Econopolypse

This current economic crisis has seen the governments of Iceland and Latvia already fall to pressure from their people and the Left and many more stand on the brink. In general I feel inclined to agree with Naomi Klein in that there is a sense of injustice about the whole thing.

1) Kyshera once sang, "Economies are not forces of nature, they're man made and when they f*ck up, it's man's doing". Hence the feeling I get and see in protests is that it was the frivolous attitude of the City boys that made this mess in the first place.

2)The reason for a great deal of the outrage in Latvia and Iceland was the conservative governments giving aid to the Banks but not others who were consequently hit harder by this.

3)UK and US governments in particular were able to access and distribute VAST amounts of money almost instantly to attempt to shore up their economies. Yet, these kinds of bailouts cannot be used to help MAKE POVERTY HISTORY or get rid of all those diseases we have a cure for.

4)The global financial crisis is (like many global events) being used to smokescreen new initiatives and policies that are dangerous to civil liberties. I could write a whole book on these so I shan't discuss them all here.

Latest news however shows Lord Mandelson unveil his plan to sell off 30% of Royal Mail, an unpopular move both with the Unions and with his own party. Lord Mandelson justifies this in the strangest way, he says that the postal "network is under threat as people increasingly switch to digital technology as their preferred way of communicating" (www.news.bbc.co.uk).

I would have expected him to have justified it through the economic crisis, not the dangers of the internet and email destroying our beloved heritage.

"But in a letter to the Guardian, the leaders of Labour's eight largest affiliated unions attacked the plans as "electorally unpopular, politically unwise and damaging to the concept of universal service provision". Unions also claim this breaks an agreement made in 2008 to keep the service in public ownership (www.news.bbc.co.uk).

So we find that, like in 'Network' 'no one seems to know what to do about it!' I suppose that is why it is an econopolypse and not simply a recession like the numerous other ones this country has weathered.

STOP AND SEARCH

Before you are searched the Police must inform you of the following:
- Their name and the Police Station they work at
-The purpose of the proposed search
-The grounds for making a search
-Your right to a record of the search

They can search you if they suspect you may be carrying the following:
-Drugs
-Weapons
-stolen property
-items which could be used to commit a crime

They can also search you without suspicion if a senior officer has authorised it for a specific area under Section 60 if the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (CJA) or Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000. These are sometimes called 'blanket searches'.

Apart from these blanket searches they MUST have reasonable suspicion to search you. ASK THEM WHAT IT IS. It CANNOT be because of your age, ethnic background, the way you look or because you have committed a crime in the past. If you are in a public place you only have to remove your coat or jacket and gloves (but also headgear and shoes under the Terrorism Act).

Unless you are a driver of a vehicle you DO NOT have to give your name and address when asked.

(From Totally Indypendant - Harringay Solidarity Group).

Halliburton's army

On September 10, 2001, precisely one day before the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld told senior staff that the Pentagon was wasting $3 billion a year by not outsourcing many non-combat duties to the private sector. “At bases around the world, why do we pick up our own garbage and mop our own floors?” he asked. Soon after, this fortuitously-timed shift in the way the military wages war would bring immense profits to Texas-based military contractor Halliburton, an oil industry service company whose former CEO was Vice President Dick Cheney. Armed with lucrative no-bid contracts, Halliburton/KBR, its affiliates, and sub-contractors would soon provide most of the infrastructure that supports the war in Iraq. Ultimately, the company would face allegations of corruption, negligence, fraud, and corporate crime.

HALLIBURTON’S ARMY
: HOW A WELL-CONNECTED TEXAS OIL COMPANY REVOLUTIONIZED THE WAY AMERICA MAKES WAR (from corpwatch)