Open mike 21/01/2012
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Two Left Feet, or a Kick Ass Combo?
ImperatorFish: Red Alert: The Best Is Yet To David Farrar
Scott at Imperator Fish has kindly given us permission to syndicate posts from his blog – the original of this post is here
Scott’s take on Red Alert’s cult of David Farrar.
Weekend social 20/01/2012
Weekend social is for non political chat. What’s on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever. No politics, no […]
Friday Economics Joke
Adapting to peak oil
As peak oil slowly grinds down our economy – meeting any hint of growth with sky-high petrol prices and making $2 a litre the ‘new normal’, we are actually, gradually,starting to react. Not at a governmental level, where action is most urgently needed, but in the decisions made by ordinary Kiwis every day.
Open mike 20/01/2012
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
US Congress gets a Darwin award
The idiots at the US Congress, after covering themselves with shame in 2011, have already started to try to surpass it this year with dumbarse legislation against online copyright piracy. Not only will it not prevent the crimes of its intended targets, but it is also so badly drafted that almost anything can and probably will be deemed to be a copyright violation. Good choice for a Darwin award. The only problem is that most of them have already bred.
It’s not about Race or Age or Gender or Religion…it’s about Poverty
An insightful piece by Pat Brittenden. How can we fix our problems if we won’t acknowledge (and National wants to stop the media talking about) their cause?:
For a long time I have had a bit of an untested theory. I’ve come to a place where I don’t think the negative statistics in New Zealand are about race, age, gender or religion. I think they’re about poverty and the by products of poverty.
Prepare for another delay on that brighter future
NZIER: economy flat-lining
Consumer confidence: down 11 points
Employment confidence: negative
International tourism: down another 3.3%
2012 growth in NZ: cut in half since Budget
World growth: slashed from 3.6% to 2.5%
Chance of NZ recession: 20% and rising
PM and Finance Minister: MIA
Open mike 19/01/2012
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
The Wealth Gap
There’s a documentary on BBC World Service about the Wealth Gap – how the top 0.1% keep earning more and more. Looks worth a listen…
Nats built the poverty trap, let’s destroy it
A new study confirms that growing up in poverty means you’ll likely be impoverished as an adult. With the negative consequences for the individual and society. The Nats’ low-wage, high unemployment policies create the poverty trap. Poverty is a design feature of the rightwing economy. Hypocritical and useless to demand their victims save themselves from poverty. Change the policies, fix the problem.
Poverty begets poverty
A good article in the Herald today, not letting National’s attempt at censorship of the issue of Child Poverty get in their way. It points to a lack of social mobility; where those who are poor don’t have equality of opportunity – let alone equity of outcome.
Setting up business: we’re prize winners
Yesterday I officially set myself up in business. As a GST registered independent contractor. It took about half an hour. Both IRD and […]
Nats to use censorship to keep public in the dark ahead of elections
National is quietly using its power to try to prevent programmes about important issues from being broadcast during election campaigns, after a documentary on childhood poverty upset them. When Key finally gets back from holiday, he’s got to explain why his party and government are trying to dictate what should be on TV during election campaigns.
Why the acronyms PIPA and SOPA should worry Kiwis
Green’s MP Gareth Hughes explains the new US internet laws that have the likes of Wikipedia upset, and why we should care: The Green Party is deeply concerned about the Stop Internet Piracy (SOPA) and PROTECT IP (PIPA) Acts currently causing quite a stir in the US and its impacts on New Zealanders access to a free and open Internet and online businesses.
Local board members support wharfies
The travesty of the Port of Auckland dispute is that we have a publicly-owned company trying to slash its workers’ pay so that it can try to undercut another majority publicly owned company that has already slashed wages, the only winners being the foreign shipping lines. Well, here’s some of our representatives standing up for Auckland workers.
Open mike 18/01/2012
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Texas of the South Seas?
Every few years, since the 70s, they’ve promised the great New Zealand oil boom is coming. It ain’t going to happen. If there is lots of oil, it’s deepsea and expensive. And they haven’t found it in 40 years of looking. We have a worse production-consumption ratio now then the 80s. Even if we somehow become a massive oil exporter, it’s not the economic panacea you might think.
There is no alternative
Work conditions in the Right’s ideal world:
- Stevedores only paid while actually unloading containers
- Firemen only paid when fighting fires
- Emergency doctors only paid while saving lives
- Soldiers only paid if under fire
- All Blacks only paid while handling the ball/tackling
MPs only paid while in the HouseCEOs not paid while at their Papamoa beach-house
Open mike 17/01/2012
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Gibson puts his money where his mouth is
An interesting passage from Herald on Sunday article on Ports of Auckland CEO Tony Gibson and Maritime Union President Garry Parsloe: … “Gibson won’t confirm reports he earns $750,000, saying “I don’t do this for the money,” … Parsloe grins. “They should stop paying him then. That would save the port quite a lot of money every year for a start”
1951 it ain’t, for now
Some have compared the Port of Auckland dispute to the 1890 waterfront dispute, 1913 general strike, and 1951 lockout. They want Labour and the Greens to get involved. Actually, this is no 1951 redux. The POA fight is just about one company trying to undercut another. The net effect on New Zealand is zero. The last thing the workers need is Labour creating an excuse for National to attack them.
Open mike 16/01/2012
Open mike is your post. For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose. The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the link to […]
Meet the wharfies and their families
The Port of Auckland and its National Party allies would have you believe that the stevedores are monsters for not be willing to accept a 20% pay cut so that POA can try to undercut Port of Tauranga (where’s the ‘national interest’ in that, again?). But, let’s hear from these workers, and their families, as they struggle to protect their livelihood.
Summer service: open mike 15/01/2011
As usual, it’s reduced service over the summer break, unless anything big happens. We hope you’ll get a good break with those dear […]
Tenants in our own land
See Landcorp planning to pay $18m a year rent to a government-linked Chinese firm to run the Crafar farms? So New Zealand is in the enviable position of having to pay rent to foreign owners to farm our own land. Key promised we wouldn’t be tenants in our own land. What’ll be Key’s priority: cutting Kiwi workers’ wages or keeping our land in Kiwi hands?
Summer service: open mike 14/01/2011
As usual, it’s reduced service over the summer break, unless anything big happens. We hope you’ll get a good break with those dear […]
Weekend social 13/01/2012
Weekend social is for non political chat. What’s on for the weekend, gigs, film or book reviews, sports, or whatever. No politics, no […]
The problems of pBooks
My iPad was powerless, so for the first time in a month I reached into the vast numbers of pBooks that litter our shelves and are going to be a real pain to move in a month, and tried to start to read one. I looked at the video of instructions from the 14th century and while that showed me what side to open it from. But where was …….
Why bringing the bankers to heel is so important…
Ecological economist Brian Davey explains how while we need to fix the problems of peak oil and climate change, we’re not going to get anywhere until we deal with the psychopathic elite of bankers who have control of the world economy.
Report shows ports not to blame for freight costs
The Productivity Commission reports that freight costs are 25% higher here than in Australia and freight costs as a % of cargo value has risen in recent years. Their solution? Make the public and port workers poorer by privatisation and casualisation. Of course, those are ideological goals, not solutions to the freight cost issue, which has nothing to do with ports.
Stick a fork in Port management, they’re done
A leaked Ports of Auckland strategy document shows their goal is to reduce the stevedores’ wages by 20%. They were planning to manufacture a crisis even before the stevedores’ collective expired. They’ve been rumbled breaking the law by not bargaining in good faith. Their political support will now evaporate. They should cut their losses, and a deal with the workers, now.
Summer service: open mike 13/01/2011
As usual, it’s reduced service over the summer break, unless anything big happens. We hope you’ll get a good break with those dear […]
Why does the Right think port workers’ pay should be cut?
National high flyer Jami-Lee Ross, Ports of Auckland’s chief shill, and Fran O’Sullivan all joined the fray over the port dispute yesterday. How does their line that the workers are overpaid marry with the Port’s claim that they’re offering pay rises? Does the Port project its wage bill would rise or fall if its offer were to be accepted? And what to make of this ‘national interest’ line?