GPJA 496 (2 of 2): NZ & World – News & Analysis (27/3/14)

BEST ON THE WEB

NEW ZEALAND

Gordon McLauchlan: All you can vote for is the status quo http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11225486

Gambling body eyes legal action http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11225568

Going to the market for gambling services short-sighted http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1403/S00315/going-to-the-market-for-gambling-services-short-sighted.htm

PMA: White poppies, Hawaiian & UN visitors, Global Day of Action on Military Spending, WWI anniversary and the 2014 National Peace Workshops http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1403/S00283/update-white-poppies-visitors-global-day-of-action.htm

John Edgar – Waitakere Ranges Protectors are Kiwis Against Sea Bed Mining – See more at: http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/03/21/guest-blog-john-edgar-waitakere-ranges-protectors-are-kiwis-against-sea-bed-mining/

Auckland classrooms at bursting point http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11223937

Decile divide: Social climbing leading to decile drift http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=11225491

Mana seeks more Internet Party details http://www.3news.co.nz/Mana-seeks-more-Internet-Party-details/tabid/423/articleID/337123/Default.aspx

Vanguard, not Mudguard- the Future of the Mana Movement. http://socialistaotearoa.blogspot.co.nz/2014/03/vanguard-not-mudguard-future-of-mana.html?m=1

Politicians of all stripes welcome at Kim’s place http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11224539

Flavell holds a begging bowl out to National By John Minto http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/03/24/flavell-holds-a-begging-bowl-out-to-national/

Spin And Myth Are Powerful Bedfellows By Selwyn Manning http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/03/23/spin-and-myth-are-powerful-bedfellows/

Anti-racism group take on white supremacists http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/city-centre/9857309/Anti-racism-group-take-on-white-supremacists

Rally Against Racism in Christchurch a Success http://iso.org.nz/2013/03/24/rally-against-racism-in-christchurch-a-success/

POVERTY & INEQUALITY

Global survey shows one in six Kiwis struggling for food http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11223351

Economic Inequality in NZ http://www.chartbookofeconomicinequality.com/inequality-by-country/new-zealand/

19th century thinking about relationships – how we hate the poor By Susan St John http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/03/20/19th-century-thinking-about-relationships-how-we-hate-the-poor/

Bureaucratic Torture: It’s Time to Get Angry About This Government’s Welfare Policies. By Chris Trotter http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/03/26/bureaucratic-torture-its-time-to-get-angry-about-this-governments-welfare-policies/

WINZ intimidation linked to surge in power disconnections http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1403/S00329/winz-intimidation-linked-to-surge-in-power-disconnections.htm

Winz hits back at intimidation claims http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/top-stories/22169442/winz-accused-of-intimidating-beneficiaries/

Demonisation of beneficiaries more difficult when they aren’t racist stereotypes By Martyn Bradbury http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/03/20/demonisation-of-beneficiaries-more-difficult-when-they-arent-racist-stereotypes/

Sick writer fights for beneficiaries http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/9861110/Sick-writer-fights-for-beneficiaries?

Max Rashbrooke, inequality and the ‘c’ word: report on a meeting http://rdln.wordpress.com/2014/03/24/inequality-in-new-zealand-report-on-a-meeting/

Benefit cuts here to stay, author tells forum http://www.odt.co.nz/campus/university-otago/296077/benefit-cuts-here-stay-author-tells-forum

And now for the real news… http://thestandard.org.nz/and-now-for-the-real-news/

The real barrier to fixing the housing crisis http://norightturn.blogspot.co.nz/2014/03/the-real-barrier-to-fixing-housing.html

Priced out of the Kiwi dream http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/comment/9854238/Priced-out-of-the-Kiwi-dream

41,000 Houses Had Their Power Cut Off Last Year http://www.radiolive.co.nz/41000-houses-had-their-power-cut-off-last-year/tabid/506/articleID/41594/Default.aspx

NZ – ECONOMY

More market failure – Joyce and Brownlee should resign By John Minto http://thedailyblog.co.nz/2014/03/26/more-market-failure-joyce-and-brownlee-should-resign/

Out of the TPPA frying pan, into the EU-FTA fire? http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1403/S00348/out-of-the-tppa-frying-pan-into-the-eu-fta-fire.htm

Duncan Garner: We Need More Builders! Start With Those On The Dole http://www.radiolive.co.nz/Duncan-Garner-We-need-more-builders-Start-with-those-on-the-dole/tabid/674/articleID/41510/Default.aspx?ArticleID=41510

NZ needs to review its direction – economic report http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11223921

Martyn Bradbury: PM selling NZ out for three beans http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=11224552

NZ – WORKRIGHTS

Marchers take aim at living wage in school http://www.stuff.co.nz/auckland/local-news/papakura-courier/9865718/Marchers-take-aim-at-living-wage-in-schools

Workers fight for fair treatment at Steel and Tube NZ http://www.voxy.co.nz/business/workers-fight-fair-treatment-steel-and-tube-nz/5/181826

Tired doctors want lighter workload http://www.3news.co.nz/Tired-doctors-want-lighter-workload/tabid/423/articleID/337131/Default.aspx

Cost cutting at Auckland Hospital ‘intolerable’ – Nurses http://www.newstalkzb.co.nz/auckland/news/nbhea/1210552520-cost-cutting-at-auckland-hospital–intolerable—-nurses

Ministry’s freezing action recovers wage arrears and fines http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1403/S00340/ministrys-freezing-action-recovers-wage-arrears-and-fines.htm

Auckland DHB’s leaked email http://nznoblog.org.nz/2014/03/24/adhb-leaked-email/

30 Years since Trades Hall Bombing in Wellington http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1403/S00352/30-years-since-trades-hall-bombing-in-wellington.htm

STATS OF THE WEEK

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

In a world filled with hate, we must still dare to hope. In a world filled with anger, we must still dare to comfort. In a world filled with despair, we must still dare to dream. And in a world filled with distrust, we must still dare to believe." – Michael Jackson

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." – Martin Luther King Jr.

FEATURES

Noam Chomsky, "The Most Dangerous Moment" http://www.tomdispatch.com/post/175821/best_of_tomdispatch%3A_noam_chomsky%2C_%22the_most_dangerous_moment%22/

Marx Was Right: Five Surprising Ways Karl Marx Predicted 2014 http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/marx-was-right-five-surprising-ways-karl-marx-predicted-2014-20140130

WORLD ECONOMIC CRISIS

Capitalist Anarchy, Climatic Anarchy, Ukraine and New Threats of War and Fascism http://critiqueofcrisistheory.wordpress.com/capitalist-anarchy-climatic-anarchy-ukraine-and-new-threats-of-war-and-fascism/

Phyllis Clarke Memorial Lecture: The Systemic Crisis of Financialization http://www.socialistproject.ca/leftstreamed/ls211.php

Make Eliminating Extreme Inequality a Sustainable Development Goal http://www.policyinnovations.org/ideas/innovations/data/000256

How has inequality changed over the last 100 years? A new database for 25 countries! http://www.chartbookofeconomicinequality.com/

Cash hoarding, profitability and debt http://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2013/12/04/cash-hoarding-profitability-and-debt/

LAND, LABOUR AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Richard Smith to speak on capitalism and the global ecological threat http://vancouverobserver.com/news/world/richard-smith-speak-capitalism-and-global-ecological-threat#print

“People Forget,” the Earth Does Not By Paul Street http://zcomm.org/zcommentary/people-forget-the-earth-does-not/

Sea Shepherd Ships Return From Successful Whale Defence http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1403/S00288/sea-shepherd-ships-return-from-successful-whale-defence.htm

Global warming to hit Asia hardest, warns new report on climate change http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/22/global-warming-hit-asia-hardest

The ‘Single Largest Environmental Health Risk’ Is Causing 1 in 8 Deaths Worldwide http://www.thenation.com/blog/178998/environmental-health-risk-thats-causing-1-8-deaths-worldwide

A Case of Too Little Information – Three Mile Island, 35 Years Later http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/03/25/three-mile-island-35-years-later/

Climate change on pace to occur 10 times faster than any change recorded in past 65 million years, Stanford scientists say http://news.stanford.edu/news/2013/august/climate-change-speed-080113.html

Destroyer of Worlds: New research suggests there was no state of grace: for two million years humankind has been the natural world’s nemesis. http://www.monbiot.com/2014/03/24/destroyer-of-worlds/

CULTURAL DISSENT

‘12 Years a Slave’: What happened to slave rebellion? http://sfbayview.com/2014/12-years-a-slave-what-happened-to-slave-rebellion/

A Grievous Wrong Has Been Done To 5 Of Our Cuban Brothers: Such Good Men Are Hard To Find ©2014 by Alice Walker http://alicewalkersgarden.com/2014/03/cuban-five/

AUSTRALIA

Israeli boycott case: Sydney academic’s lawyers say claims are pumped up http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/25/israeli-boycott-case-sydney-academics-lawyers-say-claims-are-pumped-up

Chile hopes to extradite Sydney nanny Adriana Rivas, implicated in Pinochet-era torture allegations http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-25/adriana-rivas-sydney-woman-wanted-for-extradition-chile/5342476

Racism on the rise, says new report http://www.pmc.aut.ac.nz/pacific-media-watch/australia-racism-rise-says-new-report-8522

Kiwis emerging as underclass in Aus, study warns http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/kiwis-emerging-underclass-in-aus-study-warns-5873639

BOSNIA

Tuzla, the unknown capital of the Europe of workers and peoples http://www.internationalviewpoint.org/spip.php?article3322

CANADA

Truck drivers on strike call on government to stop bullying http://vancouverobserver.com/news/truck-drivers-strike-call-government-stop-bullying

Government takes on union-busting moves to end port strike at Port Metro Vancouver http://vancouverobserver.com/world/canada/government-takes-union-busting-moves-end-port-strike-port-metro-vancouver

First Nations alliance grows in western provinces http://www.thestarphoenix.com/touch/story.html?id=9648179

CHILE

Chileans rally to demand promised reforms http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2014/03/chileans-rally-demand-promised-reforms-2014322221119349382.html

ABC: Facing the Past – In Chile the brutal, murderous past under dictator general Augusto Pinochet is never far away. Families of those who perished or simply disappeared under his rule are looking for clues to what happened to their loved ones and they’re yearning for justice. http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2014/s3971320.htm

CHINA

Taiwan’s protesters are fighting for the very democracy of the island http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/25/taiwans-protesters-democracy-china-taiwan-strait

Painted into a corner: Factory worker left with nowhere to go after contracting anaemia http://www.clb.org.hk/en/content/painted-corner-factory-worker-left-nowhere-go-after-contracting-anaemia

CUBA

Editorial Notes on the Relationships Between Literature, Politics and Social Science – The Man Who Loved Historical Novels by RAFAEL HERNANDEZ http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/03/21/leonardo-padura-the-man-who-loved-historical-novels/

EGYPT

Egyptians are ignoring hard truths about the military rule http://www.yourmiddleeast.com/opinion/all-i-ask-is-that-we-talk-about-it_22127

Canadian journalist’s trial in Egypt adjourned; urgent appeal issued for 529 people condemned to death penalty http://www.rogerannis.com/egypt-canadian-journalists-trial-in-egypt-adjourned-urgent-appeal-issued-for-529-people-condemned-to-death-penalty/

PACIFIC

Educator calls on ‘deliberative journalism’ model for climate change http://www.pmc.aut.ac.nz/pacific-media-watch/region-educator-calls-deliberative-journalism-model-climate-change-8518

PALESTINE

Israel Guilty of Ethnic Cleansing and Apartheid, Says UN Rapporteur http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/israel-guilty-ethnic-cleansing-apartheid-says-un-rapporteur-1441350

Reply to University Presidents Who Condemned ASA Boycott http://www.palestinechronicle.com/reply-to-university-presidents-who-condemned-asa-boycott/#.UzEIJfmSx8E

What ‘painful concessions’ are left for Palestinians to make? http://972mag.com/what-painful-concessions-are-left-for-palestinians-to-make/87981/

As peace talks flounder, Palestinians need more BDS, says Diana Buttu http://rabble.ca/news/2014/03/peace-talks-flounder-palestinians-need-more-bds-says-diana-buttu

Anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism http://links.org.au/node/3776

SOUTH AFRICA

New Working Class Leadership and the Prospects for Socialist Politics in South Africa http://www.socialistproject.ca/leftstreamed/ls212.php

SPAIN

Tahrir in Madrid: Tens of Thousands Demonstrate in Spain against Unemployment http://www.juancole.com/2014/03/thousands-demonstrate-unemployment.html

Spain ‘Marches for Dignity’: Massive March Against Austerity http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2014/03/22-1

SRI LANKA

Sri Lanka: Brutal Tactics Of Post-War Exposed In New Investigation http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2014/03/sri-lanka-brutal-tactics-of-post-war.html

UK

Bob Crow funeral: trade unionists pay tribute to RMT leader http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/mar/24/bob-crow-funeral-rmt-leader-trade-unionists-tribute?CMP=twt_gu

British snipers killed Afghans in pointless ‘turkey shoot’ and boosted support for the Taliban, says major who revealed how troops died due to lack of equipment http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2587070/British-snipers-killed-Afghans-pointless-turkey-shoot-boosted-support-Taliban-says-major-revealed-troops-died-lack-equipment.html

Why Ed Miliband is set to declare war on inequality http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2014/03/why-ed-miliband-set-declare-war-inequality

Israeli architecture association faces ban from international forum – Royal Institute of British Architects proposes boycott of Israeli Association of United Architects’ over Palestinian settlements http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/20/israel-architecture-association-ban-international-forum-palestinian-settlements

Higher education shouldn’t be a market. No wonder tuition fees are failing http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/mar/21/higher-education-market-tuition-fees-failing-9000-pounds?CMP=fb_gu

UKRAINE

Former U.S. Ambassador: Behind Crimea Crisis, Russia Responding to Years of "Hostile" U.S. Policy http://www.democracynow.org/2014/3/20/fmr_us_ambassador_behind_crimea_crisis

Outside powers exploiting ethnic nationalisms https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/56125

Ukraine: why being neutral won’t stop a war http://www.counterfire.org/index.php/articles/analysis/17119-ukraine-why-being-neutral-wont-stop-a-war

The Ukraine Economic Crisis: Past, Present & Future http://zcomm.org/znetarticle/the-ukraine-economic-crisis-past-present-future/

Who In Ukraine Will Benefit From An IMF Bailout? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xc0wjU1gShE&list=TLRYhzF7no5rDnzqIqZnZ12slxy9ZwAiVO

In Simferopol by Juliane Fürst http://www.lrb.co.uk/2014/03/20/juliane-furst/in-simferopol

The contradictions of the Euromaidan uprising http://roarmag.org/2014/02/euromaidan-protests-ukraine-contradictions/

URUGUAY

A Step Toward Justice in the Long "War on Terror": Uruguay Offers to Welcome Guantanamo Detainees http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article38038.htm

USA

Fortune 100 Companies Have Received a Whopping $1.2 Trillion in Corporate Welfare Recently: Military contractors, oil companies and banks are the biggest ‘welfare queens’ around. http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/new-report-fortune-100-companies-have-received-whopping-12-trillion-corporate

A Guantanamo detainee who was captured in 2001 and has never been charged with a crime asked a federal review board on Thursday to let him go home. Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/freedom-by-powerpoint-a-guantanamo-forever-prisoner-seeks-transfer-20140320

What’s the Difference Between Force Feeding and Waterboarding? https://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security-prisoners-rights-human-rights/whats-difference-between-force-feeding-and

The Vampire Squid Strikes Again: The Mega Banks’ Most Devious Scam Yet Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-vampire-squid-strikes-again-the-mega-banks-most-devious-scam-yet-20140212

Give 2 Minutes to Understand How the Wealthy Keep the Poor Folks Poor http://www.eyeopening.info/2014/03/24/give-2-minutes-understand-wealthy-keep-poor-folks-poor/#.UzOsOvmSx8E

USA – WORKERS REVOLT

Saving Our Unions: Dare to Struggle, Dare to Win? By Steve Early http://monthlyreview.org/2014/02/01/saving-unions

Reich: ‘Paid what you’re worth’ is a dangerous myth: Fifty years ago, when General Motors was the largest employer in America, the typical GM worker got paid $35 an hour in today’s dollars. Today, America’s largest employer is Walmart, and the typical Walmart workers earns $8.80 an hour. http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/reich/article/Reich-Paid-what-you-re-worth-is-a-dangerous-5338294.php

Hey, Washington! The Pay Is Too Damn Low: The Minimum-Wage War Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/hey-washington-the-pay-is-too-damn-low-the-minimum-wage-war-20140227

Study: $15 wage floor would lift pay for 24% of Seattle workers http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2023218294_minimumwageseattlexml.html

25 Really Engaging Images About Minimum Wage http://www.upworthy.com/25-really-engaging-images-about-minimum-wage-5?c=ufb1

USA – SPYING SCANDAL

Some Facts About How NSA Stories Are Reported By Glenn Greenwald http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article38044.htm

VENEZUELA

Obama wrong to isolate Venezuela By Oliver Stone and Mark Weisbrot http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2014/03/21/obama-wrong-isolate-venezuela/XCiOn7e7R4M7pSq93J5LeI/story.html

The Strategy of the Venezuelan Opposition and How it Works by Steve Ellner http://www.socialistproject.ca/bullet/957.php

What’s Really Going On In Venezuela https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVdel510hRk&feature=youtu.be

Three Venezuelan Air Force Generals Arrested for Alleged Coup Plotting http://venezuelanalysis.com/news/10535