Socialist Standard December 2008

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Indymedia was down so..

More on this here.







More on this here.
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M.C.

HEALTH CARE IN CAPITALISM

"WASHINGTON – Doctors-in-training are still too exhausted, says a new report that calls on hospitals to let them have a nap. Regulations that capped the working hours of bleary-eyed young doctors came just five years ago, limiting them to about 80 hours a week. Tuesday, the prestigious Institute of Medicine recommended easing the workload a bit more: Anyone working the maximum 30-hour shift should get an uninterrupted five-hour break for sleep after 16 hours."

(Yahoo News, 2 December) RD

IS HIS GOD DEAF?

"Brazil's president asked God to halt the devastating rains that have killed at least 116 people in a southern state and offered new plans on Monday to help tens of thousands of people rebuild ruined homes and businesses. Continuing rains have hindered rescuers' attempts to find bodies of more victims claimed by the mudslides and floods in Santa Catarina state while making it tough for survivors to return home, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on his weekly radio show. "We're only asking God to stop the rains soon so that we can start to rebuild the state of Santa Catarina," he said. Thirty-one people are still missing, and some officials have estimated the death count could rise to as much as 150. About 80,000 people were forced from their homes by storms that dumped more water on the region during the weekend of Nov. 22-23 than it normally gets in months. Another 8,000 people were displaced in neighbouring Rio de Janeiro state." (Yahoo News, 1 December) RD

Platitudes and Twaddle

A campaign to legalise assisted suicide in Scotland has been launched by Independent MSP Margo MacDonald.

The Lothian MSP, who has Parkinson's Disease, hopes to bring legislation before the parliament next year.

She is sending out a consultation paper and needs the support of at least 18 MSPs to bring forward a Holyrood bill.

Mrs MacDonald, 65, said people should have the right to choose the time and place of their death and she called for a debate on the issue.

Unfortunately for 40 thousand kids a day who die, in the so- called third world this is not the case as they don't reach their first birthday as a consequence of capitalist induced poverty..

Malaria claims the lives of three children every minute. In Africa, it accounts for a quarter of infant mortality.

Anti-malarial drugs like chloroquine and larium, which were once 95% effective, are now almost useless in parts of the Third World.

Because of global warming, the disease is returning to areas where it had been successfully eradicated.

In the Calton ward of Glasgow East, male life expectancy stands at 53.9 years. Iraqi life expectancy is 69 years.

The leader of the Roman Catholic church in Scotland, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, said it was not up to us to decide when we die.

He said: "Life is a gift from Almighty God, given us through Almighty God through the cooperation of our parents.

"If God gives us that gift, He can take that from us but we're not taking it from Him and as it were saying, 'well God, I'm finished with life because I can't cope with cancer or Parkinson's or whatever it has to be'. We just wait on God calling us to himself.

Did you ever read such miserable,superstitious, sanctimonious ,nonsense from a grown man ?

BLING, BLING - ITS THE PHONE

Vertu's Frank Nuovo holds his latest baby, the Boucheron 150, which has been
sculpted from a single slab of gold to resemble a jewel

"Nuovo prefers to avoid too much tawdry talk of price tags, but if the unique 150 isn't his most expensive creation to date, then that would be the Vertu Signature Cobra, which comes coiled in a bejewelled snake (two diamonds, two emeralds, 439 rubies), courtesy of Boucheron. It's attractive, if you like that sort of thing, and worth somewhere in the region of £170,000. If your pockets aren't quite deep enough to purchase the Cobra, then the Vertu Ascent, which chief engineer Hutch Hutchison describes as the company's "entry level" model, retails at a modest £2,900. It may not have much of the bling expected by the average mobile-phone user (no camera, no Bluetooth wireless), but it boasts rather more timeless touches of quality: made from ceramic, stainless steel and a durable alloy called Liquidmetal, the Ascent is finished with hand-sewn leather and a scratch-proof sapphire crystal screen." (Independent, 26 November) RD

COME CLEAN, QUEENIE

"Voice-recognition lie detectors are to be used by two Welsh councils in an attempt to crack down on benefit fraud. People in Flintshire and the Vale of Glamorgan on housing and council tax support will have their speech patterns analysed when claims are reviewed. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is piloting the 12-month scheme in 18 local authorities across Wales and England. However, some critics claim it could deter genuine claimants. Benefits cheats cost the UK taxpayer an estimated £400m a year. A pilot scheme was initially introduced among seven English councils, but has been extended and includes Wales for the first time. Details were announced as part of the Welfare Reform Bill during the Queen's Speech on Wednesday."
(BBC News, 4 December)
This will be hailed by all supporters of capitalism as an excellent wheeze to foil impoverished claimants, but what will happen when the Queen phones up for an increase on her benefits in the civil list? Presumably the lie detector will be switched off for non-impoverished claimants. RD

WORLD HUNGER GROWS

"It is the new face of hunger. A perfect storm of food scarcity, global warming, rocketing oil prices and the world population explosion is plunging humanity into the biggest crisis of the 21st century by pushing up food prices and spreading hunger and poverty from rural areas into cities. Millions more of the world's most vulnerable people are facing starvation as food shortages loom and crop prices spiral ever upwards. And for the first time in history, say experts, the impact is spreading from the developing to the developed world. More than 73 million people in 78 countries that depend on food handouts from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) are facing reduced rations this year. The increasing scarcity of food is the biggest crisis looming for the world'', according to WFP officials." (Sunday Herald, 30 November) RD

ISLAMIC BROTHERS?

"The Iraqi army has unearthed 30 decomposed bodies in shallow graves in the country's northern Diyala province. The bodies were found in the predominantly Shi'te village of Albu-Toma, where Sunni Islamis al-Qaeda militants carried out mass sectarian killings against Shi'ites." (Observer, 30 November) RD

RELIGION IN ACTION

"Hundreds of people were killed in the central Nigerian city of Jos when Christians and Muslims clashed over the result of a local election, witnesses said Saturday. "I was at the central mosque this afternoon and I counted 378 dead bodies but just as I was about to leave, 3 more bodies were brought, a correspondent for Radio France Internationale in Jos, Aminu Manu, told AFP. "Hundreds of people have been killed in the last two days since the riots started. Remains of burnt bodies litter some parts of the town; it is so terrible," Christian clergyman Yakumu Pam said." (Yahoo News, 29 November) RD

Poverty makes you thick

A Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience study was described as a "wake-up call" about the impact of social deprivation.
Normal nine and 10-year-olds from rich and poor backgrounds had differing electrical activity in a part of the brain linked to problem solving. The brains of children from low-income families process information differently to those of their wealthier counterparts.
Since the children were, in health terms, normal in every way, the researchers suspected that "stressful environments" created by low socioeconomic status might be to blame.
Dr Mark Kishiyama, one of the researchers, said: "The low socioeconomic kids were not detecting or processing the visual stimuli as well - they were not getting that extra boost from the prefrontal cortex."
Previous studies have suggested that children in low-income families are spoken to far less - on average hearing 30 million fewer words by the age of four.
Professor Robert Knight, added: "This is a wake-up call - it's not just that these kids are poor and more likely to have health problems, but they might actually not be getting full brain development from the stressful and relatively impoverished environment associated with low socioeconomic status."

The Savile Row Richard James garments store

"A leading Savile Row tailor, Richard James, sold "Made in England" suits produced by cheap labour in Africa, The Independent can disclose today. For two years workers on the island of Mauritius – paid a fraction of the wage of a British craftsman – cut the fabric and stitched the suits which sold for between £500 and £2,000. When the suits arrived in the UK, workers in Norwich "finished" the garments by sewing on sleeves and buttons and pressing them. The suits then carried labels stating "Made in England" even though, according to Mr James's company, no more than 25 per cent of the work was done in the UK." (Independent, 29 November) RD

SCREW THE ENVIRONMENT

"The Bush administration finalized rules yesterday that will make it easier for mountaintop mining companies to dump their waste near rivers and streams, overhauling a 25-year-old prohibition that has sparked legal and regulatory battles for years. The regulation got signoffs from the Office of Management and Budget and the Environmental Protection Agency this week and will go into effect 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register. The change is intended to resolve a nearly five-year-old fight over how companies can dispose of the vast amounts of rubble and sludge created when they blow the tops off mountains to get to the coal buried below, although the incoming Obama administration could revisit the issue."
(Washington Post, 3 December) RD

Hypocrisy by the banks

I read that David Lloyd, 62, was told he had terminal lung cancer in January 2006, his wife, Annette Edwards, contacted their bank, the Halifax, to let them know of his predicament and that he would no longer be able to work. They applied for a payout on an insurance policy, and for state benefits, but while they waited for the money to arrive they went overdrawn.
The bank and its agents telephoned the couple 762 times over seven months in what they say is aggressive pursuit of the debt . Their daughter, Stefanie Moore, 29, received 60 to 100 phone calls and two text messages .

The couple feel dehumanised .

Yes that what capitalism does to people . Socialist Courier wonders if the banks now in debt , begging for government bail-outs will ever be treated in such a shameles and heartless manner to demand repayment

capitalist wages

A Government-owned business set up to help alleviate poverty in the developing world paid its chief executive almost £1 million last year, a report has revealed. CDC Group's Richard Laing received £970,000 , more than double a threshold set by its owner, the Department for International Development (DFID). CDC is a fund management company which invests in private businesses in emerging markets, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asian , in support of DFID's goal of nurturing the growth of the private sector economy in developing countries.
The National Audit Office found that there was "no systematic evidence on the extent to which CDC investment adds to overall investment in poor countries". DFID was "not well-equipped to consider the benefits of its investment" compared to other aid approaches. It also noted that CDC this year had £1.4 billion deposited in cash in the UK, compared to £1.2 billion invested in businesses overseas.
The chairman of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee, Edward Leigh, said: "It is ridiculous that the chief executive of a Government-owned body aimed at reducing poverty can earn £970,000 in a single year."

poverty wages

Ever wondered why buying new often worked out cheaper than buying at charity shops ?

Foreign workers making clothes for high street fashion chain Primark are existing on as little as 7p an hour . The report also claims workers making clothes for Asda and Tesco are paid similar amounts. The anti-poverty charity War on Want also said Primark was ignoring the rise in basic living costs in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, leaving workers worse off than they were two years ago.

Workers claimed they needed the equivalent of £44.82 a month to feed their families and pay for clean water, shelter, clothes, education , health care and transport. War on Want said the average worker earned £19.16 a month, with the majority living in small, crowded shacks, many lacking plumbing and adequate washing facilities.

War on Want campaigns and policy director Ruth Tanner said: "Primark, Asda and Tesco promise a living wage for their garment makers. But workers are actually worse off than when we exposed their exploitation two years ago."

FEELING PECKISH?

"Defying the economic downturn, an Italian white truffle weighing just over 1 kg (2.2 lb) sold at an international auction Saturday for $200,000 (130,000 pounds). The prized tuber went for the second year running to Hong Kong-born casino mogul Stanley Ho after an auction held simultaneously in Rome, London, Abu Dhabi and Macau, auction organisers said. Last December, Ho bought a 1.5-kg specimen -- one of the biggest truffles unearthed in half a century -- for a record $330,000." (Yahoo News, 29 November)RD

PROMISES, PROMISES

Politicians all over the world are renowned for making electoral promises which they later have to renege on, but usually this is sometime after they have been in office. Barrack Obama must have created some sort of speed record in the withdrawal of electoral promises annals - he hasn't even taken office and has reneged! "President-elect Barack Obama has quietly shelved a proposal to slap oil and natural gas companies with a new windfall profits tax. An aide for the transition team acknowledged the policy shift Tuesday, after a small-business group discovered the proposal — touted throughout much of the campaign — had been dropped from the incoming administration’s Web site. “President-elect Obama announced the policy during the campaign because oil prices were above $80 per barrel,” the aide said. “They are below that now and expected to stay below that.” (Houston Chronicle, 2 December). RD

THE INSANE SOCIETY

Inside capitalism it is commonplace to learn of workers trying to survive on an income of less than £1 a day, so think of our repugnance on reading how much one parasite gets in a fortnight. "Sir Phillip Green sold his 28 per cent stake in Moss Bros, the gentlemen's outfitter, yesterday, locking in a profit of £1 million in just over a fortnight. The news came the day after the BHS, Top Shop and Dorothy Perkins tycoon said that he had decided not to bid for the company." (Times, 29 November)
A man or a woman struggle all their live to raise a family on a pittance of a wage but a millionaire can get £1 million just by making two telephone calls. Capitalism is truly an insane society RD

LONELY IN THE CITY

Edinburgh's Holyrood district is among the loneliest places to live, the study
says.

Community life in Britain has weakened substantially over the past 30 years, according to research commissioned by the BBC.
The study ranks places using a formula based on the proportion of people in an area who are single, those who live alone, the numbers in private rented accommodation and those who have lived there for less than a year.
The higher the proportion of people in those categories, the less rooted the community, according to social scientists. They refer to it as the level of "anomie" or the "feeling of not belonging".