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.

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

""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

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

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.

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

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.

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againsfp6" ,.",rijusticeand war.

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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

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.

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)

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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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 ssp.youth@btconnect.comwww.ssy.org.uk

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