PROGRESS FOR SOME

Much is made in the press of how India is rapidly joining the most advanced capitalist countries in the world as a creator of more and more millionaires, indeed of billionaires, but there is another side to this development. Underneath a photograph of her family we can read this chilling caption. "Dhanuk's family are Mahadalits - members of India's lowest and most marginalised social caste. She says she sometimes has to ask her employers for the leftovers from their meals - a source of deep embarrassment to her." (Guardian, 19 July) RD

The lie of the land

Six months before South Sudan officially declared its independence, becoming the world's newest nation on 9 July, eight people met in an boardroom in Glasgow to plot one of this fledgling country's most defining features – its borders. The people at that meeting in Glasgow were not freshly appointed South Sudanese officials, members of Africa's governing bodies, or international diplomats. In fact, many of them had never even been to Sudan. Instead, these boardroom attendees were British cartographers, experts in geopolitical policy, and members of the Collins Geo division of Harper Collins, the publishing company responsible for creating and selling one of the most authoritative reference maps in circulation, The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World. The atlas and its related products are used as key reference tools by governments, the United Nations, the World Bank, aid agencies and classrooms across the globe

They would attempt to define South Sudan's borders for a new issue of the atlas to be published in September – a task easier said than done. They would need to draw up a finalised map of South Sudan to meet their publishing deadline in May, despite the fact the country itself would not yet officially exist. They would need to commit to a boundary line between Sudan and South Sudan, despite the fact that areas of that border continue to be violently disputed.

"Where a new boundary is created, and a new country, there will always be small-scale disputes along it. There will always be villages along that boundary line – it happened after the Second World War – where people don't really know which country they belong in. But the boundary line needs to go somewhere and as large-scale mapping is not a top priority in Sudan at the moment, the administrative lines are as accurate as we can get."

To achieve that level of accuracy, Ashworth and the committee rely on a team of around six news-gatherers to monitor constantly the geopolitical developments to help to inform their decisions, and ultimately, the authoritative depiction of nations. They carefully examine the projections of the UN, international governments, aid agencies, geopolitical experts on the ground, and specialist academic institutions such as the International Boundaries Research Unit at Durham University.

Despite this vast amount of fact-finding, Peter Barber, head of maps at the British Library, once said that a map is, essentially, a lie. "...every map is subjective, and always will be," he explained. "You have to select what you put on it."

Mick Ashworth agrees. "Maps are a very powerful tool for presenting an agenda and propaganda," he says. "People often believe maps more than what they see in the real world. But we are aware of that, and we are aware that if we get things wrong, or don't represent things in the way that they should be, then we will hear about it."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/the-lie-of-the-land-mapping-the-borders-of-south-sudan-has-been-fraught-with-difficulty-2317701.html

LAND AND LEGALITY

Rosemary Rayfuse is a teacher of International Law at New South Wales University in Australia and Lund University in Sweden and this contribution to the press shows she is concerned about a future legal problem. "Rising sea levels could threaten the existence of small island states such as Tuvalu, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands and the Maldives. If the international community cannot or will not slow global warming, the least it can do is help those states prepare for life after land by recognizing a new category of state - the deterritorialized state. If we do nothing and these nations become uninhabitable, their citizens will not only become displaced persons seeking refuge in other countries; they will also lose control of their vast maritime zones, including valuable fisheries and mineral deposits, which will likely become the property of neighboring states or the global commons." (New York Times, 18 July) It says much for the moral outlook of capitalism that its scholars are more concerned about the legality of fishery and mineral rights than the plight of thousands of workers made homeless and poverty-stricken by capitalism's incessant drive for profit, that causes global warming in the first place.

MARCHING HOME

Hollywood was always fond of depicting the heroic GI coming home to his loved ones. A full military band would play him from the railway station up the High Street of his local town while adoring residents joined in a rousing chorus of "When Johnny Comes Marching Home". Unfortunately that idyllic picture is far from the truth. "Military personnel, especially those with mental illnesses, are now facing the predicament of homelessness in the US. Data published by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs shows that over 75,000 US military personnel could be homeless after they return from foreign wars. The psychological effects of war upon veterans are now being coupled with problems in the economy. Studies have recently revealed that 300,000 American veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder." (Big News Network.com, 16 July) It would seem that far from a heroic welcome Johnny quite often comes home to homelessness or even a mental hospital. RD

THE SEEDS OF WAR

Many reasons are put forward for the conflicts in the area. Some would argue it is a conflict over religion, others that it is a struggle for democracy. The following piece of information seems a more likely cause for the hostilities. "Afghanistan and Central Asia are abundant with natural resources worth billions. So far, they are largely untapped but the battle is raging for who will be able to exploit them in the 21st century. In the 19th century, it was the Russians and the British who wrestled for influence in Afghanistan and Central Asia in a highly-explosive endeavour known as the Great Game. Today, Afghanistan's natural resources are estimated to be worth billions of dollars. The resources in the neighbouring Central Asian states are thought to be worth even more - the cake is huge and as yet largely untouched." (Deutche Welle, 15 July) The seeds of all modern wars has been the rivalries over sources of raw materials, markets and political spheres of interest. The present conflict in Afghanistan and its neighbours is likely to have the same causes. RD

Whats fair and unfair?

The recent riots in east Belfast led to renewed hand-wringing about the "Protestant working class". Protestants are not the only ones to suffer deprivation. They've not been disadvantaged more than Catholics. As the anti-poverty strategy launched under direct rule in 2005, Lifetime Opportunities, put it, "the geography of deprivation has persisted stubbornly over the past 30 years". It is simply wrong for prostestant paramilitaries and loyalist 'community workers' to claim that Catholics have benefited from public expenditure largesse at their expense. The same - disproportionately Catholic - neighbourhoods in north and west Belfast and Derry top the league of social disadvantage as when the 'Troubles' began.

The whole idea of socialism is that we should show solidarity towards others, regardless of colour or creed, who face the same daily struggles as ourselves - that we can unite in support of collective political solutions to our individual problems.

Meantime, elsewhere, the chief executives at FTSE 100 companies saw their median earnings rise 32 per cent last year, treble the rise in share prices and well above workers’ average 2 per cent pay award, according to MM&K, a reward consultancy, and Manifest, a proxy voting agency. The corporate leaders’ median salary rise was just 2 per cent but total earnings were boosted by a 70 per cent increase in pay-outs under incentive plans and share option schemes. FTSE 100 chief executives’ pay was 47 times that of average employees in 1998 but had risen to 120 times by 2010, say MM&K and Manifest. Bosses’ packages have more than doubled in value over that period.

who owns the North Pole - part 38

Putin began the rhetorical salvo during a speech to his political party. "I want to emphasize. Russia intends without a doubt to expand its presence in the Arctic," he said. "We are open to dialogue with our foreign partners, with all our neighbors in the Arctic region, but naturally, the defense of our geopolitical interests will be hard and consistent."

The head of the Russian navy, Vladimir Vystotsky, followed up on Wednesday with news of further military build-ups, including upgrades to Russia's Northern Fleet. "Right now a broad spectrum of challenges and threats is being concentrated in the Arctic," he told a conference in the far northern city of Naryan-Mar. He pointed to NATO as the source of the tension, saying the alliance had "marked the Arctic as a zone of its own interests."

By 2014, the United Nations will receive claims for parts of the Arctic from Canada, Denmark and Russia, and will then decide whether the science behind those claims is accurate. But if the claims overlap, it will be up to the countries to figure out how to share. "So the Russians are already laying down the ground rules," says Rob Huebert, an expert in Arctic military strategy at Canada's University of Calgary. "They are signaling that if anyone wants to make a competing claim, they should expect a very rough ride."

Robert Corell, a leading U.S. expert on climate change and the Arctic, explained "...our Department of Defense clearly sees the Arctic as a potential conflict multiplier, so we are going to have to see more focus on security issues."

"These discussions about new brigades or the build-up of militaries certainly don't offer any hope," says Paul Berkman, professor of Arctic Ocean geopolitics at the University of Cambridge. "They are alarmist, and in some sense it may be self-fulfilling when those kinds of discussions emerge."

THIS SPORTING LIFE

Most dictionaries would probably give the definition of the word sport as something along the lines of "pleasant pastime, amusement, diversion", but inside capitalism it has become anything but pleasant. "Mohamed bin Hammam was last night banned for life from all football activity by Fifa's ethics committee. Then, in a moment of high drama as the committee's chairman, Petrus Damaseb, exited stage left, legal counsel for the Qatari immediately took to the stage to accuse an unnamed "senior Fifa official" of "lies". Bin Hammam will appeal against the decision of the five-man committee after it found him guilty of seven counts of misconduct including bribery." (Observer, 24 July) Modern capitalism with its all important cash nexus has turned sport into "a lucrative diversion for accountants and lawyers". RD

CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION

Ever day we can read about millions of children dying for lack of clean water and food. Many hundreds of thousands of people are trying to survive on less than a £1 a day and yet at the same time we can read of this obscene piece of conspicuous consumption. "A 200-year-old bottle of white wine has been sold, setting the record for the most valuable bottle of white wine sold commercially in the world. The bottle of 1811 Chateau d'Yquem was purchased for £75,000 by French private collector Christian Vanneque. It was sold at the Ritz, in central London, by rare wine specialists The Antique Wine Company. The record for the most expensive bottle of wine sold at auction was set at £192,000 last November. That record is held by a bottle of 1947 French Cheval-Blanc, a red, which was sold at Christie's, in Geneva." (BBC News, 26 July) RD

swords into ploughshares

Socialists have always argued that the immense resources of the military will be transformed with the establishment of socialism. The Royal Engineers with all their training and kit could become a mobile disaster task-force, for instance.

An Edinburgh city councillor and MSP wants army properties due to be sold off under the UK Government`s defence review turned into social housing. Craigiehall HQ in Edinburgh, plus Redford and Dreghorn barrack could be converted to offer good-quality housing in Edinburgh and help meet the housing shortage in this city. 16,000 homes will be needed over the next 10 years to bridge the housing shortfall .

Readers of the blog are welcome to provide their own suggestions on how the personnel and equipment of the armed forces be turned into something of a social value.

Who owns the North Pole - part 37

The Canadian military is exploring a way to cut costs and speed up the movement of troops and equipment by building several new northern bases. Along the way it could help to strengthen the country's Arctic sovereignty claims by placing additional boots on the tundra throughout the year. The plan, sketched out in a study that was commissioned by the force's operational support command, is a variation of the one put in place for overseas operations. Barebones transportation hubs — essentially a suitable landing strip and storage facility — at strategic spots. The plan could result in remote bases and a small-but-permanent military presence in far-off communities. Locations could include Alert, Inuvik, Whitehorse, Rankin Inlet, Iqaluit or Nanisivik, according to the technical memorandum prepared by the research wing of the military last year.

The report is premised on the priority that the Conservative government has placed on a more rigorous defence of Canada's territorial sovereignty in the North, where countries including Russia, Denmark and the United States are currently staking their claims to land and underwater territory. “To maintain its sovereignty over its northern region, Canada will need to develop enforcement and surveillance capabilities for the Arctic,” the report says. To that end, it envisions scenarios that could call for a military response in the North. “To quickly and effectively respond to these scenarios, the CF would need to improve its personnel and equipment readiness for deployment in the North.”

Navy Lt. Greg Menzies said “The Canadian Forces are ready to execute all potential military tasks in Canada's North and we're always looking at ways to improve our response to possible threats in the North. ”

The total budget for its annual northern exercise, Operation Nanook — which involves moving ships, aircraft, helicopters and about 1,000 personnel into the Arctic Circle — is about $15 million.

PEOPLE in Glasgow have the poorest levels of education anywhere in the UK, according to new figures which show that four of the UK’s worst performing areas are in the city and its surrounding region.

Glasgow North East – which takes in Sighthill, Possilpark, Milton and Springburn – came bottom of the league table of 632 constituencies, with 35.5% of its inhabitants possessing no qualifications of any kind. The area is rated among the most deprived 10% in the country in terms of access to decent housing, employment and income levels by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation. Glasgow East, comprising Shettleston and Baillieston, was third in the table – ranked from worst to best – with 29% of people having no educational qualifications. The other two Scottish areas in the bottom 10 were Glasgow South West, and Motherwell and Wishaw

University and College Union general secretary Sally Hunt said: “There is a danger children growing up in places where it is not unheard of to have no qualifications will have their ambition blunted and never realise their full potential.”

SO-CALLED EXPERTS

Whenever a television producer covers an economic crisis they always wheel in an "expert" to regale us with their vast knowledge of the subject, but they would probably be better advised to consult the window cleaner or the lady who cleans the office instead. "If you're confused over high unemployment, you're not alone. The people who are best supposed to understand this issue don't have much of a clue either. That became readily apparent following the government's release Friday of the June jobs, a dismal data set with virtually no redeeming factors. More than that, though, the report blindsided Wall Street and Washington economists, who expected about 100,000 jobs created last month, not the 18,000 that showed up in the Bureau of Labor Statistics compilation." (CNBC.com, 11 July) The slumps and booms of capitalism show us that the so-called experts are completely clueless. RD

Paying the Price

The number of people going bankrupt has seen its biggest quarterly rise in three years, up 25% on the previous quarter.

Official figures from insolvency supervisors Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB) showed 5,319 personal insolvencies in Scotland in the first quarter of the current tax year. It is the biggest increase since 2008.

Citizens Advice Scotland chief executive Lucy McTernan said many Scots struggling with heavy debts were choosing bankruptcy as the "lesser of two evils".
She said, "If you are struggling with debt which has become unmanageable, and you really can't see a way out of it, then bankruptcy can be your only realistic course of action."

Experts warned the increase is only the "start of a trend" in the months ahead as the full impact of spending cuts and a stagnant economy start to bite.

Bryan Jackson, corporate recovery partner with accountancy firm PKF, said: "This dramatic rise in the number of personal bankruptcies in Scotland is a sign that the impact of the recession is still being felt. This must be due to rising utility, food and fuel prices coupled with a freeze in pay which means that hard-pressed individuals are now succumbing to years of built-up indebtedness." He warned: "Given that we have yet to see the full implementation of public sector job cuts, these figures would tend to indicate the start of a trend rather than the end and I believe that the number of Scots being made bankrupt will increase for some time to come."

Iain Fraser, Scottish spokesman for insolvency professionals trade body R3, added; "It is highly likely that financial pressures will continue to produce high levels of personal insolvency among Scots for some considerable time."

Gordon MacRae, head of communications and policy at Shelter Scotland, said: "The increase in individual bankruptcies is worrying. As Scotland begins to feel the full impact of savage cuts to jobs and housing benefits, and as more people face even greater debt, the perfect storm is brewing for a rise in homelessness."

Cash-strapped consumers are increasingly turning to discount supermarkets to slash their spending on food, as soaring prices force them to change their shopping habits, according to a new report. The prolonged squeeze on their pockets is making millions of shoppers more savvy when they visit high street stores and is forcing them to change their habits at the tills. Essential foods such as bread, meat, milk, cheese and eggs increased markedly month on month, putting yet more pressure on already struggling households. 84 per cent of people across the UK are worried about the rising cost of food - with food prices continuing to climb. A third of those surveyed told Which? they had already reduced their spending on groceries this year. People have changed which foods they are buying to cope with higher food prices, switching to cheaper brands, bigger value packs and more supermarket own-brands. Shoppers are also putting less organic food in their baskets.

POVERTY IN THE USA

It is common for the mass media to speak of world poverty as something that only occurs in some far-off backward nations, but the reality is somewhat different. The USA is the most developed capitalist country in the world yet it too suffers from poverty that forces many of its citizens to exist on food stamps and government hand-outs. "While the mainstream media has all but convinced most Americans that the nation is slowly climbing out of the "recession," new statistics released by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) suggest otherwise. According to just-released participation numbers for the agency's Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), known more commonly as "food stamps," nearly one in six Americans now participates in the program, which represents a new record high. Rising from 14.3 percent of the US population participating in the program back in February, the new numbers are a bit shocking when considering how many of these new enrollees actually are. It is not simply the very poor and chronic abusers that are taking advantage of the program -- many former middle class families now struggling just to get by are having to sign up for government assistance." (Natural News.com, 9 July) RD

Taking the pain

A report showed 43% of Scots say they struggle to make it to pay day.
The report by insolvency trade body R3 showed that, over the past three months, 539,000 Scots have taken on additional debt through credit cards, loans and increased overdraft facilities. According to the quarterly personal debt snapshot that equates to 13% of the Scottish population.

More than 200,000 Scots had taken out a high interest payday loan in the last year. But one in five Scots say that after receiving payday loans they then struggle to repay them.

R3 Scottish council member John Hall said: “It is extremely worrying that such a large percentage of people are struggling to make it to pay day and that many are using pay day loans to bridge the gap. These loans tend to have high interest rates and often those who use this type of credit find themselves in a vicious debt cycle, especially if they then experience a sudden job loss.”

John Dickie, head of the Child Poverty Action Group in Scotland, said: “With Government policies slashing family incomes and food and fuel prices soaring it’s not surprising that Scots are racking up more debt."

The Scottish anti-poverty network, Poverty Alliance, said there were issues surrounding the 400,000 Scots who are earning less than what is considered a living wage, estimated to be around £7 per hour, at a time when living costs are rising. Eddie Follan of Poverty Alliance said: “It is clear that increasing numbers of Scots are under pressure to make ends meet as the price of essentials like food and energy continue to rise. At the same time low pay continues to be a blight on too many of our citizens. The number of people who are in work and live in poverty is increasing.” He said those on low pay were “no doubt supplementing their low incomes with unsustainable and expensive debt”.

CAS chief executive Lucy McTernan said: “Our evidence shows that across Scotland, debt levels increased by 50% over the period of the recession, with the average debt among our clients reaching more than £20,000.”

Citizens Advice Scotland says four out of five young Scots have been in debt by the age of 21, and a third have owed more than £5000.

sharing the pain?

In 2006 Andy Hornby was appointed chief executive of HBOS. One analyst wrote in a City circular: "Andy Hornby is a superstar." He was said to have been devastated by the collapse of HBOS in 2008. But within nine months he was back with Alliance Boots. He was the highest paid member of the Alliance Boots' board, with a pay package of £2.4 million which included £750,000 of bonuses, plus bene-fits and pension supplements. But he quit Boots after less than two years in charge, stating that he needed to step back from corporate life. Executive chairman Stefano Pessina said that Hornby was stressed and required a break. At the time the company said he would not receive a pay-off but the annual report revealed he received a £450,000 cheque to stop him joining a rival healthcare group.

Hornby is back in another top job - the head of the bookmaker chain Coral. He joined Gala Coral Group as chief executive with the job of reviving the bookmaking arm of the gambling company. He will take control over 1,670 shops as well as online and telephone betting services.

So from the stock market casino to the bookies, Hornby gambles on and while we lose , he wins.

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/scotland/Andy-Hornby-lands-a-top.6804297.jp

NET PROFIT, SOCIAL LOSS

In the mad struggle for bigger and bigger profits the owning class have no regard to what social problems may arise from their ruthless pursuit to net profits. Thus we have the decimation of fishing stocks around Iceland and the Faroe Islands. "Mackerel could vanish from Britain's fishmongers and supermarkets within three years because giant foreign trawlers and factory ships are being allowed to strip out the entire stock, scientists have warned. ..."There were about 3m tons of mackerel in the northeast Atlantic at the start of the year but by the end we will have removed about a third of the entire stock," said Paul Fernandes, a leading fisheries researcher at Aberdeen University." (Sunday Times, 17 July) RD

Who owns the North Pole - Part 36

Norway’s decision to move its military command centre 1,000km north from its former location last year highlights the rising strategic stakes in the Arctic amid predictions that global warming will unlock icebound resources and shipping routes.

“More than half of Norwegian waters are north of the Arctic Circle,” says Maj-Gen Rune Jakobsen, deputy chief of staff at the headquarters, gesturing at a map showing Norway’s maritime borders converging with those of Russia, Canada, the US and Greenland around the North Pole. “So it’s only natural that it gets a lot of our attention.”

Norway is not the only country turning its military’s attention to the frozen north. Russia’s defence ministry announced plans last week to create two army brigades to defend its polar territory, and Canada is sending more than 1,000 troops to the region in August for its biggest Arctic. After a quiet period at the end of the cold war, the Russian air force has become more active around Norway’s Arctic airspace. Norwegian officials claim Russia has even carried out mock bombing raids off the coast near Bodø.

The build-up is fuelling fears of conflict in a region estimated to hold up to a quarter of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas. Norway is counting on polar resources to prolong its oil boom as North Sea reserves decline. Statoil, the Norwegian state-controlled energy group, already has one Arctic project on-stream – the Snohvit gas field in the Barents Sea – and in April announced a big oil discovery 100km farther north. The country also stands to benefit from the opening of new shipping routes as polar ice recedes. Last summer, a mine in the far north of Norway delivered 41,000 tonnes of iron ore through Arctic waters to China, shaving 18 days off the time it would have taken via the Suez canal.

“If you put together resources, transport routes and people you have the mix you need for potential conflict,” says Jonas Gahr Støre, Norway’s foreign minister. “But it is up to the Arctic states to manage this responsibly and make sure that is not how it ends up.”

"If you want peace, prepare for war" is the age-old adage - Socialist Courier thinks that the idea of ensuring peace by military build-ups rather ominous and fool-hardy.

SOME CHILLING FACTS

Politicians are fond of painting a picture of social improvement. They love to tell us how lucky we are to live in a modern progressive Britain. The latest figures about the plight of the old and poor show what a piece of fiction this will prove to be this winter."One in five households in fuel poverty as energy prices soar. 5.5m homes spend over 10% of income on fuel, and bills will rise further to fund new power networks. Figures show a huge rise in UK households in fuel poverty, even before expected rises in the price of gas and electricity, and charities predicted that this winter would see millions more people struggling to keep warm at home. The Department of Energy and Climate Change statistics show 700,000 more UK families fell into fuel poverty in 2009, bringing the total to 5.5 million - one in five of all households." (Guardian, 15 July) RD