.
.
Today’s Daily Blog Watch Round-Up of matters that have attracted the attention, assessments, and articulations of this country’s leading bloggers…
NZ Left Blogosphere
On Forest & Bird’s blog, DOC heading for breakdown: a letter to Nick Smith, Tanya Coles writes a public letter to remind Dr Nick Smith of the 1995 Cave Creek tragedy and pleads not to cut back on DoC’s staff. Tanya likens cuts to DoC’s staffing as “taking as much risk with our future as hitting the highway with no seatbelt”.
If we remember, the Cave Creek tragedy occurred after cuts to DoC’s budget…
It appears that History is set to repeat. Will people lose their lives again? Or will we see endangered species quietly vanish into extinction? Such is the legacy of National governments…
Gordon Campbell writes On Criminalising Protest, and Christchurch Cathedral Options, and describes the pettiness of National Minister, Simon Bridges in further criminalising New Zealanders who protest on the open seas.
This government is turning into a nasty, vindictive, autocratic regime – there’s no other way to interpret a law change that will see protesters turfed into jail or given hefty fines. This is not about “safety”, this is about making life easier for oil corporations.
Gordon reminds us that the Nats have done this before; changed the law to accomodate business interests; think, Hobbit.
“Isn’t the centre-right supposed to be the champion of such freedoms – or is it only interested in freedom that comes with a corporate cost/benefit analysis attached?”
On global warming blogsite, Hot Topic, Gareth warns us that serial climate-change denier and general loony-tunes, “Lord” Monckton is in NZ telling lies on radio, and threatening academics and journalists. Personally, if a ’cause’ has to rely on a batshit-crazy character like “Lord” Monckton – then that speaks volumes about the cause itself.
Personally, I like climate-change deniers. They will be the ones to buy your beach-front property when the waters are lapping at your front door. Treasure them – especially the ones with money.
Idiot/Savant has been a busy chappy on No Right Turn,
- Time to strengthen the BORA – condemns Simon Bridges and the Nat’s plans to criminalize anti-mining protests via an amendment to the Crown Minerals Bill. Idiot/Savant calls for the Bill of Rights Act to be strengthened.
- Idiot/Savant questions why the Speaker of the House has not called a CEO of a state owned entrerprise to appear before the Privileges Committee. See; Carter covers for Solid Energy
- In Labour’s latest epic fail, just why did Shearer compliment the late Margaret Thatcher’s “service to the people of Britain”?
- The GCSB is Lawless and dysfunctional, and the law relating to the spy bureau is crystal clear, states Idiot/Savant. And asks a very pertinent question regarding the Bureau which, thus far, no one else has asked.
- And Idiot/Savant has No tears for Margaret Thatcher – for good reason.
In Capitalism Bad; Tree Pretty, Maia also refers to to passing of Thatcher in Dear Left, This is a Great and Glorious Day – Don’t Fuck it Up. No tears here, either.
On Maui Street, Imposing the market on Maori land takes aim at Chris Finlayson and pakeha neo-paternalism regarding “the appointment of an external manager to “administer and develop” underutilised land where the owners are disengaged or unable to be located”.
Screw that.
If I’m overseas for a year or more and I come home to finding a government-appointed “External Manager” sitting in my lounge guzzling my ‘Crown Royal‘ and watching my ‘Dr Who‘ and ‘James Bond’‘ DVDs – I would not be a Happy Camper. In fact, I’d be reaching for a piece of four-by-two to reinforce my property rights.
Is this government hell-bent on creating some kind of nasty autocratic regime? Because it sure seems to be headed this way. I thought this was the sort of State interference in our lives that the Nats condemned Labour for, as “nanny statism”?
No way should Maori let this pass. No. F*****g. Way.
On The Dim Post, Danyl writes that there’s been Yet another leak Paula Rebstock won’t be investigating – the leak of Kitteridge’s report. And that leak appears to have come from the Ninth Floor. (No point in asking John Key about this – he won’t even remember assigning Rebecca Kitteridge to review the GCSB. Or remember the GCSB…)
The Jackal is incensed (as should we all be) at revelations that up to 85 New Zealanders have been spied on by the GCSB, and demands Ian Fletcher must resign. Jackal points out that Ian Fletcher mis-led the country in February,
“It appears that Fletcher has referred three cases to the Inspector General knowing that there was no problem with them, while not referring the 85 other additional cases of illegal spying that he must have been aware of.”
Criminalising protestors; increased covert surveillance powers for Police; para-military raids on political activists… this country is going to the (police) dogs.
On The Standard today,
- From our “WTF? Files”, Labour pays respect to Margaret Thatcher by David Shearer. No further comment needed other than those posted on that page.
- Do we have The invisible commissioner? asks Anthony R0bins, who points out that Susan Devoy was nowhere to be seen when a Danish quasi-nazi derided a Maori powhiri, and was defended by our own god-botherer/misogynist/homophobe-but-otherwise-nice-guy, Colin Craig. Ms Devoy studiously avoided media enquiries as to her thoughts on the matter. Most likely we’ll never see Devoy out in public again. A pity that Craig doesn’t follow suit…
- True Blue Worker Hate – Helen Kelly outlines impending changes to the Employment Relations Act, which will further erode workers’ rights. Key calls the change “minor adjustments”, though I suspect he may’ve been referring to setting his watch back for daylight saving… he just, well, y’know, forgot. But in all seriousness, Helen outlines what the Nats are intending to do, especially the most serious attack on collective bargaining since the Employment Contracts Act, where employers can walk away from negotiations. As Chris Trotter wrote yesterday in The Conspirators, this is neo-liberalsm advancing yet further into our lives.
On The Daily Blog
Db – In Everything about the GCSB is up for debate – including the closure of Waihopai, Keith Locke writes,
“…it is hard to accept that the GCSB unknowingly violated the Government Communications Security Bureau Act 2003 when it simply and explicitly says the GCSB is only allowed to spy on foreigners. Kitteridge says the agency spied on 85 New Zealanders between April 2003 and September 2012.”
Damn right. And having read the actual law on this issue, what part of,
“Neither the Director, nor an employee of the Bureau, nor a person acting on behalf of the Bureau may authorise or take any action for the purpose of intercepting the communications of a person… who is a New Zealand citizen or a permanent resident.”
– is so f*****g hard to understand?? I mean, it’s spelt out in clear english that even John Key could comprehend (maybe). How do those twits at GCSB tie their shoelaces in the morning?
Db – And Martyn Bradbury asks the same question in So the GCSB has illegally spied on 85 NZers since 2003 – Key & Clark have questions to answer.
Db – Martyn decides that Margaret Thatcher deserves no tears in death – the Lady’s rot is now burning – and with good reason. Anyone who thinks that General Pinochet was an Ok Kind of Guy deserves very little mourning.
Db – Efeso Collins writes in Pasifika Education Plan – shifting responsibility about changing vision statements and their effects on Pasifika students and families. This is a cautionary tale of how insidiously little changes can have Big Consequences.
Db – This one could easily have been Blogpost of the Day (but it lost the coin-flip); The Tiny Homo: School Edition, where Burnt Out Teacher, tells a lovely, warm story about kids. BoT says,
“From a very young age, kids are who they are. Some kids fit the most widely-accepted norm, and we cater very well for them. But some children, whether other people like it or not, are queer as.”
God, some of us adults could learn from these little folk. This is a Must Read blogpost. It’ll warm your heart (or coolant fluid if you’re an ACT borg).
Db – Send In The Clown – by Aaron Hawkins. About John Key. Hence the title. ’nuff said. (But have a read, anyway. It’s good!)
Blogpost of the Day
I thank Margaret Thatcher, writes karol, of her personal time in London under the autocratic neo-liberal Thatcher regime. Karol writes concisely, and from the heart, of her experiences and what she saw. If we think two terms of John “Memory Loss” Key is bad enough, spare a thought for our British cuzzies who did it tough under three terms of Thatcher.
