Occasionally in the mornings I like to go for a short drive & check out what’s going on in the hood. In doing so recently I discovered that Muscovy & his mallard friends were now being regularly fed by some of the kind young occupants of a nearby newly-built housing estate complex, and also by some of the employees in a nearby computing business. ❤️👍🏼
Swinging by there in the car yesterday morning I noticed that there is now a second Muscovy Duck on the scene:
There’s obviously quite a bit of variation in the colouring of Muscovy ducks. Dunno if this one’s a female or another male. Pretty sure I read somewhere that the females are quite a bit smaller than males, & this one looks about the same size as “Muscovy” (who is plomped down on the grass to the left of the mallards seen in this clip).
Austria will become the first country in western Europe to reimpose a full COVID-19 lockdown, it said on Friday as neighbouring Germany warned it may follow suit, sending shivers through financial markets worried about the economic fallout….
More and more its apparent that the vaccine is not an end in itself .It's vaccine plus mask wearing plus sanitising and social distancing.I'd like to add rigorous test ,trace and treat ,which has worked so well overseas in the absence of widespread vaccination.
We're not only at peak endgame capitalism, we're also at peak end game individualism, which makes public health mandates requiring us to change our habits nigh impossible.But I do think the elimination strategy is viable where you have a strong collective ethos.
By the way, what's the story on beginning a sentence with "But".Is that bad grammar?
By the way, what’s the story on beginning a sentence with “But”.Is that bad grammar?
I dunno whether it’s bad grammar per se or whether it was just a strong convention that one should NOT begin a sentence with a conjunction like but, or however.
Some writers broke this convention anyway. Sometimes as a literary device to give an emphasis to the “but” or “however”, others just because they thought it just was too pedantic.
I’m one who breaks the convention because I often try to write in conversational English & lotsa people in conversations begin sentences with “but” or “however”.
A gerund is a 'verbal' noun so there is no reason a sentence shouldn't start with one. When Peter Pan says "Dying would be an awfully big adventure" the word "dying" is actually a gerund.
Personally I only listen to my compilers about syntax- they have a reason to critise my syntax as computers are pretty damn stupid.
People on the other hand seldom read what other people actually write. They are usually too busy inventing their own story about what they thought you wrote. That is why being clear about getting your meaning across is far more important than syntax.
Only the people who are really trying to be computers because of their lack of any story telling abilities worry much about syntax.
The rule is really stylistic, and we teach it to new writers, typically children, who might otherwise be tempted to begin every sentence after the first with and.
As for its validity, it might be a rule of Latin copied into English, where it isn't true, as is the case with:
Prepositions are not for ending sentences with. – fine in English, but apparently not in Latin.
Churchill, facetiously, once said "Up with this I will not put." However, this seems to be a special case since the verb he is intending to employ is "to put up with", not "to put". He seems to be using a poetical construction inappropriately. We would say “I will not put up with this”.
In English we may use a construction like "The person I gave the book to", while the more formal construction would be "The person to whom I gave the book". In Latin, however "to whom" would be one word, using the dative case.
By the way, what's the story on beginning a sentence with "But".Is that bad grammar?
Words like "but" and "and" are conjunctives. In other words they join two ideas within a sentence. Therefore, starting a sentence with either of them seems odd since one of the two ideas is missing. "So" is another such word but it is becoming common, in recent times, for politicians and media persons to start sentences with that word.
…..I doubt “elmination” was ever a viable long-term option once Delta arrived on the scene.
Maybe. Maybe not.
If the advice of the health experts and pandemic modelers had been followed, We will never know for sure now, whether another two weeks of L4 in Auckland would have achieved elimination or not.
But the TVNZ graph 'above' clearly shows that before September 22, before the L4 lockdown was ended, the elimination strategy was working and provedly does work. Under the L4 lockdown, 83 cases a day in Auckland, following a sharp downward trend, was crushed down to 9 cases a day and was still trending down toward zero cases..
On the 21st of September, after the calculation was made that to presist with the L4 lockdown in Auckland until the numbers reached zero would put too great a burden on business, the ellimination strategy was replaced with the three step 'Roadmap' out of lockdown. As you can see with the first step on 6 Occt. The 'Roadmap' out of lockdown is being implemented on rising numbers of infections. .
The two most effective strategies to combat a viral pandemic are social, ie lockdowns. And technological, ie vaccines.
Overseas experience is showing us, that even at 90% of the eligible adult population having received the vaccine, some form of lockdowns will still likely be needed. That is, if we want to prevent needless deaths and protect public health services from being overloaded.
But emissions lockdowns alone will not be enough to arrest cllimate change.
It lis likely that the global climate system has already passed the point of no return, As a result, alongside emissions lockdowns, some form of technological CO2 removal from the atmosphere will also be needed.
Most of the these CO2 removal technologies do not yet exist, or are not mature technologies. But this too is analogous to the pandemic. At the start of the pandemic the technological fix, vaccines, did not yet exist or were not mature technologies.
Tamaki has already appeared in court twice since early October. The first appearance was on charges for organising a rally on October 2, allegedly in breach of Covid restrictions – he has pleaded not guilty.
He was ordered to stay away from future protests but was in court again on October 20 for fronting up at the second Domain protest on October 16, allegedly breaching bail.
He was allowed to remain free on bail on several conditions.
One condition was that he not "organise or attend any protests in breach of any Covid-19 level requirement", while another was that he not "use the internet for the purpose of organising, attending or encouraging non-compliance with the Covid-19 Public Health Response Act 2020".
It will take a smart judge to block the media from covering sentencing, otherwise the Tamaki's have more than achieved their purpose in being arrested.
Maybe if he goes to jail he'll become radicalised. You know, all the stuff in his head will be turned upside down, all previous internal norms extinguished.
bwaghorn (4.1.1) … you are absolutely correct. Tamaki and his wife, are a form of predators who see society's misguided and vulnerable as a ticket to easy wealth by telling them what they want to hear. At the present time with Covid preventing some profitable Sunday get togethers, I guess the Apostle's coffers are getting a bit low and this is causing some concern between him and Mrs Apostle.
In US circles critical of the evangelical/tele-evangelical churches spread of mis- and disinformation about the vaccines and Covid they often a call people such as the Destiny church leaders 'grifters'.
Not in the older meaning of a petty thief such as a pick pocket but in this newer meaning
David Farrier in his ‘Loopy’ article about anti vaxxers in NZ also mentions Peter Mortlock of the City Impact Church. https://www.webworm.co/p/loopy
These mostly self appointed ‘pastors’ are a real scourge especially when they combine money making activities with definitions of the Bible/theology that are at odds with continued good health for their followers..
Martyrs are usually dead – but the concept of a "living martyr" does exist. The latter is obviously better in terms of generating (and enjoying) income streams.
On something similar, something I was reading the other day intrigued me. The way that a measles infection will often wipe out the human immune memory. It causes
It turns out that measles isn't a disease of the parts of the body it appears to infect. Like HIV it is a disease of the immune system. It affects T-cells. All of the pustules are almost a side effect.
The human immune system once it realises what is happening reacts by attacking the infected T-cells and destroying them. The T-cells are the residual immune response memory – so killing them kills the long-term memory of the immune system.
If the infection goes far enough, the only thing that the immune system remembers is how to combat measles and nothing much else. So like a child, people so afflicted have to get reinfected by a series of diseases to rebuild immunises – usually takes 2-3 years.
I'd guess that is where this particular meme arose from.
Lprent I think the first study here builds on the info you have provided from the measles study the studies do not seem to have been linked by the scientists but we can look at them together…..I came across this article about the
'The emerging insights into the immunology of COVID-19 could change scientists’ fundamental understanding of human immunity and how it can go awry.'
By researchers at the University of California (SF)
While it reads like a mini "I've had my name in a recognised worthy publication -for Phd people' the research and findings are really interesting. In some cases of Covid the expected interferon response does not occur because of hitherto hidden auto-immunity.
Another piece of research is from UK figures run by US scientist experienced in using NIH & other UK data, and this looks at deaths from the Covid virus of vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
'In all age groups, we clearly see the vaccinated groups having lower risk of COVID-19 death, and this is especially evidence during the winter Alpha surge and summer Delta surges. The vaccinated individuals appear to be MUCH less likely to die in a COVID-19 surge, with fully vaccinated individuals in week 35 having 5x, 10x, 10x, and 2x lower all cause death rates in the than respective cohorts than unvaccinated individuals. This is consistent with the vaccines protecting strongly against death even after some waning of circulating antibodies as has been noted at 5-6m post-vaccination.'
Then from the same site work on how vaccination effectiveness works when taking into account Simpson's paradox.
In my reading about Covid vaccination misinformation I came across Simpson's Paradox and this has since become a bit of a fascination for me. The 'takeaways' from this study are interesting bearing in mind there are continuing cries for info on how many of those in hospital or those in particular age groups are vaccinated and have covid or died etc etc
'If you see someone presenting numbers like "% of infected/hospitalized/dead from COVID-19 that are vaccinated," recognize this can be a misleading number to summarize vaccine effectiveness since it depends on % vaccinated, and it is even worse when computed over a long period of time like all of 2021.
When you see people present vaccine effectiveness estimates (vs. cases, hospitalizations or deaths) using the simple relative rate reduction formula, always ask what time frame they are using. If they are modeling over a broad time frame like since the beginning of 2021, there is likely a strong time confounding that will make these numbers misleadingly high. And other countries have similar dynamics so this applies to them as well.
Estimates of vaccine efficacy using this simple relative rate reduction formula should be done over a time frame short enough that we don't have strong variation in vaccination rate or in case/death counts within that interval. Computing VE separately for time intervals short enough would not be affected by this time confounding (but of course might be subject to other confounders other than time). Of course since age is also a major confounder, you would want to stratify by both time and age'.
Bolding is from the article
If you don't mind a bit of fuzziness in your findings or readings about vaccine efficacy then this study is one to read. Anti vaxxers not so much as the conclusions are not firm, give to both points of view etc etc.
I recall a month or so back a study that got some attention for showing that there was little correlation in populations, both nation and state level, between %vax and case numbers. Sorry I don't have a link to hand.
One of it's allegedly 'fatal flaws' was that all the data was gathered during singular one week time frame. If anyone had actually bothered to read the study they would have seen the authors deliberately did this to avoid the Simpsons Paradox that is incurred when time bias is ignored.
Good comment – Simpsons Paradox is a formalism I have not seen clearly explained like this before.
Yes I recall reading about that criticism. This paradox (Simpson's) is that what we might think of as a 'logical' way to go about things is in fact not.
My thoughts go out to Duncan Garner who's "fighting for" his life.
I do appreciate that agencies charged with doing a job do it well. This is heart wrenching stuff though. Maybe if he lives through it he can say he's "got a life." He needs to get one.
He is making valid and worthwhile points- home isolation is here and it needs to work for everyone's sake – or is any form of criticism too hard to take for this government???
In the previous article I read about Garner and Covid he said that he had taken some non-prescription medicines and was feeling a lot better….here it is:
“I had a headache and my body ached all over. I felt like if I moved, something would break,” he said. Garner said that taking paracetamol and ibuprofen helped ease his symptoms, leaving him now feeling “just a bit tired.They worked a treat.”
He wouldn't be making a fuss to score some political points for his masters would he. Surely not?
If the home isolation system is not functioning correctly, it would remiss of him not to point it out. Thousands of people will go through this process, best to highlight and sort out any defects at this stage rather than later in the proceedings – for everyone's sake.
And he isn't the only one making similar observations.
If I were cynical, I'd suspect the appropriation of every incredibly tragic thing under the sun is encouraged by some shills and charlatans to maintain separation between their prime audience and reasonable people.
A "repugnant" policy that protects violent and abusive state house tenants who intimidate law-abiding neighbours is potentially unlawful and open to legal challenge before the courts, an expert says.
Litigation lawyer Adina Thorn says she is considering a class action on behalf of affected Kāinga Ora tenants and private homeowners who are being terrorised by unruly state house clients.
It follows a Herald investigation revealing death threats, intimidation and abuse, with numerous Kiwis claiming antisocial Kāinga Ora tenants are causing mayhem and destroying their families' lives.
An obvious and blatant example of a state entity ignoring established law as a matter of unstated policy and practice. Ministerial resignation time I would have thought.
On the other hand maybe I've got this wrong and this Kāinga Ora outfit is not accountable to Parliament by design.
Sufficiently distanced as a State Owned Enterprise to require only a wee chat with the Chair. Maybe a wee refresh of the Board. But the Kainga Ora CEO ain't going anywhere – and is competent.
So no, the Minister has far less power than the SOE Board generally.
The Minister of Police is Poto Williams. The Associate Minister in charge of Social Housing is also Poto Williams. The problem is this…is this ministerial incompetence or deliberate policy?
A decade ago we would never have seen Ministers allow a D-G of Health to have so much independence, nor the Chair of NZTA to run a long hand-wrinsing apology about our largest roading job (without even mentioning the Minister), nor the CE of Housing to be so publicly out of step with wider social contracts.
This isn't pyramid management: it's more an hour glass falling all one way.
So, and it's a serious question, could the Minister initiate the establishment of an organised crime task force charged with wiping out gang's proceeds of crime?
That has been the case since the 1950s Police Act. The commissioner runs the police. The minister is largely relevant when capital funding is required for infrastructure or expansion.
Only one day remains to make a submission on the emissions reduction plan. Please engage with the political process that is all ready underway and have your say on the Govt response to the greatest issue of our time! Closes Nov 24.
I wonder how many of them would now be considered to be unprotected?
From what I have seen the Pfizer vaccine seems to be regarded as no longer being truly effective about six months after the second dose. Given that there were about 60,000 people who had had one dose by 31 March this year, and the recommended gap was 3 weeks they would probably all be beyond the cut-off date.
Does anyone have any idea as to the effective vaccination rate is and how many people have had a booster?
Here's another crazy factoid. The expiry of the vaccine passports is 6 months after they were issued, not 6 months after your second jab. My vaxx passport expires 19 May 2022, which is 9 months after my second jab. Even after just 6 months, the effectiveness of my jabs will have dropped to 45%. So for 3 months I will have a valid vaccine passport with only 45% vaccine effectiveness. Or am I missing something?
It isn't the chance of infection that interests me the most. I'm happy to accept the fact that I am probably going to get the disease at some time unless I were to follow the most extreme, and frankly unbearable, isolation procedures. Happy that is unless I have to accept that I will die if I get it.
What I am really concerned about is how serious will the infection be when it happens? At my age there might be a 10% chance of dying if I get it and if I were unvaccinated. I understand that if you are vaccinated but get the disease it is not as serious as it is if you are unvaccinated. What happens to this figure as the time since your last dose goes up? Does it change and does your chance of dying rise if with that time should you actually be infected?
Well, indications are that effectiveness against high viral loads do decrease over time. But for specifics, you might want to chat with your doctor – and also consider how and why the answer to that question will change your behaviour.
I think some people have been thinking vaccines are supposed to be a bulletproof vest, and the analogy holds – but there's a reason the trade term is "bullet resistant" rather than "bullet proof".
I ain't stopped masking and checking in just because I've been double-vaxxed.
After that it is recommended to get a booster, every 6 month.
I have asked also how those that are in need of a booster shot – everyone in the initial Group 1 when the first vaccines were made available – are counted.. That would be those jabbed from Jan – May.
And how will this issue be handled in the future, say with your Passport – will it expire after 6 month, or is there a grace period to get a booster and so on and so forth.
The question is not are you still 'protected' as the studies show that protection is still there, the question is How will that 'booster' status be handled, will 'boosters' be mandatory, and how will that be enforced. Essentially with people 'falling' out of 'fully' protected jab status one can argue that 90% is never fully reachable. 🙂
I guess we are still in a 'learning curve' to some degree. Having taken the decision to be vaccinated, and with my other half being health compromised, I would be keen to be in line for a booster as the effectiveness of my vaccinations wane.
I tried this out when I installed it and when it last updated (which was a while ago). One of the things I don’t like with javascript is the sneaky updates from global sources. In this case CKEditor.
That isn’t a problem with TinyMCE. That however has the problem that it isn’t obeying width restrictions and possibly has other issues.
Heard through the grapevine that public health units across the country are already working all hours to keep up with the current outbreak. And it's not even fully across NI yet.
Scared, was the word a hospital admin person used some weeks ago when talking abut the nurses at the local hospital. They are scared. And so they should be.
Also listening to or reading anything by Barry Slope-off.
Back in the day, he was a key contact in Parliament for oyster deliveries and had some good 'Southland exports to the North' days where Southland industries had mini showcases. As they say' he seems to have gone right off the boil' since that time.
I know it’s late in the day, but this allows you to draw your own conclusions about the relationship between the Taxpayers union, Pigswill and some writers at the Democracy project. Stuff 3 waters article
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Buzz from the Beehive The government’s official website – which Point of Order monitors daily – not for the first time has nothing much to say today about political happenings that are grabbing media headlines. It makes no mention of the latest 1News-Verian poll, for example. This shows National down ...
It Takes A Train To Cry:Surely, there is nothing lonelier in all this world than the long wail of a distant steam locomotive on a cold Winter’s night.AS A CHILD, I would lie awake in my grandfather’s house and listen to the traffic. The big wooden house was only a ...
Packing A Punch: The election of the present government, including in its ranks politicians dedicated to reasserting the rights of the legislature in shaping and determining the future of Māori and Pakeha in New Zealand, should have alerted the judiciary – including its anomalous appendage, the Waitangi Tribunal – that its ...
Dead Woman Walking: New Zealand’s media industry had been moving steadily towards disaster for all the years Melissa Lee had been National’s media and communications policy spokesperson, and yet, when the crisis finally broke, on her watch, she had nothing intelligent to offer. Christopher Luxon is a patient man - but he’s not ...
Chris Trotter writes – New Zealand politics is remarkably easy-going: dangerously so, one might even say. With the notable exception of John Key’s flat ruling-out of the NZ First Party in 2008, all parties capable of clearing MMP’s five-percent threshold, or winning one or more electorate seats, tend ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is ...
Luxon will no doubt put a brave face on it, but there is no escaping the pressure this latest poll will put on him and the government. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on Aotearoa-NZ’s political ...
This is a re-post from The Climate Brink by Andrew Dessler In the wake of any unusual weather event, someone inevitably asks, “Did climate change cause this?” In the most literal sense, that answer is almost always no. Climate change is never the sole cause of hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, or ...
Something odd happened yesterday, and I’d love to know if there’s more to it. If there was something which preempted what happened, or if it was simply a throwaway line in response to a journalist.Yesterday David Seymour was asked at a press conference what the process would be if the ...
Hi,From time to time, I want to bring Webworm into the real world. We did it last year with the Jurassic Park event in New Zealand — which was a lot of fun!And so on Saturday May 11th, in Los Angeles, I am hosting a lil’ Webworm pop-up! I’ve been ...
Education Minister Erica Standford yesterday unveiled a fundamental reform of the way our school pupils are taught. She would not exactly say so, but she is all but dismantling the so-called “inquiry” “feel good” method of teaching, which has ruled in our classrooms since a major review of the New ...
Exactly where are we seriously going with this government and its policies? That is, apart from following what may as well be a Truss-Lite approach on the purported economic “plan“, and Victorian-era regression when it comes to social policy.Oh it’ll work this time of course, we’re basically assured, “the ...
Hey Uncle Dave, When the Poms joined the EEC, I wasn't one of those defeatists who said, Well, that’s it for the dairy job. And I was right, eh? The Chinese can’t get enough of our milk powder and eventually, the Poms came to their senses and backed up the ute ...
Polling shows that Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau has the lowest approval rating of any mayor in the country. Siting at -12 per cent, the proportion of constituents who disapprove of her performance outweighs those who give her the thumbs up. This negative rating is higher than for any other mayor ...
Buzz from the Beehive Pharmac has been given a financial transfusion and a new chair to oversee its spending in the pharmaceutical business. Associate Health Minister David Seymour described the funding for Pharmac as “its largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff”. ...
Bryce Edwards writes – Many criticisms are being made of the Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill, including by this writer. But as with everything in politics, every story has two sides, and both deserve attention. It’s important to understand what the Government is trying to achieve and its ...
TL;DR: Here’s my top 10 ‘pick ‘n’ mix of links to news, analysis and opinion articles as of 10:10am on Monday, April 29:Scoop: The children's ward at Rotorua Hospital will be missing a third of its beds as winter hits because Te Whatu Ora halted an upgrade partway through to ...
span class=”dropcap”>As hideous as David Seymour can be, it is worth keeping in mind occasionally that there are even worse political figures (and regimes) out there. Iran for instance, is about to execute the country’s leading hip hop musician Toomaj Salehi, for writing and performing raps that “corrupt” the nation’s ...
Yesterday marked 10 years since the first electric train carried passengers in Auckland so it’s a good time to look back at it and the impact it has had. A brief history The first proposals for rail electrification in Auckland came in the 1920’s alongside the plans for earlier ...
Right now, in Aotearoa-NZ, our ‘animal spirits’ are darkening towards a winter of discontent, thanks at least partly to a chorus of negative comments and actions from the Government Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: These are the six things that stood out to me in news and commentary on ...
The Government is again adding to New Zealand’s growing unemployment, this time cutting jobs at the agencies responsible for urban development and growing much needed housing stock. ...
With Minister Karen Chhour indicating in the House today that she either doesn’t know or care about the frontline cuts she’s making to Oranga Tamariki, we risk seeing more and more of our children falling through the cracks. ...
The Labour Party is saddened to learn of the death of Sir Robert Martin, a globally renowned disability advocate who led the way for disability rights both in New Zealand and internationally. ...
Labour is calling for the Government to urgently rethink its coalition commitment to restart live animal exports, Labour animal welfare spokesperson Rachel Boyack said. ...
Today’s Financial Stability Report has once again highlighted that poverty and deep inequality are political choices - and this Government is choosing to make them worse. ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to do more for our households in most need as unemployment rises and the cost of living crisis endures. ...
Unemployment is on the rise and it’s only going to get worse under this Government, Labour finance spokesperson Barbara Edmonds said. Stats NZ figures show the unemployment rate grew to 4.3 percent in the March quarter from 4 percent in the December quarter. “This is the second rise in unemployment ...
The New Zealand Labour Party welcomes the entering into force of the European Union and New Zealand free trade agreement. This agreement opens the door for a huge increase in trade opportunities with a market of 450 million people who are high value discerning consumers of New Zealand goods and ...
The National-led Government continues its fiscal jiggery pokery with its Pharmac announcement today, Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall says. “The government has increased Pharmac funding but conceded it will only make minimal increases in access to medicine”, said Ayesha Verrall “This is far from the bold promises made to fund ...
This afternoon’s interim Waitangi Tribunal report must be taken seriously as it affects our most vulnerable children, Labour children’s spokesperson Willow-Jean Prime. ...
Te Pāti Māori are demanding the New Zealand Government support an international independent investigation into mass graves that have been uncovered at two hospitals on the Gaza strip, following weeks of assault by Israeli troops. Among the 392 bodies that have been recovered, are children and elderly civilians. Many of ...
Our two-tiered system for veterans’ support is out of step with our closest partners, and all parties in Parliament should work together to fix it, Labour veterans’ affairs spokesperson Greg O’Connor said. ...
Stripping two Ministers of their portfolios just six months into the job shows Christopher Luxon’s management style is lacking, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said. ...
Tonight’s court decision to overturn the summons of the Children’s Minister has enabled the Crown to continue making decisions about Māori without evidence, says Te Pāti Māori spokesperson for Children, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “The judicial system has this evening told the nation that this government can do whatever they want when ...
It appears Nicola Willis is about to pull the rug out from under the feet of local communities still dealing with the aftermath of last year’s severe weather, and local councils relying on funding to build back from these disasters. ...
The Government is making short-sighted changes to the Resource Management Act (RMA) that will take away environmental protection in favour of short-term profits, Labour’s environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said today. ...
Labour welcomes the release of the report into the North Island weather events and looks forward to working with the Government to ensure that New Zealand is as prepared as it can be for the next natural disaster. ...
The Labour Party has called for the New Zealand Government to recognise Palestine, as a material step towards progressing the two-State solution needed to achieve a lasting peace in the region. ...
Some of our country’s most important work, stopping the sexual exploitation of children and violent extremism could go along with staff on the frontline at ports and airports. ...
The Government’s Fast Track Approvals Bill will give projects such as new coal mines a ‘get out of jail free’ card to wreak havoc on the environment, Labour Leader Chris Hipkins said today. ...
The government's decision to reintroduce Three Strikes is a destructive and ineffective piece of law-making that will only exacerbate an inherently biased and racist criminal justice system, said Te Pāti Māori Justice Spokesperson, Tākuta Ferris, today. During the time Three Strikes was in place in Aotearoa, Māori and Pasifika received ...
Cuts to frontline hospital staff are not only a broken election promise, it shows the reckless tax cuts have well and truly hit the frontline of the health system, says Labour Health spokesperson Ayesha Verrall. ...
The Green Party has joined the call for public submissions on the fast-track legislation to be extended after the Ombudsman forced the Government to release the list of organisations invited to apply just hours before submissions close. ...
New Zealand’s good work at reducing climate emissions for three years in a row will be undone by the National government’s lack of ambition and scrapping programmes that were making a difference, Labour Party climate spokesperson Megan Woods said today. ...
More essential jobs could be on the chopping block, this time Ministry of Education staff on the school lunches team are set to find out whether they're in line to lose their jobs. ...
Te Pāti Māori is disgusted at the confirmation that hundreds are set to lose their jobs at Oranga Tamariki, and the disestablishment of the Treaty Response Unit. “This act of absolute carelessness and out of touch decision making is committing tamariki to state abuse.” Said Te Pāti Māori Oranga Tamariki ...
The Government is trying to bring in a law that will allow Ministers to cut corners and kill off native species, Labour environment spokesperson Rachel Brooking said. ...
Cancelling urgently needed new Cook Strait ferries and hiking the cost of public transport for many Kiwis so that National can announce the prospect of another tunnel for Wellington is not making good choices, Labour Transport Spokesperson Tangi Utikere said. ...
A laundry list of additional costs for Tāmaki Makarau Auckland shows the Minister for the city is not delivering for the people who live there, says Labour Auckland Issues spokesperson Shanan Halbert. ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters discussed the need for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and enhanced cooperation in the Pacific with German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during her first official visit to New Zealand today. "New Zealand and Germany enjoy shared interests and values, including the rule of law, democracy, respect for the international system ...
The Minister Responsible for RMA Reform, Chris Bishop today released his decision on four recommendations referred to him by the Western Bay of Plenty District Council, opening the door to housing growth in the area. The Council’s Plan Change 92 allows more homes to be built in existing and new ...
Thank you, John McKinnon and the New Zealand China Council for the invitation to speak to you today. Thank you too, all members of the China Council. Your effort has played an essential role in helping to build, shape, and grow a balanced and resilient relationship between our two ...
The Government is modernising insurance law to better protect Kiwis and provide security in the event of a disaster, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly announced today. “These reforms are long overdue. New Zealand’s insurance law is complicated and dated, some of which is more than 100 years old. ...
The coalition Government is refreshing its approach to supporting pay equity claims as time-limited funding for the Pay Equity Taskforce comes to an end, Public Service Minister Nicola Willis says. “Three years ago, the then-government introduced changes to the Equal Pay Act to support pay equity bargaining. The changes were ...
Structured literacy will change the way New Zealand children learn to read - improving achievement and setting students up for success, Education Minister Erica Stanford says. “Being able to read and write is a fundamental life skill that too many young people are missing out on. Recent data shows that ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay says Canada’s refusal to comply in full with a CPTPP trade dispute ruling in our favour over dairy trade is cynical and New Zealand has no intention of backing down. Mr McClay said he has asked for urgent legal advice in respect of our ‘next move’ ...
The rights of our children and young people will be enhanced by changes the coalition Government will make to strengthen oversight of the Oranga Tamariki system, including restoring a single Children’s Commissioner. “The Government is committed to delivering better public services that care for our most at-risk young people and ...
The Government is making it easier for minor changes to be made to a building consent so building a home is easier and more affordable, Building and Construction Minister Chris Penk says. “The coalition Government is focused on making it easier and cheaper to build homes so we can ...
New Zealand lost a true legend when internationally renowned disability advocate Sir Robert Martin (KNZM) passed away at his home in Whanganui last night, Disabilities Issues Minister Louise Upston says. “Our Government’s thoughts are with his wife Lynda, family and community, those he has worked with, the disability community in ...
Good evening – Before discussing the challenges and opportunities facing New Zealand’s foreign policy, we’d like to first acknowledge the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs. You have contributed to debates about New Zealand foreign policy over a long period of time, and we thank you for hosting us. ...
From today, passengers travelling internationally from Auckland Airport will be able to keep laptops and liquids in their carry-on bags for security screening thanks to new technology, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Creating a more efficient and seamless travel experience is important for holidaymakers and businesses, enabling faster movement through ...
People with an interest in the health of Northland’s marine ecosystems are invited to a public meeting to discuss how to deal with kina barrens, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. Mr Jones will lead the discussion, which will take place on Friday, 10 May, at Awanui Hotel in ...
Kiwi exporters are $100 million better off today with the NZ EU FTA entering into force says Trade Minister Todd McClay. “This is all part of our plan to grow the economy. New Zealand's prosperity depends on international trade, making up 60 per cent of the country’s total economic activity. ...
There are heartening signs that the extractive sector is once again becoming an attractive prospect for investors and a source of economic prosperity for New Zealand, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. “The beginnings of a resurgence in extractive industries are apparent in media reports of the sector in the past ...
The return of the historic Ō-Rākau battle site to the descendants of those who fought there moved one step closer today with the first reading of Te Pire mō Ō-Rākau, Te Pae o Maumahara / The Ō-Rākau Remembrance Bill. The Bill will entrust the 9.7-hectare battle site, five kilometres west ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has announced 25 new high-speed EV charging hubs along key routes between major urban centres and outlined the Government’s plan to supercharge New Zealand’s EV infrastructure. The hubs will each have several chargers and be capable of charging at least four – and up to 10 ...
The coalition Government will not proceed with the previous Government’s plans to regulate residential property managers, Housing Minister Chris Bishop says. “I have written to the Chairperson of the Social Services and Community Committee to inform him that the Government does not intend to support the Residential Property Managers Bill ...
The Government has announced an independent review into the disability support system funded by the Ministry of Disabled People – Whaikaha. Disability Issues Minister Louise Upston says the review will look at what can be done to strengthen the long-term sustainability of Disability Support Services to provide disabled people and ...
Justice Minister Paul Goldsmith has attended the Universal Periodic Review in Geneva and outlined the Government’s plan to restore law and order. “Speaking to the United Nations Human Rights Council provided us with an opportunity to present New Zealand’s human rights progress, priorities, and challenges, while responding to issues and ...
The Government and Rotorua Lakes Council are committed to working closely together to end the use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua. Associate Minister of Housing (Social Housing) Tama Potaka says the Government remains committed to ending the long-term use of contracted emergency housing motels in Rotorua by the ...
Trade Minister Todd McClay heads overseas today for high-level trade talks in the Gulf region, and a key OECD meeting in Paris. Mr McClay will travel to Riyadh to meet with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). “New Zealand’s goods and services exports to the Gulf region ...
Education Minister Erica Stanford has outlined six education priorities to deliver a world-leading education system that sets Kiwi kids up for future success. “I’m putting ambition, achievement and outcomes at the heart of our education system. I want every child to be inspired and engaged in their learning so they ...
The new NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) App is a secure ‘one stop shop’ to provide the services drivers need, Transport Minister Simeon Brown and Digitising Government Minister Judith Collins say. “The NZTA App will enable an easier way for Kiwis to pay for Vehicle Registration and Road User Charges (RUC). ...
Whānau with tamariki growing up in emergency housing motels will be prioritised for social housing starting this week, says Associate Housing Minister Tama Potaka. “Giving these whānau a better opportunity to build healthy stable lives for themselves and future generations is an essential part of the Government’s goal of reducing ...
Racing Minister Winston Peters has paid tribute to an icon of the industry with the recent passing of Dave O’Sullivan (OBE). “Our sympathies are with the O’Sullivan family with the sad news of Dave O’Sullivan’s recent passing,” Mr Peters says. “His contribution to racing, initially as a jockey and then ...
Assalaamu alaikum, greetings to you all. Eid Mubarak, everyone! I want to extend my warmest wishes to you and everyone celebrating this joyous occasion. It is a pleasure to be here. I have enjoyed Eid celebrations at Parliament before, but this is my first time joining you as the Minister ...
Associate Health Minister David Seymour has announced Pharmac’s largest ever budget of $6.294 billion over four years, fixing a $1.774 billion fiscal cliff. “Access to medicines is a crucial part of many Kiwis’ lives. We’ve committed to a budget allocation of $1.774 billion over four years so Kiwis are ...
Hon Paula Bennett has been appointed as member and chair of the Pharmac board, Associate Health Minister David Seymour announced today. "Pharmac is a critical part of New Zealand's health system and plays a significant role in ensuring that Kiwis have the best possible access to medicines,” says Mr Seymour. ...
Hundreds of New Zealand families affected by Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) will benefit from a new Government focus on prevention and treatment, says Health Minister Dr Shane Reti. “We know FASD is a leading cause of preventable intellectual and neurodevelopmental disability in New Zealand,” Dr Reti says. “Every day, ...
Regional Development Minister Shane Jones today attended the official opening of Kaikohe’s new $14.7 million sports complex. “The completion of the Kaikohe Multi Sports Complex is a fantastic achievement for the Far North,” Mr Jones says. “This facility not only fulfils a long-held dream for local athletes, but also creates ...
Foreign Minister Winston Peters’ engagements in Türkiye this week underlined the importance of diplomacy to meet growing global challenges. “Returning to the Gallipoli Peninsula to represent New Zealand at Anzac commemorations was a sombre reminder of the critical importance of diplomacy for de-escalating conflicts and easing tensions,” Mr Peters ...
Ambassador Millar, Burgemeester, Vandepitte, Excellencies, military representatives, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen – good morning and welcome to this sacred Anzac Day dawn service. It is an honour to be here on behalf of the Government and people of New Zealand at Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood – a deeply ...
Distinguished guests - It is an honour to return once again to this site which, as the resting place for so many of our war-dead, has become a sacred place for generations of New Zealanders. Our presence here and at the other special spaces of Gallipoli is made ...
Mai ia tawhiti pamamao, te moana nui a Kiwa, kua tae whakaiti mai matou, ki to koutou papa whenua. No koutou te tapuwae, no matou te tapuwae, kua honoa pumautia. Ko nga toa kua hinga nei, o te Waipounamu, o te Ika a Maui, he okioki tahi me o ...
Paul Goldsmith will take on responsibility for the Media and Communications portfolio, while Louise Upston will pick up the Disability Issues portfolio, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon announced today. “Our Government is relentlessly focused on getting New Zealand back on track. As issues change in prominence, I plan to adjust Ministerial ...
Recreational catch limits will be reduced in areas of Fiordland and the Chatham Islands to help keep those fisheries healthy and sustainable, Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones says. The lower recreational daily catch limits for a range of finfish and shellfish species caught in the Fiordland Marine Area and ...
Energy Minister Simeon Brown has welcomed an important milestone in New Zealand’s hydrogen future, with the opening of the country’s first network of hydrogen refuelling stations in Wiri. “I want to congratulate the team at Hiringa Energy and its partners K one W one (K1W1), Mitsui & Co New Zealand ...
The coalition Government is delivering on its commitment to improve resource management laws and give greater certainty to consent applicants, with a Bill to amend the Resource Management Act (RMA) expected to be introduced to Parliament next month. RMA Reform Minister Chris Bishop has today outlined the first RMA Amendment ...
Overseas models for regulating the oil and gas sector, including their decommissioning regimes, are being carefully scrutinised as a potential template for New Zealand’s own sector, Resources Minister Shane Jones says. The Coalition Government is focused on rebuilding investor confidence in New Zealand’s energy sector as it looks to strengthen ...
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 ...
Hera Lindsay Bird reveals the best places in Ōtepoti to score more for your apocalypse-prep book hoard.Sometimes I get the feeling I’ve been killed in a car crash, and this second half of my life is just the brain unspooling itself, like one of those episodes of a hospital ...
ThreeNow’s new murder mystery series takes us on a dark, damp journey into the Australian wilderness.This is an excerpt from our weekly pop culture newsletter Rec Room. Sign up here. High Country is ThreeNow’s new Australian eight-part crime drama, set in a remote part of the Victorian highlands. It tells ...
Introducing a new way to read The Spinoff every weekend. After nearly 10 years of being an online magazine, we’re finally embracing the weekend liftout. Despite our best efforts to convince you otherwise, writers and editors at The Spinoff don’t work weekend. It is through the sheer power of technology ...
Tip one: let yourself be nurtured by this big old man. Tip two: don’t ask him to adopt you. So, you’ve arrived at your first session with a new therapist. He tells you to make yourself comfortable and you opt for the tweed armchair, hoping it makes you look like ...
I didn’t know books could open you back up; that there were books that stayed with you, where reading was like a chemical event. I knew nothing.The Sunday Essay is made possible thanks to the support of Creative New Zealand.Not too long ago, I was listening to the American ...
Former Olympic swimmer James Magnussen has already started training for the Enhanced games, though says he won’t start taking performance enhancing substances until about nine months out from the competition. The Australian world champion was the first athlete to be announced by Enhanced, but he says the organisation has had ...
Everyone thinks he’s dead. Every day they expect his body to be washed up along the coast. Most likely up Karitane way, the way the tide’s running. But nobody’ll be too surprised if his body’s never found. Even in death he wouldn’t have wished for such attention. He would have ...
Council members voted 21 to 4 in favour of Ahluwalia returning to the Laucala campus following a much-awaited meeting in Vanuatu this week. It comes as USP and its two unions — the Association of the University of the South Pacific Staff (AUSPS) and the Administration and Support Staff Union ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nicola Henry, Professor & Australian Research Council Future Fellow, Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT University Shutterstock Following an emergency meeting of the National Cabinet this week, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced a raft of measures to tackle the problem ...
Analysis - A poll showing the opposition is more popular than the government raises questions, politicians go through their 'trial by pay rise' and a Green MP loses her cool in the debating chamber. ...
The entire stretch of Tokomaru Bay on the East Coast will be subject to a joint customary marine title for two hapū, and extending up to four miles out to sea. A High Court judge has found the two groups, who during the case settled a dispute over boundaries for ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By James Hall, Lecturer, Media & Cultural Studies, Edith Cowan University A longstanding feud between TikTok and Universal Music Group seems to have finally reached an end, with both parties signing a deal that will see Universal-backed music returned to the social media ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Siobhan O’Dean, Postdoctoral Research Associate, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney After several highly publicised alleged murders of women in Australia, the Albanese government this week pledged more than A$925 million over five years ...
Political parties have now fully disclosed the donations they received last year - with National getting more than double the cash of any other party. ...
A Pacific regionalism expert has called out New Zealand's Foreign Affairs Minister Winston Peters for withholding information from the public on AUKUS military pact. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Richard de Grijs, Professor of Astrophysics, Macquarie University Bruno Scramgnon/Pexels All systems are “go” for tonight’s launch of China’s next step in a carefully planned lunar exploration program. Placed on top of a powerful Long March 5 rocket, the Chang’e 6 ...
National returned a massive donation the day after a Newsroom story linked the donors to a property being investigated for operating unlawfully as a migrant workers’ hostel. The party’s 2023 donation filings, released on Friday, show it returned a $200,000 donation from Buen Holdings on August 23. That was the ...
Pacific Media Watch New Zealand has slumped to an unprecedented 19th place in the annual Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index survey released today on World Press Freedom Day — May 3. This was a drop of six places from 13th last year when it slipped out of its ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Joshua Black, Political Historian and Administrator Officer, Australian Historical Association, Australian National University Australia has had its fair share of public record-keeping controversies in recent years. Some have been mere farce, as in the case of two formerly government-owned filing cabinets (containing ...
Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), a United Nations-affiliated organization dedicated to fostering peace through civilian-led initiatives, has issued a statement in response to the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran. ...
A poem by Tessa Keenan, from AUP New Poets 10. Mātou These days we are a photograph; one of a farm strewn with cows that used to be bright harakeke or swamp. The kids point at it and say the sun sits behind a smudge (left by someone at Christmas); ...
The only published and available best-selling indie book chart in New Zealand is the top 10 sales list recorded every week at Unity Books’ stores in High St, Auckland, and Willis St, Wellington.AUCKLAND1 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (Faber & Faber, $25)The masterful Irish writer ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. Key facts Marriages and civil unions In ...
Marriage and civil union statistics record the number of marriages and civil unions registered in New Zealand each year, and divorce statistics record the number of divorces granted in New Zealand each year. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lennon Y.C. Chang, Associate Professor of Cyber Risk and Policy, Deakin University Taiwan stands out as a beacon of democracy, innovation and resilience in an increasingly autocratic region. But this is under growing threat. In recent years, China has used a variety ...
In this excerpt from her new memoir, Dame Susan Devoy remembers her turn as star contestant on the 2022 season of Celebrity Treasure Island. The most anxious time of every day was pre-elimination, when you knew this could be your final day on the show. I felt such contradictory emotions, ...
A week that began in triumph ended in an all-too-familiar disaster for the Green Party. Duncan Greive asks if there’s something in the mission that breaks its best and brightest. A long, strange week for the Green party began with a fantastic poll result. On one level this is hardly ...
By Lydia Lewis, RNZ Pacific journalist Vanuatu’s former prime minister and opposition MP Ishmael Kalsakau has stepped down — just two days after he confirmed he was the rightful opposition leader. Kalsakau, MP for Port Vila, confirmed to ABC’s Pacific Beat, and the Vanuatu Daily Post on Thursday that he ...
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Any had core fans of my bird friends may recall my previous posting of a gif of a visiting Muscovy Duck – not very imaginatively named “Muscovy” by me:
.https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-08-10-2021/#comment-1822254
Occasionally in the mornings I like to go for a short drive & check out what’s going on in the hood. In doing so recently I discovered that Muscovy & his mallard friends were now being regularly fed by some of the kind young occupants of a nearby newly-built housing estate complex, and also by some of the employees in a nearby computing business. ❤️👍🏼
Swinging by there in the car yesterday morning I noticed that there is now a second Muscovy Duck on the scene:
https://i.imgur.com/g9LhgPv.gif
There’s obviously quite a bit of variation in the colouring of Muscovy ducks. Dunno if this one’s a female or another male. Pretty sure I read somewhere that the females are quite a bit smaller than males, & this one looks about the same size as “Muscovy” (who is plomped down on the grass to the left of the mallards seen in this clip).
🙄 * hard-core fans
Wish I could sack my bloody useless proof-reader, but the bugger won’t move out of my head. ☹️
I love how the residents or the employees of the computing business have put this sign up warning drivers to take care when driving past…
Won't anyone think of the markets?
Is this New Zealand's future?
Maybe we should have stuck with elimination,
In some ways I wish that we had, but I doubt “elmination” was ever a viable long-term option once Delta arrived on the scene.
More and more its apparent that the vaccine is not an end in itself .It's vaccine plus mask wearing plus sanitising and social distancing.I'd like to add rigorous test ,trace and treat ,which has worked so well overseas in the absence of widespread vaccination.
We're not only at peak endgame capitalism, we're also at peak end game individualism, which makes public health mandates requiring us to change our habits nigh impossible.But I do think the elimination strategy is viable where you have a strong collective ethos.
By the way, what's the story on beginning a sentence with "But".Is that bad grammar?
By the way, what’s the story on beginning a sentence with “But”.Is that bad grammar?
I dunno whether it’s bad grammar per se or whether it was just a strong convention that one should NOT begin a sentence with a conjunction like but, or however.
Some writers broke this convention anyway. Sometimes as a literary device to give an emphasis to the “but” or “however”, others just because they thought it just was too pedantic.
I’m one who breaks the convention because I often try to write in conversational English & lotsa people in conversations begin sentences with “but” or “however”.
'So'….is in vogue atm.
Thanks .
I sometimes get told off for beginning a sentence with a gerund, there's correct usage and incorrect
A gerund is a 'verbal' noun so there is no reason a sentence shouldn't start with one. When Peter Pan says "Dying would be an awfully big adventure" the word "dying" is actually a gerund.
Personally I only listen to my compilers about syntax- they have a reason to critise my syntax as computers are pretty damn stupid.
People on the other hand seldom read what other people actually write. They are usually too busy inventing their own story about what they thought you wrote. That is why being clear about getting your meaning across is far more important than syntax.
Only the people who are really trying to be computers because of their lack of any story telling abilities worry much about syntax.
Pity them…
I like big buts and I cannot lie.
However …. however is a different matter.
The rule is really stylistic, and we teach it to new writers, typically children, who might otherwise be tempted to begin every sentence after the first with and.
As for its validity, it might be a rule of Latin copied into English, where it isn't true, as is the case with:
Prepositions are not for ending sentences with. – fine in English, but apparently not in Latin.
Churchill, facetiously, once said "Up with this I will not put." However, this seems to be a special case since the verb he is intending to employ is "to put up with", not "to put". He seems to be using a poetical construction inappropriately. We would say “I will not put up with this”.
In English we may use a construction like "The person I gave the book to", while the more formal construction would be "The person to whom I gave the book". In Latin, however "to whom" would be one word, using the dative case.
By the way, what's the story on beginning a sentence with "But".Is that bad grammar?
Words like "but" and "and" are conjunctives. In other words they join two ideas within a sentence. Therefore, starting a sentence with either of them seems odd since one of the two ideas is missing. "So" is another such word but it is becoming common, in recent times, for politicians and media persons to start sentences with that word.
I get it .I have a tendency to break up a long sentence into 2 separate ones.
Well explained.
Yes – but it's a rule made to be broken if you have the talent. Here's Ezra Pound opening Canto I – the first of that famous/infamous sequence:
"And then went down to the ship,
Set keel to breakers, forth on the godly sea, and
We set up mast and sail on that swart ship,
Bore sheep aboard her, and our bodies also
Heavy with weeping…"
nice
Yes – +1.
I think there are fairly good but pedantic rules, and really silly pedantic rules.
This one falls in the 2nd category.
Pedantry exists, I think, only in the eye of the beholder.
Maybe. Maybe not.
If the advice of the health experts and pandemic modelers had been followed, We will never know for sure now, whether another two weeks of L4 in Auckland would have achieved elimination or not.
But the TVNZ graph 'above' clearly shows that before September 22, before the L4 lockdown was ended, the elimination strategy was working and provedly does work. Under the L4 lockdown, 83 cases a day in Auckland, following a sharp downward trend, was crushed down to 9 cases a day and was still trending down toward zero cases..
On the 21st of September, after the calculation was made that to presist with the L4 lockdown in Auckland until the numbers reached zero would put too great a burden on business, the ellimination strategy was replaced with the three step 'Roadmap' out of lockdown. As you can see with the first step on 6 Occt. The 'Roadmap' out of lockdown is being implemented on rising numbers of infections. .
The two most effective strategies to combat a viral pandemic are social, ie lockdowns. And technological, ie vaccines.
Overseas experience is showing us, that even at 90% of the eligible adult population having received the vaccine, some form of lockdowns will still likely be needed. That is, if we want to prevent needless deaths and protect public health services from being overloaded.
https://citizenfreepress.com/column-3/covid-is-surging-in-waterford-ireland-where-99-7-percent-are-double-vaccinated/
My concern is climate change!
In my humble opinion, our response to the global pandemic, is just a trial run for how we will solve, (or not), the climate crisis.
To combat climate change, will also need two strategies, social, ie lockdowns. and technological, ie carbon removal.
The lockdowns necessary to cut CO2 emissions to halt climate change will have to last, not weeks, or months, but years.
The covid lockdowns showed what could be achieved with emissions lockdowns.
https://www.holidify.com/pages/jalandhr-wakes-up-to-view-of-the-himalayas-4431.html
But emissions lockdowns alone will not be enough to arrest cllimate change.
It lis likely that the global climate system has already passed the point of no return, As a result, alongside emissions lockdowns, some form of technological CO2 removal from the atmosphere will also be needed.
Most of the these CO2 removal technologies do not yet exist, or are not mature technologies. But this too is analogous to the pandemic. At the start of the pandemic the technological fix, vaccines, did not yet exist or were not mature technologies.
This is what an emissions lockdown can achieve.
Tamakis asked to report to Auckland police station!!
Will they be locked up now?
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/covid-19-delta-outbreak-destinys-brian-and-hannah-tamaki-summoned-to-appear-at-auckland-police-station/DPTDTLEIBEI2SLLKQTMF7WVCYE/
Tamaki has already appeared in court twice since early October. The first appearance was on charges for organising a rally on October 2, allegedly in breach of Covid restrictions – he has pleaded not guilty.
He was ordered to stay away from future protests but was in court again on October 20 for fronting up at the second Domain protest on October 16, allegedly breaching bail.
He was allowed to remain free on bail on several conditions.
One condition was that he not "organise or attend any protests in breach of any Covid-19 level requirement", while another was that he not "use the internet for the purpose of organising, attending or encouraging non-compliance with the Covid-19 Public Health Response Act 2020".
.
Will they be locked up now?
I sincerely hope so, dv, although Home D at his mansion is probably more likely.
A substantial fine might also be instructive, altho I imagine it will be his unfortunate & misguided congregation that would foot the bill.
Tamaki believers should be familiar with that scenario by now.
Brian does, lives and buys wtf he wants, they fund his ‘brand’.
Geez
I notice he thinks he is innocent!!!
It will take a smart judge to block the media from covering sentencing, otherwise the Tamaki's have more than achieved their purpose in being arrested.
The Tamakis don't like being locked down?
Maybe they just needed a change in direction.
Now they don’t like being locked up?
You just can’t please some people
up down round
Perhaps he will be martyred?
Maybe if he goes to jail he'll become radicalised. You know, all the stuff in his head will be turned upside down, all previous internal norms extinguished.
In which case he'll come out 'normal.'
I doubt tamiki believes the shit he spreads, just a con man through and through..
Riffing on a well worn not quite christian chorus to keep his followers engaged but not too critically engaged.
Religion is about power and control since ,well for ever I expect.
bwaghorn (4.1.1) … you are absolutely correct. Tamaki and his wife, are a form of predators who see society's misguided and vulnerable as a ticket to easy wealth by telling them what they want to hear. At the present time with Covid preventing some profitable Sunday get togethers, I guess the Apostle's coffers are getting a bit low and this is causing some concern between him and Mrs Apostle.
In US circles critical of the evangelical/tele-evangelical churches spread of mis- and disinformation about the vaccines and Covid they often a call people such as the Destiny church leaders 'grifters'.
Not in the older meaning of a petty thief such as a pick pocket but in this newer meaning
https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Grifter
David Farrier in his ‘Loopy’ article about anti vaxxers in NZ also mentions Peter Mortlock of the City Impact Church.
https://www.webworm.co/p/loopy
These mostly self appointed ‘pastors’ are a real scourge especially when they combine money making activities with definitions of the Bible/theology that are at odds with continued good health for their followers..
Martyrs are usually dead – but the concept of a "living martyr" does exist. The latter is obviously better in terms of generating (and enjoying) income streams.
As I remember, he made himself a Bishop. Maybe self-canonisation is nigh?
He's an apostle now, apparently.
Only one promotion left.
Saint? Or the Man at the top? And he knoweth his pronouns!
Your opinions mean nothing when more than 12,000 of the worlds best doctors and scientists say this >> globalcovidsummit.org
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
you’re in premod to make sure you don’t spam the site. Read the Policy and decide if you want to play by the rules.
You had me worried there
Plenty of rebuttals though, and not peer reviewed.The authors have withdrawn it
Everyones trying to make their names with covid science.Publish or perish .They're all worthwhile to do, but some don't make the final cut
https://leadstories.com/hoax-alert/2021/11/fact-check-covid-spike-protein-from-vaccines-not-proven-to-be-hijacking-human-body-dna-repair.html
https://www.science.org/content/blog-post/coronavirus-vaccines-and-cancer
On something similar, something I was reading the other day intrigued me. The way that a measles infection will often wipe out the human immune memory. It causes
Ummmm this isn't the one that I read – but it is about the same set of observations.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/measles-vaccine-protect-disease-immune-amnesia
It turns out that measles isn't a disease of the parts of the body it appears to infect. Like HIV it is a disease of the immune system. It affects T-cells. All of the pustules are almost a side effect.
The human immune system once it realises what is happening reacts by attacking the infected T-cells and destroying them. The T-cells are the residual immune response memory – so killing them kills the long-term memory of the immune system.
If the infection goes far enough, the only thing that the immune system remembers is how to combat measles and nothing much else. So like a child, people so afflicted have to get reinfected by a series of diseases to rebuild immunises – usually takes 2-3 years.
I'd guess that is where this particular meme arose from.
Lprent I think the first study here builds on the info you have provided from the measles study the studies do not seem to have been linked by the scientists but we can look at them together…..I came across this article about the
'The emerging insights into the immunology of COVID-19 could change scientists’ fundamental understanding of human immunity and how it can go awry.'
By researchers at the University of California (SF)
While it reads like a mini "I've had my name in a recognised worthy publication -for Phd people' the research and findings are really interesting. In some cases of Covid the expected interferon response does not occur because of hitherto hidden auto-immunity.
Another piece of research is from UK figures run by US scientist experienced in using NIH & other UK data, and this looks at deaths from the Covid virus of vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
https://www.covid-datascience.com/post/what-do-uk-data-tell-us-about-effect-of-vaccination-on-deaths-part-1-comparing-covid-19-deaths
In the latest write-up this is said
'In all age groups, we clearly see the vaccinated groups having lower risk of COVID-19 death, and this is especially evidence during the winter Alpha surge and summer Delta surges. The vaccinated individuals appear to be MUCH less likely to die in a COVID-19 surge, with fully vaccinated individuals in week 35 having 5x, 10x, 10x, and 2x lower all cause death rates in the than respective cohorts than unvaccinated individuals. This is consistent with the vaccines protecting strongly against death even after some waning of circulating antibodies as has been noted at 5-6m post-vaccination.'
Then from the same site work on how vaccination effectiveness works when taking into account Simpson's paradox.
https://www.covid-datascience.com/post/how-time-confounding-can-bias-vaccine-effectiveness-upwards-via-simpson-s-paradox
In my reading about Covid vaccination misinformation I came across Simpson's Paradox and this has since become a bit of a fascination for me. The 'takeaways' from this study are interesting bearing in mind there are continuing cries for info on how many of those in hospital or those in particular age groups are vaccinated and have covid or died etc etc
Bolding is from the article
If you don't mind a bit of fuzziness in your findings or readings about vaccine efficacy then this study is one to read. Anti vaxxers not so much as the conclusions are not firm, give to both points of view etc etc.
I recall a month or so back a study that got some attention for showing that there was little correlation in populations, both nation and state level, between %vax and case numbers. Sorry I don't have a link to hand.
One of it's allegedly 'fatal flaws' was that all the data was gathered during singular one week time frame. If anyone had actually bothered to read the study they would have seen the authors deliberately did this to avoid the Simpsons Paradox that is incurred when time bias is ignored.
Good comment – Simpsons Paradox is a formalism I have not seen clearly explained like this before.
Yes I recall reading about that criticism. This paradox (Simpson's) is that what we might think of as a 'logical' way to go about things is in fact not.
My thoughts go out to Duncan Garner who's "fighting for" his life.
I do appreciate that agencies charged with doing a job do it well. This is heart wrenching stuff though. Maybe if he lives through it he can say he's "got a life." He needs to get one.
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/covid-19-delta-outbreak-duncan-garner-on-home-isolation-its-a-bumbling-mess/HSDG62G744KF5WO7JGYMAAWCHQ/
He is making valid and worthwhile points- home isolation is here and it needs to work for everyone's sake – or is any form of criticism too hard to take for this government???
Yes. It does need to work.
However the result of decades of underfunding and mis-management of health, is at least partly to blame.
We just don't have the capability to deal with a large outbreak of covid.
When it takes three weeks for an "urgent" appointment with a GP, it is obvious the support in the community is not available.
We've seen it right from the start, with DHB's using the same staff in general and covid wards to save money, for example.
Which is why a cautious approach is justified.
In the previous article I read about Garner and Covid he said that he had taken some non-prescription medicines and was feeling a lot better….here it is:
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/entertainment/2021/11/duncan-garner-confirms-he-tested-positive-for-covid-19-is-on-the-mend-now.html
“I had a headache and my body ached all over. I felt like if I moved, something would break,” he said. Garner said that taking paracetamol and ibuprofen helped ease his symptoms, leaving him now feeling “just a bit tired.They worked a treat.”
He wouldn't be making a fuss to score some political points for his masters would he. Surely not?
If the home isolation system is not functioning correctly, it would remiss of him not to point it out. Thousands of people will go through this process, best to highlight and sort out any defects at this stage rather than later in the proceedings – for everyone's sake.
And he isn't the only one making similar observations.
Dude's fresh off a ≥$350k gig.
Surely he can afford to click and pay for collection. /
Of course he can, but what about the less affluent people going through home isolation, can they afford it?
He is doing them a good service by pointing out any deficiencies in the home isolation system, he should be applauded for that.
Nice to see someone not kissing up to the antivaxers: ‘Stuff it, shove it’: a furious Michael Gunner blasts those against vaccine mandates – YouTube
One of the big problems with the antivax crowd is that the loudest ones have lost all sense of proportion. Here's a cartoonist complaining that they appropriated the "crying kiwi" image he created about the mosque attacks.
If I were cynical, I'd suspect the appropriation of every incredibly tragic thing under the sun is encouraged by some shills and charlatans to maintain separation between their prime audience and reasonable people.
.
Kāinga Ora policy protecting violent, abusive state house tenants may be unlawful: lawyer – NZ Herald
Kāinga Ora under fire after Black Power gang party in Whangārei state house – NZ Herald
Divergent battles breaking out on the home front | Stuff.co.nz
An obvious and blatant example of a state entity ignoring established law as a matter of unstated policy and practice. Ministerial resignation time I would have thought.
On the other hand maybe I've got this wrong and this Kāinga Ora outfit is not accountable to Parliament by design.
Sufficiently distanced as a State Owned Enterprise to require only a wee chat with the Chair. Maybe a wee refresh of the Board. But the Kainga Ora CEO ain't going anywhere – and is competent.
So no, the Minister has far less power than the SOE Board generally.
Might explain why the Minister cannot explain policy coherently. Still I have to assume the Minister appoints the Board. Is this correct?
Appointments go through the Appointments Committee and a lot of DPMC vetting.
This particular Minister is just one of those C-grade also-rans we will forget very quickly.
OK. So the Minister is indeed well insulated.
"Ministerial resignation time I would have thought."
It's clear that gangs were involved in the Whangarei incidents.
Gangs are also suggested as the reason behind Auckland experiencing a 32 per cent rise in gun crime, and a 49 per cent rise in gun related injuries compared with the two years previous.
The Minister of Police is Poto Williams. The Associate Minister in charge of Social Housing is also Poto Williams. The problem is this…is this ministerial incompetence or deliberate policy?
Police don't report like that through to Ministers.
Though between the lot of them this is a government rapidly losing power to gangs.
Out gunned?
Just generally out. :-\
A decade ago we would never have seen Ministers allow a D-G of Health to have so much independence, nor the Chair of NZTA to run a long hand-wrinsing apology about our largest roading job (without even mentioning the Minister), nor the CE of Housing to be so publicly out of step with wider social contracts.
This isn't pyramid management: it's more an hour glass falling all one way.
"Police don't report like that through to Ministers."
Sorry I don''t understand what you mean. Are you saying the increase in gang related violent crime is the responsibility of the Commissioner?
Mostly.
Don't even ask me what the Minister of Police actually does, outside of confirm who the Commissioner is.
I suppose the question is then, what do any Ministers do?
Policy. Mostly.
So, and it's a serious question, could the Minister initiate the establishment of an organised crime task force charged with wiping out gang's proceeds of crime?
That has been the case since the 1950s Police Act. The commissioner runs the police. The minister is largely relevant when capital funding is required for infrastructure or expansion.
swordfish
I was thinking of you when I saw the Radionz item about State housing.
I hope something will be done to improve matters for your people if they are still affected. All the best with that. Nga hiahia pai.
Thanks grey.
Only one day remains to make a submission on the emissions reduction plan. Please engage with the political process that is all ready underway and have your say on the Govt response to the greatest issue of our time! Closes Nov 24.
Discussion document
Comprehensive submission via Ministry of Environment
Quick submission via Ministry
Quick submission via Greens
Democracy demands that we participate, do your bit to ensure we have the strongest, most democratic emissions reduction plan we can.
Nearly 84% fully vaccinated nationwide: 83.6%.
Just a whisker behind Australia's 83.8%.
I wonder how many of them would now be considered to be unprotected?
From what I have seen the Pfizer vaccine seems to be regarded as no longer being truly effective about six months after the second dose. Given that there were about 60,000 people who had had one dose by 31 March this year, and the recommended gap was 3 weeks they would probably all be beyond the cut-off date.
Does anyone have any idea as to the effective vaccination rate is and how many people have had a booster?
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/coronavirus/300266227/covid19-response-minister-chris-hipkins-gets-his-vaccination
Here's another crazy factoid. The expiry of the vaccine passports is 6 months after they were issued, not 6 months after your second jab. My vaxx passport expires 19 May 2022, which is 9 months after my second jab. Even after just 6 months, the effectiveness of my jabs will have dropped to 45%. So for 3 months I will have a valid vaccine passport with only 45% vaccine effectiveness. Or am I missing something?
You're right. You still have half the chance of infection of an unvaxxed person.
It isn't the chance of infection that interests me the most. I'm happy to accept the fact that I am probably going to get the disease at some time unless I were to follow the most extreme, and frankly unbearable, isolation procedures. Happy that is unless I have to accept that I will die if I get it.
What I am really concerned about is how serious will the infection be when it happens? At my age there might be a 10% chance of dying if I get it and if I were unvaccinated. I understand that if you are vaccinated but get the disease it is not as serious as it is if you are unvaccinated. What happens to this figure as the time since your last dose goes up? Does it change and does your chance of dying rise if with that time should you actually be infected?
Well, indications are that effectiveness against high viral loads do decrease over time. But for specifics, you might want to chat with your doctor – and also consider how and why the answer to that question will change your behaviour.
I think some people have been thinking vaccines are supposed to be a bulletproof vest, and the analogy holds – but there's a reason the trade term is "bullet resistant" rather than "bullet proof".
I ain't stopped masking and checking in just because I've been double-vaxxed.
Well said. I have a partner with a respiratory disease, so I act in their best interests if nothing else.
Looks good.
https://twitter.com/PaulMainwood/status/1461374201474998275
https://twitter.com/PaulMainwood/status/1461374208060149760
i guess he is talking about the recomended booster shots.
So far we can assume that after 6 month the overal protection is starting to disappear slowly, and thus booster shots are required. Atm that would be every six month. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(21)02183-8/fulltext#:~:text=Effectiveness%20against%20other%20(non%2Ddelta,)%20at%204%E2%80%935%20months.
After that it is recommended to get a booster, every 6 month.
I have asked also how those that are in need of a booster shot – everyone in the initial Group 1 when the first vaccines were made available – are counted.. That would be those jabbed from Jan – May.
And how will this issue be handled in the future, say with your Passport – will it expire after 6 month, or is there a grace period to get a booster and so on and so forth.
The question is not are you still 'protected' as the studies show that protection is still there, the question is How will that 'booster' status be handled, will 'boosters' be mandatory, and how will that be enforced. Essentially with people 'falling' out of 'fully' protected jab status one can argue that 90% is never fully reachable. 🙂
I guess we are still in a 'learning curve' to some degree. Having taken the decision to be vaccinated, and with my other half being health compromised, I would be keen to be in line for a booster as the effectiveness of my vaccinations wane.
Speaking of obnoxious js blockers, I guess your aware that the standard mobile site on Chrome/Android prevents pastes?
[TheStandard: A moderator moved this comment to Open Mike as being off topic or irrelevant in the post it was made in. Be more careful in future.]
So it does. Interesting.
I tried this out when I installed it and when it last updated (which was a while ago). One of the things I don’t like with javascript is the sneaky updates from global sources. In this case CKEditor.
That isn’t a problem with TinyMCE. That however has the problem that it isn’t obeying width restrictions and possibly has other issues.
I’ll look at that before I look at BusinessDesk
Brilliant. Let me know when the fix is live and I can check its a fix for the same problem.
Yep, js library updates coming externally to the users can be a trap.
Heard through the grapevine that public health units across the country are already working all hours to keep up with the current outbreak. And it's not even fully across NI yet.
Scared, was the word a hospital admin person used some weeks ago when talking abut the nurses at the local hospital. They are scared. And so they should be.
Accurate
https://twitter.com/hcirePT/status/1462840510796615682?s=20
Also listening to or reading anything by Barry Slope-off.
Back in the day, he was a key contact in Parliament for oyster deliveries and had some good 'Southland exports to the North' days where Southland industries had mini showcases. As they say' he seems to have gone right off the boil' since that time.
I know it’s late in the day, but this allows you to draw your own conclusions about the relationship between the Taxpayers union, Pigswill and some writers at the Democracy project.
Stuff 3 waters article