Anyone with even a passing knowledge of what the Chattering Classes are chattering about these days is aware of falling wages.  Indeed, wages have been falling in the States since 1973.  This trend accelerated around 2001 and then again eight or nine months ago and now seems to be constantly intensifying.  This is a very important issue to which we will return.

But let’s break for a moment from the concerns of the “wringing the hands”
and “viewing with alarm” section of the wimp Left.  Actual contact with working people brings to light other concerns.  What folks are talking about more than falling wages is increasing exploitation and oppression.  Regardless of who you might be talking with the story will be a version of how harsh management is, how long the hours are, and the additional tasks being added to the work load.  On top of this is the problem of the Temp agencies and so-called part-time work of occasionally up to 60 hours per week.  Working conditions are deteriorating as rapidly as wages.  Also benefits are disappearing and precariousness and marginality are on the increase.  However, because class-consciousness is so low in the States, the system will not be brought down by an increase in the grumbling level.

So let us then return to the issue of falling wages.  The effects of falling wages were masked in the late ’90’s and early 2000’s by the apparently appreciating value of housing.  Take the example of a housing unit valued at $300,000 carrying a $200,000 mortgage. If worse came to worse $100,000 could be realised.  However in some mysterious way that isn’t very clear that same housing unit appreciated to $500,000.  The owner, feeling the pinch of falling wages and wishing to maintain a level standard of living could re-finance upping the mortgage to $250,000 and pocket the windfall.  Likewise in another mysterious value shift the property reverted to is original value of $300,000.  Now the owner was reduced to $50,000 in equity.  More dire scenarios are available.

Now we find this strata of workers, who have been lead to believe that they are “middle class” are increasingly distressed, beset as they are with increasing precariousness and measurably falling wages.  Now car and student loans, and credit cards are also coming under pressure.  A very sharp contraction in “consumer” spending is now underway, which is another way of saying that massive and widespread lay-offs are now sweeping the States.  Yes, derivatives valued at several times these car and student loans and credit card debts are out there and are non-performing.

As some 19th British general remarked about wars in Afghanistan: they don’t start until they’re over.  Likewise the current economic crisis.  It hasn’t started yet. The system might be breaking as I write these words.

It looks like the system will snap sometime between mid-August and the end of February.  The “global” capitalist system, led by those United States is about to plunge into the mother of all depressions.  Massive unemployment.  Dramatically collapsing living standards.  This will be mush worse than the “thirties” for several reasons.  At that time many folks could retreat to the farm from whence they came.  Today we are incapable of fixing many of the things we have.  When they break they have to be thrown out.  We can’t make many of the things we use.  When they break we will have to do without.

Further, in the Untied Snakes, the federal government is broke, the state governments are broke, the agencies are broke, the county governments are broke and the municipal governments are broke.  Only the federal government can print money.  Obviously all jurisdictions are faced with falling revenues and rising expenses.  Many have rules against deficit budgets and raising taxes.  Some have one restriction and some the other.

In New York State the fiscal year (FY) 2008 began on April 1st.  The budget was fiction.  Most likely some insiders knew that.  (Stupidity is a front for the ruling class.)  Reality could not be admitted and so this travesty of a budget was passed lest they spook the horses.  By January 2009 the financial situation in New York will be desperate.  In California FY09 begins on July 1st.  Once again there are most likely insiders who understand that the budget they will bring down will not relate to reality in any meaningful way.  This time next year there will be hell to pay in California.  Cities will burn in the summer of ’09.  Most of the major U.S. corporations, including the Auto Makers, most states, counties, municipalities and the federal government start their FY’s on October 1st.  There is absolutely no way that any of their “budgets” will be enacted with a view to reflecting reality.  Once again, by this time next year there will be many a bare pantry in those circles.  Roads won’t be fixed.  Schools, libraries, etc will close; welfare agencies will be broke, their staffs laid off.

Next year at this time millions more will be unemployed.  These folks, when they lose their jobs will be deeply in debt.

The main stream media, university professors and others who are in the Ministry of Truth will continue to lie to the masses.  One wonders how they will square the circle.

By: Old North

Sunfest is known as Canada’s Premier Celebration of global arts including various national and international ensembles, and is London and area’s largest summer celebration of food and crafts.  Sunfest ran July 3,4,5,6 2008 in downtown London’s Victoria Park, and was a rewarding event in London Ontario with countless amounts of vendors, volunteers, and consumers participating in the festivities over the four day period.  Walking through Victoria Park during the festival was an adventure in itself trying to manoeuver through mass amounts of people in the thousandths.  After leaving the festival it was hard to ignore the crucial fact that when it comes to protests regarding social and political issues held in London (and usually held at Victoria Park) it is lucky to have between 50-100 activists present to support the issue.  It is ironic to contemplate the fact that there is a war in Afghanistan involving Canada, yet the people participating in Sunfest obliviously walk by the war monuments displayed in Victoria Park seeing no connection to romantized imperialism.  Also, Victoria Park and downtown London is often residence to many homeless people in the city, yet the people participating in Sunfest often avoid and ignore London’s homeless population.  When it comes to protests or matters concerning peace, freedom, homelessness and social rights where are the thousandths of people who could make it to Sunfest; what are our priorities?

Prescription drugs are unnatural toxins to the human body that countless people consume on a daily basis. In recent years pharmaceutical companies have invested billions into marketing their products using fear tactics and seductive language in order to promote a “curing drug”. The truth is that no drug can cure any disease the body produces; it can only suppress symptoms while making our bodies weaker. Unfortunately many drugs cause harmful side effects both short and long term, which can become extremely serious and destructive physically and mentally. More and more over the counter drugs are being withdrawn from the market due to serious and lethal side effects such as:
Accutane, Rezulin, Lotronex, Propulsid, Redux, Pondimin, Duract, Seldane, Hismanal, Posicor, Raxar, Viox, Palladone etc.

The information given to your doctor about the drug is written by the corporation that makes and profits from those drugs. Ask any med student here in London and they will tell you who pays for their parties, trips etc. Pharmaceutical corporations.
Women who are pregnant and consuming prescription dugs are at high risk for miscarriages, premature birth, birth defects and death of the baby. Patients many experience side effects from mild to extreme: google Gwen Olsen’s report on how her 12 year old niece set herself on fire on anti-depressants.  Olsen wrote a book about working as a major sales rep for American pharmaceutical companies. She now speaks and writes about the missing link between medical research and deaths in the United States.

For information on vaccines please see

know-vaccines.org/parent

The “Scent Free” Policy
and Toxic Space

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity is a condition that develops in the body after a chemical exposure, which frequently happens in the workplace. This condition is sometimes called 20th Century Disease because affected people react to synthetic products invented in the 20th century such as those derived from petrochemicals used to make perfumes. These people have become sensitized to chemicals that are harmful to all living beings and the environment, such as phenols in scented products, while others have not become as affected and do not show symptoms.
Living with the disease is difficult because there is little medical support, few resources and no legal advocacy. Chemical Sensitivity is an invisible disability in two ways: socially, we can’t identify a sufferer because they look like anyone else. The disease is misunderstood and not yet well known although it affects a consistent percentage of populations all over North America. Although there are treatments and research being done in clinics all over the world, there is no popular scientific way to identify this condition and therefore it is not given credibility in conventional medical institutions.
Many public places such as government buildings and institutions in Canada have scent-free policies, however very little is being done to prevent scents — from toxic products such as air fresheners, perfumes, cleaners and even inks — from being used or carried into these environments. This leaves people with Chemical Sensitivities or Environmental Illness in compromising positions: places we live and work in are not safe and therefore not accessible.
Thousands of Cancer patients and Cancer survivors, people with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, the elderly and some young children find themselves in this position daily as well. Let me describe to you what exactly it is like to live a day in their shoes.
If one is lucky enough to live in a safe house or apartment building, his or her problems don’t start until after leaving home for the day. They will however encounter exhaust fumes from traffic, cigarette smoke, perfumes and colognes likely before getting to their destinations. Bus stops, city streets and parking lots are usually the first toxic spaces we have to contend with each day. Some of us have severe reactions to pesticides on lawns such as nausea, sore throat, respiratory problems, and headaches. At shopping centers we will encounter any number of chemical smells in the air, however the fact that we can move through this space or leave if necessary helps a bit. If one works, he or she doesn’t usually have that liberty and so must either communicate to employers and fellow workers about the condition, suffer anxiety and various symptoms throughout each day, or quit.
If we work with the public to face to face there is no telling when a customer or client will be wearing perfume or cologne. Some of us have to work with harsh cleaners, or other extremely toxic chemicals such as Raid.
Social and leisure time can be just as stressful because of encounters like I have already mentioned. Many of us can’t go to movies, bars or even gyms because of the risks that come with being in close proximity with others. This is one reason why our illness is alienating physically and emotionally.
Another reason why we feel alienated is that it is difficult to communicate our needs. Our needs seem obscure and unreasonable to some. Many co-workers I have talked with about my concerns have shown sympathy but not understanding, and have continued to wear scents and use products in the workplace. Employers rarely accommodate and if asked for special arrangements they are usually taken aback. People generally don’t know a lot about the condition and as a result we feel we have to educate them, endure the toxic environment, leave situations constantly, or completely retreat from society.
I would like to see corporations, employers and institutions educate their patrons and employees and enforce scent-free policies, for the good of everyone’s health. Employers should post signs clearly for the public entering their buildings, and enforce a zero-tolerance policy for employees who continue to use scented products.
Any place where harsh chemicals are used, stored or manufactured is a toxic space, and potentially could be seriously harmful to the health of those who pass through, dwell or work in that space.  Simply put, we need to make our environments safe, accessible and non-toxic to living organisms and to the earth; one place we can start is in public places.

Sensitized: To become reactive to a substance, such as cigarette smoke, usually after repeated exposure.

20th Century Disease, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) and/or Environmental Illness: Conditions characterized by various reactions after a chemical or toxic exposure, for example, to mold pathogens.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome: A condition characterized by symptoms such as fatigue and pain which can derive from organ toxicity from pharmaceuticals or an exposure to chemicals or toxins.

Exposure: to make contact with a potentially harmful substance.

Accessibility: the degree to which a service or place is made safe for those with special needs, for example, a wheel chair ramp in a school.