WORLD POVERTY

From time to time everybody receives a charity appeal. It may be posted through your door or a leaflet in a newspaper. We receive so many of them that we tend to become a bit blasé about the whole charity thing, but a recent appeal from the Plan charity contained some particularly harrowing statistics.
"It's a tragic reality that one in five children born in the poorest countries won't live to see their 5th birthday. ...600 million children worldwide live on less that 70p a day - that's ten times the UK population. Working for more than 70 years and with over 100,000 child sponsors in the UK alone, Plan aims to help more children realise their full potential - and improve the lives of future generations."
Despite the sincerity and undoubted humanity of the Plan people the problem has got worse in the last 70 years. Workers contributing a pittance, to relieve the problem of world hunger are pointless. What we need is a transformation in the basis of society to one where all food, clothing and shelter are produced solely to satisfy human needs not to make a profit. RD

TOUGH AT THE TOP?

"Like those before him, Barack Obama is certainly reaping the benefits of high office. According to annual tax returns released by the White House today, he and his wife Michelle earned $2.66m in 2008, a figure that dwarfs the $400,000 salary he receives as president. Most of the money came from royalties for sales of Obama's books. His political tract, The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream, was published in 2006 and has remained on the New York Times best-seller list for 67 weeks. While his autobiography, Dreams from My Father, has been on the list for 142 weeks and is currently at number eight." (First Post, 16 April) RD

MAD OR WHAT?

"Would you pay 145 pounds ($215) for a slice of very stale cake? That's what an antiques fair in Birmingham hopes to earn Thursday when people bid for the remnant from one of Britain's most controversial royal weddings. The cake is thought to be the only surviving item from the 1871 wedding of Queen Victoria's fourth daughter, Princess Louise, to the Marquis of Lorne. It went on sale for 145 pounds ($215) Thursday at the Antiques for Everyone fair in Birmingham. The seller is antiques dealer John Shepherd. He bought the slice from a private seller who is a descendant of a noble family from Kent." (Yahoo News, 16 April) RD

DEBT AND DEATH

"Over 1,500 farmers in an Indian state committed suicide after being driven to debt by crop failure, it was reported today. The agricultural state of Chattisgarh was hit by falling water levels.
"The water level has gone down below 250 feet here. It used to be at 40 feet a few years ago," Shatrughan Sahu, a villager in one of the districts, told Down To Earth magazine "Most of the farmers here are indebted and only God can save the ones who do not have a bore well." ....Bharatendu Prakash, from the Organic Farming Association of India, told the Press Association: "Farmers' suicides are increasing due to a vicious circle created by money lenders. They lure farmers to take money but when the crops fail, they are left with no option other than death." (Independent, 15 April) RD

SKINT AGAIN

"Falling house prices have pushed more than 900,000 homeowners into negative equity, according to the industry body representing mortgage lenders. The latest data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders issued yesterday, reveals that the north-east of England has the highest proportion of people trapped in properties worth less than their mortgages. There, one in 10 owner-occupiers are in negative equity. By contrast, in East Anglia and Scotland it is one in 100. The council said that its latest national estimate compares with the more than 1.5 million homeowners left struggling under the weight of their home loans following the early 90s housing market crash." (Guardian, 17 April) RD

UNEXPECTED STRIKE SUPPORT

"Soldiers have warned the Government they must not be turned into strike-breakers if other public sector workers take industrial action against the proposed cuts in take-home pay. Pdforra, the association representing soldiers, sailors and air crew in the Defence Forces, is to seek an assurance from Defence Minister Willie O'Dea that the military will not be deployed to replace striking workers." (Irish Independent, 5 February) RD

HYPOCRISY AND THE CHURCH

In reviewing the BBC documentary Deliver Us From Evil shown the previous evening Andrew Billen the journalist had many shocking things to say about the Roman Catholic diocese of Los Angeles.
"There are an estimated 100,000 victims of sexual abuse by Catholic priests living in the US today. Having spent millions fighting their claims, the diocese has, since the films release in America, paid out some $60 million in reparations to 45 victims, leaving another 500 cases pending." (Times,15 April)
The suffering and trauma experienced by these children can only be imagined. Capitalism is a cruel and heartless system and the RC church is one of its most bestial pillars of support. RD

LAND OF THE FREE?

"It's become a depressingly predictable event. Every few months, the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), a branch of the US Department of Justice, releases new figures showing that the US prison and jail population has grown yet again and has reached a new all-time high. The latest statistics, released last week, show that as of June 30, 2008, more than 2.3 million people were behind bars in this country -- an increase of almost 20 percent just since 2000. This gives the United States an incarceration rate of 762 per 100,000 residents - the highest rate in the world, dwarfing those of other democracies like Great Britain (152 per 100,000), Canada (116), and Japan (63). (Yahoo News, 9 April) RD

NO PROFIT, NO PILL

"A pill which could prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths from heart disease, the biggest killer across the Western world, has been shown to be safe and effective in its first trials on humans. The magic bullet, containing five medicines in a single capsule, sharply reduced cholesterol and blood pressure levels and has the potential to "halve cardiovascular events in average middle-aged individuals", the researchers say. The finding is a major boost for a medication with huge potential against the worldwide epidemic of heart disease and stroke. Doctors say that, if further trials prove successful, all men aged over 50 and women aged over 60 should be offered the pill in what would be the first example of mass medication for the middle-aged in Britain. Yet no Western pharmaceutical company has shown interest in developing the so-called polypill because it does not promise big profits. It would sell for pennies because its five constituent medicines are cheap, have been around for decades and their patents have expired." (Independent, 31 March) RD

“NHS "TREATMENT"

"The NHS is today castigated for providing "inadequate" psychiatric help to vulnerable patients, as new figures reveal an average of four deaths a day among those in its care. Data collected by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) shows that 1,282 people in England died in what it calls " patient safety incidents in mental health settings" in the period 2007-08. Another 913 patients - more than two a day - suffered what is termed severe harm, or permanent injuries, in such incidents." (Observer, 12 April) RD

"DEMOCRACY" IN ACTION

"Former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s camp was told last year that U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) would raise up to $5 million in campaign cash for the ex-governor if he was appointed to President Obama’s U.S. Senate seat, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned. The overture came from at least two members of the local Indian community who approached the Blagojevich fund-raising team last fall, sources say." (Chicago Sun-Times, 13 April) RD

SHIPWRECKED

"Global shipping rates are set to fall by 74 per cent this year as commodity demand continues to fall in Asia and the massive glut of vessels ordered during the boom years finally takes to the seas. The expected collapse in rates, which could push dozens of ship-owners close to bankruptcy, comes after a 92 per cent decline in the Baltic Dry Index (BDI) of shipping rates over the course of last year. The misery is expected to continue well into 2010, with a further 15 per cent drop in rates before any rebound brings relief to fleet-owners. The closely watched gauge of world trade in iron ore, coal and other bulk cargoes has fallen for 19 consecutive days, the same rate of decline that occurred after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the investment bank, and the catastrophic freezing of trade finance. The stark warning of a continuing collapse in the BDI, issued by analysts at Nomura Securities in Hong Kong, comes after industry predictions of multiple order cancellations by ship-owners and forecasts that record numbers of vessels may be put into storage." (Times, 9 April) RD

NHS STARVATION

"More than 2,300 people died from malnutrition in NHS hospitals in England over the 10 years to 2007, according to official figures revealed yesterday to the Conservatives in a parliamentary answer. The data, from the UK Statistics Authority, showed the poorest performing regions were the West Midlands, where 409 people died from malnutrition, and the south east, where 388 died. Across England, the number of deaths increased from 209 in 1997 to 242 in 2007. Stephen O'Brien, the shadow health minister, said: "The least that patients should be able to expect is to be fed properly." (Guardian, 8 April) RD

A FEARFUL FUTURE

"It has often been said that water is "blue gold" and the next resource wars will be fought, not over oil, but over water. Maude Barlow, senior advisor to the United Nations on water issues, wrote that the way in which we view water "will in large part determine whether our future is peaceful or perilous." There is no doubt that the world's supply of drinkable fresh water is threatened. An astounding one billion people do not have access to safe drinking water today and that number is likely to reach 2.8 billion in only two decades. Will these challenges result in an all-out "water war"? "The British non-profit International Alert released a report identifying forty-six countries where water and climate stresses could ignite violent conflict by 2025, prompting the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to affirm, "The consequences for humanity are grave. Water scarcity threatens economic and social gains and is a potent fuel for wars and conflict." (The Nation, 31 March) RD

Who owns the North Pole - part 15

Much news coverage of the Russians creating military units for a possible Arctic war as reported by Socialist Courier previously but of course they are not the only nations reinforcing their military might . We read of Canadian plans .

The First Battalion, The Royal New Brunswick Regiment is one of four reserve units from across the country designated to form the spine of a new Arctic force to be created over the next five years. Joining the 1RNBR will be the Voltigeurs de Quebec, Ontario's Grey and Simcoe Foresters, and Royal Winnipeg Rifles. To complement the creation of the unit, the military will continue with its plans to expand the Canadian Rangers, a group composed of First Nations and Inuit reservists. By 2012, those numbers are expected to reach 5,000 personnel. Should an incident occur in the Arctic, the soldiers would be available to respond.

Col. Greg MacCallum, commander of 37 Brigade Group , said the strategic significance of forming the new units is to exercise sovereignty and ownership of the Arctic.

"You do that, at least in part, by being able to project military forces into that region to show a presence and to show a capability and intent to exercise ownership of it."

FRED AND FORLORN

"Oxfam is warning that the economic downturn is creating more poverty in the UK, making life tougher for the fifth of the population already struggling to get by. Kathleen Carter lives in poverty. At her home in Stockton-on-Tees, she cares full-time for her disabled son and husband. Her life is a constant round of cleaning, cooking, preparing medication and shopping on a very tight budget. The only income is from her pension and a small amount of benefits. She says: "It can be very soul-destroying. I've got to think of everything I buy; life is a real struggle because all the time you are thinking about what you are spending." Mrs Carter is one of the so-called Freds. It is a term Oxfam has created standing for Forgotten, Ripped-off, Excluded and Debt-ridden." (BBC News, 8 April) RD

TRUST ME, I'M A DOCTOR!

Carol Houlder, a substance abuse counselor, waited a year for surgery on her
injured ankle to be approved. “I was in so much pain and felt so hopeless for so
long,” she said.

"Dr. Hershel Samuels, an orthopaedic surgeon, put his hand on the worker’s back. “Mild spasm bilaterally,” he said softly. He pressed his fingers gingerly against the side of the man’s neck. “The left cervical is tender,” he said, “even to light palpation.” The worker, a driver for a plumbing company, told the doctor he had fallen, banging up his back, shoulder and ribs. He was seeking expanded workers’ compensation benefits because he no longer felt he could do his job. Dr. Samuels, an independent medical examiner in the state workers’ compensation system, seemed to agree. As he moved about a scuffed Brooklyn office last April, he called out test results indicative of an injured man. His words were captured on videotape. Yet the report Dr. Samuels later submitted to the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board cleared the driver for work and told a far different story: no back spasms, no tender neck. In fact, no recent injury at all. “If you did a truly pure report,” he said later in an interview, “you’d be out on your ears and the insurers wouldn’t pay for it. You have to give them what they want, or you’re in Florida. That’s the game, baby.” (New York Times, 31 March) RD

home sweet home , or is it ?

The BBC reports that a total of 7,500 Scots are set to lose their homes this year.

That is 20 a day.

The Council for Mortgage Lenders had already raised the forecast from 48,000 to 75,000 repossessions across the UK.

"I think if things continue to get worse in the wider economy, it's going to get an awful lot worse and I think that's a real problem. We have to remember, you have two hundred thousand people in Scotland on housing waiting lists already. If you have people coming out of their own homes, they'll have to join those lists which is going to put even greater demand on housing. If the number of repossessions rises to seven and a half thousand as may well be predicted or, or even greater, apart from just the individual what impact would this have on communities?" - Shelter Scotland chairman Graeme Brown said

Food for Thought 3

- On Sunday, March 8th. International Women’s Day, The Toronto Star reported,” Seventy per cent of the poorest people on the planet are women and girls, and even in a wealthy country like Canada they are the majority of the poor.” Progress is slow in this system, to say the least.

- In his Toronto Star article, “To Justify Degradation, Just Cite the Economy”, Peter Gorrie shows just how “green” governments are. The federal Conservatives have tied measures that gut environmental laws to the stimulus package that must be rushed through at all costs. New Liberal leader, Michael Ignatieff, who promised to scrutinize everything the Tories did in exchange for allowing the minority government to continue, has ordered a quick passage of the bill and no opposition from the Liberal-dominated senate. Changes that undermine the Navigable WatersProtection Act have been rushed through and, in the next step, environmental assessments for 90% of the “Building Canada” stimulus package have been eliminated. Gorrie writes, “ The general impression (of the stimulus projects) is of an incoherent mishmash aimed more at enhancing Conservative fundraising and election prospects than Canada’s economic and environmental health.”
Would we expect anything else from an institution that is there to serve the capitalist system.
John Ayers

MUSLIM HYPOCRISY

"Morocco has become one of the largest winemakers in the Muslim world, with the equivalent of 35 million bottles produced last year. Wine brings the state millions in sales tax, even though Islam appears to be on the rise politically. "Morocco is a country of tolerance," said Mehdi Bouchaara, the deputy general manager at the Celliers de Meknes, the country's largest winemaker, which bottles over 85 per cent of national output. "It's everybody's personal choice whether to drink or not." The Celliers have flourished on this tolerance. The firm now cultivates 2,100 hectares (5,189 acres) of vineyards, bottling anything from entry-level table wine to homemade sparkling wine and even a high-end claret, Chateau Roslane, aged in a vaulted cellar packed with oak barrels imported from France. The winery now dwarfs virtually any other producer in Europe. On paper, wine is "Haram," or forbidden to Muslims. But Bouchaara said the firm's distribution is all legal since it only sells to traders authorized by the state, who in turn officially sell exclusively to non-Muslim tourists. Statistics, however, show that Moroccans consume on average one litre (a quarter of a gallon) of wine per person each year, and the Moroccan state itself is the largest owner of the country's 12,000 hectares (29,652 acres) of vineyards." (Associated Press, 6 April) RD