Russian Hacking

The newspapers and TV, yesterday, were full of stories about Russian hackers stealing secrets from British labs working on coronavirus vaccines.  The real story, here, of course, is not the Russian hacking, but the question of why such hacking is necessary?  For months, we have been told that coronavirus represents an existential threat for mankind, in which case, surely all research into a vaccine, or other cures for it, should be immediately made publicly available so that this knowledge can be shared for the benefit of mankind rather than being used solely to make large profits for a few drug companies!

But, of course, coronavirus is just one potential means of making large profits for capital, and capital always puts profits before people, so its no wonder that the British capitalist state, along with the British capitalist media is more concerned with the ability of British capital to make large profits out of keeping its knowledge in relation to potential solutions to the coronavirus secret than it is with ensuring that such information is shared by all to more quickly create such solutions.  More than fifty years ago, the same thing was seen with asbestos.  Governments and businesses knew that asbestos was a lethal killer, causing asbestosis, yet they allowed workers to continue to work unprotected with asbestos dust invading their bodies, because it was an important material at the time used in buildings, brake linings and many other products.  The same is true with tobacco, and even today, tobacco causes, every year twice as many deaths as so far have arisen from COVID19.  Every year, in Britain, 80,000 people die from smoking related diseases, and a further 320,000 suffer serious ill-health from smoking related disease.  But, tobacco, even today is still big business, providing big profits.

Of course, there was another reason for the story to focus on the hacking aspect rather than on the fact that vital life saving information is being kept secret in order to boost profits.  That is that the Tories are seeking to build another moral panic now around such Russian hacking in general.  On the same day, the Tories announced that Russian hackers had intervened in the 2019 General Election, by releasing information about secret trade talks between UK and US officials in relation to how the NHS will be opened up to US companies, including how Britain will face higher prices for imported US drugs.  Again they wanted to turn attention to the hacking rather than the question of the secret talks, and the purpose of those talks, which is to sell out the British people and the NHS.

Of course, what the Tories have not done is to release the report that should have been produced before the 2019 election on how Russia has been meddling in general.  That would include how it meddled in the 2016 EU referendum, and how its has given financial support to the Tories, and to Brexiteers!  But, the Tories want to hide that meddling and support, and instead to divert attention elsewhere.  It is classic political sleight of hand, and misdirection.  The same tactic has been used by Trump.

The reality is that a section of the British political establishment, and no doubt of its ruling class, have always been Atlanticists.  They have always seen Britain as an undeclared 51st state of the US, which really means acting as its client state.  It has acted for years as a Fifth Column inside the EU, representing US interests.  With Trump's alliance with Putin, and Putin's own desire to break apart the EU, that created the perfect conditions for Brexit.  No wonder they haven't wanted Russia's connections to the Tory Party and Brexiteers to be the object of discussion, nor the extent to which Britain will be in a submissive role in relation to the US, including in relation to the NHS, after Brexit.