Posts by Michael Fitzgerald
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The bulk of trade aid products are useless charity crap. Coffee & no sweat clothing have the potential to break that mold which is why I want more from them and their moral crusade.
Trade Aid business model transfers the under payment of workers from Timor (if you believe their hype) to NZ. As a business model (which is one of its claims) this is not sustainable or fair. Volunteer where ever you like but Trade Aid making claims about the business model being ethical are wrong & certainly no other NZ business can compete with free NZ labour.
Dawn Raids have everything to do with fair trade (but not coffee). NZ & Texas seem to have pretty similar policies here. We need workers but don't want (name your ethnic underclass) to live alongside us. So will put them in a limbo of semi legal workers in NZ but no support for their dependant families (NZ school & Health care) as they stay in the islands.
The reason for these policies is that when our economy takes a dive we don't want the same 'problem' as the 70s/80s. NZ doesn't want PI labourers to live here. -
Kowhai - 2 cents about coffee & labour.
Trade Aid Coffee would have to be pretty good, at least morally. They claim to pay 50% more than others but that doesn't mean it is fair. The Timor Leste speaker at Parihaka 06 had a real issue with so called fair trade over that.
And my little gripe. Trade Aid business model relies on volunteer (slave?) labour of little old grannies - Don't tell the Business Round Table or you'll undermine the Barista pay claims.
Labours Pacific Island Labour Programme = NZ Slavery
NZAid June 07 has a nice write up and for what was written you'ld have little reason but to agree with it. Problem it doesn't mention the removal of human rights of these worker. No right to strike for pay or conditions & no right to transfer their labour and thereby have the ability to improve their pay & conditions.
They are indentured labourers, slaves.The need for this legislation = NZ doesn't like Brown People & Dawn Raids make bad international TV
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Moore is sunning himself in JKT right now. All he did was fart & leave the room.
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That's where the Pol Sci comes in handy
Bjørn Lomborg, born January 6 1965.
M.A. in political science (Cand.scient.pol.) 1991.
Ph.D. at the Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen. 1994. -
I thought you were both in Wellington & diff age groups don't always exclude friends.
Point taken there may well be a number of educated and prosperous ex-sex workers out there.
Just because we can't see the impact of someones past doesn't mean it hasn't made an impact. (Drawing my long bow again) I note that Georgina Byers doesn't seem to have had a partner while in office. -
Joanna & Andrew I wonder if you're both talking about the same person? I would think she is the tip of the ice berg anyway.
Those I've seen on Manchester St are worse for wear. Including being seriously assulted in broad day light & bloody needles left on the footpath. I assumed she was hospitalised as it looked like a bit of blood was lost. -
Agreed that Lomborg serves a purpose Don
He has driven a few trucks through some of the environmental claims. I hope this works to strengthen the environmental movement by being a bit more honest in their work.
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Moore could give some much needed credibility to Act. He is a true believer after all.
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You want to know what partisan is?
Mum told me Jesus was a socialist.Rather than '81 Tour I should have used the Dawn Raids for Rob.
During those dark days when student activisim is celebrated by the now middle aged who lament of the state of todays students.
I recall them dropping the ball & passing it on to the Catholic Workers Movement. An Indonesian math student (PhD) spoke out on Canty Campus about the army/police murder of his father & uncle. Rob was sure he'ld be safe to go home & refused him refugee status. NZ didn't need any PhDs back then No8 wire is all we needed. So after couch surfing for a few months & gaining the status of over stayer all the students radicals had to go home for holls but couldn't take Jose with them. So for 6 months we had a guest we couldn't tell anyone about. A mail drop went round but no-one told, God bless our neighbours. Eventually Jose got refugee status in Canada and letures at Uni there. -