The violent chaotic madness of US capitalism.

Mexico is being torn apart by a drugs war which has seen tens of thousands of people killed. Ninety per cent of weapons in this war come from the US and the demand for the drugs come from the US. This violence in Mexico is US violence.

But wait, maybe I am being unfair, maybe the neanderthals on the Supreme Court been addressing this? No sorry to disappoint anybody. They have just made it easier for everybody to have a hand gun. I am not in favor of restricting guns only to the state apparatus but if the Supreme court has anything to say on gun ownership it should first say something on the right to a well paid job for all. This is what would drastically cut the tendency to violence in society. At the same time we have the bumbling and violence of the US regime in Afghanistan and the middle east. Violence is a central and permanent and inescapable part of US capitalism. You cannot have capitalism without violence.

I live in Chicago. Yesterday the verdict was handed down on cop torturer Jon Burge. South Chicago is a huge black city in its own right. It suffers mass unemployment and poverty because of the concentration of capital in other areas. Naturally there is anger and rage at being thrown on the garbage heap. The Chicago cops are the thugs of Chicago capitalism used to keep down the working class people and youth of the South side to whom it cannot give a future.

This torture of Burge and his squad is in the tradition of the Chicago cops. They murdered the Chicago workers who fought for the eight hour day back in the 1880's. They murdered the workers in meat packing and steel who tried to organize in the 1930's. They murdered the black panthers leaders such as Fred Hampton in the 1960's who fought for a better life for all. They did all this murdering on behalf of the city's capitalist bosses who sat in their fancy homes and pulled the strings.

Now the verdict has been handed down on former cop Burge. He led a squad of cops based on the black South side which arrested and tortured black youth and workers. He referred to his victims as human garbage. He used electric shocks to the victims genitals to force false confessions. The city had already made a 20 million dollar settlement to people tortured and falsely imprisoned. This information was not allowed to be heard by the jury in case it would "influence" them. In spite of this the jury with only one black member found Burge guilty. This is a victory in the fight against racism and cop violence.

But for a real victory we have to ask how did Burge keep on with his torturing for decades. As far back as the 1970's Burge and his squad were accused of torturing victims in up to 100 cases. Burge got away with his torturing for all these years because of the refusal to act of then Cook County State's attorney general Richard Daley, yes mister respectable self styled non racist Daley, and his then top aide Richard Devine, who later became state's attorney. These people along with their big money corporate string pullers are still running the politics of the state. They and their string pullers should be in the cells with Burge. They have the same vicious attitude to the South side as they always had. It is just that they have to be more careful in how they express it.

Sean.