BELIEVE IT!
At the end of August. Mr Edward Nevin sued the Us government Tor 'negligence' in his grandfather's death. His grandfather, it appears, died back in 1950 of a rare form of pneumomia.
Just why is Mr Nevin going to these lengths and just what has the U's government got to do with it?
Well. Mr Nevin has onlv iust acquired an official army report which detils experiments in biological wartare. Only tour davs before his grandfather's death, it doocars. ine arm soraved a cerm cloud' over San Fransisco to test its effect. The bacteria Serratia Marcescens spread 117 miles and was inhaled by about 800,000 Yes, you read it correctly. In order to test out 'defences' against germ warfare, the Pentagon calmly sprayed a cloud of bacteria over San Francisco to test its effect. The San Francisco. Other civilianconducted experiments, the report goes on. were conducted in places such as the New York Ine army. or course, Is contesting Mr Nevin s suit though it is officially recorded that San Fransisco witnessed an unprecedented outbreak of a rare infection shortly atter the trials'. ane claim incy conducico the experiment in good faith and on "scientific information' believed accurate al une time.
By the way, it appears that such ests were a joint exercise between the American and British armies. to vou know or anyone who died oi pneumonia 25 years ago? Or more recently! even As the Tory axe descends on local authorities, one of the worst hit areas will be housing. The estimated 31% cut for 1981 will - when inflation is considered - virtually bring local council housing programmes to a stop.
Yet it is precisely at this time that tne lorie ahave launched a t l million advertising campaign to encourage council tenants to buy their own 1U USES What this will mean for millions of tellants wno are senior citizens, single parents or who are living off supplementary benefits doesn't bear thinking about.
HOMELESS erties will, clearly, deplete what is their own homes. As far as existing very young and old living in 'tower blocks' - it will clearly reduce their chances of 'transferring' to better SOLUTION Selling off the best council prop available for those unable to affored movement to slob il council tenants are concerned - the programmes -For those still seeking accommodation, however, it could create a nightmare. The over 1 million still registered on council waiting lists will have an even dimmer hope of being housed than at present. They will (like 2 million more be forced to remain in slum housing (officially labelled ' substandard') indefinitely.
Moreover, the reduction in available housing will mean that councils will be hard put to fulfill legal obligations to the homeless. When it is realised that 50,000 are registered as homeless everv vear. the amount of misery the 1 ones are creating becomes maniesl.
The government of course. has offered its solution to these problems in the new 'shorthold tenure' created by the Housing Act. All this means is that private landlords will be empowered, from November, to let property under a 'shorthold' agreement which limits security of tenure.
They hope this will encourage landlords - at present reluctant to let property - to open the doors again, In reality, all it does is open the door to ine type or kachmanne expionalot that existed before Labour ended it.
The Tories, it seems, are not only trying to cut social services, destroy jobs and erode living standards. They are - literaly - taking the roois tron over peoples heads. It will need a serious fightback from the labour A key element of this would be for Labour councils to refuse to sell counch nousing, continue ineir bulldıng despite the cuts - and link up in a national campaign, like that called by Lambeth, to force the Tories to back down on their policies.
With youth unemployment running so high - and with cutbacks in job programmes - it could become an attractive option for them. What better way of keeping rebel youth out of 'trouble' - that is, from opposing their bankrupt system -than by giving them a couple of years in the army.
If there is any indication that the Tories are thinking that way, it will be a serious task of the Young Socialists to launch a major campaign against conscription.
ARMY But - in one sense - they don't have to. Indications already are that, with no other future ahead of them except years on the dole, many school-leavers are beginning to look at the army as an attractive proposition. Recruiting figures are up.
At least in the army, many think, there is a chance to learn a trade which will stand them in good stead in the years to come.
This makes all the more urgent the need for the Young Socialists to take up seriously the question of youth unemployment. It means that the YS campaign on this issue must become relevent to the needs of all young people who see nothing before them except a career on the dole.
October