BEHIND THE FINE WORDS

Recently in a show of strength the USA and South Korea mounted an exercise in and around the Sea of Japan. It consisted of 20 ships, 200 aircraft and 8,000 military personnel and was supposedly a response to the sinking of a South Korean vessel by North Korea. Like all such military displays of power it was accompanied by fine words. They were "protecting the democratic South against the tyranny of the North". China, an ally of North Korea viewed it as "an intrusion into an area not far from Chinese territorial waters". It is much more likely that the correspondent Giles Whittell was much nearer the real economic truth behind the fine words when he reported

"The military display that may or may not have struck fear into the hermit dictatorship north of the 38th parallel has angered Beijing as it seeks to assert sovereignty over nearly 1.5 million square miles of the South China Sea, rich in oil and mineral deposits".

(Times, 28 July) RD

AN EXPENSIVE WANK

"Hugh Hefner's Playboy: 1953-1979 (Taschen), his 3,506-page, six-volume "illustrated autobiography", is distilled from this modest collection and mixes personal reflection with pictures of breasts culled from the magazine. It is printed in a limited edition of 1,500 copies, and is on sale for the princely sum of £900." (Guardian, 17 July) RD

HALF A MILLION HOMELESS

"More than 500,000 people will be added to social housing waiting lists and nearly 300,000 jobs will go under proposals to cut the housing budget by up to 40 per cent, say campaigners. The National Housing Federation says ministers risk "shutting the door on an entire generation of low-income families" by cutting cash for affordable homes." (Times, 26 July) RD

PROGRESSING BACKWARDS

"The gap between the health of rich and poor is greater now than at any time since modern records began, a study shows. Government initiatives have done little or nothing to close the gap between the life expectancy of poor people and those who are wealthy, researchers from universities in Sheffield and Bristol, writing in the British Medical Journal, said. They looked at deaths between 1921 and 2007." (Times, 23 July) RD

"HUMANITARIAN" SLAUGHTER

"The Israeli military has imposed restrictions on the use of white phosphorous munitions, which led to civilian deaths and casualties in Gaza last year. Israel told the UN that it would deploy them only when approved by a "humanitarian affairs officer." (Times, 22 July) RD

SEVENTY DIE FOR RELIGIOUS NONSENSE

"Islamists claim attack in Uganda. Uganda's most feared insurgent group, the Shabab, claimed responsibility on Monday for the coordinated bombings that killed more than 70 people in Uganda,as crowds gathered to watch the final match of the World Cup." (New York Times, 11, July) RD

CASH, CORRUPTION AND CAPITALISM

"Last week Goldman Sachs agreed to pay a $550 million (£360 million) fine to settle accusations by the US regulators that it misled investors over a mortgage-backed security. It followed claims that the investment bank had - among other things - helped Greece to hide the true level of its indebtedness, played a key role in the 2008 US banking crashed and behaved like a "great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money" (Rolling Stone magazine)." (Times, 21 July) RD

CORRUPTING RESEARCH

"One of the world's largest oil companies has broken its pledge to stop funding groups that promote scepticism about man-made climate change. Exxon Mobil, parent company of Esso, gave almost £1 million last year to organisations that campaign against controls on greenhouse gas omissions." (Times, 19 July) RD

TOUGHER AT THE BOTTOM

"For the first time since the 1970s more than one billion people, almost one-sixth of humanity, were either hungry or undernourished last year and the number is growing, an international conference on food security held in Manila was told last week. This figure was 100 million more than in 2008, and the Asia-Pacific region leads the world with more than 650 million hungry people, according to data by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)." (The National, 11 July) RD

TOUGH AT THE TOP

"Charles, the Prince of Wales, doesn't exactly have to save for a rainy day: he collects Aston Martins, has three chauffeurs and holds overseas investments totaling at least $68 million. But as Britain copes with a bleak economic forecast and austerity measures meant to tackle its $230 billion deficit, the future King has embraced a royal version of frugality sure to make playboy princes around the world quiver: he's cutting back on canapes, and he's hosting drinks parties instead of lavish dinners. "We are always keeping an eye on the economic climate," Charles' private secretary, Michael Peat, told reporters in London on June 29. "We do live in the real world for the most part anyhow." (Time, 3 July) RD

CHEAP, CHEAPER, CHEAPEST

"As costs have risen in China, long the world's shop floor, it is slowly losing work to countries like Bangladesh, Vietnam and Cambodia at least for cheaper, labor-intensive goods like casual clothes, toys and simple electronics that do not necessarily require literate workers and can tolerate unreliable transportation systems and electrical grids. Li Fung, a Hong Kong company that handles sourcing and apparel manufacturing for companies like Wal-Mart, H & M and other Western retailers and brands. Liz Claiborne, reported that its production in Bangladesh jumped 20 percent last year, while China, its biggest supplier, slid 5 percent. Bangladesh is getting very competitive, William Fung, Li Fung's group managing director, told analysts in March. The flow of jobs to poorer countries like Bangladesh started even before recent labor unrest in China led to big pay raises for many factory workers there and before changes in Beijing's currency policy that could also raise the costs of Chinese exports. Now, though, economists expect the migration of China's low-paying jobs to accelerate." (New York Times, 16 July) RD

STOP MOANING WORK HARDER

Next time you complain to your boss about being exploited let us hope he doesn't read this piece of nonsense. "People who make their colleagues miserable by constantly moaning at work may actually be suffering from a mental illness, a study suggests. According to researchers in Germany, they are suffering from a new condition called post-traumatic embitterment disorder. ...The findings are based on a two-year study of 21 people by researchers at the University of Berlin." (BBC News, 20 June) Presumably the "researchers" didn't moan or complain and no one mentioned to them that research that only used 21 people is hardly convincing. Here's to the day when more and more of us "suffer" from post traumatic embitterment disorder. The researchers may call it a mental disorder we call it good sense. RD

CAPITALISM IN ACTION

"A boy aged seven has been found working 98 hours a week to produce decorative Christmas goods for the British high street. He is employed from 9am to 11pm, seven days a week, earning 7p an hour for his widowed mother. The boy, known only as Ravi, not only works but sleeps in a Delhi sweatshop that produces items for Pound-land, the cut-price chain store." (Sunday Times,11 July) RD

A FUN-LOVING GENERAL

"General Mattis will be questioned closely by the US Armed Services Committee during confirmation hearings into his nomination as the next commander of US Central Command. His remarks in 2005 when he spoke of having fun killing the Taleban are likely to be raised. ... A no-nonsense Marine, General Mattis stood up in front of television cameras during a speech in California in 2005 - when he was a lieutenant-general - and said: "You go into Afghanistan, you got guys who slap women about for five years because they didn't wear a veil. You know that guys like that ain't got no manhood left anyway. So it is a lot of fun to shoot them ... It's a hell of a hoot. It's fun to shoot people." (Times, 10 July) RD

PROFITABLE CARNAGE

"Russia has exported $5.3 billion worth of weapons-related production in the first six months of 2010, the head of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) said on Wednesday. "With a plan for $9.5 billion, we have delivered $5.3 billion in [weapons-related] production in the first six months [of 2010], which constitutes 56% of the plan," Mikhail Dmitriyev told the Engineering Technologies International Forum 2010 in the town of Zhukovsky near Moscow. In 2009, the figure was $8.5 billion." (Ria Novosti, 30 June) RD

Who did win the World Cup?

This is an article taken from the Socialist Party's blog today,called Socialism or your money back. ( SOYMB) I think it should be available here.

 

The 2010 South Africa World Cup now has a winner, Spain, but just who really won the cup? SOYMB reads about the profits generating by this "sporting" event.

What they paid: ESPN paid $100 million for broadcast rights; Univision paid more than three times that amount - $325 million - for the same coverage.
What they get: The advertising dollars that accompany an average of 125 million viewers worldwide per match, and the almost 1 billion people who will watch the final on July 11. 715 million people watched the 2006 championship game and in light of increased viewership this tournament, that number is supposed to be well-surpassed with forecasts that the match will "draw the biggest audience of any sporting final in history."
What it cost them: Adidas signed a whopping $351 million deal with FIFA in 2005.
What they get: Adidas predicts sales of their World Cup-related merchandise to top $1.89 billion; they've already had record sales of $1.9 billion in their soccer category (a 15% increase from soccer-related sales in 2008 and a 26% increase from the 2006 World Cup) and they reported a 26 percent increase in soccer product sales in the first quarter of 2010.
What it cost them: Visa signed a $200 million sponsorship deal with FIFA in 2006.
What they got: No MasterCard allowed! Spending on Visa cards by visitors to South Africa was up by 65 per cent in the first three and half weeks of June, compared with the same period last year. The head of Visa sponsorships worldwide said, "In some markets, it might take a year for us to feel a difference. Inside SA card turnover by foreign visitors has risen 50% already." Leading up to the tournament, Visa registered more than 14,000 independent merchants across 186 malls and street precincts around South Africa.
What it cost them: Coca Cola paid $500m (£290m), for the period from 2007 to 2012.
What they get: Unit case volume up 3% this quarter.
What it cost them: Emirates Airlines were in a $195 million sponsorship deal
What they get: According to the Financial Times, Emirates estimated that its sponsorship deal would allow it to reach 2 billion people. "To get the same kind of exposure online that we get from the World Cup sponsorship... would cost about $3bn," an Emirates spokesman told Business Day a Johannesburg daily.
What it cost them: $305 million was the price for Sony to sponsor soccer events including the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.
What they get: Sony has been able to preview its new 3D technology in fan parks and shopping malls throughout the country, also taking over the centre of Sandton's Mandela Square, 'where fans can "live" the experience of watching football through its impressive technology.'
What it cost them: Budweiser spent between $10 - 25 million in annual fees for 2007 - 2010
What they get: Official World Cup beer and the only one sold at stadiums and official fan sites. Nielsen data showed Budweiser had a 25 percent jump in online searches in the week ending June 19th, and this number has been increasing weekly. Nielsen also found four main World Cup sponsors, including Budweiser, generated a 55% higher "net likeability" than commercials from other non-official World Cup advertisers, and they also scored 16% higher on brand recall.
What it cost them: Between $10 - $25 million was McDonalds outlay for being sponsors
What they get: McDonald's South African branch expects a revenue growth of 20%, thanks to the World cup publicity. Last month, McDonald's noted a 4.8% increase of sales worldwide.
What it cost them: FIFA costs were $1.2 billion
What they get: The federation predicts revenue of $3.2 billion leading to a "surplus" of a sweet $2 billion for the 2010 World Cup

And for the football teams - What they get: Spain , the winners of the 2010 World Cup will pocket $30 million, and the Dutch runners-up get a check for $24 million. Every team who played in the World Cup finals will receive at least $9 million: $1 million as a contribution to preparation costs, and $8 million even if they're eliminated at the group stage. Total prize money amounts to $420 million - a 60 per cent increase from 2006's $261 million prize pool, and almost three times as much as the $154 million in 2002.

And finally for the South African people, SOYMB leaves the final words to the Landless People's Movement
"Billions of rands have been spent on stadiums and other costs for this World Cup yet we remain in shacks and without electricity. They said 'Feel it, it is here' but we have not felt anything other than the pain of poverty worsened with the pain of repression. The money that should have been spent on upgrading our communities has been wasted. The tournament will be over on Sunday and we will still be poor."

It didn't take a result predicting octopus to realise that !

LET 'EM FLY COPTERS

The arrogance of the Russian ruling elite is prodigious but even by their standards this takes a bit of beating. "As Moscow residents sweltered in an unprecedented traffic snarl-up, the governor of the region around Moscow offered an unusual solution on Friday: buy a helicopter. "I fly in a helicopter. (You) should also buy helicopters instead of cars -- then you do not need roads," Moscow Region governor Boris Gromov told journalists, the RIA Novosti news agency reported." (Yahoo News, 2 July)This crass statement brings to mind Marie Antoinette's reputed statement on hearing that the lower orders were rioting because of the lack of bread "Let them eat cake". In Marie's defense she probably never said such a thing, but Boris did and he should remember Marie's fate. RD

Banking crisis - who pays the price ?

“I get up in the morning crying and go to bed crying.You go in to work and you hope you won’t tear up. But somebody does, nearly every day.” The problem? Fear, says Jane. “We are all scared. We are all afraid of getting paid off. Maybe because of the way the building is, the fear just seems to move across the room. But they are disciplining us for everything, including clerical errors and timekeeping.” The building is open-plan. “When someone cracks up, we all see it,” she explains. “You’ll hear the sobbing and see her pals huddle around her." Middle managers, she keeps stressing, are just as scared as their employees.

Jim McCourt, who runs the Inverclyde Advice and Employment Rights Centre, says he has seen a lot of stressed-out RBS workers since 2008. "I have been doing this job for 15 years and I have never seen any company that is so unnecessarily brutal.”

From the Herald

DEVOLUTION, BENEFITS, HANDOUTS?

 

In an article By Eddie Barnes in today's Scotland on Sunday he say's

John Swinney hints at the end of benefits for all.

Every government, be it Scottish, English or what ever, must look after the interests of their capitalist class and the Scottish one is no different. The benefits handed out since devolution could be in jeopardy. Like any other reforms used to attract votes, they can be withdrawn in a slump crisis, no doubt available for future promise in another election. This is an excerpt from the article

 

"FREE personal care for the elderly is among the benefits facing the axe in Scotland as a result of multi-billion pound cuts to budgets, with public sector chiefs warning they can no longer afford to provide universal state payments to the middle classes.

Amid warnings from Scottish ministers today that the days of extra spending are over, council chiefs have spelled out bluntly that "universal benefits" must be cut, with cash focused solely on the poorer sections of society.

It could spell the death knell for a series of benefits handed out by ministers since devolution, such as free bus travel for pensioners and free personal care. The stark warning follows a report by the Scottish Government's chief economic adviser, Dr Andrew Goudie, last week which forecast that the £30bn budget will be cut by £5bn by 2015.

Ministers are awaiting the findings of an independent budget review group, which will report at the end of this month, offering options on cuts. The group was set up by finance secretary John Swinney to examine how best to cut back on spending.

Public sector chiefs have told the group that it must include a "recognition" that some policies, especially those based on universality, such as free personal care, may not be affordable in the future. Fife Council chief executive Ronnie Hinds told Scotland on Sunday: "Efficiency savings are not going to be enough. They will act for considerably less than half of what will have to be required. It is going to come down to hard political choices."

 

PAYDAY LENDING COMPANIES LEAVE ARIZONA

Governments get into debt and must service that debt or their credit rating in the international world will diminish, they immediately tell the working class that  it is our debt and proceed to diminish our wages, either directly if they can or indirectly by inflation for example. This can lead in some cases of workers going to lending companies who charge charging fees that can amount to interest rates of more than 400 percent on an annual basis. In Arizona, State law now caps the annual interest rates for loans at 36 percent. Of course, workers in debt can't claim it's our debt, like the government does, so, as one worker explains,

"I see the places popping up all over town. I can't believe that so many stores can be so profitable with these loans. The Armed Services made all of these kinds of businesses "Off limits" for members of any military service. We also have "title loan" stores. They loan a max of $1500 on late model cares that have to be paid off. So if you miss a payment, your $10,000 car gets repoed for a $1500 loan against it? That's how they make millions too. This maybe a needed industry, sure, but charging 4 or even 5 hundred percent is just not right, no matter what your views. People can judge and say " Get a job, etc, etc, etc" but this industry preys on people who can least afford it, and by nature are forced to the cess pool for financial help. As a country, we can't even agree 9 million unemployed people deserve help with unemployment benefits!"

From a socialist's point of view, this is an opinion shared by most workers, it's wrong, it is not a needed industry, if production for need replaces production for profit that industry will disappear along with money and private ownership of the means of production.