Solidarity 018, 28 November 2002

According to a recent report, Medact, a British organisation affiliated to the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, the total number of deaths on all sides during a war on Iraq and the following three months could be between 48,000 and 261,000. War in Iraq even of short duration would initially kill three times the number of people who died in the September 11 terrorist attacks. However, as the report's authors point out, "the US goal of leadership change is counterbalanced by Saddam Hussein's goal of survival, so a short, clinical campaign is probably wishful thinking."...

Conference Report By Vicki Morris No Sweat organiser excluded from ESF - Protest for liberty! Fight Doc Marten job losses By Mick Duncan Over 160 young activists and trade unionists enjoyed the discussions, debates and planning at the recent No Sweat/Student Campaign conference, held in London on Saturday 23 November. Mexican trade unionists Gaby Cabrera and Josefina Ponce were warmly received as they spoke about the battle to throw out a corrupt trade union organisation at the KukDong-Mexmode factory. The largely women workforce recently fought a massive and victorious battle to win...

By Nicole Ashford An estimated 200 people have died and tens of thousands have been left homeless in the riots sparked by the Miss World contest in Nigeria. There is a long history of conflict between Muslims in northern Nigeria and the mainly Christian south. Islamist influence has been growing in the Muslim areas of the country, and an increasing number of states are adopting sharia law - bringing them into conflict with the national government. The recent trouble began after a newspaper suggested that the Prophet Mohammed would not have disapproved of Miss World and might even have married...

Trade unions must defend civil liberties By Lucy Clement More people in jail, more miscarriages of justice and the ditching of centuries-old safeguards - these are the Government's plans for the criminal justice system. Ministers will introduce no less than six different criminal justice bills in the coming year - attacking basic civil liberties, and making it ever harder for people to escape from a cycle of poverty and crime. Among the worst of the proposals is a plan to scrap the "double jeopardy" rule which prevents people being tried twice for the same crime. Supporters of the change say...

By Gerry Bates "If the Government proceeds with its threat to break the strike by outlawing industrial action or breaking picket lines, the Government will be escalating the dispute, and must expect calls for other unions to come to the aid of the FBU with sympathy action." John MacDonnell MP Prime Minister Tony Blair has nailed his Thatcherite colours to the mast. He will not retreat: he has staked the Government's reputation on defeating the firefighters. They will not, he insists, get more than a 4% pay rise without agreeing to "modernise". To rub it in, John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister...

We've been modernising for years MPs: because we're worth it Hey big spenders Public sector pay: going up! Some big pay deals Education: What modernisation meant for us Jobs must go March for the firefighters We've been modernising for years "Firefighters and the FBU have been modernising the fire service for years. We've taken the initiative on training, developing skills and working in the community on fire prevention. Tony Blair's petulant speech on Monday (25 November) has made firefighters in Belfast more determined. How dare he tell the firefighters or any other public sector workers...

The editorial from Solidarity 3/18, 29 November 2002, calls for a TUC one-day general strike to back the FBU and other union pay claims and to protest against anti-union laws. It urges the unions to insist on a special Labour Party conference and map out a course towards restoring working-class political representation and winning a workers' government radically different from New Labour's government for the rich . James Bond, tied to a table, with a powerful laser beam that will cut him in two slowly advancing towards him, says to the snarling Tony-Blair-style villain: "You expect me to talk...