I’m not sure if it was a terribly good idea for Judith to connect Gerry’s wild-eyed conspiracy theories to the rubbish that’s circulating on Facebook as she did on TVNZ this morning?
If you want to see what the dark heart of the establishment DNC looks like look no further than this interview…nothing more than a bunch of filthy war hawks whose ideology is pure and utter american exceptionalism, this lot are not all that different from ISIS, in other words fundamentalists..,,so don't fool yourselves, Biden/Kamala are really just pro choice Republicans.
And it is worth noting that this interview was done before it was exposed that the FBI had been caught lying in their Russiagate investigations..
Dem impeachment attorney on Mueller, Ukrainegate, and the case vs. Trump
"..that he altered a June 2017 email from the CIA in a way that suggested Page, an admitted CIA asset, was not a “source” for the agency.
Relying on the falsified document, the FBI then applied for its fourth surveillance warrant on Page, according to court documents."
I am not reheating Trumps anything, just stating the fact that the FBI has been caught red handed altering evidence to suit their investigation… an investigation that using the full might of one of the most powerful intelligence agencies in the entire world proved nothing…well I guess they did prove that people on the Left ( including all it's media) are just as easily manipulated into believing unquestioningly any conspiracy theory fed to them as people on the Right are, as long as that conspiracy conforms too and strengthens their already deeply embedded bias and/or helps in vilifying their perceived enemy.
A great smoke and mirrors trick that has been used by those in power forever, and sadly as can be plainly seen, still works just as effectively.
This is nothing to do with voting joe, this is about the the DNC aided by the FBI concocting a elaborate conspiracy theory..ie Russia interference that altered the outcome 2016 US elections..and that Trump is somehow in the pocket of Putin, both allegations never proven because they are both just as ridiculous.
I am just as opposed to Trump as anyone on this site, but that doesn't mean I have to turn off the critical thinking part of my brain and get into bed with organizations like the FBI FFS!
I am just as opposed to Trump as anyone on this site
I don't see any evidence of that. None. Quite the opposite, in fact.
I can't bring to mind any instances of you being critical of any of the numerous outrages the stygian homunculus has perpetrated against the disadvantaged, against democracy, against fairness and equity in society, against the environment etc etc.
It appears your only interest is in attacking Democrats, often as a diversionary whine when someone else posts a criticism of an outrageous action perpetrated by Don of the Deadbrains or one of his minions. Indeed, often these diversionary attacks appear to be repackaged from the convergence wingnut area of the political spectrum. That is most easily interpreted as trying to boost the satsuma shitgibbon, not the actions of someone opposed to what he is doing.
I don't need to attack Trump, it is quite obvious to anyone with eyes what he is and what he stands for…what I am concerned about is idiots like you destroying the little credibility the Left has with the general public with your unhinged and fact free conspiracy theories.. I rarely if ever see you lot attacking Trumps foreign policies…wonder why that is? …I didn't see you lot lose you shit when he (with the DNC) signed off on the biggest largest military budget in history, or signed off the biggest upward movement of wealth to wall st recently…you and your beloved Dem anti Trump rhetoric is nothing but a sick joke and nothing more than that, rhetoric..you give that motherfucker Trump everything he wants when it comes to the super wealthy, US corporations and US military hegemony…like I said you are a joke, and Trumps laughing right into your face…. the sad thing is you are being used like a tool and you don’t even seem to want to know.
So you're just as opposed to the cheetodick as anyone else on the site, but without actually attacking him. /sarc
Do you really not remember any criticism of the dude's foreign policy? The pulling back from NATO, the trade confrontations, the free passes given to Putin, the repeated North Korea fuckups, the suggestion Japan and South Korea get nukes, the moving of the US embassy in Israel, his pathetic manipulation by dictators around the world?
… you give that motherfucker Trump everything he wants when it comes to the super wealthy, US corporations and US military hegemony …
Again, you obviously aren't paying attention if you've missed all the comments about tax cuts for the wealthy, cutting regulations and all the other shit America's Prolapsed Rectum has been doing to coddle the wealthy and the corporations. (these comments are a bit harder to search for due to my refusal to use the Mandarin Manutang's common name)
If I may, I observe (i.e. my PoV) that you two have much more in common than that separates you. Based on my belief, I’m at a loss as to why you two feel the need to rip into each other as you do. Please note that I’m not moderating here, just expressing my utter confusion and inability to grasp what’s going on between you. As such, it doesn’t invite or require an answer 😉
As I see it, the biggest difference is that as the choices narrow down, I shift my support to whichever remaining option is most likely to achieve changes I value.
Looks to me like Adrian does not, apparently preferring to attack even harder the remaining option that knocked out the one he had his heart set on, without realising that that is functionally the same as supporting the opponent of what he professes to value. There's a time for those attacks, while the choices remain open. But after the choice has been made, it's just destructive.
If you and Adrian cannot agree to disagree – although you seem to be united in your aversion against Trump and GOP – then why not give each other a wide berth? This behaviour is also destructive, IMHO.
For what it's worth Adrian I can hear where you are coming from. Perhaps the best way to understand the USA is to understand that their unique geography has meant that over centuries they've been able to build a powerful and prosperous nation without having to develop and especially competent or responsive political system. As a result when a real crisis strikes, they're left floundering.
Trump is a high functioning psychopath which makes him both a polarising figure and deeply unsuited to the modern office of POTUS. Yet more than a few have drawn comparison with another President … Andrew Jackson … who was similarly divisive, reckless and viscerally despised by his opponents. Yet oddly enough history regards him now as one of the more significant Presidents. In this I agree with you, obsessively attacking Trump is a fools errand. It ends with the old line about you getting dirty and the pig enjoying it.
As for the DNC, it's very hard to have respect for a political entity that produces Joe Biden as it's best effort. Truly the USA political system has become a ship of fools, but even this phase will pass. There is every reason to hope that after a decade of turmoil the USA will re-invent itself as it has done in the past.
And in this respect I’m also with Andre, that a reflexive anti-Americanism is a selective and unproductive view of their role in the world. We must be honest about their flaws and mistakes, but it’s folly to also discard their many achievements.
It wasn't "the DNC" that selected Biden as the candidate. It was probably the most democratic selection process of anywhere in the world at any time for choosing a candidate to contest for a country's highest office. Literally anyone eligible to vote in the general election could participate equally in the Democratic primary. At most, they would have to fill out a form saying they affiliated as a Democrat some time before their state's primary date, but in many states they just have to choose which primary they are are voting in at the time of casting their ballot. No joining the party, no membership fees, no giving a party personal data needed.
The vote-counting rules were also closer to one person-one vote than anything else I'm aware of. The only significant deviation was the 15% threshold for getting awarded delegates, but that distortion is much smaller than even Repug rules that ranged up to winner-take-all in some states. Let alone rules like reserving a proportion of votes to unions and caucus members as happens here.
Literally anyone could also put themselves forward for selection. No prior party affiliation needed. In fact, the runner-up pointedly dissociated himself from the Democratic party several years earlier, and only grudgingly re-associated himself with the party once he decided to try for the nomination.
I'm not aware of any other political organisation anywhere else in the world that is anywhere near that open to all comers when it comes to choosing its leader. So painting the DNC as some nefarious organisation pulling hidden strings behind the scenes is really unfair and simply wrong. The choice was freely and fairly made by the segment of the voting public that were interested enough to make the relatively minimal effort required to participate in that choice.
It's a semantic quibble, the DNC may not have done the voting, but they certainly own and run the process. And to suggest that the party machine sits back and watches the primaries unfold with no attempt at influence seems a trifle naive … but it's your party and I'm not pissing on it.
I can understand Biden's stammer, I can get past his uninspiring past, I can even live with the fact that a more honest process would have just selected Kamala Harris from the outset. But that Biden somehow came through a field of far more credible candidates, any number of them much more interesting and charismatic, just leaves me cold.
And more than anything else the Dems need a charismatic, energising candidate to energise their disparate support base to ensure a strong win. Yet here we are with a relatively weak candidate, that despite promising polling, is by no means hands down to beat Trump. In US elections turnout is everything, and this the polls do not measure well.
The DNC doesn't have have a secret research lab where they manufacture candidates and they botched the recipe this year. The choice available is entirely at the mercy of the vagaries of who puts their hand up to have a go and catches the interest of the voting public.
This year, probably for fear of being accused of underhanded influence by rabid supporters of specific candidates, even people with long histories of solid contribution to the party were extremely circumspect about even making their views public. The party machine has been remarkably hands-off, more so than any other selection process anywhere anytime than I can bring to mind. Clyburn's endorsement before the South Carolina primary was just about the sum total of party machine involvement in making the choice, which is really almost nothing on the scale of these things.
So for this year, charisma maybe isn't what the voting public is looking for. Possibly the idea that Biden knows the ropes so thoroughly that he can step in on day one and start getting things working again without fuss is something that way overcomes his resemblance to a potted plant. Perhaps the potted plant thing is even a positive after all the "charisma" of the past four years.
For mine Biden was/is the nostalgia choice, he's the last of his generation, a generation of Democrats who did not realise much. They lost to Reagan, then to Bush junior and for the brief time Obama had Congress he was dealing with GFC and the legacy of PNAC in foreign policy (its hard to count Clinton when he was the tail of the Republican Congress) and in that brief window brought in the Affordable Care Act. For those of this era, a last chance at redemption, fulfillment of lost promise.
To the wider public, its packaged as a return to an old civility. Something even some of the older GOP members of Congress can appreciate. It's also in a bi-partisan sense a restoration of respect for the institutions of the state and the concept of public service. Albeit over the political corpse of Donald John Trump.
The Oval Office is no place for an angry old man, not Nixon nor Trump.
There was the direction not taken in 2000 (Florida chads and the Supreme Court). This is the chance for the USA to join the 21st C and the community of democratic nations. The mistake made in 2000 was to try to dominate the word as a lone super power. When empires end they turn to neglected domestic issues – they do justice, that fulfillment of lost promise.
Which is where the succession to Biden comes in (he would be a one term president), handing over to a new generation – albeit with some of the path set by Sanders and working with the DC hivemind
In terms of foreign policy, not being Trump is a low bar. Not trying destroy the WTO, rejoining WHO, funding the UN on time, not cozying up to strongman types and rejoining the Paris Accord is not as much as the world needs. Maybe the rest can come from the USA working with others on global security matters a little more.
I'm almost persuaded by your optimism Ad. But in essence the USA is a nation in the middle of both a social crisis and a failure of governance at the same time.
In blunt terms the US has split strongly between coastal communities dominated by 'zoom people' that earn a living typing on computer, and the rest of the nation that still bends steel and works with their hands for a living. They've bifurcated into two very different groups and it's not at all clear to me how Biden will be able to reach across this fault line.
And in terms of governance the COVID crisis has cruelly exposed weakness at every level both federal and state. Despite insanely complex layers of regulation, policy and agencies the system has fallen apart when faced with real crisis. Reforming this will be the work of a decade, and again I'm not hearing Biden talking to any of this.
Reply to every post of Adrian's where he's denounced them with proof that his claim is incorrect.
To continue claiming that any criticism of the Democrats proves support of Trump is tiresome and barely reaches the level of debate of your third form debater.
Every iteration of humourous, clever Trump pseudonym does not assist the debate very much.
It takes vastly more time and effort to refute bullshit than it does to spatter it out in the first place. Eventually the time comes to call out the orifice spewing bullshit for what it is rather than continue the really tiresome task of trying to clean up after it.
both allegations never proven because they are both just as ridiculous.
You may not accept the proof, but given the abundance of such reports in reputable media, they are hardly ridiculous. Ridiculous would be dismissing them without considering the evidence.
Getting involved in American politics is like getting involved in the demise of the Roman Republic. Nothing in it for anyone but with the most brilliant PR ever.
It's an historical moment. If Trump wins it's lights out for the USA. It will fall deeper into authoritarianism, paranoia, and corruption, as the pandemic and social unrest spread out of control. States like California and Texas might want to secede from the insanity in Washington and Wall St. Global treaties and defence arrangements will be in tatters.
Actually, I wonder about supporting an oligarchic Democratic Party. But just a FDR or LBJ would be enough to deliver capitalism there for another few years. Which would be better than the violence needed otherwise. I don't think the DP understands this.
Some day you might want to pop up from that rabbit hole you're in and come visit us where reality and rationality and big-pictures are occasionally visible.
I am sensing myself becoming more concerned about the origins of this current outbreak as I watch the scientists looking perplexed and hear and read bafflement in the media reports. The current virus doesn't match the RNA of the virus past or that in quarantine at our borders. The likelihood of it passing from a frozen surface through layers of protective clothing is really low. I wonder if anyone else has noticed this?
The good news is that all the new cases have been linked to the single cluster and there's no other clusters being found out there, after tons of new tests
Th best is maybe to accept that even experts are learning on the job, and we might all just be prepared at any given day to shut down and go home in order to minimize the fall out.
As for how does it travel, other then that certain corona viruses do well in cold and can survive freezing and thawing, and that supposedly the people at he coldstore were kept safe by their superious (ha!) we know nothing. So we might get comfortable wit the idea that this is something that will keep us on our toes for a few years until it has either run its course, has been supplanted by something worse, or we have found a way to treat/stop/prevent it.
MoH are good, but they're by default working from a conservative position. I doubt they will be wanting to make public statements about what George is raising. I haven't been following enough to know George's comment is even useful or meaningful, but I think dismissing such comments doesn't help.
Thinking about where a virus has come from should include extraterrestrial sources and being aware how abundant and ubiquitous they are.
"On Earth, viruses are thought to outnumber cellular life forms by a factor of 10. And our planet is teeming with virions. In fact, a teaspoon of sea water can contain up to 50 million virions."
That was unwatchable…" the skill of its orchestration " …I won't be taking any movie recommendations from you in future that's for sure!
Anyway I think this clip would be little more informative to anyone interested in Biden political past…i mean who gives a fuck about his personal life..it is what has he done as a politician is all that matters…
…Andrew Cockburn, Washington editor for Harper’s magazine, talks about Biden’s record…
From Crime Bill to Iraq War Vote, Biden’s Legislative History Under Scrutiny as He Enters Race
Have a proper look at his full legislative record, and executive record, over 35 years. Fair to say that not many others will, but it's better than silly cherry-picking that your linked interviewers do.
Did you know if you look up "The Lincoln Project" that it has this info on Wikipedia;
The Lincoln Project is an American political action committee formed in late 2019 by several prominent current and former individuals associated with the Republican Party.
So that ad is by a Republican run group that is trashing Trump and supporting a Democrat.
The lackluster ticket of Biden/Kamala starts to look a bit shaky… I have to say I could see no reason why Biden would choose Kamala as running mate, it seemed to me a serious strategic mistake that brought no new voters into the fold, while it no doubt offended many..but what do I know.
Biden and Trump matchup tightens
"Overall, 50% of registered voters back the Biden-Harris ticket, while 46% say they support Trump and Pence, right at the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points"
No it just means don't try and tell yourself that Biden is anything more than the piece of shit that he is, and I guess if you are in the US it means just eating a little less shit than the pile of shit that Trump is…but one thing is for sure, nothing will really change under Biden…as he said himself….
As Kamala Harris Joins Biden Ticket, Wall Street Sighs in Relief
Wall Street’s warm welcome to Joe Biden’s running mate reflects a belief that tougher financial regulation isn’t a top priority
With Warren, there's the issue of her Senate seat. Right now, Massachusetts laws say the governor gets to pick the replacement with no restrictions. Right now, the governor is Republican Charlie Baker, who could appoint a Repug replacement. There will also have to be a special election held for the seat within 180 days, so that appointment is only a short term thing.
If the incoming senate split turns out to be 50/50, losing Warren's vote for 3 to 6 months until the special election, plus the risk of another Scott Brown outcome, might be quite an obstacle to appointing Warren to be Secretary of Treasury.
The only defence of Biden is perhaps there won't be another even slightly fair election if he's defeated. Which by itself is an indictment. The throne needs to be overthrown. Look forward to seeing Bill Maher cursing out people who don't see that as a good reason to vote for Biden. The US leadership has no contacts to the people. Either way …
To avoid nervousness, I think we need to see these sorts of margins maintained in the polls. Especially given the criticality of swing states (versus popular vote) and the Republicans' expertise in voter suppression. If the narrowing indicated in the one poll Adrian mentioned becomes reflected in other polls, it will be scary.
Clinton won the popular vote in 2016 by a couple of points, so best practice is to look at the battleground states where the real shit is going to go down.
In the link I posted above, at the top of the page there's a drop down menu titled 'battleground states', the results for all of these can easily be found.
It's also worth comparing the state-by-state polls from 2016 to 2020. The 2020 polls of the battleground states are much more stable than 2016, and Biden is often over 50% whereas Clinton hardly ever cracked 50% in a battleground state.
. Poll puts Labour as the preferred party for business owners for first time
Labour is now the preferred party for the owners of small and medium-sized businesses, a poll by MYOB indicates.
It was the first time owners of small and medium businesses had preferred Labour over National since MYOB, which provides online accounting services, began polling in 2011.
“Up until now, while satisfaction with the performance of successive Governments has ebbed and flowed, the SME [small and medium-sized enterprises] sector has been a reliable voting bloc for the National Party,” said MYOB’s New Zealand manager, Ingrid Cronin-Knight.
Labour was the preferred party for 38 per cent of the 401 business owners MYOB surveyed, with 35 per cent favouring National.
Cronin-Knight said, over the years National had been the front-runner among the owners of small and medium-sized businesses, although its support waxed and waned ranging from 63 per cent in 2014 to 44 per cent in 2017.
“At this time in the last election cycle, Labour sat on just 29 per cent support,” she said.
She said 45 per cent of business owners surveyed believed the current Government deserved to be re-elected, while 37 per cent thought it was time for a change.
That was a fascinating article – I looked at it last night. I tend to be a somewhat sceptical of the methodology – which wasn’t shown in the article and I can’t see on the MYOB site. If anyone has time could they find it and link to some with a bit of data in it?
However the trend was interesting. I’ve always been of the opinion that SMEs tend to lean to incumbents rather than ideology. They have enough risk in their own markets and operations. What they’re mostly interested in from government is to not screw up too much.
Clearly they don’t seem to have seen that from this government.
More DNC dodgy behaviour revealed today, exposing yet again that the Pelosi lead establishment DNC is more interested in fighting and defeating any movement to the Left within the party than it is in defeating the Right..because it has more in common with the Right than the progressive Left, that is a plain and indisputable fact…
Party Leaders Investigating Origin of Anti-Morse Campaign Helped Orchestrate It, Documents Reveal
That is a good point, firstly I believe that like it or not the US and it's ideology influence western (and global) politics to an extreme degree, so any movement there right or left will spill over into our domestic scene to a small or large extent, so I am interested in it for that reason, and that is also why I am less interested in it's domestic politics.
Secondly, there hasn't been anyone in the last couple of years on the NZ Left that have looked like they could pull Labour Left in the way Corbyn and Sanders where looking like they could do..especially since the passing of what could have been one of NZ's greatest Labour leaders Helen Kelly, so I have been pretty despondent about the local political scene since then.
Trotter's book No Right Turn shares your melancholy, setting out how leftwards turns in New Zealand politics have been regularly sabotaged. I'd recommend it to you.
"Amusingly, the loudest calls for the government to step in and reduce the pain that employers are feeling, is coming from the same corporates (and libertarian political parties) that, for the past 20 years, have railed against the evils of state intervention, while also touting the virtues of small government. Clearly, there’s nothing like the advent of personal pain to enable a rethink, and a view of state support in a more kindly light. For the wider good, of course.
Like any new converts, these new enthusiasts for corporate socialism tend to be dependent to an extent unimaginable by dole recipients or solo parents. With nary a blush, business has been demanding “Where’s the plan?” of the Ardern government – as if sustainable planning for economic recovery was solely the government’s problem, with no parallel obligation on business to look in the mirror. In fact, the wage subsidy scheme was originally intended to give troubled sectors (eg tourism, international education, and hospitality) time to reconfigure their operations It was not meant to be a pause button until whenever normal service would resume."
Indeed…so many dont appear to have grasped the reality that these subsidies are a breathing space to reevaluate AND ACT with regard to the changed business environment….the cliff approaches and too many appear oblivious.
I just hope the number of schools opening up for the second week at Level 3 in Auckland is just a few, the entitled ones preparing students for their Cambridge exams, because if the outbreak spreads via schools it will go on longer and impact the NCEA period, election and survival of many businesses.
Waiting to hear whether our local state school is going to open up early for Years 12 and 13. The boy is quite keen to get back early – he thinks remote learning moves too slowly, puts him at a disadvantage compared to schools outside Auckland, and doesn't sufficiently mimic the classroom environment. Setting aside the point that a 17 year old shouldn't be so competitively stressed, these seem like reasonable comments about a slightly lacklustre implementation of remote learning.
The 'elite' schools pushing this are meeting the needs of their real customers – not the students, the parents. These parents have paid a premium (fees or expensive real estate) to buy their children an advantage over other people's children. They don't want that investment wasted.
Interesting to hear some young people complaining about not being able to cope without the enforced organisational rigours of their secondary schools and want to be there to improve their school marks so they can go to whichever course at whichever university.
Our youngest, not so long out of that world, said on hearing the complaints, "What? Soon they're going to be out on their own, controlling their own study, responsible for their own tracks. Sounds like they're not up to facing the real world of being a real student."
She is one who observed numbers from cosseted backgrounds and fancy schools having difficulty coping with independence and poor ability at organising themselves.
My sons who went to a decile 2 school and subsequently obtained good degrees, used to remark on how hopeless many of the students from elite schools were at organising themselves at university level. It suggests there is a lot of spoon-feeding happening; maybe more concerned about the pass rates for the schools concerned than developing the abilities of their students.
The schools using the Oxford and Cambridge system..I can't remember the other name for it…these students have to earn more credits in order to gain entry to university now than NCEA based courses because the students weren't coping with the environment which was less structured.
A beautiful, detailed and lengthy dismantling of the error-ridden and dangerous arguments put up by pandemic-deniers; Simon Thornley, Ryan Bridge, Damien Grant, Matthew Hooton, and Mike Hosking.
Some economist will know what all this means. Has Sweden borrowed less than us? Maybe:
As a share of GDP, central government debt increases from 22 percent to 31 percent.
I think we are looking at 45-50% or something. But then:
The Maastricht debt is expected to increase from around 35 per cent of GDP in 2019 to 45 per cent at the end of next year. That measure includes the general government consolidated debt and is usually used in international comparisons.
I have no idea what Maastricht debt is with respect to how we measure government debt.
They are going to look a bit stupid if they end up with a) massive death rate, b) high unemployment (already over 9%), c) a shrivelled economy (GDP to fall 6.5% this year) and d) huge government debt.
Worldometer is using their supplied data, if you look closely at the main graph you can see the N/A for info regarding recovered and active cases.
I have been watching Swedens graph stats almost daily and their was an abrupt stop to statistical records for recording new infections, deaths, recovered and active cases.
They had been recording daily infections in their hundreds prior to that, if you look closely at the infected graph they went from several hundred infections one day to nearly none 3 or 4 days later, we know that that is Highly unlikely given what we know in NZ.
Their stats don't add up, they're suppilied by the Swedish Govt.
The data are there, on the Worldometer website, and they’re updated daily, as far as I can tell. You just need to click a little further/deeper than the main table on the landing page.
Did you click on the two links I provided? All daily data can be found there. In fact, the Worldometer data seem to be a little ahead of its source!?
Another article completely smashing the lame, primitive, poorly researched and dangerous reckons of Hooton, Seymour, Bridge, Hosking, Grant, Thornley and co.
That's an interesting link! I like them both but never saw the similarities. Bloody obvious really. The other link is the Doors "light my fire" and the Stranglers "Walk on by"
Cmon Trump. The longer your in, the more likely the downfall of the US as a world power. That can be only be good for the free world, free of yankee war crap.
It depends how quickly another aspiring hegemon or pair of them move in to fill their shoes. An ineffectual US is likely much more benign than either an expanding kleptostate or aggressive state capitalism under a wannabe dynastic leader.
Q2. Hon JUDITH COLLINS to the Prime Minister: What advice, if any, has she received on the most likely way COVID-19 entered Auckland, causing the lockdown which began on 12 August, and what weaknesses, if any, have officials identified in border procedures which may have left New Zealand vulnerable to fresh outbreaks of COVID-19?
Determined to link the outbreak to a government Failure at the border. Wonder if we will ever know where the infection came from.
Only 11 questions today?
I'm more interested about how it was then professionally repackaged on Facebook- and with the media know etc (which is like a QAnon type mem now, inferring the MSM are not informing the people but these peddlers of fake news are).
Just being transparent. A case involving a different strain of the virus is a major development.
This case looks like a case of surface transmission to a maintenance worker, rather than person to person, these things do happen. China had a cluster they could not explain for some time. Apparently someone returned from overseas and went to their apartment to isolate. Another person in the building spread to others afterwards – the only known link is a button in an elevator.
As far as I know, the sequencing is partial and I wonder if they have ruled out that this B.1.1.1 sub-lineage developed independently here in NZ from a B.1.1 lineage. AFAIK, it only takes one nucleotide difference to become ‘eligible’ to qualify as a sub-lineage. All sub-lineages started somewhere but there’s no fundamental reason to exclude the (slim?) possibility that the same change happened in more than one place. I’d think the probability is higher than winning the Lotto Jackpot and this was won by ten lucky punters on Saturday. Anybody able to answer this knowledgably?
I claim zero expertise in viral mutations, but a somewhat feeble grasp of probabilities, so I'll have a crack:
I guess the first step would be finding out if we've seen the B.1.1 lineage previously here in New Zealand.
If all nucleotide substitutions are equally probable (no idea whether that's true, I'd guess a lot of theoretically possible substitutions create non-viable virus), then the chances of independently getting that B.1.1.1 mutation here would surely be 1/3 (chances of substituting in the same new nucleotide) times 1/30,000 (the number of nucleotides in the SARS-CoV-2 genome and therefore the chance of substituting into the exact same location) times the number of instances a mutation of that original B.1.1 has occurred here in NZ (call it x, unknown), for a total odds of x/90,000. Times whatever scale-up factor needed to account for all the non-viable mutations in that 90,000 denominator that would never appear.
The odds of winning from a single line of Powerball are 1/38,383,800. The cheapest ticket is for 8 lines, so that's 1/4,797,975 chance of winning from the cheapest ticket. But the 10 winners all won off the second division since it was a must-win draw, so their odds of their win off one cheapest ticket were roughly 1/800,000.
But I'd guess there were vastly more tickets sold for the Powerball draw than opportunities for B.1.1 to become B.1.1.1, assuming B.1.1 actually was present here.
" But I'd guess there were vastly more tickets sold for the Powerball draw than opportunities for B.1.1 to become B.1.1.1, assuming B.1.1 actually was present here. "
Covid19 will be replicated many billions of times within a single patient – a single nasal swab can pick up 100,000,000 copies.
Yes, but that mutation also has to pass itself on to the new host.
There have to be bottlenecks somewhere in the process that winnow down the number of mutations that become detectable in the environment, otherwise the genomic tree would have waaaaay more branches than it does.
AFAIK, mutations don’t occur in the virus itself but during the process of integration and/or replication by the host cell; a virus cannot replicate itself. Again, an expert might be able to shed some light on this.
Determined to link the outbreak to a government Failure at the border.
There is a quarantine failure with a staff member ,who however has a different genome.
The new development here is a maintenance worker at the Rydges Hotel isolation facility in Auckland testing positive. He has no regular contact with guests and he isn't linked to the existing cluster.
Genome sequencing has shown a link between this worker and a returnee who travelled from the US at the end of July.
A review of CCTV clips show no obvious connection between the two.
There are six close contacts connected to the worker, all are in self-isolation and have tested negative. Three household contacts have been identified and tested.
I feel like this is the only case of a border worker (not even a border worker really) to have tested positive? So far at least. And it's not even one responsible for the Auckland cluster.
Doesn't this suggest the the border workers were taking care of themselves all along with good practice and that the opposition's drive to find a breach because of testing is a load of shite?
What I'm saying is, assuming all border workers have now been tested (I don't know if this is true) and come up negative apart from this one maintenance worker (I don't know if this is true either), doesn't that show border practice was fine?
Ruining my theory might be that a border worker in July may have become infected, not been symptomatic, has recovered without symptoms but not before transmitting the virus to case zero of the Auckland cluster. Seems unlikely.
The response to the ak cluster ( genomic difference) suggests there may be a maritime breach (which was always a soft border) such as stevedores,pilots,etc.
Yes, they have thrown a lot at ports and truckies recently (some of who are refusing tests, I hear). This suggests they are concerned about port workers mixing with foreign crew.
I would have said it is the responsibility of the ports themselves to adhere to MoH border guidelines. Maybe you could tag MPI a little bit but it differs from immigration and MIQ which are clearly government run. You could say baggage handlers are in the same boat (heh) as port workers.
I have been listening for the last 30 mins to parliament. Just as I expected Collins expects a different outcome (the impossible no Covid cases) to other countries.
As far as I know the Covid sick leave 14 day payment is still in place. Trucking firms need to be hauled into line if they are threatening drivers for taking sick-leave. If they are contractors wage subsidy is there.
I am aware of rumours some truck drivers are heavy amphetamine users.
I hope the truckies are not getting into the situation that they were in the USA years ago, taking uppers and downers, pushing themselves, not having proper stops and decent food. One got into that cycle and ran down some people and/or into a store. I think a dietitian considered it a sort of sugar high, putting out the person's body systems. Driving for too long hours.
Love this narrative about 'failure;…FFS this is the unknown and everybody is learning on the job…we have no idea about potential lines of transmission.
There have been some questionable acts but no failure of intent.
She took the unusual step of telegraphing the claims to the media this morning ahead of QT too. Which perhaps suggests she isn’t confident that the info she has will get her a big enough bang for her buck or that maybe events may overtake her as the day goes on?
It's expression of a fear that the MSM will fact check their political messaging, National are trying to warn the media off by sending in the one man who has no credibility left to lose.
I was talking to a Chch woman tonight about the stress of waiting for the election and getting Labour back in. She hasn't got good things to say about Brownlee. Was talking about the debacle about sweeping decisions about the red zone and how it hurt the people living there, still getting over it and trying to get settled. Apparently back then there was a rush to do this and that, resulted in one woman going shopping in the morning and came back and her house was demolished. Everything seems to have been lost, all her possessions, all the precious family photos etc. Pretty legal? Pretty incredible.
Light lunchtime relief. When reading the article every time the word "emu" or " Eric" or "he" is mentioned replaced it with my favourite name "Judith" or "she".
Judith flees rural Auckland paddock in search of love.
Says Foster an Animal Welfare officer, " I had never caught a Judith before, so I started Googling how to do it,” As Judith has sharp claws and a “forceful kick”, Foster and her colleagues had to be extra careful in their capture attempt.
Says the owner Goodley, " Even I’ve got to keep looking over my shoulder when she’s following me around the paddock.”
She is “strutting her stuff” with her 20 sheep friends.
“She loves roaming around the paddock showing off she’s the tallest thing in there,” Goodley said.
(Multiply population of 5 x 60 to get 300 million and multiply new cases of 13 x 60 for comparison to USA daily cases –
Our infection rate would give 208 cases for comparison to USA of 41,893.)
e&oe This is near-enough math done in my head.
We knew that though eh. They must be thick over there that they haven't found a way through their flexible laws to move him on somewhere. Somewhere over the rainbow because you can never get really close to a rainbow right!
I hope you're well Jum haven't seen your name for a while. Maybe haven't looked in the right posts.
Progressive Party policies include maximising NZ’s self-reliance. We fully accept that NZ’s standard of living is built on its trade with the rest of the world, so maximising our self-reliance is not a call for protectionism.
What it does mean, in the first instance, is ensuring our ability to meet our basic needs so that we can relate to the rest of the world from a position of strength.
We invite you to browse our website and discover a little more about who we are and what we are advocating
The Progressive party currently aren’t on the register.
The Heartland party has no constitution and rules. They may have to hurry up.
Nor does The Advance New Zealand Party.
What in the hell is the Tea party? Umm their constitution has as the second clause..
The Party may also be known as the New Zealand Taxpayers and Entrepreneurs Alliance, still
abbreviated as “TEA Party”, for the purposes of the Electoral Act 1993.
Umm The ONE party. Oh their constitution appendix has (with tabs between the words?)…
ONE PARTY FAITH STATEMENT:
1. We believe in only one God, eternally existent in three persons;
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Matt 28:19 1 John 5:7
The Vision New Zealand Party sounds awfully similar with this as their first principle
Believe there is only one God, who is undivided and inseparable in
essence, and within this one essence there are three eternal
distinctions, the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit.
They recognize the Holy Bible to be the Word of God, which is infallible
and the supreme authority in all matters of faith and morals, upon
which governing mandates should be founded and measured.
I know all of the rest of the parties. Ok that was an amusing few minutes looking at the new kids on the block.
Now enough procrastination – back to finding out why NetworkManager thinks that the wifi module is unavailable.
Both registered and unregistered parties can stand electorate candidates at general elections. But only parties registered with the Electoral Commission can:
contest the party vote
have their registered logo on the voting paper
access broadcasting funds for advertising on television and radio.
Thanks for this refreshing reflection Greywarshark. This alternative thinking/vision has been an area on my mind.
For the knockers the Party's manifesto is worthy of space and discussion
"
• All people can fulfil their basic needs for food, clothing, housing, medical care and education,
• All human beings can freely develop their physical, mental and spiritual potentials,
• All human beings experience human rights such as physical integrity, equality and freedom,
Moving together and for each other we can develop our individual and collective potential. "
Even today watching Parliament live angered me. In this unparalleled reconvening it should have been a precious space for meaningful conversations about all our forward wellbeing. Instead the time was hijacked for point scoring. Parliamentary time today was an expensive rort on taxpayer's money when the questions today had already been answered through various channels.
It is hard to describe a type of angst or is it fury that I feel about a void of action, a void of policy and little voicing of even near future solutions for addressing entrenched injustices that contunue to cause longterm misery for so many.
What do other main Parties offer?
"Homo economicus, the everyman postulated by economic theorists, is an atomized individual who is relentlessly driven to maximize his material advantages through the market not matter what the social costs. "
"NOW is the starting point upon which we can build a political framework of access, sharing, equality and social well-being."
Another perspective is, IMO , an inabilty to let go of "ego" . Missing in the main is even a hint of decolonisation policies, systems thinking other than measures I have seen in the Green's platform.
"Decolonisation goes beyond diversity and inclusion. It is the commitment to make marginalised communities un-marginalised by recognising them as part of the whole and welcoming them as agents of change."
"The most effective visions will show people the better world in meaningful concrete ways, lay out a clear process for change and be clear on who can make the change within a system and structure."
The dominant feeling I have is that change will not happen with this election's offerings because a type of criminal act has taken place. That act has been the stealing of space for the voices of the people to be addressed. The crime is a theft of democracy by the likes of those with a self interest agenda to gain Power. The greatest vile collaborator is the MSM.
Your view and dismissal belittling a view with " it's not rocket science" about sums up 2020. Today in Parliament was the same said in multiple ways, " Any view but mine is all shit." And repeat.
Btw. The links provided were some of many similar ‘expert’ voices.
In an instant barely enough time to even tead a link, you were the disparaging one.
"… it's not rocket science" , you might as well have stated your superior view by calling me a " dumbass" .
Your statement
" too many dont wish it so". Who ? Explain please this writing off of the masses of people enduring injustice.
Irony is your action is what was reflected in my post.
Could be you might be one of the causes of people giving up TS.
Conflating opinion with “rocket science” is silly, I agree. But there have been quite a few opinion polls recently.
Taking things personal when they’re not, is setting yourself up for a shit fight.
There are many reasons why people come and go from TS. Unless you have done an exit poll, you don’t know their reasons and can only speculate. The vast majority of page views (visits) of TS are silent readers.
It is the action and intent of his putdown on other's that is detrimental.
I have read Pat's posts today and applying the same post under his own views or anyone's is corrosive to any dialogue.
Put Pat's comment under his long post made with considerable effort today and see the effect- 18 August 2020 at 10:58 am
"… if sustainable planning for economic recovery was solely the government’s problem, with no parallel obligation on business to look in the mirror…."
Then apply the action of 'instantly stomp on it .. you dumbass.'
So for reflection, if I posted this same comment instantly under your well considered input of posts I believe you would find it unacceptable.
Or let this comment stand as a model for other commentators and 'just give up on change you dolts'
"change will not happen because too many dont wish it so…its not rocket science."
"I have read Pat's posts today and applying the same post under his own views or anyone's is corrosive to any dialogue.
Put Pat's comment under his long post made with considerable effort today and see the effect- 18 August 2020 at 10:58 am
"… if sustainable planning for economic recovery was solely the government’s problem, with no parallel obligation on business to look in the mirror…."
You are aware that you have quoted Gordon Campbell?…and the post is brief as almost all my posts are…I dont do verbose.
If you can be a bit tolerant – everyone who comes and blogs about politics is special – all concerned to get change, better things, but how? And all have particular gifts and knowledge and perceptions. Gradually an understanding of that person's mind is gained and then when they seem faulty you know where they are coming from.
Ok, the written word lacks intonation and is often (?) perceived differently, in a qualitative sense, than intended. This can lead to endless misunderstandings.
If you reply to one of my comments that it is not rocket science, I would most likely ask you why or simply let it go.
OTOH, if you were to call me a dumbass, I would take that as a personal insult, in the first instance.
It all depends on the context (e.g. topic, thread, commenter, etc.) and on the mood I am in at the time.
i will confess i have not yet read the links (though I shall) but make the observation that the greens have been promoting progressive policies for decades and to date capture (?) around 6 -7% of the voting publics support…there is a disconnect between what people say they want and what they are prepared to support.
Hi PaddyOT I was talking to someone who has studied philosophy tonight and we agreed that the education system needs to teach how to analyse, simplify, check something with critical analysis to get to the basis of what it's about. She mentioned Plato, I've got a book about his thoughts, but as I haven't read it I haven't experienced anything but the satisfaction of having got it available.
Tonight I think Socrates , Plato's teacher might be in the lead on 'thinking about thinking' studies.
" The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old, but building on the new."- Socrates.🤪
Plato had constraints on how much he should explore as his mentor Socrates was executed for his views.
🤭
Thanks for the advice on tolerance, if you go back I wasn't. I replied to your post initially and got an intolerant responder. Life's served up some massive doozies on me and mine that other's would crumble under. I moved from some decades of teaching children through to adults onto looking at real change for voiceless victim's . I put my own money where my mouth is, sound research and widespread investigation from those at grassroots both workers and victims, to hear their voices. Overwhelming was the oppression that leads to silencing and misery of many. I worked with some amazing experts and put a Charitable Trust Deed together and my money at a time where political powers upheld 'top down' approaches.
Bittersweet, is that over the next 15 years from inception 'we the collective' now of thousands of victims, are now one of the largest NGO charitable organisations in New Zealand that drives its business from the clients voices up. A switcheroo is that Government agents now refer their too hard to Us. It is also credit to a massive collaboration of like agencies that founders worked tirelessly to network with. Face to face audaciously with the BigWigs worked a treat too. As does being nimble in predictions of where political winds will blow for Strategic Plans.
So I walk the talk and intolerance is not really my vice.
Cynicism is not intolerance. Though some are intolerant of cynics.
And its not cyncism against proponents of change, its cyncism about whether people trapped in a battle for economic survival in a market rigged against many/most have the energy or hope left to buy into it. And that is based on the politics of a generation.
But then generations come and go. And sometimes all that is required for the older generation to get out of the way.
There you go again SPC putting your own spin and nasty twists in to uphold false views. Shades of last week when you pissed all over people with your dangerous plague theorizing and then failed to answer for your targetting people maliciously.
SPC go back on all my input, read and then apologise for this,
" I’ve been on blogs a long time, and you are one the quickest to make personal attacks on others that I have seen." Show where there was personal attacks on anyone, as you have continued to do even in your putdowns continuously.
On your cannabis users and employers ? theory talking past a commentor it ends with, "The current discriminatory regime is bad for our economy."
No foundation given.
And on denouncing someone's post re population change this small portion of your way out there theory and no sources cited-:
"All pre pandemic thinking (old people at risk) … and with no awareness of the risk of super bugs (antibiotics into Chinese pigs still) on the ability of hospitals to provide old people with new knees hips etc."
(( WTF?))
"Global warming impact on old age health … nothing …"
"Sure contracpetion and education reduce the amount of children women have, but egg storage and looser rules about surrogacy may mitigate that."
Onto pissing on a credible well researched opinion you expound this-
"Given breaking Oz and US into economically dependent satellites is part of their three circles ambition for the Pacific, which they have barely tried to hide, there is nothing manufactured about it.
For mine it is going to be hilarious, when the West embraces Russia as part of containment of China, how many people are going to turn on a dime."
Still no reference for your ' findings' .
Just screeds and screeds of your theories with no foundations offered to overide what others say.
Best ever, your own pithy theory to put down another researched commentary you felt had no evidence when it did – :
"saying something does not exist if it does not have a creation date is spurious." Then you had once more put your made up theory in and still NO evidence.
The pattern is like observing ' little boy dashing in from across the playground' to put the biff in. Still no accountability for trollie type false statements. Go you !
Thanks PaddyOT but you have sounded off sharply at people writing here. I think that is intolerant. I should know because I have caught myself doing that. And sometimes showing intolerance is needed otherwise you get to be just a limp rag.
We all bring our own experiences and perceptions to the mix. Yours may be more knowledgable about problems that others seem to brush off. But If you can't discuss and describe then you don't get the best out of a forum.
Unless two or more of them knew each other personally before this, I reckon it went like this:
Dubai property lawyer Lunjevich writes to Collins about what the bus driver said (why did he ask the bus driver that question anyway?)
Collins senses an opportunity to bag Ardern and writes to Garner asking him to put Dubai property lawyer Lunjevich on the show to bag Ardern.
Garner dutifully sets up the zoom call and broadcasts.
If they did know each other previously, it looks like a well planned attack with Dubai property lawyer Lunjevich being coached on what questions to ask and what to look for in MIQ in order to cause MoH and Ardern as much trouble as possible.
There are some poor types around NZ who can't be shamed, always have an excuse, some odd reason. It seems that they will never 'go straight' – why release them amongst the public to start off some new criminal pursuit? Have an open prison managed farm where you can keep them busy with a pleasant life provided they stay in custody, or else they are in deep custard, or is that porridge.
Depends who the Snapchat private group was I suppose?
One thing though, this breaking story and the Rydges Hotel maintenance worker testing positive mean that Judith’s gotcha-that-wasn’t in the House today will be lucky to survive the news cycle let alone dominate it.
A defence force worker could have done the repair. Possibly having a pool of defence force workers is the way to go. There could be some sort of isolating system away from other defence force employees and families. A bit like a deployment for a month at a time and then 2 weeks in isolation.
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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 ...
Ministers must front up about which projects it will push through under its Fast Track Approvals legislation, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
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. ...
The Government has delivered on its election promise to provide a financially sustainable model for Auckland under its Local Water Done Well plan. The plan, which has been unanimously endorsed by Auckland Council’s Governing Body, will see Aucklanders avoid the previously projected 25.8 per cent water rates increases while retaining ...
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 ...
By Eleisha Foon, RNZ Pacific senior journalist A Pacific regionalism academic has called out New Zealand’s Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS and says the security deal “raises serious questions for the Pacific region”. Auckland University of Technology academic Dr Marco de Jong ...
How worried should we be about the cloud? This is an excerpt from our weekly environmental newsletter Future Proof. Sign up here. I currently have a few thousand unread emails languishing in my inbox, mostly old marketing newsletters and piles of unread science journal press releases. I have a similar number ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nuurrianti Jalli, Assistant Professor of Communication Studies College of Arts and Sciences Department of Languages, Literature, and Communication Studies, Northern State University Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Southeast Asian governments not only have to deal with the virus but also with the false ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By David Murakami Wood, Professor of Critical Surveillance and Securities Studies, L’Université d’Ottawa/University of Ottawa The skyline of Riyadh, the capital and largest city of the Kingdom of Saudia Arabia.(Shutterstock) There is a long history of planned city building by both governments ...
The LIVE Recording of A View from Afar podcast will begin today at 12:45pm May 6, 2024 (NZST) which is Sunday evening, 8:30pm (USEST). In an analytical essay titled ‘A moment of friction’ political scientist Dr Paul Buchanan wrote how we are living within a decisive moment of ...
The Boil Up’s Lucinda Bennett considers the oyster – from freshness to pearls to the joy of shucking your own. This is an excerpt from our weekly food newsletter, The Boil Up. In Carmen Maria Machado’s short story ‘Eight Bites’, a woman begins her last supper before bariatric surgery with “a cavalcade ...
Asia Pacific Report A group of 65 Auckland University academics have written an open letter to vice-chancellor Dawn Freshwater criticising the institution’s stance over students protesting in solidarity with Palestine. They have called on her administration to “support” the students who were denied permission to establish an “overnight encampment” by ...
The Student Volunteer Army is on the march, generating approximately 1.6 million hours of volunteering from roughly 35,000 secondary school students in just five years. For Rebekah Brown, the pathway to volunteering started with her singing coach. With a passion for the arts, the suggestion to volunteer at Acting Antics, ...
Keeping up with online communication can be exhausting, so Fran Barclay enlisted the help of Meta’s new ‘intelligent assistant’ to respond to all her messages. Could her mates tell the difference? For centuries, technology has ruled the ways in which we communicate. From the dawn of written language, to the ...
Jamie Arbuckle, a councillor who has become an member of parliament, says he has settled into having two roles so comfortably he's going to keep both pay cheques. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Luis Gómez Romero, Senior Lecturer in Human Rights, Constitutional Law and Legal Theory, University of Wollongong Fifty years ago, Australian feminist Anne Summers denounced “the ideology of sexism” governing over so many women’s lives. Unfortunately, sexism is as lethal today as it ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jose Antonio Lara-Hernandez, Senior Researcher in Architecture, Auckland University of Technology Getty Images The COVID-19 pandemic and the hybrid work patterns it fostered have changed the way we think about office space, and central business districts in general. While fears ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Dale Boccabella, Associate Professor of Taxation Law, UNSW Sydney There’s a good reason your local volunteer-run netball club doesn’t pay tax. In Australia, various nonprofit organisations are exempt from paying income tax, including those that do charitable work, such as churches. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Marina Deller, Casual Academic, Creative Writing and English Literature, Flinders University NetflixComedy is opening up spaces for silences to be broken and trauma stories to be told. In 2018, Hannah Gadsby started a revolution with Nanette, asking audiences to rethink ...
The workplace can be a minefield of bad comms and passive aggression. Kinksters can help you navigate it. A friend and colleague recently gave me a compliment I loved. They told me I’d always been good at emotional communication and making people feel comfortable. “But I feel like it’s really ...
Even if some students are now just texting on their laptops. Stewart Sowman-Lund writes in this excerpt from The Bulletin, The Spinoff’s morning news round-up. To receive The Bulletin in full each weekday, sign up here. ...
Councils from Horowhenua, Kāpiti, Wairarapa, the Hutt Valley, Porirua and Wellington City will meet this Friday to work together on a plan for a Greater Wellington region water deal. ...
Renowned musician, advocate, and proud born and raised daughter of Tauranga, Ria Hall, is announcing her candidacy for Mayor of Tauranga and Pāpāmoa Ward for the upcoming election on July 20th. ...
The new Aotearoa histories curriculum is rich with potential. There’s still work to be done, but the education minister’s criticisms about ‘balance’ miss the mark, argues primary school teacher Jessie Moss. In 2015, Ōtorohanga College students presented to parliament a petition signed by more than 10,000 people calling for a ...
For too long our so-called national bird has maintained its stranglehold on the economy of regional New Zealand. Thanks to the fast track legislation, we will have our revenge. Theories abound on what ails New Zealand’s economy. National leader Chris Luxon has posited that we’re negative, wet, whiny, and inward-looking; ...
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For the past 12 years, Georgia-Rose Brown has balanced on the brink of making an Olympic Games – but always landed gracefully on the wrong side. Reaching the Olympics is a dream the gymnast has harboured since she was a six-year-old; a dream that would dwindle every four years, yet ...
Late one afternoon in March 1860 a man in a thin green velveteen jacket and a wide-awake hat arrived on foot at a sheep station named Glenmark, about 65 kilometres north of Christchurch. The man was in his mid-fifties but he looked older. Several people who met him that day ...
If building one of Auckland’s possible waterfront stadiums was funded privately, it would need to hold a sold-out Ed Sherran concert every weekday for 25 years. That’s Rob Hamlin’s finding – he’s a senior marketing lecturer at the University of Otago. “It’s not going to happen; forget about it,” he ...
Comment: The debate over the future relationship between news and social media is bringing us closer to a long-overdue reckoning. Social media isn’t trying to kill journalism, because social media has never really cared about journalism. Social media is resolutely in the attention business. News propels some attention — perhaps ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra A new Commonwealth Prac Payment will provide students with $319.50 a week when they are on clinical and professional placements. The payment will be means tested and start from July 1 next year, which ...
Asia Pacific Report About 500 people honoured Palestinian journalists in the heart of the New Zealand city of Auckland today for their brave coverage of Israel’s War on Gaza, now in its seventh month with almost 35,000 people killed, mostly women and children. Marking the annual May 3 World Press ...
The Government Communications Security Bureau denies hosting a foreign spying capability flagged by the watchdog, differentiating it from the system recently criticised. ...
RNZ News A group of academic staff at New Zealand’s largest university have expressed concern at the administration’s move to block a protest encampment that was planned to take place on campus calling for support for the rights of Palestinians. This week, the University of Auckland warned that while it ...
Genterwocky After a hard days marching, Sir Doocey calls in at the Village Tavern For a pint of ale and a pork pie. The grim villagers stare at him. “Do not be travelling on the forest road,” warns a crusty old beak. “And why is that, antique peasant?” Grins Sir ...
Political conferences after a party returns to power are usually a chance for some healthy, even unhealthy backslapping. Yet National Party president Sylvia Wood’s address to its mainland representatives on Saturday hardly contained the unalloyed delight that one might have expected following National’s escape from the wilderness of opposition. Yes, ...
Comment: Almost half the world is voting in national elections this year and artificial intelligence is the elephant in the room. There are genuine fears AI-generated or AI-edited deepfakes will potentially manipulate election outcomes not just in the US and UK, but critically in countries such as India. For that ...
Ahead of the reality franchise’s return to New Zealand, allow us to introduce the eight brides and grooms. Chuck on a veil and tie back your man bun, because it’s time to say “I do” to a new season of Married at First Sight NZ. The reality TV “social experiment” ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Andrew Norton, Professor in the Practice of Higher Education Policy, Australian National University Every year on June 1, student debt in Australia is indexed to inflation. In 2023, high inflation pushed the indexation rate to 7.1%, the highest since 1990. This ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra Changes in the May 14 budget will cut the student debt of more than three million people, wiping more than $3 billion from what people owe. The government will cap the HELP indexation rate ...
Asia Pacific Report The prosecutor’s office at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has appealed for an end to what it calls intimidation of its staff, saying such threats could constitute an offence against the “administration of justice” by the world’s permanent war crimes court. The Hague-based office of ICC Prosecutor ...
By Patrick Decloitre, RNZ Pacific correspondent French Pacific desk A women’s union in New Caledonia has staged a sit-in protest this week to support senior Kanak indigenous journalist Thérèse Waia, who works for public broadcaster Nouvelle-Calédonie la Première, after a smear attack by critics. The peaceful demonstration was held on ...
New Zealand Food Safety is monitoring overseas recalls of Indian packaged spice products manufactured by MDH and Everest due to concerns over a cancer-causing pesticide. ...
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 ...
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Tova O'Brien tweets to Collins "is the October 17th poll going to be rogue?". Burn! (paraphrased, my memory).
[Fixed typo in e-mail address]
I haven't seen social contract theory set out clearly in an election advertisement before, so top marks to Ed Markey:
I’m not sure if it was a terribly good idea for Judith to connect Gerry’s wild-eyed conspiracy theories to the rubbish that’s circulating on Facebook as she did on TVNZ this morning?
Doubling down in place of any policies.
Carry on Jude, suits you well.
If you want to see what the dark heart of the establishment DNC looks like look no further than this interview…nothing more than a bunch of filthy war hawks whose ideology is pure and utter american exceptionalism, this lot are not all that different from ISIS, in other words fundamentalists..,,so don't fool yourselves, Biden/Kamala are really just pro choice Republicans.
And it is worth noting that this interview was done before it was exposed that the FBI had been caught lying in their Russiagate investigations..
Dem impeachment attorney on Mueller, Ukrainegate, and the case vs. Trump
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6ogICXNbB8
Former FBI Lawyer Involved in Russia Investigation Pleads Guilty
https://www.voanews.com/usa/former-fbi-lawyer-involved-russia-investigation-pleads-guilty
.
Your drawing a very long bow just reheating Trumps propaganda.
Reading your article it doesn't match your implications.
"..that he altered a June 2017 email from the CIA in a way that suggested Page, an admitted CIA asset, was not a “source” for the agency.
Relying on the falsified document, the FBI then applied for its fourth surveillance warrant on Page, according to court documents."
I am not reheating Trumps anything, just stating the fact that the FBI has been caught red handed altering evidence to suit their investigation… an investigation that using the full might of one of the most powerful intelligence agencies in the entire world proved nothing…well I guess they did prove that people on the Left ( including all it's media) are just as easily manipulated into believing unquestioningly any conspiracy theory fed to them as people on the Right are, as long as that conspiracy conforms too and strengthens their already deeply embedded bias and/or helps in vilifying their perceived enemy.
A great smoke and mirrors trick that has been used by those in power forever, and sadly as can be plainly seen, still works just as effectively.
One item out of tonnes of evidence.sycophantic Minions will take a tiny bit of Truth to push propaganda.
Trump = children in cages, lies about Coronavirus, destroying US democracy, cuddling up to dictators, winks to white supremacists.
Vote Joe
This is nothing to do with voting joe, this is about the the DNC aided by the FBI concocting a elaborate conspiracy theory..ie Russia interference that altered the outcome 2016 US elections..and that Trump is somehow in the pocket of Putin, both allegations never proven because they are both just as ridiculous.
I am just as opposed to Trump as anyone on this site, but that doesn't mean I have to turn off the critical thinking part of my brain and get into bed with organizations like the FBI FFS!
I am just as opposed to Trump as anyone on this site
I don't see any evidence of that. None. Quite the opposite, in fact.
I can't bring to mind any instances of you being critical of any of the numerous outrages the stygian homunculus has perpetrated against the disadvantaged, against democracy, against fairness and equity in society, against the environment etc etc.
It appears your only interest is in attacking Democrats, often as a diversionary whine when someone else posts a criticism of an outrageous action perpetrated by Don of the Deadbrains or one of his minions. Indeed, often these diversionary attacks appear to be repackaged from the convergence wingnut area of the political spectrum. That is most easily interpreted as trying to boost the satsuma shitgibbon, not the actions of someone opposed to what he is doing.
I don't need to attack Trump, it is quite obvious to anyone with eyes what he is and what he stands for…what I am concerned about is idiots like you destroying the little credibility the Left has with the general public with your unhinged and fact free conspiracy theories.. I rarely if ever see you lot attacking Trumps foreign policies…wonder why that is? …I didn't see you lot lose you shit when he (with the DNC) signed off on the biggest largest military budget in history, or signed off the biggest upward movement of wealth to wall st recently…you and your beloved Dem anti Trump rhetoric is nothing but a sick joke and nothing more than that, rhetoric..you give that motherfucker Trump everything he wants when it comes to the super wealthy, US corporations and US military hegemony…like I said you are a joke, and Trumps laughing right into your face…. the sad thing is you are being used like a tool and you don’t even seem to want to know.
Adrian Thornton.You should take a long look at your post as they say the longer the diatribe the biggly your lying
If you don't like Trump just say so .we don't some mansplaining.
[Point out a clear and obvious lie.
Address comments with something substantial, not just gesticulating, thanks – Incognito]
I don't see any lies in that post, if you do please point them out…I thought it read quite well.
See my Moderation note @ 11.10 AM.
I'm not sure what you meant by Wall Street and recently, but here is one account of the tax change in 2018.
https://thehill.com/policy/finance/408631-how-the-trump-tax-cuts-passed-bipartisanship-wasnt-an-ingredient
On defence spending, they gave way and without conditions.
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/democrats-gave-trump-everything-he-wants-738-billion-defense-bill-2019-12?r=US&IR=T
So you're just as opposed to the cheetodick as anyone else on the site, but without actually attacking him. /sarc
Do you really not remember any criticism of the dude's foreign policy? The pulling back from NATO, the trade confrontations, the free passes given to Putin, the repeated North Korea fuckups, the suggestion Japan and South Korea get nukes, the moving of the US embassy in Israel, his pathetic manipulation by dictators around the world?
What an unreliable memory you have.
I rarely if ever see you lot attacking Trumps foreign policies
That's because you're too self-involved in your own public political masturbation to take on board what anyone else has to say.
eg this entire post: https://thestandard.org.nz/that-1914-feeling/
ranging to details as fine as this comment: https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-24-02-2018/#comment-1453421
plus all the topics McFlock mentioned
… you give that motherfucker Trump everything he wants when it comes to the super wealthy, US corporations and US military hegemony …
Again, you obviously aren't paying attention if you've missed all the comments about tax cuts for the wealthy, cutting regulations and all the other shit America's Prolapsed Rectum has been doing to coddle the wealthy and the corporations. (these comments are a bit harder to search for due to my refusal to use the Mandarin Manutang's common name)
eg https://thestandard.org.nz/the-chaos-of-the-trump-white-house/
Dear Adrian Thornton and Andre,
If I may, I observe (i.e. my PoV) that you two have much more in common than that separates you. Based on my belief, I’m at a loss as to why you two feel the need to rip into each other as you do. Please note that I’m not moderating here, just expressing my utter confusion and inability to grasp what’s going on between you. As such, it doesn’t invite or require an answer 😉
they need to get a room.
Will it have a jelly wrestling pit in it?
As I see it, the biggest difference is that as the choices narrow down, I shift my support to whichever remaining option is most likely to achieve changes I value.
Looks to me like Adrian does not, apparently preferring to attack even harder the remaining option that knocked out the one he had his heart set on, without realising that that is functionally the same as supporting the opponent of what he professes to value. There's a time for those attacks, while the choices remain open. But after the choice has been made, it's just destructive.
If you and Adrian cannot agree to disagree – although you seem to be united in your aversion against Trump and GOP – then why not give each other a wide berth? This behaviour is also destructive, IMHO.
For what it's worth Adrian I can hear where you are coming from. Perhaps the best way to understand the USA is to understand that their unique geography has meant that over centuries they've been able to build a powerful and prosperous nation without having to develop and especially competent or responsive political system. As a result when a real crisis strikes, they're left floundering.
Trump is a high functioning psychopath which makes him both a polarising figure and deeply unsuited to the modern office of POTUS. Yet more than a few have drawn comparison with another President … Andrew Jackson … who was similarly divisive, reckless and viscerally despised by his opponents. Yet oddly enough history regards him now as one of the more significant Presidents. In this I agree with you, obsessively attacking Trump is a fools errand. It ends with the old line about you getting dirty and the pig enjoying it.
As for the DNC, it's very hard to have respect for a political entity that produces Joe Biden as it's best effort. Truly the USA political system has become a ship of fools, but even this phase will pass. There is every reason to hope that after a decade of turmoil the USA will re-invent itself as it has done in the past.
And in this respect I’m also with Andre, that a reflexive anti-Americanism is a selective and unproductive view of their role in the world. We must be honest about their flaws and mistakes, but it’s folly to also discard their many achievements.
It wasn't "the DNC" that selected Biden as the candidate. It was probably the most democratic selection process of anywhere in the world at any time for choosing a candidate to contest for a country's highest office. Literally anyone eligible to vote in the general election could participate equally in the Democratic primary. At most, they would have to fill out a form saying they affiliated as a Democrat some time before their state's primary date, but in many states they just have to choose which primary they are are voting in at the time of casting their ballot. No joining the party, no membership fees, no giving a party personal data needed.
The vote-counting rules were also closer to one person-one vote than anything else I'm aware of. The only significant deviation was the 15% threshold for getting awarded delegates, but that distortion is much smaller than even Repug rules that ranged up to winner-take-all in some states. Let alone rules like reserving a proportion of votes to unions and caucus members as happens here.
Literally anyone could also put themselves forward for selection. No prior party affiliation needed. In fact, the runner-up pointedly dissociated himself from the Democratic party several years earlier, and only grudgingly re-associated himself with the party once he decided to try for the nomination.
I'm not aware of any other political organisation anywhere else in the world that is anywhere near that open to all comers when it comes to choosing its leader. So painting the DNC as some nefarious organisation pulling hidden strings behind the scenes is really unfair and simply wrong. The choice was freely and fairly made by the segment of the voting public that were interested enough to make the relatively minimal effort required to participate in that choice.
It's a semantic quibble, the DNC may not have done the voting, but they certainly own and run the process. And to suggest that the party machine sits back and watches the primaries unfold with no attempt at influence seems a trifle naive … but it's your party and I'm not pissing on it.
I can understand Biden's stammer, I can get past his uninspiring past, I can even live with the fact that a more honest process would have just selected Kamala Harris from the outset. But that Biden somehow came through a field of far more credible candidates, any number of them much more interesting and charismatic, just leaves me cold.
And more than anything else the Dems need a charismatic, energising candidate to energise their disparate support base to ensure a strong win. Yet here we are with a relatively weak candidate, that despite promising polling, is by no means hands down to beat Trump. In US elections turnout is everything, and this the polls do not measure well.
The DNC doesn't have have a secret research lab where they manufacture candidates and they botched the recipe this year. The choice available is entirely at the mercy of the vagaries of who puts their hand up to have a go and catches the interest of the voting public.
This year, probably for fear of being accused of underhanded influence by rabid supporters of specific candidates, even people with long histories of solid contribution to the party were extremely circumspect about even making their views public. The party machine has been remarkably hands-off, more so than any other selection process anywhere anytime than I can bring to mind. Clyburn's endorsement before the South Carolina primary was just about the sum total of party machine involvement in making the choice, which is really almost nothing on the scale of these things.
So for this year, charisma maybe isn't what the voting public is looking for. Possibly the idea that Biden knows the ropes so thoroughly that he can step in on day one and start getting things working again without fuss is something that way overcomes his resemblance to a potted plant. Perhaps the potted plant thing is even a positive after all the "charisma" of the past four years.
Perhaps the potted plant thing is even a positive after all the "charisma" of the past four years.
Skroderider.
For mine Biden was/is the nostalgia choice, he's the last of his generation, a generation of Democrats who did not realise much. They lost to Reagan, then to Bush junior and for the brief time Obama had Congress he was dealing with GFC and the legacy of PNAC in foreign policy (its hard to count Clinton when he was the tail of the Republican Congress) and in that brief window brought in the Affordable Care Act. For those of this era, a last chance at redemption, fulfillment of lost promise.
To the wider public, its packaged as a return to an old civility. Something even some of the older GOP members of Congress can appreciate. It's also in a bi-partisan sense a restoration of respect for the institutions of the state and the concept of public service. Albeit over the political corpse of Donald John Trump.
The Oval Office is no place for an angry old man, not Nixon nor Trump.
There was the direction not taken in 2000 (Florida chads and the Supreme Court). This is the chance for the USA to join the 21st C and the community of democratic nations. The mistake made in 2000 was to try to dominate the word as a lone super power. When empires end they turn to neglected domestic issues – they do justice, that fulfillment of lost promise.
Which is where the succession to Biden comes in (he would be a one term president), handing over to a new generation – albeit with some of the path set by Sanders and working with the DC hivemind
In terms of foreign policy, not being Trump is a low bar. Not trying destroy the WTO, rejoining WHO, funding the UN on time, not cozying up to strongman types and rejoining the Paris Accord is not as much as the world needs. Maybe the rest can come from the USA working with others on global security matters a little more.
If you want to ensure that you get the worst possible candidate for your political party's top job then have the voting open to the opposition.
I'll stick a post up about what a Democratic Party-led Biden administration will probably focus on.
Just to balance things out a bit.
Can't wait.
Bernie's already had a crack at that.
https://www.vox.com/2020/8/18/21373190/bernie-sanders-progressive-case-for-joe-biden-democratic-national-convention-transcript
I'm just going to focus on foreign affairs.
I've covered Biden's domestic platform on here a couple of times already.
I'm almost persuaded by your optimism Ad. But in essence the USA is a nation in the middle of both a social crisis and a failure of governance at the same time.
In blunt terms the US has split strongly between coastal communities dominated by 'zoom people' that earn a living typing on computer, and the rest of the nation that still bends steel and works with their hands for a living. They've bifurcated into two very different groups and it's not at all clear to me how Biden will be able to reach across this fault line.
And in terms of governance the COVID crisis has cruelly exposed weakness at every level both federal and state. Despite insanely complex layers of regulation, policy and agencies the system has fallen apart when faced with real crisis. Reforming this will be the work of a decade, and again I'm not hearing Biden talking to any of this.
" attacking Democrats"
It is incumbent on you then Andre to defend them.
Isn't it?
If you can.
Reply to every post of Adrian's where he's denounced them with proof that his claim is incorrect.
To continue claiming that any criticism of the Democrats proves support of Trump is tiresome and barely reaches the level of debate of your third form debater.
Every iteration of humourous, clever Trump pseudonym does not assist the debate very much.
It takes vastly more time and effort to refute bullshit than it does to spatter it out in the first place. Eventually the time comes to call out the orifice spewing bullshit for what it is rather than continue the really tiresome task of trying to clean up after it.
That Russia interference that altered the outcome 2016 US elections.
Sources as various as Time and Al Jazeerah confirm the Russian interference
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/senate-panel-confirms-russian-interference-2016-election-200421162844869.html
https://time.com/5565991/russia-influence-2016-election/
and that Trump is somehow in the pocket of Putin,
Nor is there a shortage of material claiming that Trump is indebted to Putin.
https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/12/21/how-russian-money-helped-save-trumps-business/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/trumps-businesses-are-full-of-dirty-russian-money-the-scandal-is-thats-legal/2019/03/29/11b812da-5171-11e9-88a1-ed346f0ec94f_story.html
both allegations never proven because they are both just as ridiculous.
You may not accept the proof, but given the abundance of such reports in reputable media, they are hardly ridiculous. Ridiculous would be dismissing them without considering the evidence.
And what does Joe really have to do with democracy?
Getting involved in American politics is like getting involved in the demise of the Roman Republic. Nothing in it for anyone but with the most brilliant PR ever.
It's an historical moment. If Trump wins it's lights out for the USA. It will fall deeper into authoritarianism, paranoia, and corruption, as the pandemic and social unrest spread out of control. States like California and Texas might want to secede from the insanity in Washington and Wall St. Global treaties and defence arrangements will be in tatters.
Actually, I wonder about supporting an oligarchic Democratic Party. But just a FDR or LBJ would be enough to deliver capitalism there for another few years. Which would be better than the violence needed otherwise. I don't think the DP understands this.
Some day you might want to pop up from that rabbit hole you're in and come visit us where reality and rationality and big-pictures are occasionally visible.
@Andre..Down the rabbit hole?…mate your FBI handlers have already trapped, skinned, skewered and cooked you.
While some people are focused on a battle for control of the Democratic Party, the Republicans have gone full metal jacket rogue and running amok.
And this suits Valdimort Putin just fine. Authoritarians are a brotherhood, they care nothing for democratic traditions.
I am sensing myself becoming more concerned about the origins of this current outbreak as I watch the scientists looking perplexed and hear and read bafflement in the media reports. The current virus doesn't match the RNA of the virus past or that in quarantine at our borders. The likelihood of it passing from a frozen surface through layers of protective clothing is really low. I wonder if anyone else has noticed this?
The good news is that all the new cases have been linked to the single cluster and there's no other clusters being found out there, after tons of new tests
i read an article that there are new mutations in Malaysia that came in via returnees (who knows what is real?!)
anyways two days ago: headline, new mutation discovered, more deadly then the previous one https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/se-asia/coronavirus-strain-thats-10-times-more-infectious-detected-in-malaysia
today: Experts dispute Malaysias claim….https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/health/experts-dispute-malaysias-claim-that-it-has-found-more-infectious-coronavirus
it appears that Texas is dealing with a different strain then say the one that brought down New York e/coronavirus-evidence-growing-houston-strain-mutant-15386157.php
then there is this here https://www.starfl.com/news/20200331/8-strains-of-coronavirus-are-circling-globe-heres-clues-theyre-giving-scientists
Th best is maybe to accept that even experts are learning on the job, and we might all just be prepared at any given day to shut down and go home in order to minimize the fall out.
As for how does it travel, other then that certain corona viruses do well in cold and can survive freezing and thawing, and that supposedly the people at he coldstore were kept safe by their superious (ha!) we know nothing. So we might get comfortable wit the idea that this is something that will keep us on our toes for a few years until it has either run its course, has been supplanted by something worse, or we have found a way to treat/stop/prevent it.
Bafflement ? Suggest you curate your media to outlets who deal in facts.
Ours has been very happy to give the tin foil hat brigade oxygen and push nationals rhetoric.
Then there's the boag/woodgate situation. Recall it's crusher who decided not to regulate them as it suits national this way.
that doesn't address the points raised though, and if the questions can't be answered how would one know which media curate to?
Fair point, suggest Moh regarding NZ and wired for digestible science angles. Balance that against stuff, herald etc
Take it from there and bookmark away. Lots of good stuff out there playing it down the middle as covids tricky.
MoH are good, but they're by default working from a conservative position. I doubt they will be wanting to make public statements about what George is raising. I haven't been following enough to know George's comment is even useful or meaningful, but I think dismissing such comments doesn't help.
We're still awaiting the results of the gnome testing on the positive Melbourne Americold workers. That link is still in play…
gnomes, eh? little buggers!
heh
That explains how they were able to sneak in and out of isolation.
The B.1.1.1 type arrived in Melbourne in June.
The likelihood of it passing from a frozen surface through layers of protective clothing is really low.
But breathing in aerosolised frost pinging off the shrinkwrapping on a palletised load doesn't seem so implausible.
Some are claiming that the virus travels further on cigarette smoke.
Thinking about where a virus has come from should include extraterrestrial sources and being aware how abundant and ubiquitous they are.
"On Earth, viruses are thought to outnumber cellular life forms by a factor of 10. And our planet is teeming with virions. In fact, a teaspoon of sea water can contain up to 50 million virions."
https://www.astrobio.net/alien-life/are-viruses-the-new-frontier-for-astrobiology/
Eek We didn't want to know that.
Poll in herald yesterday shows National bleeding more votes this time to NZ first.
John Campbell just said donations to National from donors have been low this year.
Big money's not stupid. They're nowhere near power so whats the point.
Holy hell, the anatomy of a(n unintentional) conspiracy theory, https://webworm.substack.com/p/webworm-talks-to-the-man-who-started
Reddit is a cesspit.
The worry is most of the people spreading the Facebook story are everyday people.
Everyday National voting people…
Spectacular reporting though yeah?
Yes, ground-breaking and excruciating at the same time. I particularly liked it when Reeve went postal on Winston Peters.
And into the mainstream.
It’s odd. I will never look at a couple of acquaintances the same way again after they spread the Facebook post.
This might be the first indisputably true thing Deranged Dotard has said.
https://twitter.com/ReallyAmerican1/status/1294859826036715520
OK that was your morning pre-show, here's your main event, and get your hankies out for this one…
I love well structured pure propaganda, just to smile at the skill of its orchestration.
That was unwatchable…" the skill of its orchestration " …I won't be taking any movie recommendations from you in future that's for sure!
Anyway I think this clip would be little more informative to anyone interested in Biden political past…i mean who gives a fuck about his personal life..it is what has he done as a politician is all that matters…
…Andrew Cockburn, Washington editor for Harper’s magazine, talks about Biden’s record…
From Crime Bill to Iraq War Vote, Biden’s Legislative History Under Scrutiny as He Enters Race
Have a proper look at his full legislative record, and executive record, over 35 years. Fair to say that not many others will, but it's better than silly cherry-picking that your linked interviewers do.
Did you know if you look up "The Lincoln Project" that it has this info on Wikipedia;
So that ad is by a Republican run group that is trashing Trump and supporting a Democrat.
The lackluster ticket of Biden/Kamala starts to look a bit shaky… I have to say I could see no reason why Biden would choose Kamala as running mate, it seemed to me a serious strategic mistake that brought no new voters into the fold, while it no doubt offended many..but what do I know.
Biden and Trump matchup tightens
"Overall, 50% of registered voters back the Biden-Harris ticket, while 46% say they support Trump and Pence, right at the poll's margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points"
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/16/politics/cnn-poll-biden-trump-august/index.html
Does that means it's a choice between 'lacklustre' and "cuckfluster'?
No it just means don't try and tell yourself that Biden is anything more than the piece of shit that he is, and I guess if you are in the US it means just eating a little less shit than the pile of shit that Trump is…but one thing is for sure, nothing will really change under Biden…as he said himself….
As Kamala Harris Joins Biden Ticket, Wall Street Sighs in Relief
Wall Street’s warm welcome to Joe Biden’s running mate reflects a belief that tougher financial regulation isn’t a top priority
https://www.wsj.com/articles/kamala-harris-has-taken-on-wall-street-wall-street-doesnt-seem-to-mind-11597254609
He can still appoint Warren in place of Munchkin, where she would have more say than as VP.
With Warren, there's the issue of her Senate seat. Right now, Massachusetts laws say the governor gets to pick the replacement with no restrictions. Right now, the governor is Republican Charlie Baker, who could appoint a Repug replacement. There will also have to be a special election held for the seat within 180 days, so that appointment is only a short term thing.
If the incoming senate split turns out to be 50/50, losing Warren's vote for 3 to 6 months until the special election, plus the risk of another Scott Brown outcome, might be quite an obstacle to appointing Warren to be Secretary of Treasury.
Sure.
The only defence of Biden is perhaps there won't be another even slightly fair election if he's defeated. Which by itself is an indictment. The throne needs to be overthrown. Look forward to seeing Bill Maher cursing out people who don't see that as a good reason to vote for Biden. The US leadership has no contacts to the people. Either way …
real clear politics latest polls
Monday, August 17
ABC News/Wash Post – Biden 54, Trump 44 – Biden +10
Sunday, August 16
CBS News/YouGov – Biden 52, Trump 42 – Biden +10
NBC News/Wall St. Jrnl – Biden 50, Trump 41 – Biden +9
Friday, August 14
NPR/PBS/Marist – Biden 53, Trump 42 – Biden +11
FOX News – Biden 49, Trump 42 – Biden +7
To avoid nervousness, I think we need to see these sorts of margins maintained in the polls. Especially given the criticality of swing states (versus popular vote) and the Republicans' expertise in voter suppression. If the narrowing indicated in the one poll Adrian mentioned becomes reflected in other polls, it will be scary.
Clinton won the popular vote in 2016 by a couple of points, so best practice is to look at the battleground states where the real shit is going to go down.
In the link I posted above, at the top of the page there's a drop down menu titled 'battleground states', the results for all of these can easily be found.
It's also worth comparing the state-by-state polls from 2016 to 2020. The 2020 polls of the battleground states are much more stable than 2016, and Biden is often over 50% whereas Clinton hardly ever cracked 50% in a battleground state.
2020 Pennsylvania
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/pa/pennsylvania_trump_vs_biden-6861.html
2016 Pennsylvania
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/pa/pennsylvania_trump_vs_clinton-5633.html
2020 Florida
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/fl/florida_trump_vs_biden-6841.html
2016 Florida
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2016/president/fl/florida_trump_vs_clinton-5635.html
From Wisconsin to Pennsylvania Trump is going to take the hit for the cancellation of NCAA sport. Even Ohio is under siege.
Thanks – I missed that. Healthy leads there too.
Sure it was the margin for error most polls say the lead is 8 points not 4.
Yes true, but interesting that the polls are moving to a tighter race nonetheless.
.
Poll puts Labour as the preferred party for business owners for first time
https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/prosper/122446937/poll-puts-labour-as-the-preferred-party-for-business-owners-for-first-time
That was a fascinating article – I looked at it last night. I tend to be a somewhat sceptical of the methodology – which wasn’t shown in the article and I can’t see on the MYOB site. If anyone has time could they find it and link to some with a bit of data in it?
However the trend was interesting. I’ve always been of the opinion that SMEs tend to lean to incumbents rather than ideology. They have enough risk in their own markets and operations. What they’re mostly interested in from government is to not screw up too much.
Clearly they don’t seem to have seen that from this government.
Since 1987
More DNC dodgy behaviour revealed today, exposing yet again that the Pelosi lead establishment DNC is more interested in fighting and defeating any movement to the Left within the party than it is in defeating the Right..because it has more in common with the Right than the progressive Left, that is a plain and indisputable fact…
Party Leaders Investigating Origin of Anti-Morse Campaign Helped Orchestrate It, Documents Reveal
https://theintercept.com/2020/08/14/alex-morse-richie-neal-state-party/
The same dynamic applies here, in the UK and in the USA. So why the focus on that party and its politics?
That is a good point, firstly I believe that like it or not the US and it's ideology influence western (and global) politics to an extreme degree, so any movement there right or left will spill over into our domestic scene to a small or large extent, so I am interested in it for that reason, and that is also why I am less interested in it's domestic politics.
Secondly, there hasn't been anyone in the last couple of years on the NZ Left that have looked like they could pull Labour Left in the way Corbyn and Sanders where looking like they could do..especially since the passing of what could have been one of NZ's greatest Labour leaders Helen Kelly, so I have been pretty despondent about the local political scene since then.
Trotter's book No Right Turn shares your melancholy, setting out how leftwards turns in New Zealand politics have been regularly sabotaged. I'd recommend it to you.
an apropos of nothing
Thanks Sabine. Delightful.
Classic
"Amusingly, the loudest calls for the government to step in and reduce the pain that employers are feeling, is coming from the same corporates (and libertarian political parties) that, for the past 20 years, have railed against the evils of state intervention, while also touting the virtues of small government. Clearly, there’s nothing like the advent of personal pain to enable a rethink, and a view of state support in a more kindly light. For the wider good, of course.
Like any new converts, these new enthusiasts for corporate socialism tend to be dependent to an extent unimaginable by dole recipients or solo parents. With nary a blush, business has been demanding “Where’s the plan?” of the Ardern government – as if sustainable planning for economic recovery was solely the government’s problem, with no parallel obligation on business to look in the mirror. In fact, the wage subsidy scheme was originally intended to give troubled sectors (eg tourism, international education, and hospitality) time to reconfigure their operations It was not meant to be a pause button until whenever normal service would resume."
http://werewolf.co.nz/2020/08/gordon-campbell-on-the-election-delay/
Indeed…so many dont appear to have grasped the reality that these subsidies are a breathing space to reevaluate AND ACT with regard to the changed business environment….the cliff approaches and too many appear oblivious.
I just hope the number of schools opening up for the second week at Level 3 in Auckland is just a few, the entitled ones preparing students for their Cambridge exams, because if the outbreak spreads via schools it will go on longer and impact the NCEA period, election and survival of many businesses.
Waiting to hear whether our local state school is going to open up early for Years 12 and 13. The boy is quite keen to get back early – he thinks remote learning moves too slowly, puts him at a disadvantage compared to schools outside Auckland, and doesn't sufficiently mimic the classroom environment. Setting aside the point that a 17 year old shouldn't be so competitively stressed, these seem like reasonable comments about a slightly lacklustre implementation of remote learning.
The 'elite' schools pushing this are meeting the needs of their real customers – not the students, the parents. These parents have paid a premium (fees or expensive real estate) to buy their children an advantage over other people's children. They don't want that investment wasted.
Digital learning applied to mathematics and theoretical science is flawed anyway. Remote learning embeds and magnifies those flaws.
Nothing wrong with a pencil and paper!
Interesting to hear some young people complaining about not being able to cope without the enforced organisational rigours of their secondary schools and want to be there to improve their school marks so they can go to whichever course at whichever university.
Our youngest, not so long out of that world, said on hearing the complaints, "What? Soon they're going to be out on their own, controlling their own study, responsible for their own tracks. Sounds like they're not up to facing the real world of being a real student."
She is one who observed numbers from cosseted backgrounds and fancy schools having difficulty coping with independence and poor ability at organising themselves.
My sons who went to a decile 2 school and subsequently obtained good degrees, used to remark on how hopeless many of the students from elite schools were at organising themselves at university level. It suggests there is a lot of spoon-feeding happening; maybe more concerned about the pass rates for the schools concerned than developing the abilities of their students.
The schools using the Oxford and Cambridge system..I can't remember the other name for it…these students have to earn more credits in order to gain entry to university now than NCEA based courses because the students weren't coping with the environment which was less structured.
A beautiful, detailed and lengthy dismantling of the error-ridden and dangerous arguments put up by pandemic-deniers; Simon Thornley, Ryan Bridge, Damien Grant, Matthew Hooton, and Mike Hosking.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300084767/covid19-should-nz-go-swedens-way
Muttonbird
I check the Worldometer daily, it records the infection rates and deaths of 200 countries.
In the last week or two, Sweden has Not been supplying the site with updated Corona Virus cases or deaths.
The number of new cases reported has been stationary for even longer.
I would suggest Swedens method of dealing with the virus is a Failure, the death rate of aprox 6750 is unchanged for last 2/3 weeks.
Sweden is the only country that has stopped reporting daily cases.
I wonder if the Govt there is struggling to defend its strategy publically, it only has a population of 10.5 million.
Some economist will know what all this means. Has Sweden borrowed less than us? Maybe:
I think we are looking at 45-50% or something. But then:
I have no idea what Maastricht debt is with respect to how we measure government debt.
They are going to look a bit stupid if they end up with a) massive death rate, b) high unemployment (already over 9%), c) a shrivelled economy (GDP to fall 6.5% this year) and d) huge government debt.
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/05/19/2035398/0/en/Swedish-government-debt-grows-as-virus-effects-hit-budget.html
I think Maastricht debt refers to EU economics.
You’ll need to dig deeper; click on the Sweden link, then on the source link at the bottom. You’ll get these webpages:
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/sweden/
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/09f821667ce64bf7be6f9f87457ed9aa
Worldometer is using their supplied data, if you look closely at the main graph you can see the N/A for info regarding recovered and active cases.
I have been watching Swedens graph stats almost daily and their was an abrupt stop to statistical records for recording new infections, deaths, recovered and active cases.
They had been recording daily infections in their hundreds prior to that, if you look closely at the infected graph they went from several hundred infections one day to nearly none 3 or 4 days later, we know that that is Highly unlikely given what we know in NZ.
Their stats don't add up, they're suppilied by the Swedish Govt.
Have they got something to hide
If Sweden had eradicated the virus from their shores you can bet your bottom dollar the world would have been the first to know about it.
Has anyone seen a News bulletin/item stating Swedens success, it would have been All Over the News.
No new cases and no new deaths from two to three hundred new casess on the 15th???
And the economy didn't show up on comparative measures as doing all that well.
The data are there, on the Worldometer website, and they’re updated daily, as far as I can tell. You just need to click a little further/deeper than the main table on the landing page.
Did you click on the two links I provided? All daily data can be found there. In fact, the Worldometer data seem to be a little ahead of its source!?
Did you read this piece: https://www.newsroom.co.nz/covid-19-should-nz-go-swedens-way? It contains up-to-date data on and from Sweden.
Nobody is hiding anything, it seems. You just need to look a little more carefully, it appears 😉
Anders Wotsisface may have decided old people count even less when they're dead.
Another article completely smashing the lame, primitive, poorly researched and dangerous reckons of Hooton, Seymour, Bridge, Hosking, Grant, Thornley and co.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=12357457
That is an excellent article!
Destroys with clear reason the arguments of those saying "Konomy and my precious convenience – so let 'em die" (perhaps phrased a little differently).
Originally published on Newsroom.
Yes, and I was most heartened we have people in this country willing to stand up to our resident RWNJ opinion writers in the media.
The evisceration in such considered detail of the friends of Plan-B and their extremely basic and poorly developed concepts gives me hope.
That's an interesting link! I like them both but never saw the similarities. Bloody obvious really. The other link is the Doors "light my fire" and the Stranglers "Walk on by"
Cmon Trump. The longer your in, the more likely the downfall of the US as a world power. That can be only be good for the free world, free of yankee war crap.
It depends how quickly another aspiring hegemon or pair of them move in to fill their shoes. An ineffectual US is likely much more benign than either an expanding kleptostate or aggressive state capitalism under a wannabe dynastic leader.
Very much a "the king is dead, long live the king" situation.
Yup – and some of them are not above giving the king a bit of a nudge.
We can tell where this line is going:
Determined to link the outbreak to a government Failure at the border. Wonder if we will ever know where the infection came from.
Only 11 questions today?
Awful as it was, but interesting to see how the rumour spread and in this case remorse.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12357396
I'm more interested about how it was then professionally repackaged on Facebook- and with the media know etc (which is like a QAnon type mem now, inferring the MSM are not informing the people but these peddlers of fake news are).
Is MOH still leaking, as something has just come out, they have found a link to the border.
https://twitter.com/marcdaalder/status/1295517916960444416
Just being transparent. A case involving a different strain of the virus is a major development.
This case looks like a case of surface transmission to a maintenance worker, rather than person to person, these things do happen. China had a cluster they could not explain for some time. Apparently someone returned from overseas and went to their apartment to isolate. Another person in the building spread to others afterwards – the only known link is a button in an elevator.
As far as I know, the sequencing is partial and I wonder if they have ruled out that this B.1.1.1 sub-lineage developed independently here in NZ from a B.1.1 lineage. AFAIK, it only takes one nucleotide difference to become ‘eligible’ to qualify as a sub-lineage. All sub-lineages started somewhere but there’s no fundamental reason to exclude the (slim?) possibility that the same change happened in more than one place. I’d think the probability is higher than winning the Lotto Jackpot and this was won by ten lucky punters on Saturday. Anybody able to answer this knowledgably?
I claim zero expertise in viral mutations, but a somewhat feeble grasp of probabilities, so I'll have a crack:
I guess the first step would be finding out if we've seen the B.1.1 lineage previously here in New Zealand.
If all nucleotide substitutions are equally probable (no idea whether that's true, I'd guess a lot of theoretically possible substitutions create non-viable virus), then the chances of independently getting that B.1.1.1 mutation here would surely be 1/3 (chances of substituting in the same new nucleotide) times 1/30,000 (the number of nucleotides in the SARS-CoV-2 genome and therefore the chance of substituting into the exact same location) times the number of instances a mutation of that original B.1.1 has occurred here in NZ (call it x, unknown), for a total odds of x/90,000. Times whatever scale-up factor needed to account for all the non-viable mutations in that 90,000 denominator that would never appear.
The odds of winning from a single line of Powerball are 1/38,383,800. The cheapest ticket is for 8 lines, so that's 1/4,797,975 chance of winning from the cheapest ticket. But the 10 winners all won off the second division since it was a must-win draw, so their odds of their win off one cheapest ticket were roughly 1/800,000.
But I'd guess there were vastly more tickets sold for the Powerball draw than opportunities for B.1.1 to become B.1.1.1, assuming B.1.1 actually was present here.
" But I'd guess there were vastly more tickets sold for the Powerball draw than opportunities for B.1.1 to become B.1.1.1, assuming B.1.1 actually was present here. "
Covid19 will be replicated many billions of times within a single patient – a single nasal swab can pick up 100,000,000 copies.
Yes, but that mutation also has to pass itself on to the new host.
There have to be bottlenecks somewhere in the process that winnow down the number of mutations that become detectable in the environment, otherwise the genomic tree would have waaaaay more branches than it does.
Of course. There is a lot more to whether a mutation is successful (i.e. persists) than whether it occurs a single time.
AFAIK, mutations don’t occur in the virus itself but during the process of integration and/or replication by the host cell; a virus cannot replicate itself. Again, an expert might be able to shed some light on this.
Thanks for having a go at this 🙂
The B.1.1 lineage was already here in NZ: https://nextstrain.org/ncov/oceania?c=pangolin_lineage&d=tree&f_clade_membership=20B&f_country=New%20Zealand&label=clade:20A
Not all mutations are equal: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200722163242.htm
Determined to link the outbreak to a government Failure at the border.
There is a quarantine failure with a staff member ,who however has a different genome.
The new development here is a maintenance worker at the Rydges Hotel isolation facility in Auckland testing positive. He has no regular contact with guests and he isn't linked to the existing cluster.
Genome sequencing has shown a link between this worker and a returnee who travelled from the US at the end of July.
A review of CCTV clips show no obvious connection between the two.
There are six close contacts connected to the worker, all are in self-isolation and have tested negative. Three household contacts have been identified and tested.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300084680/live-exhausted-lab-workers-struggle-with-covid19-tests-questions-over-checks-for-border-staff
I feel like this is the only case of a border worker (not even a border worker really) to have tested positive? So far at least. And it's not even one responsible for the Auckland cluster.
Doesn't this suggest the the border workers were taking care of themselves all along with good practice and that the opposition's drive to find a breach because of testing is a load of shite?
Doesn't this suggest the the border workers were taking care of themselves all along with good practice
Um no,there was an absence of sentinal surveillance prior.Look at the containment actions taken after the horse had bolted.
https://www.health.govt.nz/news-media/media-releases/results-covid-19-positive-cases-under-investigation-returned
What I'm saying is, assuming all border workers have now been tested (I don't know if this is true) and come up negative apart from this one maintenance worker (I don't know if this is true either), doesn't that show border practice was fine?
Ruining my theory might be that a border worker in July may have become infected, not been symptomatic, has recovered without symptoms but not before transmitting the virus to case zero of the Auckland cluster. Seems unlikely.
There might be more border workers, MIQ workers test positive in the coming days but this guy is the first to test positive.
Having said that, I hate this tendency for people to downplay symptoms. It is really dangerous. If you feel unwell, stay home, ffs.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12357481
The rydges case is troublesome.
The man in the centre of this had health checks at work when he returned to work but the symptoms were put down to an existing condition.
Woods said the man passed his health checks at work.
"He passed his health check in terms of the temperature … he had his test on Thursday, that's all we can tell you at this time,"
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300084680/live-13-new-coronavirus-cases-found-in-community-one-case-not-connected-to-auckland-cluster
The response to the ak cluster ( genomic difference) suggests there may be a maritime breach (which was always a soft border) such as stevedores,pilots,etc.
Yes, they have thrown a lot at ports and truckies recently (some of who are refusing tests, I hear). This suggests they are concerned about port workers mixing with foreign crew.
I would have said it is the responsibility of the ports themselves to adhere to MoH border guidelines. Maybe you could tag MPI a little bit but it differs from immigration and MIQ which are clearly government run. You could say baggage handlers are in the same boat (heh) as port workers.
Two main reasons for refusing a test.
1. If you have it fear of losing your job.
2. Medication legal or illegal detected.
Possibly just the virus is checked for.
I have been listening for the last 30 mins to parliament. Just as I expected Collins expects a different outcome (the impossible no Covid cases) to other countries.
As far as I know the Covid sick leave 14 day payment is still in place. Trucking firms need to be hauled into line if they are threatening drivers for taking sick-leave. If they are contractors wage subsidy is there.
I am aware of rumours some truck drivers are heavy amphetamine users.
I hope the truckies are not getting into the situation that they were in the USA years ago, taking uppers and downers, pushing themselves, not having proper stops and decent food. One got into that cycle and ran down some people and/or into a store. I think a dietitian considered it a sort of sugar high, putting out the person's body systems. Driving for too long hours.
Love this narrative about 'failure;…FFS this is the unknown and everybody is learning on the job…we have no idea about potential lines of transmission.
There have been some questionable acts but no failure of intent.
time to get real
She took the unusual step of telegraphing the claims to the media this morning ahead of QT too. Which perhaps suggests she isn’t confident that the info she has will get her a big enough bang for her buck or that maybe events may overtake her as the day goes on?
Vegetable growers are complaining about the delay in getting staff into harvesting areas because of Akld/Waikato covid 'border'.
Before that people were complaining that the border restrictions were not tough enough.
People were complaining about being turned back because of no exemptions, but exemptions were available early on.
I'm complaining about people complaining when they got what they wished for – tough border control.
The real issue – people blocking the traffic were travelling without good reason but nobody was complaining – funny that.
National have another outbreak of footnmouth Gerry meandering Brownlee with another conspiracy theory media bias.
It's expression of a fear that the MSM will fact check their political messaging, National are trying to warn the media off by sending in the one man who has no credibility left to lose.
I was talking to a Chch woman tonight about the stress of waiting for the election and getting Labour back in. She hasn't got good things to say about Brownlee. Was talking about the debacle about sweeping decisions about the red zone and how it hurt the people living there, still getting over it and trying to get settled. Apparently back then there was a rush to do this and that, resulted in one woman going shopping in the morning and came back and her house was demolished. Everything seems to have been lost, all her possessions, all the precious family photos etc. Pretty legal? Pretty incredible.
Light lunchtime relief. When reading the article every time the word "emu" or " Eric" or "he" is mentioned replaced it with my favourite name "Judith" or "she".
Judith flees rural Auckland paddock in search of love.
Says Foster an Animal Welfare officer, " I had never caught a Judith before, so I started Googling how to do it,” As Judith has sharp claws and a “forceful kick”, Foster and her colleagues had to be extra careful in their capture attempt.
Says the owner Goodley, " Even I’ve got to keep looking over my shoulder when she’s following me around the paddock.”
She is “strutting her stuff” with her 20 sheep friends.
“She loves roaming around the paddock showing off she’s the tallest thing in there,” Goodley said.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/122480054/eric-the-emu-flees-rural-auckland-paddock-in-search-of-love?cid=app-android
PaddyOT @ 21 Thanks… Best of the day haha!! I will have fun with that… light relief.
Bugger! We've become just another failed state – like the US, with a big surge in covid cases!
https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1295440487277633536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1295440487277633536%7Ctwgr%5E&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fworld%2F2020%2Faug%2F18%2Ftrump-calls-out-new-zealands-big-surge-on-day-it-records-nine-covid-cases
/sarc
US population – 331 million, new daily cases = 41,893 New Cases. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-us.html
NZ approaches 5 million, new confirmed cases = 13.
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-current-situation/covid-19-current-cases
(Multiply population of 5 x 60 to get 300 million and multiply new cases of 13 x 60 for comparison to USA daily cases –
Our infection rate would give 208 cases for comparison to USA of 41,893.)
e&oe This is near-enough math done in my head.
654 deaths US
The figures I was giving were new daily cases. So the deaths figure you give – is that the latest daily death rate for the USA?
Right alongside that 41,893 figure of new cases, 654 new deaths. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-us.html
Thank you very much for the link and your comparisons.
No matter how we compare our pop’n to US, the death toll, against new cases in NZ is zero.
Trump is a dangerous idiot to suggest our situation is anything like the US.
We knew that though eh. They must be thick over there that they haven't found a way through their flexible laws to move him on somewhere. Somewhere over the rainbow because you can never get really close to a rainbow right!
I hope you're well Jum haven't seen your name for a while. Maybe haven't looked in the right posts.
I'm fine thank you. And you?
Just spotted Trump trying to attack us again. He's already been called out by TYT, which is absolutely HUGE in numbers of watchers -100million views.
Must be the rest of the American population only watching him about 230 million. But, apparently, 100 million sit out at election time. Which 100 million; that's the issue. https://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/the-bottom-line/2020/04/americans-vote-200401103254491.html
latest figures from your 4.21pm post – website now:
Cases in the U.S.
Updated August 19, 2020
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Syndicate
Total Cases 5,460,429 / 39,318 New Cases*
Total Deaths 171,012 / 1,172 New Deaths*
The Progressive Party – small but sounds beautifully motivated. https://www.progressiveparty.co.nz/
Progressive Party policies include maximising NZ’s self-reliance. We fully accept that NZ’s standard of living is built on its trade with the rest of the world, so maximising our self-reliance is not a call for protectionism.
What it does mean, in the first instance, is ensuring our ability to meet our basic needs so that we can relate to the rest of the world from a position of strength.
We invite you to browse our website and discover a little more about who we are and what we are advocating
Bruce Dyer has been living his principles for a long time.https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politics/122187124/cofounder-of-new-party-bruce-dyer-to-stand-in-nelson-electorate
Last I heard they hadn’t hit the 500 signatures…
Ummm – yes.
https://elections.nz/democracy-in-nz/political-parties-in-new-zealand/register-of-political-parties
The Progressive party currently aren’t on the register.
The Heartland party has no constitution and rules. They may have to hurry up.
Nor does The Advance New Zealand Party.
What in the hell is the Tea party? Umm their constitution has as the second clause..
Umm The ONE party. Oh their constitution appendix has (with tabs between the words?)…
The Vision New Zealand Party sounds awfully similar with this as their first principle
I know all of the rest of the parties. Ok that was an amusing few minutes looking at the new kids on the block.
Now enough procrastination – back to finding out why NetworkManager thinks that the wifi module is unavailable.
Just pray and believe Lprent and lo the answer will come to you.
LPrent,
Just be grateful you're not a woman in this new world of extreme conservative religious mania, kind sir.
FYI:
https://elections.nz/democracy-in-nz/political-parties-in-new-zealand/
Thanks for this refreshing reflection Greywarshark. This alternative thinking/vision has been an area on my mind.
For the knockers the Party's manifesto is worthy of space and discussion
"
• All people can fulfil their basic needs for food, clothing, housing, medical care and education,
• All human beings can freely develop their physical, mental and spiritual potentials,
• All human beings experience human rights such as physical integrity, equality and freedom,
Moving together and for each other we can develop our individual and collective potential. "
Even today watching Parliament live angered me. In this unparalleled reconvening it should have been a precious space for meaningful conversations about all our forward wellbeing. Instead the time was hijacked for point scoring. Parliamentary time today was an expensive rort on taxpayer's money when the questions today had already been answered through various channels.
It is hard to describe a type of angst or is it fury that I feel about a void of action, a void of policy and little voicing of even near future solutions for addressing entrenched injustices that contunue to cause longterm misery for so many.
What do other main Parties offer?
"Homo economicus, the everyman postulated by economic theorists, is an atomized individual who is relentlessly driven to maximize his material advantages through the market not matter what the social costs. "
"NOW is the starting point upon which we can build a political framework of access, sharing, equality and social well-being."
http://www.onthecommons.org/imagining-new-politics-commons#sthash.WryThWCI.dpbs
Another perspective is, IMO , an inabilty to let go of "ego" . Missing in the main is even a hint of decolonisation policies, systems thinking other than measures I have seen in the Green's platform.
"Decolonisation goes beyond diversity and inclusion. It is the commitment to make marginalised communities un-marginalised by recognising them as part of the whole and welcoming them as agents of change."
https://medium.com/@londondevnetwork/decolonising-systems-thinking-57eebc0a94e9
"The most effective visions will show people the better world in meaningful concrete ways, lay out a clear process for change and be clear on who can make the change within a system and structure."
The dominant feeling I have is that change will not happen with this election's offerings because a type of criminal act has taken place. That act has been the stealing of space for the voices of the people to be addressed. The crime is a theft of democracy by the likes of those with a self interest agenda to gain Power. The greatest vile collaborator is the MSM.
change will not happen because too many dont wish it so…its not rocket science.
Is that so Pat?
Your view and dismissal belittling a view with " it's not rocket science" about sums up 2020. Today in Parliament was the same said in multiple ways, " Any view but mine is all shit." And repeat.
Btw. The links provided were some of many similar ‘expert’ voices.
easy to disparage…care to make an argument that disputes my position?
I did I posted a view from many voices.
In an instant barely enough time to even tead a link, you were the disparaging one.
"… it's not rocket science" , you might as well have stated your superior view by calling me a " dumbass" .
Your statement
" too many dont wish it so". Who ? Explain please this writing off of the masses of people enduring injustice.
Irony is your action is what was reflected in my post.
Could be you might be one of the causes of people giving up TS.
Conflating opinion with “rocket science” is silly, I agree. But there have been quite a few opinion polls recently.
Taking things personal when they’re not, is setting yourself up for a shit fight.
There are many reasons why people come and go from TS. Unless you have done an exit poll, you don’t know their reasons and can only speculate. The vast majority of page views (visits) of TS are silent readers.
It's not taken personally Incognito.
It is the action and intent of his putdown on other's that is detrimental.
I have read Pat's posts today and applying the same post under his own views or anyone's is corrosive to any dialogue.
Put Pat's comment under his long post made with considerable effort today and see the effect- 18 August 2020 at 10:58 am
"… if sustainable planning for economic recovery was solely the government’s problem, with no parallel obligation on business to look in the mirror…."
Then apply the action of 'instantly stomp on it .. you dumbass.'
So for reflection, if I posted this same comment instantly under your well considered input of posts I believe you would find it unacceptable.
Or let this comment stand as a model for other commentators and 'just give up on change you dolts'
"change will not happen because too many dont wish it so…its not rocket science."
"I have read Pat's posts today and applying the same post under his own views or anyone's is corrosive to any dialogue.
Put Pat's comment under his long post made with considerable effort today and see the effect- 18 August 2020 at 10:58 am
"… if sustainable planning for economic recovery was solely the government’s problem, with no parallel obligation on business to look in the mirror…."
You are aware that you have quoted Gordon Campbell?…and the post is brief as almost all my posts are…I dont do verbose.
PaddyOT
If you can be a bit tolerant – everyone who comes and blogs about politics is special – all concerned to get change, better things, but how? And all have particular gifts and knowledge and perceptions. Gradually an understanding of that person's mind is gained and then when they seem faulty you know where they are coming from.
Ok, the written word lacks intonation and is often (?) perceived differently, in a qualitative sense, than intended. This can lead to endless misunderstandings.
If you reply to one of my comments that it is not rocket science, I would most likely ask you why or simply let it go.
OTOH, if you were to call me a dumbass, I would take that as a personal insult, in the first instance.
It all depends on the context (e.g. topic, thread, commenter, etc.) and on the mood I am in at the time.
I hope that makes sense.
i will confess i have not yet read the links (though I shall) but make the observation that the greens have been promoting progressive policies for decades and to date capture (?) around 6 -7% of the voting publics support…there is a disconnect between what people say they want and what they are prepared to support.
It is not as I wish it to be
Hi PaddyOT I was talking to someone who has studied philosophy tonight and we agreed that the education system needs to teach how to analyse, simplify, check something with critical analysis to get to the basis of what it's about. She mentioned Plato, I've got a book about his thoughts, but as I haven't read it I haven't experienced anything but the satisfaction of having got it available.
Tonight I think Socrates , Plato's teacher might be in the lead on 'thinking about thinking' studies.
" The secret of change is to focus all your energy not on fighting the old, but building on the new."- Socrates.🤪
Plato had constraints on how much he should explore as his mentor Socrates was executed for his views.
🤭
Thanks for the advice on tolerance, if you go back I wasn't. I replied to your post initially and got an intolerant responder. Life's served up some massive doozies on me and mine that other's would crumble under. I moved from some decades of teaching children through to adults onto looking at real change for voiceless victim's . I put my own money where my mouth is, sound research and widespread investigation from those at grassroots both workers and victims, to hear their voices. Overwhelming was the oppression that leads to silencing and misery of many. I worked with some amazing experts and put a Charitable Trust Deed together and my money at a time where political powers upheld 'top down' approaches.
Bittersweet, is that over the next 15 years from inception 'we the collective' now of thousands of victims, are now one of the largest NGO charitable organisations in New Zealand that drives its business from the clients voices up. A switcheroo is that Government agents now refer their too hard to Us. It is also credit to a massive collaboration of like agencies that founders worked tirelessly to network with. Face to face audaciously with the BigWigs worked a treat too. As does being nimble in predictions of where political winds will blow for Strategic Plans.
So I walk the talk and intolerance is not really my vice.
Cynicism is not intolerance. Though some are intolerant of cynics.
And its not cyncism against proponents of change, its cyncism about whether people trapped in a battle for economic survival in a market rigged against many/most have the energy or hope left to buy into it. And that is based on the politics of a generation.
But then generations come and go. And sometimes all that is required for the older generation to get out of the way.
Where was the cynicism SPC, I was not being cynical, have you misread ?
" "But then generations come and go. And sometimes all that is required for the older generation to get out of the way."
What are you meaning here?
No. You accused Pat of being intolerant for being a cynic.
I'll end it there.
There you go again SPC putting your own spin and nasty twists in to uphold false views. Shades of last week when you pissed all over people with your dangerous plague theorizing and then failed to answer for your targetting people maliciously.
Pat's comment is near to an example of cynicism.
You described his comment as intolerant.
The facts are the facts. We are done.
I’ve been on blogs a long time, and you are one the quickest to make personal attacks on others that I have seen.
SPC go back on all my input, read and then apologise for this,
" I’ve been on blogs a long time, and you are one the quickest to make personal attacks on others that I have seen." Show where there was personal attacks on anyone, as you have continued to do even in your putdowns continuously.
On your cannabis users and employers ? theory talking past a commentor it ends with, "The current discriminatory regime is bad for our economy."
No foundation given.
And on denouncing someone's post re population change this small portion of your way out there theory and no sources cited-:
"All pre pandemic thinking (old people at risk) … and with no awareness of the risk of super bugs (antibiotics into Chinese pigs still) on the ability of hospitals to provide old people with new knees hips etc."
(( WTF?))
"Global warming impact on old age health … nothing …"
"Sure contracpetion and education reduce the amount of children women have, but egg storage and looser rules about surrogacy may mitigate that."
Onto pissing on a credible well researched opinion you expound this-
"Given breaking Oz and US into economically dependent satellites is part of their three circles ambition for the Pacific, which they have barely tried to hide, there is nothing manufactured about it.
For mine it is going to be hilarious, when the West embraces Russia as part of containment of China, how many people are going to turn on a dime."
Still no reference for your ' findings' .
Just screeds and screeds of your theories with no foundations offered to overide what others say.
Best ever, your own pithy theory to put down another researched commentary you felt had no evidence when it did – :
"saying something does not exist if it does not have a creation date is spurious." Then you had once more put your made up theory in and still NO evidence.
The pattern is like observing ' little boy dashing in from across the playground' to put the biff in. Still no accountability for trollie type false statements. Go you !
Oh my gosh I have a stalker …
It isn’t hard on this site. Press the name in the recent comments bar on the right in the desktop version.
There is also 28.1.1 Open Mike 15/8.
Thanks PaddyOT but you have sounded off sharply at people writing here. I think that is intolerant. I should know because I have caught myself doing that. And sometimes showing intolerance is needed otherwise you get to be just a limp rag.
We all bring our own experiences and perceptions to the mix. Yours may be more knowledgable about problems that others seem to brush off. But If you can't discuss and describe then you don't get the best out of a forum.
Thanks for the sayings.
This guy.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2020/08/coronavirus-new-zealanders-reveals-his-experience-in-managed-isolation-facility.html
I wonder if there's any connection between Judith Collins replying to his "thesis" and him appearing on the AM Show?
Did Duncs tell the nation how many MIQ workers have tested positive?
I'm more interested in knowing when he contacted the 'higher ups' and when he contacted Garner.
Unless two or more of them knew each other personally before this, I reckon it went like this:
Dubai property lawyer Lunjevich writes to Collins about what the bus driver said (why did he ask the bus driver that question anyway?)
Collins senses an opportunity to bag Ardern and writes to Garner asking him to put Dubai property lawyer Lunjevich on the show to bag Ardern.
Garner dutifully sets up the zoom call and broadcasts.
If they did know each other previously, it looks like a well planned attack with Dubai property lawyer Lunjevich being coached on what questions to ask and what to look for in MIQ in order to cause MoH and Ardern as much trouble as possible.
Muttonbird, he seemed to know Garner quite well? Friends tell me that he earlier called this person a ‘mate’, his ‘eyes and ears’ on AM.
Yes, you can tell with Garner. If Lunjevich 'loves his country' so much, what was he doing in Dubai?
If that were the case it would have gone like this:
Duncs to Judith: “I have a RW friend coming in from Dubai. Will get him to scope MIQ and write to you about it, then we can put it on our show.”
Judith: “My eyebrows are very interested.”
That is an irrelevant remark surely Muttonbird?
Which bit?
If the 'mate' of Garner told Garner first, he has shown complete disregard for the safety of the people of this country he pretends to 'love so much'.
There are some poor types around NZ who can't be shamed, always have an excuse, some odd reason. It seems that they will never 'go straight' – why release them amongst the public to start off some new criminal pursuit? Have an open prison managed farm where you can keep them busy with a pleasant life provided they stay in custody, or else they are in deep custard, or is that porridge.
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/423826/phillip-john-smith-brazilians-do-not-recognise-escape-as-an-offence
Question: Is the National Party Black Ops unit paying MIQ workers to leak information?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300085565/coronavirus-security-guard-leaks-list-of-auckland-isolation-guests-via-snapchat
Depends who the Snapchat private group was I suppose?
One thing though, this breaking story and the Rydges Hotel maintenance worker testing positive mean that Judith’s gotcha-that-wasn’t in the House today will be lucky to survive the news cycle let alone dominate it.
That's what you get when you contract out government work to private contractors employing usually, poorly paid, workers.
A defence force worker could have done the repair. Possibly having a pool of defence force workers is the way to go. There could be some sort of isolating system away from other defence force employees and families. A bit like a deployment for a month at a time and then 2 weeks in isolation.
Outside of being coerced to do it, the only motivation I can think of is the guard was big-noting because a high profile returnee was on the list.
Snap-chat vehicle would back this up.
Whatever the motive, a good way to shaft a security career and land some charges.
Unless the guard claims unsolicited emails were sent to a personal address, of course. /sarc
https://youtu.be/hcaPyViy8wM
The corrupt justice system of new zealand strikes
https://youtu.be/wOpSqV9E7HY
https://i.stuff.co.nz/opinion/cartoons
https://youtu.be/eJlN9jdQFSc