the knives were out for Thatcher

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrAfEqSMTDE

Time To Go!

2006-09-05T23:55:00.000+01:00

See the video below if you are not yet convinced.

http://www.respectcoalition.org/?ite=1147

No to Sanctions on Iran

2006-08-31T15:22:00.000+01:00

After a series of defeats in the Middle East, the US is trying to push it's programme of sanctions on Iran through the United Nations. Russia and China however are expected to oppose any move to impose sanctions.

This will not deter the US who have said they are yet again prepared to work outside of the UN. John Bolton reaffirmed Washington’s determination to impose unilateral sanctions on Iran.

"The question of what to do about Iran is certainly not confined to the Security Council," he said, reiterating comments he made in a recent interview.

"You can envision sanctions being imposed outside of the Security Council as the United States has unilaterally imposed sanctions on Iraq pursuing to its own statutes ... Other governments can do the same," he added.

Separately, Stuart Levey, the Treasury Department's undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, claimed that Iran is a "central banker of terror."

Analysts say the latest developments indicate not only the U.S.’s determination to penalize Iran, but also the current weakness of Washington’s position because of its role in a series of conflicts in the Middle East, most recently its support for the Israel’s deadly offensive in Lebanon, The Los Angeles Times reported.

It is important that sanctions on Iran are opposed. Developments there are being portrayed by the media and the US/UK goverments to create a climate of fear and their constant demonisation of Iran which is needed to garner public support for any such move, be it military or unilateral sanctions.

As a signatory of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran is perfectly entitled to develop nuclear power. The US and UK, both signatories to the treaty, are both in breach of it. Iran is not. Britain is currently developing Trident at a cost of billions and is in breach of the NPT. Iran has opened itself to more stringent inspections than any other country, above and beyond the requirements of the NPT.

The proposed sanctions are part of the 'War on Terror' that is being waged throughout the Middle East. Although the US/UK try and frame Iran as a threat to stability in the region, it is they who have perpetrated the most crimes as a look at recent history clearly shows.

It was the US who encouraged, supported and funded Iraq, supplying weapons to attack Iran in 1980 after the Revolution toppled the US backed Shah (who incidentally the US tried to woo with the idea of atomic energy). The very same weapons and gas were supplied for Saddam to use on the people of Iraq while Rumsfeld, Cheney, Bush et al said nothing to condemn the killing.

The devastating effects of the illegal wars in Afghanistan and Iraq where the civilian death toll has reached over 100,000 are another example of US intervention causing instability in the Middle East. In a war that has shifted from Al-Qaeida to WMD's, to regime change one by one the lies of the imperialists have fallen apart as Haliburton, EXXON etc reap the benefits from Iraqi oil.

We have seen the effects of UN sanctions before when they were imposed on Iraq in 1990. The sanctions led to the deaths of 1.5 million people, mainly children dying of malnourishment. When interviewed in 1996, Madeleine Albright, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations was presented with a figure of half a million children under five having died from the sanctions. Not challenging this figure, she infamously replied "we think the price is worth it," UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator in Baghdad Dennis Halliday resigned calling the sanctions an act of genocide.

For an interview with Dennis Halliday in 2000 :

http://www.zmag.org/edwinthalliday.htm

More recently we have seen the US fast tracking precison missiles and illegal cluster bombs to Israel in its attack on Lebanon. These weapons destroyed Lebanese infrastructure targetting houses, hospitals, roads and bridges, killed 4 UN observers and stopped medical supplies reaching the injured, even destroying ambulances. The US and Israel suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of the resistance, ultimately stopping any possibility of furthering the miltary assault to Iran and Syria. Amnesty International has condemned the Israeli bombing as war crimes in a recent report :

http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engmde180072006

It is clear who is the threat to stability in the Middle East. The imperialist powers are trying to impose their own agenda and any resistance to this should be supported. Any regime change needs to be effected by ordinary, working class people, not the warmongers in Washington and London.

Maggie, Maggie, Maggie

2006-08-30T12:41:00.000+01:00

Rather like when Henry Kissinger was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, satire is dead. In a BBC History Magazine article, Maggie has somewhat surprisngly topped a list to judge the best Prime Minister of the 20th century.

5 Margaret Thatcher (1979-1980)

5 Clement Attlee (1945-1951)

4 Edward Heath (1970-1974)

4 Winston Churchill (1940-1945; 1951-1955)

4 Harold Macmillan (1957-1963)

4 Henry Campbell-Bannerman (1905-1908)

3 The Marquess of Salisbury (1885-1886; 1886-1892; 1895-1902)

3 Herbert Henry Asquith (1908-1916)

3 David Lloyd George (1916-1922)

3Stanley Baldwin (1923-1924; 1924-1929; 1935-1937)

3 Harold Wilson (1964-1970; 1974-1976)

3 Tony Blair (1997-)

2 James Callaghan (1976-1979)

2 Arthur Balfour (1902-1905)

1 Andrew Bonar Law (1922-1923)

1 Ramsay MacDonald (1924; 1929-1931; 1931-1935)

1 Alec Douglas-Home (1963-1964)

1 John Major (1990-1997)

0 Anthony Eden (1955-1957)

0 Neville Chamberlain (1937-1940)

Francis Beckett, who compiled the list, claimed that the standard for judging the prime ministers was by their effectiveness at bringing in their policies. Tony Blair, who lies in mid-table has surely been more effective in bringning in Thatcher's policies than she ever was.

One of her 'best moments' was the Miners Strike according to Beckett. Best moments would clearly then include trying to starve people back to work, destroying entire communities and using police violence in turning the state on the working class.

Also one of her policies was the Poll Tax which ended with mass civil disobedience of non-payment, huge demonstrations, a riot and opposition which finally drove her from office. Another fine example of how effective Maggie was in 'bringning in her policies'!

Hurricaine Katrina anniversary : Racism and Profiteering

2006-08-30T11:39:00.000+01:00

It is one year since Hurricaine Katrina wreaked devastation on New Orleans. The storm claimed over 1,600 lives, with the corpses still being found. Over 200,000 people have yet to return to New Orleans, accounting for roughly half the original population. Many of those are poor and many are black and raises alarming questions about the handling of the situation at all levels.

We remeber the racist reporting by the media at the time of the storm. How they framed white people as 'survivors' and black people as 'looters'. How the rich were airlifted to safety from hotels and bussed out of New Orleans, leaving the poor stranded for days on roof tops waiting to be rescued.

We remember George Bush saying ' Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job', referring to Michael Brown, a Bush appointed crony and the director of the federal disaster agency FEMA. He had no experience in this field and within days was sacked to due incompetence.

It is possible that much of the destruction and many of the deaths could have been avoided had FEMA and the US Government heeded expert advice rather than threaten the career of the Deputy Director of the Louisiana State University Hurricaine Center, Dr. Ivor van Heerden.

According to van Heerden, there was no real evacuation plan made for New Orleans, although Innovative Energy Management (IEM) had drafted a plan involving people fleeing by car. 127,000 people in New Orleans had no car as van Heerden alerted FEMA. Rather thn responding, they threatened him. The consequences : 1,500 of them drowned. It doesn't take a genius to work out that these were working class, elderly and mainly black.

The levee had also been built 18 inches too short which would have meant that they would have been overtopped by one and a half hours instead of four. The levee's would have held and the city saved. FEMA knew that the levee's had been breached at 11 o'clock on Monday. By midnight, The White House knew. But no-one else did.

New Orleans has for a long time been a city divided by class and race and efforts seem to be afoot to exclude the working class from returning to the city. The planners for the next 30 years of the city seem to cater for the rich and middle classes as the proposals would not have included the traditionally black neighbourhoods.

We can see exactly who has been profiteering in New Orleans following Katrina and who has been handed multi million dollar contracts in this from CorpWatch :

http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=14029

The rebuilding and reconstruction has been a shambles to say the least. People are still waiting for federal rebuilding housing assisstance without yet receiving a cent. Rent has rocketed by 39% pricing the working class out of the market.Water and electricity supply remains poor and the black an working class population are suffering disproportionately.

The United Nations has blasted the poor US response to Katrina. The UN Human Rights Committee in Geneva accepted a report from Special Reporter Arjun Sengupta, who visited New Orleans in fall of 2005 and concluded: "The Committee ... remains concerned about information that poor people, and in particular African-Americans, were disadvantaged by the rescue and evacuation plans implemented when Hurricane Katrina hit the United States of America, and continue to be disadvantaged under the reconstruction plans."

Asian tsunami relief workers who visited New Orleans over the summer were shocked at the lack of recovery. Somsook Boonyabancha, director of the Community Organisations Development Institute in Thailand, told Reuters she was shocked at the lack of progress in New Orleans. "I'm surprised to see why the reconstruction work is so slow, because this is supposed to be one of the most rich and efficient countries in the world. It is starting at such a slow speed, incredibly slow speed."

It is clear where priorities lie for the Bush administration. As the Katrina relief and reconstruction falters, money is being pumped into war in Iraq and Afghanistan. The Americans have been able to fast track precison missiles to Israel in it's attempt to crush Hizbollah, crucial in the plan to attack Syria and Iran. But this is where America failed and Hizbollah triumphed. As the US and Israel lost the war despite destroying parts of Southern Lebanon and murdering over 1,000 civilians, Hezbollah began the reconstruction programme. They have cleared rubble, helped reconstruct roads and are giving financial aid to those whose homes have been destroyed.

As people remember the tragic events of Hurricaine Katrina, let us not forget where the responsibility lies.

Galloway on Israel

2006-08-29T13:03:00.000+01:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3rIFP3zGgI

Israel and US defeated

2006-08-29T11:17:00.000+01:00

Hassan Nasrallah's statement regarding the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers has been widely misinterpreted as an admission of wrongdoing and defeat for Hizbollah in the recent Israeli attack on Lebanon. His statement on Lebanon's New TV channel

'We did not think, even one percent, that the capture would lead to a war at this time and of this magnitude. You ask me that if I had known on July 11th....that the operation would lead to such a war, would I do it? I say no, absolutely not.'

This does not indicate any form of defeat for Hizbollah, it merely concludes that Hizbollah had no knowledge that Israel ha pre-planned the attack on Lebanon. Politically this seems like a sensible move by Hizbollah.

The Israeli attack on Lebanon clearly ended in a massive defeat for Israel and the US dealing a huge blow to imperialism. It shows how resistance movements can defeat the warmongers despite their superior military technology in what was a war between ' David and Goliath'

During the attacks, Hizbollah and the resistance held popularity among Sunni, Shia, Christian and Druze in Lebanon. Israel failed in its stated aims of the war; the release of the Israeli soldiers and the destruction of Hizbollah.

Prior to the ceasefire, Israel attempted one last move by airlifting soldiers to the Litani river area. Leaflets were dropped warning civillians not to return to their homes. The majority chose to ignore this and flooded back to the south of Lebanon. The Israeli's were driven out by the returning Lebanese and many were escorted across the border by Hezbollah fighters.

Blair and Bush continue to pursue illegal wars in Afghanistan and Iraq with a cost of thousands of innocent lives. At the same time we are seeing hospitals closing, schools privatised, civil liberties attacked, no money for our pensions and a media frenzy giving rise to Islamaphobia. We must build September 23rd into the biggest Stop the War event in years and put the final nail into Tony Blair's political coffin.

Welcome

2006-08-25T15:07:00.000+01:00

Welcome to my blog for the working class, revolutionary socialists, trade union left, anti-war, those opposed to Bush, Blair, New Labour, the right and for all opponents of the ruling classes.

This blog will endeavour to report on issues that concern the working class and highlight the devasting effects of the capitalist system, including the illegal wars and occupations in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine and Lebanon.

Vive Le Revolution!