I’ve wondered how many people must be watching it, i think its on their programming later at night now.

Politics being divisive is a reason politics opportunities like QandA should be available. It forces the members of the Partys together to discuss the topics on the same platform.

For example, i think it was on the latest episode of Rest is Politics - Leading, where Johnathan Haidt talked about Newt Gingrich forcing a policy of Congress meeting only Tuesday-Thursday to ensure the representatives wouldn’t feel a need to move to Washington DC, and instead fly in then fly home again. Newt Gingrich’s theory, he claims, was the Republicans got too cosy with the establishment once they got to Washington DC.

But why have the Government cut ABC funding?

Seems like it clears the airwaves for right wing propagandists to fill.

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.

…unrealized capital gains" which is … real estate…

Alan Kohler and Stephen Mayne, on Money Café, have been using property taxes as an example where taxes on unrealised gains are applied. It seems an interesting example flying against the ‘never tax unrealised gains mantra’.

I don’t think AZ users/posters or the video creator should feel conflicted. There wasn’t, and isn’t any sensationalism in what i see here.

And i think thats the key issue that groups like this play on, amp up the drama as much as possible for the cameras and paper shuffling anchors.

The video’s creator doesn’t sensationalise the events spoken about, or make particular hero’s out of the SHARPs (what is that?).

The only thing he says about them specifically is we should listen to them as people ‘who have actually stared down’ these shitheads. Not exactly the kind of hyperbole you might find with other media, even ABC sensationalises this stuff rather more than giving a sober account of these events.

Go the Silver Emu!

I think a high speed train between Alice Springs and Mount Isa is the most logical place to start.

Wow, viewed in this light, this article is needlessly incendiary. Thanks for context.

Nah, its practically impossible for Australia to be a leader of any sort, too small.

Thats why i only say convener, because of the geopolitical position, as an invested and interested party, but back a bit, it means Australia is in a more neutral position in discussions which can be a good place for a convener to come from.

Agreeing on the direction of discussions but more open minded to conflicting policy direction that may arise.

But yeah, as you say, Australia must act in support of our allies in this region as the primary policy setting in any of this and fill the role they need from Australia.

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, Australia doesn’t want to be jumping in when Indonesia is feeling on 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 where there is grey, Australia must act to minimise the potential for China to dominate it’s (China’s) 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 trade reliance.

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.

Edit: Maybe it comes down to the reliance of the country on the type of traded good. Does its trade ceasing damage the importing country ina material way?

Did you enjoy that? Well, i think we’re done here, theres little in that worth responding to. Speaking of mirrors, perhaps spend some time in front of one, might do you good.

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.

Oct 7th wasn’t a framing issue. Crimes need to be recognised for what they are. Ameliorating factors, such as reasonable resistance don’t go to the medieval activities of that day.

I judge my country by my and my countrymens actions now and passed. I humbly acquiesced to that past, re-read it.

You have a skewed view of the world if you somehow thought that position in conjunction with my criticisms of Israel, and their refusal to even acknowledge the crimes they’re committing is somehow hypocritical.

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.

No, what Israel and The US are doing is catastrophically bad. It is exactly what my comment warned against.

Israel cannot be trusted to deliver anything for the Palestinians in good faith. What happens as soon as the world’s eyes shift.

The Israeli’s cannot be trusted to be fair minded on this issue for the same reason victims of rape cannot be allowed to name the sentence of their rapist. An impartial party that can as genuinely as possible guarantee the actual aid delivery in the amounts is needed.

I think that video is shot like its a PR stunt, but it doesn’t even matter if its real, fake, a PR stunt, or the sign of a genuine change. There can be no genuine assurances while the Israelis and the US allies control the aid flow, there is no impartiality, and every reason for them to use the aid to maximise their own benefit. Its grotesque that this needs to be explained.

These quotes are from your linked article, and summarise the issue well,

Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN aid coordination office, OCHA: “It is a distraction from what is actually needed, which is a reopening of all the crossings into Gaza, a secure environment within Gaza and faster facilitation of permissions and final approvals of all the emergency supplies that we have just outside the border; [aid] needs to get in.”

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini was equally blunt. “This new aid model is not only wasteful but a distraction from atrocities,” he told Reuters. The GHF system, Lazzarini argued, circumvents established humanitarian norms and risks using food as a weapon of population control.

Wasn’t it? Okay.

Its Seagoon_@aussie.zone, i hope they know, i know they’re a good person.

Lots of AZ regulars know each other’s views fairly well now. I’s actually surprised this was seagoon’s first comment in this thread tbh.

Hamas hijack aid and are complaining now that IDF wants to control the distribution to prevent this.

If the Israeli’s had shown an ounce of good faith actions throughout this whole horrible period, then maybe this demand would be less critically read.

But as it stands they have constricted supply of food, electricity and everything else as much as they can, restricted the water supply to, i think, one desal plant, don’t let journalists (even target them) in for a less biased appraisal of whats going on, continually attack the UN and International court for their calls for investigations, attack medical workers, as well as killing, through, bombs or other means, the Palestinians en-masse no matter their gender, age, or relation to their so called enemy Hamas.

Multiple internal surveys of Israeli public opinion paint a putrid picture of the overall societies vision for the ongoing survival of the Palestinian people.

And so, after all of this, the international community is supposed to trust the Israelis will act in good faith and fair dealing in their distribution of aid and resources?

I think not.

You’re not understanding. Theres a point when the crimes become so heinous that it doesn’t matter what justification they claim, no justification is sufficient. Israel has passed that point, a long time ago in my opinion.

October 7th was heinous and likewise Hamas’ crimes have no justification. That doesn’t somehow ameliorate or absolve the Israelis of the crimes they’re committing.

The difference between the two groups from an Australian perspective is, Israel is a so called liberal democratic nation and has been an erstwhile ally of Australia due to our percieved alignment in values.

What they are doing to Palestinians is so against these ideals that it must call into question our relationship with them.

In Hamas’ case Australia has next to no relationship with, so our reaction to their behaviour is more simple, as its a contnuation of our determinations of them as a group.

He qualified what he meant by that statement in his very next breath. And it very much wasn’t a call for imperialism.

It doesn’t do anyone well to ignore the clearly stated intentions behind somebody’s words.