Monday, August 5, 2013

Immigration (legal and illegal) and common decency | Shiraz Socialist

Sometimes certain issues transcend formal poitics and become matters of simple, common decency.

For instance, who?d want to live in a society in which government-sponsored vans patrol the streets bearing a message like?this:

??

Or where people are detained at tube stations, simply because of their ethnicity?

Thank goodness for Southall Black Sisters, protesting at this creeping racist?authoritarianism:

Workers Liberty and their rail workers? bulletin ?Off The Rails? comment:

The right-wing media and politicians are whipping up a storm of fear over immigration. If we believe them, immigration is to blame for unemployment, housing shortages and low wages.

The Home Office even has a van driving round telling ?illegal? immigrants to ?go home or face arrest?.

Workers need to see through the lies peddled by the ruling class. Division based on nationality and immigration status only benefits our bosses.

?Within a year?, says a typical scaremongering Ukip leaflet, ?29 million Romanians and Bulgarians will gain the right to live, work and draw benefits here?. Off the Rails rejects the language of fear and hatred targeted against foreigners and immigrants. If we look around our workplaces, many of us will see people from Romania, Bulgaria and many different backgrounds. Our problems at work cannot be pinned on the nationality of our colleagues. They can almost always be blamed on our bosses!

Bosses and politicians dress up immigration controls as protection for workers? jobs, wages and housing. But immigration controls weaken the working class by dividing us against each other. Borders also create a section of the working class without legal rights, who are open to brutal exploitation, which worsens conditions for all workers.

In 2008, cleaners in RMT on London Underground struck for the London Living Wage. Cleaning contractors who had employed ?illegal? cleaners while they were silent suddenly contacted immigration services to arrest and intimidate those now standing up for themselves. Although the London Living Wage was won, union organisation suffered. No workers benefited from the crackdown; they had to put up with brutal treatment while the union rebuilt its strength. ISS cleaning contractor has recently employed similar tactics in response to an RMT strike ballot on London Underground.

Off The Rails believes that all immigration controls should be scrapped, and people should be able to live wherever they like. That seems radical, but countries in the EU have already abolished immigration controls for movement between each other and the sky hasn?t fallen down.

Immigration controls are a new phenomenon ? the first immigration control was introduced in Britain in 1905. They haven?t been around forever.

The entire population of France, Germany, Spain, Greece, Portugal, and Italy already have the right to live, work and draw benefits here, as they have had for decades. Most choose not to.

The entire population of Manchester, Liverpool and Newcastle have those rights in London. But those cities have not emptied out simply because there are no controls or restrictions preventing their populations from moving elsewhere. Would Britain be better if the government controlled where you could live and seek work?

There are 750,000 British people living in Spain who can get jobs or claim benefits there, and 200,000 in France. Should all the British people living abroad be ?sent home??

Freedom of movement is a basic Marxist principle. Our view is that, if wealth is free to travel across borders, then the workers who create the wealth should have the same freedom.

Unions need to defend the significant numbers of ?migrant? worker members from anti-migrant racism in the workplace and in society. Unions need to send pro-immigration messages to counter the poison and division currently circulated by the ruling class, pinning the blame for unemployment, wage cuts and housing shortages on the bosses instead of migrants. Unions must fight for a levelling-up of conditions and for a working-class social programme that deals with the problems by expropriating and redistributing the wealth of the rich.

Unfortunately, some in the RMT want to revive the ?No2EU? electoral coalition which stood in the 2009 European Parliament elections. No2EU?s platform criticised ?the so-called free movement of labour? and opposed the ?social dumping? of migrant workers. The last thing we need is for the unions? political voice to echo the anti-migrant right! We have nothing in common with the Little Englanders, Ukipers, and Tories who want to take Britain out of the EU and restrict immigration.

We are stronger when we overcome division amongst ourselves to take on our bosses.


MYTH-BUSTING

Migrants contribute ?2.5 billion more in tax than they claim in benefits.

In the year to April 2009 migrants from astern Europe were 59% less likely to receive welfare benefits than UK natives; or 49% if they had been here for more than two years. They were 57% less likely to live in social housing.

Steve Nickell, economics professor at Nuffield College, concluded that it was ?very hard to find a significant impact of immigration on participation or unemployment by region, by skill or by age? there is very little evidence that they are taking jobs that would otherwise exist and be filled by natives?.

Between 1997 and 2005 middle earners gained 1.5p an hour and upper earners 2p from the effects of immigration.

Wages of the lowest-paid (the worst-paid 5%) have suffered in periods of high immigration ? but only by 0.7p an hour.

The effect for some groups of particularly vulnerable low-paid workers (who often were the previous wave of immigrants?) may be greater.

Immigration expands the economy and increases the total number of jobs. The government?s cuts in public services, the depression imposed across industry by the fall-out from the bankers? binge up to 2008, and employers? insistence on making sure of high profits and squeezed, speeded-up workforces before they will expand and hire new workers ? all of those cost jobs.

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Source: http://shirazsocialist.wordpress.com/2013/08/03/immigration-legal-and-illegal-and-common-decency/

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Sunday, August 4, 2013

Once Again Irvine California is the Safest City in America








we're at an all-time historic low last I heard.

Racial tension is slowly subsiding and segregated neighborhoods are once again starting to mix. Not to say a particular race commits more crime than others, but race IS a big factor in crime prevention that bigwigs try their damndest to ignore for fear of coming off as racist.

Take the highly segregated neighborhoods of St. Joseph, Michigan and Benton harbor, Michigan (This same example was used in a book) St. Joseph is 90% White American, Benton Harbor is 89.2% African American.

Now lets look at crime.

http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime...-Michigan.html St. Joseph

http://www.city-data.com/crime/crime...-Michigan.html Benton Harbor.

We can't keep being politically correct and ignore the trends, nobody is a racist if we agree as a single "race" (American) that something has to give.

Source: http://www.mmo-champion.com/threads/1327772-Once-Again-Irvine-California-is-the-Safest-City-in-America?goto=newpost

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Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Foodies show up at California State Fair

SACRAMENTO, CA - High calorie counts are not enough to keep people away from fair food.

The California State Fair is all about fun, but it's also about food for many.

"Oh yeah! Every year we come for the food, every year," Jerry Meza said. "We've been coming for 12 years!"

Funnel cakes, footlongs and French fries put a smile on foodies' faces, both big and small.

"I'm starting off with the ceviche, then I'm going to build my way up to the heavy cholesterol and fried things," said a man from San Diego.

Although California restaurants are required to post health information on their menus, food vendors in places like the state fair are not.

"Our menu labeling laws that went into affect a few years ago were for our fixed-facility chain restaurants and they did not affect the temporary booths such as these," Sacramento County Supervising Environmental Specialist Zarha Ruiz said.

Some of the calorie counts, according to Web MD:

  • Fried candy bars - 444 calories
  • Funnel cakes - 760 calories
  • Giant turkey legs - 1,136 calories

There are some healthy food options at the state fair, but you just have to keep your eyes open.

Fair goers can opt for grilled veggies instead of fried in some places or keep off some fatty condiments.

No matter what you choose to eat at the fair, experts said it's all about enjoying everything in moderation.

Source: http://sacramento.news10.net/news/events/177373-foodies-show-california-state-fair

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Jury selection begins for Army general in sex case

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) ? Jury selection has started at Fort Bragg for a U.S. Army general facing court-martial on sexual assault charges.

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Sinclair has pleaded not guilty to criminal charges including forcible sodomy, indecent acts, violating orders and adultery.

A dozen potential jurors were brought in for questioning Tuesday. All are major generals or lieutenant generals. At least five will be chosen for the trial set for Sept. 30.

All said they had heard about the case.

Defense attorneys question if it's possible to select jurors who would not worry about career ramifications if they voted to acquit Sinclair.

The 27-year Army veteran has commanded troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. He is accused of forcing a female aide with whom he had an extramarital affair to perform oral sex.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jury-selection-begins-army-general-sex-case-144321613.html

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Sunday, July 14, 2013

FDA approves Boehringer drug for lung cancer

The Food and Drug Administration said Friday that it approved a new drug from Boehringer Ingelheim for patients with a genetic variant of advanced lung cancer.

The agency said it approved the company's Gilotrif for lung cancer patients who test positive for certain gene mutations in their tumors. The agency approved the drug alongside a diagnostic test from Qiagen NV designed to detect the mutation.

The test detects epidermal growth factor receptor abnormalities found in roughly 10 percent of patients with the most prevalent form of lung cancer, known as non-small cell lung cancer.

Patients taking the drug in company studies experienced 4 more months without their cancer spreading than patients taking chemotherapy alone. The drug did not extend survival overall.

Lung cancer is the deadliest form of cancer among men and women in the U.S. and is expected to kill nearly 160,000 people this year, according to the National Cancer Institute.

The FDA specifically approved the drug for untreated cancer that has spread from the lungs.

Common side effects of the drug include diarrhea, skin breakouts, dry skin and mouth inflammation.

"The approval of companion diagnostic tests and drugs are important developments in oncology, as they help us bring safe and effective treatments to patients who need them," said Alberto Gutierrez, FDA's director of in vitro diagnostics.

Shares of Netherlands-based Qiagen NV rose 60 cents, or 3 percent, to $20.52 in late New York trading. Boehringer Ingelheim is based in Germany.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2013/07/12/3497386/fda-approves-boehringer-drug-for.html

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