Open mike 23/11/2024

Written By: - Date published: 6:00 am, November 23rd, 2024 - 26 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 …

26 comments on “Open mike 23/11/2024 ”

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  1. Dennis Frank 1
    23 November 2024 at 9:45 am

    The next TV1 poll ought to give us a preliminary indication of whether the ACT chihuahua's marketing campaign appeals to Nat supporters or not. This Green voter is gung ho re that potential: https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2024/11/22/why-act-will-hit-double-digits-in-2026-election-and-why-its-an-existential-crisis-for-national/

    His sociological analysis of the ACT supporters uses a tetrad:

    1. Rich landowning urban white Christians who don’t like Māori political aspirations but enjoy the aesthetics of the culture to not feel so white. The kids are totally in private schools and their names are ‘Apple’ and ‘Bruschetta’. Most aren’t sure what a Libertarian is.

    2. Chinese and Indian Migrants who don’t understand why poor people and the Māoris get welfare. These small business owners lust for political influence and see National Party local events as a chance to work business contacts while demanding to know why New Zealand can’t have the death penalty like they do back home.

    3. [Those] who complain about Te Reo in the Weather report on TVNZ. They live in the South Island and believe the solution to every problem is ‘More Cows’.

    4. Edgelord Culture War Boomers voting for ACT because of shrill definitions of sovereignty and democracy. Like Chris Trotter at a dinner party no one wants to be at.

    I don't know any ACT supporters but readers who do can have fun filing them into these categories. Meanwhile, I'll predict that all 4 sub-tribes are incapable of grasping Seymour's alt-principles but will support him regardless – but the ACT poll ratings will struggle to achieve double figures again. My logic is simple: Lux does complacency just as easily as Hipkins, whereas Seymour is a change advocate. The legendary kiwi complacency will defeat him. Too many think the Nat/Lab duo are just like them.

  2. Dennis Frank 2
    23 November 2024 at 10:06 am

    Toby Manhire draws a parallel between Aotearoa & Germany:

    Just look at Germany – the prototype for our own proportional system, where the “traffic light coalition”, the country’s first three-party coalition in more than 60 years, has just collapsed, triggering an early election to be held next February. No doubt David Seymour will be keeping an eye on developments in his downtime: the German government came a cropper after the free-market Free Democratic Party balked at what it saw as a leftward budget. The FDP is of special interest to Seymour – he was so impressed with them when trying to rebuild the Act Party that he borrowed everything from ideas to the colour strip.

    https://thespinoff.co.nz/politics/22-11-2024/this-week-three-parties-stood-together-can-they-withstand-the-storm-to-come

    Biodiversity prevails in the German political situation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_2025_German_federal_election – so deal-making between parties is more imperative than here. The Greens have dropped 4 points in the past year despite having 2 cabinet ministers.

    Toby makes an interesting point though:

    Any shot Labour might have of restricting Luxon’s government to a single term will surely be dependent on forming a government with TPM support, as well as the Greens. Expect Hipkins – should he lead Labour into the election – to spend a lot of time talking about the Greens, and even more about Te Pāti Māori. Is withdrawal from the Five Eyes alliance a bottom line? Is the establishment of a Māori parliament? Does he go along with the latest example of histrionic rhetoric?

    Well, his & Labour's default is to ignore anything contentious (on the basis that ignorance is bliss) so we can expect him to equivocate and evade until its too late.

  3. SPC 3
    23 November 2024 at 2:29 pm

    After their defeat to New Zealand, India is at risk of missing out of a place in the Test championship for the first time.

    Australia now ranked number one stands in their way.

    Fortunately for them the best opener in Oz, is not wearing the baggy green any longer, because DW and SS had him carry the yellow under arm badge of lack of courage onto a South African cricket ground.

    The sound of the red ball on willow not heard during a test match in Perth.

  4. Jenny 4
    23 November 2024 at 2:42 pm

    Major European Union States, The Netherlands, Spain, Ireland, Belgium, Italy, Austria, as well as the EU itself , as well as Major Commonwealth countries the UK and Canada say that they will abide by the judgement of the ICC and will arrest the Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Galant, for them to stand trial in the Hague for war crimes committed against the civilian population of Gaza, that is if either of them set foot in their countries.

    The New Zealand government has not, unlike many other Rome Statute countries governments, yet released a statement on this country's position on the ICC judgement.

    But New Zealand is also a signatory to the Rome Statute and as such is legally bound to act on the arrest warrants issued by the ICC for the arrest of Netanyahu and Galant in the unlikely event that they ever set foot in this country.

    Though the Israeli Prime Minister and former Defence Minister are unlikely to visit this country, many lower ranked IDF soldiers are likely to, and do, visit this country on a regular basis.

    The legal precedent has been set, the floodgates are about to be opened. The many hundreds of IDF soldiers that have been identified as having committed war crimes in Gaza will inevitably have individual arrest warrants issued against them by the ICC.

    As a signatory to the Rome Statute. Any citizen of, or visitor to, this country that can be identified as linked to committing war crimes, and with a warrant issued for their arrest issued by the ICC, must by law be detained by the New Zealand authorities and handed over to the ICC to stand trial in the Hague.

    Al Jazeera Investigates:

    This feature length investigation by Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit exposes Israeli war crimes in the Gaza Strip through the medium of photos and videos posted online by Israeli soldiers themselves during the year long conflict. The I-Unit has built up a database of thousands of videos, photos and social media posts. Where possible it has identified the posters and those who appear. The material reveals a range of illegal activities, from wanton destruction and looting to the demolition of entire neighbourhoods and murder…..

  5. joe90 5
    23 November 2024 at 2:57 pm

    RIP Alice.

    https://theberkshireedge.com/alice-brock-of-alices-restaurant-dies/

    edit:
    Boston Globe

    51 things about Arlo Guthrie’s ‘Alice’s Restaurant’

    https://archive.li/6nOv5

    • Jenny 5.1
      23 November 2024 at 3:08 pm

      ‘
      Question Time in the House

      Question for Answer:

      Q: Can the Minister confirm, that in the unlikely event that the Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israel Minister of Defence Yoav Galant enter this country, that they will be arrested by the proper authorities and handed over to the ICC to stand trial in the Hague as required by our international obligations and legal commitments?

      Yes or No?

      A: Yes.

      Supplementary Question for Answer:

      Q: Can the Minister confirm, that any citizen of, or visitor to, this country that can be identified as linked to committing war crimes, and with a warrant issued for their arrest issued by the ICC, will be detained by the New Zealand authorities and handed over to the ICC to stand trial in the Hague?

      Yes or No?

      A: (…….) ?

      • alwyn 5.1.1
        23 November 2024 at 7:24 pm

        Is it too hard to provide a link to Hansard for when that question was asked, and answered?

        • aj 5.1.1.1
          23 November 2024 at 7:55 pm

          I think that is a suggestion, hasn't happened yet.

          • Jenny 5.1.1.1.1
            24 November 2024 at 4:46 am

            Correctamundo

            • alwyn 5.1.1.1.1.1
              24 November 2024 at 10:11 am

              That is fine, but if you are posting a suggestion for a question that you think should be asked I think you should make that clear.

              The way the comment is posted make it look like a quote from Hansard, which is apparently not the case.

              • Jenny …
                24 November 2024 at 4:17 pm

                My apologies for any confusion caused.

                I did leave the last answer void to indicate that it is a hypothetical. This is the question I would like an answer to.

                Anyone who has spent any time walking New Zealand's world famous walking tracks will have encountered a proportionally high number of Israeli hikers. In conversations with them it always struck me how they glibly talk how much they enjoy their overseas holidays, when they must know that most Palestinians in Gaza are trapped in the enclave and cannot leave even for a holiday, or if they can leave are never certain that they will be allowed back.

                How many of these Israeli tourists are IDF enjoying their furlough away from the killing fields of Gaza?

                How many of them, if any, have been identified as involved in committing war crimes?

                Someone knows.

                Tracking international criminals and suspects entering the country is one of the thngs we have an Intelligence Service for

                No Exit in Gaza

                Left With No Other Options, Residents Should Have a Right to Flee

                Published in: The Hill

                Bill Frelick

                Director, Refugee and Migrant Rights Division

                https://www.hrw.org › news › 2024/04/01 › no-exit-gaza

                1 Apr 2024 — When all other human rights are denied, the right to flee is the last remaining option…..

                ……Israeli authorities have continued to block Palestinians in Gaza from fleeing into neighboring Israel to seek even temporary refuge from the hostilities, in violation of international law.

                Neighboring Egypt’s borders are mostly closed, too. Only a relatively few Gaza residents have been allowed to enter Egypt through the Rafah crossing, including foreign passport holders, the wounded and their companions, and some who have paid exorbitant sums to flee via Egypt….

                [even those few exceptions for leaving have been closed off by Israel. after the IDF violently seized control of the Rafah Crossing, killing an Egyptian soldier in the process] …

                …..But what about Palestinians in Gaza who feel their only chance to survive is to leave Gaza? How much longer can Israel and Egypt block desperate people from fleeing?

                • alwyn …
                  24 November 2024 at 5:41 pm

                  Thank you for the response. When I read the comment I thought they were very good questions and I had a look at Hansard to see who put them forward and who had answered them.

                  I certainly would love to see them put, and answered.

                  It would have saved me a search if I had known that they were, at least to date, only hypothetical ones. Maybe someone from the Green Party might pick them up. I don't think anyone else will be allowed to.

        • Jenny 5.1.1.2
          24 November 2024 at 7:42 am

          It hasn't been asked.

          In the wake of the ICC decision. It seemed to me to be a rational and timely question to put to the government.

          Maybe the opposition MPs are scared to ask it, in fear of being labeled anti-Semitic.

          Behind the anti-Semitic slur

          One genocide being used to condone another.

          Netanyahu called the United Nations General Assembly anti-Semitic for calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.

          https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/netanyahu-un-israel-antisemitism-gaza-lebanon-hezbollah-rcna172977

          Netanyahu calls the ICC anti-Semitic for indicting him for war crimes being committed in Gaza.

          https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2024/nov/21/netanyahu-calls-icc-arrest-warrant-antisemitic-video

          Israeli Mayor called the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Museum in Poland Anti-Semitic for criticising him for saying Gaza should become like Auschwitz is now.

          https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-genocidal-statements

          Calling the whole world anti-Semitic, devalues the crime of anti-Semitism, Devaluing the crime of Anti-Semitism emboldens the real anti-Semites

          Our MPs owe it to the victims fo the Holocaust and the victims of the genocide in Gaza to stand up to the bullies who try to conflate opposition to genocide to Anti-Semitism.

          Judith Butler – Boston Review, December 13, 2023

          ……The charge of anti-Semitism has been instrumentalized to shut down speech in ways that should be acutely alarming for anyone who cares not only about free speech in the public domain, but academic freedom on college campuses. When even calls for ceasefire are considered anti-Semitic, only those who support Israel’s annihilationist war against the Palestinian people in Gaza are exonerated of the charge….

          The suppression of pro-Palestinian voices is not fighting anti-Semitism because there is nothing anti-Semitic about opposing genocide.

          • Lela Tolajian

            Lela Tolajian

            Al Jazeera 4 Feb 2024

            On December 5, 2023, I joined fellow Jewish university students outside the United States Congress to protest against a resolution conflating criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism. Our calls to reject the resolution were not heard. Two weeks earlier, a hearing was held where our concerns were yet again ignored; only pro-Israeli witnesses were called to testify.

            To us, progressive Jews, it appears elected officials who proudly stood by former President Donald Trump after he refused to condemn neo-Nazis and dined with anti-Semites value our voices only when they can tokenise a select few to fulfil their political goals…..

  6. Barfly 6
    23 November 2024 at 5:58 pm
    • Idiots all around me

    https://www.stuff.co.nz/nz-news/350321622/todays-news-chat-vote-quiz-and-share-your-views

    30% think the gang patch ban will reduce crime laugh what a bunch of morons

    • Incognito 6.1
      23 November 2024 at 6:05 pm

      The CoC allows guns but bans patches. Geniuses.

    • Jenny 6.2
      24 November 2024 at 8:18 am

      ‘
      Wedge Politics

      Noun

      1. A strategy or pattern of behavior by a politician, political party, or advocacy group which is intended to have a divisive effect on one's political opponents or on the electorate especially by emphasizing an issue which polarizes opinion…..

      The thin edge of the Wedge?

      Should we tolerate banning gang members from wearing a patch, because some gang members commit crimes?

      Would we tolerate banning women of Islamic faith from wearing a Hijab, because some Muslims commit acts of terrorism?

      Would we tolerate banning nuns of Catholic faith from wearing a whimple, because some Catholic clergy have abused children?

      The success of Wedge Politics:

      Would any opposition party dare promise to reverse the patch ban?

      Right Wing Wedge Politics – 1

      Liberal Democracy – zero

  7. SPC 7
    23 November 2024 at 6:01 pm

    Juice Media provide the "honest with one voice" welcome to Trump on his election victory.

  8. SPC 8
    23 November 2024 at 7:49 pm

    The resource in play in Ukraine, Russia diversifying away from dependence on oil and gas is lithium (battery).

    https://www.renewablematter.eu/en/ukraine-all-lithium-reserves-and-mineral-resources-in-war-zones

    Key locations.

    Figure 2

    Consequently, as CBC News senior defense writer Murray Brewster recently argued, the war’s ending “has the potential to secure either Ukraine or Russia’s economic future for the next century.” The Kremlin’s control over these critical mineral reserves would be a game-changer, allowing Russia to increase its influence over multiple facets of Western countries’ energy security spectrum. However, controlling these reserves is not synonymous with their immediate commercialization, as the extraction and refining processes are no simple tasks.

    https://www.mei.edu/publications/ukraines-critical-minerals-and-europes-energy-transition-motivation-russian-aggression

    https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/1024/cpsprodpb/504A/production/_133645502_ukraine_invasion_east_map_181224-nc.png.webp

    • Jenny 8.1
      24 November 2024 at 6:46 am

      Our enemy is Eurasia it has always been Eurasia. (George Orwell skewers imperialist rivalry and shifting alliances), and enemies)

      As the real world super powers pivot for control of resources and market share

      From the link you supplied;

      "….controlling these reserves is not synonymous with their immediate commercialization, as the extraction and refining processes are no simple tasks."

      Maybe China could help out there, (whichever side wins)

      23 Jan 2024 by Alex Scott

      China is the world leader in lithium refining, with 72% of the world's capacity for processing and refining lithium. China's dominance in the lithium supply chain is due to several factors, including:

      • Lithium reserves

        China only has about 7.9% of the world's lithium reserves, but it has secured a large share of the global lithium supply chain.

      • Anti-competitive practices

        China has used anti-competitive practices, such as subsidizing production and dumping products at below-market prices.

      • Investment in other countries

        China has invested in mines in other countries, including Africa, where it's expected to increase lithium production more than 30-fold by 2027.

      • Control of critical components

        China controls 70% of the mining industry in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is home to almost all of the world's cobalt.

      • Europe has zero lithium-mining or lithium-processing capacity………There is “a very high level of uncertainty” associated with many of Europe’s proposed lithium-mining projects, says Chris Heron, communications director for Eurometaux. Local opposition is causing delays, the economics can be challenging, and untested technologies need to be demonstrated at scale, he says……..

        https://cen.acs.org/energy/energy-storage-/Challenging-Chinas-dominance-lithium-market/100/i38#

  9. joe90 9
    23 November 2024 at 7:52 pm

    Well done 'Murica.

    /

    Sebastian Gorka, President Trump’s top counter-terrorism adviser, is a formal member of a Hungarian far-right group that is listed by the U.S. State Department as having been “under the direction of the Nazi Government of Germany” during World War II, leaders of the organization have told the Forward.

    The elite order, known as the Vitézi Rend, was established as a loyalist group by Admiral Miklos Horthy, who ruled Hungary as a staunch nationalist from 1920 to October 1944. A self-confessed anti-Semite, Horthy imposed restrictive Jewish laws prior to World War II and collaborated with Hitler during the conflict. His cooperation with the Nazi regime included the deportation of hundreds of thousands of Jews into Nazi hands.

    https://forward.com/news/366181/exclusive-nazi-allied-group-claims-top-trump-aide-sebastian-gorka-as-sworn/

    President-elect Donald Trump announced Friday that firebrand former Trump administration aide Sebastian Gorka will return to the White House in a senior national security role.

    In a statement, Trump said that Gorka will be deputy assistant to the president and serve as senior director for counterterrorism, a role housed within the White House National Security Council. He praised Gorka, saying that “since 2015, Dr. Gorka has been a tireless advocate for the America First Agenda and the MAGA Movement.”

    https://www.politico.com/news/2024/11/22/sebastian-gorka-trump-administration-national-security-00191382

  10. Ad 10
    23 November 2024 at 8:43 pm

    Hitler reacts to Trump winning the election.

    Great fun.

  11. SPC 11
    23 November 2024 at 9:28 pm

    All fast track mouth.

    He says oil and gas need long term certainty … and wants to give them the right to claim damages from future governments … .

    Then thinks taking less royalties might help …

    He says seabed mining has first right – the C of C is allowing them to side-track the environment process (they were being blocked by).

    He claims to be sure offshore wind farms can occur later, despite those planning to do it, once the seabed mining is kicked to touch, now walking away.

    He has no plan to reduce power costs to business.

    https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/534582/offshore-oil-and-gas-ban-worst-political-decision-shane-jones-says

  12. tWig 12
    23 November 2024 at 9:43 pm

    Two sprouts from rotten Filipino families, F. Marcos Jnr and Sara Duterte, got together to run social media electoral campaigns, and became President and Vice-President, respectively.

    Now one has organised assasination for the other, and their near family, if they are first assasinated. From the Guardian.