PRICEY, BUT A NICE EXHAUST NOTE!

"Is this the best Aston ever? Just maybe. By fitting a mighty 6.0-litre V12 engine into its petite Vantage, the company has created a car few machines can rival for character and driver appeal. The £135,000 model is also well engineered, and a treat to spend time in. Squeezing into the figure-hugging driver's seat is no mean feat, but immensely rewarding. And we can't think of anything with a better exhaust note! (First Post, 17 June) RD

A SENSE OF VALUES?

"A rare Abraham Lincoln stamp that was stolen from Indiana in 1967 and surfaced 39 years later in Chicago has sold at auction for more than $430,000. The stamped envelope was auctioned Saturday at Manhattan's Robert A. Siegel galleries. The buyer is Arthur K.M. Woo, a doctor who would reveal nothing more about himself. He paid $431,250 for the 90-cent stamp, against a pre-sale estimate of $300,000 to $400,000, including the buyer's premium." (Associated Press, 14 June) RD

THE HIGH COST OF DYING

"Execution by firing squad will be halted in Beijing by the end of the year, to be replaced by lethal injection. The ruling is designed to make the death penalty less cumbersome and to reduce the trauma to all involved, including executioners and family, the Beijing Youth Daily reported. One legal expert said: "The execution process is rather bloody, placing great pressure both on the criminal and on those involved in carrying out the sentence." China has been slow to switch to lethal injections because of the extra costs - each dose of potassium cyanide costs 300 yuan ($5.48)" (The Australian, 17 June). RD

ITS A MAD, MAD WORLD

"Such is the lack of work that the £80 million transfer of Cristiano Ronaldo ranks as 31st in the league table for UK mergers and acquisitions this year by Thomson Reuters. I wonder about such deals: it's a bit like when you read that some idiot has paid £10,000 for an exotic goldfish - you think, what if it dies? I am told that footballers such as Ronaldo are insured. But if they suddenly hit a run of bad play? There must be some temptation to arrange an "accident" for the insurance money, surely?" (City Diary by Martin Walker, Times, 16 June) RD

THE POOR GET POORER

"The burden of rising unemployment in England is falling mainly on the most deprived areas and threatens to undermine the government’s anti-poverty drive, Financial Times research has shown. An analysis of people signing on for the jobseeker’s allowance in the first four months of this year indicates nearly two-thirds of the 344,000 increase was in areas with above-average levels of deprivation. This confirms other data suggesting this downturn, far from being a mainly middle-class recession focused on south-east England, is primarily hitting low-income workers in the traditional industrial heartlands such as the Midlands and northern England. Even though there are signs of a modest return to growth nationally in manufacturing and services, parts of these regions may take longer to recover. Unemployment, currently at 2.2m, is likely to continue to rise for several months." (Financial Times, 15 June) RD

RECESSION RECRUITMENT

The quality of new soldiers is increasing as a lack of civilian jobs prompts fitter, smarter men to opt for a career in uniform. The influx of "recession recruits" has pushed the drop-out rate on the infantry's gruelling, basic-training course below 30 per cent for the first time. Brigadier James Stevenson, Commandant of the School of Infantry, said that economic slumps historically boosted army recruitment." (Times, 15 June) RD

A SHAMEFUL WASTE

"China spent $84.9 billion (£53 billion) on is military last year, second only to the United States, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Its report said that France moved into third place in spending with Britain fourth. Military spending worldwide rose by 4 per cent to $1.46 trillion, the report said." (Times, 9 June) RD

BABY, IT'S COLD INSIDE

"The government was today urged to offer more help to the millions of families in fuel poverty due to rising energy prices. The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs select committee said ministers had failed to meet statutory obligations to end fuel poverty and called on them to set up an action plan to help people struggling with energy bills as a matter of urgency. It warned the resources available for tackling fuel poverty were "inadequate and getting worse". Anyone spending at least 10% of their income on heating and lighting their home is deemed to be living in fuel poverty. ...Jonathan Stearn, energy expert for Consumer Focus, said it was "outrageous" that there were still more than 5 million vulnerable households struggling to afford to heat and power their homes. He added: "The government's energy efficiency schemes are simply not up to scratch. Immediate investment is needed in a radical and co-ordinated action plan if we are to lift millions of the poorest pensioners, families and disabled people out of fuel poverty and cut carbon emissions." Michelle Mitchell, charity director for Age Concern and Help the Aged, said: "The report sounds a loud wake-up call for the government, whose strategy to tackle fuel poverty is miles away from reaching its targets." (Guardian, 10 June) RD

HOME OF THE BRAVE?

"Brunswick, Maine - The old, run-down trailer in the backcountry near Norridgewock wasn't much to look at, but it was home. That was before the landlord died, setting in motion events that left Michelle DeStoop, Bobby Landry and their six children without a place of their own. After losing their home, they sold their car to a junkyard when they couldn't afford to have it repaired. Without a car, they couldn't get around. Low on money, they lost their meager possessions when they couldn't pay the bill for storage. Homelessness often means life in soup lines and on city streets, but as a new study commissioned by the state shows, it isn't confined to cities. It also can be found across rural areas, so concealed that some people are surprised it exists at all, the study finds." (Associated Press, 6 June) RD

GUNS YES, HEALTH NO

"The health service will face the most severe and sustained financial shortfall in its history after 2011, a report by NHS managers warns. The NHS Confederation report says the health service in England will not survive unchanged, the BBC has learned. Managers at its conference will be told they face an "extremely challenging" financial outlook. ...The report, to be published on Wednesday, warns any modest cash increases could be outstripped by rising costs within the health service. This would leave the NHS in England facing a real-terms reduction of between £8bn and 10bn over the three years after 2011." (BBC News, 10 June) RD

Reading Notes

- "It was the first time I had ever been in a town where the working class was in the saddle. Practically any building of any size had been seized by the workers. Every shop and café had an inscription saying it was collectivized; even the boot blacks had been collectivized and their boxes painted red and black.Waiters and shop walkers looked you in the face and treated you as equals. Servile and even ceremonial forms of speech had temporarily disappeared. There were no private cars; they had all been commandeered. It was the aspect of the crowds that was the queerest thing of all. In outward appearance it was a town in which the wealthy classes had practically ceased to exist.Above all there was a belief in the revolution and the future, a feeling of having suddenly emerged into an era of equality and freedom. Human beings were trying to behave as human beings and not as cogs in a capitalist machine." George Orwell, describing the workers' Catalonia in the Spanish Civil War in "Homage to Catalonia. Not quite socialist yet (boot blacks? Waiters?) but a hint of the feeling when the real socialist revolution comes along!
For socialism, John Ayers

THE PRICE OF OIL

"Royal Dutch Shell and the families of Ken Saro-Wiwa, an executed Nigerian opposition leader, and other activists hanged by the military government in 1995, on Monday agreed a $15.5m settlement in a New York court case stemming from allegations the oil group was complicit in the executions. The settlement, in which Shell and its Nigerian subsidiary denied any liability, ended a 13-year campaign by relations and supporters of Saro-Wiwa to hold the company accountable. A spokesman for the plaintiffs said $5m of the settlement to be paid by Shell would be put into a trust fund to promote education and welfare in the Ogoniland region of the Niger delta. The balance would be shared among 10 plaintiffs after legal costs were met. Saro-Wiwa and eight other activists were hanged after leading a campaign against Shell’s activities in the region and the then military-led government. ...Oil production stopped in Ogoniland in 1993 when Shell ceased operations amid mass protests led by Saro-Wiwa against the environmental damage alleged to have been inflicted by the company’s operations. The plaintiffs had alleged that at the request of Shell, and with its assistance and financing, Nigerian soldiers used deadly force and massive, brutal raids against the Ogoni people throughout the early 1990s to repress a movement against the oil company." (Financial Times, 9 June) RD

Food for Thought 4

- The number of homes repossessed by banks in Toronto rose 44% from March 2008 to this March.
- Further afield, the star economy of the neo-cons, Ireland, has crashed and burned further and faster than any European economy, posting the biggest drop in GDP of any industrialized nation since the Great Depression. The C.D. Howe and Fraser Institutes praised Ireland in 2003 for aggressive tax reduction that `yielded enormous benefits'. Prosperity was founded on low-cost labour, an advantage it soon lost. (Toronto Star, 3/May/09).
- On the health front, the good news is that the swine flu has disappeared. Unfortunately, it reappeared as H1N1, renamed by the World Health Organization in deference to the pork industry. Rick Arnold of Common Frontiers calls it NAFTA flu and argues multi nationals are getting away with dire conditions not allowed north of the Mexican border. The first case occurred near the hog farms of US giant Smithfield Farms ($12 billion annual sales). In the US, Smithfield was fined $12.6 million in 1997 for dumping raw sewage into a river. Do you see a pattern here?
- Fast food companies are adding vitamins to their food so they can advertise them as healthy eating. So French fries cooked in trans fat but containing vitamin C are healthy. Will these guys ever quit trying to circumvent good practices in the name of profit? No, and we can't expect them to do so while the profit system is in tact.
- Similarly, the Canadian government is getting worried as California passed a climate change bill with a low carbon fuel standard, and other states may follow. After failing to influence Arnold Schwarzenegger, claiming that targeting the oil sands would divert money to oil rich countries that fund terrorism and threaten our security (as if the US would fall for that one – they made it up in the first place!), our government has started an intense education program for our top diplomats so that they will be able to present Canada as a clean energy super power. That's the dirtiest project on earth we are talking about!
- Michelle Obama showed support for the poor by showing up at a Washington food bank wearing sneakers, $540 sneakers by the Paris house of Lanvin! The fact that people were lining up to receive handouts while she was able to spend that kind of money on casual shoes was apparently lost on her. She should have thrown the shoes to the crowd. One shoe would have fed a family for a month. Hell, a lace would have fed them for a week!
John Ayers

Food for Thought 3

- The auto manufacturers continue to go after workers' benefits during these difficult economic times, as we expect. After reaching a deal two months ago, the US government ordered the contracts re-opened and further cuts to benefits. The workers lose another $15/hour in wages and benefits, on top of the $6/hour already taken. They lose cost of living allowances, one week of paid vacation, a $1,700 Christmas bonus, $3,500 in one-time holiday pay, school tuition assistance and semi-private hospital care. Pensioners lose cost of living increases. Today, GM filed for bankruptcy, will receive further government funds ($20 billion) to restructure and come back firing 21 000 employees and closing many dealerships (and firing their employees). Not to be outdone, Ontario Premier McGuinty, rejected a call for executive pay at companies receiving government money to be capped at $400 000, but he was not slow in joining other governments in insisting on pay cuts for workers. Let's hope the workers in that industry become a bit more class conscious through all this turmoil. John Ayers

A SENSE OF VALUES?

"A legendary rare stamp, a 'Post Office' Mauritius One Penny Red, sold Friday at an auction in Germany for 210,000 euros (277,000 dollars), disappointing its previous owner, who had been expecting more. Ullrich Schulze had mislaid the ancient postage stamp in one of his albums 20 years ago, forgetting where he had put it. But he stumbled on it recently and put it up for sale. There are thought to be only 15 of the stamps in existence."
(Stamp Collection News, 25 May) RD

EDUCATION'S REAL ROLE

There is a widespread illusion that the purpose of education, especially higher education, is to produce well-rounded human beings who are equipped with a basic thirst for knowledge and curiosity about the world around them. It is a wonderful concept but like most of capitalism's ideas it is a complete fraud. "England's department for higher and further education has been scrapped, just two years after its creation. The prime minister has created a new Department for Business, Innovation and Skills under Lord Mandelson. Universities do not figure in the name of the new department, whose remit is "to build Britain's capabilities to compete in the global economy". Number 10 said it would invest in a higher education system committed to widening participation. The role would include "maintaining world class universities, expanding access to higher education, investing in the UK's science base and shaping skills policy and innovation". (BBC News, 5 June)
Far from being concerned about an individual's intellectual development, inside capitalism the purpose of education is dictated by the industrial and commercial needs of the owning class. The UK must compete for world markets therefore it needs an educated working class. RD

OUTDATED MARXISM?

We are all aware of the critics of Karl Marx who say that he may have had something to say about early capitalism but his criticisms are old-fashioned and out of date. Away back in 1867 Marx wrote about the "so-called primitive accumulation of capital" wherein he showed how the capitalist class in England had obtained its great wealth by such acts as the enclosure acts to throw peasants off their land. Today a similar process is taking place in Peru. "President Alan Garcia labored Saturday to contain Peru's worst political violence in years, as nine more police officers were killed in a bloody standoff with Amazon Indians fighting his efforts to exploit oil and gas on their native lands. The new deaths brought to 22 the number of police killed — seven with spears — since security forces moved early Friday to break up a roadblock manned by 5,000 protesters. Protest leaders said at least 30 Indians, including three children, died in the clashes. Authorities said they could confirm only nine civilian deaths, but cabinet chief Yehude Simon told reporters that 155 people had been injured, about a third of them with bullet wounds." (Associated Press, 6 June)
Far from being outdated Marx's view on the development of capitalist ownership is being re-enacted in today's newspaper headlines. RD

Food for Thought 2

- Perhaps religion has the pension answer. Preacher Tin La Haye tells us re collapsed retirement savings, " Don't worry about it – I don't think we are going to be spending our retirement. The upper-taker (Jesus) is going to catch us first. If He's coming, He better hurry and get here before the federal government. Every morning you can wake up and say, `Lord, is this the day?'And don't worry about it, no matter how young or old you are – you are not going to miss a thing. Because what's ahead is much better than we've got now – particularly after the last election…Personally, I've never been a lover of socialism."
OK then, we don't have to worry about old age. However, it didn't stop La Haye exhorting his following to write out checks to support him and his traveling entourage and keep them in a life of luxury. (Toronto Star, 16/May/2009). John Ayers

Food for Thought

- As workers lose their pension money, in RSPs or from failing employers, and six out of ten Canadians have no company pension, The Canadian Labour Congress once again shows its `work with capitalism' stance by calling for a new pension model, not an end to the employment system.
- Along with the auto industry (projected 2009 loss at $2.1 billion), and the stock market (down $34 billion), the Canada Pension Plan has lost $23.6 billion. No worry for the managers, though, as the top four executives of the plan not only take home paychecks of $300 000 to $500 000, they also get bonuses of $7 million to share, for losing the $23.6 billion. The average CPP benefit for workers is $501.82/month!
- The federal government has announced that its budget deficit will be $50 billion, not $34 billion as previously announced and just a few months after finance minister Flaherty predicted a small surplus. The bailouts are the excuse but it seems money is slow to trickle down to where it is needed as the old ploy of requiring provincial and local matching funds has been used. Either they can't match it or the funds get tied up in the red tape of three government levels. Either way, for the unemployed it will be a long, desperate wait for work and the means of living. For example, the Toronto Star (17/May/09) reported that a machinist laid off after two years work in an auto parts plant qualified for just 28 weeks @ $284/week, less than half his regular (low) pay. Capital chews you up and spits you out.
John Ayers

MAKING A "KILLING"

"Britain and other EU countries sold military equipment worth millions of pounds to the Sri Lankan Government in the last three years of its bloody civil war with the Tamil Tigers, The Times has learnt. Britain approved commercial sales of more than £13.6 million of equipment including armoured vehicles, machinegun components and semiautomatic pistols, according to official records. ...The approval of the sales still raises the question of whether weapons from the EU were used in the last five months of Sri Lanka’s 26-year civil war, during which UN officials estimate that 20,000 civilians were killed." (Times, 2 June) RD

BLESSED ARE THE PEACEKEEPERS?

"A former US Marine, Pastor Ken Pagano of New Bethel Church of Louisville, Kentucky said the church would celebrate the Fourth of July and "our rights as Americans". Rev Pagano said he wanted responsible handgun owners to attend this service openly wearing their sidearm, on 27 June, the Saturday preceding Independence Day. The move would be symbolic, however: the firearms must be unloaded and in a secure holster. The priest said he would also invite gun shop owners to attend the service in order to tell about their services. There would be patriotic music along with a presentation about the right of Americans to own firearms, including military-style automatic machine guns." (Daily Telegraph, 5 June) RD

LAZY WORKERS?

"More than 1,800 people turned up at an hotel where a recruitment day was being held to hire 25 people to work in a new shop that is opening in a former Woolworths store. The discount store QD is due to open in Wellingborough, Nothamptonshire, later this month."
(Times, 3 June) RD

GREEN SHOOTS?

"US companies cut more than half a million jobs last month as the recession continued to chip away at the country’s labour market, while the service sector shrank more than expected. Private companies cut 532,000 jobs from their payrolls in May, according to a survey by ADP Employer Services. Although that was fewer than the revised 545,000 jobs slashed in April, the number was worse than many predicted and pushed shares lower on Wednesday morning." (Financial Times, 3 June) RD

IMPROVING CAPITALISM?

"A UN report says hunger in South Asia has reached its highest level in 40 years because of food and fuel price rises and the global economic downturn. The report by the UN children's fund, Unicef, says that 100 million more people in the region are going hungry compared with two years ago. It names the worst affected areas as Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The report says South Asia's governments need to urgently increase social spending to meet the challenge. It says that climate change and urbanisation also need tackling. According to the World Bank, three quarters of the population in South Asia - almost 1.2 billion people - live on less than $2 (£1.2) a day. And more than 400m people in the region are now chronically hungry.
(BBC News, 2 June) RD

THE PRICE OF GOLD

"The bodies of another 25 people have been found in a disused South African gold mine, where 36 illegal miners were killed in a fire at the weekend. "The bodies are not burnt. It seems more of a case of gas or smoke inhalation," said Tom Smith from Harmony, which owns the Eland mine. He said the bodies had been found by other miners, as the abandoned shaft was too dangerous for the firm's staff. Harmony says nearly 300 illegal miners were arrested in the area recently. Illegal mining is rife in South Africa where prospectors often sneak past security at one mine and then exit from a different shaft, miles away. The BBC's Mpho Lakaje in Johannesburg says the authorities have launched an investigation to establish how many people have died. Mr Smith said the bodies had been recovered from depths of up to 1.4km (0.9 miles) underground, reports the Reuters news agency. (BBC News, 2 June) RD

MEGA-DEATH MARKETPLACE

"The annual Asia Security Conference, a forum for discussion, brought together some of the world's main arms-makers with military chiefs nervously eyeing their neighbours' moves and looking to upgrade defences in a region full of long-running insurgencies, potential maritime disputes and growing wealth. "Defence suppliers find it very important to be here to make a set of contacts," said Jonathan Pollack, professor of Asian and Pacific Studies at the U.S. Naval War College. Japan's defence minister told the gathering that the country, anxious about North Korea's latest nuclear test, would not strike first but it was still looking to boost its air force with Lockheed Martin F-22 fighter jets. Top executives from firms such as Boeing, the Pentagon's No.2 defence supplier, flew to Singapore to rub shoulders with potential clients, as they look to expand foreign sales at a time when the Obama government is starting to cap defence project spending." (Yahoo News, 31 May) RD

GLOBAL DISASTER

"The first comprehensive report into the human cost of climate change warns the world is in the throes of a "silent crisis" that is killing 300,000 people each year. More than 300 million people are already seriously affected by the gradual warming of the earth and that number is set to double by 2030, the report from the Global Humanitarian Forum warns. "For the first time we are trying to get the world's attention to the fact that climate change is not something waiting to happen. It is impacting seriously the lives of many people around the world," the forum's president, former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, told CNN" (AOL News, 29 May) RD

CAPITALISM IN ACTION

"Early this year, the king of Saudi Arabia held a ceremony to receive a batch of rice, part of the first crop to be produced under something called the King Abdullah initiative for Saudi agricultural investment abroad. It had been grown in Ethiopia, where a group of Saudi investors is spending $100m to raise wheat, barley and rice on land leased to them by the government. The investors are exempt from tax in the first few years and may export the entire crop back home. Meanwhile, the World Food Programme (WFP) is spending almost the same amount as the investors ($116m) providing 230,000 tonnes of food aid between 2007 and 2011 to the 4.6m Ethiopians it thinks are threatened by hunger and malnutrition." (Economist, 21 May) RD

A DEPRESSING SYSTEM

"British workers are experiencing panic attacks and insomnia because of stress associated with the economic downturn, a survey has suggested. Norwich Union Healthcare polled 200 GPs, 200 business leaders and 1,000 employees for its Health of the Workplace survey. Half the workers admitted to being stressed, while one in five is suffering depression. A leading GP said people now had better access to talking therapies. The annual Norwich Union healthcare study found workers are putting increasing amounts of time and effort into their jobs. About half are going into work when they are ill and working longer hours, while just over a third are not taking lunch breaks." (BBC News, 29 May) RD

HARIKARI CAPITALISM

"Suicide is rising in Japan as the economic crisis bites, with more than 100 people a day taking their lives in April. "It's the end of the financial year, so I think the effect of the economy is a trigger," said Yasuyuki Shimizu, head of Lifelink, a group that campaigns to prevent suicide. In a recession, the end of the financial year tends to spark bankruptcies and layoffs. Japan's suicide rate is already one of the highest in the developed world, with about 24 cases per 100,000 population in recent years, compared with 11 in the United States. The April figure was up 6 percent from the same month last year, police statistics showed on Wednesday."
(Yahoo News, 28 May) RD

BLESSED ARE THE POOR ?

"The Catholic orders responsible for abusing Ireland's poorest children say they're struggling to come up with money to help their victims. Yet investigations into their net worth paint a very different picture — that of nuns and brothers with billions' worth of carefully sheltered assets worldwide. Irish government leaders said Wednesday they expect the 18 religious orders involved in abusing children in workhouse-style schools to pay a much greater share of compensation to 14,000 state-recognized victims. They also demanded that the secretive orders reveal the true scope of their wealth for the first time in face-to-face negotiations with the government." (Yahoo News, 27 May) RD

POWDER KEG CAPITALISM

"The world is sitting on a "powder keg" of social unrest, which risks exploding as human rights are eroded by the global economic slowdown, Amnesty International warned. But its annual report -- detailing abuses from China to Guantanamo Bay and from Sri Lanka to the ex-Soviet Union -- said the global meltdown also offers a chance to rebuild an economic framework putting human rights at its heart. "There are growing signs of political unrest and violence, adding to the global insecurity that already exists because of deadly conflicts which the international community seems unable or unwilling to resolve. "In other words: we are sitting on a powder keg of inequality, injustice and insecurity, and it is about to explode," said Amnesty chief Irene Khan." (Yahoo News, 28 May) RD

SCOTLAND THE BEREAVED

"Hundreds of jobs are to be axed after it was confirmed today that Hewlett-Packard is to cease manufacturing at a computer plant in Scotland. The work is to be transferred abroad from the factory in Erskine, Renfrewshire. As many as 850 jobs are feared to be at risk out of the 1,300-strong workforce employed by the US-based firm at Erskine." (Guardian, 28 May) RD

POVERTY IN GERMANY

"Anyone who's living off less than 60% of the median household income is defined by the E.U. and the German government as living in poverty. In Germany, that's around $1,066 per month for a single person or $2,240 for a couple with one child. Some of the hardest hit by Germany's increasing poverty levels are children. It's estimated that there are more than 3 million German children living in poverty; in Berlin alone, up to 36% of all children are poor. "The gap between the rich and poor is wider than ever and more children have been plunged into poverty," says Bernd Siggelkow, a pastor who runs the Arche project in Berlin to help children in need. "People who claim state benefits are stigmatized by society and in the past children were simply forgotten by politicians." (Yahoo News, 25 May) RD

PROFITS BEFORE HEALTH

"Food safety inspectors say a California plant at the center of a salmonella scare knew some of its pistachios were tainted but continued shipping nuts for another six months. The Food and Drug Administration issued a sweeping national warning in March for consumers to avoid eating pistachios after concerns surfaced about nuts from Setton Pistachio of Terra Bella, Inc. In an inspection report released this week, FDA officials said Setton first got results in October showing some of its roasted nuts tested positive for salmonella. But, officials say, it didn't make proper adjustments to its processing procedures and kept shipping out nuts."
(Yahoo News, 23 May) RD

THE SEEDS OF WAR

"Diminishing supplies of oil and natural gas will push countries into violent competition, the Kremlin predicted in a long-awaited national security strategy paper released this week. The document foresees these struggles playing out in the Arctic as well as the Middle East, the Barents Sea, the Caspian Sea and Central Asia - and states that Russia is prepared to fight for its share of the world's resources. "In the face of competition for resources, the use of military force to solve emerging problems cannot be excluded," reads the strategy paper, which was signed by President Dmitri Medvedev on Wednesday." (Yahoo News, 17 May) RD

ECONOMIC POLITICS

Politicians are fond of pretending that they are concerned about ethical matters and would deny that their primary function is to concern themselves with the economic interests of their masters. So it comes as no great surprise to learn that the EU spokesmen prattle on about "the political rights of small nations" whilst in reality having sordid economic interests in mind.
"Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned the European Union not to turn a proposed partnership with former Soviet countries against Russia. He was speaking at the end of a Russia-EU summit held against a background of deep divisions over security, trade and energy supplies. A BBC correspondent in Moscow says the biggest concern at the summit was over Russian gas supplies to Europe. Deliveries were halted in January due to Moscow's price dispute with Ukraine. ... A year ago - when Mr Medvedev became Russia's new leader - there was hope that relations with the EU might gradually improve, the BBC's Richard Galpin in Moscow says. Instead, he says, they have got steadily worse. Relations plummeted after last year's brief war between Russia and Georgia. Since then there has been another gas dispute between Russia and Ukraine which led to gas supplies to many European countries being cut off for two weeks in mid-winter. There is also a growing battle over energy pipelines as the EU tries to find alternatives to its growing dependency on Russian gas." (BBC News, 21May) RD

GREENS AND GREEN BACKS

It is fashionable for every capitalist politician to say that they are "green" - it is a good vote-catcher, but the realities of capitalism are the production of more and more profits. So when it comes to the crunch, profit -making is going to be a bigger priority than the environment. "US Energy Secretary Steven Chu says the US will not be able to cut greenhouse emissions as much as it should due to domestic political opposition. Prof Chu told BBC News he feared the world might be heading towards a tipping point on climate change. This meant the US had to cut emissions urgently - even if compromises were needed to get new laws approved. ... President Barack Obama says he wants cuts in greenhouse gases but has left it to Congress to make the political running. The House of Representatives is debating a climate and energy bill but even if it passes it may be rejected by senators, many of whom are funded by the energy industry." (BBC News, 21 May)
Politicians are deeply concerned about "green" issues - the issue of green-back dollars! RD

A DESPERATE WORKER

"A suspected illegal immigrant was arrested after being found on the outside of a Eurostar train – which had been travelling through Kent at 186mph. The man was detained by British Transport Police officers after being discovered at Ebbsfleet International Station near Gravesend in Kent. He was intercepted at the station on a Brussels to London service just before 7pm last Thursday. Eurostar trains can reach speeds of up to 186mph while in service." (Independent, 27 April) RD

FUTURE SHOCKS

"The number of potential nuclear weapons states could more than double in the next few years unless major powers take radical steps toward disarmament, the head of the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog was quoted saying on Friday. Mohamed ElBaradei said the threat of proliferation was particularly great in the Middle East and the international regime designed to limit the spread of nuclear weapons was at risk of falling apart, the Guardian newspaper reported. "Any regime ... has to have a sense of fairness and equity and it is not there," ElBaradei, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in an interview with the paper. He predicted the next wave of proliferation would involve "virtual nuclear states" which could produce plutonium or highly enriched uranium and would have the know-how to make warheads, but would stop just short of assembling a weapon. Such states would remain technically compliant with the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT) while being within a couple of months of deploying and using a weapon, he said." (Yahoo News, 12 May) RD

HOME SWEET HOME?

"The number of homes repossessed in the UK rose to 12,800 in the first three months of the year, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has said. This was up 23% from the 10,400 in the previous three months and 50% up on the 8,500 in the same period last year. The CML has predicted that 75,000 homes will be repossessed in 2009, almost double the 40,000 of last year." (BBC News, 16 May) RD

THE PRIORITIES OF CAPITALISM

The US Government, like every government in world capitalism spends billions of dollars in weapons of war and research into more and more deadly ways to kill and maim, but when it comes to spending two cents to save a child's life they remain strangely reluctant.
"Americans pretty much take vitamin A for granted, but many of the world’s poorest people lack it. And as a result, it is estimated that more than half-a-million children die or go blind each year. There’s a simple fix: vitamin A capsules that cost about 2 cents each."
(New York Times, 13 May) RD

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Polska (Polish)
http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/The_Euro_elections_2009_page_Polska.html

Türkçe (Turkish)
http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/The_Euro_elections_2009_page_Turkish.html

Nederland (Dutch)
http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/The_Euro_elections_2009_page_Nederlands.html
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Download our election leaflets.

1, Manifesto for London Region (where we're contesting) (PDF)
http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/Euro09/Euro_09_leaflet_London.pdf

2. Manifesto for outside London (where we're running a write-in
campaign) (PDF)
http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/Euro09/Euro09_leaflet_write_in.pdf

3. London manifesto in Bengali (PDF)
http://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/Euro09/Bengali_Euro09.pdf

( If anyone wants copies of these leaflets to distribute they should
send an email to spgb@worldsocialism.org )
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EVICTIONS OF LANDLORDS

"Tens of thousands of landlords are struggling to meet their mortgage repayments as the economic downturn devastates the buy-to-rent market, according to a new report. Moody's, the rating agency, released figures yesterday showing that 3.55 per cent of landlords were at least three months behind with mortgage payments in the first quarter of the year - compared with 0.95 per cent in the same period a year ago. Repossession of buy-to-let loans had also risen marginally, to 0.18 per cent in the first three months of this year from 0.13 per cent in the first three months of last year. There are about a million buy-to-let landlords in the UK, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders." (Times, 13 May) RD

CAPITALIST MORALITY

"Talk about kicking a man when he's down. Moody's ( the rating agency)yesterday downgraded the credit rating of L'Aquila, the Italian city, from A1 to Ba1 and placed it on review for possible further downgrades after last month's devastating earthquake. The agency said: "Moody's views these developments as affecting the city's ability to meet its financial obligations on a timely basis." Well, it's an accurate assessment, albeit a rather cold and clinical one."
(Times, 13 May) RD

MORE MADNESS

It surely sums up the insanity of modern capitalism wherein millions of people are trying to survive on about a dollar a day and this happens. "A flawless vivid blue diamond weighing 7.03 carats sold Tuesday for a record 10.5 million Swiss francs ($9.49 million), the highest price paid per carat for any gemstone at auction, Sotheby's said. The rectangular-shaped blue stone, the rarest to enter the international market this year, went to an anonymous buyer bidding by telephone after hectic bidding see-sawed between two callers for 15 minutes." (Yahoo News, 12 May)
We have an "anonymous buyer" spending millions of dollars on an object that in any sane society would be used for some worthwhile purpose like cutting glass or something and we have millions of starving kids. Which one grabs the headlines? Rare jewels are more important than human beings - that's capitalism for you. RD

OWNERSHIP MADNESS

Genae Girard, 39, is suing Myriad Genetics and the Patent Office over the
granting of a patent on a gene. Myriad also has patented the only test that
measures the risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

Anyone who looks at modern society must be staggered by how much private ownership dominates it. All the land of this planet is owned by a small group of owners - about 5 per cent. All the factories and workshops are owned by the same 5 per cent. All the airlines and all other means of transport are in the possession of the same small group. Now it seems that even the genes that are the basis of human existence are owned too. An unfortunate worker who was suffering from cancer went to a specialists for tests. "The test came back positive, so she wanted a second opinion from another test. But there can be no second opinion. A decision by the government more than 10 years ago allowed a single company, Myriad Genetics, to own the patent on two genes that are closely associated with increased risk for breast cancer and ovarian cancer, and on the testing that measures that risk." (New York Times, 12 May)

There is money to be made out of ownership so bugger the poor worker who needs information. Sorry, they own the patent on the gene. Your mother or your daughter dies, so what. Money and profit are much more important. RD

European Elections 2009

European Elections


Click image to enlarge view

We are contesting in London but urging a write in vote elsewhere.
Our election Blog
Download our election leaflets.

1, Manifesto for London Region (where we're contesting) (PDF)
2. Manifesto for outside London (where we're running a write-in campaign) (PDF)


Candidates.

Dannny Lambert, Tristan Miller, Janet Carter, Bill Martin, Adam Buick, Simon Wigley, Frederick Allen, Patricia Deutz.

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Flying pigs and the Euro elections

Click image for more info. Français (French) Italiano (Italian) Svenska (Swedish) Español(Spanish) Polska (Polish) Download our election leaflets. 1, Manifesto for London Region (where we're contesting) (PDF) 2. Manifesto for outside London (where we're running a write-in campaign) (PDF) 3. London manifesto in Bengali (PDF) ( If anyone wants copies of these leaflets to distribute they should send an email to spgb@worldsocialism.org ) ____________________________________________________________

THE FAILURE OF LABOUR

One of the illusions fostered by the Labour Party is that for all its shortcomings at least it is better than the Tories, but recent evidence seems to point out that even this modesty claim is erroneous.
"That relative poverty – the gap between rich and poor rather than the absolute availability of basic necessities – should be higher than it was when Harold Macmillan was prime minister is a galling discovery. The Institute for Fiscal Studies, a sort of non-partisan unofficial opposition party equipped with massive brainpower, tells us that the distance between our richest and our least fortunate citizens is as high as it has been since their data starts, in 1961. Which leaves open the possibility that Brown's Britain may be more unequal than we were before the creation of the NHS and the modern welfare state." (Independent, 8 May) RD

Reading Notes

- From Germinal, a novel about a French miners’strike of the 1890s, by Emile Zola,
“ Who could say that the workers had had their reasonable share in the extraordinary increase in wealth and comfort during the last one hundred years? They (the bourgoisie) had made fun of them by declaring them free. Yes, free to starve, a freedom of which they fully availed themselves.”
- Re how capitalism works, “ Ah! There we are!” cried M. Hennebeau.(mine owner) “I was expecting that – the accusation of starving the people and living by their sweat. How can you talk such folly, you ought to know the enormous risks which capital runs in industry – in the mines, for example?…Can you believe that the company has not as much to lose as you have in the present crisis? It does not govern wages; it obeys competition under pain of ruin.”- i.e. blame the system, not the capitalist.