.

.

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

We start with robertguyton’s brief blogpost, Oncle Para, about MPs in the House speaking about the late Parekura Horomia. It’s all happening with a very New Zealand flavour…

The deity on Bat, Bean,Beam, looks back on the life of  Giulio Andreotti…

Tim Selwyn writes about the Referendum close in Tumeke. He sez “the citizen’s-initiated referendum to oppose the National government’s asset privatisation policy hasn’t quite made it across the petition threshold. This will be disappointing to the organisers – to have to scramble around for the next two months to get the remaining signatures”.

According to Radio NZ, the outstanding number is 16,500. Not a large number – but the difficulty is getting signatures from people who,

1. Have not already signed
2. Are on the Electoral Roll

We’re gonna be busy bunnies in the next two months.

Bryce Edwards writes in Liberation about the damage and embarrassment of Aaron Gilmore,

 “The National Party is changing. The modern party is inclusive, diverse, down-to-earth, and egalitarian. At least that’s the narrative John Key and Bill English have been pushing for most of the last decade and there’s plenty of evidence that the claims are more than just rhetoric. This can be seen in the caucus demographics, which are far from being the preserve of rich, white, middle-aged men. But then along came Aaron Gilmore...”

As they say, put lipstick on a pig, and you get;

.

.

Ditto, National.

On Ideologically Impure, QoT sez Well, I got that one wrong: Family First charity edition on the de-registration of Family Fist as a charity. Whilst McCroskie is crying bucketloads of tears for himself and his little quasi-fascist band of religious nutcases, QoT calls it more simply,

“Boo fucking hoo.”

Indeed. Or as this reviewer would put it – Care Factor: nil.

Consign Family Fist to the trashcan of history and we’ll be better for it.

No Right Turn also blogs on this issue by pointing out that the numbers are  Short by 16,500. Idiot/Savant is correct – making up the shortfall is doable, and we have two months to achieve it. Hell, that’s only 275 signatures a day!!

If you want to get really, really angry, read Idiot/Savant’s How not to deal with tax cheats. The question he poses is; is the NZ IRD cutting similar shady deals with corporates here in New Zealand?

This reviewer wouldn’t be at all surprised.

Idiot/Savant reports on The other spy bill and points out how the revised Telecommunications (Interception Capability and Security) Bill will impact on households and telcos. It makes for disturbing reading. New Zealand is taking step after step to becoming a fully-fledged Police State – and New Zealanders seem oblivious to what’s happening.

Is this John Key’s vision of a Bright Future – a society under surveillance?

.

.

On the Labour blog,  Ruth Dyson  writes that Guilty parkers deserve a grilling – referring to a Facebook group who are photographing and shaming miscreants who park in carparks reserved for people with disabilities. Appropriately called You’ve got my car park want my disability too?, Dyson sez this is “an example of grassroots activism that really makes a difference to the lives of people with disabilities”.

Too bloody right. Taking a disabled person’s carpark is the depth of selfishness. Would this be an appropriate time to bring backs the stocks?

On the Greens blog, Russell Norman calls Dear Leader’s comments that “the reality is even Wellington is dying and we don’t know how to turn it around” as  John Key’s Mitt Romney moment. It was a candid moment for Key, and we get to glimpse the kind of hopeless attitude that landed Aaron Gilmore in hot water.

Local Bodies also comments on John Key Kills Wellington and calls it a worrying development with Dear Leader’s admission that,

“...he didn’t know what to do about it is worrying (Russel Norman calls it his Mitt Romney moment). There are three questions one feels compelled to ask:

1. What were his his terms of reference to establish this damning pronouncement?

2. What responsibility his own Government may have in contributing to the problem?

3. What can we infer when he admits that he doesn’t know what to do about it?”

The writer, BSprout, makes some excellent subsequent points and put’s Dear Leader’s comments into an easily considered context. Well worth  a read.

Stu Donovan writes an excellent de-construction over AA’s Simon Lambourne in the Auckland Transport Blog’s item, apropriatly titled, Lampooning Lambourne – And other brain-eating transport zombies. Stu demonstrates clearly why Ferries are not going to solve Auckland’s transport problems (as the evidenced from Sydney).

Excellent – well researched and presented analysis.

The Jackal expresses his take on Key’s rather vapid  comment about the capital city and asks  Is Wellington a dying city?   As Jackal  points out, with National’s hands-off, neo-liberal policies,

“In fact if Key describes Wellington as a dying city, then other areas of New Zealand should be considered dead and buried.”

The Jackal also comments on Dumping poison on our bees is not such  good idea. He sez “New Zealand should follow the European Commissions lead, and move towards banning insecticides that contain neonicotinoids. We shouldn’t be the dumping ground for dangerous substances that can’t be sold elsewhere”.

It should be fairly obvious even to the most ardent anti-environmentalist right winger that if the bees die off, we are stuffed.

A nice post by Julie on the Hand Mirror, on  The Power of Like: Solidarity in a time of social media, on how social media can backlash against pompous politicians.

Now if only we can harness the Power of Outrage against child poverty, and support meals in schools. Wouldn’t that be a fine thing?

The Rightwing – concerned about showerheads and eco lightbulbs to the point of mouth-frothing hysteria. But expanded powers for the State to spy on us? No problem. Would you like fries with that secret microphone, Agent 86?

Funny thing though… and I’m pissing myself laughing at this; wait until a LEFT-WING government uses the GCSB to take down Wailboil or Weeweeblog   for subversive activity! Ha! Then youll hear the rightwing fruitcakes squeal in panic!

It’ll be too late by then of course…

Memory is a complicated thing, a relative to truth, but not its twin, writes Andrew Geddis in The Pundit, and recounts Aaron Gilmore’s changing story and his bad behaviour at the Hanmer Springs hotel. Hmmm, Gilmore changing his story? Hmmm, seems familiar somehow, but can’t quite put my finger on it…

Meanwhile The Civilian takes aim at the media with  the Media saved from end of bullshit news story by arrival of another – classic! Meanwhile, the Aaron Gilmore thing is still providing ammunition by the Syrian rebel truckload, as Aaron Gilmore threatens to use political position to end own career,

“Do you have any idea who I am!?” Gilmore screamed at himself last night. “I’m an extremely unimportant politician! Do you know what I could do with my complete lack of political power? I could end you!”

Well, we certainly know who Gilmore is now!

But on a far more serious note, Chris Trotter on Bowalley Road writes about  Rumours Of Wars. The letter from various businesses to Labour and the Greens – demanding they anbandon NZ Power –  is nothing less than an overt threat. We don’t quite know what the threat entails – but a threat it is nevertheless. Read Chris’s excellent appraisal and his assessment of the brinkmanship being played out between the Left and Big Business.

By the way, if Phil O’Reilly reads this; if  Shearer and Norman  abandon NZ Power, would they then vote for Labour and the Greens?

Yeah, right. Of course they would.

Message to O’Reilly: piss off.

On The Standard,

• Asset sales petition has more work to do writes  Anthony R0bins. Indeed we do, comrade.
• The Standard re-posts info from No Right Turn on  The spy bill. The more folk  who are aware of the nastiness of the GCSB amendment, the better.
• We’re leaving & we’re taking the dams,  sez  Zetetic. And it is a brilliant bit of satirical writing that gives the two-fingered salute (with a down-trou-here’s-my-bum) to Big Business. 
• The cost of a US Harvard education: global land exploitation – by  karol, who writes about the land grab by US University endowment funds. The landgrab is happening in Africa – and here in New Zealand.  Read, learn, and share by social media, chums!

And finally, check this out on Frankly Speaking; But will he remember this helicopter flight in one year’s time?

.

Blog Post of the Day

.

.

Perhaps the best, most challenging, and heart-wrending blogpost ever read by this reviewer is Burnt Out Teacher’s piece,  Hungry Kids Annoy Frazzled Lobby Group Director. BoT writes about child poverty and starvation in a way that engages the reader and horrifies any fair-minded individual. She has worked at the coalface, and knows the reality of life in New Zealander in the 21st century.

When a story starts with,

“Miss? Do you have something I could eat?”

She had huge eyes, that kid, as well as nits, three languages, and an empty tummy, just like her brothers.

– you know there is something rotten in the state of New Zealand.

Recommended reading.

And please share with everyone in your circle – especially National supporters. National supporters need to understand the consequences of what they are voting for.

.

Thought for the Day

.

.

~oo~