Home | Friday 18th March 2005 | Issue 489

WAKE UP!!! IT'S YER SWASHBUCKLING...

SchNEWS
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LOLLY ROGERED | Crap Arrest of the Week | Social Climators | SchNEWS in Brief | Inside SchNEWS | Blockheads | Market Forces | ...and finally...

LOLLY ROGERED

“Because this war was never about bringing democracy to Iraq — at every turn democracy has been suppressed — we have a very clear role to play here. Our role is to support the demands for democracy that are coming from Iraq, where Iraqis are being violently repressed for making those demands.” - Naomi Klein

Two years after the invasion of Iraq, the war on terror means war abroad and the dismantling of human rights at home. While Bush uses photogenic images of US-funded McDemos in Lebanon to spin the lie that democracy is on the march in the Middle East, Iraq remains occupied, new wars are threatened and the Palestinian people face continuing attacks.

Iraq was invaded to grab control of Iraqi oil and extend Washington’s influence throughout the region. An unsustainable capitalist system is bringing war and misery to millions as it attempts to keep profits up while the oil runs out. It is not democracy that is on the march in the Middle East – it is US military power.

The recent elections in Iraq were nothing to do with democracy. They were delayed again and again in the face of spontaneous local elections in the early months of the occupation. Fallujah had to be flattened tomake Iraq safe for democracy US-style.

Most Iraqis voted for the United Iraqi Alliance which called for “a timetable for the withdrawal of the multinational forces” and repudiated the free-market policies being imposed on their country. So is that what Iraqis will get? Yeah right. Four days after the election Bush told the Iraqi people “You don’t set timetables.” Blair agreed, despite a coalition poll showing 82% of Iraqis wanting coalition troops out by the time of the election.

Pieces Of Hate

All this is in clear breach of international law – it’s global piracy, 21st century style. In 2003 the Coalition Provisional Authority enacted Order 39 allowing foreigners to own up to 100% of all privatised industries. By the time elections were held, 200 state-owned enterprises had been privatised and unemployment had climbed to 70%. The oppression of Iraq is being embedded in a corporate-friendly restructuring of the economy. Only a defeat for US and British troops will allow Iraqis to run their own country.

If the US wins in Iraq it will not end there - Syria, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela will be next on the list for these invade-occupy-privatise pirate raids. But this is not inevitable. The Iraqi resistance has shaken the invaders, most acutely by forcing the US to deploy troops beyond what it is able to do. 1,600 US and British troops have been killed in Iraq and 5,500 US soldiers worldwide are said to have deserted since the war started.

Memories of the Unites States’ defeat in Vietnam are being reignited in Iraq by unrelenting popular resistance, frequent guerrilla ambushes, flag-draped coffins, US atrocities and troop disaffection. Bush has said that mentioning the Vietnam War in relation to Iraq is unpatriotic. Iraq, like Vietnam, could be a major defeat for the warmongers.

The WMD that Bush, Blair and the corporations really fear is a world of mass democracy. We need to build a movement in support of real democracy in Iraq and at home to make that world a reality. And real democracy isn’t about rigged elections and police state laws - it’s about grassroots organising to defend basic rights.

We can take a lead from Iraqi movements like the Basra Oil Union, a 23,000 strong federation of independent unions opposing the occupation and privatisation. They have organised strikes, thrown US corporation stooges out of their workplaces and won an important struggle for higher wages in 2004.

Some people argue that we should restrict our protests to police-controlled marches because direct actions are small and lack ‘visibility’. But direct action can be incredibly visible if lots of people get involved. History shows, and the peoples of the majority world know, that for protest to be effective it has to go beyond what those in power allow. If children can face tanks in Palestine we should be able to risk arrest occasionally for putting a spanner in the works of the war machine.

In Glasgow last December six protesters chained themselves to the factory gates at Weirs, a company working with Kellogg Brown Root, who make the cages at Guantanamo Bay. In Brighton a campaign of direct action against EDO, a local arms manufacturer, is gaining widespread support and winning court battles for the right to protest.

Yo-Ho-Ho

In London next month a week of action is planned against Windrush Communications, a British company that brings together politicians, capitalists and Iraqi elites to plunder Iraq’s assets. Windrush has already faced protests and court challenges to their illegal activities that have forced charges to be dropped to avoid having their activities challenged by international law.

These protests were small, but highly effective. If we’re going to win we need to build future protests into something that will show the warmonger-pirates that we’re serious about stopping them.
From 1st to 6th April there will be a week of action against the corporate plunder of Iraq including

* April Fools Day 11am, “Pro-Privatisation Party” with Rhythms of Resistance and Theatre of War at Windrush’s office, Mark Street, London EC2A

* Saturday 2nd April noon-5pm, non-violent direct action training workshop 12-5pm, RampArt Social Centre, 15-17 Rampart Street, London E1

* Monday 4th April 7.30pm, public meeting on corporate plunder in Iraq, London School of Economics, Room D202, Clement House, Aldwych, London W1

More info from http://corporatepirates.gzzzt.net stopthepillage@yahoo.co.uk or 07931 337890.

CRAP ARREST OF THE WEEK

For rocking against recruitment

Three anti-war students were banged up for doing a bit of light chanting in the halls of the City College of New York to protest against the army being at a careers fair. To stop one of the protestors getting through their first verse, one agitated private security guard politely smashed his head into a wall. They were then arrested and charged with assault, resisting arrest, and disturbing the peace. One student has also been suspended from the University for “posing a continuing danger” while a member of staff has also been nicked in connection with the protest. Thanks to the Iraq war, recruitment is down for the US army, and they are facing protests whenever they appear on student campuses. www.campusantiwar.net

Social Climators

If you wanted to call a meeting of crack professionals to work out how to tackle climate change, who would be at the top of your invite list? How about energy ministers from the countries responsible for the worst CO2 emissions in the world? If you think that sounds like getting paedophiles to run a playgroup, you’ve got a point, but then you probably weren’t invited to the G8 International Energy/Environment Ministers Roundtable at all, so it’s none of your business.

As ministers gathered in London on Tuesday for the first in a round of meetings on climate change leading up to the July summit, a large NO!SE demo outside did their best to drown out the sound of greenwash by, erm, making a lot of noise. But inside, the atmosphere was tense. According to one conference-goer who protesters told SchNEWS they had spoken to as he left, the mood among the delegates was verging on panic. Why? Because climate change is kicking in much faster than they had bargained on, and they don’t know where they’re going to get the energy they need to keep the global economy growing without fossil fuel.

While momentum gathers for the G8 Mega Summit in this summer, Blair is attempting to clean off the stains left from the Iraq war by promoting himself as ‘the man with a plan’ for climate change. But the dyed-green carpet at the summit isn’t going to cut much ice (or stop any from melting). Away from the press conferences, it’s business as usual at UK Plc., and there’s precious little to suggest that cutting CO2 is about to become top of the agenda.

Coming soon to a green field near you: a dozen new airport runways, a couple of new terminals, and up to 200 new roads. Some will be spitting distance from the Breadsall Priory Hotel in Derby, where the environment ministers are meeting today. In a statement released after the home secretary imposed a Section 14 order banning protesters from Derby town centre, Melanie Jarman from Roadblock said, “There are two road schemes planned that will devastate Derby town centre, and trash part of the Peak District National Park, leading to more climate chaos”.

Far from cutting CO2 emissions, Labour continues to offer public money to expand oil company profits. From BP’s Baku-Tbilisi-Cheyhan pipeline, the world’s largest oil infrastructure project, to the Sakhalin gas project in Russia, the DTI continues to support fossil fuel projects guaranteed to bring misery and pollution to the people unlucky enough to live on top of the world’s dwindling fossil fuel reserves.

So what’s the big idea likely to come out of the G8, now that they’ve turned their attention to global warming? At the moment, the clever money is on a new generation of nuclear power stations. According to ‘our man on the inside’ who chatted to the protesters outside the Monday meeting, the nuclear lobby was doing well inside. You know we’re in trouble when they’re flogging Sellafield as the eco-friendly option.

On the evening before the G8’s pre-meeting meeting, Rising Tide and TRAPESE held a counter-conference of more than 20 groups working to stop climate change, to plan for the international day of action on climate change during the July summit. If you want to stop global warming, and you don’t think nuclear power stations and Kyoto protocol plant-a-tree projects are going to do the job, get involved. The next meeting is on April 18 - for details email g8climate@risingtide.org.uk or check out www.dissent.org.uk/climateaction

International Day of Action on Climate Change: July 8, 2005.

* Breaking SchNEWS: As SchNEWS goes to print, 12 cyclists are under arrest for taking part in a Critical Mass protest near the environment ministers’ meeting in Derby. Don’t these anarchists understand? Roads are for cars!

SchNEWS in brief

• ‘Sweat Nothings’: Globalisation, mega profits and bargain basement labour in Central America - talk next Thurs (24th) at the Cowley Club, 12 London Rd., Brighton 6.30pm www.nosweat.org.uk
• Interested in a DVD on The Angry Brigade? Email christie@btclick.com
• Talk this Sat. (19th) ‘Gypsies, Roma and Travellers: The UK’s unwanted?’ 10.30 am, French Institute, 17 Queensberry Place, South Kensington
• Seed swap, films and food this Sunday (20th) at London Action Resource Centre (LARC) 62 Fieldgate Street, Whitechapel, London E1 1ES. 020 7377 9088 www.londonarc.org
• 1st April ‘The new Terror Laws - taking liberties’ public meeting at Friends Meeting House, Ship Street, Brighton 7-9pm
• The parents of Rachel Corrie - who was killed while trying to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home - are suing Caterpillar Inc., the company that made the bulldozer that ran over her. The lawsuit says that Caterpillar violated international and state law by providing specially designed bulldozers to Israeli Defence Forces that it knew would be used to demolish homes and endanger people.
• This Monday (21st) is International Day of Direct Action Against the Arms Trade www.wombles.org.uk/auto
• Brighton Smash EDO Briefs: Mon 21st: a Citizens’ Weapons Inspection at local Brighton arms manufacturing company EDO MBM. Meet 10am end of Home Farm Rd. Tues 22nd: a silent vigil outside EDO 4-5.30pm. Weds: a benefit cabaret at the Prince Albert, Trafalgar Street, Brighton. 4 bands plus comedian – starts 7.30, £4/3. Thurs: regular weekly noise demo outside EDO. 07891 405923 www.smashedo.bpec.org
• New SchMOVIE out next week - “Don’t Tell Anyone” – With the run up to the G8, SchNEWS set up camera in the heart of corporate Brighton last Saturday afternoon and asked shoppers what they thought of the G8 and it’s agenda. You can download the results from www.schnews.org.uk/schmovies

Inside SchNEWS

* American Brendon Walsh, has been sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty to vandalizing a local armed forces recruiting station. Send letters of support to him c/o Jeremy Shirvan, 2714 William St., Endwell, NY 13760-5822 USA

* The trial of five Irish Catholic Worker peace activists, accused of causing criminal damage to a US Navy Warplane at Shannon Airport two years ago, collapsed when the jury was discharged by the judge. A retrial is being set on Tuesday. www.WarOnTrial.com

BLOCKHEADS

Local Authorities are busy drafting their five year Local Transport Plans. Last time they did this in 2000, the Government gave the go-ahead to 85 new roads - including Linslade, Hastings and Weymouth. Whether your campaigning style is actions, letter writing, or demos, taking action now could save a whole lot of bother and destruction in the future. Road Block can help you campaign against new road schemes. If you haven’t got time, but want to help, you can also ask your Local Authority which road schemes they are considering for the LTP, and pass that information to Road Block. 01803 847649 www.roadblock.org.uk

Market Forces

Anti-capitalists bringing down transnational corporations by playing the stock market? It’s true! Activists are using the stock market to help boycotts of your favourite brands – Coke, Starvebucks, McDonalds and Exxon. The idea is that you club together as part of a ‘hedge fund’ and sell stock in targeted firms ‘short’. A hedge fund is basically the very rich clubbing together and ‘hedging’ their bets by playing a range of different stock market games. One of those games is ‘selling short’. For example, say Coke stock is worth £10 this month, £12 next and £15 in 3 months time. You then sell the stock ‘short’ for £11 in month two. If you buy enough stock (which is why smaller franchises are targeted) people panic and sell their stock too and the price goes down. Your £10 stock is then worth £9 in three months time, not the planned £15. Coke lose out, big time. Investment activist Max Keiser says “For every 1,000 new boycotters, I and my group of investors/
activists will increase the size of the fund by £5,000. All profits will go the groups/people who are the victims of bad companies.”

Forget the Glastonbury ticket, become a shareholder! See www.karmabanque.com for more info…

...and finally...

In an effort to drown out the sounds of screaming civilians in burning buildings, major record labels are doing their bit.

Virgin, EMI and the rest supply all the new CD releases to “our boys at the front” at special discount. Troops can now listen to cheap pop as they go about keeping Iraq “secure”, though not, presumably, at the same time. This may explain some recent US losses however. Whoever said war couldn’t be fun?

In classic rock-rebel style, however, one group are having none of it. The Super Furry Animals have included an anti-militarist clause in their recent negations with the majors. The clause forbids any of their music to be offered at discount to the Armed Farces. Fans of the Welsh quartet will be pleased to know that the sweet blend of pop and rock they love will not be drifting over the battlefields of a corrupt war. Coalition Forces hinted it will not affect their decision to stay in Iraq.

Disclaimer
SchNEWS warns me hearty to stop buccaneering around. Ah-harr Jim me lad!

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