The Daily Blog Watch Monday 24 June

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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…

NZ Left Blogosphere

Savant on No Right Turn blogs that there is  No case to answer for Peter Dunne in Graham McCready’s private prosecution against the MP for Ohariu. Hopefully someone is providing legal advice for Graham on this matter.

Also check out Savant’s blogposts on the British GCHQ and Police abuse of power;

All three posts illustrate precisely why Key’s attempt to broaden the surveillance powers of our own GCSB should be resisted with every breath of our bodies.

TDB Recommends NewzEngine.com

Robertguyton takes a critical  look at  John Key’s role as Head Spy, and pulls no punches with a short, but highly damning blogpost. He continues this with a very short but savage assessment of Key’s capitulation to Winston Peters, who tells the PM to  Close your mouth, open your ears – Peters to Key.

The only think Peters forgot to say was, “Bend over, boy”.

On The Hand Mirror, WAM – A Guide to reporting gender-based hate speech to Facebook. It is a handy little ‘How To’ guide how to help keep Facebook free of trolls, misogynists, and general inbred fuckwits for whom scrawling on  public toilet walls is not sufficient to get their jollies.  (And anyone who sez we need to “lighten up” – I’d be happy to light a fire under their sorry arses.)

Good on you, LJ. More power to your elbow!

In “dark girls”equate skin-colour with beauty.

Phillip on Whoar reports that  “..Foreigners are bailing out..”, and “hot money” is leaving the country as fast as it came in. 

He also makes a point that  “..Christopher Hitchens’ lies do atheism no favors..”

There’s something a little creepy about The Civilian’s  piece, Father lights fire so that son can see fire truck. It’s a headline that could quite easily have been lifted straight from the NZ Herald or Dominion Post. Only a matter of time, I guess. A Darwin Award awaits  some lucky numpty…

Meanwhile, Peter Dunne’s house still without power, writes The Civilian, in a piece that cuts close to the bone. ouch!

QoT on Ideologically Impure blogs on  Victimised prisoners denied $290,000 legal compensation. It’s a tough call campaigning on behalf of some of the worst-behaved human beings in our society – but QoT and Martyn Bradbury have the guts to do it. In essence, it’s a matter of justice, and if we’re going to deny justice to some – who will be next?

Speaking of criminals, this’ll make you choke on your weetbix or fish’n’chips;  If anyone’s pulling strings around here .

Last week’s  The Vote, still continues to create fall-out in the blogosphere, as disgust mounts at the way the critical issue of child poverty was handled by TV3. The problem is clearly poverty, sez  QoT, who refers to the episode as “deliberately-trolling“.

Going by some of the weirdness and downright ignorance expressed on The Vote’s Facebook page, I’d say that TV3’s trolling got their desired response. Trolls beget trolls.

On Imperator Fish, Scott blames   Shearer for an  advert that upset All Blacks fans. National Minister Steven Joyce and Right Wing commentator and pot-stirrer, Matrthew Hooten have stuff to say. If you’ve heard it all before, it’s because Scott has nailed it perfectly.

Scott sez that I get it now, referring to Auckland’s housing crisis. Does he have a point? Do priests wear dresses?

The other most-trusted list released todayImperator Fish style.  The Fruitcake-Known-As-Redbaiter will be happy as a pig in mud. Or whaleoil. Or both. (Is there a difference??)

The Green Left Weekly report on the Fightback conference which took place over Queens Birthday weekend, with over fifty  people gathering in Wellington  for the annual conference of the socialist group Fightback.

There’s some Frankly Speaking on issues relating to Westpac, Peter Dunne, & Edward Snowden. Frank asks, Can you feel it? And relates A conversation that never happened

Porcupinefarm has the latest satirical cartoon offering;  That’s Not Funny, That’s Insipid – and as usual, there’s more than an element of truth to satire.

Ex-Dunedinite and blogger, Anna Chinn (who you can sometimes  hear on Jim Mora’s 4-5pm Panel), tells us about Glow-in-the-dark forests, on Forest & Bird. It’s a fascinating look into a natural part of our environment that 99.99% of us are probably unaware of (that includes me!).

I think it’s going to rain today (when it’s wet, it’s very very wet) writes Gareth, on Hot Topic. Gareth look at extreme weather events here in New Zealand and elsewhere around the planet – and comes to a disturbing conclusion. Climate change deniers should read what Gareth has written, and then revise their opinions on this growing problem.

Karakia in school – what’s the fuss? asks Morgan Godfery on Maui Street. He points out that a karakia isn’t necessarily the Maori equivalent of a Christian prayer and suggests that  a bit of understanding mightn’t go astray.

From the spiritual to science, Open Parachute reaffirms The importance of books for kids,

Even within a country and a culture books can do a lot to open children’s minds up to the possibilities of their future life. It is really sad that many homes do little to provide reading material for children. But even disadvantaged children can get access to books through their schools, library and helpful adults outside the family.

On The Pundit, Josie Pagani disagrees withBryce Edwards and Chris Trotter and sez that  The Greens have done the right thing to change their policy of QE (quantitative easing). She makes a purely economic argument against “deploying” QE ,

Russel Norman did something much more interesting: He knows there is wide publhttp://fmacskasy.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=20488&action=edit&message=1ic support for a sustainable and fair economy, and so if the public are rejecting his policy it’s not because they reject his principles, but because his policies don’t adequately implement the principles. A politicians who knows the difference between principle and policy deserves credit.”

It’s a pity our Grin & Wave Prime Minister and his cronies couldn’t engage in the same rational, dispassionate debate without resorting to insults.

“Dispassionate debate”? From the Right Wing? We’ll be waiting a long time.

Check out what is most likely the most rational, well-written critique of flouridation, by The Jackal, who comes to the conclusion that Fluoridation, is a waste of resources. While I may not necessarily agree with his end statements, Jackal makes a compelling and calm assessment of the issue and comes to his own conclusions.

S/He makes a better fist of it than many of the anti-flouro activists who come across as wide-eyed fanatics.

On The Standard, we have;

  • If you haven’t seen it already, check out Jami-Lee Ross being interviewed on  Workrights on the Nation. Ross admits he contacted Ports of Auckland management prior to writing his wretched strike breaking Bill!! Read and share on social media, folks. This is where that Tory bastard’s arse is nailed and his dirty agenda revealed to the public.

The lesson that the Shearer-Robertson leadership should have drawn from Ikaroa-Rawhiti is that they don’t have the power to parachute in a candidate of their choosing against the locals’ will.

Eddie then offers a radical solution,

I would suggest a different strategy: drop the siege mentality. Let the locals have who they choose (as long as they aren’t mad). Show that you are with the membership, not apart from it. Go out there and win the by-election, then win the election.”

Radical.

  • This is An unjust government writes – and for good reason. When a government can legislate away our rights, then this is no longer a democracy. We are well on the road to an authoritarian rule.
  • Anemic recovery, with low growth based primarily on the Christchurch re-buiild and the Auckland housing boom. Anthony’s conclusion? The Nats have actually held back the economy with thir mis-handling.
  •  Foreign land buyers: its non-residents, not immigrants, writes 

  • And Bunji deconstructs the headlines and makes sense of whats happening in the world in his Sunday Reading.

     

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On The Daily Blog

Check out the The Daily Blog Launches Innovative LIVE! Platform, coming tomorrow (Tuesday) at 2pm!

Live TDB

First Guest – Labour MP, David Cunliffe!

Also check out Julie Fairey’s    Of parenting and poverty and villages that help with both. A brilliant, well-considered response to the awful “Vote” debate last Wedbesday.

The Bill of Rights: entrench it, give it supreme law effect and add to it, sez  Morgan Godfery ,

New Zealand has a culture of rights abuse.  From the Maori Prisoners Act 1880 to the Waterfront Strike Emergency Regulations (made under the Public Safety Conservation Act 1932) and (more recently) and the Foreshore and Seabed Act 2004, the Electoral Finance Act 2007 and the New Zealand Public Health and Disability Amendment Act 2013.

We are such a trusting lot. One day, that misplaced trust will bite us all firmly on out collective arse. And it’ll be painful.

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Blogpost of the Day #1

Tangatawhenua.com reports on a racist group, headed primarily by ex-ACT MPs and other right-wingers, who are placing public notices in newspapers to oppose the Constitutional Review set up by  the National-led Government.

Equality, fairness and comradeship? Group spends $1000s to undermine the place of Maori and the Tiriti o Waitangi

The campaign by  so-called The Independent Constitutional Review/New Zealand Centre for Political Research (they are one and the same) is blatantly a move by the Racist Right to undermine and eventually abolish the Treaty of Waitangi.

Which, as Tangatawhenua.com points out,

It is odd to see Act ideologues, to whom private property and contracts are supposedly sacrosanct, rejecting a contract entered into freely by Crown and most iwi...

I believe the phrase that Tangatawhenua.com is seeking is un-repentent racist hypocrites.

Blogpost of the Day #2

Check out how Mickey Savage describes  National’s generic press release for introduction of new bill on Waitakere News. This is simply the best analysis of how National’s spin doctors present unpopular  new legislation (aka “reforms”) to the public.

This is must read for every person interested in politics.

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Moronic Right Wing Blogpost of the Day

David Farrar’s blogpost; All as bad as each other. No, David, you’re the “idiot”. Idiot because you’ve taken the legitimate statements of four candidates out of context and presented a dishonest  conclusion.

Doing Whaleoil impersonations is not your style, my little lumpenleprechaun. You can write better than that kind of childish garbage.

Carry on.

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Free Plug for the Day

Right. Time for you lot to start pulling your weight redux – Danyl on The Dim Post has just released his book. Check out the details of the launch party on 5 July, in Wellington.

Danyl's book

This is your chance to mix it with a well known blogger; other bloggers who will be attending to drink Danyl’s booze present to support Danyl; and a lively evening to remember.

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Action of the Week#1

Tree planting day at Poets Park alongside the Hutt River / Hutt River Trail, 10am, Saturday 13 July until trees all planted.  All welcome.  Bring your gumboots and a spade if possible (but not essential as a few will be available).  Trees and equipment provided.  Planting for a couple of hours or so, followed by sausage sizzle, hot drink and mingle.  For further information contact George Butters, 027 632 1220.  Organised by Greater Wellington and Friends of the Hutt River.  Poets Park is first left after crossing the Moonshine bridge, see Google Map: Poets Park


Pat van Berkel
Friends of the Hutt River

0211 1459 789

Action of the Week#2

From Frogblog, Holly Walker writes about Electoral reform in the constitutional review;

This week the deadline for submissions on the Constitutional Conversation was extended by a month, so now we’ve got until July 31st to submit.

This is a great chance for all of us to have a say on how we want our country to be run, as well as to share our values and aspirations for Aotearoa New Zealand.

We’ve got a submission guide to help you have your say, which includes Green Party policy on some of the specific areas included in the terms of reference.

Two of the official areas under review that I’m really interested in are electoral matters and Māori representation, which include some pretty important issues like:

  • the size of parliament
  • the size and number of electorates
  • how long our parliamentary term should be
  • whether we should have a fixed election date
  • the Māori Electoral Option
  • Māori seats

I think it’s worth thinking about these issues in the context of our MMP system. MMP has brought fairness, diversity and proportionality to our parliament, and it’s important that these principles are reflected in any further changes to the way parliament and elections work.

Read more here.

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Thought for the Day

poverty pass it on

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~ Joe Blogger

“The Daily Blog Watch” Editor, Imbiber of Fine Sugary Drinks,  & moa tail-docker

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~oo~