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