No 52, March 2003
War on democracy! War on humanity!
"THE question
is not whether we can change the murderous march of the powerful. The question
we should be asking is: could we live with the shame of not having done
everything possible to prevent and stop this war? No honest man or woman can
remain silent and indifferent at this moment. All of us, each one in our own
voice, in our own way, in our own language, by our own action, must say
‘NO’." Letter Against The War, Subcomandante Marcos of the
Zapatista rebels in Chiapas, Mexico, February 2003.
UP until now The Porkbolter has been fairly restrained about
our war coverage. As a local community newsletter we feel it’s our
primary duty to report on local community issues, rather than on events taking
part on a wider stage that we in Worthing have little chance of influencing.
But the situation around the attack against Iraq has reached the point where
the dividing lines between parochial and international, individual and global,
have become meaningless.
All around the world ordinary people, most of whom have never felt inclined
to protest about anything before, are standing up to be counted in their
opposition to the American war-mongers. Even in those states whose rulers have
placed them in the US camp the vast majority are opposed to military action
and millions are in open revolt. Governments may support the American line,
but countries do not. Right-wing media magnate and prime minister Silvio
Berlusconi is not Italy any more than Tony Blair speaks
for the British public or, for that matter, Saddam Hussein is a
reflection of the ordinary Iraqi people whose lives and families will be
reduced to a bloody pulp by the war.
Never before has the gulf between rulers and ruled been so obvious, never
before have the claims of those in power to represent their populations been
so transparent, never before has the notion that our capitalist society is
"democratic" been so clearly a lie. Tony Blair has made much over the last six
years of "listening" to the people, of designing policies in response to the
public’s anxieties and demands. It was all just spin all along, of
course, but even that shallow pretence went out of the window the moment he
saw the "mother of all focus groups" (as one commentator described
the February 15 anti-war march) coming down Whitehall.
Gone were the shifting and self-contradicting arguments - not to mention
the forged dossiers and botch-job student thesis ‘intelligence’ -
detailing Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, or terrorists linked to
Iraq, or weapons of destruction being stolen from Iraq by terrorists, or
Saddam oppressing his own people, and so on ad nauseam. Gone also, until next
needed to scare the public, were the tanks at Heathrow and Gatwick Airports
and the high security alert that had coincidentally made them so essential in
the run-up to what proved to be the biggest protest in British history. All of
that was abandoned. Instead we had Tony Blair declaring that he was right, we
were all wrong, and nothing we could do was ever going to change his mind.
There you are, pure power laid bare. Are you ever going to bother voting
again?
Meanwhile, all the millions opposed to the war have been left with a
challenge. What do we do now? Democratic means have been tried and ignored.
What now? Give up and settle down to watch the whole horrific slaughter on
CNN? There are beguiling voices saying you should do just that. The war will
be nothing to worry about, they say. It’ll all be over by Easter. Maybe
it will. Iraq is hardly a military threat to be feared by the immensely
powerful US armed forces and their British stooges - sorry, allies. But that
will not be the end of the nightmare. It will be just the start. If the
US gets away with launching this attack, despite the complete absence of any
good reason and the outright opposition of most of the planet’s
population, it will think it can get away with anything. Who knows who will be
next? Iran? North Korea? China? Germany? France? The Isle of Wight?
In a way it doesn’t matter, because the US has made it clear it is
embarking on a "war on terrorism" in which terrorists are defined as anyone
not under complete US control. We will be launched into a permanent war.
And with the permanent war will come permanent terrorist alerts, permanent
suspension of civil liberties, permanent persecution of any voices, no matter
how small and peaceful, raised against the rampant power-hungry colossus of
American corporate global domination. Many of you will no doubt be aware
of that old chestnut of a hypothetical question - if you could go back in time
and try to change history, when would you go back to and what would you do?
It’s not hypothetical any more. The time is now. And what you are
going to do about it is entirely up to you and your conscience.
Brave fight against peace
RUMOURS abound that a new pro-war
pressure group has been set up in Worthing, though it is not clear whether it
involves letter-writing military enthusiasts John "The Cowboy" Vaughan and
Steve "Too Much Violence on the Telly but Not Enough In Real Life" Stevens.
The organisation is apparently called Worthing Against Peace and
it is a coalition of the local branches of The Royal Gullible Society,
Worthing Hitler Association and the South Heene American
Line-Dancing Militia. Elements from the Sussex pro-hunting lobby are
also said to be involved, under the stirring slogan "Defend Bloodsports -
Support the War!" They are rumoured to be meeting regularly in the toilets
at McDonald’s in Montague Place, where they hold readings of old
editorials from The Sun, gaze lovingly at old, suspiciously stained,
photographs of Margaret Thatcher and daydream quietly of small foreign
children having their limbs blown off by the very latest in high-tech American
weaponry.
Saying ‘no’ to the US bullies
WORTHING Against
War has been continuing its fight against Bush and Blair’s war with a
hectic series of activities.
February 8. More than 320 people turned up for the anti-war protest
in Montague Place. After speeches and singing, the crowd set off on an
impressive march through South Street and Chapel Road to the war memorial
outside the town hall.
February 15. A strong contingent from Worthing headed off to London
to join the biggest protest in British history. Millions say
‘no!’
March 1. A group from Worthing Against War supported the anti-war
protest in Brighton city centre, which was declared “unlawful” by
police because the 300 protesters declined to follow the route dictated to
them by the force. The cops over-reacted as usual! Sussex Action for Peace
March 3. A delegation of 15 WAW supporters delivered letters to
Worthing Borough Council’s Lib Dem leaders urging them to pass an
anti-war resolution at their next meeting.
March 5. Students from Worthing College in Bolsover Road
demonstrated for peace on the nearby roundabout. Worthing High School students
also staged a protest, which resulted in a police guard on the school gate.
Young people thinking for themselves! Quick, call the cops!
March 8. WAW staged a mass die-in protest in Worthing town centre,
complete with wailing siren.
If war goes ahead, people are urged to gather at 6pm at the clock tower
outside the Guildbourne Centre in Worthing on the evening after the bombing
begins for a noisy expression of anger. Bring whistles, banners, pots and
pans.
WAW is holding an Anti-War Day in Worthing on Saturday March 29 at
the Friends Meeting House in Mill Road. There will be meditation from 10.30am,
then from 12 noon to 2pm videos and a fund-raising soup kitchen. Speakers from
2.30pm include Lindsey German, convenor of the Stop the War Coalition, Dr
Judith Cook of Medact, Yakoub Purches of Worthing Islamic Society and the
excellent Colin Chalmers from Sussex direct action newsletter SchNEWS.
And a Rock Against War gig is being held on Saturday April 5, 7-11pm
at The Vintner’s Parrot (back room), Warwick St, Worthing.
Next Worthing Against War meetings on Tuesdays March 18 and April 1,
7.45pm, upstairs at The Downview pub opposite West Worthing station.
Latest Worthing anti-war info
Town Hall tradition
WE were delighted to see that
Worthing’s latest Mayor-elect, James Doyle, is a sprightly 38 years old,
rather than the traditional 103. That’s one mayoral tradition laid to
rest (if he actually takes over the role after the elections), but what
about the other one we mention from time to time - that all Worthing Mayors
seem, like present incumbent and fellow Lib Dem Eric Mardell, to be
Freemasons? We have written the following letter to the illustrious
politician:
Dear Mr Doyle,
We would like to congratulate you on your selection as Mayor-elect and
in extending a warm porcine hand of friendship wonder if you would take a few
seconds to tick one of the boxes below for our ongoing survey of mayoral
interests:
a) I am a Freemason.
b) I am not a Freemason.
c) I am a Freemason but I’m not going to admit it to you
lot.
If we don’t hear from you, we will naturally put you down as a
‘c’.
Yours,
Pinky Perkins,
The Porkbolter
A full update on Mr Doyle’s reply in the next issue!
Are the homeless human?
POOR, homeless people don’t
count as human beings. That seemed to be the opinion of big-hearted
Worthing Guardian reporter Brian Stephens in his front page
article on January 31. Talking of plans to get rid of "vagrants" from
Liverpool Gardens, he wrote: "The council hopes that a £100,000-plus
makeover of the gardens will make them more accessible to the public, whose
presence could discourage itinerants from using the area." So "the public"
only refers to people with jobs, homes and cars, does it? And where exactly
are you supposed to spend your days if you sleep out on the streets or in a
hostel that chucks you outside every morning? Isn’t it a hard enough
life being homeless anyway, without being denied the right to sit on a park
bench on a patch of grass and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air? Or should you
just be shunted out of sight so you don’t get in the way of the consumer
clones and retail retards?
Myrtle Piggott 8.5.24 - 5.2.03
MYRTLE
Piggott’s sudden and untimely death came as a bitter blow to her
family and friends. She was well loved, and it was ‘standing room
only’ at the Humanist service at Worthing Crematorium where her life was
celebrated. She was a committed peace activist, a member of CND and staunch
supporter of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign for which she fundraised, and
collected and packed vital equipment for containers to be sent to the Cuban
people. She helped set up and run a Woodcraft Folk group for the children, was
a member of the local folk dance group, supported the principle of the
co-operative movement, and loved music and reading. She was warm and caring,
always ready to help with such good humour, we will remember and miss her. As
she said in her will "don’t make a fuss, keep it simple - life goes on
and there’s much to be done".
PORK-SCRATCHINGS
SUPERB news from the Titnore
campaign. The two remaining people arrested on the May 26 demo have had their
cautions lifted, after involving lawyers. Following the dramatic collapse of a
woman’s prosecution because of video evidence disproving police claims,
this means all three so-called 'troublemakers' have had their names
cleared! Meanwhile, no new planning application had been submitted as
we went to press. But the developers’ consortium are trying to use
smarmy PR firm Green Issues to confuse public opinion by
presenting the argument as a choice of 'options' around the exact form of
their massive money-making 900-home estate. There is only one option as far
as we can see, and that is for them to take their greedy porkin’ hands
off our countryside!
* * *
RESIDENTS in the Beeches Avenue area also face a long struggle to stop
developers Hargreaves from building over the Downs behind their
homes. Despite council support, the land has not yet been included in the
proposed National Park area and the powerful property firm has also now
formally submitted its plans for 90 homes on the treasured green space.
* * *
MANY people have been sickened by Government plans to fine parents who take
their children on holiday during term time, thus penalising less well-off
families who simply can’t afford peak holiday rates - or the threatened
fine. One response to this latest attempt to impose totalitarian control over
people’s lives (Do they own our kids? Is it a school or a
prison?) is to take the perfectly legal option of pulling your children
out of school altogether and educating them at home. Contact Education
Otherwise www.education-otherwise.org [UPDATED CONTACT DETAILS SUBMITTED FEB 2008: Education Otherwise, PO Box 325, Kings Lynn, Norfolk PE34 3XW. Tel:0845 478 6345. Email: eoemailhelpline@education-otherwise.org]
* * *
DID you know? West Sussex County Council is bringing in a new
"call centre" for enquiries at a cost of £2.3 million, is increasing
staffing by nearly 350, has committed £200,000 of our money to a legal
fight against the new South Downs National Park, and given its chief executive
an 11% pay rise, to £150,000. It has also put up council tax by 18.5%.
Marvellous!
* * *
"INTERCEPTION of telephone calls, email and post by police and the
intelligence services has more than doubled since Labour came to power and is
higher than at any time since the start of the second world war," (The
Guardian, Jan 28). Note the link between wars and theft of freedom.
Speaking of which, opponents of war and tyranny are heartily recommended to
get hold of a copy of a new booklet by the Kate Sharpley Library (£2
from BM Hurricane, London WC1N 3XX). No War But The Class War! -
Libertarian Anti-Militarism Then and Now, edited by Anna Key.
* * *
WANT to get out and about more in the Worthing area? Why not contact
rdocwra@hotmail.com for details of the ongoing Green Social
evenings or check out Sunny Worthing Arts Group’s website
at www.swagonline.org?
Torture is the kindest way
"TORTURE of political opponents,"
said the Minister for Human Rights yesterday, "has long been
regarded as totally unacceptable in a civilised democratic society. However,
in line with our forward-thinking American allies, the British Government has
now decided that use of strategic pain and physical duress is a legitimate and
useful approach to information retrieval in the Glorious Global War on
Terrorism. With that in mind, we are passing legislation to ensure all
citizens carry on their person at all times a new Torture Entitlement
Card, on which must be marked the form of torture least bearable to the
holder and most likely to result in early capitulation, with commensurate
improvements in interview efficiency and costing implications. Let’s all
work together to make torture as painless as possible for those entrusted to
carry it out and as painful as necessary to destroy all who dare to defy us."
Got swine fever yet?
The Pork-Bolter is a local totally
independent volunteer-produced newsletter with a pig-headed dislike of
official lies and hypocrisy. Drop us a line at PO Box 4144, Worthing, West
Sussex BN14 7NZ. You can also send e-mail porkbolter@eco-action.org. Free e-mail
subscriptions are available. To get the next six issues through the post send
a donation of at least £3 payable to The Porkbolter.
Published and printed by The Pork-Bolter, PO Box 4144, Worthing BN14
7NZ.
No copyright, no excuses - get out on the streets!
and finally ...
Reclaim Your Town, Reclaim Your Life!
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