The Daily Blog Watch Thursday 9 April

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Today’s Daily Blog Watch Round-Up of matters that have attracted the attention, assessments, and articulations of this country’s leading bloggers…

 

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NZ Left Blogosphere

QoT reviews Fighting to Choose by Alison McCulloch on  Ideologically Impure, and lays into  those conservative elements in our society who would control our bodies to satisfy their own primitive religious dogma.  Qot writes,

TDB Recommends NewzEngine.com

Abortion has a long and dramatic history in NZ, but it’s not a history we talk about, or remember.  And remembering that history is vital to our continuing push for reproductive rights today.  We need to know how we’ve gotten into this bizarre situation, with a law passed in 1977 which makes pregnant people jump through hoops but functions just well enough that most people carry on under the misapprehension that we have abortion on demand.”

QoT also takes on and announces New rule: The Onion – slamming T.O for it’s racist  misogyny, whilst pointing out that true satire is to be found over at our own, local, home-grown, The Civilian.

Nice piece on Maui Street, with Jack Tautokai McDonald analysing  Shane Jones key to Labour’s future.  The blogger looks at Jones’ track record and his potential to carry on Parekura’s role as the Labour Party’s ‘Chief’.  He sez,

Jones’ biggest challenge will be his perception within flaxroots communities. He needs to be able to convince low paid workers and community sector advocates that he is on their side, like Parekura did so excellently. He does not have the same working class background as Parekura Horomia, but his oratory and achievements do, and will continue to, endear him to many Māori and Pākehā alike.”

On a blokeyness-to-blokeyness  basis, Jones and Key are on an equal footing.

Expect big things from Shane in the coming years.

An interesting correlation between successful business and a successful democracy by KJT on his eponymous blog. He asks if  Government should be run like a business? – and makes the observation,

Right wing propagandists pay lip service to the idea of running a country like a successful business. In reality they oppose Government being too good, because it would limit their ability to steal from the rest of us.”

Indeed.

Some good stuff from The Pundit,

  •  For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so -Andrew Geddis writes about the contrast between the 16,500 shortfall for the Keep Our Assets petition – and the 327,000 shortfall  of those who put their names down to buy shares, but pulled out. Like his colleague, Tim Watkin, Andrew points out the absurdities of National’s asset sales programme.
  •  Children’s Commissioner fronts for Nats on food in schools: Corporate agenda rules – Sue Bradford takes a well-aimed shot at the current Child Commissioner, Dr Russell Wills, who has been making some decidedly neo-liberal noises on the crisis confronting New Zealand in the 21st Century – Child Poverty. Dr Wills has been supporting public-private partnership between schools,  business, and private  philanthropy. This is pure Randian libertarianism, and reduces low decile schools to the role of farms for kids from poor families. At the very least, this will be a hands-on experience for kids from poor families to learn all  about feudalism.

Is this what Dr Wills really advocating?

Red Alert posts a Youtube vid on  Shane Jones on NZ Power and Labour’s purpose,

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[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEMxxpIEYo&w=560&h=315]

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Note Shane Jones’ self-deprecating humour. This Key-like trait will win him truckloads of Brownie Points with voters and will make it hard for National to take shots at him. (Are we seeing the rise and rise of Shearer’s successor?)

His speech on Labour-Green’s single-buyer desk for electricity, NZ Power, was… electrifying shockingly good pretty damned good! Note his comments on the businesses who did National’s bidding to criticise the NZ Power,

“They have decided to don the garb of the current government. From this day on they will be treated appropriately.”

That was Shane Jones declaring war on neo-liberalism and their business acolytes.

Check out Phillip Ure’s blogpost on Whoar about how aaron gilmore could redeem/reinvent himself. It’s a brilliant suggestion, and Gilmore could walk away the hero of half the country. No, I’m not going to tell you – check out his blogpost yourself. 

Also from Whoar is the heart-warming story,  “..Will.i.am donates $100k to low-decile NZ schools..” National should be ashamed that it takes a visiting entertainer to give our poorest kids a hands-up, by donating  money to a low decile school to buy digital equipment.

Big thumbs up for Will.i.am. Top bloke.

A big two-fingered gesture to the Nats. The Gilmore Attitude is fully alive with those toffee-nosed dickheads.

And look out for “..7 Dodgy Food Practices Banned in Europe – But Just Fine Here..”

From the Jackal comes this nauseating report – Dunne supports hunger. The Jackal re-posts a letter that appeared of Farrar’s blog – and it shows that the Gilmore Attitude is first and foremost in Peter Dunne’s mind.

Dunne sez,

“Whatever way one looks at the issue, the definitional problems are massive, and strongly suggest that such a programme would not only be unsustainable, but also impractical, and in a number of cases potentially inequitable.”

The Jackal brands Peter Dunne an idiot. This writer concurs and Dunne’s “let them eat cake” attitude is disgusting. No wonder this country is going down the gurglar when certain electorates vote for dickheads like Dunne.

Excuse me while I vomit.

On The Civilian… Aaron Gilmore. Barman. Batman. ’nuff said. Go read  I’m not a fucktard. I’m Batman, and snigger to your heart’s content.

And find out how the  Original copy of Book of Genesis was  found in hotel drawer.

The Auckland Transport Blog’s  Matt L asks Will Sci-Fi become reality? Our American cuzzies are at it again, working hard to develop a practical Jetson’s flying car. Cool!

From flying cars to leaden fiscal drag – No Right Turn condemn’s National’s fiscal policies, and endorses NZ Herald’s columnist,  Fallow on austerity. Unemployment may be down in Christchurch – but the rest of the country is still firmly in the grip of recession – aided and abetted by an ideologically-blinded ‘government’.

Idiot/Savant also comments on  Palmerston North supermarkets and youth rates. Where will YOU be buying  your groceries from?

On The Standard,

“National admitted today that the sale of Mighty River cost around $100m, and that the paltry 2.5% of New Zealanders who bought an average of $8,000 each are not typical Kiwis. The figures themselves are shocking but the politics is really revealing. English didn’t try to avoid the unpalatable failure of asset sales, he was flippant. He is so out of touch he doesn’t see the problem.”

“The latest Household Labour Force Employment statistics are out, and on the surface, look good for John and Bill…

… [but] The Government cannot continue to rely solely on the Canterbury rebuild to fuel job growth.”

“…clean energy. I demand action from our leaders to work on solutions to the climate crisis”.

  • The cost of our clothes – Karol writes about the source of our cheap clothes – almost always Third World countries – and looks at John Pilger’s work to highlight the exploitation that takes place in these countries, so that we, in the West, can afford cheaper and cheaper garments (and other consumer goods).

Our consumer society – built on the backs of exploited-labour. As Karol writes,

“This is the cost of our clothing; produced by a “neoliberal” capitalist system that favours the elites, and ultimately damages us all to a greater or lesser extent.”

  • MRP sale fail numbers – a brilliant piece by Non-Starter: “Popular Capitalism” Refuses To Fire. Strangely enough, few in the msm are analysing and commentring on what is an apparent failure in the share-float for MRP,

“WHEN THE FINAL NUMBERS were presented to him yesterday afternoon, Bill English must have felt sick. His leader’s big gamble had failed. The dazzling mirage of “Popular Capitalism”, which National’s pursued since the early months of 2011, was melting back into air before his eyes.”

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Blogpost of the Day

The Mighty River Power – unanswered questions – Tim Watkins asks the question on The Pundit,

“After the petition fell 16,500 short of its required number – and be in no doubt, the petition organisers wanted the kudos of getting the numbers first time and will be disappointed to have failed – John Key was quick to mock. He said a petition where one in four signatories were invalid wasn’t much a of a petition and should be withdrawn.

What does that say about an IPO where only one in for of those who pre-registered actually handed over their money? National can be relieved the Clerk of the House doesn’t have to sift through the Mighty River Power pre-registrations to see how many of those were invalid investors.”

Tim then goes on to point out,

“But why is it OK to intervene in markets, but not in families? Why did Steven Joyce announce $4 million to help business promotion at the America’s Cup this week, while his party refuses to help struggling families eat better?”

Read the full article – it is brilliantly written! (And don’t forget to share on social media!)

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Vile Blogpost of The F—-n Year

From Peter Dunne:  Dunne won’t “Feed the Kids”

To hades with your black heart, Dunne.

 

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Thought for the Day

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David Suzuki

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~oo~