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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 and on-line satirists…
NZ Left Blogosphere
From the delightfully warped and satirical mind of The Civilian, we have,
Kate Middleton not pregnant; just really fat
The entire Commonwealth is experiencing disappointment today after the Duchess of Cambridge and wife of Prince William, Kate Middleton, revealed that, for the past six months, she has not been pregnant, but just really, really fat…
X Factor finalists to compete for chance to judge next X Factor
In two days time, the nation is expected to come to a complete halt to watch the grand final of TV3 series X Factor New Zealand, in which the competition’s three finalists will compete for the chance to sell albums to children and possibly judge a future X Factor…
And that other satirist, Porcupine Farm, gives us a taste of Capitalist Realist Hope, Christchurch Style…
From Phillip Ure on Whoar, “..The lesson from the US: George Osborne has wasted the last three years | Ed Balls..”
The Jackal, meanwhile, asks why the Police OK are with corporate manslaughter, in the Pike River Mine disaster. If a gun nut shot 29 men in a mass-shooting spree, I betcha that would grab the Police’s attention.
On Open Parachute, read more on Michael Mann’s defamation lawsuit on track. Climate Change Deniers have been using smear-tactics to discredit those they disagree with,
Anyone interested in the political struggles around the science of climate change will be aware of the attacks made on climate scientist Michael Mann. These go back a long time and are detailed in his book The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches from the Front Lines (see The truth about the hockey stick for my review of this book). Despite a number of enquiries clearing Mann of any wrong-doing these attacks have continued.
Fightback’s Byron Clark writes on PRISM, Tempora and the case of Edward Snowden,
The past few years have seen the US led “war on terror” morph from a bloody ground war in Iraq and Afghanistan to something resembling a Hollywood techno-thriller. Three years after soldier Bradley Manning was arrested for leaking an enormous trove of classified documents via Wikileaks, another whistle-blower has revealed that American and British intelligence agencies have been engaged in large scale surveillance programmes.
Read the whole piece – it’s well worth it!
On The Hand Mirror, check out LudditeJourno’s post, Body love Monday. LJ posts a screen-cap of an ad from Facebook – and I have to warn you, it’s pretty fucking vile.
Socialist Action reveals that the New Zealand Superfund profits from the torture of Palestinian children. By investing in G4S shares, NZ Super is complicit in Israeli repression in Gaza and the West Bank. Not something that would sit well with most New Zealanders, I would think. (Except with right wing free marketeers, who, I suspect, would happily invest in Nazi gas chambers if it meant higher returns from their share investments.)
As far as “sexy issues” go, this one ranks number 100 on the list (of 100); Raymond Huo on Red Alert points out the PGD problems: “a potential time bomb” – that Plumbers/gasfitters/drainlayers. And evidently National Minister, Maurice “Rainbow” Williamson has been playing free and loose with relevant legislation.
It seems that it’s not just the GCSB, Skycity, and Warner Bros, that the Nats re-write legislation for.
Imperator Fish has a A short statement from David Shearer – !ouch!
On The Pundit, Jane Young blogs on The determined Mr Kerry,
US Secretary of State John Kerry has managed to convince the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships to come back to the negotiations table…but that’s just the easy part.
That John Kerry sure has determination and he’s going to need plenty more where it came from.
Especially, when, as Jane writes, half the problem lies with the US,
In the last twenty years Israel has steadily eaten away at the land which is supposed to constitute the future State of Palestine, to the point where now just on half a million Jewish settlers live illegally on stolen or confiscated Palestinian land. It begs the question of who is wiping who off the map?
Settlements are condemned by all except for Israel and its mighty patron, the United States. Having this big powerful protector allows Israel to flout international law as it pleases and so throws into question time and time again how the US can act as honest broker between the two protagonists.
Idiot Savant on No Right Turn offers a wide range of issues,
There’s More cronyism from National as they appoint former National candidate, Glenda Hughes, as Chairperson of the New Zealand Racing Board.
Why doesn’t Fairfax want to talk about inequality? asks Savant, who is referring to an excellent piece of investigative citizen journalism by Neil Watt. (See Blogpost of the Week, at the bottom of this page.)
There’s More arrogance and bullying from Dear Leader Key, as he threatens the Human Rights Commission with a funding cut…
Savant condemns Dubai as Absolutely barbaric, where rape victims are charged with crimes and treated more severely than the rapist. Meanwhile,
“…our government has negotiated a free-trade agreement with these barbarians, and it is currently awaiting ratification.”
One thing you can say about the Nats – they’ll do business with anyone. Democracies. Dodgy regimes. Rapists. Bring’em all on.
Savant reminds us, Something to go to in Auckland,
And lastly, Savant reports the news: Dunne sells us out. Peter Dunne will be voting for the GCSB Bill. That means the State will be spying on every New Zealander, visitor, temporary resident, in this country.
Peter Dunne – “Mr Sensible”, my spotty arse.
Ideologically Impure she may be, but QoT has pure wisdom when she blogs on issues. Today she takes a swipe at John Morrison, Wellington city councillor and mayoral candidate, for his recent behaviour. Read I’m not talking about emotions you dickheads to find out more.
Tread ‘em down, QoT writes on National’s so-called welfare “reforms, and offers a slice of her own past,
But when I was a child, my mum was on the DPB. It was no fucking life of luxury – and believe me, I went to a decile 10 primary school, I fucking lived that – but we got by. And through the Training Incentive Allowance – which Paula Bennett scrapped – my mum was able to get through university and build a decent life for us. And god only knows how much tax she’s paid back since then – never mind the whole “raising a child who’s also a Productive Member Of Society (TM)” thing, which isn’t a figure on a ledger so isn’t real, as far as the National Party’s concerned.
And to all right-wing knobjobs, QoT offers this piece of advice,
If you’re such a callous, self-centred douchebag that you literally refuse to understand that, try this: a social welfare system which keeps people basically fed and cared for and allows them a bare minimum of self-esteem is something societies need to provide. If only so the poor don’t become so desperate and alienated that they chop your head off and burn down your fucking house.
If you haven’t already, check out Chris Trotter’s Booking Beneficiaries Into Rehab on Bowalley Road, who condemns the MSD’s propagandising and vilification of welfare recipients,
Just think about that for a moment. The MSD’s senior health advisor is telling his fellow doctors that helping their patients access the state assistance to which, as citizens, they are legally entitled, is the same as “putting them on” methamphetamine, heroin or some other kind of “addictive debilitating drug”.
The Right’s decades-long rhetorical effort to associate being on a benefit with being hooked on drugs has thus been given the imprimatur of settled medical science. Henceforth, going to the MSD will be the equivalent of checking yourself into rehab. Everything that happens to you there will be about getting you off your welfare addiction and back into the healthy lifestyle of paid employment.
From The Standard,
Outsourcing: Scamming the system – writes,
Recent legislation by the NZ government is resulting in more necessary and basic public services being outsourced to being run by private entities. With this in mind, it is sobering to read a new report on the UK government’s extensive “outsourcing” (of public services) programme. The report is by a think tank, Institute for Government (IfG), that includes some people with academic backgrounds as well as a few people who worked with Blair’s government. The report exposes major ways that outsourcing contracts are “gamed” (meaning scammed) and the negative impacts of the outsourcing being monopolised by two main players, G4s and Serco. However, rather than call for outsourcing to be scrapped, the report recommends that the government slow down its outsourcing programme, and tinker with it to improve the regulation and oversight.
Don’t let them be sidelined: Surveillance Bills – Karol writes,
While the MSM is focused on the whole scary central NZ quakes and shakes, let’s not forget the GCSB and related surveillance Bills. There’s plenty of coverage in the margins today on these Bills. According to Audrey Young, Phil Goff says:
Former Foreign Minister Phil Goff says “tweaking” of the GCSB bill by Prime Minister John Key will not be enough to overcome the suspicions of a wide cross-section of New Zealanders.
Predictably, Peter Dunne has caved. Vance and Small with the details:
Dunne backs expanded spy powers
UnitedFuture leader Peter Dunne says he will support controversial legislation to expand spying powers.
Dunne said he was willing to vote for the Government Communications Security Bureau Amendment bill after ”major amendments”. … Dunne said Key had agreed to a number of changes which included…
Big Brother comes to Kindy – writes,
The Nats used to make a career out of faux “nanny state” hysteria. My how times have changed:
Kindy kids to have ID numbers
Identification numbers attached to children as young as three could be used to track and punish their parents.
Unbelievable! This from a right wing Party that espouses “smaller government”???
Children with gay parents ‘happier’ – research
Children with gay parents are happier and healthier than kids from the average family, new research shows…
3News poll – A discussion on the latest 3News Poll…
Fairness at work and a living wage – writes,
In the United Kingdom as in New Zealand there is a developing debate about the need for a living wage. The Guardian has reported that the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, has condemned the low wages of millions of Britons as a “national scandal” and said that businesses have ignored a moral duty to ensure that all employees are paid enough to live on.
In comments that match the debate that has occurred in New Zealand he states that it is both morally and economically wrong for government to give tacit approval to an approach that lands the state with a huge bill to top up the incomes of the lowest earners.
On the Labour leadership – writes,
Over the last few weeks Labour has been in a state of agitation as the party, the affiliates and even the caucus have come to the realisation that the Shearer project has failed.
This new realisation has been marked by the emergence of leaks from unusual sources, a fragmentation of the already loose factions in caucus and a spike in feverish late night phone calls as people try to position themselves for a post-Shearer Labour Party.
Talk of an imminent coup is probably premature, but should not be ruled out. There is a level of disquiet in the party not seen since the Moore-Clark battle of the early 1990s.
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Blogpost of the Day
Neil Watts of the Fearfactsexposed blog is back!
After a sabatical of nearly nine months, Neil has posted a damning story about Fairfax apparently barring their journalists from covering lectures, or publishing press releases, from visiting London School of Economics Professor Robert Wade.
Professor Wade is in New Zealand for the launch of Max Rashbrooke’s book “Inequality: A New Zealand Crisis”, which he contributed to. In a series of lectures and media appearances, he has noted that New Zealand has seen significant increases in inequality in the last 20 years, at a greater level than in other Western nations.
Fairfax bans reporters from covering inequality writes Neil, who has uncovered apparent cronyism within Fairfax,
Orwellian denial is nothing new at Fairfax – this blog has outlined their history of ignoring academic research in favor of populist National Party “solutions” – and it’s a moot point whether they are formally working to support Government propaganda, or simply have a common alignment of Rightwing dogma. But, it certainly speaks volumes that, immediately after Bill English bullied Professor Wade with the threat; “Don’t you say that again!”, Fairfax told their reporters not to give him any coverage.
Read the whole story to get the full picture.
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Direct Action #1
Protesting the GCSB + TICS Bills
Public · By Stop the GCSB Bill
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A large majority of New Zealand stands united against the GCSB spy bills currently being pushed through by John Key and his cronies.
We the people need to stand up for our rights to privacy!
Join us and the rest of New Zealand in protest on;
27th July
Venues:
Bring your banners, your placards, yourselves and your friends and family. This is a family friendly, peaceful protest.
Auckland – Aotea Square – 2pm-4pm
Hamilton – Garden Place – 2pm-4pm
Napier – Memorial Square – 2pm-4pm
Wellington – Cuba St Bucket Fountain (2pm) then march to The Beehive (3pm) for speakers – 2pm-4pm
Nelson – iSite, Halifax St – 2pm-4pm
Christchurch – Bridge of Remembrance – 2pm-4pm
Dunedin – The Octagon – 2pm-4pm
(Hat-tip: No Right Turn)
Direct Action #2
March Against Animal Testing on Party Pills
New Zealand to March Against Animal Testing on Party Pills
On Tuesday 30th July at 12 noon New Zealanders by the thousands are expected to down tools and congregate at meeting points around New Zealand, to show the Government that they object to its decision to allow the testing of legal highs on animals.
Check on more on HUHANZ facebook page, and join us on;
30th July
Direct Action #3
Submit!
The Commerce Committee has called for submissions on the New Zealand International Convention Centre Bill (AKA the crony convention-centre bill). You can submit directly via the link above, or by sending two copies to
Commerce Committee Secretariat
Parliament Buildings
Wellington
Submissions are due by Thursday, 22 August 2013. Topics to raise: the unconstitutionality of the bill purporting to bind future Parliaments to compensate SkyCity of there is a change of government (and of policy); the anti-freedom of speech clause in the deal and its incompatibility with the Bill of Rights Act. While the latter isn’t actually in the bill, criticism by the committee could see it removed from the deal, or make a future BORA case against its exercise substantially easier.
By 22 August
Hat-tip: No Right Turn
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Thought for the Day
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~ Joe Blogger,
“The Daily Blog Watch” Editor, Imbiber of Fine Sugary Drinks, & moa tail-docker
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~oo~
