Sweatshops

Sweat shops in Australia?? surely not?! but this article on ACTNOW.co.au, explains some shocking truths.

47% of outworkers work more than 12 hours a day.
73% of outworkers have one or more chronic injuries.
75% of clothing companies have most of their clothes made by outworkers.

Outworkers are mainly first generation migrant women who cant speak english well and are unaware of
laws surrounding employment. There are laws in Australia to prevent This type of labour, however this article
suggests those laws are hard to enforce.

Things are starting to turn around with public awareness and thus, pressure. Also the introduction of codes of practices
are sending a message to manufactures.

For more on this see the article (at the bottom are a list of references for more reading)

Oi Government! A roof over my head Please!

If New Zealand governments invest up to $1 billion annually for the next 10 years to build and provide mortgages for affordable houses, it would have a significant and far-reaching positive impact on the social, health and income support structure of this country, according to a Salvation Army report

.

The New housing report from the Salvation Army 'Rebuilding the kiwi Dream' is out now. Its a topical issue for NZ at the mo, and deeply affects the future for many, check it out Here

Getting to the heart of the issues

I read this and was absolutly stoked... enjoy:)I also could have put a pic that would have broken your heart... but i just couldnt... but if we look into this photo, there are bony, paralysed children, despiration, no clean water, or band aids for war wounds... its bad.

UK primeminister, Gordon Brown Speaking at the United Nations headquarters in New York, the PM said that "today is an important decision day for Darfur - and for change". (31 july 2007)

At the heart of his speech was global poverty and the challenge of meeting the Millennium Development Goals. In the text of his speech, Brown said that after seven years "it is already clear that our pace is too slow; our direction too uncertain; our vision at risk. ... We cannot allow our promises that became pledges to descend into just aspirations, and then wishful thinking, and then only words that symbolize broken promises."

To find that common purpose, he said:

Our objectives cannot be achieved by governments alone, however well-intentioned; or private sector alone, however generous; or NGOs or faith groups alone, however well-meaning or determined—it can only be achieved in a genuine partnership together.

After addressing governments and businesses, the prime minister went on:

Let me say to faith groups and NGOs—your moral outrage at avoidable poverty has led you to work for the greatest of causes, the highest of ideals, and become the leaders of the campaign to make poverty history. Imagine what more you can accomplish if the energy to oppose and expose harnessed to the energy to propose and inspire is given more support by the rest of us—businesses, citizens, and governments.

(taken from blog.beliefnet.com and number-10.gov.uk)

Soap Powder

I was doing a late night shop last night, mainly for one item that went under the radar when making our flat shopping list- Soap Powder (for the washing machine).

I strolled down the isles, and found what i was looking for. I m a massive save the environment supporter (apart from the fact that i use an extraordinary amount of gas in my car each week, besides the point), so i saw the environmentally friendly stuff and immediately began to examine prices and read the 'we are environmentally friendly' blurb. So i chose the 'next generation' stuff cause it was cheapest out the lot (defiantly not the coolest packaging) and made my way to the counter. As i passed the 'specials' and the top of the isle, i noticed something that made me stop and stare... Surf soap powder was $1.89 a box!

Now I also love a bargain, and i was blown away. I actually stopped and stared. Then i looked at the hippy stuff i was holding, looked back at the gleaming surf boxes, then looked back at the one i was holding. I was at a real decision point.. all i knew, my western consumerism wanted to grab four boxes of surf for $1.89 and ditch the $5.49 stuff. But i was challenged, there is a cost, to doing the right thing, to do my part. That cost was significant, I could have brought 4 weeks worth of soap powder for the price of one. But Its that stuff that brings us to those points (the real forks in the road) is where the rubber hits the road in our beliefs, convictions and our faith. The old saying 'practice what you preach' is harder than it seems but is what we are called to do when we know what the right thing is.

I did end up paying the $5.49. And when i do my washing, i will feel better that i brought that one over the other. Life lessons in Soap Powder aye!?

Gridiron Gang

Every now and again you watch a movie that challenges the status quo. Check out “Gridiron Gang”, based on a true story of juvenile probation officer Sean Porter, who takes a group of youth that society has given up on and gives them a second chance.

The movie starts with some sobering statistics 75% of youth who are released from jail end up back in jail, or killed in drive by shootings. After the “programme” which was basically playing football and being part of a team, the stats are turned around. Many including a so called Christian School wrote off these young men and said they didn’t deserve the chance to play.

Sounds a little like NZ? Ok without the drive by shootings, but similar rates of reoffending exist. We hear the same sort of things, those offending deserve to be in jail, “how dear they have under floor heating in jail, they don’t deserve it”, “lock ‘m up and throw away the key”, I am sure you’ve heard it all and more.

It’s amazing how we accept a Justice system that is not working. Surely our response should be to give hope, to believe in those who have got into trouble, and give them a second chance. If Justice is about restoration, then we need to be a part of it. Weather its working with those in jail, or just those who we connect with everyday at work and school, we need to give people, a second, third, forth, etc…. chance. What made a difference was someone who gave the youth time, and believed in them, and helped them to work towards a common purpose. It wasn’t the game that saved the youth; it was the purpose they found in it.

So get down to the video shop, and get it out, if it doesn’t speak to you, check your heart rate to make sure you are not dead.

Darren

Errrr Rewind...

I'd actually like to add a disclaimer to the last post- I am set in an 'anti nuclear' mindset, i fundametally dont think nuclear is a good thing. However some comments were really general. So yes, like everything, nuclear has its good and bad- there have been major oil spills killing wildlife and air pollution kills plenty of people each year but we still use fossil fuels. I do however think that Nuclear is so powerfull and out of our control when it does go wrong, it can kill tens of thousands of people in a second and then for generations to come. A bit like Agent Orange used in the war. Ha, i feel better now!

Peace out Greenies:)

All Shook up

Nuclear power (or nuclear anything) is a bit foreign to us Kiwis. Even the mare talk of the stuff creates a bit of rif-raf. On Monday an earthquake shook Japan, doing a lot of damage, including infrastructure and sadly, loss of life. As Jim Rice states in this article, it also woke us up to dangers of Nuclear matter. The biggest plant and probably one of the most sophisticated, managed to create an environmental disaster, with over 300 gallons of nuclear goo spilling.

This highlights, nuclear power or weaponry etc is not fool proof, or natural disaster proof. What can go wrong, will go wrong. We cant just hope for the best and make sure there is a safety kit on every wall in the plant. It just wont be enough, it wont save us. The risks are too great when it comes to Nuclear stuff.

(there is also a link to the article "Is Nuclear the Answer?" in the above article)