A-Infos (en) Workers Solidarity #76 - That's Capitalism

[Worker <a-infos-en@ainfos.ca>]

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Every day nearly US$2 trillion changes hands on the
money markets (i.e. is gambled by speculators). It can be
hard to get a handle on just how much a trillion is. If you
stacked a million dollar notes on top of one another it
would reach about six foot high. If you stacked a trillion
dollars the same way it would reach to over 40 times the
height of Mount Everest! Yet the rich tell us there is no
money for health care, affordable housing and modern
school buildings.

*****

The US military announced, in April, that at least three
children aged from 13 to 15 are being held in their prison
camp at Guantnamo Bay. Like other prisoners being held
at the camp, they are being held indefinitely without trial
and are being interrogated by the military. They have been
in captivity for over a year, and not even granted access
to a lawyer.

Guantanamo Bay has attracted the condemnation of
human rights campaigners since the first detainees
arrived in January 2002, blindfolded and bound in the
intense Cuban heat. As a penalty for being enslaved as
child soldiers by the Taliban, children are imprisoned by
the US; and we were told that the Afghan war was about
'liberation'!

***

"I'm not here to answer for the PDs'

PD leader Mary Harney takes the art of politics to new
levels when answering a question in the Dail about the
reintroduction of student fees (April 2003).

**

BERTIE'S "ASPIRATION"

The articles in the constitution cited by former army
officer Ed Horgan in his challenge to the government
allowing Shannon airport to be used by the US military
(articles 28 and 29) are "aspirational", said the judge, and
so the government's decisions override the constitution in
respect of thesearticles.

It's funny that these parts of the constitution are
suddenly"aspirational", when FF and the PDs are in
breach of them. Irish governments have been quite willing
to use the constitution to justify all sorts of breaches of
citizens' rights in the past, and anything to do with
property rights certainly wasn't deemed merely
"aspirational".

Anyway, even if these articles are "aspirational", isn't the
government obligated to attempt to aspire to the
standards set down in them? Or is it just one example of
the 'golden rule' - those who have the gold make the rules?

***

How stupid do they think we are?

There is a John Stephens who works in Dublin's Mater
Hospital. He is member of the SIPTU Health
Professionals branch and was recently elected a shop
steward by his colleagues. According to himself, in a paid
advert, in the free paper Citywide, he will be "fighting to
improve the situation for workers within the Mater",
"aiming to improve patient services", "directly oppose any
further job losses in the health services" and his "key aim
is to improve the health services in the area".

John Stephens is also going to be a Fianna Fail candidate
in the Cabra/Glasnevin ward in next year's local elections.
Yes, the same Fianna Fail which cut jobs in the Mater
earlier this year, is imposing yet more cuts in health care,
and is even talking about treating patients in the hospital
car park. Either John suffers from an intellectual disability
or he thinks the rest of us do.

This page is from the print version of the
Irish Anarchist paper 'Workers Solidarity'.
http://struggle.ws/wsm/paper.html

Print out the PDF file of this issue
http://struggle.ws/wsm/pdf/ws/76.html

Print out the PDF file of the most recent issue
http://struggle.ws/wsm/ws/latest.html


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