the deluded and the deranged

Danyl at The DimPost cuts to the core with this post about the revised treasury forecast. Already their unrealistic pre-election forecasts have been revised downwards - apparently they have decided to factor in the european economic crisis. As danyl notes the major parties fought the election with these unrealistic projections and that shows the value of all of their promises - vacuous and a waste of time.

Right. So just to recap: Treasury made these very optimistic growth predictions in the 2011 budget, and everyone said they were delusional. But Treasury stood by their forecasts, and a month out from the election they repeated their insanely optimistic outlook in the PREFU.

The government and opposition parties based all of their fiscal policies on the Treasury forecasts. Both main parties claimed they’d get the country back into surplus in a few years, because of all the additional revenue from all that economic growth. Jobs weren’t a big topic of debate in this election, because Treasury promised us that all the growth would create 170,000 new jobs!

Now here we are, just over a week after the election and whaddya know? Treasury has announced they were too optimistic. Growth is going to be less than they said it would a month ago – even though nothing substantive has changed since then. The European crisis didn’t just emerge on Sunday the 27th.

 All very true and this is what john keys says

Stuff

'Forecasts are wonderful things and they are a prediction of what may or may not occur. We are the government and so we will get on and run the operation as best we can ... yup, it might all go to hell in a handbasket and if it does we'll manage it. ''But at the moment we are more confident than others.'' The Government is committed to getting the books back to surplus in 2014/15.

''If there is some catastrophe in Europe and the place melts down, that changes the global economic outlook, there are always things that are beyond our control. But we are totally committed to trying to get back to surplus,'' he said.

How exactly key will manage everything going to hell in a handbasket is not known, probably the same way he deals with everything else - smile and spin. Same with dealing with the catastrophe of the global economic collapse - she'll be right mate - have a beer. Is this responsible government? Is this what we want or need? Apparently the answer is yes, based on the election. This really is the deluded leading the deranged.

Hattip - DimPost

99% are us

I am supportive of Occupy Wall St, the reasons behind the action and the action itself. This is people power and we need people to feel empowered because that is the way to build community and whichever way the world goes, we are going to need community. I watched this video ‘Nobody can predict the moment of revolution’ and looked at the people interviewed and I really felt for them, for us. There are so many people struggling and hurting out there, in this society we have created.

They are like us and we are like them. This struggle is for recognition of the 99% of people that are disenfranchised by our system.This is just the beginning.

Occupy Wall St

Occupy Wall Street is leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions. The one thing we all have in common is that We Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%.

Check out the 99% and you may recognise stories and situations pretty close to home here for us. We have an election in a month or so and who we choose to vote for will affect us all. I’m voting Mana because I cannot see any other party able to slow or stop the juggernaut – even they may not, but at least I know they will try. The occupiers of Wall St are trying too and I back them 199%.

Update


Kim has raised a really good point in the comments about a differing view based upon the non-recognition of indigenous rights.  I had read the article and the letter before I posted this and I decided i wanted to keep the two issues seperate but that was a mistake. The basis of the protest is to accentuate the plight of the 99% by exposing the tyranny of the 1%, but there has to a recognition of the indigenous rights of the First Nations or it is a false consciousness. John Paul Montano says it best in his openletter to Occupy Wall St.

Open letter

Thank you for your courage. Thank you for making an attempt to improve the situation in what is now called the United States. Thank you for your commitment to peace and non-violence. Thank you for the sacrifices you are making. Thank you.

... I eagerly read your "one demand" statement. Hoping and believing that you enlightened folks fighting for justice and equality and an end to imperialism, etc., etc., would make mention of the fact that the very land upon which you are protesting does not belong to you - that you are guests upon that stolen indigenous land. I had hoped mention would be made of the indigenous nation whose land that is. I had hoped that you would address the centuries-long history that we indigenous peoples of this continent have endured being subject to the countless '-isms' of do-gooders claiming to be building a "more just society," a "better world," a "land of freedom" on top of our indigenous societies, on our indigenous lands, while destroying and/or ignoring our ways of life. I had hoped that you would acknowledge that, since you are settlers on indigenous land, you need and want our indigenous consent to your building anything on our land - never mind an entire society. See where I'm going with this? I hope you're still smiling. We're still friends, so don't sweat it. I believe your hearts are in the right place. I know that this whole genocide and colonization thing causes all of us lots of confusion sometimes. It just seems to me that you're unknowingly doing the same thing to us that all the colonizers before you have done: you want to do stuff on our land without asking our permission.

He offers some ideas to remedy the situation and i fully believe Occupy Wall St will follow the advice. 

1) Acknowledge that the United States of America is a colonial country, a country of settlers, built upon the land of indigenous nations; and/or...

2) Demand immediate freedom for indigenous political prisoner Leonard Peltier; and/or...

3) Demand that the colonial government of the United States of America honor all treaties signed with all indigenous nations whose lands are now collectively referred to as the "United States of America"; and/or...

4) Make some kind of mention that you are indeed aware that you are settlers and that you are not intending to repeat the mistakes of all of the settler do-gooders that have come before you. In other words, that you are willing to obtain the consent of indigenous people before you do anything on indigenous land.

Thanks Kim.

Hat tip - Racialicious

trader talk

It's worth watching these two videos. The first is entitled, "The men who crashed the world"  the first part of Meltdown a four-part investigation on Al Jazeera that takes a closer look at the people who brought down the financial world. It is important that we know the truth however disturbing because it will help us recognise the attributes we don't want or need within our communities. It would be nice to think we are not going to make the same mistakes again. 

The second video shows the result of our capitalist society - the end product. A person who doesn't care if the market is going up or down as long as he makes money - what the hell he is going to spend it on when it all falls down is anyone's guess. He knows that goldman sachs rules the world not governments, he knows the slide is gaining momentum but caught in his own hubris and invincibility he thinks it is going to affect everyone else except for him - he is wrong, it will affect us all.



Hat tip The Unrepentant Marxist

spotting one

In one of my previous roles i worked as a general manager for a financial services company - you know investments and insurance. I reported to the board and at that time the market was suffering, so we were often below expectations. Tough - what to do? Well, what you do is put the best spin on it as possible - "yes we didn't get there, and this is what we are doing about it..." If you have a few quarters like that you get quite imaginative in composing spin, you have to. The point of that background is to say that when you have spun to save your life (however illusory when viewed from now) you recognise spin from others easily. The Prime Minister is spinning

Stuff

there is optimism China's economy will remain strong and that will buffer New Zealand from the latest round of turmoil on global financial markets.

This turmoil is major indeed. And this is the financial system but the effects of peak oil with a loss of cheap energy coming, and climate change is obvious. For me, my critical analysis says that it is actually happening, we have reached a place in our time on this planet of critical juncture and our world is undergoing unheaval. Key's option of spinning is a cop out - the only one to 'save' us is us and that means not selling our land and resources to any bidder with the money. That means saying no to the exploiters who are mining and prospecting for oil and gas in our rohe. And it also means supporting community and unity, equality and empowerment. It is time for the past to lead us to the future. 


On a lighter note :)

Watch for the effects of major sunspot activity 

Universe Today

A highly active region on the Sun threatens to deliver powerful geomagnetic storms over the week ahead. Highly energetic solar eruptions are likely heading in our direction to give Earth’s magnetic field a significant glancing blow! Over the past few days the new sunspot AR1302 has been incredibly active, hurling massive X-class solar flares into space and it will soon face Earth.

jeepers another Carrington Event would stuff up the money go round, wouldn't it.