World Politics

[auscyclefan94]

Political correctness is killing debate in Australia. I work in a government office and I get to see the idiocy on a daily basis.

You are right. Bronwyn Bishop launched a brilliant attack on Gillard today saying that many other past female leaders never used their gender to advance themselves. She also said 'if you don't like the heat, get out of the Kitchen'. Too true. If you are a public servant, are you worried about any future cuts that you may face under the potential Abbott Government? In my opinion, the public service is way too large.

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/bishop-labels-gillard-speech-pathetic-20121011-27fab.html#poll

Our wonderful Gillard government have just successfully voted for an amendment to have sole parents taken off the Sole Parent pension when their child turns eight. They then start receiving Unemployment Benefits which are $100.00 less per fortnight. This will supposedly save the govt 700 Million a year. This is the govt who is working for Australian families or so they say, repeatedly. Obviously they want more people living on the streets. If these people are struggling now what happens when they lose $100.00. They want them to apply for for non existent jobs. The sooner Gillard is gone, the better. She is a fraud. I hope that remark was not sexist !

They are getting dole payments instead now. Again I repeat Gillard's belief about old people and how they never vote for you. This is true now! Gillard is a fraud and her government hit a new low yesterday. I can't await for the landslide although I do believe that if Gillard doesn't see she can win, she will call the election before August just so there isn't a Senate election. I could at least somewhat respect past ALP governments and what they tried to do. I can't for this ALP government.

 

[movingtarget]

You are right. Bronwyn Bishop launched a brilliant attack on Gillard today saying that many other past female leaders never used their gender to advance themselves. She also said 'if you don't like the heat, get out of the Kitchen'. Too true. If you are a public servant, are you worried about any future cuts that you may face under the potential Abbott Government? In my opinion, the public service is way too large.

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/political-news/bishop-labels-gillard-speech-pathetic-20121011-27fab.html#poll


They are getting dole payments instead now. Again I repeat Gillard's belief about old people and how they never vote for you. This is true now! Gillard is a fraud and her government hit a new low yesterday. I can't await for the landslide although I do believe that if Gillard doesn't see she can win, she will call the election before August just so there isn't a Senate election. I could at least somewhat respect past ALP governments and what they tried to do. I can't for this ALP government.

Surprisingly based on population we don't have a large public service. Spain has the largest public service in the world although that has obviously changed recently. The public service has way too many middle managers and that's where cuts have already started. Most public servants know that the days of safe government jobs are long gone. Natural attrition with an aging workforce will do Mr Abbott's job for him as whenever a public servant resigns or retires now, they never get replaced unless the vacancy is a senior one. The long term plan for the public service is to do more work with less people with a smaller budget which explains why casuals are becoming a larger part of the workforce in the public sector. White collar jobs are disappearing more and more as technology improves. God knows what it will be like in thirty of forty years.

 

[auscyclefan94]

The EU won the Nobel Peace Prize....the award has seriously lost all value now.

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

The EU won the Nobel Peace Prize....the award has seriously lost all value now.

Lost it way back in time that one (Kissinger springs to mind)

 

[movingtarget]

The EU won the Nobel Peace Prize....the award has seriously lost all value now.

Who were the others in the running ? FIFA and the UN ? UCI ? Maybe this will placate the Greeks and the Spanish ? No, I don't think so.

 

[ToreBear]

The EU won the Nobel Peace Prize....the award has seriously lost all value now.

What was the last award you agreed with?

 

[auscyclefan94]

Fair Work Australia lays civil charges on Craig Thompson. The Government becomes more shambolic by the day.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/fa...mp-craig-thomson/story-e6frf7jo-1226496425245

 

[movingtarget]

Fair Work Australia lays civil charges on Craig Thompson. The Government becomes more shambolic by the day.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/fa...mp-craig-thomson/story-e6frf7jo-1226496425245

Abbott only has to do what Rudd did. Keep his mouth shut and let the government hang themselves.

 

[Bala Verde]

Did Gillard take a tumble? Literally...

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/7831941/Invisible-political-foe-trips-Aussie-PM

Looks like a collarbone... How many months is she out

 

[auscyclefan94]

Did Gillard take a tumble? Literally...

http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/australia/7831941/Invisible-political-foe-trips-Aussie-PM

Looks like a collarbone... How many months is she out

Hopefully she comes back soon because as long as she is PM, ALP have no hope.

Abbott only has to do what Rudd did. Keep his mouth shut and let the government hang themselves.

Yeah, but even when the Howard Government was tripping over themselves, they were creating a very strong economy and were at least respected in the public's eyes. I don't see that with Gillard.

 

[auscyclefan94]

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/au...security-council/story-e6frf7jo-1226498925124

God save Australia, because nothing will save the United Nations!

thanks Gough!

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I'm not exactly sure where to post this, if it's a political issue, a global one either. But it's something anemic to what the US has become. Here goes...

Two guys, we'll call them Joe and Bob get hired to be cameramen for a regional sports network. Joe has a lot of experience, Bob not very much, so Joe his hired at a slightly higher pay, which isn't announced, but assumed by all.

An initial training game is set-up to practice. While at that practice, Joe, being a nice guy, shows Bob a lot of tricks of the trade from his experience. Bob remains mostly quiet.

They get into the season and after a few games everything is fine. But then, it turns out Bob is getting scheduled to work more than Joe. Why? Because Bob went to the boss and told them he was working for less money, and knew how to do the job well enough, and they should schedule him more than Joe. So the boss agrees, and schedules Joe less.

In America, this is how it works. It's all about money. Greed and aggression are rewarded. We call it "competition" or "capitalism". We don't say it out loud, but this is what Joe gets for being a nice guy and helping Bob out. America is set up to where Joe should have kept his mouth shut, or actually told Bob in the training session how to poorly do the job, and mislead him. It would have gotten Joe more work, and potentially gotten Bob fired because of incompetence, and Joe would have gotten all the work.

That's how I see a great deal of freelance, contract (and even other staff jobs) in this country. I have seen this over and over. The way the system is set-up is to reward the most ruthless, greedy and aggressive. There is no "win-win". That's BS talk in 90% of situations. It's set-up to where "me first, and always" is what is rewarded.

Comments anyone?

 

[auscyclefan94]

I'm not exactly sure where to post this, if it's a political issue, a global one either. But it's something anemic to what the US has become. Here goes...

Two guys, we'll call them Joe and Bob get hired to be cameramen for a regional sports network. Joe has a lot of experience, Bob not very much, so Joe his hired at a slightly higher pay, which isn't announced, but assumed by all.

An initial training game is set-up to practice. While at that practice, Joe, being a nice guy, shows Bob a lot of tricks of the trade from his experience. Bob remains mostly quiet.

They get into the season and after a few games everything is fine. But then, it turns out Bob is getting scheduled to work more than Joe. Why? Because Bob went to the boss and told them he was working for less money, and knew how to do the job well enough, and they should schedule him more than Joe. So the boss agrees, and schedules Joe less.

In America, this is how it works. It's all about money. Greed and aggression are rewarded. We call it "competition" or "capitalism". We don't say it out loud, but this is what Joe gets for being a nice guy and helping Bob out. America is set up to where Joe should have kept his mouth shut, or actually told Bob in the training session how to poorly do the job, and mislead him. It would have gotten Joe more work, and potentially gotten Bob fired because of incompetence, and Joe would have gotten all the work.

That's how I see a great deal of freelance, contract (and even other staff jobs) in this country. I have seen this over and over. The way the system is set-up is to reward the most ruthless, greedy and aggressive. There is no "win-win". That's BS talk in 90% of situations. It's set-up to where "me first, and always" is what is rewarded.

Comments anyone?

Well that isn't really capitalism or competition. In most cases in Australia, people have a set amount of hours they work per week and that changes between contract to contract that they receive therefore such an incident would not necessarily happen. Considering that I am very pro-free market, I do support individual contracts and it is not necessarily for the greedy or aggressive. Obviously in a job like a cameraman, having set amount of work hours is quite difficult to organise so I do understand your situation.

 

[rhubroma]

Since this ultimately touches upon policy and legal wranglings my general response to the case regarding the Turkish pianist, Fazil Say, would be this. Say's plight, who has been brought to court for having made a few loaded, if just in the satitical vein, remarks on Twitter that “offended religious values,” makes one reflect on the concrete risks atheists or agnostics (or in any case non-believers) assume in the current revival epoch of religious fervor and identity. To believe in God, and to do so in the noted historical forms and socially organized denominations, arms the faithful with a bonus in terms of susceptibility (“offense of religious values”) of which naturally the atheist isn’t disposed. Such a person isn’t offended, nor is he endangered, by the affirmation “God exists” broken down in its various forms. Yet the contrary is not a given: the affirmation “God doesn’t exist,” especially if uttered in the Muslim world, has the value of blasphemy, leads to a court hearing and sometimes to incarceration or even a death sentence. Within Western Christendom, as we witness in the United States, such bears unavoidable political consequences: no prospective US presidential candidate would dare proclaim himself a non-believer. To do so would be political suicide, given the strong religious vocation of the US citizenry.


The persecution of the flip side of the coin, that is against those who profess a given faith, was only given ideological purchase by the Soviet regime that adopted an “atheism of the State,” which politically speaking, however, in its turn merely became an alternative absolute faith through the sanctification of the communist party leaders. Thus whomever retains to be the privileged repository of the Truth persecutes, excommunicates, imprisons, murders. The non-believers, which in terms of the “absolute” have only doubt, and given the times, would be well advised to stick together for their own militant self-defense.


For a more targeted legal analysis about this case within the Turkish courts take a look at this: http://english.alarabiya.net/views/2012/10/20/244800.html

 

[rhubroma]

Well that isn't really capitalism or competition. In most cases in Australia, people have a set amount of hours they work per week and that changes between contract to contract that they receive therefore such an incident would not necessarily happen. Considering that I am very pro-free market, I do support individual contracts and it is not necessarily for the greedy or aggressive. Obviously in a job like a cameraman, having set amount of work hours is quite difficult to organise so I do understand your situation.

No, it's really these very things. What else would it be? Human nature?

 

[runninboy]

I'm not exactly sure where to post this, if it's a political issue, a global one either. But it's something anemic to what the US has become. Here goes...

Two guys, we'll call them Joe and Bob get hired to be cameramen for a regional sports network. Joe has a lot of experience, Bob not very much, so Joe his hired at a slightly higher pay, which isn't announced, but assumed by all.

An initial training game is set-up to practice. While at that practice, Joe, being a nice guy, shows Bob a lot of tricks of the trade from his experience. Bob remains mostly quiet.

They get into the season and after a few games everything is fine. But then, it turns out Bob is getting scheduled to work more than Joe. Why? Because Bob went to the boss and told them he was working for less money, and knew how to do the job well enough, and they should schedule him more than Joe. So the boss agrees, and schedules Joe less.

In America, this is how it works. It's all about money. Greed and aggression are rewarded. We call it "competition" or "capitalism". We don't say it out loud, but this is what Joe gets for being a nice guy and helping Bob out. America is set up to where Joe should have kept his mouth shut, or actually told Bob in the training session how to poorly do the job, and mislead him. It would have gotten Joe more work, and potentially gotten Bob fired because of incompetence, and Joe would have gotten all the work.

That's how I see a great deal of freelance, contract (and even other staff jobs) in this country. I have seen this over and over. The way the system is set-up is to reward the most ruthless, greedy and aggressive. There is no "win-win". That's BS talk in 90% of situations. It's set-up to where "me first, and always" is what is rewarded.

Comments anyone?

Really ? That runs counter to most of my experience. I find that people generally help each other out of a respect for the job and others. For example you would not want someone to put themselves in a dangerous situation regardless of the money involved. So someone helping someone else is merely doing your job well and being an upstanding individual.

As far as the cutthroat aspect you describe, i see that as a very rare occurence. Most people and companies reward experience and can spot the situation you describe a mile away. It is not advantageous in the long run to reward someone in the situation you describe so ultimately it would be a bad business practice. I don't see the "system" rewarding only the most greedy and aggressive, to me this sounds a little more of a personal situation where your view has become tainted from a bad experience. Please don't try to use this example to stand for competition or capitalism, because it is not representative. My family has been running a business for decades. We offer people a good product at a fair price, we do not overcharge people, we help out competitors. I guess that makes us Joe in your analogy, we did not get rich, but we did better than BOB because people recognize quality products and services. Most will also shy away from a deceptive business like BOB.
Again someone banging on "capitalism". What is a better system? and are there not just as many problems with anything?

 

[rhubroma]

.
Again someone banging on "capitalism". What is a better system? and are there not just as many problems with anything?

Are you just reciting what you have always heard asked by the capitalists, or have you ever thought for yourself if another system might be better (thought for yourself underlined)? If so then why did you ask? If not this is the great problem of our age as I see it. While I don’t see a family run business as indicative of some of the more subversive and tyrannical praxis of the large multinational corporations.

It might also be useful to stop talking about capitalism as if it were this monolithic creature and start seriously engaging in a fortuitous debate over capitalisms. Our age of globalization is so in need of such an objective and unbiased serious inquiry.

 

[runninboy]

Are you just reciting what you have always heard asked by the capitalists, or have you ever thought for yourself if another system might be better (thought for yourself underlined)? If so then why did you ask? If not this is the great problem of our age as I see it. While I don’t see a family run business as indicative of some of the more subversive and tyrannical praxis of the large multinational corporations.

Well guess what? I have lived under other systems and the US system is yet to be surpassed. I asked the question because someone asked for comment. I in turn wish to see what someone else would purport to be a superior system whcih i have yet to see. As usual you have offered nothing along those lines, just more bashing.
Look i lived and worked in Norway among other countries. Norway at the time had a very good sport system that i was involved in. Despite their small size they had many of the top juniors in the sport. Someone in the government came along and sad that it was not fair that some were winners and some were losers, they should all receive participant trophies instead of 1st 2nd 3rd. etc. This was along the lines of the policies/ideals of the socialist government. So this was done and the kids responded that it was not fair that they worked hard and got the same reward as kids who basically did not take it seriously and did nothing. So the good ones quit, the ones who were not serious quit and the system collapsed. Coincidentally the same thing was happening in the government with high tax rates, punishing success. Then the light bulb went off and things started to change, in order to encourage success and opportunity more freedom was given to succeed. Tax rates lowered, investment soared. Unfortunately it takes time to rebuild. I talked to my friends who are coaches and they said the sport was starting to come back now that sanity was restored, but that it would likely never be like it was. And all those talented kids lost out. Shame.

I can also go on about large corporations, the same business principles apply to them as small business. I know of a corporation who was very benevolent. They gave large sums to charities without any fanfare, i had no idea until i visited a friend of mine who managed a store for them. I also learned that they had a policy that if someone came in who did not have money to pay for food they would discretely take any amount for payment. It is easy to bash corporations for their success, but number one they are often publicly owned and have a responsibility to make a profit. If they do not take that seriously they can be held liable by their investors. At the same time most do give a good amount to charity, provide people with jobs in addition to providing a return on investment to their shareholders. It is a difficult balance to attain to serve the public, themselves and investors equally especially when they are legally liable to the investors first.

Again it would be interesting to hear YOUR alternative and then we can pick that apart instead of always basing on the US system.
That reminds me of when i lived in the UK, my friends there were always bashing the US and when i had had enough i brought up WW2 and us pulling their **** out of the fire. Later when things calmed down they said that the US was like your big brother coming to save you from a beating from the neighborhood bully. You thank God for your brother saving your *** and glad you have him as a brother. But you will never let him know.
People bash the US and the system, but there does not appear to be a superior system. If there is let me know, it would be most interesting to read

 

[rhubroma]

Well guess what? I have lived under other systems and the US system is yet to be surpassed. I asked the question because someone asked for comment. I in turn wish to see what someone else would purport to be a superior system whcih i have yet to see. As usual you have offered nothing along those lines, just more bashing.
Look i lived and worked in Norway among other countries. Norway at the time had a very good sport system that i was involved in. Despite their small size they had many of the top juniors in the sport. Someone in the government came along and sad that it was not fair that some were winners and some were losers, they should all receive participant trophies instead of 1st 2nd 3rd. etc. This was along the lines of the policies/ideals of the socialist government. So this was done and the kids responded that it was not fair that they worked hard and got the same reward as kids who basically did not take it seriously and did nothing. So the good ones quit, the ones who were not serious quit and the system collapsed. Coincidentally the same thing was happening in the government with high tax rates, punishing success. Then the light bulb went off and things started to change, in order to encourage success and opportunity more freedom was given to succeed. Tax rates lowered, investment soared. Unfortunately it takes time to rebuild. I talked to my friends who are coaches and they said the sport was starting to come back now that sanity was restored, but that it would likely never be like it was. And all those talented kids lost out. Shame.

I can also go on about large corporations, the same business principles apply to them as small business. I know of a corporation who was very benevolent. They gave large sums to charities without any fanfare, i had no idea until i visited a friend of mine who managed a store for them. I also learned that they had a policy that if someone came in who did not have money to pay for food they would discretely take any amount for payment. It is easy to bash corporations for their success, but number one they are often publicly owned and have a responsibility to make a profit. If they do not take that seriously they can be held liable by their investors. At the same time most do give a good amount to charity, provide people with jobs in addition to providing a return on investment to their shareholders. It is a difficult balance to attain to serve the public, themselves and investors equally especially when they are legally liable to the investors first.

Again it would be interesting to hear YOUR alternative and then we can pick that apart instead of always basing on the US system.
That reminds me of when i lived in the UK, my friends there were always bashing the US and when i had had enough i brought up WW2 and us pulling their **** out of the fire. Later when things calmed down they said that the US was like your big brother coming to save you from a beating from the neighborhood bully. You thank God for your brother saving your *** and glad you have him as a brother. But you will never let him know.
People bash the US and the system, but there does not appear to be a superior system. If there is let me know, it would be most interesting to read

First of all I never mentioned the "US system," but since you brought it up check out the statistics of the WTO on wealth and its distribution among the 30 most "developed" nations and I think you will be surprised.

As far as "not surpassed" goes, what do you mean? Individual wealth, population wellbeing, quality of life, cuisine, etc.? You need to qualify such vague and generalized comments. It could be argued, though, that many other populations live in a "better system" even if not within the richest and most powerful of states.

How do the shareholders serve the public interests? At any rate if the "best system" means what US capitalism has amounted to these days, I think civilization can aspire to something more principled certainly.

As far as not offering any alternatives or indicating possiblities, I think my many posts on this forum in this regard speak for themselves. Go read them if you care.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Australian Government announces it's mid year economic forecast which is really only one-third the way through the financial year. According to the Treasurer, increasing taxes is in reality a saving. Hmmmmmm!

 

[Ferminal]

What taxes were increased?

Aren't you happy that spending is falling though?

 

[auscyclefan94]

What taxes were increased?

Aren't you happy that spending is falling though?

The tax revenue coming in for the next financial year is increasing because the Government is making businesses pay their tax earlier to help achieve their surplus budget.

Spending isn't really falling when you see that the Government is not including many of their big policies in the expenditure for the budget. I am happy that they are cutting the Baby Bonus as that was a tad extravagant policy by the Howard Government which continued through with Labor although I do not support the cuts to the Private Health Insurance rebate as that is an important and good policy that takes the pressure off the public health system therefore reducing costs placed on the states to fund Hospitals.

I think this surplus is more about political survival than fiscal responsibility as if Labor does not deliver a surplus next year, they will have to call an early election because they can't win the next election without a surplus budget imo.

 

[Ferminal]

Have to wait and see I guess.

Such vicious spending cuts have rarely been made, not for 25 years has it happened. So credit to them if they pull it off even if I do not agree completely.

Agreed politically it's a joke how they backed themselves into the corner and they deserve to pay the price if they fail.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Have to wait and see I guess.

Such vicious spending cuts have rarely been made, not for 25 years has it happened. So credit to them if they pull it off even if I do not agree completely.

Agreed politically it's a joke how they backed themselves into the corner and they deserve to pay the price if they fail.

True. I think Australia still needs to support mining and resources as it is one aspect that keeps our economy strong but I think more needs to be done to either a) try to recover retail and/or manufacturing and/or b) try to develop a new industry that is going to replace that void that is eventually going to need to be filled if we want to be such a strong economic country that we are.

 

[Ferminal]

True. I think Australia still needs to support mining and resources as it is one aspect that keeps our economy strong but I think more needs to be done to either a) try to recover retail and/or manufacturing and/or b) try to develop a new industry that is going to replace that void that is eventually going to need to be filled if we want to be such a strong economic country that we are.

= not cutting research spending