Unite election is on!



Visit www.grassorootsleft.org to see the best candidates the union has allowed to stand.

LONDON AND EASTERN  Mark Evans
LONDON AND EASTERN (BAEM)  Mohammed Golam Bhuiyan
SOUTHWEST  Jon Locke

SOUTHWEST  Doreen (Kelly) Roberts
WEST MIDLANDS  Martin Hartnett
AEROSPACE AND SHIPBUILDING  Neil Armitage
NATIONAL SEAT - WOMEN  Lesley Mansell

Libya - UN SCR Resolution 1973 (2011)

List of countries the US has bombed/oil reserves by country.
Libya is number 18,21,23, 35 and 10th respectively.




For information we publish a link to the full UN Security Council Resolution number 1973 and a brief explanation of what it does not authorise, courtesy of ex British Ambassador Craig Murray

"SCR 1973 SPECIFICALLY DOES NOT AUTHORISE GROUND INVASION
SCR 1973 SPECIFICALLY DOES NOT AUTHORISE VIOLENT REGIME CHANGE
SCR 1973 SPECIFICALLY DOES NOT AUTHORISE ARMING OF REBEL FORCES

SCR 1973 SPECIFICALLY DOES NOT AUTHORISE GROUND INVASION
Operative Paragraph 4
4. Authorizes Member States that have notified the Secretary-General, acting nationally or through regional organizations or arrangements, and acting in cooperation with the Secretary-General, to take all necessary measures, notwithstanding paragraph 9 of resolution 1970 (2011), to protect civilians and civilian populated areas under threat of attack in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, including Benghazi, while excluding a foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory, and requests

Saudi Invades Bahrain

Saudi M113 (made in USA)
United States Defense Secretary Robert Gates visits Bahrain to meet King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa on Saturday. Saudi Arabia invades Bahrain on Monday. This has got to be just a coincidence; Gates and the king were obviously discussing the fortunes of Ferrari and MacLaren in the (postponed) Formula 1 Grand Prix in Bahrain.

Moreover, this walks like an invasion, talks like an invasion, but it's not really an invasion, as White House spokesman Jay Carney confidently reassured world public opinion. It helps that 
said opinion happened to be conveniently narcotized, transfixed by the heartbreaking post-tsunami drama in Japan to the point of ignoring some distant rumblings in a tiny Gulf kingdom.
Full article Asian Times
"1,000 Saudi Arabian soldiers 'enter Bahrain' " Telegraph

Libya. Been Here Before.

If you remember the lead up to the invasion of Yugoslavia, Iraq and Afghanistan, you'll know exactly what NATO (or maybe just us and the USA) have in mind for Libya.  You can sense it in the news reports.  Here, by contrast, is an excellent article in today's Guardian on Libya.
"The same western leaders who happily armed and did business with the Gaddafi regime until a fortnight ago have now slapped sanctions on the discarded autocrat and blithely referred him to the international criminal court the United States won't recognise.
While American and British politicians have ramped up talk of a no-fly zone, US warships have been sent to the Mediterranean, a stockpile of chemical weapons has been duly discovered, special forces have been in action, Italy has ditched a non-aggression treaty with Tripoli and a full-scale western military intervention in yet another Arab country is suddenly a serious prospect".
'Evacuation ship' USS Kearsarge on its way
Incidentally you may have noticed that the official Libyan news agency site, listed along with many other unusual sources in our excellent Indy News section, has mysteriously died.  Read about that here.

Also from the Indy News page, what's the best type of ship to evacuate people?  A ferry or liner? No of course not.  Canadian warship sails towards Libya

Libya: Media manipulation
Incisive article on war preparations - US Intensifies Military Operations In Libya