TV CHOICE Flashback Saturday 26 November 6.30, Channel 4 FOLLOWING last week's programme on the early days of CND, une seres moves to une 'year of protest' Street Fighting Man 1968 examines the media coverage ot demonstrations and riots in Britain, US, hrance Ireland making it a must for those readers active at the time. ticularly concentrates on the big anti-Vietnam war demos of 17 March and 27 October in London. It shows how the i'v com panies went out of their wav record violence they could find, whilst the issues the marches.
Struggle Sunday 27 November 8.45, Channel 4 THIS IS the first of what IT'S THURSDAY, it's op of the Pops and it's 40 minutes of reheated moozak armchair groovers. If you were at a meeting then maybe this is lost on you, but can anyone tell me what Billy Joel is doing dressed in greasy overalls singing into a spanner?
What is all this sexist Uptown Girl junk? And this guy is number one in the charts. Some people think Billy Joel's music is self-indulgent crap, but think they are just being soft on him.
By lan Hawkins gramme desn't hold a lot The rest of the more hope. Still, just when you thought the British charts were in a depression the oh-so-iwee Jonathan King pops up each week from the States and tries to persuade wnltt American rock isn't dead watn allouy cansce ula rigor mortis set in years Luckily for Mr King no notices his morbid musical taste because we all blinded by his rather lively anorak chic inflatable number that presumably sleeps four.
Happily there are some exceptions to the rule: Culture Cub Now thought Karma Chamelion was annoying. Boy George ly catchy but Boy George has played the music their own game. He has teased the tabloids' NUA Ea stereotypes and smiled his way through each cleverly arranged song. The album Colour by Nümbers shows a range and subtlety of his voice and will sell crate loads.
Where Boy George treads s gentle, Annie Len•Tt f Eurythmics confronts a startled audience, one moment as a man then next as a woman rips anyone who doubts her to shreds.
Eurythmics has let Annie Lennox show the world that she is the most power. ful British singer for decades, LUWCLLA OVel every note, making lauch one minute. bring. ing a lump to your throat the next. Right t by your breaks all preChristmas rules, single that only she could bring Game, set and matc) to Ms Lennox.
Finally by way of contrast some second-hand CERKE warm gossip The Rolling Stones record Undercover has been released with a video demed to be too violent for TV. one Mick Jagger said reflects the situation in E Salvador' 'But,' asks the astute interviewer: much of the royalties are going to the Salvadorians? Mick just never got round to answering that.
AS THE DEBATE Commons over the installation of Cruise missiles has reached its crescendo, both Owen of the Labour's Denis Healey have advocated a 'dual key' for the missiles. The argument is that Britain and the United States should share physical control of the missiles — two parallel systems would have to be activated before the missiles could be launched.
What Denis Healey is doing advocating joint control of missiles that the Labour Party is opposed to anyway somewhat obscure. that 'you demand different things the Tories than what you do yourself in government'. He obviously didn't quite understand the irony contained in those words.
At any rate, he had no business doing anything other than opposing the missiles lock, stock and barrel.
Even some Tory backbenchers indined towards a 'dual key'. problem with their position is that in reality, the United States always have control of its own nuclear weapons. and they are never subject to anyone ose's veto.
It isn't just the use of cruise missiles which could land Britain in a nuclear war. The United States has say on whether the hundreds of nuclear weapons on board US bombers stationed in Britain will be used. It has exdusive say on whether the missiles on US submarines based at Holv Loch will be used. And it has exclusive say on whether the hundreds Socialist Action in the position, SDP Editions shows that.
key argues of without economic But the project exclusive attack.
of nuclear 25 November 1983 weapons in West Germany will be used, dragging Britain into a nuclear war.
Exclusive control of all its military forces has always been an American and there is no reason at all why it will change over cruise missiles.
The problem with the dual key demand is that it begins to establish conin which the missiles somehow be acceptable. In any case, there are important technical doubts about whether a dual key could work at all. The speed with which a nuclear war could develop, given the eight minutes flight time of Pershing missiles from West Germany to the Soviet Union And the British ment could never sure United States could not find a way of launching the missiles anyway.
The motivations behind proposal nevertheless teresting. David Owen proposes dua. key as part of the co-called 'dual track' view of the Western Alliance. The proof dual track argue banding dividual European states will always be overruled by the US in matters of policy and strategy. Dual track means keeping the alliance with the USA, but building a powerful European political unity to oppose American colussus.
To carry through such a dual track would require European military liason than is now the case. But there are interesting signs that this is now the thinking of political leaders in several European countries.
Last winter the French government floated the idea that its missiles, rather than United States' Pershings, could protect West Germany against Soviet German CSU leader Franz-Joseph Strauss supports the dual key demand - but as a firgt step towards Germany itself having nuclear Gaullist leader Chirac has himself come out in favour of West Germany eventually independence capitalist powers.
maintaining its will sists on defending without bothering else.
governthat the Henry Kissinger bothering to allies aboul unis the dual inthat Japan received the inStrip of Peking.
United States North Vietnam resulted in United States' allies.
closer oppose Drier.
being given its own nuclear process ot indepehenice the political and mitary Against all these developments, the United States will of course insist on military superiority, and its complete freedom of action History shows that the US first of all inits own interests to consult anyone When the 1973 Yon Kippur war out in the Middle East, the United States put its forces world-wide on the highest stage of military alert.
went to bed without tell America's small develocu which could have landed them all in a When Kissinger and Nixon decided to make a big turn towards diplomatic relations with China, the US's close ally precisely 24-hours notice of the announcement of Nixon's In 1964, whẹn the began the bombing of which eventually the bombing of Russian ships in Haiphong harbour — there was whatever with the The demand for a dual key is one which should be opposed by the peace movement. It is quite right of course to turned into the United States unsinkable aircraft carBut dual key won't change that one bit, so long as Britain has 102 US bases dozens of US nuclear bombers and US submarines in Scotland.
Dual key is not a "lesser evil' demand. It is a position which allows for the inestimable and unqualified evil of cruise missiles being in Britain. Neither socialists nor the peace movement as a whole can ever accept that. Reagan plus Thatcher's finger on the trigger equals war — not nuclear disarmament.