Now, from the annals of class warfare, we have an extremely wealthy individual indicating that Australian miners should be paid two dollars a day, because miners in Africa receive such low wages. Oddly enough, she thinks that demanding decent wages for dirty, dangerous jobs amounts to class warfare:
"We must be realistic, not just promote class warfare. Indeed, if we competed at the Olympic games as sluggishly as we compete economically, there would be an outcry. The evidence is unarguable that Australia is indeed becoming too expensive and too uncompetitive to do export- orientated business, Africans want to work. Its workers are willing to work for less than $2 per day."
I think I support this deal, with one proviso... Gina Rinehart should pay Australian miners two dollars a day, as long as she is willing to be killed by them in the resultant riot.
All snark aside, what the hell is wrong with the überrich these days? The strain of sociopathy runs deep in the ownership class... they won't be happy until they reduce the populace to serfdom.
To scrub the awfulness of Gina Rinehart from your brains, here are some Australians with a more humane position on mine workers:
Midnight Oil was one of the most astute political bands of the 80's, championing aboriginal rights and environmentalism. Lead singer (and Big Baldie himself Peter Garrett has had a long career as an activist and politician. One of my all-time favorite Midnight Oil songs is Read About It, which was my introduction to the band:
Amazing how timely the song remains, so many decades after it was written... and by "amazing", I mean "depressing as hell".
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Ahem, the drummer was a Kiwi. Just sayin'
Gina is grade A loony though. She er... wroted a poem which would make a Vogon blush.
She showed up a few months ago at some business conference dominated by the inherited-wealth minerals tycoons, floating the idea that 'business leaders' should set up their own media network -- or buy out one of the cheaper existing networks -- to ensure the proper management of Australian democracy, and drown out any information that might lead people to vote for the wrong party.
Apparently the Murdoch empire is not sufficiently right-wing and business-friendly... devoted as it is to the principle of not losing money (so they have to tell some of the truth, some of the time).
Australia is indeed becoming too expensive and too uncompetitive
Reducing the rent she accrues from land ownership is not the way forward.
All snark aside, what the hell is wrong with the überrich these days?
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
~
how timely the song remains, so many decades after it was written
Same shit, different day.
Ahhh....ummm....yep.
Saw them on the Blue Sky Mining tour.
sweet Rickenbacker on that first video. I got excited because I thought the stills also showed a 12 string going on, but I think I was mistaken.
in any case, i believe I will be doing an Oils set tonight, and that is not a bad thing.
Present for BBBB!
http://boingboing.net/2012/09/06/water-bear-hunter-video.html
Ahem, the drummer was a Kiwi. Just sayin'
I had no idea, thanks for keeping me honest about my Antipodean bands. Is there anything I need to know about the Lime Spiders?
She showed up a few months ago at some business conference dominated by the inherited-wealth minerals tycoons, floating the idea that 'business leaders' should set up their own media network -- or buy out one of the cheaper existing networks -- to ensure the proper management of Australian democracy, and drown out any information that might lead people to vote for the wrong party.
Uncle Rupert isn't sufficient?
Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Yeah, we need more gentle Uncle Bens in this world to teach us about great responsibility.
Same shit, different day.
Depressing, innit?
The problem is they are finding increasingly effective ways of shielding themselves from the stupid decisions of the offspring.
Yeah, they're rigging the game, as Elizabeth Warren and Matt Taibbi note so well and so often.
Saw them on the Blue Sky Mining tour.
I had no doubt in my mind.
in any case, i believe I will be doing an Oils set tonight, and that is not a bad thing.
Not a bad thing indeed, blast it!
Present for BBBB!
Sweet! I've long been a huge fan of tardigrades. They are so inexplicably cute.
The only good thing about what's-her-name is that she appears to be a miserable person everyone hates and she will never ever have a good time.
She does seem to enjoy playing the role of "someone everyone hates". Trolling, even. A billionaire who looks the way she does, I assume she has a staff of cosmeticists and plastic surgeons working to *produce* that effect.
Also too that Midnite Oil vid is tots inspired by the "Maria preaches to the Underground workers" scenes in 'Metropolis'.
I didn't see them, ZRM, but I sure enough wore the fuck out of the cassette tape.
The miners don't deserve more than 2 dollars a day - it's dear Gina taking all the risks, her bootstraps are knackered from her pulling herself up every day. Poor girl*.
*Pronounced - "sociopath."
Actually, I think Gina should give it a try first, personally, before making an endorsement. I;d like to see her put in a couple of shifts, before opening her pie hole.
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