Rats Loose in the GranaryUKWatch.net - 21 Apr 2008Put rats in charge of the granary and, without doubt, you will get cereal thieving, and haven’t Gordon Brown and his Chancellor Alistair Darling found the truth behind that rather feeble joke. Not even waiting 24 hours after the deadly duo hurled 50 billion their way, the pack of merchant bankers who style themselves Britain’s finance industry, but ought more accurately to be known as the country’s top predators, have stuck two fingers up at them and gone their own merry and profiteering way. Despite all of Mr Brown’s sanctimonious pleading on Monday that the 50 billion windfall to the bankers was to stabilise the mortgage industry and give back a chance to first-time buyers to enter the housing market, Britain’s second-largest lender Abbey announced on Tuesday that it is to screw customers who can’t stump up at least 25 per cent of the price of their home as a deposit. With lower rates and its tracker mortgage only being made available for those with a large deposit, the first-time buyer is, as one City source put it, “stuck, unless they have parents who can help.” So, home-buyers who cannot afford a large initial deposit or don’t have a rich mummy and daddy behind them will be forced to take less competitive rates and pay more on their monthly repayments. Once again, as with the 10p tax rate abolition, it’s the rich what gets the pleasure and the poor what takes the blame. And is there any clearer way for Abbey to let Mr Brown know just who is in charge in the City and underline that it isn’t him? Well, other bankers clearly think that there is. Not content with access to 50 billion to defray its risks, the boss of the Royal Bank of Scotland is asking shareholders to pump in 12 billion of new capital, diluting their existing holdings by a hefty percentage unless they fork out again, given that the new rights offer is in the ratio of 11 new shares for every 18 existing shares that they hold. According to RBS boss Sir Fred Goodwin, whose 4.2 million pay package included a 2.9 million bonus last year, the bank’s financial position was “satisfactory” less than two months ago. Does anyone seriously believe that things have changed so much in just eight or nine weeks? And, if they have, should people who did not even foresee it be left in charge of the banking industry? It should be noted that the bank, which claims to have lost another 5.9 billion recently, spent nearly 50 billion last year on the acquisition of Dutch bank ABN Amro, so it certainly isn’t down to its last few bob. And other banks are expected to jump on the rights issue bandwagon, including Barclays and Halifax Bank of Scotland. Both banks are denying this, but they would, wouldn’t they? The result of all this would seem to be that 50 billion of taxpayers’ cash has vanished into the banks’ black hole and many billions more are going to be raised by rights issues, all to correct the absolute dog’s breakfast that a pack of avaricious speculators have made of the banking system that they are still to be left in charge of. Meanwhile the lower paid are screwed on their tax, cut out of the housing market, the government is giving away their cash, and no attempt is being made by central or local government to supply social housing in anything like the amounts needed. And they say that socialists are the impractical and unrealistic ones!
Bluefin thinkingUKWatch.net - 21 Apr 2008Tuna, particularly the canned variety, has long been one of the UK’s staple foods and most of us probably have a couple of tin or two somewhere in our cupboards. More recently, we’ve been developing a taste for raw tuna, as sushi bars continue to spread throughout the country. So, what’s the problem? Tuna is a wild source of protein. We don’t farm tuna; we catch it from the great oceans of the world. And that is where the predicament starts, because global tuna stocks, like those of other species, have been grossly overexploited and are now in big trouble. The iconic bluefin tuna, widely used in sushi, is critically endangered. Bigeye and albacore tuna are also under threat, while yellowfin tuna is in decline globally. Worldwide, up to 90% of stocks of large predatory fish, including tuna, have already been fished out. The organisations responsible for managing the international tuna fisheries have failed dismally. But where governments have failed, retailers, restaurants and consumers can help turn the tide. Greenpeace is campaigning to stop the collapse of the world’s remaining tuna fisheries, pushing for the creation of large scale marine reserves and changes in fishing practices to allow tuna and other fish stocks to recover. This month, the Greenpeace ship Esperenza is confronting tuna boats that are fishing unsustainably in the Pacific. Meanwhile, today, more than 80 Greenpeace activists used nets and chains to close down the stands of five of the biggest and most unscrupulous tuna suppliers at the European Seafood Expo, the world’s largest seafood fair. The UK is a huge consumer of canned tuna on a global scale. We import well over 100,000 tonnes each year. Sushi sales are also increasing. So, what can we do as consumers? First of all, look out for restaurants and retailers that show commitment to sustainable seafood when you eat out or shop. For example, it was hearing about the plight of tuna that leading UK sushi chain Moshi Moshi to the decision to stop serving bluefin in their restaurants and to adopt strict sourcing policies. Among retailers, Marks and Spencer has consistently topped Greenpeace’s seafood sustainability surveys. Second, avoid red-listed species like bluefin tuna. (You can find a guide to these species here.) Third, wherever possible, choose pole- and line-caught tuna, the most environmentally friendly way of catching the fish. Other methods of catching tuna, even when the cans are labelled “dolphin friendly”, can be very destructive – killing rare giant turtles, sharks, juvenile tuna and many other fish species. Sustainable seafood is part of the answer, but the science is clear that we also need a global network of no-take marine reserves, like national parks at sea, covering large parts of the oceans. Following the science, Greenpeace is calling for 40% of the world’s oceans to be marine reserves, where no fishing is allowed. By only choosing sustainable seafood in shops and restaurants, we can all make a difference. Alternatively, as professor of marine biology Daniel Pauly, of the University of British Columbia, has said, you don’t need to worry about these problems – as long as your children like plankton stew.
US playwright Sarah Jones urged to cancel Israel performanceElectronic Intifada - 21 Apr 2008rr r r r rr r rr r rr r rr rr rrr rUpon news of her upcoming performance in Israel, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel tells playwright Sarah Jones: If you perform in Jerusalem you will be taking part in a feast for war crimes, ethnic cleansing, dispossession, and continued oppression of a people. We urge you not to turn your back to the needs and rights of the Palestinian people and not to collude in Israel’s persistent human rights abuse, which is, after all, the worst enemy of art and culture.
