I’ve got no problem with the communists. I like having a part of the internet that isn’t completely commoditised and filled with ads and people trying to sell side hustles. I hate the search function.

Is this because the Liberals failed to actually register their picks?

Maybe someone else would be a better judge on what the source is. I know the UK had a period of more entrenched socialist policies prior to Thatcher that may affect the general population’s perceptions of the movement. The poisonous Murdoch newspaper/media ecosystem can’t help either.

The allegations are that outlaw bikie gang members were acting as delegates and were involved in government-funded projects. It comes off the back of the Victorian branch’s leader John Setka being expelled from the ALP due to some ugly allegations of domestic abuse.

The difference between my experiences in the UK and Australia were… interesting. Being upfront, my time in the UK was extremely radicalisng.

In the UK there was a general distain from the media and most people I met for the labour movement. While at the time there was some real bright spots like seeing crowds singing The Internationale, it was mostly an extremely depressing environment. I think the number of people who are a part of their union is similar to Australia but there seems to be a more aggressive negative sentiment from non-members. But my experience was that there was some really strong displays of solidarity despite the outside attacks. But the level of wealth inequality was sickening and probably not helped by a cultural obsession with the monarchy.

Back in Australia you’d think there would be strong culture of working class solidarity, with the Australian Labor Party (ALP) being the first Labor party to have ever formed government in the world in 1904, but its [solidarity has] been in steep decline here since the 80s with union membership down from nearly half of all workers to close to 10%. Despite that decline, the unions here still hold a lot of influence, being a key driver behind the general strike in 2005 where 1/2 million people marched against exploitative employment laws. The unions also control the majority of ‘superannuation’ funds which all employers make compulsory payments into on behalf of their workers, and the unions own some successful energy cooperatives, insurers and credit unions. However the movement is going through a particularly rough patch this last month with corruption allegations, and parliamentary interventions, some sketchy leadership issues and some sharp divisions appearing along gender lines, all while the ALP adopts increasingly neo-liberal policies.

June 2023, a picture of my daughter.

Haha I wish I could manage 365 days of leisure time.

So long as you enjoyed all 6 minutes. A full album might offer more long term value.

I have a $10/hour entertainment budget. If a movie ticket is $15 and I get 1.5 hours of entertainment then it was a good purchase. if I pick up a game for $60 then I expect to get at least 6 hours of fun from it.

Using this measure I’ve decided books provide some of the highest value entertainment and fancy restaurants some of the lowest value entertainment.

But that’s just me.

Fair call. I only just got the community update so I hadn’t seen it.

Democracy manifest!

No corporate control

My mother scream crying in front of all of us during dinner when she received another rejection from her latest job interview. We were having baked potatoes. Which was a special treat to us as kids, but years later she told me it was what we ate when she couldn’t afford to put a full meal on the table.

Imagine celebrating the idea that you’ve had no personal growth or made no social progress in twenty years. And not that it needs to be pointed out but it’s also bullshit because the right have been marching fast towards fascism.

Or on a pepper steak pie ⋎(❉_❉)⋎. Cutting off the top, putting the sauce in there and mixing it in with the gravy. Tasty.

Sorry I was blinded by my bias of living in a non-tipping country where delivery drivers are covered under an ‘award rate’ (a national agreed standard) of about $25/hour. Without the efficiencies of volume you’re talking about its been pretty clear from day one that these apps only work if they exploit ‘gig workers’.

But instead of recognising that, the tech companies have been pouring millions into trying to deregulate the industry and fighting to establish new award rates instead of being subject to Transportation award rates.

Link: https://www.keypointlaw.com.au/keynotes/workplace-insights-fair-work-commission-considers-new-modern-award-for-on-demand-delivery-drivers/

Nah it’s worse than that. The economics of the model are bad. It essentially relies on delivery drivers having to survive on tips and nothing more.

I just earned my long service leave this year and I am fucking stoked.

There was a Duck tales movie? I had no idea.

Well it’s not really an either/or situation. The current Labor government’s plan is a combination of majority renewables with gas and hydrogen. They are also running coal at the moment but have no plans to renew those plants during the transition. They’ve signed on to emissions reductions of 75% by 2035.

So you’ve got one plan which has some reduction targets (probably not steep enough) planned transition, costed and budgeted that doesn’t require more coal, and one plan which will pull funding from renewables, and requires more coal until some time as which they can get nuclear approved, built and commercialised.