Coronavirus
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No branches near Melbourne and the World Socialist Party of Australia sadly faded away several years ago, LB.
There are a few isolated individual members or sympathisers who you could get in touch with and perhaps meet up with, at least online, if not physically.
One advantage of internet is that you can begin campaigning for socialism and exposing the futility of reformism on local social media and discussion lists (but always being wary of spamming or trolling then it backfires)
Our blog is always on the look-out for contributors from all parts of the world.
Our recent experience of breathing new life into the World Socialist Party of the United States shows the possibilities that a handful of comrades can have.
This is a short history of the SPA but doesn’t give you the full picture of the colourful characters that participated.
LB, here is the email who may well be a useful contact for you.
Contact: Trevor Clarke
wspa.info@yahoo.com.auIt seems that the government has decided to encourage, perhaps make it obligatory, for people to wear masks as a substitute for staying at home as this will not interfere so much with profit-making business activity. They know this will be less effective in stopping the spread of the virus than a lockdown but regard the extra cases and deaths that will result as a price worth paying.
They are trying to justify this in the grounds that capitalism is driven by popular consumption and so this needs to be revived (some of them may even believe this) but the fact is that capitalism is driven by business investment for profit. If this falls so does popular consumption as the main source of money for this comes from working for wages.
I am not sure to what extent they can be held personally responsible for the extra deaths as, after all, they are operating within the framework of a capitalist economy and such an economy can’t keep going for long unless profits are being made.
Hi Marcos,
There have been unsafe narratives from the States and Brazil: promoting the right not to wear masks with freedoms.
Scientific medical advice has been put aside in favour of ideological point scoring- thus sending out mixed messaging that is harmful to populations as a whole.
Physical distancing measures and use of ppe is essential to reduce the spread of COVID. You know, this individualism “I’m alright Jack’ attitudes is being promoted by the Right- there is certainly a disregard for evidence or practice based science.
I hope all is well for you- during isolation- we are social beings, and it is difficult at times: but necessary.
LB
Alan,
Thank you for the encouragement and information.
I had sent an email to Trevor.
This forum has been very helpful- challenging yes- but most helpful!
Be safe…
“COVID-19 is now inversely related to the markets. The worse that COVID-19 gets, the better the markets do because the Fed will bring in stimulus. That is what has been driving markets,” said Andrew Brenner, head of international fixed income at NatAlliance.
The Federal Reserve’s $3 trillion bid to stave off an economic crisis in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak is fuelling excesses across U.S. capital markets.
The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average have both risen more than 40% and the Nasdaq composite has gained nearly 60%. The S&P 500’s forward price-to-earnings ratio is currently 21.5, a level last seen during the dot-com boom 20 years ago.
Revealing comment by an unnamed Cabinet member in today’s Times which shows that the decision to make masks compulsory has not been taken entirely on scientific medical grounds:
”Downing Street had insisted previously that shops did not require the same rules as trains and buses, but a cabinet minister said that encouraging the use of masks would also help to bolster public confidence as the government tried to tempt people back to work.”
“…German nurses and carers would probably swap some sanctimonious public applause for improved pay and conditions. They’ve been fighting for change for years…”
https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-germany-nursing-wage/a-54197056
I dare say the same feeling exists in all the other countries. Clapping doesn’t substitute for a clapped out health service and it doesn’t pay the bills.
Well, peoples voted for nationalists, now they can get cure with the flags. Pretty soon hospitals are not going to have enough beds, medical equipment and supplies. In Honduras and Ecuador peoples are leaving their dead in the streets
Just heard on the news that non-entity who took over when Boris was in hospital (I think he’s called Raab) denounce the Russian state for trying to get hold of the research for an anti-Covid-19 vaccine:
”While others pursue their selfish interests with reckless behaviour, the UK and its allies are getting on with the hard work of finding a vaccine and protecting global health.”
He makes it sound as if an attempt had been made to hinder research that was being carried out on behalf of humanity. But as the headline makes clear it would have been an attempt to “steal” research results ie to get access to information that was secret and was in fact being carried out not to help humanity by “protecting global health” but to make money even if out of doing this. The situation is that rival capitalist groups are in a race to be the first to find and no doubt patent an effective vaccine and to make a profit from it.
So if anyone “steals” these research results and makes the public they would be doing humanity a favour. Even if the Russian state was doing it to get access to the vaccine more cheaply than otherwise to deal with cases in their part of the world that wouldn’t be pursuing their “selfish interests” any more than those who are keeping their research secret.
Like in the old days during the hegemonic struggle between the USA/Europe and the Soviet Union, they are trying to steal each other the antiviral secret research done by them, they are not planning to give any help to mankind they are trying to be the first one to create a patent and make profits, Russia is already selling antiviral in Latin America, and several countries are already buying them, it is just a modification of the one used by the Japanese. If anybody steals their secrets and make it public it would be a good help for mankind because nobody would be able to monopolize the patent
So if anyone “steals” these research results and makes the public they would be doing humanity a favour.
Sadly, he or she may go the same way as Julian Assange.
Something else to note. That medicine patents can be by-passed under existing international law by countries if they feel it is necessary and generics used. As it undermines intellectual ownership, such a process is very rarely applied and imho will never be by such as the UK and the USA and the EU.
Alan:
If they publish the components of the vaccine, anybody would be able to copy them, and it becomes public domain, and in this case, private copyright and patent law is not applicable, that is the reason why they want to keep it as secret in order to monopolize the production of the vaccine
https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/how-quack-doctors-and-powerful-gop-operatives-spread-misinformation-to-millions-213923648.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&uh_test=2_08. Quack doctors, the land of the conspiracist theories
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