Does NSW not have an equivalent of VicEmergency?

There’s so much double up between the states, you wonder why they don’t work on more stuff together

“legally it would be considered a civil matter”

One wonders how the officers on duty in that police station got their jobs.

Any reasonable person would consider this to be harassment, warranting a restraining order at least.

How is it promoting community cohesion for barring someone based on race?

Seems like open-and-shut racial discrimination to me.

I’d argue it’s even deeper than this. This is just naturally what happens under a privatised health system. Doctors charging whatever they like because there aren’t enough public specialists and so the queue is long.

I’d argue we need to end the rebate system, either you go be private and get absolutely zero from the government, and keep the laws in place that make it impossible for private health insurance to cover these visits too (I’m against any private health, but trying to make it more palatable of a change).

Everyone else, should join the public system, which we should properly fund, and they can collectively bargain for better conditions like any other public servant.

Keep wages and conditions competitive so we don’t lose people to overseas too much.

This subsidy system is always gonna have this stupid cat and mouse of rebates not keeping up with the market rates of what doctors are charging.

I appreciate that you are able to alter your position slightly, to recognise that this is how the US operates. It’s not a conspiracy to say that the US has engaged in regime change in dozens and dozens of countries over the last 75 years or so. The former CIA chief openly admits this.

Too many people online can’t admit when they’re mistaken, so I applaud you for it.

I want the exact opposite for Ukraine and Greenland and anywhere else that are objectively good guys

I don’t think there are any objective good guys.

Ukraine’s (to my cursory understanding) voting system seems more democratic than what’s taken place in Venezuela (which I don’t have much understanding of), but from what I’ve read there were serious problems with corruption in Ukraine, also. (Prior to the war)

Doesn’t make it okay that Russia unilaterally decided to invade after a pro-EU party came to power. That’s not their prerogative. Ukraine has just as much as right to exist as any other country, flaws and all.

The only way I could accept such an invasion is if aid were requested by grass roots movements that want to install democracy (actual democracy, including proper voting systems like preferential or proportional, and not vulnerable to gerrymandering), and it be done by a coalition of countries, and only if no resource deals are done.

Basically, if an invasion isn’t purely for self-defence or philanthropic reasons, it’s always unjust.

Can be justified if it’s retaliation to neutralise another aggressor (I wouldn’t be upset if Moscow were invaded for example. And the invasions of Japan and Germany during WWII were obviously justified).

I also wouldn’t be sad if the North Korean government were toppled from power, but again, I would be mad if it were a unilateral resource grab by China, Russia or the US.

In all other cases, invasions without international cooperation are not a great solution for liberating the common people, in my opinion.

And in the case of Venezuela, none of these conditions were met. So I’m against the US showing up and acting like they’re allowed to do it without asking. Even if the government there is illegitimate in many people’s eyes.

I would be shocked if the US invites international observation of newly run elections, and even if they do, I would be shocked if any government that is elected doesn’t bend over and sign resource deals with the US - because they obviously know they’ll just be coup’ed if they don’t.

The image in question I yoinked from here (not part of this group): https://www.greenleft.org.au/2026-01/event/emergency-actions-hands-venezuela-stop-bombings-melbourne

I just found out about this via word of mouth (well, via chat groups).

This came about very last minute, I don’t think any one group in particular organised this.

aussie.zone does not seem to be somewhere for organising (communities need to be approved by the admin). Though haven’t actually tried to make a “activism”/“events” community, so it may well be approved.

Else, I’ve just had a bit of a search on quokk.au:

https://quokk.au/c/events

Perhaps I’ll encourage people to post there. (Seems aussie.zone hasn’t synced that community yet, probably because no one has searched it until now)

I’m not defending the Venezuelan government.

But this 100% a US imperialist war for natural resources. This is their bread and butter.

If this was actually about intervention into Venezuela in a benevolent way, it would have been brought in front of the UN, or at the very, very least NATO. Or something. Anything.

Make no mistake, this has nothing to do with toppling a dictatorship, and everything to do with oil. Again.

It’s an open secret.

We’re going to protest to tell our government to stay the fuck out of it and condemn the US’s unilateral actions.

There is no “rules based order”, only might makes right.

This and the Venezuelan government being a dictatorship are not mutually exclusive.

If you want to make sure that happens, please show up tomorrow:

Let the PM and the cabinet know we won’t accept another US imperialist invasion.

(That’s who has the power to send troops: https://www.pmc.gov.au/resources/memorandum-government-conventions-armed-conflict)

Let’s be real, they’re doing a coup to hand over oil rights to US companies.

It’s the only reason they’re there

Yes to everything except the gun control.

In what world does legitimate need for a gun include unlimited guns per owner? In what world does a hobby count as a legitimate use? (both things that lead the shooters to having the guns in the first place).

Sorry gun hobbyists, get a new hobby. Like how is it a sane position that you can have a hobby that puts the community at risk. Do archery ffs. It’s way cooler and you can’t kill a bunch of people in rapid succession (I mean, unless you’re Legolas)

Collecting every element as a hobby could be done responsibly, but we don’t allow that either, and for good reason. We, as a society, deem it an unacceptable risk.

Unfortunately this tragedy will be co-opted for the other bad things you mentioned, but tightening our kinda loose gun laws is not one of them.

Farmers, the military, specialised police and animal control need a certain amount of guns. The current laws do not achieve this.

I was taught in English class in high school that irony is an ambulance running people over, not just sarcasm

This is a relief, there is hope yet haha

It’s always projection

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From Melbourne, I am so jealous how much more metro stations are already built, and being built in Sydney.

(not a Labor member, much further left) Sorry, but at least Labor has some semblance of party democracy. Hearing about the Greens from past members, it’s a bloody top-down dictatorship where membership don’t get to vote on policy at all (well, they can “recommend” but that’s about it)

I’d strongly argue that the reason many Labor Left members aren’t members of the Greens is because the Greens are a feel good org that doesn’t actually listen to the membership.

Disappointingly, many Labor Left members seem open to the idea that capitalism is actively hostile to our well-being, but continue to support the party, even if it’s pro-capitalism, and pro-neoliberalism (it is these days, anyway).

I’ll still preference the Greens over Labor for now, but they are not a serious alternative.

Any party that isn’t internally democratic is not a serious alternative.

Coincidentally: https://victoriansocialists.org.au/node/238

I don’t think I’ve ever heard sarcasm used when irony is appropriate. Because “ironically” seems to be taking over (for Americans, not in Australia)

“That’s so sarcastic” referring to irony isn’t a thing. Or at least, I’ve neve heard it.

“the use of words that are the opposite of what you mean” bad Cambridge, bad! That’s sarcasm.

Could be my cultural context, and my bias because I constantly hear Americans misusing ‘ironic’.

Don’t use it differently without providing a replacement please and thank you!

Wikipedia gets it right: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony “Irony is a juxtaposition of what, on the surface, appears to be the case with what is actually or expected to be the case”

My understanding, from how people use it here is that irony is a situation which is a contrast between the expected/intended and actual outcome.

It’s ironic when a fire station burns down

This definition is truly upsetting: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/irony

Americans, no. Bad Americans.

This definition is correct (until we come up with a good substitute, FFS America): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irony

Glad Wikipedia agrees with me on this one haha We’ll at least the introductory definition.

Edit: to answer your question. I dunno. I just think this form of “ironic” just didn’t take off in Australia.

Mostly because we already have words for what Americans use it for. And don’t have words to replace irony.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Oh interesting, I hadn’t noticed that!

Ahhhh, socialising the risk and privatising the profits, a tale as old as neoliberalism

The visibility argument is also dumb because in general these cars have much, much worse visibility

Maybe you can see over the top of other cars roofs, but that’s about it

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jN7mSXMruEo

(Most of this video is about American style utes, but the same applies to SUVs and larger cars in general)