Crisis: Day 360

Some people in America have launched a 'Save our Starbucks' campaign. Starbucks, the monger of substandard expensive coffee, is to close 600 stores under pressure from rising prices and buffeting from the general economic storm. This story has only become news because it fits the stereotype of moronic blinkered American, but even so, the media itself propagates guff like this to obscure the depth of the ongoing crisis what we are all in. Eg:

"In Asia, particularly Pakistan, India, Indonesia, South Korea, Philippines, Nepal, Mongolia and China, hundreds of millions of workers, peasants, artisans and low-paid self employed workers, as well as house-wives and pensioners have engaged in sustained mass protests as they experience a decline in the quality and quantity of food purchases as prices skyrocket. In Africa, hunger stalks the land and major food riots have occurred from Egypt through Sub-Saharan Africa to South Africa. In the Caribbean, Central and South America, food riots have led to the overthrow of regimes, mass protests, road blockages from Argentina, Bolivia, through Colombia, Venezuela and Haiti."

The article's point is that free markets do more to ferment revolution than thousands of leftie groups and academics. But hey you idle Trot slackers - that doesn't get you out of selling the paper of a Saturday morning. Or tramping along the high street with two hundred others next strike day. The next few months and years will provide opportunities for deep political change. We'd better work it so it's going to be our type of politics and not the usual right wing stuff implemented in times of economic strife that sees the likes of us herded off to camps. So get arising ye masses and awake form thy slumber. For feck's sake.