Tag Archives: australia

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Respected U.S. Economist says deeper recession coming, Australia no longer safest place to be

“We predicted this (current) downturn in the U.S. 20 years ago.”-Harry S. Dent Jr

September 11, U.S. economist Harry S. Dent Jr is predicting a second, deeper downturn between the beginning and the middle of next year.

Dent says the downturn will start in Europe, spread to the United States, China and eventually Australia.  He says Australia might not be the safest place to be: “Australia is probably the best place in the world to survive this, but we do think Australia will not escape as well as it did from the last crisis (in 2008).”

Dent says there are still ‘bubbles’ that need to burst.  He believes gold and silver prices are overrated, and there are still housing bubbles around the world, like in Australia, Japan and China, that need to burst.  The housing bubble that burst in the U.S. still hasn’t fully deflated.

Dent is in Australia to promote his book, The Great Crash Ahead – How to Prosper in the Debt Crisis of 2010-2012.


Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Economic Class War: Australia’s economy is good, yet thousands of workers are losing their jobs! They blame it on the falling U.S. dollar. Australian workers ready to tear down their government, what’s wrong with the slaves of Corporate America?

Australia’s economy is doing much better that the U.S. economy, thanks to their deals with China, yet the state government of New South Wales is going to layoff 5,000 government employees, and cap government wages!

Also, Australia’s biggest steel maker, BlueScopeSteel, is laying off 1,000 workers!  Back in July solar power companies announced they were losing 73 jobs per day in New South Wales!

September 8 saw 30,000 protestors hit the streets in Sydney.

The latest economic news out of Australia says consumer spending is up, 1%, and their export economy hit 1.2% growth.  Household savings is at 10.5%.  Analysts expect overall economic growth to expand by 4.3% by the end of the year.  Much better than the U.S.

So why are Australians still losing their jobs?

BlueScopeSteel claims they’ve been losing money, no thanks to the rising Australian dollar!  Company officials says most of their sales are overseas, and the high Australian dollar makes their products too expensive for international customers.

Workers and union officials say it’s really because company management is financially incompetent.

As the U.S. dollar falls, other currencies, like the Australian dollar is rising.

The Australian Solar Energy Society (AuSES) and the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) says because the New South Wales (NSW) government has failed to adopt the ‘Fair & Equal Price for Solar Solution’ plan, at least 73 solar power jobs are being lost per day.

NSW officials want a four month delay before adopting the plan, but company officials say that by then their companies could be shut down.  The plan would allow residents to put affordable solar power on their own homes, then sell excess power back to the grid.  The plan would not cost anything to the state government.

This brings us to the strange announcement that NSW is going to lay off 5,000 of its own employees, and cap wages for the rest.

From what I could find, the only reason for the government layoffs are because the elites of Australia want to privatize everything.  NSW’s Premier Barry O’Farrell claims it’s a necessary step in preparing for a much more competitive world (the overall bad global economy caused by the United States, like the falling U.S. dollar driving up the Australian dollar).

Residents of NSW aren’t taking this laying down, not like most people in the United Police States of Corporate America.  Here’s what some of the September 8 protestors had to say: “IR laws, stick it up your barrell O’Farrell.”

“Our message to Barry O’Farrell is you are a horrible bastard. You’re a liar and we’re going to fight you every inch of the way.”-Matt, prison guard

The protestors also sang the old Twisted Sister song “Were not gonna take it.”

NSW firefighters also protested, at least 500 firefighters with dozens of fire trucks arrived in Sydney, and union bosses told the firefighters to be ready “to drag this government into the gutter…”!

“O’Farrell doesn’t give a stuff how hard we work, how smart we work, all he wants us to be is cheaper. We have to say no.”-Jim Casey, Fire Brigade Employees’ Union

When will the slaves of the United Police States of Corporate America say no?

 

International

Humans are going Insane: One in Four Australians have Mental Disorder, christians say it’s the wrath of god

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare says one in four Australians, age 16 to 24 have mental problems.

Since 2000 there’s been a 66% increase in mental issues for teens age 12 to 14.  And a 90% increase for teen girls specifically!

The Australian Christian Lobby blames divorces.  I think the Australian Christian Lobby needs their head examined.

The Australian Response Ability web site does list family problems as a factor, but it’s only one of many “risks”.   Understand that a “risk” is not necessarily a cause:

Family “risk” factors include:

  • having a single parent;
  • having a teenage mother;
  • large family size;
  • marital discord or family violence;
  • poor supervision and parenting;
  • being abused or neglected;
  • criminal or financial problems in the family;
  • parental mental illness or substance abuse;
  • harsh or inconsistent discipline and lack of affection; or
  • death of an important family member.

“Risk” factors for school-aged children include:

  • bullying and rejection from peers;
  • lack of connection with the school;
  • poor behaviour management at school;
  • a peer group showing problem behaviours;
  • difficult transitions between grades and schools;
  • problems with schooling and academic failure.

“Risk” factors in the community setting include:

  • social and economic disadvantage;
  • discrimination and racism;
  • isolation;
  • neighbourhood violence and crime;
  • high population density, poor housing conditions;
  • lack of support services and lack of recreational facilities.

Here’s some more disturbing mental health facts from Response Ability, an initiative of the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing:

One in five Australians will experience mental problems at some point in their life.

Every year 20,000 more Australians suffer mental problems.

Almost one in 100 Australians will experience schizophrenia during their lifetime.

International, U.S.

United Police States of America meets United Police Kingdom: Scots horrified that U.S. prison contractor GEO will now run Scottish prison

“The decision to give control of an immigration center in Scotland to a company with so many allegations against them in relation to human rights shows a staggering lack of judgment.  The Scottish people will be horrified by this decision.”-Anas Sarwar, Glasgow Central MP

The GEO Group, a corporation that manages part of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp (GITMO), and manages several private prisons throughout the U.S., has won a contract to run the Dungavel immigrant removal center, in Scotland.

GEO has a record of sexual assaults against prisoners, and their own employees.

Recently guards at South Texas Detention Complex have been accused of forcing women prisoners to have sex with them, or they will be deported.

In 2007, Texas canceled a $9 million contract with GEO, and closed the Coke County Juvenile Justice Center, after it was revealed that the children were sexually abused.

One prisoner at GEO’s Willacy County prison, also in Texas, was beaten to death last year.

In October, 2010, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a complaint against GEO, claiming the company permitted sexual harassment of female employees at their Central Arizona Correctional Facility.

Even Australia stopped doing business with GEO. Contracts were canceled after a series of scandals over rioting, racial abuse of detainees, and sexual assaults on women and children.

Dungavel immigrant removal center was established in 2001, to hold asylum seekers whose applications were rejected. The U.K. Border Agency overseas the operation of the center.  Amazingly British officials are happy with GEO’s track record: “We are satisfied that GEO have delivered this as a tried and tested formula.”-U.K. Border Agency spokesman

GEO officials say their track record has nothing to do with their performance: “No custodial or detention system is immune to incidents and challenges inherent in the management of offender populations, and it would be unfair to judge an organization’s record based on individual incidents rather than its overall record.”-Walter MacGowan, Managing director of GEO UK

 

 

International

Dengue fever spreading around the world

Since my last posting about Dengue fever, in April 2011, the disease is infecting even more people in even more countries.

Asia is seeing the most increase in cases this year.

As of July 11, the Philippines has tens of thousands of cases, and almost 200 deaths.  Officials are warning that when the rainy season hits, they expect Dengue cases to jump.

In India, just one hospital treated 160 children with Dengue, 10 of which died.  Indian officials are also warning of a sharp increase in cases when the rainy season starts.

In Australia, health officials are reporting that many Australians, returning from vacations, are coming home infected with Dengue.  So far 354 cases have been confirmed.  Last year Australia had only 156 confirmed Dengue cases.

“I have to keep an Excel spreadsheet now to keep up to date with all the outbreaks that occur up here.”-John McBride, Cairns Base Hospital, Australia

In Saudi Arabia, just in the capital city of Jeddah, an average of 130 new cases are being reported every week.

In Mexico an experimental Dengue vaccine is being tried on 1,000 children in the towns of Valladolid and Tizimín.  The vaccine is in the third stage of study, before it can be approved for widespread use.

In Peru, the mayor of one city has ordered fumigation of the entire city, after 10 people became sick with the hemorrhagic fever.  Two of the infected have died.  As many as 150 Peruvians are sick with Dengue.

Brazil has been enjoying some success in fighting Dengue.  So far this year 340 cases have been confirmed, compared to last year’s 2589 cases (then again this year isn’t over).

Dengue is spread by mosquitoes. Travelers are being warned of vacation spots that have high risk of Dengue hemorrhagic fever:  Asia, Africa, Middle East and South America.

 

 

Business/Economics, Idaho, International, Opinion, Technology

Japan not number one when it comes to computer skills, girls better at digital reading, computer use at school of little value, Idaho needs to get their act together

A survey by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development shows which countries are the top for computer/internet skills among teenagers.

Japan did not come in first.  South Korean teenagers are number one in computer/internet skills, followed by New Zealand, Australia, then Japan and Hong Kong/China.

The OECD study looked at the digital reading comprehension and computer operating skills of 15 year olds.  16 countries were involved with the study, the United States did not take part.   It turns out that girls are better at digital reading than boys (studies show that girls are better at print reading as well).

A surprising find was that use of computers in schools showed little benefit.  It could be because they aren’t used at school as much as at home.  The study showed that most teenagers learn their computer skills at home, not at school.

“But computer use at school had little impact on results, while using a computer at home had a more marked impact on results. To help students at school, computer use should be integrated into curricula and more invested in training teachers to use them for teaching and to help students learn, says the OECD.”

I can attest to that.  Almost every year here in Idaho, the Albertsons Foundation gives our schools new computers.  One year, right before the start of the school year, I was visiting Chubbuck Elementary school to meet one of my daughters teachers.  The teacher was busy trying to set up some of the new computers, she was also complaining about it.  She admitted that she didn’t “understand the things” and tried “not using them at all”.   Over their elementary school years, my daughters, and my son, confirmed that most of the teachers did not allow them to use the donated computers.  My kids learned their computer skills from me and their mother (passed away).   We did so well that I have to go to my now adult kids for help with any computer problems.

The state of Idaho is pushing a new computer system on our schools, they hope to give high school students their own laptops.  I’ve already read stories of how other states have done the same thing, then actually used those laptops to spy on the kids while they where at home.  This new study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development blows holes in the argument by some education officials that pushing more computers in schools is the answer for our country’s educational disaster.  In fact the study proves that kids learn better at home.  It’s too bad most parents don’t have the luxury of home schooling.

Business/Economics, International

Food Crisis: Drought, Floods, now Locust in Australia

Australia is struggling to keep it’s lucrative agriculture industry booming.  Some areas of Australia are dealing with the worst drought on record.  Other areas are dealing with floods, and now Locust.

PARKES, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 26: A lamb stands in a dry paddock on the 10,000 acre property owned by the Orr family on January 26, 2010 in Parkes, Australia.The Orr family received 13 inches of rain in 2009 and have been hand feeding stock for approximately 8 years. Drought in New South Wales has increased by 1%, the state is now believed to be 95% marginally or fully in drought despite some rain during the Christmas period. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)
Parkes, Australia, dealing with drought.WANGARATTA, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 06: Floodwaters surround Painters Island Caravan Park on September 6, 2010 in Wangaratta, Australia. Many parts of Victoria were devastated by flood waters when heavy winds and rains inundated the area causing the worst flooding in over a decade. The State Emergency Service has ordered the evacuation of several cities and are warning residents that the threat is not yet over. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)
Wangaratta, Australia, dealing with floods.
This is a major threat to Australia’s economy.  Their economy is based mainly on service industry, but, it’s their agriculture industry that’s boosting their economy.  Australia has profitable agriculture trade deals with other countries, that’s helping Australia see a 1.20% growth rate this year.  It’s also helping to keep their unemployment rate around 5.10%.
Margaret River Western Australia. 13/01/2010 Voyager Estate Winery www.voyagerestate.com.au Netting protects the crop from Silvereyes Photo Roger Parker
Margaret River, Australia, using Locust nets.

The struggles against Mother Nature in Australia will add to the growing price of agriculture commodities, and the looming Food Crisis.