On the 24th I posted in open mike, following some commentary about non mask wearers.
UncookedSelachimorpha, You took issue with my position and supporting links
“”Coupla misinterpreted technical articles and the actual conclusions from a link to an unreviewed article (published on a conspiracy "news" site) written by a sacked physicist with no particular expertise in the field – although he does have a background in climate change denial.
Why bother.
There are plenty of reputable peer reviewed articles from reputable sources that prove masks work against covid transmission in the real world (which is the proof of the pudding). Here is one that gives background on how masks work as well.
“”
Due to farm life and intermittent internet, the can be some gaps between posting here so rather than post as a reply in an old thread, I am posting it here.
Firstly could you please get specific with your issues with my post.
I did a follow up on the link you provided to support your position that masks are effective against covid
First up is a quote from the article you cited, the most relevent section was
"4.3 Cases studies on protection effective of masks"
Mask effectiveness has been demonstrated in prevention of influenza and some other infectious diseases. Van der Sande et al. (2008) showed that the use of any type of ordinary mask may reduce the risk of exposure to viruses and infections.Some observational results confirmed that frequently usingmasks in a community can prevent spread of infection from sick and infectious people (Jensen et al., 2005; Rockwood & O’Donoghue, 1960; Srinivasan et al., 2004; Weaver, 1919). As a non-pharmaceutical intervention to control virus transmission during the influenza pandemic, persistent use of masks significantly reduced the risk of influenza-like-illness-associated infection (Cowling et al., 2008; Maclntyre et al., 2009). Masks were shown to have protective efficacies in excess of 80% against clinical influenza-like-illness (Macintyre et al., 2008). “
Bold mine
I followed up on the links in order, and below I list them with either my brief comment and/or a quote selected from the cited paper.
Van der Sande et al. (2008) “may reduce” enough said…looking for evidence it DOES reduce
Jensen et al., 2005; Paywalled. could only see the astract.
“presented recommendations for TB infection control based on a risk assessment process that classified health-care facilities according to categories of TB risk, “
Rockwood & O’Donoghue, 1960; looking at the history of masks, but paywalled
Srinivasan et al., 2004; Not on if masks worked or not…. just how prepared for SARS medical facilities were, and what their procedures were.
“Results . Overall, 456 members (53%) responded. Although only 138 (30%) reported that their hospital or medical center had cared for ⩾1 patient who met the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) definition for a suspect or probable case of SARS, 410 respondents (90%) indicated that their facility had plans in place to address SARS “
“The aim of this study was to determine the presence and typing of DEN-Vs in hospitalized patients in western region of Saudi Arabia. “
So the article you put forward that masks work, stated that the studies cited showed masks worked, but if you look at the studies, they find they don't.
You thoughts?
Regards Hamish
P.S. It is ironic that at the start, I was in the minority wearing masks in the supermarket etc, and bitching to my local MP that the health care worker doing treating my 84yr old father at home was not wearing a mask and refused to wear the new one provided…
I started to look on line to get backing to complain harder, and look where I ended up…..
Not much research on all year round viruses, because the most problematic ones are seasonal I presume…
The thrust of the post was to show that a person here who is certain masks worked cited a paper, and the paper claimed that the studies found they worked, but when I read them, well look back above
And some of them find no difference between surgical masks and N95's
As far as I have found, once you look down at actual studies, there is not much evidence they work, and a fair bit they don't
The twitter thread seemed to be just opinions without any references to research papers, cant see much of use. Any pointers to what I am missing?
I like this paper, because it is based around standard surgical masks in a very controlled setup with known machine generated aerosols, was not susceptible to the variabilities of how good people are at wearing mask, and looks at the physics of how and why the aerosols behave in tightly controlled lab experiments.
In their results "did not exhibit any significant level of resistance against penetration of virus under our experimental conditions (i.e., 0% filtration efficiency). "
Yes, I have mentioned my experience seeing ute after ute of scowling 30-50 year old males with their signs or flags in the first convoy to Wellington. Some of this demographic seems particularly triggered by seeing a successful woman in charge. That's my view. My partner's view is these huge ute/SUV drivers are buying to make up for a lack in the male appendage…..this from a male with a PhD. He has been annoyed about this for a while especially when the spare car in those days – heavy, diesel and unwieldy had to be used by wives./partners doing the school run in paean to the males appendage concern. No querying of the logic please.
No problem for using them for work purposes or for accessing the back country..
Short story about a workmate who took his brand new 4WD into the first service that he had to pay for after the 4WD came out of warranty. In Wellington. When he came to collect it they said 'no charge' Jack said 'But, but I am out of warranty and I pay from now on'. 'No you don't the boss says you're the first owner to come in for a week or more with a 4WD that has been out and about as it is designed for, and we've given it a complimentary oil change and clean'.
I agree about the misogyny. It never ceases to amaze me though…..I am often pulled up short by a misogynistic comment or joke from someone I expected better of.
The National Bank of the Ukraine allows you to donate to the Ukrainian military – I made a donation based on what I thought would be enough money to buy a Kalasnikov and ammunition.
I won't directly link to the bank's website because I know giving money to a country at war to directly buy weapons (rather than, say, donating to the red cross or something) could be regarded as a bit militant but it is easy enough to find.
Don't be a pussie – get over there and put your arse on the line rather than indulge in a pathetic no risk show of misguided conscience. When you go to sleep tonight, it is hoped you will visualize a Russian weapon in the hands of a Ukrainian kid with Rambo aspirations being gunned down as a threat to an older kid in a Russian uniform.
Obviously you didn't bother to view the clip that Adrian Thornton linked to.
Get over there? The ship leaving Wellington in the weekend is booked out. All those Freedom fighters whose antecedents embarked from the same place all those years ago to fight for freedom.
Don't push Sanctuary any further … you have no idea what he suffered in 'Nam nor what he's capable of.
After 'Nam he became a troubled and misunderstood Vet (specialising in small animal surgery) who came to rely on his combat and survival skills to make his way in an increasingly uncaring & alienating modern world.
Push him too far & you'll trigger flashbacks of his time as a POW in Son Tay on the outskirts of Hanoi … and when an ex-Green Beret & recipient of the Medal of Honor like Sanc gets angry … trust me, you really don't want to be around.
He’s an expert at guerrilla warfare on Twitter and wilderness survival in the dark, depraved depths of the Blogosphere.
Why no one here wants to actively defend the Ukrainian people, and instead just wants to slavishly follow the line of our government to do nothing, can only be answered by the high likelihood that they have no historical memory of what the international left used to believe and do.
Still, I'm sure tonight Kyiev residents huddled in train stations appreciate your thoughts and prayers.
My highly articulate, if somewhat cheap, outburst of First Blood-inspired sarcasm should not be taken as indicating in any way my views on Ukraine.
Suggesting Sanc is a Vietnam Vet & former POW who has come to rely on his combat and survival skills to make his way in an increasingly uncaring & alienating modern world, while specialising in small animal surgery … isn't quite the same as insisting we should just "slavishly follow the line of our government to do nothing" on Ukraine.
Nor, for that matter, that Chamberlain should have so easily given up the Sudetenland.
Good grief so your happy to contribute to the bloodshed are you sanc ??Wonder how many landmines for example your donation might buy ?Would you still be happy if that was what your "donation " was gonna purchase ? Way to go good luck sleeping !!
With that attitude it is highly unlikely you are a citizen of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, or Moldova, or indeed Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, or Finland.
When the left are afraid of the sight of blood they have forgotten the fight to get here.
I've never done such a thing before although my German girlfriend at the time (quite a red firebrand she was) almost talked me into joining her to go off and defend the Sandinista revolution from the Contras in the mid-1980s.
I am not sure if it was the right thing to do, I am aware that I am helping to enable violence but what choice do the Ukrainians have? If there was a just war, it is their resistance to this act of aggression. But then again I remembered that my grandfather on my mothers side was a mate of Fred Robertson and knew Tom Spiller so I'd like to think I come from at least a tradition of standing up for peoples right to be free.
Anyway, Ukraine needs arms not alms and sometimes the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who sit on the fence.
Sanctuary you have just done a whole lot more than our government is.
With the United Kingdom, Germany, United States, Australia and more all sending weapons so that the Ukrainians have a chance to defend themselves at great risk to their lives, and all of them are generating independent sanctions against Russia since Russia is Chairing the UN Security Council at the moment, Ardern's government is looking just pathetic.
When Ardern announced that she was going to Europe she said:
“When we look back in 20 years’ time at this period in our country’s history, I don’t want people to just see Covid. I want them to see an economy and country that was fundamentally repositioned to become more sustainable and resilient and taking on the challenges of poverty, inequality, climate change and mental health, problems the world is grappling with."
Unfortunately the Queen of Mt Albert doesn't get to write the future.
She will now be asked by the EU leaders she meets there: how did you help defend us? Why should you get a free trade deal for that?
The left proudly defended others in Spain in the 1930s, and in New Zealand formed cross-Parliament Cabinets to unify their whole government. Where is the leader of Socialist Youth now?
Unfortunately we have a Prime Minister who is so brittle she can't cope with a few protesters on the front lawn, so we can't expect her to have the fortitude to deal with an actual war.
I think it was Napoleon who said the flaw in his opponents was that they saw everything; He only saw one thing, his opponents main force and he went after that.
Too many on the left suffer a similar failing – they see everything, when sometimes you just need to see the main thing.
Oh dear Ad. What did Jacinda do to upset you so much. Did she ignore your advice or something?
Jacinda Ardern has proven she has "fortitude". Twice. The ChCh massacre, and the determination to lock down NZ when just about everyone else did not have the fortitude to do so. It proved to be the right decision despite all the brickbats thrown at her and her government at the time.
I don't blame Jacinda for the protesters on the front lawn. It is not her place – nor anyone else's – to interfere in police operational matters.
The PM (whoever it may be) should never meet with a bunch of deluded, irrational idiots whose mode of operation is to lie, cheat, break the laws, bully and intimidate others and generally cause mayhem. Meeting with them is to give them oxygen they don't deserve.
With the exception of the opportunistic Seymour, I note neither Luxon, Shaw and Davidson have met with them either and no doubt for the same reason as Ardern.
The PM (whoever it may be) should never meet with a bunch of deluded, irrational idiots whose mode of operation is to lie, cheat, break the laws, bully and intimidate others and generally cause mayhem.
Yes but she argues it is her job to meet and subsidize that bunch from Big Travel,and so she alone can fly to the US and Europe to save the world,and all in 60 minutes including ad breaks.
In a thread in open mike? A few days ago the was some discussion about freedom.
I and my family are basically vaccinated for everything except covid.
I am quite libertarian leaning, and heavily support the idea that individual rights are the most important.
So much data from government sources is inconsistent, or poorly organized or presented. Just look at the Scotland data (which they have stopped publishing) which seemed to show that double vaxxed were more than twice as likely to catch covid as the unvaxed and also more likely to be hospitalized than the unvaxed
[citation needed]
Pinning down a number for the risk of death by vax is even worse…
Nzmedasfe vax data (19 Feb to Nov 30), all causes death rate in 21 days from shot are HALF of “expected” but most notably in the 20 to 29 bracket for shot 2 , only 1/8 of the death rate…They say “one reason for the number of deaths in the vaccinated group appearing lower could be that the healthcare professionals of extremely frail patients give advice not to get vaccinated”
[citation needed]
(Say what ? Don't vax the vulnerable ???)
The way they are analyzing the data it is almost as if they do not want to find anything.
Other data indicate most of deaths from vax occure 5 days after the shot. Looking only at the 21 day 'average' helps hide any signal. Other countries looked at it by looking at days after shot to death, and a hump is visible, peaking at day 3-4 and back to close to normal after 7 days.
The above analysis issue is beyond bad, and these are the same people who are telling me the vax is safe…
Hell no will I trust them with the above sample of their work
Regarding the coercive vaccination program of 5 to 11 yr olds
And about 85% of the deaths were in those with a pre existing comorbidity.
An act newsletter using the CDC data worked out that if all 5 to 11 yr olds in NZ caught covid, 0.16 healthy children will die
[is this online, please have a look and link]
In NZ on average 6 children are killed by drunk drivers each year.
So Jacinda is forcing a vaccine with uncertain risk of death, no long term safety data ( how can there be as there has not been time for it ) for a disease that they are at very low risk of dying from.
And then there is the obesity issue. 80% of all hospitalizations, deaths are in people who are obese.
[citation needed]
The risks for the obese from covid could be reduced by about the same margin as the vaccine achieves if they lost enough weight to get out of the danger zone.
The main reason for the mandates is to keep the death rate and hospitalization down, so in effect Jacinda is forcing healthy people to take an uncertain risk death by vax rather than forcing the fat to lose weight to achieve the same result.
And think of the health benefits to the ex obese, and the cost savings for the hospital system and us poor taxpayers
How about alcohol.
Because of those selfish people that want the freedom to drink, putting their hedonistic desire above community good, 6 children ( and many more adults) are killed each year in car car crashes, and cost the taxpayers millions for the cost of the injuries that also result.
So where should the balance be ?
Regards Hamish
[please provide the above links. You are now in premod until this is done, which means none of your other comments will appear until this is resolved. We have a robust debate ethic here, and this requires a high level of evidence for claims of fact on controversial matters. I’ve given you the guidelines in your post above, the onus is on you to do the work. Read the site Policy if you haven’t already – weka]
Just look at the Scotland data (which they have stopped publishing) which seemed to show that double vaxxed were more than twice as likely to catch covid as the unvaxed and also more likely to be hospitalized than the unvaxed
A deliberate misinterpretation!
Of course there are going to be more vaxxed people catching Covid than unvaxxed people you twat. Take New Zealand for example. 95% of the population are double vaxxed and only 5% unvaxxed. Get the picture?
The vaccine has never been sold as being able to prevent people catching Covid. But you are going to get a mild version of the disease with no long term consequences. A factor you choose to ignore.
From what I understand world-wide… the most serious cases resulting in death are almost always among the unvaxxed so… if you choose to take that risk then be it on yourself if you end up in hospital gravely ill.
I'm not sure you are worthy of this response but it just might ring a bell.
My reason for mentioning the Scottish data was not as trying to show vax was inefective, but of how even the health system has problems with their data and interpretations of what it means.
I have a problem with people claiming certainty where the data is so ' all over the place'
That table is screaming very loudly your assumptions or data are seriously messed up, and you have a lot of work to just figure out where you are going wrong
On phone with low data so going from memory, but in one of the tables, the unvaxed population jumps by 900,000
Unless it was in a previous report…
Any way they postulate that the unceryainty over the unvaxed population is the cause, but at a quick glance they would have to be out by 1 million un vaxedto make the vax look good, in a population of 5 million.
All was can be certain of is that they have no real idea of what is going on…
There are a lot of scientists who have the skill and time to interrogate the data and extrapolate findings from that data. Their job is to pick out the important information and provide advice on that. Overwhelmingly they appear to support vaccination.
This is not meant to be a dig but I just don't think you have the capacity when working a farm and having limited internet connection to apply as much effort and experience to this data. For that reason I would be far more inclined to accept the advice of the experts in that field than the expert in your field.
National Party leader Judith Collins drew controversy when she described Wiles as a “big, fat hypocrite” during a virtual conversation with a Pasifika group aligned with the party.
The light blue font indicates it is a link. When you wand over the quote it indicates it is a link. Click on the text and you will be taken to the source.
Thanks for amplifying – so Gypsy bile (“anger, bitterness, or irritability“) it is. Wiles' pandemic advice inspired action on my part, but making “the science and pandemic clear and understandable” doesn't suit all agendas.
Wiles had joined forces with Spinoff cartoonist Toby Morris and worked to make the science and pandemic clear and understandable.
“Her work provided support, strength and clarity across New Zealand and beyond, representing our country on a world stage and helping to keep us safe.”
The citation for the award said Wiles had faced considerable criticism, “on her authority, on her appearance, on her gender”.
“Siouxsie’s continued to respond to one of the greatest challenges of our time with empathy, innovation and courage, and her work has been seen by millions and even used by governments and organisations as part of their official pandemic communications.”
Wiles was named supreme winner at the 2020 Stuff-Westpac Women of Influence Awards for her accessible and evidence-led commentary about staying safe during the pandemic.
The context of Dr Wiles' NZer of the Year award is the pandemic – if you can't bring yourself to acknowledge "her accessible and evidence-led commentary about staying safe during the pandemic", and prefer to espouse your shallow 'concerns' about 'wokeness', the floor is yours.
Have an image of another earlier one but cant see how to get it into here and the url is broken.
It covered the peak where weekly cases were much higher, and had a unvaxed case rate of 958 per 100 k and double vaxed cases 1361 per 100 k for boosted
And no I am not making a basic mistake, that is the rate per 100k
unvaxed cases 9105 unvaxed population 988033 "ages standardised rate per 100,000" 958
The crude rate is 921on those numbers, so whatever they do to age standardise bumps it up to 958. Could be that young more likely to be unvaxed?
There are certainly wierd data being displayed as the unvaxed population in the PDF the link goes to has unvaxed population in the various tables
Hamish, a Scottish name; noun, from Old Scot for Hamster, from old Scot legend, dumb as a hamster, hamster; Small Scotland based rodent, found in unsanitary conditions living in its own shit surrounded by others of the same ilk, to be avoided at all cost as a strong vector for disease and contagious stupidity.
[don’t personally abuse commenters. If you don’t have an actual political point, then stop commenting. Count this as a warning – weka]
…..rodent living in its own shit surrounded by others of the same ilk, to be avoided at all cost as a strong vector for disease and contagious stupidity.
Bingo. This must be today’s current winner for the greatest number of dehumanising buzz words and phrases in a single sentence.
From Wiki -linked above:
"Dehumanisation is viewed as a central component to intergroup violence because it is frequently the most important precursor to moral exclusion, the process by which stigmatized groups are placed outside the boundary in which moral values, rules, and considerations of fairness apply."[18]
If we are the sheep, how come the idiots in Welly, Picton, Chch and Auckland are the ones sleeping on the grass?
P,s, and eating hay by the look of it!.
Hamish, you must be in a fantasy world if you think people are going to read your ramblings. Most people in the real world prefer to listen to a range of qualified scientists and medical experts.
As NZ's wave of Omicron cases continues to surge, BAU agitators were in full 'socialise the risks' cry this morning.
National Party wants all travellers allowed into NZ now
[RNZ Morning Report, 1 March 2022] Get out there and spend that money. – Bishop
…
But what gives you the confidence to take that risk? … Reconnect NZ to the world, open those borders and allow tourists to come home and get on with things.
"Allow tourists to come home" now eh, when no one knows how far off the Omicron peak is, and with some challenging days ahead for our public health service.
Once Omicron has passed, and/or the relative risk of domestic versus tourist COVID changes, will the Nats change their tune? Don't bet on it.
Nats, advocating risk – during the worst phase of the pandemic in NZ so far – nuts! Most prospective tourists have more sense.
Covid-19: Dropping self-isolation for international arrivals will have minimal effect – Skegg[1 March] We do need to, I think, prepare for some difficult days in the next month.
… There still is time for many people, and most people haven't yet got infected, so anyone listening to this programme who hasn't had their booster, I would strongly urge them to get it today.
… The message should have got though to people, that if they want to protect themselves they need that third dose.
And as we hit peak covid and the availability of staff for hospitality, food supply, and supply chains reaches crisis point; causing places across the country to put up "closed" signs – great time to invite tourists.
Ah – but if tourists with Covid need to go into our (already stretched) hospitals we can make them pay. It's a revenue opportunity that could be privatised by say, persuading tourists to buy private Covid-specific health insurance that will cover any hospital costs in NZ. And why stop there? You could offer the same coverage to non-citizen, non-resident foreign students – maybe with extra high premiums if they stay in university halls of residence but lower premiums if they stay in private rentals owned by the same people offering the insurance?
Your mistake Macro is to view the world as a place where people need to live lives of meaning and purpose, not as one endless carnival of opportunities for private gain.
Your mistake Macro is to view the world as a place where people need to live lives of meaning and purpose, not as one endless carnival of opportunities for private gain.
Australia opened up to tourists a week ago, but I've only seen 2 so far on my wanderings and they might have been a couple of backpackers stuck here over the Covid period. All the tourist operators dependent on international tourism continue to wail but the weather here has done more damage than the nasty virus the last week, with half of the east coast under water. Think you would have to be very brave to be a tourist atm.
My drive to town is a 50 km round trip which happens a couple of times a week but on the last one I noticed hitchikers for the first time in a few years but be warned, they looked like refugees from Wellington, in the manner of dress and appearance and a bit haggard. I know this sounds alarmist and conspirational but they are more likely to be crook with covid than most others one would see out and about, so think twice about sharing your car for a long trip.
Kathryn McPhillips, a clinical psychologist and the executive director of sexual abuse support organisation HELP Auckland, said adults giving evidence in sexual violence trials could access support through NGOs, which received government funding, but there was not adequate support available for children facing the courtroom.
"If adults need that support, children and young people need that even more," she said.
Her comments come after RNZ reported that a child who was indecently assaulted by his firefighter father vomited for a week after being cross-examined in court. His abuser's lawyer had repeatedly asked him if he was lying.
The research was released last year by the office of the Chief Victim's Advisor Dr Kim McGregor. That's A Lie! found children in New Zealand courts were frequently asked leading questions, accused of lying, and subjected to myths about sexual assault to challenge the plausibility of their evidence.
Dr McGregor said in 13 out of the 15 trial transcripts analysed, the children were accused of lying.
Similarly, in the following excerpt a six-year-old complainant is asked why she continued to return to the bach of her offending grandfather if she did not like the regular abuse that he inflicted.
Q. Did you like Poppa putting his finger in your [vagina]?
A. No. THECOURTADDRESSES [DEFENCE]- QUESTION NOT ALLOWED CROSS-EXAMINATION CONTINUES: [DEFENCE]
Q. If you did not like Poppa putting his finger in your [vagina] in the bach why did you keep going back to the bach?
A. 'Cos he buys lollies and chewing gum and noodles.
This questioning may overestimate a child’s power, agency, and understanding in the context of abuse, and discounts the likely impact of grooming and the perpetrator being in a caregiving relationship on a child victim’s behaviour.
There's multiple transcripts in the report that will demonstrate the bullying nature of questioning.
It's clear that court guidelines for lawyers cross-examining children needs to be updated to avoid unnecessary and/or further harm.
Conclusion
The way in which young complainants of sexual violence are questioned during cross-examination is characterised by use of sexual violence misconceptions, questioning the character of the complainant and/or their family, accusations of lying and leading styles of questioning. Young complainants report cross-examination to be highly distressing and this distress is likely to be largely due to the tactics of cross-examination highlighted in this paper. This distress seems in many cases to be needless and avoidable, and certainly not conducive to quality of evidence. There have been longstanding concerns with the way in which Aotearoa’s court system fails to accommodate the needs of young complainants, particularly in sexual violence trials. However, tangible change has been slow. The findings of this study highlight a pressing need for action if Aotearoa’s justice system no longer wishes to be an additional source of harm to young victims of sexual abuse.
What a pity the complainant can't sue (once the offender is convicted) for the trauma inflicted by the accused choosing to go to trial and engaging in aggressive and intimidating cross-examination.
With both the offender (who authorized the abuse) and the lawyer (who inflicted it) liable.
Yes, I have mentioned my experience seeing ute after ute of scowling 30-50 year old males with their signs or flags in the first convoy to Wellington. Some of this demographic seems particularly triggered by seeing a successful woman in charge. That's my view. My partner's view is these huge ute/SUV drivers are buying to make up for a lack in the male appendage…..this from a male with a PhD. He has been annoyed about this for a while especially when the spare car in those days – heavy, diesel and unwieldy had to be used by wives./partners doing the school run in paean to the males appendage concern. No querying of the logic please.
No problem for using them for work purposes or for accessing the back country..
Short story about a workmate who took his brand new 4WD into the first service that he had to pay for after the 4WD came out of warranty. In Wellington. When he came to collect it they said 'no charge' Jack said 'But, but I am out of warranty and I pay from now on'. 'No you don't the boss says you're the first owner to come in for a week or more with a 4WD that has been out and about as it is designed for, and we've given it a complimentary oil change and clean'.
Earlier this month, two-term mayor and former Labour Party leader Phil Goff confirmed he would not seek re-election. Goff did not endorse Collins, but said he met the definition of a new generation of leadership.
It was his wish that a younger person would take on the role.
Collins has been a councillor, representing Manukau, since 2016.
Labour wanted a mayor who would tow their line, which is why they encouraged Richard Hills to stand. I'm sure they expected Efeso to bow out quietly, but he stared them down, knowing Labour would be splitting their vote if they endorsed someone else.
Richard Hills would have been Jacinda’s puppet, and would have been a disaster for Auckland. Collins, not so much.
Possibly, except for the disturbing lack of common sense apparent to anyone familiar with the trajectory of the Labour Party since the end of WWII.
I suspect this deity has been working quietly behind the scenes, deep within the subconscious of Labour minds:
ANANKE was the primordial goddess (protogenos) of necessity, compulsion and inevitability. In the Orphic cosmogony she emerged self-formed at the dawn of creation–an incorporeal, serpentine being whose outstretched arms encompassed the breadth of the cosmos.
Ananke and her mate Khronos (Chronos) (Time), their serpentine coils entwined, crushed the primal egg of creation splitting it into its constituent parts of earth, heaven and sea to form the ordered universe.
Hey thanks for the link. His claim that labour 'begged' Shearer to reconsider is an interesting one…just shows how desperate they were.
Who forced labour into it? Their own hubris. They thought they had a ready made and compliant candidate in Hills. Collins blindsided them and then refused to play ball. All power to him, although I'd rather central government parties kept their sticky beaks out of local government politics.
Women's Declaration International (WDI) Feminist Question Time is our weekly online webinars. It is attended by a global feminist and activist audience of between 200-300. The main focus is how gender ideology is harming the rights of women and girls. You can see recordings of previous panels on our YouTube Channel.
Around 7:52 a mother of one of the female swimmers relates the support offered by the ACLU:
'Let me tell you a certainty, the ACLU will never offer support to cis women against women.'
Biological sex matters.
Women are considered an adjunct ((un)necessary evil) to their own sex category by the American Civil Liberties Union.
I have refrained from pointing this out when people say the parliament protesters are idiots for their weird beliefs. Thought the temperature was a little high on this topic so held back. But yes as GC or pro reality, it has occured to me those banging on about nutty ideas seem to accept the idea that women can have penises, which is up there with some of what these protesters believe imo
Apparently loss a smell and taste is not a common symptom of Omicron but is of previous strains according to Doctor Ashley at 1pm. Bugger I might have had it last week! Thought I only had a snotty.
FFS why was Ashley left out to front todays meeting on his own, 1st 1:00 pm bad news and no one from the government ? So on the 25/1 we were informed of our PCR testing capacity . Now on the 1st March we are now told this was not the case 5 WEEKS !!!!, and that only last week Ashley realised this. Yet on the 19/2 this delay was being reported.
Our personnel experience at home, after testing and being txted that as priority 1 results will be within 72 hours as there was already a confirmed household case. 6 Days later still no txted. The MoH and government had warning that the wave of 50,000 daily cases, was to hit during Waitangi weekend. What have they been doing with the time that we as a country have brought to prepare ?
I do think highly of how Ashley as conducted himself – He just keeps on fronting up. I hope sometime in the near future he can go where ever he and his family have a dream to visit, experience and remove himself from all the goings of the world and relax and enjoy himself (Also many of his team same comment) for an extended vacation. He is a vessel for the politicians to use unfortunately.
It certainly seems as though the capacity of the system to cope with the PCR tests has been wildly overestimated.
Verrell should carry a lot of the blame for this one. As a specialist in this area, she should have known what questions to ask, and how to interpret the answers.
As recently as the 25th of January she was confidently touting the ability to cope with sustained testing at 58 thousand, with surge capacity to 77 thousand.
Increased our PCR testing capacity from a maximum of 39,000 tests a day to a baseline of 58,000 tests. Surge capacity is now 77,600 tests, which can be sustained for 7 days
Poots nuke announcement got me thinking about nuclear songs. Two Suns, Two Tribes and 99 Luftballoons came to mind but after some googling I realised just how many songs about nukes there are.
"The Russian army has always been bad at setting up and sustaining supply lines. Gen. Omar Bradley once said about different types of military officers, “Amateurs talk strategy, professionals talk logistics.”* In that sense, Russians are amateurs. This is well known. It is why Ukrainian soldiers explicitly attacked the Russian supply lines. It’s why so many tanks and other vehicles have been spotted stuck on the side of a road.''
I do feel sorry for the young, poorly trained, Russian soldiers who are poorly motivated, don't know why they are there, and, in some cases, don't even know where they are.
"'There is a larger factor here: The Russian army is composed, by and large, of one-year conscripts, who are poorly trained (even within the confines of Russian military training), badly treated, and uninspired by ideology or any other motivating spirit. Hence the stories of captured Russian troops who had no idea why they were in Ukraine. At least a few didn’t even know that they were in Ukraine—they thought they were still doing exercises in Belarus. Others have reportedly been found knocking on village doors for food or, in one case, asking a local police station for fuel.''
“This is … the first day of your new life.” “Here pain makes you stronger, scars are a daily occurrence … without an enemy there is no battle, and without a battle there is no victory. But in reality, the main enemy … is you, the you from yesterday.”
Completed reads for January Lilith, by George MacDonald The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (poem), by Samuel Taylor Coleridge Christabel (poem), by Samuel Taylor Coleridge The Saga of Ragnar Lodbrok, by Anonymous The Lay of Kraka (poem), by Anonymous 1066 and All That, by W.C. Sellar and R.J. ...
Pity the poor Brits. They just can’t catch a break. After years of reporting of lying Boris Johnson, a change to a less colourful PM in Rishi Sunak has resulted in a smooth media pivot to an end-of-empire narrative. The New York Times, no less, amplifies suggestions that Blighty ...
On that day all the springs of the great deep burst forth, and the floodgates of the heavens were opened. And rain fell on the earth.Genesis 6:11-12THE TORRENTIAL DOWNPOURS that dumped a record-breaking amount of rain on Auckland this anniversary weekend will reoccur with ever-increasing frequency. The planet’s atmosphere is ...
Buzz from the Beehive There has been plenty to keep the relevant Ministers busy in flood-stricken Auckland over the past day or two. But New Zealand, last time we looked, extends north of Auckland into Northland and south of the Bombay Hills all the way to the bottom of the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters When early settlers came to the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers before the California Gold Rush, Indigenous people warned them that the Sacramento Valley could become an inland sea when great winter rains came. The storytellers described water filling the ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes – Last night’s opinion polls answered the big question of whether a switch of prime minister would really be a gamechanger for election year. The 1News and Newshub polls released at 6pm gave the same response: the shift from Jacinda Ardern to Chris Hipkins ...
Last night’s opinion polls answered the big question of whether a switch of prime minister would really be a gamechanger for election year. The 1News and Newshub polls released at 6pm gave the same response: the shift from Jacinda Ardern to Chris Hipkins has changed everything, and Labour is back ...
Over the last few years, it’s seemed like city after city around the world has become subject to extreme flooding events that have been made worse by impacts from climate change. We’ve highlighted many of them in our Weekly Roundup series. Sadly, over the last few days it’s been Auckland’s ...
A ‘small target’ strategy is not going to cut it anymore if National want to win the upcoming election. The game has changed and the game plan needs to change as well. Jacinda Ardern’s abrupt departure from the 9th floor has the potential to derail what looked to be an ...
When Grant Robertson talks about how the economy might change post-covid, one of the things he talks about is what he calls an unsung but interesting white paper on science. “It’s really important,” he says. The Minister in charge of the White Paper — Te Ara Paerangi, Future Pathways ...
The news media were at one ceremony by the looks of things. The Governor-General, the Prime Minister and his deputy were at another. The news media were at a swearing-in ceremony. The country’s leaders were at an appointment ceremony. The New Zealand Gazette record of what transpired says: Appointment of ...
I n some alternative universe, Auckland mayor Efeso Collins readily grasped the scale of Friday’s deluge, and quickly made the emergency declaration that enabled central government to immediately throw its resources behind the rescue and remediation effort. As Friday evening became night, Mayor Collins seemed to be everywhere: talking with ...
They called it an “atmospheric river”, the weather bombardment which hit NZ’s northern region at the weekend. It exacted a terrible toll on metropolitan Auckland and the rest of the region. Few living there may have noted a statement from electricity generator Mercury Energy labelled “WET, WET, WET!” This was ...
I know, that is a pretty corny title but given the circumstances here in the Auckland region, I just had to say it. The more oblique reference embedded in the title is to the leadership failures exhibited by Mayor Wayne Brown and his so-called leadership team when confronted by the ...
How much confidence should the public have in authorities managing natural disasters? Not much, judging by the farcical way in which the civil defence emergence in Auckland has played out. The way authorities dealt with Auckland’s extreme weather on Friday illustrated how hit-and-miss our civil defence emergency system is. In ...
Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.The recent leadership change in the governing Labour party resulted in a very strange response from National’s (current) leader, Christopher Luxon. Mr Luxon berated Labour for it’s change of leader, citing no actual change.As ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 22, 2023 thru Sat, Jan 28, 2023. Story of the Week New Study Reveals Arctic Ice, Tracked Both Above and Below, Is Freezing LaterClimate change is affecting the timing of both ...
Thanks for reading Frankly Speaking ! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.It was another ‘SHOCK! HORROR!’ headline from a media increasingly venturing into tabloid-style journalism:Andrea Vance’s article seemed to focus on the "million dollar sums from the Government as the country grapples with a housing ...
Dr Brian Easton writes: It’s the summer break. Everyone settles down with family, books, the sun and some fishing. But the Prime Minister has a pile of briefing papers prepared just before Christmas, which have to be worked through. I haven’t seen them. Here is my guess at some ...
What Was the Prime Minister Reading in the Runup to Election Year?It’s the summer break. Everyone settles down with family, books, the sun and some fishing. But the Prime Minister has a pile of briefing papers prepared just before Christmas, which have to be worked through. I haven’t seen them. ...
In case you hadn't noticed, FYI, the public OIA request site, has been used to conduct a significant excavation into New Zealand's intelligence agencies, with requests made for assorted policies and procedures. Yesterday in response to one of these requests the GCSB released its policy on New Zealand Purpose and ...
Farming leaders are watching closely whether Damien O’Connor keeps the key portfolios of Agriculture and Trade when Prime Minister Chris Hipkins restructures his Cabinet. O’Connor has been one of the few ministers during Labour’s term in office who has won broad support for what he has done ...
South Islands farmers are whining about another drought, the third in three years. If only we knew what was causing this! If only someone had warned them that they faced a drying climate! But we do know what is causing it: climate change. And they have been warned, repeatedly, for ...
Ok, there’s good news and bad news in this week’s inflation figures, but bad > good. Our inflation rate held steady but hey, at a level below the inflation rate in Australia. The main reason for the so/so result here? A fall in petrol prices of 7.2% offset the really ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes: Since her shock resignation announcement, Jacinda Ardern has been at pains to point out that she isn’t leaving because of the toxicity directed at her on social media and elsewhere, rebutting journalists who suggested misogyny and hate may have driven her from office. Yet ...
Since her shock resignation announcement, Jacinda Ardern has been at pains to point out that she isn’t leaving because of the toxicity directed at her on social media and elsewhere, rebutting journalists who suggested misogyny and hate may have driven her from office. Yet there have been dozens of columns ...
The Clinical Magus: Of particular relevance to New Zealanders struggling to come to terms with the sudden departure of their prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, is Jung’s concept of the anima. Much more than what others have called the feminine principle, the anima is what the human male has made out ...
The Select Committee, considering the proposed RNZ-TVNZ merger, has come back with a report conceding many of the criticisms that were made of the original legislation. In what is one of the most comprehensive demolitions of a Bill submitted to a Select Committee, the Economic Development, Science and Innovation ...
Such are the 2020s, the age when no-one, it seems, actually respects the basic underpinnings of democracy. Even in New Zealand. This week, I stumbled across a pair of lengthy and genuinely serious articles, that basically argue that Something is Rotten in the state of New Zealand democracy. One ...
Buzz from the Beehive Hurrah. Today we found something fresh on the Beehive website, Beehive.govt.nz, which claims to be the best place to find Government initiatives, policies and Ministerial information. It wasn’t from Finance Minister Grant Robertson, whose reaction to the latest inflation figures would have been appreciated. So, too, ...
Smiling And Waiving A Golden Opportunity: Chris Hipkins knew that the day at Ratana would be Jacinda’s day – her final opportunity to bask in the unalloyed love and support of her followers. He simply could not afford to be seen to overshadow this last chance for his former boss ...
Extremism Consumes Itself: The plot of “Act of Oblivion” concerns the relentless pursuit of the “regicides” Edward Whalley and William Goffe – two of the fifty-nine signatories to King Charles I’s death warrant. As with his many other works of historical fiction, Robert Harris’s novel brings to life a period ...
To challenge the Government’s promotion of co-governance, to share power between Maori and public authorities and agencies, is to invite accusations of racism. An example: this article by Martyn Bradbury on The Daily Blog headed Luxon’s race baiting hypocrisy at Ratana. The article was triggered by National leader Christopher Luxon, ...
A very informative video discussion: Are we getting the whole story about Ukraine? | Robert Wright & Ivan Katchanovski Getting objective information on the situation in Ukraine and the cause of this current war is not easy. There is the current censorship and blatant mainstream media bias – which ...
Yesterday the Herald ran an op-ed from Mayor Wayne Brown titled “The case for light rail is lighter than ever” and a few things stood out. However, it’s getting more and more tricky to make a strong economic case for spending up to $29 billion on a single route of ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Samantha Harrington Imagine it’s a cold February night and your furnace breaks. You want to replace it with an electric heat pump because you’ve heard that tax credits will help pay for the switch. And you know that heat pumps can reduce ...
In 2005, then-National Party leader based his entire election campaign on racism, with his infamous racist Orewa speech and racist iwi/kiwi billboards. Now, Christopher Luxon seems to want to do it all again: Fresh off using his platform at this week's Rātana celebrations to criticise the government's approach to ...
Inflation is showing little sign of slowing down, posing a problem for freshly minted PM Chris Hipkins. According to that old campaigner Richard Prebble, Hipkins should call a snap election. If he waits till October, he risks being swept away. The dilemma for the new leader is that fighting an election ...
Buzz from the Beehive A great deal has happened since January 19. Among other things, a new Prime Minister and deputy have been sworn in and our leaders (past, present and aspiring) have delivered speeches at Ratana. Newshub reported that politicians of all stripes had descended upon Rātana for the ...
It’s a big day for New Zealand; our 41st Prime Minister has taken office and the new, “Chippy” era of politics is underway. Or, on the other hand, the Labour Party continues to govern with an overall majority and much the same leadership team in place. Life goes on and ...
New Zealand has another Prime Minister who does not have a basic grasp of the three articles of the Treaty of Waitangi. THOMAS CRANMER writes: It is simply astonishing that New Zealand’s next Prime Minister, Chris Hipkins, is unable to give even a brief explanation of the three articles ...
A statue of a semi-naked Nick Smith puts the misogyny debate into perspective. GRAHAM ADAMS writes … In the wake of Ardern’s abrupt resignation, the mainstream media are determined to convince us she was hounded from office mainly because she is a woman and had to fall on her sword ...
A Different Kind Of Vibe: In the days and weeks ahead, as the Hipkins ministry takes shape, the only question that matters is whether New Zealand’s new prime minister possesses both the wisdom and the courage to correct his party’s currently suicidal political course. If Chris “Chippy” Hipkins is ...
An editorial in the NZ Herald last week, titled “Nimbyism goes bananas as housing intensifies“, introduced Herald readers to a couple of acronyms that go along with the now-familiar NIMBY (Not in My Back Yard): “bananas” (build absolutely nothing anywhere near anyone) “cave” dwellers (citizens against virtually everything). The editorial ...
Back in the dark autumn of 2020, when the prospect of Covid was freaking the country out, Finance Minister Grant Robertson set himself and Treasury a series of questions about what a post-Covid economy might look like. Those were fearful days, and the questions in part reflected a series ...
Buzz from the Beehive Yet another day has passed without Ministers of the Crown posting something to show they are still working for us on the Beehive website. Nothing new has been posted since January 17. Perhaps the ministers are all engaged in the bemusing annual excursion ...
Incoming Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has already indicated he intends making the tax system “fairer”. That points to the route a government facing an election could take to tilt the odds towards winning in its favour, given Labour’s support in the last months of the Ardern era had been ...
NewsHub has a poll on the cost-of-living crisis, which has an interesting finding: the vast majority of kiwis prefer wage rises to tax cuts: When asked whether income has kept up with the cost of living, 54.8 percent of people surveyed said no and according to 58.6 percent of ...
Labour has begun 2023 with the centre-left bloc behind in the polls and losing ground. That being so, did his colleagues choose Chris Hipkins as the replacement for Jacinda Ardern because they think he has a realistic shot at leading them to victory this year, or because he‘s the best ...
Two Flags, Two Masters? Just as it required a full-scale military effort to destroy the first attempt at Māori self-government in the 1850s and 60s (an effort that divided Maoridom itself into supporters and opponents of the Crown) any second attempt to establish tino rangatiratanga, based on the confiscatory policies ...
The first of Kiwirail’s big network shutdowns to fix the foundations on our tracks is now well underway with the Southern Line closed between Otahuhu and Newmarket. This is following on from the network wide Christmas/New Year shutdown, during which Kiwirail say that nearly 1,300 people working across 69 different ...
This is a re-post from the Citizens' Climate Lobby blogIn last year’s passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Congress included about $20 billion earmarked for natural climate solutions. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is responsible for deciding how those funds should be allocated to meet the climate ...
You’ve really got to wonder at the introspection, or lack thereof, from much of the mainstream media post Jacinda Ardern stepping down. Some so-called journalists haven’t even taken a breath before once again putting the boot in, which clearly shows their inherent bias and lack of any misgivings about fueling ...
Over the weekend I was interviewed by a media outlet about the threats that Jacinda Ardern and her family have received while she has been PM and what can be expected now that she has resigned. I noted that the level of threat she has been exposed to is unprecedented ...
Dr Bryce Edwards writes: The days of the Labour Government being associated with middle class social liberalism look to be numbered. Soon-to-be Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni are heralding a major shift in emphasis away from the constituencies and ideologies of liberal Grey ...
A Different Kind Of Vibe: In the days and weeks ahead, as the Hipkins ministry takes shape, the only question that matters is whether New Zealand’s new prime minister possesses both the wisdom and the courage to correct his party’s currently suicidal political course. If Chris “Chippy” Hipkins is able to steer ...
The days of the Labour Government being associated with middle class social liberalism look to be numbered. Soon-to-be Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Deputy Prime Minister Carmel Sepuloni are heralding a major shift in emphasis away from the constituencies and ideologies of liberal Grey Lynn and Wellington Central towards the ...
Following the surprise resignation of Jacinda Ardern last week, her replacement, Chis Hipkins, has said: Over the coming week, Cabinet will be making decisions on reining in some programs and projects that aren’t essential right now That messaging is similar to what Jacinda Ardern said late last year and as ...
Much of what will mark the early days of Chris Hipkins’ Prime Ministership would have happened anyway. By December, the Prime Minister and Finance Minister were making it clear the summer break and early days of this year were going to be spent on a reset of government policy. ...
Going to try to get into the blogging thing again (ha!) what with an election coming up and all that. So today I thought I'd start small and simple, by merely tackling the world's (second) richest man.I'm no fan of Elon Musk. You don't want to know why, but I'll ...
A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook Page during the past week: Sun, Jan 15, 2023 thru Sat, Jan 21, 2023. Story of the Week State of the climate: How the world warmed in 2022With a new year underway, most of the climate data for ...
Well, that was a disappointment. As of today, the New Zealand Labour Caucus opted for Chris Hipkins as our new Prime Minister, and I cannot help but let loose a cynical cackle. ...
Get ready for a major political reset once Chris Hipkins is sworn in as Prime Minister this week. Labour’s new leader is likely to push the Government to the right economically, and do his best to jettison the damaging perceptions that Labour has become “too woke” on social issues. Overall, ...
Things have gone sideways… and it’s only the third week of January? It was political earthquake time. For some the Prime Minister made a truly significant announcement. For others – did you have this on your bingo card? – a body double did so (sit tight, you’ll understand later, ...
The tools exist to help families with surging costs – and as costs continue to rise it is more urgent than ever that we use them, the Green Party says. ...
The Government is providing a further $1 million to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced today. “Cabinet today agreed that, given the severity of the event, a further $1 million contribution be made. Cabinet wishes to be proactive ...
The new Cabinet will be focused on core bread and butter issues like the cost of living, education, health, housing and keeping communities and businesses safe, Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has announced. “We need a greater focus on what’s in front of New Zealanders right now. The new Cabinet line ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins will travel to Canberra next week for an in person meeting with Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese. “The trans-Tasman relationship is New Zealand’s closest and most important, and it was crucial to me that my first overseas trip as Prime Minister was to Australia,” Chris Hipkins ...
The Government is providing establishment funding of $100,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Auckland following flooding, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. “We moved quickly to make available this funding to support Aucklanders while the full extent of the damage is being assessed,” Kieran McAnulty ...
As the Mayor of Auckland has announced a state of emergency, the Government, through NEMA, is able to step up support for those affected by flooding in Auckland. “I’d urge people to follow the advice of authorities and check Auckland Emergency Management for the latest information. As always, the Government ...
Ka papā te whatitiri, Hikohiko ana te uira, wāhi rua mai ana rā runga mai o Huruiki maunga Kua hinga te māreikura o te Nota, a Titewhai Harawira Nā reira, e te kahurangi, takoto, e moe Ka mōwai koa a Whakapara, kua uhia te Tai Tokerau e te kapua pōuri ...
Carmel Sepuloni, Minister for Social Development and Employment, has activated Enhanced Taskforce Green (ETFG) in response to flooding and damaged caused by Cyclone Hale in the Tairāwhiti region. Up to $500,000 will be made available to employ job seekers to support the clean-up. We are still investigating whether other parts ...
The 2023 General Election will be held on Saturday 14 October 2023, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “Announcing the election date early in the year provides New Zealanders with certainty and has become the practice of this Government and the previous one, and I believe is best practice,” Jacinda ...
Jacinda Ardern has announced she will step down as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party. Her resignation will take effect on the appointment of a new Prime Minister. A caucus vote to elect a new Party Leader will occur in 3 days’ time on Sunday the 22nd of ...
The Government is maintaining its strong trade focus in 2023 with Trade and Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor visiting Europe this week to discuss the role of agricultural trade in climate change and food security, WTO reform and New Zealand agricultural innovation. Damien O’Connor will travel tomorrow to Switzerland to attend the ...
The Government has extended its medium-scale classification of Cyclone Hale to the Wairarapa after assessing storm damage to the eastern coastline of the region. “We’re making up to $80,000 available to the East Coast Rural Support Trust to help farmers and growers recover from the significant damage in the region,” ...
The Government is making an initial contribution of $150,000 to the Mayoral Relief Fund to help communities in Tairāwhiti following ex-Tropical Cyclone Hale, Minister for Emergency Management Kieran McAnulty announced. “While Cyclone Hale has caused widespread heavy rain, flooding and high winds across many parts of the North Island, Tairāwhiti ...
Rural Communities Minister Damien O’Connor has classified this week’s Cyclone Hale that caused significant flood damage across the Tairāwhiti/Gisborne District as a medium-scale adverse event, unlocking Government support for farmers and growers. “We’re making up to $100,000 available to help coordinate efforts as farmers and growers recover from the heavy ...
New Zealand is ranked second equal with Finland in the latest Corruption Perceptions Index, Denmark is now clearly at the top of the ranking. New Zealand’s score dropped one point to 87 while Denmark improved by 2 points scoring 90. This is only the third ...
Analysis: In juggling his cabinet, the new prime minister said he sought to balance stability with renewal, writes Toby Manhire.There were some massive shifts reflected in the first cabinet of Prime Minister Chris Hipkins announced this afternoon – it’s just we knew about them already. Specifically: Mt Albert MP ...
Auckland Emergency Management has issued an Emergency Mobile Alert (EMA) warning of the potential for further extremely heavy rain to hit the Auckland region tonight. The alert asks Aucklanders to act immediately if they see rising water, due to how quickly flooding can happen. They should evacuate to high ...
Ayesha Verrall will become the minister of health and moves to the front bench, taking the portfolio over from Andrew Little. Kieran McAnulty will join cabinet and take over the local government portfolio. Meanwhile, Little drops seven spots on the list, Phil Twyford is no longer a minister, and the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adam Graycar, Professor of Public Policy, University of Adelaide Just months after Australia legislated to establish the long-anticipated National Anti-Corruption Agency, our standing is back on the rise in Transparency International’s annual Global Corruption Perceptions Index. This is a small but important ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Sally Ferguson, Director, Appleton Institute, CQUniversity Australia Shutterstock After a few difficult years of lockdowns and travel restrictions, people are finally winging their way across the globe again; families are being reunited and sights are being seen. Yet the ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kim Goodwin, Lecturer, The University of Melbourne Terren Hurst on Unsplash In May, we predicted Tony Burke’s joint portfolio of workplace relations and the arts was an opportunity to address some of the challenges facing the arts and cultural sector. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danny Kingsley, Visiting Fellow, Australian National Centre for the Public Awareness of Science, Australian National University Shutterstock Unless you’ve spent your summer on a digital detox, you’ve probably heard of ChatGPT: the latest AI chatbot taking the world by storm. ...
The Association of Salaried Medical Specialists welcomes former ASMS member Dr Ayesha Verrall into her new role as Minister of Health. "Dr Verrall brings significant professional experience sharpened by her time in Parliament serving as the Associate ...
Today the Prime Minister announced the appointment of Kieran McAnulty as the new Minister of Local Government. “We welcome Minister McAnulty to the role and call on him to follow the Review into the Future of Local Government’s recommendation ...
The Taxpayer’s Union has welcomed the appointment of a new Minister for Local Government and encouraged Kieran McAnulty to press pause on the Three Waters reforms. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Callum Purves, said: “A new Minister for ...
COMMENTARY:By Gavin Ellis It is unlikely that the Mayor of Auckland, Wayne Brown, took any lessons from the city’s devastating floods but the rest of us — and journalists in particular — could learn a thing or two. Brown’s demeanour will not be improved by a petition calling for ...
RNZ Pacific The headquarters of the Malvatumauri of National Council of Chiefs of Vanuatu has burned down. The fire broke out about 1am Monday local time. Police are investigating the cause of the fire in Port Vila. The Malvatumauri nakamal is a custom parliament for all Vanuatu’s chiefs. “This nakamal ...
Auckland mayor Wayne Brown is under fire for calling New Zealand journalists “drongos”, blaming them for having to cancel a round of tennis with friends on Sunday as the city dealt with the aftermath of record rainfall and flooding that left four dead. It comes after widespread criticism of ...
Things are acutely uncomfortable for Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown right now, but can he recover to save his mayoralty? Less than a month after Wayne Brown was sworn in as Mayor of Auckland, a leading figure in central government was asked privately how the city might handle this unconventional figure ...
The New Zealand Nurses Organisation Tōpūtanga Tapuhi Kaitiaki o Aotearoa (NZNO) welcomes Hon Dr Ayesha Verrall to the Minister of Health role. NZNO Chief Executive Paul Goulter said the organisation and its members are looking forward to working ...
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has announced Jan Tinetti, Ayesha Verrall, Willie Jackson and Kiri Allan are being shifted up the Labour rankings, with Nanaia Mahuta and Andrew Little dropping down. Watch here. ...
Jamie Wall reviews Invincible by WJ Moloney, which covers Andrew (Son) White’s life and experiences of World War I, rugby and survival.“He saw it, and all the other memorials, was conceived and created for what was lost, by those who survived. Stark and imposing, thoughtfully designed and inscribed with ...
Prime minister Chris Hipkins will travel to Canberra next week to meet with Australian PM Anthony Albanese. “The trans-Tasman relationship is New Zealand’s closest and most important, and it was crucial to me that my first overseas trip as Prime Minister was to Australia,” Chris Hipkins said. The meeting marks ...
A state of emergency has been declared in Northland as the region braces for more rain. Metservice is forecasting up to 140mm of rain across Northland, with some areas in the north and east getting 220mm, peaking at 40mm per hour. The state of emergency is effective as of 1pm ...
Never thought you’d order Uber Eats from the Coffee Club? You might have and not even known it, writes Sam Brooks.I spend a lot of my time scrolling through the Uber Eats app. Only half of the time is it because I’m looking for something to eat. The other ...
Consumers have been warned to prepare for fruit and vegetable shortages as floodwaters in the upper North Island impact food safety. The weekend’s flooding will exacerbate supply issues caused by rainy conditions this summer in much of the country, leading to higher prices nationwide. Anne-Marie Arts of industry group United ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Fitz-Gibbon, Director, Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre; Professor of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts, Monash University In 2016, the Victorian Royal Commission into Family Violence released its findings following an exhaustive 13-month inquiry. In it were 227 recommendations to ...
In recognition of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, the Problem Gambling Foundation will launch a new wānanga series of online videos on Waitangi Day, featuring conversations with Māori influencers about the systemic injustices experienced by Māori including ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Eliza Middleton, Biodiversity Management Officer, University of Sydney Overall winner of the 2018 competition, a Growling Grass Frog (_Litoria raniformis_) by EnviroDNA @enviro_DNA@enviro_DNA, CC BY-NC Almost 2,000 native species are officiallylisted as “threatened” in Australia – but how many have ...
Youthtown is launching [email protected] with two online after school programs aimed at giving kids a safe and supervised environment. Minecraft Monday and Imagination Lab - STEAM Kits are hosted in secure online groups that enable children to get a ...
The more hard surfaces we build, the more stormwater we need to drain. Here’s how we can future-proof our urban design as climate change bites. We’ve built our cities to be vulnerable to – and exacerbate – major weather events such as the one we saw in Auckland on Friday. ...
The soaring cost of living is fuelling an education crisis for New Zealand children living in poverty. To coincide with the start of the new school year, KidsCan is launching its 2023 Back to School campaign with the aim to bring on board 450 new ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Nina Sivertsen, Senior Lecturer (Nursing), Flinders University Getty Images It’s good practice for employers to consult staff when forming policies or guidelines. However, for some staff from diverse backgrounds, this creates extra work and pressure. “Cultural load” in the ...
The New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union has launched a petition calling for schools to have the authority to make their own decisions about emergency closures based on local circumstances rather than be beholden to bureaucrats in Wellington. Taxpayers’ ...
Duncan Greive founded The Spinoff in 2014. Today he has decided to hand the torch to his colleague and friend Amber Easby. He explains why.I swear I thought of it first. Or at least, in parallel. I remember walking up the stairs to work on January 9, and for ...
Today’s launch of Waipuna aa rangi, the formal body set to represent hapū and iwi across Te Tai Tokerau and Tāmaki Makaurau in the Three Waters reforms, has been postponed by the ongoing extreme weather event. “The latest red warning for parts ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Clare Collins, Laureate Professor in Nutrition and Dietetics AO, University of Newcastle Pexels/Anna Shvets Ever feel a bit stressed or need a concentration boost? Research suggests one remedy may be right under your nose. Chewing has benefits for brain function, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Danny C Price, Senior research fellow, Curtin University Midjourney, Author provided Some 540 million years ago, diverse life forms suddenly began to emerge from the muddy ocean floors of planet Earth. This period is known as the Cambrian Explosion, and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Camilla Nelson, EG Whitlam Research Fellow at the Whitlam Institute, and Associate Professor, University of Notre Dame Australia April Fonti/AAP There is much to be excited about in Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus’s draft Family Law Amendment Bill 2023, the first in ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michael Naylor, Senior Lecturer, Massey University Getty Images The clean-up from Auckland’s devastating floods last week is just beginning but insurance companies will need to start thinking about what the record-breaking weather event will mean for future coverage. Over ...
A coalition of anti-poverty and welfare advocacy groups has called for urgent government action to support people affected by flooding in Auckland, Coromandel, Bay of Plenty, and Waikato. The Fairer Future group - which called for increases in income support ...
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https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/west-coast/gloriavale-teenager-wants-justice-unpaid-under-age-workers
A young Man. And Courage…. an apt name !
Onya matey. Absolutely wish you all the best !
Slavery financial abuse when is gloriavale getting closed down.
A slippery slope that one.
Some rather disturbing analysis on the Ukraine crisis from Professor Richard Sawka….
Effectivness of masks
On the 24th I posted in open mike, following some commentary about non mask wearers.
UncookedSelachimorpha, You took issue with my position and supporting links
“”Coupla misinterpreted technical articles and the actual conclusions from a link to an unreviewed article (published on a conspiracy "news" site) written by a sacked physicist with no particular expertise in the field – although he does have a background in climate change denial.
Why bother.
There are plenty of reputable peer reviewed articles from reputable sources that prove masks work against covid transmission in the real world (which is the proof of the pudding). Here is one that gives background on how masks work as well.
“”
Due to farm life and intermittent internet, the can be some gaps between posting here so rather than post as a reply in an old thread, I am posting it here.
Firstly could you please get specific with your issues with my post.
I did a follow up on the link you provided to support your position that masks are effective against covid
First up is a quote from the article you cited, the most relevent section was
"4.3 Cases studies on protection effective of masks"
Mask effectiveness has been demonstrated in prevention of influenza and some other infectious diseases. Van der Sande et al. (2008) showed that the use of any type of ordinary mask may reduce the risk of exposure to viruses and infections.Some observational results confirmed that frequently using masks in a community can prevent spread of infection from sick and infectious people (Jensen et al., 2005; Rockwood & O’Donoghue, 1960; Srinivasan et al., 2004; Weaver, 1919). As a non-pharmaceutical intervention to control virus transmission during the influenza pandemic, persistent use of masks significantly reduced the risk of influenza-like-illness-associated infection (Cowling et al., 2008; Maclntyre et al., 2009). Masks were shown to have protective efficacies in excess of 80% against clinical influenza-like-illness (Macintyre et al., 2008). “
Bold mine
I followed up on the links in order, and below I list them with either my brief comment and/or a quote selected from the cited paper.
Van der Sande et al. (2008) “may reduce” enough said…looking for evidence it DOES reduce
Jensen et al., 2005; Paywalled. could only see the astract.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16382216/
“presented recommendations for TB infection control based on a risk assessment process that classified health-care facilities according to categories of TB risk, “
Rockwood & O’Donoghue, 1960; looking at the history of masks, but paywalled
Srinivasan et al., 2004; Not on if masks worked or not…. just how prepared for SARS medical facilities were, and what their procedures were.
https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/39/2/272/328718?login=false
“Results . Overall, 456 members (53%) responded. Although only 138 (30%) reported that their hospital or medical center had cared for ⩾1 patient who met the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) definition for a suspect or probable case of SARS, 410 respondents (90%) indicated that their facility had plans in place to address SARS “
Weaver, 1919 a bit old… and paywalled !
Cowling 2008 Practical experiment to see if masks were effective, answer was no.
los.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0002101
"randomized to 1) control or 2) surgical face masks or 3) hand hygiene." ( the arms)
"The laboratory-based or clinical secondary attack ratios did not significantly differ across the intervention arms."
Maclntyre et al., 2009). Practical experiment to see if masks were effective, answer was no.
https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/15/2/08-1167_article
“”
“with no significant differences noted among the 3 arms. “
“our study suggests that community use of face masks is unlikely to be an effective control policy for seasonal respiratory diseases “
Maclntyre et al., 2008 The link goes to an article with nothing about masks.
https://www.ijidonline.com/article/S1201-9712(08)01010-2/fulltext
“The aim of this study was to determine the presence and typing of DEN-Vs in hospitalized patients in western region of Saudi Arabia. “
So the article you put forward that masks work, stated that the studies cited showed masks worked, but if you look at the studies, they find they don't.
You thoughts?
Regards Hamish
P.S. It is ironic that at the start, I was in the minority wearing masks in the supermarket etc, and bitching to my local MP that the health care worker doing treating my 84yr old father at home was not wearing a mask and refused to wear the new one provided…
I started to look on line to get backing to complain harder, and look where I ended up…..
please provide a link to the OM post, put a full stop at the start of the URL or it will revert to the post URL rather than the comment.
.https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-24-02-2022/#comment-1868202
Initial post 2.2.2
The coronavirus is not seasonal, it's 12 months a year
And for another point of view – where quality masks are used (N95).
Not much research on all year round viruses, because the most problematic ones are seasonal I presume…
The thrust of the post was to show that a person here who is certain masks worked cited a paper, and the paper claimed that the studies found they worked, but when I read them, well look back above
https://www.sott.net/article/434796-The-Science-is-Conclusive-Masks-and-Respirators-do-NOT-Prevent-Transmission-of-Viruses
In the article there are a number of links.
And some of them find no difference between surgical masks and N95's
As far as I have found, once you look down at actual studies, there is not much evidence they work, and a fair bit they don't
The twitter thread seemed to be just opinions without any references to research papers, cant see much of use. Any pointers to what I am missing?
I like this paper, because it is based around standard surgical masks in a very controlled setup with known machine generated aerosols, was not susceptible to the variabilities of how good people are at wearing mask, and looks at the physics of how and why the aerosols behave in tightly controlled lab experiments.
In their results "did not exhibit any significant level of resistance against penetration of virus under our experimental conditions (i.e., 0% filtration efficiency). "
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/country/462171/fonterra-lifts-forecast-farmgate-milk-price-to-record-midpoint-of-9-point-60-per-kg-milk-solids
Hmmm I wonder if this will quiet the groundswell whine….or give the low paid Dairy Farm slave…EMPLOYEES a pay rise ?
Yea right.
More money to buy a new ute to drive in the next protest to complain about the government destroying farming, their way of life and them.
Oh and how evil Ardern is.
Yes, I have mentioned my experience seeing ute after ute of scowling 30-50 year old males with their signs or flags in the first convoy to Wellington. Some of this demographic seems particularly triggered by seeing a successful woman in charge. That's my view. My partner's view is these huge ute/SUV drivers are buying to make up for a lack in the male appendage…..this from a male with a PhD. He has been annoyed about this for a while especially when the spare car in those days – heavy, diesel and unwieldy had to be used by wives./partners doing the school run in paean to the males appendage concern. No querying of the logic please.
No problem for using them for work purposes or for accessing the back country..
Short story about a workmate who took his brand new 4WD into the first service that he had to pay for after the 4WD came out of warranty. In Wellington. When he came to collect it they said 'no charge' Jack said 'But, but I am out of warranty and I pay from now on'. 'No you don't the boss says you're the first owner to come in for a week or more with a 4WD that has been out and about as it is designed for, and we've given it a complimentary oil change and clean'.
I don't think the 'ordinary' New Zealander realises how deep misogyny percolates through the veins of males in this country.
Personally, from my experience of a lifetime, I think NZ has been better governed by women than men (though Shipley gives me pause for thought!)
I agree about the misogyny. It never ceases to amaze me though…..I am often pulled up short by a misogynistic comment or joke from someone I expected better of.
'freedom' in the West…
'Denounce Putin or lose your job: Russian conductor Valery Gergiev given public ultimatum'
Denounce Putin or lose your job: Russian conductor Valery Gergiev given public ultimatum | Valery Gergiev | The Guardian
He's probably fearful of what happened to Alexander Litvinenko.
I'd take loosing my job.
The National Bank of the Ukraine allows you to donate to the Ukrainian military – I made a donation based on what I thought would be enough money to buy a Kalasnikov and ammunition.
I won't directly link to the bank's website because I know giving money to a country at war to directly buy weapons (rather than, say, donating to the red cross or something) could be regarded as a bit militant but it is easy enough to find.
Don't be a pussie – get over there and put your arse on the line rather than indulge in a pathetic no risk show of misguided conscience. When you go to sleep tonight, it is hoped you will visualize a Russian weapon in the hands of a Ukrainian kid with Rambo aspirations being gunned down as a threat to an older kid in a Russian uniform.
Obviously you didn't bother to view the clip that Adrian Thornton linked to.
Get over there? The ship leaving Wellington in the weekend is booked out. All those Freedom fighters whose antecedents embarked from the same place all those years ago to fight for freedom.
The freedom to complain about freedom.
.
Don't push Sanctuary any further … you have no idea what he suffered in 'Nam nor what he's capable of.
After 'Nam he became a troubled and misunderstood Vet (specialising in small animal surgery) who came to rely on his combat and survival skills to make his way in an increasingly uncaring & alienating modern world.
Push him too far & you'll trigger flashbacks of his time as a POW in Son Tay on the outskirts of Hanoi … and when an ex-Green Beret & recipient of the Medal of Honor like Sanc gets angry … trust me, you really don't want to be around.
He’s an expert at guerrilla warfare on Twitter and wilderness survival in the dark, depraved depths of the Blogosphere.
If pushed, Sanc will unleash Hell on this site.
Why no one here wants to actively defend the Ukrainian people, and instead just wants to slavishly follow the line of our government to do nothing, can only be answered by the high likelihood that they have no historical memory of what the international left used to believe and do.
Still, I'm sure tonight Kyiev residents huddled in train stations appreciate your thoughts and prayers.
.
My highly articulate, if somewhat cheap, outburst of First Blood-inspired sarcasm should not be taken as indicating in any way my views on Ukraine.
Suggesting Sanc is a Vietnam Vet & former POW who has come to rely on his combat and survival skills to make his way in an increasingly uncaring & alienating modern world, while specialising in small animal surgery … isn't quite the same as insisting we should just "slavishly follow the line of our government to do nothing" on Ukraine.
Nor, for that matter, that Chamberlain should have so easily given up the Sudetenland.
Sanc is old but not that old.
I managed to pull my Achilles running the dog this morning 🙁
You barely make sense these days.
Good grief so your happy to contribute to the bloodshed are you sanc ??Wonder how many landmines for example your donation might buy ?Would you still be happy if that was what your "donation " was gonna purchase ? Way to go good luck sleeping !!
With that attitude it is highly unlikely you are a citizen of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, or Moldova, or indeed Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, or Finland.
When the left are afraid of the sight of blood they have forgotten the fight to get here.
I've never done such a thing before although my German girlfriend at the time (quite a red firebrand she was) almost talked me into joining her to go off and defend the Sandinista revolution from the Contras in the mid-1980s.
I am not sure if it was the right thing to do, I am aware that I am helping to enable violence but what choice do the Ukrainians have? If there was a just war, it is their resistance to this act of aggression. But then again I remembered that my grandfather on my mothers side was a mate of Fred Robertson and knew Tom Spiller so I'd like to think I come from at least a tradition of standing up for peoples right to be free.
Anyway, Ukraine needs arms not alms and sometimes the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who sit on the fence.
Sanctuary you have just done a whole lot more than our government is.
With the United Kingdom, Germany, United States, Australia and more all sending weapons so that the Ukrainians have a chance to defend themselves at great risk to their lives, and all of them are generating independent sanctions against Russia since Russia is Chairing the UN Security Council at the moment, Ardern's government is looking just pathetic.
When Ardern announced that she was going to Europe she said:
“When we look back in 20 years’ time at this period in our country’s history, I don’t want people to just see Covid. I want them to see an economy and country that was fundamentally repositioned to become more sustainable and resilient and taking on the challenges of poverty, inequality, climate change and mental health, problems the world is grappling with."
Ardern to lead trade visits in 2022 to Australia, Asia, US and Europe (1news.co.nz)
Unfortunately the Queen of Mt Albert doesn't get to write the future.
She will now be asked by the EU leaders she meets there: how did you help defend us? Why should you get a free trade deal for that?
The left proudly defended others in Spain in the 1930s, and in New Zealand formed cross-Parliament Cabinets to unify their whole government. Where is the leader of Socialist Youth now?
Unfortunately we have a Prime Minister who is so brittle she can't cope with a few protesters on the front lawn, so we can't expect her to have the fortitude to deal with an actual war.
Anything NZ did would only be tokenism anyway….and she would then be criticised for…that.
How tiresome the argument is that "We're so tiny so we don't matter ."
Any of your people serve? Can you wear a medal to ANZAC Day parades?
Yes some of 'my' people did serve.
What does that prove?
Brave soldiers sent to die in Gallipoli with an ill thought out invasion of…Turkey.R.I.P
This conflict could easily have been avoided and the West is certainly not blameless.
It proves that being a small country doesn't let you off the hook from military action when it's needed.
Where Britain goes ,the sheep follow,while the ruling classes divvy up…the spoils.
Here's a putty medal for you…soldier boy.
Ad nothing stopping you from donating or going to Defend Ukraine.
Leaders lead by example and one thing Jacinda Ardern isn't is a whinger like you Ad.
That's not an argument that the Left want to hear when it comes to Climate Change.
I think it was Napoleon who said the flaw in his opponents was that they saw everything; He only saw one thing, his opponents main force and he went after that.
Too many on the left suffer a similar failing – they see everything, when sometimes you just need to see the main thing.
Oh dear Ad. What did Jacinda do to upset you so much. Did she ignore your advice or something?
Jacinda Ardern has proven she has "fortitude". Twice. The ChCh massacre, and the determination to lock down NZ when just about everyone else did not have the fortitude to do so. It proved to be the right decision despite all the brickbats thrown at her and her government at the time.
I don't blame Jacinda for the protesters on the front lawn. It is not her place – nor anyone else's – to interfere in police operational matters.
Direct your concern to the NZ police.
She was quite happy to get involved in the Police operational matters you mention.
Even the Mayor of Wellington met them, without drama.
The PM (whoever it may be) should never meet with a bunch of deluded, irrational idiots whose mode of operation is to lie, cheat, break the laws, bully and intimidate others and generally cause mayhem. Meeting with them is to give them oxygen they don't deserve.
With the exception of the opportunistic Seymour, I note neither Luxon, Shaw and Davidson have met with them either and no doubt for the same reason as Ardern.
Yes but she argues it is her job to meet and subsidize that bunch from Big Travel,and so she alone can fly to the US and Europe to save the world,and all in 60 minutes including ad breaks.
In a thread in open mike? A few days ago the was some discussion about freedom.
I and my family are basically vaccinated for everything except covid.
I am quite libertarian leaning, and heavily support the idea that individual rights are the most important.
So much data from government sources is inconsistent, or poorly organized or presented. Just look at the Scotland data (which they have stopped publishing) which seemed to show that double vaxxed were more than twice as likely to catch covid as the unvaxed and also more likely to be hospitalized than the unvaxed
[citation needed]
Pinning down a number for the risk of death by vax is even worse…
Nzmedasfe vax data (19 Feb to Nov 30), all causes death rate in 21 days from shot are HALF of “expected” but most notably in the 20 to 29 bracket for shot 2 , only 1/8 of the death rate…They say “one reason for the number of deaths in the vaccinated group appearing lower could be that the healthcare professionals of extremely frail patients give advice not to get vaccinated”
[citation needed]
(Say what ? Don't vax the vulnerable ???)
The way they are analyzing the data it is almost as if they do not want to find anything.
Other data indicate most of deaths from vax occure 5 days after the shot. Looking only at the 21 day 'average' helps hide any signal. Other countries looked at it by looking at days after shot to death, and a hump is visible, peaking at day 3-4 and back to close to normal after 7 days.
The above analysis issue is beyond bad, and these are the same people who are telling me the vax is safe…
Hell no will I trust them with the above sample of their work
Regarding the coercive vaccination program of 5 to 11 yr olds
CDC's 5 to 11 yr old annual death data
EwiKsKb7qJ_2AhV2T2wGHUAsADYQFnoECA4QAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fvaccines%2Facip%2Fmeetings%2Fdownloads%2Fslides-2021-11-2-3%2F03-Covid-Jefferson-508.pdf&usg=AOvVaw3nV3iS0xPt3zmJepV8kU2H
[repost proper link please
Deaths in children 5 to 11 per 100,000
Accidents 3.4
Malignant neoplasims 1.8
Cogeninatal abnormalities 1.0
Homocide 0.7
Heart disease 0.4
Chronic respitory 0.4
Influenza 0.3
Suicide 0.2
COVID 0.2
Cerebrovascular diseases 0.2
Septicemia 0.2
And about 85% of the deaths were in those with a pre existing comorbidity.
An act newsletter using the CDC data worked out that if all 5 to 11 yr olds in NZ caught covid, 0.16 healthy children will die
[is this online, please have a look and link]
In NZ on average 6 children are killed by drunk drivers each year.
So Jacinda is forcing a vaccine with uncertain risk of death, no long term safety data ( how can there be as there has not been time for it ) for a disease that they are at very low risk of dying from.
And then there is the obesity issue. 80% of all hospitalizations, deaths are in people who are obese.
[citation needed]
The risks for the obese from covid could be reduced by about the same margin as the vaccine achieves if they lost enough weight to get out of the danger zone.
The main reason for the mandates is to keep the death rate and hospitalization down, so in effect Jacinda is forcing healthy people to take an uncertain risk death by vax rather than forcing the fat to lose weight to achieve the same result.
And think of the health benefits to the ex obese, and the cost savings for the hospital system and us poor taxpayers
How about alcohol.
Because of those selfish people that want the freedom to drink, putting their hedonistic desire above community good, 6 children ( and many more adults) are killed each year in car car crashes, and cost the taxpayers millions for the cost of the injuries that also result.
So where should the balance be ?
Regards Hamish
[please provide the above links. You are now in premod until this is done, which means none of your other comments will appear until this is resolved. We have a robust debate ethic here, and this requires a high level of evidence for claims of fact on controversial matters. I’ve given you the guidelines in your post above, the onus is on you to do the work. Read the site Policy if you haven’t already – weka]
yea……thems a long lot of reckons. With no links. I call BS
Misinformation, dis-information, BS.
Those darn conspiracy theorists strike again
A deliberate misinterpretation!
Of course there are going to be more vaxxed people catching Covid than unvaxxed people you twat. Take New Zealand for example. 95% of the population are double vaxxed and only 5% unvaxxed. Get the picture?
The vaccine has never been sold as being able to prevent people catching Covid. But you are going to get a mild version of the disease with no long term consequences. A factor you choose to ignore.
From what I understand world-wide… the most serious cases resulting in death are almost always among the unvaxxed so… if you choose to take that risk then be it on yourself if you end up in hospital gravely ill.
I'm not sure you are worthy of this response but it just might ring a bell.
Probably nothing
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/20/health/the-cdc-isnt-publishing-large-portions-of-the-covid-data-it-collects.html
Might have got the wording a bit off.
My reason for mentioning the Scottish data was not as trying to show vax was inefective, but of how even the health system has problems with their data and interpretations of what it means.
I have a problem with people claiming certainty where the data is so ' all over the place'
Like with the medsafe page table 7
That table is screaming very loudly your assumptions or data are seriously messed up, and you have a lot of work to just figure out where you are going wrong
Ps scottish report
On phone with low data so going from memory, but in one of the tables, the unvaxed population jumps by 900,000
Unless it was in a previous report…
Any way they postulate that the unceryainty over the unvaxed population is the cause, but at a quick glance they would have to be out by 1 million un vaxedto make the vax look good, in a population of 5 million.
All was can be certain of is that they have no real idea of what is going on…
Well. I can be pretty certain you slept through stats in your high school maths class.
You are not on your own however.
There are a lot of scientists who have the skill and time to interrogate the data and extrapolate findings from that data. Their job is to pick out the important information and provide advice on that. Overwhelmingly they appear to support vaccination.
This is not meant to be a dig but I just don't think you have the capacity when working a farm and having limited internet connection to apply as much effort and experience to this data. For that reason I would be far more inclined to accept the advice of the experts in that field than the expert in your field.
Don't 'cultivate' the troll, Drowsy.
I am not trying to miss represent anything in the scottish data.
They were publishing RATES PER 100,000 of each distince sub population.
Their earlier tables also had the total population of each sub group week by week.
You look like you assume i am making the mistake of thinking that since there are more vaxed in hospital the vax is innefective….
Send me your address and I'll post you a roll of aluminium foil.
Hamish….do you really think a serious scientist like Siouxsie Wiles (among many others) is spinning us a web of lies?
I try and avoid assigning malice where mistakes, faulty assumptions or bad data could explain things.
Hamish the irony of your post.
"Serious scientist like Siouxsie Wiles" ….that's a good one! Needed a good laugh this morning.
Oh come on. The good professor has expressed concern at the gender bias in Lego figures. Surely being woke qualifies her as serious?
Not a Professor (yet; give her time), but Wiles' 'wokeness' must surely be why she was New Zealander of the Year in 2021.
New Zealander of the Year (2021), an academic, and a woman to (put the) boot (into) – say no more.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siouxsie_Wiles#Awards_and_recognition
Oh, the irony.
Wokeness is precisely why she would have been a shoe in for that award in the current political climate.
Just Gypsy bile, or are there no Kiwis more 'woke' than Wiles?
"The problem with wokeness is that it doesn’t inspire action; it freezes it. To be woke is first and foremost to put yourself on display. To make a problem seem massively intractable is to inspire separation — building a wall between you and the problem — not a solution."
Being that you haven't attributed this quote to anyone can we assume that it is one of your own deep musings?
The light blue font indicates it is a link. When you wand over the quote it indicates it is a link. Click on the text and you will be taken to the source.
Thanks for amplifying – so Gypsy bile (“anger, bitterness, or irritability“) it is. Wiles' pandemic advice inspired action on my part, but making “the science and pandemic clear and understandable” doesn't suit all agendas.
" so Gypsy bile (“anger, bitterness, or irritability“) it is. "
Clearly you didn't read the source, and therefore you haven't understood the context.
“Wiles’ pandemic advice inspired action on my part”
Which advice would that be? Her advice in January 2020 that “signs are – it’s not going to be as bad as SARS.” https://www.rnz.co.nz/summer-2020/unprecedented/news-makers/siouxsie-wiles/
The context of Dr Wiles' NZer of the Year award is the pandemic – if you can't bring yourself to acknowledge "her accessible and evidence-led commentary about staying safe during the pandemic", and prefer to espouse your shallow 'concerns' about 'wokeness', the floor is yours.
Wiles is a talking head. She is a 'trusted advisor' to the government, because for the most part she doesn't point out their shortcomings.
But as you asked:
"Curiously for a pair of prominent scientists, they responded to the professors’ assertion that, “Science is helping us battle worldwide crises such as Covid, global warming, carbon pollution, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation” with the baffling statement: “Putting science on a pedestal gets us no further in the solution of these crises.”
So this is a scientist who mused that Covid would not be as bad as SARS, and that we don't find solutions to issues such as Covid in science.
More Gypsy bile – she really has got your goat
mod note, please respond before posting any other comments.
Did a reply to you with all the links but I don't see it yet.
lol, it appeared just after I posted this…
Scottish data
Have an image of another earlier one but cant see how to get it into here and the url is broken.
It covered the peak where weekly cases were much higher, and had a unvaxed case rate of 958 per 100 k and double vaxed cases 1361 per 100 k for boosted
And no I am not making a basic mistake, that is the rate per 100k
unvaxed cases 9105 unvaxed population 988033 "ages standardised rate per 100,000" 958
The crude rate is 921on those numbers, so whatever they do to age standardise bumps it up to 958. Could be that young more likely to be unvaxed?
There are certainly wierd data being displayed as the unvaxed population in the PDF the link goes to has unvaxed population in the various tables
cases table 962k
hospitalization table 780k
death table 1,500K
Medsafe
CDC 4-11 yr old death data
Act newsletter. I was sent the news letter by a friend. Looked at Act website and did not see where to find it. May only go out to members?
But I had got the same answer using the CDC data, and the NZ population of 5 to 11 yr olds. before I saw the act newsletter.
Drink driving
Obesity
Hamish, a Scottish name; noun, from Old Scot for Hamster, from old Scot legend, dumb as a hamster, hamster; Small Scotland based rodent, found in unsanitary conditions living in its own shit surrounded by others of the same ilk, to be avoided at all cost as a strong vector for disease and contagious stupidity.
[don’t personally abuse commenters. If you don’t have an actual political point, then stop commenting. Count this as a warning – weka]
They also have a propensity to crawl down rabbit holes.
And once their they get stuck on the conspiracy wheel they are to dumb to climb off.
Dehumanization – Wikipedia
Bingo. This must be today’s current winner for the greatest number of dehumanising buzz words and phrases in a single sentence.
From Wiki -linked above:
thanks JS. I had missed that comment, moderated now.
mod note.
If we are the sheep, how come the idiots in Welly, Picton, Chch and Auckland are the ones sleeping on the grass?
P,s, and eating hay by the look of it!.
Hamish, you must be in a fantasy world if you think people are going to read your ramblings. Most people in the real world prefer to listen to a range of qualified scientists and medical experts.
As NZ's wave of Omicron cases continues to surge, BAU agitators were in full 'socialise the risks' cry this morning.
"Allow tourists to come home" now eh, when no one knows how far off the Omicron peak is, and with some challenging days ahead for our public health service.
Once Omicron has passed, and/or the relative risk of domestic versus tourist COVID changes, will the Nats change their tune? Don't bet on it.
Nats, advocating risk – during the worst phase of the pandemic in NZ so far – nuts! Most prospective tourists have more sense.
And as we hit peak covid and the availability of staff for hospitality, food supply, and supply chains reaches crisis point; causing places across the country to put up "closed" signs – great time to invite tourists.
Ah – but if tourists with Covid need to go into our (already stretched) hospitals we can make them pay. It's a revenue opportunity that could be privatised by say, persuading tourists to buy private Covid-specific health insurance that will cover any hospital costs in NZ. And why stop there? You could offer the same coverage to non-citizen, non-resident foreign students – maybe with extra high premiums if they stay in university halls of residence but lower premiums if they stay in private rentals owned by the same people offering the insurance?
Your mistake Macro is to view the world as a place where people need to live lives of meaning and purpose, not as one endless carnival of opportunities for private gain.
You are so right! Why didn't I see this.
Australia opened up to tourists a week ago, but I've only seen 2 so far on my wanderings and they might have been a couple of backpackers stuck here over the Covid period. All the tourist operators dependent on international tourism continue to wail but the weather here has done more damage than the nasty virus the last week, with half of the east coast under water. Think you would have to be very brave to be a tourist atm.
Have not read this but anyone else who has caught Covid, I was wondering if you have noticed the same as with my household ?
When showering your fingers immediately get that wrinkled/pruney state like when you have been in a spa or swam in the sea for a long period.
Lordie I thought that was just age.
Maybe I have it!
Wrinkly fingers help you get a grip – something some of the commenters here could do with.
😅
My drive to town is a 50 km round trip which happens a couple of times a week but on the last one I noticed hitchikers for the first time in a few years but be warned, they looked like refugees from Wellington, in the manner of dress and appearance and a bit haggard. I know this sounds alarmist and conspirational but they are more likely to be crook with covid than most others one would see out and about, so think twice about sharing your car for a long trip.
The Herald has a follow up article to the one I posted yesterday.
Child sex abuse claimants need more support in court – experts
A copy of the report 'It's A Lie' can be found here. It makes for an interesting read.
There's multiple transcripts in the report that will demonstrate the bullying nature of questioning.
It's clear that court guidelines for lawyers cross-examining children needs to be updated to avoid unnecessary and/or further harm.
You would have thought that after the utter shambles of the Christchurch Civic Creche case the courts could sort this kind of thing out
Guess not
Not a priority, I guess. Bet it's on a list somewhere though.
What a pity the complainant can't sue (once the offender is convicted) for the trauma inflicted by the accused choosing to go to trial and engaging in aggressive and intimidating cross-examination.
With both the offender (who authorized the abuse) and the lawyer (who inflicted it) liable.
Yes, I have mentioned my experience seeing ute after ute of scowling 30-50 year old males with their signs or flags in the first convoy to Wellington. Some of this demographic seems particularly triggered by seeing a successful woman in charge. That's my view. My partner's view is these huge ute/SUV drivers are buying to make up for a lack in the male appendage…..this from a male with a PhD. He has been annoyed about this for a while especially when the spare car in those days – heavy, diesel and unwieldy had to be used by wives./partners doing the school run in paean to the males appendage concern. No querying of the logic please.
No problem for using them for work purposes or for accessing the back country..
Short story about a workmate who took his brand new 4WD into the first service that he had to pay for after the 4WD came out of warranty. In Wellington. When he came to collect it they said 'no charge' Jack said 'But, but I am out of warranty and I pay from now on'. 'No you don't the boss says you're the first owner to come in for a week or more with a 4WD that has been out and about as it is designed for, and we've given it a complimentary oil change and clean'.
Another Covid vaccine to choose from. Hopefully those who had an objection to the mRNA technology will be able to use this one
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/03/covid-19-vaccine-novavax-approved-for-use-in-new-zealand.html
https://www.immune.org.nz/vaccines/vaccine-development/types-vaccines
Kudos to Efeso Collins. It seems he stared Labour down and won.
Someone for me to vote for without reservation.
Really?
Labour wanted a mayor who would tow their line, which is why they encouraged Richard Hills to stand. I'm sure they expected Efeso to bow out quietly, but he stared them down, knowing Labour would be splitting their vote if they endorsed someone else.
Richard Hills would have been Jacinda’s puppet, and would have been a disaster for Auckland. Collins, not so much.
Bomber explains the saga here: https://thedailyblog.co.nz/2022/03/01/oh-happy-day-auckland-establishment-left-forced-to-back-efeso-collins-as-mayor/
The one thing not clear to me, having read that, is who was the force actually with?? Who forced Labour into it? 🤔
It was probably that bloke Mr. Common Sense
Possibly, except for the disturbing lack of common sense apparent to anyone familiar with the trajectory of the Labour Party since the end of WWII.
I suspect this deity has been working quietly behind the scenes, deep within the subconscious of Labour minds:
You can see how her & her mate work together within Labour: it always takes time for them to figure out a necessity…
Hey thanks for the link. His claim that labour 'begged' Shearer to reconsider is an interesting one…just shows how desperate they were.
Who forced labour into it? Their own hubris. They thought they had a ready made and compliant candidate in Hills. Collins blindsided them and then refused to play ball. All power to him, although I'd rather central government parties kept their sticky beaks out of local government politics.
For those wanting to critique or support a podcast on Ivy League swimmer, Thomas.
Around 7:52 a mother of one of the female swimmers relates the support offered by the ACLU:
'Let me tell you a certainty, the ACLU will never offer support to cis women against women.'
Biological sex matters.
Women are considered an adjunct ((un)necessary evil) to their own sex category by the American Civil Liberties Union.
https://imgflip.com/i/5xxhew
https://rdln.wordpress.com/2022/03/01/doublespeak-nutty-ideas/
I have refrained from pointing this out when people say the parliament protesters are idiots for their weird beliefs. Thought the temperature was a little high on this topic so held back. But yes as GC or pro reality, it has occured to me those banging on about nutty ideas seem to accept the idea that women can have penises, which is up there with some of what these protesters believe imo
Apparently loss a smell and taste is not a common symptom of Omicron but is of previous strains according to Doctor Ashley at 1pm. Bugger I might have had it last week! Thought I only had a snotty.
FFS why was Ashley left out to front todays meeting on his own, 1st 1:00 pm bad news and no one from the government ? So on the 25/1 we were informed of our PCR testing capacity . Now on the 1st March we are now told this was not the case 5 WEEKS !!!!, and that only last week Ashley realised this. Yet on the 19/2 this delay was being reported.
Our personnel experience at home, after testing and being txted that as priority 1 results will be within 72 hours as there was already a confirmed household case. 6 Days later still no txted. The MoH and government had warning that the wave of 50,000 daily cases, was to hit during Waitangi weekend. What have they been doing with the time that we as a country have brought to prepare ?
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/461845/covid-19-pcr-tests-auckland-results-taking-up-to-five-days-to-process
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/460181/covid-19-testing-capacity-increased-with-rapid-antigen-and-robots
"1st 1:00 pm bad news and no one from the government?"
Are you really so naive? When you put in the words "bad news" the "no one from the government" seems almost a certainty.
Haven't you ever heard that comment by JFK after the Bay of Pigs? "Victory has 100 fathers and defeat is an orphan".
I like that JFK quote 👍🏾
I do think highly of how Ashley as conducted himself – He just keeps on fronting up. I hope sometime in the near future he can go where ever he and his family have a dream to visit, experience and remove himself from all the goings of the world and relax and enjoy himself (Also many of his team same comment) for an extended vacation. He is a vessel for the politicians to use unfortunately.
It certainly seems as though the capacity of the system to cope with the PCR tests has been wildly overestimated.
Verrell should carry a lot of the blame for this one. As a specialist in this area, she should have known what questions to ask, and how to interpret the answers.
As recently as the 25th of January she was confidently touting the ability to cope with sustained testing at 58 thousand, with surge capacity to 77 thousand.
https://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/testing-improvements-see-new-zealand-well-prepared-omicron
She has absolutely opened the government up to accusations of misleading NZ.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/politics/2022/02/covid-19-government-accused-of-misleading-kiwis-over-testing-capacity-as-lab-worker-union-says-some-tests-won-t-be-processed.html
In these troubled times we could all do with some classic, timeless entertainment.
Good song, not quite light entertainment but still a good song
Poots nuke announcement got me thinking about nuclear songs. Two Suns, Two Tribes and 99 Luftballoons came to mind but after some googling I realised just how many songs about nukes there are.
It appears that claims that vaccine RNA would not enter the cell nucleus were false.
An accepted and published Swedish study demonstrates for the first time the presence of Pfizer-BionTech vaccine in liver cells.
https://techstartups.com/2022/02/26/new-swedish-study-shows-pfizer-vaccine-becomes-dna-liver-cells-fast-6-hours-vitro/
Dr Been discusses the risk of autoimmune hepatitis
Excellent. Permanent immunity!
An interesting article outlining why the Russian army is struggling in Ukraine:
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/02/no-youre-not-imagining-it-russias-army-is-inept.html
"The Russian army has always been bad at setting up and sustaining supply lines. Gen. Omar Bradley once said about different types of military officers, “Amateurs talk strategy, professionals talk logistics.”* In that sense, Russians are amateurs. This is well known. It is why Ukrainian soldiers explicitly attacked the Russian supply lines. It’s why so many tanks and other vehicles have been spotted stuck on the side of a road.''
I do feel sorry for the young, poorly trained, Russian soldiers who are poorly motivated, don't know why they are there, and, in some cases, don't even know where they are.
"'There is a larger factor here: The Russian army is composed, by and large, of one-year conscripts, who are poorly trained (even within the confines of Russian military training), badly treated, and uninspired by ideology or any other motivating spirit. Hence the stories of captured Russian troops who had no idea why they were in Ukraine. At least a few didn’t even know that they were in Ukraine—they thought they were still doing exercises in Belarus. Others have reportedly been found knocking on village doors for food or, in one case, asking a local police station for fuel.''
Whatever happened to these chaps?
“This is … the first day of your new life.” “Here pain makes you stronger, scars are a daily occurrence … without an enemy there is no battle, and without a battle there is no victory. But in reality, the main enemy … is you, the you from yesterday.”