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Margaret Thatcher death party - Trafalgar Square, London, 13 April 2013

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An Analysis...
The Guardian live stream confirms 3,000 attended last night's "official" Thatcher death party in London's Trafalgar Square - which, for those critics who claim this event was "insensitive", to put the moral issues in perspective, is only slightly more people than were murdered by Thatcher's great friend, the monetarist pioneer General Pinochet, and alot less than died of superbug infections after the Tories privatised the cleaning of NHS hospitals! All in all a good turn-out for an event that was conceived 20 years ago by an activist group that doesn't exist any more, and all the more impressive for people making the effort at short notice and in the pouring rain.

At present the BBC and Daily Mail etc are wildly under-estimating attendances and seem to be down-playing the level of confrontation, of anger and of disruption, mindful, no doubt, especially in The Daily Blackshirt's case, of how their hysterical opposition to anti-Thatcher protests helped draw attention to articulate and well-informed criticism of Thatcher's poisonous legacy, thereby seriously damaging the carefully-manufactured spectacle of adulation, which the far-right media hoped they'd be able to manufacture and to retrofit on history (not to mention, again in The Daily Mail's case, helping draw attention to their own track-record of outright Fascism). As the Met Police themselves confirmed on TV, (quoting almost verbatim) the police won't be able to search everyone at Thatcher's funeral, and the "reputational damage" caused by even one protestor with a tin of paint or box of eggs will be massive, but in some senses the metaphorical can of paint has already been thrown.

Despite the fact that most critics of Thatcherism endured and lived through the bullshit from day one, a few (notably BBC) reporters grasp at straws, trying to imply it's somehow odd that younger critics of Thatcherism didn't live through Thatcher's personal reign. The implication that younger people aren't entitled to an opinion about events they're still living with, amounts to an attempt to discourage young people from learning about history (which is, of course, exactly what the right-wing would prefer young people do). However it's now very clear that, as a result of the monetarist politics pursued in both Thatcher's UK and Reagan's USA, de-regulation of the financial sectors and attacks on unionised industry placed employees, taxpayers and ultimately entire economies at the mercy of financial crooks, but Thatcher's legacy also lives on in employment practices that allow for instance the exploitation of interns. Once radicals fought to secure workers a decent living wage, now, as a direct medium-term outcome of Thatcher's attacks on organised labour, many young workers struggle for the right to earn ANY wage! In many cases the same corporations that cheat on taxes are actively subsidised by the ordinary parents who support those interns, and that same legacy also damages the lives of salaried employees, as, day-in-day-out, cowed and hen-pecked staff acquiesce to ever-increasing pressure to neglect their families and work late into yet another evening...

Meanwhile the right-wing media are trying to airbrush history, dishonestly re-packaging a Prime Minister who bitterly opposed the Anti-Apartheid movement, as someone who somehow deserves credit for helping bring down Apartheid.

We care about history because we care about posterity... Keep up the pressure... Fight Back!

William Godwin
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On the death of Thatcher

A repost Original posted by Red Youth on April 8, 2013 Thatcher 1925-2013 – no friend of the youth Red Youth sheds no tears at the death of Margaret Thatcher today. Thatcher caused immense harm to British youth throughout the 1980′s, enacting a number of reactionary Employment Acts which helped destroy job security for young people and laid the basis for the reactionary policies pursued by John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown in subsequent years. In 2013 the number of young people out of work, with no opportunity to study or build a future is a direct result of the anti-working class agenda she forced upon the British people with the aid of a servile trade union movement which was firmly tied to social democracy and which betrayed the working class by its refusal to stand with Arthur Scargill and the National Union of Mineworkers during their heroic stand 1984/5. The job today, as it was then, is to break the link between social democracy and the workers movement, to forge a strong and disciplined Communist Party capable of leading the working class out of the abyss and towards a bright socialist future. We publish below one of the finest and most dignified statements made today, that of comrade Gerry Adams: “Margaret Thatcher did great hurt to the Irish and British people during her time as British Prime Minister. Working class communities were devastated in Britain because of her policies. Her role in international affairs was equally belligerent whether in support of the Chilean dictator Pinochet, her opposition to sanctions against apartheid South Africa; and her support for the Khmer Rouge. Here in Ireland her espousal of old draconian militaristic policies prolonged the war and caused great suffering. She embraced censorship, collusion and the killing of citizens by covert operations, including the targeting of solicitors like Pat Finucane, alongside more open military operations and refused to recognise the rights of citizens to vote for parties of their choice. Her failed efforts to criminalise the republican struggle and the political prisoners is part of her legacy. It should be noted that in complete contradiction of her public posturing, she authorised a back channel of communications with the Sinn Féin leadership but failed to act on the logic of this. Unfortunately she was faced with weak Irish governments who failed to oppose her securocrat agenda or to enlist international support in defence of citizens in the north. Margaret Thatcher will be especially remembered for her shameful role during the epic hunger strikes of 1980 and ’81. Her Irish policy failed miserably.” Link to original post

Margaret Thatcher - The woman who tore Britain apart

a repost Monday 08 April 2013 by Peter Lazenby and Roger Bagley Margaret Thatcher, the most hated British prime minister of the 20th century, died today. Victims of her vicious 1980s onslaught against the working class refused to show any sorrow over the final demise of the frail 87-year-old after a stroke. Spontaneous exultation broke out across Britain as news of her death spread like wildfire. The strongest waves of satisfaction were in former mining and industrial communities ravaged by Thatcher, and among labour movement activists throughout the land. Following vocal protests, No 10 shelved plans for a state funeral, announcing that she will receive a ceremonial funeral at St Paul's Cathedral. Thatcher blighted Britain during her ruthless rule from 1979 to 1990. She once regarded herself as the indestructible goddess of rapacious capitalism, often deploying the royal "We" during her arrogant diatribes. Overseas she was a friend to tyranny who attacked Nelson Mandela and the ANC as terrorists but praised mass-murdering Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet for "bringing democracy to Chile." Communist Party general secretary Robert Griffiths said: "The Thatcher governments inflicted enormous damage on the fabric of British society. "Many working-class communities were torn apart by mass unemployment, poverty, drugs and alcohol abuse as the result of Tory policies. "She and her regime waged war against organised labour at home, privatised valuable utilities, locked Britain into the European Union and revived the readiness to engage in imperialist wars abroad." Thatcher once branded coalminers striking for their livelihood the real "enemy within" - but Mr Griffiths said she was the "enemy within who faithfully represented the interests of financial big business. "She leaves a challenge to the labour movement to rebuild productive industry, restore social justice and regain trade union and other democratic rights." Spontaneous celebrations took place in Yorkshire, where 50 mining communities were destroyed by Thatcher and her allies after the strike. Mick Appleyard was a miner and elected National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) official at Sharlston, near Wakefield, a typical Yorkshire mining village whose economy was totally dependent on the pit - and which was wrecked by its closure after the historic 1984-5 strike. "She killed my village," he said. "Sharlston is now a low-wage, menial wage economy, for those who are lucky enough to find jobs. "Our young people are on the streets. There's nothing for them. They turn to drugs and drink because there's nothing else." And NUM general secretary Chris Kitchen, who was a young miner during the strike, said: "She deserves no respect from the NUM, or any of the working people she put on the dole. "It's a shame her policies have not died with her - the ones Cameron is continuing. "She will never be forgiven for the disaster she inflicted on the mining industry, on our communities, and on the miners." Email networks were swamped with the announcement of celebrations, including events in central Leeds, Sheffield and Manchester. Morning Star online

Trotskyism is a tool of the capitalists ... Leninism is a weapon for the workers!

Last week, the Guardian asked whether Marxism was 'on the rise', and, after worrying about where all this agitation might end, went on to give a massive plug to the Trotskyist SWP's festival of disinformation, held every year in London under the name 'Marxism ----' (insert year here). A cursory look around the world at any point in the last 100 years would tell you that Marxism never went away. Marxists have led or been involved in every serious anti-capitalist struggle since Marxism came into existence, and, despite temporary reverses, communists still lead vast swathes of the world's poorest people in the life-and-death battle to rid the world of imperialist domination. Britain's own once powerful communist movement was decimated after the old CPGB gave up on revolution and started telling workers to support the Labour party instead. Today, though, with poverty, unemployment and debt spiralling out of control, and with the economic crisis set to get worse while imperialist wars get bigger and dirtier, it's certainly true that more and more people -- even in this still relatively cushioned imperialist heartland -- are joining the class struggle. They are finally waking up to the reality that this parasitic system has outlived its usefulness and has a future only in the past. Capitalism and imperialism have nothing to offer the vast masses of the world's people except deeper poverty, more crippling debt slavery, more barbarous wars and more devastating human and environmental waste and destruction. So it's not surprising that corporate media and politicians are desperate to persuade us that the pro-imperialists of the SWP are the people to join if you want to express opposition to capitalism in Britain. Opportunists and counter-revolutionaries of all kinds will be getting plenty more free advertising in the capitalist press from now on, precisely because they will be as much use to workers in overthrowing capitalism as chocolate is in making a pot to hold tea. - Trotskyism is a tool of the capitalists ... Leninism is a weapon for the workers! - Leaflet issued by CPGB-ML, 5 July 2012 What is Trotskyism? 1. THEORY OF PERMANENT REVOLUTION. This claims that socialism can only be successful if revolution occurs in all the advanced capitalist countries at once; and that all attempts at building socialism in a single country that has carried out a successful revolution are bound to fail. Since this hypothetical simultaneous revolution has so far failed to materialise in real life (and is unlikely ever to do so), this position simply means that Trotskyists always end up denouncing all the real revolutions that have taken place, and furiously attacking any country that has not only carried out a revolution but actually had the temerity to go on and try to build socialism. 2. ANTI-LENINISM IN ORGANISATION. Leninism calls for the building of a revolutionary, disciplined proletarian revolutionary party, which is able to act with unity and is hostile to opportunist elements. Trotskyism stands for a loose mish-mash of whoever wants to sign up; for reformists and opportunists to be allowed into the ranks of the proletarian party; for the formation of groups, factions and cliques within a single party. No wonder no Trotskyist party has ever led a revolution! 3. HOSTILITY TO LENINIST LEADERS. We are constantly told that Trotsky was the true ‘inheritor’ of Lenin and one of the authors of the Russian revolution, but nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, Trotsky was an enemy of Lenin and Leninism until the eve of the revolution, and only joined the Bolsheviks in 1917 when it was obvious they were going to win. In 1913, Trotsky described Lenin as a "professional exploiter of every kind of backwardness in the Russian working-class movement", and went on to say that the "entire edifice of Leninism at the present time is built on lies and falsification and bears within itself the poisonous elements of its own decay". (Letter to Chkeidze) If Trotsky could express such ill-mannered views about Lenin before the revolution, while doing his best to undermine the building of a truly revolutionary party in Russia, it is not surprising that he went on to shower vile abuse on Lenin’s faithful pupil Stalin after the revolution -- while furiously working to undermine the building of socialism in the USSR that was being led by the Bolshevik party. Trotsky’s attacks on ‘Stalinism’ were actually just the continuation of his lifelong struggle against Leninism. The counter-revolutionary nature of Trotskyism explains why Trotsky is held up to schoolchildren throughout the imperialist world as the ‘real’ revolutionary! Uniting the counter-revolutionaries Because of its reactionary content, Trotskyism inevitably attracted all those elements that were striving to weaken and destroy socialism in the USSR. With a passionate hatred of socialism and workers’ power, these elements strove for the overthrow of the Soviet regime, and, fully backed by imperialism, supported Trotsky abroad after his expulsion from the USSR. And the same type of people have continued to call on workers to rally around Trotskyism, even after it morphed from being a mistaken political trend within the working-class movement into "a frantic and unprincipled gang of wreckers, diversionists, spies and murderers acting on the instructions of the intelligence services of foreign states". (Stalin, March 1937) Ever since then there has been a kind of division of labour between the imperialists and the Trotskyists, who have worked in tandem to slander and defame the Soviet system, its government, its institutions and its leadership -- all so as to belittle and discredit the achievements of socialist construction. Trotsky went to the despicable length of equating fascism with ‘Stalinism’, and imperialists have hung on to that useful slander ever since, using it to confuse workers and combat communist influence. Moreover, Trotsky actually predicted the defeat of the USSR in WWII. He would have been devastated to witness the crowning victory of socialism over fascism, but was saved that final humiliation thanks to his assassination by one of his own followers in Mexico in 1941. Not surprisingly, Trotskyism has supported every counter-revolutionary movement against socialism, from the Hungarian uprising of 1956 and the so-called Prague Spring of 1968 to the counter-revolutions that swept through eastern and central Europe in the late 1980s, and which finally brought down the once great and glorious USSR in 1991. When the Soviet Union collapsed, as a result of the revisionist economic and political policies set in place under Khrushchev after Stalin’s death, Trotskyite organisations went delirious with joy. Beside a photograph of a toppled statute of the great Lenin, the Socialist Worker declared that "Communism has collapsed. It is a fact that should have every socialist rejoicing." It even claimed that Yeltsin’s counter-revolution had brought "the workers of the Soviet Union closer to the spirit of the socialist revolution of 1917, not further form it". (31 August 1991) Two years later, Labour’s 1993 election defeat led the same SWP to suffer a deep "depression" and "post-election demoralisation", declaring that "the election was a disaster for everyone who wants a better society". What could better demonstrate the incurably anti-popular nature of the SWP than its malicious glee at the fall of the Soviet Union and its heart-aching pain at the fourth consecutive electoral defeat of the imperialist Labour party, with its proven track record of attacks on the working class at home and wars against the oppressed peoples abroad? Trotskyism is a thoroughly counter-revolutionary trend marked by double-speak and cynical hypocrisy. It practises sectarianism and factionalism while calling for unity; it supports imperialist wars against the oppressed while mouthing phrases about anti-imperialism; it facilitates attacks on the working class through its cretinous support for the Labour party, while pretending to oppose such attacks; it supports counter-revolutions everywhere in the name of defending revolution. Right in essence and left in form is the best way of describing this malicious tendency, which everywhere sows confusion and division in the working-class movement, making us weaker to defend ourselves against the onslaught of imperialism. If we wish to liberate our world from imperialist exploitation and oppression, we must first rid our movement of all pro-imperialist, social-democratic ideology, not least the r-r-revolutionary garbage of Trotskyism. CPGB ML

A refutation of the reports of the so-called All Parliamentary Group on north Korea"

The ASSPUK, JISGE and UK KFA wish strongly denounce the reports issued by the so-called All Party Parliamentary group on Korea. UK KFA is in no way opposed to genuine friendship and exchange between parliamentarians of the DPRK and UK but the so-called "All Party Parliamentary Group on North Korea" is not doing this rather it is acting as an anti DPRK propaganda outlet. Its recent documents are peppered with slanders and lies about the DPRK socialist system and its supreme leadership. The group includes members of the House of Lords, in fact the chairman and vice-chair are both from the House of Lords How can those who have are not elected criticise the DPRK and call for democracy. The House of Lords is a residual vestige of feudalism and absolutism in the UK . Although the group is supposedly a non partisan group made up of different parties in actual reality it is dominated by right wingers of various . Lord Alton of Liverpool, a Liberal Democrat peer(the Liberal Democrats being the coalition partners of the Conservatives) . Lord Alton is a fervent anti-communist . The background of the vice-chair of the group Baroness Cox is curious to say the least. Supposedly a "crossbench" or non party peer she was previously a Conservative party member. Baroness Cox was one of the founders of the Committee For a Free Britain , once described as the lunatic fringe of the Conservative party. This body was linked to the Thatcher government but also British intelligence. Baroness Cox is an extreme anti-communist having contributed to the book "Rape of Reason " a McCarthy style book in the 1970s attacking so-called Marxist academics and calling for a purge of the universities Ms Cox was heavily involved in supporting counter revolutionary dissidents in the socialist countries with a view to destroying these countries. The "Executive Intelligence Review" even alleges that she was the British intelligence liasion with the counter- revolutionary Solidarnosc movement. One of the latest exploits of Baroness Cox was to invite Dutch far rightist politican Gert Wilders to the UK. Thus with such a person in a leading position within the group objectivity, fairness and impartiality cannot be expected. It is not unsurprising that they the All Party group invited Park Sun-Young from the far right wing party Liberty Forward party in south Korea, which is actually further to the right than the ruling Saenuri party. Park is well known for anti-communism and anti DPRK activities. Thus inviting her to speak on the DPRK is a bit like inviting the EDL or the BNP to speak on Islamic culture in Britain. Ms Park seemed to have a poor grasp of reality and understanding of history. In her speech she referred to Kim Jong Il ruling the DPRK with " an iron fist " for 37 years. This makes no sense. It can be said that comrade Kim Jong Il lead the DPRK for 17 years since President Kim Il Sung died. Comrade Kim Jong Il became chairman of the National Defence Commission in 1993 (19 years ago) and supreme commander of the KPA in 1991 (21 years ago) but where on earth does the figure of 37 years come from ? Predictably the same old rubbish about human rights and prison camps is wheeled out. Of course Ms Pak has actually seen such things. She claims that the DPRK regularly carry out public executions . However why aren-t these on KCTV or in KCNA and Rodong Sinmun . Ms Pak significantly does not name the places in the DPRK where the alleged public executions are carried out. Ms Pak goes on about prison camps . Delegations of the UK KFA and JISGE had never seen a prison camp in the DPRK. The stories about prison camps have been refuted in the book "Behind the Mirror of Lies " . Ms Pak talks a lot about defections and defections. Here is what one so-called defector had to say about defection "The defectors are dirty human scum who harbor grudge against the DPRK system or committed crimes in the DPRK before fleeing it. They are desperately escalating confrontation with the DPRK for getting some money in return for pleasing the south Korean conservative group. Now the south Korean "government" authorities leave no stone unturned in their anti-DPRK propaganda. Those disguised as "red cross organization" and "volunteering servants" allure "defectors from the north" with money and let them make invectives slandering the DPRK and justifying south Korean society and even stage demonstrations chanting anti-DPRK slogans. People do not want to go there because they are aware that they were aimed to abet anti-DPRK confrontation with false stories and fabrications and they often ended up in chaos. That is why the authorities cook up such methods as alluring the defectors with money. One time south Korean media loudly asserted that "defectors from the north" who went to China were taken back to the north. Later, it was disclosed that the authorities cooked up the story for anti-DPRK propaganda by using the names of those who went abroad unable to live in south Korea or were already dead. Asked how they came to south Korea, one man said that he was allured by a lump sum and expensive materials at a restaurant and another said that he went to a toilet being drunken and somebody threatened him to go to south Korea. There was even a man who said he was tempted by women. There were many other reasons. In fact, the worst human rights abuser is none other than the Lee Myung Bak group. The Lee group is now persistently vociferating about the issue of "defectors" and making desperate efforts to defame the DPRK by use of human scum. But, it is a foolish action." This is a quote from Pak Jong Suk who was tricked and co-erced into going tosouth Korea but recently returned to the DPRK Rather than being a "gigantic prison camp ", as Ms Park Sun Young, alleges the DPRK is a land of creativity and happiness. The delegation of the JISGE witnessed this during our visit to the DPRK in April . People gladly celebrated the 100th birth anniversary of the great leader President Kim Il Sung, . Rather than a giant prison camp we saw many happy and vigorous people celebrating. We saw the mass soirée of youth and students on Kim Il Sung square and one of our delegation actually participated in it. If the DPRK is a prison camp why bother to mobilise people through ideology ? The DPRK has a Juche-orientated and people centred socialist system of a Korean style. This guarantees people's human rights. People get free housing, free education and free health care. The right to work is constitutionally guaranteed. Unlike the capitalist countries such as the UK where parliament is corrupted and dominated by capitalists, the DPRK has a genuine people's democracy , a socialist democracy based on Juche . People have to the right to vote at 17 and to be elected (article 66 of the constitution) this contrasts to the minimum voting age of 18 and minimum age for MPs of 21 in the UK. In the DPRK deputies to the Supreme Peoples Assembly are accountable to their electors and deputies may be recalled at any time if they lose the confidence of their electors (article 7) no such provision exists in the UK or other capitalist countries. It has to be said in passing that there is a certain irony in some parliamentarians lambasting the DPRK over 'democracy' etc. These are the people who have incomes of £65000 per year plus expenses plus in many cases directorships and consultancies.Lord Alton and Baroness Cox , not not actually elected by anyone as members of the House of Lords, can receive £300 a day in expenses . It is well known that MPs were caught out fiddling their expenses in some cases on a massive scale. The report of the so-called "All Party Parliamentary Group " is slanders and lies about the DPRK . It is evident the intention of the so called all party group is to force the DPRK into 'reform' and 'opening up' in order to subvert and destroy the socialist system of the DPRK. All true friends of the DPRK must fight to expose their anti DPRK manoeuvres. ASSPUK JISGE UK KFA

UK KFA Activities June 2012 UK KFA is organising a picket of the US Embassy on June 25th between 4pm and 6pm subject to confirmation. This is to mark the 62nd anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean war but more importantly the start of the month of solidarity with the Korean people More details on request. We will be holding our Annual General Meeting the same day from 6pm onwards. Just waiting for confirmation of the venue. UK KFA REFUTES THE SUN ! Although the record of the tabloid "Sun " newspaper part of the discredited and corrupt Murdoch monopoly media empire speaks for itself (note the former editor Ms Rebekah Brooks was arrested for phone-hacking) UK KFA have decided to make some comments about the article in the "Sun" on the DPRK on May 30th ,as the "Sun" still has a large circulation(surprisingly). We do not intend to waste a lot of energy and space on this but a few things need putting straight. The headline " Sun men trick way into north Korea" speaks for itself. Of course there was no need for them to do this as in April 2012 many journalists from different media outlets, BBC,ITN ,CNN,NBC and numerous newspapers visited the DPRK . The Associated Press maintains a small bureau in Pyongyang. However the "Sun" decided that this was too straightforward for them and resorted to trickery but what can you expect from people who sanction phone-hacking. The "Sun" men got a number of things wrong either intentionally or out of sheer ignorance. They claimed that the lights in Pyongyang go out at 11pm at night. UK KFA members who were in Pyongyang in April 2012 can testify that this is not true and that lights are still on at 1-30 in the morning. Power supply problems have in fact been resolved in Pyongyang by the construction of the Huichon Power station. In the style of a semi-literate ignoramus they referred to "communist badges" which presumably was a reference to the portrait badges of the DPRK supreme leaders. Neeedless to say the guiding ideology of the DPRK , the Juche idea is not mentioned once in the article. This shows just how superficial and hollow the article is. They claimed that there were armed guards on the road out of the island that the Yangkaddo Hotel is on but we did not see them in April. Of course the recent revelation about US spies being parachuted into the DPRK means that a high level of vigilance is needed but our friends from the "Sun" would probably be too thick to be in an intelligence service. The "Sun " "journalists" had to admit that people in the DPRK get given flats free of charge but claimed these were grotty flats but did not offer any evidence for this assertion. I am sure that the legions of homeless in London would not say no to a free flat grotty or otherwise. The latest flats in Pyongyang such as the Mansudae area have been equipped with all the latest facilities and are spacious. New flats are been built and existing ones renovated. Average floor space of flats is about 100 sq metres . Some detailed info on this; Ragwon Street constructed 1975 floor space 70 sq m Munsu Stree constructed 1983 floor 100sq m + Changgwang Street constructed 1985 floor space 150 sq m An Sang Thaek Street constructed 1987 floor space 120 sq m Kwangbok Street constructed 1989 floor space 110-180 sq m As the "Sun" says flats are given free of charge in the DPRK but to rent a 150 sq metre flat in Rotherhithe,London is £3000 per week or 6 times(or more) the average take-home pay of a worker in London. Ludicrously the "Sun " claimed no one receives a wage or salary in the DPRK ! If this was true the "Sun" would be applauding because for the past few years they have been enthusiastic supporters of "workfare", that is people working for nothing. The "Sun" seemed to find fault with the WPK leadership urging people to work harder in order to build a thriving socialist country but doesn't the "Sun" continually urge British workers to work harder and blame problems on the "workshy". They also claimed that there were few cars on the road but the amount of traffic has increased a lot in Pyongyang. The "Sun" wrongly claimed that the Kaeson Youth Park funfair was closed but in fact this was extensively renovated and rebuilt and is up and running. It was clearly working whilst we were there in April. The claim was also made that many of the DPRK's leisure facilities are expensively priced when in fact they are either low-cost or free of charge. Reference is made to the Meari shooting range where they claimed it was £8 for 20 bullets, I have not been able to verify this but it is reasonably priced compared with the UK where some shooting clubs charge £30 per day True to form the "Sun" managed to rehash the old "they are all starving " line but contradicted it by saying that people were receiving handouts of rice and potato. Lads, didn't they ever tell you that starvation means no food at all ? Desperate to find a shock horror story to smear the DPRK and turn people against they found fault with animals being made to perform in the Pyongyang Circus. A little bit liberal and out of character for the "Sun" which prides itself on being an enemy of anything PC. No word of praise for the DPRK's animal trainers who showed creativity, ingenuity and great skill in training animals to perform tricks. It was also the height of hypocrisy for the "Sun" to complain about the treatment of animals as every day they degrade and humilate women on page 3 of their paper. Has it not occured to the blockheads of the "Sun" that if it was wrong for the DPRK to use animals in circuses then the use of animals in films and advertising in the UK and elsewhere is equally bad. Maybe the "Sun" journalists could have offered the "glum-faced baboon "(aren,t baboons always glum-faced)they felt sorry for a job as a leader writer on their paper ! For more info about media lies about the DPRK please read