Daily Review 31/08/2015

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 pm, August 31st, 2015 - 27 comments
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John Key Ritchie McCaw

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27 comments on “Daily Review 31/08/2015 ”

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  1. Clemgeopin 1
    31 August 2015 at 6:10 pm

    CHRIS TROTTER : The effect of a Jeremy Corbyn victory:

    “It is, however, a common feature of both the British and the New Zealand Labour parties that, for the duration of their Babylonian captivity, by the waters of neo-liberalism, neither of their respective memberships ever forgot, or gave up hope of returning to, the Zion of democratic socialism, from which they’d been so ruthlessly uprooted.

    Some will argue that the events of the past 30 years, in both the UK and New Zealand, have so eroded the electoral support for democratic socialist principles and policies that any Labour manifesto based upon them is bound to fail. And yet, opinion polling in both countries shows solid majorities in favour of the public ownership and/or provision of those utilities and services considered essential to a wholesome and inclusive society.

    If Corbyn wins on September 12, many political commentators are convinced that the reaction of Left-wing voters, across the English-speaking world, will mirror the reaction of the French to their liberation by the Allies in 1944.

    Flags will be waved, and kisses freely exchanged, as the people welcome themselves back home”

    Read the full article here:

    http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/71610536/the-effect-of-a-jeremy-corbyn-victory

    • Bill 1.1
      31 August 2015 at 6:31 pm

      I dunno about any flag waving or such like, but I for one will be finally raising that celebratory glass that I’d to leave sitting post Scottish referendum and then again post UK general election. (It’s okay, I’ve got a cover on it to keep the dust out)

      The interesting bit for me if Corbyn wins is what effect it will have on Holyrood elections next year. Corbyn will work with the SNP in Westminster – a good thing. But the Scottish Labour Party (the ‘branch office’ if you will) has just elected Kezia Dugdale as leader – and she’s a wee Blairite creature.

      The SNP have around 60% electoral support on current polling. That will definitely drop if Corbyn becomes Labour leader. But by how much? I mean, there aren’t that many people who can stomach Kezia.

      Ironically, if Corbyn keeps a tight rein on Kezia’s Labour, then Labour may well do better in next year’s elections than if a degree of autonomy was to be allowed.

      If Corbyn doesn’t become leader then that 60% SNP support will probably prove to be solid going into the Holyrood elections. And Labour will be deader than a dead thing.

      • Clemgeopin 1.1.1
        31 August 2015 at 7:14 pm

        I am more interested in what effect the possible Corbyn’s great win (as well as hopegully that of Bernie Sanders in USA) will have on New Zealand politics and our own Labour party here. I think it will enhance morale and embolden the Labour members, the activists, the caucus, the leadership as well as the common people, including the all important middle classes. Hopefully, the selfish super wealthy, the callous corporates and the right wing crooked rogues will rethink their wicked ways.

        • Anne 1.1.1.1
          31 August 2015 at 7:32 pm

          I think it will enhance morale and embolden the Labour members, the activists, the caucus, the leadership as well as the common people, …

          A great boost to morale. It might – just might – cause people to stop and think about the seriously dangerous path the current government is leading us down.

        • Bill 1.1.1.2
          31 August 2015 at 7:38 pm

          maybe I’m not remembering clearly, but haven’t you previously argued against that very line of reasoning? The one suggesting the possibility of some kind of a knock on effect?

          • Clemgeopin 1.1.1.2.1
            31 August 2015 at 8:26 pm

            What I said and still think is that because the RW economic practices have made people in society dumbed down, quite selfish, self centred, materialistic where (generally) their main concern is their own back pocket, fear and amassing luxuries, and less so about ‘society’ as a whole, it is not easy for ‘strong’ leftist policies to get traction. In my opinion, in today’s democracies, most votes for a political party are in the centre rather than on the left. Wishes are not horses to fly on in political reality.

            [I personally think that Labour should be left, left-of-centre and centre]

            If a leader like Corbyn or Sanders can persuade the voters to think differently and vote for a leftist party/leader in big numbers, that would be amazing. I would be thrilled and really happy.

            Personally I would vote for such good socialist leaders. But I am skeptical that the GENERAL population will vote them in ‘sufficient’ numbers to help elect them as President or PM…..Not much will make me happier than being completely wrong here.

    • swordfish 1.2
      31 August 2015 at 8:26 pm

      “And yet, opinion polling in both countries shows solid majorities in favour of public ownership and provision of those utilities…”

      Ha, haaaa. I like to think Chris based that on my UK poll stats here … http://thestandard.org.nz/hard-left-corbyn-receives-public-backing-from-41-economists/#comment-1062265
      which I alluded to on a Bowalley Road discussion thread here … http://bowalleyroad.blogspot.co.nz/2015/08/swamp-things-political-centre-contains.html

      Always good to have a bit of influence on the movers and shakers in the media.

      • Clemgeopin 1.2.1
        31 August 2015 at 10:59 pm

        That graph is amazing and surprising! Whether all that will translate into votes is the moot point.
        Even here, there was widespread opposition to Power Company asset sales, but despite that, this evil and myopic pro rich government was still voted back in!

  2. les 2
    31 August 2015 at 6:24 pm

    Scott Dixon wins the Indy Car championship against all odds ,making it number 4!He and Lydia Ko put the AB’s in the shade.

  3. rob 3
    31 August 2015 at 6:29 pm

    tv3 hit a new low with opening story about all black captains choice of flags design. Cant even mention his name anymore!
    become a political whore like the nzru and Fairfax. just shockingly obvious. sad times NZ

    • Draco T Bastard 4.1
      31 August 2015 at 9:32 pm

      Quoting Joyce:

      “The best approach to freight is user pays – and that’s what we have on the roads and in shipping.”

      BS we have user pays for roads. What we have is a massive subsidy of heavy trade vehicles by private motorists. Joyce knows this and so does every other MP.

      If trucks paid their full amount they wouldn’t be on the roads for long.

  5. mac1 5
    31 August 2015 at 7:35 pm

    Best kind of question- one I have no clue about.

    Is there now with the current flag, or will there be, any control or legal positioning to the use of any new flag, or any elements in it, such as the silver fern?

  6. weka 6
    31 August 2015 at 7:44 pm

    Hey look on the bright side everyone. If we end up with a new flag we’ll be able to establish a whole new flag burning culture in NZ. Or just start chopping the things down 😈

    • maui 6.1
      31 August 2015 at 8:23 pm

      So we’ll be able to chop down synthetic symbolic silver ferns rather than real life ponga ones. Hooray, just make sure we tell farmers doing land conversions and property developers that they can switch to the greener method 🙂

      • weka 6.1.1
        31 August 2015 at 8:32 pm

        Exactly. I think the thing will be ripe for all sorts of piss taking and politcal protest.

  7. Draco T Bastard 7
    31 August 2015 at 9:19 pm

    Why the tech world highly values a liberal arts degree

    Skills. Breadth. Critical thinking. And the ability, like Abelard, to push forward, beyond received wisdom and practice and to create a new world. This is still the aim. Rhetoric has given way to English Literature. Arithmetic is now Math. Music is now mostly what we would call Physics. Modern liberal education still trains the basic intellectual skills of query and discernment that Abelard aimed for, generally now through general education and major requirements. Once mastered – just as in the Middle Ages – these skills can be applied to specialized training – medical school, the public sphere, business, whatever – what the Middle Ages regarded as the practical arts.

    I think that knowledge of the whole helps to think creatively about the specialised. And that we, in fact, do ourselves a disservice by pushing specialisation through school and into university.

    • mac1 7.1
      1 September 2015 at 9:24 am

      Funnily enough, and I’ve commented on this before, Draco T, that Sir Robt Jones, Bob Jones as he was, agrees with you when he said some time ago now that he preferred to hire arts graduates because they could think. He then taught them the skills required for his particular employment.

      It is this lack of formal training that disadvantages people like Mike Hosking with their disdain for academic discipline (disciplina-‘learning’).

      This is a really good article to read- probably because it concurs with what I believe. 🙂

      Maths and science taught more than facts- they taught logic, reasoning, immutable principles. It’s difficult to be believable when you say on whether 1+1=2 that you can ‘get another opinion’, as the PM often ‘argues’. Our PM did not get a liberal arts degree, suffice to say.

      Does the study of English Literature, for example, teach empathy, a quality so lacking amongst many politicians, decision-makers, business leaders, management personnel?

  8. adam 8
    31 August 2015 at 11:25 pm

    A few days old, damn those facebook feeds. Kiwi’s doing good on US TV – well Conan anyway. Unknow Mortal Orchestra

    http://teamcoco.com/video/unknown-mortal-orchestra-08-25-15?playlist=x;eyJ0eXBlIjoidGFnIiwiaWQiOjR9

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