Read any newspaper, listen to any radio bulletin, watch any TV news broadcast, and there will be some instance of Capitalist Money Madness – detrimental, shocking or unbelievable thinking and behaviour influenced by money. Trains have been derailed because saving money came before rigorous track maintenance; cows have been ground up and fed to other cows in pursuit of greater profits; companies have been allowed to patent thousands of our own genes in a commodification of humankind’s DNA; there has been widespread use of toxic chemicals in fuel, household furnishings, deodorants, plastics used for food storage etc resulting in...
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We have previously reported on the fantasy and myth of the American Dream , most recently here , and again we find ourselves reading another article , this time from the Economist , highlighting the increasing inequality and decreasing social mobility in the United States. The American dream was simple: work hard and move up. In early 2009 71% still agreed that hard work and personal skill are the main ingredients for success. Compared with people in other rich countries, Americans tend to accept relatively high levels of income inequality because they believe they may move up over time.But...
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And so Brown , Cameron and Clegg engage in the first of their series of televised debates , all the other minor political parties , of course , excluded in this demonstration of media impartiality and fairness . These three political party leaders claim to be working for the betterment of society. Each of them have their own idea on how to run capitalism, often stealing the ideas of their supposed political opposites and rivals . The reforms that they plan to implement must reflect economic reality. If they do not, they will not get re-elected – until the...
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“Noted Italian exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth, commented this week that “the recent defamatory reporting on Pope Benedict XVI, especially by the New York Times, was prompted by the devil.” Speaking to News Mediaset in Italy, the 85-year-old exorcist noted that “the devil is behind the recent attacks on Pope Benedict XVI regarding some pedophilia cases. There is no doubt about it. Because he is a marvelous Pope and worthy successor to John Paul II, it is clear that the devil wants to grab hold of him.” Father Amorth added that in instances of sexual abuse committed by some members...
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Haiti spent more, in 2008 servicing the country’s debts than it did on health, education and the environment. In our article, Haiti—an un-natural disaster, we noted that the earthquake in Haiti, and similar disasters, are presented as unavoidable disasters; and that, to some extent, this is true. But we stated that it is not a coincidence that the number of victims is clearly related to the degree of their poverty. This was true regarding the Asian tsunami and the Katrina hurricane in New Orleans. Seumas Milne also says (Guardian, 21 January) that “It is uncontested that poverty is the...
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The Independent reports that Britain is facing an increased threat of nuclear attacks by al-Qa’ida terrorists, according to three counter-terrorism reviews . There was the threat from a radiological “dirty bomb”. The report suggested that bomb makers that have been active in Afghanistan could already have the ability to produce a “dirty bomb” using information available over the internet.Terrorists could transport an improvised nuclear device on the Thames and detonate it in the heart of London. Other areas thought to be vulnerable included Bristol, Liverpool, Newcastle, Glasgow and Belfast. A counter-terrorism report said security around stockpiles of decommissioned material...
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Regionally, today, sub-Saharan Africa has the largest slum population where 199.5 million (or 61.7%) of its urban population live in such areas. A new report by the United Nations organisation UN-HABITAT makes intersting reading , full of facts and figures , some of which are quoted below . Three South African cities top the list of the most unequal cities in the world, when measured on income-based data gathered in a UN-HABITAT survey of cities in 109 countries from all regions.Buffalo City (East London), Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni (East Rand) as extremely unequal.Not far behind are cities with inequality well above...
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It is well known that the word ‘democracy’ originates from Ancient Greece and means ‘power of the people’. Such an idea, in its literal sense, encompassing economic, political and social democracy does not exist anywhere in the world. This is primarily because the planet’s resources, many of which human beings need in order to live, do not belong to the people as a whole. Instead, they are in the hands of a small, privileged, rich minority. Such extremely limited political ‘democracy’ as does exist in parts of the modern world, is scarcely even a shadow of what genuine democracy...
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Victor Ivanov , head of Russia’s federal drug control agency , said at least 30,000 people died in Russia every year from heroin, 90% of it from Afghanistan. Russia is believed to have around five million drug addicts, half of whom are addicted to heroin. He accused Nato of not doing enough to curb the production of heroin in Afghanistan.He blamed the US administration for ending a military drive to destroy opium poppy crops in Afghan fields. According to statistics from UNODC, in 2001, Afghanistan produced 185 tons of drugs, in 2002 – 3,400 tons, in 2003 – 3,600 tons,...
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Like Michael Moore’s other films, ‘Capitalism: A Love Story’, is brilliant in its way, hard-hitting and funny. He strips away the lies and hypocrisy of “public relations” propaganda to expose the ruthless predators who dominate our society and profit from the misery of working people. And at the same time he makes us laugh. So far so good. It’s fairly clear what Michael Moore is against. But what he is for? He doesn’t seem to know himself, as he admits in a recent newspaper interview: “What I’m asking for is a new economic order. I don’t know how to...
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