health
Categories under health
- covid-19 (322)
- long covid (11)
- vaccines (11)
Media crisis may be most problematic
Written By: - Date published: 7:46 am, November 27th, 2020 - 34 comments
The government is simultaneously grappling with the Covid, economic and housing crises, but its failure to act urgently and boldly on the crisis in our Fourth Estate may have the most damaging longer-term effect. Bernard Hickey has lashed out at Broadcasting and Media Minister Kris Faafoi and Jacinda Ardern, for their fiddling-while-Rome-burns response to an industry in meltdown.
The Speech From The Throne
Written By: - Date published: 7:35 am, November 27th, 2020 - 21 comments
I’m sure one needs a particular depth of political nerdiness to give a flying fig about such things, but since I am one of those, these are my highlights from the speech from the throne to Parliament this week.
National announces terms of reference for its election campaign review
Written By: - Date published: 7:45 am, November 24th, 2020 - 62 comments
National wants to work out what went wrong during the last election.
South Australia’s new Covid strain
Written By: - Date published: 7:53 am, November 19th, 2020 - 16 comments
During a week in which two Covid vaccines have been announced there is disturbing news coming out of Australia where a new more potent strain of the virus has appeared in South Australia.
COVID19 Vaccine and New Zealand’s K-Shaped Recovery
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, November 11th, 2020 - 36 comments
IF the discovery of a potential Covid vaccine looks like a new dawn, let’s not forget that this is the accelerating point of the K-shaped recovery New Zealand have been dreading. Our already rich are on the line heading upwards. They are getting richer because of a range of our Government policies.
If Biden wins, then what?
Written By: - Date published: 11:29 am, November 7th, 2020 - 39 comments
I hope that I am not tempting fate by saying this but a Biden presidency seems almost inevitable. But presuming he prevails the transition is going to be one of the most difficult and most important in America’s history.
The Covid crisis
Written By: - Date published: 11:43 am, November 1st, 2020 - 51 comments
A surge in Covid infections in Europe and in the United States is raising the specter that the most pessimistic predictions about the disease and its effect on the health system may occur. And right wing governments appear to be spectacularly unable to deal with the crisis.
Aotearoa New Zealand is a hell hole paradise dystopian democracy
Written By: - Date published: 8:09 am, October 29th, 2020 - 55 comments
Fox News has seized upon a four month old video of Jacinda Ardern to suggest that New Zealand has a terrifying new response to the disease and are throwing people into quarantine camps.
Melbourne gets on top of Covid
Written By: - Date published: 8:36 am, October 27th, 2020 - 15 comments
Yesterday the city of Melbourne recorded its first day of no new reported covid infections in nearly five months. At the same time in America the White House has effectively said that control is too difficult and that it is giving up.
Is this woman being coerced into unsafe healthcare by the DHB’s handling of covid testing?
Written By: - Date published: 1:21 pm, October 8th, 2020 - 13 comments
Why is the Ministry of Health not stepping in to ensure nationwide standards for covid testing, and ensuring that isolation facilities meet our Code of Health and Disability Services Consumers’ Rights?
The Trump Covid game
Written By: - Date published: 2:17 pm, October 6th, 2020 - 10 comments
Let’s imagine a scenario where you are the President of the United States and it is in the middle of a pandemic. You then contract the virus yourself. How would you rate compared to Donald Trump?
Meanwhile, the climate crisis
Written By: - Date published: 11:56 am, October 4th, 2020 - 44 comments
A large wildfire has destroyed many homes in the village of Ohau in the Mackenzie Country, and hundreds of people have been evacuated.
Trump’s not so bad: the holding our breath edition
Written By: - Date published: 11:17 am, October 4th, 2020 - 79 comments
An occasional series
POTUS, Covid and the New Zealand election
Written By: - Date published: 8:01 am, October 3rd, 2020 - 122 comments
News that Donald Trump has tested positive for Covid will have a significant effect on the US election as well as our local election. It raises the issue who will you trust to lead the country against this most agile yet deadly virus?
Jacinda Ardern and New Zealand Health
Written By: - Date published: 11:59 am, September 30th, 2020 - 15 comments
Jacinda Ardern is a contender for winning a Nobel Peace Prize. If she were to get it for anything, it will be for her leadership response to the national health crisis response to COVID19.
Vote Labour To Support Your Job
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, September 24th, 2020 - 100 comments
This is a backpocket election – and that’s where most of Labour’s effort is going as it rightly should.
National’s many and varied Covid border policies
Written By: - Date published: 7:31 am, September 24th, 2020 - 12 comments
On Tuesday National announced the fifth variation of its Covid border policy this year.
National’s lolly scramble tax cuts
Written By: - Date published: 8:34 am, September 19th, 2020 - 55 comments
Despite claiming that the PREFU figures were catastrophic and despite stating a month ago that it would not do this National has come out with a policy of temporary tax cuts favouring the rich. They must be desperate.
Choosing ‘enough’ rather than ‘more’
Written By: - Date published: 6:05 am, September 18th, 2020 - 104 comments
A brief look at steady state economics and the values of enough rather than more.
Qanon is here
Written By: - Date published: 7:37 am, September 14th, 2020 - 132 comments
While a few in the media leapt at the opportunity to vilify a small evangelical community at the latest COVID 19 spread, the really big COVID 19-conspiracy story landed by the thousand this weekend. It’s overdue we woke up to QAnon here.
Covid, the US President and the Evangelical churches
Written By: - Date published: 8:30 am, September 10th, 2020 - 123 comments
There has been disturbing local news that some members of a local evangelical church, influenced by American equivalents, refused to accept the threat posed by the virus. And in America a new book from Bob Woodward suggests strongly that Donald Trump knew how big a threat Covid would be but chose for political reasons to downplay the risk.
Covid – New Zealand has similar levels of freedom to Sweden
Written By: - Date published: 1:41 pm, September 6th, 2020 - 83 comments
Simon Thornley is claiming that New Zealand’s covid response is a failure and we should be more like Sweden. But it appears that in more recent times Sweden has toughened its stringency tests so that they are similar to New Zealand’s.
Will our cities revive?
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, September 5th, 2020 - 43 comments
Our cities are the nation’s lungs; they recycle and accelerate external goods and transform them internally into faster circulation. Auckland and Christchurch have had tens of billions invested in them over successive local and central governments, but has this improved our strength or wealth as a country at all?
The Herald’s idea of balance
Written By: - Date published: 6:30 am, September 2nd, 2020 - 43 comments
The Herald yesterday posted a story suggesting that Aucklanders were split over the second lockdown when the actual reality was the vast majority were supportive. And a subsequent article pointing out how positive the result was does not clear the perception of negative bias.
Kia kaha Greens
Written By: - Date published: 9:06 am, August 29th, 2020 - 304 comments
The Green Party is facing major push back from members relating to a decision to give shovel ready funding to a private school involved in education about the environment.
The election campaign and the sponsored Herald article
Written By: - Date published: 8:42 am, August 25th, 2020 - 58 comments
Radius Chair and NBR rich lister Brien Cree has a sponsored article in the Herald this morning that is critical of the Government’s Covid response.
Is New Zealand or the United States the Covid cot case?
Written By: - Date published: 9:39 am, August 22nd, 2020 - 28 comments
This week Donald Trump has defended the US’s abysmal handling of Covid 19 by claiming that the disease is out of control in New Zealand. And National’s rhetoric continues to match what he is saying.
Here comes the vaccine
Written By: - Date published: 7:00 am, August 21st, 2020 - 46 comments
Australian Prime Minister Scott Malcom has indicated he’s getting close to the deal of a lifetime for Australians with a letter of intent from Astra Zenica, who are in third stage clinical trials. Will New Zealand benefit?
Yale does socialist medicine with new covid test
Written By: - Date published: 11:07 am, August 20th, 2020 - 15 comments
Yale have developed a covid saliva test that is not only effective but will be intentionally cheap and easily available.
The Covid Court Case
Written By: - Date published: 8:18 am, August 20th, 2020 - 30 comments
The High Court has ruled that for technical reasons during the first nine days of the lockdown statements that New Zealanders were legally required to remain at home were incorrect.
What Might A Democratic Party-Dominated U.S. Foreign Policy Do?
Written By: - Date published: 1:02 pm, August 19th, 2020 - 24 comments
Inasmuch as tiny, distant New Zealand need worry about the foreign policy of the United States, it’s worth a drill into what a Democratic Party dominated United States foreign policy might look like.
- Where do Wellington’s top chefs eat on their day off?
The capital’s best chefs and restaurateurs share their favourite local eateries and hidden gems. I have always been fascinated by chefs and restaurateurs. Perhaps it is because of how altruistic they are, existing in a space that seeks to provide pleasure to others regardless of how it impacts on their ...1 week ago - Murdoch to Musk: how global media power has shifted from the moguls to the big tech bros
ANALYSIS: By Matthew Ricketson, Deakin University and Andrew Dodd, The University of Melbourne Until recently, Elon Musk was just a wildly successful electric car tycoon and space pioneer. Sure, he was erratic and outspoken, but his global influence was contained and seemingly under control. But add the ownership of just ...1 week ago - ‘There isn’t any acting here’: What it was like recording The Bone People audiobook
Ruby Solly on reading Keri Hulme’s Booker Prize-winning novel The Bone People for the audiobook, released this week. Initially, there is only one way to describe this work; an honour and a privilege. I say this every time I get to spend time with the words of our kaumātua, but ...1 week ago
- Pacific profiles: Mr Tiria, the English teacher showcasing Pacific literature in Naenae
The Pacific profiles series shines a light on Pacific people in Aotearoa doing interesting and important work in their communities, as nominated by members of the public. Today, Tiria Tiria. All photos by Geoffery Matautia. On a Saturday afternoon at Lower Hutt’s Naenae College, I sat with Mr Tiria as ...1 week ago
- More than half of people who use party drugs take ADHD medicines without a prescription, new researc...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rachel Sutherland, Research Fellow, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW Sydney Alex Green/Pexels Each year, the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre at UNSW Sydney surveys hundreds of people who regularly use drugs in Australia to understand trends in substance ...1 week ago
- Scientists reviewed 7,000 studies on microplastics. Their alarming conclusion puts humanity on notic...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Karen Raubenheimer, Senior Lecturer, University of Wollongong Shutterstock It’s been 20 years since a paper in the journal Science showed the environmental accumulation of tiny plastic fragments and fibres. It named the particles “microplastics”. The paper opened an entire research field. ...1 week ago
- Treaty Principles Bill Politically Clumsy And Unproductive
The Treaty Principles Bill is unproductive for New Zealand, says Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu Kaiwhakahaere Justin Tipa. “David Seymour and ACT are misconstruing history. You can’t have a reasonable debate with a person or party who distorts the truth,” ...1 week ago - The most miserable and fucked-up children’s authors, rated
You don’t have to live a haunting life of unparalleled grief and sorrow to be a great children’s author, but it helps. Content warning: This article mentions suicide and abuse. It’s always been a cliche of children’s literature, that many of the greatest writers for children dislike children. Even those ...1 week ago
- Gangs bill passes as debate brews over future of gun registry
The government caps a crime-focussed week, but a coalition tussle could be about to surface, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in this extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in your inbox every weekday morning, sign up here. ...1 week ago
- The Moment of Truth: Revisiting a wild night in NZ politics, 10 years on
The Kim Dotcom challenge to John Key culminated in an extravaganza joining dots from the US, the UK, Russia – even North Korea. And it got very messy. Toby Manhire casts his eye back a decade. The thing started late, but no wonder – hundreds were stuck outside on Queen ...1 week ago
- Every Jacqueline Wilson book I’ve ever read, ranked from worst to best
To honour the release of Think Again by Jacqueline Wilson, mega fan Miriam Moore ranks all the books by her childhood hero. Content warning: some sensitive material, such as eating disorders and child abuse, is discussed. Last week, the heroine of tween girls all around the world, Jacqueline Wilson, released ...1 week ago
- Daily crossword, Friday 20 September
The post Daily crossword, Friday 20 September appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago - China propaganda boss makes quiet NZ visit
A leading figure in China’s propaganda system shunned the spotlight and government meetings during an NZ visit The post China propaganda boss makes quiet NZ visit appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- The language of forensic science
The jury in the Philip Polkinghorne murder trial has heard from drug analysts, DNA scientists, and even a mechanical engineer about power spikes from using a toaster.Is there anything science can’t reveal when it comes to such tricky court cases?Well, yes.Forensics is a tool, but not the instant-answer, ‘gotcha’ link ...1 week ago
- Raw Politics: National’s hard-ass golden boy
He’s hardening his own thinking and that of the Government on everything from gang patches to Māori customary marine rights, and smashing or blundering through official guardrails. Is Paul Goldsmith the National Party’s quiet hatchetman?Newsroom senior political reporter Marc Daalder, Newsroom Pro managing editor Jonathan Milne and co-editor Tim Murphy ...1 week ago
- Government triggers $2 million spend on Māori wards while deriding nice-to-haves
Local councils will foot the bill to reaffirm Māori wards as required by a new law, despite the majority voting unanimously to keep them The post Government triggers $2 million spend on Māori wards while deriding nice-to-haves appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- Gisborne landowners may seek compo for retiring erosion-prone land
The Government may be asked to provide compensation for Gisborne landowners whose steep, erosion-prone hills are set to be taken out of production following the devastating impact of cyclones Hale and Gabrielle last year.Tairāwhiti is home to some of the country’s most erosion-prone land and Gisborne District Council plans to introduce a new ...1 week ago
- This week’s bestselling books – September 20
FICTION1 Marry Me in Italy by Nicky Pellegrino (Hachette, $37.99)No one does romcom fiction set in Italy with lotsa heavenly cooked meals and swoonsome scenery better than La Pellegrino; her latest novel has gone straight to number 1 in its first week in the charts, and is up for grabs in this ...1 week ago
- Govt relies on 2013 orange roughy data to set catch limits after none found in 2023
Putting options to the minister, Fisheries NZ said models using the more recent data predicted ‘a more pessimistic stock status’ The post Govt relies on 2013 orange roughy data to set catch limits after none found in 2023 appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 20 September
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Friday 20 September appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- Liv living her best life in Barcelona
Liv Mackay’s first connection to the America’s Cup goes back to New Zealand’s original hunt for sailing’s holy grail – a decade before she was even a twinkle in her father’s eye.Her father, Hugo, was in fact a shearer – a Kiwi working in western Australia – who went to ...1 week ago
- Brain drain: Record number of NZers cross ditch for The Office Australia
Shocking new video confirms a significant number of New Zealanders have been recruited to join The Office Australia. Across our mojo-less motu, the thought of crossing the ditch is never far from our draining brains. In June, The Guardian reported that New Zealanders are leaving the country in record numbers, ...1 week ago
- Wellington City Council Reversing Decision On Airport Sale
Instead of making a fiscally prudent decision that serves as a pathway for the future, the Council is now left thinking about squandering the opportunity. Between future ramifications and current short term costs, this would only further pinch the pockets ...1 week ago
- The Spinoff guide to life: How to ride the bus
If you’re the woman who gives her handbag the window seat or the man who vapes in the back seat, you’re part of the problem. Because my parents wanted to instil in me a sense of confidence and independence, and also because my parents had to work so I could ...1 week ago
- New Zealand Vote At UNGA Needs Follow-Through With Sanctions
However, this vote will only have practical meaning if New Zealand follows through on the resolution’s requirement that we ban imports from companies operating in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. ...1 week ago
- The ACC’s Game of 2 Halves reboot is a reminder quiz shows can be about the quiz
Duncan Greive reviews Sky’s reboot of the hit sports comedy quiz show. Blame 7 Days. It’s among the most successful shows in New Zealand television history, currently in its 16th season, still hauling in tens of thousands of viewers on linear TV with a format which features comedians cracking a ...1 week ago
- A day at the (home) nail salon
A trip to the nail salon can leave you feeling like a walking art piece, and totally at peace. Lyric Waiwiri-Smith sits in at Natalie Tan’s Savage Nails. Would you like it bow-themed, Brat or Bluey? Perhaps a set that looks like sushi? Natalie Tan’s Savage Nails isn’t your regular ...1 week ago
- Are we treating te reo Māori as a sometimes food, or daily bread?
Bea Joblin (Ngāti Pākehā ki Airangi me Kōtirana), a registered translator and a teacher of te reo Māori to children and adults, examines the importance of making te reo a daily staple for future generations. Food is a rich source of figurative language in most cultures (“biting off more than ...1 week ago
- Help Me Hera: How can I stop being the most annoying person in every room?
I leave every social interaction cringing at my own behaviour. How do I stop being so insufferable? Want Hera’s help? Email your problem to helpme@thespinoff.co.nz Dear Hera, I’m writing you this off the back of a meeting in which I was the most annoying person alive. I don’t know what it is about ...1 week ago
- Recession or not, the short term economic outlook is murky
The state of the economy will be laid bare later this morning, and it might not be good news, writes Stewart Sowman-Lund in today’s extract from The Bulletin. To receive The Bulletin in your inbox every weekday morning, sign up here. ...1 week ago
- New Zealand Must Sanction Israel Over Its Inflammatory Attempts To Widen The War In The Middle East
“With this latest attack our government must condemn Israel” says PSNA National Chair John Minto. “Israel is an out-of-control rogue state which is an imminent danger to peace and security the world over” ...1 week ago
- Free-to-air sports are suddenly back. Why – and what does it mean for NZ Rugby?
The Breakers are just the latest team to find a free-to-air home. What’s driving the reversal of a 30-year trend? For decades, New Zealand has been a global outlier when it comes to big time sports. With a few exceptions – the occasional America’s Cup, Olympics or Rugby World Cup, ...1 week ago
- The snow is melting – so what are skiers and mountaineers doing about it?
Trampers, skiers and mountaineers are among the first to see the climate changing, but are they making their own changes in response? Tom Hadley and his partner Tōrea knew exactly where they wanted to go. They had pored over maps, called people for information about the incredibly remote area they ...1 week ago
- Jones open to Govt signing decades-long gas deal
The Māui gas contract locked the government into 30 years of buying gas it didn’t need, but Shane Jones sees it as a model deal The post Jones open to Govt signing decades-long gas deal appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- How NZ is failing at HPV-related cancer prevention
An estimated 32,000 young people are missing from a vital vaccination programme after they didn’t get their shots during the Covid pandemic.They are the Year 7 and 8 cohort of children who were in lockdown instead of being at school.But in spite of the fact that this vaccine actually prevents ...1 week ago
- Fast track, high costs: How short-term thinking could cost us everything
Opinion: It’s hard to overstate how much New Zealand’s economy depends on the environment. Our two largest sectors – agriculture and tourism – are directly dependent on factors like healthy ecosystems, biodiversity and clean water. In fact, the Sustainable Business Council notes that 13 of our top 20 export commodities, ...1 week ago
- Daily crossword, Thursday 19 September
The post Daily crossword, Thursday 19 September appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 19 September
Loading…(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){var ql=document.querySelectorAll('A,DIV,A[data-quiz],DIV[data-quiz]'); if(ql){if(ql.length){for(var k=0;k<ql.length;k++){ql[k].id='quiz-embed-'+k;ql[k].href="javascript:var i=document.getElementById('quiz-embed-"+k+"');try{qz.startQuiz(i)}catch(e){i.start=1;i.style.cursor='wait';i.style.opacity='0.5'};void(0);"}}};i['QP']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){(i[r].q=i[r].q||[]).push(arguments)},i[r].l=1*new Date();a=s.createElement(o),m=s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];a.async=1;a.src=g;m.parentNode.insertBefore(a,m)})(window,document,'script','https://take.quiz-maker.com/3012/CDN/quiz-embed-v1.js','qp');Got a good quiz question? Send Newsroom your questions.The post Newsroom daily quiz, Thursday 19 September appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- Govt urged to release list of fast-track projects and extend scrutiny deadline
After Forest & Bird’s petition to name the listed projects, one legal expert says current fast-track design ‘makes a mockery’ of due process The post Govt urged to release list of fast-track projects and extend scrutiny deadline appeared first on Newsroom. ...1 week ago
- De-spear as Holly turns to her big shot
A Paris 2024 bronze medal hangs by Paralympian Holly Robinson’s bed. A reminder, as she wakes each morning, of more than a decade of work, culminating in both crushing disappointment and redemption.It’s the third medal Robinson has earned across four Paralympic Games, this year returning as the most experienced female ...1 week ago
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