• 20 Posts
  • 290 Comments
Joined 2 years ago
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Cake day: June 11th, 2023

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  • QandA’s going? I like that show! Getting the politicians and experts in a live, audience participation setting has all kinds of benefits for the National ‘conversation’.

    I mean Matt Kean dismantling Jane Hume, (was it?), earlier this year on energy transition was valuable to see.

    Those kind of match ups, where its slightly out of the control of the host/producers, are rare.

    One of the reasons people are saying Dutton lost is because he refused to talk to the so called ‘unfriendly media’ leaving him at a disadvantage in his preparedness for the election just gone.

    So QandA seems to me to be good for lots of things. The only thing i dislike is the grandstanding and clearly recited talking points, but thats where you need a talented host to deny and redirect the discussion.







  • If the alliances in Asia break down the same way NATO is being destroyed then Australia is better off playing nice in waters it definitely only has a indirect stake in, even if it rankles.

    Its best to lean forward, Austrapua doesn’t want to be jumping in when Indonesia is geelingbon the backfoot. Aus wants to be pushing robustly for uniform rules of the sea across the board.

    Whats the difference in international waters in the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean? Its legally nothing, they’re governed by the same law of the sea agreement.

    As the article discusses, if you don’t push your opposition, cynical actors will take advantage and establish as much dominance as possible.

    Timor Strait, sure. South China Sea…only if all the others with an interest there are aligned and want us there (Korea, Vietnam, Phillipines, Japan etc)

    Australia should be acting as a convener for South-East Asian, Pacific, and East Asian countries but you’re essentially right, Australia has to respect the sovereign wishes of each other country where clear lines of sides are marked, but whwrre there is grey, Australia must act to minimise the potential for China to dominate its rivals or neighbours in the region.


  • Nope. For many reasons, getting with China means certain vassal State.

    For instance, Australia’s current stance is that its only arguable whether Australia is a vassal Sate with the USA. Its definitely a close relationship, but on balance i think it comes out more a major-minor partnership, at least in this and since WW2’s strategic moment.

    So stripping out cultural alignments, for only a second, it comes to a question of whether status-quo economic relationship is more valuable to the senior partner (Aus-China), than a strategic partnership to the senior partner (Aus -USA).

    This makes it really easy, in an economic relationship you can get by with slaves in a worst case scenario, on the other hand you always need a certain goodwill from the minor country people to have near alignment with the major partner’s goals.

    Putting the cultural alignments back in and it makes it difficult to see a closer alignment with China in the near future for Australia. Interestingly, i think the more culturally diverse we get the more we will in fact align with a country like the USA, not this fascist populism that has overtaken everything at the moment, but the general direction.

    The theory that tying economies together stops war is just a theory, and i don’t think with a huge amount of evidence. I mean USA and USSR never went directly to war, and they had very limited trade. France and Germanic peoples went to war plenty, lots of war.

    Portugal and England being famous allies, largely to their interlocking trade balances, among other geopolitical traits, might send this little argument down the toilet though, so maybe be a trade relationship ends up pretty net-net in the calculus for war.



  • I think you should slow down and re-read a lot of what has been said. Your rebuttals are only tenuously linked to the arguments. I’ll try to explain more with some supplementary comments below.

    Oct 7th

    Is rape, torture, and murder needed for resistance? No, and it undermines the causes of those who conduct themselves that way in resistance. Thats what Oct 7th was. Out of all the propaganda and framing Israel puts out Oct 7th is a crime of the Hamas of that time and their associated groupings. Your fighting an poor, distasteful and losing argument trying to put Oct 7th down to framing, and propaganda.

    I suggest focusing on the actual crimes and distortions that are committed, we have no need for made up ones when the examples are abundant.

    Then you have to recognize that Australian ideals are entirely in line with what Israel is doing. Australia’s actions, both then and now, show that.

    This is foolish to believe Australia’s actions demonstrate any ideals like what Israel is doing. They may be too soft, like many countries, but they are decidedly in the opposite direction of these genocidal actions.

    I thought we were talking about Australia’s values? Why are you talking about your own personal ones now?

    Your responding to something thats not written. It wasn’t an expression of my personal values, but a comment on your inability to sort your own ideologogy and perhaps a prejudice you harbour for Australia, from the ongoing crimes Israel is committing.

    Being a raging firebrand on the internet might be emotionally satisfying in the moment, but in the end the realities of this world reassert themselves, and we then have to deal with the destruction and creation of what is left. Its easier if theres less rebuilding when the inevitable time comes. Don’t forget that.



  • UN aid teams plead for access amid reports Gazans shot collecting food

    Your points read like propaganda, they’re not a reflection of reality. I suggest you read the link above.

    UNWRA was compromised

    Doesn’t matter that you think they’re some cartoonish bad guy. Its not a spy agency, its an aid agency and it needs to work with Palestinian people in the country.

    By Israel’s conveniently umbrella-like ‘assessments’ of these compromised ‘agents’ half the US military would be classified Taliban because they farted in Kabul. They’re people working in the place they’re in, with the people they’re with.

    People don’t get to both sides starvation or colllective punishment, or the myriad other crimes. Israel is starving the population of Gaza, simple. When/if we see Hamas doing it, you’ll see my attitudes towards starvation of populations, and other crimes unchanged.

    As i’ve said above, it doesn’t matter Hamas’ crimes, it doesn’t mean Israel gets a free pass on their crimes, and withholding food aid, or using it as a method of coercion absolutely are ongoing crimes.

    I’ve never seen any verified and independent evidence of this iron grip Hamas apparently has over this bombed out tent city. Read the linked article, who would have thought scarcity created by Israel has had spiralling and detrimental effects on the social cohesion of ~2 million men, women and children.

    Unfortunately Israel attempts to block the worlds view of what is happening in Gaza, so their claims must be read down as suspicuous at best, but more likely lies, until one day their actions match their words.


    Four rationing points, and this is for a free people of millions?

    Aid distributed and closely guarded by their oppressors. Freely given, no coercion, you think?

    Think about those questions as you watch this murderous State squeeze this population, and extinguish these people’s lives.


  • Occupied people have a right to resistance

    Absolutely, and the arguments demigrating Hamas never accounted for the fact they’re a key force fighting against the oppression.

    That is not what was done on October 7th, it doesn’t undermine the Palestinian cause for freedom, but that was shameful, and completely undermines their cause, as has been demonstrated by the insane response by the Israelis and the lack of care by a lot of people around the world.

    You know the people i’m sure, the “they brought it on themselves” crowd.

    European settlers exterminating indigenous people to take their land is about as inline with Australian ideals as it gets

    Australia has a terrible past, and we haven’t treated our first Australians in any way well, but there are a lot of us trying to reconcile the past and build a better future with what we have.

    We haven’t lived up to the ideals we aspire to in the past, but that doesn’t mean we discard them. It means we acknowledge our failures and begin to make amends where its possible.