Originally published in the August 2010 issue of Leftfield, we today republish the following article  in tribute to the dearly departed, friend of the people and bullwark against imperialism, Kim Jong Il. Long live Juche!

The Dear Bieber: JBiebz hangin at some crazy procession thing in downtown Pyongyang

Earlier this year, users of cult online messageboard 4Chan struck a strategic alliance with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il. In return for a supply of tactical nuclear weapons, the internet memesters rigged a competition on the website of teen popstar Justin Bieber. The competition invited fans to vote for the country that they wanted Bieber to tour nexact, and in proof of the glorious success of the Democratic People’s Republic, North Korea won out top! Here, Leftfield brings you an exclusive look at Justin’s tour diary in the land of the Dear Leader:

“Yo, what up, this is JB, live from my tour of the Democratic People’s Republic of North Korea. I arrived in through a place called the DMZ, don’t know what it stands for but it sounds street. Probably NK is doing what I do and just calling things names or saying stuff for their credibility, so it’s cool with me. I know how hard it is to convince people that you really are straight street, when you come from somewhere like Ontario or NK.

The border guards were all tense and straight, they could do with a lesson or two from my swagger coach, and maybe Usher telling them how to act.

We went to meet the Dear Leader, Kim Jong-Il, and I was like woah, cos the North Korean shorties be going wild for him, just like they do for me back home. I explained to KJI that I believe if I stay humble and keep following the right path, I will achieve my goals and keep reaching success. He said that he believes the same thing, and calls it the Juche ideology, which apparently a whole philosophy that he came up with by himself with a little help from his Dad!

Then we went to see some Korean mass games, which made me think that KJI must have caught Bieber-fever, the way they straight took my love of hot choreography to the next level. KJI asked if I’d perform with his 10,000 personal dance crew, and I was like “Whatever you want, JBiebz will give it to you.”

KJI was so happy he told me that alongside his Dad (the Great Leader) and himself (the Dear Leader), I was going to get the honorary title of the Dear Bieber of the DPRK.

So now, after 6 months of intense rehearsals at gunpoint, I think I’m bout ready to represent for the people’s homeland. I think the true North Korean Beliebers are going to have a Biebergasm when they see what we’ve put together.

Hopefully KJI will be satisfied, I been trying to get him to say when we can actually end the tour, but he never really answers the question and starts talking about rice harvests instead. I love the paradise on Earth that is North Korea, but I can’t wait to touchdown for all my sweet fans on the next stops of the tour, Afghanistan and Somalia. Plus I’ve been wondering what’s happened to Usher, I haven’t seen him since KJI told me he’d gone to a holiday camp for a relaxing vacation breaking rocks and making rifles.

Until then, I’m going to leave you, live here in North Korea. Peace! (But never with the American Imperialist Pig Dog Aggressors Who Will Be Crushed by the United Efforts of the Heroic Korean People, Juche is Invincible!)”

(JBiebz was speaking to Jack)

We’re now less than a week away from the largest co-ordinated  industrial action the UK has seen for decades – perhaps since the General Strike of 1926. Around three million workers will be out on strike next Wednesday – in effect, most of the public sector, from over twenty different trade unions.

That’s over twenty different groups of workers who’ve collectively said they’ve had enough of the government’s constant attacks on wages and conditions, and have now balloted for action – with the strikes  in most cases winning big majorities. A strike of this scale is virtually unprecedented: nearly every school in Scotland will be shut, as will large sections of the NHS, council services, universities and colleges, job centres and tax and benefit offices, courts and other public services.

30 November has huge potential to be a big show of strength. It will not, by itself, bring down the government, but an effective day of action can place enormous pressure on them, and hopefully lead to more. This is absolutely crucial – so far the government have offered only token concessions in the dispute over pensions, with new proposals on line to make employees work longer, pay 3 percent more in contributions AND receive a lower pension at the end of it. But the strike is about much more than just pensions – sparked by years of relentless attacks on public sector pay and conditions, compounded by a three year pay freeze.

So what can you do on the day?

Next Wednesday can be a mass day of resistance for everyone in the public sector and beyond. Walkouts, occupations, pickets, demonstrations and marches – all are useful tactics in turning the struggle into Every school, uni and college is likely to be shut on the day, giving students the opportunity to pour onto the streets in support of the strikes. Student feeder marches have been organised in both Glasgow and Edinburgh on the day, ahead of the main trade union organised rallies.

Picket! If you work somewhere going on strike that day, effective picketing can be hugely important in shutting down a workplace and ensuring the day is a success. If you’re not striking, you can still go and show your support – UK Uncut have made a national call out for people to go and show some solidaritea at their local picket lines.

Demonstrate! March, rallies and events are happening across the country. Find a local action here: http://www.n30strike.org/

Walk out! Most schools, colleges and unis will be shut due to staff striking – but in the even of your classes running, organise a walkout and head to the nearest rally or picket line.

Retweet! Share! Propagandise! The Tories and their chums in the media have already gone on the offensive, trying to create a fake division between public sector workers and those in the private sector. Speak to everyone you know and tell them the facts about the strikes.

GLASGOW

via Moh Kohn

Mass protest outside the Greek Parliament in Athens on Wednesday

On Thursday evening, the Greek Parliament voted through its latest austerity package – approved by all but one of the deputies from the ruling ’social democratic’ party, PASOK. Tens of thousands of workers will now suffer dramatic wage cuts of 40%, the slashing of pensions and the tearing up of collective bargaining agreements, on top of tax hikes and 20% unemployment (youth unemployment being nearer 50%).

In reality, the real authority in Greece is now the ‘Troika’, meaning the IMF, European Commission and European Central Bank. These three institutions are holding the Greek government hostage, demanding the complete destruction of the country’s public sector in return for the continuation of the €110bn bailout package which is keeping the country afloat, if far from stable. Greece can now keep paying its bills for a few months more, but a default on their national debt in the not too distant future is still almost certain.

Wednesday and Thursday saw the biggest days of action against austerity in Greece so far. Huge numbers were on the streets across the country, as hundreds of thousands of private sector workers joined the strikes for the first time. There were chaotic scenes in Athens, as stewards from the Stalinist trade union federation PAME clashed with other demonstrators. Amid the chaos, a PAME supporter died – although reportedly from breathing difficulties caused by police teargas.

The world economy is in crisis: Greece is the testing ground – and austerity isn’t working. By forcing ever deeper and harder cuts – this is the third drastic, emergency austerity package pushed through the parliament this year – the government is facing the growing contradictions of the system. Minus 7 percent “growth”  is not going to cure the deficit. A default is probably on its way, and has actually already happened to a limited, controlled extent: Greece’s creditors have already accepted that they’ll only ever get back 79 cents for every euro lent. However controlled or uncontrolled the default turns out to be, the impact on northern European banks, and the Euro, will be profound, and there’s a risk the ‘contagion’ could spread to Spain, Italy and Portugal.

Greece has entered a situation where the vast majority of the population have lost all faith in the political system and the government, who cling on through necessity to implement the orders of the Troika. Class war is being raged by the elites, meaning the absolute destruction of welfare and living standards, plunging millions into poverty. The economist Paul Mason has described what’s happening in the country as “anomie”, meaning the gradual breakdown of social order through the effective withdrawal of the state from public life: schools without textbooks, mass unemployment, general lawlessness and, among swathes of the population, little hope that anything can get better – as summed up in this report from a few weeks ago.

Europe is watching: Greece was first, but will not be the last. Organise, counter-attack!

Nuanced and understated as ever, the front page of today’s The Sun celebrates the demise of a despised despot, class enemy and war criminal whose decades-long rule has created untold misery for millions, and whose stubborn refusal to step aside has led to civil war amid the ruins of his former empire and destruction on a mass scale. Or something.

(See: Wapping dispute; Hillsborough disaster)

The pavement outside the Radisson Hotel on Argyle Street, Glasgow was the setting of a showdown last night between electricians -- currently fighting the tearing up of a national pay agreement that will see wage cuts of up to 35 percent and the wholesale de-skilling of their trade -- and industry bosses, who were arriving for a glitzy awards bash.

Around one hundred electricians and supporters gathered outside the hotel from early evening in a protest organised by Unite, as tuxedo-attired construction chiefs, visibly shaken, sipped champagne within the glass confines of the hotel. Industry bosses were heckled and booed as they entered the hotel, with chants going up of “we’re going to ruin your party” and “we’re coming to get you!”.

This was the latest in an ongoing series of protests following the decision by eight major firms to pull out of the national JIB agreement, which offers protection on pay and conditions. Already one company has been forced to enter back into the agreement -- the other seven have yet to follow.

This is a vital struggle to protect workers’ rights in the private sector, with the economic crisis being used as a pretext to smash the joint-industry agreement. Further protests are set to be staged over the few next weeks across the country, including at Govan Shipyard this Wednesday 12 October. Unite have told their members to get organised and to get ready for a ballot, as the employers prepare to impose deadlines for signing onto the new terms and conditions.

the SDL demo on Waterloo Place

There was a definite sense of deja vu in Edinburgh today as the far-right Scottish Defence League attempted to hold their latest ‘demonstration’, with hundreds of anti-fascists gathering to oppose them. But, unlike last time around, the script could’ve been written well in advance for the way in which events would play out today. And indeed, it had been – Lothian and Borders Police saw to that.

Having been turned down on their initial proposal to hold a march through the city centre, the SDL  were forced to make do with a police sanctioned “static protest” outside the Apex Hotel on Waterloo Place, at which they gathered from early on. Anti-fascists were meanwhile meeting at the foot of the Mound, where a rally had been organised by Unite Against Fascism. After hearing from several trade union and political party speakers, a short, five minute march along Princes Street took place. However, upon nearing the pre-arranged spot for a ’second rally’, it became clear that the march was, in fact, being directed straight into a ‘designated protest area’ surrounded by metal barriers. When a sizeable section of the march stalled and attempted to resist entering this area, and to encourage others not to as well, UAF stewards rapidly intervened. We had to enter the protest area, we were told – and through a mixture of lies, confusion and just following the crowd, most did. Around 40 remained outside, staying mobile and attempting to reach the SDL – both to ensure that they would not be allowed a demonstration publicly, and to let them know that there was an anti-fascist presence in Edinburgh that day.

This was carried out with limited success, a shouting match (from great distance) with the SDL here and dash past police lines there. But with the vast majority of the anti-fascist demo, which had numbered up to 4-500 people, being herded into a pen, there was no scope for the kind of blockade of the SDL that took place last time they visited Edinburgh. With officers from at least four Scottish forces in attendance, the city centre was in a state of virtual occupation, with riot vans, prison buses and dozens of cops on every street in the proximity of the demonstrations. In this context, it wasn’t a victory for anyone but the forces of the state, who gave a textbook performance of flooding the streets with officers, keeping two opposing sides apart, maintaining order and having the whole thing over and done with by 2.30pm.

the fash get escorted away following their demo

Some sections of the anti-fascist movement – namely Unite Against Fascism – are already declaring a massive victory on the streets of Edinburgh today, much as they did in Tower Hamlets last week (where they also succeeded in banning all marches for a 30 day period). The twitter feed of UAF’s Martin Smith is a sight to behold – an utterly delusional portrayal of the day’s events which counts police kettles, the fact that the SDL were “nowhere to be seen” (certainly not from where the UAF demo was situated) and Labour councillors giving grandstanding speeches “evoking the spirit of Cable Street” (lol) as some kind of stunning victory. But in reality, the SDL still numbered around 100+ supporters, were able to have their demonstration on Waterloo Place, and then leave pretty much of their own accord by Calton Hill. Of these 100 or so, though, a sizeable contingent had travelled from England – banners and hoodies were seen from Luton and Newcastle EDL divisions, alongside the EDL splinter group the “North West Infidels”. The SDL are not in a position of strength; whether they were strengthened by today’s demo, though, is difficult to say.

Anti-fascists can claim a success in that the SDL were not able to venture beyond a tightly controlled cordon. The very fact that there was opposition to them in the streets today was key in ensuring that they were unable to come into contact with the general public (with the exception of the unfortunate couple having a wedding inside the same hotel). But the willingness to accept “designated protest areas”, while allowing the police to “do their job” of penning in the fascists in their protest area, is extremely dangerous territory not just in the fight against the far-right, but for the progressive movement as a whole. These very same forces who have spent weeks now fetishising the riots and anti-police sentiment today walked into, accepted and pulled others into a dystopian nightmare-esque vision of “legitimate” protest in “designated” confines. They shall not pass – the police cordons, that is.

One week on after the first night of rioting, and the reactionary backlash is in full-swing. The courts in some English cities are operating at full-pelt, churning out disproportionate sentence after disproportionate sentence. Cases have ceased to be dealt with on an individual basis, amid a flurry to imprison as many as people for as long as possible as quickly as possible, which has seen any concept of justice and a fair trial disregarded. Meanwhile, the ruling class are at loggerheads with one another over who exactly is to blame for allowing the riots to develop and spread across the country: the cops blame the politicians, the politicians blame the cops, the media blame both, and everyone blames a dehumanised criminal underclass of hoodrats, thugs and scum.

We’ve seen the emergence of an archetypal moral panic: young people, hoodies, anarchy, single parents, PC brigade, thieving, arson, gangs, MODERN COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY, Grand Theft Auto, water cannons, SEND IN THE TROOPS… the list goes on. Fortunately for us, in this time of grave national crisis, help is at hand. A grouping of selfless celebrities, led by Wayne and Coleen Rooney and backed up by a supporting cast including Max Clifford, Simon Cowell and Peter Andre, alongside Big Brother winners, some twat from Kasabian, David Cameron and ’stars’ of the The Only Way Is Essex, have come together in their noble fight to make Britain be back British, free of the rioting ’scum and thugs’ that have brought shame on our once great nation. The celeb crusade to ‘Reclaim Our Streets’ was hailed on the frontpage of two national “newspapers” on Saturday, the Daily Star and the Express.

Britain's moral compass: The Star & Express

Readers of both papers, and other participating media outlets including OK! Magazine and Channel Five, are invited to donate whatever they can towards this cause – via mysteriously monikered charity the ‘RD Crusaders Foundation’ – which has already seen contributions pouring in from the above celebrity figures.  It’s been orchestrated by none other than moral crusader, millionaire pornographer, mad fascist and media baron Richard Desmond, owner of the participating media outlets.

Taken in isolation, the campaign and fundraising drive – apparently for the benefit of families and businesses affected by the riots – seems fairly standard fare for a populist tabloid newspaper. But within the context of the Star and Express’s persistent and vociferous racist populism, Islamophobia, anti-immigrant hysteria and open support for the English Defence League, it’s a worrying development. Indeed, it was the EDL who were out on the streets of north London last week, attempting to put the rhetoric of ‘reclaiming our streets’ into action (even if they did end up just bottling the police)

The language employed in the Star’s campaign is particularly telling. Much in the same way that the Express Group have sought to dehumanise and demonise Muslims and asylum seekers, the same tactics are now being used against a perceived criminal underclass who exist as non-citizens, apart from ‘the nation’. Hey kids, it’s fascism-lite, this time with some smily celebrity faces behind it! A similar discourse has been created with the social media led ‘riot clean up’, which this article analyses in depth.

Richard Desmond’s states that his fundraising drive is to help the “families burned out of their homes and shopkeepers left penniless”.  But the end result is a bizarre crossover of celeb culture, tabloid populism, patriotism and quasi-fascism that sets a scary precedent as we head into a period of serious struggle against austerity and spending cuts.

STOP PRESS: Finish writing this. Have a look at tomorrow’s front pages. The Sunday Express – banner headline: BRING BACK NATIONAL SERVICE: Riot yobs should be forced to join the army to combat thuggery. Too predictable.

Last weekend saw young socialists from all over Scotland come together for the return of SSY’s annual summer camp, Camp Secret Squirrel. Despite patchy weather and turnout that was a wee bit down on previous years, the camp still saw about 25 people take the trip down to Galloway for a weekend of workshops, campfires and partying, SSY-style.

One particular highlight on the Saturday was a workshop from visitors from Coal Action Scotland, which examined the relationship between class and environmental activism, within the context of the open cast mines which devastate communities across central Scotland. It was an interesting discussion and we’d like to extend our thanks to the three activists from CAS who came down to facilitate the workshop.

Other workshops over the weekend included an in-depth look at internet and social media privacy, a talk on global drugs prohibition, and a discussion about how we can fight the cuts and the way forward for the radical left in Scotland.

But the camp was far from all workshops, with lots of other stuff – from making delicious meals each evening to collecting firewood – keeping us busy over the weekend. Not forgetting the now legendary CSS after-party, which kept most folk dancing into the wee small hours. The site we held the camp at was the same community-owned woodland where last year’s camp was held, so a big shout out to the folk who keep the place running, and hopefully see yous again next year!