The Standard

Open Mike 05/01/2026

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, January 5th, 2026 - 19 comments
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Open mike is your post.

For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.

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Step up to the mike …

19 comments on “Open Mike 05/01/2026 ”

  1. Dennis Frank 1
    5 January 2026 at 8:17 am

    Well, the good news is that the political left has inaugurated 2026 with a new ism:

    techlordism… In a world where technofeudalism advances by masquerading as dynamic capitalism, all other ideologies – liberalism, neoliberalism and social democracy – are now as extinct as the feudal ideals of chivalry or the divine right of kings. The old ideological clash between free-market ideologues and social democrats no longer describes our reality.

    True political power comes from control over property rights – the only way to make our brilliant new technologies serve humanity is to democratise control over them, particularly in the workplaces where they are deployed. Who else but a revitalised Left can make that case?

    https://unherd.com/2026/01/how-the-left-can-triumph/

    Public intellectuals glamorising leftist valour are quite rare creatures nowadays.

    But first the Left must regain the trust of a deeply sceptical society. It can only do so by distancing itself from five cardinal sins.

    A cardinal sin pentad is likely to seem deeply threatening to your average leftist, so it looks like the Greek is either scaremongering or promoting theology, perhaps both.

    Industrial robots and cloud capital, once wrested from the tech lords, must be the Left’s tools for liberating labour from labourism and for steering the masses toward creative, artisanal work that not only satisfies the soul but also produces high-quality stuff.

    Removing those 2 items from the tech lord control system, so that the masses can use them in cottage industry is a brilliant neo-feudalist scheme, but the Greek doesn't say who will do the removal. An Achilles heel.

    Reply
  2. Dennis Frank 2
    5 January 2026 at 8:43 am

    Hand-wringing by liberals will persist awhile yet, leftist angst over the chimera of international law will continue to be accompanied by lack of effective activism.

    Trump’s actions cement a new system in which the naked self-interest of two or three “great powers” dominates. In this world order, Washington and Beijing will decide on the basis that might is right.

    The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, explicitly threatened on Saturday that Cuba was next. “Cuba is a disaster, run by incompetent and senile men,” he said. “If I were them, I would be a little worried.” The advocates of multilateralism and international courts may also need to reflect on their own failures. Nizar El Fakih , a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, said: “Multilateralism did not deliver a single effective negotiation process leading to an orderly, peaceful and negotiated transition, despite years of appeals by millions of Venezuelans who voted, protested and exhausted every available civic mechanism at enormous personal cost.

    “The international criminal court, with an investigation open since 2021, has yet to issue a single indictment, despite extensive documentation of crimes against humanity by the United Nations fact-finding mission on Venezuela, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and hundreds of victims”.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/04/venezuela-european-leaders-divided-and-torn-in-response-to-us-ousting-of-maduro

    Observers inevitably decide that such talkfests are irrelevant. Leftists virtue-signalling in random directions to demonstrate their biodiversity is commendably Green, but never seems to affect realpolitik. The mythos that makes political enterprise seem heroic provides the right with a parade of opportunities nowadays, in which getting the job done can assure popularity. Turning baddies into targets is a timeless source of machismo. Hitting those targets then transforms politics into performance art.

    Reply
    • Drowsy M. Kram 2.1
      5 January 2026 at 12:07 pm

      Observers inevitably decide that such talkfests are irrelevant.

      yes "Might makes right." Still, even the memory of Trump's mightily naked self-interest will be erased by time, eventually, albeit small consolation for today's targets of might.

      https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/12/16/world/trump-nft-superhero-cards/

      What they ordered, and what actually arrived:
      https://x.com/Pleightx/status/1603429138953560064

      Reply
    • Muttonbird 2.2
      5 January 2026 at 6:03 pm

      Always the draw to the centre.

      Hard to know whether your criticisms of the left here are genuine thought experiments or naked shit-posting. If you do happen to give away clues they are usually rescinded the next day.

      But to the idea that multilateralism has failed and it's best to welcome strongmen once more, I'd say multilateralism mostly fails because of capitalist hegemony not allowing it to work (and certainly underfunding it). The nectar of free, un-regulated gains is too appealing to the already powerful.

      Reply
      • Dennis Frank 2.2.1
        5 January 2026 at 9:32 pm

        I agree with multilateralism in principle. I was just drawing the attention of readers to the apparent failures so as to raise consciousness. I agree that nationalists will always resist collaboration unless forced into it by circumstance. I'm dubious about the notion that collaborators are rendered incompetent by the control system.

        I suspect it's more that they can't establish sufficient common ground currently, so the neanderthal rightists win by default often enough to persuade sheeple that they ought to back strong men as per tradition. Now it may be due to personal incompetence of collaborators, but more likely a lack of faith that any perceived common ground is real and substantial enough to use…

        Reply
  3. joe90 3
    5 January 2026 at 9:41 am

    Terror state.

    https://xcancel.com/PamphletsY/status/2007662489182581004

    The New York Times has reported that at least 40 people, including civilians and soldiers, were killed in Saturday’s US attack on Venezuela. The estimate comes from a senior Venezuelan official who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

    The victims reportedly include a woman called Rosa González, who was killed when her three-story apartment complex was hit by a strike. Another resident was reportedly severely injured.

    https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2026/jan/03/caracas-explosions-venezuela-maduro-latest-news-updates-live

    Reply
  5. PsyclingLeft.Always 5
    5 January 2026 at 11:50 am

    Simeon Brown, Health Mini Minister, minimising no longer…..(must have been all that huge backlash from GP's, Patients, et al ! )

    Government orders review into ManageMyHealth data breach

    In a statement, Brown said patient data is incredibly personal and whether it is held by a public agency or a private company, it must be protected to the highest of standards.

    "I have decided to commission the Ministry of Health to lead a review of the ManageMyHealth and Health New Zealand's response."

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/583207/government-orders-review-into-managemyhealth-data-breach

    Reply
    • Kay 5.1
      5 January 2026 at 12:24 pm

      No doubt he's thoroughly pissed off from having his well deserved (/s) break interrupted, and having to do some actual work.

      Reply
  6. joe90 6
    5 January 2026 at 12:34 pm

    @ Barfly ^^

    Reply
  7. Binders full of women 7
    5 January 2026 at 1:50 pm

    A couple of days late … but to try to answer Weka's ques about why is there inflation in Iran? or why are they protesting? Inflation is often caused by economic mismanagement. Often countries that have resources and are somewhat democratic (Zimbabwae, Argentina etc) have inflation due to a mismanaged economy and corruption. Iran shouldn't have inflation and it has little to do with sanctions… it's an educated population and resource rich…sadly governed by zealots.

    Reply
    • Muttonbird 7.1
      5 January 2026 at 2:37 pm

      Iran shouldn't have inflation and it has little to do with sanctions

      Bundesbank disagrees and I'd rather listen to them.

      1. Output and inflation dynamics: GPR shocks reduce output and increase inflation, but sanctions amplify these effects, raising import prices and driving inflation higher. In the case of Russia, sanctions were found to be the primary driver of inflationary pressures following GPR shocks.
      Reply
  8. Subliminal 8
    5 January 2026 at 2:55 pm

    I'm unable to reply in the thread but this is another reply to the ignorant statement by BFOW. Venezuela is the premier oil rich nation but if you are unable to sell your oil how exactly will you reap any benefit. Serious analysis by CEPR states for Venezuela:

    The sanctions reduced the public’s caloric intake, increased disease and mortality (for both adults and
    infants), and displaced millions of Venezuelans who fled the country as a result of the worsening
    economic depression and hyperinflation. They exacerbated Venezuela’s economic crisis and made it
    nearly impossible to stabilize the economy, contributing further to excess deaths. All of these impacts
    disproportionately harmed the poorest and most vulnerable Venezuelans.
    Even more severe and destructive than the broad economic sanctions of August 2017 were the
    sanctions imposed by executive order on January 28, 2019 and subsequent executive orders this year;
    and the recognition of a parallel government, which as shown below, created a whole new set of
    financial and trade sanctions that are even more constricting than the executive orders themselves.
    We find that the sanctions have inflicted, and increasingly inflict, very serious harm to human life and
    health, including an estimated more than 40,000 deaths from 2017–2018; and that these sanctions
    would fit the definition of collective punishment of the civilian population as described in both the
    Geneva and Hague international conventions, to which the US is a signatory. They are also illegal
    under international law and treaties which the US has signed, and would appear to violate US law as well

    Iraq, another oil rich country was said ro have lost 500,000 children during the Saddam sanctions and is the source of the infamous Madeline Allbright quote that "we think the price was worth it"

    Reply
    • Binders full of women 8.1
      5 January 2026 at 3:14 pm

      So I'm ignorant. I said Iran's inflation seems to be like Zimbabwae's and Argentina's (neither of which are overly sanctioned and both are relativley productive 'democracies'.) So I feel Iran's problem's are more about mismangement by zealots not from sanctions… yet I copped replies about whaddabout Russia?, Iraq?, and Venezula? none of which I mentioned, but yes their problems may be caused by sanctions. HNY 🙂

      Reply
      • Karolyn_IS 8.1.1
        5 January 2026 at 4:02 pm

        What do you mean by not being "overly sanctioned"?

        US State Dept:

        The United States has imposed restrictions on activities with Iran under various legal authorities since 1979, following the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.

        Lists various sanctions over time.

        Wikipedia:

        Iran was the most sanctioned country in the world until it was surpassed by Russia, following Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022.[1]

        …

        Over the years, sanctions have taken a serious toll on Iran's economy and people.

        Reply
  9. observer 9
    5 January 2026 at 3:24 pm

    Whatever people's views on the USA and Venezuela, it is obviously a huge international event. So every leader in the world has responded. Some were feeble responses perhaps, but they have at least said something.

    With just one exception.

    The exception is of course a certain Prime Minister who has repeatedly claimed that the summer break is too long and Wellington should get back to work because there's so much to be done …

    Deafening silence.

    Reply
  10. PsyclingLeft.Always 10
    5 January 2026 at 4:10 pm

    Team Amerikan Pres fascist Trump….has lost any few marbles he had. Fucker has gone full mental jacket !

    Trump threatens second strike on Venezuela if 'they don't behave'

    Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, the US President also said that the Colombian president could be removed as part of "Operation Colombia" and that Mexico needed to get its act together.

    Trump also doubled down on his claim that Greenland should become part of the United States, despite calls by Denmark's prime minister to stop "threatening" the territory.

    "We need Greenland from the standpoint of national security, and Denmark is not going to be able to do it."

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/world/583227/trump-threatens-second-strike-on-venezuela-if-they-don-t-behave

    Any word on what NZ's Prime Minister thinks yet ? And maybe its time for a Coalition of the Rational to actually stand up to Trump?

    Reply
  11. Dennis Frank 11
    5 January 2026 at 9:50 pm

    Maduro used Cubans for his personal bodyguards due to not trusting Venezuelans, so the yanks eliminated 32 of those in the op.

    the Cubans I have spoken with since the strikes seemed shocked by how easy it seemed for the US military to snatch Maduro without any loss of US personnel. “For decades, first (former Venezuelan leader Hugo) Chavez and then Maduro warned of a US intervention,” said one Havana resident, who did not want their name used. “But when it finally happened, no one was ready for it. The Venezuelans had billions of dollars to equip their military. We don’t.” https://edition.cnn.com/2026/01/04/americas/cuba-uncertain-future-after-venezuela-strike

    So Maduro's oil billions didn't get spent on effective defense of Venezuela (or himself) despite the regime having decades of paranoia about US invasion to prompt them into spending the money on military defense. I suppose, since he didn't trust them, he saw no point in spending much to defend them – but why didn't he trust them??

    Being grabbed while trying to close the door to his hidey hole must've been a tad embarrassing for him. Perhaps that steel room was internet ready, so he could anticipate broadcasting to the world while he waited for the yanks to cut through the steel. Perhaps there was a tunnel beneath a trapdoor, with a getaway vehicle at the other end…

    Reply

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