The Wilmcutian

September 11 - A Decade On.

2011-09-12T11:59:00.000+01:00

If you read nothing else today, please, please read this article from the New York Times - just follow the link.

The Economic "Crisis"

2011-08-05T15:15:00.000+01:00

Is it just me, or do other people think, as I do, that capitalism just isn't working ? Countries appear to owe astronomical sums of money and suddenly can't afford to pay even the interest on these debts, and some look like having to default. What a bloody silly system ! We've put up with it for years because, by and large, governments have somehow managed to pay the interest, but now they can't. So who do they owe the money to ? Nobody ever seems to ask this question. I assume it is mainly to banks, or possibly other governments, as these are the only organisations that have this sort of money. So why not nationalise the banks ? Then we'd end up owing the money to ourselves and nobody would give a damn !
OK I know it's not that simple, but it ought to be ! Maybe some "experts" should sit down and rethink the whole world financial system, because if the don't come up with an alternative, things will get worse. The "Third World" is rapidly catching up with the west in terms of economic success, and in a few years may well go straight past us. And don't expect them to help or care very much as we didn't care about them living in poverty all these years.
I don't know what the solution is - do away with interest perhaps, or put a cap on it. Some buggers are making huge amount of money out of the US and European debts - who are they ? Let's find out and stop it. Then we can all borrow a little without worrying about how we can pay it back.

The Murdochs - Why Can't I Stop Laughing ?

2011-07-18T13:15:00.000+01:00

For the last ten days or so the TV news has been the funniest thing on the box. I just can't stop laughing ! Every day a new nail in the Murdoch family coffin. These buggers have been trying to take over the world for years. Many of us have seen through their little games but haven't been able to do much about it - but now, at long last, they are getting what they deserve. I just hope now that the shareholders in News International will lose patience with them and chuck them out - good riddance to bad rubbish. Maybe Fox News in the USA will change fundamentally - fair and balanced my arse - or disappear altogether. Life is so good sometimes !

What the HELL is happening in Michigan ?

2011-03-15T08:39:00.000Z

Please read this excerpt from an email by Michael Moore - and if you are sceptical, do your own research into this !

Governor Snyder, once elected, yanked off his nice-guy mask to reveal that he is in fact a multi-millionaire hell-bent on destroying our state and turning it over to his buddies from Wall Street.

In just 8 short weeks he has:

* Gotten the House and Senate to pass bills giving him "Emergency Management" powers such as the ability to appoint a corporation or a CEO who could literally dissolve town governments or school boards, fire the elected officials, nullify any local law and run your local governmental entity. That company then would have the power to immediately declare all collective bargaining contracts null and void.

* Proposed giving business a whopping 86% tax cut while raising personal taxes by 31%! And much of that tax hike he believes should be shouldered by -- I kid you not -- senior citizens and the poor! He says these two groups have not been "sharing the sacrifice" the rest of us have been burdened with. So his budget proposes a $1.8 billion tax CUT for business and a $1.75 billion tax INCREASE for the rest of us, much of it from the poor, seniors and working people -- even though the top 1% in Michigan ALREADY pay a lower state tax rate than everyone else does!

* Together with the legislature, introduced over 40 anti-labor bills in just the first two months of this session! They have wasted no time and have caught most people off guard. Much of this is being rushed through right now before you have a chance to raise your voice in objection.

These actions are breathtaking when you realize they will drive our already battered state straight into the ground. What we needed right now was an inspiring leader to help us reinvent Michigan and to find creative ways to create new jobs and lift us out of our economic depression. The rest of the country may call what they're experiencing the "Great Recession," but few argue that Michigan is suffering a "one-state Depression."

I know many of you are filled with a great sense of despair and a justifiable loss of hope these days in Michigan. But you must not let things get even worse. You must stand up against these Draconian measures and this outrageous attempt to rip our democratic rights from us by turning our state over to well-paid hacks from Wall Street and corporate America. They see our state as one big fire sale -- and they are licking their chops to get their hands on what is still a state rich in natural resources and industrial infrastructure.

Neocons and the Religious Right - No Comment (4)

2011-03-14T23:43:00.000Z

In June 1999, the Southern Baptist Convention formally rebuked President Clinton for designating that month "Gay and Lesbian Pride Month", and called for him to revoke his appointment of James Hormel, an openly gay diplomat, as ambassador to Luxembourg.

Neocons and the Religious Right - No Comment (3)

2011-03-14T23:31:00.000Z

George W Bush appointed the anti-gay lobbyist Richard Land to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom. Land declared "It is time to stop the sexual paganization of America....and boldly proclaim what God's intention is for man and woman in the confines of Holy Matrimony as God designed it."

Neocons and the Religious Right - No Comment (2)

2011-03-14T17:01:00.000Z

From the Watergate tapes, 1972.
Billy Graham - This (Jewish) stranglehold has got to be broken or the country's going down the drain".
Richard Nixon - You believe that ?
Billy Graham - Yes, sir.
Richard Nixon - Oh boy. So do I. I can't ever say that but I believe it.

Neocons and the Religious Right - No Comment (1)

2011-03-14T16:44:00.000Z

Ann Coulter, author and columnist, said in 2006 "Eugenics is applied Darwinism, and it sticks out like a sore thumb that all of these German eugenicists preceding the Nazi regime were enthusiastic Darwinists."

Michael Moore - March 5th 2011 - Madison, Wisconsin

2011-03-07T23:25:00.000Z

Below is the text of a speech made by Michael Moore in Madison on 5 March 2011. Read it and tell your friends !! You can also watch the video here.

America is not broke.

Contrary to what those in power would like you to believe so that you'll give up your pension, cut your wages, and settle for the life your great-grandparents had, America is not broke. Not by a long shot. The country is awash in wealth and cash. It's just that it's not in your hands. It has been transferred, in the greatest heist in history, from the workers and consumers to the banks and the portfolios of the uber-rich.

Today just 400 Americans have the same wealth as half of all Americans combined.

Let me say that again. 400 obscenely rich people, most of whom benefited in some way from the multi-trillion dollar taxpayer "bailout" of 2008, now have as much loot, stock and property as the assets of 155 million Americans combined. If you can't bring yourself to call that a financial coup d'état, then you are simply not being honest about what you know in your heart to be true.

And I can see why. For us to admit that we have let a small group of men abscond with and hoard the bulk of the wealth that runs our economy, would mean that we'd have to accept the humiliating acknowledgment that we have indeed surrendered our precious Democracy to the moneyed elite. Wall Street, the banks and the Fortune 500 now run this Republic -- and, until this past month, the rest of us have felt completely helpless, unable to find a way to do anything about it.

I have nothing more than a high school degree. But back when I was in school, every student had to take one semester of economics in order to graduate. And here's what I learned: Money doesn't grow on trees. It grows when we make things. It grows when we have good jobs with good wages that we use to buy the things we need and thus create more jobs. It grows when we provide an outstanding educational system that then grows a new generation of inventors, entrepreneurs, artists, scientists and thinkers who come up with the next great idea for the planet. And that new idea creates new jobs and that creates revenue for the state. But if those who have the most money don't pay their fair share of taxes, the state can't function. The schools can't produce the best and the brightest who will go on to create those jobs. If the wealthy get to keep most of their money, we have seen what they will do with it: recklessly gamble it on crazy Wall Street schemes and crash our economy. The crash they created cost us millions of jobs. That too caused a reduction in tax revenue. Everyone ended up suffering because of what the rich did.

The nation is not broke, my friends. Wisconsin is not broke. Saying that the country is broke is repeating a Big Lie. It's one of the three biggest lies of the decade: 1) America is broke, 2) Iraq has WMD, and 3) The Packers can't win the Super Bowl without Brett Favre.

The truth is, there's lots of money to go around. LOTS. It's just that those in charge have diverted that wealth into a deep well that sits on their well-guarded estates. They know they have committed crimes to make this happen and they know that someday you may want to see some of that money that used to be yours. So they have bought and paid for hundreds of politicians across the country to do their bidding for them. But just in case that doesn't work, they've got their gated communities, and the luxury jet is always fully fueled, the engines running, waiting for that day they hope never comes. To help prevent that day when the people demand their country back, the wealthy have done two very smart things:

1. They control the message. By owning most of the media they have expertly convinced many Americans of few means to buy their version of the American Dream and to vote for their politicians. Their version of the Dream says that you, too, might be rich some day -- this is America, where anything can happen if you just apply yourself! They have conveniently provided you with believable examples to show you how a poor boy can become a rich man, how the child of a single mother in Hawaii can become president, how a guy with a high school education can become a successful filmmaker. They will play these stories for you over and over again all day long so that the last thing you will want to do is upset the apple cart -- because you -- yes, you, too! -- might be rich/president/an Oscar-winner some day! The message is clear: keep you head down, your nose to the grindstone, don't rock the boat and be sure to vote for the party that protects the rich man that you might be some day.

2. They have created a poison pill that they know you will never want to take. It is their version of mutually assured destruction. And when they threatened to release this weapon of mass economic annihilation in September of 2008, we blinked. As the economy and the stock market went into a tailspin, and the banks were caught conducting a worldwide Ponzi scheme, Wall Street issued this threat: Either hand over trillions of dollars from the American taxpayers or we will crash this economy straight into the ground. Fork it over or it's Goodbye savings accounts. Goodbye pensions. Goodbye United States Treasury. Goodbye jobs and homes and future. It was friggin' awesome and it scared the shit out of everyone. "Here! Take our money! We don't care. We'll even print more for you! Just take it! But, please, leave our lives alone, PLEASE!"

The executives in the board rooms and hedge funds could not contain their laughter, their glee, and within three months they were writing each other huge bonus checks and marveling at how perfectly they had played a nation full of suckers. Millions lost their jobs anyway, and millions lost their homes. But there was no revolt (see #1).

Until now. On Wisconsin! Never has a Michigander been more happy to share a big, great lake with you! You have aroused the sleeping giant known as the working people of the United States of America. Right now the earth is shaking and the ground is shifting under the feet of those who are in charge. Your message has inspired people in all 50 states and that message is: WE HAVE HAD IT! We reject anyone who tells us America is broke and broken. It's just the opposite! We are rich with talent and ideas and hard work and, yes, love. Love and compassion toward those who have, through no fault of their own, ended up as the least among us. But they still crave what we all crave: Our country back! Our democracy back! Our good name back! The United States of America. NOT the Corporate States of America. The United States of America!

So how do we make this happen? Well, we do it with a little bit of Egypt here, a little bit of Madison there. And let us pause for a moment and remember that it was a poor man with a fruit stand in Tunisia who gave his life so that the world might focus its attention on how a government run by billionaires for billionaires is an affront to freedom and morality and humanity.

Thank you, Wisconsin. You have made people realize this was our last best chance to grab the final thread of what was left of who we are as Americans. For three weeks you have stood in the cold, slept on the floor, skipped out of town to Illinois -- whatever it took, you have done it, and one thing is for certain: Madison is only the beginning. The smug rich have overplayed their hand. They couldn't have just been content with the money they raided from the treasury. They couldn't be satiated by simply removing millions of jobs and shipping them overseas to exploit the poor elsewhere. No, they had to have more -- something more than all the riches in the world. They had to have our soul. They had to strip us of our dignity. They had to shut us up and shut us down so that we could not even sit at a table with them and bargain about simple things like classroom size or bulletproof vests for everyone on the police force or letting a pilot just get a few extra hours sleep so he or she can do their job -- their $19,000 a year job. That's how much some rookie pilots on commuter airlines make, maybe even the rookie pilot who flew me here to Madison today. He told me he's stopped hoping for a pay increase. All he's asking for now is enough down time so that he doesn't have to sleep in his car between shifts at O'Hare airport. That's how despicably low we have sunk! The wealthy couldn't be content with just paying this man $19,000 a year. They had to take away his sleep. They had to demean him and dehumanize him and rub his face in it. After all, he's just another slob, isn't he?

And that, my friends, is Corporate America's fatal mistake. But trying to destroy us they have given birth to a movement -- a movement that is becoming a massive, nonviolent revolt across the country. We all knew there had to be a breaking point some day, and that point is upon us. Many people in the media don't understand this. They say they were caught off guard about Egypt, never saw it coming. Now they act surprised and flummoxed about why so many hundreds of thousands have come to Madison over the last three weeks during brutal winter weather. "Why are they all standing out there in the cold?" I mean, there was that election in November and that was supposed to be that!

"There's something happening here, and you don't know what it is, do you ...?"

America ain't broke! The only thing that's broke is the moral compass of the rulers. And we aim to fix that compass and steer the ship ourselves from now on. Never forget, as long as that Constitution of ours still stands, it's one person, one vote, and it's the thing the rich hate most about America -- because even though they seem to hold all the money and all the cards, they begrudgingly know this one unshakeable basic fact: There are more of us than there are of them!

Madison, do not retreat. We are with you. We will win together.

A Book Recommendation.......

2011-02-20T16:56:00.000Z

For those of you who share my disgust and also my deep worries about the neo-conservative right wing religious extremist movement in the USA, may I recommend that you get hold of a copy of "The Fall of the House of Bush" by Craig Unger. Published in 2007 (in the UK) this book is still very relevant today and will make you think twice about the stupid "Tea Party", and also that dreadful Sarah Palin who has taken over (in my estimation) from Margaret Thatcher as the world's most dangerous woman, although fortunately she doesn't appear to be intelligent enough to cause too much damage. (Hope I'm not wrong, and of course it's the people behind her who cause the real trouble.)
But back to the book. If you don't already know, you will be appalled by what many of the neo-cons and evangelists have said and done. Just as an example, Billy Graham once said to Richard Nixon "This (Jewish) stranglehold has got to be broken or the country's going down the drain". Nixon replied "I can't ever say that but I believe it". Pat Robertson (google him to find out more) has said such things as "It is the Democratic Congress, the liberal-based media, and the homosexuals who want to destroy the Christians" : "Separation of church and state in the constitution ....is a lie of the Left" : feminism is "a socialist, anti-family political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians". Just the tip of the iceberg - get the book and read more, and don't vote for these bastards - ever !

Middle East Revolutions

2011-02-18T12:41:00.000Z

And so the revolution in the Middle East is spreading, which can only be a good thing. For years now people in many countries have been ruled with varying degrees of harshness by a handful of unelected representatives who have kept themselves in office using various, undemocratic means, including heavy-handed security. Now at last we are beginning to see the end of some of these regimes.
The West must be careful. The US and Europe have close ties with the rulers of many of these countries and have - tacitly at best - supported them, even though they are undemocratic. How will the new regimes react, once established ? The West didn't encourage them to bring in democracy, even though it constantly trumpets its values, because it preferred to benefit from valuable trade deals and from the political influence the regimes had in their respective areas, so they shouldn't be too surprised if the new democracies are not too friendly and look elsewhere for support.
And what about Israel ? It's time to stop treating this country as a special case and to encourage it to obey international law........but more of this anon.

Well Done the Egyptian People !

2011-02-05T14:26:00.000Z

How great to see the Egyptian poor doing something about their lives. At last they will be able to live the lives they want and not be dictated to by the rich ruling class. Good for them, and good luck to them too.
Read this article and the associated comments and news !

Afghanistan - More Unnecessary Deaths

2010-02-10T12:04:00.002Z

So now there's to be a big push in Afghanistan to try to persuade the Taliban to give up. Many innocent people will die as a result. OK so the Taliban aren't the nicest people in the world and have the blood of many innocent people on their hands too, but why do we have to emulate them ? There must be a better way. Why do we always have to fight - talking is much better.

Read this article.

Prince Charles - Our New Architect ?

2009-06-16T09:54:00.002+01:00

It's time Prince Charles learned to keep his mouth shut and remember who pays for his life of luxury. A man in his elevated position should NOT use his influence as he has done recently, and well done Richard Rogers for exposing this. Read what the Guardian has to say - click here.

Obama and Guantamo

2009-06-05T11:22:00.001+01:00

Don't disappoint us, Mr Obama - PLEASE don't try to cover up your predecessor's crimes and don't be influenced by the military, the CIA or whoever has persuaded you to change your policy on Guantamo. Read this article !

Michael Moore on GM

2009-06-02T08:06:00.002+01:00

Read what Michael Moore has to say about GM and the poor people in Flint, Michigan. This man knows what he's talking about, yet is ridiculed by the US right - not surprising, the truth often hurts !

Reflections on the Miners's Strike - 25 Years Ago Now !

2009-04-06T12:02:00.000+01:00

An article, reflecting on the Miners' Strike of 1984, appeared in "The Socialist" of 19 March 2009. The Miners' were right then, and they still are now. Read it here.

The Westboro Baptist Church

2009-04-05T13:36:00.000+01:00

Some of you may remember Louis Theroux's documentary about this lot. They are a pathetic bunch of bigots, in fact so pathetic as to be quite amusing. But they do illustrate the danger of the US religious right, although I hope their brain-washed children grow up to have more sense than their parents and grand-parents ! Have a laugh and don't take them too seriously ! Follow this link.

PS They also have a website which calls President Obama the anti-christ, which is even funnier !

The Top Ten Atheist Myths

2009-04-05T13:25:00.000+01:00

This article by Dave Silverman was published on the American Atheists website earlier this year (2009).

Are We Really Religious in the UK ?

2009-04-04T16:00:00.000+01:00

Read this article and see what you think. Is religion still as popular as some church members would like us to think ? Tell us your thoughts.

Hand-outs to the Banks - Should we be doing this ?

2009-04-04T15:36:00.000+01:00

Why are we giving bankers all this money ? Read this article and see what you think !

British Jobs for British Workers

2009-04-04T10:07:00.000+01:00

The slogan "British Jobs for British Workers" can only create divisions in working class communities. The Socialist Worker published this article on 24 February 2009 - we fully support their stand - do you ?