They were of no use long ago because of their inaccuracy. When the number of cases of covid in the community was tiny, a positive covid results was nearly 100% likely to be wrong. It was just sending well people home to isolate. There only use was in high risk areas such as at the border.
They are of more use now that PCR testing is getting overwhelmed in Auckland and the rates in the community are much higher. I know of someone who got a negative RAT and a positive PCR.
Yup. RATs have some limited value once things have gone pear-shaped. They'll maybe stop some symptomless Covid-positive people from wandering around and unwittingly infecting other people. That might slow the velocity of an outbreak somewhat – maybe. But it's only mitigation – RATS have no place in the important work of trying to stop things going pear-shaped to begin with.
No difference. Two wrongs don't make a right. The people of the Ukraine have an absolute right to self-determination and their cultural identity, AKA freedom.
This is what freedom actually means rather than being annoyed at having to wear a mask in a pandemic, and tens of thousands of people just like you and me are preparing to kill and be killed for it as we speak.
"The people of the Ukraine have an absolute right to self-determination"
sounds fine, but has never ever ever been put into practice.. that sentence is total nonsense
even in our own common law there are countless duties one owes to one's neighbours… nobody has the right to do whatever they wish, particularly when that involves putting said neighbour at risk
ffs this is so basic it shouldn't even need to be said
I will use some made up numbers for ease of clarity and simplicity, to clarify the misunderstanding
Covid data for Mars for the past week
Unvaccinated
Population 1,000,000
Cases 10,000
Rate per 100k 1,000
Two doses
Population 1,500,000
Cases 38,000
Rate per 100k 2,533
In this example the vaccinated are catching covid at 2.5 time the rate as the unvaccinated, ( or more than twice as likely to catch covid.. )
The Scottish data ( this is an overview, exact numbers unimportant ) from October consistently showed the double vaxxed and boosted were far better off than the unvaccinated in all categories, but as the Omicron wave hit, and vaccine effectiveness fell, there was a change in the relative rates, and by early January, the bias showed the other way, with higher rates for the double vaxed over unvaxed for cases, hospital admission and death, but the boosted still had better rates.
They were concerned that people would mis-interpret that data as showing the vaccine was worse than ineffective.
They suggested part of the problem was ‘it has its limitations when people leave Scotland and do not inform ‘
So lets run Mars again, but with a corrected population to match the 'error' because some people left without letting the govt know.
Unvaccinated
Population 400,000
Cases 10,000
Rate per 100k 2,5000
Two doses
Population 1,500,000
Cases 38,000
Rate per 100k 2,533
So to make the vaccine look like it is not negative, 600,000 unvaccinated would have to leave without telling the govt.
The first set of numbers for Mars are actually pretty close to Scottish numbers from dec 25 to 31
It is interesting that I saw no mention of what I would be the most significant confounder that makes the vaccine look bad. Unvaccinated not bothering to get tested !
Failure to test is very defiantly happening here ( I know, because unvaxed friends said they would not bother as there was no benefit to getting tested. )
The Scottish data is a mess…. and If they publish such a mess and people get the wrong idea, whose fault is it? And when it changes from looking good to looking bad and they stop publishing it, they are going to look like they are trying to hide something.
Beautiful practical example of how to get people to distrust you.
They ( and people here ) want me to just trust them because they are the experts.
First cautionary tale, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study by the US public health service. They lied to a group of people with syphilis that they would treat them for free as if they joined the study.
But the 'experts' instead gave them placebos and watched 128 die.
I saw no reference in the wiki page to any experts going to jail…..
Then there is Pfizer, which has paid billions in fines for violating laws, but none of the people ever go to jail, they get to keep their bonuses.
I could have more trust if the people involved were rotting in jail…
A rather important number….Look down near the bottom for this section where they looked all cause death data,
Over large numbers this is a useful tool, and in the past has found problems that would not be observed in other ways.
However they observed half the expected number of deaths.
This is a screaming alarm that they have some serious issues with either their data, assumptions or processing.
This sort of discrepancy should have sent them back to the drawing board to see what was going on, and they have had plenty of time, sitting at home on full pay while remote working….
How much confidence can you have in their data analysis….
You have to link to the thing you are quoting directly. eg if it's to a comment in TS, then click on the date/time stamp of that comment, copy and paste the URL to your comment below the quote.
You said,
Google search for “vaccine will preventing covid”
Google comment displayed above any results
Think about how this works for other, especially moderators. One, google delivers results based on the individual searcher's history. So we're all going to get different results.
Two, you're asking us to do work when the onus is on you to make your argument and support it.
You could have done the google search yourself and then linked to that search. But it's still pretty vague, because it then assumes we are going to look at the search and parse what you meant.
Instead, make your point in your own words, briefly quote to support that, and provide a direct link to that quote.
Put the link in the clear, not embedded in text. That way it's very easy to see what the link it is to. This is especially important for people reading on a phone.
eg
“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?
“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?
People make less mistakes with linking this way too.
Seeing as you know how to use tags, can you please use the quote tags instead of "". Again, this will make it much easier to read and understand what you are trying to say. This is in addition to what Incog has just said, the more you can make your comments comprehensible, the better the debate will be.
I’d also ask kindly that you’re more succinct. Your comments tend to be overly long with an awful lot of stuff to unpack and poorly structured, which makes it hard to parse your actual comment. To me, if feels like somebody is trying to gaslight me. Sadly, you’re not the only one doing this here …
“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 “
“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.”
I will use some made up numbers for ease of clarity and simplicity, to clarify the misunderstanding, using the same base format as the Scottish data
Covid data for Mars for the past week. Total population 2,500,000
Unvaccinated
Population 1,000,000
Cases 10,000
Rate per 100k 1,000
Two doses
Population 1,500,000
Cases 38,000
Rate per 100k 2,533
In this example the vaccinated are catching covid at 2.5 time the rate as the unvaccinated, ( or more than twice as likely to catch covid.. )
The Scottish data ( this is an overview, exact numbers unimportant ) from October and before consistently showed the double vaxxed and boosted were far better off than the unvaccinated in all categories.
But as the Omicron wave hit, and vaccine effectiveness fell, there was a change in the relative rates, and by early January, the bias showed the other way, with higher rates for the double vaxed over unvaxed for cases, hospital admission and death, but the boosted still had better rates.
They were concerned that people would mis-interpret that data as showing the vaccine was worse than ineffective.
They suggested part of the problem was ‘it has its limitations when people leave Scotland and do not inform ‘
So lets run Mars again, but with a corrected population to match the 'error' because some people left without letting the govt know.
Unvaccinated
Population 400,000
Cases 10,000
Rate per 100k 2,5000
Two doses
Population 1,500,000
Cases 38,000
Rate per 100k 2,533
So to make the vaccine look like it is not negative, 600,000 unvaccinated would have to leave without telling the govt.
The first set of numbers for Mars are actually pretty close to Scottish numbers from dec 25 to 31
It is interesting that I saw no mention of what I think would be the most significant confounder that makes the vaccine look bad. Unvaccinated not bothering to get tested !
Failure to test is very defiantly happening here ( I know, because unvaxed friends said they would not bother as there was no benefit to getting tested. )
The Scottish data is a mess…. and If they publish such a mess and people get the wrong idea, whose fault is it? And when it changes from looking good to looking bad and they stop publishing it, they are going to look like they are trying to hide something.
Beautiful practical example of how to get people to distrust you.
They ( and people here ) want me to just trust them because they are the experts.
First a cautionary tale, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study by the US public health service. They lied to a group of people with syphilis that they would treat them for free as if they joined the study.
But the 'experts' instead gave them placebos and watched 128 die.
I saw no reference in the wiki page to any experts going to jail…..
Then there is Pfizer, which has paid billions in fines for violating laws, but none of the people ever go to jail, they get to keep their bonuses.
I could have more trust if the people involved were rotting in jail…
A rather important number….Look down near the bottom for this section where they looked all cause death data.
Over large numbers this is a useful tool, and in the past has found problems that would not be observed in other ways.
However they observed half the expected number of deaths.
This is a screaming alarm that they have some serious issues with either their data, assumptions or processing.
This sort of discrepancy should have sent them back to the drawing board to see what was going on, and they have had plenty of time, sitting at home on full pay while remote working….
How much confidence can you have in their data analysis….
". Data in this table should not be used as a measure of vaccine effectiveness due to unaccounted for biases and risk factors in different populations. For more information, please see the….."
The devil is in the detail – comparing those vaccinated first because of their far higher risk due to their co-morbidities with those yet to be vaccinated due to their complete lack of co-morbidities is an exercise in foolishness IMO.
And on the trust side of things, when the vaccines first came out the covid strain of the day (not a bowel movement) was delta, against which several vaccines do massively reduce the infection rate.
Not sure it's a "trust" issue that covid mutates into new strains.
There is the usual fine print below the table, but then in normal size text is
"Age-standardised mortality rates for COVID-19 deaths shown in Table 3 are significantly lower for people who have received a booster or third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine compared to individuals that are unvaccinated or have received one or two dose of a COVID-19 vaccine."
As it was just below table 13, and table 3 is about contact tracing, and table 13 is about deaths, I think it is fair to assume they just missed a "1"
When the numbers look favorable, all is good, and you promote them, but when they turn against you, ….oops….you look like an idiot
This 60-70km long "column" of Russian vehicles north west of Kyiv appears to be more of a road bound parking lot than an actual advance, given that its been there for two-three days and hasn't even managed to cover the 100km from the Russian border to Kiev.
However, this column represents the sort of target artillerists and attack pilots dream about. The fact that the Ukrainian have not be able to dent let alone massacre this Russian traffic jam indicates they've lost the power to conduct even limited offensive action/manoeuvre warfare and the defenders are now in a totally passive mode, awaiting the Russians in Kyiv and Kharkiv (the scene of four major battles in WW2 that left the city in ruins, the fifth battle of Kharkiv in eight decades is now underway) in what I think will be the most violent and prolonged urban street battle since Berlin in 1945 – bigger than Tet and the battle of Huế (a battle that lasted two months).
The final act of this war is going to be a savage and bloody street battle where the citizens of Kyiv are going to be subject to the indiscriminate barbarism of Russian military brutality we’ve seen previously inflicted on the citizens of Aleppo and the Chetchens.
A very long line of sitting ducks. If the Ukrainian nazis really had their act together they would have hangars full of these antiques designed to pound such targets:
Russians have air superiority. This is why there has been a call for a no fly zone, as if that could be enforced without ending up with NATO Aircraft and Russian aircraft in direct conflict.
There has been evidence of drone strikes on this convoy and other Russian armour. However the number of drones and bombs the Ukranian nation have pales in comparison to the number of Russian military vehicles.
In this situation those who have taken up arms to defend against this invasion are best suited using their advantages. Small mobile units harry the convoy whilst obsticles are set up in the streets of cities. Other defenders identify choke points where they can engage restricted targets and be able to quickly relocated after fast attacks. Every street becomes a bloody battle.
This is what Putin has bought about by deciding to invade and remove a democratically elected Jew who you want to call a Nazi.
a democratically elected Jew who you want to call a Nazi
Was interesting until you made this mistake. The only Ukrainians I want to call nazis are the ones who actually present themselves to the world as such. In case you weren't reading comments here the other day the primary group seems to be the Azov regiment.
Possibly the Russian convoy is a decoy. Putin has enough rockets that he can fire them into Kyiv without entering Kyiv. As well the convoy can send missiles from the trucks. Putin will probably only send in ground troops when Kyiv is bombed heavily.
All that may be true Sanctuary but there may be other reasons like a lack of fuel at the front of the queue and the fact that the ground is not frozen as the Russians may have expected and the farmland is too boggy, certainly for fuel trucks, so the roads are the only option. Also the Ukrainians have demolished most of the bridges on the approach to Kviv. Also to keep in mind the early troops that were repulsed were the elite Special Forces units, if they have had their arse kicked there may well be reluctance amongst the leadership to take big risks.
An excellent opportunity for the Ukrainian oligarchs: send in a bunch of mobile fast-food outlets to cruise up & down the line providing better options for soldiers fed up with military hard-tack, employ locals to staff the operation, win/win all round…
If anyone wants to see an outstanding piece of rhetoric, and get a standing ovation from the most cynical of audiences, take 8 minutes out of your day to check out Zelinsky addressing the EU Parliament yesterday. It will put a wistful note of light in an otherwise dark day.
Putin will take Kyiv due to Russia having 100 million more population, so a superior army. Other countries are reluctant to send troops as this just prolongs a war so Zelensky will be forced out.
Once Putin has Ukrainia will this be enough for him?
interesting clip about Lia Thomas, who was born William Thomas and ranked 462 amongst male swimmers in the male category. Now as Lia Thomas swimming in the female category is coming first and breaking all sorts of records in the female category. But hey well trans women are real women.
tbh I didn’t watch the interview, the opening statement, was 462, now 1st was enough for me."……….
. No one could believe the insanity. I talked with families far and wide who were curious about what was happening in the Ivy League. My call the lawyer that I knew at the ACLU to ask how the law women's rights in Title Nine might be handled in a case like this. I was trying to be respectful in my language, using trans women and biological women to differentiate and trying to use requested pronouns. I made clear that I didn't want to offend but pleaded that it seemed there was an obvious conflict here for women who already have so much less opportunity in sports, to now have to give spaces away to individuals who identify as women. I was met with the single most stunning response I've ever received on any issue. I was told that the words biological and genetic have no business being in a discussion around sex and gender. I was told trans women are women. They are female. They're girls, no language that minimizes that point should be tolerated. I was told that was an offensive question. My language was out of date. I was told that sex and gender are equally important and that the ACLU is actively removing sex from legal documentations and legal language. I tried to gently prod at the preposterous arguments I was hearing and I was met with an absolute brick wall when she concluded with let me tell you with certainty, the ACLU will never represent cis women against women.
But not to worry, the schools were ready and prepared to address any confusion their athletes might have. mandatory meetings were called with scripts read off by coaches from the athletic department or in some cases handed out the girls already caught off guard and intimidated but upset. We're now silenced. They were manipulated, coerced and emotionally blackmailed. They were told their leagues and their schools had spoken and made their positions clear. They his athletes had made the decisions to be a part of these schools and this league and they needed to support it. They were told if they had opinions, or were asked to speak, they had to clear it through their coaches and their athletic department leaders. This was also of course for their own protection has no one wants their team slung through the mud. Finally, they were told their first priority needed to be the safety and protection of their of their trans classmates who are being thrust into the media. Any harm or damage that befell their classmates due to expressing opinions that might not support them would be their responsibility. Work done Message received. Now there was little to no chance they would speak out. I know girls from Harvard, Penn, Dale and Dartmouth, that all received various versions of this same message. After these meetings, I spoke to my daughter the influence was clear.
But it came up again before IV Championships where the girls usually share a space for all the teams. I asked my daughter what she would do with Leah was changing in there. And she said resignedly. I'm not sure I'd have a choice. I still can't believe I had to tell my adult age daughter. You always have a choice about whether you undress in front of a man. What messages have these girls been receiving this year? How many of the other girls were feeling this my heart was ripped apart. Damage far greater than the sports arena was now apparent to me.
Those of you so certain of the non-evidential inclusion of transwomen in women's sports, should be able to withstand listening/reading this and coming up with justification for this situation.
I await your comments below, but anticipate your continued silence.
I saw a response somewhere that the girls may have to make a hard choice, but if enough do it now they could save girls sports.
If all the girls decided that at the start whistle, they all just sat down instead of racing, and face being kicked of the teams, they would send a message.
Why bother trying when you have no chance.
Embarrass enough people with trans only races like that and you might get girls sports to survive.
That is very amusing, but not for the other female swimmers. Jonah Lomu should have converted and played female rugby. Imagine that. He was already hard to stop,
Very very unfunny for the female swimmers, especially when Lia goes into their change room.
and this mother trying to stand up for her daughter and being silenced. It’s an outrage.
There has been a lot of talk about crazy views of the protesters at parliament, but tbh, I don’t see a lot of difference between some of their unscientific views and the idea that Lia is really a woman cause she feels like one and so therefore can compete with the women
Í can simply not get my head around how a person who is/was male, can compete in the same league as women. "Amusing" was the wrong word, I actually think it is crazy and unfair. Like I said above what if Jonah Lomu had played against women? What if Novak Djokovick played in the womens comp? We know what the result would be. IMO Laurel Hubbard should not have been in the womens weightlifting. Perhaps there needs to be a mens, womens and a third category.
Perhaps there needs to be a mens, womens and a third category.
There is no need for the expense of a third category, when categories based on fairness and safety already exist. No one is prevented from participation or competition.
This along with the disabled man who is to be deported to India after 22 years living in NZ reflect really poorly on this government and the lack of value they place upon disabled people. Far to often we have heard similar stories.
I am favor of having a high bar for giving people the gift of NZ citizenship but in this case the child is a NZ citizen so her disability status should have no impact on the decision about the status of the rest of the family.
I am aware that the rules around citizenship by birth in the country were changed quite a while back I don't remember the details but I imagine the poor young girl is not a citizen.
Maybe we'll see some courage somewhere in government to change the settings, not just make exceptions every now and then. The settings go back to at least 2005, must be time for another review.
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One of the key planks of yesterday's Emissions Reduction Plan is a $650 million fund to help decarbonise industry by subsidising replacement of dirty technologies with clean ones. But National leader Chris Luxon derides this as "corporate welfare". Which probably sounds great to the business ideologues in the Koru club. ...
Poisonous! From a very early age New Zealanders are warned to give small black spiders with a red blotch on their abdomens a wide berth. The Katipo, we are told, is venomous: and while its bite may not kill you, it can make you very unwell. That said, isn’t the ...
“The truth prevails, but it’s a chore.” – Jan Masaryk: The intensification of ideological pressures is bearable for only so-long before ordinary men and women reassert the virtues of tolerance and common sense.ON 10 MARCH 1948, Jan Masaryk, the Foreign Minister of Czechoslovakia, was found dead below his bathroom window. ...
Clearly, the attempt to take the politics out of climate change has itself been a political decision, and one meant to remove much of the heat from the global warming issue before next year’s election. What we got from yesterday’s $2.9 billion Emissions Reduction Plan was a largely aspirational multi-party ...
Michelle Uriarau (Mana Wāhine Kōrero) talks to Dane Giraud of the Free Speech Union LISTEN HERE Michelle Uriarau is a founding member of Mana Wāhine Kōrero – an advocacy group of and for Māori women who took strong positions against the ‘Self ID’ and ‘Conversion Practises Bills’. One of the ...
If we needed any confirmation, we have it in spades in today’s edition of the Herald; our supposedly leading daily newspaper is determined to do what it can to decide the outcome of the next election – to act, that is, not as a newspaper but as the mouthpiece for ...
Sean Plunkett, founding editor of the new media outlet, The Platform, was interviewed on RNZ's highly regarded flagship programme "Mediawatch".Mr Plunkett has made much about "cancel culture" and "de-platforming". On his website promoting The Platform, he outlines his mission statement thusly:The Platform is for everyone; we’re not into cancelling or ...
“That’s a C- for History, Kelvin!”While it is certainly understandable that Māori-Crown Relations Minister Kelvin Davis was not anxious to castigate every Pakeha member of the House of Representatives for the crimes committed against his people by their ancestors; crimes from which his Labour colleagues continue to draw enormous benefits; the ...
The Government promised a major reform of New Zealand’s immigration system, but when it was announced this week, many asked “is that it?” Over the last two years Covid has turned the immigration tap off, and the Government argued this produced the perfect opportunity to reassess decades of “unbalanced immigration”. ...
While the new fiscal rules may not be contentious, what they mean for macroeconomic management is not explained.In a pre-budget speech on 3 May 2022, the Minister of Finance, Grant Robertson, made some policy announcements which will frame both this budget and future ones. (The Treasury advice underpinning them is ...
Under MMP, Parliament was meant to look like New Zealand. And, in a lot of ways, it does now, with better representation for Māori, tangata moana, women, and the rainbow community replacing the old dictatorship of dead white males. But there's one area where "our" parliament remains completely unrepresentative: housing: ...
Justice Denied: At the heart of the “Pro-Life” cause was something much darker than conservative religious dogma, or even the oppressive designs of “The Patriarchy”. The enduring motivation – which dares not declare itself openly – is the paranoid conviction of male white supremacists that if “their” women are given ...
In case of emergency break glass— but glass can cut Fire extinguishers, safety belts, first aid kits, insurance policies, geoengineering: we never enjoy using them. But given our demonstrated, deep empirical record of proclivity for creating hazards and risk we'd obviously be foolish not to include emergency responses in our inventory. ...
After a brief hiatus, the “A View from Afar” podcast is back on air with Selwyn Manning leading the Q&A with me. This week is a grab bag of topics: Russian V-Day celebrations, Asian and European elections, and the impact of the PRC-Solomon Islands on the regional strategic balance. Plus ...
Last year, Vanuatu passed a "cyber-libel" law. And predictably, its first targets are those trying to hold the government to account: A police crackdown in Vanuatu that has seen people arrested for allegedly posting comments on social media speculating politicians were responsible for the country’s current Covid outbreak has ...
Could it be a case of not appreciating what you’ve got until it’s gone? The National Party lost Simon Bridges last week, which has reinforced the notion that the party still has some serious deficits of talent and diversity. The major factor in Bridges’ decision to leave was his failed ...
Who’s Missing From This Picture? The re-birth of the co-governance concept cannot be attributed to the institutions of Pakeha rule, at least, not in the sense that the massive constitutional revisions it entails have been presented to and endorsed by the House of Representatives, and then ratified by the citizens of New ...
Fiji signed onto China’s Belt and Road initiative in 2018, along with a separate agreement on economic co-operation and aid. Yet it took the recent security deal between China and the Solomon Islands to get the belated attention of the US and its helpmates in Canberra and Wellington, and the ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Lexi Smith and Bud Ward “CRA” It’s one of those acronyms even many-a-veteran environmental policy geek may not recognize. Amidst the scores and scores of acronyms in the field – CERCLA, IPCC, SARA, LUST, NPDES, NDCs, FIFRA, NEPA and scores more – ...
In a nice bit of news in a World Gone Mad, I can report that Of Tin and Tintagel, my 5,800-word story about tin (and political scheming), is now out as part of the Spring 2022 edition of New Maps Magazine (https://www.new-maps.com/). As noted previously, this one owes a ...
Dr Jennifer Summers, Professor Michael Baker, Professor Nick Wilson* Summers J, Baker M, Wilson N. Covid-19 Case-Fatality Risk & Infection-Fatality Risk: important measures to help guide the pandemic response. Public Health Expert Blog. 11 May 2022. In this blog we explore two useful mortality indicators: Case-Fatality Risk (CFR) and Infection-Fatality ...
In the depths of winter, most people from southern New Zealand head to warmer climes for a much-needed dose of Vitamin D. Yet during the height of the last Ice Age, one species of moa did just the opposite. I’m reminded of Bill Bailey’s En Route to Normal tour that visited ...
In the lead-up to the Budget, the Government has been on an offensive to promote the efficiency and quality of its $74 billion Covid Response and Recovery Fund -especially the Wage Subsidy Scheme component. This comes after criticisms and concerns from across the political spectrum over poor-quality spending, and suggestions ...
Elizabeth Elliot Noe, Lincoln University, New Zealand; Andrew D. Barnes, University of Waikato; Bruce Clarkson, University of Waikato, and John Innes, Manaaki Whenua – Landcare ResearchUrbanisation, and the destruction of habitat it entails, is a major threat to native bird populations. But as our new research shows, restored ...
Unfinished: Always, gnawing away at this government’s confidence and empathy, is the dictum that seriously challenging the economic and social status-quo is the surest route to electoral death. Labour’s colouring-in book, and National’s, have to look the same. All that matters is which party is better at staying inside the lines.DOES ...
Radical As: Māori healers recall a time when “words had power”. The words that give substance to ideas, no matter how radical, still do. If our representatives rediscover the courage to speak them out loud.THERE ARE RULES for radicalism. Or, at least, there are rules for the presentation of radical ...
This is a re-post from Yale Climate Connections by Jeff Masters A brutal, record-intensity heat wave that has engulfed much of India and Pakistan since March eased somewhat this week, but is poised to roar back in the coming week with inferno-like temperatures of up to 50 degrees Celsius (122°F). The ...
The Green Party is again calling on the Government to review the economic response to COVID-19, as the Reserve Bank of New Zealand puts up the Official Cash Rate today to 2 percent. ...
The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand is welcoming the Government’s latest step toward electoral reform, which begins to fulfil an important part of the Co-operation Agreement between the two parties. ...
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY Mr Speaker, It has taken four-and-a-half years to even start to turn the legacy of inaction and neglect from the last time they were in Government together. And we have a long journey in front of us! ...
Today Greens Te Mātāwaka Chair and Health Spokesperson, Dr Elizabeth Kerekere, said “The Greens have long campaigned for an independent Māori Health Authority and pathways for Takatāpui and Rainbow healthcare. “We welcome the substantial funding going into the new health system, Pae Ora, particularly for the Māori Health Authority, Iwi-Partnership ...
Budget 2022 shows progress on conservation commitments in the Green Party’s cooperation agreement Green Party achievements in the last Government continue to drive investment in nature protection Urgent action needed on nature-based solutions to climate change Future budget decisions must reflect the role nature plays in helping reduce emissions ...
Landmark week for climate action concludes with climate budget Largest ever investment in climate action one of many Green Party wins throughout Budget 2022 Budget 2022 delivers progress on every part of the cooperation agreement with Labour Budget 2022 is a climate budget that caps a landmark week ...
Green Party welcomes extension to half price fares Permanent half price fares for Community Services Card holders includes many students, which helps implement a Green Party policy Work to reduce public transport fares for Community Services Card holders started by Greens in the last Government Budget 2022 should be ...
New cost of living payment closely aligned to Green Party policy to expand the Winter Energy Payment Extension and improvement of Warmer Kiwi Homes builds on Green Party progress in Government Community energy fund welcomed The Green Party welcomes the investment in Budget 2022 to expand Warmer Kiwi ...
Budget 2022 support to reduce homelessness delivers on the Green Party’s cooperation agreement Bespoke support for rangatahi with higher, more complex needs The Green Party welcomes the additional investment in Budget 2022 for kaupapa Māori support services, homelessness outreach services, the expansion of transitional housing, and a new ...
Green Party reaffirms call for liveable incomes and wealth tax Calls on Government to cancel debt owed to MSD for hardship assistance such as benefit advances, and for over-payments The Green Party welcomes the support for people on low incomes Budget 2022 but says more must be done ...
Our Government has just released this year’s Budget, which sets out the next steps in our plan to build a high wage, low carbon economy that gives economic security in good times and in bad. It’s full of initiatives that speed up our economic recovery and ease cost pressures for ...
A stronger democracy is on the horizon, as Golriz Ghahraman’s Electoral (Strengthening Democracy) Amendment Bill was pulled from the biscuit tin today. ...
Tomorrow, the Government will release this year’s Budget, setting out the next steps in our plan to build a high wage, low carbon economy that gives economic security in good times and in bad. While the full details will be kept under wraps until Thursday afternoon, we’ve announced a few ...
As a Government, we made it clear to New Zealanders that we’d take meaningful action on climate change, and that’s exactly what we’ve done. Earlier today, we released our next steps with our Emissions Reduction Plan – which will meet the Climate Commission’s independent science-based emissions reduction targets, and new ...
Emissions Reduction Plan prepares New Zealand for the future, ensuring country is on track to meet first emissions budget, securing jobs, and unlocking new investment ...
The Greens are calling for the Government to reconsider the immigration reset so that it better reflects our relationship with our Pacific neighbours. ...
Hamilton City Council and Whanganui District Council have both joined a growing list of Local Authorities to pass a motion in support of Green Party Drug Reform Spokesperson Chlöe Swarbrick’s Members’ bill to minimise alcohol harm. ...
Today, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a major package of reforms to address the immediate skill shortages in New Zealand and speed up our economic growth. These include an early reopening to the world, a major milestone for international education, and a simplification of immigration settings to ensure New Zealand ...
Proposed immigration changes by the Government fail to guarantee pathways to residency to workers in the types of jobs deemed essential throughout the pandemic, by prioritising high income earners - instead of focusing on the wellbeing of workers and enabling migrants to put down roots. ...
Ehara taku toa i te toa takatahi, engari taku toa he toa takimano – my strength is not mine alone but the strength of many (working together to ensure safe, caring respectful responses). We are striving for change. We want all people in Aotearoa New Zealand thriving; their wellbeing enhanced ...
The Green Party is throwing its support behind the 10,000 allied health workers taking work-to-rule industrial action today because of unfair pay and working conditions. ...
The Government has today confirmed key details of the nationwide rollout of cameras on commercial fishing vessels. Up to 300 inshore fishing vessels will be fitted with the technology by the end of 2024, providing independent, accurate information about fishing activity and better evidence for decision-making,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister ...
It is my pleasure to be here at TRENZ 2022. This is an event that continues to facilitate connection, collaboration and engagement between our businesses and key overseas markets. The conversations that happen here will play a crucial role in shaping New Zealand’s tourism recovery. That’s why TRENZ remains such ...
Māori businesses will play a vital role to help lift whānau Māori aspirations and dreams for a better life, while reinforcing New Zealand’s economic security. A successful Progressive Procurement initiative to diversify government spend on goods and services and increase Māori business engagement with government procurement is getting a further ...
The continued Budget 22 investment into the Cadetship programmes will ensure Māori thrive in the labour market, Minister for Māori Development Willie Jackson announced today. The Government will invest $25 million into the Cadetships programme, delivered by Te Puni Kōkiri. As the whole world struggles with rising inflation, the Government’s ...
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Minister of Defence Peeni Henare today announced the extension of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) deployment to Solomon Islands, as part of the Pacific-led Solomon Islands International Assistance Force (SIAF). “Aotearoa New Zealand and Solomon Islands have an enduring and long-standing partnership,” Nanaia Mahuta said. ...
Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta and Minister of Defence Peeni Henare today announced the extension of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) deployment to Solomon Islands, as part of the Pacific-led Solomon Islands International Assistance Force (SIAF). “Aotearoa New Zealand and Solomon Islands have an enduring and long-standing partnership,” Nanaia Mahuta said. ...
Director-General, esteemed fellow Ministers, and colleagues, tēnā koutou katoa. Greetings to all. Aotearoa New Zealand is alarmed at the catastrophic and complex health crisis evolving in Ukraine. We reiterate our call for an immediate end to Russian hostilities against Ukraine. Chair, this 75th Session of the World Health Assembly comes at ...
As part of a regular review by the Department of Internal Affairs, the fees for New Zealand passports will increase slightly due to the decrease in demand caused by COVID-19. Internal Affairs Minister Jan Tinetti says that the Government has made every effort to keep the increase to a minimum ...
The Government is providing additional support to the Buller District Council to assist the recovery from the February 2022 floods, Minister for Emergency Management Kiri Allan announced today. “The Buller District has experienced two significant floods in short succession, resulting in significant impacts for the community and for Council to ...
New Zealand is a step closer to a more resilient, competitive, and sustainable coastal shipping sector following the selection of preferred suppliers for new and enhanced coastal shipping services, Transport Minister Michael Wood has announced today. “Coastal shipping is a small but important part of the New Zealand freight system, ...
Tēnā koutou katoa It’s a pleasure to speak to you today on how we are tracking with the resource management reforms. It is timely, given that in last week’s Budget the Government announced significant funding to ensure an efficient transition to the future resource management system. There is broad consensus ...
Education Minister Chris Hipkins and Associate Education Minister Kelvin Davis have welcomed the release of a paper from independent advisory group, Taumata Aronui, outlining the group’s vision for Māori success in the tertiary education system. “Manu Kōkiri – Māori Success and Tertiary Education: Towards a Comprehensive Vision – is the ...
The best way to have economic security in New Zealand is by investing in wāhine and our rangatahi says Minister for Māori Development. Budget 2022, is allocating $28.5 million over the next two years to strengthen whānau resilience through developing leadership within key cohorts of whānau leaders, wāhine and rangatahi ...
Whānau Ora Commissioning Agencies will receive $166.5 million over four years to help whānau maintain and build their resilience as Aotearoa moves forward from COVID-19, Minister for Whānau Ora Peeni Henare announced today. “Whānau Ora Commissioning Agencies and partners will remain a key feature of the Government’s support for whānau ...
The development of sustainable, plant-based foods and meat alternatives is getting new government backing, with investment from a dedicated regional economic development fund. “The investment in Sustainable Foods Ltd is part of a wider government strategy to develop a low-emissions, highly-skilled economy that responds to global demands,” said Stuart Nash. ...
With New Zealand expecting to see Omicron cases rise during the winter, the Orange setting remains appropriate for managing this stage of the outbreak, COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said today. “While daily cases numbers have flattened nationally, they are again beginning to increase in the Northern region and hospitalisation ...
Justice Minister Kris Faafoi today announced appointments to the independent panel that will lead a review of New Zealand’s electoral law. “This panel, appointed by an independent panel of experts, aim to make election rules clearer and fairer, to build more trust in the system and better support people to ...
Honourable Dame Fran Wilde will lead the board overseeing the design and construction of Auckland’s largest, most transformational project of a generation – Auckland Light Rail, which will connect hundreds of thousands of people across the city, Minister of Transport Michael Wood announced today. “Auckland Light Rail is New Zealand’s ...
Boost to Māori Medium property that will improve and redevelop kura, purchase land and build new facilities Scholarships and mentoring to grow and expand the Māori teaching workforce Funding to continue to grow the Māori language The Government’s commitment to the growth and development of te reo Māori has ...
On the eve of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s trade mission to the United States, New Zealand has joined with partner governments from across the Indo-Pacific region to begin the next phase of discussions towards an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF). The Framework, initially proposed by US President Biden in ...
As part of New Zealand’s ongoing response to the war in Ukraine, New Zealand is providing further support and personnel to assist Ukraine to defend itself against Russia’s unprovoked and illegal invasion, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced today. “We have been clear throughout Russia’s assault on Ukraine, that such a ...
Budget 2022 is providing investment to crackdown on tobacco smuggling into New Zealand. “Customs has seen a significant increase in the smuggling of tobacco products into New Zealand over recent years,” Minister of Customs Meka Whaitiri says. This trend is also showing that tobacco smuggling operations are now often very ...
Prime Minister to lead trade mission to the United States this week to support export growth and the return of tourists post COVID-19. Business delegation to promote trade and tourism opportunities in New Zealand’s third largest export and visitor market Deliver Harvard University commencement address Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has congratulated Anthony Albanese and the Australian Labor Party on winning the Australian Federal election, and has acknowledged outgoing Prime Minister Scott Morrison. "I spoke to Anthony Albanese early this morning as he was preparing to address his supporters. It was a warm conversation and I’m ...
Tiwhatiwha te pō, tiwhatiwha te ao. Tiwhatiwha te pō, tiwhatiwha te ao. Matariki Tapuapua, He roimata ua, he roimata tangata. He roimata e wairurutu nei, e wairurutu nei. Te Māreikura mārohirohi o Ihoa o ngā Mano, takoto Te ringa mākohakoha o Rongo, takoto. Te mātauranga o Tūāhuriri o Ngai Tahu ...
Three core networks within the tourism sector are receiving new investment to gear up for the return of international tourists and business travellers, as the country fully reconnects to the world. “Our wider tourism sector is on the way to recovery. As visitor numbers scale up, our established tourism networks ...
The Minister of Customs has welcomed legislation being passed which will prevent millions of dollars in potential tax evasion on water-pipe tobacco products. The Customs and Excise (Tobacco Products) Amendment Act 2022 changes the way excise and excise-equivalent duty is calculated on these tobacco products. Water-pipe tobacco is also known ...
The Government is contributing $100,000 to a Mayoral Relief Fund to help the Levin community following this morning’s tornado, Minister for Emergency Management Kiri Allan says. “My thoughts are with everyone who has been impacted by severe weather events in Levin and across the country. “I know the tornado has ...
The Quintet of Attorneys General have issued the following statement of support for the Prosecutor General of Ukraine and investigations and prosecutions for crimes committed during the Russian invasion of Ukraine: “The Attorneys General of the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand join in ...
Morena tatou katoa. Kua tae mai i runga i te kaupapa o te rā. Thank you all for being here today. Yesterday my colleague, the Minister of Finance Grant Robertson, delivered the Wellbeing Budget 2022 – for a secure future for New Zealand. I’m the Minister of Health, and this was ...
Urgent Budget night legislation to stop major supermarkets blocking competitors from accessing land for new stores has been introduced today, Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Dr David Clark said. The Commerce (Grocery Sector Covenants) Amendment Bill amends the Commerce Act 1986, banning restrictive covenants on land, and exclusive covenants ...
It is a pleasure to speak to this Budget. The 5th we have had the privilege of delivering, and in no less extraordinary circumstances. Mr Speaker, the business and cycle of Government is, in some ways, no different to life itself. Navigating difficult times, while also making necessary progress. Dealing ...
Budget 2022 provides funding to implement the new resource management system, building on progress made since the reform was announced just over a year ago. The inadequate funding for the implementation of the Resource Management Act in 1992 almost guaranteed its failure. There was a lack of national direction about ...
The Government is substantially increasing the amount of funding for public media to ensure New Zealanders can continue to access quality local content and trusted news. “Our decision to create a new independent and future-focused public media entity is about achieving this objective, and we will support it with a ...
$662.5 million to maintain existing defence capabilities NZDF lower-paid staff will receive a salary increase to help meet cost-of living pressures. Budget 2022 sees significant resources made available for the Defence Force to maintain existing defence capabilities as it looks to the future delivery of these new investments. “Since ...
More than $185 million to help build a resilient cultural sector as it continues to adapt to the challenges coming out of COVID-19. Support cultural sector agencies to continue to offer their important services to New Zealanders. Strengthen support for Māori arts, culture and heritage. The Government is investing in a ...
It is my great pleasure to present New Zealand’s fourth Wellbeing Budget. In each of this Government’s three previous Wellbeing Budgets we have not only considered the performance of our economy and finances, but also the wellbeing of our people, the health of our environment and the strength of our communities. In Budget ...
It is my great pleasure to present New Zealand’s fourth Wellbeing Budget. In each of this Government’s three previous Wellbeing Budgets we have not only considered the performance of our economy and finances, but also the wellbeing of our people, the health of our environment and the strength of our communities. In Budget ...
Four new permanent Coroners to be appointed Seven Coronial Registrar roles and four Clinical Advisor roles are planned to ease workload pressures Budget 2022 delivers a package of investment to improve the coronial system and reduce delays for grieving families and whānau. “Operating funding of $28.5 million over four ...
Establishment of Ministry for Disabled People Progressing the rollout of the Enabling Good Lives approach to Disability Support Services to provide self-determination for disabled people Extra funding for disability support services “Budget 2022 demonstrates the Government’s commitment to deliver change for the disability community with the establishment of a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Erik Eklund, Professor of History, Federation University Australia The recent federal election saw some close calls but few surprises in the regions, where wild electoral swings are rare. But we should look closer at two regional seats that straddle the NSW/Victorian ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Moffitt, Associate Professor, Australian Catholic University Many commentators tipped Clive Palmer’s United Australia Party (UAP) and Pauline Hanson’s One Nation to perform well this election by scooping up the “freedom” and anti-vax vote from voters angry about how the pandemic was ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matt McDonald, Associate Professor of International Relations, The University of Queensland Getty Before the 2019 federal election, many people expected Australia would vote for faster climate action. That, of course, didn’t happen. But just three years later, the climate election ...
The government is set to delay plans to improve the insulation of new homes in New Zealand, just days after including the measures in the much vaunted emissions reduction plan unveiled last week. The emissions reduction plan included a move to improve ...
The Reserve Bank has raised the official cash rate to 2% – but will that slay the inflationary beast roaming the countryside.? Point of Order doesn’t think so. Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr made the right belligerent noises as he fired the bullet today but he needed a fiscal -policy ...
We were pleasantly surprised to catch up on the latest announcement from Foreign Affairs Minister Nanaia Mahuta – jointly issued with Defence Minister Peeni Henare – about the extension of the New Zealand Defence Force deployment to Solomon Islands. This is being done as part of the Pacific-led Solomon Islands ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Paul Griffin, Associate Professor, Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, The University of Queensland Shutterstock We’ve all become familiar with virus mutations over the course of the pandemic, and can all probably list off the COVID variants including Alpha, Delta and Omicron. ...
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has spoken with US TV host and comedian Stephen Colbert about the school shooting in Texas, as part of her trip to the United States. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Tess Parker, Research Fellow, Monash University From February to May 2022, many places in Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia have seen record-breaking daily and monthly rainfall. Repeated periods of persistent and intense rain have caused devastating and widespread floods. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra New treasurer Jim Chalmers has been in multiple briefings since Sunday, and the message he sends in this podcast is that he is not going to try to gild the economic lily with the Australian ...
The Monetary Policy Committee today increased the Official Cash Rate (OCR) to 2.0 percent. The Committee agreed it remains appropriate to continue to tighten monetary conditions at pace to maintain price stability and support maximum sustainable employment. ...
A $30 million investment by the Government to improve coastal shipping services is great news for jobs, the economy and the environment, said the Council of Trade Unions. “A viable coastal shipping service has huge advantages for New Zealand, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Imogene Smith, Casual academic, provisional psychologist and Doctor of Psychology (Clinical) candidate, Deakin University Shutterstock For many dads, having a child is unplanned. What happens next can vary. One man said: We broke up and she called me soon ...
Coastal shipping has received a $30 million boost from the government, aimed at improving local supply chains and helping move freight off the roads. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Carolyn Hill, Teaching Fellow, Environmental Planning, University of Waikato Getty Images A minor culture war has broken out over Auckland’s urban identity since Auckland Council responded to the government’s new housing rules: on one side, defenders of “special character” areas ...
New Zealand’s biggest company by capitalisation on the NZX, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare which sells its products in 120 countries, has supplied $880 million of hospital hardware over the past two years. That’s the equivalent of about 10 years’ hardware sales before COVID-19. This remarkable performance deserves the plaudits of ...
The Socialist Equality Group in New Zealand and the World Socialist Web Site will hold an online public meeting on Saturday, June 4, at 5:00 p.m. to launch the new book Pike River: The Crime and Cover-up , published by Mehring Books. ...
The Minister of Justice, Hon Kris Faafoi, announced on Tuesday morning the panel and terms of reference for the Independent Electoral Law Review. The voting age is at the top of the list of electoral laws the review will be considering. Make It ...
Ted Johnston, Coleader of New Conservative states “There are important changes needed to the Electoral laws, but we must beware Labour and National passing self-serving laws to further perpetuate their duopoly.” Our elections are just passing of the ...
Analysis by Dr Bryce Edwards. Political Roundup: Grant Robertson’s “sweet moderation” Grant Robertson is a big fan of British socialist folk-punk singer Billy Bragg. The finance minister even wrote an opinion column last year that started and ended with lyrics from Bragg’s iconic song “Between the Wars”, with its key line ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Aaron J. Snoswell, Post-doctoral Research Fellow, Computational Law & AI Accountability, Queensland University of Technology Shutterstock The first serious accident involving a self-driving car in Australia occurred in March this year. A pedestrian suffered life-threatening injuries when hit by a ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Denis Muller, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Advancing Journalism, The University of Melbourne Wes Mountain/The Conversation, CC BY-ND The nightly television news coverage of the 2022 federal election was among the most juvenile and uninformative in 50 years. Given that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alexander Holden, Clinical Associate Professor, University of Sydney Shutterstock It’s a common scenario: you decide to go out for dinner and fancy something different. So, you look to online reviews to help you make your dining choice. If you ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Matthew Hornsey, Professor, University of Queensland Business School, The University of Queensland Former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s shock loss to an independent running on a climate action platform wasn’t a fluke event. “Teal” independents have ousted five of Frydenberg’s colleagues, all harvesting votes ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jessica Holloway, Senior Research DECRA Fellow, Institute for Learning Sciences and Teacher Education, Australian Catholic University During the 2022 federal election campaign, schools barely rated a mention. While the Labor government’s cabinet will not be finalised until next week, we expect ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Elaine Nash, PhD Candidate, University of South Australia Shutterstock There are many reasons to employ people living with intellectual disability. Most obvious is that it’s the right thing to do – it helps promote social justice, diversity, corporate social responsibility, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Debra Dudek, Associate professor, School of Arts and Humanities, Edith Cowan University Madman Australian writer and director Renée Webster’s new film How to Please a Woman turns much of what we think we know about sexual desire – especially for ...
Ardern's first event was a sit down with major American tourism media, as part of the drive to show the US market NZ is "open for business", and she will later meet meet with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Jane Kelsey, Professor of Law, University of Auckland The uncertainty over whether Jacinda Ardern might land a White House meeting and photo opportunity with US President Joe Biden was perhaps fitting, given the lack of clarity about one of their main topics ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra The QUAD summit in Tokyo has praised Australia raising its ambition on climate change, after Anthony Albanese told fellow leaders his government would do more to assist Pacific countries address it. Albanese stressed Australia’s ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra As well as her interviews with politicians and experts, Politics with Michelle Grattan includes “Word from The Hill”, where she discusses the news with members of The Conversation politics team. In this podcast Michelle and ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Benjamin Clark, Deputy Engagement Editor, The Conversation Politics can be slow-moving, until all of a sudden it isn’t. As political scientist Simon Jackman says in today’s episode of Below the Line, “politics is very non-linear. You get these steady, secular ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By D. Bondy Valdovinos Kaye, Lecturer, Queensland University of Technology On Sunday, popular American singer songwriter Halsey shared a video on TikTok with tinny music in the background, the on-screen text reading: Basically I have a song that I love that ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Kate Crowley, Adjunct Associate Professor, Public and Environmental Policy, University of Tasmania During Saturday’s election, 31.5% of the voters deserted the major parties, with a swag of female teal independents tipping Liberal MPs out of their heartland urban seats. By contrast, ...
Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Rita Matulionyte, Senior Lecturer in Law, Macquarie University Shutterstock Mastercard’s “smile to pay” system, announced last week, is supposed to save time for customers at checkouts. It is being trialled in Brazil, with future pilots planned for the Middle East ...
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Luxon on TV1 Breakfast this morning earnestly confirming that he doesn’t know anything.
Saw him briefly – I thought he was looking strained – as if the job is already taking a toll.
Did he know that he use to run an Airline though?
During the good times could be a struggle for him in today's environment, safer where he is now, easy money being a politican.
Sounds like he did as badly as Hipkins did on One Zb this morning. Luckily they only have about two listeners so I've been told.
We can finally buy RAT tests. We should have been able to do this long ago.
Price war beckons as The Warehouse starts selling rapid antigen tests | Stuff.co.nz
They were of no use long ago because of their inaccuracy. When the number of cases of covid in the community was tiny, a positive covid results was nearly 100% likely to be wrong. It was just sending well people home to isolate. There only use was in high risk areas such as at the border.
They are of more use now that PCR testing is getting overwhelmed in Auckland and the rates in the community are much higher. I know of someone who got a negative RAT and a positive PCR.
Yup. RATs have some limited value once things have gone pear-shaped. They'll maybe stop some symptomless Covid-positive people from wandering around and unwittingly infecting other people. That might slow the velocity of an outbreak somewhat – maybe. But it's only mitigation – RATS have no place in the important work of trying to stop things going pear-shaped to begin with.
Thought I'd group source a query. There appears to be one or two Standardistas who have a bit of beauracratic health knowledge.
I understand that hospitals are accredited. This accreditation is dependent on different things and one of them is staffing.
Is this so?
The staffing of different departments needs to be at a 'safe' level eg numbers, skill mix etc.
Then if things get really dire, a commissioner can be appointed.
Am I on the right track
Cheers in advance, I am away from the net for most of the day.
This?
https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/regulation-health-and-disability-system/certification-health-care-services
how is
USA invading Iraq
different from
Russia invading Ukraine
?
No difference. Two wrongs don't make a right. The people of the Ukraine have an absolute right to self-determination and their cultural identity, AKA freedom.
This is what freedom actually means rather than being annoyed at having to wear a mask in a pandemic, and tens of thousands of people just like you and me are preparing to kill and be killed for it as we speak.
I notice one big difference….the U.S was not subjected to worldwide sanctions and opprobrium.
"The people of the Ukraine have an absolute right to self-determination"
sounds fine, but has never ever ever been put into practice.. that sentence is total nonsense
even in our own common law there are countless duties one owes to one's neighbours… nobody has the right to do whatever they wish, particularly when that involves putting said neighbour at risk
ffs this is so basic it shouldn't even need to be said
Similarities and differences between the invasions of Iraq and Ukraine are explored here by General Petraeus in a useful interview.
David Petraeus on What Iraq Tells Us About Ukraine – The Atlantic
My post yesterday (https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-01-03-2022) stirred up a hornets nest… and most of it seems to have stemmed from missing the point I was trying to make.
The main point of this is about TRUST
After all, I am told to trust the experts
But first to address her statement “The vaccine has never been sold as being able to prevent people catching Covid. “
Google search for “vaccine will preventing covid”
Google comment displayed above any results
[quote without link deleted]
Anne (post 7.4) jumped down my throat, and it looks like the paragraph she was upset about was
[quote without link deleted]
The Scottish data tables showed the rates per 100,000.
(https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/media/11763/22-02-16-covid19-winter_publication_report.pdf)
I will use some made up numbers for ease of clarity and simplicity, to clarify the misunderstanding
Covid data for Mars for the past week
Unvaccinated
Population 1,000,000
Cases 10,000
Rate per 100k 1,000
Two doses
Population 1,500,000
Cases 38,000
Rate per 100k 2,533
In this example the vaccinated are catching covid at 2.5 time the rate as the unvaccinated, ( or more than twice as likely to catch covid.. )
The Scottish data ( this is an overview, exact numbers unimportant ) from October consistently showed the double vaxxed and boosted were far better off than the unvaccinated in all categories, but as the Omicron wave hit, and vaccine effectiveness fell, there was a change in the relative rates, and by early January, the bias showed the other way, with higher rates for the double vaxed over unvaxed for cases, hospital admission and death, but the boosted still had better rates.
They were concerned that people would mis-interpret that data as showing the vaccine was worse than ineffective.
They suggested part of the problem was ‘it has its limitations when people leave Scotland and do not inform ‘
So lets run Mars again, but with a corrected population to match the 'error' because some people left without letting the govt know.
Unvaccinated
Population 400,000
Cases 10,000
Rate per 100k 2,5000
Two doses
Population 1,500,000
Cases 38,000
Rate per 100k 2,533
So to make the vaccine look like it is not negative, 600,000 unvaccinated would have to leave without telling the govt.
The first set of numbers for Mars are actually pretty close to Scottish numbers from dec 25 to 31
It is interesting that I saw no mention of what I would be the most significant confounder that makes the vaccine look bad. Unvaccinated not bothering to get tested !
Failure to test is very defiantly happening here ( I know, because unvaxed friends said they would not bother as there was no benefit to getting tested. )
The Scottish data is a mess…. and If they publish such a mess and people get the wrong idea, whose fault is it? And when it changes from looking good to looking bad and they stop publishing it, they are going to look like they are trying to hide something.
Beautiful practical example of how to get people to distrust you.
They ( and people here ) want me to just trust them because they are the experts.
First cautionary tale, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study by the US public health service. They lied to a group of people with syphilis that they would treat them for free as if they joined the study.
But the 'experts' instead gave them placebos and watched 128 die.
I saw no reference in the wiki page to any experts going to jail…..
Then there is Pfizer, which has paid billions in fines for violating laws, but none of the people ever go to jail, they get to keep their bonuses.
I could have more trust if the people involved were rotting in jail…
Medsafe (NZ ) did some work to try and quantify how many people are being killed by the vaccine.
A rather important number….Look down near the bottom for this section where they looked all cause death data,
Over large numbers this is a useful tool, and in the past has found problems that would not be observed in other ways.
However they observed half the expected number of deaths.
This is a screaming alarm that they have some serious issues with either their data, assumptions or processing.
This sort of discrepancy should have sent them back to the drawing board to see what was going on, and they have had plenty of time, sitting at home on full pay while remote working….
How much confidence can you have in their data analysis….
In God we trust, everyone else, show me the data…
[quotes without links deleted. Links need to be direct. Please read this .https://thestandard.org.nz/some-notes-on-moderation/. You’re still in premod – weka]
mod note.
Apologies,
I thought that posting the exact search then quoting the google text would be sufficient in context with the way other posters do.
And i thought that posting the link to the open mike page and listing the post number would be enough.
I cant see how to edit, so will repost and embed the links.
cant see how to edit the existing so will repost w
editing comments only lasts ten minutes.
You have to link to the thing you are quoting directly. eg if it's to a comment in TS, then click on the date/time stamp of that comment, copy and paste the URL to your comment below the quote.
You said,
Think about how this works for other, especially moderators. One, google delivers results based on the individual searcher's history. So we're all going to get different results.
Two, you're asking us to do work when the onus is on you to make your argument and support it.
You could have done the google search yourself and then linked to that search. But it's still pretty vague, because it then assumes we are going to look at the search and parse what you meant.
Instead, make your point in your own words, briefly quote to support that, and provide a direct link to that quote.
a few further pointers.
Put the link in the clear, not embedded in text. That way it's very easy to see what the link it is to. This is especially important for people reading on a phone.
eg
.https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-01-03-2022/#comment-1869695
Rather than,
People make less mistakes with linking this way too.
Seeing as you know how to use tags, can you please use the quote tags instead of "". Again, this will make it much easier to read and understand what you are trying to say. This is in addition to what Incog has just said, the more you can make your comments comprehensible, the better the debate will be.
I was trying to follow the level of linking to substantiate claims that was being praticed by other commenters with respect to general claim etc
I guess i misjudged
No problem, I will work at being very pedantic about the linking.
it's ok, it's just a learning curve.
I’d also ask kindly that you’re more succinct. Your comments tend to be overly long with an awful lot of stuff to unpack and poorly structured, which makes it hard to parse your actual comment. To me, if feels like somebody is trying to gaslight me. Sadly, you’re not the only one doing this here …
My post yesterday () stirred up a hornets nest… and most of it seems to have stemmed from missing the point I was trying to make.
The main point of this is about TRUST
After all, I am told to trust the experts
But first to address her statement “The vaccine has never been sold as being able to prevent people catching Covid. “
Google search for “vaccine will preventing covid”
Google comment displayed above any results “All COVID-19 vaccines currently available in the United States are effective at preventing COVID-19. Staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccination gives most people a high level of protection against COVID-19. You should get a COVID-19 vaccine, even if you already had COVID-19.
“ Anne (post 7.4) jumped down my throat, and it looks like the paragraph she was upset about was
“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 “
“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 reply
The Scottish data tables showed the rates per 100,000. (https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/media/11763/22-02-16-covid19-winter_publication_report.pdf)
I will use some made up numbers for ease of clarity and simplicity, to clarify the misunderstanding, using the same base format as the Scottish data
Covid data for Mars for the past week. Total population 2,500,000
Unvaccinated
Population 1,000,000
Cases 10,000
Rate per 100k 1,000
Two doses
Population 1,500,000
Cases 38,000
Rate per 100k 2,533
In this example the vaccinated are catching covid at 2.5 time the rate as the unvaccinated, ( or more than twice as likely to catch covid.. )
The Scottish data ( this is an overview, exact numbers unimportant ) from October and before consistently showed the double vaxxed and boosted were far better off than the unvaccinated in all categories.
But as the Omicron wave hit, and vaccine effectiveness fell, there was a change in the relative rates, and by early January, the bias showed the other way, with higher rates for the double vaxed over unvaxed for cases, hospital admission and death, but the boosted still had better rates.
They were concerned that people would mis-interpret that data as showing the vaccine was worse than ineffective.
They suggested part of the problem was ‘it has its limitations when people leave Scotland and do not inform ‘
So lets run Mars again, but with a corrected population to match the 'error' because some people left without letting the govt know.
Unvaccinated
Population 400,000
Cases 10,000
Rate per 100k 2,5000
Two doses
Population 1,500,000
Cases 38,000
Rate per 100k 2,533
So to make the vaccine look like it is not negative, 600,000 unvaccinated would have to leave without telling the govt.
The first set of numbers for Mars are actually pretty close to Scottish numbers from dec 25 to 31
It is interesting that I saw no mention of what I think would be the most significant confounder that makes the vaccine look bad. Unvaccinated not bothering to get tested !
Failure to test is very defiantly happening here ( I know, because unvaxed friends said they would not bother as there was no benefit to getting tested. )
The Scottish data is a mess…. and If they publish such a mess and people get the wrong idea, whose fault is it? And when it changes from looking good to looking bad and they stop publishing it, they are going to look like they are trying to hide something.
Beautiful practical example of how to get people to distrust you.
They ( and people here ) want me to just trust them because they are the experts.
First a cautionary tale, the Tuskegee Syphilis Study by the US public health service. They lied to a group of people with syphilis that they would treat them for free as if they joined the study.
But the 'experts' instead gave them placebos and watched 128 die.
I saw no reference in the wiki page to any experts going to jail…..
Then there is Pfizer, which has paid billions in fines for violating laws, but none of the people ever go to jail, they get to keep their bonuses.
I could have more trust if the people involved were rotting in jail…
Medsafe (NZ ) did some work to try and quantify how many people are being killed by the vaccine.
A rather important number….Look down near the bottom for this section where they looked all cause death data.
Over large numbers this is a useful tool, and in the past has found problems that would not be observed in other ways.
However they observed half the expected number of deaths.
This is a screaming alarm that they have some serious issues with either their data, assumptions or processing.
This sort of discrepancy should have sent them back to the drawing board to see what was going on, and they have had plenty of time, sitting at home on full pay while remote working….
How much confidence can you have in their data analysis….
In God I trust, everyone else, show me the data…
Hamish I presume you read the report?
". Data in this table should not be used as a measure of vaccine effectiveness due to unaccounted for biases and risk factors in different populations. For more information, please see the….."
I counted FIVE of those warnings.
I did read that, and their musings as to why the data APPEARS to show the vax was innefective.
And I thought I was very clear that they bear reaponsability for presenting the data the way they did.
They set themselves up….
The devil is in the detail – comparing those vaccinated first because of their far higher risk due to their co-morbidities with those yet to be vaccinated due to their complete lack of co-morbidities is an exercise in foolishness IMO.
yup.
And on the trust side of things, when the vaccines first came out the covid strain of the day (not a bowel movement) was delta, against which several vaccines do massively reduce the infection rate.
Not sure it's a "trust" issue that covid mutates into new strains.
Obviously, we cannot trust the virus not to change its spots.
or spikes.
was trying to be subtle
They do an age standardization on the base numbers to get the displayed rate.
for example if I look at the hospitalization table, end Jan start Feb
Unvaxed base data in the table gives a raw rate of 11.8 but the age standardized rate almost tripples of 32.15
boosted raw rate 8.7 drops to adjusted rate of 7.47
So that is a pretty big bias to account for the unvaxed being probably younger and healthier and the boosted older.
Blending all the age groups into one is a hell of a messy job.
Israel data used to break it down into 10 yr band, and you could see the differences across the age bands
Now I am at my laptop a wee bit more
you clipped the word 'Warning' from the front,
In the PDF the whole warning is in red, pretty hard to miss…
But my memory was that it did not used to be there..
So looked back at the Jan 12 report
There is the usual fine print below the table, but then in normal size text is
"Age-standardised mortality rates for COVID-19 deaths shown in Table 3 are significantly lower for people who have received a booster or third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine compared to individuals that are unvaccinated or have received one or two dose of a COVID-19 vaccine."
As it was just below table 13, and table 3 is about contact tracing, and table 13 is about deaths, I think it is fair to assume they just missed a "1"
When the numbers look favorable, all is good, and you promote them, but when they turn against you, ….oops….you look like an idiot
Hamish this is only an opinion.just looked up Scottish public health service website.
They are saying people are misreporting data cherry picking different data from different days.
But they make a statement outline the reality.
Mainly around Deaths 83.7% unvaccinated.
7.6% I dose within 7days
7.9% 2 doses within 7days.
Yet it takes 2 weeks to gain full immunity so in fact if 14days taken into account maybe even lower numbers.
This 60-70km long "column" of Russian vehicles north west of Kyiv appears to be more of a road bound parking lot than an actual advance, given that its been there for two-three days and hasn't even managed to cover the 100km from the Russian border to Kiev.
However, this column represents the sort of target artillerists and attack pilots dream about. The fact that the Ukrainian have not be able to dent let alone massacre this Russian traffic jam indicates they've lost the power to conduct even limited offensive action/manoeuvre warfare and the defenders are now in a totally passive mode, awaiting the Russians in Kyiv and Kharkiv (the scene of four major battles in WW2 that left the city in ruins, the fifth battle of Kharkiv in eight decades is now underway) in what I think will be the most violent and prolonged urban street battle since Berlin in 1945 – bigger than Tet and the battle of Huế (a battle that lasted two months).
The final act of this war is going to be a savage and bloody street battle where the citizens of Kyiv are going to be subject to the indiscriminate barbarism of Russian military brutality we’ve seen previously inflicted on the citizens of Aleppo and the Chetchens.
A very long line of sitting ducks. If the Ukrainian nazis really had their act together they would have hangars full of these antiques designed to pound such targets:
https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2018/06/20/screaming-bird-of-prey-how-the-ju-87-stuka-exceeded-its-life-span-and-carried-the-luftwaffe-through-wwii/
Russians have air superiority. This is why there has been a call for a no fly zone, as if that could be enforced without ending up with NATO Aircraft and Russian aircraft in direct conflict.
There has been evidence of drone strikes on this convoy and other Russian armour. However the number of drones and bombs the Ukranian nation have pales in comparison to the number of Russian military vehicles.
In this situation those who have taken up arms to defend against this invasion are best suited using their advantages. Small mobile units harry the convoy whilst obsticles are set up in the streets of cities. Other defenders identify choke points where they can engage restricted targets and be able to quickly relocated after fast attacks. Every street becomes a bloody battle.
This is what Putin has bought about by deciding to invade and remove a democratically elected Jew who you want to call a Nazi.
a democratically elected Jew who you want to call a Nazi
Was interesting until you made this mistake. The only Ukrainians I want to call nazis are the ones who actually present themselves to the world as such. In case you weren't reading comments here the other day the primary group seems to be the Azov regiment.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azov_Battalion
If this is your reasoning then I worry about who is open to invasion and being tarred with the Nazi brush
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/09/white-supremacist-group-patriot-front-one-in-five-applicants-tied-to-us-military
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/sep/05/four-held-on-suspicion-of-being-members-of-outlawed-neo-nazi-group-national-action
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/nz-defence-force-says-white-supremacist-is-a-former-soldier/WAKCYC7K4ENTMF2N26RGVKW2AI/
Possibly the Russian convoy is a decoy. Putin has enough rockets that he can fire them into Kyiv without entering Kyiv. As well the convoy can send missiles from the trucks. Putin will probably only send in ground troops when Kyiv is bombed heavily.
All that may be true Sanctuary but there may be other reasons like a lack of fuel at the front of the queue and the fact that the ground is not frozen as the Russians may have expected and the farmland is too boggy, certainly for fuel trucks, so the roads are the only option. Also the Ukrainians have demolished most of the bridges on the approach to Kviv. Also to keep in mind the early troops that were repulsed were the elite Special Forces units, if they have had their arse kicked there may well be reluctance amongst the leadership to take big risks.
An excellent opportunity for the Ukrainian oligarchs: send in a bunch of mobile fast-food outlets to cruise up & down the line providing better options for soldiers fed up with military hard-tack, employ locals to staff the operation, win/win all round…
If anyone wants to see an outstanding piece of rhetoric, and get a standing ovation from the most cynical of audiences, take 8 minutes out of your day to check out Zelinsky addressing the EU Parliament yesterday. It will put a wistful note of light in an otherwise dark day.
Zelensky receives standing ovation after speech to European Parliament – YouTube
Not even sure Dubcek could match it at the height of the 1968 PRague Spring.
Zelenski on phone to Putin:
"Hi Vladimir you want to hear a joke."
Vladimir : "OK"
Zelenski : Kyiv
Vladimir (puzzled) : I don't get it.
Zelenski : that's right b**** you don't.
How I see the invasion of Ukraine ending.
Putin will take Kyiv due to Russia having 100 million more population, so a superior army. Other countries are reluctant to send troops as this just prolongs a war so Zelensky will be forced out.
Once Putin has Ukrainia will this be enough for him?
How ever if he gets bogged down like Afghanistan and a Gurilla war by the Ukrainian's.
Pootin's reign as Dictator of Russia could be over.
What do you mean by bogged down like Afganistan?
I need to look up the history of the Russian Afganistan war 1979 – 1989 to see how it played out.
interesting clip about Lia Thomas, who was born William Thomas and ranked 462 amongst male swimmers in the male category. Now as Lia Thomas swimming in the female category is coming first and breaking all sorts of records in the female category. But hey well trans women are real women.
tbh I didn’t watch the interview, the opening statement, was 462, now 1st was enough for me."……….
For the readers, transcript from a mother of one of the female swimmers here (posted audio yesterday) https://thestandard.org.nz/open-mike-01-03-2022/#comment-1869801 can be found here:
https://otter.ai/u/N7gCN1Xqfp6oVI5EeHFcFN6B3mQ
Those of you so certain of the non-evidential inclusion of transwomen in women's sports, should be able to withstand listening/reading this and coming up with justification for this situation.
I await your comments below, but anticipate your continued silence.
I saw a response somewhere that the girls may have to make a hard choice, but if enough do it now they could save girls sports.
If all the girls decided that at the start whistle, they all just sat down instead of racing, and face being kicked of the teams, they would send a message.
Why bother trying when you have no chance.
Embarrass enough people with trans only races like that and you might get girls sports to survive.
For the trans, have trans sports…
"For the trans, have trans sports…"
Or … for the reasons of safety and fairness, compete in the appropriate biological sex, weight and age categories – as everyone else does.
That is very amusing, but not for the other female swimmers. Jonah Lomu should have converted and played female rugby. Imagine that. He was already hard to stop,
Very very unfunny for the female swimmers, especially when Lia goes into their change room.
and this mother trying to stand up for her daughter and being silenced. It’s an outrage.
There has been a lot of talk about crazy views of the protesters at parliament, but tbh, I don’t see a lot of difference between some of their unscientific views and the idea that Lia is really a woman cause she feels like one and so therefore can compete with the women
The testimony of the mother is far from amusing, as is the situation and the impact.
What is it that you find funny?
Í can simply not get my head around how a person who is/was male, can compete in the same league as women. "Amusing" was the wrong word, I actually think it is crazy and unfair. Like I said above what if Jonah Lomu had played against women? What if Novak Djokovick played in the womens comp? We know what the result would be. IMO Laurel Hubbard should not have been in the womens weightlifting. Perhaps there needs to be a mens, womens and a third category.
Perhaps there needs to be a mens, womens and a third category.
There is no need for the expense of a third category, when categories based on fairness and safety already exist. No one is prevented from participation or competition.
It is crazy and unfair.
This just flat out wrong. This is worse than Aussie's 501s.
https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2022/02/christchurch-family-being-inhumanely-forced-out-of-country-because-4yo-disabled-daughter-can-t-get-residency.html
This along with the disabled man who is to be deported to India after 22 years living in NZ reflect really poorly on this government and the lack of value they place upon disabled people. Far to often we have heard similar stories.
Pretty much out and out discrimination if you ask me… has the disability commissioner had anything to say?
Somewhat galling that this Govt is very vocal about 501s when they’re kicking people out during to disability.
I am favor of having a high bar for giving people the gift of NZ citizenship but in this case the child is a NZ citizen so her disability status should have no impact on the decision about the status of the rest of the family.
I am aware that the rules around citizenship by birth in the country were changed quite a while back I don't remember the details but I imagine the poor young girl is not a citizen.
Agree – people born in NZ on or after 1 January 2006 are only citizens if either or both parents are NZ citizens or have residence class visas.
Thanks to Winston Peters
Possibly, although this particular provision was added to the relevant Bill in 2004 and passed in 2005 before NZ First were in government with Labour.
Maybe we'll see some courage somewhere in government to change the settings, not just make exceptions every now and then. The settings go back to at least 2005, must be time for another review.