The Daily Blog Watch Wednesday 17 April

Bryce Edwards asks Has the GCSB scandal run out of steam in  liberation – and doubts that the current GCSB scandal will have much impact on the public. He may be correct.  The truckloads of horse tranquilisers being pumped into our drinking water, and the hypnotically-mind-numbing garbage on TV is enough to sedate the population into  a semi-comatose, vegetative state.

Mickey Savage writes on Waitakere News, that Dotcom has  rattled Key, and sums up the whole Kim Dotcom-GCSB-John Key fiasco. This is a damned good overview and makes the point that the Kitteridge report did not recommend that the GCSB be allowed to spy on Kiwis.

Again, Key is lying his lilly-white arse off again. It’s a good read.

But from mars 2 earth, Marty offers an opposing view and suggests that  the headlights get bigger for Key, caught in the public glare. But he also accepts that the gullible public are foolish enough to swallow Key’s WMD Bogeyman, hook, line, and sinker.

God, we need a Jon Stewart in this country…

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Idiot/Savant in No Right Turn blogs on David Clark’s Holidays (Full Recognition of Waitangi Day and ANZAC Day) Amendment Bill having just passed its third reading, 61 to 60 – Happy Mondays!

Bigotry, “offensive language”, and freedom of speech in Eketahuna. Not sure I agree with I/S on his analysis of this Court case. Does freedom of speech really mean you can bail up people on the street and abuse the f**k out of them?  Read his blogpost and decide for yourself. Go on ya little #@!%&%$#$, do it ya %$&*!!! 

And in John Tamihere: Bullying thug, I/S makes the point that Labour should think twice before nominatimg Tamihere as one of their candidates. If what I/S has reported is accurate, maybe they should leave Tamihere for NZ First or the Conservative Party?

And speaking of NZ First, I/S laments how bloody Typical of that party to have voted to support John Key’s amendments to allow the GCSB to spy on New Zealand citizens and permanent residents. Being a Party of fruitloops (with one or two exceptions), NZ First cannot be relied upon to safeguard our rights from intrusion by State spy agencies.

Labour’s Red Alert states that Charter schools have no future and lists nine damn good reasons why Charter schools should be opposed. Chris Hipkins states,

“We will not guarantee on-going funding to any charter school established under the present government, nor will we necessarily offer them integration into the public system. The legislation allowing for their establishment will be repealed.”

Excellent.

In fact, Labour should announce to the public that every piece of legislation passed by National will be reviewed by an incoming Labour-Green government, and will be dumped if they are found wanting (which will be the whole bloody lot, one should think).

Labour has already gone on record as committed to repealing the Hobbit Law.

There should be more added to this list. The Search & Surveillance Act should be first up.

Tim in Socialist Aotearoa asks in  Charting the class struggle,

After all if workers really wanted freedom and had an interest in the overthrow of capitalist wage-slavery then why do they behave like mindless drones the majority of the time? Why when things are so bad are so many workers apathetic?

To which SA can add, “and why the feck do they kiss John Key’s spotty backside in the public opinion polls??? Who knows. But Tim canvasses the role of specific music in the advancement of the working class, and makes some interesting correlations.

Along with their review on The Blue Rose – Taking on the system, Socialist Action seem to be linking the socialist movement with art. Not a bad move, when you think about it. The Numbed Middle Classes might be zoned-out after watching umpteen crime “dramas”, “reality” shows, and cheap US sitcoms, and therefore unreceptive to processing Key’s latest f**k ups on the 6PM News… but they always see themselves as “art fanciers”.

And now onto The Standard, and it’s a ‘meaty’ round-up of several current  issues,

• Mini “W” – Anthony R0bins looks at Key’s “smoke and mirrors” with his WMD bogeyman and deconstructs Dear Leader’s Weapon of Mass Distraction.
• Anthony R0bins comments on the Mondayisation Bill passing, and compliments The Drone Formerly Known As  Dunne for a moment of lucidity.
• Marriage equality: living with prejudice – karol  writes about the the impending passing of the Marriage Equality Bill but states, “however, the passing of the law will not bring an end to all prejudices, inequalities and debilitating practices.  Some opposition, especially from religious conservatives, still continues.  They seem unable or unwilling to understand that marriage equality takes nothing from them except their prejudices“.
• A repost from “The Telegraph” (an Aussie paper) looks at New Zealanders in Australia, trapped in a system of paying taxes – but receining no state social  services in return. See The view from Australia. And what is Dear Leader doing about this injustice…?
• James Henderson looks at Key’s power price record and Labour’s promise to review the electricity sector should they get into power in 2014. Shearer’s pledge to review the electricity sector was a bold move – but left far too late in the asset sales ‘game’.
• More on this issue in Anthony Robbins’ Labour’s electricity reforms will be bold. According to Anthony, something Big is in the offing. About time. Labour and the Greens have to go on the offensive. The 2014 election campaign began the day after the 2011 general election.
• And more from Karol here; The Greens, electricity & sustainability. Is the left going to ‘bribe’ the middle classes with cheap electricity? F**k yeah, why not? The Nats bribed the Middle Classes with tax-cuts (their own cash) to win the 2008 election. Why shouldn’t we use the same strategy?

•  And Eddie practically calls John Key the next George Dubya Bush (ie; lying hound) for his mendacity over WMDs. Read and snigger at our disturbingly deceitful  Prime Minister;  Pull the other one, it’s full of sarin. (And shudder at the gullibility of the Middle Classes for believing this BS.)