United Kingdom

The recent anti-Semitism which-hunt in the Labour Party will have far reaching consequences for the party and politics in the UK. Besides putting in place pressure to stifle criticism of Israel, it also subjects the Palestinians to suffer quietly, for even words would not be permitted to direct conversation and action towards their plight. In the meantime men of honour will be humiliated, freedom curtailed and anti-Semitism used as a baton to bash the Palestinians and their supporters, both figuratively and literally, at home and abroad, for the ever present needs of Israel.

In Britain’s first study into destitution, it has been found that over a million people across the UK are living in such severe poverty they cannot afford to keep warm, stay clean or buy food. More than three-quarters of destitute people reported going without meals and more than half were unable to heat their home.

Letter from Oxford

Paul Craig Roberts

The letter below came to me from Oxford University where I was a post-graduate.

I do not think it conceivable that the letter was actually written by Oriel College, or any authority at Oxford. This letter was written in exasperation by someone who feels that the civilized world has collapsed around him. This is a letter that the author of the letter wishes had been written.

With the Fed decision just one day away, followed the very next day by the increasingly more irrational BOJ, stocks had no desire to make significant moves and overnight's boring session was the result, as European stocks and U.S. index futures rose modestly but mostly hugged the flatline while Asian declined 0.2% for a third day as raw-material shares declined and Tokyo equities slumped before central bank meetings in the U.S. and Japan this week. China’s stocks rose the most in almost two weeks, up 0.6% but failed to rise above 3000 on the Shanghai Composite, in thin trading.

As we continue to cover the pension crisis that is unfolding in the United States (recently here and here), it is important to remember that these problems are not unique to just the U.S.