The Egonomist

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NZPower, a cross-party initiative by Labour and the Green Party to allow me to mention that I already knew what the word “monopsony” meant before its announcement every time the topic comes up, has it’s detractors.  Who knew a bold plan to lower the cost of household electricity would meet such… resistance?

Rodney Hide has a good go at pinning what’s important to him to the wall in ten pithy bullet points, then attempts to draw NZPower into conflict with these values, assuming them to be at the core of the nation, and declares the power plan “full of holes”.  The really dreadful part, though, comes when I force Dan to read this article.  The horror, the horror.

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Hello,

Wellington is a dying city, says the PM before shortly taking it back and explaining what he meant to say.  You know the drill.  Is it?

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Hey, we’re back.  What did we miss?

Aaron Gilmore has fulfilled his dream of becoming a household name and so things just continue to look on the up and up for him.

Also Georgie Pie is coming back.  Except no it isn’t.  Shut up.

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Good evening.

Across the planet, people work in dangerous, horrible conditions for next to nothing and their jobs are treated as economic benevolence.  Hundreds died when Rana Plaza collapsed in Bangladesh, prompting outrage at the systemic oppression and denial of safety to vulnerable workers the world over.  Some people defended this status quo, and some cooler people called those people cold-blooded idiots.  But it’s not just a 1st world vs 3rd world issue when in the same month part of a Texas town has exploded.

This was recorded prior to the release of The Independent Taskforce on Workplace Health and Safety‘s report on New Zealand’s workplace morbidity, which included such claims as “occupational illness cases result in 500-800 premature deaths a year” in THIS country.  NZ’s Forestry industry alone has had 28 fatalities since 2008 – a death toll akin to Pike River over a number of years.

To round out the episode we provide a short history of Europe and Japan.  Enjoy.

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Hello!

The Citizen is New Zealand’s funniest thing, and it’s quotation of Colin Craig saw them the recipient of the world’s emptiest threat this week.

Also, Maurice Williamson saves the planet, but at what cost?  And the new changes to employment law could spell doom, or at the very least; gloom, for unions in New Zealand.  Here’s why that matters.

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Hello.

As promised in the last episode, here is our take on the passing of, and the deeds of the living, Margaret Thatcher.

Also, NZPower is announced by Labour and the Green Party together in the western world’s most controversial far-left move since the declaration of the Paris Commune.  Who’s angry?  Why are they angry?  Is it the end of the world?

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Hey how’s it going.

Marriage Equality is done.  The debates are over.  Who sucked, who shone, and who was just bizarre?

We can’t talk about opposition to ME without discussing white male privilege, so we have a go at that too.  Rape culture, entitlement, gender expectations.  As two white, middle-class ex-teens we have a look under the hood of our own default positions, and what’s maybe changed.

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Incredible scenes and stories coming out of Boston.  While the acts themselves are of too serious magnitude to warrant our stupid voices wading in on them, there are some associated issues which fit us perfectly.  What horrible media feedback loop caused the misidentification of hundreds of “suspects”?  What are people saying when they say this pales in significance compared to other acts of violence elsewhere in the world?  And what do people really mean when they use the term “false flag”?

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Hello.  More GCSB crud going on.  Spies, eh?  Dan practices espionage at a cemetery to see what the fuss is about.

Maurice Williamson renders political satire redundant in a comment about 3D printing.  We discuss fitness, health and sugar.  Also have a go at reviewing a film.

It’s a long one with lots in it as it’s the only one we can do this week.  We forgot to talk about Maggie, sorry.

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Hello!

Rio Tinto know where to apply the screws, and the largest electricity consumer in the nation threatening to bail within cooee of state power asset selldowns is amazingly cynical to the point where it deserves an award.  What does this mean, for the people whose jobs hang in the balance, the power market and its privatised future, and a Government bent on not picking winners but doing so anyway?

Also, North Korea is doing it’s bit again, rolling D20s to see who gets got.  What’s different this time around?

I’m sure there’s more in there.  Have a listen.