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6:00 am, December 29th, 2024 - 24 comments
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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 …
From Tunisia to Egypt, from Egypt to Syria, from Syria to Palestine, from Palestine to Ukraine, two left commentators have consistently taken the side of the people.
Mehdi Hasan and Owen Jones, arguably the two most astute left commentators in the world today. get together to ask us,;
Did the Left Fail Syria?
HAHAHAHAH! Owen Jones, Owen Jones who supported the false antisemitism accusations against Corbyn? Owen Jones who supported the lies about Hamas soldiers raping zionist invaders on October 7? Owen Jones who now supports the terrorists who ate the hearts of Syrian civilians and now are busily beheading Christians and Alawites for the crime of defending themselves against 'israel'?
[When everybody else is taking a well-deserved break, the trolls crawl out from underneath their bridges; they must be bored shitless without the attention their teeny-weeny egos crave – Incognito]
Smears nested within smears.
It's turtles all the way down.
Owen Jones never supported the false accusations leveled against Jeremy Corbyn that Corbyn was an anti-Semite, far from it.. The record shows that Jones took the side of Jeremy Corbyn and defended Corbyn against the false smears of anti-Semitism leveled against him by his right wing opponents within the British Labour Party.
From my memory, and a google search to confirm my recollection of those events. Owen Jones vigorously opposed the false accusations of anti-Semitism leveled at the British Labour Party and the British Labour Party leader of the time, Jeremy Corbyn.
Under sustained attack, Jones did admit to the fact, that a tiny minority of fringe anti-Semitism did exist in the British Labour Party, just as it does in society. Jones strongly condemned the Labour Party candidate who made a false and hurtful accusation that Jewish people were involved in the slave trade.
Pro-Assad and Pro-Putin Leftists tried to conflate Jones' admission of fact, to smear Jones as supporting the accusations made against Corbyn and the Labour party as being anti-Semitic. And they continue this line of attack against Jones today, alleging that Jones, who now supports the Green Party, thinks the British Green Party are anti-Semitic.
The Weaponisation of anti-Semitism
Curtis talks to Owen Jones
1/, Owen Jones never supported the lies about Hamas soldiers committing mass rapes on October 7.
2/. There is no evidence, that I have seen that the HTS led forces that toppled the Assad regime are eating the hearts of Syrian civilians, or are busily beheading Christians and Alawites,
3/ There is no evidence that Owen Jones would ever support or deny such atrocities, if they were being committed.
I could go into more depth to disprove Paul Rain's smears against Jones, But I have probably used up the moderator's patience enough already. Just to say that Paul's wild accusations against Owen Jones are all equally ridiculous.
Why does Paul Rain hate Owen Jones?
There are some true believers, calling themselves 'leftists' that have always supported Russian imperialism, and before that Soviet imperialism, who hate anyone who punctures their narrative.
There is no lie they won't tell or false smear they won't spread to try and discredit anyone who exposes the crimes of the Russian imperialists or their allies.
Lest we forget.
Kabuki to distract the base?
Perhaps not.
https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:5o6k7jvowuyaquloafzn3cfw/post/3lefh7b2o3c2c?
I wonder how the people behind the John Key morphing into Chris Luxon billboard are feeling about the return on their investment, probably very underwhelmed atm. Key wasn't a visionary thinker, charasmatic or a great leader but he did what he was put in place to do, get National elected. he did that 3 times and might have done it a 4th had be not bailed and left Bill "Jack Marshall" English to fail a second time to become PM.
Luxon clearly isn't a second Key and may not even win 2 elections given current polls, and that most of all is what the money was to achieve. Even Mathew Hooten is panicking. Sure, the 1%ers have had their personal and landlord tax cuts but that's obligatory in exchange for their money. They have had to endure Winston Peters. Willis has crashed the economy so dividends and profits are down, and so far NO mention of any asset sales. Every National government is expected to turn over some state assets into their hands, so far Nada. Not even any state houses up for sale, Chris Bishop was set up perfectly to do that, but no. There is little money to be made building and running houses for the poor, far more lucrative to buy the houses.
Christmas story of the year.
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Deputies said as he approached the altar, he dropped an onion in the aisle, disturbing the peace of others attending.
A witness followed Von Goetz as he exited the church to make sure he was leaving and saw him then assault another person by throwing tangerines.
Later that night, during midnight mass at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, Von Goetz allegedly disrupted the service by pouring whiskey into the holy water and threatening to harm parishioners.
https://www.wsaz.com/2024/12/27/man-arrested-disrupting-christmas-church-services-pouring-whiskey-into-holy-water-deputies-say/?
More than 240,000 at the first 3 days of the Melbourne test.
Test match cricket is dead?
Ticket prices.
>£100 a day in the UK, >$30 here and in Australia.
https://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/132771/how-new-zealand-flipped-the-script-with-test-crowds
Yes, getting greedy in England.
In fact 255,000 in first 3 days at Melbourne I just heard
Melbournians are probably the greatest sporting enthusiasts in the world, providing Australians are playing of course.
In 1997, while I lived there, the All Blacks played a test at the MCG. The crowd was just over 90,000. The majority of the populace had no knowledge of the game but they went anyway. A couple of people I was working with went to see the game. They didn't realise that Rugby League was a different game to Rugby Union but they went. Of course for them, and everybody else in the city, the AFL matches were what really matteres. When it was the VFL (only Melbourne teams) a couple of the Grand Finals were close to 120,000. The ground is smaller these days and the crowd is a full capacity one of 100,000 for the Grand Final. Even club games will get over 80,000 people there.
So in other words, the MCG turns the number of pennies it does through not being dedicated to only one game or code – unlike Lord's or so many other cricket grounds in England.
The main game is the AFL. That is where the money is. There are a minimum of 45 club games there each year and there are a number (probably at least 5) of the finals series. The minimum crowd would probably be about 45,000 and it could go up to about 90,000 for a game like Collingwood vs Carlton. A full MCG was quite an experience to attend.
All the other sports were carried by the enormous draw that was the AFL.
I don't whether it still exists, or what it costs, but they had a great scheme to encourage youngsters to follow the game. In the mid nineties you could buy a ticket for kids under 16 that cost 24 dollars and let them go, at no additional cost, to a game a week for the 24 week season. A dollar a game.
Video/online gaming, podcasts and internet pron. Who needs drugs?
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A new study has experts beaming with hope as it shows teen drug use at a record low, but they admit confusion as to why the trend is happening and how to ensure it continues.
The annual national Monitoring the Future survey found the use of alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes and e-cigarettes among high schoolers is at its lowest level since the study began. Two-thirds of 12th graders in the survey, which included 24,000 students in total, said they haven’t used any of those substances in the last 30 days, and 90 percent of eighth graders and 80 percent of 10th graders said the same.
https://thehill.com/homenews/education/5051213-teen-drug-use-vaping-marijuana-alcohol/
Chapter zero to three degrees.
Question posed
https://www.chapterzero.nz/news-and-insights/a-tipping-point-is-imminent-and-its-time-for-our-boardrooms-to-get-uncomfortable
Answered
Atlantic current.
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=AStlantic+current+goes+down+what+happens
Years behind the times arent they? Sounds to me like The Chapter Zero Steering Committee should put far more effort to getting themselves clued up.
In a foretaste of what is in store for NZ when the Regulatory Standards Bill is passed, Mexico has just lost its dispute involving the ISDS of its FTA with the US. They now have no sovereign ability to determine the health and cultural outcomes associated with their use of corn.
Th ruling says that there are no reasons to reject GMO corn even as Mexico supplied hundreds of peer reviewed studies to back up their claims and
Not to mention glyphosphate being banned in 18 countries and the consumption of corn in Mexico on average, 10 times higher per person than the US.
https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2024/12/with-help-of-usmca-biden-administration-strikes-decisive-blow-against-mexican-food-sovereignty-health-and-global-biodiversity.html
This is only one aspect of what we will face. NZ will become the first country in the world to embed ISDS mechanisms into legislation and the aim of this Bill is for it and the minster in charge to take complete control over the direction our future takes.
Paired with the limitations this Bill will impose on TeTiriti our government of any stripe will become a post colonial rubber stamp for resource extraction and the bleeding of our wealth and labor back to the empire.
Te Tiriti has at least as much value to Pakeha as to Maori. It is the only thing that gives legitimacy to our life here and prevents us from becoming colonial overlords. The partnership that we have been offered should be treasured for the Taonga that it is. It is something worth fighting for.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/dec/28/we-need-dramatic-social-and-technological-changes-is-societal-collapse-inevitable
https://scitechdaily.com/ai-exposes-accelerated-climate-change-3c-temperature-rise-imminent/
Once allowed to become entrenched here, foreign-owned businesses will basically be able to do what they like, whether or not their activities are facilitated by local legislation and/or FTAs. Precedents go all the way back through Hawai'i in 1893 to "British" India in the 18th century.
The Treaty since 1970 has slowly but surely had its principles enshrined into NZ law. It means that the Crown is no longer free to dispose of assets on any and every whim without first consulting Maori who have become the sole guardians and protectors of the NZ commons.
Most recently was when the Key govt sold 49% of NZ power companies. The courts upheld Maori concerns but allowed the sale since 51% ownership is still a controlling share but the implication is that anything over 49% sale is contestable.
Drowsy above supplies this outline from the spinoff of the many ways that Te Tiriti has become a major handbrake on asset sales.
https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/30-09-2024/the-real-reason-behind-acts-push-to-redefine-the-treaty-principles
It is not so much foreign owned business as such that is the problem but rather, the govt ability to regulate and determine, what they can do with regard to public health and the environment, and the incorporation into law of inviolable private property rights that have privileges above personal, social and environmental health and well being.
Unmitigated and unregulated rape and pillage of the environment will become the norm.
The RNZ series on the first Lange government is worth your time.
Tonight they did the rise of Lange and the 1984 election.
I got a charity book sale book called "Revolution" which was the companion to a tv series on the neolibs, but I couldn't stand to go through it again.
If you want an honest summary of those times, YouTube has "someone else's country" and "in a land of plenty".
I graduated uni at the end of 1985, and was looking for jobs and constantly competing with experienced people who'd been laid off. I had 9 jobs in as many years, some longer than others, and found myself at what's now winz, doing their "job club" initiative to find work.
So my proper 'career' started late and it's approaching it's zenith without blossoming as the generation before me did, who had no neoliberalism and more job security.
Glad RNZ is doing a series on it for people who never went through it. We're closer to 1984 than ever before, methinks.
That Colin James book does capture something of it.
What NZ needed was another combination as good as Clark and Cullen for 9 years to return our coherence and institutional strength.
It's 40 years ago so only 20% of New Zealand has living memory of that 1984 moment.
Link please, the RNZ podcast page is alphabetical.