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Story Links: Axis Of Oil | Protests and Peace Camps | Inside SchNEWS | Blazing Saddles | Dammed If You Don't | SchNEWS in Brief | Rape Alarm | ...and finally...

As SchNEWS goes to print it seems as if attempts in the UN to obtain a ceasefire between Hizbollah and Israel have failed. As Israel pours more troops across Lebanon’s borders, the war’s escalation threatens a cataclysm. Is Lebanon destined to play the overture to a far wider middle-eastern war? It is this fear coupled with solidarity with the Lebanese people which has sparked a resurgence in the UK anti-war movement.

The public can see that Blair is allowing this war to be prolonged. The prospects of a ceasefire are blocked by the governments of Israel, the US and of course dear old Blighty. The security council resolution confronts Hizbollah with totally unrealistic demands to disarm (i.e. surrender) while Israel merely halts its ‘offensive’ operations. With this formula Israel can remain in control of the territory it has seized and effectively have a veto over Lebanese internal politics. It’s easy to see why Israel would be so keen - but why’s Blair sticking with the Zionists on this one? It’s possible to get a few cheap laughs out of the whole ‘Blair is Bush’s poodle’ thing but that masks the true nature of the game. In fact, the US, UK and Israel stand shoulder to shoulder (to shoulder). This war is as much a part of the ‘War on Terror’ as the attacks on Iraq. It is being fought for the same profiteering ends by the same few politicians.

It should come as no surprise, then, that Yankee bombs are making their way to the suburbs of Beirut via UK airports and that the British taxpayer is subsidising arms exports to the region’s number one aggressor nation. Blair wasn’t failing to demand a ceasefire because he’s on the neo-cons leash but because he and UK plc are deeply committed to their agenda. The attacks on Lebanon are just part of a much wider plan. The Israeli government has confirmed that it is in for a “long war”. Patterns of weapons stockpiling by Israel support this. To meet shortfalls in current stocks of WMD, Israel’s IDF is to take delivery of an emergency shipment of precision guided bombs, including US-made GBU-28 bunker-buster bombs produced by Raytheon.

As ever, to find out what’s really going on you’ve got to follow the money. On July 13th just one day before the aerial bombardment began, the Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline was officially opened (despite a determined resistance campaign causing delays and overspend - see SchNEWS 433 and www.bakuceyhan.org.uk). This inauguration was attended by ministers from 16 countries and marked the success of a project designed to bypass Russia’s stranglehold on central Asian energy. This pipeline will pump oil from the Caspian Sea to the eastern Mediterranean and has already transported over two million tonnes of oil. It is a vital part of the West’s energy strategy. UK-based BP (wittering on about sustainable development Beyond Petroleum) have a 30.1% stake in this monstrosity. Meanwhile Israel is lobbying for an extension of the pipeline to its port of Ashkelon and Blair was recently spotted hob-nobbing with Arnold Schwarzenegger and BP chief Lord Browne of Madingley in California.

The trouble with this project is that starting in Baku (Azerbaijan) and ending up in Turkey (Ceyhan is only a short distance from the Lebanese border) the BTC pipeline ain’t exactly in the most pro-western part of the world. The war in Lebanon, together with that in Iraq, is an attempt to reshape the region around the West’s interests. Israel’s offensive could be intended to provoke a reaction from Syria, and be used to engineer a collapse of its regime. This would have the effect of removing a threat to the energy supplies whilst delivering a message to Iran. This is why Blair is content to watch mass murder of civilians while pushing fairy-tale ideas like NATO stepping into Israel’s para-boots in Southern Lebanon. The idea that NATO represents a ‘neutral’ force must surely have had any surviving al-Qaeda fighters laughing into their beards. In early 2005, NATO held joint military exercises with Israel.

UP FOR A FIGHT

This crisis in the Middle East has spawned a second wave of anti-war protests and it looks as if this time round there’s gonna be more emphasis on direct action rather than polite lobbying. Last Saturday’s march in London, attended by 100,000 gave a sense of the scale of opposition. A die-in was staged outside Downing Street, sparking scuffles with cops, and a valiant attempt was made to push through barriers to the US embassy. Unfortunately the dead hand of Socialist Worker Party stewards served to create boundaries between the passive and active parts of the crowd. Big marches in London have their point, but most have realised that politely asking this government to abstain from war crimes is an exercise in futility. Crucially, others are working towards more direct intervention in the war machine.

On August 9th, nine Northern Irish activists stormed the software development centre of US arms giant Raytheon in Derry. The plant was occupied for eight hours, ransacked and computers hurled onto the streets. They compared their action to the decommissioning of IRA arms. Eventually all nine were nicked and have been remanded for a month. They have been charged with offences that mean that they will face a juryless ‘Diplock’ court, presumably to avoid any inconvenient acquittals (More at www.indymedia.ie)

On the same day, around 20 Israeli anarchists blockaded the entrance to Ramat David air force base in the north of the country where fighter planes have been taking off to bombing missions in Lebanon.
In mainland UK peaceniks have been busy. Brighton activists continue their targeting of EDO MBM, the UK subsidiary of EDO Corp who manufacture vital components, guidance systems and release mechanisms for Raytheon (For more see www.smashedo.org.uk).

We may have been turned into a supply base for the illegal war on Lebanon without being consulted, but not all the citizens of Airstrip One are happy to give the green light to weapons transport. For three nights running at Prestwick airport near Glasgow (5th-8th Aug), Trident Ploughshares activists organized citizens’ inspections at the airport. Nightly, people have gained access to the supposedly civilian airport and found that it is being used as a US military staging post. Altogether 16 citizens’ weapons inspectors have been arrested. A peace camp has been established and needs support. (More info on 08454 588 361 or www.tridentploughshares.org).

Having been publicly embarrassed with the exposure of Prestwick airport’s role, the UK establishment is simply re-routing the flights through RAF bases. Mildenhall and Brize Norton have already been the focus of protests and campaigners are setting up peace camps at both sites.

Inside SchNEWS

* An American freelance journalist, Josh Wolf, has been jailed for failing to assist a Grand Jury investigation into the 2005 anti-G8 activities of activists in the US. After refusing to testify or turn over an unpublished video out-takes of activists, Josh was charged with civil contempt and jailed. He could be held for up to a year (the remainder of the Grand Jury) despite never having been convicted of a crime. To find out how to help, including an address for writing to, see www.freejosh.pbwiki.com

* Animal rights activists, Natasha Avery, Heather Nicholson and Daniel Wadham have been convicted of public order offences relating to an incident with fox hunting supporters. The sentences – 16 months for Nat and Heather, 12 months for Dan, are grossly severe due to the fact that all three are well known animal rights campaigners, and involved in SHAC (See www.shac.net). All would appreciate letters and support: Natasha Avery (new prisoner) and Heather Nicholson (NR7271), both at UKDS Bronzefield, Woodthorpe Road, Ashford, Middlesex, TW15 3JZ; and Daniel Wadham (new prisoner), HMP and YOI Feltham, Bedfont Road, Middlesex, TW13 4ND. For more see www.spiritoffreedom.org.uk

BLAZING SADDLES

Activists are out pedalling their messages far and wide. On August 6th, the Peace Cyclists set off from Embankment Gardens in London on a epic ride across Europe and the Middle East to raise awareness about the occupation of Palestine and call for a just peace in the region. Proving it’s not just superfit huge-calved steroid-abusing Tour de France-types in lycra who can go the distance, the 35 cyclists include a man of 70 and a 23 year old graduate who has left the occupied West Bank for the first time to take part in the ride across 10 countries, back to his home in Palestine. For updates see www.thepeacecycle.org

Meanwhile two brothers from London have reached John O’Groats in their 5000 mile cycle around the entire British coastline on bizarre cannibalised seven-foot high ‘Tall’ bikes. And it’s all for charidee... Re-Cycle, which aims to redistribute abandoned bikes to Africa (See www.re-cycle.org). Cyclemagic Community Projects, Leicester-based schemes aimed at promoting cycling, and teaching children from disadvantaged backgrounds about bicycle maintenance. www.cyclemagic.org.uk and Sustrans, the UK’s leading sustainable transport charity (See www.sustrans.org.uk). For a diary, pictures and more details see www.tallbiketourbritain.com

* Or how about joing the protest rides to Campsfield Detention Centre? On the last Saturday of every month, in Oxford. Meet at Martyrs Memorial (nr The Randolph and Debenhams) at 11:15am. For more see www.closecampsfield.org.uk

DAMMED IF YOU DON’T

Heard the old cliché about the calm, peaceful Scandinavians with more mature, liberal-socialist governments? Tell that to protestors engaged in the battle against the construction of the giant Karahnjukar hydro-electric dam in the Icelandic Highlands – one of Europe’s last surviving wildernesses (See SchNEWS 487). The campaign stepped up a gear last week as activists relocated their protest camp from Snaefell, some hours walk to the construction site, to a much nearer, more disputed area at Lindur, an area threatened with flooding by the dam.

An eyewitness reports that the move took place in the face of massive police efforts to frustrate it, using exclusion zones and roadblocks, which required breaching by the activists. The new camp has subsequently been surrounded by cops, who are refusing to let vehicles in with food and water. On August 3rd, 7 activists broke in to the construction site and police were liberal with their batons, mistreating and arresting four. The next day, there was another invasion by more than 30 people who locked on to vehicles and stopped work for 4 hours. The police were back on brutal form, attacking video activists and damaging equipment, and cutting through people’s D-locks with scant regard for safety. 17 people were arrested and many people had serious bruise injuries from the handcuffs used. One British woman could hardly walk on leaving the police station. The police refuse to state what laws they are using for this repression, but its clear who’s side they are acting on.

The camp needs bolstering to maintain a strong international presence to keep up awareness of, and pressure on, the tactics being used in pursuit of this devastatingly destructive plan to turn large areas of Iceland’s unique environment into industrial wastelands - polluting for profit.

* For more see www.savingiceland.org

SchNEWS in Brief

• Legendary Anarcho-punks Conflict are back on tour. They play the Cartoon in Croydon on August 25th and the Supernova in Derby on the 27th .See www.conflict-uk.com Some of the gigs are in support of the bands long-standing drummer, Paco, who’s made himself ill by playing too fast. Phil Collins beware.
• Fundraising event for the Friends of Ernesto Campaign. Ernesto Leal, a Chilean who fled danger under the Pinochet regime and has been in the UK since the early 70’s, was taken to Belmarsh Prison on May 1st this year, threatened with deportation to Jamaica (See SchNEWS 542). He was granted bail and released in June, but still faces deportation. Proceeds from this event go to the legal fund fighting his deportation. Thursday 17th, 7pm-midnight, £8, Gramaphone Bar & Restaurant, 60-62 Commercial Street, London, E1 6LT (nearest tube Aldgate East). Line up includes Howie B and The Alabama 3 Soundsystem. Phone 020 7377 5332 Web www.friendsofernesto.org.uk
• There will be a meeting in London on Sat 19th, 3pm, to plan actions for October 1st, after which there will be a year of protest against the Faslane Naval Base in Scotland. At the Everything4Everyone, 4 Dalston Lane, Hackney, E8 (Opposite the Peace Mural), a minute from Dalston Kingsland train station. For more email stopthebomb@purplehills.net web www.faslane365.org
• RIP Lorna – who died last month. There will be a benefit gig at The Albert, Brighton, Weds 16th, 7.30pm (£3) with Tragic Roundabout and Chicken Shed Zeppelin to pay for her wake and help cover the costs of her father’s flight from New Zealand. Lorna, a Maori, was well known amongst the traveller community, latterly at the Cement Works in Steyning.

RAPE ALARM

Despite the market in organic food growing at an unprecedented 30% per year, the Government and its agri-corporate chums are ignoring public opinion and signalling their intent to get their Genetically Modified paradise by hook or by crook.

The first wave of GM crop trials were trashed en masse by anti-GM campaigners, and supermarkets were forced to distance themselves from GM food due to strong public pressure. Even the Govt’s own experts claimed that GM farming and its related pesticides would devastate the flora and fauna in rural areas. Eventually they reluctantly staged a climbdown and issued a moriatoruim on further GM until at least 2008 (See SchNEWS 445, 448).

Now the Government have announced proposals of just how they will mix GM and non-GM crops should they be able to swing the EU consultation on GM going on at the moment (something they’re working hard on behind the scenes).They’ve also decided just how pure organic food needs to be: allowing for 0.9% GM contamination of nearby “organic” crops. On top of this, a recent call to protect rural families by banning the spraying of pesticides in five-metre buffer zones around farm fields was... rejected.

This all follows the discovery of a ‘superweed’, the result of GM oilseed rape cross-breeding with a common weed in farm scale trials, making a genetically modified new breed of charlock, previously thought to be safe from mutation. This version of the common weed, found alongside oilseed rape in the UK and mainland Europe, is resistant to the weed killer used in the GM trial and confirmed as containing the gene inserted into the GM oilseed rape.

If GM oilseed rape was grown commercially, herbicide-resistant weeds could become widespread. Farmers would then have to use more and more damaging toxins to get rid of them, with all the associated knock-on effects on the environment.

Without the slightest hint of irony, the Minister for Environment said that new trials were necessary to establish independent evidence, because otherwise, “we ... leave ourselves open to pressure from commercial companies, for example, and we are not going to bow to that.”

The governements position on GM clearly demonstrates its ongoing commintment to the War on Terra. For more see www.pan-uk.org

...and finally...

In this column a few weeks ago (See SchNEWS 550) we mentioned that Bono’s company Elevation Partners had bought up Pentagon-puppet Pandemic Studios, makers of such eco-people-friendly computer games as Mercenaries 2:World in Flames and Full Spectrum Warrior. Because there was a joke or two in the article it seems many people didn’t believe it and thought it a spoof – clinging on to that rosy-tinted Live Aid do-gooder image no doubt. Well...it was true. And it seems he still hasn’t found what he’s looking for, but is wide awake in America when it comes to one desire... more cash.

In another ethic-lite money-making investment, Bono-head’s California-based venture capital firm has now bunged around $300m to Forbes, the US business magazine which is frequently described as the ‘bible of capitalism’. Meanwhile, having nailed his true colours to the mast finally, Bono is obviously not fussed about the bad press from switching U2’s financial affairs from Ireland to Amsterdam in a massive tax evasion manoeuvre. Nice work, comrade, lets hope it’s a beautiful day when your stock finally goes... pop.

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