capitalism

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discrimination (82)

Attention Mum and Dad investors

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:58 am, April 10th, 2013 - 91 comments

Labour’s Clayton Cosgrove reveals that when selling Mighty River Power shares, brokers will get twice the commission for selling to a foreign buyer. This will send ownership overseas and drive up prices for Kiwis.

True Blue Worker Hate

Written By: Helen Kelly - Date published: 9:40 am, April 9th, 2013 - 37 comments

Any day now the Government will announce more changes to the Employment Relations Act. These changes will drive down wages and undermine the conditions of all workers. They will also remove the small amount of protection most cleaners and hospitality workers get when the business they are working for loses a contract to another contractor. […]

Youth rates – good and bad employers

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 11:28 am, April 7th, 2013 - 32 comments

The Nats’ youth rate wages (“for when the ‘minimum’ wage just isn’t low enough”) come in to effect next month. Some of the big youth employers are making their intentions known. You may wish to vote with your wallet.

Kiwis at centre of money maze: Hager

Written By: karol - Date published: 8:03 am, April 7th, 2013 - 107 comments

Today a Nicky Hager article puts Kiwis are at the centre of the global money maze exposed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. He traces developments after Wine Box, the involvement of lawyers (including one ACT-aligned blogger), and some BNZ & ANZ staff… and more.

Investigative journalism is not dead

Written By: karol - Date published: 8:46 am, April 6th, 2013 - 21 comments

Congratulations to Duncan Campbell, Nicky Hager, et al involved in the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists for doing such a great job on the Gobal Offshore Money Maze. The maze includes NZ & Aussie. The investigation used sophisticated digital technologies.

More pay for them; bigger bills for us

Written By: karol - Date published: 1:09 pm, April 4th, 2013 - 24 comments

Ryall has announced that Might River Power top brass will be receiving massive pay rises, in relation to the sale of the powercos. The directors have multiple positions, and questions have been raise about the past of one or two of them. They benefit; we pay.

The CV of a Spy Boss

Written By: karol - Date published: 5:14 pm, April 3rd, 2013 - 89 comments

Key & Rennie say Ian Fletcher was the most suitable candidate to head the GCSB? His CV includes working on intellectual property, globalisation and free trade, & was private secretary to the Blair minister who fudged the legal advice on attacking Iraq.

Rio Tinto ups the ante

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:02 am, April 2nd, 2013 - 166 comments

Our “let’s make a deal” PM is outclassed on this one. I actually have some sympathy this time, the government is between a rock and a hard place. But while most of us worry about Southland, I suspect the Nats’ concerns will be a little closer to home…

Pokies and corruption?

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:15 am, March 31st, 2013 - 61 comments

Significant International Affairs files, relating to dodgy Pokies’ trusts, going missing, SkyCity convention centre deals made through flawed government processes. No corruption in NZ, just governance through sloppy processes? Cui bono?

Worst. Negotiators. Ever.

Written By: IrishBill - Date published: 6:46 am, March 29th, 2013 - 240 comments

First they got down on their knees for a massive American movie studio and negotiated away oodles of taxpayer dollars and our employment law for movies that were always going to be made in New Zealand…

The Cyprus solution

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:48 am, March 26th, 2013 - 48 comments

The financial crisis in Cyprus has taken an unusual turn, and for a change it is the rich who will be left with the bill.

News media: shifting ground

Written By: karol - Date published: 12:44 pm, March 19th, 2013 - 13 comments

The withdrawal of News Corp from SkyNZ, & the new deal on press regulation in the UK are part of various shifts: from media moguls to financial investors, rise of the internet, & the balance between corporate media and politicians – not a fourth estate revival. [Update: tweeters/bloggers excluded]

Akl Unitary Plan: the good, the bad & the debatable

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:44 am, March 17th, 2013 - 39 comments

The Draft Auckland Unitary Plan has much to commend it. It focuses on resource management, responds to the reality of climate change & aims for a more dense but ‘liveable’ city. It has weaknesses, embraces destructive “growth” and raises questions: e.g. about affordable housing & environmental management.

The Brits are smarter than us

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 9:41 am, March 11th, 2013 - 44 comments

All sorts of bad polling news for the British Conservative government, as the Brits lose faith in the politics of economic austerity.

You pays your money & you takes your chances

Written By: James Henderson - Date published: 10:53 am, March 9th, 2013 - 97 comments

Analysts are talking about risks of investing in Mighty River Power in the media today. Weather, electricity demand, overseas expansion. I’ll tell you what would make me think twice: everyone acknowledges the power companies over charge. Right now, the government has 400m reasons a year not to do anything about it. But that’s about to change.

Recommended viewing

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 8:47 pm, March 8th, 2013 - 24 comments

In 2002 a television crew from Ireland’s national broadcaster, RTÉ happened to be recording a documentary about Chávez when a coup was staged against him.

Highly recommended.

Fair trade

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 9:35 am, March 8th, 2013 - 24 comments

Farrar and Mallard want us to give the NZRU a statue to trade back one of Holyoake that the government accidentally sold them along with the old State Services building. How about saying to the NZRU, ‘We accidentally sold you a statue but, hey, you remember all that money we gave you to under-write your loss-making tournament? Maybe you could give us our fucken statue back without being dicks about it?

Spoiled brats running MRP

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 4:41 pm, March 7th, 2013 - 21 comments

No surprise to find that Mighty River Power bosses are behaving like spoiled brats – that’s pretty much what they are.

Auckland housing: Brown vs Smith

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:54 am, March 7th, 2013 - 53 comments

Nick Smith, of the forked tongue, is challenging Auckland council’s plan for affordable compact housing. It will do nothing for housing affordability, transport, the environment. It is undemocratic, over-rides the council, and will enrich developers.

Chavez: 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013

Written By: karol - Date published: 11:21 am, March 6th, 2013 - 231 comments

Chavez was too young to die, but he is a significant figure in South American politics. A controversial figure in Venezuela, the full story has yet to be written of his contribution to his country, his impact on the left & world politics.

What now for Sky TV?

Written By: karol - Date published: 10:45 am, March 4th, 2013 - 45 comments

News Corp is selling shares in NZ Sky TV. What does these mean for the on-going decline of public broadcasting? It is possibly part of the shift away from media moguls, and towards control of news media by bankers.

Kiwis at the front of the queue?

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 10:42 am, March 4th, 2013 - 140 comments

One of the promises that Key made about asset sales was that Kiwis would be “at the front of the queue”. So why will up to 30% of the current offering be heading overseas?

Nats’ fossil fuel bet & culture of excess bankrupted Solid Energy

Written By: James Henderson - Date published: 7:05 am, February 22nd, 2013 - 164 comments

A look at Solid Energy’s books highlights the diseased culture of the corporate elite in this country and National’s failed bet on fossil fuels. The blistering pace that executives’ ridiculous paypackets rose at shows a culture of pocket-lining in the company. The massive expansion of liabilities in the lignite bet, which has crippled the company, was part of National’s fossil fuels strategy.

Re-run: SkyCity’s convention centre would need $10m+ subsidies – MED

Written By: Eddie - Date published: 11:22 am, February 21st, 2013 - 15 comments

A year ago, I wrote that SkyCity was pursuing the dirty practice of ‘subvention’ – where owners of white elephant infrastructure extort governments for subsidies – for the convention centre. The msm has caught up and is reporting on it now. MED denies there will be any subvention; but Joyce says it’s all on the table. And what about the $10m+ in operating subsidies the centre would need?

What killed Ken Callow?

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 7:25 pm, February 18th, 2013 - 13 comments

The CTU wants to raise awareness of the effect of market pressures on working conditions and workplace safety. What killed Ken Callow?

The failure of economic austerity

Written By: Anthony R0bins - Date published: 8:54 am, February 11th, 2013 - 18 comments

As one writer sums it up – “no austerity has helped any economy”. So why do we carry on with this failed ideology? Perhaps because, while it does nothing for the vast majority of people, it helps make the super-rich even richer…

To intervene or not to intervene, that is the question…

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 9:26 am, February 9th, 2013 - 27 comments

Frank Macskasy at Frankly Speaking looks at who does get generous government assistance – and who doesn’t. “This isn’t governance. This is economic decline by a thousand cuts.”

Community Service

Written By: karol - Date published: 8:05 am, February 9th, 2013 - 70 comments

Greenpeace activists were fined and ordered to do Community Service – for serving the global community by protesting about Climate Change & the oil industry. Others get honours like knighthoods for services that are damaging for the majority in the community. Misplaced values? [update] RNZ interview with Lucy Lawless.

The Feral Rich Are Destroying Our Civilised Society

Written By: notices and features - Date published: 3:27 pm, January 29th, 2013 - 87 comments

Reprinted with permission, from Dave Kennedy (bsprout) at Local Bodies.

The heart of darkness

Written By: Zetetic - Date published: 10:39 am, January 27th, 2013 - 181 comments

I wondered why the Herald had given a column to a barely literate liquidator, until now. They say sunlight is the best disinfectant, and running Damien Grant’s hateful, self-centred pieces exposes the ugliness at the heart of the neoliberal capitalist class. The titles alone are enough: ‘I’d rather a better phone than feed a hungry child’, ‘Life as the top capitalist in capitalism the only life worth having’.