The Daily Blog Open Mic Thursday 23rd July 2015

1. ‘Corbyn strikes back: ‘Tony Blair’s big problem is the long-overdue Iraq War report’

   http://www.rt.com/uk/310497-corbyn-strikes-tony-blair/

   ….”Ex-PM Blair urged the Labour Party to reject Corbyn’s “traditional leftist position” in a speech on Wednesday, warning the veteran MP would take the party back to the 1980s.

   The long-delayed Chilcot Inquiry into the controversial Iraq war began in July 2009, but its conclusions remain unpublished as the investigation is mired in a legal process known as Maxwellization.

   The report is expected to be highly critical of senior Labour ministers in the run up to the war.

   Senior Labour figures have expressed shock as Corbyn emerged as the surprise frontrunner in the Labour leadership contest after a YouGov poll put him 17 points ahead of his nearest rival Andy Burnham….

   Speaking at a closed seminar with economists and trade unionists on Wednesday, Corbyn promised to raise taxes for the rich, clampdown on corporate tax avoidance and invest in the nation’s infrastructure if he is elected prime minister.

   The Labour MP for Islington North said the deficit should not be cut on the backs of the poor, but by the wealthiest in society.

2. ‘Tenants are being evicted from their communities all over New Zealand and only a limited amount of private and publicly funded housing is being built in its place’ said Vanessa Cole, researcher for the Tamaki Housing Collective, speaking this week at the Unitary Plan Hearings Panel. Vanessa has recently completed a one year masters thesis on the effects of displacement in the affordable housing sector.

   https://www.facebook.com/allaboutAKL/videos/1097677906912631/?fref=nf

3. On the subject of Serco and Ray Smith:
   Pull the other one – it plays White Christmas. The prisoner was chased and ‘fell’. He won’t mind then if the Police investigate; any and all CCTV is made public (with faces munged for privacy reasons of course); all his communication between Serco, Ray Smith and the Minister; and the sources by which ‘Corrections’ came to the conclusion.

   On the subject of Blinglish’s claim that ‘the State has no business in business’ – which kind of confirms the Natzi ideology whereby privately owned monopolies are, whereas State owned ones are not. Even allowing for a ‘bit of fikniss’, I’d love him to elucidate how we’re somehow better off.
   Christ! – even that old, and well trotted out relic of neo-liberal weasel words (attributed to the likes of Prebble et al) whereby they chant “we used to have to wait eons to connect a telephone line”; or various others concerning railways; or the private cherry-pikka efficiencies concerning health …. they’re clutching at straws.
   Problem is…. the opposition appears to still be getting their shit together. Good start tho Kelvin. Now let’s see you fire over Ray Smith’s latest. (perhaps you should demand restoration from backups of corrections IT services; conversations from Ray Smith’s fone(s); and so on.
   There are some that have a few plans for the future (and we know how retrospective legislation works right? – the ‘State” and its electors are ALWAYS right – unless of course you want to come across as the Stasi.
   Christ – as even the staunchest of the neo-lib clan will tell you) – even citizenship can be traded

4. A bag containing $NZ1M missing from $NZ10M cash at Hong Kong international airport, after transport from NZ, destined for Bank of China! Supposedly dropped off cargo trolley during removal from aircraft on tarmac!

   Didn’t realize this amount of NZ currency was allowed out of the country! Is this normal practice of taking money out of NZ? More to the point, who/what arranged this amount of cash to be transported from this country to the Bank of China?

   http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11485635

   • yes seems pretty weird Mary_A

     …ill- gotten gains ?…prostitution?.
     …gambling?
     …Auckland real estate fees?
     …issues of tax avoidance/evasion?
     …and whats wrong with bank transactions?

   • There’s this from March 2014, http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/business/…/nz,-china-to directly-trade-currenci… which pretty much has nothing to do with bags of the stuff falling off trollies at Hong Kong airport,

     But, raises this little query in my mind about the lack of Chinese buying of our dairy products at the moment, are they perhaps trying to tell NZ something in an extremely asian way???,

     Having the ability to trade between both nations in direct currency, instead of going through the ‘international marketplace’ since March 2014 and thus China having to pay in US dollars could such a lowering in traded volume be a polite way of them saying please do so,

     And now for your real question, i would suggest the practice is quite common and to do with outward bound tourists from China wishing to change Renimbi for NZ Dollars befor they depart mainland China…

5. So how much has John Key paid Peter Dunne to sell out his country completely – how can anyone in their right mind think it is OK for overseas corporations to sue our country if we don’t comply with what they want! FFS.

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