POVERTY IN GERMANY

"Anyone who's living off less than 60% of the median household income is defined by the E.U. and the German government as living in poverty. In Germany, that's around $1,066 per month for a single person or $2,240 for a couple with one child. Some of the hardest hit by Germany's increasing poverty levels are children. It's estimated that there are more than 3 million German children living in poverty; in Berlin alone, up to 36% of all children are poor. "The gap between the rich and poor is wider than ever and more children have been plunged into poverty," says Bernd Siggelkow, a pastor who runs the Arche project in Berlin to help children in need. "People who claim state benefits are stigmatized by society and in the past children were simply forgotten by politicians." (Yahoo News, 25 May) RD

PROFITS BEFORE HEALTH

"Food safety inspectors say a California plant at the center of a salmonella scare knew some of its pistachios were tainted but continued shipping nuts for another six months. The Food and Drug Administration issued a sweeping national warning in March for consumers to avoid eating pistachios after concerns surfaced about nuts from Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, Inc. In an inspection report released this week, FDA officials said Setton first got results in October showing some of its roasted nuts tested positive for salmonella. But, officials say, it didn't make proper adjustments to its processing procedures and kept shipping out nuts."
(Yahoo News, 23 May) RD

THE SEEDS OF WAR

"Diminishing supplies of oil and natural gas will push countries into violent competition, the Kremlin predicted in a long-awaited national security strategy paper released this week. The document foresees these struggles playing out in the Arctic as well as the Middle East, the Barents Sea, the Caspian Sea and Central Asia - and states that Russia is prepared to fight for its share of the world's resources. "In the face of competition for resources, the use of military force to solve emerging problems cannot be excluded," reads the strategy paper, which was signed by President Dmitri Medvedev on Wednesday." (Yahoo News, 17 May) RD

ECONOMIC POLITICS

Politicians are fond of pretending that they are concerned about ethical matters and would deny that their primary function is to concern themselves with the economic interests of their masters. So it comes as no great surprise to learn that the EU spokesmen prattle on about "the political rights of small nations" whilst in reality having sordid economic interests in mind.
"Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned the European Union not to turn a proposed partnership with former Soviet countries against Russia. He was speaking at the end of a Russia-EU summit held against a background of deep divisions over security, trade and energy supplies. A BBC correspondent in Moscow says the biggest concern at the summit was over Russian gas supplies to Europe. Deliveries were halted in January due to Moscow's price dispute with Ukraine. ... A year ago - when Mr Medvedev became Russia's new leader - there was hope that relations with the EU might gradually improve, the BBC's Richard Galpin in Moscow says. Instead, he says, they have got steadily worse. Relations plummeted after last year's brief war between Russia and Georgia. Since then there has been another gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine which led to gas supplies to many European countries being cut off for two weeks in mid-winter. There is also a growing battle over energy pipelines as the EU tries to find alternatives to its growing dependency on Russian gas." (BBC News, 21May) RD

GREENS AND GREEN BACKS

It is fashionable for every capitalist politician to say that they are "green" - it is a good vote-catcher, but the realities of capitalism are the production of more and more profits. So when it comes to the crunch, profit -making is going to be a bigger priority than the environment. "US Energy Secretary Steven Chu says the US will not be able to cut greenhouse emissions as much as it should due to domestic political opposition. Prof Chu told BBC News he feared the world might be heading towards a tipping point on climate change. This meant the US had to cut emissions urgently - even if compromises were needed to get new laws approved. ... President Barack Obama says he wants cuts in greenhouse gases but has left it to Congress to make the political running. The House of Representatives is debating a climate and energy bill but even if it passes it may be rejected by senators, many of whom are funded by the energy industry." (BBC News, 21 May)
Politicians are deeply concerned about "green" issues - the issue of green-back dollars! RD

A DESPERATE WORKER

"A suspected illegal immigrant was arrested after being found on the outside of a Eurostar train – which had been travelling through Kent at 186mph. The man was detained by British Transport Police officers after being discovered at Ebbsfleet International Station near Gravesend in Kent. He was intercepted at the station on a Brussels to London service just before 7pm last Thursday. Eurostar trains can reach speeds of up to 186mph while in service." (Independent, 27 April) RD

FUTURE SHOCKS

"The number of potential nuclear weapons states could more than double in the next few years unless major powers take radical steps toward disarmament, the head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog was quoted saying on Friday. Mohamed ElBaradei said the threat of proliferation was particularly great in the Middle East and the international regime designed to limit the spread of nuclear weapons was at risk of falling apart, the Guardian newspaper reported. "Any regime ... has to have a sense of fairness and equity and it is not there," ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in an interview with the paper. He predicted the next wave of proliferation would involve "virtual nuclear states" which could produce plutonium or highly enriched uranium and would have the know-how to make warheads, but would stop just short of assembling a weapon. Such states would remain technically compliant with the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) while being within a couple of months of deploying and using a weapon, he said." (Yahoo News, 12 May) RD

HOME SWEET HOME?

"The number of homes repossessed in the UK rose to 12,800 in the first three months of the year, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has said. This was up 23% from the 10,400 in the previous three months and 50% up on the 8,500 in the same period last year. The CML has predicted that 75,000 homes will be repossessed in 2009, almost double the 40,000 of last year." (BBC News, 16 May) RD

THE PRIORITIES OF CAPITALISM

The US Government, like every government in world capitalism spends billions of dollars in weapons of war and research into more and more deadly ways to kill and maim, but when it comes to spending two cents to save a child's life they remain strangely reluctant.
"Americans pretty much take vitamin A for granted, but many of the world’s poorest people lack it. And as a result, it is estimated that more than half-a-million children die or go blind each year. There’s a simple fix: vitamin A capsules that cost about 2 cents each."
(New York Times, 13 May) RD

No candidate ? Vote for yourself.

Only vote for socialism if you are in agreement with our Object and Declaration of Principles.




You might have heard of the Euro elections, the biggest in history, 500
million people, 27 countries, June 4th? You’re supposed to choose which
of your local crème-de-la-crème get to go on free holidays to Brussels
and Strasbourg, and the powers that be are a bit worried that you won’t
take it seriously enough to bother voting. Shame on you!...Read more>
http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/The_Euro_elections_2009_page.html

Français (French)
http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/The_Euro_elections_2009_page_Francais.html

Italiano (Italian)
http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/The_Euro_elections_2009_page_Italiano.html

Svenska (Swedish)
http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/The_Euro_elections_2009_page_Svenska.html

Español(Spanish)
http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/The_Euro_elections_2009_page_Espanol.html

Polska (Polish)
http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/The_Euro_elections_2009_page_Polska.html

Türkçe (Turkish)
http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/The_Euro_elections_2009_page_Turkish.html

Nederland (Dutch)
http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/The_Euro_elections_2009_page_Nederlands.html
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Download our election leaflets.

1, Manifesto for London Region (where we're contesting) (PDF)
http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/Euro09/Euro_09_leaflet_London.pdf

2. Manifesto for outside London (where we're running a write-in
campaign) (PDF)
http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/Euro09/Euro09_leaflet_write_in.pdf

3. London manifesto in Bengali (PDF)
http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/Euro09/Bengali_Euro09.pdf

( If anyone wants copies of these leaflets to distribute they should
send an email to spgb@worldsocialism.org )
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

EVICTIONS OF LANDLORDS

"Tens of thousands of landlords are struggling to meet their mortgage repayments as the economic downturn devastates the buy-to-rent market, according to a new report. Moody's, the rating agency, released figures yesterday showing that 3.55 per cent of landlords were at least three months behind with mortgage payments in the first quarter of the year - compared with 0.95 per cent in the same period a year ago. Repossession of buy-to-let loans had also risen marginally, to 0.18 per cent in the first three months of this year from 0.13 per cent in the first three months of last year. There are about a million buy-to-let landlords in the UK, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders." (Times, 13 May) RD

CAPITALIST MORALITY

"Talk about kicking a man when he's down. Moody's ( the rating agency)yesterday downgraded the credit rating of L'Aquila, the Italian city, from A1 to Ba1 and placed it on review for possible further downgrades after last month's devastating earthquake. The agency said: "Moody's views these developments as affecting the city's ability to meet its financial obligations on a timely basis." Well, it's an accurate assessment, albeit a rather cold and clinical one."
(Times, 13 May) RD

MORE MADNESS

It surely sums up the insanity of modern capitalism wherein millions of people are trying to survive on about a dollar a day and this happens. "A flawless vivid blue diamond weighing 7.03 carats sold Tuesday for a record 10.5 million Swiss francs ($9.49 million), the highest price paid per carat for any gemstone at auction, Sotheby's said. The rectangular-shaped blue stone, the rarest to enter the international market this year, went to an anonymous buyer bidding by telephone after hectic bidding see-sawed between two callers for 15 minutes." (Yahoo News, 12 May)
We have an "anonymous buyer" spending millions of dollars on an object that in any sane society would be used for some worthwhile purpose like cutting glass or something and we have millions of starving kids. Which one grabs the headlines? Rare jewels are more important than human beings - that's capitalism for you. RD

OWNERSHIP MADNESS

Genae Girard, 39, is suing Myriad Genetics and the Patent Office over the
granting of a patent on a gene. Myriad also has patented the only test that
measures the risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

Anyone who looks at modern society must be staggered by how much private ownership dominates it. All the land of this planet is owned by a small group of owners - about 5 per cent. All the factories and workshops are owned by the same 5 per cent. All the airlines and all other means of transport are in the possession of the same small group. Now it seems that even the genes that are the basis of human existence are owned too. An unfortunate worker who was suffering from cancer went to a specialists for tests. "The test came back positive, so she wanted a second opinion from another test. But there can be no second opinion. A decision by the government more than 10 years ago allowed a single company, Myriad Genetics, to own the patent on two genes that are closely associated with increased risk for breast cancer and ovarian cancer, and on the testing that measures that risk." (New York Times, 12 May)

There is money to be made out of ownership so bugger the poor worker who needs information. Sorry, they own the patent on the gene. Your mother or your daughter dies, so what. Money and profit are much more important. RD

European Elections 2009

European Elections


Click image to enlarge view

We are contesting in London but urging a write in vote elsewhere.
Our election Blog
Download our election leaflets.

1, Manifesto for London Region (where we're contesting) (PDF)
2. Manifesto for outside London (where we're running a write-in campaign) (PDF)


Candidates.

Dannny Lambert, Tristan Miller, Janet Carter, Bill Martin, Adam Buick, Simon Wigley, Frederick Allen, Patricia Deutz.

__________________________________________________________

Flying pigs and the Euro elections

Click image for more info. Français (French) Italiano (Italian) Svenska (Swedish) Español(Spanish) Polska (Polish) Download our election leaflets. 1, Manifesto for London Region (where we're contesting) (PDF) 2. Manifesto for outside London (where we're running a write-in campaign) (PDF) 3. London manifesto in Bengali (PDF) ( If anyone wants copies of these leaflets to distribute they should send an email to spgb@worldsocialism.org ) ____________________________________________________________

THE FAILURE OF LABOUR

One of the illusions fostered by the Labour Party is that for all its shortcomings at least it is better than the Tories, but recent evidence seems to point out that even this modesty claim is erroneous.
"That relative poverty – the gap between rich and poor rather than the absolute availability of basic necessities – should be higher than it was when Harold Macmillan was prime minister is a galling discovery. The Institute for Fiscal Studies, a sort of non-partisan unofficial opposition party equipped with massive brainpower, tells us that the distance between our richest and our least fortunate citizens is as high as it has been since their data starts, in 1961. Which leaves open the possibility that Brown's Britain may be more unequal than we were before the creation of the NHS and the modern welfare state." (Independent, 8 May) RD

Reading Notes

- From Germinal, a novel about a French miners’strike of the 1890s, by Emile Zola,
“ Who could say that the workers had had their reasonable share in the extraordinary increase in wealth and comfort during the last one hundred years? They (the bourgoisie) had made fun of them by declaring them free. Yes, free to starve, a freedom of which they fully availed themselves.”
- Re how capitalism works, “ Ah! There we are!” cried M. Hennebeau.(mine owner) “I was expecting that – the accusation of starving the people and living by their sweat. How can you talk such folly, you ought to know the enormous risks which capital runs in industry – in the mines, for example?…Can you believe that the company has not as much to lose as you have in the present crisis? It does not govern wages; it obeys competition under pain of ruin.”- i.e. blame the system, not the capitalist.

IT PAYS TO TALK?

"BT has said it will cut about 15,000 jobs this year, mostly in the UK, and has reported an annual loss of £134m. The firm also said it had cut 15,000 jobs in the past year, which was 5,000 more than had been expected." (BBC News, 14 April) RD

THE PRIORITIES OF CAPITALISM

Every year billions of dollars are spent on the research and production of more and more powerful weapons. Inside capitalism it is essential to keep ahead of your trade rivals. Research into diseases or even the simple production of medicine is of a very low priority compared to arms production. "Pneumonia gets very little attention from donors or the public health community, yet it kills more than two million children a year, according to Unicef and the World Health Organization. To put it another way, if you spend five minutes reading this column, at least 19 kids will die of pneumonia in that time. That’s more than will die of AIDS, malaria and measles combined. Yet pneumonia goes ignored. It is the orphan of global health, attracting negligible investment." (New York Times, 9 May) RD

AN ARROGANT EX-WORKER

Socialists are often annoyed at the disparaging, dismissive fashion of speaking adopted by the capitalist class when dealing with members of the working class, but something that annoys us even more than that is members of the working class sneering at other members of the working class less fortunate than themselves. Perhaps the worst example of this we have come across recently is the following.
" Wealthy Celebes queued up this week to condemn the new 50% tax rate for high earners, warning that it could lead to an exodus of talent. Monday's Daily Mail quoted Sir Michael Caine saying that "if it goes to 51%, I will be back in America... We've got 3.5 million layabouts on benefits, and I'm 76, getting up at 6am to go to work to keep them." (Guardian, 2 May)
Excuse us Sir Michael (formerly known as Mr Michaelwaite) if we wish you bon voyage - preferably in a very leaky ocean liner. RD