SPC Newsletter 1st Nov 2016

[Socialist Party Head Office]

The Socialist Party of Canada

General Secretary's Report for November 2016

Email Report

– WSP (India) EC meeting minutes No. 168, October 2, 2016, received with thanks.

– Report of the Proceedings of the Autumn School & Membership Meeting of the World Socialist Party of Indian, October 22 – 23, 2016 received with thanks.

Members wishing to read the September minutes and the above proceedings' report please contact the general secretary at our spc@iname.com account.

– WSP (India) 1000 copies of History of Economics: A Scientigfic Investigation into the

Political Economy and Its Swindler 'Economics' published. 50.00 Rupees/CD$1-1.50. Contact E-mail: wspindia@hotmail.com; Website: http://www.worldsocialistpartyindia.org for more information to purchase.

– Red Lion Press (re)publishing Bill Pritchard's autobiography, entitled Revolutionary Socialist: Life of the Socialist Party of Canada and the OBU, 1910-1922; Fred Casey's Thinking: An Introduction To Its History and Science; and, Method in Thinking: An Introduction to Dialectics.

Costs: $3 for Pritchard, $6 each for the Casey's plus postage costs. Contact E-mail: redlionpress@hotmail.com – for more information to purchase or enquire with the publisher: https://web.facebook.com/search/more/?q=Larry+Gambone&init=public

Good of the Movement

– Three introductory packages and one membership questionnaire sent out.

– Toronto Branch public meeting held Thursday, October 27, The Second Cup Coffee House 324 Bloor St W, Toronto.

– Autumn socialist discussion meetings (Toronto) – see Toronto Branch Facebook for details https://web.facebook.com/Toronto-Branch-Socialist-Party-of-Canada-1120836671294008/ & our website  https://www.worldsocialism.org/canada/

– Two new Socialist Party of Canada Facebook launches – public page https://web.facebook.com/socialistpartycanada/ ; & members' page https://web.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100012582758245

– Social media ad hoc committee – under discussion: use of Google hangouts, Tweet, YouTube. Members wishing to add their names and suggestions to this new ad hoc committee please contact us spc@iname.com.

– Imagine Autumn 2016: ten draft articles received; expected distribution date late Nov 2016.

– New Toronto Branch email (June 2016): "Socialist Party of Canada Toronto Branch"<spctorontobranch@gmail.com>

– Spring issue of Imagine available – http://www.worldsocialism.org/canada/

– Socialist education site for redistribution & hyperlinking, S. Shenfield (WSPUS) – http://www.whatissocialism.net/

Finances – Post: $9.41; photocopies: $5.59.

Food For Thought

• On September 27 The World Health Organization (WHO) said in a new report that 92 per cent of people world wide live in areas with excessive air pollution, contributing to problems like strokes, heart disease and lung cancer. A similar report in May said one in nine deaths world wide is linked to indoor and outdoor pollution. The latter is estimated to kill 3 million people per year. There is no evidence that face masks help. It's also evident to anyone that as long as they can make a profit capitalists don't care about anyone or anything else which is a good reason to strip them of their property ownership of the means of life.

• Nearly 100 migrants a day arrive at the refugee camp at Calais. French authorities have tried for a year and a half to dismantle the vast camp known as ''The Jungle''. In March, when 4000 lived there, they leveled half of it, since then it's numbers have swelled to 10,000. It's very visibility is proof of Europe’s inability to cope with the influx of so many people. Most want to go to the U.K. and so the Brexit vote has not put any off. There is nothing new in this, think of the migrant camps in the thirties, the Nazi death camps and the post World War2 D.P. camps. Whether it be economic or governmental pressure people are constantly going into camps. The French authorities don't know what to do because they are looking for answers within capitalism and they're aren't any.

Constitutional matter

Call for nominations of the SPC headquarter's location and General Administrative Committee (GAC) election(s).

That every two years, in even numbered years, headquarter's location and General Administrative Committee-elect be determined by Party Conference or general vote of the membership, as per Rule 17 (a),(b), (c), (d).

Note: Our Constitution calls for elections in first half of December, GAC terms beginning the first of January following.

Nominations will be open until close of November 2016; voting will be conducted by member email, closing date December 15, 2016.

Please forward all nominations to the SPC General Administrative Committee emails below:

spc@iname.com; jayers4@cogeco.ca; wedoodit3@yahoo.ca; onursezgun@gmail.com; p.cormier@hotmail.com; canadian.hippie@gmail.com; sandy-ronjenkins@shaw.ca; johnrmames@yahoo.ca

• Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte sounds like a guy way out of control in his ravings against drug dealers and users, 3,000 of whom have been killed in the Philippines since he took office on June 30. To quote ,''Hitler massacred 3 million Jews…..there is 3 million drug addicts; there are. I'd be happy to slaughter them''. It is disgusting, inexcusable, but not very surprising that a man in a position of power would make such an inhumane comment. Though one can understand Duterte's revulsion of drug addiction it would be better for all concerned if he worked for the establishment of a society where no one would feel a need to take drugs.

• A recent television program focused on the plight of the Horseshoe Crab which is an endangered species, because its spawning grounds are being polluted. This species has existed for 450 million years and now, thanks to the effects of capitalism, it may soon become extinct. This begs the question, ''Is there anything capitalism cannot destroy? Why not preserve the Horseshoe Crab, which has, obviously, survived many climatic changes and make capitalism extinct?”

• An SPCer asked a delivery guy for Pizza-Pizza why they had extended the time limit for a free pizza from 30 to 40 minutes. “To many accidents,'' was the answer. He didn't say that the fear of losing their jobs made them hurry. This clearly shows how the financial insecurity that daily life under capitalism creates can be very dangerous.

• To say the least capitalism is an insane system. It's fundamental that the ownership of the tools of production by a minority, with the majority of people selling their working abilities to them for money which they use to buy some of the goods they have produced, is insane enough. From this flow all manner of insane situations and the latest being the Republican party selecting a cartoon character to be their Presidential candidate. It is so stupid that newspapers that have urged their readers to vote Republican for years are now telling them to either abstain or vote for Clinton. Whomever wins it will still mean the continuation of capitalism and the insanity of billions being spent on war instead of social programs because of capitalism’s insane profit priorities. One may well wonder when the insanity will end. It could be with the establishment of Socialism.

• Some people in Toronto go to air conditioned malls to escape hot weather. One said,''I can afford to buy an air conditioner, but not the electricity to run it.'' Poverty affects people in many ways, so why not get rid of what causes it.

• The Toronto Transit Commission are giving subway musicians a boost by providing bold black backdrops for their performances. This is to help focus attention on them, in other words so subway users can give then more money. To call a spade a spade, buskers are beggars who provide entertainment. It may be all very well to help a beggar, but wouldn't it be better to have a world where no one has to beg?

• On October 19th the Toronto Star happily reported that manufacturing sales had increased by 0.9 per cent in August, according to Stats-Canada. The increase in the volume of sales, overall, was even bigger at 1.2 per cent, with sales up in 15 of 21 industries. T.D. bank economist Dina Ignjatovic said,''This is welcome news for the Bank Of Canada, which is patiently waiting for the manufacturing sectors to pick up the growth baton. That said, we continue to expect interest rates to remain on hold for the foreseeable future.'' Well whoop-dee do isn't life wonderful? The Star neglected to mention unemployment was down in August from 7 percent to 6.9. So there is still plenty of people without a job. Putting a brave spin on things fools nobody.

• Provincial Health Ministers are imploring Ottawa not to cut back any more on health funding. When Medicare began, in 1967, Ottawa footed half of the bill, now it's paying 20 per cent and will decrease further if it cuts the yearly increase in health transfer from 6 per cent to 3. Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins said Ontario alone stands to lose $400 million and his Quebec counterpart Gaeten Barrette said Ottawas plans will amount to $60 billion less over the next decade for the provinces and territories. If Ottawa has its way there will only be one loser – the working class.

• A forum research poll conducted during the second week in October showed 63 per cent of responders were in favour of increasing the minimum wage in Ontario to $15 an hour. 31 per cent were not and 6 per cent didn't know. Those against it said such a large increase would reduce employment prospects for young people. Economics professor, Morley Gunderson said recent Canadian studies have shown a 10 per cent increase in minimum wage has resulted in a 3 to 6 per cent decrease in employment for young people. Some said it looked good for politicians to up the minimum wage, but the link between it and the reduction of poverty is unproven. If credence can be put on the above remarks, it shows no matter how great the effort, there will always be poverty under capitalism.

• The city of North Bay may move the house where the Dionne quints were born as the land it's on may be used for other purposes. Since this puts the quints in the news again it's timely to look at their story, which is a depression era one. Born in 1934 to poor parents, they were soon taken away from them and made into a freak show. They were exposed to the public 3 times a day in an exhibit enclosed by one way viewing mirrors as well as a playground that doubled as a public observation area. ''Quintland'' brought in $500 million during the next decade, precious little of which went to the girls. If anyone was intensely exploited during this time it was them. What a sad, sad reflection on a society that needs a freak show to help the economy. Perhaps one shouldn't be surprised – the very fundamentals of capitalism are pretty freaky.

• On October 18 the RCMP said 32 people have been charged with 78 offences in an investigation into sex trafficking across Canada. Charges include trafficking in persons under 18, procuring sexual services under 18, exercising control, making child pornography and distributing it. Despite the efforts of the police hardly a dent has been made in the sex trade which is a big industry. Probably no writer ever summed up capitalism better in one word than Robert Tressel in 'The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, the word is – “Atrocious . . .”

• The Conference Board of Canada released a study in October which determined that lack of transportation alternatives are causing some senior citizens to continue driving cars when it's no longer safe for them. 28 per cent of seniors with Alzheimer's are still driving. Obviously they are a danger to themselves and others. If transportation for them isn't profitable they wont get it. Just another example of the dangers we face in daily life under capitalism.

• On October 21 Bombardier said it has plans to eliminate 7500 more jobs, or 10 per cent of it's workforce including 2000 in Canada. This comes on top of the 7000 jobs to be eliminated by the end of 2017, which they announced in February. Their spokesperson, Simon Letendre, was pretty blunt about it, ''These are tough actions we need to take to make the business more profitable and succeed in the future''. The main words being, ''more profitable''. Surprisingly the Prez. of their workers union, Scott Mcilmoyle doesn't seem too worried,''Right now we don't know for certain, but it appears to be indirect jobs,'' he said, referring to management, administrative and support jobs, instead of direct production ones. Well, ''Earth to Scott, these are workers too and will be adversely affected by lay offs''. This is another example, if needed, of how bad things are getting for the working class. Because capitalism is a boom – slump system we know sooner or later things will pick up. Some capitalists will buy stock at dirt cheap prices and the economy, world – wide will pick up. However, this doesn't mean the unemployment figures will go down considerably. Automation means machinery will do work previously done by people and globalization means unemployment wont decrease much in the major industrialized countries. So don't expect things to get much better because they wont.

• More than 200,000 Iraqis are expected to be displaced as the Iraqi army advances towards Mosul, according to the Norwegian Refugee Council. Camps have been set up to accommodate 60,000 people, so there will soon be overcrowding. Both the Iraqi government and the Kurdish authorities are mired in an economic crisis, (what government isn't?), brought on by low oil prices and say they do not have the resources to care for a large number of displaced people. They have urged everyone to stay put, which, of course they're not going to. So more people are fleeing from a war and going into camps. One thing about life under 'crapitalism' – it never changes.

Karl's Quotes

The working class has no need of the capitalist class, but the capitalists sure need them. It needs them to produce commodities it can sell at a profit, to fight its wars and maintain it in political power; but let's see what Marx had to say about it.

''Altogether, collisions between the classes of the old society further in many ways the course of development of the proletariat. The bourgeoise finds itself involved in a constant battle, at first with the aristocracy; later on with those portions of the bourgeoise itself whose interests have become antagonistic to the progress of industry; at all times with the bourgeoise of foreign countries. In all these battles it sees itself compelled to appeal to the proletariat, to ask for it's help, and thus, to drag it into the political arena.The bourgeoise itself, therefore supplies the proletariat with its own elements of political and general education, in other words, it furnishes the proletariat with weapons for fighting the bourgeeoise''.

The Communist Manifesto (1848)

Now since we have those weapons, why not use them to get rid of the system that divides society into classes?

For socialism, Steve and John.

[alanjjohnstone]

Quote:

Red Lion Press (re)publishing Bill Pritchard's autobiography, entitled Revolutionary Socialist: Life of the Socialist Party of Canada and the OBU, 1910-1922; Fred Casey's Thinking: An Introduction To Its History and Science;and, Method in Thinking: An Introduction to Dialectics.Costs: $3 for Pritchard, $6 each for the Casey's plus postage costs. Contact E-mail: redlionpress@hotmail.com

Can i suggest that the Party makes a bulk order of these books and make them available to the membership and public through HO

[Author]

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