Solidarity 3/20, 13 December 2002

firefighters solidarity

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Media

A Campaign for Justice in the Media is being organised by London Central Branch of the National Union of Journalists, c/o NUJ, 308 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8DP.
Their position is: "Full support to the firefighters! Reject the lies of the press barons! We demand that the newspapers and media allow the FBU equal space to put its side of the case and answer any attack made against it." More details by writing to the above or email vickim57@hotmail.com

The contestants bite back

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Gerry Byrne reviews The Great Reality TV Swindle, Channel Four, 2 December

It had to happen. It's like when you're a child and you have this boy-mouse and a girl-mouse. Oh dear. Big Brother mates with Survivor, with some additional genetic material from Enron and the Cook Report…

Take a bunch of young hopeful TV-presenter wannabes, blag a classy audition suite, a private island in the Thames on the basis of free advertising, take on some eager camera crew who'll work for the kudos, tell your hopefuls to divest themselves of all ties - flats, lovers, commitments - for a year, ask them to turn up penniless but passports at the ready. What do you get?

Frontline poetry: 1st September 1939

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The title of WH Auden's not greatly political, but effective poem is the date Hitler invaded Poland. Two days later the whole of Europe was at war. This poem - we print five of the stanzas here - was much quoted in the wake of September 11th. English born, Auden became an American citizen in 1946. Auden was Communist Party sympathiser and some of his political language often seems Stalinoid. Auden's description of the shocking unreality of war remains very powerful.

Not welcome?

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In the last issue of Solidarity (3/19) we reported on how Solidarity supporter, Faz Velmi, was verbally attacked by George Galloway MP, at a meeting organised by the University College London's Stop the War Group. Faz, an invited speaker, along with Galloway, argued that the Kurds, and Israeli Jews, also had the right to self-determination and was accused of 'Zionism'. Lindsey German told the meeting that people "like Faz" who advocated a two states programme for Israel/Palestine were not welcome in the Stop the War Coalition. Does that mean German doesn't want the PLO and most of the Israeli left in 'her' campaign?

The UCL Stop the War Group have written a letter of complaint to Lindsey German about her "not welcome" remark. Watch this space...

Could 'Cheriegate' become Labour's 'Profumo affair'?

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By Annie O'Keefe

Do bears shit in Canadian woods?
Do lawyers lie, deceive, dissemble, mislead?
Is it their basic trade, something they do just to keep in practice?
Is the top layer of New Labour a cartel of lawyers and spin liars?
Is Cherie Blair a lawyer?
The question is: is Cherie Blair lying now about her connection with low-life conman Peter Foster?

The public sector fightback: New NHS pay deal

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More for some, the same for most
By Kate Ahrens

The new pay deal offered to NHS staff at the end of last month has been used to bolster the government's argument in the firefighters' pay dispute that only through modernisation can better pay be achieved in the public sector.

However, the deal, which has been under negotiation for almost four years, has very little to do with modernisation of working practices or cuts in staffing numbers.