Open fire smokers

Scan page 11

Reg Race's remarks on the South Atlantic war in Socialist Organiser no.83 should not be allowed to pass without comment. Firstly, Race argues that the fleet should be called back to Ascension or South Georgia "to enable a negotlated settlement to be cluded"

The war is being waged over a relic of the British Empire, and Race argues that the navy should be pulled back to two other relics of empire. Moreover, Ascension and South Georgia are the keys to naval strategy around the Falklands, from which a renewed attack could be launched.

Race's demand is thus. consistent with the notion that Britain should be able to 'negotiate from strength' We should be for withdrawing the fleet and troops all the way back to Britain and for unilateral repudiation of British claims in the South Atlantic and Antarctic - including the Falklands/ Malvinas, Ascension and South Georgia.

Secondly, Race twice calls for economic pressure We must work with all shades of opinion in the labour movement who oppose the war, but we do nobody any service by avoiding the differences. It was therefore disappointing that the interviewer did not take these points up with Reg Race. At least Socialist Organiser should have made some comment: on such a. crucial issue this would not have been sectarian, but a service to the labour movement.

Excuse

WE. WOULD like to raise an issue which we as socialists feel is very important, but which remains conspicuous by its absence from your pages.

The issue is health. Obviously in the limited space of the letters page it is impossible to do any justice to this major socialist issue, so instead we choose to outline one small but important facet of capitalism which affects the health of every person in the community. This is smoking.

If a fairly expensive new product was put onto the market tomorrow, an addictive drug whose major effect is bad health through clogging up the lungs with toxic substances, obviously socialists would point out this 'con', this easy way to make massive profits out of the health and livelihoods of the working class.

However, the fact remains that while this product has been marketed for some time, far from pointing out the evils of tobacco, socialists of all shades seem drawn to the 'profit weed' For all their analysis of the decaying capitalist system, they seem unable to see through this simple 'con'.

Unfortunately the caricature of socialists huddled in smoke-filled backrooms is not so far from the truth.

The problem would not be quite so bad if the smokers kept the effects to themselves. However the effects of 'secondary smoking' are well documented. Those of us who make a conscious effort to avoid the 'profit weed' are not spared its effects when others are so inconsiderate as to practise their deathly deeds among We feel that smoking is a political issue, and primarily a socialist issue, which ought to be brought to the forefront. To this end we believe that your paper should take up the issue of banning smoking in all public places.

As a first measure you should start by banning it at all your meetings, or at least make sure that the issue is voted on at each BRIAN LUCAS and CINDY JAMES with the utopian demand of 'Joining up with Argentinian workers' (presumably on the basis of a revolutionary defeatist position - a position that is totally inapplicable here), have left SO with a thoroughly empiricist analysis of the situation because of its apparent failure to grasp the imperialist cause of this conflict.

ROB BROOKS ROB HOLMES GRAHAM USHER Brighton