Posts by Marc C
Last ←Newer Page 1 2 3 4 5 Older→ First
-
Russell, you are absolutely right to consider again point 5. I could not believe the arrogance of Labour and Cunliffe to reject an offer by the Greens to cooperate in the campaign, that was a major misjudgment and poor decision. Also it is shocking to see the party vote for National in so many traditional Labour seats. Labour has been punished this election, that is the clearest bit of analysis that must be taken. And Cunliffe has some things to answer to. I am in a dilemma though re the leadership, there will be the ABCers now calling for blood and Cunliffe's head, but they are the last thing Labour needs.
Josie Pagani and others flatter Stuart Nash and a few others, but he and Kelvin Davis are to the right within Labour. Again, the question arises, what does Labour stand for, and if they think a light blue or National version of a party will make it, I think they are very wrong. I fear the worst, an intensive internal fight for direction and leadership within Labour now, which will damage the party's reputation more. I fear that Labour are beyond repair now. We need a totally new left of centre, social democratic party, which ideally covers grounds that both Labour and Greens have traditionally stood for, and that also takes up the positive policies that Mana has stood for. Then we may get a united force that the voters will consider a valid alternative.
I cannot see Cunliffe surviving this though, and the best alternative may be Grant Robertson now, if there is a change of leader. Shearer, Nash and others will not solve anything, they will mean the final split and death knell to Labour, I am afraid.
-
Hard News: Decision 2014: Where to watch…, in reply to Caleb D'Anvers,
I am afraid that early voting is now pretty across the board, as many consider it to be convenient to do so. Hence I did the same, two or three days before the official election date. The votes cast as such are probably more in line with what the general vote will be, more so than years ago.
The main worry is the mainstream media, and I commented on that already. It is clear to me, that there is substantial bias, and it has shown for months if not years, to some key persons in the MSM have been very favourable of Key and the Nats, and have at the same time been using every opportunity to rubbish, question and discredit Labour, Greens and definitely David Cunliffe. It was a huge mistake by the left and progressives, to not take this serious enough, and even try to "play" the media game, by appearing on certain shows, with attempting to "please" the media commentators and the public.
This has NOT worked, the MSM deserves to be robustly criticised, even attacked, discredited and sidelined. It is time that Greens, Labour and others develop new media strategies, and run campaigns that do not rely on the "corrupt" media.
-
Hard News: Decision 2014: Where to watch…, in reply to ,
TV commentators these days have as much credit as a Mr Goebbels a few decades ago!
-
I am 100 percent convinced now, that media bias, that is by core persons in the mainstream media, is facilitating the kinds of election results we are getting, and have been getting since at least 2008.
This is not a coincidence, it is a repeat occasion and business, most media are corporate and privately owned and run, and they live off advertising. They tend to follow the "business line", that is in line with what the right and National promote.
Even "public media" have been forced to earn from advertising, such as TVNZ and Maori TV, so no wonder then, that they are "mindful" of the advertisers and their interests, which are more in line with the National Party.
I think we need not just a rethink of what media policy we have in NZ, we need to reclaim media, that is the users of it, to at least have a strong, balanced, neutral and informing public broadcasting sector, as all else we get is crap.
We get so much nonsense already, people are inundated with commercial advertising, with dumbing down programs, with shallow and stupid shows and bits, we have a very poorly informed voter base, hence the results we get.
Of course the new government will have nothing of what I just wrote, as they and their mates are in control, and want us to be dumbed down further.
For heaven's sake, I wish the progressive minds and forces in this country finally wake up and take decisive steps to challenge the horrible status quo, as otherwise you may as well arrange your own funeral now.
-
OnPoint: "Project SPEARGUN underway", in reply to Kumara Republic,
Oh, the GCSB would not want to upset the ones that "keep the economy going", whether it is the open economy, or the hidden, "black" economy, where the tax dodger's money is circulating, to grow yet more profits, which will also not be taxed. But yes, a valid question, as then we will have the "persecuted" scream "big brother" and so forth.
Watching the news last night, I was disturbed, about the FLOOD of information coming from Australia, where there are now suddenly all these allegations of extremist islamist activities, where heads were going to be chopped off, and where even the Parliament in Canberra was supposedly targeted for an attack.
Good grief, have the secret services there been asleep for years, is there suddenly an unexpected exposion of extremism, and is this all for real? I am starting to wonder, whether this is, like recent official warnings in the UK, all part of an agenda, to stir up public fear, in order to divert attention from the revelations by Snowden and Greenwald, to make people think, hey, we need to be watched, listened in on and surveilled 24/7, as otherwise we will have terrorism all over the place.
It is just surreal, it is bizarre, what Abbott is parroting off every day now, I cannot believe that all that is true, what they claim about terrorist threats. Why is all this happening right now, after the "Moment of Truth" meeting and presentation in Auckland on Monday 15 September 2014???
-
So Mr Teflon Key gets away with this again, simply shrugging his shoulders, refusing to comment on Xkeyscore and other intelligence matters, claiming there are no NSA installations here, but also admitting that some technical staff may be placed somewhere, perhaps working for the US embassy, consulate or else.
Speculation remains, closing of ranks (Key, security heads and staff) happens, nobody talks, usual excuses are given, and the media simply resigns, and moves on to the next new topics and headlines, no matter how trivial.
I am afraid we will never learn the full truth. Given Key's past behaviour and changes of stories on various other controversial matters, I fully trust Glenn Greenwald and Ed Snowden on this.
We should all be very concerned about this, but apparently, most do not mind to be spied upon, as they supposedly "have nothing to hide". George Orwell's 1984 has been our reality for some time, I fear.
-
Speaker: 1600 beneficiaries moving into…, in reply to stephen clover,
Stephen, here is a news item from the Radio NZ website covering that topic. It is a tiny number of all beneficiaries who had to undergo a drug-test for prospective work or training, and who consequently "failed" it, and had sanctions placed on them:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/255036/benefit-drug-testing-numbers-released
"Twenty people have had their benefits cancelled or suspended since a policy introduced in July last year made drug-testing compulsory for some jobs."
Of the total number of 29,890 tested that is a ridiculous 0.067 percent!!!
A few more had the benefit reduced, but that would hardly increase the percentage by all that much, to make it worth mentioning.
So with all the hype, the draconian measures put into place, and all those earlier allegations that thousands on benefits were smoking dope or taking other drugs, and thus fail tests asked for by employers, Bennett and her colleagues have used a sledge hammer to deal with a problem that does not really exist in numbers worth talking about.
-
"There is a sense that this democracy needs to clean house."
Yes, that is for sure, but I fear, that we will not get much "cleaning" if the voters do largely vote in something like the status quo.
I hope the polls are wrong, as they are largely land-line based, and so many voters do not even have land-line phones anymore.
And a concern is how the brains of the too many out there will make their decisions, in between endless ad breaks in broadcast media, that are constantly hammering and thus mellowing the brain-cells, so an overly strong focus on short span messages and solutions is all so many have developed.
A change is definitely needed, I cannot believe the polls we have been getting are truly representative. If they are, some serious soul searching is needed, for all who care about true democracy, transparency and information we need to shape good opinions and decisions.
3 more years of what we got under the present government will be dreadful, that is my view. A country with a government with no plan for the future is a disaster.
So tomorrow will be a very important day.
I voted early yesterday, so I have done my bit. Please all else, go out and vote, and vote wisely.
-
Speaker: 1600 beneficiaries moving into…, in reply to stephen clover,
Yep, propaganda galore we get, there is NO doubt about it.
I recommend this audio recording from Kathryn Ryan's Nine to Noon program today (Friday, 19 Sept. 2014), which has Brent Edwards, political editor for Radio NZ National, reveal the truth about many statistics that have been thrown around this election. He does at the start also reveal the facts on the mythical 1,600 beneficiaries supposedly all leaving the benefit every week, to move into work. As he states, the figure ignores the inflow of people losing jobs and moving onto benefits for health and other reasons too. The actual number of people moving off benefits on the whole scale of factual figures and in balance is much, much smaller.
This is the kind of report people out there should carefully listen to, before they go and cast their votes.
Link to the audio track:
http://www.radionz.co.nz/national/programmes/ninetonoon/audio/20150259/brent-edwards-discussed-fact-or-fiction-throughout-the-campaign -
I chose to vote early this time, as a booth is near where I live, and as this is now possible for all who wish to do so. Looking at the disability policies of various parties, there are some that offer comprehensive policies and goals, and others that hardly mention any policy for disabled.
Although I feel that even the Greens could still do a bit more in the area, I was satisfied with their policies on offer, in the disability area and in other important areas. So I voted accordingly, with the party vote.
Let us hope that the polls are wrong, due to the over reliance on landlines, and that we will have a true change of government after 20 September, as I cannot bear seeing another 3 years of the mediocre to bad delivery by a National led government. Tariana Turia may have good intentions and done some good work, but overall, much has been missing, as otherwise Acclaim Otago and other disability representatives would not have to go to the UN to raise their concerns.
Change is due, overdue, let us keep our fingers crossed, and all others, please make sure you vote, according to what you consider as good, necessary and beneficial for your country.
And do not forget, what Bennett has forced WINZ to do, which also affects disabled. There may be much talk about "support", "help" and empowering sick and disabled, to "free" them from benefit dependence, but what is actually being done, that is too often a totally different story:
Work and Income’s Principal Health Advisor Dr Bratt sets the tone with the disqualifying measures for sick, injured and impaired:
http://www.gpcme.co.nz/pdf/GP%20CME/Friday/C1%201515%20Bratt-Hawker.pdf
(see pages 13, 20, 21 and 35, where he likens benefit dependence with “drug dependence”)