Nèdeem Elmahjoub's blog

The crisis boils down to the form of British capitalism. “It still seems more likely that Japan and Britain will secure enough gas, in the same way they secured enough coronavirus vaccines, by the expedient of poorer countries not getting enough. But for Britain the price crisis will be harsh. Free market fanaticism combines with the brutal practice of making the poorest citizens pay a disproportionate share of the cost of funding the transition to zero-carbon energy.” On the boil Related Why India is on the brink of a power crisis

“Britain is at least 90,000 truck drivers short.” “Logistics UK, the trade body for hauliers, said Britain had a chronic driver shortage for many years, but the problem was now acute. Many cite similar tales of poor working conditions for quitting but other reasons include poor wages compounded by a tax reform, known as IR35, that prevented most drivers from operating as limited companies, resulting in a significant cut to take-home pay.” “Add to that Brexit. For truckers, that meant endless paperwork, including customs procedures they were never trained for and queues at the border. Other issues included the need to take UK driving exams that many truckers did not have the language skills for, along with a more hostile attitude to foreigners in Britain. For the EU drivers that have left but still have the right to return and live in the UK, the prospects of higher pay that some UK companies are now offering was not enough. Many said they had already found work elsewhere on higher wage

When one interpreter asked me a few days ago, ‘Why is my five-year-old worth less than a dog?’ I didn’t have an answer.” I have a business idea for Farthing even Alan Sugar, the greatest Brit to ever live, would never think of it: put the dogs on ebay. As of Johnson and Patel, it is sheer hypocrisy. They have been pursuing a hostile environment policy towards refugees, restricting their entry, confining them in detention centres, etc. and now they want to show the world that they care. Britain values dogs more than Aghan people

It might not be that left at all

  Why border lines drawn with a ruler in WWI still rock the Middle East

The author has ignored exploitation of labour as a source of wealth. In fact, he ignored that even inherited wealth comes from past labour. Note that the word capitalism is not mention even once. As regarding why “ the belief that Britain is a meritocracy is ingrained in our collective psyche,” one has to include the role of ideology . Where does wealth comes from? Related The meritocrats shall inherit the earth What Does the Ruling Class Do When it Rules?

Some call it exploitation. Others call it meeting target and productivity. “We have borrowed a lot of money to come here, we passed long distance, left our relatives, not to get this. We came to work but we can’t work, earn money, we can’t save money and help our families. Sometimes there is a feeling that we can’t prove anything, that no one will help us.”   Low-paid migrant workers ‘trapped’ on Britain’s farms

  Study Links Nike, Adidas and Apple to Forced Uighur Labour Related Britain: MPs criticise companies over China forced labour

A few years ago, Terry Eagleton, then professor of English literature at Manchester University, reckoned that  “for the first time in two centuries, there is no eminent British poet, playwright or novelist prepared to question the foundations of the western way of life.” No Shelley speaks for the poor, no Blake for utopian dreams, no Byron damns the corruption of the ruling class, no Thomas Carlyle and John Ruskin reveal the moral disaster of capitalism. William Morris, Oscar Wilde, HG Wells, George Bernard Shaw have no equivalents today. Harold Pinter was the last to raise his voice. Among the insistent voices of consumer-feminism, none echoes Virginia Woolf, who described  “the arts of dominating other people … of ruling, of killing, of acquiring land and capital.” — J ohn Pilger

I am very moved by the plight of the front line chief executives, the ‘masters of the universe’, in Britain. How life would be without them and ‘their contribution’ to the nation’s wealth and well-being? FTSE chief executives

 Five-day walkout at British Gas over fire and rehire plans

 From Ishmahil Blagrove diary: Cuba December 2020 Related Internet fuels rate protests

“ Heaven be thanked that the soldiers of the Great War cannot return today to discover how their sacrifice has been turned into a fashion appendage.” The Great War?

100 years ago: How the West Stole Democracy from the Arabs

History sanitised Via Michael Roberts "It was Victory in Europe day on Friday 8 May, the 75th anniversary of the day that the 'Allied' powers officially defeated the 'Axis' powers in Europe (but not in Asia). The celebrations in the UK were all about Britain standing alone to defeat the Germans, with a little American help. No mention of the UK's colonial allies in Southern Asia, or the dominions of Australia, Canada etc. And above all, no mention of the role of the Soviet Union and China. But where was the war  won, and who suffered the most casualties?" "The bear that somewhow isn't in the room" Related Every state has its own myths. Here is one of Britain's

We're knee-deep in shit and drinking cups of tea

A new world won't emerge as if by magic

This "community surveillance" makes sense in this situation provided it is dismantled afterwards. But that should go along with mass testing (which should have been carried out from the very beginning) Copy and past the following headline to google search:  Germany’s virus response shines unforgiving light on Britain Community surveillance, community protection

£1bn of taxpayers' cash to help foreign countries buy British arms

Covid-19 in Britain