Economic policy back to front for last 30 years – now even a rich capitalist says so
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Category Archives: damned lies & austerity
ConDems public spending cuts mean 23.4% of Calderdale Council staff have lost their jobs
Office of National Statistics data show that 31,800 Yorkshire and Humberside Council employees lost their jobs between the first quarter of 2010 and the third quarter of 2012. This is 13.1% of the total Council workforce in the region.
Calderdale Council job losses over this time were even worse – 23.4% of Calderdale Council employees lost their jobs. Staff numbers fell from 9,869 in the first quarter of 2010 to 7,564 in the third quarter of 2012.
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Education Secretary’s “totalitarian behaviour…is a disgrace to democracy”
Here is the text of an open letter to the Prime Minister, from the people who organised the recent petition against Michael Gove’s attempt to force Calder High to become a Sponsored Academy. The letter draws the Prime Minister’s attention to the Education Department’s “totalitarian behaviour”, which the letter writers explain is “a disgrace to democracy.” The petition, signed by 345 local people, has been sent to the Education Secretary, Michael Gove.
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A Polite Revolution
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An inspiring occupation of a library in Barnet that caused the Tory “privatise everything” Council to backtrack and reopen the library instead of selling it off. Excellent video by Oonagh Cousins, Revolting Productions.
However, the people’s victory, though real, is partial – the Council has handed over the building to a local group who will run the library on a voluntary basis. So no librarians and no wages, and presumably, no money to buy books.
A Polite Revolution from Oonagh Cousins on Vimeo.
Voluntary food guidelines let antibiotic-tainted meat onto the US market
US magazine Mother Jones reports that,
“while the Food & Drug Administration dithers with voluntary approaches to regulation, the meat industry is feasting on antibiotics and sending out product tainted with antibiotic-resistant bugs.”
The FDA last year proposed a set of voluntary ‘guidelines’ that aimed to reduce the meat industry’s antibiotic habit. It seems they might just as well have saved their breath to cool their porridge, as this infographic from Pew Charitable Trusts shows.
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Review Horton House sell off, says Calderdale SOS
Today, Wednesday 6 February at 6pm, Calderdale Council Use of Resources Scrutiny Panel is to consider Calderdale Save Our Services’ request for a public consultation on the future of adult education in Halifax.
Adult learners who study at Horton House, Halifax’s Adult Education Centre, have been left in the dark about Calderdale Council’s decision to sell the Centre. And so far, the Council has no clear idea where it will relocate adult learning.
Horton House_photo:Calderdale SOS
Calderdale Save Our Services (SOS), a group of trades unionists and members of the public who are working to defend jobs and services against privatisation and Government-enforced cuts, says the decision to “dispose of” and close Horton House was buried in the Halifax Town Centre Office Strategy Report last Summer.
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The crimes of large corporations
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An interview with activist Brid Brennan, of the Economic Justice and Alternatives Program of the Transnational Institute, of the Netherlands (TNI).
Iceland President says let banks fail
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Iceland President tells Davos 2013 – let banks fail instead of making the public pay for their failures. This is what Iceland’s done and its economy is recovering, unlike economies where governments have made the public pay to bail out banks. He also says shrinking the financial sector leads to increased competitiveness in other key 21st century sectors, as the talent that the bloated financial sector sucked in goes to innovative work.
Plebs occupy Andrew Mitchell’s office in protest at Autumn budget statement
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Find out more on the Bright Green website
Corporate sponsors of the Rio+20 Corporate Sustainability Forum – and what they get in return
Check out this webpage showing all the corporate sponsors of the Rio+20 Corporate Sustainability Forum – which “will provide a venue for business, industry and investors to meet with Governments, local authorities, civil society and UN entities – with 2,000 participants expected”
And then check out what the United Nations is offering the corporate sponsors.
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