Open mike 01/08/2024

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, August 1st, 2024 - 72 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 …

72 comments on “Open mike 01/08/2024 ”

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  1. Dennis Frank 1
    1 August 2024 at 6:36 am

    God's will looms likely:

    election analyst and statistician Nate Silver still sees former President Donald Trump as the likely favorite. According to Silver's latest election forecast model, Trump has a 61.3 percent chance of winning the Electoral College, while Vice President Kamala Harris' chances stand at 38.1 percent.

    Silver, who gained fame after correctly predicting 49 of 50 states in the 2008 presidential election, published the findings in his newsletter Silver Bulletin on July 30. https://www.newsweek.com/kamala-harris-vs-donald-trump-nate-silver-election-forecast-1932580

    Silver's analysis of national polls puts Harris a mere 0.4 points behind Trump, a narrower gap than Biden managed since the model tracking began in late June. Notably, Harris is securing 44.1 percent of the vote, significantly higher than Biden's previous standing between 40 and 41 percent. Silver's model also gives Harris a 53.5% chance of winning the popular vote compared to Trump's 46.5%.

    And that's despite the spoiler effect of RFK Jr.

    "Roughly speaking, the strategy of the Harris campaign should be to triangulate the strategy of Hillary 2016, the Harris 2020 primary campaign, and Biden 2024, and do the exact opposite," Silver wrote on X.

    Sounds like fun, but the chances of Dems being that clever are too slim to measure.

  2. Dennis Frank 2
    1 August 2024 at 6:47 am

    UK Labour attacks oldies:

    Chancellor Rachel Reeves made a surprise power move Monday as she announced the government would end universal winter fuel payments, axing a benefit to help with energy bills available to all pensioners regardless of income. https://www.politico.eu/article/labour-dare-take-on-britain-uk-boomer-old-people/

    Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner outlined another of Labour’s central pledges Tuesday, fleshing out a plan to build more houses by re-instituting top-down housing targets and freeing up “gray belt” land for construction. It's a move that could rankle well-off older voters who are already comfortably on the property ladder.

    Top-down dominance strategies are done by the left whenever it becomes necessary to out-flank the tories on the right, so no surprise to see the left acting like a bunch of right-wingers, except that one might expect their landslide victory to produce a positive outcome for the electorate. Looks like the party masterminds have decided that inter-generational warfare is what people voted for so they'd best attack boomers fast. Hipkins: "Bugger, I could have thought of that. How come I didn't?"

    • Ad 2.1
      1 August 2024 at 7:14 am

      The oldest and wealthiest don't get taxpayers to pay for their winter air conditioning, and interrupting their views.

      If only someone in NZ started peeling away white Boomer privilege here.

      • Kay 2.1.1
        1 August 2024 at 8:19 am

        Yes, there's something seriously wrong with the system when your deputy PM qualifies for help to pay extortionate heating bills.

        • gsays 2.1.1.1
          1 August 2024 at 8:24 am

          Yep and that thing wrong is having to meet shareholder's greedy expectations of a return.

          Nationalise the power companies. End the corparatising of essential utilities.

          The profit is made manifest by folk being warm in winter.

          • Tiger Mountain 2.1.1.1.1
            1 August 2024 at 10:13 am

            Ironic indeed that a winter energy payment is needed by many older people-previous generations built hydro/geo power infrastructure from citizens taxes.

            A relatively stable and affordable system was high jacked by the creation of an artificial power market for the benefit of private capital.

            Electricity generation and supply should be returned to full public ownership with no compensation unless the bludgers go quietly.

            Obviously the reality of that will be difficult to achieve until there is a strong political movement. But, if such demands are not raised-the fact that power was in public control will go down the memory hole.

            • Descendant Of Smith 2.1.1.1.1.1
              1 August 2024 at 10:22 am

              Borrowing money to pay shareholder dividends so consumers have to pay interest costs is just part of the rip off.

              • tWig …
                1 August 2024 at 11:02 am

                Corporate welfare. Money goes directly into the pockets of shareholders.

                In an RNZ interview last week, electricity retail companies like Electric Kiwi claim they cannot compete against those four sellers who are also the major generators, and who operate their retail trade at a loss, while also shutting down any spend that will expand electricty production.

                'Blincoe said the underlying problem was not a dry year or gas supply issues. "It's a systemic under-build and the market power issues in the wholesale market blocking new investment from new people and new generation. We've got high wholesale prices but that's not attracting new players into generation at any great scale. That tells you something is fundamentally wrong with the market structure."'

                • Obtrectator …
                  1 August 2024 at 11:43 am

                  That tells you something is fundamentally wrong with the market structure.

                  As Tiger implies above at 2.1.1.1.1, there shouldn't be a bloody "market" at all for a fundamental necessity of life like electricity. (Similarly with water.)

                  • tWig …
                    1 August 2024 at 7:09 pm

                    I agree with you there totally about public ownership of utilities. But it's still important to disclose the truth behind the mask of privatised power, which this interview does.

                    And which is more than the Labour government did, although their lake storage project may have been an indirect push In that direction.

                    The RNZ interview also included pointing out the toothlessness of the government body meant to regulate the electricity market.

    • Morrissey 2.2
      1 August 2024 at 8:54 am

      Dennis, how exactly are Starmer and Rayner and the rest of that insalubrious crew "the left"? Anyone in the Labour Party who even expressed a hint of concern for human rights and international law has been purged.

  3. Morrissey 3
    1 August 2024 at 8:49 am

    I listened with horror, but not surprise, yesterday afternoon as RNZ newsreader Marama T-Pole read out, without the slightest demur, what someone had written for her: that Nicolás Maduro had been re-elected "in a disputed election." She then read out, again without the slightest hint of discomfort, that the opposition was demanding verification of the poll results, and there was "widespread international concern" about the result.

    She, and her bosses at RNZ, really need to do some research, and read something independent, authoritative and trustworthy about the situation in Venezuela. But, assuming they're too busy for such tedious and time-consuming activities as reading, perhaps they can spare eight minutes for this excellent overview of the electoral process in Venezuela, and the aggressive (but utterly unsuccessful) attempts by the U.S. regime to destroy it.

    • gsays 3.1
      1 August 2024 at 9:00 am

      Yep.

      Totally irony free, an American expressing concern about a stolen election. Where have I heard that before?

      Nothing in the reportage about US sanctions and other meddling in a foreign democracy.

      Nothing new under the sun.

    • Res Publica 3.2
      1 August 2024 at 10:05 am

      Ahh yes, totally free Venezuela: the one-party state with a President that's ruled by decree since 2015 after a self-coup and where the PSUV somehow wins every single election.

      Sounds like healthy democracy to me. Yup. Definitely nothing sketchy about that at all /s

      • Morrissey 3.2.1
        1 August 2024 at 11:03 am

        What's this "self-coup" you mention?

        By the way, you would benefit from watching that eight-minute report on Breakthrough News. Then one of these days you might like to supplement it with some reading. Serious reading, that is.

        • Res Publica 3.2.1.1
          1 August 2024 at 1:00 pm

          The same Breakthrough News that reported a lie that US sanctions killed 500,000 Iraqi children and has, at best, a mixed reputation for accuracy and fairness in its reporting?

          What's this "self-coup" you mention?

          When the PSUV, after losing their majority in congress in the 2015 elections, appointed a slate of sympathetic supreme court justices that promptly permitted Maduro to "temporarily" rule by decree during an ill-defined "emergency. A state of affairs that has been constantly extended for nearly 10 years now.

          Here's a news report explaining how it went down

          Try as you might to justify it, at best Venezuela is a failed illiberal democracy (with the sole difference to say, Hungary, being economic collapse and an explicitly leftist as opposed to reactionary ideological basis for the regime).

          Or, at worst, it's a good old-fashioned Marxist dictatorship dressed up with a fig-leaf of democracy to maintain a patina of legitimacy.

          Either way, you'd have to be either incredibly cynical or incredibly gullible to treat it as anything but a pariah state that does nothing except give Socialism a bad name while turning millions of its citizens into economic refugees.

          None of that is the USA's choice. It was first Chavez's, now Maduro's.

          I've spent a great deal more than 8 minutes researching and studying the politics of Central and South America and there is very little to separate the current Venezuelan regime from the caudillismo of the 19th and early 20th centuries.

          You could probably teleport Maduro back to 1890 and find him happily playing the caudillo with exactly the same politics and techniques he's employing today.

          • Morrissey 3.2.1.1.1
            1 August 2024 at 1:45 pm

            Here’s a news report…

            That’s a piece of absurd propaganda from Bloomberg, which has as much credibility as the failing New York Times or the flailing WaPo.

            None of that is the USA's choice…

            !!? The (failed) coup of 2002, the hilarious black comedy of the (failed) attempt to foist the bizarre marionette Guaidó on the Venezuelan people, and the (failed) attempt to take over the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington D.C. —none of that was the USA's choice either, was it?

            And, just as a matter of interest, what did Breakthrough News, and every other outlet, get wrong about the murderous sanctions imposed on Iraq? Madeleine Albright said the half a million dead Iraqi children was a price worth paying; even the perpetrators admit it. But not you. I find that … interesting.

            • Res Publica 3.2.1.1.1.1
              1 August 2024 at 2:10 pm

              If Bloomberg isn't to your taste, how about the noted fascists at human rights watch?

              And, just as a matter of interest, what did Breakthrough News, and every other outlet, get wrong about the murderous sanctions imposed on Iraq?

              The fact that it is very, VERY unlikely that anyone can attribute 500,000 additional deaths to the sanctions alone and that the number was based on spurious data that was rescinded in 2017.

              even the perpetrators admit it. But not you. I find that … interesting.

              I find your constant exercises in apologetics for brutal, repressive regimes incredibly boring, thoroughly stupid, and absolutely inimical to the values we hold dear as New Zealanders and believers in human rights and democracy.

              But please, don't let small details like easily provable and verifiable facts get in the way of your "analysis"

              • Morrissey …
                1 August 2024 at 3:01 pm

                If Bloomberg isn't to your taste….

                It's not a question of "taste." That's banal. Bloomberg, like the New York Times and the other corporate/establishment media machines, is a conduit for the intelligence services and for whatever administration is in power. Your commendation of Bloomberg, and your contemptuous, though evidence-free, dismissal of a rigorous and respected journalistic site is instructive.

                Your apparent enthusiasm for Human Rights Watch is also instructive. I'm sure you know–or don't you?—that HRW is an arm of the State Department, and that Kenneth Roth lined up resolutely with the Washington regime's support of Al Nusra and other Wahhabist terror groups in Syria. You will also be aware that Roth has been, and continues to be, an avid proponent of the ridiculous Russiagate conspiracy theory.

                It's been more than twenty years since Roth did anything worthwhile, namely the publication of The Torture Papers. Since then, he’s made sure to align himself closely to the ideological and propaganda line of the Washington political class. He and HRW would have been traduced and persecuted like Julian Assange and Wikileaks if he had done anything other than that.

                I find your constant exercises in apologetics for brutal, repressive regimes incredibly boring…

                ? Such as? Again, one piece of evidence to support your charges would be appreciated,

                • Res Publica …
                  1 August 2024 at 3:04 pm

                  ? Such as? Again, one piece of evidence to support your charges would be appreciated,

                  And some to support yours wouldn't be amiss either.

                  I note that rather than engage in any kind of debate about the actual argument, you are choosing to whine about sources.

                  Seems like you are happy cherry-picking them when it suits and shitting over other people's when they don't conform with your worldview.

                  • Morrissey …
                    1 August 2024 at 5:33 pm

                    Your foul turn of phrase carries as much weight as your citing of such discredited sources as Bloomberg and State Dept. cutouts like Human Rights Watch.

          • Subliminal 3.2.1.1.2
            1 August 2024 at 5:09 pm

            Thats a great rewrite of history. Madeline Albright as Secretary of State, when asked about the dead half million Iraqi babies and children due to sanctions, didn't say "the data is dodgy" or equivocate in any way. She said that the price of the sanctions – half a million dead babies and children – was "worth it"

            We are witnessing in Gaza another demonstration of the catastrophe that targeting water has on the lives of children.

            In Iraq, water was one large target of the sanctions. This is documented and if some were in disbelief that the US would do this, Gaza will have changed many minds.

            Over the last two years, I've discovered documents of the Defense Intelligence Agency proving beyond a doubt that, contrary to the Geneva Convention, the U.S. government intentionally used sanctions against Iraq to degrade the country's water supply after the Gulf War. The United States knew the cost that civilian Iraqis, mostly children, would pay, and it went ahead anyway.

            The primary document, "Iraq Water Treatment Vulnerabilities,"[1] is dated January 22, 1991. It spells out how sanctions will prevent Iraq from supplying clean water to its citizens.

            "Iraq depends on importing specialized equipment and some chemicals to purify its water supply, most of which is heavily mineralized and frequently brackish to saline," the document states.

            “With no domestic sources of both water treatment replacement parts and some essential chemicals, Iraq will continue attempts to circumvent United Nations Sanctions to import these vital commodities. Failing to secure supplies will result in a shortage of pure drinking water for much of the population. This could lead to increased incidences, if not epidemics, of disease.”

            The document goes into great technical detail about the sources and quality of Iraq's water supply. The quality of untreated water "generally is poor," and drinking such water "could result in diarrhea," the document says. It notes that Iraq's rivers "contain biological materials, pollutants, and are laden with bacteria. Unless the water is purified with chlorine, epidemics of such diseases as cholera, hepatitis, and typhoid could occur."

            The document notes that the importation of chlorine "has been embargoed" by sanctions. "Recent reports indicate the chlorine supply is critically low."

            Food and medicine will also be affected, the document states. "Food processing, electronic, and, particularly, pharmaceutical plants require extremely pure water that is free from biological contaminants," it says.

            • Res Publica 3.2.1.1.2.2
              1 August 2024 at 5:30 pm

              Thats a great rewrite of history. Madeline Albright as Secretary of State, when asked about the dead half million Iraqi babies and children due to sanctions, didn't say "the data is dodgy" or equivocate in any way. She said that the price of the sanctions – half a million dead babies and children – was "worth it"

              Less of a rewrite, more of an observation based on a pretty rigorous analysis by academics to validate a very bold claim in light of its reappearance during the Iraq war hearings.

              That said, Madeline Albright was a ruthless, stonehearted, and generally shitty human being whose approach to foreign policy was the catalyst for a whole bunch of problems that have come back to bite us later- particularly in the Middle East.

              The document notes that the importation of chlorine "has been embargoed" by sanctions. "Recent reports indicate the chlorine supply is critically low.

              Which sounded sensible due to Saddam Hussein's willingness to build, stockpile, and use chemical weapons. Mainly on Iranians (which was acceptable to the US at the time) and then later his own people (which was not).

              If sanctions weren't an acceptable way of dealing with an Iraqi regime that I think we can all agree was an awful dictatorship led by a psychopath, what would you have done? Invaded? Politely asked Saddam to maybe not commit egregious war crimes?

              • Morrissey …
                1 August 2024 at 5:38 pm

                what would you have done? Invaded? Politely asked Saddam to maybe not commit egregious war crimes?

                The best decision would have been to not sponsor his crimes throughout the 1980s, and not to diplomatically protect him.

                Destroying Iraq, and millions of its people, and destabilising the entire region for generations is all that the U.S. and U.K. have achieved.

    • Bearded Git 3.3
      1 August 2024 at 10:54 am

      Around a third of the Venezuelan population has left since Maduro got elected. I met some of them working in cafes in Colombia in 2019.

      But of course they fled not because of Maduro but because of the state of the economy which was being wrecked on purpose through boycotts and propaganda by the USA and its sycophant allies.

      If the USA and allies were trying to help the Venezuelan oil industry(the world's highest reserves) and trading freely with other Venezuelan industries, the economy would be in much better shape (though not the world's climate).

      • Res Publica 3.3.1
        1 August 2024 at 1:06 pm

        An interesting point, Bearded Git.

        Are you seriously trying to argue that US somehow has some kind of moral responsibility to prop up the economy of a glorified dictatorship that regularly (and proudly) likes to burnish its anti-American credentials?

        I don't think foreign policy works that way.

        My suspicion is that after nearly 20 years of fucking around with illiberal democracy, corruption, and economic mismanagement while blaming the US for all of its ills, the Venezuelan regime is now deep in the stage of finding out.

        • Bearded Git 3.3.1.1
          1 August 2024 at 2:22 pm

          Did you watch the video from Morrissey above Res?

          There has to be proof that an election is stolen…..not CIA blather….or did you support Trump and his mates storming the capitol on January 6th 2021?

          • Res Publica 3.3.1.1.1
            1 August 2024 at 2:29 pm

            Did you watch the video from Morrissey above Res?

            Yup. Dipped out when they started indulging in conspiracy theories and blathering on about US intentions vis a vis Venezuela's oil reserves.

            American interference and sanctions or no, the Maduro regime is morally indefensible, corrupt, illegitimate, and anti-democratic. And no matter how much vaccuous whataboutery you throw out to try and justify your support for it, that fact will not change.

            • adam 3.3.1.1.1.1
              1 August 2024 at 2:54 pm

              But you get that the opposition in Venezuela are just as morally indefensible, corrupt, illegitimate, and anti-democratic.

              It's bullshit all round, with the US making a shit situation much worse.

              • Res Publica …
                1 August 2024 at 3:20 pm

                Of course it's bullshit!

                But that doesn't mean Maduro should be able to wriggle out of accountability for the brutality or incompetence of his regime. Or shouldn't be treated like the dictator he is.

                If you think he's the least bad option, then say so. There's perhaps a legitimate discussion to be had about that.

                But don't pretend that he's a martyr or a Latin American Mossadegh at risk of a CIA plot to seize Venezuela's oil. He's more like the dictator you ordered from Wish. All of the bombast and brutality. None of the competence.

                • adam …
                  1 August 2024 at 11:18 pm

                  I ascribed bullshit to the Yanks, and the utter bullshit to the opposition and their track history.

                  I never said that United Socialist Party of Venezuela was gloriously good or anything else you ascribed to me. That said, they have a better way of bribing the people. Which does not include killing them.

                  If that is your standard for least bad – I can live with that.

                  So end sanctions. Offer people a choice. Dictators are just wankers we have not toppled yet. This sanction BS, just makes them stronger – look at the fuckwit putin.

                  I'm a democrat mate, more democracy not less. And that includes in Venezuela.

                  Because you have to be honest with yourself – the sad reality is the right in Venezuela are deeply anti-democratic, murderous and are totally self absorbed. How does that help anyone, but the greedy?

        • Subliminal 3.3.1.2
          1 August 2024 at 5:57 pm

          All good. Just checking on your humanity. I dont really have much to say to people who can justify using food and water as weapons to provoke regime change. Even on the score card of efficiency it fails to deliver.

          Given a choice between a report by Unicef and one by the London School of Economics, I'll go with Unicef.

          From UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq, Hans von Sponeck:

          “During the time of the sanctions, the Iraqi population fell victim to a sharp increase in malnutrition, especially child malnutrition – with one out of five children under 5 in Central or Southern Iraq”

          Thats about when stick figure baby photos started appearing in the media. Malnourished to the point of starving. Worth it? I think not

          • Res Publica 3.3.1.2.1
            2 August 2024 at 12:05 am

            You could look at it another way: Saddam Hussein could have had the sanctions lifted at any time by complying with the UNs requests.

            Instead he chose to allow huge numbers of his own people to die.

            If we are talking about assigning moral culpability, lets not forget that the Iraqi government weren't just innocent bystanders. They had agency.

            • Subliminal 3.3.1.2.1.1
              2 August 2024 at 5:26 pm

              Oh right. And if he doesnt comply you commit atrocities orders of magnitude greater against the people you purport to be "saving". Do you ever stop to listen to the verbal diarrhoea you spout?

              The only reason you are "concerned" about Iraq is to exert Western colonial control over a population that you believe to be morally inferior and incapable of "learning" without a little bit of "tough love". I mean, apart fom the starving and forced use of impure water, you really only want the best for them, eh?

  4. lprent 4
    1 August 2024 at 9:04 am

    The search function is working at the backend. However it looks like there is an generic issue with how properties on objects are being accessed for display in later versions of PHP. Possibly due to the plugin issue. I can see the same problem elsewhere, but worked around it.

    I will be be shifting the PHP version downwards from 8.3->8.2->8.1->8.0 and maybe back to 7.4 until I find where and when the issue surfaced.

    I couldn't see it on a clean test setup, with just the search which indicates it is probably a obsolete plugin interfering, so I will have to do this the wrong way….

    Disruption will be minimal. But it will be interesting running up to 5 PHP versions in side-by-side. php-fpm makes that pretty easy.

    PHP and web is a complete sideline for my usual coding which is usually c++ on small embedded, across networks, and on over sized servers. Web work is always so damn fiddly and not standards driven… /sigh

  5. Georgecom 5
    1 August 2024 at 9:53 am

    I put in a submission yesterday on the national-act govts woeful climate change 'plan'/pamphlet. Not too late for others to make a submission to try and stop our planet cooking

  6. ianmac 6
    1 August 2024 at 10:14 am

    A friend cheerfully claimed that those Maori are trying to take over "possession" of seashores thus blocking access for non Maori.

    Have any "repossessions" so far blocked access. (I tried asking Mr Google but he didn't know either, or I asked the wrong questions.)

    • Dennis Frank 7.1
      1 August 2024 at 1:05 pm

      Cultural aversion to brown has been a thing since the early 1970s. I think its due to the counterculture being earthy so mainstreamers headed into glam rock instead. Trump's denial of brown seems a tad diffident though, as if he senses there's something out there other than black & white yet can't quite see it when he looks at her face.

  8. Jenny 8
    1 August 2024 at 11:31 am

    Sudan



    ….99% of Sudan's gold is exported to the United Arab Emirates…..

    The Al Gunade Gold company run by Hemedti's family has become a vast conglomerate covering gold, transport, and construction. But the UAE and Hemedti's relationship went well beyond just gold. In 2015 the UAE struck a deal with Hemedti to send RSF soldiers to fight in the Saudi-Emirates war on the Houthis in Yemen…..

    ….the major player in the Sudan civil war, is the United Arab Emirates, who have been using their vast wealth to influence regional politics.

    …..Hemedti keeps the gold flowing out of Sudan and into Dubai – both Hemedti and the UAE and their customers want that gold to keep flowing……

    …UAE cargo planes began Landing in Amdjarass a tiny oasis town close to Chad's border with Sudan. Cargo planes from the Emirates have been Landing there on a near daily basis since June 2023, when the records of these flights were publicly leaked.,,,

    ,,,,,,weapons are flown into this air strip and then are driven to Zurruq, the main RSF base.

    In North Darfur, Hemedti's fighters have used Emirates supplied anti-tank missiles to target army bases in Khartoum.

    In February of 2024 a leaked document confirmed that 100 RSF soldiers were flown to the UAE for training on drones and tanks.

    The UAE due to its support and arming of the RSF is complicit in the genocide in Darfur, and any of its allies, such as Saudi Arabia and the US, who continue to support it, are also complicit.

    Gaza

    In an obvious counter to the Chinese initiative for forming a post-war unity government chosen by the Palestinian people.
    The US and Israel met together secretly with their Arab ally the UAE, to formulate their plan on how the Palestinians should be ruled after the war.
    In contrast to the Chinese initiative, no representatives of the Palestinian people were involved in this secret meeting on how they are to be ruled.

    The US, Israel, UAE plan is for the appointment, (not election) of a Prime Minister to rule Gaza and the Westbank, backed by UAE armed forces.

    TIMES OF ISRAEL Israel at War – Day 296

    Israel, US, UAE said to have held secret Abu Dhabi meeting on Gaza postwar plan

    Axios reports proposal similar to that presented by Gallant in January, after senior UAE official signaled Abu Dhabi could contribute troops to a peacekeeping force

    By TOI STAFF 23 July 2024, 4:11 pm

    https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-us-uae-said-to-have-held-secret-abu-dhabi-meeting-on-gaza-postwar-plan/

    ……Two Israeli officials told the Axios news site that the Thursday discussions were hosted by UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed and attended by Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and US President Joe Biden’s Mideast envoy Brett McGurk.

    According to the report, two senior Israeli officials who had been involved in the formulation of plans for the Strip after the war were also in attendance…..

    …..The day before the American, Emirati and Israeli officials met, a senior UAE official signaled that Abu Dhabi was prepared to contribute troops to a postwar peacekeeping force in Gaza, making it the first Arab country to publicly buy into the effort being quietly advanced by the Biden administration…..

    ……Arab states have been reluctant to publicly express their willingness to take part in the initiative, not wanting to be seen as betraying the Palestinian people.

    An autocratic state that has been complicit in genocide in Sudan and supplies RSF mercenary forces to fight in Yemen is being tipped by the US and Israel to occupy Gaza after the war?

    This plan is just so off the wall, that I doubt it will ever be realised.

    • Res Publica 8.1
      1 August 2024 at 1:12 pm

      The US, Israel, UAE plan is for the appointment, (not election) of a Prime Minister to rule Gaza and the Westbank, backed by UAE armed forces.

      Interesting if true.

      The biggest mistake the US ever made in Palestine was the Bush II administration forcing an election in Gaza which led to Hamas taking power in the first place.

      And even now, there's probably a significant risk of them winning any election either in either the West Bank, or a unified Palestine. Or immediately starting a civil war if they don't.

      Which, given that they are generally and internationally recognized as a terrorist organization, poses something of a problem.

      • Bearded Git 8.1.1
        1 August 2024 at 2:27 pm

        In my eyes the Israelis are terrorists.

      • Jenny 8.1.2
        1 August 2024 at 3:08 pm

        Res Publica8.1

        1 August 2024 at 1:12 pm

        The US, Israel, UAE plan is for the appointment, (not election) of a Prime Minister to rule Gaza and the Westbank, backed by UAE armed forces.

        Interesting if true.

        a senior UAE official signaled that Abu Dhabi was prepared to contribute troops to a postwar peacekeeping force in Gaza,

        TIMES OF ISRAEL

        Bear in mind that the troops that Abu Dhabi contributed to the war in Yemen were RSF mercenaries, accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
        You couldn't get a more brutal force to put in charge of Gaza

        The US government announced a so-called “atrocities determination” in December 2023, concluding that the RSF and allied militias are responsible for crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing in West Darfur.

        It also imposed asset freezes on Abel Raheem Hamdan Dagalo, the RSF deputy commander and brother of RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, [Hemedti], in addition to imposing visa restrictions on Abdul Rahman Joma’a, RSF commander for West Darfur state.

        https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/05/09/qa-war-crimes-crimes-against-humanity-ethnic-cleansing-west-darfur#:

        • Res Publica 8.1.2.1
          1 August 2024 at 3:33 pm

          Agreed.

          The UAE are not, as a general rule, the good guys when it comes to respecting human rights. And the only reason the West tolerates them is they offer a slightly more rational (read mercenary) alternative between the nutcase Wahabism of the Saudis and the rabid fundamentalism of Iran.

          But, if we're going to be realistic, there's definitely going to need to be some kind of peacekeeping force on the ground in Palestine once there's a peace deal. And it would be helpful for that force to include at least one Muslim state.

          But there are precious few that would be mutually acceptable for both Israel and the Palestinians, as well as having the capacity and will to do. So, the UAE, bastards as they are, may be the best of a bunch of really bad options.

          • lprent 8.1.2.1.1
            1 August 2024 at 4:39 pm

            But, if we’re going to be realistic, there’s definitely going to need to be some kind of peacekeeping force on the ground in Palestine once there’s a peace deal.

            Yes. West Bank as well as Gaza. Israel has been the worst kind of occupying power. Unburdened by ensuring legal rights or any significiant level of ethics, they will be required to assist Israel relocating their unlawful settlements throughout the whole of the occupied West Bank.

            Both areas will need missile anti-air defences because Israel isn’t notable for respecting borders. Also soem naval assets to make sure that Israel doesn’t try to reinstate the sea blockade especially while Gaza rebuilds.

            It has been more than 50 years since the Yom Kippur war which was the last time that a army came over the border. The rest of the time it has been insurrectionists from the refugees that Israel ethnically cleansed back in 1948. Time to protect them from further military persecutions and land theft from Israeli.

            I’d suggest Jordan as well.

            • Res Publica 8.1.2.1.1.1
              1 August 2024 at 4:57 pm

              That's the issue with any two state solution.

              Guaranteeing security is going to be next to impossible and this has dragged on so long there really aren't any true neutrals to facilitate it.

              Add to that the logistical difficulty of unwinding 50 years of illegal Israeli occupation and settlement and it's a recipe for disaster just waiting to happen. Up to and including civil war in Israel and/or Palestine as I can't imagine the hardliners on either side being content with any peace process.

              Jordan may be an option as a Muslim partner though. Got its beef with the Israelis too be sure, but reasonably moderate (for a fundamentalist autocracy). I also believe it has a small but reasonably modern and capable army that could provide a solid core for any peacekeeping force.

              • lprent …
                2 August 2024 at 12:04 am

                Jordan has the advantage that it is just over the border. Gave up its 'rights' to the West Bank as part of their peace treaty, specifically for the Palestinian state.

                They will need support and Jordan would probably be a suitable rear echelon base area. They are good friends with US, UK, France… I wouldn't mind us and the aussies sending troops over there as well. But only if we are able to shoot rather than being 'peacekeepers'.

                Army could use the deployment to retain edge.

              • Bearded Git …
                2 August 2024 at 10:59 am

                All the illegal settlements on the occupied West Bank will have to be given to Palestinians, preferably used to resettle displaced Gazans. The half million illegal Israeli settlers will have to move back to Israel. All IDF will have to leave the occupied West Bank and Gaza.

                A wide internationally recognised Palestine owned and ruled corridor between Gaza and the West Bank parts of the new Palestine will be necessary.

  9. tWig 9
    1 August 2024 at 11:52 am

    Five minutes on Big Hairy News (from 47 min) on the $216 tax cut given to Phillip Morris for its heated tobacco products. A huge corporate welfare handout to a company that will make health outcomes worse.

  10. gsays 10
    1 August 2024 at 12:44 pm

    Ahh, they've got someone to blame.

    One of the beautiful things about sub-contracting, you avoid responsibility.

    An engineer's version of the junior staff member.

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350363043/sandblasting-distraction-took-supervisors-eye-uncertified-worker-who-undid-power

    I'm willing to wager, the poor chap that is carrying the can for this, wasn't on a living wage. The well remunerated are in the clear.

  11. Jimmy 11
    1 August 2024 at 2:31 pm

    Good news for us PAYE earners today. From today we all get to keep a bit more of our hard earned income. It has been 14 years since tax brackets adjusted for inflation, so it is long overdue.

    • adam 11.1
      1 August 2024 at 2:43 pm

      And yet local body rates are up at least 9%, there is a increased government levy on power. Increased charges on cars registration. Try getting a doctors appointment in less than a month. Real inflation is still over 5% and wages have been forced down.

      And yet tools like Jimmy think the extra 20 bucks most people will get, will make a fucking huge difference.

      Get a grip on reality mate.

    • tWig 11.2
      1 August 2024 at 7:22 pm

      A statement straight from the Coalition PR aoparatus, Jimmy. Even MSM have given up reporting on this months ago.

      Comment from BHN over the tax cuts: give with one hand, take away more with the other.

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