Issue 47 of Red Banner is available now. €2 / £1.50 from bookshops or the address above. read full story / add a comment

Yassamine Mather writes on the latest rather odd elections in Iran: how would you like it if all candidates for the Dail had to be approved by the Catholic Church? In these elections which were confined to conservatives, Khamenis faction won 75% of the seats leaving Ahmadinejad isolated. What does this mean for the people of iran? Yassamine says: For now, the supreme leader has got his way. Craven ‘reformists’ will not stop him; and imperialist sanctions, sabotage and war will only make things worse. Only the Iranian masses can put an end to this blood-soaked regime. Full text at link. read full story / add a comment

There is an eerie sense of deja vu as the rhetoric used by the Imperialist leaders echoes that used in 2003 prior to the invasion of Iraq. Ben Lewis reports on debates in Westminster , international developments and the ever present danger of an Israeli attack on Iran. Full text at link.

The debate was initiated by Conservative MP John Baron, perhaps the only Tory MP who opposes an attack on Iran. His motion was simple and straightforward: “This house believes that the use of force against Iran would be wholly counterproductive and would serve only to encourage any development of nuclear weapons; and calls upon the government to rule out the use of force against Iran and reduce tensions by redoubling diplomatic efforts.” Malcolm Rifkind, Tory chairman of the intelligence and security committee, moved an amendment that completely changed its content. The amendment deleted everything except “This house” and replaced the rest of Baron’s motion with: “… supports the government’s efforts to reach a peaceful, negotiated solution to the Iranian nuclear issue through a combination of pressure in the form of robust sanctions, and engagement led by the E3+3 comprising the UK, US, France, Germany, China and Russia; and recognises the value of making clear to Iran that all options for addressing the issue remain on the table”.

The Rifkind amendment, which was passed by an overwhelming majority of 285 to 6. Those who voted against the amendment were Labour MPs John McDonnell, Paul Flynn and Dennis Skinner; Jonathan Edwards of Plaid Cymru; Mark Durkan of the Social Democratic and Labour Party; and Baron himself. read full story / add a comment

The rate of Unemployment is 23.3% in Spain, almost 21% in Greece, 15% in Portugal, also 15% in Ireland and almost 7.5% in Germany. It means close to 17 million people were out of work in the first month of 2012, and that's on paper. read full story / add a comment

Congratulations to Ian Bailey who eventually scored a victory in the Supreme Court yesterday, ultimately at a huge cost to the State. The questin is what will happen to the perpetrators of the frame up of Ian Bailey, particularly the Gardai. Surely this frame up can not become another cover up. Minister Alan Shatter you need to take focus of what is going on in the Justice and Legal System.

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James Turley writes about the Imperialist campaign against Syria and asks where the Left and the Anti-War Movement are. Full text at link.

It is clear at this point that the Syrian uprising - met with such ruthless brutality by the Ba’athist regime - is in the process of being transformed into some kind of civil war. It is equally clear that imperialism has taken sides against the government of Bashar al-Assad. What is less clear is who exactly is fighting the Ba’athists....

All this raises the question: where is the workers’ movement and the left? In Syria, alas, it is hardly in a position to challenge the Islamists for dominance of the uprising. Its largest sections, especially the Syrian Communist Party, are hopelessly compromised by the regime. To the left of the ‘official communists’, there are only small, nascent organisations, which as yet lack visible penetration into society at large. The uprising has involved political strikes, but not on any large scale.... read full story / add a comment

PhiliIMC reports on the slaying of Indymedia Kenya organizer Stephen Nyash last Tuesday . The shooting occurred in the Korogocho ghetto of Nairobi, where Nyash had lived and worked for most of his life. read full story / add a comment

Eamonn McCann in todays Belfast telegraph writes about the 'losing' of Marian Prices pardon read full story / add a comment

Feb. 27 WikiLeaks press conference: The Global Intelligence Files
http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/20736311
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(original article is in Scientific American, re-published here in the public interest)

By Julian Dibbell

• The Internet was designed to be a decentralized system: every node should connect to many others. This design helped to make the system resistant to censorship or outside attack.
• Yet in practice, most individual users exist at the edges of the network, connected to others only through their Internet service provider (ISP). Block this link, and Internet access disappears.
• An alternative option is beginning to emerge in the form of wireless mesh networks, simple systems that connect end users to one another and automatically route around blocks and censors.
• Yet any mesh network needs to hit a critical mass of users before it functions well; developers must convince potential users to trade off ease of use for added freedom and privacy.
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British Foreign Secretary William Hague claims that the World is Facing a new Cold WAr unless Iran gives up its hopes of constructing nuclear weapons. Peter Manson thinks this is a load of codswallop and analyses whats really going on. Full text at link.

Foreign secretary William Hague’s absurd claim that the world faces a “new cold war” if Iran does not give up its aim of acquiring nuclear weapons might not stand up to examination, but Hague was undoubtedly given a boost on February 22 when a team from the United Nations-sponsored International Atomic Energy Agency returned from a two-day visit to Iran. read full story / add a comment

Yassamine Mather examines the current threats to Iran, the internal situation and discusses how the drive to War by the Imperialists should be opposed. Full text at url below.

In the last few weeks Iranians have woken up every day to news of further military threats and new sanctions. Anyone you contact in Iran will tell you how the constant media ‘analyses’ of if/when the bombing will start is affecting the national psyche, how morale is down, how the current situation is reminiscent of the terrible days of the Iran-Iraq war.

One Iranian blogger summarised the frustration of many Iranians when he lambasted callous statements by United States and Israeli officials debating the likely timing of air raids and military attacks against Iran. He wrote “These people discuss the timetable for bombing Iran as if they were deciding on dates for family holidays.” read full story / add a comment

Marian Price has been moved to Hydebank Wood a womens prison while her lawyers are set to begin judicial review proceedings against her internment.
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Sanctions: such a simple word, it sounds harmless. But sanctions are really War by other means. Here Michael Jansen writes about the reality of sanctionsc as ordinary Syrian people suffer. Full text at link.

SHOESHINE BOYS and girls line up with their simple kits along the pavement across from the luxury Cham Palace Hotel, which charges more than a poor man’s monthly wage for a single night’s stay.

Women holding bundles which may or may not be babies sit on the broad walkway in a colonnade. Grubby children peddling chewing gum and lottery tickets pursue pedestrians for blocks in the hope of receiving a coin or two. In all the years I have been visiting Syria, I have never seen such desperation.

Economic sanctions touted as targeting the regime actually affect the poor, punish the middle class, and destroy commerce. read full story / add a comment

Since approximately the early 1980s Capitalism has been on the offensive to attack working conditions and take away the hard won labour rights of the previous century or so.

In those years we have seen manufacturing jobs move offshore and increasing amounts of temporary and part-time jobs which have less rights than full time jobs.

We have seen multi-national and chain stores declare bankruptcy to allow these firms to walk away from their healthcare and pension obligations, only to re-open the following week.

But yet this is not good enough and the capitalists and because of the logic of capitalism itself, as usual never give up and have their sights firmly set on things like decent wages, holiday pay, sick pay, pensions and health-cover.

And leading the latest innovation in exploition is IBM Germany with their new programme called, "liquid" and reported in an article titled 'IBM launches new form of day-wage labour' on the www.wsws.org website. read full story / add a comment

The US Navy is building up its forces in the Persian Gulf, more provocations against Iran. With another Aircraft Carrier Battle Group arriving, Admiral Fox, commander of the 5th Fleet upped the ante: “We’ve developed very precise and lethal weapons that are very effective, and we’re prepared,” he said. “We’re just ready for any contingency.” Full text at link.

The increasingly menacing character of US rhetoric toward Iran was underlined by the comments to the media on Sunday by Admiral Mark Fox, commander of the US 5th Fleet based at Bahrain in the Persian Gulf.

While couched in terms of “defence”, Fox’s remarks contained a barely concealed threat. President Barack Obama has repeatedly declared that the US will not allow Iran to build a nuclear weapon and that “all options are on the table” to prevent that from taking place. Fox was signalling that the 5th Fleet was “ready today” for “any contingency”, including war. read full story / add a comment

The SCOOP are currently recruiting enthusiastic, bright, creative interns and volunteers for 2012. This is the perfect opportunity to immerse yourself into the SCOOP team, become part of something worthwhile and to learn how this unique and innovative organisation operates. read full story / add a comment

Israeli Marxist Moshé Machover writers on how the Israelis continue to plot action against Iran. They will likely use a military provocation to get Tehran to react and use the ensuing disturbances to drive more Palestinians out of the Occupied Territories and Israel itself.

One thing is beyond any doubt: a major aim of Israel’s foreign policy is the overthrow of the Iranian regime. What is not generally understood are the motives behind this aim, and the present Israeli government’s preferred means of achieving it. In this article I would like to say something about the motives, and then explain why prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s preferred means is war - one likely to ignite a major conflagration. read full story / add a comment

In the murky world of wars, covert operations and so called intelligence agencies, it can be hard to work out at times what are the true motives behind any particular policy, campaign or action. In the case of Afghanistan and Pakistan it has been long stated that the aim of the US govt is to disrupt Pakistan and cause so much civil strife so as to lead to the breakup of the Pakistani state. And as part of the ensuing chaos, the aim would be to launch an operation to seize the Pakistan nuclear weapons so as to deny the only Muslim power of having these happens. This apparently would make the world safe. To do this the US needs to start a civil war and the northern provinces have been the target of multipe operations by the Pakistani army and also of Drone attacks by the CIA.

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Yes, it’s kicking off everywhere.

Over the last 18 months we have seen a sea change in resistance and popular consciousness. The Arab Spring has put revolution back on the agenda of global politics.

In Britain, we’ve seen the occupation of Millbank and student revolt, the huge TUC March and now the massive N30 strike.

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