The Daily Blog Open Mic – 23rd July 2022

Announce protest actions, general chit chat or give your opinion on issues we haven’t covered for the day.

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Announce protest actions, general chit chat or give your opinion on issues we haven’t covered for the day.

Moderation rules are more lenient for this section, but try and play nicely.

EDITORS NOTE: – By the way, here’s a list of shit that will get your comment dumped. Sexist language, homophobic language, racist language, anti-muslim hate, transphobic language, Chemtrails, 9/11 truthers, Qanon lunacy, climate deniers, anti-fluoride fanatics, anti-vaxxer lunatics, 5G conspiracy theories, the virus is a bioweapon, some weird bullshit about the UN taking over the world  and ANYONE that links to fucking infowar.

9 COMMENTS

  1. This is long sorry Martyn for OM but I have to write down my ideas when they come and I find time to do so.

    I’m thinking about us poor little NZs whoare being manipulated into not recognising that we are at war with uncontrolled capitalists. I got a jolt when I found that my rates are up by 18% on my old house on a smallish section. I know the reasons as my Council has carefully explained the process that leads to this sum. But the causes continue to happen, the demand worldwide for basic housing, the greedy buying up people’s dwellings because they will always be in demand like food. In the USA there are some stars mansions that the wealthy don’t desire, but they know that buying up basic requirements are a sure bet. Overseas people have had to sell their house because they can’t afford the rising rates. An unlovely prospect, that, or a bust in house prices whereupon our whole economy will bust. Some of us might like to join with Sri Lanka and Greece and find an alternative way to operate in this economic war against the broad populace.

    The world is swept by ideiologies that are jiggled so as the oily fat cats float to the top – unbridled, tweaked, capitalism, atavistic marxism in Cambodia, fascism – creeping, gerontism looking for quantity not quality in living, now covid, and all the above feed into climate change,

    I think that along with Gallipoli and the remembrance of sacrifice at visible war, we need to have a day of remembrance for our little hero (and we needed an Australian to show us the way) Michael Savage. He got that social welfare bill between his teeth and he was going to get it through if he died doing it, and he did. He had cancer but gave it less attention than needed. We can use his time in NZ as an example of what we need to do to establish a rock base for us to stand on and everyone have dome sort of decent life, with the proviso that everyone chooses a job to do to assist in the running of a state dedicated to running co-operatively, young and old need to be involved in positive input.

    And I suggest we have a day allocated to remembering Savage where we have a street parade all holding garden flowers, even dandelions and purple loosestrife. And then some local performers, both pakeha and Maori and other cultures if they wish. He died at the end of March on the 27th – so that would be a good time to choose, and the weather would still be warm I think, as who knows now.

    https://nzhistory.govt.nz/media/photo/michael-joseph-savage-1935 – this says he helped stablish the second Labour Party. I didn’t realise that there had been another one.
    He maintained that all citizens were entitled to ‘a reasonable standard of living in the days when they are unable to look after themselves’.
    This message struck a chord with voters and in 1935 Savage led Labour to a resounding victory. As a statement of intent a Christmas bonus was immediately paid to the unemployed and those receiving charitable aid. Relief workers were given seven days’ annual holiday. In 1936 there was a landslide of legislation aimed at stimulating the economy, including a programme of state house construction.
    In race relations Savage formalised a relationship with the Rātana movement. He felt that equal opportunity for Māori could best be achieved through a comprehensive welfare system and greater development of Māori land. …
    Shortly before the 1938 election Savage was diagnosed with colon cancer. He ignored advice to have immediate surgery to lead the fight in the election against a refreshed opposition. The key election issue was the Social Security Bill, the embodiment of Savage’s welfare vision for New Zealand…This… helped ensure a comfortable Labour victory. Savage showed no sign of slowing down. After collapsing in August 1939 he finally had the operation he had been advised to have almost a year earlier. By now it was too late.
    (John A. Lee fought with him at this time, too headstrong and forthright to work to plan for good outcomes like Savage.)
    Savage was too sick to attend the Labour Party conference when it opened in Wellington on 25 March 1940. Peter Fraser instead read Savage’s report, in which he accused Lee of having made his life ‘a living hell’. Lee was expelled from the party. Two days later Savage died at his home in Wellington.
    Michael Joseph Savage, (born March 23, 1872, Rothesay, Victoria [Australia]—died March 27, 1940, Wellington, N.Z.)

  2. I have been looking through the novel Russka: the novel of Russia by Edward Rutherfurd and one of the characters is a Freemason, I realised that they hadn’t come up in any reading I have done on this blog, or indeed very little elsewhere. They are influential with wealthy men around the world, so what are we facing in NZ. And this is a review about the book Russka, a lot of reading and I can’t keep up with current information but one for the future. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/edward-rutherfurd/russka/

    Some understanding of how Freemasons operate would be wise. And the thought occurs that ordinary people lack an equivalent organisation to assist them in their endeavours in life. Perhaps we should be pressing for a renewal of trade unions in greater numbers.

    Also if we are to have inflation, automatic rises in wages and benefits of an amount based on half the inflation rate applied to a standard median wage in that trade. Let’s get back to complicated assessments and give away percentages which are merely quick markers that indicate proportions. It wouldn’t be the answer to meeting costs of living but would prevent wholesale disdain of considering the vast numbers of people. Less efficiency, less simplicity, could be the very thing that we need.

    Simplicity in tax etc has been the goal and justification for a number of decisions with punitive results on lower income people. It has always seemed strange to me when voiced at the same time we have introduced computers that can attend to so many things quickly and now algorithms are being used where people’s thinking are capable and should be the determiner. How many times are we to be conned?

  3. There’s sensationalism, which I understand might attract to a commercial blog, and then there is truit. I think you overdo completely unnecessarily, mate. We ‘re in the right. Stop peacocking. We come from a long tradition of truth. It doesn’t require over-lading.

  4. The problem with neoliberal policy is that they think building things and putting money into more bureaucracy is the same as saving lives.

    Labour boasts “We were spending about $16 billion a year on health when we took government. This year, we’re spending $24b and we have a $7b building programme under way.”

    Unfortunately nobody told them that you can build, build, build, (Kiwibuild) but if you don’t spend the money wisely, invest in training people to become doctors and nurses, and on the right qualified staff (support workers/administrators/managers/communications can’t treat people) then there is not enough people to treat patients and hospital waiting lists and ED rates will raise accordingly while patient care, declines.

    It is even worse when after a pandemic they suddenly announce they will bring in over 200,000 people who will need health care.

    “Almost 200,000 people have now applied to become residents under the fast-track visa, and one in four has been approved.

    By the end of this year, the country will have more new residents than any other year on record.”
    https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/05/almost-200-000-people-apply-for-new-fast-track-residency-visa.html

    (Note most doctors and nurses did not qualify for the fast track visa as it appears aimed at low waged workers and family members, people who did not need to speak English, be working, etc).

    Shane Reti

    “We need to turn on our own domestic, homegrown, culturally competent registered doctors and nurses.

    “The despair I have is that in the health budget four weeks ago, [there was] not $1 for one new medical school place in New Zealand … which means there’ll be nothing in the 2023 intake. There’s no money for that. At best it will be 2024 before we start turning our own tap on.”

    “Medical school training place numbers are strictly limited – the University of Auckland can admit 257 students into medical school each year and the University of Otago is limited to 282 domestic student places. This is largely due to the cost of training a doctor.”

    Already 2 out of every 3 doctors in NZ are sourced from overseas with all the costs and difficulties that entails, due to NZ’s government’s reluctance to fund the medical schools to have more places for NZ students to train.

    Although NZ medical training is highly sought after and valued, our own government would prefer to save peanuts money by bringing in overseas migrants with all the risks that entails.

    Cuba manages to train doctors and nurses, and have higher literacy even thought they are a poor country. It is not about government money, but a servitude to neoliberal politics from all NZ political parties health policy that keeps NZ medical profession forced to work so hard, have more risks by expecting other countries to train our medical staff and bring them in constantly and lower patent care.

  5. So what do we do.? Stand back and let Labour please itself? Run every thought past some sort of filter which spits out a computer result of okay if above this measure, whatever it is? We see what we need hanging over the fence but we aren’t allowed in to the Giants Garden?

    Perhaps read about Stephen Sondheim and see how that little boy had a spirit that managed to struggle out from under some crushing psychological blows. We need to see some pathway, perhaps along the road less travelled – new!
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Sondheim

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