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.”
New Zealand is again having to reconcile conflicting pressures from its military and its trade interests. Should we join Pillar Two of AUKUS and risk compromising our markets in China? For a century after New Zealand was founded in 1840, its external security arrangements and external economics arrangements were aligned. ...
The ‘50 Shades of Green’ farmers’ protest in 2019 was heavy on climate change denial, but five years on, scepticism and criticism about the idea that pine forests can save us is growing across the board. File photo: Lynn GrievesonTL;DR: Here’s the top six news items of note in climate ...
This morning the sky was bright.The birds, in their usual joyous bliss. Nature doesn’t seem to feel the heat of what might angst humans.Their calls are clear and beautiful.Just some random thoughts:MāoriPaul Goldsmith has announced his government will roll back the judiciary’s rulings on Māori Customary Marine Title, which recognises ...
In 2003, the Court of Appeal delivered its decision in Ngati Apa v Attorney-General, ruling that Māori customary title over the foreshore and seabed had not been universally extinguished, and that the Māori Land Court could determine claims and confirm title if the facts supported it. This kicked off the ...
Earlier this week at Parliament, Labour leader Chris Hipkins was applauded for saying that the response to the final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care had to be “bigger than politics.” True, but the fine words, apologies and “we hear you” messages will soon ring ...
TL;DR: In news breaking this morning:The Ministry of Education is cutting $2 billion from its school building programme so the National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government has enough money to deliver tax cuts; The Government has quietly lowered its child poverty reduction targets to make them easier to achieve;Te Whatu Ora-Health NZ’s ...
Kia ora. These are some stories that caught our eye this week – as always, feel free to share yours in the comments. Our header image this week (via Eke Panuku) shows the planned upgrade for the Karanga Plaza Tidal Swimming Steps. The week in Greater Auckland On ...
1. What's not to love about the way the Harris campaign is turning things around?a. Nothingb. Love all of itc. God what a reliefd. Not that it will be by any means easye. All of the above 2. Documents released by the Ministry of Health show Associate Health Minister Casey ...
Trust in me in all you doHave the faith I have in youLove will see us through, if only you trust in meWhy don't you, you trust me?In a week that saw the release of the 3,000 page Abuse in Care report Christopher Luxon was being asked about Boot Camps. ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking about the Royal Commission Inquiry into Abuse in Carereport released this week, and with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent on a UN push to not recognise carbon offset markets and ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 26, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Transport: Simeon Brown announced$802.9 million in funding for 18 new trains on the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines, which ...
The northern expressway extension from Warkworth to Whangarei is likely to require radical changes to legislation if it is going to be built within the foreseeable future. The Government’s powers to purchase land, the planning process and current restrictions on road tolling are all going to need to be changed ...
Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when publishedFirst they came for the doctors But I was confused by the numbers and costs So I didn't speak up Then they came for our police and nurses And I didn't think we could afford those costs anyway So I ...
Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on UnsplashWe’re back again after our mid-winter break. We’re still with the ‘new’ day of the week (Thursday rather than Friday) when we have our ‘hoon’ webinar with paying subscribers to The Kākā for an hour at 5 pm.Jump on this link on YouTube Livestream ...
Notes: This is a free article. Abuse in Care themes are mentioned. Video is at the bottom.BackgroundYesterday’s report into Abuse in Care revealed that at least 1 in 3 of all who went through state and faith based care were abused - often horrifically. At least, because not all survivors ...
Luxon speaks in Parliament yesterday about the Abuse in Care report. Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:PM Christopher Luxon said yesterday in tabling the Abuse in Carereport in Parliament he wanted to ‘do the ...
About a decade ago I worked with a bloke called Steve. He was the grizzled veteran coder, a few years older than me, who knew where the bodies were buried - code wise. Despite his best efforts to be approachable and friendly he could be kind of gruff, through to ...
Some of the recent announcements from the government have reminded us of posts we’ve written in the past. Here’s one from early 2020. There were plenty of reactions to the government’s infrastructure announcement a few weeks ago which saw them fund a bunch of big roading projects. One of ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Thursday, July 25 are:News: Why Electric Kiwi is closing to new customers - and why it matters RNZ’s Susan EdmundsScoop: Government drops ...
Hi,I felt a small wet tongue snaking through one of the holes in my Crocs. It explored my big toe, darting down one side, then the other. “He’s looking for some toe cheese,” said the woman next to me, words that still haunt me to this day.Growing up in New ...
Yesterday I happily quoted the Prime Minister without fact-checking him and sure enough, it turns out his numbers were all to hell. It’s not four kg of Royal Commission report, it’s fourteen.My friend and one-time colleague-in-comms Hazel Phillips gently alerted me to my error almost as soon as I’d hit ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Thursday, July 25, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day were:The Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquirypublished its final report yesterday.PM Christopher Luxon and The Minister responsible for ...
The Official Information Act has always been a battle between requesters seeking information, and governments seeking to control it. Information is power, so Ministers and government agencies want to manage what is released and when, for their own convenience, and legality and democracy be damned. Their most recent tactic for ...
TL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:Transport and Energy Minister Simeon Brown is accelerating plans to spend at least $10 billion through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) to extend State Highway One as a four-lane ‘Expressway’ from Warkworth to Whangarei ...
I live my life (woo-ooh-ooh)With no control in my destinyYea-yeah, yea-yeah (woo-ooh-ooh)I can bleed when I want to bleedSo come on, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)You can bleed when you want to bleedYea-yeah, come on (woo-ooh-ooh)Everybody bleed when they want to bleedCome on and bleedGovernments face tough challenges. Selling unpopular decisions to ...
Please note:To skip directly to the- parliamentary footage in the video, scroll to 1:21 To skip to audio please click on the headphone iconon the left hand side of the screenThis video / audio section is under development. ...
Given the crackdown on wasteful government spending, it behooves me to point to a high profile example of spending by the Luxon government that looks like a big, fat waste of time and money. I’m talking about the deployment of NZDF personnel to support the US-led coalition in the Red ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:40 am on Wednesday, July 24 are:Deep Dive: Chipping away at the housing crisis, including my comments RNZ/Newsroom’s The DetailNews: Government softens on asset sales, ...
As I reported about the city centre, Auckland’s rail network is also going through a difficult and disruptive period which is rapidly approaching a culmination, this will result in a significant upgrade to the whole network. Hallelujah. Also like the city centre this is an upgrade predicated on the City ...
Today, a 4 kilogram report will be delivered to Parliament. We know this is what the report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care weighs, because our Prime Minister told us so.Some reporter had blindsided him by asking a question about something done by ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Wednesday, July 24, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Beehive:Transport Minister Simeon Brownannounced plans to use PPPs to fund, build and run a four-lane expressway between Auckland ...
NewstalkZB host Mike Hosking, who can usually be relied on to give Prime Minister Christopher Luxon an easy run, did not do so yesterday when he interviewed him about the HealthNZ deficit. Luxon is trying to use a deficit reported last year by HealthNZ as yet another example of the ...
Back in January a StatsNZ employee gave a speech at Rātana on behalf of tangata whenua in which he insulted and criticised the government. The speech clearly violated the principle of a neutral public service, and StatsNZ started an investigation. Part of that was getting an external consultant to examine ...
Renting for life: Shared ownership initiatives are unlikely to slow the slide in home ownership by much. Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy today are:A Deloittereport for Westpac has projected Aotearoa’s home-ownership rate will ...
You're broken down and tiredOf living life on a merry go roundAnd you can't find the fighterBut I see it in you so we gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsWe gonna walk it outAnd move mountainsAnd I'll rise upI'll rise like the dayI'll rise upI'll rise unafraidI'll rise upAnd I'll ...
There’s been a change in Myers Park. Down the steps from St. Kevin’s Arcade, past the grassy slopes, the children’s playground, the benches and that goat statue, there has been a transformation. The underpass for Mayoral Drive has gone from a barren, grey, concrete tunnel, to a place that thrums ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections Global society may have finally slammed on the brakes for climate-warming pollution released by human fossil fuel combustion. According to the Carbon Monitor Project, the total global climate pollution released between February and May 2024 declined slightly from the amount released during the same ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Tuesday, July 23 are:Deep Dive: Penlink: where tolling rhetoric meets reality BusinessDesk-$$$’sOliver LewisScoop:Te Pūkenga plans for regional polytechs leak out ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Tuesday, July 23, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:Health: Shane Reti announcedthe Board of Te Whatu Ora-Health New Zealand was being replaced with Commissioner Lester Levy ...
Health NZ warned the Government at the end of March that it was running over Budget. But the reasons it gave were very different to those offered by the Prime Minister yesterday. Prime Minister Christopher Luxon blamed the “botched merger” of the 20 District Health Boards (DHBs) to create Health ...
Long ReadKey Summary: Although National increased the health budget by $1.4 billion in May, they used an old funding model to project health system costs, and never bothered to update their pre-election numbers. They were told during the Health Select Committees earlier in the year their budget amount was deficient, ...
As a momentous, historic weekend in US politics unfolded, analysts and commentators grasped for precedents and comparisons to help explain the significance and power of the choice Joe Biden had made. The 46th president had swept the Democratic party’s primaries but just over 100 days from the election had chosen ...
TL;DR: I’m casting around for new ideas and ways of thinking about Aotearoa’s political economy to find a few solutions to our cascading and self-reinforcing housing, poverty and climate crises.Associate Professor runs an online masters degree in the economics of sustainability at Torrens University in Australia and is organising ...
The Finance and Expenditure Committee has reported back on National's Local Government (Water Services Preliminary Arrangements) Bill. The bill sets up water for privatisation, and was introduced under urgency, then rammed through select committee with no time even for local councils to make a proper submission. Naturally, national's select committee ...
Some years ago, I bought a book at Dunedin’s Regent Booksale for $1.50. As one does. Vandrad the Viking (1898), by J. Storer Clouston, is an obscure book these days – I cannot find a proper online review – but soon it was sitting on my shelf, gathering dust alongside ...
History is not on the side of the centre-left, when Democratic presidents fall behind in the polls and choose not to run for re-election. On both previous occasions in the past 75 years (Harry Truman in 1952, Lyndon Johnson in 1968) the Democrats proceeded to then lose the White House ...
This is a free articleCoverageThis morning, US President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the Presidential race. And that is genuinely newsworthy. Thanks for your service, President Biden, and all the best to you and yours.However, the media in New Zealand, particularly the 1News nightly bulletin, has been breathlessly covering ...
A homeless person’s camp beside a blocked-off slipped damage walkway in Freeman’s Bay: we are chasing our tail on our worsening and inter-related housing, poverty and climate crises. Photo: Photo: Lynn Grieveson / The KākāTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy ...
What has happened to it all?Crazy, some'd sayWhere is the life that I recognise?(Gone away)But I won't cry for yesterdayThere's an ordinary worldSomehow I have to findAnd as I try to make my wayTo the ordinary worldYesterday morning began as many others - what to write about today? I began ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 7:00 am on Monday, July 22 are:Today’s Must Read: Father and son live in a tent, and have done for four years, in a million ...
TL;DR: As of 7:00 am on Monday, July 22, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:US President Joe Biden announced via X this morning he would not stand for a second term.Multinational professional services firm ...
A listing of 32 news and opinion articles we found interesting and shared on social media during the past week: Sun, July 14, 2024 thru Sat, July 20, 2024. Story of the week As reflected by preponderance of coverage, our Story of the Week is Project 2025. Until now traveling ...
This weekend, a friend pointed out someone who said they’d like to read my posts, but didn’t want to pay. And my first reaction was sympathy.I’ve already told folks that if they can’t comfortably subscribe, and would like to read, I’d be happy to offer free subscriptions. I don’t want ...
National: The Party of ‘Law and Order’ IntroductionThis weekend, the Government formally kicked off one of their flagship policy programs: a military style boot camp that New Zealand has experimented with over the past 50 years. Cartoon credit: Guy BodyIt’s very popular with the National Party’s Law and Orderimage, ...
Day one of the solo leg of my long journey home begins with my favourite sound: footfalls in an empty street. 5.00 am and it’s already light and already too warm, almost.If I can make the train that leaves Budapest later this hour I could be in Belgrade by nightfall; ...
Do you remember Y2K, the threat that hung over humanity in the closing days of the twentieth century? Horror scenarios of planes falling from the sky, electronic payments failing and ATMs refusing to dispense cash. As for your VCR following instructions and recording your favourite show - forget about it.All ...
Climate Change Minister Simon Watts being questioned by The Kākā’s Bernard Hickey.TL;DR: My top six things to note around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the week to July 20 were:1. A strategy that fails Zero Carbon Act & Paris targetsThe National-ACT-NZ First Coalition Government finally unveiled ...
Summary:As New Zealand loses at least 12 leaders in the public service space of health, climate, and pharmaceuticals, this month alone, directly in response to the Government’s policies and budget choices, what lies ahead may be darker than it appears. Tui examines some of those departures and draws a long ...
The Minister of Housing’s ambition is to reduce markedly the ratio of house prices to household incomes. If his strategy works it would transform the housing market, dramatically changing the prospects of housing as an investment.Leaving aside the Minister’s metaphor of ‘flooding the market’ I do not see how the ...
As previously noted, my historical fantasy piece, set in the fifth-century Mediterranean, was accepted for a Pirate Horror anthology, only for the anthology to later fall through. But in a good bit of news, it turned out that the story could indeed be re-marketed as sword and sorcery. As of ...
An employee of tobacco company Philip Morris International demonstrates a heated tobacco device. Photo: Getty ImagesTL;DR: The top six things I’ve noted around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy on Friday, July 19 are:At a time when the Coalition Government is cutting spending on health, infrastructure, education, housing ...
TL;DR: My pick of the top six links elsewhere around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day or so to 8:30 am on Friday, July 19 are:Scoop: NZ First Minister Casey Costello orders 50% cut to excise tax on heated tobacco products. The minister has ...
Kia ora, it’s time for another Friday roundup, in which we pull together some of the links and stories that caught our eye this week. Feel free to add more in the comments! Our header image this week shows a foggy day in Auckland town, captured by Patrick Reynolds. ...
TL;DR : Here’s the top six items climate news for Aotearoa this week, as selected by Bernard Hickey and The Kākā’s climate correspondent Cathrine Dyer. A discussion recorded yesterday is in the video above and the audio of that sent onto the podcast feed.The Government released its draft Emissions Reduction ...
Save some money, get rich and old, bring it back to Tobacco Road.Bring that dynamite and a crane, blow it up, start all over again.Roll up. Roll up. Or tailor made, if you prefer...Whether you’re selling ciggies, digging for gold, catching dolphins in your nets, or encouraging folks to flutter ...
Waiting In The Wings:For truly, if Trump is America’s un-assassinated Caesar, then J.D. Vance is America’s Octavian, the Republic’s youthful undertaker – and its first Emperor.DONALD TRUMP’S SELECTION of James D. Vance as his running-mate bodes ill for the American republic. A fervent supporter of Viktor Orban, the “illiberal” prime ...
TL;DR: As of 6:00 am on Friday, July 19, the top six announcements, speeches, reports and research around housing, climate and poverty in Aotearoa’s political economy in the last day are:The PSAannounced the Employment Relations Authority (ERA) had ruled in the PSA’s favour in its case against the Ministry ...
TL;DR: The podcast above of the weekly ‘hoon’ webinar for paying subscribers last night features co-hosts and talking with:The Kākā’s climate correspondent talking about the National-ACT-NZ First Government’s release of its first Emissions Reduction Plan;University of Otago Foreign Relations Professor and special guest Dr Karin von ...
Open access notablesImproving global temperature datasets to better account for non-uniform warming, Calvert, Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society:To better account for spatial non-uniform trends in warming, a new GITD [global instrumental temperature dataset] was created that used maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) to combine the land surface ...
A late change to charter school legislation will cheat educators out of fair pay and negotiating power proving charter schools are just a vehicle to make profit out of our education system. ...
In 2004 te iwi Māori rallied against the Crown’s attempt to confiscate our coastlines and moana with the Foreshore and Seabed Act. This led to the largest hīkoi of a generation and the birth of Te Pāti Māori. 20 years later, history is repeating itself. Today the government has announced ...
It has been five and a half years since the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care was established to investigate the abuse of children, young people, and vulnerable adults within state and faith-based institutions. Yesterday, the final report - Whanaketia through pain and trauma, from darkness to light ...
The Green Party is calling on the Government to take action off the back of the International Court of Justice ruling on Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine. ...
On Friday the International Court of Justice reaffirmed what Palestinian’s have been telling us for decades: that the occupation and colonisation of Palestinian lands by Israel is illegal and must end immediately. They also called for reparations for Palestinian’s who have lived under Israeli occupation since it began in 1967. ...
Labour calls on the Government to act after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territories is illegal. ...
The 53.7 percent rise in benefit sanctions over the last year is more proof of this Government’s disdain for our communities most in need of support. ...
Aotearoa could be a country where every child grows up feeling safe, loved and with a sense of belonging in their whānau and community. But for some of our children, this is far from reality. Instead, they are trapped in a maze of intergenerational harm that they can’t escape on ...
Te Pāti Māori are calling for David Seymour to resign as Associate Health Minister in response to his call for Pharmac to ignore the Treaty of Waitangi. “This announcement is just another example of the government’s anti-Tiriti, anti-Māori agenda.” Said Co-leader and spokesperson for health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. “Seymour thinks it ...
The soaring price of renting is driving the rise of inflation in this country - with latest figures from Stats NZ showing rents are up 4.8 per cent on average while annual inflation is at 3.3 per cent. ...
National’s Emissions Reduction Plan will take New Zealand further from the economy we need to ensure the next generation has a stable climate and secure livelihoods. ...
Following consultation with named parties and thorough consideration of privacy interests, the Green Party is in a position to release the Executive Summary of the final report from the independent investigation into Darleen Tana. ...
Prime Minister Christopher Luxon should be asking serious questions of his Minister for Resources Shane Jones now it’s been revealed he misled the public about a dinner with mining companies that he didn’t declare and said wasn’t pre-arranged. ...
Te Pāti Māori have submitted to the Justice Select Committee against the Sentencing (Reinstating Three Strikes) Amendment Bill. The bill will further entrench racism in our justice system and fails to focus on rehabilitation. “Reinstating Three Strikes will empower a systematically racist system and exacerbate the overrepresentation of Māori in ...
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee is set to make a determination on the Residential Tenancies Amendment (RTA) Bill in the coming weeks. “This legislation will give landlords the power to kick our whānau out onto the street for no reason” said Housing spokesperson, Mariameno Kapa-Kingi. “Their solution to the housing ...
“National’s campaign was about tackling crime and the best they can do is a two-year long Ministerial Advisory Group,” Labour justice spokesperson Duncan Webb said. ...
“There are more examples of charter schools failing their students than there are success stories. The coalition Government is driving to dismantle our public school system and instead promote a privatised, competitive structure that puts profits before kids,” Jan Tinetti said. ...
“This government is choosing to deliberately mislead and withhold information, keeping our people in the dark about this government’s agenda and the future of our mokopuna,” said co-leader and spokesperson for Health, Debbie Ngarewa-Packer. The call comes after the demand from the Chief Ombudsman that Associate Minister of Health, Casey ...
“Today’s climate announcement by Simon Watts makes clear the National Government is simply paying lip service to meeting its climate change targets,” Megan Woods said. ...
National is choosing to make life harder for workers by taking away the rights our communities have fought hard for. Here's how they’re taking workers backwards. ...
Australia, Canada and New Zealand today issued the following statement on the need for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza and the risk of expanded conflict between Hizballah and Israel. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic. The human suffering is unacceptable. It cannot continue. We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of ...
Attorney-General Judith Collins today reminded all State and faith-based institutions of their legal obligation to preserve records relevant to the safety and wellbeing of those in its care. “The Abuse in Care Inquiry’s report has found cases where records of the most vulnerable people in State and faith‑based institutions were ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government’s online safety website for children and young people has reached one million page views. “It is great to see so many young people and their families accessing the site Keep It Real Online to learn how to stay safe online, and manage ...
Tēnā tātou katoa, Ngā mihi te rangi, ngā mihi te whenua, ngā mihi ki a koutou, kia ora mai koutou. Thank you for the opportunity to be here and the invitation to speak at this 50th anniversary conference. I acknowledge all those who have gone before us and paved the ...
New Zealand’s payroll providers have successfully prepared to ensure 3.5 million individuals will, from Wednesday next week, be able to keep more of what they earn each pay, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis and Revenue Minister Simon Watts. “The Government's tax policy changes are legally effective from Wednesday. Delivering this tax ...
An experimental vineyard which will help futureproof the wine sector has been opened in Blenheim by Associate Regional Development Minister Mark Patterson. The covered vineyard, based at the New Zealand Wine Centre – Te Pokapū Wāina o Aotearoa, enables controlled environmental conditions. “The research that will be produced at the Experimental ...
The Coalition Government has confirmed the indicative regional breakdown of North Island Weather Event (NIWE) funding for state highway recovery projects funded through Budget 2024, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “Regions in the North Island suffered extensive and devastating damage from Cyclone Gabrielle and the 2023 Auckland Anniversary Floods, and ...
Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, will visit New Zealand next week, Foreign Minister Winston Peters has announced. “Indonesia is important to New Zealand’s security and economic interests and is our closest South East Asian neighbour,” says Mr Peters, who is currently in Laos to engage with South East Asian partners. ...
He aha te kai a te rangatira? He kōrero, he kōrero, he kōrero. The government has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the aspirations of Ngāti Maniapoto, Minister for Māori Development Tama Potaka says. “My thanks to Te Nehenehenui Trust – Ngāti Maniapoto for bringing their important kōrero to a ministerial ...
Transport Minister Simeon Brown has thanked outgoing Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority, Janice Fredric, for her service to the board.“I have received Ms Fredric’s resignation from the role of Chair of the Civil Aviation Authority,” Mr Brown says.“On behalf of the Government, I want to thank Ms Fredric for ...
The Government is proposing legislation to overturn a Court of Appeal decision and amend the Marine and Coastal Area Act in order to restore Parliament’s test for Customary Marine Title, Treaty Negotiations Minister Paul Goldsmith says. “Section 58 required an applicant group to prove they have exclusively used and occupied ...
Regulation Minister David Seymour says that opposition parties have united in bad faith, opposing what they claim are ‘dangerous changes’ to the Early Childhood Education sector, despite no changes even being proposed yet. “Issues with affordability and availability of early childhood education, and the complexity of its regulation, has led ...
After receiving more than 740 submissions in the first 20 days, Regulation Minister David Seymour is asking the Ministry for Regulation to extend engagement on the early childhood education regulation review by an extra two weeks. “The level of interest has been very high, and from the conversations I’ve been ...
The Coalition Government is investing $802.9 million into the Wairarapa and Manawatū rail lines as part of a funding agreement with the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA), KiwiRail, and the Greater Wellington and Horizons Regional Councils to deliver more reliable services for commuters in the lower North Island, Transport Minister Simeon ...
Local Government Minister Simeon Brown has announced his intention to appoint a Crown Manager to both Hawke’s Bay Regional and Wairoa District Councils to speed up the delivery of flood protection work in Wairoa."Recent severe weather events in Wairoa this year, combined with damage from Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023 have ...
Mr Speaker, this is a day that many New Zealanders who were abused in State care never thought would come. It’s the day that this Parliament accepts, with deep sorrow and regret, the Report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care. At the heart of this report are the ...
For the first time, the Government is formally acknowledging some children and young people at Lake Alice Psychiatric Hospital experienced torture. The final report of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State and Faith-based Care “Whanaketia – through pain and trauma, from darkness to light,” was tabled in Parliament ...
The Government has acknowledged the nearly 2,400 courageous survivors who shared their experiences during the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Historical Abuse in State and Faith-Based Care. The final report from the largest and most complex public inquiry ever held in New Zealand, the Royal Commission Inquiry “Whanaketia – through ...
With a week to go before hard-working New Zealanders see personal income tax relief for the first time in fourteen years, 513,000 people have used the Budget tax calculator to see how much they will benefit, says Finance Minister Nicola Willis. “Tax relief is long overdue. From next Wednesday, personal income ...
Workplace Relations and Safety Minister Brooke van Velden says a bill that has passed its first reading will improve parental leave settings and give non-biological parents more flexibility as primary carer for their child. The Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill (No3), passed its first reading this morning. “It includes a change ...
Two Bills designed to improve regulation and make it easier to do business have passed their first reading in Parliament, says Economic Development Minister Melissa Lee. The Regulatory Systems (Economic Development) Amendment Bill and Regulatory Systems (Immigration and Workforce) Amendment Bill make key changes to legislation administered by the Ministry ...
New legislation paves the way for greater competition in sectors such as banking and electricity, Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Andrew Bayly says. “Competitive markets boost productivity, create employment opportunities and lift living standards. To support competition, we need good quality regulation but, unfortunately, a recent OECD report ranked New ...
Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says lotteries for charitable purposes, such as those run by the Heart Foundation, Coastguard NZ, and local hospices, will soon be allowed to operate online permanently. “Under current laws, these fundraising lotteries are only allowed to operate online until October 2024, after which ...
The Coalition Government is accelerating work on the new four-lane expressway between Auckland and Whangārei as part of its Roads of National Significance programme, with an accelerated delivery model to deliver this project faster and more efficiently, Transport Minister Simeon Brown says. “For too long, the lack of resilient transport connections ...
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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).
https://twitter.com/wallacelchapman/status/1498100402604044288
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![laugh laugh](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/teeth_smile.png?x42494)
https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-01-03-2022/#comment-1870156
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.![laugh laugh](https://cdn2.thestandard.org.nz/wp-content/plugins/ark-wysiwyg-comment-editor/ckeditor/plugins/smiley/images/teeth_smile.png?x42494)
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.”