Over 8.3 million American adults suffer from severe psychological distress

Kathleen Martin

According to a report released Monday by the Psychiatrics Journal, 3.4 percent, or a staggering 8.3 million American adults, suffer from “severe psychological distress” (SPD).

The study examined the results of a study, the National Health Interview Survey, conducted by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention from 2006-2014. It focused on the data of 207,853 participants from over 35,000 households, aged 18-64, on 11 indicators: health insurance coverage, insufficient money for medications, delay in health care, insufficient money for health care, visiting a doctor 10 or more times in a year, change in place of health care, change of place in health care due to insurance, limitations in ability to work, limitations in activities of daily living, insufficient money for mental health care, and having seen a mental health care provider.

About 38 percent of the study’s participants’ family incomes were 400 percent or higher than the federal poverty line, currently at $11,880 per person.

The purpose of the study was to gather data on health care utilization after the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), popularly known as Obamacare. The conclusions reached based on the study indicate that adults with SPD “had an increased risk of forgoing health care and prescription medications because of cost and were more likely to be uninsured. Adults with SPD were also more likely to exhibit greater nonadherence to mental care.”

“Yet earlier reports also showed that despite being more likely to lack health insurance coverage, adults with SPD visited doctors more frequently than adults without SPD,” the authors noted. “Our hypothesis was that SPD represents a risk factor for experiencing health care barriers independent of risk associated with other chronic health conditions.”

Over one-third of the study’s participants had no health care coverage whatsoever. Over another third had “private coverage,” meaning health care was either provided by the individual’s place of work—usually taken out of the individual’s paycheck—or that it was purchased separately by the participant. A larger portion of adults with SPD were also found to be more likely to have limitations on activities of daily living (ADL), meaning that the participant felt that they needed assistance in personal care needs—such as getting dressed, eating, and getting around the house—due to a physical, mental, or emotional problem.

“What’s been most surprising isn’t necessarily that the overall numbers [of those with SPD] have increased but that the cohort that is most impacted has changed,” Judith Weissman, who headed the study at the Langone Medical Center at New York University, told CNN.

“There’s a newfound high-risk group: middle-aged adults; that’s adults from about the age of 45 to 59 in the US, who previously had not been thought to be at high risk for mental illness or suicide, and now we’re finding that they are.”

The severe and deepening economic crisis paired with an increased lack of access to decent health care overall has resulted in tragedy for a large section of the population who can find no way out.

The suicide rate has increased drastically in the wake of the economic crash of 2008 for nearly every demographic but most notably for the Baby Boomer generation, whose suicide rates in previous years had stabilized or fallen. “The Great Recession of 2008 had a tremendous impact on adults with serious psychological distress,” Weissman said. From 1999-2014 the suicide rate increased by 24 percent, with the US seeing on average more than 43,000 suicides a year.

The study reveals that utilization of health care for the non-mentally ill has increased since 2006, the inverse of the mentally ill. In other words, those who fared the worst during the Great Recession have simultaneously had much more difficulty attaining proper medical care for mental health issues that were likely a result of the economic crisis to begin with.

While those suffering from SPD tend to have less money for medications and poor access to health care, they also visit a doctor much more than those who do not have SPD.

“It is paradoxical that although SPD is associated with several indicators of poor utilization and access, as well as relatively poor general medical health, it is also associated with high utilization of expensive outpatient care,” the authors note. “One possible explanation is that primary care physicians are providing mental health care and prescription refills to adults with SPD in lieu of general medical care.”

The researchers stressed that although these findings are significant, it is based on “noninstitutionalized civilians,” meaning that it excludes a large section of the population which has a higher tendency to suffer from chronic mental health issues: the homeless.

Over half a million people in the US are homeless on any given night, and data reports that anywhere from 20 to 25 percent of the homeless population suffers from some form of severe mental illness, compared to 6 percent of the rest of the population. “Our study must be viewed in light of these exclusions, which may underestimate associations between SPD and indicators of poor health care use and access,” the authors state.

Hunger strike by Palestinian political prisoners

Jean Shaoul 

Friday saw fresh clashes across the occupied West Bank between Israeli security forces and Palestinians demonstrating in solidarity with the Freedom and Dignity hunger strike by Palestinian political prisoners. Daily protests began Monday, when tens of thousands staged angry demonstrations to mark Palestinian Prisoners’ Day and support the mass hunger strike.

Led by Marwan Barghouti, a leader of Fatah, the dominant faction in the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO), the open-ended hunger strike is one of the largest in recent years. It involves some 1,500 prisoners in at least six jails from various Palestinian parties and factions.

It could precipitate a major political crisis for Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu, who faces a potential corruption charge, a coalition beset with factional infighting and signs of rising social discontent among Israeli workers.

The hunger strikers are seeking to highlight the appalling conditions of their detention in Israeli jails, which reflect the broader daily suppression of the Palestinian people. They are demanding an end to solitary confinement and the stringent restrictions on family visits that include a ban on bringing in books, clothing, food and other items, and taking photographs with relatives. They want Israeli authorities to resume bi-monthly family visits, install public telephones in every prison, provide air conditioners and restore kitchens.

Palestinian “security” prisoners are not even allowed to make phone calls to their families. Their families need Israeli permits to visit them, which are regularly refused on spurious “security” pretexts.

Many prisoners suffer from medical neglect. They have to pay for their own treatment and even then are not provided with adequate healthcare. Sick patients have even been denied water.

A crucial demand is for an end to administrative detention—prolonged imprisonment without charge, often indefinitely renewed—illegal under international law. Detention orders also violate Israeli law, which upholds the right to be informed of the nature and cause of an accusation and a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury in the state where the alleged crime was committed.

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Israeli forces have detained more than 750,000 Palestinians since the start of the occupation after the 1967 June war. Almost every single family has had someone arrested and detained by the Israeli security forces.

There are currently 6,300 Palestinian political prisoners, around 500 of them in administrative detention on the orders of military courts, many for years on end, according to the Palestinian prisoners’ rights group, Addameer. More than 300 have been in jail since before the signing of the Oslo accords in 1993.

Among the prisoners are 13 members of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC), including a woman, Sameera al-Halayqah, and Fatah leader Barghouthi, who is serving five life sentences for offences arising out of the Palestinian uprising that started in September 2000.

Since October 2015, when a wave of political unrest erupted across the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Israel following attempts by right-wing Israeli Jews to hold prayers in the al-Aqsa mosque compound in the Old City, Israeli security forces have detained 10,000 Palestinians, most of whom were from occupied East Jerusalem. About one third of the current Palestinian detainees are children and teenagers, of whom 300 are minors.

Writing in an op-ed piece in the New York Times last Sunday, Barghouti said, “Palestinian prisoners and detainees have suffered from torture, inhumane and degrading treatment and medical negligence... about 200 Palestinian prisoners have died since 1967 because of such actions.”

Barghouti accused Israel of conducting “mass arbitrary arrests and ill-treatment of Palestinian prisoners,” adding that a hunger strike was “the most peaceful form of resistance available.”

Last week, Amnesty International called Israel’s treatment of Palestinian prisoners “unlawful and cruel.” Its latest report on Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories for 2016-17 said, “Torture and other ill-treatment of detainees remained rife and was committed with impunity.”

Regional director Magdalena Mughrabi said, “Israel’s ruthless policy of holding Palestinian prisoners arrested in the occupied Palestinian territories in prisons inside Israel is a flagrant violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention.”

Israel has responded with characteristic brutality. Security Minister Gilad Erdan has refused to negotiate over the strike, calling the prisoners “terrorists and murderers”, and suspended family visits.

The Israel Prison Service (IPS) said Barghouti would be “prosecuted in a discipline court” as punishment for his New York Times op-ed. The IPS has transferred Barghouti and several others to another prison, placing them in solitary confinement, confiscating their personal belongings and clothes, and banning them from watching TV, because, it said, calling for a hunger strike was against prison rules.

The IPS has set up a military field hospital in the Ktziot prison especially for hunger strikers and banned the future transfer of hunger strikers with deteriorated health conditions to any civilian hospital.

This follows the refusal of Israeli doctors to implement a law, passed in the wake of a prisoners’ hunger strike in 2015, permitting the force-feeding of prisoners if their life is in danger, which is in breach of Israel’s Patient Rights Act. The Israel Medical Association has called the law “equivalent to torture and every physician has the right to refuse to force-feed a hunger striker against his or her will.”

Rami Hamdallah, the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority (PA), issued a cynical statement of support for the hunger strikers. The PA has played no small part in Israel’s suppression of the Palestinians, arresting around 400 Palestinians at Israel’s request during 2016 alone. It routinely passes on information to Tel Aviv used for the detention, interrogation and torture of Palestinians.

Conditions for the Palestinians under Israeli occupation are dire. Official figures, a pale reflection of reality, show that unemployment was 18 percent in the West Bank and 42 percent in Gaza, while youth unemployment in Gaza was a massive 58 percent. Such are the poverty levels in Gaza that 80 percent of its residents receive some form of aid.

In the West Bank, the Israeli authorities severely restrict freedom of movement, particularly around the Israeli settlements and the so-called Security Wall. The Palestinians are subject to collective punishment for any retaliation against the almost daily attacks that settlers carry out with impunity. At the same time, the Palestinians face the threat of losing further land should Israel annex Area C, 60 percent of the West Bank and currently under Israeli military control, as ultra-right-wing forces are demanding.

In Gaza, the Palestinians have electricity for only six hours a day, thanks to Israel’s 10 year-long blockade and Gaza’s struggle with the PA over who is to pay the tax on diesel fuel from Israel to the power station upon which the electricity supply depends. With the PA desperately short of donor funds that have all but dried up, it has refused to continue paying the tax, cut pay for PA employees in Gaza by 30 percent and threatened to stop all monetary transfers to Gaza unless Hamas, the political faction that controls the enclave, submits to the PA’s authority.

Latest economic data dampen US growth prospects

Nick Beams

A clear divergence is emerging in estimates for future US economic growth as the Trump administration approaches its first 100 days. The stock market has enjoyed a surge since Trump’s election win and indexes of consumer confidence are up on the back of his promises to stimulate the economy. Data on the real economy, however, tell another story.

The surge in the markets was largely the result of expectations that cuts in corporate and personal taxes, together with major deregulation, would provide a boost to the bottom line. The increase in profits would supposedly spark investment, leading to a lift in the US economy. Trump has said his aim is to lift annual growth to 4 percent.

But the latest data indicate that nothing like this sort of growth spurt is taking place, or is even in the pipeline.

According to Atlanta Federal Reserve estimates, gross domestic product (GDP) will show a rise of just 0.5 percent for the March quarter, well below the promises held out by Trump. The low GDP numbers continue a trend that has been in place for the past four years.

The main factors were the fall in manufacturing activity, which dropped for the first time in seven months, and a fall of 0.2 percent in retail spending in March, following a decline of 0.3 percent in February. One of the main factors was a sharp drop in auto sales, which have fallen by 10 percent since December.

The reasons for the decline in retail sales are not hard to find. Many households struggle to cope with large student loans, credit card debt and car loans under conditions of low wages growth.

Consumer prices were also significantly down in March, falling by 0.1 percent for items other than food and energy, contrary to expectations they would show an increase. It was the first fall in core consumer prices since 2010.

JPMorgan Chase chief economist Michael Feroli said the March price figures were a “huge downside miss” and would leave “lingering doubts about the popular reflation narrative.”

Bank of the West economist Scott Anderson said US economic indicators were throwing off “mixed messages.” He noted: “Stocks have soared along with business and consumer confidence measures since the November election in anticipation of renewed fiscal stimulus and stronger economic growth. Yet harder data on industrial production, retail sales, and even last month’s employment report have so far proved disappointing.”

Despite the lift in stock markets, the data on the real economy are starting to cause some concern in financial circles.

Larry Fink, the chief executive officer of BlackRock, the world’s largest hedge fund, told Bloomberg this week that lacklustre US growth and concerns about how quickly the Trump administration would be able to carry out its economic agenda posed some risks for financial markets.

Earlier this month, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the inability of the administration to get its changes to healthcare through Congress impacted on the proposals for changes in the tax system. The original aim was to have them through by August but that now seems highly unlikely.

In an interview on Wednesday, Fink said: “There are some warning signs that are getting darker.” He pointed to the slowing auto sales and a cutback in merger and acquisition activity in financial markets as indications of increasing uncertainty over the economy.

Fink said the US economy had the lowest growth rate for any country in the G7 group of major economies. Price/earnings ratios on stocks were high, but this was based on expectations, and if they were not validated in the real economy then the market could fall by between 5 and 10 percent.

Another indication of the US economy’s direction is the fall in the yield on US 10-year Treasury bonds, which is now trending toward the historically low level of 2 percent. If inflation and increased growth are anticipated, then bond yields tend to rise.

Concerns over the ability of US corporations to deal with unexpected changes in financial conditions were a feature of the Global Financial Stability Report issued by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this week. It said companies with almost $4 trillion in assets, amounting to 22 percent of the total US corporate assets, would be “weak” or “vulnerable” in the face of a fiscal expansion that went wrong and led to rising interest rates.

The IMF said such a scenario could result if the Trump administration’s tax cuts failed to produce a boost in the economy and led only to rising budget deficits and higher borrowing costs.

However, despite signs that prospects for economic growth are worsening rather than improving, and amid ongoing global political turbulence—not least the prospect of war—financial markets remain remarkably stable.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, or Vix, known as Wall Street’s “fear gauge,” has remained at its lowest level its 24-year history. Last week the Financial Times published a major article under the headline, “The fearless market ignores perils ahead.” It noted the “disconnect” between the political chaos and the calmness of the markets.

“Yet this tranquillity,” it said, “is unnerving some analysts, who fear it has nurtured a panoply of trading strategies that could unravel if volatility returns to normal.”

Christopher Cole, the head of a hedge fund that specialises in volatility trading, told the newspaper: “We are at an unprecedented time of low volatility, which typically presages epic downturns.”

The fear is that given the state of calm on the markets, traders and their algorithmic programs are betting that any turbulence will be short-term. This ensures good profits if stability returns but can bring huge losses if it does not.

Cole likened low-volatility trades to the sirens of Greek mythology whose songs lured sailors to their death. “The siren call of risk is at its most powerful when we are at the point of maximum danger,” he said.

Media and politicians agitate against Turks living in Germany

Ulrich Rippert 

A hysterical smear campaign against Turkey is underway in German political circles following the Turkish referendum last Sunday which, based on a small majority, grants President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan broad dictatorial powers.

The fact that Turks living in Germany voted by 63 percent for Erdoğan’s authoritarian plans, while he gained only a wafer-thin majority of just over 51 percent in Turkey, is being exploited to justify this witch-hunt. What is barely mentioned is that only 46 percent of eligible Turks in Germany voted, while turnout in Turkey was above 85 percent.

The extreme-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has used the referendum vote to launch a “Turks out” campaign, while Christian Democratic Union (CDU) right-winger Thomas Strobl is demanding an end to Germany’s dual nationality policy, thereby making xenophobia a prominent issue for this autumn’s federal election. At the same time, some of the most extreme witch-hunting of Turks originates from the Left Party and the ostensibly left-liberal political milieu.

A typical example is the commentary on Wednesday evening’s “Tagesthemen” news broadcast by Sonia Seymour Mikich. She began her contribution with an attack on all those who, given the above-average support for Erdogan, call for better integration of German-Turks and renewed efforts to win the hearts and minds of Turks living here.

Mikich’s dismissive comment in this regard is hard to beat for arrogance: “A little pampering because integration had worked out badly.” This is something she decisively rejects. It was not true that the Germans had driven the German-Turks into Erdoğan’s arms, she said. The real reason was a lack of respect by German-Turks for the German constitution, which provided “everyone with air to breathe,” protected minorities and established law.

Such xenophobic nostrums have hardly been heard in the state-owned media following the controversy a few years ago centred on right-wing demands for “recognition of a leading German culture” (Deutsche Leitkultur), recalling the old imperialist slogan “The German spirit will heal the world.”

Mikich then stepped up her demagogy: “I was shocked when, after the coup, Turks living here lionised their president, accompanied by loud cries for the [introduction of] death penalty.” Then insistently: “On the soil of a democracy, people—some with a German passport—called for the death penalty.”

It must be remembered that the mass Turkish demonstration in Cologne in late July last year, to which Mikich refers, took place just two weeks after the failed coup attempt in Turkey. President Erdoğan only very narrowly escaped an assassination squad. The coup was organized from the NATO air base at Incirlik, and there are many indications that US and German military were at least informed about it, if not actively involved.

Mikich acts as if the call for the death penalty had been the main demand of the rally, and then finished her comment by saying: “Those who support this, may have to give up their German passport!” She added, “I do not want to argue about this again. This is a red line! On this point, I am an integration refusnik.”

The sordid, vulgar way in which the slogan of the far right—“Foreigners out!”—is now put forward does not differ from the AfD and is repugnant. It makes clear how far the official political spectrum has moved to the right.

Sonia Mikich is not just anyone. The chief editor of broadcaster WDR has worked there for over 30 years, and has been a correspondent in Moscow, Paris and New York. She leads investigative programmes like the political magazine “Monitor” and moderates the “Sunday Press Club” on broadcaster ARD. In her student days in the 1970s, Mikich was a member of the International Marxist Group (GIM), the German section of the Pabloite United Secretariat.

Her right-wing, xenophobic commentary is an expression of a turn to the right by many of these former “lefts,” which can currently be observed in all countries. In the name of the defence of democracy and human rights, the situation in Turkey and the development of Erdoğan’s authoritarian regime is being used to advance the interests of Germany, or rather to better represent the new great power interests of German imperialism.

To avoid any misunderstanding: The Erdoğan regime is a reactionary bourgeois government and the constitutional reform is a step towards dictatorship. A few days ago, the WSWS published a statement of the Turkish organization Toplumsal Esitlik (TE, Socialist Equality Group), which is in political sympathy with the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI), advocating a “no” vote in the referendum.

But the fight against the Erdoğan government is not the task of the German government and its lackeys in the media, but rather the Turkish and international working class.

The claim that Germany, or rather, the German government, acts in Turkey—or in any other country—for democracy and human rights is pure propaganda, and is false through and through.

One need only look at Greece to see the reactionary role Germany plays via the institutions of the European Union. The economic and social system in this neighbouring country of Turkey has been ruined by the dictates of German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble. Thousands of working families have been forced into destitution and despair.

Although the death penalty has not been introduced in Greece, the number of suicides by the elderly and infirm who can no longer be supported by their families exceeds the number of state executions in any other country many times over.

But that is of no interest to Sonia Mikich and many other ex-lefts. Mikich’s flirtation with the socialist movement in the 1970s was never serious, and primarily served her own personal career advancement. Many from this pseudo-left milieu have become rich and powerful, and are now important propagandists of resurgent German power politics.

Sahra Wagenknecht and the Left Party are also moving ever further to the right. When Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte stirred up anti-Turkish and anti-Muslim sentiments in the recent election campaign, to outdo the extreme right-winger Geert Wilders, the parliamentary leader of the Left Party applauded. She praised Rutte’s decision to refuse entry to Turkish government members, and accused German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel of failing to show “as much backbone.”

The rightward shift of these ex-lefts is a response to the global crisis of capitalism and the intensification of the class struggle. In face of mounting social conflicts, growing resistance against exploitation, militarism and preparations for war, they see their privileged position in society under threat. They respond by calling for a strong state and developing sympathy for right-wing slogans.

Mikich’s provocative commentary is aimed above all at the working class. Many German-Turks are from working class families who came to Germany in the 1960s and ’70s as so-called “guest workers.” They have been involved in many labour disputes and form an important part of the working class.

Twelve dead as food riots spread in working class districts of Caracas, Venezuela

Eric London

Hundreds of workers from working class neighborhoods of Caracas poured into the streets in the Venezuelan capital city late Thursday and early Friday morning, demanding food and breaking into stores. The food riots left 12 dead, including eight who were electrocuted when they became entangled in a wire while trying to break into a bakery to steal bread for their families in the El Valle district.

Demonstrations also took place overnight in the working class districts of San Martin, La Urbina, Petare, and La Candelaria. Several of the dead were reportedly shot. Government forces fired so much tear gas against demonstrators in one neighborhood that a nearby children’s hospital was evacuated.

The outbreak of food riots in working class neighborhoods in Caracas alters the already tense situation in the country of 30 million. The government blamed the opposition for the riots, while the leaders of the right wing distanced themselves from the protests. The two warring factions of the Venezuelan ruling class fear that working class discontent is on the verge of boiling over.

In recent days, the right-wing opposition has held mass demonstrations aimed at forcing the chavista government to call elections or resign. Wednesday’s demonstration provoked clashes leaving three people dead, including a police officer, a student allegedly killed by another right-wing protester, and a third opposition protester.

Unlike in previous years, the opposition demonstrations have continued and remain substantial in size, indicating that the US-backed opposition leaders are making a calculated effort to escalate the crisis instead of negotiating with the government. On Friday, the opposition held a large demonstration to commemorate Wednesday’s deaths.

The working class has abstained from the opposition demonstrations and from a smaller pro-government demonstration held Wednesday.

But the New York Times noted that opposition demonstrations are “spilling into unrest in working-class and poor neighborhoods,” and that “throughout the night, the sounds of banging pots and pans reverberated through the capital” as workers protested food shortages. AFP reported that “pitched battles” between workers and government forces lasted from nine o’clock in the evening through Friday morning.

It is as yet unclear whether the food riots are isolated incidents or whether they will develop into broader spontaneous protests, but broad hostility exists among the Venezuelan working class against both the government and the opposition.

The chavista government has enriched a section of the bourgeoisie tied to the military, the state-run oil industry and finance capital, while slashing social programs to meet interest payments to foreign creditors. The opposition is a network of corporate executives and right-wing politicians who are correctly seen by the population as stooges of US imperialism. Many workers view the opposition’s complaints over the attack on democratic rights as fraudulent.

In 1989, the opposition’s forerunner, Democratic Action (AD), massacred over 1,000 workers and youth in the Caracazo riots, which broke out over hikes to transportation costs and attacks on social conditions imposed as part of an International Monetary Fund (IMF) “adjustment” program under the administration of President Carlos Andres Perez.

The US is closely monitoring the situation under the direction of former ExxonMobil CEO and current Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. On Thursday, US State Department spokesman Mark Toner expressed concern over the decision by the Maduro government to seize a General Motors production plant in the industrial city of Valencia.

On the same day, GM workers occupied the facility in an apparent dispute over the company’s failure to pay severance benefits as promised. GM ceased production at the facility long before the government seizure but now claims the seizure was illegal.

Maduro also launched a verbal attack against the Spanish corporation Movistar on Thursday for allegedly sending millions of text and email messages calling on Venezuelans to demonstrate in Wednesday’s opposition march.

In an attempt to forestall working class opposition, the leader of the pro-government Bolivarian Socialist Central trade union announced that the union would propose a rise in the national minimum wage to help combat rising inflation rates, which reached 800 percent in 2016, according to CNBC.

The poorest 75 percent of the country—some 22 million people—lost an average 19 pounds in body weight over 2016 due to lack of food.

Hundreds of thousands to participate in worldwide “March for Science”

Bryan Dyne

Hundreds of thousands of scientists, researchers, workers and youth are poised to participate in today’s “March for Science.” The main rally will take place in Washington, DC, with sister demonstrations and marches taking place in more than 600 locations across the world, involving people in at least 130 countries and encompassing six continents. It is slated to be the world’s largest pro-science demonstration to date.

The initial impulse for the march arose when the Trump administration deleted all references to climate change from the official White House web site minutes after Trump’s inauguration. Scientists across the United States saw this as the opening salvo in a much broader attack on science generally, leading to the creation of the March for Science Facebook group calling for a demonstration in Washington, DC, mirroring the protests against the Trump administration before, during and in the weeks following Trump’s first days as president.

More broadly, the March for Science reflects the general anti-Trump sentiment in the majority of the US and world’s population. The fact that the Facebook group has attracted more than 830,000 members shows just how many people, both scientists and non-scientists from all corners of the globe, are seeking an avenue to oppose the Trump administration and its reactionary policies.

One measure of this is the fact that the march has been endorsed by virtually every US organization with an orientation towards science and several international scientific institutions, including the American Association for the Advancement of Science, The Planetary Society, the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. The notable exceptions are endorsements from the official scientific agencies of various governments, such as ESA or NASA, though no doubt individuals from these organizations support and will be participating in the marches.

The event is being led by three honorary co-chairs, Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, Bill Nye “the Science Guy” and Dr. Lydia Villa-Komaroff, all of whom have been involved on some level as advocates for science in the political arena. Dr. Hanna-Attisha fought to expose lead poisoning in Flint, Bill Nye has repeatedly spoken out against climate change deniers and Dr. Villa-Komaroff pioneered the field of biotechnology.

Despite this, however, and despite the anti-Trump origins of the March for Science, the organizers have taken great pains to avoid any discussions of the anti-science policies of various Trump administration officials, from EPA administrator Scott Pruitt, to Secretary of Energy Rick Perry to Trump himself. No mention has been made of the policies that allow for the destruction of the environment, attacks on public education or various forms of censorship that scientists in the US and internationally often face, much less the increasing danger of nuclear war and the existential threat that this poses to all life on Earth.

These limitations are summed up in the declaration that attacks on science “are not a partisan issue.” While the mission statement for the March for Science correctly notes that science has been attacked by both Republicans and Democrats, it does not fully explain the inherently political nature of this question.

This is particularly striking when one considers that one of the three honorary co-chairs for the event is Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, director of the Flint Hurley Medical Center’s pediatric residency program, and the person who first revealed the doubling and tripling of lead in the blood of Flint children since April 2014. The science behind lead poisoning has been understood for decades, particularly the potentially deadly effect it has, especially on children.

This has become an intensely political issue for the residents of Flint, who are outraged over the fact that this problem was known to city and state officials but ignored by state appointed Emergency Manager Darnell Earley to slash city operating costs in order to pay city debts to Wall Street banks. Dr. Hanna-Attisha herself was attacked by city and state officials for tampering with the data even as residents were becoming ill and dying.

The forces that suppressed the lead poisoning data in Flint can trace their political heritage to those that have denied the dangers of nuclear winter for nearly four decades, those that attacked the theory of evolution during the Scopes Monkey Trial in 1925, and even as far back as the reactionary methods used to suppress Copernicus’ idea that the Earth revolves around the Sun. In every one of these cases, the scientists threatened material and political interests and were forcefully attacked.

The challenge for those participating in today’s march is not merely the “celebration of science,” but of connecting the attacks on science to the broader attacks on all progressive aspects of modern society by capitalism, a social and economic system in which all human activity is subordinated to the profit motive. As such, scientists and their supporters must connect the defense of science to the struggle of the most progressive social force in society, the working class, against the corporate elite.

Tense standoff continues on Korean peninsula

Peter Symonds

The confrontation on the Korean Peninsula is continuing as the US threatens military action against North Korea unless it moves to dismantle its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The American and international media is compounding tensions with speculation that Pyongyang could conduct a nuclear or missile test to mark its Military Foundation Day on Tuesday.

The nuclear aircraft carrier, the USS Carl Vinson, and its strike group of guided missile destroyers and cruiser are due to arrive in nearby waters on the same day. According to the Korea Herald, the aircraft carrier strike group will join the South Korean navy in a “massive maritime drill.”

The US and South Korean militaries have been engaged in huge joint war games that began in March and are due to continue until the end of April. The basis for these exercises shifted in 2015 from nominally defensive to “pre-emptive” under Oplan 5015, which reportedly includes sabotage inside North Korea and “decapitation” raids to kill North Korean leaders.

South Korea’s Unification Ministry spokesman Lee Duk-haeng indicated that US and South Korean forces were on heightened alert. “We are closely watching the situation and will not be letting our guards down,” he said.

Lee pointed to the very tense standoff on the Korean peninsula “where a lot of exercise equipment is amassed in North Korea and also a lot of strategic assets are situated on the Korean peninsula because of the South Korea-US military drills.”

The US is applying a great deal of pressure on Beijing to compel Pyongyang to bow to Washington’s demands. Trump told a press conference on Thursday he was confident that Chinese President Xi Jinping would “try very hard” to rein in North Korea and referred to “some very unusual moves” that Xi had made in the previous few hours. Trump provided no details.

A senior Trump administration official told CNN: “Nobody thinks the Chinese are going to press North Korea militarily or bring the regime to its knees, but the strategy looks to China to find a political solution more than anything else.” The White House is pushing Beijing to exploit Pyongyang’s dependence on trade with China, including for food and oil, to bully it into submission.

At the same time, China is reportedly preparing for possible conflict. A US official told CNN the Chinese air force appeared to have put land-attack, cruise-missile-capable bombers “on high alert” on Wednesday. The official said the US has also seen an extraordinary number of Chinese military aircraft being brought up to full readiness through intensified maintenance. Unsubstantiated reports earlier this month indicated that the Chinese military had moved 150,000 troops to the border with North Korea.

In Russia, a Kremlin spokesman refused to comment on media reports based on observations by local residents that its military was moving hardware and troops toward Russia’s own border with North Korea.

The Trump administration is continuing to ramp up diplomatic pressure on North Korea, pushing through a resolution in the UN Security Council on Thursday condemning its latest failed missile test last weekend. The US conceded to Russian demands to include a cosmetic reference to the need for “dialogue” with North Korea. At the same time, the resolution threatened “further significant measures”—a threat of more crippling sanctions.

US Vice President Mike Pence arrived in Australia last night on the final leg of his Asian trip that also included South Korea and Japan. He has used the trip for discussions with Washington’s chief allies in Asia and to issue menacing warnings to North Korea that “all options are on the table”—that is, including pre-emptive military attacks.

After meeting with Pence on Tuesday, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged his government’s support for the US administration’s threats against North Korea. He declared that “dialogue for the sake of dialogue is valueless,” adding: “It is necessary for us to exercise pressure on North Korea so that it comes forward and engages in this serious dialogue.”

The Asahi Shimbun reported Japanese preparations for the mass evacuation of Japanese nationals from South Korea in the event of conflict. According to government officials, Tokyo was considering bringing citizens home on US as well as Japanese military aircraft and vessels.

Top officials on North Korea from the US, South Korea and Japan are due to meet in Tokyo on Tuesday. According to South Korea’s foreign ministry, the meeting will “discuss plans to rein in North Korea’s additional high-strength provocations, to maximize pressure on the North, and to ensure China’s constructive role in resolving the North Korea nuclear issue.”

This weekend a highly secretive meeting of the heads of the intelligence agencies from the “Five Eyes” network, comprising the US, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, is due to take place in New Zealand. While no details have been released, the gathering is taking place under conditions of heightened geo-political tensions and will undoubtedly discuss North Korea.

In parallel with the Trump administration’s threats against North Korea, the US and international media continue an endless stream of propaganda denouncing Pyongyang as a “rogue regime” and openly debating the pros and cons of various forms of military action in a bid to condition public opinion.

A chilling article in Washington Post entitled, “Twenty-five million reasons the US hasn’t struck North Korea,” outlined the consequences for the 25 million residents of the South Korean capital of Seoul in the event of war with North Korea. Even if nuclear weapons were not used, North Korea has large numbers of long-range artillery pieces and rocket launchers that would have a devastating effect.

A 2012 Nautilus Institute study estimated that North Korean artillery would be able to fire about 4,000 rounds an hour into the Seoul area, killing over 2,800 people in the first volley and 64,000 on the first day, the majority in the first three hours. Some of the casualties would be American because the US military has personnel stationed on bases close to the Demilitarised Zone between the two Koreas.

The Washington Post suggested the massive death toll as a reason why the Trump administration would not launch a military attack on North Korea. However, there is no reason to believe that the White House would pull back from war. Trump officials have repeatedly declared that “all options are on the table” and the US would “solve North Korea” alone if China failed to do so.

The result would be a devastating conflict that would not be confined to the Korean peninsula and could draw in other nuclear-armed powers such as China and Russia.

France’s election at gunpoint

Alex Lantier

The first round of the elections in France is being held against the backdrop of an attempt by the state and the media to use the violent incident on the Champs Elysées, involving a gunman who is alleged to have been acting on behalf of ISIS, to create an atmosphere of political hysteria.

With over 50,000 soldiers and policemen set to deploy to polling stations tomorrow, the elections are to be held at gunpoint.

As facts emerge about the background of the alleged gunman, it is virtually impossible not to conclude that this shooting was a provocation involving elements of the security forces, over half of whom plan to vote for Marine Le Pen’s neo-fascist National Front (FN).

Karim Cheurfi, a French citizen and career criminal, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison in 2003 for shooting and nearly killing two policemen, but later released on appeal, was last arrested in February after demanding weapons and stating he wanted to kill policemen. He was released supposedly because the “level of danger” he posed was not at the priority level. Though he was an Islamic State (IS) sympathizer who was being followed by French domestic intelligence at least since March, his case was treated as a common law, not terrorist, case.

Despite France’s strict gun control laws, Cheurfi was somehow able to amass an arsenal, including an automatic rifle, a shotgun and several knives, which he had with him during the attack.

The day before the shooting, right-wing media such as Le Figaro demanded that Islamic terrorism be “at the center of the end of the election campaign." The newspaper wrote: "It is a critical issue, but one that has been too little dealt with.” The shooting was the signal for a coordinated political offensive. As security forces put much of downtown Paris on lockdown, the right-wing candidates speaking in Thursday night’s presidential debate demanded stepped-up law-and-order policies and even a shutting down of the election campaign.

Conservative candidate François Fillon demanded the eradication of “Islamist totalitarianism” and called for the “suspension” of the campaign. Le Pen denounced the “incredible laxity of the courts” and demanded the expulsion of all foreigners with intelligence files. Fillon, Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron, the candidate of the On the March movement, backed by France’s Socialist Party (PS) government, all canceled their campaign events yesterday.

In a remarkable incident at the debate that points to the political atmosphere emerging in France, police confronted New Anti-capitalist Party (NPA) candidate Philippe Poutou, who had appealed for police to be unarmed. They called him a “faggot” and said they would keep their weapons.

This attempt to shut down the campaign and fill the airwaves with anti-Muslim propaganda is driven by a deep political crisis. The PS faces a historic collapse, after having been discredited by its austerity measures and its state of emergency, which suspends basic democratic rights. It is terrified of rising antiwar sentiment in the aftermath of the unprovoked US strikes against Syria on April 7, which benefited Jean-Luc Mélenchon of the Unsubmissive France movement. Macron, Le Pen, Fillon and Mélenchon are now in a virtual tie, and over one-third of voters are still undecided.

The ruling elite is well aware of explosive class tensions in France and across Europe. Two-thirds of the French people say class struggle is a daily reality of life. At the same time, voters say their main concerns are not terrorism, but social issues such as jobs, wages and social conditions.

The programs of the main candidates—which include calls for mass job cuts, tens of billions of euros in austerity measures, military spending increases and a return of the draft—make clear that the ruling class totally opposes these demands. There are also fears that financial markets could react to a surprise election result with a crash, wiping out trillions of dollars in paper wealth.

With the election outcome still in the balance, the French financial aristocracy aims to fill the airwaves with law-and-order, anti-Muslim propaganda in the final hours of the campaign.

It relies critically on the cowardice of what passes for the “left” in France, which has accepted official claims that the Champs-Elysées attack is merely the outcome of a series of police errors, though each error is so grotesque as to defy belief. Mélenchon himself reacted by declaring on Twitter his “personal solidarity” with Le Pen, Fillon and Macron.

A precursor of today’s situation in France is Italy’s “Years of Lead” in the 1970s and 1980s, when the state responded to popular radicalization and massive class struggles by letting far-right terrorists tied to Italian intelligence mount attacks they blamed on left-wing groups. These attacks included the murder of three Carabinieri police in the Peteano car bombing of 1972 and the 1980 bombing of the Central Station in Bologna.

Several far-right terrorists involved in this “strategy of tension” were caught. Judge Felice Casson explained to the BBC that they aimed to “create tension in the country to promote conservative, reactionary social and political tendencies.” One convicted terrorist, Vincenzo Vinciguerra, told the Observer: “You had to attack civilians, the people, women, children, innocent people unknown people far removed from any political game. The reason was quite simple. They were supposed to force these people, the Italian public, to turn to the State to ask for greater security.”

As it seeks to slash workers’ living standards and rearm itself for war, the financial aristocracy is well aware that it faces deep popular opposition. It will stop at nothing in an attempt to preserve its rule.

Preventing Disabilities in the Elderly

Cesar Chelala

People grow old gradually and as people age, so do their disabilities. The number of disabled elderly is growing rapidly in many countries worldwide. Disability is usually defined as restrictions in the capacity to perform activities of daily living (ADL), or in the inability to function independently in terms of basic or instrumental ADL.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 10 per cent of the world’s population has some form of disability. Among them, 20 percent of those aged 70+ and 50 percent of those 85+ are disabled. In the United States, it is estimated that the number of Americans who will suffer functional disability will increase at least 300 percent by 2049.

Frequent diseases among the elderly

Several diseases can affect the elderly. The major chronic conditions are cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, stroke, diabetes, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), muscular-skeletal conditions including arthritis and osteoporosis, mental health conditions such as dementia and depression, and blindness and visual impairment. To these conditions should be added injuries due to falls and to road traffic accidents.

The WHO argues that old age starts at age 75, although with increasing longevity this criteria is changing rapidly, reaching older years. The very old are the most rapidly growing sector of the population, and it is among them that severe disability is the highest.

Some chronic conditions that frequently lead to disability include stroke, diabetes, cognitive impairment, arthritis and visual impairment. Cognitive problems and depression are frequent among the elderly, and require special attention. While visual loss is associated with increased risk of falling, hearing and visual impairment increase the risk of social isolation and depression.

It was found that for adults with arthritis the odds of disability rise with age, diminish with education and is higher for those who are not married. Osteoporosis is frequent among the elderly, particularly women, and their falls are more likely to result in fractures.

Almost 75 percent of the elderly have at least one chronic illness, and about 50 percent have two. Chronic conditions such as hip fractures and stroke can provoke some severe and immediate disabilities. They can also lead to progressive disabilities that affect older people’s ability to care for themselves.

The costs for caring and treating the elderly with chronic conditions are high and continue to grow. Home care expenses contribute to these high costs. Because of their higher health care needs, the elderly are more likely than younger people to incur high expenses for home health care.

Overall, women experience disability more often than men. However, women generally survive longer and with greater disability than men. The reasons for this difference are not yet well understood.

There is a strong relationship between poverty and disability. Poverty can lead to malnutrition, inadequate health services and sanitation. Unsafe living and working conditions that can lead to disability trap people in a life of poverty. Differences in education also contribute to the prevalence of disability. In general, older adults with less education are also more prone to suffer disability than the more educated ones.

One cannot disregard the effect of the environment in its effects on increasing or preventing disabilities. Poor living conditions are conducive to isolation and, therefore, to an increase in disability. On the other hand, while a polluted environment that affects healthy living also increases disability, a healthy environment that fosters independent living can make a significant difference in the lives of those suffering from disabilities.

Aspects of management

Several studies have shown that keeping physically and mentally active when getting older or after retirement is critical to prevent or alleviate disabilities. According to Dr. Claude Bouchard, director of the human genomics laboratory at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Louisiana, no pill comes close to what exercise can do. Any exercise program should include stretching activities, strength training and aerobics. Low-impact exercises such as walking and table tennis are very beneficial for older adults, since it can lead to improved physical and visual coordination.

Stimulation of mental activities through games and language learning can alleviate –and to some extent prevent- the negative effects of some mental conditions, such as poor memory. Also important is carrying out actions that provide a feeling of being useful, particularly through participation in community activities and helping in the education and care of younger people. When activities are carried out among people of like-minded interests the beneficial effects are even greater.

Because cognitive impairment and depression are frequent among the elderly, the company of a pet can significantly improve their situation. Pets can not only reduce depression and lessen loneliness, but also reduce stress, lower blood pressure and help improve social interaction.

Appropriate nutrition is critical to keeping in good health. One aim is to provide minimum nutrition requirements including adequate dietary fiber and vitamin D that tends to be low in older people. In addition, folic acid and vitamin B12 benefit cognitive function among the elderly.

Physical exercise provides a wide range of beneficial effects. Appropriate exercise increases strength and mobility, improves balance and cardiovascular function, decreases fatigue, helps prevent weight gain and improves mood. In regard to that last aspect, laughing has proven to be a good medicine. As George Bernard Shaw said, “You don’t stop laughing when you grow old. You grow old when you stop laughing.”

The Military Occupation of Haiti

Yves Engler

Last week the UN Security Council finally voted to end its military occupation of Haiti. Instigated by the US, France and Canada, MINUSTAH has been responsible for countless abuses during the past 13 years.

At the same time as the Security Council voted to draw down its military force (a police contingent will remain), the Associated Press published an in depth investigation confirming widespread sexual abuse by UN troops in Haiti. The foreign soldiers had sex with minors, sodomized boys and raped young girls. An internal UN report uncovered by AP implicated 134 Sri Lankan troops in a sex ring that exploited nine children from 2004 to 2007. None of the MINUSTAH soldiers were imprisoned.

In early 2012 video footage came to light of five Uruguayan soldiers sexually assaulting an 18-year old Haitian. In that case as well the soldiers were sent home, but no one was punished.

At the time Haïti Liberté complained, “there are also almost monthly cases of UN soldiers sexually assaulting Haitian minors, all of which have gone unpunished.” According to the Status Forces Agreement signed between the UN and Haiti’s 2004-06 coup government, MINUSTAH is not subject to Haitian laws. At worst, soldiers are sent home for trial. Despite committing countless crimes, very few MINUSTAH soldier have ever been held to account at home.

Beyond sexual abuse, the UN’s disregard for Haitian life caused a major cholera outbreak, which has left 10 000 dead and nearly 1 million ill. In October 2010 a UN base in central Haiti recklessly discharged sewage, including the feces of newly deployed Nepalese troops, into a river where people drank. This introduced the water-borne disease into the country. Even after the deadly cholera outbreak, UN forces were caught disposing sewage into waterways Haitians drank from. While they partly apologised for introducing cholera to the country, the UN has failed to compensate the victims of its recklessness or even spend the sums needed to eradicate the disease.

“Imagine if the UN was going to the United States and raping children and bringing cholera,” Mario Joseph, a prominent Haitian lawyer, told AP. “Human rights aren’t just for rich white people.”

These abuses aren’t an unfortunate outgrowth of a well-meaning peacekeeping effort. Rather, MINUSTAH was established to consolidate the US, France and Canada’s anti-democratic policies and usurp Haitian sovereignty.

As former Haitian soldiers swept through the country killing police officers in February 2004, the UN Security Council ignored the elected government’s request for peacekeepers to restore order in a country without an army. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) called upon the Security Council to deploy an emergency military task force to assist the elected government and on February 26, three days before President Jean-Bertrand Aristide’s removal, the Organization of American States’ permanent council asked the UN Security Council to, “take all the necessary and appropriate urgent measures to address the deteriorating situation in Haiti.” This appeal for assistance was flatly rejected by the world’s most powerful nations, but immediately after US/French/Canadian troops ousted the elected government the Security Council passed a motion calling for intervention to stabilize Haiti.

Immediately after US marines whisked Aristide from the country on February 29, 2004, 2000 US, French and Canadian soldiers were on the ground in Haiti. For years a Canadian led MINUSTAH’s police contingent and for six months 500 Canadian troops were part of the UN mission that backed up the coup government’s (2004-2006) violent crackdown against pro-democracy protesters. The UN force also killed dozens of civilians directly in pacifying Cité Soleil, a bastion of support for Aristide. The worst incident was on July 6, 2005 when 400 UN troops, backed by helicopters, entered the densely populated neighbourhood.

Eyewitnesses and victims of the attack claim MINUSTAH helicopters fired on residents throughout the operation. The cardboard and corrugated tin wall houses were no match for the troops’ heavy weaponry, which fired “over 22,000 rounds of ammunition”, according to a US embassy file released through a Freedom of Information request. The raid left at least 23 civilians dead, including numerous women and children. The UN initially claimed they only killed “gang” leader Dread Wilme. (Graphic footage of victims dying on camera can be viewed in Kevin Piña’s Haiti: We Must Kill the Bandits.)

During the height of the violence Canadian diplomats pressured MINUSTAH to get tough. In early 2005 the head of the UN mission, General Augusto Heleno Ribeiro, told a congressional commission in Brazil that “we are under extreme pressure from the international community [specifically citing Canada, France and the US] to use violence.” Later Canadian Ambassador Claude Boucher openly called for greater UN violence in the pro-Aristide slum of Cité Soleil.

It is good UN soldiers will soon be removed from Haiti. Haitians, however, will continue to suffer the consequences of MINUSTAH for years.

Brexit: Britain’s Opening to China?

THOMAS HON WING POLIN

Assembling, then ruling a globe-girdling Empire over two centuries must have given Britain a peerless nose among Western nations for sniffing out the turning points of world affairs. This prescience seems to have continued long after the formal death of the British Empire.

That certainly was the case vis-a-vis China. Back in January 1950, Britain stunned the world by becoming the first Western country to recognize the fledgling People’s Republic, even as the People’s Liberation Army was still mopping up. Indeed, the Chinese themselves were so surprised that they spurned London’s request for formal ties, putting off the consummation for two decades. Two years ago, the UK once again led the West in joining the Chinese-inspired Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, a spearhead for the Belt & Road Initiative (BRI), Beijing’s megaproject to transform the EurAsian landmass. London’s decision spurred at least a half-dozen European nations quickly to follow suit.

Brexit surely presents another historic crossroads. Among other things, Britain’s exit from the European Union will mean looser ties and reduced dependence on Europe and the United States. More importantly, it will mark the first time any member of the US-centered Empire is able to distance itself from it — to any extent. That others might, once again, follow London’s lead, is perhaps the biggest nightmare for the Western elites who control the Empire.

For the savvy Brits, it’s clearly a time to rethink their position in the new world that is emerging. Though their country will retain extensive links to the old world dominated by the Empire, post-Brexit Britain will be freer than any constituent of the imperium to chart a genuinely fresh and relatively independent course.

Above all, that points East — especially to China, economic hope of the 21st century and potential first-among-equals in the emerging EurAsian order. Britain can have a strategic place in that project — as its natural end-point in the West. And now that Trumpist America has abandoned its role as chief advocate of global free trade and protectionist winds are blowing elsewhere in the West, Beijing and London can join forces to push in the opposite direction.

The signs are plentiful that Britain’s elites have been thinking along such lines, starting from the virtually unprecedented reception lavished on President Xi Jinping when he visited London late 2015. Principals range from Prime Minister Theresa May and the Royal Family to leading politicians and thinkers. The recent opening of the first direct train service from China to Britain, traversing 7,400 miles and ten countries, is perhaps a harbinger of the future.

As far back in the 18th century, Britain had also led the West in perceiving the vast opportunities in trading with China. Unfortunately, the imperialist mindset led London to pursue its objectives by force, producing the catastrophes of the Opium Wars and the Opium Holocaust. In the 21st century, a scaled-down UK has a historic opportunity to atone for those historical crimes against the Chinese nation. It can do so by simply reaching out to the Chinese in genuine friendship, participating constructively in BRI, and acting as an honest broker between China and the West. Today’s pragmatic leaders in Beijing would demand no more than that. If it materializes, such a scenario would spell win-win far beyond the two principals.