HUMOUR:

HE DIED FOR YOUR CREDIT CARD:

HUMOUR:

MORE THOUGHTS ON BOXING DAY:

HUMOUR:

THOUGHTS ON BOXING DAY:

INTERNATIONAL POLITICS:

BUY NOTHING DAY AND BEYOND:

Today was Buy Nothing Day, originally a Canadian invention and now a worldwide "event", or non-event as the case may be. Molly was more or less true to the spirit of the day except that I felt compelled to go to the Liquor Commission to acquire more booze for the weekend. Actually it's pretty easy for me to observe such a day as the LC and the gas station account for pretty well over 90% of my purchases. I have to buy gas as a requirement to keep working. Maybe the booze is the same, along with the 222s for the arthritis and the occasional 50 cents for air for the slow leaking tire that the garage didn't manage to fix. Yeah a lot of places now charge for air if you can believe it or not. That seems like some sort of ultimate to me.

All that being said the idea of Buy Nothing Day seems to have gathered support outside of those who would rather spend their money on $15,000 "eco-tours" and naturopathic quackery. It has gathered the support of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) as the following article from them shows. Now a cynic might say that this merely speaks for a segment of the population that consume in different ways from the majority and would like said majority to follow their path, voluntarily or otherwise. And if they cannot afford to consume the "correct" way then too bad for them.

But does it have to be that way ? This year there is an alternative, at least in the Spanish speaking world. The 'Huelga De Consumo' promoted by the Spanish CGT bears a superficial resemblance to the Buy Nothing Day, but this event set for December 21 is another animal entirely. While it contains all of the feel-good ecoboo of BND it is expressly set forth as an instrument of class struggle, not as some new age correction of the presumed moral failings of the masses who do not share the social values (and privileges) of the 'new class'. It is meant as a 'trial balloon', following the September 29th general strike in Spain, to see if even more pressure can be put on the ruling class. It should be noted that the Spanish CGT with up to 100,000 members and representing up to 2 million Spanish workers in workplace elections is not an insignificant force.

Quite frankly I feel much more comfortable with this sort of thing than I do with the anglosphere idea of 'Buy Nothing Day' if for no other reason than the fact that the latter is merely something resembling a religious declaration of principle while a Consumers' Strike is something that may actually be a real weapon in a class war. I don't know how well the CGT's idea will lay out, but I will certainly translate further information about it here on this blog.

Until then, here is CUPE's statement on Buy Nothing Day. A very small step, but at least it is something.

☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼☼

Buy Nothing Day – cut back on waste
Nov 25, 2010 01:10 PM


Friday, November 26, 2010 is Buy Nothing Day, a day set aside to shun our consumptive ways. The day was first recognized in Vancouver in 1992 and has since spread throughout the world.

The Friday after the American Thanksgiving was selected for Buy Nothing Day as this day traditionally in the United States signals the beginning of the Christmas shopping rush.

Buy Nothing Day is a time to examine over-consumption and its effects on the environment and our culture. Specifically, over-consumption is linked to excess waste generation, rising greenhouse gas emissions, negative effects on the air, water and soil quality, and other environmental issues.

Here are just a few waste facts to consider:

►According to the Recycling Council of Ontario, by the age of 6 months, the average Canadian has consumed the same amount of resources as the average person in the developing world consumes in a lifetime.

►The average Canadian produces 997 kilograms of waste per year, according to Statistics Canada.

►Environment Canada estimated that more than 140,000 tonnes of computer equipment, phones, televisions, stereos and small home appliances accumulate in Canadian landfill cites each year.

►The CUPE National Environment Committee urges members to stop and consider these impacts and refrain from buying anything on Friday November 26. Rather than celebrating consumerism by shopping, CUPE members are encouraged to celebrate the Earth.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR:

NO SWEAT FASHION:

Molly can't claim to have much interest in the sort of thing discussed below. Quite frankly it has been decades since I was "in fashion" of any sort- regular or alternative. Others, however, may be interested. Here, from the International Labor Rights Forum is their summer selection of sweat free apparel.

SSSSSSSSSSSS

Are you a Summer Fashionista?:‏


Summer is just around the corner! This year you can update your summer collection and support workers around the world at the same time. Before you hit the stores to stock up on flip flops and tank tops, check out our 2009 Shop With a Conscience Consumer Guide, where you can find a list of retailers that offer cool sweatfree summer selections, all produced by unionized workers or worker owned cooperatives.

For those of you not in the mood for shopping, check out this handy list of other ways you can support garment factory workers.

Below are just two options for you to check out. For a complete list of companies, go to the Shop with a Conscience Consumer Guide.
Looking for Something for Yourself?
Looking for Something for Your School, Group, Team or Organization?


No Sweat Apparel offers a little bit of everything for summer, from USA-made tees, tanks and accessories just for you or wholesale and custom printed tees - all year round! For your trips to the beach, score a new organic cotton tshirt, produced in Palestine. All of No Sweat's products come from unionized factories or worker owned cooperatives. It’s a great deal—reasonably priced clothing for you, and fair wages for workers around the world.

Ethix Merch offers an extensive selection of products that you can custom design for your team or organization. They have everything from apparel and sports equipment to custom made bags, pens, and mugs. The products they customize are all made by unionized workers, and they offer wide variety of recycled, eco-friendly products. Protect the environment and fair working conditions for workers and promote your team or group at the same time!

CONSUMERISM:

EARTH DAY AND MARKETING:

Earth Day is coming tomorrow, whoop de ding dong. Most good ideas are subject to the law of inevitable chintz, and the whole hoopla around Earth Day may indeed be the primary modern example (though I am sure that there are many close competitors). What exactly is more absurd, the declining portion of leftists who imagine that 'ecology" poses some "fundamental paradigm" for changing society(and their absurd religious apotheoses in our dear "primitivists) for the better or those who buy into the "propaganda model" as promoted by the official sponsors of such events as Earth Day ? Who knows ?

What I do know is that the official promotion of Earth Day by government and corporation has gutted the original concept of any useful meaning. What I did't realise was how far this process had progressed. the story below is from the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood, and it questions the idea of the overwhelming corporate sponsorship of Earth Day. What Molly finds most jaw droppingly amazing is the idea almost mentioned in passing ie "Earth Day shopping". Do people actually do this ? That is truly amazing. Holy Jesus H. Christ ! Turn your back for a minute and the kids and the dog are wrecking the house. It is right up their with the anarcho-nonsense spewed across the internet (using the height of technology) to promote some idea of the end of civilization. The difference is that large numbers of people buy the former idea while the latter is confined to an ever diminishing cult. I guess it's the old Biblical adage of the beam in one's own eye.

In any case, if you don't find the idea of "consuming for the ecology" silly then what can I say ? Welcome to Orwell's dystopia.

$$$$$$$$$$$$

MARKETING EARTH DAY(AND OTHER STUFF) TO CHILDREN:
Between Sesame's new green Elmo and Nick's Big Green Help, the children's media and marketing industries are going green in a big way this Earth Day. Or are they? In today's Huffington Post, CCFC's Susan Linn and Josh Golin lay out the harms inherent in the environmental lessons promoted by companies whose profits depend on inculcating consumerism in children.

In the coming year, CCFC will work to make the connections between marketing to children and environmental degradation more explicit. If you have ideas for campaigns that highlight this link, please send them to ccfc@jbcc.harvard.edu.

A link to the article is below. Happy Earth Day!

---------------
Marketing Earth Day (and Other Stuff) to Children
By Susan Linn and Josh Golin
Have you done your Earth Day shopping yet? Between greeting cards, jewelry, mugs, and teddy bears commemorating the day, its roots in environmental activism have all but been forgotten. Now corporations use Earth Day to sell us on the belief that we can buy our way into ecological sustainability. We can't.

Reducing consumption is essential to preserving the earth's resources and preventing its degradation. The same companies that are painting themselves green depend on the profits they earn convincing us to buy more than we need.

Nowhere is this more obvious, and more troubling, than in the world of children's media and marketing, where companies like Disney, Sesame Workshop, and Nickelodeon are eco-marketing as never before.

Read the rest at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-linn/marketing-earth-day-and-o_b_189466.html

HOLIDAYS/ANARCHISM:

THE CHRISTMAS RESISTANCE MOVEMENT:

Every year Molly grows to hate the customary procedure of Christmas more and more. It hardly qualifies as a holiday. Great grievous amounts of time are taken up in visits to such things as stores I would never visit during the regular course of the year. I try and control my emetic reflexes. Not that I don't enjoy decorating the yard (the misery of the temperatures outside excluded) or the tree. Still, Halloween is much more fun. I'd much rather give something small to a hundred strangers than enter into the competition for gift giving amongst people I know. The former has no emotional connotation and is the far better for it. I'm tempted to "give" everybody I know a donation to charity in their name and be done with the nonsense. In any case I'm not the only person who feels this way. Here's the announcement of the Christmas Resistance Movement.

.....................

The Christmas Resistance Movement:

You know holiday shopping is offensive and wasteful. You know Christmas "wish lists" and "gift exchanges" degrade the concept of giving. You know Christmas marketing is a scam, benefiting manufacturers, stores, and huge corporations, while driving individuals into debt. You know this annual consumer frenzy wreaks havoc on the environment, filling landfills with useless packaging and discarded gifts.

Yet, every year, you cave in and go shopping.

The relentless onslaught of advertising exerts constant pressure. So do the unified bleatings of herds of shoppers, who call you "Scrooge" if you fail to enthusiastically join their ritual orgy of consumption. Friends and family needle you with gift requests, store windows beckon with shiny colorful packages, the same "classic" holiday jingles are piped constantly through every speaker in town.

How can you resist?

Join the Christmas Resistance Movement!

The growing CHRISTMAS RESISTANCE MOVEMENT is joined in solidarity against the Shopping Season. For every 100 automatons who call you "Scrooge," there's a sparkly-eyed CHRISTMAS RESISTOR who supports YOU in NOT BUYING INTO THE HOLIDAY HYSTERIA.

Together, we boycott Christmas Shopping, Christmas decorations, Christmas cards, and every variety of Christmas Crap. We refuse to support the Holiday Industry. We show our love for friends and family by giving our time and care, not by purchasing consumer goods. We maintain the integrity of giving by giving spontaneously and from our hearts, rather than during a specified season.

You are not alone.

Together, we can RESIST CHRISTMAS!
Website:
http://www.xmasresistance.org

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR/HOLIDAYS:

SWEATFREE FOR THE HOLIDAYS:

It's coming up to Christmas time again. Personally I would be very happy if the gift giving/ mad shopping part of it became as infinitesimally small as Steven Harper's conscience. That, however, is unlikely to happen in my lifetime. So...if you can't avoid consuming at least you may consume ethically. Here's a little blurb from the Sweatfree Communities and the International Labour Rights Forum about their new catalogue for shopping from companies that respect workers' rights.

.........................

ANNOUNCING THE RELEASE OF THE 2009 SHOP WITH A CONSCIENCE CONSUMER GUIDE:
SweatFree Communities and International Labor Rights Forum have teamed up once again to release the 2009 Shop with a Conscience Consumer Guide filled with excellent products made in good working conditions. We believe that one of the most important criteria for meaningful and dignified work is that workers have an effective, collective voice in determining their wages and working conditions. Therefore all the products in this shopping guide are made by workers organized into democratic unions or worker-owned cooperatives. All retailers and wholesalers listed in the guide have undergone a rigorous application process to give us and you the confidence that their products truly meet our sweatfree criteria. Please support organized workers by shopping with a conscience this holiday season and by helping publicize this guide.
View the 2009 Shopping Guide
Click below for various product categories
Women
Men
Babies
Footwear
Coats
T-shirts
Sports

There is also a handy wholesale guide for those interested in buying products in bulk. You can also download the PDF of the Shop with a Conscience Consumer Guide to pass out to family and friends by clicking here.

If you know of a business that you should be included in the guide, encourage them to check out our criteria and application for more information.

And for those that would rather directly support workers around the world, consider donating to SweatFree Communities and International Labor Rights Forum.
Seasons greetings,

SweatFree Communities & International Labor Rights Forum

CONSUMERISM (OR NOT):

BUY NOTHING DAY-IT'S COMING SOON:

Next Friday November 28 (Saturday, November 29 in Europe and Asia) is the official 'Buy Nothing Day', an annual event initiated to protest rampant consumerism. This one is easy to participate in. Just don't consume. Simple as pie, especially in hard economic times.

.......................
Buy Nothing Day 2008

A 24 hour moratorium on consumer spending
Event Info
Host:
Adbusters
Time and Place
Start Time:
North America: Friday, November 28-Elsewhere:Saturday, November 29, 2008 at 12:00am
End Time:
North America:Saturday November 29 at 12:00am-Elsewhere:Sunday, November 30, 2008 at 12:00am
Location:
The World
Contact Info
Email:
sarahterkes@buynothingday.info
Description
Participate by not participating!

Saturday November 29th 2008 is International Buy Nothing Day. It's a day where you challenge yourself, your family and friends to switch off from (mindless) shopping and tune into life.

The rules are simple:

For 24 hours you will detox from consumerism and live without mindless, needless shopping. Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spending (mindlessly)!

This event was founded by Vancouver artist Ted Dave and subsequently promoted by Adbusters magazine.

PLEASE VISIT THE WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS:

http://www.buynothingday.info/

..................................
Why do you buy?:
Once upon a time, we used to buy what we needed, period.

Now that we have all we need, we buy for other reasons: to impress each other, to fill a void, to kill time. Buy Nothing Day is a simple idea: try not to shop for a day, and see how your view of our world changes.

Where does all this stuff come from?

Where will it go?

Why do we buy it?

Aren't there better ways of spending our time?
About Buy Nothing Day
Quick Facts:
Purpose

Provide a moment of pause in the production-consumption routine. Find alternatives to a shopping-centered life-style. Draw attention to the social, economic, environmental and psychological effects of overconsumption. Promote ecological economics (local and environmentally responsible business, non GDP indicators of wealth).
Promotion

Adbusters Media Foundation (Canada) http://www.adbusters.org/
Mailing Lists (Adbusters, Casseurs de Pub, World BND, BND Japan etc.)

Approx. 1,000,000 subscribers

Confirmed number of participating countries (in 2003)

62

Media coverage

NY Times, Wall Street Journal, the Guardian, Le Monde; CNN, Fox; TV stations and print media in at least 7 countries.Also see: http://www.bnd.nu/artiklar.shtml

Participating organizations include:

Friends of the Earth, Food Not Bombs, Critical Mass, Workshop for Sustainable Development (Omslag, Holland) , The Commons (France)Mascots, The Big Pig, Zenta Claus (concept made in Japan), Consumer Sheep, Consumer Monster
Popular events/activities:

Credit card cut-ups, street theatre, shops selling nothing, meditating in Santa Claus costumes, no-logo parades, bicycle demonstrations, teach-ins, postering and leaf-letting, conga-lines, free food parties, barter markets, free concerts, shopping-free zones (sofas and carpets in city shopping area), broadcasting BND un-commercials on radio and TV, simply not shopping and instead enjoying the day with friends and family.
More information:

Adbusters Media Liaison

Phone (1) 604-736-9401

EMAIL: media-pr@adbusters.org

http://www.adbusters.org/metas/eco/bnd/

FAQS
What is BND? :
Buy Nothing Day is a holiday, a street party to celebrate sustainable lifestyles, a break from the shop-till-you drop culture. It is what we make it. You can just take a day off or organize something.
What’s the point?
To stop and think about what and how much we buy effects the environment, our own well-being and people in developing countries. By participating in the global BND, you make a statement for a new kind of lifestyle, culture and politics:
*A personal life that is not just about making and spending money
*A public culture that is diverse and open for many ideas and concerns, not dominated by pro-shopping messages
*Politics based on global peace and fairness, and true cost economics (not neo-classical GDP economics)
Does it make a difference if I don’t shop for a day?
It does. Try it and you’ll see.
Isn't it bad for the economy?
In many economically successful countries, there is a weekly ‘sell-nothing-day,’ for example Sunday. Experience shows that when shops are ‘allowed’ to open on Sunday, the overall sales don’t rise, but small and medium retailers lose to large businesses. So BND is not bad for the economy, it just does not give an advantage to big businesses.

Many people like to use BND to call for year-round boycotts of certain businesses (especially transnational corporations) with unfair labor practices, a bad environmental or animal rights record, a history of war profiteering and political meddling, etc. Others voice their support for good business practices and policies that recognize the social benefit of eco-businesses and fair trade.
What are some alternatives to buying?
First figure out if you can do without it. If the answer is yes, try re-using, recycling/remodeling, making your own, sharing existing (vehicles, computers, garden tools, etc.), bartering, using local money, give-aways, and even garbage-diving.
What is so bad about consuming?
It's not buying goods and services itself that's so harmful, it's what we buy and how much. People in the money-rich countries (only 20% of the world population) are consuming over 86% of the earth's natural resources, and cause most of the environmental damage.

The raw materials and production methods that are used to make so many of our goods have harmful side affects such as toxic waste, destruction of wild life, and wasted energy. The transport of goods internationally also contributes to pollution (often unnecessarily, since many goods could be produced locally or regionally). Our demand for certain conveniences can also cause war and instability in other countries. We all know about America’s “wars for oil’ in which the Japanese government supports. But there are less know stories: e.g. Tantal, a raw metal needed for cell phones, game boys and laptops, is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A UN report named the tantal trade as one of the causes for “one of the biggest human rights tragedies since WW1”, a war that has been going on since 1997.
How did BND start?
BND was invented by the Canadian artist Ted Dave and his friends in 1992. Adbusters, an international magazine started spreading and promoting it, and now it is celebrated in at least 62 countries (2003).
Who organizes BND?
Events are organized by anyone who wants to. Therefore- every place, every event is different. It's up to you. So far, in Japan, there are small business owners, students, designers, teachers, 'regular working people,' dads and mom's, citizen's groups (environmental groups, peace groups, labor groups) are organizing events and activities.
How many people participate?
Around the world, Adbusters estimates that in 2003, about a million people participated by not shopping, and could confirm that thousands participated in events in at least 60 countries. In Japan, we expect about 10.000 to participate this year, In other Asian countries, so far there are confirmed reports of organizing groups in the Philippines, Hong Kong and Korea. In Germany, BND has the support of one of Germany’s big newspapers, the tageszeitung.
Why these dates (Friday after Thanksgiving in North America, the following Saturday in Europe and Asia)?
In many countries, this weekend is the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. In North America, where BND started, the Friday after Thanksgiving is famous for its wild shopping frenzy. The media always report on the sales numbers and consumer behavior on this day (the crazier the rush the more enthusiastic the reporters). In Europe and Asia we celebrate it the following Saturday, because sales are higher on that day.
Can't I make another day buy nothing day?
Of course. Any day is fine for a personal consumption fast (some people and cultures like to keep a weekly buy nothing day). But it is more fun and has more impact if you do it together with ten thousands of people around the globe.
But we can’t make every day buy nothing day, can we?
Actually, there are people who chose a life where they hardly need to buy things. These people are known under names like simple lifers or down-shifters. This may not be your choice of lifestyle, but they show us that we can develop alternatives, and how to value things that cannot be bought and sold.

Event Ideas:
**pass out flyers and or do a performance in shopping areas, trains stations in town or shopping malls (note: If the space is privately owned, the security guards will probably show up soon. In public space you may have to register with the police, beforehand, but business owners cannot chase you off.)
**street performances: funny costumes are de rigeur. Santa Claus doing weird things (meditating, ), the shopping-dropping act (walking laden with insane amounts of shopping bags, pretending to collapse under them.
**Demonstrations: on foot or bicycle
**a stand selling nothing (with a hawker), or a shop space with empty shelves and a register with only zeros on the receipts
**postering blitzes: put stickers and posters up in town (FOR THE RECORD: we are not encouraging illegal postings, and recommend that you do not damage whatever is below it)
**no shopping inside a supermarket or mall; a large group of people push around empty shopping carts and baskets
**credit-card cut up service station
**creating a shopping free zone: put a sofa and other furniture in a shopping area, create a cosy atmosphere, give out free tea and BND pamphlets
**teach-ins, discussion group meetings, video screenings, BND poster exhibitions, free concerts

CONSUMER (OR NOT) AFFAIRS:

BUY NOTHING DAY 2008:

Lock up your sons and daughters. It's the great blasphemy against the Holy Mallish Church ! It's the annual 'Buy Nothing Day' coming up this November 29, out on by the Vancouver folks at AdBusters. Here's the preliminary announcement from Facebook. Look for more here at Molly's Blog as the sacred day draws nigh.

.........................

BUY NOTHING DAY 2008:

Don't buy stuff
Event Info
Type:
Causes - Protest
Network:
Global
Time and Place
Date:
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Time:
12:00am - 12:00pm
Location:
Everywhere
City/Town:
Vancouver, BC
Contact Info
Email:
kjprijatel@hotmail.com
Description
Buy Nothing Day originated in Vancouver as a way of protesting over-consumption, created by Adbusters.org. It takes place the Friday after Thanksgiving (supposed to be the biggest shopping day of the year in America) and its participation now includes more than 65 nations. While critics of the day charge that Buy Nothing Day simply causes participants to buy the next day, Adbusters states that it "isn't just about changing your habits for one day" but "about starting a lasting lifestyle commitment to consuming less and producing less waste."

Go to the website:

http://adbusters.org/metas/eco/bnd/

and watch this documentary:"Affluenza"

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-dib6hSlcU&feature=related)

CURRENT EVENTS-CONSUMER AFFAIRS:

HALF THE WORLD BANS CHINESE MILK PRODUCTS WHILE CANADA AND USA DITHER:

The list of products and companies implicated in the growing scandal of melamine contamination of milk and milk byproducts in China and its export markets continues to widen. At the same time the number of countries that have instituted either total or partial bans on Chinese products made with milk continues to grow. Here's the list so far:

*Bamgladesh (three brands banned and melamine testing to be done on all imports)

*Benin (powdered milk products)

*Bhutan (total ban)

*Brunei (total ban)

*Burundi (total ban)

*Cameroon(ban on milk and powdered milk)

*Columbia (ban on powdered milk)

*Costa Rica (total ban)

*Columbia (powdered milk)

*European Union (powdered milk, infant foods)

*France (total ban)

*Gabon (total ban)

*Ghana (total ban)

*India (total ban, three month moratorium)

*Indonesia (total ban)

*Ivory Coast (total ban)

*Malasia (total ban)

*Maldives (total ban)

*Nepal (total ban)

*Papua New guinea (total ban)

*Philippines (dairy products, infant food)

*Singapore (total ban)

*South Korea (ban on all products with powdered milk)

*Suriname (total ban)

*Taiwan (dairy products ban)

*Tanzania (total ban)

*Togo (total ban)

*Vietnam (total ban)

The above list, taken from several different sources, is undoubtedly out of date as I speak. Most problematic is Japan where melamine has been found in several different products either imported from China or made with Chinese milk based ingredients. Given the scale of the problem in Japan it is likely that a total ban will be instituted soon. Within China itself, and Hong Kong, companies that have had to institute recalls notably include the Starbucks chain, Nestlé and the Heinz brand. Meanwhile, according to an article in the Bloomberg Report the World Health Organization has stated on September 26 that there was "deliberate failure" in reporting the problems with the contaminated milk. Information on when concerns were first voiced and by whom have become a disputed matter. The main dispute is between New Zealand based Fonterra Cooperative Group which held a 43% interest in Santu Group, the first company identified as a peddler of tainted milk, and Chinese authorities. Fonterra claims that it began to pressure its Chinese affiliate last March, after the first complaints about their product has been received as early as last December. Chinese authorities fault Fonterra for keeping the news "private"until the matter was finally reported to city authorities in Shijiazhuang on August 2. The central government of China, however, did not begin any action until September 10. This was despite having definitely incriminated melamine as the problem as early as September 1.

It was not until September 13 that the Chinese Ministry of Health gave its first news conference on the matter and declared a national food-safety emergency. Since them heads have rolled as the Chinese government has attempted to attach blame to anyone but its central agencies. The mayor of Shijiazhuang has been dismissed. The CEO of Sanlu, Tian Wenhua has been arrested. This basic timeline is confirmed by an article in The Economist magazine (September 20,2008) entitled 'Formula for Disaster' (complete article to subscribers only). For a Chinese perspective and continued reporting on the matter go to the English language Danwei website.

Here we come to the crux of the matter. The timeline is suggestive of a deliberate cover-up of the matter on the part of central authorities because of one cardinal fact. The Chinese government had put considerable pressure on all domestic news agencies to report only "positive news" in the run-up to and during the Olympic and Paralympic games in Beijing. Did this also means deliberate foot dragging in the case of local and even central government authorities ? Or was it simple bureaucratic sloth and incompetence ? You be the judge.

What does this have to do with Canada and the USA ? Perhaps everything. The ruling parties in both countries are now in the midst of election campaigns. The last thing they would need would be a major "food safety" scandal on the level of what happened with pet foods and toothpaste last year, even though Canada is in the midst of at least one such problem, the listeriosis outbreak. This especially true as a full bodied move would expose the fact that both countries have done little or nothing to safeguard their publics from repeats of what happened last year.There would never be any smoking guns found in such a situation, as the pressure to "tone-down" any response would be conveyed more by subtle "suggestions" than anything else. It this perhaps the reason why most of the world has reacted much more vigorously to the problem than Canada and the USA have in only recalling a very limited number of products ?

Once more, you be the judge. China and the Olympics ? Canada and the USA and the elections ? Perhaps so.

CURRENT AFFAIRS:

MELAMINE IN MILK SCANDAL GOES WORLDWIDE:

The number of children affected by melamine adulterated infant formula in China continues to grow. According to the World Health Organization Outbreak Report (dated September 22) 40,000 children in China have been presented for medical treatment, and, at that time 12,000 were hospitalized. Four days ago there were three confirmed deaths related to the products, and, according to the WHO at least one child in Hong Kong has been hospitalized because of the poisoned formula.

While the WHO is, of course, an official and fairly reliable source its updates are often not "breaking news". More recent reports such as one from the CBC yesterday put the number of cases at up to 53,000 and the number of deaths at four (so far).

Meanwhile different governments are taking the matter with different degrees of "seriousness". Yesterday the European Union banned all imports of dairy based child and infant products from China, and India imposed a three month ban on all dairy based products from China according to Bloomberg.Com. In the USA and Canada so far only certain products have been flagged for recall. These include:

-Mr. Brown 3-in-1 Instant Coffee

-Nissin Cha Cha Deserts

-White Rabbit brand candies.

In Canada, at least, infant formula from China was previously prohibited from import, but it may still be available for sale, imported illegally given the lax state of inspection, at Asian food stores. The reader should note that none of the above three products that have been flagged so far are exactly "infant related" (unless your baby has to start his or her day with a good stiff cup of coffee). Like the pet food scandal last year the likely course of this story will be that gradually more and more products will be implicated, and governments such as those of the EU and India will be seen to have taken the prudent course, rather than depending upon "inspection" regimes that have been proven to be haphazard and the furthest thing from complete. According to the CBC article mentioned above officials from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency have said that a complete ban on Chinese dairy based products would be an "over-reaction" as "many are still safe". Does this remind anyone of what happened last year with pet foods ? It also begs the question of "how the hell do they know?". Have they checked each and every product, in all its various shipments (batch #s from China may be next to useless) ? That should take them the next two decades, devoting all their resources to this one question (2 centuries if a new Conservative government has its way and depends on the 'self-regulation-cough,cough, of the corporations). Finally...how about a poll of the parents in China about what would be an "over-reaction".

No doubt this story will grow in the days to come. To keep abreast of it please check the WHO Disease Outbreak Reports mentioned above. From an American perspective watch the Food and Water Watch website. The Center for Science in the Public Interest website also has current news, but their site is difficult to navigate to find current matters.

Despite the sang-froid of the Canadian officials some Asian food chains such as T&T have responded by pulling many more products than those named by the CFIA. Wise move actually. Down Hong Kong way, according to Canwest News Service, foods made under the very famous Heinz brand name, have been pulled by the company because melamine was found in some of the formula. Heinz none the less.

Ah, the age of globalization. Continued scandals such as this are continued proof of the anarchist contention that production of essential things such as foodstuffs should be as decentralized and local as possible. They are also proof of the anarchist contention that people cannot rely on the "benign" procedures of government and business for their protection. Independent organizations, whether they be unions, communities or research and regulatory agencies not funded by government, are as essential component of safety in a global world.

Here's yet another view, from the IUF website, about the meaning of this scandal, one that says that such things are not the result of occasional crooked Chinese businessmen but rather of the whole corporate system under which the whole world suffers today.

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Melamine milk contamination exposes the reality of 'global brands':

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Behind the melamine milk scandal lies an emerging crisis in corporate branding. One of the reasons for the heavy promotion of "global" brands was so that consumers wouldn't know (and would eventually stop caring) where products are made. Now with a major food contamination scandal that has killed at least 4 babies in China and sickened thousands, consumers are asking why their favourite "local" ice creams, biscuits and dairy products are made overseas.

The major transnational food companies spent the 1980s in a frenzy of mergers and acquisitions, buying up local brands and grabbing bigger market shares. The takeover boom continued into the first half of the 1990s and was complemented by a massive shift in company financial resources into marketing these brands, building an image and creating consumer loyalty. By the mid-90’s companies like Nestle, Unilever and Kraft had built up extensive brand portfolios and held the largest market shares in a range of food products - everything from cooking oil to ice cream, instant coffee and biscuits. They were also under investigation for monopoly practices and price fixing in several countries as a result.

By the end of the 1990s the new logic of financialization set in. The brands themselves became valuable financial assets and their value could be boosted through a blend of Wall Street wizardry and aggressive marketing rather than better manufacturing. So there was an irrational shift to rationalization: cutbacks, restructuring and consolidation. Less is more. Now fewer brands were better. By focusing on a few global brands in overseas markets the financial value of these brands would skyrocket. Nestle and Unilever called these their “billion dollar brands”, while Kraft would “shrink to grow” - with just 10 global “power brands” by 2008.

With the focus on “global brands" many of the popular local brands bought up in the 1980s and 1990s were sold off or simply disappeared. Local jobs disappeared too with them as plants were closed, merged or sold-off. In some cases the global brand was simply the logo alongside the local brand name ... then the name disappeared, and the jobs. Unilever’s "Heartbrand"” ice cream logo, for example, carries global recognition, but is known as “Walls” in the UK and Asia/Pacific regions as well as Selecta (Philippines), Kwality (India), Algida (Italy), Langnese (Germany) and Kibon (Brazil).

With global brands location no longer mattered. Production was relocated overseas (and relocated again and again), while aggressive brand marketing ensured that consumers continued to believe they were buying a locally made product with a global identity. The locally branded frozen fish stick could make a round trip detour of thousands of kilometers for filleting in China on its way to the supermarket shelf, with no questions asked.

The power of the global brand for companies like Nestle, Unilever and Kraft lies with their ability to shift production to countries like China, while loyal consumers believed it was the same product. As an added bonus, the companies could trumpet their "green" credentials and commitment to tackling global warming while loading up the products with thousands of additional food miles. Behind the familiar local brand stands a caring, concerned global company…

Consumers loyal to the brands would also continue to believe that their favorite Kraft, Nestlé or Unilever products were made by… Kraft, Nestlé or Unilever. The global branding exercise provided a convenient cover for these companies to outsource a significant portion of production to third party contractors, known as "co-packers", to manufacture their branded products. For example, one of the melamine-contaminated Nestlé Purina pet food products recalled in North America last year, after thousands of pets were sickened or died, was made by just such a North American co-packer.

Consumers who knew the reality of subcontracting were nevertheless supposed to derive comfort from the brand owners' supposed commitment to rigorous quality control. But finance-driven global branding encouraged a tidal wave of casualizing and subcontracting work within the companies' own operations. Even quality control personnel are managed and hired as casual employees through labour hire agencies. And since they're not formally employed by the company, they can't join the union.

The contamination of milk with melamine in China has now exposed the weakness of these powerful global brands. People throughout the Asia/Pacific region are suddenly finding out that their branded biscuits, ice creams and dairy products are made in China. When did that happen? And how long will it take for these products to find their way onto grocery shelves in the rest of the world - if they haven't already? Meanwhile the companies are rushing to assure consumers that products made outside of China are safe. But who is going to look beyond the global brand to the fine print that reads “Made in ...”? Too late. Companies like Nestle and Unilever long ago obscured the meaning of “made in” to refer to anything from packaging to the printing on the package!

Even the brands of companies like Fonterra and Friesland (both dairy cooperatives that went global) could suffer serious damage to their brands. Friesland’s Dutch Lady dairy products were pulled off supermarket shelves in Southeast Asia after contamination was found in Singapore. Instead of importing Dutch Lady from nearby Malaysia (where quality control is strictly regulated and the workplace is unionized) Friesland was importing from its factories in China where it has a minority ownership stake. Meanwhile Fonterra is trying to explain why it is Sanlu (its joint venture partner in China) and not Anmum made in New Zealand (strictly regulated quality control and unionized) that is tainted with melamine....

As the contamination scandal grows there is a greater likelihood that consumers will react against the global brand regardless of whether it contains milk or milk powder from China. The global brand will be tainted. Consumers will now associate Oreo (Kraft’s top global “power brand”, recently pulled from the shelves in Singapore after melamine turned up), Friesland’s Dutch Lady and Nestle’s Dreyer’s ice cream with melamine. Expensive and aggressive marketing may fix this. Maybe.

The financial impact of product recalls and lower sales (and possible lawsuits) and new marketing drives will be passed on through the company and won’t be limited to the operations in China. Workers in other countries will face more cost cutting and restructuring as a result.

CURRENT EVENTS:

TAINTED BABY FORMULA NOW:

Last year the news in the spring was all about tainted pet foods which were laced with melamine in order to give a false high protein content. These products were produced in China, and the Chinese government made claims that it had addressed the problem. This year the news is restricted to China itself, and the victims are human, babies poisoned by infant formula adulterated with melamine. The following article from the IUF website tells how there is another culprit in the scandal besides the Chinese government- the Nestlé corporation. Molly would like to extrapolate from what is said below to insist that what the IUF says is very much true, that consumers cannot depend upon either the corporations or the state for protection, that there has to be independent organizations to monitor both government and the corporations. Note also how the Chinese government is still in its own business of censorship, something it seems to do quite more effectively than monitoring food safety.

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Nestlé Puts Public Relations Before Precaution in China Milk Scandal:

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The Olympics have come and gone, and melamine, the toxic chemical used in the production of plastics, fertilizers, fire retardants and inks, among other products, is back in the news. Melamine, which can cause acute kidney failure when ingested, has become a favorite ingredient of Chinese food manufacturers to boost apparent protein content in adulterated products. In early 2007, it turned up in North American pet foods, including those marketed by Nestlé's Purina brand. It periodically surfaces in animal feed and even toothpaste. Now it's the culprit in the widening scandal arising from the contamination of Chinese-made milk products, fresh and powdered, which has resulted in the death of at least 4 babies, sickened over 53,000 and hospitalized some 13,000.

While other dairy producers initiated recalls and suspended production, Nestlé, putting public relations before safety, asserted that "that none of its products in China is made from milk adulterated with melamine." Shortly thereafter, the Hong Kong government found traces of melamine in a Nestlé milk product manufactured in mainland China. The traces were low, according to the government authorities, but it was recommended that it not be given to children. Following on a recall by leading supermarket chains, the product was eventually recalled at the request of the government. Nestlé responded with a press statement that all its milk products manufactured in China are "absolutely safe".

Massive, often fatal food contamination scandals have become a matter of such routine in China that no company, operating directly or through a joint venture, can claim to be manufacturing safely unless all stages of production and distribution are monitored for every possible source of contamination and adulteration. The policy of official laxness bordering on complicity was summed up in the official China Daily, which observed that the largest dairy manufacturers were exempt from safety inspections on the grounds that it was necessary to assist "internationally competitive producers of high quality products" by…sparing them regular testing. The explosive growth of China's booming market for dairy products, which saw annual sales double over the last five years to USD 18 billion, was an important spur to this regulatory exemption. Several Chinese commentators (since banished from the internet) have suggested that melamine adulteration was one way for companies to pass on rising input prices.

In this context of widespread corruption, criminally loose standards and the total absence of independent worker organizations to monitor worker and consumer health and safety, companies bear a particular responsibility. Repeated iterations of product safety aren't enough. Death and illness are the price of laxness

Safety concerns with Nestlé milk products aren't new. In 2002, Nestlé imported spent milk powder to Colombia, where it was repackaged (with new best before dates). Health inspectors found it before it was released for sale. Nestlé said it was repackaging the powder for health reasons.

In 2005, Chinese authorities detected excessive levels of iodine in Nestlé infant milk formula. Nestlé contended that the levels were "only a little bit higher" than the prescribed limits, and had to be dragged into a product recall and eventual apology. In 2005 again, this time in Europe, 30 million litres of Nestlé baby milk products were confiscated in Italy and the products were recalled in four other European countries when ink was found to be leaking off the packaging into the contents. Tetra Pak, maker of the packaging, claimed it had been aware of the problem and changed its production methods in September. The recall came only in November, after Italian police began confiscating the product from supermarkets, depots and lorries. Nestlé CEO Brabeck called this "a tempest in a teapot", insisting that the product posed no health risks.

Other transnational producers with operations in China have hardly covered themselves with glory in this affair - there are significant gaps in the chronologies spanning the discovery of the contamination and the effective implementation of product recalls and suspensions of productions. But Nestlé - the world's largest food company - has again distinguished itself by its dogged insistence on spin over precaution.

ECONOMICS:

CLASS AND OIL:

The ever increasing price of oil and hence other forms of energy use- gasoline, home heating,etc.- inevitably, in class society, affect those at the lower end of the economic scale more. Here's an article from LibCom, a British anarchist communist site, about the effect on the average Briton.

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UK: One in four will live in fuel poverty:

Over 14 million people could find themselves in fuel poverty in the near future, if new figures from gas giant Centrica predicting a 70% rise in gas prices prove accurate - nearly a quarter of the population.

Around 4.5 million households are currently living in fuel poverty, equating to around 10.4 million people according to the government’s 2002 figures from the Household Survey, but another 1.6 million homes are likely to be added as prices continue to rise.

The direct cost increase, already up 40% this year on top of rises from 2007, would equate to a gas bill of £1,300 for the average household. People are defined as being in fuel poverty if they spend more than 10% of their annual budget on energy.

Prices look set to continue at such levels indefinitely or rise further as oil prices, which gas is linked to, continue to remain high. The figures have contributed to a significant rise in financial problems for some of the most vulnerable houses, as people struggle with a lower availability of loans, high petrol costs and pay settlements which are failing to match inflation.

Last month Centrica announced it was on track to make a £1.9bn profit from its 15.9 million-strong customer base, down from £2.2bn last year.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR:

GETTING YOUR CHOCOLATE FIX ETHICALLY:

The following article is reprinted from the online magazine Straightgoods, a progressive project out of Ontario. Have a look at their site and consider subscribing. The article deals with the unpleasant reality behind the chocolate pleasure and how you might avoid contributing to this by "buying ethically". At the end of the article Molly has added a list of other resources about the Fair Trade Movement.

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The sweet taste of fair trade chocolate
Foil the speculators and undercut the slave traders by choosing your chocolate with care.
by Randy Rudolph
[Editor's Note: Fair Trade Weeks are observed around the world between February and June. Fair Trade Canada has declared May 1-15 to be Fair Trade Weeks here. For more information, see the Fair Trade website at the URL below.]

Buying "fair trade" chocolate can help circumvent the food price spike and as well as helping the developing world farmers who grow the cocoa bean and live in absolute poverty.

Many Canadians consider chocolate bars to be a guilty pleasure. Peel back the foil wrapper, take a bite and savour the potent sweetness of chocolate. Breathe in the 400 distinct smells that emanate from the cocoa bean, chocolate's key ingredient. A rose, in contrast, has only 14. But don't think about how the cocoa was grown, or that chocolate might taste bittersweet.

There are an estimated 15,000 child slaves working on farms and plantations in Cote D'Ivoire alone.

Cocoa is the key ingredient in chocolate production and is widely traded. While the production of cocoa provides a livelihood to 14 million people around the globe, the life of a cocoa producer is not an easy one. Many live in absolute poverty.





Worldwide cocoa prices are currently volatile on the international market, largely due to speculation. As a result, in many cocoa-producing nations farmers are unable to secure loans for fear of default. If they do qualify, interest rates are often unbearably high.





Sadly, most cocoa producers are unable to earn a living wage and must send their children out to the fields in order to provide for their families. Worse, it is not only the children of cocoa workers who are engaged in this work. Child slavery is quite prevalent in cocoa production. There are an estimated 15,000 child slaves working on farms and plantations in Cote D'Ivoire alone.





Child labourers are forced to pick the cocoa pods, slice them open and scoop out the cocoa beans. These kids work long, hard days, often from six in the morning until six at night. Beatings by farm owners and managers are common.





"The beatings were a part of my life," then-14-year-old freed slave Aly Diabete told international reporters in 2001. "Anytime they loaded you with bags (of cocoa) and you fell while carrying them, nobody helped you. Instead, they beat you and beat you until you picked it up again."





Even though he toiled many long days in hot fields picking cocoa — 400 pods are needed to make one pound of chocolate — Diabete only tasted the dark side of the industry.





Fortunately, there is an alternative. The fair trade movement has revolutionized — re-dignified — the relationship between producers and buyers, seeking to ensure that the sale of products produced in the developing world actually benefits the people producing them.





To be certified, fair trade products such as cocoa and coffee must be purchased from democratically organized cooperatives where the workers have the right to unionize and are provided with fair wages and benefits. Also, it must be produced using environmentally sustainable production methods, and production must conform to labour conventions set out by the International Labour Organization.





The price paid for fair trade cocoa is based in part on the cost of production, not only the international market price. Basing the fair trade price on the cost of production better buffers the consumer from speculative price spikes.





Price stability (based on actual production costs) has a profound impact on the lives of cocoa farmers, allowing them to feed their families, pay for basic medical care, and perhaps send their children to school. The price differential allows cooperatives to invest back into their communities.





Says Lucy, from the Kuapa Kokoo cooperative in Ghana: "We rely on the money we get from cocoa for everything: for food, clothes, medicines, and school fees. Getting payment for our cocoa beans used to be very hit and miss. When we didn't get paid, we went without. Kuapa Kokoo pays all its farmers a fair price for their crop, in cash, and on time. I am very happy since I joined Fair Trade I can afford to send my children to school."





Canadians love chocolate. We are the eighth largest importer of cocoa globally. Yet less than one percent of our chocolate is fair trade certified.





Buying fair trade makes good economic sense on both sides. Fair trade provides a fairer and more sustainable deal for farmers, and a responsible way for consumers to bite back at high commodity prices.





Randy Rudolph volunteers with RESULTS Canada, a grassroots citizens group advocating for basic human needs for the worlds' poorest.
Related addresses:
URL 1: transfair.ca/en/nftw

MOLLY'S LIST OF OTHER RELATED RESOURCES:
*The Fairtrade Foundation - UK
*Trans Fair Canada
*Dubble - UK
*Fair Trade Toronto
*Trans Fair USA
*Équiterre - Québec
*Ethical Trading Action Group
*Banana Link -UK
*Fair Trade organization - the international certifying agency
*The International Fair Trade Association
*European Fair Trade Association
*Fair Trade Manitoba

BELARUS:

MINSK: A DAY WITHOUT A TICKET:

Way over in the country of Belarus anarchists have recently organized a "self-reduction" campaign in protest against price increases in the cost of public transport in the capital city of Belarus, Minsk. The following is the press release of the organizers.

"Anarchists in Minsk organized a protest against the cancelling of discount public transportation tickets in that city. They called on people to ride for free and wanted to promote the idea of leaving tickets behind or passing on tickets to passengers when leaving the bus. On Thursday (December 28th-Molly) there was a small protest. Two anarchists who were holding a banner in Independence Square were arrested and got 3 days in jail. They'll be released on Sunday (Today, January 30th-Molly).

Molly Comment:

Very terse and to the point. Molly certainly applauds this sort of action because it is one that connects anarchism with the concerns of ordinary people, and she hopes that anarchists take such examples to heart. All that being said, however, such actions should always be undertaken with a clear-headed idea of their likely chances of success. These chances are minuscule in most places today. This doesn't diminish the "propaganda value" of undertaking such campaigns, but such things should be undertaken with a clear head rather than in the spirit of ideological exuberance.

What are the conditions of "success" for such an enterprise ? First of all recognize that such campaigns have occurred repeatedly. They are not a new invention. Try to learn from past experiences. They involve "self-reduction" not just in public transport, but also in terms of utility bills and rent. What they are is a limited protest against certain aspects of the cost of living amongst ordinary people- or those who wish to influence same. They may prefigure a society where at least some goods such as public transit are provided free of cost to all. While it is wise to put this desire for such a situation forward as part of the campaign, in purely educational terms, it is also wise to understand that the success of such campaigns is, at best, limited by the resources available to the target of such efforts. Just like any strike such campaigns are an attempt to redistribute "surplus", and if no surplus is available then they cannot succeed. Any attempt to self-reduce such aspects of the cost of living should come pre-armed with an idea of where such surplus can be found. Whether this be the profit of landlords or the budget of a city, what pool of money should be reduced in order to spend more on the good desired should be put forward.

The grand-daddy of all such self-reduction movements would have to be the Barcelona rent strike of 1931 (see http://www.workersolidarity.org/rentstrike1931.htm ). It is also the example of the greatest degree of success of such movements. Even though it was broken by police repression the upshot was that most of the participants obtained financial benefits from their actions. Other, more recent, examples such as the self-reduction movement in Italy in the early 70s and its imitation in Vancouver BC at about the same time were far less successful. The 2006 San Francisco attempt at a "fare strike" was just as much of a lost cause as that of Vancouver in the early 70s. The Italian example involved not just refusal to pay transit fares but also "invasions" of grocery stores to reclaim food as a free good.

The Italian example succeeded at least partially, but to nowhere the degree that the Spanish one did. San Francisco and Vancouver were utter failures. What was the difference ? The answer is simple- organization. The Italian efforts were able to count on the at least partial support of trade union federations who could bargain with the civic authorities . Not everything was granted, of course, and the union federations, controlled by communists and social democrats ,put their own organizational interests ahead of the demands of consumers. In Spain of 1931 the "difference" between local councils of residents and locals of the CNT would often be rather obscure. The tradition of spontaneous organization amongst the Spanish working class of the time was strong enough that proper coordinating bodies were rapidly formed and took on essential functions at due speed. In North America, whether it be San Francisco or Vancouver, there was no such organizational tradition. No matter what the theatrical value of the actions proposed, and often carried out, by a small minority of activists it was useless in the absence of the ability of ordinary people to self-organize.

This is the reality. Long preliminary steps towards building such traditions of self-organization cannot be skipped. This may seem outre to those raised on a diet of television and other media, where matters can always be concluded before the end of the hour. It is still, however, as true as it always was. This misunderstanding of the nature of human social organization contributes to the fascination of spectacular actions for far too many anarchists today. The cult of the "rebel" overwhelms common sense, and instead of seeing an action as contributing to ongoing self-organization of ordinary people those who are attracted to a stage-craft view of politics imagine that some media will magically transmit not just the "news" of their actions but also the emotions behind them. Lots of luck guys.

So....by all means such actions are valuable, but they should be undertaken in a spirit of realism, with a goal of building self-organization amongst ordinary people, of perhaps winning temporary victories that could inspire such. NEVER should they be undertaken in the existential position of "showing off" one's rebellious nature.