MetaFilter posts tagged with Labour

On use vs. exchange value: we must be careful about what we pretend to be

kliuless — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:24:13 -0800

Asset inflation, price inflation, and the great moderation
Economists ~~as penance~~ have been trying to locate the origins of the great chain of causation that has led us to our present situation -- the worrying conclusion is that problems remain -- imbalances precipitated by a labour supply shock [1,2] and/or (the rise of) machines [1,2] have not gone away and continue to persist in decimating the ('developed world's) middle class, as evidenced by high and rising unemployment, which has led to a crisis in central banking itself. moreover, paraphrasing george washington, "the government's entire strategy now is to cover up how bad things are." iow, if there isn't a middle class 'civil rights' movement already, there should be...

Crystal Lee Sutton

Fiasco da Gama — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:14:52 -0800

Crystal Lee Sutton was fired for trying to organise a union. The incident was made into the 1979 film Norma Rae. Last week she died at the age of 68.

On this labour day...

kliuless — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 09:13:11 -0800

Social mobility, income inequality and wealth disparities. BONUS

After a 30-Year Run, Rise of the Super-Rich Hits a Wall: Over the last two years, the rich became poorer, and they may not return to their old levels of wealth anytime soon.
Household Debt to Net Worth Ratio Spiking - "While the richest were impacted the most in $ terms, the lower to middle class tend to have more of their net worth stashed in real estate (i.e. their home). Thus, while the financial markets rebounded in 2009, it is likely that the lower to middle class didn't reap the reward (housing has continued to fall). Thus, when data is updated for 2008 and 2009 (though too early to judge where we'll end up this year), expect the discrepancy to be even wider."
Poverty, growth, and sustainability - "Getting out of poverty means, among other things, having access to more of society's resources for the sake of consumption: better diet, healthcare, education, transportation, housing, clothing, and other goods... Now consider the environmental side of the coin."
Thin Value, Thick Value - "Profit through economic harm to others results in what I've termed 'thin value'. Thin value is an economic illusion: profit that is economically meaningless, because it leaves others worse off, or, at best, no one better off. When you have to spend an extra 30 seconds for no reason, mobile operators win -- but you lose time, money, and productivity. Mobile networks' marginal profits are simply counterbalanced by your marginal losses. That marginal profit doesn't reflect, often, the creation of authentic, meaningful value. Thin value is what the zombieconomy creates."
Life Inc. - "about money as a medium, and the way centralized currency and corporate capitalism were accepted as given circumstances of business, rather than inventions of particular people at a particular time... how the world became a corporation"
The Size of the Bush Tax Cuts vs. the Cost of Health Care Reform - "Tax cuts for the wealthy come before health care for the uninsured."
Health Care That Works - "Until the mid-19th century, firefighting was left mostly to a mishmash of volunteer crews and private fire insurance companies. In New York City, according to accounts in The New York Times in the 1850s and 1860s, firefighting often descended into chaos, with drunkenness and looting. So almost every country moved to what today’s health insurance lobbyists might label 'socialised firefighting'. In effect, we have a single-payer system of public fire departments... Throughout the industrialised world, there are a handful of these areas where governments fill needs better than free markets: fire protection, police work, education, postal service, libraries, health care. The United States goes along with this international trend in every area but one: health care."
Professor Paul Krugman at war with Niall Ferguson over inflation - "One of them is a 'poseur'. The other is 'patronising'. One suffers from 'verbal diarrhoea'. The other is a 'whiner'... Those accusations were slung round in an increasingly bitter public row between two of the world’s most distinguished commentators on global finance and economics, professors Paul Krugman and Niall Ferguson, of Princeton and Harvard, respectively. It started as an argument about bond prices. But last week it blew up into a row about racism, printing money, spending our way out of recession, and the fate of the global economy." [1,2]
Why the Growing Level of U.S. Debt May Not be Inflationary - "The future level of the debt in the U.S. is not a worry if we get effective health care reform (rising health care costs are the major source of projected future deficits)."

btw, labor day (American) "originated in Canada [...President Grover] Cleveland was also concerned that aligning a US labor holiday with existing international May Day celebrations would stir up negative emotions linked to the Haymarket Affair."

Reading the Riot Act

Jakey — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 11:42:40 -0800

Our Sovereign Lord the King chargeth and commandeth all persons, being assembled, immediately to disperse themselves, and peaceably to depart to their habitations, or to their lawful business, upon the pains contained in the act made in the first year of King George, for preventing tumults and riotous assemblies. God Save the King! 31 January 1919 saw the last reading(autoplay video) of the Riot Act in the UK. 60 000 demonstrators gathered in Glasgow's George Square to demonstrate in support of a 40 hour work week. An unprovoked attack by the police resulted in a riot that resulted in the mobilisation of the army, and was reported as far afield as New York. Key trade unionists, Socialist and Marxists were arrested after the event and tried for incitement to riot. These included future MPs William Gallacher and David Kirkwood and future Government Minister and Peer, Manny Shinwell. Just some of the people and events in the history of the Red Clydeside labour movement.

PoliticsFilter

pivotal — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 12:14:51 -0800

It's election season, and the stakes are high. The incumbent party is looking a little frayed, and people are looking for change. The opposition leader (a young chap, who despite being neither gifted, nor black, has likened himself to someone of that definition) is accused of profiting from parliamentary questions about undeclared shareholdings. And forget about your $700 Billion, this election has been rocked by scandal over an undeclared NZ$100,000 donation. Some would suggest that the state of the nation can be read largely through sales of doggy chew toys.

Kiki and Bubu

homunculus — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 00:00:26 -0800

Kiki and Bubu! Austrian art collective monochrom presents the adventures of two sock puppets. Part One: Kiki and Bubu and The Shift. "Bubu wants to know why his dad is busy all the time. And Kiki explains him why... because of the neoliberal shift." Part Two: Kiki and Bubu and The Privilege. "Bubu ran into a bunch of liberals and they gave him a book. They said if he doesn't read it, they're going to beat him up. But Bubu can't read! And so Kiki helps..." [Via BB]

The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class

kliuless — Thu, 01 May 2008 02:22:59 -0800

"The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class" With inequality on the rise [1,2,3], what can be done to combat the "credit crunch"* and restore the link between wages and productivity? [cf.] Afterall, "economic inequality makes democracy repugnant to elites and attractive to the masses. It is a recipe for civil conflict and unstable democracies. But a sizeable middle class is conducive to democracy: civil society is stronger, while the dangers of unbridled populism are reduced." Otherwise, "globalization will fail and capitalism or even humanity itself may come to an end. The real alternative to good globalization is world war. And because of the nature of today's technology, such a war would be apocalyptic in the twenty-first century. Because there is not much time left, the Great Boom, taken as a whole, either is not a bubble at all, or it is the final and greatest bubble in history." --- *when "what the US economy produces is no longer well matched to what Americans consume, and we are structurally unprepared to generate tradables, goods or services, in quantity adequate to cover the difference," is it -- US living standards -- even defensible and/or is another revolution on the way?

Global sweatshop lobby

Abiezer — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 05:55:54 -0800

"In a historically unprecedented visit, the influential Chinese scholar and labor law expert Liu Cheng arrived in Washington, D.C. this week to garner support from US legislators and labor leaders for a law that is pending not before the US Congress but before the National People’s Congress in China."
Global Labor Strategies' recent report Undue Influence has prompted comment that US corporate advocacy in China is retarding democracy. The US-China Business Council rejects this characterization of their lobbying efforts (China Law Blog broadly agrees). Their European counterparts think better compliance and implementation are key to improving protection for Chinese workers.

Tame Political Blogs

quarsan — Wed, 09 Aug 2006 11:08:03 -0800

Official New Labour Blogs The US has got used to the political bloggers, but the Uk's Labour party is now accepting applications from bloggers to be an official blogger at their Annual Conference. They're offering access to all the key speeches and events at Conference and you’ll be blogging from the floor about your experiences and 'special access'. Would a blogger be compromised by this?

Spectre: Families of bereaved British servicemen to stand against pro-war politicians

nthdegx — Sun, 06 Aug 2006 06:38:25 -0800

"Families of soldiers killed in Iraq launch party to challenge ministers". Reg Keys, father of a British serviceman killed in the Iraq War, stood directly against Tony Blair in his Sedgefield constituency as an independent candidate (see Wikipedia for a brief summary of independent movements in the UK, USA and Canada) in the 2005 UK election, taking 10% of the vote. A founder member of Military Families Against The War, he is also at the centre of a new political movement, Spectre, that aim to stand up to 70 members of bereaved families directly against pro-war government and cabinet members in the 2009 election, and each by-election before then. See also the Guardian's Guide to anti-war websites.

Karma karma karma karma chameeeeleeonnn

catchmurray — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 03:57:19 -0800

Britain's New Labour have very short memories!

They are trying to persuade people to vote for them by highlighting exactly how they got in to power themselves as being a fault in the Conservative Party

Amir Peretz new leader of Israel's Labour Party

ori — Thu, 10 Nov 2005 20:25:34 -0800

"Tonight was a night of dreams -- dreams of many citizens who have almost given up hope for being part of Israeli society."

A new Prime Minister for Israel? Moroccan Amir Peretz, former head of the Histadrut (Israel's general labour union) supplants Shimon Peres as leader of Israel's Labour with an agenda of social welfare and an end to sectarianism and ethnic tension.
BBC Profile. Jerusalem Post article. Analysis from HaAretz. June 2005 Interview. Biography and Open Letter from Official Website. Peretz's "Ethical Roadmap" for Israel.

"Values don't change, but times do"

nthdegx — Tue, 27 Sep 2005 10:26:50 -0800

Tony's Blair's keynote speech to the Labour Party conference today [wmv]. Text summary from Channel 4 news.

UK Liberal Democrat councillor Paul Leake chooses his blog over his party

tapeguy — Mon, 19 Sep 2005 15:41:39 -0800

UK politician chooses his blog over his party: Paul Leake, a Liberal Democrat councillor in Durham, was asked by his local party to remove any "controversial" posts from his weblog and to give them the right to vet future posts. Denis Jackson, another Liberal Democrat on Durham City Council, said that the Labour councillors were using the blog to find "lurid headlines". Leake refused, and stepped down from the party. He'll now serve his constituents as an independent. [Via The Political Weblog Project]

making millions of unseen workers visible

heatherann — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 09:49:55 -0800

Portrait of a Textile Worker makes one person among millions of unseen workers visible. Her image was constructed with thirty thousand clothing labels stitched together over two years.

George Galloway

Pretty_Generic — Fri, 06 May 2005 06:18:14 -0800

Highlight of the election coverage: George Galloway is the leader of Respect and won a historic and unexpected victory against the Blairite Oona King, on an anti-war ticket. He was then interviewed by Jeremy Paxman, an increasingly controversial interviewer well known for asking questions absurd numbers of times until they get answered - a technique which arguably backfires here. You might want to watch Galloway's acceptance speech first. [Windows Media. My two cents: Paxman is an egregious cock, more interested in getting his eternally righteous indignation across than any issues.]

It's a basic irony, folks...

tapeguy — Tue, 03 May 2005 22:04:59 -0800

I'm amused by today's Editorial in The Sun. It starts off with how a protest vote against Labour may mean 'you could be signing a young person's death warrant' due to the Liberal Democrat party's drugs policy.

The second half of the newspaper's editorial is a tribute to Anthony Wakefield... whose death came, of course, as part of the Blair government's war in Iraq... a basic irony that the newspaper has failed to pick up on. [via Bloggerheads]

For those who don't know, The Sun - which backs Blair, though not like this - is the UK's biggest selling newspaper and is owned by Rupert Murdoch.

Lee and Dan's Excellent Adverts

Navek Rednam — Sat, 30 Apr 2005 14:23:11 -0800

The truth behind the spin? - three party political broadcasts (.wmv) made by Lee and Dan, the men behind the VW Suicide Bomber advert, and commissioned by the UK's Channel 4

books, pamphlets, and periodicals

Grod — Tue, 26 Oct 2004 18:58:36 -0800

I was wandering around the internets looking for early twentieth century ephemera and look what I found. Digital Dada Library “This page provides links to some of the major Dada-era publications in the International Dada Archive. These books, pamphlets, and periodicals are housed in the Special Collections Department of the University of Iowa Libraries. …Each document has been scanned in its entirety.” EphemeraNow “is a family-friendly Web site dedicated to the commercial art of mid-century America.” The Ephemera Society “is a non-profit body concerned with the collection, preservation, study and educational uses of printed and handwritten ephemera.” and more! For those of you who have complained that this place is getting too “US politics-filter” I give you Glasgow Digital Library Collections which has all sorts of stuff including a great history of the labour movement in Glasgow 1910-1932

I have changed countries only to find I have stepped through the looking glass.

Steve_at_Linnwood — Mon, 18 Oct 2004 14:27:25 -0800

I'm a Democrat for Bush.
Sarah Baxter is a life-long Labour voter in Britain and a registered Democrat in the United States. So how come she wants George W Bush to remain president?

Blair in Trouble...

wibbler — Fri, 11 Jun 2004 05:22:17 -0800

The UK local elections have taken place, and for the first time ever forced the ruling Labour government into third position, with their worst showing in history. Is this just a mid-term blip, or the culmination of the huge Iraq backlash that will topple the government? With Bush in trouble too, will any of the warring leaders be left come November? And can the Big Intervention website topple Blair himself?

Sailing close to the flame

twine42 — Tue, 18 Mar 2003 04:41:25 -0800

At what point does a government have to stop and wonder if it's judged the mood correctly?

The UK government manages to bribe a rebel with a cushy job, but not one, not two, but three other MPs walk away from the government in one day. Are things going wrong in the UK?

flatlander — Tue, 03 Sep 2002 10:17:10 -0800

Rev. Jackson rallies West Coast dock workers. I'm proud of Jesse for this action. The workers are only averaging $80K per annum and foreman are averaging only $167K per. I'm surprised he didn't try to do the same for the MLBPA.

benjamin — Tue, 24 Jul 2001 14:22:44 -0800

The Harvard Crimson contracts Cambodian sweatshop labor to make its online archives and saves $450,000. Is that the living wage they editorialized for?

holgate — Tue, 15 May 2001 13:26:44 -0800

Playing the Willie Horton card? The Tories' first party election broadcast claims that Labour has released rapists to offend again. Even a former ex-chairman of the party calls the film "disturbing" for its tacit apportioning of blame, and its similarities to the famous ad used by Bush Sr. in 1988. After Labour's positive but anodyne "we've done nice things, and here's Geri Halliwell" broadcast, are we now set for a dirty media war till June 7th?