The Anti-Thunberg Hysteria.

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This year’s UN Climate Summit in New York came and went with little achieved and if something memorable came out of it it was the global protests preceeding it and Greta Thunberg’s scathing speech, delivered with impressive frankness and lucidity by a 16 year-old girl away from home, before the cameras and a huge audience of high-ranking strangers. And to top it all off, Thunberg, whose mother language is Swedish, made her speech in faultless English.

An admirable and articulate and brave young woman, if you ask me.

And brave and strong she will need to be for she, knowingly or not, is wearing the same bullseye Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib (US) or Jeremy Corbyn (UK) have been wearing for a while, the main difference being that Thunberg is young enough to be their daughter or even granddaughter.

UN Climate Action Summit: Shut Up, Australia.

A number of free-loaders countries, including Japan, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, the US, Japan, and South Africa will not be sending delegates/speaking at the UN Climate Action Summit to start next Monday in New York.

Scott Morrison’s Australia joined the ranks of international pariahs. Apparently, António Guterres, the UN Secretary General, wants speakers to have something substantial or at least truthful to say and Angus Taylor’s sophistry on GHG emissions reduction doesn’t make the cut (Taylor is the federal Minister for Energy and Emissions Reduction).

I think Guterres is right. Wanna know why?

The Ageing Commie is Proud (Updated)

I took some photos in my mobile, but these are much better:

(source)

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The Gloves are Off: Global #ClimateStrike Next Friday.

The Global #ClimateStrike against climate change is set for next Friday.

Personally, I support the strike, intend to attend and I urge readers to join us. Readers can find further information on the strike in the SS4C website.

I think older generations have failed. Capitalism was bound to fail anyway, so its defenders, whether orthodox or heterodox, purists or reformers, were facing a hopeless task to begin with. So their failure to address climate change and its apocalyptic consequences is no surprise.

But we, socialists and workers, also failed. We failed in our attempts to create a better, more rational, sustainable society. And we are running out of time. There may not be another opportunity, thus there’s no time for despondency. That’s a luxury we can’t afford. It’s time to act, as we pray we are not too late.

Obvious Reason Why Wages Aren't Growing.

There's an obvious reason wages aren't growing, but you won't hear it from Treasury or the Reserve Bank

The most obvious reason for wage stagnation is the decline in unionisation over the past three decades. But you won’t hear that from government economists. www.shutterstock.com

David Peetz, Griffith University
Wages growth for Australian workers is among the worst in the industrialised world. For more than a third of workers on individual contracts, wages aren’t growing at all.

This is odd, given Australia is in a “record” 28th year of economic growth with apparently low unemployment and a supposedly strong economy.

Workers' Mail: Support O-I Glass Strike.

From Sally McManus,

Last week I visited striking workers at O-I Glass. They have been on strike for nine weeks for a fair pay rise and they need your support.

All Australians need a pay rise. The Reserve Bank Governor says so, economists say so, even the government says pay rises are needed to keep the economy going. But as we know, pay rises don’t fall from trees - working people by being union, fight for them. These workers are taking up the fight against this multinational to break through for 3% - at least 3% is what the Reserve Bank says all of us need.

Take That, Bitches: Australia Burning.

A week into spring and Oz is burning in more than one way.

(Source. ABC News: Alistair Kroie)

Less than four months since the May 18 election victory of the COALition, predicated on their self-proclaimed reputation as matchless economic managers, the R-word is no longer the preserve of the perma-bear, chronically depressed, wild-eyed post Keynesian preaching on his pilgrimage to Mount Kosciuszko.

Rebellion in Hong Kong?

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Frankly, I’m sceptical. If that photo isn’t enough to justify my scepticism, these may help. If still images aren’t enough, then these two short video clips in Dan Cohen’s Twitter thread could be.

But maybe images aren’t your thing. Well, Cohen’s article may be.

Personally, I found some data about the protesters useful. A team led by Prof. Francis L. F. Lee (School of Journalism and Communication, The Chinese University of Hong Kong) collected answers from participants in Hong Kong’s anti-extradition bill protests (website, report).