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