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6:00 am, January 30th, 2025 - 82 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 …
A few days ago, Alwyn got all breathless and agitated when I suggested the rich would benefit from a crash in the USA/World economy.
Thom Hartman outlines three reasons/methods why and how the billionaires will do well out of a market in freefall!
7.45 mins long.
Hold on to your hats, we’re in for a wild ride!
You may want to link to Alwyn’s alleged comment and also de-risk that you’re barking up the wrong tree here.
FYI, I take a dim view of commenters who take a swipe at other commenters to
scoremake a point.https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-05-01-2025/#comment-2020614
But perhaps I'm maligning alywn a bit!!!
Thank you. In this way, your comment can be seen as a continuation of that discussion thread – clarity helps.
I see now where you got your story about Getty buying up big on the day after the crash. As I showed a few weeks ago that would have been a very good way of losing around 80% of your money.
I also have my doubts on relying on the memory of an 80 year old Gloria Swanson remembering back 50 years to her days of stardom.
The basic premise that seems to be pushed is that people who are "cashed up" can make enormous amounts of money by buying up all the low priced shares, That sounds fine provided you accept that they have to get the timing right. It isn't going to work for Musk of course. How can he possibly get to the cashed up state, given that most of his wealth isn't liquid? He owns about 20% of Tesla, 42% of SpaceX and almost all of X (Twitter) I believe. Stakes that large cannot be considered to be liquid. If he tried to cash up the companies' value would crash. It isn't like you or I selling our few thousand FPH and WBC shares where we can get rid of them in about 2 minutes.
I will still stick to my belief that Trump showed no sign of crashing the economy in his first term and isn't really in a position to gain from doing it now.
Trump showed no sign of crashing the economy in his first term and isn't really in a position to gain from doing it now.
Yeah but the loose cannon thing could cause it regardless. Hedge funds bet against the market, so any such bet only ever seems a good idea when most players are clinging to a delusion (as in the gfc). Since T is more delusional than most top capitalists, he's unlikely to spot the opportunity & profit by a bet on it.
Come the mid-term, his policies may not have made America great again. Loss of confidence in the dream could create a market slide ominous enough to seem close to a crash. The system requires mass confidence to work properly…
This debate started, back on the 5th January with the comment
"It's hard to escape the conclusion that Trump intends to crash the US economy (and, as the saying goes, when the US sneezes, the world catches cold) and the world economy, for selfish reasons of his and his billionaire backers!".
You are suggesting something a bit different to that when you say "Yeah but the loose cannon thing could cause it regardless.".
I quite agree with you on that. I think Trump is crazy and what you say might happen. It won't be because he intended to do it though and that was what the original claim, which I was disputing, proposed.
Yes I agree re lack of intent. His agenda is a blend of personal stuff & social niche context which I only have a vague idea about despite reading all the best books on it, yet his narcissism will inevitably steer the outcome, primarily via legacy. His self-image has been doing quite a shift since he won again – you can tell by his eyes & body language. I suspect he's now got a focus on making a splash on history. A bunch of quirky geopolitical re-configurations that seems like a circus play for the media is just the start. There's a significant character test in the pipeline (first crisis)…
Have you read anything by John Perkins, the US govt operative doing liaison with foreign states back in the '70s/'80s? Blew the whistle when he retired, went into the jungle & learnt shamanic practices. His book about shapeshifting nicely balanced empirical discovery with self-transformation of outlook. Too adventurous for most conservatives, of course, but he's sensible & clever enough to present it with aesthetic finesse in respect of blending ethos & realpolitik. Didn't like the CIA eliminating foreign leaders after he'd negotiated a good deal with them. Didn't seem right. So he started a business instead (consultancy) which grew & became very successful.
Trump doesn't need hotshot negotiators working for him until he gets out of his depth. The interesting part is his team, and how fast they go until reaching use-by date, like sky-rockets…
Netanyahu makes a speech advocating to get back to the genocide.
Our media play along, screaming headlines proclaim Hamas breaching the ceasefire agreement by not releasing the name of one of the captured woman soldier being released, as evidence of a breach of the ceasefire agreement and justification for returning to war..
Meanwhile Israeli shooting and killing of civilians in Gaza, in breach of the ceasefire agreement (even one of their own civilians) completely ignored by Western media.
Yeah, but Hamas got a name wrong on some list.
There is a cartoon floating around on social media showing the IDF walking out of the door to Gaza and through the door to the occupied West Bank.
Look out for flimsy pretexts to massacre West Bank Palestinians. (Not Jewish so-called "settlers" of course.)
It appears that the first foreign leader to visit Trump will be a war criminal wanted by the ICC.
https://www.dw.com/en/israel-netanyahu-first-visit-trump/a-71441398
The second to visit will be Starmer according to the Guardian.
Fitting really.
From the linked article:
Surely a couple of warning shots over their heads would have sufficed?
No, they have no right to fire any kind of shot in Gaza. The same applies for the Occupied Territories in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Golan Heights.
There's something seriously wrong with this man. His evasion of acknowledging what seems obvious conflict of interest seems typical these days.
Palestinian Support Network Aotearoa, PSNA, have launched a public campaign to identify and confront serving IDF soldiers enjoying their leave here.
Politicians and media outlets have expressed outrage, accusing PSNA of encouraging vigilantism.
It is the government that is encouraging PSNA's action, with their lack of action.
Vigilantism is encouraged when governments don't uphold the law.
As signatories to the genocide convention, our government are bound to uphold international law on the prevention of genocide.
The government know who these serving soldiers are.
The very least they could do is question them as to their involvement in war crimes, as Australia has does.
The other criticism of the PSNA campaign to identify and confront serving IDF soldiers holidaying here, "How does PSNA or their supporters know if they are IDF or not?"
The answer to that one is simple, If you have ever come across Israeli hikers or holiday makers, as I have done, they will proudly tell you, in the belief that New Zealand supports Israel's dispossession and mass murder of Palestinians. (And on the surface of it, they are not mistaken).
If I had a hotline then I would have rung it.
PSNA Press release:
'
Well how about that.
Better late than never, I suppose.
Breaking News:
The PSNA campaign to identify serving IDF soldiers coming here and confront them about their involvement in committing atrocities has already borne fruit.
The far right American think tank, the Foundation for Defence of Democracies, FDD reports that the New Zealand government has just slapped a questionaire on all visiting IDF soldiers.
Our bureaucrats seem to be getting it right:
Although I agreed with Minto's moral stance, the viability of his campaign depends on discovery of genocide doers when they come here. Privacy law is designed to prevent such accountability ever happening – which is why the left & right continue to support it, presumably. We don't know if those 4% rejects are doers or not.
Is that breaking "news" or breaking "misinformation?" I've seen the claim in a couple of places and both link to that Times of Israel report. The NZ Immigration web site says Israelis fill in an ETA visa waiver form the same as tourists from other visa waiver countries. That form may well ask about military service.
I first saw it reported on an American Right Wing think tank, and only saw it on Times of Israel page later.
From the Foundation for the Defense of Democracy FDD website;
New Zealand has begun requiring Israelis who apply for entry visas to report details of their military service by filling out two separate questionnaires. Questions posed ask for sensitive details, including the locations of military bases, military ID numbers, and whether prospective Israeli visitors have “committed or been involved in war crimes, crimes against humanity, or human rights abuses.”
Seems pretty solid to me.
As to this "news" being "misinformation". Does this misinformation include the account given to the Times Of Israel by an Israeli soldier, who claimed he was turned back at the border under this new policy?
From the Times Of Israel report on this "new" policy:
…..At least one soldier who served in Gaza during the ongoing war against Hamas has been denied entry to New Zealand. He said that this was a direct result of his answers to the questionnaire, while noting that he said he had not been involved in war crimes in Gaza……
https://www.timesofisrael.com/new-zealand-requires-israelis-to-disclose-idf-service-details-as-condition-for-entry/
Jenny vigilantism should never be encouraged. It will only lead to violence, and I doubt that you would want to have it directed towards yourself.
Holding war criminals to account is the opposite of vigilantism. Its what properly functoning democracies do.
That’s what the police and our courts are for.
I very much doubt that there are any war criminals in New Zealand. There are however many child killers and abusers wandering our streets.
Absolutely, vigilantism thrives when the authorities don't act on their legal responsibilities.
Luckily our government seem to have woken up to this fact, and are taking action.
From the 'Times of Israel':
"…he said he had not been involved in war crimes in Gaza," But was still denied entry?
[I can only guess that providing misleading or false information on this questionnaire, must also be grounds for denying entry]
And justice is served.
No need for NZ citizens to out this war criminal.
Jenny, you along with Mr Minto seem to be making a mountain out of a molehill. It’s hardly likely that there are any war criminals here in New Zealand. Although I’m sure some would wish it to be so, if only to give themselves something to be upset about.
Hardly likely, but not impossible. AI methods like the Lavender system were used by the IDF to sign off on human targets, for bombing or sniper attacks, including the most low-level of Hamas members, estimated at ~100k. Various levels of Hamas members were assigned 'acceptable' collateral damage scores, from 100+, to 5-15 at the lowest level.
'…the Israeli program "Where's Daddy?" tracked suspected militants until they returned home, at which point "the IDF bombed them in homes without hesitation, as a first option. It's much easier to bomb a family's home." '.
'a United Nations special rapporteur, stated that if reports about Israel's use of AI were true, then "many Israeli strikes in Gaza would constitute the war crimes of launching disproportionate attacks". ‘
So anyone along this AI decision chain bears some responsibilty for disproportionate response.
Hi Dave, maybe, but we can be pretty certain that thanks to the immigration department, that there is at least one less.
The immigration department must have had very good grounds to doubt the word of the this Israeli soldier, when according to TOI he told them, "he had not been involved in war crimes in Gaza,",
Governments through their Intelligence and security services are far better resourced than you or I or Mr Minto to determine that. And that is as it should be. Maybe to get the government to accept their legal duty to screen these soldiers was the purpose of Mr Minto's campaign.
The fact that Minto and his pals don't like Israelis doesn't give them carte blanche to harass Israeli tourists. How would he like it if right-wingers set up a phone hotline asking people to dob him in whereever he goes so that local right-wingers can let him know what they think of him?
As far as I am aware, that is still the case, as it has been the case for decades. Along with photos of his house, address, and anything else they can dredge up. Just trying to remember the name of the nutbar (last name begins with a ‘A’) who actively ran a site with exactly that purpose that actively targeted my niece about animal rights activism, and me about running this site. It wasn’t particularly secure. Minto was on that as well
And of course the police and SIS have exactly that in place, and there appears to have always been considerable leakage.
The PSNA campaign to identify war criminals holidaying in this country pales behind the Right's campaigns against peace activists and progressives.
In the same vein as 'A' but worse, is Betar US
Owen Jones Beginning @2:24 minutes:
In my opinion the policing of war criminals should be left up to the proper authorities.
With their action, the PSNA has brought attention to the fact that IDF war criminals may be entering the country, leading to the authorities to take action to vet them..
I expect he's quite used to it actually. But it's worth noting that cyberstalking for the purposes of harassing people is against the Harmful Digital Communications Act 2015, and that applies to Minto and his haters.
Altho no one in NZ has ever been prosecuted or charged under this part. I presume that the organisation's aim is not to threaten, but to politely approach these visitors and ask them to justify Israel's war. Or even breeze past wearing clothing or badges to show support for Palestinians.
According to his ad, the aim is to "let them know they're not welcome in New Zealand," with it left up to the individuals harassing the Jew to decide what form that should take.
You're doing this combining of Israeli and Jew which is a very handy strategy for hardliners who wish to have their actions protected by the suffering of millions in occupied Europe.
Stop it.
I can't say that I've seen many of Minto's stalwart following observing the nicety of that particular distinction. Nor was Minto ever especially quick to correct them.
The crime of Apartheid is internationally recognised as a crime against humanity, a crime that the International Court of Justice has just ruled that Israel is guilty of.
John Minto has been a life long campaigner against racism and apartheid.
To accuse John Minto of being anti-Jewish, is in my opinion, almost as bizarre as Netanyahu accusing the United Nations General Assembly of being anti-Semitic for voting for a ceasefire in Gaza. Or accusing both the ICC and the ICJ of being anti-Semitic for merely holding hearings on the evidence of genocide in Gaza.
Accusing life long anti-racist campaigner John Minto of being anti-Jewish, is almost as bizarre as accusing Jewish Israeli Holocaust scholar, Omer Bartov of being a self hating Jew.
I make it a policy never to argue with monomaniacs.
I make it a policy never to argue with monomaniacs.
Translation: I got nuthin'.
Have you ever considered Populux, that this "one thing", is the "ONE THING' that you don't want raised, or argued?
P.S. If you look back over my comment history you will see that I have commented on many more than just, 'One Thing'. For instance my last comment here, before this one, was about AI
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-31-01-2025/#comment-2022991
Therefore, I conclude that lacking any rebuttal your accusation, that I am a "monomaniac', strays into ad hominem territory.
What a disgusting individual!
Jones's attitude on morning report this morning was absolutely appalling. Link above
I'm beginning to find Jones' photos even more repellent than tRump's.
Same here. 🤮
Yet he is merely providing what the system of democracy was created for. Competitive posturing is normal politics. Shane is a proud nationalist & doesn't want to be "frog marched to the altar of climate cultism."
Lux could issue a statement along these lines: "Shane & Ricardo are doing competitive posturing in a Mexican stand-off. They are keeping boredom at bay, and thereby performing a vital social function." The PMs silence probably indicates that his political advisor hasn't yet figured out this framing…
🙄
I'm so glad you're neither an MP nor a staffer or advisor.
You appear to be shitposting for the hell of it. Or maybe you do really believe what you say. In which case, I agree, too much macho, let's put women in charge.
Meanwhile, what Jones and Peters are actually doing is actively and intentionally fomenting racism as a form of promoting populism. At this point in history, that's a precursor to fascism. They are powermongers misusing parliament to gain power.
You are intelligent enough to understand the dynamics at play, which begs the question of why you are shitposting instead of addressing them.
Absolute shame on the Speaker and any other party in parliament that doesn't speak out against this. I don't feel this way often, but I am ashamed of NZ today.
Well, I'm with you on the emotional intelligence side of things. Problem is, democracy didn't incorporate that into its design. I dunno the lingo you are using so can't comment on that really but if it implies satire I can see the point of it.
So I was commenting on the basis of how the system conditions the behaviour of the participants. It is essentially Green: it is a view of ecosystemic relations.
Re Luxon & Speaker, its feasible they are mulling the matter over. If they perceive a relevance for moral stances in parliamentary process, then they have the option of leading on that basis. They both lead in their political roles. If they head down that road, we get guidance and may adjust our views accordingly.
Until then, I can't see how Ricardo can claim to be representing a Green political position on an ethical basis, since he's pretending to complain about racism whilst not providing any evidence for such behaviour in parliament. I prefer that our politicians get it right when they accuse each other of racism & xenophobia, which means acting in accord with standard definitions of those terms. Still, if you were to write an essay quoting those to prove Ricardo was right, I would read it with considerable interest. I do have an open mind…
Agree totally weka about your comments re the post.
But the logic that one man makes an idiotic post means all men are idiots is even dafter. Please don't tar us all with the same brush.
I definitely don't think all men are idiots, not even most
My comment about putting women in charge was a satirical poke at Dennis' comment.
But I do also believe that underneath neoliberal capitalism and colonialism is the patriarchy. That doesn't mean that all men are bad/idiots, but men are afforded more privilege under that system than women, children and the rest of life.
Unfortunately at this time, the threat from that system is existential to all of life. One of the biggest barriers we face is men's unwillingness to give up power.
I also believe that women and men are not only socialised differently, but some of our cultural evolution arises from biology. Hence women, generally, will take care of others more readily, because they are not only used to doing this through pregnancy, birth and childrearing, but it is hardwired into women's bodies to do so.
Again, this doesn't make men bad/wrong. I think the patriarchy has done quite the number on men, taking them out of their inherent abilities and functions as well. The problem is how to restore human societies to something sane. One way would be to cede power to women for a period of time. Women, collectively, will share power, so I'm not talking about a role reversal where women subjugate men.
There is historical evidence for this in indigenous societies, including in NZ. The patriarchy isn't how we've done things for most of human history, it's not inevitable, and we're reaching the end of its tenure. Either we change to egalitarian or we die.
lots of liberals are of the idea that men and women are equal and thus we should no longer talk about difference (imo, this is a neoliberalisation of the feminist struggle for liberation). What I'm saying is we are different and we should take advantage of those differences for the sake of us all.
The X-word is now the new R-word: NZ is xenophobic as fuck. Even though NZ is a nation of migrants, paradoxically.
It’s in the Science System Advisory Group report, chaired by NZ’s foremost ‘honest broker’ and eminent ‘knowledge broker’ who advocates for evidence-based policy-making. So, it must be true.
Who is confident that Brown cares about the pressures on the Health system? Well we should worry about the actions he took to increase risks from transport.
https://newsroom.co.nz/2025/01/30/new-ministers-feeble-track-record-doesnt-bode-well-for-our-health/?utm_source=Newsroom&utm_campaign=26d65c1cec-Daily_Briefing+30.01.2025&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_71de5c4b35-26d65c1cec-95522477&mc_cid=26d65c1cec&mc_eid=88a3081e75
IMO Brown's a hatchet man for the plans Levy and Reti would've been involved in.
The razor gangs appeared to have done plenty of work already culling contracts, nurses funding etc so the stage is set for him and his award winning personality.
He'll wear any criticism as a badge of honour as he blame others as he's already shown he's ace at that.
Simeon Brown might be the perfect man for the job. He can go from fixing potholes to fixing waterpipes.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018972724/leak-causes-water-outage-at-auckland-hospital
Chris Trotter's critique of Sir Geoffrey Palmer's stance on democracy gets to the point.
Establishment elites serve the control system, not the people. Leftists, when I was an angry young man, used the slogan `power to the people'. Then they got into govt & betrayed the people. Trump has discovered that the groundswell of resentment caused by that betrayal is a useful political resource.
The gfc's takedown of the American middle class made enough people into losers that the Republican pretence of caring seemed better than the Democrat lack of remorse. That lack is not due to causal guilt – merely guilt by association. Obama's failure to punish Wall St was deemed a signal of collusion…
Trotter's main dissatisfaction with the political elite of the left is that it won't let him in, hence his pivot to the Free Speech Union, an Atlas-adjacent group that mostly advocates for the economic elite of the right.
Wasn't it Anderton who said "I didn't leave Labour, they left me." Same applies to CT I suspect. I agree it makes the user seem a boomer narcissist tho.
I confess to being puzzled that the the economic elite of the right feel the need for so many think-tanks all the time. Surely with the left propping them up for half a century they ought to be able to stand on their own two feet! It's not as if the left is gonna suddenly oppose capitalism, right?
Wonder no more: https://www.psa.org.nz/our-voice/understanding-atlas-how-a-right-wing-network-is-building-global-influence/
Interesting how the awareness of Atlas and its soft approach to influencing policy is becoming more apparent to a wider audience here.
Not before time!
Especially after that shameful patsy interview Whena Owen did with the head of Atlas for Q+A
Yes, I find it deliciously ironic when Minto is described as a 'professional renta-crowd'. I imagine he has barely scratched a living from his activism; when one of our many rw think tanks, the NZ Initiative, has 9 paid staff. Paid out of the deep pockets of the rich to market their desires for NZ.
I always get the impression that Trotter thinks so highly of himself that he keeps pushing too hard.
https://store.gocomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/midvale-color-product-image-scaled.jpg
Trotter is not champion of radical action in favour of the poor, he opposed a CGT (and presumably estate tax etc) on the grounds his boomer property owning generation would not like it.
Trump provides a vehicle for illiberal impulses, as populist champion of the reactionary and nationalist chauvinism both. All while his actions serve the oligarchy and business class more than any other.
Trotter himself is one here feeding this with his concern about Maori as a threat to democracy, and silence on the issue of the governments reformist radicalism. Hardly in the left wing tradition I would have thought.
Trotter also hates the Greens with a vengeance.
Barbara Edmonds discusses the issues around the Digital Services Tax, which was to be introduced from 1 Jan this year, but which was deferred by Willis. At BHN from 30min.
and at 1 hour talks about what Labour would do to stimulate growth.
Thanks will check out while driving home
Why does the media allow this particular minister to get away with claiming innocence? Chour here reverses the funding cuts she herself ordered OT to make, and then blames them for the distress and disruption.
Do your job, journalists!
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/540373/minister-overrides-oranga-tamariki-decision-to-pull-funding-from-barnardos-helpline
Chhour is one of the many beauticians in the Coalition who carefully manicures and pulls out the selected eye-lash here & there to show off cosmetic prowess and to create an optical illusion in the smoky mirrors that she knows what she’s doing. None of this superficial tinkering can hide the fact that they want to cut & grow and cut & grow and cut & grow, which used to be a hairdresser’s motto in the 70s.
Soon they can shift all the blame on AI, as there won’t be many public servants left to put up with these shambles, or technology infrastructure & support.
Not so easy to set up AI to replace wetware in the public sector, as the UK has found, dropping AI initiatives previously touted by Starmer.
"A great day for New Zealand", said the National MP, Chris Bishop.
Was he describing National's pledges to lower the cost of living, reduce child poverty, increase access to public health or reduce the crime rate?
No he was referring to increasing the speed limit on a stretch of road in the Wairarapa where even his officials have told him will save a whole THREE MINUTES of travelling time.
Three minutes!
Think of all the economic development, productivity gains and confidence that this three minutes saving will bring! – they were all gushing whilst clad in their spotless unused visibility jackets especially brought out for the occasion.
This really is a government that aims low.
http://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/540233/speed-limits-start-going-back-up-full-list-of-roads-announced
Labour did it so we're going to reverse it.
60kms over the Whangamoa hill out of Nelson now 100km. Its ridiculous. Every corner will now need a safe speed warning. All the 80 and 90 km between Nelson and Blenheim now 100km with the resulting competition to pass trucks and renewal of the blood bath of fatalies and serious injury.
I once worked out that a truck travelling from Blenheim to Nelson, a 114 km route, at these higher speeds would save about 16 minutes, but no truck can travel roads at their 90 km/h open road speeds, especially over the Whangamoa saddle, so the time for the trip takes longer.and the consequent time savings are less. There is an appreciable time difference between speed limit times when factors like gradient, cornering and traffic flow are included.
SH2 Featherstone to Masterson is 52km. At 80 km/h will take 39 mins, at 100 km/h will take 31.2 mins and trucks at 90 km/h will take 34.6 mins. The figure of three minutes saved from the Ministry looks sound.
Travelling 50 kms at 90 versus 80 will cost more fuel. The truckers themselves estimate a 10% fuel saving for every 10 km/h drop in speed.
There is also the factor of safety where increased speeds mean more serious injuries sustained in accidents.
The speed reduction on that particular piece of road was truthfully rather stupid because there is only one proper bend on it (at the Tauherenikau Race Course) and it wasn't a particularly dangerous stretch of road as far as accidents go. What was needed was a speed reduction on that short stretch by the racecourse entrance on the corner across the bridge down to 70 km/hr and the rest left at 100 km/hr but somehow nobody thought of that.
But what gets me is how the CoC acts like Peter Pan trumpeting how clever they are for increasing a few speed limits when there are so many more pressing matters they should be tackling, like unemployment, the cost of living, etc…
But I suppose these are rather dullsville for a government that is only interested in how well the rich are faring and the speed fantasies of Ford Ranger drivers.
Locals are ropeable about the stupidity and waste of money resulting from increasing the speed limit from 80 back to 100 on the very windy road to Milford Sound.
This is happening in Australia – the far right is showing it's hand.
Probably not the far-right, I hate to say, but pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel state.
Police are "suggesting" some sort of conspiracy "above" the perpetrators
adam @11
“This is happening in Australia – the far right is showing it's hand.”
tWig @11.1
“Probably not the far-right, I hate to say, but pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel state.”
According to police and Prime Minister Albanese, not far right, or pro-Palestinian left, but paid criminals with no ideological ax to grind.
Who is their paymaster, we may never know. It could be the far right it could be the far left, it could be a false flag. We just don't know.
This MO doesn't fit either the ideologically driven far right, or the ideologically far left who both tend to relish committing their own acts of terror. it is pretty unheard of for either of them to pay someone else to do it on their behalf.
The good news is that it appears that these attacks on Australian synagogues are not home grown. This would be a relief to a lot of Australians.
So who could these 'foreign actors' be?
Having 106 Aussie crims on your payroll takes a bit of dosh.
The list of possible state actors with this much dosh to splash around Down Under and with an interest in doing so, is quite small, it could be Iran, it could be Israel. Israel does have an image problem at the moment and have been trying hard to conflate anti-Zionism, with anti-Semitism. These attacks would play to that narrative.
Or Iran. Swedish authorites said last year that 'the Iranian government had been using criminal networks within Sweden to carry out violent acts against other states, groups and individuals.'
And who may be behind the execution in the last week of a Swedish ex-Iraqi anti-islam campaigner who burnt a Koran.
I suppose it could be Iran, but what could their motive be?
Have any Australians been publicly burning the Koran?
Have there been any attacks on mosques in Australia?
Brenton Tarrant was an Australian.
Maybe the Iranians confused Australia with New Zealand?
Maybe the Iranians couldn't find enough NZ crims prepared to take their money?
False Flag, or Iranian terrorists. We may never find out.
The main thing is we must not let these attacks divide us.