Archive for February 2003

7 February 2003

ISR day of action against BP oil giant

ON 8 February, International Socialist Resistance (ISR) groups will protest at British Petroleum (BP) garages across England and Wales to highlight the opposition to Bush and Blair's plans to go to war for oil and to bring attention to Blair's real priorities - the profits of big business, writes Sarah Sachs-Eldridge.

7 February 2003

Youth against the war

EVERY DAY more and more young people are getting involved in the anti-war movement. International Socialist Resistance (ISR) and Socialist Party members and supporters have been helping organise school

7 February 2003

Iraq: US threatens "nuclear option"

The US administration is discussing the possible use of nuclear weapons against the people of Iraq, according to William M. Arkin, writes Niall Mulholland, Committee for a Workers' International

7 February 2003

Rallies Boost Striking Firefighters

THE 400 firefighters attending the FBU rally in Newcastle were in resolute mood, applauding trade union leaders who attacked Prescott's threats to impose a wage settlement, and take away their right to strike, writes Elaine Brunskill.

7 February 2003

Defend The Right To Strike: Support the firefighters

DEPUTY PRIME minister John Prescott's threats to impose a wage settlement on the firefighters and to abolish their right to strike, has caused fury within the trade union movement. BILL MULLINS explains how the firefighters' dispute can be won, whilst DAVE GORTON puts forward the way to oppose the anti-union laws.

7 February 2003

Israel's Crisis Election: Sharon re-elected on historically low turnout

DESPITE HAVING failed in every single election promise and being surrounded by disaster and corruption, Sharon is the first Israeli prime minister in over a decade to be re-elected

7 February 2003

Congestion charges: Public Transport Vs. Private Chaos

THE BIGGEST road-widening programme for 20 years was announced in December. £5.5 billion is to be spent on transport, largely on road schemes, like extra lanes on the M1 and M6 and £600 million for local

7 February 2003

Build A Mass Anti-War Movement

THE ANTI-war demonstration on 15 February will be like nothing that's ever happened in Britain before

14 February 2003

Anti-war news

THE LEADERS of five trade unions want trade union action to oppose this war. Paul Mackney of college lecturers' union Natfhe; Billy Hayes of Communication Workers' Union CWU; Mark Serwotka of civil service

14 February 2003

Building The Resistance

OVER THE past few months, many of those getting involved in the growing anti-war protests have been young people, writes Clare James, ISR representative, Stop the War Coalition.

14 February 2003

BP Protest - no blood for oil

"WE HAVE to let it be known that the thing we would like to make sure, if Iraq changes regime is that there is a level playing field for the selection of oil companies to go in there..."

14 February 2003

No War For Oil

WAR AGAINST Iraq would be a war for oil and a pretext for the US to assert its economic and military dominance internationally, at the terrible cost of thousands of lives lost and worldwide economic and political instability

14 February 2003

Firefighters Stand Up To Labour

OVER THIRTY firefighters in Scotland have decided to stand as candidates in the local elections on 1 May. They will be standing under the banner 'Firefighters Against Public Sector Cuts'.

14 February 2003

Fighting For System Change

WAR AND conflict are rooted in the exploitative and oppressive nature of capitalism and imperialism

14 February 2003

North Korea - The 'Evil' George W. Bush Can Live With

Regime 1 - Reneges on its international treaties including nuclear non-proliferation; kicks out weapons inspectors; sells its ballistic technology abroad; puts its one million troops on a state of high alert; threatens a pre-emptive nuclear strike against its neighbour.

14 February 2003

Israel: What Way Out Of The "Bloody Trap"?

AT THE same time as waging war on Saddam, President Bush is supporting Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon's war against the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza and making the whole area more dangerous

14 February 2003

After the 15 February mass demo: Where Do We Go From Here?

Anti-war demo 15 Feb 2003, photo by Paul Mattsson

FIFTEENTH OF FEBRUARY marks an historic day of anti-war protest worldwide. Never before have we seen a mass anti-war movement of this character before a war even starts. It is even bigger than the movement

21 February 2003

Youth Against The War

MILLIONS JOINED the huge anti-war demonstrations across the world on 15 February. Many were young people, travelling from schools and colleges across the country to take part in Britain's biggest-ever

21 February 2003

The World Turned Upside Down

Not in my brother's name: demonstrator in New York, photo by Paul Mattsson

Reports from Spain, Germany, Italy, South Africa, Belfast, Glasgow, Israel, New York, Seattle, Brazil, Kashmir, Russia, Ukraine.
MILLIONS OF people, up to 30 million in 72 countries according to the CNN news agency, poured onto the streets of cities and towns and villages, around the world on 15 February in protest against George Bush's war plans

21 February 2003

Anti-war demonstration, February 15 2003: The day that made history

Anti-war demo 21 Feb 2003, photo by Molly Cooper

Hyde Park on February 15, 2003: BRITAIN HAS never seen anything like it. Up to two million people flooding the streets of central London in a massive sea of anti-war protest.

28 February 2003

Strike And Protest Against The War

ON 15 February over 30 million people internationally demonstrated against Bush and Blair's war for oil in Iraq, writes Sarah Sachs-Eldridge, London ISR.

28 February 2003

Step Up Action Against War

AFTER THE magnificent events of 15 February, many hoped that worldwide demonstrations of tens of millions would halt the warmongers Bush and Blair in their tracks

28 February 2003

Hypocrite Bush's New Nuke Programme

JUST IN case George W Bush's constant propaganda calls for Iraq's disarmament made you think that he's against weapons of mass destruction, this week's news will make you think again

28 February 2003

Aslum Seekers: Blunkett's Harsh Laws Illegal

THE HIGH Court has ruled that Blunkett's latest harsh attack on asylum seekers is illegal. The judge hearing the case commented: "Parliament can surely not have intended that genuine refugees should be

28 February 2003

Italy: Direct Action Against War

LAST WEEKEND saw dramatic scenes of direct action in Italy to stop the movement of US military supplies in the country

28 February 2003

Greece: Workers And Bosses On A Collision Course

PETER TAAFFE, Socialist Party general secretary, recently attended the Congress of Xekinima, the Greek organisation of the Committee for a Workers' International (CWI - the socialist international organisation to which the Socialist Party is affiliated)

28 February 2003

'Partnership'= Benefits For Bosses

ROBBIE SEGAL has just been re-elected to the national executive (EC) of the shopworkers' union USDAW

28 February 2003

Bush tries to carve up Iraq After Saddam

HUGE ANTI-war demonstrations have forced Tony Blair to try to justify his bellicose position. He complains that people don't understand the 'moral case' for attacking Iraq.

28 February 2003

Ankle-cuffed for 18 hours!

WHILE MILLIONS marched in the historic worldwide 15 February demos, I was being ankle-cuffed for nearly 18 hours at New York's JFK airport.

28 February 2003

Stop The Countdown To War

WITH A mixture of bribery and bullying, the United States and Britain will spend the next few days trying to organise a majority in the United Nations Security Council for a war against Iraq, writes Dave Nellist, Socialist Party councillor Coventry and Stop the War Coalition steering committee.