NEW CASUALTIES OF WAR

It does not take a genius to figure out that being a soldier is a very dangerous job, but we usually associate the dangers from enemy fire not from mental stress. Recent figures show that the stress of hostilities can be a ruthless killer. "By some estimates, well over 300,000 troops have returned from Iraq or Afghanistan with P.T.S.D., depression, traumatic brain injury or some combination of those. ...As a result, psychiatric drugs have been used more widely across the military than in any previous war. But those medications, along with narcotic painkillers, are being increasingly linked to a rising tide of other problems, among them drug dependency, suicide and fatal accidents - sometimes from the interaction of the drugs themselves. An Army report on suicide released last year documented the problem, saying one-third of the force was on at least one prescription medication. Prescription drug use is on the rise the report said, noting that medications were involved in one-third of the record 162 suicides by active-duty soldiers in 2009. An additional 101 soldiers died accidentally from the toxic mixing of prescription drugs from 2006 to 2009." (New York Times, 12 February) So  you might survive the enemy worst efforts to kill you only to succumb to prescription drugs. RD

BANKERS AND BAMPOTS

When we were young we were taught at school to respect "our betters". Amongst that learned group we were taught were business men, religious leaders and statesmen. The German Thilo Sarrazin, a former executive member of the Bundesbank would certainly qualify for that august body that is due our respect, but some of his opinions might cause even our old school teacher a moment of doubt. "A German banker who has said "all Jews share a certain gene" and described Muslims as "dunces" will speak tonight at the London School of Economics amid a row over free speech." (Independent, 14 February) Since our schooldays we have learned to doubt whether religious leaders and statesmen are indeed "our betters". We can now add business men to that doubtful list.b RD

PROGRESSING BACKWARDS

One of the illusions peddled by politicians is that we  making progress and we are all better off than we were in the past, but according to the Consumer Price Index prices have risen by 4 per cent against a 2 per cent rise in wages. "Households face a deepening "income recession" as the cost of living rises far more  quickly than wages, analysts warn today. Official figures released tomorrow are expected to show that inflation is rising at approximately twice the pace of salaries, leading to punishing deterioration in living standards." (Times, 14 February) Progress for the working class is a delusion that should fool no one. RD

HE WHO PAYS THE PIPER

Shortly before the last general election David Cameron gave a speech at East London University about political funding. "The Cameron pitch on political reform included a call to limit donations to political parties to a maximum of £50,000, from an individual, a business or a trade union. That way, the impression that money could buy influence would wane in the new world of transparency. Almost exactly a year on, such talk sat uneasily with news that since he became Conservative leader in 2005 funding for the Tories from the City's richest had risen fourfold to £11.4m a year. Just 10 City individuals, it transpired, had given £13.2m over the past five years - 13% of total funding. Rather than practising what he had been preaching Cameron had let an elite group of the very richest tip their millions into party accounts to help it win power." (Observer, 13 February) Despite the pre-election promises it is still business as usual at Tory HQ. RD

THE NATIONAL ILL-HEALTH SERVICE

One of the fallacies much beloved of British politicians is that the NHS is a no-expense spared service that provides patients with unbeatable treatment, but the evidence of Aseem Malhotra seems to contradict that claim.  "The healthcare that clinicians offer is usually exemplary. Why, then, are the ill served such disgraceful meals? I mend hearts. Then I see my patients served junk food by our hospitals. Fry-ups, burger and chips, fizzy drinks and ice cream for pudding. You would expect to see these delights on the menu at a McDonald's or Burger King. But, sadly, this is the sort of food that is also likely to be served at your local hospital. I work as a cardiologist at one of Britain's leading cardiac centres. ... Coronary artery disease is the biggest killer in the western world and a significant part of my job involves performing a lifesaving procedure, angioplasty, to restore the blood supply to the heart muscle. Coronary atheroma (fatty deposit within the artery wall) takes many years to develop and is the culmination of risk factors, of which lifestyle - and diet in particular - is a major contributor." (Observer, 13 February) Dr Malhotra asks why they are served such meals, but the newspaper provides the answer. "The majority of hospitals spend an average of less than £1 on each meal per patient."

THE CLASS STRUGGLE

An article, by Kate Devlin, UK Political Correspondent for (The Herald, February 12.⁾  headed, "60,000 Scots cheats to lose sickness benefits" Discloses, "People claiming sickness benefit will now have to apply for unemployment benefit, potentially losing over one thousand pounds"

Evidence from a socialist's point of view that Trade Unions (TU) should re-examine this idea, that continuous battling with the employers, will be rewarded by a continuous improvement in the wellbeing of the workers.

"ABOUT 60,000 Scots claiming sickness benefits face being told that they are fit for work, according to the results of two pilot projects, including one in Aberdeen.
The move is part of Coalition plans to save £11 billion from the welfare bill. Every person claiming incapacity benefit (IB) across the country will be reassessed between now and 2013.
Under the process, claimants are asked to fill in a medical questionnaire and then invited for interview". (Why bother? you might wonder, the heading implies the Scots are cheats even before the interview)

Socialists don't advocate reforms of capitalism, we would agree that TU do and must struggle against continuous pressures in a capitalist world, however, the evidence is overwhelming, the solution is not continue as before, i.e. "running faster to stay still" as it was once put at a TUC conference. (are we staying still? would you agree?)

"The shake-up of welfare payments could save the Tory-LibDem Coalition up to £40 million in Scotland alone.
The first reassessments of those receiving incapacity benefits –currently worth up to £91.40 a week – found that more than two-thirds were able to work.
Just less than one in three, 30%, was told they were able to work immediately and could no longer receive sickness benefits. Another 39% were told they would be given support to help them back into the workforce, because it was felt they could hold down a job, possibly part-time, in the near future. The rest were allowed to remain on sickness benefits"

"Announcing the interim results from the pilot projects, Coalition ministers claimed too many people had been "abandoned" to a life on benefits". (I don't know the benefits of being abandoned to a life without benefits are, but the coalition ministers are determined that we find out right away)
"Chris Grayling, the UK Employment Minister, said: "The initial findings from Burnley and Aberdeen serve to underline why it is right to reassess IB claimants and to launch the Work Programme to give those who can work the specialist help they need to do so. Too many people were simply abandoned to a life on benefits; we are determined to put a stop to that terrible waste of potential." (What about the terrible waste of potential, most workers know that the cuts will bring to those in employment? When workers can't make a profit for the bosses the problem for bosses is getting the workers back into work i.e. returned to profit making. The urge to reduce there costs is relentless and in the current capitalist crisis any benefits workers are perceived to have gain in boom times are attacked. The years of struggle will have to continue, unless, a new reason for producing is considered).
Socialists appeal to all workers to realise that the future can never be better than chaotic in a capitalist society, where profit overrides needs. We have the ability to produce most necessities in abundance; however, we need the will to get rid of a system that provides abundance for a small class of capitalist and replace it with a system of common ownership of the means of production i.e. Socialism.

 

Hullawrerr- Parliamo Glesga

Glaswegians have the most attractive accent for Japanese speakers of English, a new study has revealed.

"The gemmes a-bogey" - we are in a recession
"Ahve loast mah joab so ahm gaun doon tae sign oan the broo." - unemployment is on the rise

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/japanese-prefer-glaswegian-accent-says-study-2208514.html

A BANDIT MAKES HIS GETAWAY

Amidst the recent turbulent political and social events in Egypt it is sometimes forgotten just how much loot the former leader has stashed away out of the exploitation of the Egyptian working class. "Hosni Mubarak's family fortune could be as much as $70bn (£43.5bn) according to analysis by Middle East experts, with much of his wealth in British and Swiss banks or tied up in real estate in London, New York, Los Angeles and along expensive tracts of the Red Sea coast. After 30 years as president and many more as a senior military official, Mubarak has had access to investment deals that have generated hundreds of millions of pounds in profits. Most of those gains have been taken offshore and deposited in secret bank accounts or invested in upmarket homes and hotels. According to a report last year in the Arabic newspaper Al Khabar, Mubarak has properties in Manhattan and exclusive Beverly Hills addresses on Rodeo Drive." (Guardian, 4 February) The Egyptian protest movement may or may not have brought about a more democratic society but it is clear Mubarak has cleaned up big time. RD

RUSSIAN CONMEN IN ACTION

The development of capitalism in Europe usually took the form of the emergence of the capitalist class ousting the previous feudalic ruling class by political and military means. It led to a dominant capitalist class being served by a military and political group subservient to the capitalists. In Africa and Asia it sometimes occurred that the military group became all powerful. It would seem that in Russia the political group have become the powerful group. "Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev share between them at least two dozen palaces, villas and mansions, according to a respected Russian magazine, in a report that is likely to reignite a debate about privileges enjoyed by the ruling duo. The Russian liberal media and blogosphere have been alive with discussion about possible secret residences belonging to the two since a businessman in December accused Mr Putin, the Prime Minister, of building a £600m palace on the shores of the Black Sea for his own personal use. The magazine Kommersant Dengi reported yesterday that given the Russian regime's opacity, it was impossible to tell how many residences the President and Prime Minister had access to, but noted that some estimates gave Mr Putin 26 separate places to live in." (Independent, 1 February) Irrespective of how capitalism develops, whether leading to an economic, military  or political form of wage slavery it is not in the interests of the working class and must be abolished. RD

SHARING THE PAIN?

In the recent downturn in world stock markets it was common for politicians and economic "experts" to express the view that during this recession everyone would have  to share  the pain, we would all have to make economic sacrifices in order to speed a return to so-called prosperity. It would seem though that the "sharing" was to say the least a little uneven. "Carlos Slim's Mexican holdings from mining to communications helped him beat Bill Gates and Warren Buffett on the stock market for the second straight year, and gains in 2011 may widen his lead atop the global wealth list. Slim's publicly disclosed holdings surged about 37 per cent to $70 billion in 2010, with wireless carrier America Movil SAB representing $48.9 billion of that wealth, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The 22 per cent jump in shares wasn't enough for Buffett to catch up, and Gates's fell, hurting his returns even as he spread his investments to other companies." (Bloomberg, 2 February) Those workers unfortunate enough to suffer from wage cuts, unemployment or foreclosure on their homes know all about sharing the pain unlike the likes of Slim, Buffett and Gates. RD

RELIGION AND MATERIALISM

Religious organisations are fond of lecturing about the evils of materialism and stressing the importance of spiritual values as opposed to mere physical gratification. It is a view expressed by amongst other religious outfits the Church of Scientology, but its leader David Misgavige is known to like the odd physical comfort. "The New Yorker reported claims from former members that Mr Misgavige lived a luxury lifestyle, flying chartered jets and having two chefs, five stewards, a fleet of cars and six motorcycles." (Times, 8 February) Such lavish compensations would be illegal for the leader of a tax-exempt body, but a spokesman for the organisation claimed that such perks were gifts from members to express their "love and affection" for Mr Misgavige. We seriously doubt if such "love and affection" as chartered jet travel and fleets of cars is spread to other members of Mr Misgavige's flock. RD

DEBT LADEN IN BIRMINGHAM

Any student of the Industrial Revolution will tell you of the important part played in its development by the city of Birmingham. It was one of the foremost cities in the new industrial society and a leading light in the  creation of undreamt wealth for the capitalist class. The picture for the working class is very different as depicted by a newspaper today in its description of a tower block in that city and its residents. "Residents of Tower House report that: 36% per cent are in debt - 47% of whom have cut back on basics such as food and heating; 15% have turned to pawnbrokers; 8% have borrowed from moneylenders." (Observer, 6 October) The immense wealth created by the working class has certainly not been enjoyed by the working class of that tower block in Birmingham nor its equivalent throughout capitalism worldwide. RD

THE WIDENING GAP

In an article describing the life of the extremely wealthy and the rest of us The Times recently laid out a list of some of these super-wealthy individuals living at present in London. The Indian billionaire Anil Agarwal worth $6.4 billion, the Russian Alisher Usmanov worth $7.2 billion and the Ukrainian Viktor Pinchuk a mere $3.1 billion. "The extravagance of the super-rich at a time when the vast majority of people are feeling the financial squeeze seems incongruous at best. But the reality is that the gap between the UHNWIs (ultra-high net worth individuals) and the rest is widening. Alan Greenspan, the former Chairman of the US Federal Reserve, said recently that high-income individuals, banks and corporations had rebounded from the global downturn, while pretty well everyone else struggled. ... The world's wealthiest 10 per cent now control 83 per cent of all assets." (Times, 5 February) When even the ultra-conservative Times can report on the widening class differences in capitalism the ultra-rich must be very convinced of the docility of the working class. Fellow workers - wake up! RD

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

A lesson learned? Just a week after the shooting rampage in Tucson, Arizona, that killed six people, thousands of shoppers browsed for guns at a trade show there. Assault rifles and semi-automatic pistols, including the Glock 9mm model used in the shooting, were on sale and no background checks are needed. Stall holder, Randall Record, explained, "People see it as either guns are going to get banned, or I'm going to get shot. Either way it drives sales."

Socialist know that unions are good for fighting a rearguard action against the worst of capitalism but that they are not revolutionary and will never bring socialism. We also recognize that they are increasingly drawn into the system itself, but it was a surprise to see right wing columnist, Angelo Persichilli (Toronto Star, Jan 16, 2011) praising Canadian autoworkers president Ken Lewenza for his part in the auto revival from the depths of two years ago. According to Persichilli, Lewensa had the courage to change the political activism of his predecessors and make the concessions necessary to help out the desperate situation. As usual, if you participate in the race to the bottom you are a great guy, if you stand up for your rights, you are vilified. The futility of reform, and how, in this case.
Finally, the cause of the Mexican hotel explosion last year has come to light. Rather than a build-up of swamp gas, it was a leakage from improperly installed gas pipes that mysteriously did not appear on the blueprint. Chalk another one down to corruption, graft, and greed. - The Toronto Star (Jan 8, 2011) asked the top 100 Canadian CEOs, who average $6.6 million in salary per annum, if they thought they were worth it. Only one replied and he was thankful his salary was set by the board and not him. Considering they have earned the average working man's annual salary by lunchtime of the second day (i.e. 155 times more) and do not produce anything useful or any surplus-value, I think the answer would be a resounding 'NO'. John Ayers

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

According to Jennifer Bain, (Toronto Star, Jan 15, 2011) food is so plentiful in Canada that our garbage cans are full of it. Apparently, we toss away 40 per cent of our edibles a year, valued at $27 billion.
Perhaps someone would care to explain why we have ever-growing line ups at the food banks. The quote, "when I fed the hungry I was called a hero, when I asked why there were starving people, I was called a communist" may apply quite well here.
Recently in Toronto, an unfortunate incident occurred. A man in bare feet and with obvious mental problems stole an unattended snow-plough and proceeded to run amok on the city streets. The police, unable to stop him, finally fired three shots into him but in the process, one constable was run down and killed. The officer was given a state funeral where 12 000 uniformed officers marched through city streets for hours and all major Toronto television stations interrupted normal programming for the entire day to bring wall to wall coverage of the event. All major national newspapers led with the story on the front page. The Saturday Hockey game in Toronto was delayed for a ceremony in his honour. The coverage was way over the top and a thinly disguised attempt at jingoism to make the public forget the black eye that the police have been getting over their handling of the G20 crisis that continues to bring forward incidents of police misconduct. That they can amass so much media support is truly staggering. John Ayers

feeding the poor

Mary's Meals, a Scots-based and Argyll-based charity, provides school meals in 16 of the world's poorest countries is now feeding half a million children.

Founder, Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, said "There are still one billion children living in poverty, so our work is not done yet."

Sad to say that the work will never be done.

The necessity and prevalence of charity in a world capable of producing a sufficiency of food, clothing and shelter to easily satisfy the needs of all, is an obvious indication that something, somehow, somewhere, is rotten to the core. The socialist claims that it is capitalism. Capitalism automatically produces poverty which in its turn perpetuates charity. Eliminate the cause, and you eradicate the disease. Rather than deal simply and directly by providing ready access to storehouses of goods, as would occur in a sensible world, there are those who prefer instead to deliver the great mass of wealth to the privileged minority and present tear-drenched appeals for charity for the impoverished majority.

Charity! Sweet charity! Upheld as evidence of the innate goodness of man. Providing an outlet for the energies of people who feel that something ought to be done and who might otherwise find time to think about doing things really helpful. Indecent, unwholesome charity! Preying on the natural willingness of ordinary people to help one another, even to the extent of depriving their own of needed things. Charity! Symbol of a society that neither intends nor desires to end the conditions that ensure its existence.

One day the means for producing and distributing the needs of life will become the common property of all the people and will be operated for no purpose other than to provide abundance to all the members of society. On that day a socialist society will be established, bringing an end finally to exploitation, along with all the other abominations of capitalism, including charity.

IT BEGGARS BELIEF

"Beggars are to be cleared from the streets in Bangladesh during the cricket World Cup, which starts next month. The poorest are to be compensated for loss of earnings but most will be put into "welfare camps" until the event is over. ... According to some estimates there are 700,000 beggars in Bangladesh." (Times, 1 February) RD

ROLLING IN THE STUFF

"By Forbes' count, 69 billionaires from 20 countries are expected to attend the annual World Economic Forum confab, which starts tomorrow in the Swiss Alps town of Davos. The helicopters whirring above this afternoon suggest that some may have already arrived.  It may well be the greatest concentration of wealth in any one place. Their total net worth, as tracked by Forbes: $427 billion, greater than the combined gross domestic product of Israel and Egypt. The U.S. has at least 20 billionaires expected to make the trip, more than any other country. (Forbes, 25 January) RD

Wealth gap widens between super rich and rest of us.

Alan Greenspan - the legendary chairman of the United States' Federal Reserve - is the high priest of free market capitalism.

As a young man he was even a devotee and acolyte of arch libertarian writer, Ayn Rand.

Keep that pedigree in mind when you consider the striking observation he made in a television interview last summer:

"Our problem basically is that we have a very distorted economy, in the sense that there has been a significant recovery in our limited area of the economy amongst high-income individuals...Read link

This ,of course, is no surprise to socialists who have been pointing it out as an inevitable concomitant of capitalist economics.

If you are born poor you will most likely die poor.Whether this is in actual real terms ,or in relative terms, in relation to the amount of wealth produced, is neither here nor there.

What is crazy is the notion that capitalism can be reformed or tamed,or have its rapacious appetite curbed in any way.

Its goal, as Marx pointed out so long ago is,to, "Accumulate, accumulate".

"Accumulate, accumulate! That is Moses and the prophets! “Industry furnishes the material which saving accumulates.” ^[23] Therefore, save, save, i.e., reconvert the greatest possible portion of surplus-value, or surplus-product into capital! Accumulation for accumulation’s sake, production for production’s sake: by this formula classical economy expressed the historical mission of the bourgeoisie, and did not for a single instant deceive itself over the birth-throes of wealth. ^[24] But what avails lamentation in the face of historical necessity? If to classical economy, the proletarian is but a machine for the production of surplus-value; on the other hand, the capitalist is in its eyes only a machine for the conversion of this surplus-value into additional capital. " Link for above quote

Capitalist society is a parasitic economic system which sucks out the productive capacities of the vast majority,(working -class) to satisfy a minority class of owners of wealth(capitalist -class)..

The solution is to get rid of the monstrous system and replace it with socialism , a system of common ownership,democratic control and free access to all of society's wealth,everybody having the right to participate in decisions on how global resources will be used. It means nobody being able to take personal control of resources, beyond their own personal possessions.

This then,is in stark contrast to the reformism of the Left, S.S.P.,S.W.P., Solidarity, S.L.P.,or the Labour Party, (all of them result in a case of 'meet the new boss', same as the old one.) which leaves intact the waged- labour versus capital social system.

Socialism ,as we define it in its original context, before the Left besmirched the name in their failed experiments, is a revolutionary solution to capitalism's rationed access. Moreover, it is a real solution,one which ends wage-slavery, poverty, and war.

If a truly human society is to be created where we can relate to each other as members of a real community instead of as isolated atoms colliding on the market place, we need to create the conditions (common ownership of productive resources by the whole community) in which the market has no sense.

One where the organising tenet applied globally , instead of capitalistic, "..... "each man for himself, and the devil take the hindermost" ", is
replaced by, " From each according to their ability ..to each according to their needs".

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

As abominable and useless as locking people up in a cell is, the Canadian government is out to make it worse. Recently prison farms were shut down, including the one at Kingston that had a dairy herd ranking among the best in Ontario, an abattoir that served three hundred local farmers and supplied local shops with $3 million worth of farm produce, to say nothing of the accompanying rehabilitation value and skill development.
Prison building hit a new high (seven stories) or a new low as the latest jail in Ontario goes ahead with prefab modular building blocks that look like something out of a sci-fi picture. It's to cost $600 million in a time when crime is going down.
Finally, some sense coming from the phony war on drugs. The Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy basically came to the conclusion that the war on drugs is lost and its time to move away from the punitive aspect and focus on policies based on public health, human rights and common sense. (Toronto Star, Jan 23, 2011). Of course, removing money from the mix would do the trick right away. John Ayers