Malta and Luxembourg raced to become Europe’s first country to legalise home growing (Malta won). The new German coalition government has agreed to fully legalise cannabis for adult use – showing how it can be done, by just doing it!
In 2021, five additional US states — Connecticut, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, and Virginia — legalised cannabis for adult use. That means that an additional 42 million Americans were liberated from the oppressive and failed policy of marijuana prohibition.
State lawmakers also took steps to ensure justice for individuals with prior cannabis convictions. California, Illinois, New York, Virginia, and elsewhere moved to either seal or expunge the convictions of around 2.2 million people who formerly faced the lifelong stigma of a cannabis criminal record.
"oppressive and failed policy of marijuana prohibition.".
We of course are going to have an attempt at this introduced here.
The propose that we will make it illegal for anyone under the age of about 14 today from ever being able to buy or smoke tobacco. Bet that turns out to be a marvelous triumph. I'm not going to bother looking up the details of what the proposal really is because it will be the greatest stuff-up since the US had their eighteenth amendment fiasco.
The Chekist thug has memory-holed his predecessors' atrocities.
Liquidation of the International Memorial
12/28/2021
On December 28, 2021, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation decided to liquidate the International Memorial.
The formal reason stated in the suit of the General Prosecutor's Office is the absence of the label “foreign agent” on some materials. During the hearing, the inconsistency of these claims was clearly demonstrated.
But today, the court finally named not a formal reason, but the real reason for the liquidation of the International Memorial: the General Prosecutor's Office claims that we are misinterpreting Soviet history, “creating a false image of the USSR as a terrorist state,” “lashing out criticism at the state authorities”. And the state, according to our opponents, is beyond criticism.
The decision of the Supreme Court once again confirmed that the history of political terror organized and directed by the state authorities remains for Russia not an academic topic of interest only to specialists, but an acute problem of our time. Our country needs an honest and conscientious reflection on the Soviet past; this is the guarantee of her future. It is ridiculous to believe that the judicial liquidation of International Memorial will remove this issue from the agenda. The entire Russian society needs to remember the tragedies of the past. And not only Russian: the memory of state terror unites all the former Soviet republics.
Of course, we will challenge the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in all ways available to us. And we will find legitimate ways to continue our work. A memorial is not an organization, it is not even a social movement. The memorial is the need of the citizens of Russia for the truth about its tragic past, about the fate of many millions of people. And no one will be able to "eliminate" this need.
The crocodile tears are falling, forgetting that that time of history was the result of yet another capitalist inspired war that dragged the Soviet Union in by capitalist German aggression
Stalin was a product of those capitalist aggression times. But still a Hero in many ways.
Wash your mouth out with soap – Stalin was the worst of men – a true peer of Hitler.
"Even if you could tear the head off an elephant, if you are without humanity you are no hero."
Not a hero – a totalitarian despot utterly lacking in humanity or indeed any other redeeming features – a ruthless self-serving power seeker that only fascist fanboys and America-hating ignoramuses could admire.
Anyone who supports Capitalist versus Capitalist wars such as the two world wars are partly culpable for the 27 million Soviet Citizen's death toll from WW2, not forgetting the lack of acknowledgments in recent WW2 commemorations for the Soviet contribution on defeating the Fascists. ie Hitler who is more akin to your beloved American Administration than Stalin
Big on projection Byd0nz, but fact free as usual – I don't love the US – they do plenty wrong – but their wrongs do not exculpate totalitarian despots.
No-one who pretends to progressive values can go beyond Churchill's "If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favourable reference of the Devil in the House of Commons." in respect of Stalin.
Stalin got a lot wrong without external help – though blind prejudice and ignorant folly may pretend otherwise.
I dont hold much out for quotes from a racist like Churchill. He did'nt give a shit about Soviet people neither do the ones spilling crocodile tears over the original subject of the post I was commenting on.
There's going to be a lot of angry NZers tonight. Person who has just tested positive for omicron, came over the border, did 7 days in MiQ and was meant to do 9 days in self isolation. Went into the Auckland CBD on Sunday and Monday. Including to a night club and bars.
The infected person was active in Auckland's CBD on December 26 and 27.
Among the places visited was the Impala Nightclub.
They also visited Sunny Town Chinese Restaurant in Lorne St, Partridge Jewellers, Ahi Restaurant and Soul Bar.
Meh, was always going to happen. Better to get omicron out and about early as all the data is pointing to it having a hospitalisation rate of less than .01%
11000 cases and 60 hospitalised in NSW. Hardly scary stuff
[next time you want to make a claim of fact about covid, put up a link to back it up. See Fireblade’s comment and link below for actual NSW rates – weka]
I didn't say you made it up, I said you have to provide a link to the claim of fact. This is important. You're presenting an argument based on facts, Fireblade presented a different set of facts, if you provide back up we can actually talk about the views rather than someone's randome reckons on the the internet. This isn't FB, we're here for the robust debate.
you said 60 in hospital btw. Not 625. I don't know what you're on about, and I'm not going to parse a google search to try and figure it out. Make the argument if you can.
You realise that this is a contagious disease and the 0.0125% rate isn't fixed in stone. At some point the hospitalisation rate can't get any higher because there aren't enough beds.
I used the same set of facts as fireblade, 625 total minus the 550 odd from the day before came to 68 hospitalisations. On the day when 11000 odd new cases came in.
I gave you daily cases and daily hospitalisations. Apples with apples, not single apples with the sum total of the harvest.
What? Fact. There are people who are hoping this is the beginning of community spread for Omicron because it is a far, far milder version of Covid than Delta meaning fewer deaths and serious illness among those infected.
If by "precaution" you mean the likes of Vit D, zinc etc, well those things don't prevent infection, but lessen severity of infection. I'm living exactly the same way today as I did yesterday, and will continue to live that way tomorrow.
I guess if I get determined to avoid infection and any chance of future immunity, I might throw in a Listerine gargle in the event of Omicron spread, if I'm around dense groups of people (hit those at a rate of ten to the dozen these days) …maybe a 1% Johnsons baby shampoo nasal rinse too. (the irony 🙂 )
You can make up whatever shit about me you like Weka. Though alternatively, you can if you like, and only for the sake of comprehension, read my comment.
Curious. When you write of "people around me who are also at risk from covid", I assume you are referring to people who are at a higher risk of severe illness or death rather than just risk of infection, yes?
If so, and seeing as how Omicron seems to essentially waltz past that double vaccination, the Listerine and Johnston's shampoo gargle and washes are worth reading up for anyone sensibly concerned for their well being.
I know that for me, seeing as how data is sparse on effects in those with no immunity (either from pharmaceuticals or previous infection) – then hey.
It's a simple question Bill: are you hand washing, mask wearing, scanning/signing in, social distancing etc as advised to prevent spreading covid?
Curious. When you write of "people around me who are also at risk from covid", I assume you are referring to people who are at a higher risk of severe illness or death rather than just risk of infection, yes?
No. Until we know how omicron impacts on long covid rates, including from asymptomatic infection, I will continue to protect myself and others. It's not hard, it builds resiliency, and it future proofs us for another pandemic. Or the next variant.
Mmmm…you know that washing hands, covering coughs and sneezes, avoiding crowded spaces and respecting personal spaces is what some of us do as a matter of course…whether we're living in the Time of Plague or no, no?
Not having partaken of the Pfizer Product doth not a barbarian make…
And you still haven't answered my easy to answer question 🤷♀️ That's three opportunities to do so.
It's not an irrelevant question. If people are arguing that we're better off with letting omicron have free rein, then it's reasonable to want to know if those people are not taking precautions to limit spread and help protect people. It's also not unreasonable to think they probably aren’t given the position on omicron.
The question you asked was (quote) have you stopped taking precautions then?
The relevant portion of my answer was, and for the fourth time – (quote) I'm living exactly the same way today as I did yesterday, and will continue to live that way tomorrow.
Three weeks ago (or however long ago that was) I could sign into some places that I can no longer sign into – that's changed. But since 'yesterday'? Or in light of today's news? And tomorrow?
As I already pointed out, (fifth time now) nothing changes.
btw – I don’t advocate giving Omicron “free rein” – never have. There are people in society who need protection. That has always been the way with Covid, but the “powers that be”, by dint of the way they have distributed a leaky vaccine, obviously beg to differ on that point.
Pendant away all you like. I asked really clearly,
are you hand washing, mask wearing, scanning/signing in, social distancing etc as advised to prevent spreading covid
You've now implied that you sign in and will continue to do so. What about the rest? Really odd that you just won't say.
As I already pointed out, (fifth time now) nothing changes.
I don't know what you were doing before, so this doesn't answer my question.
btw – I don’t advocate giving Omicron “free rein” – never have. There are people in society who need protection. That has always been the way with Covid, but the “powers that be”, by dint of the way they have distributed a leaky vaccine, obviously beg to differ on that point.
What do you advocate then? Because I thought you were arguing that we will be fine with omicron because it's mild, will protect us from Delta, and therefore we should stop restrictions.
I advocate for a public health response that's based on health and best medical practice – not politics, as has been the case to now.
As said elsewhere, all of the data from across nations indicates, that in terms of raw numbers and regardless of observed infection rates, Omicron inflicts far fewer instances of serious illness and results in fewer deaths than Delta. Seeking to preserve the presence of Delta when it's observed that Omicron displaces Delta is medical malfeasance that will cost lives.
I've been looking forward to this day. The milder omincron will hopefully wipe out Delta and all the fear mongering will cease. I am also looking forward to the day in the not too distant future that people start to realise how illogical and mad many of the rules are. This was evident to me today as I walked into a packed food court and every person sitting was maskless, while those walking within the space had to wear a mask, makes no sense. Now that Omicron's come to the party, hopefully it will bring some sanity when the fearful and mindless realise it's nothing but a sniffle. Woop woop!
Done – it's been a while but now that the new regime has entered full swing guess I will be in often to check out just how the liberals are narrating the situation 🙂
Would love to know what you are talking about. I guess you are metaphorically tapping the side of your nose to those who know what you mean ……no second thoughts sounds as though it could be a bit 'wrong' wing as we call it now.
I have not met anyone who is afraid. I have met many who are sensible and continuing to mask up, physically distance etc. It is not life as it was pre Covid and adapting to a new way does not mean people are afraid or being reckless.
To add to that, the unvaccinated are banned from using the food court arent they? But they are allowed to walk past and around the food court within the mall. Shameful really isn't it. Like an overnight private takeover of public interests.
What pisses me off the most is that the media was running this relentless campaign, day after day, about people missing out on MIQ. And the government caved and let people self-isolate at home and then the inevitable happened. How many people will now say "why do I have to self-isolate when that guy didn't?".
The media never had stories about the medically vulnerable or the elderly and how grateful they were for covid-19 being kept out of NZ.
Wow!! I am booked in for my booster at the hospital on Jan 12th. This is getting quite worrying. I don't think those who frequent bars and clubs will give up their New Year Parties, so stay home and celebrate small. Get your booster, use all other methods to be safe as many of us could not survive this. Keep your spirits up and those saying we are just scaremongering.. you go first we will wait to see how you do. Older and yes wiser.
Thing that worries me is whether the people who say it's the beginning of the end of covid will stop doing all the things to prevent spread, or if they will now believe that there's no point.
The vast majority of us will Patricia…do what your Mum told you to do…drink plenty of fluids, take your vit c, your vit D3 (about 5000IU) your Zn (about 20mg) eat your veg and get plenty of sleep. Keep the doors and windows open.
Agree Weka, the jury is still out on the potential impact of Omicron on our community. It seems to spread rapidly and therefore possibly put pressure on our health system with the sheer numbers needing care.
I had not realised the bloke had breached his isolation when he went out and about. We were lucky once with the Aussie tourist in Wellington who did a full weekend of sightseeing with Delta but did not pass it on.
So booster, masking, scanning in, physical distancing. Apart from the booster, due January, I have not stopped doing the masking etc, even while out in the streets. In my suburb most people are masked when out, in fact today I saw only three who were unmasked. Two of whom, elderly folk, were coughing out, not into their elbow or tissue or handkerchief. They had the look of tourists and also had the 'do not approach me because I will bite your head off' belligerent look. So I moved as far away as I could from them until they had passed. Just bad manners, and as Rosemary says people 'shoulda' been doing this mouth covering Covid or no.
We have decided not to go out for NY though amazingly, bearing in mind Covid whichever variant, we have two invites. 'They' can do it – my good health matters more than a one shot wonder party in a crowded house……….
To those here not worrying, and being happy about the anticipated arrival of Omicron, perhaps look at the current hospitalisation figures and deaths in Denmark I linked to on Open Mike. 30 deaths a day (27th Dec.) as the hospitalisation rate rose lagging behind soaring case numbers, mostly happy clappy Omicron. Denmark has the same pop. as NZ.
I'm aware of the numbers in the UK (v low) and South Africa (v low) – and that the numbers in those countries are hospital patients who returned a +ve test – meaning the already low numbers are inflated somewhat.
In Denmark, what is the %age of Omicron v Delta, and how do they tabulate their hospital Covid numbers?
I know there is a view that we minimise the impact by slating the figures as they (the unfortunates with Omicron) apparently have been admitted to hospital with other ailments and just coincidentally tested positive for Omicron. Some sort of weird rationalising is going on. I have read also that some counting Omicron are now seeking another definition of what a 'case' of Covid is (omicron variant) Apparently the argument is that unless you have been either prescribed something or admitted to hospital then you should not have your 'case' counted.
This strange attitude seems to forget that Covid is a notifiable disease as is influenza. You can get mighty ill with influenza while still being treated at home with bed rest, analgesics, hydration etc. I think you could get ill with Omicron, be treated at home with bed rest, analgesics, hydration. The point for public health is whether you have it or not. How you were treated for it is an answer to another question.
Numbers of hospitalisations requiring serious treatment are low. Number of deaths are low. Number of infections are through the roof.
Both South Africa and the UK (and everywhere else form what I can gather) count as "hospital covid cases" those who have incidentally returned a +ve test. That twists perceptions to believe things are more onerous/serious than they are – it stokes unwarranted fear.
Counting infections as "cases" is misleading – no two ways about that. Bloody stupid, or politically opportunistic, for governments to have detected rates of infection labeled as cases and for those case numbers to drive public policy.
No denying Covid can be serious and even deadly for a small percentage of those who get infected. That the government public health messaging and actions didn't focus on what people might do to lessen the impacts of infection (eg – free vit D, zinc, good sleep, loss of weight, less alcohol etc), and instead went all in on "project fear" and invasive forms of social control is, to my mind, a bloody good reason to be looking at lamp posts in an alternative light.
Yes I saw that. Jury is still out on the impact it may have on our population. We are all wise to still be cautious ie 'treating all wires as live' as they used to say when I was a kid and we had, or seemed to, have constant power cuts while lines were upgraded etc.
Number of deaths and serious illness from Omicron are lower than from Delta everywhere.
The numbers Koff provided are for a country with only about 10% Omicron – ie, most of the deaths being recorded (however they are tabulated) are for Delta.
Food for thought? By all of the available data across multiple countries – insisting that Omicron be "kept at bay" is insisting that unnecessary deaths occur.
Number of deaths and serious illness from Omicron are lower than from Delta everywhere.
Considering the number of vulnerable people that have already died, the global toll, this is no surprise. It doesn't necessarily mean Omicron is less dangerous
Koff. Denmark does more tests than anywhere in the known universe so they're going to detect more cases. It is the deepest winter in Denmark and the Grim Reaper is making his annual harvest. Much of the crop will have Te Virus as well as whatever put them on The List.
The numbers, taken from statistics bureau Our World in Data on December 27th, place Denmark as the country with the highest incidence of the virus.
It should be noted that there is a large variation in the amount of testing undertaken by different countries, with Denmark among the countries that tests the most per resident.
Other metrics show Denmark in a more favourable light.
These include the number of people hospitalised with the coronavirus. 608 people or 105 per one million residents are currently admitted to Danish hospitals with the virus.
The latter figure is significantly lower than in a number of other European countries. In Bulgaria, Poland and Hungary it is over 600, while the figure for France is 250 hospital Covid-19 patients per one million residents.
The week before Christmas saw Denmark register 21 deaths with Covid-19 per million inhabitants. Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and Croatia posted figures up to 4-5 times higher, though it should be noted that different countries have different criteria for the data.
I was around Wellington hospital about a month ago and it was jam-packed. That was without any covid-19 cases at all. It would not take many hospitalisations of covid-19 people to screw up the health care of non-covid-19 people.
I am not sure which 'fear' response I want to respond to first, there's so many to pick from. So I will just go straight for the jugular.
We're all going to die. One day we're going to die of something, could be cancer, heart disease, could be old age, aids, hep c, it could be Covid. Meanwhile most sensible people are doing the best they can to boost their immune system (because we all know that the health system is not doing much of anything for anyone with Covid).
If it's covid that evenually kills you, then you're one of the unlucky 0.05% of the under 70s or one of the 0.15% of the over 70s. Death unfortunately is inevitable. Suppose we can run around screaming that the sky is falling and force everyone to live in caves and wear helmets and ban them from looking at the sky or whatever (someone will be mad enough to want to ban the sky) but regardless of the measures taken it does not change the fact that we're all going to die anyway. Meanwhile Omicron is looking like a splendid choice of Covid to catch (if you have to get one, and you will), I say let's not look a gift horse in the mouth. Now I am off to live and ponder the madness of humans who think that walking into a cafe with a mask on, then sitting down and taking said mask off, while punter after punter are maskless breathing each other's air, germs and any viruses that are there to be breathed in. And the mask serves what purpose? Is that to make you feel better or protect you? There's not a whole lot of protection going on in the cafe scenario, is there? Or do we want to ban cafes next?
we all know that the health system is not doing much of anything for anyone with Covid
Tell that to the over-worked, stressed, under-paid and yet dedicated people who are working constantly to save lives. Say it to their faces. Walk up to them and say "you are not doing much of anything". Go ahead.
Or you could just say "thank you". If you can't bring yourself to say that, just fuck off.
A health care system and individual nurses or what-ever who work within it are two entirely different things 'observer'.
I wonder. Did you rail against the specialists and nurses (heroes to a person not so long ago) who got rendered jobless when they declined injections of m-RNA? And if not, why not?
And for the ones who rolled up their sleeves for two injections, but who will draw a line at the third, will you react to their loss in the same fashion as you did for the first tranche who, because of bureaucracy and politics, can no longer dedicate themselves to ministering the sick and injured among us?
They are not two independent things – people and the system work together to provide hospital level care – without the system organising drugs, food, water and cleaning systems and the qualified people to put those systems into action then our health care would fall apart.
What I will say to their 'overworked' faces is "why, if this is the disaster that everyone's been led to believe it is, why have they stood back and said nothing while their colleagues, good doctors and nurses were let go”.
I will also ask them why so many of the injected (and young people) are filling up the ER with an inordinate amount of heart and neurological problems, and being told they're simply panic attacks and being sent away without any treatment.
I will also ask them why they have continued to follow the directive to not mention anything negative about the injection, while patient after patient turns up with injection related injuries. I have a lot to say to those 'stressed' people whose hippocratic oath is superseded but directives that serve no purpose other than injecting people regardless of the harm it causes.
You can tell me to 'fuck off' all you like but I won't and I will continue to point out the obvious. We are all actually going to fucking die and that's a fact and instead of running around with your eyes closed wailing about the sky falling in and demanding that everyone else close their eyes, open your fucking eyes and let that brain kick back into gear and ask yourself why, if this injection is so safe, why doctors and nurses are putting their careers on the line and refusing to have it.
Meanwhile I think I will hit the sushi shop today with my child and watch as they serve her sushi, while I refuse to give them a pass and I will do that in shop after shop because this discrimination, segregation and abuse of people is where the real sickness lies and that's got far worse repercussions than Covid.
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Chris Trotter writes – IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in acknowledgement of electoral victory: “We’ll govern for all New Zealanders.” On the face of it, the pledge is a strange one. Why would any political leader govern in ways that advantaged the huge ...
Bryce Edwards writes – The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill ...
TL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political economy at 10:06am on Wednesday, May 1:The Lead: Business confidence fell across the board in April, falling in some areas to levels last seen during the lockdowns because of a collapse in ...
Over the past 36 hours, Christopher Luxon has been dong his best to portray the centre-right’s plummeting poll numbers as a mark of virtue. Allegedly, the negative verdicts are the result of hard economic times, and of a government bravely set out on a perilous rescue mission from which not ...
Auckland Transport have started rolling out new HOP card readers around the network and over the next three months, all of them on buses, at train stations and ferry wharves will be replaced. The change itself is not that remarkable, with the new readers looking similar to what is already ...
Completed reads for April: The Difference Engine, by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling Carnival of Saints, by George Herman The Snow Spider, by Jenny Nimmo Emlyn’s Moon, by Jenny Nimmo The Chestnut Soldier, by Jenny Nimmo Death Comes As the End, by Agatha Christie Lord of the Flies, by ...
On February 14, 2023 we announced our Rebuttal Update Project. This included an ask for feedback about the added "At a glance" section in the updated basic rebuttal versions. This weekly blog post series highlights this new section of one of the updated basic rebuttal versions and serves as a ...
Have a story to share about St Paul’s, but today just picturesPopular novels written at this desk by a young man who managed to bootstrap himself out of father’s imprisonment and his own young life in a workhouse Read more ...
The list of former National Party Ministers being given plum and important roles got longer this week with the appointment of former Deputy Prime Minister Paula Bennett as the chair of Pharmac. The Christopher Luxon-led Government has now made key appointments to Bill English, Simon Bridges, Steven Joyce, Roger Sowry, ...
Newsroom has a story today about National's (fortunately failed) effort to disestablish the newly-created Inspector-General of Defence. The creation of this agency was the key recommendation of the Inquiry into Operation Burnham, and a vital means of restoring credibility and social licence to an agency which had been caught lying ...
Holding On To The Present:The moment a political movement arises that attacks the whole idea of social progress, and announces its intention to wind back the hands of History’s clock, then democracy, along with its unwritten rules, is in mortal danger.IT’S A COMMONPLACE of political speeches, especially those delivered in ...
Stuck In The Middle With You:As Christopher Luxon feels the hot breath of Act’s and NZ First’s extremists on the back of his neck and, as he reckons with the damage their policies are already inflicting upon a country he’s described as “fragile”, is there not some merit in reaching out ...
The unpopular coalition government is currently rushing to repeal section 7AA of the Oranga Tamariki Act. The clause is Oranga Tamariki's Treaty clause, and was inserted after its systematic stealing of Māori children became a public scandal and resulted in physical resistance to further abductions. The clause created clear obligations ...
Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
You make people evil to punish the paststuck inside a sequel with a rotating castThe following photos haven’t been generated with AI, or modified in any way. They are flesh and blood, human beings. On the left is Galatea Young, a young mum, and her daughter Fiadh who has Angelman ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
By Stephen Wright and Stefan Armbruster of BenarNews Fiji’s ranking in a global press freedom index has jumped into the top tier of countries with free or mostly free media after its government last year repealed a draconian law that threatened journalists with prison for doing their jobs. Fiji’s improvement ...
We might be in Invercargill but all anyone can talk about is Gore. Specifically, Salford Street. That’s where three-year-old Lachlan Jones lived, south of the centre of town, between the A&P Showgrounds and the Mataura River. Roughly 1.2 km away from the single level home he lived in with his ...
MONDAY I lined up the latest round of civil servants from city hall against the wall, and signalled for the firing squad to drop their rifles. I stepped up onto a wooden crate to look at the office workers in the eye. But that didn’t feel right, so I found ...
Keen hiker and second-year MSc student Liam Hewson wears two hats when he’s in the great outdoors. “The scientist in me appreciates nature and goes, ‘Oh, there’s that thing and there’s another thing,’ but then the tramper and the outdoorsy person in me thinks, ‘Cool bush.’” Born and bred in ...
After a long and illustrious career as a goal kicker, Dan Carter’s favourite way to unwind is… kicking goals. Why can’t he get enough of it? And what it’s like to watch him do it for an hour straight? A semicircle of people wielding cameras and phones has formed in ...
Dame Susan Devoy takes us through her life in television, including late night ER debriefs, her proudest CTI moment and the show she watches in secret. Quite aside from her four world champion squash titles, Dame Susan Devoy will likely go down in history as one of the best Celebrity ...
Hera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard.Sometimes I get the feeling I’ve been killed in a car crash, and this second half of my life is just the brain unspooling itself, like one of those episodes of a hospital ...
ThreeNow’s new murder mystery series takes us on a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells ...
Introducing a new way to read The Spinoff every weekend. After nearly 10 years of being an online magazine, we’re finally embracing the weekend liftout. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, writers and editors at The Spinoff don’t work weekend. It is through the sheer power of technology ...
Tip one: let yourself be nurtured by this big old man. Tip two: don’t ask him to adopt you. So, you’ve arrived at your first session with a new therapist. He tells you to make yourself comfortable and you opt for the tweed armchair, hoping it makes you look like ...
I didn’t know books could open you back up; that there were books that stayed with you, where reading was like a chemical event. I knew nothing.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Not too long ago, I was listening to the American ...
Former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has already started training for the Enhanced games, though says he won’t start taking performance enhancing substances until about nine months out from the competition. The Australian world champion was the first athlete to be announced by Enhanced, but he says the organisation has had ...
Everyone thinks he’s dead. Every day they expect his body to be washed up along the coast. Most likely up Karitane way, the way the tide’s running. But nobody’ll be too surprised if his body’s never found. Even in death he wouldn’t have wished for such attention. He would have ...
Council members voted 21 to 4 in favour of Ahluwalia returning to the Laucala campus following a much-awaited meeting in Vanuatu this week. It comes as USP and its two unions — the Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) and the Administration and Support Staff Union ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Henry, Professor & Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University Shutterstock Following an emergency meeting of the National Cabinet this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a raft of measures to tackle the problem ...
Analysis - A poll showing the opposition is more popular than the government raises questions, politicians go through their 'trial by pay rise' and a Green MP loses her cool in the debating chamber. ...
The entire stretch of Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast will be subject to a joint customary marine title for two hapū, and extending up to four miles out to sea. A High Court judge has found the two groups, who during the case settled a dispute over boundaries for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Hall, Lecturer, Media & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University A longstanding feud between TikTok and Universal Music Group seems to have finally reached an end, with both parties signing a deal that will see Universal-backed music returned to the social media ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Siobhan O’Dean, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney After several highly publicised alleged murders of women in Australia, the Albanese government this week pledged more than A$925 million over five years ...
Political parties have now fully disclosed the donations they received last year - with National getting more than double the cash of any other party. ...
A Pacific regionalism expert has called out New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS military pact. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard de Grijs, Professor of Astrophysics, Macquarie University Bruno Scramgnon/Pexels All systems are “go” for tonight’s launch of China’s next step in a carefully planned lunar exploration program. Placed on top of a powerful Long March 5 rocket, the Chang’e 6 ...
National returned a massive donation the day after a Newsroom story linked the donors to a property being investigated for operating unlawfully as a migrant workers’ hostel. The party’s 2023 donation filings, released on Friday, show it returned a $200,000 donation from Buen Holdings on August 23. That was the ...
Pacific Media Watch New Zealand has slumped to an unprecedented 19th place in the annual Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index survey released today on World Press Freedom Day — May 3. This was a drop of six places from 13th last year when it slipped out of its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Political Historian and Administrator Officer, Australian Historical Association, Australian National University Australia has had its fair share of public record-keeping controversies in recent years. Some have been mere farce, as in the case of two formerly government-owned filing cabinets (containing ...
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a United Nations-affiliated organization dedicated to fostering peace through civilian-led initiatives, has issued a statement in response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. ...
A poem by Tessa Keenan, from AUP New Poets 10. Mātou These days we are a photograph; one of a farm strewn with cows that used to be bright harakeke or swamp. The kids point at it and say the sun sits behind a smudge (left by someone at Christmas); ...
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Not all mainstreamers are useless:
Not all, but National & Labour make it seem they all are…
"oppressive and failed policy of marijuana prohibition.".
We of course are going to have an attempt at this introduced here.
The propose that we will make it illegal for anyone under the age of about 14 today from ever being able to buy or smoke tobacco. Bet that turns out to be a marvelous triumph. I'm not going to bother looking up the details of what the proposal really is because it will be the greatest stuff-up since the US had their eighteenth amendment fiasco.
The Chekist thug has memory-holed his predecessors' atrocities.
Liquidation of the International Memorial
12/28/2021
On December 28, 2021, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation decided to liquidate the International Memorial.
The formal reason stated in the suit of the General Prosecutor's Office is the absence of the label “foreign agent” on some materials. During the hearing, the inconsistency of these claims was clearly demonstrated.
But today, the court finally named not a formal reason, but the real reason for the liquidation of the International Memorial: the General Prosecutor's Office claims that we are misinterpreting Soviet history, “creating a false image of the USSR as a terrorist state,” “lashing out criticism at the state authorities”. And the state, according to our opponents, is beyond criticism.
The decision of the Supreme Court once again confirmed that the history of political terror organized and directed by the state authorities remains for Russia not an academic topic of interest only to specialists, but an acute problem of our time. Our country needs an honest and conscientious reflection on the Soviet past; this is the guarantee of her future. It is ridiculous to believe that the judicial liquidation of International Memorial will remove this issue from the agenda. The entire Russian society needs to remember the tragedies of the past. And not only Russian: the memory of state terror unites all the former Soviet republics.
Of course, we will challenge the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation in all ways available to us. And we will find legitimate ways to continue our work. A memorial is not an organization, it is not even a social movement. The memorial is the need of the citizens of Russia for the truth about its tragic past, about the fate of many millions of people. And no one will be able to "eliminate" this need.
google translation
The crocodile tears are falling, forgetting that that time of history was the result of yet another capitalist inspired war that dragged the Soviet Union in by capitalist German aggression
Stalin was a product of those capitalist aggression times. But still a Hero in many ways.
fuck western capitalist crocodile tears.
But still a Hero in many ways.
Wash your mouth out with soap – Stalin was the worst of men – a true peer of Hitler.
"Even if you could tear the head off an elephant, if you are without humanity you are no hero."
Not a hero – a totalitarian despot utterly lacking in humanity or indeed any other redeeming features – a ruthless self-serving power seeker that only fascist fanboys and America-hating ignoramuses could admire.
Anyone who supports Capitalist versus Capitalist wars such as the two world wars are partly culpable for the 27 million Soviet Citizen's death toll from WW2, not forgetting the lack of acknowledgments in recent WW2 commemorations for the Soviet contribution on defeating the Fascists. ie Hitler who is more akin to your beloved American Administration than Stalin
Big on projection Byd0nz, but fact free as usual – I don't love the US – they do plenty wrong – but their wrongs do not exculpate totalitarian despots.
No-one who pretends to progressive values can go beyond Churchill's "If Hitler invaded Hell, I would make at least a favourable reference of the Devil in the House of Commons." in respect of Stalin.
Stalin got a lot wrong without external help – though blind prejudice and ignorant folly may pretend otherwise.
I dont hold much out for quotes from a racist like Churchill. He did'nt give a shit about Soviet people neither do the ones spilling crocodile tears over the original subject of the post I was commenting on.
He did'nt give a shit about Soviet people
Neither did Stalin, and, judging by your apology for Stalin, neither do you.
You are are a more generous soul than me Stuart, engaging with such a half wit.
Lenin disagreed – saw Stalin for what he was.
There's going to be a lot of angry NZers tonight. Person who has just tested positive for omicron, came over the border, did 7 days in MiQ and was meant to do 9 days in self isolation. Went into the Auckland CBD on Sunday and Monday. Including to a night club and bars.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-first-community-exposure-of-omicron-in-nz-confirmed-by-ministry-of-health/BT6J5E5L5RF6LOF4V3AGF3N6VM/
I've never understood the new rules. Covid infectiousness periods haven't change much have they?
Meh, was always going to happen. Better to get omicron out and about early as all the data is pointing to it having a hospitalisation rate of less than .01%
11000 cases and 60 hospitalised in NSW. Hardly scary stuff
[next time you want to make a claim of fact about covid, put up a link to back it up. See Fireblade’s comment and link below for actual NSW rates – weka]
Yes it was…and Fireblade’s link shows why.
None of that however detracts from how successful we have been to date,,,,and hopefully 'going forward'…excuse the corporate speak.
NSW has 625 people in Hospital with Covid-19 and 61 in ICU.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-29/covid-updates-testing-case-numbers-interstate-border-travel/100729500#nsw
thanks.
mod note.
11,000 new cases and 68 new hospitalisations. .006%
who made anything up?
https://www.google.com/search?q=covid+nsw&rlz=1CDGOYI_enNZ876NZ876&hl=en-GB&sxsrf=AOaemvJJEEmnoB_juuR6iwsSxw-usTSa9w%3A1640759881689&ei=SQLMYdDAKeeVseMPnN-vqA8&oq=covid+nsw&gs_lcp=ChNtb2JpbGUtZ3dzLXdpei1zZXJwEAEYADIKCAAQsQMQgwEQQzILCAAQsQMQgwEQkQIyCwgAELEDEIMBEJECMgoIABCxAxCDARBDMggIABDJAxCRAjILCAAQgAQQsQMQgwEyBQgAEIAEMgUIABCABDoHCCMQsAMQJzoHCAAQRxCwAzoHCCMQ6gIQJzoECCMQJzoECAAQQzoFCAAQkQI6CgguEMcBEKMCECc6BwgAELEDEEM6CggAELEDEMkDEEM6BQgAEJIDOggIABCxAxCRAjoLCAAQsQMQyQMQkQI6BwgAEIAEEAo6CggAELEDEIMBEAo6BAgAEApKBAhBGABQ_A1YxiJguidoBnAAeACAAegBiAHJEpIBBjAuMS4xMJgBAKABAbABD8gBCcABAQ&sclient=mobile-gws-wiz-serp#wptab=s:H4sIAAAAAAAAAONgVuLVT9c3NMwySk6OL8zJecQYzy3w8sc9YamwSWtOXmMM4BL3TU3JTM7MS3XJLE5NLE71yU9OLMnMzxOS5mJzzSvJLKkUEpTi50I1RkiCiwOukEeKi4tDP1ffwDQtp5JnFxO3R2piTklGcEliSfEiVsW81HKF4vzSkgyF8sSc1GKF5Pyi_LzEssyi0mKFYpAaAOV83MOlAAAA
625 in hospital as total omicron cases are approaching 50k based on 7 day averages. .0125%
scary stuff indeed.
I’ve been living in auckland for 2 years, the front line thank you very fucking much.
the stats I’ve just provided give some much needed perspective on the ACTUAL danger. Not the emotive fear mongering of…
Cue dark sinister voice “another covid variant”
I didn't say you made it up, I said you have to provide a link to the claim of fact. This is important. You're presenting an argument based on facts, Fireblade presented a different set of facts, if you provide back up we can actually talk about the views rather than someone's randome reckons on the the internet. This isn't FB, we're here for the robust debate.
you said 60 in hospital btw. Not 625. I don't know what you're on about, and I'm not going to parse a google search to try and figure it out. Make the argument if you can.
and, flattening the curve is still a thing that matters.
The curve is pretty fucking flat at a .0125% hospitalisation rate
You realise that this is a contagious disease and the 0.0125% rate isn't fixed in stone. At some point the hospitalisation rate can't get any higher because there aren't enough beds.
I used the same set of facts as fireblade, 625 total minus the 550 odd from the day before came to 68 hospitalisations. On the day when 11000 odd new cases came in.
I gave you daily cases and daily hospitalisations. Apples with apples, not single apples with the sum total of the harvest.
On the day when 11000 odd new cases came in…
Have you heard of "lag"… ?
Sure have. Checked the 7 day rolling average and used a calculator?
yeah, so you can see why I'm saying explain and link at teh start.
OK. 68 new hospitalisations. In a single day. After a couple of weeks of that, how does that look on medical resources?
Hint: Omicron potentially being milder is not an excuse to relax, if it infects enough people. And Omicron likes infecting people.
You might not care about flattening the curve, many of us do for bloody obvious reasons. Where have you been for the past 2 years.
Here is the Ministry of Health media release about the Omicron case.
https://www.health.govt.nz/news-media/media-releases/first-community-exposures-border-related-omicron-case
Bloody unbelievable really. Unbelievable.
There's going to be a fair few happy and hopeful people in NZ tonight.
have you stopped taking precautions then?
What? Fact. There are people who are hoping this is the beginning of community spread for Omicron because it is a far, far milder version of Covid than Delta meaning fewer deaths and serious illness among those infected.
If by "precaution" you mean the likes of Vit D, zinc etc, well those things don't prevent infection, but lessen severity of infection. I'm living exactly the same way today as I did yesterday, and will continue to live that way tomorrow.
I guess if I get determined to avoid infection and any chance of future immunity, I might throw in a Listerine gargle in the event of Omicron spread, if I'm around dense groups of people (hit those at a rate of ten to the dozen these days) …maybe a 1% Johnsons baby shampoo nasal rinse too. (the irony 🙂 )
What about yourself?
I meant precautions to limit spread: hand washing, mask wearing, distancing, scanning/signing in. I'll take that as a no then.
(and yes, I continue to do those things, for my own sake, and the sake of people around me who are also at risk from covid).
You can make up whatever shit about me you like Weka. Though alternatively, you can if you like, and only for the sake of comprehension, read my comment.
Curious. When you write of "people around me who are also at risk from covid", I assume you are referring to people who are at a higher risk of severe illness or death rather than just risk of infection, yes?
If so, and seeing as how Omicron seems to essentially waltz past that double vaccination, the Listerine and Johnston's shampoo gargle and washes are worth reading up for anyone sensibly concerned for their well being.
I know that for me, seeing as how data is sparse on effects in those with no immunity (either from pharmaceuticals or previous infection) – then hey.
It's a simple question Bill: are you hand washing, mask wearing, scanning/signing in, social distancing etc as advised to prevent spreading covid?
No. Until we know how omicron impacts on long covid rates, including from asymptomatic infection, I will continue to protect myself and others. It's not hard, it builds resiliency, and it future proofs us for another pandemic. Or the next variant.
I'll take that as a no then.
Mmmm…you know that washing hands, covering coughs and sneezes, avoiding crowded spaces and respecting personal spaces is what some of us do as a matter of course…whether we're living in the Time of Plague or no, no?
Not having partaken of the Pfizer Product doth not a barbarian make…
some of us being the operative phrase apparently.
(am well aware that many unvaxxed people take precautions 👍 I was referring specifically to what Bill said)
Bill said – I'm living exactly the same way today as I did yesterday, and will continue to live that way tomorrow.
Which implies…absolutely nothing that would be along the line of your disparaging and somewhat stupid response.
And you still haven't answered my easy to answer question 🤷♀️ That's three opportunities to do so.
It's not an irrelevant question. If people are arguing that we're better off with letting omicron have free rein, then it's reasonable to want to know if those people are not taking precautions to limit spread and help protect people. It's also not unreasonable to think they probably aren’t given the position on omicron.
The question you asked was (quote) have you stopped taking precautions then?
The relevant portion of my answer was, and for the fourth time – (quote) I'm living exactly the same way today as I did yesterday, and will continue to live that way tomorrow.
Three weeks ago (or however long ago that was) I could sign into some places that I can no longer sign into – that's changed. But since 'yesterday'? Or in light of today's news? And tomorrow?
As I already pointed out, (fifth time now) nothing changes.
btw – I don’t advocate giving Omicron “free rein” – never have. There are people in society who need protection. That has always been the way with Covid, but the “powers that be”, by dint of the way they have distributed a leaky vaccine, obviously beg to differ on that point.
Pendant away all you like. I asked really clearly,
You've now implied that you sign in and will continue to do so. What about the rest? Really odd that you just won't say.
I don't know what you were doing before, so this doesn't answer my question.
What do you advocate then? Because I thought you were arguing that we will be fine with omicron because it's mild, will protect us from Delta, and therefore we should stop restrictions.
I advocate for a public health response that's based on health and best medical practice – not politics, as has been the case to now.
As said elsewhere, all of the data from across nations indicates, that in terms of raw numbers and regardless of observed infection rates, Omicron inflicts far fewer instances of serious illness and results in fewer deaths than Delta. Seeking to preserve the presence of Delta when it's observed that Omicron displaces Delta is medical malfeasance that will cost lives.
Probably never took any, luck of the Irish is all that's needed.
Ive always wondered whether the luck of the irish was good luck or bad….
Time will tell in this instance I suppose.
It's like we need a facility where the blase can be deliberately infected so they can see how benign it all is.
We have one…its called NZ
I've been looking forward to this day. The milder omincron will hopefully wipe out Delta and all the fear mongering will cease. I am also looking forward to the day in the not too distant future that people start to realise how illogical and mad many of the rules are. This was evident to me today as I walked into a packed food court and every person sitting was maskless, while those walking within the space had to wear a mask, makes no sense. Now that Omicron's come to the party, hopefully it will bring some sanity when the fearful and mindless realise it's nothing but a sniffle. Woop woop!
please fix username for next comment, ta.
Done – it's been a while but now that the new regime has entered full swing guess I will be in often to check out just how the liberals are narrating the situation 🙂
Would love to know what you are talking about. I guess you are metaphorically tapping the side of your nose to those who know what you mean ……no second thoughts sounds as though it could be a bit 'wrong' wing as we call it now.
haha, all good (there's a kind of a bug on some devices where typos are easily missed in the name and email fields)
Yeah right.
No Tui but drinking a Rose so that will have to do.
A sniffle for many people can lead to unsniffle like conditions eg those who are immuno-compromised or whose breathing can be affected.
"Makes no sense." I must have said those words 3,468,990 times since February 2020.
I'm with you…we must all stop being so afraid.
we must all stop being so afraid
The Covidian Cultists will be having none of that, you hear!
I have not met anyone who is afraid. I have met many who are sensible and continuing to mask up, physically distance etc. It is not life as it was pre Covid and adapting to a new way does not mean people are afraid or being reckless.
"Tough" guys who have anyone and everyone's number, not just Mickys, will call it whatever they like.
People pick their fear: covid or the vaccination or the government…
Tell that to the immuno-crompormised, the medically vulnerable and all the people who love them.
Yep…our household of two ticks those boxes… and yet we remain uninjected and unafraid.
To add to that, the unvaccinated are banned from using the food court arent they? But they are allowed to walk past and around the food court within the mall. Shameful really isn't it. Like an overnight private takeover of public interests.
Fucksake, now Stuff has doxxed the idiot.
Rhythm & Alps promoters will be a tad pissed. Wonder how his contract is worded.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/300487986/covid19-omicron-border-case-active-in-the-community-is-dj-dimension
Stuff are pretty safe doxing him, it'll all fall out in the next few days anyway as various versions of his non-appearance circulate.
the doxxing issue is whether this makes people more or less likely to tell the truth and do the right things.
Twitter are going hard. He's deleted some social media posts, I'm surprised he hasn't closed his twitter account.
I see the Herald has published his picture of himself at the beach. This could get ugly.
Self isolation doesn't work, because while most people can be trusted, there's a non-trivial number of fuckwits in the population.
Could always ankle-tag them, maybe.
non-trivial seems to be an overlooked concept at the moment.
Hong Kong trialled it and went back to MIQ, so it's not unique to NZ by any stretch.
What pisses me off the most is that the media was running this relentless campaign, day after day, about people missing out on MIQ. And the government caved and let people self-isolate at home and then the inevitable happened. How many people will now say "why do I have to self-isolate when that guy didn't?".
The media never had stories about the medically vulnerable or the elderly and how grateful they were for covid-19 being kept out of NZ.
Yeah, you'd have thought not a single reporter had a granny they cared about…
Wow!! I am booked in for my booster at the hospital on Jan 12th. This is getting quite worrying. I don't think those who frequent bars and clubs will give up their New Year Parties, so stay home and celebrate small. Get your booster, use all other methods to be safe as many of us could not survive this. Keep your spirits up and those saying we are just scaremongering.. you go first we will wait to see how you do. Older and yes wiser.
Thing that worries me is whether the people who say it's the beginning of the end of covid will stop doing all the things to prevent spread, or if they will now believe that there's no point.
…as many of us could not survive this.
The vast majority of us will Patricia…do what your Mum told you to do…drink plenty of fluids, take your vit c, your vit D3 (about 5000IU) your Zn (about 20mg) eat your veg and get plenty of sleep. Keep the doors and windows open.
Vast majority, that's ok then, never mind the dead people. Or the disabled ones.
Agree Weka, the jury is still out on the potential impact of Omicron on our community. It seems to spread rapidly and therefore possibly put pressure on our health system with the sheer numbers needing care.
I had not realised the bloke had breached his isolation when he went out and about. We were lucky once with the Aussie tourist in Wellington who did a full weekend of sightseeing with Delta but did not pass it on.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/445570/australian-traveller-who-visited-wellington-has-delta-variant
So booster, masking, scanning in, physical distancing. Apart from the booster, due January, I have not stopped doing the masking etc, even while out in the streets. In my suburb most people are masked when out, in fact today I saw only three who were unmasked. Two of whom, elderly folk, were coughing out, not into their elbow or tissue or handkerchief. They had the look of tourists and also had the 'do not approach me because I will bite your head off' belligerent look. So I moved as far away as I could from them until they had passed. Just bad manners, and as Rosemary says people 'shoulda' been doing this mouth covering Covid or no.
We have decided not to go out for NY though amazingly, bearing in mind Covid whichever variant, we have two invites. 'They' can do it – my good health matters more than a one shot wonder party in a crowded house……….
I like this one better…..I think it has Robin Williams in it.
To those here not worrying, and being happy about the anticipated arrival of Omicron, perhaps look at the current hospitalisation figures and deaths in Denmark I linked to on Open Mike. 30 deaths a day (27th Dec.) as the hospitalisation rate rose lagging behind soaring case numbers, mostly happy clappy Omicron. Denmark has the same pop. as NZ.
I'm aware of the numbers in the UK (v low) and South Africa (v low) – and that the numbers in those countries are hospital patients who returned a +ve test – meaning the already low numbers are inflated somewhat.
In Denmark, what is the %age of Omicron v Delta, and how do they tabulate their hospital Covid numbers?
Not sure where you get the view that omicron is very low in UK
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/25/uk-sets-new-record-for-covid-cases-as-omicron-sweeps-london.html
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-omicron-daily-overview
I know there is a view that we minimise the impact by slating the figures as they (the unfortunates with Omicron) apparently have been admitted to hospital with other ailments and just coincidentally tested positive for Omicron. Some sort of weird rationalising is going on. I have read also that some counting Omicron are now seeking another definition of what a 'case' of Covid is (omicron variant) Apparently the argument is that unless you have been either prescribed something or admitted to hospital then you should not have your 'case' counted.
This strange attitude seems to forget that Covid is a notifiable disease as is influenza. You can get mighty ill with influenza while still being treated at home with bed rest, analgesics, hydration etc. I think you could get ill with Omicron, be treated at home with bed rest, analgesics, hydration. The point for public health is whether you have it or not. How you were treated for it is an answer to another question.
Numbers of hospitalisations requiring serious treatment are low. Number of deaths are low. Number of infections are through the roof.
Both South Africa and the UK (and everywhere else form what I can gather) count as "hospital covid cases" those who have incidentally returned a +ve test. That twists perceptions to believe things are more onerous/serious than they are – it stokes unwarranted fear.
Counting infections as "cases" is misleading – no two ways about that. Bloody stupid, or politically opportunistic, for governments to have detected rates of infection labeled as cases and for those case numbers to drive public policy.
No denying Covid can be serious and even deadly for a small percentage of those who get infected. That the government public health messaging and actions didn't focus on what people might do to lessen the impacts of infection (eg – free vit D, zinc, good sleep, loss of weight, less alcohol etc), and instead went all in on "project fear" and invasive forms of social control is, to my mind, a bloody good reason to be looking at lamp posts in an alternative light.
Yes I saw that. Jury is still out on the impact it may have on our population. We are all wise to still be cautious ie 'treating all wires as live' as they used to say when I was a kid and we had, or seemed to, have constant power cuts while lines were upgraded etc.
Number of deaths and serious illness from Omicron are lower than from Delta everywhere.
The numbers Koff provided are for a country with only about 10% Omicron – ie, most of the deaths being recorded (however they are tabulated) are for Delta.
Food for thought? By all of the available data across multiple countries – insisting that Omicron be "kept at bay" is insisting that unnecessary deaths occur.
Considering the number of vulnerable people that have already died, the global toll, this is no surprise. It doesn't necessarily mean Omicron is less dangerous
Koff. Denmark does more tests than anywhere in the known universe so they're going to detect more cases. It is the deepest winter in Denmark and the Grim Reaper is making his annual harvest. Much of the crop will have Te Virus as well as whatever put them on The List.
The numbers, taken from statistics bureau Our World in Data on December 27th, place Denmark as the country with the highest incidence of the virus.
It should be noted that there is a large variation in the amount of testing undertaken by different countries, with Denmark among the countries that tests the most per resident.
Other metrics show Denmark in a more favourable light.
These include the number of people hospitalised with the coronavirus. 608 people or 105 per one million residents are currently admitted to Danish hospitals with the virus.
The latter figure is significantly lower than in a number of other European countries. In Bulgaria, Poland and Hungary it is over 600, while the figure for France is 250 hospital Covid-19 patients per one million residents.
Neighbouring Sweden and Norway had 51 and 65 hospital patients with Covid-19 respectively in figures dating from just before Christmas, though Sweden’s hospitalisation figures have since spiked markedly.
The week before Christmas saw Denmark register 21 deaths with Covid-19 per million inhabitants. Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and Croatia posted figures up to 4-5 times higher, though it should be noted that different countries have different criteria for the data.
I was around Wellington hospital about a month ago and it was jam-packed. That was without any covid-19 cases at all. It would not take many hospitalisations of covid-19 people to screw up the health care of non-covid-19 people.
With absolutely no resiliency built into our public health system in NZ this could very well be the case.
NZ Hospital System…brought to it's knees by successive negligent governments.
Including this one.
https://www.economy.com/denmark/deaths/not-seasonally-adjusted
I am not sure which 'fear' response I want to respond to first, there's so many to pick from. So I will just go straight for the jugular.
We're all going to die. One day we're going to die of something, could be cancer, heart disease, could be old age, aids, hep c, it could be Covid. Meanwhile most sensible people are doing the best they can to boost their immune system (because we all know that the health system is not doing much of anything for anyone with Covid).
If it's covid that evenually kills you, then you're one of the unlucky 0.05% of the under 70s or one of the 0.15% of the over 70s. Death unfortunately is inevitable. Suppose we can run around screaming that the sky is falling and force everyone to live in caves and wear helmets and ban them from looking at the sky or whatever (someone will be mad enough to want to ban the sky) but regardless of the measures taken it does not change the fact that we're all going to die anyway. Meanwhile Omicron is looking like a splendid choice of Covid to catch (if you have to get one, and you will), I say let's not look a gift horse in the mouth. Now I am off to live and ponder the madness of humans who think that walking into a cafe with a mask on, then sitting down and taking said mask off, while punter after punter are maskless breathing each other's air, germs and any viruses that are there to be breathed in. And the mask serves what purpose? Is that to make you feel better or protect you? There's not a whole lot of protection going on in the cafe scenario, is there? Or do we want to ban cafes next?
Far too depressing.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qVJ0jGC_0tU
lol
we all know that the health system is not doing much of anything for anyone with Covid
Tell that to the over-worked, stressed, under-paid and yet dedicated people who are working constantly to save lives. Say it to their faces. Walk up to them and say "you are not doing much of anything". Go ahead.
Or you could just say "thank you". If you can't bring yourself to say that, just fuck off.
A health care system and individual nurses or what-ever who work within it are two entirely different things 'observer'.
I wonder. Did you rail against the specialists and nurses (heroes to a person not so long ago) who got rendered jobless when they declined injections of m-RNA? And if not, why not?
And for the ones who rolled up their sleeves for two injections, but who will draw a line at the third, will you react to their loss in the same fashion as you did for the first tranche who, because of bureaucracy and politics, can no longer dedicate themselves to ministering the sick and injured among us?
They are not two independent things – people and the system work together to provide hospital level care – without the system organising drugs, food, water and cleaning systems and the qualified people to put those systems into action then our health care would fall apart.
The only thing holding together what passes for our healthcare system is the people at the coalface.
The 'system' functions, such as it it does, in spite of the meddling from petty bureaucrats, not because.
This may very well change as those most invested in healing will be forced out, leaving behind those most concerned with maintaining their income.
What I will say to their 'overworked' faces is "why, if this is the disaster that everyone's been led to believe it is, why have they stood back and said nothing while their colleagues, good doctors and nurses were let go”.
I will also ask them why so many of the injected (and young people) are filling up the ER with an inordinate amount of heart and neurological problems, and being told they're simply panic attacks and being sent away without any treatment.
I will also ask them why they have continued to follow the directive to not mention anything negative about the injection, while patient after patient turns up with injection related injuries. I have a lot to say to those 'stressed' people whose hippocratic oath is superseded but directives that serve no purpose other than injecting people regardless of the harm it causes.
You can tell me to 'fuck off' all you like but I won't and I will continue to point out the obvious. We are all actually going to fucking die and that's a fact and instead of running around with your eyes closed wailing about the sky falling in and demanding that everyone else close their eyes, open your fucking eyes and let that brain kick back into gear and ask yourself why, if this injection is so safe, why doctors and nurses are putting their careers on the line and refusing to have it.
Meanwhile I think I will hit the sushi shop today with my child and watch as they serve her sushi, while I refuse to give them a pass and I will do that in shop after shop because this discrimination, segregation and abuse of people is where the real sickness lies and that's got far worse repercussions than Covid.