Food for Thought 2

In the European Common Market, Spain, a rising economic star is most affected by the downturn with some 6 214 workers registering for unemployment per day and 2.8 million out of work to date.How Capitalism Works –
Finally, the Orwellian named act of the Harris government, The Farmworkers’ Protection andSafety Act, that took away workers’ rights to associate, unionize, and bargain collectively, (and therefore to put safe practices in place) has been struck down. (radio)
Pharmaceutical giant, Glaxo-Smith Kline reacted as expected when a doctor noticed its diabetes drug was linked to increased risk of cardio- vascular problems. It listened, then wrote a letter to the doctor’s employer to get him muzzled. Turns out other doctors who were saying the same thing got the same treatment.
Meanwhilean estimated 40 000 people died from the effects of the drug. John Ayers

Food for Thought

An article on disappearing auto jobs (Toronto Star, 14 Nov 2008) revealed that the average assembly worker in that industry produces $300 000 worth of value per year and receives $65 000 in pay. That means on an eight-hour shift starting at, say, 7:00am, the worker has earned his wages by 8:45am.
Hope they all figure this out and come to our conclusion! John Ayers

PRODUCTION FOR USE

We are all used to "letters to the editor" in the national press that deal in crass trivialities, so it was a great pleasure when we came across this exceptionally perceptive letter.
"Music as product placement is certainly a dismal vision (The sullying of our songs, 16 December). But the old business model for music inside capitalism is nothing to feel nostalgic about. John Harris suggests that downloading makes music worthless. No, just priceless! If everything (not just downloads) was free it all might actually be valued that bit better. I suggest we should embrace the concept of production for use, by raising our horizons beyond just the digital world to - in the words of John Lennon - imagine no possessions. "
Brian Gardner Glasgow.

Promise

Toxic chemicals are still found in nail polish, soap bars, plastic colourants, and industrial inks (Pigment Red 3), in household paints, pesticides, floor care products, window washer fluids, skin creams, cleansers, hairspray, and perfumes (DEGME ), in drycleaning, glues (2-MEA), in nail polish enamel and remover, hair conditioners and sprays, false eye lash adhesives and removal solvents, and pesticides(2-methoxypropanol). These chemicals are a particular threat of reproductive and developmental damage in humans, particularly children and should be banned by the government according to the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment.
Won’t happen anytime soon. John Ayers

MADOFF MADE OFF WITH $50B

"For sheer toe-curling embarrassment, it may be a while before Wall Street does better than the Bernard Madoff scandal. Here was a rogue who practically telegraphed his unreliability by hiring a tiny, no-name audit firm, by reporting monthly investment results that never fluctuated and by claiming a trading strategy that could not possibly have been implemented given the billions of dollars he managed. And yet, despite these warnings, the rich, the famous and the supposedly sophisticated entrusted their money to Madoff, who defrauded them with the most laughably crude of methods -- an old-fashioned Ponzi scam." (Washington Post, 18 December) RD

HALLELUAH IT'S A SLUMP

Bad Times Draw Bigger Crowds to Churches

"The sudden crush of worshipers packing the small evangelical Shelter Rock Church in Manhasset, N.Y. — a Long Island hamlet of yacht clubs and hedge fund managers — forced the pastor to set up an overflow room with closed-circuit TV and 100 folding chairs, which have been filled for six Sundays straight. In Seattle, the Mars Hill Church, one of the fastest-growing evangelical churches in the country, grew to 7,000 members this fall, up 1,000 in a year. At the Life Christian Church in West Orange, N.J., prayer requests have doubled — almost all of them aimed at getting or keeping jobs. Like evangelical churches around the country, the three churches have enjoyed steady growth over the last decade. But since September, pastors nationwide say they have seen such a burst of new interest that they find themselves contending with powerful conflicting emotions — deep empathy and quiet excitement — as they re-encounter an old piece of religious lore: Bad times are good for evangelical churches."
(New York Times, 14 December) RD

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

Izuza, Mazda, and Honda, as well as Toyota, all announced they’ll terminate 6 000 contract jobs in the coming months. Workers are finding out that they only work at the whim and pleasure of capital.But Wait!
Ontario Premier, Mcguinty, has found the answer to our Economic woes. On Friday he said, “ But, if we are not careful, if we don’t Christmas shop for example, we can actually, unwittinglycontribute to our economic challenges. If you don’t buy that car, even though you can actually afford it, if you don’t buy that fridge, if you don’t shop at Christmastime, it can actually put us in a bit of a downward spiral.”
(Yes he actually said that!) On the same day, Black Friday, in the US a Walmart Employee was trampled to death by a crazed bunch of shoppers looking for bargains. Now that’s the type of shopper McGuinty is talking about! John Ayers

Food for Thought

- Economics – According to a Toronto Star article (1 Nov. 2008), two incomes are needed to look after the average Canadian family, two thirds of whom have both parents working to make ends meet. John Ayers

COME FLY WITH ME

On November 19th. the leaders of the US auto industry left Washington without any bail out money for their companies, but traveled in their private jets. Each flight cost about $20 000. As one observer commented, “there is a delicious irony in seeing private luxury jets flying into Washington with tin cups in their hands saying they are going to be trimming down and streamlining their business.” Kinda like seeing someone show up at a soup kitchen in a top hat and tux. With GM and Chrysler close to collapse, some 2 to 3 million workers will become unemployed, probably none of whom will pick up their dole money (if they qualify) in a private jet. John Ayers

CAN YOU SPARE A DIME?

The American government’s potential bail out package is now at $7 trillion and rising. It will be the most expensive single expenditure in American history, more expensive than WWII ($3.6 trillion in today’s dollars, and greater than the Marshall plan, the Louisiana purchase, the Korean War, the Vietnam war, and the entire budget of NASA to date (including the moon landing) together, all in today’s dollars(globalnetnews-summary@lists.riseup.net). You have to wonder how a government that can’t solve poverty, homelessness, and health care for its citizens can access theses prodigious sums. Just like 1939 when a decade of deprivation for the working class was followed by massive amounts of money that magically materialized for the war. The more things change…
John Ayers

HOME OF THE BRAVE?

Marian Schamp takes a break from moving her possessions as a tent city for the
homeless is consolidated

"Homelessness and hunger increased in an overwhelming majority of 25 US cities in the past year, driven by the foreclosure crisis and rising unemployment, a survey showed Friday. Out of 25 cities across the United States surveyed by the US Conference of Mayors, 83 percent said homelessness in general had increased over the past year while 16 cities, or nearly two-thirds of those polled, cited a rise in the number of families who had been forced out of their homes. In Louisville, Kentucky, the number of homeless families increased 58 percent in 2008 to 931 families from 591 people in 2007, with the rise blamed on soaring food, health care, transportation and energy prices. Boston, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island blamed the rise in family homelessness on evictions by landlords whose rental properties were foreclosed." (Yahoo News, 11 December) RD

NAZI STILL ACTIVE IN USA

William A. "Bill" White, the self-proclaimed Commander of the neo-Nazi group

"A well-known white supremacist was indicted Thursday on charges of making threats against a varied group including a Pulitzer Prize winning columnist, a group of black people involved in a housing discrimination lawsuit and a Citibank employee. William A. White, the founder of the American National Socialist Party, is accused of making late-night phone calls in which he identified himself as a leader of a white supremacist group and sending letters and e-mails full of threats and racial epithets." (Washington Times, 12 December) RD

CONNED BY CAPITALISM

One of the defences of capitalism that socialists often encounter is that capitalism is an extremely complex system and workers need clever capitalists to run this sophisticated system. "Some of the world's biggest banks have revealed they are victims of an alleged fraud which has lost $50bn (£33bn). Bernard Madoff has been charged with fraud in what is being described as one of the biggest-ever such cases. Among the banks which have been hit are Britain's HSBC and RBS, Spain's Santander and France's BNP Paribas. One of the City's best-known fund managers has criticised US financial regulators for failing to detect the alleged fraud. Nicola Horlick, boss of Bramdean investments, told the BBC: "I think now it is very difficult for people to invest in things that are meant to be regulated in America, because they have fallen down on the job." "This is the biggest financial scandal, probably in the history of the markets - $50bn is a huge amount of money," she said. " (BBC News, 15 December) RD
So all those wise capitalists who know all about markets and investments haven't a clue about capitalism after all. Maybe socialists have a point then?

we don't need no edookashun

The report confirmed what official statistics already indicate: that children from deprived backgrounds tend to do worse at school .

By analysing a long-term study of 14,000 young people in England, it found that youngsters in certain neighbourhoods were less likely to stay on in full time education after the age of 16.
The areas with the lowest educational aspirations, termed "low horizons" by the researchers, were characterised as deprived, close-knit cohesive communities with high levels of social housing and a history of economic decline.
The areas pinpointed by researchers were mainly those formerly dominated by heavy industry, often in the north of England. However there were also clusters of neighbourhoods in isolated rural areas of East Anglia and the west country.

An analysis of the 2008 GCSE results showed that only one in six white boys who are entitled to free school meals obtained the government's benchmark of five good GCSEs.

LET THEM EAT CHEESE

A woman begs for money near a kiosk selling lottery tickets, in Rome

"Let them eat cheese. With data showing a growing underclass and food lines now in most major cities, the Italian government has come up with a way to help the needy while propping up one of its iconic industries. Agriculture Minister Luca Zaia has committed to buying 100,000 66-pound (30-kilogram) wheels each of Parmigiano Reggiano and the very similar Grana Padano cheese to donate to the needy." (Yahoo News, 11 December) RD

CAPITALISM EYES THE MOON

Star gazers look at the crescent moon below Jupiter

"Nearly 40 years after the U.S. flag was planted on the moon, a global rush to the final frontier has some pondering property rights out there. India, Japan and China are now circling the moon with their respective spacecraft – to be joined next year by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. Then there's the Google Lunar X Prize, a $30 million competition for the first privately funded team to send a robot to the moon, travel some 1,640 feet (500 meters) and transmit video, images and data back to Earth. The legal profession sees a brief in the making."

(Yahoo News, 10 December) RD

HAPPY NEW YEAR?

"U.S. foreclosure filings climbed 28 percent in November from a year earlier and a brewing “storm” of new defaults and job losses may force 1 million homeowners from their properties next year, RealtyTrac Inc. said. A total of 259,085 properties got a default notice, were warned of a pending auction or were foreclosed on last month, the seller of default data said in a report today. That’s the fewest since June. Filings fell 7 percent from October as state laws and lender programs designed to delay the foreclosure process allowed delinquent borrowers to stay in their homes. “We’re going to see a pretty significant storm next year,” Rick Sharga, executive vice president of marketing for Irvine, California-based RealtyTrac, said in an interview. “There are two or three clouds that suggest a pretty heavy downpour.”
(Bloomberg.com, 11 December) RD

CAPITALISM IN ACTION

A malnourished boy at a feeding center in southern Ethiopia.

"The goal of halving the number of hungry people in the world by 2015 is becoming ever more elusive, with 40 million more people plunged into chronic hunger this year, the UN food agency's chief said on Tuesday. "For many countries, the world goal of reducing hunger by half is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve," Food and Agriculture Organisation Director-General Jacques Diouf told a news conference, referring to one of the Millennium Development Goals set in 2000. "This sad reality should not be acceptable at the dawn of the 21st century," the FAO chief said, adding: "Even the objective of cutting by half the number of hungry by 2015 is morally unacceptable." The global food crisis has added 40 million more people to the ranks of the hungry this year, taking the estimated number to 963 million, he said, unveiling the Rome-based agency's annual report on world food insecurity." (Yahoo News, 9 December) RD

THIS IS SPORT?

"Zaheer Khan took two wickets including Kevin Pietersen for four and Paul Collingwood received an awful decision. A massive security presence and a muted, sparse crowd looked on. Emotions remain raw in India following the 26 November terror attacks in Mumbai, but the ability of administrators to salvage this Test series has been one of the major positives in the subcontinent since then. That being the case, it was disappointing to see the spectators outnumbered by the ranks of Black Cat army commandos and policemen employed to ensure both teams' security. Nothing was left to chance, with snipers in position and special netting stretched across the front of the players' balcony." (BBC News, 11 December) RD

THIS IS DEMOCRACY?

"The Govenor of Illinois was arrested yesterday for allegedly trying to sell Barrack Obama's vacated US Senate seat to the highest bidder. The arrest of Rod Blagojevich and John Harris, his chief of staff, cast a light on the home state of the President-elect, which has a history of endemic corruption. ... Mr Blagojevish is the fifth Illinois govenor to be indicted for white-collar crime since 1960. Three of his predecessors were convicted." (Times, 10 December) RD

BEGGING FOR WORK

Paul Nawracki, jobless since February, stands on New York corners with a sign
announcing his job search.

"Paul Nawrocki says he's beyond the point where he cares about humiliation. That's why he weekly takes a 90-minute train ride to New York, where he walks the streets wearing a sandwich board that advertises his plight: The former toy-industry executive needs a job. "Almost homeless," reads the sign. "Looking for employment. Very experienced operations and administration manager." Wearing a suit and tie under the sign, Nawrocki -- who was in the toy industry 36 years before being laid off in February -- stands on Manhattan corners for hours, hoping to pass resumes to interested passers-by." (CNN.com, 6 December) RD

US "LIBERATORS" IN IRAQ

"Manslaughter charges have been laid against five Blackwater security guards alleged to have used machine guns and grenade launchers against unarmed Iraqi citizens, including children, last year. The carnage in Nisoor Square, Baghdad, on September 16, 2007, left 17 people dead and prompted global outrage against the role of American security contractors operating beyond the reach of the law in Iraq." (Times, 9 December) RD

This is what Marx wrote about the credit system, all those years ago...

The credit system reproduces a new financial aristocracy, a new kind of parasite in the guise of company promoters,
speculators and merely nominal directors; an entire system of swindling and cheating with respect to the promotion of
companies, issues of shares and share dealings.

The credit system...accelerates the material development of the productive forces and the creation of the world
market, which it is the historical task of the capitalist mode of production to bring to a certain level of development, as
material foundations for the new form of production. At the same time, credit accelerates the violent outbreaks of this
contradiction, crises, and with these the elements of dissolution of the old mode of production.

The credit system has a dual character immanent in it: on the one hand it develops the motive of capitalist production,
enrichment by the exploitation of other’s labour, into the purest and most colossal form of gambling and swindling, and
restricts ever more the already small number of exploiters of social wealth; on the other hand however it constitutes
the form of transition towards a new mode of production.

Capital Volume III - Chapter 27 - The Role of Credit in Capitalist Production

CAPITALISM IN INDIA

A woman tried to sell incense to a passenger on Saturday in Mumbai, where the
wealthy have a new sense of their vulnerability

"In India’s city of gold, the distinction between public and private can be bewildering. For members of the working class, who often cannot afford housing, public sidewalks become living rooms. In the morning, commuters from gated communities in the suburbs pass children brushing their teeth at the edge of the street. Women are forced to relieve themselves on the railway tracks, usually in the dark, for the sake of modesty. The poor sometimes sleep on highway medians, and it is not unheard of for drunken drivers to mow them down. Mumbai has been roiled by government neglect for years. Its commuter trains are so overcrowded that 4,000 riders die every year on average, some pushed from trains in the fierce competition to get on and off." (New York Times, 6 December) RD

CAPITALISM IN ACTION

On the Ivory Coast, one of the world's largest producers of palm oil, a man
empties a bag of palm grains on a palm oil plantation

"History may be repeating itself. Until the mid-20th century, many European countries grew rich on the resources of their colonies. Now, countries including China, Kuwait and Sweden are snapping up vast tracts of agricultural land in poorer nations, especially in Africa, to grow bio fuels and food for themselves. The land grabs have sparked accusations of neo-colonialism and fears that the practice could worsen poverty." (New Scientist, 4 December) RD

ANOTHER LABOUR FAILURE

"Social deprivation, child poverty and long-term reliance on benefits in parts of Britain are not alleviated or are increasing a decade after Labour pledged reforms to tackle them, a report shows. Many of the poorest households are not being reached by government initiatives to tackle deprivation, with most key measures now making no progress. Of the 56 poverty indicators tracked by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, including the number of children in low-income families, young adults unemployed and children excluded from school, three quarters have stalled or are getting worse." (Times,8 December). RD

more pay cuts loom

About 3% of the UK's workforce have seen basic pay fall in the past year and those in the construction sector have been hardest hit, it said, with 10% in that industry seeing pay fall according to this report .Thousands of workers have negotiated lower pay packets hoping to avoid redundancy.
"We're predicting next year that we're going to see more organisations making more and more redundancies." said the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development

MORE PRESS TRIVIA

We live in a society where millions starve for lack of food, millions die for lack of clean water and millions face poverty and the threat of war. So in this crisis torn society what does the great British Press and a so-called "think-tank" report on? "More than a third of British adults believe the virgin birth is historical fact, according to the results of a survey published today. In a telephone poll of 1,005 adults, commissioned by the thinktank Theos, 34% of those interviewed agreed that the statement "Jesus was born to a virgin called Mary" was historically accurate, while 32% considered it fictional." (Guardian, 8 December)
That only comes to 66%, so hopefully the other 34% told Theos to piss off! RD

DESPERATE TIMES

With the US automobile industry in recession many desperate ideas are being considered - the Keynesian notion of government intervention - the increase of pensions and welfare payments to stimulate demand, but here is the most extraordinary "solution" of all - prayer! "Pentecostal Bishop Charles H. Ellis III, who shared the sanctuary’s wide altar with three gleaming sport utility vehicles, closed his sermon by leading the choir and congregants in a boisterous rendition of the gospel singer Myrna Summers’s “We’re Gonna Make It” as hundreds of worshipers who work in the automotive industry — union assemblers, executives, car salesmen — gathered six deep around the altar to have their foreheads anointed with consecrated oil. While Congress debated aid to the foundering Detroit automakers Sunday, many here whose future hinges on the decision turned to prayer. Outside the Corpus Christi Catholic Church, a sign beckoned passers-by inside to hear about “God’s bailout plan". (New York Times, 7 December)

The sad truth is that despite the desperate prayers of Detroit workers capitalism is a system based on slumps and booms and no amount of hymn singing is going to save their jobs. RD

the true xmas spirit

From the BBC

Excessive spending at Christmas can result in people experiencing a miserable time afterwards when debts have to be repaid .There is a feeling of uncomfortable tension derived from experiencing conflicting thoughts - "Can I really afford this?" - and the need to satisfy one's generosity - "It will really make someone happier at Christmas if I buy it".

This feeling of uncomfortable tension as a result of conflicting thoughts and actions has been explained as "cognitive dissonance" by psychologists.
This is particularly relevant in festive shopping when personal finances are being stretched.
At Christmas, people are challenged with what can be considered to be a moral form of cognitive dissonance, when people are torn between balancing their finances and the wish to make others and themselves happier - which is the societal expectation of what Christmas is really all about.
Knowing they may well not be able to afford what they are buying, people enter into transactions encouraged by heavy marketing influences. And they will try to reduce their internal psychological conflict in order to justify their actions.
They will explain that their happiness and that of others is more important than their debt, that others cannot do without when people around them are receiving and being happy and that, above all, Christmas is a time for giving and sharing and the spirit of Christmas should be encouraged in a time of nationwide gloom. Such actions are typical responses when people are experiencing dissonance. Dissonance is often strong when we believe something about ourselves and then do something against that belief. If I believe I am good - managing my finances to reduce debt - but do something bad - spend freely at Christmas - then the discomfort I feel as a result is cognitive dissonance. The resultant effect can be extremely negative in the long term when the reality of the dissonance is exposed.

Those people who enter into a festive spending spree knowing they really are stretched financially display an inability to rationalise and explain away the conflict. In some ways they go into denial and may wish to ignore the issue until a later date, but pay heavy personal consequences.

It's a Christmas bubble - and bubbles burst.

If people do lose control of their spending and shop in denial there can be a massive loss of confidence and self-esteem. People can even slip into a mild or chronic depression due to the negative financial consequences and loss of self respect. Once people wake up from their denial, especially if they don't have a support network and feel isolated, they can become very low psychologically and emotionally. People can end up with problems in other areas of their lives, like relationships and work. And in January or February when the bills come in, those people who wanted to know them when they were being generous at Christmas won't be around any more, and they will be left to sort things out on their own

Not legal eagles but legal vultures

Two solicitors who took millions of pounds from compensation payouts given to sick miners have been struck off.
The Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal heard the men acted "unacceptably" by charging clients even though the government was paying their fees.
Beresford, 58, said last year to be Britain's highest-earning solicitor, and Smith, 52, made millions of pounds from personal injury claims for miners under the government's coal health compensation scheme. Tribunal chairman David Leverton said: "If ever there was a group of persons who needed the full care and attention from solicitors, it was these miners. Mr Beresford described himself as an entrepreneur. Unfortunately, his attitude allowed himself and Mr Smith to put commercial goals before his clients' best interests."
The lawyers were also accused of not giving adequate advice and entering into contingency fee deals against their clients' best interests.The tribunal heard that up to 30% of a miner's damages could be deducted by Beresfords. In one case, the firm deducted a "success fee" from the widow of a miner, leaving her with a total payout of just £217.73, the tribunal heard.
Beresford and Smith's joint earnings went from more than £182,000 in 2000 to £23,273,256 in 2006.
Perhaps , Socialist Courier wouldn't go as far as Shakespeare's "The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers" but we are sorely tempted .

A MURDEROUS SYSTEM

"As dawn broke over the desert, the body was still hanging beneath the overpass, having been suspended from it - decapitated and dangling by a rope tied around the armpits - at 4.30am. The sun rose ... and it was still there three hours later, swaying, headless, in the cold early morning wind which kicks up dust and cuts like a scalpel through the Mexican border town of Ciudad Juarez, the most dangerous city in the Americas, and probably in the world. This macabre murder takes the number of executions in the city of 2m people to about 1,300 this year, and the toll across Mexico - with most of the killing concentrated along the border with the US to about 4,300. The body count is the result of feral slaughter among Mexican narco cartels fighting for the plazas, or corridors, of narcotics flowing into the US."
(Observer Magazine, 7 December) RD

CRISIS IN THE USA

"November was the worst month in US labour market since the oil crisis of 1974, as more than 500,000 US workers were laid off, according to official figures released on Friday. But Graham Turner, of consultancy GFC Economics, says the rising cost of corporate debt is now flashing a red warning signal that far worse is to come over the next few months and job losses are heading for levels last seen in the 1930s Great Depression." (Observer, 7 December) RD

INDIAN CLASS DIVISION

"India might have more billionaires on the Forbes 400 than ever before, but 80% of its population still lives on less than $2 a day. Public schools are ineffective: 40% of enrolled 8- to 11-year-olds cannot read a page. More than 440 million Indians, 40% of the population, are under 18, and it is not clear how India will generate enough jobs over the next two decades to employ them."
(Time, 4 December) RD

SIGN ON OR STARVE

"Sgt. Ryan Nyhus spent 14 months patrolling the deadly streets of Baghdad, where five members of his platoon were shot and one died. As bad as that was, he would rather go back there than take his chances in this brutal job market. Nyhus re-enlisted last Wednesday, and in so doing joined the growing ranks of those choosing to stay in the U.S. military because of the bleak economy. "In the Army, you're always guaranteed a steady paycheck and a job," said the 21-year-old Nyhus. "Deploying's something that's going to happen. That's a fact of life in the Army — a fact of life in the infantry." In 2008, as the stock market cratered and the housing market collapsed, more young members of the Army, Air Force and Navy decided to re-up." (Yahoo News, 2 December) RD

HIGH STREET BARGAINS

Beautifully coloured magazines with gorgeously gowned young women photographed in exotic locations will be used to advertise the wares of multi-millionaire chain stores, but behind this glossy facade lurks the realities of modern capitalism. "Workers producing clothes in Bangladesh for some of the UK's biggest retailers are being forced to work up to 80 hours a week for as little as 7p an hour, according to a report published today. The study from War on Want claims that conditions in six factories supplying Primark, Tesco and Asda are worse than they were two years ago when the charity carried out its first investigation. Based on interviews with 115 workers in the Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka, today's report claims many were struggling to survive on meagre wages and some were subjected to physical and verbal abuse."
(Guardian, 5 December) RD

Socialist Standard December 2008

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

editorial: contents: Also available as HTML (image lite) and PDF

Pages: 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Indymedia was down so..

More on this here.







More on this here.
---------------------------
M.C.

HEALTH CARE IN CAPITALISM

"WASHINGTON – Doctors-in-training are still too exhausted, says a new report that calls on hospitals to let them have a nap. Regulations that capped the working hours of bleary-eyed young doctors came just five years ago, limiting them to about 80 hours a week. Tuesday, the prestigious Institute of Medicine recommended easing the workload a bit more: Anyone working the maximum 30-hour shift should get an uninterrupted five-hour break for sleep after 16 hours."

(Yahoo News, 2 December) RD

IS HIS GOD DEAF?

"Brazil's president asked God to halt the devastating rains that have killed at least 116 people in a southern state and offered new plans on Monday to help tens of thousands of people rebuild ruined homes and businesses. Continuing rains have hindered rescuers' attempts to find bodies of more victims claimed by the mudslides and floods in Santa Catarina state while making it tough for survivors to return home, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on his weekly radio show. "We're only asking God to stop the rains soon so that we can start to rebuild the state of Santa Catarina," he said. Thirty-one people are still missing, and some officials have estimated the death count could rise to as much as 150. About 80,000 people were forced from their homes by storms that dumped more water on the region during the weekend of Nov. 22-23 than it normally gets in months. Another 8,000 people were displaced in neighbouring Rio de Janeiro state." (Yahoo News, 1 December) RD

Platitudes and Twaddle

A campaign to legalise assisted suicide in Scotland has been launched by Independent MSP Margo MacDonald.

The Lothian MSP, who has Parkinson's Disease, hopes to bring legislation before the parliament next year.

She is sending out a consultation paper and needs the support of at least 18 MSPs to bring forward a Holyrood bill.

Mrs MacDonald, 65, said people should have the right to choose the time and place of their death and she called for a debate on the issue.

Unfortunately for 40 thousand kids a day who die, in the so- called third world this is not the case as they don't reach their first birthday as a consequence of capitalist induced poverty..

Malaria claims the lives of three children every minute. In Africa, it accounts for a quarter of infant mortality.

Anti-malarial drugs like chloroquine and larium, which were once 95% effective, are now almost useless in parts of the Third World.

Because of global warming, the disease is returning to areas where it had been successfully eradicated.

In the Calton ward of Glasgow East, male life expectancy stands at 53.9 years. Iraqi life expectancy is 69 years.

The leader of the Roman Catholic church in Scotland, Cardinal Keith O'Brien, said it was not up to us to decide when we die.

He said: "Life is a gift from Almighty God, given us through Almighty God through the cooperation of our parents.

"If God gives us that gift, He can take that from us but we're not taking it from Him and as it were saying, 'well God, I'm finished with life because I can't cope with cancer or Parkinson's or whatever it has to be'. We just wait on God calling us to himself.

Did you ever read such miserable,superstitious, sanctimonious ,nonsense from a grown man ?

BLING, BLING - ITS THE PHONE

Vertu's Frank Nuovo holds his latest baby, the Boucheron 150, which has been
sculpted from a single slab of gold to resemble a jewel

"Nuovo prefers to avoid too much tawdry talk of price tags, but if the unique 150 isn't his most expensive creation to date, then that would be the Vertu Signature Cobra, which comes coiled in a bejewelled snake (two diamonds, two emeralds, 439 rubies), courtesy of Boucheron. It's attractive, if you like that sort of thing, and worth somewhere in the region of £170,000. If your pockets aren't quite deep enough to purchase the Cobra, then the Vertu Ascent, which chief engineer Hutch Hutchison describes as the company's "entry level" model, retails at a modest £2,900. It may not have much of the bling expected by the average mobile-phone user (no camera, no Bluetooth wireless), but it boasts rather more timeless touches of quality: made from ceramic, stainless steel and a durable alloy called Liquidmetal, the Ascent is finished with hand-sewn leather and a scratch-proof sapphire crystal screen." (Independent, 26 November) RD

COME CLEAN, QUEENIE

"Voice-recognition lie detectors are to be used by two Welsh councils in an attempt to crack down on benefit fraud. People in Flintshire and the Vale of Glamorgan on housing and council tax support will have their speech patterns analysed when claims are reviewed. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is piloting the 12-month scheme in 18 local authorities across Wales and England. However, some critics claim it could deter genuine claimants. Benefits cheats cost the UK taxpayer an estimated £400m a year. A pilot scheme was initially introduced among seven English councils, but has been extended and includes Wales for the first time. Details were announced as part of the Welfare Reform Bill during the Queen's Speech on Wednesday."
(BBC News, 4 December)
This will be hailed by all supporters of capitalism as an excellent wheeze to foil impoverished claimants, but what will happen when the Queen phones up for an increase on her benefits in the civil list? Presumably the lie detector will be switched off for non-impoverished claimants. RD

WORLD HUNGER GROWS

"It is the new face of hunger. A perfect storm of food scarcity, global warming, rocketing oil prices and the world population explosion is plunging humanity into the biggest crisis of the 21st century by pushing up food prices and spreading hunger and poverty from rural areas into cities. Millions more of the world's most vulnerable people are facing starvation as food shortages loom and crop prices spiral ever upwards. And for the first time in history, say experts, the impact is spreading from the developing to the developed world. More than 73 million people in 78 countries that depend on food handouts from the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) are facing reduced rations this year. The increasing scarcity of food is the biggest crisis looming for the world'', according to WFP officials." (Sunday Herald, 30 November) RD

ISLAMIC BROTHERS?

"The Iraqi army has unearthed 30 decomposed bodies in shallow graves in the country's northern Diyala province. The bodies were found in the predominantly Shi'te village of Albu-Toma, where Sunni Islamis al-Qaeda militants carried out mass sectarian killings against Shi'ites." (Observer, 30 November) RD

RELIGION IN ACTION

"Hundreds of people were killed in the central Nigerian city of Jos when Christians and Muslims clashed over the result of a local election, witnesses said Saturday. "I was at the central mosque this afternoon and I counted 378 dead bodies but just as I was about to leave, 3 more bodies were brought, a correspondent for Radio France Internationale in Jos, Aminu Manu, told AFP. "Hundreds of people have been killed in the last two days since the riots started. Remains of burnt bodies litter some parts of the town; it is so terrible," Christian clergyman Yakumu Pam said." (Yahoo News, 29 November) RD

Poverty makes you thick

A Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience study was described as a "wake-up call" about the impact of social deprivation.
Normal nine and 10-year-olds from rich and poor backgrounds had differing electrical activity in a part of the brain linked to problem solving. The brains of children from low-income families process information differently to those of their wealthier counterparts.
Since the children were, in health terms, normal in every way, the researchers suspected that "stressful environments" created by low socioeconomic status might be to blame.
Dr Mark Kishiyama, one of the researchers, said: "The low socioeconomic kids were not detecting or processing the visual stimuli as well - they were not getting that extra boost from the prefrontal cortex."
Previous studies have suggested that children in low-income families are spoken to far less - on average hearing 30 million fewer words by the age of four.
Professor Robert Knight, added: "This is a wake-up call - it's not just that these kids are poor and more likely to have health problems, but they might actually not be getting full brain development from the stressful and relatively impoverished environment associated with low socioeconomic status."

The Savile Row Richard James garments store

"A leading Savile Row tailor, Richard James, sold "Made in England" suits produced by cheap labour in Africa, The Independent can disclose today. For two years workers on the island of Mauritius – paid a fraction of the wage of a British craftsman – cut the fabric and stitched the suits which sold for between £500 and £2,000. When the suits arrived in the UK, workers in Norwich "finished" the garments by sewing on sleeves and buttons and pressing them. The suits then carried labels stating "Made in England" even though, according to Mr James's company, no more than 25 per cent of the work was done in the UK." (Independent, 29 November) RD

SCREW THE ENVIRONMENT

"The Bush administration finalized rules yesterday that will make it easier for mountaintop mining companies to dump their waste near rivers and streams, overhauling a 25-year-old prohibition that has sparked legal and regulatory battles for years. The regulation got signoffs from the Office of Management and Budget and the Environmental Protection Agency this week and will go into effect 30 days after it is published in the Federal Register. The change is intended to resolve a nearly five-year-old fight over how companies can dispose of the vast amounts of rubble and sludge created when they blow the tops off mountains to get to the coal buried below, although the incoming Obama administration could revisit the issue."
(Washington Post, 3 December) RD

Hypocrisy by the banks

I read that David Lloyd, 62, was told he had terminal lung cancer in January 2006, his wife, Annette Edwards, contacted their bank, the Halifax, to let them know of his predicament and that he would no longer be able to work. They applied for a payout on an insurance policy, and for state benefits, but while they waited for the money to arrive they went overdrawn.
The bank and its agents telephoned the couple 762 times over seven months in what they say is aggressive pursuit of the debt . Their daughter, Stefanie Moore, 29, received 60 to 100 phone calls and two text messages .

The couple feel dehumanised .

Yes that what capitalism does to people . Socialist Courier wonders if the banks now in debt , begging for government bail-outs will ever be treated in such a shameles and heartless manner to demand repayment