Cuba boosts doctors’ wages in bid to halt mass exodus

By AFP
February 15, 2024

To try and halt an exodus, some 400,000 doctors, nurses and technicians have been given the incentive bonuses - 

Copyright AFP YAMIL LAGE

Leticia PINEDA

Cuban cardiologist Alexey Lopez, 59, is sleeping a bit better since his salary got a bump — part of government efforts to stop its renowned health care system from bleeding doctors amid the island’s worst economic crisis in decades.

But Lopez fears the wage boost will not be enough to lure back his colleagues who are among some 40,000 Cuban medical staff that quit in 2022 and 2023, according to official figures.

He told AFP “we were losing sleep” making ends meet before incentive bonuses were introduced last month for night and weekend shifts, seniority, and work in specialized or risky services.

The communist island has been battling sky-high inflation and shortages since the pandemic plus a tightening of US sanctions in 2021, combined with structural weaknesses, sent the economy into a tailspin.

The bleak circumstances have pushed some five percent of the population to flee, mostly to the United States, in the biggest wave of emigration since Fidel Castro’s revolution.

Cuba’s famed medical system has also taken a blow, with some health care workers leaving the country while others have ditched their white coats for better-paid work elsewhere, like the tourism industry.

To try to halt the exodus, some 400,000 doctors, nurses and technicians have been given the incentive bonuses.

– ‘Not yet enough’ –

The cardiologist Lopez, who works at Havana’s Calixto Garcia Hospital, saw his salary more than double from 6,500 to 17,000 Cuban pesos with the bonuses, meaning he now earns $141 per month according to the official rate, but only $56 at the street rates which tend to govern prices.

“I know people who have quit and these measures are not yet enough to encourage them to come back,” he told AFP.

Physiotherapist Amanda, who preferred not to give her surname, said that despite her salary being increased by a third, she will “have to find other solutions to generate money” to survive.

Deputy health minister Luis Fernando Navarro told AFP the measure aimed to “improve the living conditions of staff,” even though he admits “this increase does not respond to the current cost of living in Cuba.”

Navarro said the doctor shortage was most being felt in specialized fields.

He said that while the country has general practitioners in all of its health centers, “this is not the case for specialized care” in hospitals or “hyper-specialized care” for complex illnesses.

– ‘White coat diplomacy’ –

The country’s universal health care system boasts 89 doctors for every 10,000 inhabitants, compared to 33 in France and 35 in the United States, according to the World Health Organization.

The export of skilled health care professionals in so-called “white coat diplomacy” has been a valuable source of foreign currency, and in some years — such as 2018 — was the country’s main earner, bringing in some six billion dollars.

At home, Cuban doctors often have to buy their own stethoscopes and equipment.

With old heart monitors beeping in the background, Dr Lopez said the economic crisis was being felt “in shortages of doctors, equipment, and medicine.”

PERMANENTLY CENSORED
99 journalists killed in 2023, 77 in Gaza war: report


By AFP
February 15, 2024

Killings of reporters would have dropped globally year-on-year in 2023 had it not been for the deaths in Gaza, Israel and Lebanon, the Committee to Protect Journalists said - Copyright AFP STRINGER

Seventy-seven of the 99 journalists killed in 2023 were killed in the Israel-Hamas war, making the last 12 months the deadliest for the media in almost a decade, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Thursday.

Killings of reporters would have dropped globally year-on-year had it not been for the deaths in that conflict, the CPJ said, although fatalities were stable in Somalia and the Philippines.

The toll is the highest since 2015 and an increase of nearly 44 percent on 2022’s figures.

“In December 2023, CPJ reported that more journalists were killed in the first three months of the Israel-Gaza war than have ever been killed in a single country over an entire year,” the CPJ said.

The vast majority of the 77 journalists killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict — 72 of them — were Palestinian, the organization said. Three Lebanese and two Israelis were also killed.

“Journalists in Gaza are bearing witness on the frontlines,” said CPJ chief executive Jodie Ginsberg.

“The immense loss suffered by Palestinian journalists in this war will have long-term impacts for journalism not just in the Palestinian territories but for the region and beyond. Every journalist killed is a further blow to our understanding of the world.”

On February 7, the New York-based press freedom organization said the number of journalists killed in the Gaza conflict had risen to 85.

CPJ has previously attacked what it calls “persecution” of journalists by Israeli forces, and is investigating whether a dozen journalists killed in the Gaza conflict were deliberately targeted by Israeli soldiers, which would constitute “a war crime.”

Israel vowed to crush Hamas in response to the Islamist group’s October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Militants also took around 250 people hostage, in the deadliest-ever attack in the country, and around 130 of them are believed to remain in Gaza, including 29 who are believed to be dead.

At least 28,576 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory military offensive on Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory.

The greatest reductions in journalist fatalities were registered in Ukraine and Mexico, which both went from 13 killings to two.

One of those killed in Ukraine was AFP journalist Arman Soldin. Soldin, 32, died when his reporting team came under fire near the eastern city of Bakhmut.

The CPJ warned that Mexico, along with the Philippines and Somalia, was “one of the world’s deadliest countries for the press.”

“Compounding the situation, government agencies spy on reporters and rights defenders, and a significant number of journalists have had to leave their homes, and abandon their professions, due to violence,” the CPJ report warned.

Car sales tumble globally despite a rise in consumer incentives

ByDr. Tim Sandle
February 14, 2024

Vehicles driving through New York. — Image © Tim Sandle.

New-vehicle average transaction price (ATP) data, relating to January 2024, has been released from Kelley Blue Book, a Cox Automotive company. The data indicates some key trends within the car sector, including an overall drop by 3.5 percent in new vehicle transaction prices (and lower 2.6 percent month over month; price declines in January accelerated compared to December).

Looking at a specific sector, the U.S., here the new-vehicle average transaction price (ATP) last month in the U.S. was $47,401. In the U.S., the average price paid for a luxury brand vehicle in January was $60,978, down from $62,834 in December and the lowest average transaction price since the summer of 2021.

Prices for non-luxury brand vehicles also decreased month over month in January. At $44,052, non-luxury vehicle prices were lower in January 2024 by 2.1 percent year over year. Incentives for non-luxury vehicles averaged 5.5%, an increase from December.

The biggest decline across the board was with electric vehicle prices. These were down 10.8 percent year over year. The average price paid for a new electric vehicle in January 2024 was $55,353, year over year.

These include prices for the Tesla Model Y, the industry’s EV volume leader, tumbling more than 21 percent in the past year, falling from nearly $63,000 in January 2023 to less than $50,000 last month.

These decreases in electric vehicle sales come at a time when, with many models, EV dealer incentives have jumped more than three-fold (across the past twelve months). Overall, new-vehicle sales incentives increased in January 2024 for the third straight month as the sales pace slowed; in the past year, incentive packages have risen from 2.8 percent of the average transaction price to 5.7 percent.

Luxury vehicles and full-size pickup trucks had some of the highest discounts in January. Conversely, incentives for small pickups, full-size SUVs and minivans were well below the industry average in January, averaging less than 3 percent of ATP.

Although there has been a decline in process sales remain relatively high. Despite lower prices, the seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR), or sales pace, was 15.0 million in January 2024, down from 16.1 million in December 2023 and below the 15.1 million recorded one year ago in January 2023.

Looking at the data, Erin Keating, executive analyst for Cox Automotive states: “It is common to see lower transaction prices and sales in January, as December typically is a hot month for luxury vehicle sales. However, the year-over-year new-vehicle ATP decline of 3.5% is notable. Prices have been trending downward for roughly six months now as automakers are sweetening deals to keep the sales flowing.”

Lurking for five years: How Chinese hackers infiltrated US infrastructure


ByDr. Tim Sandle
February 14, 2024

Image: © AFP/File Fred TANNEAU

U.S. law enforcement has reported how Chinese hackers remaining hidden for up to five years in U.S. infrastructure. As this news continues to develop, Andrew Hollister, CISO & VP Labs R&D at LogRhythm, ponders on what this means for U.S. national security and cyber-preparedness.

According to The Guardian, the FBI operation disrupted a botnet of hundreds of small office and home routers based in the U.S. that were owned by private citizens and companies that had been hijacked by the Chinese hackers.

Hollister tells Digital Journal: “In light of the recent advisory from U.S. government agencies regarding cybersecurity threats, notably the infiltration of US infrastructure by Chinese hackers as disclosed, there’s a pressing need to reinforce proactive defense measures in today’s digital landscape.”

Looking at the study in more detail, Hollister thinks the length of time the hackers had access for is the greatest concern: “An interesting aspect highlighted by the feedback is the duration of time that threat actors were able to persist. Early detection is emphasized as crucial in preventing threat actors from establishing long-term persistence, as seems to be the case in this report.”

Reviewing what the U.S. government plans to do next, Hollister considers: “The recommendations include implementing robust logging collection and patching strategies, which are considered fundamental steps towards bolstering cybersecurity resilience across organizations.”

There are other measures too, which Hollister calls out: “Furthermore, the advisory underscores the importance of a comprehensive approach to threat detection, emphasizing the monitoring and securing of critical applications beyond the immediate scope of the advisory.”

There are other areas that both government and business need to focus on. Hollister identifies: “Understanding and tracking potential vulnerabilities, such as those associated with Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) connections, is deemed essential for identifying and mitigating risks effectively. The discussion also sheds light on the extent to which broader concept of “living off the land” (LotL) techniques were used, wherein threat actors leverage existing tools and features within target environments to evade detection.”

Living Off The Land (LotL) is a covert cyberattack technique in which criminals carry out malicious activities using legitimate IT administration tools.

It is in this area that resources need to be directed. Here Hollister recommends: “Maturing capabilities around detecting LotL attacks is seen as crucial for organizations to assure effective defense strategies. By focusing on detecting attacker tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), organizations can enhance their ability to identify and respond to potential threats effectively.”

Returning back to the U.S. government, Hollister reminds both public and private sector bodies what it is they need to be focusing on the most: “The advisory serves as a call to action for organizations to prioritize proactive monitoring, threat hunting, and continuous improvement in their cybersecurity posture to mitigate risks effectively, regardless of the specific tools or solutions they employ.”

Musk fights US state of Delaware after Tesla pay debacle

By AFP
February 15, 2024

Musk is furious at the Delaware court, seeing it has a haven for over-litigious lawyers and meddlesome judges that are getting in the way of his business decisions and vision - Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP Michael A. McCoy

Alex PIGMAN

Elon Musk is on the warpath against Delaware and its powerful business court, moving his SpaceX company out of the eastern US state after a judge struck down his $56 billion compensation package at Tesla.

For more than a century, the Delaware Chancery Court has been a pillar of US capitalism, the jurisdiction where roughly two thirds of American Fortune 500 companies register their company.

And according to state data, nearly 80 percent of initial public offerings in 2022 were registered in Delaware, seeking the reliability and stability of its court and the expertise of its judges.

But Musk is furious at the court, seeing it has a haven for over-litigious lawyers and meddlesome judges that are getting in the way of his business decisions and vision.

“SpaceX has moved its state of incorporation from Delaware to Texas!” Musk said on X on Wednesday.

“If your company is still incorporated in Delaware, I recommend moving to another state as soon as possible,” he added.

The move came just weeks after Judge Kathaleen McCormick voided his eye-watering compensation package at Tesla, taking sides with a shareholder who claimed the entrepreneur was overpaid.

– ‘Good job’ –

The very first state to join the union, Delaware and its courts have long played an integral role in American industry.

The Chancery court “is almost like a de facto government agency in its own right” that sets the rules for corporate America, said Omari Scott Simmons, a law professor at George Washington University

A pillar of business, it is the agreed upon institution that guides the internal running of US corporate behemoths and that is not, crucially, the federal government.

“It’s a very curious situation in the United States, where if you form a company, you can decide what laws will apply to it, and what courts will hear those laws,” said Simon Lorne, Vice Chairman and Chief Legal Officer at Millennium Management LLC.

“The only alternative could be federal law, which I think would be a big mistake for the system. Delaware has done a very good job for over 100 years,” added, Lorne, who also teaches law at the University of Texas.

On matters like conflict resolution and governance, US big business abides by the decisions of the court and its decades of jurisprudence.

Also a selling point, Delaware judges are not nominated by elections or direct political appointment, but get picked by a non-partisan commission that values expertise above all else, said Simmons.

And unlike a federal agency, Delaware courts are shielded from the whims of interest group pressure or shifting political winds and the judges are left to give their decisions impartially.

Moreover, unlike many US states, there is no chance of facing a runaway jury in Delaware: decisions are reasoned and handed down by the judges alone.

– No exit –

Musk’s wrath has brought him to Texas, one of a few states along with Nevada that are trying to build up a legal system that could eventually compete with Delaware.

While unseating the East Coast state seems a longshot, some observers worry that the trend could instigate a race to the bottom, with companies shopping for jurisdictions with the lightest corporate oversight.

Besides SpaceX, Musk is moving his brain chip startup, Neuralink, from Delaware to Nevada, where he moved X, formerly Twitter, after he bought the social platform.

Those are private companies where Musk has complete control.

But lifting stakes at the publicly traded Tesla could prove much trickier, with only the smallest of shareholders able to object and potentially block the move.

This has been the fate of Trip Advisor, where the parent company’s CEO has so far failed to move the business out of Delaware because of the objections of a few shareholders.

The Delaware court is expected to give its decision on the matter this month.

No love lost for bosses as delivery riders stage Valentine’s Day strikes

Strikers in Hackney, east London, came up with an inventive method to stop strike-breaking

Delivery drivers on strike block Queensway road in London

By Sophie Squire
Thursday 15 February 2024

SOCIALIST WORKER

Delivery riders and drivers across London struck on Wednesday evening—alongside workers in the US and Ireland.

Fed up with poor pay, punishing conditions and police harassment, they decided to strike for five hours on one of the busiest nights for food deliveries—Valentine’s Day.

Uber Eats, Deliveroo and Just East workers struck across the capital. Outside a dark kitchen—a takeaway-only restaurant—in Tower Hamlets, east London, workers organised a strong picket line. They were able to turn away several workers who were trying to make deliveries.

Delivery worker Omar told Socialist Worker, “Not everyone knows about the strike, so we try to explain to them. We must explain why we are striking. I say we are fighting for all people. We are fighting for all delivery drivers.”

Outside a McDonald’s in nearby Hackney, workers had devised a way to stop other riders crossing the picket line. Striker Gavin told Socialist Worker, “We’re clamping up their bikes for as long as the strike is on.

“We’ve told them not to deliver, and they haven’t listened. We know each other well around here. I know all the riders. We stick up for each other.

“If someone’s bike gets stolen, we all run after the culprit. But we have to keep this strike strong. That means trying to stop people from accepting orders.”

John, an IWGB union member, was outside the dark kitchen in Tower Hamlets. “You often get what the apps call stack orders,” he explained. “Basically you have a few orders lined up in a row.”

“The real minimum per order is supposed to be £2.90, but sometimes second orders in the stack will be as little as 80p. You can’t live on that.

“I get tired a lot. I’ve had a lot of back issues doing this job. I’ve had to ask my landlord to let me pay my rent later because I don’t have enough money.”

Many of the strikers are migrant workers. Thais, who was picketing outside a McDonald’s in Dalston in Hackney, told Socialist Worker, “I’ve been a rider for almost three years. Every day it’s worse and worse, and we are paid less and less.

“Today, before the strike I worked from 9am, and made just £45. That’s what you have to do. You have to work all day every day if you want to make enough money. I can’t study, I can’t go to the gym, I can’t do normal things.”

Thais is originally from Brazil, and added that many Brazilian migrant workers are at the centre of the strikes. “They put out a really strong message online, and people are joining,” she said. “It’s good, and we have to keep fighting.”

A hundreds-strong convoy of drivers and riders went to the home of Deliveroo co-founder and CEO Will Shu. Workers also rode around parliament and blocked Westminster Bridge.

Meanwhile, in Dublin striking workers gathered at the Spire on O’Connell Street to demand better pay.

Across the US, thousands of workers for the Uber and Lyft taxi apps and other food delivery apps struck. In San Francisco’s Bay Area, Uber driver Marianna Porras said, “I am protesting for fair wages. We’re tired of the exploitation.”

The strikes—organised from the ground up—should be an inspiration to all workers fighting to higher pay. Workers can drive home the message to bosses with more action.

Release Boris Kagarlitsky!

15th February 2024

“This conviction, and the closed nature of his trial, provide another stark example of the treatment of political dissenters in Russia. It is an overt attack on freedom of expression with the aim of silencing critical voices.”

Natalia Zviagina, Amnesty International’s director for Russia

Kate Hudson, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament General Secretary, welcomes Amnesty International’s call for the release of Boris Kagarlitsky

Russian anti-war campaigner Boris Kagarlitsky, who was due to speak at our online rally on Saturday 24th February calling for an end to the war in Ukraine, has been imprisoned. The International Peace Bureau is sharing this report to raise awareness of Boris’s plight.

We welcome Amnesty International’s call for his immediate release and send him our solidarity greetings.

“A Russian military court of appeals has ordered socialist and anti-war dissident Boris Kagarlitsky to spend five years in jail, after prosecutors succeeded in overturning his original sentence of a ₽609,000 fine (about US$6700). The February 13 ruling also means Kagarlitsky will be banned from administering any website for two years upon his release.

Kagarlitsky’s original sentence was handed down on December 12 after he was found guilty of “justifying terrorism” over comments made in October 2022 in a since-deleted YouTube video and on his Telegram channel, regarding the bombing of the Crimea Bridge. The comments were brought to authorities’ attention by a local council member from President Vladimir Putin’s ruling United Russia party.

Prosecutors argued the fine was “unjust due to its excessive leniency” and demanded five and a half years’ jail instead as part of their appeal. They said Kagarlitsky had not cooperated with the investigation and could not afford to pay the fine, despite Kagarlitsky having agreed to testify from the outset and his fine having been paid in full.

Kagarlitsky’s supporters say the real reason for his jailing is his opposition to Putin’s war on Ukraine. As editor of the influential online leftist media platform Rabkor (Worker Correspondent), Kagarlitsky has been among the most high-profile opponents of the war — and one of the few to remain in Russia.

For this, Kagarlitsky was labelled a “foreign agent” by the Russian state back in May 2022. He told Green Left in August 2022 that this label is used to intimidate anti-war activists: “Everyone knows that the next step after being labelled a foreign agent is that you are put in jail, which is why many have left.”

“They have labelled me a foreign agent, I imagine with the intention of wanting me to leave, but I’m not going to leave.”

In a post to his Telegram channel shortly after the verdict, Kagarlitsky wrote: “I am sure that everything will be very good. And that we will see you again both on the channel and in freedom … We just need to live a little longer and survive this dark period for our country.”

Amnesty International’s director for Russia, Natalia Zviagina, said the verdict “is a blatant abuse of vague anti-terrorism legislation, weaponised to suppress dissent and punish a government critic.

“By targeting Boris Kagarlitsky, a distinguished sociologist known for his critical stance against government policies, the Russian authorities are showing, once again, their relentless assault on all forms of dissent.

“This conviction, and the closed nature of his trial, provide another stark example of the treatment of political dissenters in Russia. It is an overt attack on freedom of expression with the aim of silencing critical voices through fear and repression.

“This case is not an isolated incident but part of a broader, systematic effort to stifle opposition and control what can and cannot be said in Russia.

“Amnesty International calls for the immediate release of Boris Kagarlitsky and urges the international community to stand in solidarity against the silencing of critics and the ongoing erosion of human rights in Russia.””

---

• This article was originally published by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) on February 15th, 2024.
• You can follow the CND on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter/X.

Anti-War Socialist Boris Kagarlitsky Sentenced To Five Years’ Jail

By Frederico Fuentes   

February 14, 2024

Source: Green Left


A Russian military court of appeals has ordered socialist and anti-war dissident Boris Kagarlitsky spend five years in jail, after prosecutors succeeded in overturning his original sentence of a ₽609,000 fine (about US$6700). The February 13 ruling also means Kagarlitsky will be banned from administering any website for two years upon his release.

Kagarlitsky’s original sentence was handed down on December 12 after he was found guilty of “justifying terrorism” over comments made in October 2022 in a since-deleted YouTube video and on his Telegram channel, regarding the bombing of the Crimea Bridge. The comments were brought to authorities’ attention by a local council member from President Vladimir Putin’s ruling United Russia party.

Prosecutors argued the fine was “unjust due to its excessive leniency” and demanded five and a half years’ jail instead as part of their appeal. They said Kagarlitsky had not cooperated with the investigation and could not afford to pay the fine, despite Kagarlitsky having agreed to testify from the outset and his fine having been paid in full.

Kagarlitsky’s supporters say the real reason for his jailing is his opposition to Putin’s war on Ukraine. As editor of the influential online leftist media platform Rabkor (Worker Correspondent), Kagarlitsky has been among the most high-profile opponents of the war — and one of the few to remain in Russia.

For this, Kagarlitsky was labelled a “foreign agent” by the Russian state back in May 2022. He told Green Left in August 2022 that this label is used to intimidate anti-war activists: “Everyone knows that the next step after being labelled a foreign agent is that you are put in jail, which is why many have left.”

“They have labelled me a foreign agent, I imagine with the intention of wanting me to leave, but I’m not going to leave.”

In a post to his Telegram channel shortly after the verdict, Kagarlitsky wrote: “I am sure that everything will be very good. And that we will see you again both on the channel and in freedom … We just need to live a little longer and survive this dark period for our country.”

Amnesty International’s director for Russia, Natalia Zviagina, said the verdict “is a blatant abuse of vague anti-terrorism legislation, weaponised to suppress dissent and punish a government critic.

“By targeting Boris Kagarlitsky, a distinguished sociologist known for his critical stance against government policies, the Russian authorities are showing, once again, their relentless assault on all forms of dissent.

“This conviction, and the closed nature of his trial, provide another stark example of the treatment of political dissenters in Russia. It is an overt attack on freedom of expression with the aim of silencing critical voices through fear and repression.

“This case is not an isolated incident but part of a broader, systematic effort to stifle opposition and control what can and cannot be said in Russia.

“Amnesty International calls for the immediate release of Boris Kagarlitsky and urges the international community to stand in solidarity against the silencing of critics and the ongoing erosion of human rights in Russia.”

The US is heading for domestic and foreign policy crises

The political implosion within the US is exacerbating the crises abroad

Alex Callinicos
Tuesday 13 February 2024

SOCIALIST WORKER 

Issue 2892

US president Joe Biden (Picture: Flickr/ European Parliament)

The United States is visibly reeling as it tries to maintain its position as the hegemonic capitalist power. Gaza, Ukraine, Yemen, Iran, Taiwan—these are too many conflicts to grapple with simultaneously. This external meltdown is mirrored by an internal one, as the US political system gears up to the presidential election in November. Voters are likely to face a choice between two elderly men—Joe Biden aged 81 and Donald Trump aged 79. Both are widely despised by large and opposing sections of society.

I’ve a strong personal interest in rejecting the idea that people in their later years can’t be perfectly competent. Biden’s age has become an issue of late because of some gaffes and a hostile lawyer’s report. But my guess is that much less attention would be paid to it if it weren’t for the fact that living standards were badly squeezed by the inflationary upsurge of 2022-23.

Even though inflation has dropped sharply and the US economy grew respectably last year, voters still haven’t forgiven Biden. Many seem to have rosy memories of the Trump presidency when ultra-cheap central bank money kept the economy afloat. The Financial Times conducted a survey with the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. It found that “42 percent of Americans felt Trump would be the best steward of the US economy, while only 31 percent chose Biden”.

Trump has already more or less sewn up the Republican nomination for the presidency, while Biden as sitting president is doing the same for the Democrats. Trump’s return has already galvanised the Republicans in the US Congress effectively to paralyse the legislative process. Usually new laws are agreed on through compromises after often tortuous bargaining between Democrats and Republicans in the two houses of Congress and the White House.

But Trump’s power over the Republican rank and file means this process has broken down. Back in October a tiny group of far-right Republicans in the House of Representatives were able to force out the speaker Kevin McCarthy, himself a Republican. He was punished for cutting a deal in the traditional way with the Democrats.

Biden has been trying to get military aid packages for Ukraine and now Israel through Congress for months. McCarthy’s replacement, Mike Johnson, is a Trump ally who opposes more money going to Ukraine. Biden and the Democrats tried to draw the Republicans into a deal by giving them everything they wanted to block migrants and refugees from crossing the southern border. But Trump vetoed it because he wants anti-migrant racism as a live issue in the election.

Meanwhile, big business—which shunned him after the 6 January 2021 storming of the Capitol—is coming to terms with a possible second Trump presidency. Edward Luce of the Financial Times explains the reasoning behind the shift. “For all his faults, Trump would be better for business than Biden,” he wrote. “Trump cut the top tax rate and improved their bottom lines. He is promising to do the same again.

 

Is Israel the loyal watchdog of US imperialism?

“Trump’s railing against corporatism is just red meat for the base. He would also boost the fossil fuel industry and commercial real estate. The assumption of business leaders that Trump will fulfil these promises is almost certainly right. The fact that he vows to slap 10 percent tariffs on all imports should be weighed against Biden’s continued regulatory creep.

“To many corporate chiefs, less globalisation is a price worth paying for lower taxes.” Trump’s return isn’t by any means inevitable. But the prospect is now refracting back onto the general crisis of US imperialism. He claimed at a recent rally that he told a Nato leader, presumably when he was president, “I would not protect you” from a Russian attack.

This has sent a wave of panic through Europe, whose military weakness has been exposed by the failure to supply the munitions promised to Ukraine. The political implosion within the US is exacerbating the crises abroad—which Biden is struggling to contain.

UK

‘Voters think Labour’s moved on from Corbyn, but aren’t sure what it stands for’

Luke Tryl  15th February, 2024

https://labourlist.org/

Keir Starmer and Labour Wellingborough candidate Gen Kitchen.

Until the middle of last week the question on the lips of those of us who follow public opinion closely was whether we’d underestimated how low the Conservatives could go.

The year started not with a widely anticipated Conservative recovery – but more leadership plots, gaffes from the PM, while lower inflation and tax cuts haven’t, at least yet translated into any sort of feel good factor. The result? An opinion poll lead for Labour approaching 1997 levels.

A focus group I ran in Wellingborough this time last week with 2019 Conservative voters was without doubt one of the most grim for the Government I’ve run. The participants weren’t even angry anymore, but instead resigned to the Government’s failures and waiting for it to come to an end. As one woman put it, ‘They’re trying their best, but I just don’t think they’re any good…give someone else a chance”.

But last Thursday, after much torturous and public deliberation, came Labour’s confirmation that the £28 billion price tag for their green investment plan would be dropped. It was hard to read public opinion and not conclude the policy showed far more upside than downside for Labour – in fact, our polling found it was the second most popular manifesto policy with likely Labour voters.

The green U-turn risks reinforcing voter questions over Labour’s vision

Too often it feels like Westminster hasn’t caught up with public expectations on climate and the environment – an issue which regularly ties concern about levels of migration as a top issue for the public, even though the latter gets far more air time.

But the merits of this now denuded policy aren’t what most risk damaging Labour – instead, the bigger risk is that the weakening of Labour’s offer reinforces voters’ pre-existing concerns that Labour don’t have a positive vision of their own.

I cannot tell you how often in focus groups people will tell me some version of ‘I’m done with the Tories, I want someone new, but I don’t know what Keir Starmer and Labour stand for other than not being the Conservatives’. That sentiment is borne out in polling too: three in five Britons say they don’t know what Keir Starmer stands for and the same amount think he represents ‘more of the same’.

And the decision to u-turn on green investment came hot on the heels of another u-turn with Rachel Reeves’ announcement that a future Labour Government would not reinstate the cap on bankers bonuses. That Labour wants to woo business with pledges not to hike corporation tax is understandable. But, the politics of taking the side of bankers –  rivalled in their unpopularity only by politicians and energy giants – seems harder to fathom.

The risk from Rochdale goes beyond the remarks themselves

Had it not been for the emergence of deeply offensive comments by Labour’s now-former candidate in Rochdale, Labour’s week of woes might have been swept up by the latest Conservative row. The risk from Rochdale goes beyond the remarks themselves.

While Labour clearly has work to do to tackle anti-semitism, there is good evidence that current Labour voters think the party is making progress, and only four per cent of those intending to vote Labour cite worries about anti-semitism as a potential hesitation.

The damage from Rochdale sits squarely with Labour’s response.  To those of the electorate who have heard about the episode, what will have cut through is that the party took two days to sack someone who was clearly unfit to be an MP.

So, where has Labour’s bad week left them in the eyes of public opinion?  On Tuesday, our poll found Labour on 40%, down three points – and at the lowest level they’ve been in the past year, and with an 11 point lead over the Conservatives. A Savanta poll found a bigger Labour fall of 5 points, with the Labour lead down to 12. Both surveys closed before the Rochdale scandal properly bed in, but after the green U-turn.

At the same time, two other pollsters who were in the field over the same period – Deltapoll and Redfield and Wilton – found Labour’s lead up to 18 and  25 points respectively.  It is far too early to know if there has been a real change in public opinion or if this is all just noise – only over the next few weeks will we see whether Labour faces any permanent damage.

The fundamentals of Tory struggles haven’t changed

Today,  the narrative could change very quickly. The Tories face both two likely by-election losses and the risk of Reform UK having a good night.  More importantly, the structural drivers of the Tories’ struggles  haven’t changed.

The cost of living crisis, NHS woes and widespread frustration on issues like crime and immigration means Labour can very easily win by default, even if they aren’t loved, and as it stands that is what they are on course to do.

Perhaps the sole beneficiary of Labour’s missteps was Rishi Sunak himself. While it is unlikely the past week will have saved his party from defeat in the election it might have saved his premiership until then. Labour’s woes give the Tories a morale boost and helps  keep wayward backbenchers in line.

But the last week should be a warning to Labour that they have reached peak ‘not Tory’. Even if Labour do not need much more to get the keys to Number 10, they will need it for when things – inevitably – go wrong in office.

And to prepare for that, Labour’s machine needs to get better at setting out its stall, fast-forwarding from an outdated obsession with the politics and tactics of the 1990s, and being clearer about the change a Labour government would offer in the somewhat bleaker environment of the 2020s.

 

Luke Tryl

Luke Tryl is the UK director of More in Common.@LukeTryl

View all articles by Luke Tryl

UK

Recession & rising temperatures are more reason for radical climate action – not less

15th February 2024

‘We have no alternative in the labour and climate movement but to double down on building the radical policies we need to address the multiple crises we face today’

Sam Mason

As Labour abandon’s its green prosperity “alternative” in favour of fiscal responsibility, and the economy tips back into recession, Sam Mason argues that we must double down in the labour and climate movement on building the radical policies for we need.

The day Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves finally ended speculation over the £28 billion so jubilantly committed to back in 2021 could not be more poignant. Perhaps it was unfortunate timing, and not a good news story at the best of times, but certainly careless on the day the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service announces that global warming is estimated to have exceeded 1.5C across an entire 12-month period for the first time. As the economy slips into recession, and the latest release of the UK Government’s Fuel Poverty Statistics shows a deepening crisis, what further evidence could be needed for a ‘green’ investment plan? And one which prioritises a decades overdue homes insulation programme?

Abandoning the £28bn pledge follows a year that has seen climate records shattered, and the UK itself battered by ten storms between September and January alone. These may not have been as devastating as the wildfires in Chile or flooding in California but it still puts enormous stress on the UK’s cracking infrastructure and, not least, the emergency and energy workers that have to respond to these.

In January, following months of floods and extreme weather in the UK, Matt Wrack of the FBU said “If Labour doesn’t spend this money, it will put our members at risk” along with the public – clearly a message from an affiliated union that has not been listened to.

In the midst of a continuing cost of living crisis, and high energy bills, it was always clear that tackling the climate and biodiversity crisis was about tackling these, too. Indeed, only last September Ed Miliband said that Rishi Sunak was bankrupt of ideas in response to his rolling back on climate policy. He rightly argued that this backtracking would “put up costs for working people, threaten investment and jobs, and lead to climate delay, loading more costs on to families.”

So what’s changed?

Starmer and Reeves can spin the decks on their broken record of how the Tories trashed the economy so their hands are tied but its an argument that doesn’t square. When parading their “clean energy superpower” mission as a new chapter in Labour history, they seemed to have skipped over the bit when the Attlee government went ahead with creating the NHS and building council homes despite being told it was unaffordable.

It’s telling perhaps the lack of response to the questions put by the Greener jobs Alliance last October on Labour’s financial approach to green issues. In letters sent to Rachel Reeves and Angela Raynor, they set out the many questions most of us have, but have yet to receive an answer. Unfortunately, grand statements about having “a world-leading agenda on climate and energy” doesn’t deliver jobs or security for workers, let alone the communities they live in.

The £28 billion was never enough and the Green Prosperity Fund pales into comparison compared to the plans for a green industrial revolution put forward in the 2019 manifesto. Those proposals were not perfect but did offer a real alternative that was developed out of extensive discussion with trade unions and communities. It recognised the need for public ownership and public services to lead on decarbonising our economy and society with energy, rail, mail and water in public hands. And it linked green investment with improving people’s welfare such as warm homes, or accessible and affordable public transport as basic as a bus service.

These are the radical labour and climate movement policies we need to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss while making people’s lives better. That means making energy a public good and nationalising current assets, addressing the energy efficiency of our building stock and localising food production. This would create millions of jobs – whether in renewable energy, construction for new infrastructure including green steel, transport, education, and a decarbonised food system. It also means recognising and valuing work in the care and health sectors, along with nature recovery which are vital to people’s welfare.

State intervention in industry has been tried and failed by Labour before. The workers inquiry by the Coventry, Liverpool, Newcastle and North Tyneside Trades Council into Labour’s attempt in the 1970’s concluded that “never again can we leave politics to the politicians”. After the debacle of the £28billion we can only conclude the same and why we need to develop workers plans in alliance with communities and the wider climate movement to win the future we so desperately need.

As the Welsh socialist writer Raymond Williams, said “To be truly radical is to make hope possible rather than despair convincing.” To do this we have no alternative in the labour and climate movement but to double down on building the radical policies we need to address the multiple crises we face today.

Sam Mason is the coordinator of the Climate Justice Coalition trade union caucus. You can follow the Climate Justice Coalition on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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Starmer tears up Labour’s green pledges

Starmer has U-turned slashing £28 billion a year for climate investments to just £5 billion a year

Keir Starmer meeting king Abdullah II of Jordan at COP 28 last year in Dubai 

(Picture: Keir Starmer on Flickr)

By Thomas Foster
Tuesday 13 February 2024

SOCIALIST WORKER Issue 2892

The planet is burning as Labour backtracks on its £28 billion a year climate investments pledge. This is Starmer’s latest betrayal, choosing once again to side with big business.

The pledge promised substantial investment in green industries, technologies and jobs. But over the last year, the Tories have focused their attacks on Labour’s green spending commitments.

And so the pledge is “effectively being stood down,” Starmer said last week. Just a month ago, Starmer defended the plan as “a fight I want to have”. But flight, not fight, is the route Starmer has gone down.

Rather than standing for a sustainable future. Starmer has capitulated. He lines up with the Tories to attack migrants and trans rights and now does the same on climate change.

The U-turn comes as the European Union’s climate service found that global warming has exceeded 1.5 degree Celsius for an entire year.

This is one of Starmer’s most substantial U-turns yet. The commitment was Starmer’s flagship policy when launched in 2021 and at the centre of Labour’s plans to boost Britain’s economy.

But the pledge has been watered down to less than £5 billion a year. This is a tiny sum compared to the existential threat of climate change.

In 2021, Labour shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said she’d be Britain’s first “green chancellor”, boasting about Labour fighting for “a fairer, greener future”.

Reeves has since changed her tune. “I think people have heard loud and clear from me that economic responsibility is the most important thing for me,” she said as she supported the backtracking.

Instead, Reeves aims to be an “iron chancellor” of economic caution. There are no illusions why this retreat has happened. A Labour shadow cabinet member said, “It had to go.

We couldn’t head into an election with this big, huge target for the Tories to fire at.” Labour will always bow to electoral pressures rather than carry out transformative change.

The party is more worried about proving its worth to bosses than the future of our planet. There has rightly been fury from climate campaigners.

Rosemary Harris, North Sea campaigner at Oil Change International, said it is “a slap in the face and a betrayal” of “future generations impacted by the climate crisis”.

Head of politics at Greenpeace, Rebecca Newsom, blasted Starmer for showing “weak” political, economic and climate leadership. And a recent opinion poll showed that the pledge was one of the most popular Labour policies.

But Starmer doesn’t care about what ordinary people want, he cares about being a safe pair of hands for the capitalist class. Once again, the Labour leadership has caved like a house of cards in the wind.
Our climate heads to catastrophe as temperatures continue to soar

Global temperature rises have exceeded 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels across an entire year for the first time.

And this comes as the Atlantic Ocean currents reach a tipping point of collapse. Keeping temperature rises beneath 1.5 degree Celsius is critical to limiting long-run destruction.

But from February 2023 to January 2024, the world reached 1.52 degree Celsius of warming, according to the European Union’s climate service.

And we are currently on track to heat our planet by 2.7 degree Celsius by 2100—a level that threatens to undermine the conditions for human life.

We are facing climate catastrophe. We must act urgently to cut carbon emissions and slow global warming—but bosses and politicians are not doing enough.

The rise “far exceeds anything that is acceptable”, said Professor Bob Watson, former chair of the UN’s climate body.

“Look what’s happened this year with only 1.5 degree Celsius —we’ve seen floods, we’ve seen droughts, we’ve seen heatwaves and wildfires all over the world.”

And the world’s sea surface is also at its highest ever average— another sign of climate records continually being broken.

But “the real danger is that there are so many other crises around us that there is no effort left for the climate crisis,” said Reinhard Steurer, a climate researcher. “We are overburdened with other things like inflation and wars all around us.”

The vast array of capitalist crises could distract from the need to tackle climate change. And large corporations—who are responsible for the majority of carbon emissions—continue to massively pollute.

A study last week found that the Atlantic Ocean currents are nearing collapse. The vast system of ocean currents are key to regulating global climate.

The currents carry heat and carbon from the warmer tropics to the Artic Circle, where currents then cool and sink into the deep ocean.

The process distributes energy around the world and mitigates against global warming. But the process is disintegrating.

Artic sheets melting is causing freshwater to flow into the sea, preventing the sinking of warmer, saltier water from the south. The study says, “This is bad news for the climate system and humanity.”

The lead author, Rene van Westen said, “What surprised us was the rate at which tipping occurs” and if a tipping point of collapse is reaching “it will be devastating”.

All climate indicators point towards a dangerous future. But climate collapse is not inevitable. The world can stop warming if net zero carbon emissions are reached.

“That means we can control how much warming the world experiences, based on our choices as a society,” says Zeke Hausfather, a climate scientist at Berkeley Earth.

We need a society run sustainably by ordinary people, not by the ruling classes for profit.