An ethics grad--Unions have been assailing the bitter wages and nonequal job opportunities at the Wal-Mart retail chain. A company spokesthing responded, "There’s no division between workers and management, everybody is equal."

Capitalism works--The San Jose Mercury reported that insiders at 40 companies, armed with earlier info on a pending stock debacle, took home $3.4 billion by deftly selling their stock on the eve of the crash. That works out to some $85 million that each "legally" stole.

Meanwhile--"The nation’s largest pension fund system, California Employees Retirement System has lost $43 billion since the end of June 2000.... About 58 percent of the fund’s portfolios is invested in corporate stocks."--The Militant, December 9.

All snarled up--The privatized rail services in the United Kingdom have offered a solution to their inability to run trains on schedule. Reduce asserted congestion by cutting service. We offer an even better idea. Just shut them down completely.

Gang Busters--Across the street from Jordan High School in Los Angeles sits a recycling center, including 200 "inert" Navy shells. One exploded and a chunk of metal landed on the school campus. Edward Hayes, a Jordan teacher, staged a brief sit-in at the campus gate protesting the dangerous situation, with some 20 students joining him. Campus cops busted the teacher.

The merciful society--In Las Vegas, Nevada, Thomas Nevius, 46, has spent 20 years on death row, convicted of murder. But because he is mentally retarded, a highly civilized parole board resentenced him to two life terms. They didn’t say if these were to be served simultaneously or consecutively.

He expected ethics?--A New York state supreme court judge put a freeze on $625 million in legal fees for lawyers who handled a successful state suit against Philip Morris and other coffin-nail companies. The judge said the estimated $13,000 an hour fees were "offensive."

T’is the season--The Los Angeles Times offered a glowing review of two gift catalogs for the bloated rich (A $450,000 Bentley, etc.). Commented the editor of the Robb Report, "I think a lot of our readers haven’t really been impacted by the economy slowdown. They are recession resistant."

And from us--Merry Marxmas and a Revo New Year. "The International Party shall be the human race!"  
 
 
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