FOOTBALL "FIX"TURES

"An epidemic of match-fixing scandals is blighting football. In China a World Cup referee could face the death penalty; in Turkey 46 people have been called in by police and a former international player is remanded in custody; in Ukraine a referee has been banned for life; in Ireland three players have been accused of betting on matches; in Switzerland questions have been asked after a hard-up player turned up for training in a new Porche; in Italy there is yet another investigation into "fixing" in Series A; in Macedonia they believe a recent international was mishandled to ensure a high-scoring game; and in Zimbabwe a club side "impersonated" the national team for fixtures in Asia." (Observer, 28 March) RD

THE PRICE OF COAL

"Rescuers were today trying frantically to reach 123 miners trapped underground when water flooded a coalmine in northern China. Officials said 261 miners were working on construction of the Wangjialing coalmine in Shanxi province, when underground water suddenly gushed through the tunnels at about 2.30pm on Sunday afternoon. They said 138 of the men managed to escape. ....China's work safety administration said 2,631 people died in coal accidents in 2009, down by 584 from the previous year. Many accidents are blamed on poor safety methods and limited training as mining companies scramble to feed the voracious demand for coal from the country's industrial juggernaut. One of China's deadliest mine disasters in recent years occurred when a flood through coal shafts in eastern Shandong province killed 181 miners in September 2007. " (Sunday Times, 28 March) RD

CAPITALISM IN ACTION

Defenders of capitalism laud it as a dynamic social system that may produce some problems, but claim that in the long run it is the only possible way to run society. "One of Britain's richest bankers has landed a record pay package of £63.3million. The extraordinary deal for Barclays president Bob Diamond sparked a major new row over payouts to banking fat cats. The sheer size of his salary perks and shares package flies in the face of assurances that Barclays and other banks have adopted a culture of restraint." (Daily Mail, 20 March) We can understand why the Bob Diamonds of this world would support capitalism but what about the predicament of the kids reported in the latest Water Aid charity leaflet? "Every 20 seconds a child in the developing world dies from water-related diseases. In around the time it takes you to read the next paragraph, a child somewhere will die. Every day, people in the world's poorest countries face the dilemma of having to trust their health and that of their children to the consequences of drinking water that could kill them. It's a gamble that often carries a high price - seeing children, needlessly dying is simply heartbreaking." A dynamic system for bankers maybe but a death sentence for these children. RD

DOWN TO £10 MILLION

"The multi-millionaire founder of the Kwik Save supermarket chain has handed over his whole business empire- worth nearly half a billion pounds to charity, fulfilling a deal with God that he made as a penniless young man. Albert Gubay, 82, a devout Roman Catholic, made a pledge that he would give half his fortune to the church if he became wealthy. Now, he has gone one better and handed over virtually all his £480m wealth to a new foundation, leaving himself less than £10m." (Sunday Times, 21 March) RD

scots blues

Sixty children are forced out of their homes in Scotland every day. The Sunday Herald can reveal that 22,000 young people each year have the roof pulled from over their heads by a state that simply cannot cope with the scale of our homelessness problem. Young families are disproportionately affected by homelessness, and nearly half of all homeless children are aged five or under.

While many might be tempted to dismiss homelessness as a problem for drug addicts and alcoholics. Shelter said that it is in fact far more wide-ranging than the public realises.“It’s hidden, and people don’t know the true scale,” said Jessie Crawford, author of the new report. “This is tens of thousands of children waking up every day in cold, damp, overcrowded homes, or with the uncertainty of being homeless, and not knowing whether they’re going to get somewhere to live."

One in every ten children – 128,000 in total – is living in fuel poverty, the report said, with their families struggling to heat their homes through winter.

CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION?

According to the media, the US and Russian leaders have scored a wonderful step forward for world peace. "US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have agreed a new nuclear arms reduction treaty after months of negotiations. The treaty limits both sides to 1,550 warheads, about 30% less than currently allowed, the White House said. The deal replaces the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty. .... President Obama hailed the treaty as the most comprehensive weapons control agreement in nearly two decades. "With this agreement, the United States and Russia - the two largest nuclear powers in the world - also send a clear signal that we intend to lead," he said at the White House." (BBC News, 26 March)
Before we crack open the champagne and engage in dancing in the street it would be worthwhile reflecting on what this really means. 1,550 nuclear warheads is sufficient to destroy the whole world! A more sober analysis of the US/Russia agreement would be an attempt to limit arms expenditure and to discourage non-US/Russia opponents from entering the nuclear arms race. Our champagne remains uncorked. RD

WHAT A BARGAIN!

"A gull-winged 200mph super car dubbed 'an F1 car for the road' was launched yesterday by UK racing specialists McLaren. The cars will be made in a new £40million factory designed by Sir Norman Foster and will create 300 jobs. The £150,000 McLaren MP4-12C is Britain's answer to Italy's legendary Ferrari and is the long-held dream of boss Ron Dennis to produce an 'affordable' super car with the greenest credentials. Using a one-piece carbon-fibre chassis, McLaren plan to offer the car for around half the £300,000 price tag that would normally be expected of a car of this calibre." (Daily Mail, 20 March) RD

A REAL HORROR SHOW

Werewolves, Dracula and Frankenstein monsters; over the years Hollywood has produced spine-chilling movies to frighten its audiences. In real life capitalism produces sciences that dwarf any special effects that Hollywood may dream up. "Port-au-Prince, Haiti - Inside this city's earthquake-cracked psychiatric hospital, a schizophrenic man lay naked on a concrete floor, caked in dust. Other patients, padlocked in tiny concrete cells, clutched the bars and howled for attention. Faeces clotted the gutter outside a ward where urine pooled under metal cots without mattresses. Walking through the dilapidated public hospital, Dr. Franklin Normil, the acting director, who has worked there for five months without pay, shook his head in despair. "I want you to bear witness," he told a reporter. "Clearly, mental health has never been a priority in this country. We have the desire and the ability, but they do not give us the means to be professional and humane. Haiti's earthquake has exposed the extreme inadequacies of its mental health services just at the moment when they are most needed." (New York Times, 19 March) RD
Capitalist society spends billions of dollars in weapons of mass destruction yet cannot deal with the sufferings of these poor wretches. Truly, capitalism is a Frankenstein society. RD

CRISIS! WHAT CRISIS?

"One of Britain's richest bankers has landed a record pay package of £63.3million. The extraordinary deal for Barclays president Bob Diamond sparked a major new row over payouts to banking fat cats. The sheer size of his salary perks and shares package flies in the face of assurances that Barclays and other banks have adopted a culture of restraint."

(Daily Mail, 20 March) RD

SPOOKS, SPIES AND SURVEILLANCE

"UK has 5,700 secret agents. Britain employs more than 2,200 spies to protect the country against terrorism and the threat from foreign enemies, it has been disclosed. It is the first time that the number of foreign intelligence gathering officers employed by MI6, also known as the Secret Intelligence Service, has been published. The figure was disclosed yesterday in the annual report of the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee. The ISC had previously disclosed the number of domestic security service officers who work for MI5, known as "spooks" - now around 3,500 - but had never done so for spies. MI6 has launched a new recruitment drive aimed, in part, at former City bankers, with experience of foreign countries and language skills. According to the ISC's report, there are now 2,252 MI6 officers and it aims to increase that to 2,527 this year." (Daily Telegraph, 18 March) RD

Health is Wealth

Men in the poorest parts of Scotland have a life expectancy more than 13 years shorter than males in the most affluent communities, according to the Register General Scotland report that highlighted the differences in life expectancy between different parts of the country.

It showed that men living in the poorest communities can expect to live 67.3 years - 13.5years less than those living in the richest areas, who can expect to reach the age of 80.8.

Similarly, with women, those living in the most well-off communities live longer than those in the most deprived, though in the case of females the gap is not so large.Females in the poorest communities can expect to live to the age of 75.1 while life expectancy for women in the most affluent areas is nine years higher at 84.1 years.

Men living in East Dunbartonshire have a life expectancy of 78, compared to 69.4 years in north Glasgow.For females, the difference in life expectancy between the two areas was six-and-a-half years, with life expectancy for women in East Dunbartonshire 82.5 years and 76 years in north Glasgow.

NOT SO GOLDEN FUTURE

"In the past 18 years alone, miners have extracted 36m ounces of the yellow metal from Ghana's seams, generating about 40 per cent of export earnings. Fewer Ghanaians live in poverty now. But a third of them cannot read, and a quarter will not see their 40th birthday. Tax breaks and other incentives mean that of mining revenues totaling $2.1 bn last year, only $146m - or 7 per cent was paid to the state in royalties, taxes and dividends, according to the Chamber of Mining." (Financial Times, 23 March) RD

WHO OWNS THE PRESS?

"British Airways has suggested that media organisations should attach more weight to its press releases than the Unite trade union's account of the strike. In an email sent to hundreds of journalists, BA complained that equal credence was being given to the union's estimate of the number of staff working, flights operating and how many passengers were on board." (Daily Telegraph, 22 March) RD

Who Owns the North Pole -Part 20

Some may wonder why Socialist Courier continues to report on the situation in the Arctic Circle . In fact , it is a good example of how a once pristine undeveloped region has grown in strategic and military importance when raw materials and natural resources become accessible to capitalist nation states. The capitalist rivalries are high-lighted in an unambiguous way .

Fresh tensions between Canada and Russia emerged Wednesday after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told a session of his Security Council that his country must be prepared to defend its claims to Arctic mineral riches. Medvedev predicted climate change will spark further conflicts as ice melts, exposing new areas for exploration."Other polar nations already have taken active steps to expand their scientific research as well as economic and even military presence in the Arctic," he told a session of the presidential Security Council.

"Regrettably, we have seen attempts to limit Russia's access to the exploration and development of the Arctic mineral resources," he said. "That's absolutely inadmissible from the legal viewpoint and unfair given our nation's geographical location and history."

In a direct response, Canada said it would reassert its sovereignty over the Far North.

"Canada's sovereignty over lands, islands and waters of the Canadian Arctic is long-standing, well-established and based on historical title," Catherine Loubier, spokeswoman for Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon, told The Canadian Press.
"This government is dedicated to fulfilling the North's true potential as a healthy, prosperous and secure region within a strong and sovereign Canada. We take our responsibility for the future of the region seriously."

Loubier noted that Canada has committed to building a "world-class" High Arctic research station, will continue to map "our northern resources and waters," and is taking action to reduce pollution and increase marine safety. The government has also announced a new fleet of Arctic patrol ships, a deep water port, and is expanding and re-equipping the Canadian Rangers.

Interest in the Arctic region has intensified in recent years as global warming thaws waterways once choked with ice almost year-round and makes hydrocarbon deposits under the Arctic Ocean increasingly accessible. Russia, the United States, Canada, Denmark and Norway all scramble to lay claim to parts of the underwater territory in the region, which is estimated to hold more than a quarter of the world's undiscovered oil and gas reserves.Scott Borgerson from the US Council for Foreign Relations is quoted as saying the north coast of Alaska may soon "resemble the coast of Louisiana, lit by the lights of ships and oil rigs." Borgerson predicts that some Alaskan ports may become a new Singapore.a single Chinese container ship using the Northwest Passage instead of the Panama Canal could save $2 million each way between Shanghai and New York. "Up to 25% of the Earth's shipping may, in our lifetime, be sailing the polar route," according to Politics Daily.

A leading Inuit group protested not being invited to an Arctic foreign ministers meeting just outside of Ottawa on March 29. Duane Smith, head of the Canadian branch of the Inuit Circumpolar Council, which lobbies for the interests of northern peoples, said his group asked to join the talks, but was rebuffed .
"Anything and everything they're going to discuss . . . is going to affect the Inuit in one way or another. We're the ones who are living right in that area, so that's why we think we should be involved as well," Smith said.

THE "COMPASSIONATE" SOCIETY

"Thousands of seriously ill and disabled people who are unable to work are being wrongly denied benefits, a report by Citizens Advice has claimed. The bureau says the system of assessing Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) claimants is failing, with 68% of those assessed told they are fit for work. It says "crude" tests fail to allow for the complexities of many illnesses. The government says it plans to exempt cancer suffers from testing and show "more sensitivity" for some illnesses. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), which reviews the system annually, says it will look again at conditions such as autism, learning disabilities and Multiple Sclerosis. But the bureau, backed by 18 other bodies, says people are "effectively being written off".  (BBC News, 22 March) RD

BUSINESS AS USUAL

"Four executives of mining giant Rio Tinto have admitted to a court in the Chinese city of Shanghai that they took bribes, officials have said. Lawyers for the men - Australian Stern Hu and three Chinese colleagues - said they admitted accepting some money but are disputing the amounts. The group, arrested in July, also face charges of commercial espionage." (BBC News, 22 March) RD

FOOTBALL FORTUNES

Every day in the newspapers and on television we are told of the fabulous incomes of some of the footballers in the Premier League. Some are reported to be earning £140,000 a week. To most workers this appears a fortune and yet it is chicken-feed compared to the immense wealth of people like the Russian multi-millionaire who at present owns the Chelsea football club. Of course the majority of professional footballers have to struggle by on more ordinary incomes like most workers. At the other end of the scale from the well-heeled Premier footballers and the millionaire owners we have the poor makers of the footballs. "The city of Sialkot in Pakistan produces as many as 60 million hand-stitched footballs in a World Cup year. The firms here are running out of new workers since child labour was abolished. Western buyers may have a clear conscience, but the children of Sialkot now toil in the local brickworks instead. ...Shaukat is a strong, 20-year-old man. He has been working for this independent stitching factory, Danayal, for eight years. Danayal produces handmade footballs for professional leagues. ...At the entrance to the factory there's a notice board showing the current rates of pay. Depending on the model, his employer pays between 55 and 63 Pakistan rupees per ball ($0.65 to $0.75). "On a good day I manage six balls," says Shaukat. That's eight hours work. "That's not a lot of money," he says as he pushes a needle through the thick synthetic leather and stitches together two patches. His boss is standing close by so he quickly adds: "But it's not little either." He gets paid every Saturday and has to feed a family of six with his wages.". (Spiegel on line, 16 March) That is how capitalism operates - immense wealth for the millionaire owners and penury for the working class. RD

THIS SPORTING LIFE

"Indian migrant labourers rushing to finish buildings for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in October are living and working in "rock-bottom" conditions that violate Indian laws, according to a panel set up by an Indian court. The committee has filed a report accusing government-appointed companies of denying minimum wages, adequate accommodation, basic equipment and medical care to many of the 17,000 workers on the Games sites." (Times, 19 March) RD

PIMPS, PROSTITUTES AND POLITICIANS

It is the sort of story that those pimps of Fleet Street love. The French to bring back officially-sanctioned brothels! "More than 60 years after Paris shut its famed maisons closes, or brothels, an MP from President Sarkozy's UMP party is campaigning to legalise them again. Chantal Brunel, who was appointed last month to head the national watchdog on sexual equality, is arguing that crime would be cut and sex workers would benefit from "sexual services centres" similar to those run by most of France's neighbours." (Times, 19 March)  In advocating a change in French law this MP expressed a long-held but completely fallacious notion. "Ms Brunel, MP for the western Paris suburbs, says that France should follow the example of nearly all its neighbours and allow modern bordellos."It is true that few women prostitute themselves willingly", she told Le Parisien. "But we should not be blind. Prostitution has always existed and will always do so." Prostitution can only exist in a property based society. For thousands of years before the advent of private property prostitution did not exist, but what is more important in the society based on common ownership of the future affronts to human dignity such as prostitution will be completely impossible. RD

ARMAMENTS BOOM

"The Stockholm-based SIPRI (Stockholm International Research Institute)also warned of arms races in volatile regions such as the Middle East, North Africa, South America as well as South and Southeast Asia. Arms transfers to South America have risen by 150 percent over the last five years, in comparison to the years 2000-2004, the report found. In Southeast Asia the wave of weaponry could "destabilize the region, jeopardizing decades of peace," the institute warned. The researchers found that the worldwide trade of rockets, fighter jets, weapons and munitions was up by 22 percent over the last five years. Expensive fighter jets have proven particularly attractive, with their sale making up 27 percent of total arms sold." (Spiegel on line, 15 March) RD