Written By:
- Date published:
6:00 am, July 11th, 2026 - 24 comments
Categories: open mike -
Tags:
Open mike is your post.
For announcements, general discussion, whatever you choose.
The usual rules of good behaviour apply (see the Policy).
Step up to the mike …
Some call it not-Art. IMO its Awesome Art. And for Matariki : )
I have always liked street art. Banksy…et al : )
DoubleDown news interview a British surgeon who has visited Gaza for years. He describes the on-the-ground experience, the evidence of wounds on civilians only seen before in combattant on combattant warfare.
"He's a cardio-thoracic surgeon. "I've seen things there, awful horrible things that I never expected to see in my life, and I've worked on cancer patients"
https://bsky.app/profile/declassifieduk.org
He also says Starmer refused to see evidence photographs of the targetted genocidal harm, especially to children when his group presented to Starmer. The last stage of genocide is denial.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genocide_denial
Farage's ploy to resign and call a by-election has proved not to be a cunning stunt but has proved that he is a……..
Oh the fear and loathing…….
Can you summarise what the main fears are from the hard-Right and their arguments?
Did they use the word “woke” and did they frame it as a ‘culture war’?
The fear of having the Edmonds cookbook reprinted in Te Reo………no argument more a pitiful cry…..
Their fear is ill-founded because it’s already happened: https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/132848636/adults-try-edmonds-my-first-cookbook-in-te-reo-mori.
The ‘author’ is Goodman Fielder.
So, a Left win on 7 Nov is not going to make any difference and this is simply more stoking culture wars in NZ.
Yes Te Reo version first published in 2023….during a Labour govt………..now they fear a reprint..
Is he still alive?
Why is it those who are consumed with guilt and self hate – are such right wing turds?
And its "just stars in the sky…..which has nothing to do with us"…….
It's all Jacinda's fault of course……what a sad bunch of people we have in this country…
Well…I'm never going to click a Platform link. I presume you did? Who the woman? Whats her problem?
Yvonne van Dongen …..If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of clicking on a Platform link……..
Ahuh. And thats maybe how you feel. Personally, I wouldnt be giving any oxygen click pay links to Toxic Sean and his Platform…..
Plenty of Reputable News/Information sources..some of which I very often post on…. The Standard : )
know they enemy. By which I don't mean just hating on them, I mean to win the left as to have strategy, and some of that has to be in response to what the right are doing.
Sorry, but without wanting to sound preachy, hating others sets you up for futility & failure. A well-used strategy is to polarise, sow discontent & division, and manufacture outrage. It’s highly effective. I agree with Kat, know your ‘enemy’ and know yourself, and go forward with open eyes and courage. If this does sound preachy, and it most likely does, take it as a reminder to myself.
I was reminded of prefigurative politics the other day. Also, there’s a difference between being able to predict [certain] behaviour, based on behavioural patterns, and genuine understanding. The former can be done by AI as well, the latter obviously not (e.g., see https://theconversation.com/ai-can-predict-how-youll-respond-to-a-survey-but-thats-not-the-same-as-understanding-you-287069).
To be able to predict an opponent’s move(s) might win the game or battle, but not the war; when the opponent does the same, the win(s)/gain(s) will be short-lived and no real structural/transformative progress is made. So, the pendulum swings, sometimes widely, around the status quo, which is precisely the aim of the game of some and playing this very game with its semi-fixed rules and accepting this, as a player, the Left is effectively consenting and giving away the game [to the Right].
what would be some examples of that last paragraph?
It doesn’t take much imagination to provide some of the more pertinent examples, e.g., dogmatic adherence to fiscal and monetary responsibility rules (e.g., https://newsroom.co.nz/2026/07/13/we-choose-to-trade-youth-employment-for-a-2-inflation-target/), blind focus on GDP as [proxy] measure of economic growth and productivity, finding ‘fatal/critical’ flaws & holes in opponents’ budgets, one-upmanship of capability to govern & manage [the economy] that equates to a like-vs-like contest of ideas & narratives as the ultimate game, etcetera. NB, the last example is where the Right has been particularly strong & effective and where the Left has become weak & ineffective, effectively losing ground and trust with the electorate and not just in NZ but across the whole [Western] world.
If you want a longer and more elaborate example: https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL2607/S00036/narrative-building-political-strategy-the-case-of-anti-inflation-policy.htm
Yvonne van Dongen – anti-Islam, anti-Trans ….
Well, that seems to be a Platform Match made…somewhere !
In heaving?
and most recently
https://smry.ai/yvonnevandongen.substack.com/p/frozen-myths?smryFrom=home
btw, don’t read the comments
Heard Frank Sinatra on the Concert Prog singing the perfect song needed to broadcast to all Kiwis thoughtful ideas before this coming election. Listen to Mr Cool – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWKXU0ApF08
Lyrics: https://genius.com/Bing-crosby-swinging-on-a-star-lyrics. (The short extract by Bing Crosby)
Swinging On a Star Lyrics: Written for the Oscar-winning 1944 film Going My Way, this song won the Oscar for Best Original Song.
[Chorus: Bing Crosby & Chorus]
Would you like to swing on a star
Carry moonbeams home in a jar
And be better off than you are (Ooo)
Or would you rather be a mule?
[Verse 1: Bing Crosby & Chorus]
A mule is an animal with long funny ears
He kicks up at anything he hears
His back is brawny but his brain is weak
He's just plain stupid with a stubborn streak
And by the way, if you hate to go to school
You may grow up to be a mule
[Chorus 2: Bing Crosby & Chorus]
Or would you like to swing on a star
Carry moonbeams home in a jar
And be better off than you are, doo doo
Or would you rather be a pig?
[Verse 2: Bing Crosby & Chorus]
A pig is an animal with dirt on his face
His shoes are a terrible disgrace
He has no manners when he eats his food
He's fat and lazy and extremely rude
But if you don't care a feather or a fig
You may grow up to be a pig
[Chorus 3: Bing Crosby & Chorus]
Or would you like to swing on a star
Carry moonbeams home in a jar
And be better off than you are
Or would you rather be a fish?
[Verse 3: Bing Crosby & Chorus]
A fish won't do anything, but swim in a brook
He can't write his name or read a book
To fool the people is his only thought
And though he's slippery, he still gets caught
But then if that sort of life is what you wish
You may grow up to be a fish –
A new kind of jumped up slippery fish
[Outro: Bing Crosby & Chorus]
And all the monkeys aren't in the zoo
Everyday you'll meet quite a few
So you see it's all up to you (Ooo)
You can be better than you are (Ooo)
You could be swingin' on a star
Doo doo doo doo doo
Doo doo doo doo doo, doo doo.
[Do think even if it hurts!]