zero_gravitas

joined 1 year ago
 

I think there's a name for that.

[–] zero_gravitas@aussie.zone 4 points 10 hours ago (1 children)

"People who believe system is failing have less faith in system"

I know it's the headline writer, who I think isn't usually the author of the article (I don't know how The Conversation does it, though), and much less still is it reflective of worth of the study, but these kinds of headlines still annoy me. Maybe they're written to annoy people, I don't know.

The headline isn't even accurate. The question asked in the survey isn't about whether respondents think inequality is high, but whether they think income distribution is fair (the exact wording is: "How fair do you think income distribution is in Australia?").

Department of Home Affairs Strengthening Democracy Taskforce

This is a slightly terrifying phrase. I still associate Home Affairs so strongly with Dutton - as the mega-portfolio that was created to placate him - that it's hard not to read 'Strengthening Democracy Taskforce' in the same way as American war-mongering rhetoric of 'SPREADING FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY'.

This impression is not helped by this bit of double-speak later in the article 😂:

The Department of Home Affairs’ 2024 Strengthening Democracy report describes Australia’s democratic resilience as “strong, but vulnerable”.

This suggests Australia’s satisfaction with democracy is at risk. It may erode further if voters think the major parties aren’t sufficiently responsive to the economic pressures they are under.

Not to defend the state of our 'democracy', but I feel compelled to point out that thanks to preferential voting we can vote for parties other than the major parties. Unfortunately many of the minor parties are also in favour of policies that would increase inequality, but the Greens consistently campaign on reducing inequality. I suppose a lot of people who might be roughly characterised as 'right-wing populists' and against status-quo neoliberalism would find the Greens unpalatable, though. Do we need a party that's like the Greens but with One Nation's aesthetics or something?

[–] zero_gravitas@aussie.zone 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Banning everyone under 16 from using YouTube really is the peak of stupidity amongst this bullshit.

 

In short:

The NSW Supreme Court has accepted a challenge from the state's police commissioner to a climate protest planned in Newcastle later this month.

The protest, organised by Rising Tide, would see activists attempt to block access to the Port of Newcastle.

What's next?

Rising Tide says the multi-day demonstration will go ahead regardless of the court's decision.

 

In short:

The NSW Supreme Court has accepted a challenge from the state's police commissioner to a climate protest planned in Newcastle later this month.

The protest, organised by Rising Tide, would see activists attempt to block access to the Port of Newcastle.

What's next?

Rising Tide says the multi-day demonstration will go ahead regardless of the court's decision.

[–] zero_gravitas@aussie.zone 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Trump, unlike Biden/Harris, feels no need to pretend to be doing anything to stop Israel

The pretending is in some ways worse.

In practical terms Biden/Harris have given the Israeli government everything they wanted. Harris is participating in a genocide. Nobody should have voted for her.

But the Biden/Harris Whitehouse paying lip service to humanity/sanity (including ceasefire) seems to have given a lot of people a fig-leaf to vote for a génocidaire, and more generally to go about their lives as if their government is not committing genocide.

See also 'kids in cages'. There's a sizable number of Americans who, it seems, can only see the atrocities their government is committing when there's a Republican in the Whitehouse.

 

In short:

Donald Trump has claimed victory in the US presidential election, saying his political movement is the greatest the world has ever seen.

The Republican candidate swamped his Democratic rival Kamala Harris in critical swing states.

What's next?

The Republicans were on track to win both chambers of congress, too, paving the way for Trump's agenda to be enacted in full.

 

KEY POINTS

  • Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed his defence minister, Yoav Gallant.
  • Netanyahu cited a 'crisis of trust' for the decision, saying divisions between the pair had grown in recent months.
  • Gallant has been replaced by foreign affairs minister Israel Katz.
 

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner on Monday, Nov. 4, 2024, activated his office's Election Task Force with a warning to anyone who may plan to interfere with elections in the City of Brotherly Love -- "F around and find out."

 

In short:

A series of strikes in Gaza has killed at least 31 people, according to Palestinian medics, as part of an Israeli offensive.

Gaza's health ministry says one of the strikes was on a polio vaccination centre, where children were among those injured.

Meanwhile, an Iranian-American journalist has reportedly been detained in Iran, according to the Associated Press.

 

In short:

An additional 2,500 troops have been sent to join the 5,000 already in Valencia that are helping with flood recovery.

An alert from regional authorities has warned of potential landslides and more flooding.

What's next?

A protest will be held on Saturday calling on regional president Carlos Mazon to step down.

[–] zero_gravitas@aussie.zone 6 points 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago)

I'd recommend browsing the Lexicanum wiki: https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Main_Page

For books, a common recommendation for starting with the setting is the Eisenhorn trilogy (https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Eisenhorn_(Novel_Series)). Another common recommendation is reading the first few books of the Gaunts Ghosts series (https://wh40k.lexicanum.com/wiki/Gaunt%27s_Ghosts_(Novel_Series)).

The lore in this meme (the Razing of Monarchia) is covered in the Horus Heresy novels. If you wanted to jump straight in with the Heresy series it's generally recommended you read the first five of them^, then branch out into whichever subseries interest you.


^ Horus Rising, False Gods, Galaxy in Flames, Flight of the Eisenstein, Fulgrim

[–] zero_gravitas@aussie.zone 3 points 6 days ago

Well, it's at least preferable for them to be spending their time propagandising to Americans than to Australians, right?

[–] zero_gravitas@aussie.zone 7 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

Haha, holy shit, what a damning excerpt! Thanks for saving me some time.

[–] zero_gravitas@aussie.zone 3 points 1 week ago

Correct, after that the EU, Germany, Canada, Sweden, Australia, etc. determined that UNRWA was not a terrorist organisation, and resumed their funding.

[–] zero_gravitas@aussie.zone 4 points 1 week ago

I'm assuming you mean live streaming of the attacks on 7 October? Do you have a source for this? I can't even find anyone claiming this.

As far as I'm aware, the nature of the evidence against UNRWA staff (if there was any) was never made public. If there was live streaming, I think the Israeli government would never stop talking about it.

In any case, there were accusations against 12 UNRWA staff. UNRWA employed 13,000 people within the Gaza Strip, so even if those unproven accusations were true, it would hardly be indicative of UNRWA being a 'terrorist organisation'.

[–] zero_gravitas@aussie.zone 2 points 1 week ago

That's incorrect. The IDF claims that Sinwar had in his possession the passport of an UNRWA teacher. The passport expired in 2017, and its owner is a 40-year-old man who has been in Egypt since April.

source: https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/truth-or-fake/20241021-what-we-know-about-the-unrwa-id-allegedly-found-amidst-sinwar-s-belongings

I'm not sure how people imagine this to be some kind of smoking gun for UNRWA being a terrorist organisation. No government donors to UNRWA seem to have considered it worthy of taking any action.

[–] zero_gravitas@aussie.zone 6 points 1 week ago

You asked:

when do you think the Palestinians will give up and sue for peace?

And I gave you an answer that they've been in ceasefire negotiations since November 2023. It's been on-and-off, sure, but your question was when would they sue for peace and the answer is that they have done already.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg742e3rexo

Qatar’s foreign minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Qatari mediators had “re-engaged” with Hamas since Sinwar’s death, but there was “no clarity” over the groups current plans with regards to ceasefire talks.

ABC News quotes a Hamas official here:

A senior Hamas official says the group has told Egyptian officials it was ready to stop fighting in Gaza if Israel committed to a ceasefire deal.

The official said on Thursday a Hamas delegation discussed "ideas and proposals" related to a Gaza truce with Egyptian officials in Cairo.

"Hamas has expressed readiness to stop the fighting, but Israel must commit to a ceasefire, withdraw from the Gaza Strip, allow the return of displaced people, agree to a serious prisoner exchange deal and allow the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza," the official said.

source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-10-25/ceasefire-talks-in-doha-hamas-israel-gaza/104515680

guess you’ll need to recheck your “facts”

Firstly: Rude.

Secondly: Do you think "the Israeli government doesn’t actually want a ceasefire" is an original observation of mine, or something?

“But we are committed to continuing the war after a pause, in order to complete the goal of eliminating Hamas. I’m not willing to give up on that.”

- Benjamin Netanyahu, June 2024

source: https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2024-06-24/netanyahu-says-he-wont-agree-to-a-deal-that-ends-the-war-in-gaza-testing-the-latest-truce-proposal

See also:

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