Food for Thought

The Chilean miners have learned the lessons of capitalism well. While still trapped underground, they discussed how to make the maximum money their new-found stardom. They made a pact down below to preserve the material and hold back on information for a book or movie deal. Only a few have agreed to interviews and only for money, and giving only general information. One miner who is asking for $30 000 per interview, explained that he's out of a job and must act while the story still has interest. Others have asked for $1 000 per question.( Toronto Star, 13/Nov/2010).


The real cost of war is often hidden from view. We know about 150 Canadian soldiers have died in Afghanistan because their bodies are paraded down the "Highway of Heroes", otherwise known as the 401 expressway, but we hear nothing of the wounded. Tanya Talga reported in the Toronto Star (7/Nov/2010) that the planes from Afghanistan arrive at Landstuhl, Germany, all day, seven days a week with as many as 80 injured soldiers in seats and stacked three deep on stretchers. Many will be permanently disabled and unable to work. They are looking at meagre pensions that don't pay the bills. Too bad they are not socialists and refuse to fight capitalism's wars. Unfortunately, most are well brain washed into the system as they get their training. One mentioned had lost most of both legs and one arm. He proudly displayed his tattoo on the piece of arm that was left, "God grant me the serenity to accept the people I cannot shoot, the courage to shoot the people I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." At the time of writing, the Canadian government is trying to stiff the injured soldiers out of their pensions by proposing a lump sum at a fraction of the cost of a lifetime pension.

John Ayers

Food for Thought

Canada has a state-of-the-art ice-breaker in the Arctic Ocean. It is used mainly for assessing the effects of climate change. Frequently it gets loaned out to oil companies to help in their search for oil under that ocean. Incongruous? Yes, but, as the head of the program says, 'at
$50 000 a day rental, it helps to pay the ice-breaker's way! The logic escapes most sane people.
 On the poverty front, good news. A House of Commons committee, after three years of study, has put forward solid recommendations to combat the scourge of poverty for three million Canadians. Unfortunately, the fact that it is a supplementary report signals its low priority. In 1989, parliamentarians voted unanimously to eliminate child poverty. They still
haven't. Of course, we know, it's endemic to the profit system.
Nowhere in Canada is poverty more obvious than in First Nations' communities but some chiefs are pulling in large salaries, such as at Peguis First Nation community. The Toronto Star reported (31/Oct/2010) that in that nation, where many houses are mould-infested, the chief earned $355 000 a year, and his predecessor made $665 000. In Toronto there are 75 000 families waiting for a subsidized place to live while there are many empty houses. The Toronto Star reporter who investigated met a woman who waited for 21 years to get an affordable apartment. By then, her kids had grown up! The old rubric of money to fix
up housing for the needy is offered. Meanwhile 131 city owned houses are rotting. Homelessness and poverty are not just the domain of the cities. In my mainly rural township of Cramahe in the county of Northumberland, local papers are reporting increased numbers of those needing help. The Cramahe food bank's roll of those in need has risen from 8-10 households when it began eight years ago to 75-100 households per month today. Homelessness in the county is mainly invisible because 'couch surfing' is the usual course of action for those without shelter, or the house that is maintained for short stays. All agencies are asking for help because money is tight for those trying to help, but freely available for some, as you can see from the next item.
Meanwhile, money is no problem for the financial industry. The G20 countries bailed out the rich to a tune of $5 trillion (Toronto Star editorial, 13/Nov/2010). Now the austerity measures brought in by almost every government hit, of course, the most vulnerable the hardest. Do we expect anything different? No, but it would be nice if the protests were
bigger and had a real purpose like establishing socialism. John Ayers

GOD SAVE THE BLING

"One of Wallis Simpson's most famous sayings was that "You can never be too rich or too thin," and she could well have extended the aphorism to say ... "or have too much bling." The stylish American for whom King Edward VIII gave up his throne had another epic love affair: with jewellery. Yet her baubles were more than just expensive adornments. Through them, history, fashion and romance are perfectly combined and preserved forever. In the opinion of David Bennett, Chairman of Sotheby's Jewellery in Europe and the Middle East, Simpson's jewels are "the most important jewellery collection put together in the 20th century". When her collection was first sold by Sotheby's in 1987, the year after the Duchess of Windsor died (the sale was announced on 12 December 1986, exactly 50 years after the abdication), the auction held in Geneva caused a huge wave of interest. It eventually raised $50m (£31m) and set a new world record for a single-owner jewellery collection." (Independent, 30 November) RD

ALL RIGHT FOR SOME

"The nation's workers may be struggling, but American companies just had their best quarter ever. American businesses earned profits at an annual rate of  $1.659 trillion in the third quarter, according to a Commerce Department report released Tuesday. That is the highest figure recorded since the government began keeping track over 60 years ago, at least in nominal or noninflation-adjusted terms." (New York Times, 23 November) RD

Who owns the North Pole - Part 23

"This is our land," said Delice Calcote, a liaison with the Alaska Inter-Tribal Council, an advocacy group representing the region's indigenous peoples. "We aren't happy with everyone trying to claim it."

With one fifth of the world's oil and gas at stake, countries are struggling to control the once-frozen Arctic. With global warming, the search for resources have led to a new battle for northern dominance. As the planet warms, as northern sea lanes become accessible to shippers, as countries and companies hungrily eye vast petroleum and mineral deposits below its melting ice, a quiet, almost polite, scramble for control is transpiring in the Arctic

"Countries are setting the chess pieces on the board. There are tremendous resources at stake," said Rob Huebert, director of the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary."At this point, everyone is following the rules and say they want cooperation; behind the scenes developments are happening that suggest it may not be so cooperative," Huebert said.

Russia and Canada are the only two Arctic states who have ramped up the rhetoric on the military front. The US, despite its military power, doesn't rattle swords in the same way. The Norwegians are talking the most cooperatively but they are arming very assertively, recently buying at least five combat frigates with advanced AEGIS spying and combat capabilities. The Danes are re-arming too.

"It is our land and our water. They don't own it, it is ours," Calcote said, echoing the view of some indigenous peoples from Greenland, through Canada, Norway, and Siberia.

A SENSE OF VALUES?

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       "Half a rare German postage stamp which dates back to 1872 has fetched some 261,000 Euros (220,500 pounds) at auction in the southern German town of Bietigheim-Bissingen, a spokeswoman for the auction house told Reuters on Thursday.She said a German collector purchased the well-preserved half stamp, which originates from the northern German town of Syke, despite its hefty price tag because it was so rare. "Stamps were in short supply in Syke between 1872 and 1874 so it was decided that they should be cut in half as a makeshift solution," she said. "But because this was only done for a short period, very few letters actually bear these halved stamps." She said the winning bidder from north Germany was able to secure the stamp, which had an asking price of 120,000 euros, only after a lengthy duel with a bidder from south Germany." (Yahoo News, 25 November) RD

Food for Thought

A New York Times article entitled "Rising Seas and a Looming Catastrophe" (21/Nov/2010) begins, "At great risk and with diminished support, scientists are racing to answer one of the most urgent – and most widely debated – questions facing humanity: How fast is the world's ice going to melt." At great risk and with diminished support? We are talking about the greatest threat to the earth we have known. Apparently the consensus now is that we may well be warming up faster than previously thought. In a sane world, solving this would be the major focus of the world's nations and their international; body, the UN. Obviously, it's getting in the way of making a profit!
 Here's an example. As Arnold Schwarzenegger is leaving the governorship of California, he is pushing through an environmental bill against oil industry practices. The oil lobby has introduced Proposition 23 that will mothball the legislation until the economy recovers – read never. Even Canada has got into the act as the federal and Alberta governments object to the green law on the grounds that it discriminates against the tarsands industry – another example of government going to bat for the owning class even when it's on 'dirty' ground. Schwarzenegger commented on the attempt by the oil industry to kill his bill, " This is like Eva Braun selling a kosher cookbook. It's not about jobs at all. It's all about their ability to pollute and protect their profits." He got this one right, at least. John Ayers

POOR CARE FOR THE POOR

"Nineteen hospital trusts are today exposed as having alarmingly high death rates in a major report that also reveals how hundreds of people are dying needlessly because of substandard NHS care. The Dr Foster hospital guide, which the Observer publishes exclusively today, discloses that tens of thousands of patients were harmed in hospital last year when they developed avoidable blood clots, suffered from obstetric tears during childbirth, had objects left inside them after operations or were not given immediate treatment after a stroke." (Observer, 28 November) RD

ALARMING FIGURES

"The Census Bureau recently reported that the poverty rate in the United States rose to 14.3 percent last year, the highest level in more than 50 years. Texas and Florida saw the most people fall below the line. In Florida alone, 323,000 people became newly poor last year, bringing the state's poverty total to 2.7 million." (Washington Post, 19 November) RD

THE chasm between the health of Scotland's rich and poor was exposed yesterday with the release of new official statistics showing that men living in the most affluent parts of Scotland live, on average, more than 13 years longer than males in the poorest parts of the country.
Statistics showed that males living in the most deprived 10 per cent of the country have a life expectancy that is 13.4 years shorter than those in the richest 10 per cent of the country. That means men in the most affluent areas can expect to live to the age of 81.1, compared with 67.7 for those in the most deprived areas.

The area with the lowest life expectancy is North Glasgow -where men can expect to live to just 69.8 years and women to 76.2 years.

Female life expectancy in the most deprived 10 per cent of the country is nine years lower than for the wealthiest 10 per cent of the country. Women in poorest parts of Scotland can expect to live to 75.4 years of age, but that figure rises to 84.4 years of age for those in the most affluent communities.

Scotland's life expectancy had worsened over the past five years and was now just ahead of eastern European nations such as Slovenia and Poland.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said "Nobody should be condemned to a life of ill health because of where they live or their family's background. Poor health is not inevitable and we should not accept it."

How true but how false. Under capitalism that is just what happens and we have seen that regardless of all the public health initiatives and reforms the situation remains and it will only be with the establishment of socialism that those words of the government spokeswoman will have any veracity.

A MERRY CHRISTMAS?

Hundreds of thousands leaflets produced by Crisis UK were pushed through letterboxes recently appealing for donations. They painted a horrible picture of what Christmas meant for the homeless. "Hidden homeless people live in hostels, squats, bed and breakfasts or sleep on friends' floors. They often lead miserable, isolated lives and suffer from debilitating mental and physical health problems. Crisis wants to open nine centres between 23 and 30 December offering homeless people companionship, care, hot food and warm clothing at a time of year which can be particularly lonely for those without a home or a family." These well-meaning people are obviously sincere in their attempts to alleviate the plight of the homeless, but what happens after the 30 December? It is the nature of capitalism to produce great wealth and great poverty. Charity cannot solve the problems of poverty, homelessness or alienation. Only a complete transformation of society from the profit motive to world socialism can accomplish that. RD

WHAT HOUSING PROBLEM?

"This was a house fit for an oligarch: indeed, it was expressly designed for such. House 6, in Cornwall Crescent, is one of two grand Regent's Park mini-mansions going into what estate agents call the super-prime market: the luxury, £15m-plus, "if you have to ask you can't afford it" central London bracket. Oddly, despite the nation's straitened circumstances, the super-primes are thriving. Indeed, these two houses - number 6 is £39m - number 11 £29m, are part of eight in the Grade I-listed, John Nash-designed, 1811-vintage cream-coloured terrace. They fit the super-rich bill but, as one agent tells me, they might be deemed down-market by an oil baron: "Belgravia's the top destination, not Regent's Park." (Independent, 19 November) RD

HIGH-ROLLERS ROLL ON

"Across New York a long-forgotten rustling and snapping can be heard. It's the sound of high-rollers opening their wallets. In the clearest sign yet that the very wealthy are spending again, Tiffany & Co reported third-quarter results yesterday that ripped through analysts' expectations. Profits at the New York-based luxury jeweller rose 27 per cent to $55.1 million (£34.8 million), up from $43.3 million a year earlier, while revenue rose to $681.7 million." (Times, 25 November) RD

UPSTAIRS DOWNSTAIRS

"John Prescott's office authorised spending hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money on "indoor plant landscaping" and "silver service" waiters when he was Deputy Prime Minister. Contract documents seen by The Independent reveal Lord Prescott's department demanded catering staff must always be discreet, wear a uniform and on no account disrupt meetings of ministers." ( Independent, 18 November) RD

POVERTY IN HAITI

"Nearly one month after cholera took hold, the confirmed fatalities have risen to 917. This  Sans Frontieres (MSF)  medical facility in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince has 70 beds but is receiving 300 cases a day. "They are arriving in large numbers. Our hospital is completely full," said Caroline Seguin, emergency coordinator for MSF. "We're even having to refuse referrals because we know we are unable to treat them. While cholera can be successfully treated with oral rehydration salts or intravenous fluids, it can kill if not treated quickly. The only way to prevent the spread of cholera is to avoid drinking water or eating food that is contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholera, but in tent cities waterborne cholera can spread easily through shared sanitation, washing and cooking facilities. An estimated 1.3 million Haitians are living in refugee camps around the capital since an earthquake devastated the city in January." (Daily Telegraph, 16 November) RD

CITY OF BROTHERLY LOVE?

"Philadelphia has the highest poverty rate of any major city, with one out of four people living in poverty. One-third of that population is under 18. In September, about 70,700 Philadelphians were unemployed and looking for work. In December 2007, when most economists say the recession began, 39,500 people were unemployed. More than 900,000 residents of the Delaware Valley are at risk for chronic hunger and malnutrition. In fiscal year 2009, Philabundance distributed 17 million pounds of food in the Delaware Valley, reaching about 65,000 people per week. Of those who rely on Philabundance, 23 percent are children and 16 percent are seniors. In 2004-06, the average percentage of the Pennsylvania population that was food insecure - meaning that at certain times they were uncertain of having, or unable to acquire, enough food for the household - was 10 percent. The average rose to 11.8 percent in 2007-09. Sources: Philadelphia Unemployment Project, Philabundance, USDA Food Insecurity Study 2009" (Philadelphia Daily News, 16 November) RD

A NICE LITTLE SNACK

"White truffles are displayed Sunday during the traditional annual truffle auction in Alba, northern Italy, where a 900-gram white truffle was auctioned for 105 million Euros ($143.58 million) to a Hong Kong buyer." (Global Times), 18 November)  RD

fuel poverty increases

A third of Scots households are unable to keep their homes warm, according to Scottish government figures.

In 2009, about 770,000 homes were said to be in fuel poverty, spending over 10% of income on heating, compared with 618,000 in 2008 and 293,000 in 2002. The figures from the Scottish House Condition Survey also indicated that the number of households in "extreme fuel poverty" had risen from 3% in 2002 to 10% in 2009.

Charities claim that the governement target to effectively abolish fuel poverty by 2016 is not likely to be achieved if current trends continue.

(A household is considered to be in fuel poverty if it would be required to spend more than 10% of its income to adequately heat its home, and in extreme fuel poverty if it would have to spend more than 20%.)

HUNGER IN THE USA

"Almost 15% of US households experienced a food shortage at some point in 2009, a government report has found. US authorities say that figure is the highest they have seen since they began collecting data in the 1990s, and a slight increase over 2008 levels. Single mothers are among the hardest hit: About 3.5 million said they were at times unable to put sufficient food on the table. Hispanics and African Americans also suffer disproportionately. The food security report is the result of an annual survey conducted by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA)." (BBC News, 15 November) RD

GOD AND MAMMON

"A Pentecostal church (The Universal Church of the Kingdom of God) with 10,000 followers in some of the poorest parts of Britain is encouraging worshippers to sell all their possessions and default on their bills in order to donate more money to the church an investigation by Times Money has found. ... The Church's aggressive pursuit of tithes and offerings means that donations dwarf those made at mainstream churches. The Church's accounts state that it received £8.8 million in 2008-09, the most recent year for which figures are available. This is an average of £225,556 per congregation - 600 per cent more than raised by the Church of England." (Times, 20 November) RD

WAR IS BIG BUSINESS

"A US arms sale to Saudi Arabia worth $60 billion (£37 billion) - the largest single deal on record - was expected to go ahead last night despite concerns from some American lawmakers over its potential impact on Israel security." (Times, 20 November) RD

SUPER RICH BRITONS

  "The super-rich British property magnates who managed to survive the credit crunch are seeing their fortunes rise again for the first time in three years. The Estate Gazette Rich List 2010 indicates that the UK's 250 richest real-estate investors are worth a combined £3 billion more than they were last year, thanks to a turnaround in commercial property prices." (Times, 20 November) RD

The number of unemployed women has reached a 22-year high of more than a million, prompting warnings of worse to come.

Analysts say women are bearing the brunt of the recession and public-sector cuts, with women in Scotland losing their jobs at a rate more than seven times greater than for men. The number of females out of work north of the Border soared by 5000 to 93,000 over the summer. Across the UK, female unemployment rose by 31,000 in the three months to September to reach 1.02 million – the highest level since 1988.

The number of workers forced to take part-time jobs because they cannot find full-time work has also reached a record high, according to the Office for National Statistics.

AN INTERVIEW FROM A JOURNALIST

This blog has many contributions from our Canadian comrade John Ayers, recently he was interviewed by a journalist from the Digital Journal

I've copied it, I hope you'll be interested

Some believe that the recent financial meltdown was caused by free markets and capitalism, which has drawn many people to look at the alternative: Socialism. The Socialist Party of Canada's wants to define what Socialism really means.

At several demonstrations in Toronto, this journalist has come across a lot of members of the Socialist and Communist Parties of Canada. The representatives hand out information on certain events occurring and their stance on the issue.

It was time to finally speak with the party and understand their points of view.

At several demonstrations in Toronto, this journalist has come across a lot of members of the Socialist and Communist Parties of Canada. The representatives hand out information on certain events occurring and their stance on the issue.

It was time to finally speak with the party and understand their points of view.

On Thursday, Digital Journal had the opportunity to speak with Socialist Party of Canada representative and content contributor to the publication journal Imagine, John Ayers, to discuss the idea of socialism, what the party's views are in terms of foreign policy and the current political establishment and system.

According to dictionary.com, socialism is defined as: "a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole."

However, Ayers feels that socialism and communism have been misunderstood due to the media and various governments around the world that call themselves socialists but do not represent the idea or have the vaguest notion of what it actually is.

About the party

The first Socialist Party of Canada began in 1904 and ended in 1925. The second SPC began in 1931 and continues to this day and is part of the World Socialist Movement.

"We have an idea, which when implemented by the majority worldwide, will end all war, all poverty, all inequality and provide everybody with the needs they have." said Ayers. "Capitalism can't do that, which is obvious right now."

Even though the party does not have the proper funds to operate on a level as the main political parties, Ayers says that the party is mainly operating on an educational basis by publishing brochures, pamphlets and other methods to get out the proper information.

"Our electoral system is based on whoever has got the most money wins and we have to a lot of money, we don't have a lot of money," notes Ayers. "Right now we're basically an educational phase."

What will happen if the SPC gets elected? First the voters must understand what their view of socialism is. Ayers calls the ideology of the SPC as "scientific socialism" as they study the work of Karl Marx and use his economic theory as a basis of socialism but "don't take his work as gospel."

Socialism and ideas

The quintessential question is then: What is socialism? Ayers explains the following:

"Socialism is a society based on the common ownership of the means of producing and distributing wealth. Managed democratically in the interest of all mankind. That necessarily means an end to the class system, to money, to employment, to wages and necessarily means a society based on voluntary labour and free access for everybody to all goods produced. It is a production for use and not for profit."

Ayers adds that this idea has never been practiced and certainly the Green Party, NDP and those who say they are socialists are not because they don't have the same idea of socialism and communism due to their attempts of trying to be popular and "putting a happy face on capitalism."

If elected, the SPC would use parliament and legislative powers to end the private property and state systems. In place of it, voluntary labour would be implemented and power would be given to local and production councils, which would be democratically elected and ultimately be the foundation of socialism.

"Most of the stuff won over the past 50 years are disappearing such as the health care system, proper wages, etc.," notes Ayers. "The only thing we promote is establishing a socialist society. Promoting capitalism can never work and benefit the working class."

Foreign policy and war

Remembrance Day was on Thursday and it was only fitting to understand the party's stance on Canada's foreign policy and war. Ayers says the party's foreign policy would be to "join the hands with socialist parties around the world," which would result in no war and nothing to fight over because "wars are fought over economics."

War, according to Ayers, is a struggle between two capitalist classes and their attempt to gain control over strategic and trade routes. However, in the end, says Ayers, "humans don't need wars" because we're the ones who get killed and "it solves nothing."

"Once we've established socialism," says Ayers, "all of this is gone. The military complexes are gone."

The current state and can the government change?

According to Ayers, ultimately nothing is going to change. The SPC representative cites Toronto mayor-elect Rob Ford as an example because he is someone who is not going to change the system but ran on a campaign promise of ending the gravy train and changing the corrupt city hall.

In the end, says Ayers, the municipal government is going to get bigger and make union workers poorer. Although one public official can "tweak" little things in government, if you want real change then you have to "remove it entirely" in order to have a "society that is viable, equitable and worth living in."

The current system does not give people freedom or the freedom to travel: "If you don't have money for a bus ticket, you can't go anywhere. But people with billions of dollars can travel anywhere and have their voices heard easily."

"It's the system itself that creates war, poverty and global warming," says Ayers. "The government, managers of capitalists, have done absolutely nothing."

 

SUPER RICH AMERICANS

"No less triumphant were those individuals at the apex of the economic pyramid  - the superrich who have gotten spectacularly richer over the last four decades while their fellow citizens either treaded water or lost ground. The top 1 percent of American earners took in 23.5 percent of the nation's pretax income in 2007. During the boom years of 2002 to 2007, that top 1 percent's pretax income increased an extraordinary 10 percent every year. But the boom proved an exclusive affair: in that same period, the median income for non-elderly American households went down and the poverty rate rose." (New York Times, 13 November) RD

SITUATIONS VACANT

"In Baltimore this weekend more than a hundred Roman Catholic bishops and priests gathered to discuss a skills shortage within their congregation; it seems there are simply not enough exorcists. Just as US industry has suffered a lack of engineers, the number of men capable of casting out demons has declined, even as demand for their services has increased. In parts of the country they are now harder to find than a good plumber." (Times, 15 November) RD

ANOTHER ILLUSION GOES

One of the illusions about capitalism that its supporters are always proclaiming is that it is a ruthlessly efficient society that rewards honesty and punishes double-dealing. It is not a view shared by the capitalist class themselves as illustrated by this recent media expose. "The European Commission has fined 11 of the world's largest airlines £799 million for their part in a conspiracy to fix the price of cargo shipments. British Airways is among the carriers to be fined and has been ordered to pay a 104 million euro (£90 million) penalty." (Times, 10 November)
The capitalist class are fond of lecturing workers about honesty, but when extra profits can be realised they are not adverse to a bit of sharp practice. RD

THE GAP WIDENS (2)

"The bosses of Britain's largest companies are enjoying lavish pay rises despite the wobbly economic recovery, with most of the surge in rewards coming from long-term incentive schemes and gains from share options. The chief executives of FTSE 100 companies have seen their pay surge by 55% in a year, according to a report released yesterday by research group Incomes Data Services (IDS), while across the top 350 listed companies, total board pay rose by an average of 45%." (Guardian, 29 October) RD

THE GAP WIDENS

 "...inequality has now become so extreme that America's 74 richest citizens receive more income than the bottom 19 million combined." (Times, 10 November) RD

Families live in fear of losing home

More than half a million Scottish families are heading into winter weighed down by fears about keeping a roof over their heads, a new study has revealed.Research by Shelter showed thousands of people face serious problems trying to stay afloat.

The charity found that more than one in three homeowners are worried about keeping up mortgage payments, and one in six are already struggling to find the money each month.

“We know from the cases we see every day that it only takes one problem, like a bout of illness, or redundancy, to tip people over the edge and into a spiral of mounting debt and arrears.” Shelter Scotland director Graeme Brown said

One in every six mortgage holders across the UK was actively struggling to pay a mortgage.

THE MUTED MOCKERY OF POPPY (COCK) DAY

The ribbons arrayed the honours displayed
The medals jingling on parade
Echo of battles long ago
But they're picking sides for another go.

The martial air, the vacant stare
The oft-repeated pointless prayer
"Peace oh' Lord on earth below"
Yet they're picking sides for another go.

The clasped hands, the pious stance
The hackneyed phrase "Somewhere in France"
The eyes downcast as bugles blow
Still they're picking sides for another go.

Symbol of death the cross-shaped wreath
The sword is restless in the sheath
As children pluck where poppies grow
They're picking sides for another go.

Have not the slain but died in vain?
The hoardings point, "Prepare again"
The former friend a future foe?
They're picking sides for another go.

I hear Mars laugh at the cenotaph
Says he, as statesmen blow the gaff
"Let the Unknown Warriors flame still glow"
For they're picking sides for another go.

A socialist plan the world would span
Then man would live in peace with man
Then wealth to all would freely flow
And want and war we would never know.

(J. Boyle 1971)

Reading Notes

An example of the use of fear and theatre in religious compliance comes from "1491" written by Charles C. Mann. Of the Mesoamerican city that existed between 800BC and 200 AD, he says, " Its most important feature, a ceremonial temple…was a master piece of architectural intimidation. Using a network of concealed vents and channels, priests piped loud, roaring sounds at those who entered the temple. Visitors walked up three flights of stairs, growls echoing around them and into a long, windowless passage. At the end of the corridor, in a cross-shaped room that flickered with torchlight, was fifteen foot-high stone figure with a cat-like face, taloned fingers, fierce tusks and Medusa hair. Immediately above it, hidden from visitors' eyes, sat a priestly functionary, who provided the god's voice." Not unlike our present day churches, their architecture and décor, and ceremonies. John Ayers

Food for thought

Apparently, Pope Benedict has been on the attack against atheists, possibly to cover up the widening abuse scandals that continue to pop up everywhere the priests have been.
(Gwyn Dyer in EMC newspaper 30/09/10).
Benedict juxtaposes god, religion and virtue on the one side and nazis, communists and atheists on the other. Only the fear of god makes people act morally. But is that so? Researcher Gregory Paul says, "In general, higher rates of belief in and worship of a creator coordinate with higher rates of homicide, juvenile and early adult mortality, venereal disease, teen pregnancy, and abortion. According to Benedict's logic, the United States should be a crime free paradise and Sweden a vortex of crime and violence. Obviously, the opposite is true. Dwyer asks if people are more religious in low socio economic countries where crime is more prevalent, so the correlation might better be expressed as religion and poverty and ignorance, where religion has its strongest grip. Raise that bottom level and religious belief will gradually decline. Sounds like our argument.

The penny drops? In the midst of swirling anger with politicians in the US, the New York Times (17/110/10) reports the words of a retired soldier,
"I don't see us coming out of this recession any time soon, not for those of us who are middle class and below. I don't even think there is a middle class anymore. It's a two class system, and the gap between the classes is getting wider."
Let's hope a few more pennies drop!
John Ayers

Food for thought

The Futility of Reform
 French workers protested in Paris and around the country with the main focus being to stop government reform of pensions, increasing the retirement age from 60 to 62. French unions see retirement at 60 'as a firmly entrenched right in a country attached to generous state benefits'. (Toronto Star 3/10/10). France, like many countries is having to enforce cut backs to pay for its expenditures and avoid going deeper into debt. Guess who is going to win? Reforms take years to acquire and a second to take away.
The Toronto Star revealed (2/10/10) that the United States, with the full knowledge of the Guatemalan government, deliberately infected citizens of that country with syphilis by getting prison inmates to sleep with prostitutes who had been infected between 1946 and 1948. In addition, mentally ill patients were inoculated with the bacteria. None of those in
the experiments gave consent. This was revealed by medical historian, Susan Reverby, who had earlier blown the whistle on similar experiments in Alabama on poor African-American men. Forty such studies were identified.
Ask not what your country can do for you, but what your country can do TO you! John Ayers

Food for thought

On the environmental front, the New York Times reports (24/10/2010) That the cradle of civilization, the fertile crescent is experiencing a drought (no pun intended) of biblical proportions. Climate scientists report that a four-year drought has turned much of it into barren land, ancient irrigation systems have collapsed, underground water sources have run dry and hundreds of villages have been abandoned. In Syria and Iraq, millions have been driven into poverty.
On the positive side, Syncrude has been fined $3 million (probably about two hours' profit) for allowing those 1,600 birds to land and die in their tailing pond in 2008. The bad news is it just happened again. One radio wag reported that a syncrude spokesman said " Not to worry, the ponds are not damaged!"
Just to set your mind at rest, environmentally speaking, Matthew E. Khan in his book, "How Our Cities Will Thrive in the Hotter Future" assures us that, " It was the capitalist machine that created the greenhouse gas epidemic and it will be capitalism that solves the problems; it's the nature of the system. Whether it's twitter(? My reaction) or solar panels, or the Tesla electric vehicle, the innovative capitalist culture will allow us to make a Houdini-style escape from climate change's most devastating impacts." (Toronto Star, 10/10/2010).
Wow, that feels better already! John Ayers

Food for thought

Can a T-shirt save a country? Asks the Toronto Star (17/10/2010). The Haitian garment industry needs rebuilding but suffers from poverty-level wages (funny, I thought it was the worker that suffered from low wages!), an unreliable electric supply, and cut-throat competition. Remuneration for slaving for a day is now 150 gourdes (up from 125), or about $3.15 which will get you 3 cups of beans OR 5 cups of rice OR 6 tins of charcoal OR 3 bottles of Prestige beer OR 20 cell phone minutes OR ¾ of a gallon of gasoline OR 12 mangoes!
Behind the euphoria of the rescue of 33 Chilean miners lurk some disturbing details – across the globe, some 13 million of the world's poorest people, including one million children, work in mining. "IN addition to the explosions, falling rock and entrapments that have killed
thousands of people in recent years, miners experience among the highest rates of work-related illness and premature death of any industry." (Toronto Star, 17/10/2010).
The above is no mirage, it's capitalist reality and the only reason is the profit motive to put more money in the pockets of people who cannot spend what they already have! John Ayers

Food for thought

The Mirage of capitalism – The Toronto Star of 24/Oct/2010 reported 43 million displaced people in the world.
India's 'economic miracle' has meant some improvement in the living standards of some sectors of the population. However, there are still 475 million living on less than $1.25 a day, or one in three people in the world living without basic necessities are Indian. Initiative at Oxford University puts the Indian poverty rate at 55% or 645 million. (Toronto Star 2/Oct/2010)
Not to worry, there is a game plan – soccer tournaments to keep the youth's minds off rebellion. Apparently, Maoist guerrilla activity is prevalent with bombings and sabotaged roads. "When young men are idle, they get destructive thoughts in their minds. When you are loving a sport, you don't have time to think about bad things." Said a district officer in charge of education. (Toronto Star, 2/10/2010) Presumably bad things like living on $1.25 a day!). John Ayers

PROFITS BEFORE SAFETY

                                           

 In their ruthless pursuit of bigger and bigger profits the owning class care little for human life or the pollution of the planet, but even by their standards the oil rig disaster in the Gulf of Mexico illustrated a complete contempt for humanity in its efforts to cheapen production costs. "The companies involved in drilling the BP Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico were aware that the cement they used to seal the well before it blew out was unstable. That is the conclusion of a US presidential panel investigating the reasons behind the April 20 explosion and ensuing oil leak. Both BP and the US company Halliburton had received test results on the cement showing it to be unstable - but neither acted on the data." (The Week, 29 October) All the companies involved are trying to shift the blame for the explosion  on to each other, but the truth is that capitalism by its very nature causes such disasters. RD

 

OLD, COLD AND FORGOTTEN

FORGOTTEN                                   "Almost two-thirds of older people in Northern Ireland cannot afford to heat their home through the winter, it has been revealed. The fuel poverty rate among people aged over 60 is up 15% on four years ago and now stands at 60.5%, according to the latest House Conditions Survey. The study conducted by the Housing Executive shows that the situation is even worse for older people living on their own - with almost four-fifths officially designated as living in fuel poverty.  (Independent, 28 October)     RD

ARTISTS AND PHONIES

"Visitors to Berlin's Museum for Contemporary Art can book themselves a night in an installation created by artist Carsten Hoeller at a cost of 1,000 Euros (889.6 pounds) as of November 5. The installation, which includes a floating hotel room on a platform shaped like a mushroom, gives guests an "opportunity to dive into the world of soma," the museum said." (Yahoo News, 22 October) There are many ideas about art but inside capitalism like everything else it is decided on price. Artists like Rembrandt and Van Gough died skint so  probably in their day they were failures not like this con man who knows how to make a few bob inside capitalism. Who do you prefer? RD

POINTLESS PROBING

 "No-one stopped and searched by police under controversial anti-terror powers was arrested for a terrorism-related offence, figures showed today. A total of 101,248 stops and searches were made under section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000 in 2009/10, but only one in every 200 led to an arrest and none of these were terror-related, the figures released by the Home Office showed." (Independent, 28 October) RD

Perspective

Religion Slums and Slumps: Housing under Capitalism

WHAT IS AUSTERITY?

  "Britain's bosses have been accused of greed and ignoring economic reality after boardroom pay leapt by 55% over the last year. FTSE 100 directors saw their total earnings soar in the 12 months to June, thanks to sharp rises in bonuses and performance-related pay. The average FTSE 100 chief executive now earns £4.9m a year, or almost 200 times the average wage. Unions reacted angrily to the report today. "Don't they know that this is meant to be austerity Britain?" said TUC general secretary Brendan Barber. (Guardian, 28 October) RD

WHAT HOUSING PROBLEM?

  "Sales of million-pound properties have more than doubled over the past year, fuelled by foreign cash in London. Wealthy buyers picked up nearly 3,000 properties for £1 million or above in Britain during the first six months of this year, an increase 118 per cent on the same period in 2009 compared with a 27 per cent rise generally, according to the Halifax." (Times, 23 October) RD

THE RICH GET RICHER

 "The shift of income to the top has occurred in the most prosperous English-speaking nations, such as Australia, Britain, and Canada. But it has been most pronounced in the United States. Thirty years ago, the richest 1 percent of Americans got 9 percent of total national income. By 2007, they had 23 percent. Last year, new census data show, the rich-poor income gap was the widest on record. Wealth is more unevenly distributed. The top 20 percent of wealth-holders own 84 percent of America's wealth." (Christian Science Monitor, 18 October) RD

THIS IS CALLED FREEDOM

 "Every email, phone call and website visit is to be recorded and stored after the Coalition Government revived controversial Big Brother snooping plans. It will allow security services and the police to spy on the activities of every Briton who uses a phone or the internet. Moves to make every communications provider store details for at least a year will be unveiled later this year sparking fresh fears over a return of the surveillance state." (Daily Telegraph, 20 October) RD

AN INSANE SOCIETY

 "The worlds most expensive Barbie doll has fetched almost £200,000 at auction. The custom-made doll, who wears a one carat pink diamond necklace surrounded by three carat white diamonds, was designed by jeweller Stefano Canturi. The custom-designed doll ...sparked a bidding frenzy. The winning offer at the Christies auction in New York was $302,500." (Daily Telegraph, 21 October) RD

THE LORD WILL PROVIDE?

 "Crystal Cathedral, the mega church birthplace of the televangelist show "Hour of Power," filed for bankruptcy Monday in Southern California after struggling to emerge from debt that exceeds $43 million. In addition to a $36 million mortgage, the Orange County-based church owes $7.5 million to several hundred vendors for services ranging from advertising to the use of live animals in Easter and Christmas services.The church had been negotiating a repayment plan with vendors, but several filed lawsuits seeking quicker payment, which prompted a coalition formed by creditors to fall apart." (Associated Press, 18 October) RD

CAPITALISM DESTROYS

  "As with the international climate negotiations which ended in fiasco last year in Copenhagen, the biodiversity talks in Nagoya could well end in political stalemate -- as the situation in numerous ecosystems around the world gets worse and worse. Already, 20 percent of the planet's 380,000 plant species are in danger of becoming extinct, primarily due to habitat destruction caused by the world's growing population. Of 5,490 species of mammals, 1,130 are threatened and 70 percent of the world's fish population in danger from over-fishing" (Der Spiegel, 18 October) RD

$312,00 FOR A WATCH?

   "Purists prefer Patek Philippe, says Vanessa Herrera, deputy director for Sotheby's Asia watch department. Every time the auction house has a Patek in its lot, it is flagged as an auction highlight. For the Oct. 6 Sotheby's watch auction, a Patek Philippe platinum 5078P sold for 2.42 million Hong Kong dollars (US$312,000). It was "a most sought-after piece," says Ms. Herrera." (Wall Street Journal, 18 October) RD

BIG BUCKS BALLOT

  Defenders of American capitalism are fond of claiming that whatever its faults it is at least democratic. It is however a strange sort of democracy wherein money is the real dictator. Take the election campaign of Meg Whitman for the California Governorship. "With nearly two weeks to go before the election the eBay billionaire's campaign to become chief executive of California has already smashed all records. At $140 million (£89 million) it is the most expensive non-presidential campaign in American history and the deepest any candidate has ever delved to fund their campaign." (Times, 25 October). There is nothing unique in large corporations pouring millions of dollars into election campaigns, but in this case we have an individual spending a grotesque amount that represents about $8.24 for every one of California's 17 million registered voters. Her opponent has spent a "mere" $20 million! This is democracy? RD

The rich get richer

Wage freeze for many. Benefit cuts for many.

Transport tycoon Brian Souter reveals the value of his investment portfolio has risen by 41% over three years totalling £400million.

HOME OF THE BRAVE?

"The number of homes taken over by banks topped 100,000 for the first time in September, though foreclosures are expected to slow in coming months as lenders work through questionable paperwork, Banks foreclosed on 102,134 properties in September, the first single month above the century mark, RealityTrac said. There were 347,420 total foreclosure filings in September, 3 percent higher than August and 1 per cent higher than a year earlier." (Yahoo News, 14 October) RD

ARE YOU SUPRISED?

"George Osborne's claims that his spending cuts are fair have begun to unravel after the country's leading tax and spend think-tank revealed the poorest will be hit harder than the better off. In its analysis of the chancellor's spending review, the Institute for Fiscal Studies described the public spending cuts as the deepest since the second world war and said benefits would suffer the biggest squeeze since the 1970s." (Guardian. 21 October) RD

Better off?

CONSPICIOUS CONSUMPTION

"Christopher Kane's silk-embroidered cashmere jumpers could look a bit prim. But they're the coolest thing in knitwear right now. Price: £930." (Independent, 4 October) RD

SAINTS AND EMPTY TILLS

For hundreds of years the Pope ruled supreme in the Vatican and never ventured beyond its sacred environs. In recent times though less and less people are swallowing the medieval nonsense that is the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church and he is forced to become a sort of Thomas Cook tourist. The current holy father looks like beating all records in air miles as he tries to whip up enthusiasm for a growingly unattractive organisation. He recently visited Britain and declared the prospect of sainthood for an English convert. Now concerned about falling attendances in North America he is about to canonise a Canadian doorman. "A Canadian monk who began life as a sickly, illiterate orphan before becoming a porter is to be canonised at the Vatican on Sunday. Alfred Bessette was renowned in the late 19th century as the diminutive doorman of Montreal's College of Notre Dame, whose hands were said to have powers of healing. ... He began his life at the college in 1870 as a porter. "Our superiors put me at the door, and I remained there for 40 years," he said later." (Daily Telegraph, 15 October) As an organisation that claim to have the keys to heaven they could do worse than make a doorman a saint. They have got to get those empty collection bags full somehow. RD

OUR BETTERS?

"Three peers should be suspended and repay expenses, A parliament."committee-report-on-conduct/" a House of Lords committee has recommended after investigating their claims. Baroness Uddin should be suspended until Easter 2012 and told to repay £125,349, the committee said. It also recommended Lord Paul be suspended for four months and cross bencher Lord Bhatia for eight months.Baroness Uddin has been suspended from the Labour Party and Lord Paul has resigned his party membership Lord Paul has already paid £41,982 and Lord Bhatia has paid back £27,446." (BBC News, 18 October) RD

PAY UP OR BURN DOWN

"A small rural community in western Tennessee is outraged and the fire chief is nursing a black eye after firefighters stood by and watched a mobile home burn to the ground because the homeowner hadn't paid a $75 municipal fee. South Fulton city firefighters -- equipped with trucks, hoses and other firefighting equipment -- didn't intervene to save Gene Cranick's doublewide trailer home when it caught fire last week. But they did arrive on the scene to protect the house of a neighbor, who had paid his fire subscription fee. "I just forgot to pay my $75," said Cranick. "I did it last year, the year before. ... It slipped my mind." Later that day, Cranick's son Timothy went to the fire station to complain, and punched the fire chief in the face." (AOL News, 6 October) RD

A SUICIDAL ARMY

"Specialist Aguilar was one of 20 soldiers connected to Fort Hood who are believed to have committed suicide this year. The Army has confirmed 14 of those, and is completing the official investigations of six other soldiers who appear to have taken their own lives - four of them in one week in September. The deaths have made this the worst year at the sprawling fort since the military began keeping track in 2003. The spate of suicides in Texas reflects a chilling reality: nearly 20 months after the Army began strengthening its suicide prevention program and working to remove the stigma attached to seeking psychological counseling, the suicide rate among active service members remains high and shows little sign of improvement. Through August, at least 125 active members of the Army had ended their own lives, exceeding the morbid pace of last year, when there were a record 162 suicides." (New York Times, 10 October) RD

MIND THE GAP

"The billionaire industrialist Mukesh Ambani will soon take up residence at his recently completed Mumbai abode, a £1.2 billion glass tower said to have been inspired by the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Looking over a city where more than half the population lives in slums, it is a soaring monument to the growing chasm dividing India's rich and poor. ...For many, however, the gleaming tower will be an uncomfortable reminder that India's economic renaissance has delivered extraordinary benefits to a handful of hugely wealthy "Bollygarchs" but little to the 800 million Indians who live on not much more than £1 a day." (Times, 14 October) RD

AN INSANE SOCIETY

"Hundreds of millions of people in poor countries suffer from untreated mental health disorders that could be helped with inexpensive care, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday. The United Nations agency launched guidelines for primary care doctors and nurses to treat patients debilitated by depression and psychosis as well as neurological ailments including epilepsy, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias." (Yahoo News, 7 October) RD

COLD AND SKINT

"The number of households struggling to afford to stay warm has more than doubled in the past six years according to official figures. An extra 2.5 million homes have gone into fuel poverty since 2004, a report by the Department of Energy and Climate Change said. Homes are defined as living in fuel poverty if they have to spend more than 10 per cent of their income to maintain a minimum temperature of 21C in their main living area." (Times, 15 October) RD

DOLLARS AND DEMOCRACY

One of the illusions that supporters of capitalism like to boast of is the notion that whatever the failings of the profit system at least it is thoroughly democratic. This is a complete fabrication as by the expenditure of million of dollars, euros and yen the owning class completely distort any pretence to democracy that capitalism may possess. A recent example of this manipulation by the power of money has emerged in the USA.

 "It likes to present itself as a grassroots insurgency made up of hundreds of local groups intent on toppling the Washington elite. But the Tea Party movement, which is threatening to cause an upset in next month's midterm elections, would not be where it is today without the backing of that most traditional of US political supporters - Big Oil. The billionaire brothers who own Koch Industries, a private company with 70,000 employees and annual revenues of $100bn (£62bn), used to joke that they controlled the biggest company nobody had ever heard of. Not any more. After decades during which their fortune grew exponentially and they channelled millions of dollars to rightwing causes, Charles and David Koch are finally getting noticed for their part in the extraordinary growth of the Tea Party movement. The two, 74-year-old Charles and David, 70, have invested widely in the outcome of the 2 November elections. One Koch subsidiary has pumped $1m into the campaign to repeal California's global warming law, according to state records." (Guardian, 14 October) Like Bob Dylan once wrote - "Money doesn't talk, it swears." RD

REFORM FAILS AGAIN

"West Africa's cocoa industry is still trafficking children and using forced child labour despite nearly a decade of efforts to eliminate the practices, according to an independent audit published by Tulane University. A U.S.-sponsored solution called the Harkin-Engel Protocol was signed in 2001 by cocoa industry members to identify and eliminate cocoa grown using forced child labour. A child-labour-free certification process was supposed to cover 50 per cent of cocoa growing regions in West Africa by 2005 and 100 per cent by the end of 2010. But independent auditors at Tulane University's Payson Center for International Development said in a late September report that efforts have not even come close to these targets." (Globe and Mail, 8 October) RD

GRIM PROSPECTS

"A million people are expected to lose their jobs in the next four years as a result of the Government's decision to cut public spending by £83 billion, according to a report out today. Nearly 500,000 jobs are likely to be cut in the private sector as the Government stops building schools, hospitals and roads and cancels other contracts. This is on top of about 500,000 job losses in the public sector as employers reduce budgets by about a third and lay off civil servants, town hall staff, nurses, teachers and police officers." (Times, 13 October) RD

HUNGER INCREASES

"U.N. food agencies said Wednesday that 166 million people in 22 countries suffer chronic hunger or difficulty finding enough to eat as a result of what they called protracted food crises. Wars, natural disasters and poor government institutions have contributed to a continuous state of undernourishment in some 22 nations, including Afghanistan, Haiti, Iraq, Somalia and Sudan, the Food and Agriculture Operation and the World Food Program said in a new report." (Associated Press, 6 October) RD

THIS IS PROGRESS?

When the Socialist Party of Great Britain was formed away back in 1904 we were told by reformers in the Liberal Party and later the Labour Party that by a series of reforms capitalism could be made more fair and that the inequalities between the classes could be eradicated by a programme of reformist legislation. More than a hundred years of such legislation has led to what? According to a survey produced by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission set up in 2007 to produce a three yearly report on the "state of the nation", it has led to abject failure. "Today's report How Fair Is Britain?, shows that health inequalities remain stark between rich and poor, with men and women from the highest income groups living seven years longer on average than the lower." (Times, 11 October) All the ingenuity of the reformers has merely led to the continuation of the same stinking inequalities of capitalism. RD

WHAT IS REVOLUTION?

THE WORD REVOLUTION is almost as misused as the word Socialism. If a government is changed, a political leader is replaced, a coup takes place, and the media shout "revolution!" Indeed, if this usage of the word were correct, then revolutions occur every year and sometimes every month!
     What is meant by "revolution" and why is this concept so important to the future of the working class? Revolution means a transformation in the object to which the term is being applied. If it is being used about society, then it means a total change in economic relations. The easiest example to understand is the revolution that took place to transform feudalism to capitalism. In feudal society the majority were tied to their superiors. Over and above what they produced for themselves and their families in order to live, the serfs were compelled to produce for their feudal masters and the Church. That form of society was transformed by a revolution into a society—capitalism--where there is no direct ownership of the lives of people by other people in the same way.
     Capitalist society is organized on the basis that the worker sells his labour-power voluntarily to an employer for a wage or salary. In theory, no one is compelled to work for another. In practice, the majority must do so. They have no other means of living, since legally they do not own sufficient of the means of wealth production to enable them to live without this form of selling known as wage-labour.
     In all forms of society, minorities have owned the means of living, with the result that the other classes have had to submit to the dictates of the minority whilst that particular form of society existed. Feudalism depended on agricultural production and personal subservience by the majority to clearly defined groups. Privilege in capitalism depends not on accidents of birth (though these can be of importance to the individual) but on the ownership of capital. Whilst in feudal society by and large it was birth that determined into which class one fell, in capitalist society it is purely a question of ownership of wealth however obtained.
     The revolution that will change capitalism into socialism will involve the replacement of all the relationships of capitalism. Instead of the primary characteristics of, capitalism--production for profit, the buying and selling of all things including labour-power, and private (or state) ownership of wealth, society will be characterised by common ownership and of free access to that wealth. Production will be for human satisfaction only, hence neither money nor all the paraphernalia that goes with it, and will be based upon voluntary co-operation by all in the interests of all. To get to that form of society involves a transformation---a revolution. It is only in Socialism that man will solve the major problems he now faces. That is why the SPGB is a revolutionary party.
     Because the next revolution must be the work of the majority consciously co-operating in the work that it will entail, a transformation in men's ideas is the pre-requisite to its successful implementation.

RAW

ALL RIGHT FOR SOME

"A rare pink diamond that goes on sale next month could fetch up to $38 million, according to auctioneers Sotheby's. The fancy intense pink 24.78 carat gem is being sold by an unidentified private collector, the auction house said. "We are able to say its been in the possession of the same owner for 60 years, but beyond that, we are not able to reveal more", Sotheby's spokesman Matthew Weigman said Tuesday. The diamond was last sold by New York jeweler Harry Winston and has a classic emerald cut with gently rounded corners, the company said." (Associated Press, 8 October) RD

Failure of Reformism

"Yet despite this significant progress, our ambitions still exceed our achievements and it is clear that we have some distance still to go. Despite all our advances, we have unfinished business and new social and economic faultlines to contend with." Kaliani Lyle, Scotland Commissioner, Equality and Human Rights Commission said

41 per cent of permanent exclusions were among pupils from the 20 per cent of areas in Scotland with the highest levels of deprivation.

Scotland's suicide rate is higher than that for the UK as a whole, with a figure of 12.6 per 100,000 population compared with 9.51 per 100,000 population. Men are more likely to kill themselves than women, with rates particularly high for men aged 25-34 and those aged 35-44. Men and women living in the most deprived areas are twice as likely to take their own life as those in less deprived areas.

KICK 'EM WHEN THEY ARE DOWN

"Disabled people will be hit with more than £9bn in welfare cuts over the next five years, a think tank has warned. Demos suggests the government's plans will see 3.6m disabled people and carers lose about £9.2bn by 2015. It said moving those on incapacity benefit who were reassessed as fit to work to jobseeker's allowance would account for half of the losses." (BBC News, 9 October) RD

Food for thought

In a survey, Working Less and Earning More' the Toronto Star reported (4/Sept/2010) that the average wage is $23.10 per hour ($19.93 in 2005) and average hours are 33.24 per week (down from 34.69 in 2000). The largest job increases came in the service sector where hardly anyone is offered a full week to save on benefit payments, and 82% said they would take a pay cut to work at a job that guaranteed a work-life balance.

Reading Notes
Continuing from above (the prevailing ideas…) Charles C. Mann in "1491" shows how rulers change history to create allegiance to their cause, "Tlacaelel (ruler of the Mexica in ancient Mexico) insisted that in addition to destroying the codices (picture histories) of their former oppressors, the Mexica should set fire to their own codices. His explanation for this idea can only be described as Orwellian: "It is not fitting that our people/ Should know these pictures/ Our people, our subjects will be lost/ And our land destroyed/ For these pictures are full of lies". The lies were the inconvenient fact that the Mexica past was one of poverty and humiliation. To motivate the people properly, Tlacaelel said, the priesthood should rewrite Mexica history by creating new codices, adding in the great deeds whose lack now seemed embarrassing and adorning their ancestry with ties to the Toltecs and Teotihuacan." i.e. the Ministry of Truth is established to tell lies. Sounds familiar!
Further on, Mann describes how loyalty to the ruling class can be achieved, "In their penchant for ceremonial public slaughter, the Alliance (of Mexican tribes) and Europe were much more alike than either side grasped. In both places the public death was accompanied by the reading of ritual scripts. And in both the goal was to create a cathartic paroxysm of loyalty to the government – in the Mexica case, by recalling the spiritual justification for the empire; in the European case, to reassert the sovereign's divine power after it had been injured by a criminal act."

For socialism and meaningful reading, John Ayers

WORKING FOR NOTHING

"Nurses are being asked to work extra shifts for free to save their jobs as health boards across Scotland spend up to £30million hiring agency staff. Almost 4,000 NHS jobs, including more than 1,500 nursing and midwifery posts, will be axed this year due to cutbacks, according to Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon. But last night it emerged that the country's 14 health boards have set aside a combined £30million for temporary nurses and theatre staff over the next four years. Grampian hopes to save £385,000 by asking staff at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary's surgical unit to take on one more shift each month for no extra money." (Press and Journal, 6 October) RD

Food for thought

Churchill had freedom of speech and used it to his own ends and those of the capitalist class. In a new book by Richard Toye, "Churchill's Empire", the author reveals a side of Churchill not usually shown but well known to oppressed peoples of the Third World. Toyne details Churchill's part in replacing the democratic government of Iran with the Shah after the
Iranian government had the audacity to demand a fair share of the profits of their oil, "The idea that leaders of poor countries would stand up and claim control of their own resources was something that Churchill could never grasp or sympathize with. The mere fact that some valuable resource was sitting under the soil of another country instead of British soil did
not mean that Britain shouldn't have it." Sounds just like a dozen other imperialist powers! John Ayers

Food for thought

The prevailing ideas of a society are those of the ruling class, Marx stated. Here is one small example of how that happens. The University of Toronto, like all educational institutes, solicits donations from anyone and everyone. Many wealthy businessmen have donated to get their names on plaques, auditoriums, or even whole buildings, depending on the donation.
Those so commemorated are the likes of merchant banker Joseph Rotman, pharmaceutical entrepreneur, Leslie Dan, and businessman, Peter Monk, chairman of Barrick Gold, the world's largest gold mining company. Unfortunately, those without money, even icons such as Tommy Douglas, recently voted the Greatest Canadian of All Time, and considered the
father of Canada's public health care system, do not get their names on walls as a group of professors found out when they proposed naming the Health Studies Program after Douglas. Presumably, being dead, he was unable to contribute hard cash, and didn't meet the requirements for potential fund raising. Peter Monk donated $35 million to help set up the
Monk school of Global Affairs. Linda McQuaig and Neil Brook reveal in their new book, "The Trouble with Billionaires" (reviewed in Toronto Star 12/Sept/2010) that Monk would receive a tax refund of $16 million on the donation, more if he donated the money in the form of shares, reducing his donation to about half. Various levels of government contributed $66million but that didn't count for anything when it came to naming the building. It gets worse. Monk's donation will be spread out over many years and will be subject to his family's approval of the school, i.e. socialist professors need not apply. The school's director will be required to report annually to a board appointed by Munk 'to discuss the programs, activities, and initiatives of the school in greater detail.' Obviously, the school will have to reflect the views of Munk, not those of taxpayer John Ayers, even though I contributed much more (without my consultation, of course.) It is fine to have freedom of speech, but that right to get your ideas and opinions heard depends on how much money you have, as all elections show. John Ayers

THIRSTING FOR A NEW SOCIETY

"About 80% of the world's population lives in areas where the fresh water supply is not secure, according to a new global analysis. Researchers compiled a composite index of "water threats" that includes issues such as scarcity and pollution. The most severe threat category encompasses 3.4 billion people." (BBC News, 29 September) RD

PROFIT AND POLLUTION

In its endless quest for profit capitalism pollutes the rivers, the seas and the atmosphere. A particularly nasty incident has recently occurred that threatens to turn the world-famous Blue Danube into a sludgy red colour. "A state of emergency has been declared in the Hungarian region submerged by toxic sludge because the chemical flood is threatening water supplies by rushing towards the Danube River. The lethal tidal wave of poisonous red mud burst from a reservoir of toxic waste belonging to an alumina plant in the town of Ajka and flooded a 16-square mile area. At least four people were killed, 120 were treated for serious chemical burns and six remain missing after the tsunami of poison surged through several towns around 100 miles southwest of Budapest." (Daily Mail, 6 October) There will be the usual outcry with well-meaning environmentalists calling for "something must be done". Nothing will be done of course because the profit motive is sacrosanct inside capitalism and human considerations are of no account compared with the need for bigger and bigger profits. RD

Food for thought

Talking of poverty, the queen is apparently experiencing difficulties in paying for heating of her drafty old palaces. The Toronto Star reports (25/Sept/2010) that the Queen's staff applied for subsidized heating in 2004 to a program designed to help people in need. Apart from being one of the richest people in the world, the queen receives household funds from the taxpayers to the tune of $60 million per year. Tough life!
After going through a year-long strike with its workers, Brazilian mining giant, Vale Inco, is back in the news. They are preparing to dump 400 000 tons of toxic tailings into a Newfoundland Lake known for its prize-winning trout. Apparently, the federal Fisheries Act says that if a lake is re-classified as a 'tailings impoundment area' a company cannot be sued for dumping. Why is there such a loophole anyway, one might ask? Vale thinks it is doing nothing wrong and is complying with the law. The second part may be quite true but this is where we ask, for whom does your government work? And, it is just these companies and this government on whom we must rely to put our polluted planet right! John Ayers

Food for thought

On the poverty front, both The Toronto Star and Gwynne Dyer (EMC newspaper) review progress of the Millennium Development Goals set out in 2000. Both see progress but too slow, and faltering. The Star reports that the number of hungry people has been reduced (other figures contradict this) from 20% to 16%, yet still children are dying at the rate of one
every six seconds. Dwyer sees progress in key areas such as literacy, access to clean water, and infant mortality, yet sees a rising population as a barrier to bringing everyone up to Northern Hemisphere standards. Pollution, global warming, and resource depletion would put a halt to any rise in living standards of the Third World. Neither, of course, can think outside the capitalist box and promote a complete reorganization of the economic and social systems under which we live today. To them a shared world of the provision of all needs for all to replace the total madness of capitalist production is not a consideration. It's about time that it
was! John Ayers

CAPITALISM STINKS

"Super cool Swedish perfumers Byredo were inspired by the Seventies when they created 'Green', with its notes of sage, honeysuckle and almond. Price: £115 for 100ml. (Independent, 27 September) RD

A SUITABLE CANDIDATE?

"Before running for the US Senate, Christine O'Donnell dabbled in witchcraft. That may account for mounting evidence that her grasp on reality is fading. Ms O'Donnell has little executive experience but an impressive CV that claims that she has studied at the prestigious Claremont Graduate University, California, and at the University of Oxford. She has also indicated in a lawsuit that she once began a master's degree course at Princeton. Not one of these claims is true." (Times, 30 September) RD

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE

Financiers, stockbrokers and City wheeler-dealers are fond of portraying themselves as masters of the universe whose expertise and accumen gives them an insight into how modern capitalism works. However one of their numbers, David Tepper has revealed in a recent TV interview some of the tricks of his trade that cast doubt on the master of the universe description. "Last year we learnt that the founder of Appaloosa Management kept a pair of brass testicles on his desk to rub for good luck. Another of his tricks emerged in an interview with CNBC last week. "We keep three little pigs in the office and we shake a pig to see which way to invest. If it lands on its feet we go long, if it lands on its back we go short." (Sunday Times, 26 September) David Tepper as a hedge fund billionaire investor may regard himself as a master of the universe, but to socialists he is more a master of the con-trick! RD