HAVE YOU HEARD THE NEWS? (ZOOM)

If truth is the first casualty of war, hypocrisy is its staunch ally.

On Thursday, 17th September, a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, and the release of all hostages by Hamas, was voted on by the 15 members.

Although fourteen were in favour, it was vetoed by the 15th, the USA. As one of the five permanent members, America has this longstanding, if democratically dubious, privilege. This is the same state that frequently condemns Russia for its targeting civilians, by military action, in Ukraine.

One of the other five members of that elite group, Russia, must have voted in favour of the resolution. The very same Russia undertaking ballistic aggression against its own neighbour even as it was casting that vote.

The presidents of both countries can undoubtedly concoct self-justifying excuses for the inexcusable. If civilians are being subjected to terror attacks, it surely means those prosecuting those attacks, or facilitating them, are, by definition terrorists.

However, it is also hypocritical to single out these states and their leaders while, at the same time, continuing to lend even tacit support to the notion of the nation. Russia and America are not unique in their belligerent involvements.

Competition is in the nature of capitalism, so it cannot be surprising that capitalist nation states are constantly seeking advantage at the expense of each other. Warfare is the inevitable merciless expression of this competition.

It will continue to be so for as long as nation states and capitalism are allowed to exist. No matter what UN votes are held, successfully or frustrated. The only antidote to war and long term solutions for Gaza, Ukraine et al, is socialism.

Voting for peace means

Treating pain, not the disease

Veto capitals

D. A.   

A recent report has shown that people with learning disabilities and autism are dying on average nearly twenty years younger than the rest of the population. And almost two in five of their deaths are avoidable, caused most commonly by influenza, pneumonia and heart disease. Many people with learning disabilities or autism experience delay in care, or their treatment guidelines are not met.

‘People with a learning disability and their families deserve better,’ said the chief executive of Mencap. ‘In this day and age, no one should die early because they don’t get the right treatment.’

This is a particularly unacceptable example of the shortcomings of health care under capitalism.

https://www.worldsocialism.org/spgb/

Uniting the Kingdom, by George

Fearful laidly wyrm, gruesome millipede

Of grotesque proportions. Its poisonous

Venom paralyses reason in case

Some humane diversion just might succeed

In making it pause for thought and realise

Its determined course, the slippery slope

It’s slithering down, is one without hope,

A pathway of misdirection and lies.

Leaders look down from swish crystal towers,

Concealing their contempt for this creature,

Certain tomorrow’s headlines will feature

Their agendas, strengthening their powers.

Meanwhile the rough beast, having been reborn,

Slouches towards Paris, Berlin and London.

D. A.

Labour didn’t fundamentally reform capitalism. Instead, capitalism reshaped Labour, gradually pulling it away from egalitarian ideals toward embracing profit-driven policies and business-friendly governance.

What do meat, drugs and refugees have in common?

All three are subject to being smuggled into Britain (and elsewhere no doubt). The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) recently reported the quantity of illicit meat discovered on its way through Dover had risen from 13 tonnes between January and April 2023 to 70 tonnes for the same period in 2025.

The twin concern is that foot and mouth disease could easily be imported this way, and lack of quality control threatens public health via human consumption.

Both drugs and (especially at the moment) refugees being smuggled is a frequent media item.

The real common denominator is, of course, profit. Smuggling is an entrepreneurial activity, economically motivated. Illegality is merely an obstacle to be circumvented. It is a capitalist enterprise centred on financial return on dealing in commodities.

People are readily reduced to being commodities by dint of becoming refugees seeking non-legal routes to asylum.

National borders serve to provide a context for exploitation.

By sea or by air

Lines drawn on maps prove nothing

Crossed by bottom lines

 D. A.

CAPITALISM’S BIG, BEAUTIFUL PYRAMID SCHEME AND THE PRICE OF FREEDOM (ZOOM)

(Remembering Gawber)

March 2025 saw the fortieth anniversary of the end of the Miner’s Strike. Six months on, this day marks another coal mining anniversary, the ninetieth of the North Gawber Colliery Explosion. The Lidgett Seam was known to be gassy, the ventilation often inadequate.

On the afternoon of the 12th September 1935, Mapplewell, Barnsley, became the tragic scene of an underground detonation. It resulted 19 deaths and a further 5 injuries.

It is an example of the cost in working class lives of capitalism’s relentless pursuit of profit, subordinating meeting need. In cases such as this the need for safe working conditions.

While the deep mining of coal has now gone from Britain, it remains a dangerous occupation, along with other types of mining, in many parts of the world. Workers are still being killed in the pursuit of profit.

Once headlines at home

Mining’s continuing cost

Remains in the dark

D.A.

SS Great Britain

The ship is sinking. ‘I know what to do!’

One of those who would be captain said,

‘This vessel will float if we paint it red.’

‘Nonsense!’ The paint job just has to be blue.’

A second declared. Then a third fellow,

Decided he had better intervene,

Insisting it would be better yellow.

But, a fourth politely suggested, ‘Green!’

Finally, a shrill jingoistic old lag

Spoke out, ‘It really would be best, I think,

To cover the hole with the Union Flag.’

However, the ship continued to sink.

The crew had the answer, ‘We’ve had a vote;

We’re going to build a completely new boat.’

D. A.

American singer/songwriter Tracy Chapman sang ‘Talkin’ ’bout a revolution… people gonna rise up.’ Turmoil is occurring in both In France and Nepal but in both cases it’s certainly not a rising up that will instigate a revolution leading to the replacement of capitalism with socialism. The French Trades Union representative is incorrect, it’s not President Macron is just the problem, it’s the exploitative social system which puts surplus value and war profits before all else.

‘Hundreds have been arrested in France as riot police clashed with demonstrators, who vowed to “block everything” nationwide amid rising discontent with President Emmanuel Macron’s government.

Around 175,000 people took part in the protests on 10 September across Paris and other cities, including Marseille, Montpellier, Nantes, and Lyon, the Interior Ministry said. Officials reported 473 arrests nationwide, while security services logged over 800 protest actions and hundreds of fires and blockades of roads and buildings.

The demonstrations were called under the slogan ‘Bloquons Tout’, or ‘Let’s block everything’ – signalling an intent to strike, block roads, and disrupt public services in opposition to proposed austerity measures. Over 80,000 police officers were deployed to swiftly dismantle barricades and clear blockades.

In Paris, police fired tear gas outside Gare du Nord train station, where around a thousand protesters gathered, some holding signs declaring Wednesday a ‘public holiday’. In Nantes, demonstrators set tires and bins ablaze to block a highway before being dispersed with gas. In Montpellier, scuffles erupted as protesters erected barricades, with one banner demanding ‘Macron resign’.

Protesters attempted to start a blockade in Bordeaux, while in Toulouse a fire briefly disrupted train services before being extinguished. Some 400 people stormed the Gare de Lyon station in Paris.

The rallies come as France grapples with a spiralling budget deficit that hit 5.8% of GDP in 2024 – almost double the EU 3% ceiling. The unrest recalls the Yellow Vest revolt that erupted over fuel taxes and economic inequality in Macron’s first term. It follows Monday’s no-confidence vote that forced out Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, clearing the way for Sebastien Lecornu to become the country’s fourth premier in a year.

Bayrou’s austerity plan – scrapping public holidays, cutting public jobs and freezing welfare payments while boosting military spending – has sparked fierce backlash.

“It’s the same shit… it’s Macron who’s the problem, not the ministers,” a CGT transport union representative told Reuters. “It’s more Macron and his way of working, which means he has to go.”

Polls show Macron’s approval rating has fallen to its lowest since 2017, with eight in ten French saying they no longer trust him.’

The protests in Nepal were occasioned by the banning by the Nepalese government of twenty six social media platforms. This was seen as an attack on free speech and political dissent. The demonstrations escalated into a protest against government corruption and the behaviour of elites. Economic inequality is also a consideration in the actions of those demanding change.

The change being sought, the installation of new ‘leaders’, will not alleviate the problems inherent in a global social system that exploits and controls the majority for the benefit of a minority.

‘The youth leaders of Nepal’s protest movement have proposed former Chief Justice Sushila Karki to serve as the country’s interim prime minister, Reuters reported on 10 September citing the secretary of the Supreme Court Bar Association.

The decision followed a nearly four-hour virtual meeting in which between 300 and 400 participants of the protest movement took part, according to local media.

Karki, 73, is the former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Nepal and the only woman to have held the post.

Speaking to India-based CNN News18, Karki said the immediate focus of the interim government would be to honour those who died in the protests and address the protesters’ demands, including tackling corruption.

The development comes after K.P. Sharma Oli resigned as prime minister on Tuesday amidst violent protests across the Himalayan nation. During the two-day demonstrations, hundreds of protesters stormed the Prime Minister’s Office, set fire to the Supreme Court and Parliament buildings, and vandalised the homes of several senior leaders.

The Ministry of Health and Population of Nepal on 10 September stated that the death toll has risen to 30. According to the ministry, 1,033 people were injured during the nationwide protests. 

Authorities in Kathmandu said anarchists and criminal elements had infiltrated the protests, engaging in arson, looting, property destruction, targeted violence, and attempted sexual assault. “Any criminal activities carried out under the guise of protest will be prosecuted, and security forces will take strong action against offenders,” the Nepalese Army said in a statement.

Meanwhile, young volunteers took to the streets on 10 September for a clean up campaign – hours before the army’s curfew announcement, local media reported. The clean ups are being organised and promoted via online platforms.

During the curfew, only essential vehicles – such as ambulances, hearses, fire engines, and those used by health workers and security personnel – will be permitted. The army urged citizens needing assistance to coordinate with local security officials.’